Chapter 12
"Hi Yuna," Javier panted as he leaned against the doors of the wards beside her, "how are they?"
"First of all, we've got to check to make sure you're not wearing any wire taps and don't have any recording devices on you," she half smiled at him. "It's just a precaution, Mr Fernandez. Since these are high-profile patients."
"Of course." Javier kept up his sunny smile as he was checked over by security. Once given the go-ahead, he followed Yuna as she led him down the corridor to the rooms. "How are they?"
"As good as can be expected, I suppose," she said, giving him a slightly grim look. "Jun's gained some weight, which is good. In terms of therapy, well, it's going slowly but that's still good. I'd like to keep him in for another week at the very least to make sure that he doesn't just go and burn off everything. In terms of Yuzuru, he's alright physically. He knows about the lawsuit, so if you have any good news on that front it would be greatly appreciated. And about his family."
"I can give him good news about his family," he said with a smile as Yuna knocked on the door frame of one of the private rooms.
"Yuzuru? Jun? Visitor for you."
"Hi Jun-bug," Javier stepped in with two bouquets of flowers. He gave one, made up of a mix of gerbera daisies and white roses, to Jun and he held the other, made up of peonies, to Yuzuru, "and hi Yuzu. Mind if I sit here?"
"I'll get some water for your flowers," Mao said to the pair as Yuna lingered in the corner of the room to keep an eye on her patients.
"Please," Jun nodded to the spare chair beside Yuzuru. "Is it good news Javi?"
"From what I've heard with you, it's good news. You look so much better right now. So much healthier."
"Thanks," Jun leaned back in the bed and studied the ceiling, "but it doesn't feel like I'm doing better."
"You are. It might not feel like you are, but you absolutely are. Don't worry. It might be hard, but keep following Yuna's advice and everything will be fine. I promise." Javier turned to Yuzuru and raised his eyebrows. "As for you, I have some news. Your parents are in a safe house with Keiji and Ryuju. They're taking care of them."
Yuzuru let out a sigh of relief and a tiny smile. He leaned his head on the other's shoulder and Javier stroked his hair.
"Thank you Javi. I owe you so much."
"Don't thank me yet. That's kind of where the good news ends. You know you're being sued, right?"
"How could I miss it?" Yuzuru sagged against Javier and he pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I don't know what to do Javi. I haven't known what to do since you left, and now look where I am."
"You've still got the bestselling album that's been at number one for months now," Javier joked. "In all seriousness, I've arranged a lawyer for you. He said he'll be here soon to talk everything through with you."
"Do we have a court date?"
"In a few months. The lawyer, Stephane Lambiel, he'll talk this through with you. I promise you it'll be alright. You have witnesses."
"Yeah, witnesses that are the other journalists. All of them want to see my head on a platter. None of them will back up my side of the story."
"Just talk to Mr Lambiel, okay? I'm sure he'll be able to help you out and help you win the case. You were acting to help the other. You were acting to save Jun."
"Like they'll care."
"Trust me," Javier squeezed Yuzuru's shoulder, "and I promise it'll all work out fine."
"Walk with me?"
Yuzuru stood up and squeezed Jun's hand. "We'll be back soon, okay?"
Jun nodded, smiling and looking down at the card tucked into the flowers as they stepped out into the hallway. He held onto it tightly, biting his lip as he tried to stop the tears.
"I hope you get better soon Junnie. Miss you so much! When you come back, I've got a song written for you. Conrad ~ x"
Jun reached for his notebook and, holding Conrad's note close, he started to jot down some ideas for lyrics and music on the lined and manuscript paper.
Yuzuru and Javier walked down the sterile hallway together, enjoying the quiet sounds of medical machines that were muffled by the doors and walls. Most others on the ward stuck to themselves, understanding that Jun and Yuzuru needed privacy, and their families were nothing but respectful. They didn't blame the pair of artists for the heightened security, and they seemed to accept the pair as one of their own. Jun's mother occasionally made the trip to visit but she barely dared to with the media on her tail, begging her for any information about the pair.
"Mr Lambiel will get you out of this," Javier broke the silence between them. "You did the right thing there Yuzuru."
"Javi," Yuzuru looked at him with exhaustion heavy in his eyes and guilt obviously weighing on his conscience, "this is awful. I'd give it all back to just be with them now. No fame, nothing like that. I'd happily go back to playing little gigs back in Sendai if it meant that none of this happened."
"But then I'd never have met you, Yuzuru," Javier took hold of his hand as Yuzuru's heart caught in his throat. "You'd never have helped my career reach the heights it did. And please don't try to tell me that it would all be better without you, because it really wouldn't."
Yuzuru glanced up at him and, as Javier squeezed his hand, Yuzuru's heart fluttered. When Javier gave him that bright, sunshine smile that was warmer than the beaches of Spain on a hot summer's day, he couldn't help but smile back.
"I miss you so much," Yuzuru whispered as they resumed walking, holding hands as they carried on along the hallway.
"Yuzuru, I have to ask you something. Your album. The grief. Is it because of me? Because, if it is, I'm so sorry."
"Please, do not apologise," Yuzuru squeezed his hand and gave him the smallest, most gentle and comforting smile that he could muster up. "Javi, without you, I wouldn't be where I am. I wrote this album because I needed to get out everything I was feeling."
"I made you hurt that badly, didn't I?" Javier said after a moment.
"More like I don't like change at all. Javi?" They stopped and he looked down, meeting Yuzuru's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything in the past that I did and every time I hurt you, and—"
"Yuzuru," Javier cupped his cheeks to shut him up, "you do not need to apologise. You didn't do anything wrong. You have a beautiful, emotional, delicate gift. You can touch people's hearts in a way that I don't understand, even when there's a language barrier between them. Do you know how long I sat there, listening to your album on repeat, wanting so desperately to call you and ask?"
"Javi—"
"I looked up the translations for the lyrics. Yuzuru, what's going on? I've never seen you this pale, this... terrible looking."
"You know how to compliment people," Yuzuru teased, and Javier rolled his eyes with a chuckle.
"I mean it. What's happened? What happened to you?"
"I-I..." Yuzuru couldn't meet his eyes, even as Javier raised an eyebrow at him and giggled his hand, trying to courage him to look up. "Javi. I... You have my permission to ask Doctor Asada. But I-I can't say it."
"I understand. If any of this is my fault, Yuzu, I'm so sorry."
"It's not, I swear. Never is your fault."
"But—"
Yuzuru stood up on his toes and cupped Javier's cheeks. He ran his fingers through the other's curls and Javier couldn't stand it. He stroked the sides of Yuzuru's face as he pulled him into a passionate kiss in the middle of the hallway. They both leaned into it, making out in the hallway, before Yuzuru had to pull back for air. He panted, and smiled up at Javier as the other kept holding onto him like he was the most precious thing in the world.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that for," Javier whispered as they pressed their foreheads together.
"How long?" Yuzuru whispered as he kept breathing hard.
"When you first moved to Brian," Javier kept holding his cheeks and stroked his thumb over the pad of them with a smile. "You... Feel the same?"
"Since the same time," Yuzuru whispered and kissed Javier quickly before both dissolved into breathless laughter. "Oh my God Javi, I love you so much."
"I love you too, Yuzu. Oh my God, I've waited so long to both hear that and be able to say that. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Javi," Yuzuru whispered, "just hold me, please?"
"Of course," Javier wrapped his arms around him and held him safely in his arms, "of course. Anything for you, Yuzu."
When they finally returned to the room so that Yuzuru could check on Jun, they found him asleep with his notebook on his lap and his earphones in. Yuzuru moved the notebook and pencil for him, raising an eyebrow at the piano music and lyrics he had jotted down, and Javier picked up his phone and earphones.
"You wouldn't believe what he's listening to," Javier chuckled as he eased the note from within the flowers out of Jun's hand, placing it on the bedside table. He showed Yuzuru Jun's phone and he chuckled, pausing the music and putting away the earphones for him.
"There's Nothing Holding Me Back," Javier sighed. "Man, I really wish the kids could get together like we both know that they want to."
"The bitches won't let him," Yuzuru rolled his eyes. "Sorry. His management."
"The bitches," Javier sat down beside him as Yuzuru took Jun's hand in his. "Do you mind if I talk to Dr Asada?"
"You have a right to know."
Javier stood up and Yuzuru gave him a weak smile. The manager stepped out, closing the door to Jun's room before he headed down the corridor to Mao's office. Knocking on the door, she looked up from her paperwork and gestured to the seat opposite to her.
"Mr Fernandez?"
"Just Javier. Yuzuru said that you can share his medical information with me. I... Mao, please, I need to know."
She sighed. "Of course. I understand. Yuzuru told me that, should you come here, I had his permission to tell you his medical history. Yuna has been giving him therapy, and, after several sessions, she's diagnosed him with moderate to severe depression."
"Depression?" Javier thought it through and realised that yes, he did exhibit many of the symptoms. "Do we know for how long?"
"Unfortunately, not. My guess is a while. Several months, possibly a year? I'm not sure. We've got him on some medication as well as having regular therapy sessions, so he should do better. I have to say that I'm a little concerned this legal case won't help his mental state."
"As soon as it's over, he should improve though, right?"
"That's the hope. And I'm hoping that he'll do a little better with you back in his life. When can I expect to be invited to the wedding?"
"Ha ha, very funny," Javier rolled his eyes and sighed. "When this whole mess is sorted out and it's the right time. That's when."
"I look best in purple and blue, so keep that in mind for your colour scheme," Mao teased. "Go on. Go back and join him and your pseudo baby."
"Jun isn't my baby!" Javier responded with half a laugh before he stood up. "See you, Mao."
"That's rather a lot of photographers and journalists out there, no?" The man beside Javier took off his scarf as they stepped into the hospital together. He brushed the snowflakes out of his soft dark hair and smiled at the manager with gentle eyes. "This is much bigger than I initially thought, but I suppose I was underestimating. With a celebrity of Mr Hanyu's magnitude, this is to be expected I suppose."
"You don't know how grateful we are, Mr Lambiel."
"Please Javi, Stephane is fine. Introduce me to my client, please?"
Javier knocked on the room door and paused, listening for a second before he opened it up. He and Stephane stopped in the doorway and listened as Jun finished playing a new song on the keyboard Yuna had found for him. Yuzuru applauded him from his bedside before he looked up at the other two.
"That was beautiful," Stephane complimented before he offered Yuzuru his hand. "Mr Hanyu, I'm Mr Lambiel, your lawyer. I promise you I'm going to get you off these assault charges. Stephane is fine, of course."
"Yuzuru," he shook Stephane's hand, "but how are you going to get the charges dropped?"
"There was a witness who won't spin their story," Stephane gave him a smile that exuded confidence. "The paramedic."