Plans

The monitor beeped in a slow, steady pattern, but Genma's eyes kept flicking to the lines on the screen more and more as the night wore on. Hayate paced, unable to sit still ever since he'd awoken from his exhausted nap on the couch. The private room was made to accommodate a guest staying for an extended period. That alone worried him, but the fact that Genma hadn't slept at all since he'd gotten there, worried him more.

His lover sat there staring at the screen and the other man still lying unconscious on the bed. The tear tracks on Genma's face were dry, but the vacant look remained. He couldn't get his boyfriend to say more than five words, and then it had been a barely audible, "Dun wanna talk about it."

He poked at the tray of food some civy nurse had left. It had enough food for two, but neither of them had really touched it. The vegetables were cold now, and the gravy had a skin covering it, making the already unappealing food near inedible by this point. Hayate'd been unable to eat it simply because it was hospital food, and he loathed the stuff. Genma's lack of interest in it was far more unusual, since the man had this weird affection for the stuff. Whenever he'd come to visit Hayate in the hospital, he'd scarfed down the meals, usually bringing his 'Haya-kun' ramen or soup of some kind.

Hayate pushed the bits of meat around, forming a leaf symbol with the thin strips. It was habit, mostly, but he couldn't help the worry seeping in. It wasn't often he was the one visiting, and he'd never been particularly close to Raidou. The man was nice, but he was also pretty reserved. They'd only met because of Genma, and Raidou seemed rather indifferent to him.

Setting the fork down, he walked back over to Genma and laid a hand on his lover's shoulder. "I'm going to get us some tea. Will you be okay for awhile?" There was a slight nod, but the other man didn't look at him.

---

Yugao was standing outside the door, and he wondered if she'd been there the entire time. He didn't ask, simply slid the door closed.

"How is he?" She yawned and rubbed her eyes, and he knew then that she hadn't slept since she'd shown up at his apartment.

"Still alive, still not awake." He shrugged unsure of what more to say.

"Hayate-kun, I meant Genma-san. I'm aware Raidou-san is still unconscious, I've been monitoring his chakra." She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and steered him towards the cafeteria.

He didn't say anything for awhile, he wasn't really sure what to say. She didn't push, and so they walked in silence down the halls to the cafeteria. While they walked, he considered the question. Genma hadn't slept, wouldn't eat, and wouldn't talk to him. It was a sad fact that, while he knew his lover was devastated, he couldn't truly know what Gen-chan was thinking if he wouldn't talk to him. "He won't talk to me, just stares at Raidou as though he can will him awake." He frowned and shook his head resolutely. "I'm worried Yu-chan. They've been friends since, since long before I ever met them, and I don't know what Gen-chan would do if he lost him; it'd be like losing a part of himself."

"I don't think Raidou-san is going anywhere. He's stable for the moment and, given the condition they brought him in under... that says a lot." She ordered a pot of oolong tea and, after receiving the tray, lead the way to a table in the furthest corner of the room; an obvious tact to achieve some semblance of privacy.

"We both know that, /even that/ doesn't guarantee anything." Picking up the tea cup, Hayate sighed.

"And, you know better than anyone that giving up is hard for a shinobi. I wasn't there when Raidou-san got his hitai-ate, but I think he qualifies." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help the feeling of calm it brought him.

They sat drinking their tea for a little while longer, the warmth of it seeping in until he could barely stay awake. "I promised to bring Gen-chan some tea, so I should get back," he said, yawning.

She reached into a vest pocket and pulled out a small packet. "Here, he needs his sleep. He won't get any if you don't force him to." Hayate accepted the packet wordlessly before heading off to order more tea.

-----

The room was quiet, with only the monitor to interrupt the silence. He set the tray on the bedside table that had been cleared in the short time he'd been gone, probably by a nurse coming in to check Raidou's vitals. Pouring a cup for Genma, he was glad his boyfriend had a sweet tooth, and that he was able to add the sleeping powder when he did the sugar.

"Here." The warm cup was pressed into shaking hands, and Hayate frowned. "You're pushing yourself too hard, love."

"He needs me, Haya-kun. I can't leave, not after I failed him..." Genma's words trailed off as he turned his golden brown eyes up for a moment before quickly looking away again.

"You didn't fail him, Gen-chan." Even not knowing what happened, he knew it to be the truth.

"You weren't there..." There was no anger in the words, only a sad desperation.

"I doubt that Raidou would agree. Now, drink your tea and think happy thoughts," he said, echoing Genma's words from so many visits.

The corner of his lover's mouth turned up in a half-hearted smile before disappearing as he began sipping his tea, weakly. It was only a few minutes after the last sip that the man drifted off, sinking against the bed. Hayate lifted him out of the chair and carried him the couch. "He's not going anywhere, I promise." He pulled the blanket he'd used earlier over the now sleeping form. "Get some rest. I'll watch over you both."