And finally! Here it is! Enjoy!
-
Patchwork
Part 2 - Reaping
Characters; Aries, Devery, and Briar. Rest of GRAIN is mentioned in varying degrees.
Word Count; 5,755.
TWs; Swearing, hospitalization, arguing, mentions of arguments, mentions of drugs, mentions of past suicide attempts, mentions of surgery, mentions of/relatively vague blood transfusion, ‘mild’ flashbacks, varying levels of dissociation, self-esteem issues, self-worth issues, panic/anxiety attacks, implied depression, implied self-hatred, mild suicidal ideation, mild suicidal thoughts, blood, consequences of a suicide attempt/self harm, implied past suicides, and messy writing/ending. Maybe more? Hard to say.
Notes; This… Might need to have three parts, honestly. Uh. This got long, and there’s still stuff I didn’t get to. Like Briar actually getting to the hospital, Garvin waking up, and the actual hurt/comfort part of Patchwork. If I don’t do a third part though— The secret, scary thing I mentioned is that, uh… Garvin, while on the way to the hospital, technically died. For a good, uh, 68 seconds. Which is Garvin finds out, he'll joke about 'Why not just one more second??'
*~*~*~*
Gwyar didn’t have much to do while waiting for anyone to arrive. Nothing other than jolting at the chime telling him that Briar had sent a message. He stopped what he’d been doing before, checking Garvin’s pulse for the umpteenth time and watching his friend’s face for just about anything. Standing from the tub again, he dug his phone out from his pocket, pressing the power button and staring at the message through the preview on his lock screen.
-
‘Calmed everyone down a little over here. How’s Vin?’
-
He thought about what to reply with for a moment, every option he could think of worse than the last. How was he supposed to explain this? Odysseus didn’t want his partners to know, Briar would tell them. Briar would get worried if they didn’t get an answer. Gwyar couldn’t lie to Briar. He couldn’t tell them the truth either. Not yet. He didn’t think he’d even be able to type the words.
-
He turned his phone off, shoved the device back into his pocket. He hadn’t opened the message, at least. Briar wouldn’t know that he’d seen the text. He took a breath, tried not to let his throat close on him, and went back to his knees outside the tub. Gwyar reached back over, checked Garvin’s pulse again. Still there, still alive. His friend was far too cold for that to last. The front door opened, he rushed to his feet, his heart lurching for a moment.
-
“Aries? Where’re you at?”
-
Devery. That was Devery. He took a breath, glanced at Garvin, and then forced himself to step out of the bathroom to find him. “I…” He paused, took another breath to compose himself, and tried again. “I’m over here.”
-
Devery was in the living room, staring at the TV. Gwyar had never turned that off, had he? He shifted, watching as the bartender looked over at him. Aries took a breath, swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Um… ETA?”
-
Devery’s face softened. “A minute or two.” He took a breath, sighed. Ran a hand through his hair. He looked tired. “So. You said he was in the bathroom?”
-
He blinked. His mouth felt dry. Gwyar nodded. “Yeah. Uh. You don’t— You’re already doing a lot.”
-
“Dude, I’ve done this shitty dance with ‘im before. You can take a breather. Go get some water an’ sit down.”
-
He felt like he wasn’t doing enough. His hands were shaking. He wasn’t sure how much help he would be. He still didn’t want to just do nothing, not when his friend needed him. “He- He’s still breathing right now. I… We need to warm him somehow, I think. He’s too cold. I don’t–”
-
Devery sighed again, already walking towards him. “Okay. If you can figure out how to warm him, then you can do that. Otherwise, sit this out. Okay? You’re panicking right now. Which is fair, but doing that isn’t gonna help.”
-
Gwyar wasn’t sure how Devery was being so calm. Maybe he was using his ability. Maybe he’d just dealt with this from Garvin that many times before. He wasn’t sure. Neither option was all that comforting. He forced himself to nod. “R-Right, right.”
-
“Any word from anyone else? What are we planning on telling everyone?” Devery was taking the whole keeping this from Garvin’s partners a little too well. He tried not to think about what that could mean. Odysseus had been doing better about asking for help. Hadn’t he?
-
“Briar asked how he was doing.” He paused, bit his lip. “I don’t— We can’t keep something like this from his partners. Right?” He didn’t know how he was supposed to keep this from his partner.
-
Devery stared at him, put a hand on his shoulder, and shrugged. “A little white lie won’t hurt ‘em right now. He’ll have to tell everyone eventually but… He can deal with that, since he’s the one wantin’ to keep this shit a secret.”
-
Gwyar squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. That just… Didn’t sit right with him. He took a breath, opened his eyes. Devery was already gone, the sound of the bathroom door opening following a few seconds later. He stood there, waited for the sound of the door closing, and then realized that would probably be more work for the professionals. So he took another breath, and forced himself to walk to the kitchen to take Devery’s advice. As much as he didn’t want to, the professionals would show up soon and… Gwyar couldn’t risk having an episode with what was going on.
---
He’d just managed to sit down with a glass of water when the professionals showed up, and he closed his eyes before he could really take the sight of them in, pointing them towards the bathroom before they could ask. Having them in his and Briar’s apartment was already too much. He swallowed a lump in his throat, forced himself to take a sip of water as footsteps faded into the background. Talking picked up, he couldn’t make any of the words out.
-
He didn’t want to think about the scene, about all of the implications and worries and… Everything. He couldn’t think about anything else. Mostly though, he couldn’t stop thinking about how easily Devery had accepted everything. The– What had happened, Garvin not wanting them to tell his partners, needing to get professional help. Just, everything. The tired look on his face. Like he’d done this too many times to care anymore.
-
Gwyar knew that his friend had done this before, there’d been far too many since they first had met for him not to know that. He didn’t want to know just how many times Odysseus had done something like this though. He didn’t want something like this to happen again either. He had never handled these situations well. He had never wanted to deal with this kind of situation again at all. What were they doing wrong? What was he doing wrong? There had to be something. Something that was making Garvin worse instead of helping.
-
He heard the front door close. He leaned his head against the counter he was sitting at. As much as he didn’t want to take sides in arguments… Revan was probably right about getting Odysseus on… Something. A mood stabilizer or antidepressant or just– There had to be something that would help. But taking something would mean quitting a lot of what else his friend did. Which… Was what Garvin was more concerned about? That didn’t sit right with him either. There was more to that. There had to be more to that. Or that was just what Odysseus had chosen to use as a reason and there was a different reason entirely. Either way, Gwyar didn’t believe that his friend was just concerned about having to quit. Maybe the consequences of trying to quit? Withdrawal symptoms couldn’t be that appealing, after all. That still didn’t seem right to him.
-
He shifted, taking a breath and lifting his head to find that Devery was still in his apartment, standing in the living room, watching the front door. His brows furrowed and he tilted his head in question. “Devery?”
-
Devery’s head snapped over to him, as though he’d been in some sort of trance. He blinked, slow, like Garvin did when he was trying to catch his brain up to speed. “Sorry ‘bout that. You’ll be fine if I go ahead an’ leave, yeah?”
-
Aries breathed through his nose, and nodded. “Yeah, you can go ahead and go with them. I’ll, uh… I’m fine. Sorry that I can’t go with you.”
-
Devery blinked again, his own eyebrows furrowing before realization flashed across his face. “Oh– Uh, no worries. I’m not going to the hospital with ‘em anyways. Not, uh… Not m’place.”
-
“Seriously?” The word tumbled out of his mouth before he’d even fully processed what Devery had said. That wasn’t– Someone needed to be there. What if he didn’t wake up? What if they hadn’t been fast enough? No one would be there to know. Who would they call? Would any of them be called?
-
“Uh, yeah? He’ll be fine. Like I said, he’s allergic to actually dying. He doesn’t need us there makin’ sure, Aries.”
-
Devery was too calm about this. Like this was normal. Like this was just typical Garvin behavior. Like this happened all the time. Gwyar still wasn’t sure if that was because of his ability or because this did happen far too often for Devery not to be calm. Meanwhile he still couldn’t stop thinking about the– About what had happened. About the scene. About what Odysseus had said. He bit his lip, shook his head. “He can’t wake up alone, Devery. He–”
-
“He’s fine. He’s woken up alone plenty’a times in the past.” Devery didn’t sound worried. Not about Garvin’s survival, not about lying to his friends and partners, not about what waking up alone could do to him.
-
“He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t have had to back then, he shouldn’t have to now. He–”
-
“Well, he doesn’t want any of his partners to know. So that choice’s already made for ‘im.”
-
Gwyar was getting tired of being interrupted. “You could be there when he wakes up. He– He was worried about people being mad. About people hating him. Waking up alone isn’t– That isn’t going to help.”
-
Devery took a breath, as if he was the one getting annoyed. “I’ve never been there when he woke up before. Not once. I can’t start now. ‘Sides, he spouts all sorts of shit when he’s in a state like that.”
-
That made him pause for a moment, almost wanting to ask about what else Garvin’s said in the past. Almost wanting to ask how many times Odysseus had done something like this. None of that really mattered though. Not when Devery’s words didn’t really make any sense. “That’s— You can start now. There’s nothing stopping you from starting that now. He needs—”
-
“You care so much ‘bout makin’ sure he doesn’t wake up alone? Then you can go make sure he doesn’t wake up alone. I’ve done m’part. I don’t have shit else to do ‘ere.”
-
Gwyar froze, for just a second. He took a breath, tried to calm down. “Devery.”
-
“Look. If you wanna go an’ ruin what’cha have with ‘im. Be my guest. Nothin’ gonna change on my end whether you do or don’t.”
-
He felt his brows furrow again, his lips slightly part and his head slightly tilt. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Before he could ask what Devery meant by that though, the front door to the apartment was opening and a second later, Devery was gone with the door closed behind him. He bit his lip, and groaned, shifting to hold his head in hands.
-
Gwyar… Really didn’t want to go to the hospital. He’d end up having an episode. Either while he was there or when he got back. And even more pressing— What was he supposed to tell Briar? No matter which choice he made, he’d have to figure out some sort of lie. Or tell them the truth, but they’d probably tell Garvin’s partners and he’d said not to and… He wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. He didn’t want his friend to wake up alone. He didn’t want to lie to Briar. He already hadn’t answered their text earlier.
-
…He stood up and grabbed his phone from his pocket again. He walked to the front door, slipped on his shoes, and opened the device to pull up directions to the hospital. As little as he wanted to step foot in that building, to see even a glimpse of that building. He didn’t want Odysseus waking up alone. Not anymore. Never again. Aries didn’t know how many times he had before but he wasn’t going to anymore. He couldn’t let him go through that again.
---
An hour had passed before Gwyar had even seen the building he was going to, and he tried not to panic at the sight. His friend needed him. He couldn’t let him wake up alone. Another ten minutes passed before he managed to step inside, trying to shove everything down so he could have an episode later. When he was back home. Garvin needed him. He ignored his nerves as well as he could, tried to block out the smells and sounds that reminded him of too many other visits. He tried to ignore how heavy his breathing was, how out of place and out of his depth he felt.
-
He shifted back, careful not to flinch, when someone in the building’s uniform reached out towards him. He couldn’t meet their eyes. They looked worried anyways. He took a breath, forced his voice to work before they could say anything. “S-Sorry. I, uh– I’m here for a friend? I don’t, uh, know where…” He trailed off. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. He wasn’t sure if they’d even know where Odysseus was. His eyes flicked around, keeping them in sight as he glanced around. They were shorter than him. Most people were. He tried to ignore their brown hair.
-
Their face softened, their voice was as kind as people here could be. They walked as they spoke, words slow. As if he needed the extra time to process what was being said. He wasn’t sure if they were right about that or not. “Okay, let’s sit down somewhere and I’ll help make sure you get to where you need to be. I’m Sao Cainnear, a nurse on call. Who’s your friend?”
-
The name seemed familiar. Gwyar nodded, reaching out to grab the arm of the chair next to the one Sao had sat in, and realized there was still blood soaked into the cuffs of his sleeves. Which… That probably explained why they were being nice, why they were being kind. He took a breath, sat down, tried to get his brain and voice to work long enough to let him answer. To take in their words and answer. “I, uh… My friend’s name is– Is Garvin.”
-
He watched Sao nod, he kept his hands in his lap and tried not to fidget. “Okay, and do you know why Garvin is here today?”
-
He swallowed past the lump in his throat, flicking his eyes towards the exit, and nodded. “He–” Aries paused, taking a breath, and blinked past the scene stuck in his eyes. He stared at the blood in his sleeves. “He’s hurt.”
-
Sao was quiet for a moment. He listened to the sound of them taking a deep breath. “Okay, when did he get here?”
-
“I don’t… We– An, uh, an– An ambulance was called about an hour ago? I think? Maybe– Maybe longer. S-Sorry.” He picked at his sleeve cuff, at the button there. He closed his eyes, and then opened them when all he saw behind them was the scene of Odysseus bleeding out in his bathtub.
-
“You’re doing fine. I’ll see if I can find out his room number for you, alright? Just wait here.”
-
He listened as they stood up, and took a breath. He wasn’t– Did Devery give them Garvin’s name? He wasn’t sure. He looked up, forced himself to find their blue eyes and speak. “I– I wasn’t who called. I don’t– The one who did might not have given Garvin’s name.”
-
Sao paused where they were, and looked over at him. “Right, okay then. Anything else you can tell me about him then?”
-
He bit his tongue, took another breath. “He’s, uh, he’s got curly hair, uhm– Naturally ginger, but his hair’s dyed right now to be this, uh… This ginger to purple ombre? K-Kind of? The purple’s more of a red-purple, I-I think. He’s tall? Shorter– Shorter than me but, w-well…” Gwyar paused, gestured to himself and took another breath. “He– He has piercings and, uh, s-scars. L-Lots of them. O-Of both. Scars a-and piercings. Uh. There’s these vine tattoos on the back of his hands? They’re, uh, they’re black with… With, uh, g-gold outlining.”
-
Sao nodded. “Alright then, I’ll see what I can find out for you.”
-
Aries nodded, watching them walk away for a moment before forcing his eyes back to his hands. To the blood in the cuffs of his sleeves. He hoped he hadn’t missed Garvin waking up. He hoped nothing had happened while he was on his way. He hoped Devery was right. The smell of blood was too strong for him. The smell of chemicals and cleanliness and– And everything in the building was too much. He bit his lip, tried to force his mind away from how tense he was, how hard breathing was. He tried not to think about how worried he was.
-
His thoughts landed on why Sao’s name sounded familiar. Sao was the name of a sea nymph, a Nereid, in Greek mythology. He blinked, and almost smiled. He’d have to tell Odysseus their name, he’d find the whole thing funny. Once he understood who Sao was in Greek myth, at least. He shifted, eyes darting towards the exit for a moment before he forced them back to his hands.
-
He couldn’t leave. He’d already gotten this far. Someone had to be there when Garvin woke up. Someone had to be there before Garvin left, at least. He couldn’t– He’d never responded to Briar, had he? He didn’t want to lie to them. He couldn’t think of what to say, of how to explain what happened without them telling Garvin’s partners. He didn’t think he could. He took a breath, forced himself not to put his head in his hands, and tapped his foot against the ground.
-
His head snapped up when he heard footsteps approaching him, and he tried not to be too relieved at the sight of Sao walking over to him. He grabbed the armrests of the seat, ready to push himself to his feet as soon as possible. They nodded at him, and he stood up.
-
“So, you were right about his name not being given. As for where he is…” They took a breath, he didn’t like the look on their face. “He’s in emergency surgery right now and then he’ll be in a room getting a blood transfusion. You can visit him then, I’ll let you know as soon as he’s moved. We don’t have him on file…” They paused, their eyes darting before they took another breath. “Do you know his blood type? Or do you know someone who does? A family member, maybe?”
-
Gwyar bit his lip, taking in the information. A blood transfusion, he’d expected. But emergency surgery? What had he missed? Had Garvin done something else too? He took a breath, forced himself to shake his head. He wasn’t awake yet, at least. Not if they were doing surgery. “I don’t… He doesn’t have any, uh… Th-There’s no blood relatives in his life.”
-
Sao’s face softened again as they nodded. “Right then, okay. If you want to sit back down, or call anyone, or… I can see if I can get you a new shirt?”
-
Aries swallowed past the lump still in his throat, taking a breath. “I… You don’t, uh, you don’t have to. Uhm. I can– I can get the blood out. Y-You said he was in surgery?”
-
Sao looked almost confused as they nodded. “He is, yes, but chances are that he’ll be fine.” Gwyar just about sagged in relief. If not for where he was, he was sure he would’ve. They continued. “Is the blood yours?”
-
He didn’t think as he answered, ignoring the burning behind his eyes. “The blood’s his. I, uh… I found him. He… He’ll live though?”
-
“Yes.. He’ll live. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this. Are you sure you don’t just want me to get you a new shirt? Blood can be hard to get out.”
-
He nodded. “I can, uh. I’m able to m-manipulate blood. So. N-no worries there. Just, uh… W-Where’s the…” He took a breath, tried not to think of too much blood in a bathtub. “Where’s the b-bathroom?”
-
“I’ll take you to the closest one. Can I get your name in case you’re still in there when I get the room number?”
-
Gwyar shifted, and opened his mouth to say the wrong one before stopping, closing his mouth, and making sure what came out wasn’t something that was going to make things worse for him. “I, uh, I’m Aries.” He paused, thought for a moment, and bit the bullet. “And, uh– What’s the s-surgery for?”
-
Sao took a breath, he almost felt like they weren’t saying everything they knew. “Again, he’ll be fine. The emergency surgery’s for internal bleeding in one of his arms.”
---
Gwyar stared at the mirror in the building’s bathroom, holding the edge of the sink with his hands and trying not to freak out too much. His vision seemed blurry. He wasn’t crying. He didn’t feel any tears, didn’t see any in the mirror. He tried to take a breath. The words rattled in his mind. Internal bleeding was bad. He hadn’t caught that. He hadn’t realized he’d needed to look for that. How did Garvin even manage that? He should’ve looked closer. He should’ve checked on Odysseus sooner. He’d live. What if he did this again? He hadn’t checked on him soon enough. What was he going to tell Garvin’s partners if he had to stay overnight? What was he going to tell Briar? He couldn’t keep something like this from any of them. Garvin had told him to.
-
He took a breath, pushed off the edge of the sink and turned the water on. Holding the counter couldn’t be sanitary. The cuffs of his sleeves looked too clean without the blood in them, already having been allowed to flow down the drain of the sink. He washed his hands. The last thing he wanted to do was make any of Garvin’s injuries infected. He couldn’t do that to him. He couldn’t let him wake up alone. Even with how hard breathing was at the moment. He couldn’t let Odysseus go through this alone.
-
He turned the water off. His phone rang in his pocket to the sound of Briar’s ringtone. His heart lurched in his throat, and he tried not to feel too terrible as he debated whether he should answer or not. He couldn’t keep this from them. If he didn’t answer they’d just look at his location and find out anyway. He pulled his phone out, blinked as the time and Briar’s contact photo greeted him. He took a deep breath, and pressed the accept button.
-
They sounded worried. “Hey, Aries—”
-
He didn’t like interrupting. He had to know. He didn’t want to have to figure out how to lie to Briar. He tried to keep his voice level. He wasn’t sure if he succeeded. “Have you— Have you seen the bathroom?”
-
Briar was quiet for a moment. “Yeah. I, uh, haven’t been home long but… Yeah.”
-
Gwyar took a breath. “You— You haven’t told anyone yet, right? Garvin— He— You can’t tell anyone. Please. He doesn’t— He doesn’t want anyone to know.”
-
“I didn’t yet, was tryna get ahold of you first. The car’s still here, so…”
-
He bit his tongue, just for a second. “Y-Yeah. I, uh. I called Devery. He called, uh. He called the par— Uh, th-the paramedics.”
-
“Okay, hey, yer okay. Let’s just… Where are you?”
-
He took a breath through his nose, trying to ignore the burning in his eyes. “I— I’m at the— The hospital. I— I don’t want him to—” He stopped, swallowed past the lump that was trying to close his throat.
-
“Shit, okay, uh— Is Devery there?”
-
He blinked, trying to push back the stinging in his eyes, and only succeeded in feeling tears run down his face. He choked on air for a second, shaking his head and trying to hold himself together. He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t let Odysseus wake up alone. He couldn’t. He couldn’t lie to Briar either. “N-No— He didn’t— He said he couldn’t— I— Garvin shouldn’t be alone—”
-
The sound of Briar’s voice seemed concerned. Maybe angry, even. Footsteps echoed on their end as they spoke. “He’s— Okay, hey, we’ll… We’ll talk to him later. You shouldn’t be alone there either though. I’ll, uh, I’ll drive up there and we can… We can figure this out from there, okay?”
-
He tried to nod, realized that Briar wouldn’t be able to hear that, and ignored how hard breathing was. He was tired. There was too much blood in the air. Too many chemicals and too clean air. Too sterile. The lights hurt. “S-Sorry, ‘m sorry. Th-That works. I’m sorry.”
-
“Hey, no, yer fine, no need to apologize.”
-
He did need to. Gwyar was sure he needed to. He couldn’t get anything out except for another choked apology. His back hit a wall, making him jump and realize that he’d been stumbling backwards. He put a hand behind him, trying to get his breathing back under control. He let himself slide to the ground, his sight doing nothing making him feel dizzy. He had to stay. He couldn’t leave. Odysseus couldn’t wake up alone. Not again.
-
“–Aries?” Briar sounded even more worried, if that was possible. He tried to apologize again, and only managed a choked sound instead. “Hey, yer okay, c’mon, let’s breathe, yeah? I’m on my way, let’s just breathe.”
-
He didn’t deserve to. But that thinking wasn’t going to help anyone and he needed to get up. He needed to make sure Odysseus didn’t wake up alone. Whether he deserved to breathe or not, he had to. So he tried to push past how tight his throat was, how blurred his vision was, and just follow along with Briar breathing. Exaggerated and slow, loud enough for the phone to pick up. For him to pick up. The one good thing about this not being the first time he’d had an episode over the phone with Briar on the other side was that they’d both gotten better at handling them. The worst part about this not being the first time was that he still ended up thinking about the only other person he’d ever had any episodes over the phone with. And that always made catching his breath harder for him to do, with the feeling of blood staining his hands and refusing to leave him be.
-
Even when he’d finally managed to calm down, and his breathing was at least a little better than before. He didn’t try to speak, not when all he could still think to say was another apology. He needed to apologize. For a lot of things, really. But he also didn’t want to worry Briar more. So instead of that, he stayed where he was, and listened to the sound of his partner telling stories as they drove.
-
After another fifteen minutes had passed, there was a knock on the bathroom door and Sao’s voice ringing out. “Aries? Are you there?”
-
Gwyar jumped, shifting to stand up as quickly as possible. Briar stopped talking. “I, uh– Yeah, I’m in here.”
-
“I have your friend’s room number for you whenever you get out. Do you need anything?”
-
He took a breath. “Uh… M-Maybe directions? I don’t…” He trailed, trying to figure out how to explain that he tried his hardest to never step foot in this sort of place.
-
Sao spoke before he could figure out how to say that. “Alright then, I’ll be in the hall outside the door whenever you’re ready.”
-
He bit his lip. “I’ll, uh, I’ll be right out. Th-Thank you.”
-
Sao didn’t reply, and Briar picked back up. “Who’s that?”
-
He swallowed his nerves. “A, uhm, a n-nurse. Sao Ca-Cainnear. Both names are– Are from myths. The first one’s Greek. Cainnear’s, uh… I think that’s from an I-Irish one? Uh.” He paused, went to apologize, and stopped himself. He bit his lip. He took a breath. “I, uh… Th-They found out where Garvin is.”
-
“Alright. I’ll be there soon. I’ll find ‘em and get to you. Be safe?”
-
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, okay. That– That works.” He took a breath, bit his lip again. His voice sounded more questioning than he wanted to sound due to nerves. He hoped Briar knew why. “L-Love you?”
-
“Love you too. See you soon.”
-
The call ended soon after, and Gwyar left the bathroom as quickly as he could without seeming too crazed. Too desperate. Too… Whatever his nerves decided he needed to be worried about. He was more worried about Odysseus than pinpointing his nerves. Sao wasn’t hard to find, they were right where they said they’d be, and as soon as they saw him, they were walking over to him too.
-
“Okay. Are you good to go, Aries?”
-
Their gaze was sharp as they took him in for a moment. They didn’t seem nearly as terrible as the rest of the building, as the rest of the professionals in the building. He wasn’t sure if that was because of their name or just how nice they seemed. He nodded.
---
Following Sao to the room that Garvin had been put in took less than five minutes, and when Gwyar got to the doorway… He was beyond relieved to see that his friend wasn’t awake yet. A selfish relief, maybe. But he didn’t want his friend waking up alone. The sight still made him pause, tensing and feeling his heart break all over again. He almost wanted to leave. He couldn’t.
-
Odysseus looked too pale still. A monitor was steadily beeping. He wished that the sound was more relieving. Both arms were wrapped from just above the elbow all the way down to his hands. For the figure eight the professionals liked doing, if he had to guess. The blood transfusion had already begun, at least. The IV was in the arm that Garvin had been holding his knife in. He hoped Devery had taken the pocket knife with him. He hoped his friend would never be near something sharp again. He knew that wasn’t going to happen.
-
He took a breath, looked at Sao as he stepped in. “Th-Thanks. I, uh… I was on ca-call with someone who’s, uh, on the-their way. Their name’s Briar. Uh… I don’t… They’ll prob-probably be here soon?”
-
Sao nodded, watching as he stepped further into the room. “Of course. I’ll make sure they get to you and Garvin. If you need anything or if something happens, you can hit the nurse call button at his bedside. Could be me or another nurse that shows up. If he wakes up, hit the button. Once he’s awake, we’ll have to talk to him a little and figure out how long he needs to stay after the transfusion. If everything seems fine though, he’ll be able to leave once the blood transfusion is over.”
-
He bit his lip, taking in the words, and then nodded. “Alright, I’ll, uh… I’ll keep an eye on him.”
-
Sao smiled, “I’m sure you will.”
-
They left. Gwyar found the chair closest to Odysseus and sat down. He took a deep breath, and scooted closer, swallowing past the lump already forming again in his throat. He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t sure when his friend would wake up.
-
He took another breath, trying to keep himself calm. He decided to talk. “H-Hey Odysseus. Sorry I didn’t— Sorry I didn’t get here sooner. That I didn’t check on you sooner. You’re— You’re going to be okay though.” He blinked a few times, held the railing on the bed his friend was lying on with one hand, his nerves keeping him from grabbing Garvin himself. The last thing his friend needed was any wounds reopening. He wished he could say that was the last thing his friend wanted too. He wished that he could say that without knowing he was lying.
-
He bit his lip and choked back tears, watching Garvin’s too pale face. His friend looked exhausted. Odysseus always seemed to look beyond tired while sleeping. He breathed through his nose, and kept talking. Unwilling to just listen to the sound of a heart monitor beeping. “You’re not— You’re not waking up alone. Never— Never again. Okay? Never again. I promise. Just—”
-
He choked back the sob in the back of his throat, ignoring the tears going down his face again. He— Gwyar was tired of losing best friends. Because Garvin was his best friend. They’d never said so, and Odysseus had never agreed but— But he was. He leaned his head against the railing, right next to his hand. “Devery better be right about— About you. I can’t—” He breathed, glanced up at his best friend.
-
And he tried to smile. A small, rueful thing that he was sure his best friend would’ve appreciated if he were awake. “You— You fucking owe me, N-Nobody. You fucking owe me. You know I don’t— I hate this place and you—” He forced himself to laugh, if only to keep the sob from tearing out of his throat. He still sobbed anyway. “You’re— You’re reading all of my Greek myths. O-Out loud. We’ll meet every— Every weekend or— Or something. You-You’re reading all of them and— And I get to make fun of you when you don’t know a word. Or when you— When you pronounce a name wrong or— Or a word or— You owe me. O-Okay? You’re— You’re going to wake up and— And you’re going to owe me.” He paused, staring at Garvin’s still sleeping face.
-
Aries took a shaky breath, trying to find something else to say. He couldn’t think of anything. There wasn’t much he wanted to say while Odysseus was asleep. There was so much he wanted to say when he was awake. Like making his best friend promise that he wouldn’t do this again. Garvin would be lying. He wished he wouldn’t be. He didn’t know what to do to help. He still didn’t know what he could possibly tell Garvin’s partners. Especially if Odysseus had to stay longer. They were probably already worried. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if there was anything he could do. He needed to have a talk with his best friend though, at the very least.
Winter 
Night Weather: 
