The Boy with the Two Toned Hair (Bon X Reader)

Chapter Sixty-Five

We had talked for a while before (Y/N) finally succumbed to her post-PT nap. She was laying next to me with her upper half on my chest, her head in the crook of my neck. Her arms were thrown haphazardly around my shoulders, her hands clenching and unclenching occasionally as she slept. I had one hand in her lower back, keeping her close to me while the other hand held the book I was reading. It was peaceful and had become part of our routine.

I was suddenly flinching harshly when (Y/N) let out a loud, keening whimper before sitting bolt upright, hitting the top of her head on my chin as she did so. Rough sobs were tearing themselves from her throat as she hunched over with her arms wrapped around her. My eyes went wide, and I winced when she let out a wail. It was heartbreaking. It was physically painful to listen to.

This had never happened before while I was around. I knew from what Cole had told me that she woke up screaming most nights, waiting for the nurses to come to sedate her. During most of her naps, she never had enough time to hit REM sleep, so there were never any nightmares. I know it had happened a few times, but never when I was around. Suddenly, I was thrown back into the same fit of terror I experienced when I heard her choking on her breathing tube.

In a split second, the fear was gone, replaced with the innate desire to calm my girlfriend and remind her that she was safe. I had seen how loopy she was after her sedatives, even in the morning, and knew how much she hated it. I wanted to try and get her to calm before they tried to take the pharmaceutical route. If I was here to help her, I was going to do everything in my power to do just that.

"Shh, shh, baby, shh," I said quietly as I gently placed my hands on her shoulders. She flinched and cried out again, curling even further in on herself. "Shh, baby," I repeated, as I ran what I hoped was a soothing hand over her back; my hands on her shoulders must have made her feel trapped. "You're alright, babe, just breath," I instructed, hoping she could hear me over the sound of her sobs.

I looked up when I heard the door open and found the afternoon nurse entering the room. She held a syringe in her hand and had an expectant look on her face. I was quick to wave her off before returning my attention to the girl in front of me. Her sobs had not yet subsided, but they were noticeably quieter.

For a while, I continued my small ministrations, hoping they would help in any way. Thankfully, they seemed to be working and soon, her sobs had diminished to small sniffles every now and then. Even when I was sure she wasn't going to relapse into another fit of panic, I just continued to rub her back, keeping my distance. She would come to me when she was ready, whether that was in a few minutes or in a few days or even in a few weeks; I wasn't going to push her. Pushing her into sharing would only make things worse. She needed to do this on her own time.

"T-thank you," she finally muttered, running her shaking hands over her face.

"Of course, babe," I whispered as I snuck a hair tie off her wrist before gently pulling her hair back and away from her face and off her neck. "That's what I'm here for," I reminded her. She nodded silently before slowly leaning back into my chest. When she was settled, her eyes closed, I carefully brushed away her tears. She flinched at the first touch but quickly melted into the familiar feeling, relaxing against me.

"I c-could hear you," she whispered after a few minutes of comfortable silence. My eyebrows furrowed, not sure what she was talking about.

"What do you mean, babe?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"W-when I was asleep," she muttered. This only confused me even further. "W-when I was in m-my coma, I mean," she finally explained after another moment of silence. "I knew you were th-there," she explained. "I c-could hear you, and feel you. Dad was th-there too. So was Sh-shima and Rin. Koneko too," she explained. "Mio and Tobias," she muttered.

For a few minutes, I didn't know what to say. We didn't know if she had taken in anything or not when she was in the coma. They said she could hear us, and we were encouraged to talk to her and tell her we were there, but it varied with every coma patient. Even if she was taking in anything when she was out, we didn't know if she would remember it when she woke up.

"Ryuji?" she muttered and only then did I realize she had wriggled onto her side and was staring at me expectantly. "Ryuji?" she repeated. "Are y-you okay?" she asked, sounding sleepy. I didn't know what to say, so I let my actions speak instead. I grabbed her up in a hig, pulling her close to me. She squeaking in surprise but quickly melted into the embrace. She wrapped her arms around my neck and put her face in my crook of my neck, her warm breath tickling my skin.

"What all do you remember?" I finally forced myself to ask. She was silent for a moment, and I could practically hear the gears turning in her head.

"I mean," she began, sounding thoughtful, "it's all kind of fuzzy. It wasn't exactly c-clear," she explained. "I r-remember my dad asking me to squeeze his hand," she recounted. I nodded, remembering when Cole had told me about that when I had come in just a few hours later. "B-but I remember stuff before that too," she explained. "I remember K-katsuro and Kitiara were there, well, when they left actually. That's the first thing I remember." I was in shock at her words. That would mean she was aware of everything. She had been stuck in her own body for three months without knowing what was going on or being able to communicate.

"D-do remember the entire three months?" I asked slowly, scared of the reaction I might receive. She was quiet for a moment, and I felt my heart clench.

"I-I don't think so," she finally said, and I let out a sigh of relief. "Like I said, it was kind of fuzzy," she said. "I was kind of in and out of it. It was like I was falling asleep?" she said, sounding confused. "Like, I was aware but n-not awake. And when I became unaware, it was like I was asleep? But I never fully woke up? But I saw you. And I saw Rin," she blabbered in a mouth full of word vomit. "I don't know," she admitted, "it didn't make a whole lot of sense." I nodded, pulling her tighter to me.

"All I know is th-that everyone was th-there, and I'm really thankful," she said after a moment of silence. I smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Of course, we'll always be there for you, my love, whether you like it or not," I promised. She giggled and leaned back from me. I was happy to see a bright smile on her face. Without warning, she took my face in her hands and kissed me deeply. I sighed into the kiss, happy to have her next to me. I could never have a better girl. She was absolutely perfect, and there was nothing more I could ask for.

She pulled away giggling, tearing me from my thoughts. "What?" I asked her, laughing now too. She just shrugged and kissed me again. I took her by her hips and pulled her even closer. All the while, I could feel her laughing against my lips. "What are you laughing at," I asked when she finally pulled away for air.

"I d-don't know," she admitted. "I'm just so th-thankful to have you by my side. I love you so much," she said. "You just make me happy," she admitted, a blush rising to her cheeks. I pecked in on the lips again.

"You make me happy too," I said. She smiled and snuggled back into my side, her head on my chest. I kept my hands clasped on the small of her back, keeping her close, never wanting to let her go.

For a while, we just relished the time spent together. I was so thankful to have her by my side. I loved this girl more than anything in the world. She was my perfect love, and I would never let her go. She was perfect, and I could never ask for anything more.