1.1 | The Yakuza Bride

Chapter 65

A/N: Welcome to Chapter 65! This version is the first version.

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"Hellooo Sleeping Beauty!" a familiar voice cooed.

He blinked rapidly, struggling to pull himself out of the dregs of sleep, then squeezed his eyes shut in shock at the sudden closeness of Mickey's face. Leon let out a grunt, cursed under his breath, then opened his eyes again.

His friends widely grinning face was still there. Annoyed, he feebly lifted up an arm to shove Mickey's face away, only to realise that tubes were attached to the same arm. He tilted his head up to give the IV stand beside the bed a glance.

Right, he thought as he gathered his thoughts and looked around him. Hospital.

The room was bathed in a mid-afternoon glow with golden slivers of light falling on his blanket. He head was a fog and his body was aching, especially the spot where he'd been stabbed.

"Well? Feeling better?", Mickey asked. He had an arm in a cast which was currently spotted with signatures and well wishes in a rainbow of colours. Leon had caught a 'Fuck you, fuck the boss' and immediately narrowed his eyes at the possibly drunken scrawl.

Before he could point out that piece of graffiti, Val had instructed Mickey to call for the doctor.

In Val's hand was a file, and spread on the hospital table at the end of the bed were more stacks of files. Leon's morphine addled brain protested at the sight and he let out a heavy sigh.

"So?" his assistant questioned, his eyes barely lifting from the document.

He opened his mouth, only to find that it felt like cotton wool. His tongue was too heavy to move. As Mickey used the intercom to contact the front desk, Val moved over to his side and adjusted the bed so that he could sit up.

His back was sore and he shifted a little to ease the ache but when he did so, the muscles in his abdomen pulled, and he felt the pain from the stab wound. Leon paused, then slowly eased himself into a more comfortable position. His arms and legs felt sluggish from the lack of use too.

"You've been knocked out for a day and a half", Val said.

Urgh. No wonder.

"I feel awful," he managed to grumble.

"Of course you do. By the way, I took the liberty of getting you some clothes from your house."

Val left his position to bring over a black duffel bag accompanied by a soft toy lion clinging onto a strap. He dropped the bag onto Leon's lap before carefully taking a step back.

"Why did you bring that?" His voice had come out sharper than he'd intended. He hadn't meant to, though. He was only surprised at the sight of his stuffed toy and was now shooting daggers at it because there was nothing else to look at. A sudden awkwardness seemed to rise up around him as his face threatened to turn red under the scrutiny of Val and Mickey's gazes.

"The lion?" Mickey pipped up nonchalantly as he moved back to Leon's side to untangle the toy's arms from the bag strap. "Thought you'd want to hug something to sleep so we brought you your toy."

He cringed inwardly at the words, yet felt heat rising in his cheeks. Embarrassment. He couldn't believe he was being teased for having a stuffed toy in his possession. If they found out that he'd bought the toy after much pressing from Hana, he'd never hear the end of it.

"I do not hug toys when I sleep," he finally said, still staring at the innocent animal.

"Oh, it's okay," Mickey said in the same straight voice with a pitying gaze as he ruffled Leon's hair. "Don't have to be shy. We all hug something to sleep, don't we? I mean, it's a poor substitute for a girl but yeah...when you're unwashed and lying in a hospital bed, who'd wanna sleep with you, right?"