Fic: Awake (Hitoshi, Alex)
Title. Awake
Characters. Hitoshi, Alex
Fandom. Mage: The Awakening
Rating. PG
Table. 4
Prompt. 47. Life
Word Count. 1083
Warnings. Brief mild language, preslash.
Notes. greenling decided to run a Mage: the Awakening game, and being the horrible person that I am, I decided to play Hitoshi yet again, which means he has to NPC Alex. Last session was the first session, and the descriptions of the Awakenings got me inspired. There will probably be more to come from this game.
The world swam around him, and the darkness fell away until all he could see was a harsh, blinding white light above him. Everything around him smelled disturbingly sterile; he heard the steady beep of a heart monitor near him.
His entire body felt heavy and sore, like it would have taken every ounce of his strength just to raise his head off of the bed. He forced himself to take shallow breaths, but his lungs and throat still burned when he inhaled. It felt like he was dying from the inside out.
Hitoshi tried to pull himself upright, but the second he moved, a sharp pain jolted through his chest. He hissed and fell back against the bed, his arm clutching around his stomach. "Damn it..." he wheezed, and immediately regretted it. Talking made the fire in his lungs jump up into his throat.
"Oh, you're awake!" a soft voice gasped. It was deeper than Hitoshi's own, but not by much. A young man's voice, Hitoshi decided. "I should--the nurse--I'll just--"
Hitoshi gritted his teeth and gripped the side of the bed to force himself up.
"No, don't--you're going to hurt yourself if you--" Hitoshi suddenly felt hands pushing him back against the bed. "If you just...Here." Something mechanical hummed, and he felt the back of the bed shift upward. A blurry figure sat on the edge of his bed, and Hitoshi realized with a start that he must not have been wearing his glasses. Between his white clothes, pale skin, and--if Hitoshi was correct about the large thing draped over the man's head--white hair, he was almost invisible against the wall.
"Who are you?" Hitoshi asked weakly, his voice sounding hoarse and pained even to his own ears. "What happened? And where are my glasses?"
"You were on a school trip up at the bay--do you remember that much?" he asked, his voice very gentle. Hitoshi nodded, and he continued, "Well, you were at the bay, and then you fell in the water. No one seemed to notice you were missing until an hour later. It's a miracle you didn't drown. Your glasses are probably somewhere at the bottom of the ocean."
He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating. Had he really almost drowned? He remembered falling in the water, and everything going dark and cold, and then... Then he had suddenly felt like he had all of the power in the world, and he had written his name in burning gold on a stone wall. His eyes shot open, and the hand over his chest fisted in the sheet. As much pain as he was in, Hitoshi had never felt more alive than he had at that moment.
"Are you okay?" the young man asked, drawing Hitoshi back to the hospital room. "Do you need the nurse? Or maybe something to eat?"
"You never answered who you were," Hitoshi said pointedly, his voice feeling stronger now.
Hitoshi was certain he saw the young man smile. "No, I guess it doesn't," he said. "It's sort of a long story, who I am and why I'm here, and...well." He faltered slightly. At last he said, "I'm Alex. I'm the one who found you."
"Alex," he echoed quietly. "Is my family here?"
"Your chaperone called them after they brought you here, but they haven't gotten here yet. That was about half an hour ago."
"My uncle's probably driving ninety down the interstate right now," Hitoshi murmured, a faint smile ghosting over his lips. "I bet he's already called the principal and half the school board to complain."
"It sounds like he loves you very much," Alex replied, his voice light with amusement. The young man shifted around on the bed, and it occurred to Hitoshi that he seemed unusually concerned about him.
"You didn't have to stay with me, you know." Hitoshi squinted at Alex's face, trying to read his reaction. "I would have been fine once I got to the hospital."
Alex shrugged, but Hitoshi could have sworn he saw him blush. "I couldn't just leave you. And...I was a bit curious to know what happened."
"Nothing really happened," Hitoshi said. He looked away. "I fell into the water. I hallucinated for a few minutes, and then I passed out."
"What did you hallucinate about?" Alex scooted closer and leaned over him, and Hitoshi noticed--rather absurdly--that Alex's eyes were the same color as his aunt's key lime pie and looked every bit as soft and inviting. He attributed it to headache and quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
"Nothing much," he whispered. "I remember falling, and then...I wrote my name on a wall."
"And did you feel different afterward?" Alex leaned closer, and suddenly Hitoshi was struggling to breath again. The heart monitor doubled the speed of its incessant beeping. Hitoshi felt his face heat up, and he looked down at the floor.
"Yeah," Hitoshi said dryly. "I felt like I almost drowned."
"Other than that," Alex said. "Think. When you wrote your name on the wall, did you feel anything?"
Hitoshi's lips thinned, not quite sure how much to tell Alex, if anything at all. He stared blankly at the floor until the erratic beeps returned to their slow, steady rhythm.
Whatever implications that held to Alex, it seemed to be enough for him. Alex shifted back and turned toward the wall, scuffing his toes along the floor. "This is going to sound very strange, and I can't really tell you any more about it here, but...something like that happened to me once, and I met people that helped me. When you get out of the hospital, I want to introduce you to them. I think you might be interested in some of the things they could tell you."
Hitoshi thought for a long moment. A boy not much older than himself, and whom he had just met, wanted to take him to an undisclosed location to meet people he knew nothing about. It all sounded highly suspicious to Hitoshi.
But Alex had saved his life, and he had stayed with him in the hospital, and Hitoshi was just delirious enough to believe that Alex actually had some clue what had happened to him.
"Alright," he agreed, "I'll go with you."
Characters. Hitoshi, Alex
Fandom. Mage: The Awakening
Rating. PG
Table. 4
Prompt. 47. Life
Word Count. 1083
Warnings. Brief mild language, preslash.
Notes. greenling decided to run a Mage: the Awakening game, and being the horrible person that I am, I decided to play Hitoshi yet again, which means he has to NPC Alex. Last session was the first session, and the descriptions of the Awakenings got me inspired. There will probably be more to come from this game.
The world swam around him, and the darkness fell away until all he could see was a harsh, blinding white light above him. Everything around him smelled disturbingly sterile; he heard the steady beep of a heart monitor near him.
His entire body felt heavy and sore, like it would have taken every ounce of his strength just to raise his head off of the bed. He forced himself to take shallow breaths, but his lungs and throat still burned when he inhaled. It felt like he was dying from the inside out.
Hitoshi tried to pull himself upright, but the second he moved, a sharp pain jolted through his chest. He hissed and fell back against the bed, his arm clutching around his stomach. "Damn it..." he wheezed, and immediately regretted it. Talking made the fire in his lungs jump up into his throat.
"Oh, you're awake!" a soft voice gasped. It was deeper than Hitoshi's own, but not by much. A young man's voice, Hitoshi decided. "I should--the nurse--I'll just--"
Hitoshi gritted his teeth and gripped the side of the bed to force himself up.
"No, don't--you're going to hurt yourself if you--" Hitoshi suddenly felt hands pushing him back against the bed. "If you just...Here." Something mechanical hummed, and he felt the back of the bed shift upward. A blurry figure sat on the edge of his bed, and Hitoshi realized with a start that he must not have been wearing his glasses. Between his white clothes, pale skin, and--if Hitoshi was correct about the large thing draped over the man's head--white hair, he was almost invisible against the wall.
"Who are you?" Hitoshi asked weakly, his voice sounding hoarse and pained even to his own ears. "What happened? And where are my glasses?"
"You were on a school trip up at the bay--do you remember that much?" he asked, his voice very gentle. Hitoshi nodded, and he continued, "Well, you were at the bay, and then you fell in the water. No one seemed to notice you were missing until an hour later. It's a miracle you didn't drown. Your glasses are probably somewhere at the bottom of the ocean."
He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating. Had he really almost drowned? He remembered falling in the water, and everything going dark and cold, and then... Then he had suddenly felt like he had all of the power in the world, and he had written his name in burning gold on a stone wall. His eyes shot open, and the hand over his chest fisted in the sheet. As much pain as he was in, Hitoshi had never felt more alive than he had at that moment.
"Are you okay?" the young man asked, drawing Hitoshi back to the hospital room. "Do you need the nurse? Or maybe something to eat?"
"You never answered who you were," Hitoshi said pointedly, his voice feeling stronger now.
Hitoshi was certain he saw the young man smile. "No, I guess it doesn't," he said. "It's sort of a long story, who I am and why I'm here, and...well." He faltered slightly. At last he said, "I'm Alex. I'm the one who found you."
"Alex," he echoed quietly. "Is my family here?"
"Your chaperone called them after they brought you here, but they haven't gotten here yet. That was about half an hour ago."
"My uncle's probably driving ninety down the interstate right now," Hitoshi murmured, a faint smile ghosting over his lips. "I bet he's already called the principal and half the school board to complain."
"It sounds like he loves you very much," Alex replied, his voice light with amusement. The young man shifted around on the bed, and it occurred to Hitoshi that he seemed unusually concerned about him.
"You didn't have to stay with me, you know." Hitoshi squinted at Alex's face, trying to read his reaction. "I would have been fine once I got to the hospital."
Alex shrugged, but Hitoshi could have sworn he saw him blush. "I couldn't just leave you. And...I was a bit curious to know what happened."
"Nothing really happened," Hitoshi said. He looked away. "I fell into the water. I hallucinated for a few minutes, and then I passed out."
"What did you hallucinate about?" Alex scooted closer and leaned over him, and Hitoshi noticed--rather absurdly--that Alex's eyes were the same color as his aunt's key lime pie and looked every bit as soft and inviting. He attributed it to headache and quickly pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
"Nothing much," he whispered. "I remember falling, and then...I wrote my name on a wall."
"And did you feel different afterward?" Alex leaned closer, and suddenly Hitoshi was struggling to breath again. The heart monitor doubled the speed of its incessant beeping. Hitoshi felt his face heat up, and he looked down at the floor.
"Yeah," Hitoshi said dryly. "I felt like I almost drowned."
"Other than that," Alex said. "Think. When you wrote your name on the wall, did you feel anything?"
Hitoshi's lips thinned, not quite sure how much to tell Alex, if anything at all. He stared blankly at the floor until the erratic beeps returned to their slow, steady rhythm.
Whatever implications that held to Alex, it seemed to be enough for him. Alex shifted back and turned toward the wall, scuffing his toes along the floor. "This is going to sound very strange, and I can't really tell you any more about it here, but...something like that happened to me once, and I met people that helped me. When you get out of the hospital, I want to introduce you to them. I think you might be interested in some of the things they could tell you."
Hitoshi thought for a long moment. A boy not much older than himself, and whom he had just met, wanted to take him to an undisclosed location to meet people he knew nothing about. It all sounded highly suspicious to Hitoshi.
But Alex had saved his life, and he had stayed with him in the hospital, and Hitoshi was just delirious enough to believe that Alex actually had some clue what had happened to him.
"Alright," he agreed, "I'll go with you."