Rough Waters

Kurt was fighting falling asleep again when Adam finally awoke. He watched him closely, hoping he was himself again and no longer delirious. Adam looked around himself, seeming a little confused about where he was for a moment. When his eyes landed on Kurt, he smiled. “Hello,” he said.

Kurt couldn’t help but smile back. “Hey,” he returned, “How ya feeling?”

“I’m better, I think,” Adam answered.

“That’s great,” Kurt said, “you had us all really worried.”

“I had myself pretty worried, too; I’ll be honest,” Adam responded. Looking around again, he asked, “Where are Elliott and Sebastian?”

“Oh, they’re probably asleep. I don’t know where in the building they are, but they’ve apparently been given places to sleep,” Kurt replied.

“Have you been here the whole time? All that time I was asleep?” Suddenly, Adam studied him closely.

Kurt knew he was likely in for some concerned nagging, but he couldn’t lie to Adam. “Yeah,” he answered, “although, I did get up to pee once, and I also fell asleep for a while; I don’t know exactly how long I was out though.”

“Sweetheart, you didn’t have to stay there all that time,” Adam told him.

“I didn’t want you to wake up and not have me there. I promised you I wouldn’t leave you,” Kurt explained.

“I don’t think you’re obligated to keep a promise you make to me when I’m half-mad with fever,” Adam said.

“Well, I do,” Kurt argued, “You needed me here, so I stayed here.” He paused, considering keeping the rest of his motives to himself. Finally, he confessed, “Besides, I, um, if I kept my eyes on you then I knew you were still okay and still…” He looked down when he couldn’t quite find the words to end the sentence. “Well, y’know…”

“Yeah, I do,” Adam said quietly, “Thanks for staying with me and for taking care of me before.”

Kurt placed a hand on Adam’s. Adam was alive. Adam was probably going to be okay. He still couldn’t quite believe it. It was...a miracle? Kurt had never believed in those. Then again, he’d never believed in God either, and yet when Adam was dying Kurt had cursed Him. This whole ordeal had his mind going in strange places. His earlier conversation with Elliott was suddenly remembered, and he still wasn’t sure what to make of that whole discussion.

He shook his head slightly. “We’re just lucky we found this place when we did.” He didn’t want to think about how close he had come to losing Adam, so naturally it was every other thought in his mind. He squeezed Adam’s hand. “I’m just so glad you’re okay, that you’re gonna be okay.” Probably, probably gonna be okay, but for right now that was good enough. He quickly dashed his other hand across his eyes as tears began to spill from them.

“Me, too,” Adam said, “I’m not ready to leave you. Not sure if I ever will be, but I’m certainly not right now.”

Remembering that the last time he’d said it Adam hadn’t been completely himself, Kurt told him, “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Adam responded. Then, after they’d both gone quiet for a moment, he added, “Even if you did steal my clothes.”

“Hey! You were burning up! I didn’t know what else to do!” Kurt said, defensively, “And you kept complaining about being cold and wanting to know where your clothes went and why you couldn’t wear them, which made me feel terrible!”

“I know, love,” Adam said, “Sorry for giving you such a hard time. It was probably a good idea actually.”

“I thought so,” Kurt responded.

“Although, it must’ve made some sort of impression on my subconscious because I had a dream that you took my clothes and hid them from me, and I had to perform in front of the entire school in my pants,” Adam said.

Kurt laughed. “Sorry I missed that.” They both had a laugh at that. Kurt felt more relaxed than he had in a long time, and certainly more relaxed than he had felt at any point since Adam got hurt.

They grew quiet again, and sleep tugged on Kurt harder than ever before. He didn’t want to close his eyes. He didn’t want to take his eyes off of the man he loved or stop talking to him now that he was back to his old self. He didn’t want these moments of peace, safety, and genuine hope to end; he didn’t want to risk closing his eyes and opening them again to find it all gone or to find it had all been a dream. Still, he yawned, and his blinking grew longer and heavier, and it was getting harder to keep his thoughts together and coherent.

“Go to sleep, love,” Adam told him at last, “you’re exhausted.” When Kurt stubbornly shook his head, Adam added, “I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.”

Kurt nodded, and very soon he was sleeping soundly.

--

It was early the following morning when Adam was reunited with the others (or rather was consciously reunited; Kurt had told him about Elliott’s visit.) “Hello,” he greeted them with a smile, carefully getting out of bed.

“Adam! Hey!” Elliott rushed to him and hugged him a little too tightly. “How are you feeling?”

Adam returned the hug and replied. “Much better, and, um, sorry for all the trouble I gave you all.”

“Yeah, how inconsiderate of you to get hurt and almost die,” Sebastian teased, “Just remember what we agreed to in the car.”

“I don’t actually,” Adam replied, “Sorry.”

“If I ever get myself almost killed like you did, you have to haul my ass around,” Sebastian reminded him.

“Oh! Right! Yes, of course. That’s only fair,” Adam said.

Sebastian’s smirk turned into a genuine smile. “I’m glad you aren’t dead.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Adam returned.

“Say, where’s Kurt anyway?” Sebastian asked, looking around, “Did you finally make him go wash his ass?”

“I can’t make Kurt do anything,” Adam responded, “But I might’ve persuaded him to go get something to eat and get cleaned up, yes.”

“Thank God,” Elliott said, “I seriously thought he was gonna kill himself at the rate he was going.”

“Also, the whole beard of sorrow thing doesn’t work for him like at all,” Sebastian added.

“I heard that!” A voice called from the doorway. They all looked to see Kurt, who had indeed showered and shaved and was wearing clean clothes that Adam assumed had been provided by someone else in the hospital. “And it’s not like the whole grungy, unshaven look is really any better on you, Smythe,” Kurt added as he walked towards them all.

“I dunno. I’ve gotten rather attached to my whiskers. I think I might keep them,” Adam suggested mischievously.

“Don’t even,” Kurt returned, but there wasn’t much force behind it. He took Adam’s hand. “You know I’d love you no matter what, but beards are scratchy and gross.”

Adam chuckled slightly. “Okay, love. Duly noted.”

“Speaking of being gross, do we need to leave you guys alone here or what?” Sebastian interjected.

“If you’re gonna be an ass, yes,” Kurt retorted.

“Don’t say that! Then he’ll have to leave,” Elliott commented, shooting Sebastian an affectionate, if a bit wicked, look.

“Hey! I drove you guys here! If it wasn’t for me, Gilbert here would’ve had us wrapped around a pole or something!” Sebastian said.

The three of them continued to go back and forth, and Adam watched them with amusement. It truly was great to be alive and among friends. He sighed contentedly. For the first time in a while, he felt a genuine sense that they were all going to be alright.