A BRAVE NEW WORLD.
Sarawat stared at his own reflection in the mirror, long fingers clutching at the porcelain faucet. The crammed space inside the tiled bathroom was filled with the rushing sound of running water, submerging his mind with a soothing white noise. Sarawat looked like a train wreck, hair all messy and hanging around his face in sweaty chunks. His usually golden tinted skin looked pale and rather milky, wide lips raw and flushed, dark circles under his big eyes.
With a last sigh Sarawat ripped himself away from the faucet, shutting off the water tap and with one swift movement pulled the once white sweatshirt over his head, taking it off. It was wet and marred with dark red splatters and smears from where he had wiped his bloody face and hands on it. Sarawat bunched it up under one arm, feeling a light chill run over his bare skin now that he was just wearing a t-shirt and stalked back out into the dimmed hospital hallway.
Stunned, he blinked around slightly unnerved. Was it evening already? Shit, how long had he been down on his knees in there, choking on his blood? At this he winced thinly, the sandpapery feeling still grating on his insides.
The initial flood of coughs and spasms had stopped soon enough, giving him a fucking final break from the agonizing pain and Sarawat had just slumped limply down on the tiled floor of the toilet stall, breathing harshly. He must have then passed out for a while, his body completely exhausted from the shock of such a violent reaction of having his life force drained.
Natty had reluctantly explained, since she seriously did not want Sarawat to dabble with the cosmic forces, that sharing life essence could kill him. In the worst case scenario, if it spiraled out of control, it could inflict a deadly wound on his body or even attract a fatal sickness. And in best case it would just reduce years of off his life span while elongating the life of the other person. None of these alternatives seemed particularly fun but as long as they did the job of saving Tine, then Sarawat was on board to try it out. Natty had been really spooked when he mentioned that they had accidentally shared life force when Tine had still been a wandering soul. It was one thing for spirits to linger around and leech off of people but it could be very dangerous if it was done raw and with intent. It could disrupt the whole balance in the universe. And did that not sound far too familiar already?
But whatever, it was done now. Sarawat had to see Tine. He was about to open the door to Tine's hospital room but was harshly pulled aside before he could even reach for the sleek door handle.
"What did you do?!" Type hissed into his face, pushing Sarawat against a wall by the collar of his stretchy t-shirt. Sarawat winced at the painful collision of his back against the hard wall, his body still weak and knees barely holding up. A fluttering breath left his parted lips. "You were the only one in the room with Tine. Again," Type ranted accusingly, stabbing a blunt finger into his heaving chest.
One would think that Type should be a little more grateful, Sarawat thought sarcastically as he tried to keep himself together, squeezing his eyes shut for a tiny moment.
Except then Type blinked, taking a step back. He inclined his head while looking the other man up and down, almond shaped eyes trailing over his messed up appearance.
"You look like hell, what happened to you?"
"It's a long story," Sarawat replied, leaning back against the wall for support now, chin jutting out as he tilted his head back, his bangs slipping over and partially covering one side of his face.
"Well, indulge me," Type said while crossing his arms over his chest resolutely.
A worried furrow was making its way over his face. Sarawat really did not look okay, after their little talk Type would take him down to the floor of the general clinic for a check up. Tine would probably kill him if something happened to his estranged boyfriend while he had been tapped out.
A smile then tugged at Type's lips suddenly. It was just so invigorating to think about Tine as alive and kicking, it was like a breath of fresh air was finally filling Type's lungs with dazzling relief. His little brother was back. He had finally made it, seemingly going all the way through hell and back. Type stifled the urge to cry, again.
Not having any strength left to have a petty fight with Type at this rate, Sarawat chose to just go with the truth.
"I think, uh, that I breathed life into Tine?" Sarawat arched his dark eyebrows, suddenly feeling confused by his own explanation.
"What the does that mean?" Type drawled suspiciously. "It's not like you're a god."
"No, but I think that I shared my life essence with Tine, maybe even split my life span with him." Sarawat stuck his shaky hands into the pockets of his slacks and shrugged. "I guess. We'll see how far it all goes."
Type narrowed his eyes, staring at the unenergetic posture of the other man. Well, that maybe could explain all the blood in Tine's room. Besides, it did not seem like Sarawat was lying, he looked too beat up for that. Tine's sudden awakening had been rather miraculous, even the doctors had been stunned into oblivion and with everything else that had been going on Type was inclined to believe that Sarawat was telling the truth, even if very, very reluctantly.
Type still wanted more proof but for now they could leave it at this. Tine was awake now, that was what mattered the most and Sarawat really needed to get that check up asap. The younger man was by now holding himself upright only because of the wall at his back. Type tsked. Once Tine was more coherent all of them had to sit down and have a serious conversation about this mess, there were just too many blanks that needed to be filled out. And besides, Type wanted to let Tine decide for himself what to do with the incriminating documents regarding his accident. Poor dude, Sarawat, getting into the middle of all these things.
"Okay. Let's talk about this later," Type said, surprising Sarawat by dropping the topic so easily. "But let's go and get you checked up by the medical staff. You really don't look too well right now."
Sarawat shook his head instantly, only succeeding in making himself dizzier than he already was.
"No, I need to see Tine," he replied stubbornly, eyes big and open.
"You can see him later. He's asleep right now." Type looked pensively at Sarawat for a moment and then added, "Tine is okay, he's doing good. The doctors are very positive about him making recovery but it's still going to take time. You can always see him later. Come on," Type pulled at Sarawat's sturdy upper arm and then fully supported his weight when the younger man leaned away from the wall. "You don't want him seeing you like this, trust me."
Sarawat smirked ironically, feeling strangely placated by Type's words. Maybe there really were kind people out there in the world, he had just never bothered to look before.
-----
Tine's consciousness was coming and going in waves but he was slowly, steadily coming into himself, into his own body that felt far too heavy and too big for his still fragile mind. The hours, maybe days even, were all clustered into a blurry, colorful mess inside his splintered mind, like a broken mirror that mockingly reflected things back at him. Kind faces and soft voices spoke to him, moving mouths multiplying in the reflective surfaces of the glass shards inside Tine's mind. Their well meaning words reached out to him all the way through the sluggish delirium he seemed to be stuck in, like ghostly hands dragging him out of the density that was his muddy mind.
There was however this one particular presence that Tine felt immensely drawn to on his own, like a moth to the flame, a presence he awfully missed each time as soon as it left his side. Even in his strangely delirious mind Tine could always recognize the low, soothing voice telling him sweet nothings. The slightly callused hands that carefully held his, while a thumb rubbed soft circles into the back of his hand. The warm fingers that carefully swept the messy hair out of Tine's face and curled it around his ear endearingly, then lingering for a sweet moment on his neck just where his heartbeat was racing through his veins. Each fleeting touch from this person sent electrifying sparks through Tine's rigid body, urging him to finally make a move on, not to miss this sought after opportunity to...
To do what exactly?
Tine drew a blank. Always with these blank holes inside his mind, he thought angrily, a little petulantly. It was very frustrating to be there, in the hospital room will all these people but not be able to fully communicate yet, not really comprehend what was going on around him or what had happened to him. Tine could even barely move.
However with each touch and each word spoken from this familiar person, Tine's awareness was slowly but surely being brought to the shore of his broken reality and leaving him with nothing but a new horde of questions and blank, bleeding gaps in his mind. Tine was curious to know how long he had been in this strange purgatory between life and death. How much had changed since his last coherent memory?
Finally finding enough strength within him, Tine slowly opened his eyes, black lashes fluttering. For the first time in what felt like ages he was actually able to see clearly, the stuffy cotton finally gone from his breezy mind. A pleasant hum left his lips. Finally!
The blinds were open in the window inside his private unit and soft sunlight was filtering through the glass, illuminating specks of dust sailing lazily in the air. Strangely, it reminded Tine of something but the fleeting familiarity was gone as soon as it fluttered through his mind. Then his curious gaze landed on a messy mop of dark hair next to him on the hospital bed, two warm hands cradling his slightly chilly one. Tine slowly squeezed the strong hand in his and instantly felt a responding squeeze back. Content flooded Tine's heart and a private, small smile spread on his pink lips when the innocent touch of skin sent a pleasant shiver through his body. How could something so simple feel so good?
The other person, a male, must have fallen asleep at Tine's side, his upper body was resting on the side of the bed, back rising and falling with soft breaths. Tine inclined his head carefully for a better view but the young man's face was squished down over their entwined hands, only the fluffy short hairs on his tanned nape visible and a slice of a squished cheek in there somewhere.
A broader smile with a flash of bunny teeth fluttered over Tine's full lips this time, eyes sparkling. So this was what he was like? His soulmate. Cute.
For some reason Tine was just so sure of it, of the idea of soulmates, like some sort of remain of age old knowledge that was engrained into him, just like the ability to breathe. Tine just knew it.
A nagging feeling however rattled around at the back of Tine's head, which he chose to ignore for now. One step at a time, he told himself, there was no need to rush yet. Tine was bedridden but not stupid. Something had happened to him and he was obviously long from a full recovery yet, if ever. He was even strangely a little scared of finding out the truth, so he decided to set that worry aside for now and just enjoy this moment.
Focusing, with a pinch between his fine eyebrows, Tine stiffly and very unsteadily raised his other hand, dragging a couple of tubes along with it as he reached over and flopped it on top of the messy hair, fingers sinking into the soft locks, feeling the hidden warmth there. Tine's intention had been to pat this mysterious guy's head but it seemed that his strength only lasted so far, leaving his hand to just lay there, limply. Tine pouted sadly.
The guy stirred soon though, feeling the extra weight added on top of his head and raised it, making Tine's hand slip back onto the hospital sheets. He blinked owlishly at Tine with a pair of large, dark eyes and beautiful bow shaped lips that were twisted on a slightly protruding pout. Tine's breath hitched in his throat as his eyes got even rounder, lips trembling slightly as he instantly recognized the chiseled face, not quite believing his eyes.
Sarawat...? How?
"Mm, Tine," Sarawat mumbled, still a little sleepy as he rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand and blinked at the fair skinned man again, partially lost inside a dream where Tine was still nothing but a ghost with a sad, mysterious past.
"Sar-w-at?" Tine whispered with a raspy voice and then had his pink tongue dart out to sweep over his lower lip. Shit, his mouth was so dry! But there were so many things he eagerly wanted to ask, questions now rushing through his mind at an alarming speed.
Why was Sarawat sleeping in Tine's hospital room? Why was he holding Tine's hand like a lifeline? What had happened to Tine?
What had happened to them?
Realizing that this was not a dream Sarawat perked up, instantly sitting ramrod straight on the rickety bedside chair while his hands clutched harder at Tine's fingers. Sarawat leaned closer to the fair skinned man, an excited feeling fluttering around in his lower belly and Tine felt a flush coming onto his cheeks. Sarawat was way too close and Tine stifled an impulse to hide.
"Tine, you're-" His eyes fluttered over Tine's porcelain face, taking in his surprisingly alert expression and the rosy cheeks. "You're awake?" He asked stupidly, still not quite believing his eyes yet. His heart raced behind his ribcage alarmingly. Was this really true?
Tine has already had several episodes of seemingly waking up, even sluggishly flailing his arms, body moving as if on autopilot while his mind had still been elsewhere. Each time the doctors had to assure them that yes, Tine was making a steady recovery even if it sometimes did not look like it, frustrating his friends and family that it was going too slow. Well, slow as in Tine's special case type of slow since recovering from a coma took usually even longer than that but Tine was already deemed as a miracle case, nothing really fazed the doctors anymore.
But this time, right now, it did indeed feel different. Tine was actually looking directly at Sarawat, eyes curious and bright, a little shy. His still thin hand squeezed Sarawat's own as he nodded in reply to Sarawat's question, making the bed sheets rustle. The sound almost overpowering in the quiet room.
Of course he was awake.
Tine parted his lips to say just that but a breathy wheeze left him instead, followed by a dry cough straight up into Sarawat's face. Well, that had not been particularly smooth and in front of his crush too. Tine cleared his throat, ears flushing pink and sunk further down under the blankets in mortification.
"Ah, shit. Here let me help you," Sarawat said as he quickly turned around, his shoulder blades moving tantalizingly under his t-shirt as he reached for a glass of water that had a bent straw stuck in it. "Here, drink some water," he murmured, swiping Tine's messy bangs away from his flushed face and then bringing the straw carefully to his lips, prompting Tine to take a sip.
The skin on Tine's neck prickled with hot blotches. Shit, he was probably completely beet red by now, acting like such a fool. His slightly panicked gaze darted coyly up to Sarawat's face to gauge his expression, only to find a knowing smirk already curling on the other one's pretty lips and a teasing glint in his dark orbs. Tine's own auburn eyes grew larger when Sarawat smoothly leaned closed to the side of his mussed bedhead, efficiently invading his space.
"Stop acting so cute," Sarawat whispered, his breath fanning over the shell of Tine's pink ear, soft lips slightly dragging over the hot skin there. "It makes me want to eat you up."
Tine instantly froze up, mind going completely blank. What the hell!
Wait. Wait. Wait. What?
Was Sarawat flirting with him?
Whaaat?!
Tine literally felt how his soul left his body in pure shock.
Note:
Pun intended :)
So, is this story too pure for some mature smut?