Hana

Heliotrope

Keith handed Lance a cup of tea, "Here you are."

Lance took it with a smile, "Thank you."

Lance sipped on the hot drink curled up on the couch in his living room. After spending a month in the hospital, he was discharged a week prior, and Keith made it his priority to care for him. He made all of his meals, brewed every cup of tea, and played with his hair until he fell asleep.

Keith almost walked away, but Lance grabbed his sleeve, "Wait. Sit next to me."

Keith leaned down to kiss his head, "Alright." He sat down and pulled the blanket onto his lap, sharing with Lance.

Lance leaned on his shoulder, "I love you."

Keith wrapped his arms around him, "I love you too." He pulled Lance's chin up the kiss him. "When is your doctor appointment?"

Lance's smile dropped, dreading the thought of going back to see the damage of his lungs, "Four days."

"I will come with you."

Lance pulled away from Keith, "You can't."

"Why not?"

He hung his head, "I don't want you to see my body like that."

"Lance, I promised to be here. I want to know how you are doing."

Lance raised his eyes, "But you have so much hope. You can easily say things like 'I will fix you,' and I don't want to lose that."

"Do you think that it's ridiculous?" Keith questioned.

"No..." Lance thought of the right way to put it, "more like: it isn't realistic. Hanahaki disease is fatal, especially when the surgery failed."

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's shoulders, "You're still alive now. You've cheated death more times than anyone else. I think you'll be alright."

Lance could sense worry in Keith's tone, even if he was trying to sound hopeful. He couldn't imagine how he must feel knowing that Lance would die soon, probably right in front of him. Lance swallowed hard, holding back tears, "You can come, but you have to stay in the waiting room."

Keith pulled back and stroked Lance's cheek, "Alright."

The days that led up to the appointment were spent in bliss. They went to museums, ate Lance's favorite strawberry cake, and held each other through the night. Lance introduced Keith to the cat in the park, who took a liking to him. Keith decided that it should have a name. He named it Sprinkles. Linda had coffee with the two boys, telling stories of crazy customers. Aunt Julia paid for an expensive dinner date for Keith and Lance. They visited the club one more time and danced for hours. They attempted to bake a cake, which ended in a food fight. They even outran one more cop on Keith's sports bike. The days leading up to the appointment were spent as if they were Lance's last. Because they were.

But the day had to come eventually. Lance and Keith sat in the waiting room in silence, holding each other's hands tightly. Lance kept as many tears in as he could, but a few slipped out. Keith even sniffled a few times, but played it off. The wait was agonizing. What was even more agonizing was the sound of Lance's name being called. He shot a desperate look at Keith, who quickly kissed him. Lance stood up and took small steps toward the smiling nurse. Their hands held on until they eventually broke apart, fingertips reaching for each other. All Lance could hear was his pounding heartbeat in his chest and ringing in his ears.

The nurse took him to a room and prepped him. The purpose of the appointment was to scan Lance's chest to see how many flowers had grown back since the surgery a month before; and whether or not they had threaded roots into his lungs. He was brought all over the hospital, having blood drawn or being put inside some machine. Lance was silent most of the time, emotionally numb.