When we got back to the headquarters, two meds were waiting with a stretcher. They lifted him onto said object, and headed to the infirmary. I walked to my room, taking the stairs. I changed out of the dress, hanging it in my closet. It wasn't very dirty or anything, so I kept it. I went to the bathroom, wiping away the makeup, which had smeared with unknown tears. I walked back out, wrapped in Hunter's leather coat. I went up to the infirmary, my hands deep in the pockets. I looked to the doctors hovering around Hunter, which made me worry. It was almost always me in the infirmary, not him. I sat just inside the doorway, watching as the doctors thinned out slowly. I caught Dr. Rogers-the doctor who always ended up treating me-on her way out.
"Is he okay?" I asked her. She nodded.
"He'll probably wake up with a concussion, but right now, Raiyne, he's in a coma." I looked at the ground. "Hey, he'll be okay," she said, and I looked at her. I trusted her verdict, and nodded.
"Thank you, Sam," I said. She hugged me.
"Anything for you, Raiyne." She walked out, and I sat by the side of the bed, where Hunter most always was sitting when I woke up from anesthesia or unconsciousness. Now I know how he felt.
"Hey, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'll be here when you wake up," I said, then chuckled. "You have more experience with this, so whatever I say probably isn't going to be very encouraging. Obviously. But whatever I say, I hope it's good." I kicked myself. "Whatever I say, just know I love you." My voice cracked a little, and I swallowed. "Well, now I know what you must've felt like, waiting for me to wake up all those times before." My voice croaked into a dry sob, and I dropped my forehead onto his forearm.
∞--X--∞
Two days later, he still hadn't woken up. I was beginning to feel despair, only leaving the bedside to get food.
Until around 2300. Then I felt his arm twitch underneath my forehead. "Rai?" I heard him croak out. I yanked my head up, looking at him.
"Hey. How do you feel?" I asked, reaching for the glass of water left over from my dinner.
"Horrible. He really did a number on me, huh?" He asked after taking a sip of the water I held to his lips. I smiled.
"Not quite as bad of a job you did on him. He only knocked you out for a couple days. And gave you a concussion. But you broke his nose and most of his face. Not to mention the number I did on his throat," I muttered. He raised an eyebrow. "After you were knocked out, I scratched him," I explained. He nodded, and I wrapped my hand around his.
"Although, how he knocked me out with one hit still amazes me," Hunter said. I shook my head, reaching for the chocolate bar he'd given me the other day. I broke it, placing a piece in his hand, and he put it in his mouth. I smiled, placing the bar back on the small table. I got up to get Sam, and I heard Hunter behind me. "Rai?" I turned back toward him. He had a smile on his face. "I love you, too," he said. I smiled, closing my eyes briefly before I walked over to where Dr. Rogers was.
"He's awake," I said simply, and she nodded, following me back to where Hunter lay. She took his vitals before releasing him, telling him he had to lie low for a bit. We walked back to my apartment, his hand wrapped around mine. I sat down on my bed, and he sat on the floor. I lay down on my back, my head hanging off the side of the bed. Hunter smiled at me, and I returned the gesture.
"Hunter, I have a question." He cocked his head to the side a little. "Where'd the ferocity come from? You did a number on Jonah, and I'd never seen you so angry," I said. He ran his hand through his hair, and I watched the gesture.
"Rai, I've lik-loved you for a while. And seeing that bag of dirt kiss you twice is kind of hard to not get mad about, especially since I've loved you since the first mission we'd gone undercover as a couple." I remembered the mission. I had been sixteen, and he was seventeen. We had gone to the park as a 'couple', but were really watching for ELA agents. That was the first time we'd ever staged a kiss. I smiled at the memory, and he smirked, knowing what I was thinking about. "Yeah. That first moment was when I'd realized I'd fallen for you," he said, looking at the ground. I tapped his shoulder, smiling at him. He smiled back, kissing me, upside-down and all.
He pulled back, his cobalt eyes a little brighter than normal. "I love you," I muttered in German. He returned the words, and I ran my fingers over the scars on his forearms from when the ELA had captured him a couple days ago. Sam had given him nanites for the wounds, so they had healed into scars. I rolled onto my stomach, reaching for my notebook. I passed it to him, and he opened it. He looked at the first page, then back at me.
"This isn't a story, like you said," he said. I nodded, blushing before placing my face against the bedspread. He flipped through the pages, filled with sketches of him. "These are amazing, Rai," he muttered, and I looked at him again.
"You think so?" I asked. He nodded, looking at a full-body picture of him in a suit. Each sketch was dated, the first one about five years ago, the latest about a week ago. He finished looking through the sketches, looking back up at me. He kissed my forehead, and I hugged him, immediately losing my balance and falling off the bed...right onto him. I sat up, and he groaned.

"You comfy?" He asked. I nodded from where I sat on his stomach. He tugged on my arm, pulling me into a hug. "How 'bout now?" I nodded, my head resting on his chest. He stroked my hair. "Go to sleep. It's late," he murmured, and I did just that.