If I can't have you

Chapter 11

It was the middle of the night when Levi Schmitt found his life to be changing forever. He had found himself curled up in the devils creation of the hospitals white, plastic chairs next to Nico's bed that poked him in the back and side no matter which way he decided to sit in the chair. When he looked back on that moment, he found that all that he could remember was that he had been clinging to Nico's hand like that had been the only way for Nico to do so and that by gripping his hand in a death grip, Levi's life force would somehow cross over into Nico and revive him.

God had heard his prayers that night and Levi had been awoken at 3:00 in the morning by machines screaming at him, telling him that things had changed, that they were no longer stable and that he needed to get up and get help. The nurses had flooded the room, pushing him gently but firmly out of the door despite his protests that he needed to be in the room. That he had promised Nico that he would be by his side no matter what happens.

He heard Link before he saw him. His laugh echoing through the hallways of the hospital before he rounded the corner of the corridor. His eyes landed on Levi being held back by two nurses, while screaming bloody murder at the medical personnel that were moving in and out of his fellows room. Levi had seen him  for the briefest of seconds out of the corner of his eye, saw Link standing there taking the madness all in before breaking out of his stupor and starting to run towards Levi.

When he arrived at the door to Nico's room, he nodded at the two nurses who were clearly struggling to restrain Levi despite his minute amount of strength. They responded by releasing Levi from their grasp and allowing Link to swoop in and start to mutter in his ear while guiding him towards one of the chairs that were further down the hallway. Levi had started to calm down when Link had appeared but as soon as Link tried to pull him away from the yelling and running that was happening in Nico's room, his small whines started to increase in volume, threatening another meltdown if Link tried to remove him from this situation.

After what had seemed like an eternity to both Levi and Link, the orderlies stopped streaming in and out of the room, the machines were no longer sending out their piercing calls into the night and they received the all clear to enter the room. Neither of them knew what to expect upon entering the room but neither of the expected a pair of brown eyes to be staring owlishly at them from the bed. When Nico's eyes met Levi's, Levi couldn't contain himself from letting out a small squeal, like he was a child again and would have launched himself onto his boyfriend had Link not held him back. At the reproached look he received from Levi, Link pointed to the large cage still encasing his boyfriends leg and stating "Like I'm going to let you ruin my most prized piece of work before it's even had a chance to be used, Schmitt." All he got in response was a cute looking glare off Levi before he settled for placing himself down next to Nico and gently tugging their hands together, neither of them taking their eyes off of each other for a minute. It was almost enough to make Link gag. He tiptoed towards the door, trying desperately to not make any noise. As he slipped out the door, he turned back and let a smile grace his lips as he watched a laugh pass Levi's lips for the first time in seemingly forever.

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Apart from those few days from where he had woken up, all Nico Kim could remember about what had happened was blackness. Darkness and the fear that that would consume him for the rest of his life was all that remembered. But now he was awake for good and all he could do was look at the smiling man before him and smile. He fumbled with his hand, eventually reaching his target of his boyfriends hand and giving it a hard squeeze. There was a lot that was trying to be put into that squeeze but Nico just wanted Levi to know that he was here for good now and he wasn't going to leave him again. He tried to communicate this through words but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a sound that made him sound like he had been swallowing dead frogs for a living. Levi looked at him for a few seconds confused by what he needed, his brow furrowing in a way that Nico found almost endearing. After a few seconds and a weak attempt to point in the direction of the water jug standing on the table in the corner, Levi seemed to get the message and scrambled across the room, almost tripping over himself in his attempt to get there. Nico allowed himself to have a small chuckle before doubling over in a coughing fit. A look of alarm passed over Levi's face and he hurriedly rushes over, glass of water clasped in his hand. As Nico took large gulps, he looked at the small man beside him and decided then and there that he was the luckiest man in the world.