Title: You're Not Alone Anymore

By: EsTeLweNadia

Summary: Three-shot. Greatly inspired and influenced by 'You're Not Alone', by LadyTsuru27. You will never know what you've got till it's gone. Or in this case, nearly, gone. A near-death experience shows Tetsuhiro that he isn't as alone as he thinks he is. Hurt!Tetsuhiro. UPDATED!

Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Friendship/Family/Angst

Warnings: Senpai and his mouth… But I'll try to tone it down.

Disclaimer: Characters afflicted are not mine, and will never be. Except in my dreams, maybe. ^^

Author's Note: Thank you very much for your tireless support, especially to LadyTsuru27 and UniGirl2. Your reviews are very encouraging and they never fail to make me blush everytime. I didn't think I was worth your compliments, but now, thinking about it, I think I do. Thank you very much! I really, really appreciate every bit of it. ^^

Author's Note 2: Any mistakes seen are mine, and mine alone. I am not perfect, and I did the best I could. Reviews are immensely appreciated, so please have them coming! Now what are you waiting for? Get on reading! ^^

Part Two

Souichi sat on the cold, hard plastic chair, thoughtlessly fingering Morinaga's phone in his palm.

It had been an hour since Morinaga was pushed into an emergency room, and Souichi couldn't help but silently worry.

Souichi couldn't help thinking that if only he didn't send Morinaga down to the basement to oversee their experiments… none of this would be happening…

It's not your fault, Senpai, Souichi could almost hear Morinaga say. He could almost see the soft smile, the understanding and love spilling from those gentle eyes. If you had known, you wouldn't send me anywhere near there. You hadn't known, so it is not your fault, so don't worry, okay?

"Morinaga…"

Tears started to drip ceaselessly down his cheeks to splash onto his lap, but he didn't care. There was no one else in the waiting area; only him, the lonely chairs and empty blank walls.

Morinaga had always been like that; so selfless, so considerate, so understanding, kind and sincere. He had never once blamed Souichi of anything, even when sometimes it had been clearly Souichi's fault in the first place. Numerous times Souichi had carelessly thrown scathing remarks, brushing him off, pushing him away yet Morinaga had always bounced right back and still happily tailed after him. But Souichi had inadvertently caught hurt flashing in those expressive emerald eyes before Morinaga smoothly shelved it away.

"Get out! Don't let me see your face for awhile!"

"I don't need you!"

"Don't screw with me, you kusotawake! How the hell are you and I… sex friends!"

"Go ahead and withdraw from the university or do whatever the fuck you want, I don't care!"

"Don't you dare come here, baka! I'll kill you for real if you dare come!"

"When have you ever looked out for how I feel?! There has never been a single time when I did it with you because I wanted to!"

"Your feelings? I don't know! Isn't that your own convenient interpretation?! And what the hell do you mean by 'jealous' anyway?! Stop thinking that anything and everything is about that! And seriously, enough of this bullshit about love!"

"I'm so sorry, Morinaga…"

Morinaga had looked so hurt, so heartbroken then, yet Souichi either had never paid him any heed, or simply didn't care. And he had never really apologized properly, although he knew Morinaga loved him too much to hold a grudge, but still…

"Excuse me, are you with Morinaga Tetsuhiro?"

Startled, Souichi launched to his feet immediately. A tall doctor with short black hair but long fringe falling over frameless spectacles stood in front of him, accompanied by a curvaceous nurse whose blonde bangs was pushed neatly to the left side of her face, aside from two locks falling freely on both her left and right. She was holding onto a clipboard and was watching him with glittering blue eyes.

His nametag read as Munakata Reishi, and the nurse was Awashima Seri.

"Are you a family member?" Awashima asked, arching a slender eyebrow dubiously.

"No, I'm not," Souichi answered. Then, afraid that they would turn him away and refused to talk to him just because he wasn't a family member, Soichi hastily added, "But his family is already on their way here. I am Tatsumi Souichi, his Senpai from the University. So how is he, Munakata-sensei?

"Were you the one who attended to him immediately after the incident?" The doctor asked instead of answering the question, much to Souichi's irritation.

"Yes, I was," replied Souichi with forced politeness. "Is there any problem?"

Munakata had the nerve to chuckle. "Oh, no. It was actually quick thinking on your part, Tatsumi-san. If you hadn't washed the toxins off, I'm afraid that Morinaga would have complications by now."

Souichi opened his mouth to repeat his earlier question but the doctor swiftly overrode him. "His condition is stable now. Nonetheless, I would like to observe him for a few more days to ensure that there will be no complications, and if there are, touch wood, we will proceed with the necessary treatment."

"Understood," Souichi nodded. "May I go see him now?"

The doctor nodded crisply. "Yes, you may. Please do not disturb him too much; he needs a lot of rest."

With that Munakata and his assistant walked off, leaving Souichi alone by the corridor.

But Souichi didn't want to enter the room just yet. He had some phonecalls to make.

He glanced down at Morinaga's phone again. The only way to contact Morinaga's family was using his phone, because Souichi had no record whatsoever. Well, it couldn't be helped.

Souichi used a thumb to swipe at the screen, unlocking the phone. When he discovered that there was one more obstacle to overcome before he could access Morinaga's phone, Souichi cursed under his breath.

He needed a password, and there were four boxes. Below was a list of hiragana he was supposed to choose from to form the correct password.

But Morinaga was being Morinaga… so it didn't take long for Souichi to figure it out.

Confidently he typed in せん(senpai) using the hiragana and instantly, he got through.

You're too easy, Souichi crowed smugly, only to stop abruptly to stare at the phone in sheer disbelief.

Because on the phone, as the wallpaper, or theme, or whatever, was a picture of him and Morinaga in tuxedo suits and a banquet of flowers and champagne and ribbons. Morinaga was smiling brightly, and he was scowling as usual.

"Where the hell did he get this picture from?!" Souichi snarled, flushing in embarrassment and mortification.

But… to have him as his password, and their photo as the wallpaper… that only showed how much Morinaga loved him.

Too much, apparently… it was almost scary…

Baka…

Souichi scrolled through the phonebook until he reached the name 'Nii-san'.

Hmm, he could talk to the idiot bro. He tapped on it and lifted the phone to his ear.

It took a full minute before the line was picked up.

"Tetsuhiro? What's the matter?"

Gruff, irritated even, but Souichi could detect a hint of concern in his tone.

"Hey, idiot bro, sorry, but I'm not Tetsuhiro," Souichi said coldly, "I'm his Senpai. I just want to let you know that Tetsuhiro has been hospitalized…"

"WHAT?!"

Souichi flinched at the exclamation but he continued anyway, "There has been a phosgene gas leak in one of the laboratories and he was caught up in it. The doctor said his condition is stable but he still needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days for observation."

He rattled off the address of the hospital and location of Morinaga's room.

"If you and your family still treat Tetsuhiro as one of your own, you are welcome to drop by anytime," Souichi ended the conversation with a sneer, ignoring the plaintive "WAIT!" before he disconnected the call.

Yes, he was still pissed at the way Morinaga's family treated Morinaga.

But they still deserved to know what had happened to their son.

Souichi scowled as he put the phone away. Now he had to make a call to his own family.

"Oh, hi, Kanako," he greeted meekly, "I'm sorry, but I can't come home for family dinner tonight. Morinaga has been hospitalized…" He grimaced at shouts of disbelief he heard in the background. "Phosgene gas leak. He was caught up in it. But don't worry! Doctor said his condition is stable. He is sleeping right now, anyway, so you all can visit him tomorrow. Me? I guess I'll stay here with him." A slight pause. "Yeah, yeah, alright. I know how to take care of myself! Bye now!"

Souichi flipped close his phone with an annoyed huff. He just couldn't understand why his family had so much difficulty in believing that he could take care of himself just fine on his own.

Pocketing both phones, he entered Morinaga's room...

… and stopped to stare for awhile.

Morinaga was lying on the bed, pale and motionless, with an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. He looked so young, so frail and so lonely Souichi felt his heart breaking just by looking at him. Machines silently thrummed by the other side of the bed; various wires trailing down and disappeared under the covers, probably to monitor Morinaga's condition. Souichi had no wish to know where the wires were attached to. Without realizing it, Souichi reached the bedside, his hand already hovering to rest itself on Morinaga's hair.

It was soft and warm.

Souichi gently brushed errant bangs from the pale forehead, allowing his fingers to linger on the smooth skin, trailing his palm down to cup Morinaga's cheek. Even with his light ministrations, Morinaga still did not stir.

Until, moving out of his own volition, Souichi bent down to plant a brief kiss on his kouhai's brow.

Souichi heard a sharp intake of breath, and he was so startled he almost gave himself a whiplash. Immediately he turned his attention to Morinaga.

The younger man had his eyes open; blinking owlishly as he tried to gather his thoughts. As soon as he had focused his vision on Souichi, his lips began to move, but no sound came out.

Still, Souichi was able to make out what Morinaga was trying to say.

Senpai…

"Hush, Morinaga," Souichi took the hand closest to him and rest his own on Morinaga's temple, as if trying to reassure him of his presence. "It's okay. Just rest, okay?"

I'm… sorry, the oxygen mask became slightly clouded as Morinaga weakly mouthed the words, so Souichi lifted the mask and leaned closer to him so he could hear Morinaga speak, for ruining your family's dinner… You shouldn't be here… Senpai… you should go back to your family… I'll be fine…

"Morinaga, you baka!" Souchi valiantly tried to hold back his tears. It wouldn't do him any good to let Morinaga see him cry; that idiot would probably blame himself some more. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you, okay? So you just rest and concentrate on getting better! I'll stay here with you. I won't leave, so that's why… that's why…"

Souichi couldn't continue, because if he did, his voice would surely crack and he would definitely lose his composure.

There was a slight smile on Morinaga's lips now. I love you, Senpai…

Souichi watched as the eyes fall shut, and just like that, Morinaga was unconscious again.

Only then Souichi allowed his tears to fall free.

I love you, too, baka.

- To be Continued -

It happened again… I know, I'm sorry!

I intended this to be a two-shot, but the story just spiraled out of control. Again.

To be concluded in the final part… I hope! *blush sheepishly*

By the way, Munakata Reishi and Awashima Seri are also characters from [K] Anime Project. You should really look them up! ^^

I hope you are happy with the latest installment so far!

So I'll see you again in the final chapter! ^^