whoops wanted some hurt-comfort

[paladaddy]

Just say which of mine you want in the subject header o/ If you don't want to make shit up here's the list of prompts form a random h/c meme. Dice-thingy is here.



1. INJURY. You've been injured. Broken bones or bleeding out or maybe just a tiny little papercut. The choice is yours.
2. SICKNESS. You're sick and laid up in bed, at home or in a hospital. The severity is up to you.
3. FEAR/ANXIETY. Something is happening and you're scared beyond belief.
4. LOSS OF SENSES. Sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell, etc. You've lost some important sense or ability and now you're left to deal with it.
5. DESPAIR. Nothing is good or right anymore and you can't shake the depression. Maybe that friend of yours can help though...
6. BREAKUP. You've been dumped. You need someone to comfort you, possibly by the one who dumped you.
7. MAKE UP. Fight or break up, it's time to makeup.
8. RESCUED. You've just been held captive and/or tortured for however long and finally, someone has come to the rescue.
9. BAD ROMANCE. Fight, cheated on, abused, whatever the case is, someone else can clearly see you need comfort from someone who isn't your terrible lover tonight.
10. LOSS. You've experience a loss of some kind and need help getting through it.
11. INSANITY. You're seeing things that aren't really there, hearing voices, or you're just convinced you're at your wit's end finally and you're going to crack. Maybe someone can give you a helping hand.
12. TIRED. You've had a heard life recently and you're just worn too thin to really care anymore. There's no fight left in you anymore. Can someone help change your mind?
13. ADDICTION. Drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, or any other type of addiction has got you in its grasp. First time or relapse. Will someone be able to save you?
14. INSOMNIA. You can't sleep anymore, no matter how hard you try. Maybe someone can give you company.
15. NIGHTMARES. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, you can't sleep without gruesome, horrible nightmares. Either someone is stuck in your dream with you, witnessing it or they're just waking you up, soothing you out of it.
16. BLACKMAIL. You've been caught doing something you shouldn't and you were blackmailed because of it
17. SEPARATION. You're going to be separated for awhile or were separated for a long time. Either make up for lost time or try to spend every last moment together.
18. VIOLATED. You've been violated in some way. Can include sexual overtones or not. Can someone help you through it?
19. STRANDED. You've been stranded somewhere remote, with no help of anyone finding you for awhile. Can you survive this together?
20. SINS. You're feeling the weight of your sins and guilt clearer than ever. Can someone give you absolution or lessen the ache any?
21. SECRET. It's difficult having to keep that secret of yours, be it a relationship or something you just don't want to share with anybody else. Maybe it's okay to talk about it now though...
22. ADDITION. Babies should be joyous things unless you're in a situation where you know you won't be able to care for them. Either you've adopted or found out you're pregnant.

Comments

[circumsutus]

[Fear. That's the faint emotion slipping up through the haze.]

I can find my place to be. I just need to keep looking.

[paladaddy]

I know.

[He's speaking softly now, not unlike how a friend would speak to their pal who is having a rough time. It sounds almost too light, for how serious the situation is.]

And I promised you I'd help you find it, remember?

[circumsutus]

[But that's what this is, isn't it? Stein's "rough times" are just so much worse than other people's.]

... that's right.

You promised me.

What's a promise worth these days?

[He can't even find himself. How is he supposed to find his place?]

[paladaddy]

Everything.

[He's going to test the waters a bit by trying to take one step closer to Stein. He stops after one step, though, watching for his reaction.]

If we can't keep our promises, then what else do we have left?

I'm a man of my word. I promised to help you, which is why I'm here.

[circumsutus]

[He's not going to attack, not until he feels threatened.]

Not much. [Stein has the feeling he hasn't kept his promises recently.]

Are you going to kill me? [He's not really interested in the answer.]

[paladaddy]

If I have to.

[It's his intention, but if another option presents itself then Shiro won't say no to it. He's not too keen on killing one of his best friends.]

I'd rather find another solution, though.

[circumsutus]

You have to kill rabid dogs.

[He shifts his weight, suddenly prepared to attack. He's not quite rushing Shiro yet, not with the small thread of recognition in the back of his mind that says (this person is precious to you).]

[paladaddy]

[Shiro tightens his grip on his shotgun in response, though he doesn't remove it from his shoulder yet.

He wonders if being forced into a fight would be better right now. It certainly would make it a lot easier to shoot his friend.]

But you're not a rabid dog. You just need some help, that's all.

[circumsutus]

Is that what they told you?

[paladaddy]

No, it's what I've decided to do. But the thing is, I can't help you unless you want to be helped. What happens next is entirely up to you.

[He wants to get Stein help, but if Stein turns violent then there's only one thing Shiro can do.]

[circumsutus]

[One hand drifts up to the screw in his head, cranking the piece of metal back until it clicks. There's finality in that sound.]

The old order is stifling. You just want to take me back.

I won't be tricked. [There's a shift in tone on the last word, lethargic madness switching to a sort of mania as he rushes at the priest. Even if Shiro blocks, there's enough force behind this punch to throw him into the nearest wall.]

[paladaddy]

[The madness must have really taken over Stein, if he's trying to attack Shiro straight-on like that. What with Shiro being a black belt in judo and all.

Shiro can't effectively throw Stein, since he is trying to hold onto his shotgun with one hand, but he can still use Stein's own momentum to force him to the side and past him while Shiro steps the other way to avoid being knocked into a wall.

Even though Stein has clearly fallen, Shiro is going to try reaching him once more. He owes Stein that much.]

Stein, just listen to me! I'm not going to let you be locked up, I just want you to get better!

[circumsutus]

[His movements are sloppy, loose, like he's not in control of his limbs. The momentum of his strike carries him past Shiro, stumbling over his own feet for a few steps until he hits his desk and stops. He's twitching, body shaking with barely-contained laughter. He doesn't say a word.]

[paladaddy]

[Stupid insanity.

Shiro is just glad he got everyone to clear the area before he went after Stein, even though he had to use some trickery to do so. Hopefully a sudden island trip isn't too suspicious to everyone who lives in the Villa.

Finally Shiro lets his shotgun down from his shoulder, and now he is holding it in both hands. He cocks it, hoping the loud noise will reach Stein through the madness.]

I'm serious, Stein. Don't make me do this.

[circumsutus]

[For a split second, the insanity clears, and Stein looks lost and tired and confused, staring at Shiro and trying to figure out what's going on. Then the clarity fades, and Stein grins, a sloppy, twisted smile that's mostly teeth.]

Do what you've always wanted to do. Just give in. It's so much easier when you stop trying to fight.

[paladaddy]

Not really, but I wish it was.

[He'll take that as a sign that Stein is agreeing with this, and he points his gun at Stein. Shooting at someone is actually pretty easy, it's the aftermath that is the hard part.

His shotgun only has two shots in it, though, so he's hoping Stein doesn't try to dodge out of the way when he shoots at his chest.]

[circumsutus]

It is. You've just never tried. [He doesn't think to dodge. Maybe he's been waiting for this.]

[paladaddy]

I'm sorry.

[It's going to be a really messy death, then. There's a reason Shiro prefers shotguns: overkill is important when dealing with demons.

But hey, at least he's aiming for Stein's chest instead of his head, right? There's less of a chance of him missing and leaving Stein to bleed out instead.]

[circumsutus]

[Stein is one of those people who doesn't die easily. He's taken injuries just as bad a shotgun blast to the chest, and lasted long enough to patch himself up. But that was with Spirit helping him stitch the wounds closed, and he doesn't have his weapon with him right now.

He slumps back against the desk, then gradually slides to the floor. It's a messy death. He's bleeding, coughing up blood, but he does eventually die.

If Shiro was hoping for a last-minute regain of sanity, for Stein's mind to clear in those last painful moments, he will be disappointed.]

[paladaddy]

[Shiro would like to say it's the first time he's killed someone he's considered a friend, but he would be lying.

He would have liked Stein's death to be more immediate, but apparently meisters are stronger than he initially thought. Still, Shiro waits there, watching until he is sure that Stein is dead. It's probably better that Stein didn't regain his sanity in those last moments, Shiro wouldn't have been able to handle it.

And when it's all said and done, Shiro guts the underground laboratory with a controlled fire and seals off the door to the basement. There was no way in hell he was going to leave something like that for other people to find.

It's only five days, he keeps telling himself. In five days, he'll be able to find out if his gamble paid off or not. And by the fifth day, Shiro is just waiting around at the hospital, so he can be the first person to see Stein when he does come back to life.]

[circumsutus]

[He can't remember most of the week or so before he died (he remembers his death, vaguely). It's a blur of fog and static and when he tries to think on it he starts feeling sick.

He died, and he'd like to just go back to the Villa and lock himself in his room and try to pull himself back together. Though really, he's not quite sure he's sane.

Stein's keeping his soul perception off for right now. It's giving him a headache.]

[paladaddy]

[That's what Shiro wants to find out: how far back did Stein's mind get taken? He knows that, even though Stein's body is healed, it is very unlikely that his mind would be too. But he's hoping Stein is at least back to the level of sanity he had when he was brought to Vatheon in the first place. If Stein came back to life as insane as he was before he died, then this was going to be a problem.

Once he gets notice that Stein is back to life, Shiro goes up to his hospital room and carefully opens the door.]

Stein?

[circumsutus]

[Not all the way back, not quite where he was before. There are still bright/dark things shifting in the corner of his vision, the hum and spray of static in his ears.

Still, he's rational. Exhausted, despite the healing from the coral, and he could really use a shave, but he looks normal.]

... Shiro.

[paladaddy]

[Stein sounds a lot more rational, though Shiro knows now that this can't always be trusted. Insanity had kind of snuck up on him the first time, and he wasn't going to make that mistake again.

That thought just reminded Shiro of the fact that it was entirely possible he would have to kill his friend again at some point in the future.

He's stepping into the room now, though he stays by the door. He's always had trouble with intruding in Stein's places.]

How do you feel?

[circumsutus]

[A sigh, the briefest moment of exhausted silence, head bowed, eyes hidden in the shadow of his bangs. Then he puts on his glasses and manages a cheerful smile, though his eyes stay hidden in the reflection off the lenses.]

Much better. How are you doing?