Ficcy fic.

Jan 07, 2006 01:15

TITLE: "Always"
AUTHOR: purple_bat
PAIRING: H/S
RATING: PG/PG13, I guess. Couple bad words.
WARNINGS: None that I can think of.
SUMMARY: Stephen and Hugh are much much older now. They've lived their secret lives together. Stephen has outlasted all his family members (no specifics on that but just pretend cos the fic doesn't explain all that).
DISCLAIMER: All Stephens, Hughs and bananas belong to themselves. The other chracters came out of my head and I feel much lighter, now.
NOTES: E-flat and G-minor.


I can't live without him, and I wouldn't want to try.

~*~*~*~*~

Hugh sat in the not-so-comfortable hospital chair, watching Stephen sleep. He crossed his legs two different ways before giving up and leaving them uncrossed. He had been sitting there for 23 hours and no one has told him anything. No reason as to why Stephen had been feeling under the weather for three weeks. No reason as to why Stephen had lost a considerable amount of weight over the last month. No reason as to why Stephen had collapsed while going to the kitchen to get Hugh a glass of water. No reason for anything.

So now he sat quietly, knowing that yelling and demanding to know what was wrong with his friend did no good since he had tried it when Stephen for first admitted into the hospital. If they knew something, surely they would tell him, but until then, he had nothing to do but wait.

~*~*~*~*~

"I wish you'd get that watch fixed, Hugh. I don't know how you could possibly see the time through that awful scratch on the face."

Hugh looked at Stephen and then at his watch.

"If I get it repaired, they'll put a new face on it," he said.

"Yes, that's the point of getting it repaired, dear."

"But then the watch won't be the same as when you got it for me. It'll have an imposter face."

He rubbed the scratched watch with his thumb and silently recalled the exact moment that Stephen handed him the case with the watch it in. It was over dinner at Stephen's dining room table. Stephen had had catered food brought in that night. A real feast. And they made their love for each other official that same night.

"Nonsense," Stephen snorted.

"I suppose you think that if you were to get a scratch, you'd expect me to replace your face, as well, then?" Hugh asked.

"If that were possible, I would have inflicted a scratch upon myself a long time ago."

Hugh furrowed his brow and reached for Stephen's face to caress it.

~*~*~*~*~

"Sir? Sir?"

Hugh's mind came back into focus on his current surroundings to find a nurse standing nearby.

"I'm sorry, I must have dozed off. Did you find out what's wrong with him?

The nurse had a concerned look on her face.

"Sir, the forms you filled out to admit the patient," she paused before continuing. "They list you as a friend of his, but not family. I'm afraid I can't go into details until I've spoken to his next of kin."

Hugh sat upright in his chair.

"But he has no next of kin! I put that on the form."

The nurse checked over a chart before replying.

"All I can tell you is he's very sick and we're doing all we can to make him comfortable, but there's not much else we can do. I'm sorry."

She placed the chart back in its place and quietly left the room.

~*~*~*~*~

Stephen had regained consciousness by the time he reached the hospital, but only long enough to ask what happened. Hugh had told him it was just a bit of food poisoning, but he knew it was much worse by the looks of Stephen and the recent health issues he'd been having. No sense in worrying him, though. After admittance, the doctor ordered several tests be done, followed by a sedative to help Stephen stay rested.

I shouldn't have lied to him.

Abrupt sounds of beeps and strange hisses came from the machines beside the bed. Two nurses rushed into the room, one pushing Hugh to the side.

"What's going on?" he asked, frantically.

"Sir, please step back," the pushy nurse insisted.

Hugh stepped back, but only a few inches. He watched as the nurses checked the monitors and looked at each other as if something bad had happened.

Hugh's heart sunk as the second nurse looked over at him.

"He's slipped into a coma. I'm afraid he doesn't have much longer."

"But there's a chance he could come out of it, right?" Hugh asked with the smallest bit of forced hope in his voice.

"You'd need a miracle," the nurse said. "The patient's b--"

"His name is Stephen! Stephen Fry! Stop calling him 'the patient!' He's not just a patient! He's my….he's my best friend."

The nurse was used to being yelled at by friends and family of patients. That didn't mean she appreciated it, but she did try to be understanding.

"Mr. Fry's body is shutting down. He's not strong enough to come out of the coma at the moment, and with the deterioration brought on by condition, it's highly unlikely that he'll make any sort of recover. I'm sorry."

Hugh leaned back against the radiator along the window. He rested his hands on the ledge and half-sat on it.

The nurses finished up and left the room.

~*~*~*~*~

After a few minutes, Hugh regained himself and sat back down beside Stephen. He took his friends hand and kissed it.

"Stephen, please don't do this to me. You're my everything and I can't do this alone. You're sentencing me to life without you and I just can't do it."

~*~*~*~*~

An hour passed and Hugh had fallen asleep. He was still holding Stephen's hand and had rested his head down on their hands. The original nurse poked her head in the room.

"Sir, visiting hours for friends are over. You'll have to leave and come back in the morning."

Hugh woke up quickly, looked to make sure Stephen was still there. He would have hated himself had anything happened while he was busy catching a nap.

"I'm not going anywhere," Hugh said, shooting her a stern look.

"I'm sorry, but--"

"You know, you people are sorry a lot, but what good does it do? 'I'm sorry you're friend is sick.' 'I'm sorry you're friend is worse.' 'I'm sorry you're friend isn't going to wake up.' 'I'm sorry but you have to get the hell away from your friend and leave him alone to die!'"

The nurse was startled by the unexpected outburst.

"Visiting hours for friends are from 8am to 7pm. They're not my rules. You can sleep in the waiting room if you'd like."

"I'm not leaving him!" Hugh yelled, still holding Stephen's hand. "I won't leave him. Ever."

"Then I'll have to call security," she said calmly. It obviously wasn't the first time she had had to do such a thing.

Hugh sighed. He knew she was only doing her job. He wasn't any different than anyone else. His expression softened.

"No. I'll go. Just give me a few more minutes." He looked up at her with shimmering blue eyes. "Please?"

"Five minutes and no more. I don't want to have to call and have you removed from here. But, I will if need be."

"I understand," Hugh replied. "Thank you."

The nurse left and Hugh turned his attention back to Stephen.

"They're making me leave you, but you know I don't want to. It's better for me to be in a different room and in the same building than in jail where I can't see you at all.

"When we first met, I knew there was going to be a never-ending bond between us. I only wish we hadn't waited so long to make it an even stronger bond. And I wish we hadn't had to hide it from the world. One should never be ashamed of love. But one should fear what others would do if they knew about that love. We protected each other by remaining silent about our feelings. If only the world was more understanding."

~*~*~*~*~

The nurse returned several minutes later, saying nothing, but hoping that Hugh would leave without a fuss. She watched as Hugh brushed Stephen's hair from his forehead.

"Have you known him a long time?" she asked, trying to be sincere.

"Yes," Hugh said, barely audibly. "We've known each other for many many years." He paused and smiled down on Stephen. "And he's been my….best friend for the better ones."

The nurses nodded quietly.

One of the machines beside the bed beeped louder than usual.

"That beep! Did you hear that?" Hugh asked the nurse excitedly. "It beeped!"

The nurse stepped over to the bed and glanced at the machine.

"It's just a normal occurrence. It happens."

Hugh knew better. Something was up and he wasn't about to walk out of there now. He wasn't going to chance Stephen waking up to find no one there waiting for him.

"No, I'm sure it's something," he insisted.

"It's nothing, sir. And visiting hours are over for the night."

She gestured for him to accompany her to the door, but he didn't go.

Hugh wanted to shout out some random medical procedures, like he once did on a television show long ago, but he knew he couldn't start slipping into fantasy now. Not when reality was busy kicking him in the ass. He only hoped that the nurse knew well enough to do something and not just dismiss something as obvious as a loud abnormal beep. But his hopes were lost when she went for the telephone. He knew who she was calling.

"Security?" she spoke into the phone, "I need some assistance in room 212."

She hung up the receiver and looked at Hugh, who was standing beside the bed, holding Stephen's limp hand in his own.

"How can you ask me to leave him when he's like this? What if he wakes up and I'm not here?"

"He's not going to wake up," she said. Maybe she shouldn't have said it, but it had to be said.

"Don't say that," Hugh cried. "Don't you dare say that! He'll come out of this. As long as I'm here with him. He won't die. He can't! He's my--" his voice trailed off and he choked back his tears. "He's my--"

"Your best friend," she continued for him.

"My lover," Hugh corrected.

The nurse wasn't a stranger to gay relationships, but she had no idea there was anything more than a friendship here. She hadn't seen any evidence of it until now. She was silent then, and there was no sound in the room other than the subtle beeps and hisses of the machines and Hugh sobbing as he felt a strong relief come over him.

"I'll cancel security," she said as she turned and left the room.

Seconds later, Stephen squeezed his fingers around Hugh's hand. Hugh jolted back an inch and opened his tear-filled eyes widely as he looked down to see Stephen's own eyes trying to open. When they did, Hugh's mouth formed the largest smile Stephen had ever seen and it was a beautiful sight to him.

"You're not supposed to tell people," Stephen said. His voice hoarse and weak, but music to Hugh's ears.

"Yes," Hugh said, sitting down in the chair and scooting closer to the bed. "I am. I am supposed to tell people. And we should have all along."

Stephen smiled.

"You've made my hand all sweaty."

"Tough," Hugh laughed before taking on a serious tone. "I love you, Stephen. And I don't care who knows it, anymore."

Stephen's eyelids grew heavy as he tried to keep his tired eyes focused on his soul mate.

"Well, you can bloody well tell them all, then. Tell them how I love you, Hugh. Tell them I love you with all of my being."

His eyes closed as he smiled, his head still turned towards Hugh.

"I always have and I always will," were his last words before the beeps merged into one and he released his grip on Hugh's hand.

THE END

Just wanted to put it in my journal, too, lol!

always fic, s/h

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