Stories Unknown

Hotter Mess

Kai bent his head over his knees, the hoodie of his sweatshirt cupping the back of his head and mussing up his hair with the motion. Inside his heart was racing as if he had run all the way from New Beijing Palace and to this Oral Surgeon's office. His whole body was full of jitters; he was antsy.

He wasn't entirely sure why he felt so unnerved at being back in this place, but he did. It had nothing to do with four teeth being chiseled from his jaw though and everything to do with the knowledge that some man was doing exactly that to Cinder at this moment— that she would wake up in a world of pain just as he had.

When Kai had gotten his wisdom teeth out, Cinder had stayed by his side the whole time, making sure he didn't jump out of the hover and always providing him with ice cream when his mouth pained him so. But Cinder tended to mask her pain in such a way that Kai hardly knew how to care for her. What if he wasn't good enough to take care of her?

The outpatient door flew open, and Kai jumped to his feet. His hood fell off his head, disheveling his hair further, though he paid no attention to it.

A nurse with short, choppy hair wheeled a sleeping Cinder into the room. Kai watched, unable to move as the woman pushed his wife over to him, his eyes mapping Cinder's light breathing and the way her chin rested upon her chest. He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and hold her in her slumber— to hug her through the pain she would wake up and feel and prevent the horrible crick in her neck Kai knew she would have upon waking.

Kai knelt down in front of Cinder, pushing loose strands of hair out of her face and holding her head back in a more comfortable position. He expected for her to wake up after his touch, but her eyes did not open.

"She should wake up in a few minutes, Your Majesty," the nurse said, her voice small, and almost fearful as she spoke to him. Kai nodded and thanked her, but did not turn his gaze away from his beloved.

"Hey, Cinder," Kai whispered. He could feel her pulse from where his fingers rested beneath her jaw beating slow, as if it had all the time in the world. He watched her face, taking in her puffy cheeks and listening to her soft huffs as she breathed through her nose. "You did incredible. And once you wake up, we're going to go back to the palace and eat ice cream with Thorne for the whole weekend and watch really lame movies. You'll probably hate it, but you'll also be on enough drugs that I don't think you'll comprehend much of what's going on."

Cinder let out a soft groan, her brow furrowing. Kai felt his heart flutter, but he decided that the best way to make Cinder comfortable would be to talk to her— to just explain everything that was going on. She would probably be confused; Kai had been a complete mess when he'd gotten his wisdom teeth out, crying and wondering aloud what had happened to his tongue.

"Hey, love," Kai soothed, brushing back strands of her hair. "How are you doing? You look wonderful."

Opening one eye, Cinder peeked out at him, her lips parting as she stared at him. "Dat was a wie," Cinder mumbled, her words slurred.

"What?"

Cinder brought a hand up to touch the corner of her eye and hit her face repeatedly to make her point. "You canth fool da compoota in da bren," Cinder glowered, somehow managing to look frightening with only one eye open and chipmunk cheeks. "I goh da ergne ligh en ma eye."

"That was not a lie," Kai scoffed, brushing a finger around Cinder's one open eye. "You're more beautiful now than you ever were with glamor."

"Hah!" Cinder pointed at her eye again, and it was only Kai's hand that prevented her from poking her eye out. "You canth lie ta meh! I can see ya lil lies thneaking up lie gas en a spingthime."

"You can see my lies like grass in the springtime?" Kai clarified, barely able to stop himself from laughing aloud. He'd never seen Cinder so out of her mind— not even after she'd woken up after being stabbed in the heart. Whatever drugs they used here, they were definitely strong enough to make even the most sane go cuckoo for cocoa puffs.

"Yah," Cinder said, her head lolling forward as she spoke the word. Kai cupped her chin before she head-butted him, but this only made her laugh. Kai, too, couldn't help but chuckle as Cinder let out the oddest assortment of sounds that would have been laughter without the gauze hindering the joyous noise.

The nurse stepped forward once, startling Kai— he'd believed her to be gone. She smiled apologetically, though her eyes were somewhat amused. "You can stay however long you want to, Your Majesty," she said. "But judging by her Majesty's state of being, I would guess that she's going to fall unconscious once more any minute."

"Oh, dere's o eed da gall meh dat," Cinder giggled, leaning her face against Kai's. "I preher da go dy thinder."

Kai grinned and pressed a quick kiss to Cinder's cheek. She gasped, as if it were the most outrageous thing in the world— that coming from the girl who had kidnapped him from his own wedding.

"Thank you," Kai said to the nurse, barely able to maintain a straight face as Cinder attempted to kiss his jaw in return. She cursed, and somehow those were the only words she could say perfectly around her gauze.

The nurse nodded her head, her face flushed as she turned away from the pair and walked out of the room.

"Ma damn ips," Cinder grumbled, reaching a hand up to touch the soft pink skin. "I ant eel dem, Ai."

"I know," Kai laughed, pressing his lips to hers for a brief moment before drawing away. He put both his hands on her face and brought her face to rest eye-level with his own. "Are you ready to leave? Can you walk out to the hover outside?"

Cinder scoffed, attempting to roll her eyes but managing to only cross her eyes. "Ov urse, Ai. I'n ot a ot ness ike you ere."

"You're right," Kai grinned, wrapping his arms around Cinder and pulling her up and out of the wheelchair. She let out a groan with the movement, leaning her head upon his shoulder, but remained on her feet. "You're an even hotter mess."