Title: I Pretend It Doesn't Bother Me
Author: Donnie and Autumn
Fandom: Deadman Wonderland
Setting: Infirmary at Deadman Wonderland, Übermusic
Pairing: Owl/Azuma Genkaku
Characters: Azuma Genkaku, Tamaki Tsunenaga, Owl, Nagi Kengamine, Nagi's Wife
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Romance
Rating: T
Chapters: 1/1
Word Count: 766
Type of Work: One-Shot, Prelude to Reincarnal
Status: Complete
Warnings: Gay, Slash, Yaoi, Reincarnation, Removal From Life Support, Tamaki is an ass, Owl and Nagi are separate people, Akari is Nagi's wife, Genkaku has Anemia, AU - Canon Divergent
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: Genkaku didn't know which way was up, but he did know he shouldn't have woken up from that.
AN: So, this is the first little bit, kind of a prelude into a series that I'm writing with input/editing exclusively done by my friend Maidenofchains! I got her into Deadman Wonderland and we were both wounded so we're fixing it.
This one will be kind of short and sweet, to the point, even if it's a bit bitter-sweet. I hope it kind of leads into what we want to do with the series when it gets going a bit more.
I Pretend It Doesn't Bother Me ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That damn beeping always seemed to be in the background of whatever he was doing. It was honestly driving him up a wall, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed what he was doing these days. Perusing through Übermusic, something he most definitely could agree with, seemed to be most of what he did lately. Occasionally, a man would slide up behind him, kiss his neck and gruff something soft in his ear. It felt both familiar and foreign in the same breath, but he wasn't really complaining. He felt safe in this man's arms, like he belonged there. A clowder of cats frequented the shop, happy to come to rub on his legs or accept ear scratches, and life seemed… Good. Too good, almost.
A muted conversation, as if he heard it through a wall or a door, happened somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice he recognized but couldn't quite grasp the identity of its user. As he had been about to pick up a particularly vocal kitten, yelling for attention or treats, surely, the world seemed to drop around him and his eyes shot open to see a white ceiling speckled with gray above him. That stupid, long face with a sadistic twist to the smile stood over him, peering at his gray eyes and clapping when he noted Genkaku was awake.
"It's about time, Genkaku." Tamaki told him, that usual cheery tone to his words, "We've been trying to wake you for a few days."
Had he been able to, Genkaku would have raised his hand and smacked him right out of his space. Instead, he was strapped down, and upon watching him struggle, Tamaki chuckled.
"Sorry, it's for your own good. You were pretty well in pieces when we scraped you off the floor." Tutting as he shook his head, he walked two fingers up the veritably numb left arm of the Ubermonk, stopping at his cheek and to give him a gentle caress. "I'm afraid you're not going to be of much use to me anymore." Not to mention that there had been a pretty intense jailbreak after The Undertaker's failure to stop Scar Chain entirely.
"So," Genkaku's voice cracked from misuse, his throat dry as he peeked to the bedside table to see if there was water, "Why am I awake?" There wasn't, but it wasn't like Tamaki would give him a drink without drowning him.
"I thought it was best to tell you that you've been fired. That way you don't question anything in death."
"Dea-"
"Yes, sadly, that's all we can afford to do with you. With Wonderland," My game, "Coming to an end, it seems that keeping you on life support is just costing us too much money. So… I guess I just wanted to tell you…" He leaned over to the main plug on all of the equipment hooked up to the ex-Undertaker, "Game over."
With that, the plug was pulled and the last thing Genkaku remembered as he convulsed in the uncomfortable hospital bed was the intense shriek of the heart rate monitor.
What felt like an eternity later, he was pulled back into the world, sunlight spilling in through the large picture windows of the store he remembered never actually being in. He lay mostly on the floor and somewhat in the arms of a man speaking above him, who hugged him the second his eyes fluttered open.
"Don't you ever do that to me, again." The voice spoke, lips pressed to the shell of his ear, "Scared me half to death."
"Better not get that scared again, then, Owl, or we'll be down the best bounty hunter in Tokyo." For a minute, none of these details sounded right. Brain swimming as it caught up to what was happening, he simply hugged the other slowly, carefully turning in his arms. "What happened?"
"I came in during your lunch break." Owl informed him easily, "And then you just… Collapsed." Holding him that much tighter, Owl kissed his sweaty forehead and he sighed, "It's probably time for you to eat, isn't it? I bet that's what happened. When was the last time you ate?"
Genkaku had no better explanation, his life swimming into view of his mind's eye as he nodded.
"Food sounds good. We should go to Nagi and Akari's place." He offered lamely, to which Owl rose a brow.
"You're going to walk that far after fainting?" The grin on Genkaku's lips told him that the answer was a resounding 'yes'.
"I'm probably fine. I just need to get food in me. If you have to, you can always carry me." He purred, nuzzling the elder man's chest. After a few seconds of debating, Owl sighed and nodded.
"Let's go get you fed, then."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ AN:
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