"A Sanctuary Safe and Strong"(Marianas Trench)

Chapter 9

The blond restlessly turned his head just slightly after what felt like only minutes. Quiet words too near his ears woke him and he wasn't ready to open his eyes yet. He had no idea what was going on or where he was, and that started his heart beating a little faster than it should have. Maybe he'd fallen asleep on the couch with the television on? That had happened far too many times for him to count in the past, but it didn't feel the same this time.  

A light touch against the back of his head and fingers that played softly with his hair settled him enough to focus on the world around him, even without seeing it. Josh could hear Matt's voice echoing through his chest as he spoke to someone across the room. "I'll make sure he does, doc. Thanks." Oh...right. Doctor. Near-death, hospital, bleeding, gushing bullet wound. He remembered, frowning. 

More mumbled words that the blond couldn't quite understand in his groggy state were passed back and forth over his head and Josh just settled back in against Matt without giving much of a care as to what was being talked about, though he did manage to catch the guitar player's final response. "Yeah, recheck appointment, the suture removal and the start of physical therapy in ten days. He'll be there. He's really stubborn, so I'll make the appointments myself, if I have to." 

Josh opened his eyes a bit, now having only a mild interest in the conversation that he knew was most definitely about him. The soft click of the door sounded in the room and Matt moved his hand from the singer's hair to the center of his back. "I know you're awake." 

"Nngh...not awake. Sleeping," muttered the older man, twisting the fabric of Matt's shirt into his fingers, not wanting to move. 

He could feel the low rumble in Matt's chest beneath him as the brunet laughed lightly. "You goddamn liar." 

The singer smiled, but made no move to sit up or argue. He was comfortable and warm, and he felt protected, which was something he thought he'd never need before, especially not from Matt. Secretly, Josh had always considered himself to be the stronger of the two, mentally and emotionally. He'd been bent, he'd been broken, he'd been completely down and out more than once and he'd made it through. Yes, it was his own doing each time, he would admit to that. But he'd survived more absolute shit in a small handful of years than Matt had in his entire life, and the blond felt like that gave him a certain edge, a certain way to deal with things that Matt would never have or ever be able to understand, let alone handle. Yet, here Josh was depending so strongly on the brunet that he'd convinced the younger man to sleep in his fucking bed. He groaned nearly silently, highly embarrassed, into the fist he'd made against Matt's chest. 

"Hey, listen," Matt said, pulling his arm from around the older man and lacing his fingers behind his head.  

"Hmm?" 

"The doctor was just in here." 

"I know," Josh nodded. 

"Did you hear what he said?" 

"Nope." 

"He said you're free to go. He's discharging you and you can go back home after you sign some paperwork."  

"Home?" At that, Josh's eyes widened and put his hand flat against the guitar player's chest again, pushing himself to sit, then nearly collapsing back against the younger man.  

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he growled, grabbing at the front of his injured shoulder and pressing a hand tightly against it as the pain from the bullet wound and his cracked ribs radiated through his chest and into his back. He'd forgotten about all of that, but the new throbbing was a great reminder that it would be a long time before he was back to normal again. Ducking his head, he gritted his teeth and hissed between heavy pants while he waited for the soreness to subside. "Fucking shit."