Stargazing (Starshipping)

7: Promise

The smell of disinfectant was pungent now. Jaden felt as if it was practically tugging at his nostrils, begging to be acknowledged. He groaned, eyes hardly able to open. When he eventually took in his surroundings, it wasn't hard to tell that he was in a hospital room, his body hooked up to some machine that regulated his breathing and his arm attached to a drip.

He could feel the liquids enter his body. They were cold and Jaden didn't have the strength to shiver at the foreign fluids. It felt as if every ounce of energy he should have had was suddenly gone...and he didn't know how to get it back.

The creak of a bed made him turn his head. It was painful, but curiosity was always the winner when it came to Jaden's decisions. He smiled to see that Yusei was lying beside him, just within reach. His smile grew as he saw his other half stare at him, his gaze loving enough to cover up the obvious worry that his body showed.

"Jaden...how are you feeling?"

For some reason, Jaden had to ask him to repeat it. His hearing was impaired, but there was no logical reason as to why. He cleared his throat to speak, knowing his voice would be hoarse since he was out for God knows how long.

"I'm...tired, Yusei. My body feels heavy..."

"Can you reach me?" Yusei spoke loudly, just so Jaden could hear him.

Jaden found the strength to raise his hand, stretching over the bed as Yusei's hand met his halfway there. Jaden felt the strain, but he knew it would be enough to keep him satisfied. Yusei even moved his bed closer, succeeding in making Jaden envious at his ability to have the strength to even move. He felt so weak, it was as if all of his energy had just gone. Vanished without a trace.

"...Barely...reached..." Jaden managed to reply, sinking down into the bed and closing his eyes. He felt that falling asleep was a bad thing, but it didn't stop him from doing it.

♒

Yusei

The worrying thing about Jaden was that he slept with his mouth open, and his snores were almost impossible to ignore. Yusei was wide awake, his hand firmly clasping Jaden's as he stared at the ceiling. At least the snores were signs that he was alive.

Yusei panicked when he saw Jaden's almost lifeless body on the floor, the scar of the doctors and nurses resuscitating him still strongly imprinted on his mind. It did only happen a few hours ago, and Yusei wasn't surprised at Jaden's loss of hearing and his inability to do...anything. The doctors had told him that Jaden wasn't going to be the same.

His disease was the same as stage four cancer. Since they had caught it so late, there was nothing they could do but make his death painless. January 1st was his predicted day of death, and it made Yusei's skin crawl at the fact that someone's death could be told so easily. Jaden had around a month to live, considering that today was December 2nd.

A month. He had a month to spend with him. It wasn't enough.

Yusei unintentionally gripped his lover's hand as tight as he possibly could. He was brave enough to ask when his predicted day of death was, but the doctor's had told him he would live a long and happy life since his disease was caught quite early.

But Yusei was determined to become as ill as Jaden. He wasn't going to let him die alone, so the only option was to become just as sick as he was. Which is why he demanded that Jaden slept in the same room as him.

The nurses couldn't say no. Yusei was close to terrifying when he wanted to be, but he made sure nobody he loved saw the backlash of his sudden outbursts of brashness. At least he managed to get Jaden in the same room in the end. The consequences could wait. He was sure he could handle them.

For a moment, Yusei's thoughts left him as he couldn't hear Jaden's abrupt snoring. He turned his head, and smiled when he saw that his other was still breathing. His chest was steadily rising up and down, and he looked so peaceful as if he was a statue that had been carved to perfection.

Of course, there was only so much to be said about the perfection of death. A pale complexion that highlighted the urgency, and a solemn expression that told all who gazed upon it that this was indeed the end, and it was beautiful.

~*~

The stars went another day without a couple gazing at them from a hill, admiring them as much as they admired each other. They were becoming impatient, since a month was too long to wait. But they couldn't complain. It wasn't as if they were promised anything, but they were under the impression that it would be a few days.

It wouldn't take much for them to die. In fact, the explosion would be spectacular when they did, but all it would take was a small push. A shove towards falling off the edge.

Watching from outside of the window was enough. At least, for now.

~*~

Yusei was worried. It had been a few hours, maybe a day, and he had been awake, had his medication and had been improving. But Jaden...had not.

He hadn't woken up. He hadn't been reacting well to treatment. His grip on Yusei's hand was slipping as well as his state of consciousness. There was little brain activity but he was still alive.

Yusei bit his lip. Jaden's breathing had shallowed, and even though they were in the same room together, he was somehow improving. Was this disease contagious? Or was it not? Yusei couldn't remember. All he knew was that he was getting better whilst his other half was deteriorating in front of his eyes, and he wasn't going to allow it.

His stubbornness made him refuse his medicine. He refused any form of treatment from then on, and only then did he make a drastic change in his own body.

By the time Jaden actually opened his eyes, it had been three days. They were about to put him on life support, but Yusei was there to watch those almost lifeless eyes open. And he swore he would be there when they closed for good.

He swore.