Kai came in not long after he'd fallen asleep, and woke him up. "Duncan would like to see you," he said, before promptly leaving. Duncan was in his room, sat up in bed. The nurses had brought his medical equipment up to his room, and now he was wearing his nasal cannula, attached to his oxygen tank. This made it all feel very... real.

Axel had lifted his head groggily when Kai woke him, sort of blinking slowly as he processed the information. He got the sense that kai still really didn't like him, but he tried to shrug it off and just go find Duncan. He slipped into his room quietly, moving to sit on the bed next to him. "How are you holding up," he asked softly.

Tears were already flooding from his eyes when Axel came up. "...I'm so scared..." he breathed, glancing over at him.

Axel just let out a breath of air, carefully pulling him into a hug, keeping the medical equipment in mind. "I know," he murmured softly. "Me too." Then he added a quick, "but we'll get through this together."

"Axel, too much touch," he said quickly, his body stiff, eyes pinned shut. He was scared, but he still had limits.

Axel nodded when he stiffined, releasing him immediately and backing off a little bit. "Alright," he noted. "Sorry ...I was just worried," he added, running a hand through his hair with a soft sigh. "Is holding your hand ok or do you just want me to sit here," he asked, wanting to make sure before grabbing him. He didn't want to stress him anymore than he already was.

Duncan nodded. "Holding hands and soft touches are fine," he whispered, still crying. "Can you stay tonight?" he whispered.

Axel nodded, moving to just sit next to him so their shoulders were brushing, and took a hold of his hand gently. "Yeah," he noted. "I'll stay." He figured Kai would have told him if he couldn't....not that he was likely to take no for an answer at this point. "Why don't you try to sleep," he added softly.

Duncan nodded, relaxing, clutching Axels hand right up against his lips. "I love you so much..." he whispered.

Axels face softened slightly at the kiss to his hand, offering him a small smile. "I love you too," he noted softly. "Now try to get some rest."