Return To Me

Sorry it's been so long since the last update. Hopefully it was worth the wait!

Sorry it's been so long since the last update. Hopefully it was worth the wait!

************

Aya was in shock and couldn’t move for several seconds until he realized that he was in plain view of the Koneko and could be seen by Aya-chan if she happened to look that direction. Quickly dragging Yohji around the corner of the building, he leaned the man against it as he tried to rouse him.

“Yohji, wake up. It’s me, Aya.” Aya shook him gently however he got no response. He looked closely at Yohji, frowning at his condition. His face was bruised, he had two black eyes and a dirty bandage was wrapped around his forehead.

With a sigh, Aya lifted him in a fireman’s carry and walked toward his car, mumbling as he went along, “You never make things easy, do you?”

Not expecting an answer, Aya struggled under Yohji’s weight as he walked to his car. While Aya was extremely fit, Yohji had a few pounds and centimeters on him and an unconscious man was purely dead weight, so he was grateful that he wasn’t parked too far away. Aya fumbled in his pockets for the key fob to unlock the door. Getting it open, he set Yohji in the passenger seat before closing the door walking over to his side to get in, resting his head against the steering wheel as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't rest long before he started the car. Aya was worried about Yohji and wanted to get him to his hotel as quickly as possible.

The drive to the hotel was a short one. Trying to figure out the best way to get an unconscious adult man through the lobby without drawing undo attention, he pulled up at the entrance to the hotel and when the valet came for his car, he asked, “Do you have a wheelchair I can borrow? My friend was just released from the hospital and the medication has made him sleepy.”

“Of course, sir,” the young man replied, “one moment while I call for one.”

Pleased with his choice of high end hotel, Aya waited until a bellman came along with the chair. He helped Aya get Yohji out of the car and into the wheelchair. When Aya was asked if he needed any further assistance, Aya tipped the man and replied that he could take if from there before asking if they could pick up the chair in a while, he’d leave it outside his room when he was finished.

Minutes later Aya was walking into his well appointed room. He was thankful it had a large king bed and he got Yohji settled on the side furthest from the door. Aya set the chair outside the room, then hurried back to Yohji’s side. He took the opportunity to check if Yohji had any other injuries other than to his head. Aya set the gun aside that he found tucked into the back of Yohji’s pants then continued his investigation. While Yohji’s beautiful face was a mess, Aya had to admit the man’s color was much better than the months preceding Weiss’ last mission. He was also happy to see that Yohji no longer bleached his hair and had let it grow back. The look the blond had been sporting the last time Aya had seen him hadn’t suited Yohji at all.

Aya went to the bathroom and wet a cloth with cold water. He returned to Yohji’s side and unwrapped the bandage around his head. There were a few healing stitches high on his forehead nevertheless Aya didn’t think the bandage was necessary any longer. He set the cool cloth over Yohji’s swollen eyes, trailing his fingertip lightly along Yohji’s jaw.

With something like regret, he left Yohji’s side when he’d determined the man wasn’t further injured. He worried about the head injury, though. There was still the concussion to be concerned about, though Aya knew Yohji was probably in a lot of pain and that sleep was one way to avoid it.

Picking up his cell phone, Aya went out on the balcony to call Mamoru, becoming frustrated when he wasn’t put straight through instead he rerouted to Nagi.

“Let me talk to Mamoru,” Aya said without preamble.

“I’m sorry, Aya, he’s in a meeting right now and cannot be disturbed.” Nagi’s calm voice held a tone of regret.

“I don’t care how busy he is, I need to speak to him. I’ve got Yohji.”

Nagi seemed extremely surprised by that comment, emotion in his monotone voice for once as he asked, “What? Where did you find him?”

“You’ll find out when Mamoru informs you, only I need to speak to him immediately.” Aya was not going to budge on this. “If you won’t interrupt him, he is not going to like the consequences of his ignoring me.” Aya didn’t go into details. He would never purposely betray a former teammate unless absolutely necessary but to him, Yohji’s welfare was more important to him than anything else.

“Please hold on, Aya. I’ll try to get Mamoru on the phone.”

Aya peered into the room through the glass to check on Yohji. The man was still in the same position Aya had left him in. Starting to get frustrated at the amount of time that he was waiting on hold, Mamoru’s voice finally came through the phone.

“Aya, where did you find Yohji? Is he alright?” There was genuine concern in the young man’s voice; however that didn’t soften Aya’s feelings toward Mamoru at the moment. He was certain that Yohji wouldn’t be in this condition if the Takatori had done as he’d promised.

“I found him near the Koneko. What he was doing there I have no idea; he passed out the minute I found him. I want you to send someone with painkillers and have a doctor email me with what I need to do for him. I’ll wake Yohji soon, but I want to have the doctor’s instructions on what to watch for.”

“Take him to Magic Bu…”

Aya cut Mamoru off. “I will *not* take him anywhere. He’s staying here where I can watch over him. Whoever is after him will be watching the hospitals and we know how safe Magic Bus is,” Aya said with a hefty bit of sarcasm.

“What if he needs further medical attention?”

“Then make contingency arrangements with a doctor who has a home clinic. Yohji is *not* going back to a hospital and that’s final,” Aya said in a tone that brooked no argument.

“Alright, Aya. Please keep me informed of Yohji’s condition and let me know if you need anything else.” Mamoru finally conceded, and Aya could imagine his former teammate bowing his head as he spoke over the phone.

“I need a number that I can reach you directly at any time.”

“I don’t carry a phone around; however, I’ll send Nagi’s cell number with instructions that he should put you through to me immediately.”

“Fine.” Aya ended the call since he’d gotten what he wanted and went back into the room to sit next to Yohji. He couldn’t help but card his fingers through the blond’s hair, enjoying the fact that Yohji was alive and next to him. No matter how many times he’d imagined this moment, he hadn’t expected his ex-lover to be in this bad a shape.

Aya finally got up and walked to the desk which held his laptop, stopping along the way at the mini-fridge to grab a bottle of water. Aya checked his email not surprised to find that there wasn’t anything in his inbox yet so he began to surf the web on concussions. He was immediately worried when it said that medical attention should be sought if the person passed out. About to try and rouse Yohji again, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. Aya stopped by the nightstand to grab Yohji’s gun then went to the door, peering through the peephole.

“Yes?” he asked through the door.

“I’ve been sent here by Omi.”

Aya tucked the gun into the back of his pants and let the man inside the room, visibly checking him for weapons then locking the door again. “Do you have the pills?”

“Yes, but first I want to check out the patient. I’m Dr. Hirano.” The man gave a brief bow, which Aya returned before taking him to Yohji. Aya walked over to the other side of the bed while he watched the doctor lift the cloth from Yohji’s face and check his eyes. He took a small packet from his bag, twisted it, and then waved it beneath Yohji’s nose.

The effect was instantaneous. Yohji shook his head then sat up, immediately holding his head as if in pain while he groaned. Aya moved forward, only to find the doctor was already there helping Yohji to lie down again. The blond allowed it for a moment then suddenly pushed up once more and looked around until his eyes met Aya’s.

“Aya,” was all Yohji said.

For several moments Aya, couldn’t speak, so surprised that Yohji had known who he was. “Yes, Yohji, it’s me. Let the doctor take care of you and we’ll talk later.” As much as Aya wanted to sweep the blond into his arms and hold him tight, he knew that now was not the time, if ever.

Yohji’s eyes were a bit glassy with pain as he allowed the doctor to settle him against the pillows.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions,” the Dr. Hirano said. “What is your name?”

“Kudoh Yohji.”

“Do you know what day it is?”

Yohji frowned in thought for a few moments then gave the correct answer.

“What is the prime minister’s name?”

Again Yohji gave the correct information. Next, the doctor shined a light in Yohji’s eyes, causing the man to wince before feeling around Yohji’s skull. “If you had to measure your pain on a scale of one to ten, what would it be?”

Yohji tried to grin, looking more like a wince as he said, “Do I get better drugs if I say it’s higher number?”

Aya would have smiled over getting the glimpse of his old lover if he wasn’t so worried. The doctor sighed and replied, “Please Kudou-san, I’m trying to give you the appropriate medication to manage your pain.”

“Okay, I’d say it’s a seven.” Aya didn’t think Yohji was overstating the pain. In fact, he was probably understating it from his reactions, not moving his head much, the squinting of his eyes were all telling signs.

Aya had reports from Mamoru that Yohji had completely recovered from his dependency on drugs, however Aya figured he’d make sure that the prescription meds didn’t cause a relapse. He was surprised when Yohji said, “I don’t want anything that will get me addicted. I had a drug problem a few years ago and don’t want to have that happen again.”

“Understood.” Aya figured out by the doctor’s tone that he must have been informed of that fact by Nagi or Mamoru. “I’ll be leaving just enough pills to get you through the next 48 hours. After that, you will have to rely on over the counter medication to control the pain.”

The doctor set several blister packs on the table, keeping one back to pop a pill out as he looked at Aya. “Do you have something he can drink this down with?”

Aya nodded and got another bottle of water from the mini-fridge before handing it to Yohji. Their eyes locked again until Yohji was distracted by the doctor. “The pills in the double pack will make you sleepy; the other ones may leave you less so though everyone has a different reaction to the medication. I suggest you take the pills that will make you drowsy every six hours until they are gone and then you can rely on the other ones.”

The doctor stood up and handed Aya a card. “Here is my number in case you need to get in touch with me. Do not hesitate to call at any time.”

Aya thanked the man and escorted him to the door. He turned around and rubbed his hands over his face trying to get his emotions in order so he could once again face Yohji. When he felt he was ready, Aya was surprised to find the man appearing to be asleep. Aya sat down next to Yohji and the blond’s eyes opened for a moment before flittering shut once more. “So tired,” he mumbled.

Threading his hand through Yohji’s hair, Aya whispered, “Get some sleep, we’ll talk later.”

Yohji reached up and tugged Aya’s hand into his own, murmuring as he drifted off to sleep, “Missed you so much…”

Aya blinked several times at the sting in his eyes. Could it be possible that Yohji really did have feelings for him or was it the pills talking? And would they be able to resolve things with everything else going on around them?

********

The young woman sitting at her computer screen was not very happy at the moment. The trail on Yohji had gone cold. It was as if he’d disappeared off the face of the earth. He hadn’t returned to his or his wife’s residences nor had he gone to any of his banks. She’d also checked his credit card activity, but the man hadn’t used them in the last day or so.

Taking a deep breath, she called upon the patience she’d been force to use the past few years. Something would break soon. She just knew it. She could feel that her goal was within her reach. Now she just had to sit back and wait.

**********


Yohji woke to darkness, the pain in his head more a dull roar than the feeling of a jackhammer pounding into his skull that it had been the last time he’d been conscious. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light coming through the windows, he took a deep breath and remembered all that had happened. He turned his head slowly to the right, not willing to risk triggering more intense pain, to see if he’d been hallucinating before. The tightness in his chest eased when he saw Aya asleep, fully dressed, in bed beside him.

All he wanted to do was curl up against Aya except he wasn’t sure of his welcome. With all his returned memories he knew that there were many reasons why Aya would never want to see him again, so Yohji was curious as hell to why Aya was here.

Feeling the pounding pain gradually return, he sat up slowly to take another pain med. “Yohji. Are you okay?” Yohji heard Aya’s voice and then the man came round to where he was sitting.

“Yeah, I just needed to take another pill. You wouldn’t have anything to eat around here, would you? I think I need more than pills and water right now.” Yohji looked up at Aya, a million questions running through his head but his mouth not able to form the words.

“Let me order some room service. I could use a meal myself.” Aya walked over to the phone, turning on the light as he did so. Yohji didn't think that Aya had been comfortable sleeping in his jeans and shirt before he remembered he was dressed similarly and had slept like the dead. He checked the clock to see it was only about nine in the evening though Aya appeared to still be tired, which made Yohji sorry he’d woken him.

“I’ll be right back,” Yohji said while Aya was on the phone.

He headed slowly to the bathroom while Aya ordered them a late dinner. Yohji turned on the light and stood before the mirror, taking in his disheveled state. He had only intended to relieve himself but decided he wanted to clean up a bit.

Yohji turned on the shower and let the water heat while he took a piss. Quickly stripping off his clothes, he got under the hot spray, letting the water help loosen stiff muscles. Yohji washed his hair as well, getting rid of the last traces of blood. Feeling a lot better after getting clean, Yohji dried off. After wrapping a towel around his waist, he shaved and brushed his teeth with the complimentary supplies.

When he was finished, Yohji pulled on one of the hotel robes and picked up his dirty clothes. He’d send them for cleaning before getting dressed again. Feeling much better, even though he looked like shit with his black eyes and bruised face, Yohji returned to the room to find Aya staring out at the night sky.

Yohji got a laundry bag from the closet and put his dirty clothes inside. He walked over to Aya, not saying much. Yohji had a million questions running through his head and all he could ask was, “Why didn’t you ever come back for me?”

He could have kicked himself at the pathetic question. There was no reason for Aya to give a damn about Yohji after how he’d treated Aya before they parted. Aya moved his head to look at Yohji, an inscrutable expression on his face. Yohji was about to retract his question when there was a knock on the door.

Aya turned around and said, “We’ll talk after we eat.”

Yohji watched Aya walk over to open the door for room service and suddenly felt the need to be far, far away from this hotel room and the upcoming conversation.