I Won’t Let You Die! || Nii-san
Julius didn’t reply, didn’t look up. His gaze was fixed directly on the hospital bedsheets covering his body. His hands gripped the sheets - at the very least, the doctors were kind enough to keep his request to keep his glove on, hiding the black stains of the catalyst. The familiar beeping of the heartbeat monitor kept going, not letting either of them forget the reason why Julius was bedridden in Trigleph’s general hospital.
He was just talking with his younger brother, catching up on the day’s events. Julius had been feeling faint, but he expertly hidden it, years of hiding any discomfort making it easy. However, a combination of missed medication and extreme fatigue had started a painful coughing fit in the middle of the conversation, followed by a sudden collapse. The next thing Julius knew, he had awoken in the hospital, hooked up to the various medical contraptions.
And a tearful, worried brother by his bedside.
“… I…” Julius started, voice soft and hesitant unlike his usual strong and sturdy tone. What was he going to say to Ludger? How could he even apologize – Ludger said he knew, that the doctor had informed him. Ludger knew that Julius had cancer, and he kept it secret for all this time. “… I never wanted you to know. Not like this.” He didn’t have to look at Ludger to know his little brother was angry. Probably furious with him.
He closed his eyes, and rested his head against the pillows, feeling small. He probably looked different right now - Julius had noticed that he was getting thinner, so he kept on wearing clothes that hid everything. “…did they tell you how long?” The last time he talked to his doctor, he had a year. That was a few months ago.
“You don’t have to say anything.” Ludger assured his brother, reaching over to card his fingers through Julius’ hair. He might lose it all very soon, so best to soak it in before disease or treatment forced it all to fall out. Truthfully he wasn’t too keen on NHL was, but they explained in layman’s terms that Julius currently had stage four cancer, but he was diagnosed long ago and refused treatment... instead opting to take several medications so his symptoms weren’t noticeable.
The younger Kresnik had a mind to ask why he’d do this, but he already knew.
And if his brother wasn’t in such a critical state, Ludger would have punched him. Maybe worse.
As Julius relaxed onto the pillows behind his head, he asked if the doctors told him how long he had. It was a rhetorical question (Why wouldn’t they tell him when he was this bad?), but he just shook his head regardless. “...It doesn’t matter. Now that I know, I’m not going to let you avoid proper treatment anymore, Nii-san. Even if you’re okay with working yourself to death, I’m not! I can’t believe you’d think hiding this from me would make me happy--!”
Ludger paused to take a deep breath. Getting angry and yelling at his brother wouldn’t somehow cure him. “I got a job this morning before you woke up so I can pay for the expenses. You’ll have to stay here for a while, but I’ll come visit every day after work. I told the nurses my hours so we could maybe meet when you’re allowed to be up.” Ludger bent down so he could leave a gentle kiss on his brother’s forehead.
“For once, let me take care of you, Nii-san!” He didn’t want to lose his brother, not if there was still the chance to save him! Even if it meant working 100 hours a week, he’d do anything and everything to keep the only family he’s known alive. “Then you can get better a-and you won’t have to take all that medicine just to be with me! Promise you’ll behave? Promise?”