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phagechildon · 5 years

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Turdday - Chapter 3

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Summary: When Leo doesn’t show up to work (aka his surprise birthday party at Libra headquarters), Zapp goes to check on him only to find he’s been caught up in yet another shitstorm. With creatures that only he can see pursuing him, the Libra members find it hard to protect him when Leo can’t even remember who they are or how to use the All Seeing Eyes of the Gods.

----

His consciousness slowly started returning to him, only making him wish it hadn’t. His throat and the inside of his nose felt absolutely raw to the point where merely breathing made him want to sob in pure agony. It felt like he had been mummified and left in the Egyptian desert where it proceeded to dry out his entire body despite the fact that the rain beat a little heavier than earlier against him.

What the hell happened to him? The last thing he remembered he was talking to K.K. and Klaus, and then one of those things came out of nowhere and grabbed him. His memory was a little hazy after that. He had this vague sensation of nearly drowning, but how was that even possible?

Shifting a bit, he choked on a pained cry as pain shot through his right arm - the arm he was laying on.

Crap, was it broken? He really didn’t need a broken arm on top of the other shit he was dealing with.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, he slowly pushed himself up, the pain still flaring. Nausea quickly overwhelmed his entire being as he threw up, tears gushing down his cheeks as it felt like his throat was bleeding from the acid tearing the dry skin apart.

He wanted nothing more than to have unconsciousness claim him again. Of course he wasn’t that lucky.

He didn’t move until he was absolutely sure his stomach was settled enough, not wanting to experience that horrific pain again.

Someone brought him here, and considering he had a rough landing, the other person could be hurt too. He had to see if they needed help.

Licking his lips that were surprisingly dry despite being in the rain, he tried talking. “Klaus?” His voice wheezed, making him violently cough a few times.

No response.

“Klaus?” He tried again, almost desperately.

Still nothing.

Well shit, did he break his only life line already? Bringing his other shaky hand up, he felt around his ear and nearly sobbed. The ear piece was broken in two. Once again he was all alone in this hellscape. His only hope was to find the lady that saved him.

Unlike the last time he stirred, getting up almost proved to be impossible. Every organ in his body literally screamed at him as he tried getting to his feet, making him fall face first back into what he was sure was grass. He groaned, clenching the blades with his good trembling hand.

It would be so easy to just give up right now, but… it didn’t feel like an option. There were people who were counting on him even if he didn’t remember them. He had no clue if Zed or K.K. were even still alive, but he owed it to them to keep moving forward.

Somehow he managed to get back on his feet, his body swaying dangerously from side to side. But he was up, that’s all that mattered.

Surveying the area, he realized he was in some sort of park by a few sets of large bushes. The playground was quite a ways away, meaning no one probably even saw him land there. Honestly he was okay with that, the less people he had to deal with the better.

That being said, he looked around a little more, not even seeing a trace of another person near him. Maybe she landed a little further away?

Taking a deep breath, he started forward, his balance completely off but he merely shrugged that fact away. He could do this. He had to do this.

He searched around the park, staying as far away from other people as he possibly could. That being said, he also didn’t see the young woman who saved him either.

Did those things get her?

“Leo?” He heard a man call, making him instinctively turn. Across the street was a man with fluffy brown hair wearing a long tan trench coat. He sort of reminded him of a detective from one of those old film noir movies, just without the top hat. He looked drastically different compared to the other Libra members he’s met so far. This person almost seemed normal.

Seeing him confirm his identity, the man ran across the street, making Leo take a few cautious steps backward.

This man looked a little too normal.

“You look like shit, are you okay?” He asked, seeing the way Leo was clenching his right arm as if it were injured. He really hoped that wasn’t his blood on him.

“U-uhm.... code word?” He asked, taking another step back. Unlike the others, he wasn’t getting that same safety vibe from this man either.

The man raised an eyebrow, seeming confused as to what he asked. “Oh right, your memory, I’m Daniel Law, a Lieutenant of Hellsalem’s Lot Police force-” he stopped, seeing Leo take a few more steps back looking like a terrified puppy.

He didn't know the code word - he was avoiding the question-!

“I’m not part of Libra but I begrudgingly work with them sometimes-”

Sometimes- Leo’s eyes widened in fear as he ran, ignoring the way his body literally screamed in protest.

“Wait, Leonardo-!” Daniel hollered as he took off after him, cursing under his breath. Klaus said the kid lost his memory not his nerve, but in this city he had no clue what’s he’s run into or what he’s experienced. He could be running away with a good reason.

Leo glanced back, seeing the man nearly catching up, making him whimper. Why couldn’t he catch a break, was that too much to ask?! If this man was a police officer, or posed as one, he was probably in great shape. Despite not remembering a lot, Leo was pretty sure he still ate a bunch of junk food, meaning he definitely was not in shape.

He had to lose him, and fast.

Looking left and right, he realized his best bet was to lose him in the crowd right outside a bustling theater. Even then though, the only chance he had was to use his eyes.

“Leo stop - I can take you to Klaus-” the kid kept running, his words only seeming to frighten him more. “Leonardo-!”

He watched the young Libra member enter the crowd, bumping into a few people which evidently slowed him down. There, this was his chance!

Daniel sped up and reached out for him-

But his hand went right through him.

He skid to a stop, looking around desperately. Where’d he go? He literally just had him - how’d he literally slip through his fingers?

Unless-

Shit. The kid used his eyes on him.

Taking out his phone he dialed Klaus, still searching through the crowd just in case. “I saw him right outside the HL theater on Green Street and 9th Avenue, but he didn’t recognize me and ran.”

Of course he wouldn’t trust him, he didn’t know the code word! Zed’s been right about everything else so far, so why wouldn’t he listen to him now? Granted he didn’t get a change of clothes like he instructed, but that would’ve required him to steal due to the time constraints and he wasn’t about that life.

For now, as annoying as it was, he just had to keep walking until another Libra member found him, even if the guilt was literally eating him alive.

‘Nothing’s changed since then,’ he mumbled to himself, clenching his fists tightly despite the pain. No matter what anyone else said, he was still a coward. While all the others were literally putting their lives on the line to protect him, he was simply running away, not even sticking around to see if they were okay.

His pace slowed, his head lowering in anger.

He was angry, he was furious with himself. How could he just keep running while the others were in danger like that? Even if he was normal, he could’ve thought of someway to help.

“I won’t run, not anymore,” he said, clenching his fists. He couldn’t let anyone else get involved. He’d face those creatures head on so no one else would get hurt.

‘You’re acting like a reckless fool right now-’ Leo quickly turned, expecting to see Zed but saw no one. ‘I don’t wanna see you get yourself killed.’

Wait… was this a memory? He sort of remembered standing in the middle of a street, his back turned to two people, Zed and… that woman who disappeared while saving him? Why was the name Chain coming to mind?

’You’ve always seen yourself as just a normal kid, and you’re right, that’s exactly what you are.’

His eyes widened as emotions from that moment came flooding through him, making him stagger backwards a bit. Fear, guilt, loss, determination and warmth-

‘You’re normally caring, normally cheerful, and you’re normally nosy. You have a strong moral compass, concern for you friends, and honor. I know you don’t see this, but what’s normal to you, well it’s far from it. Everyone else would call it courageous and noble, it’s because of the person you are that you don’t think twice about your own safety when it comes to your friends, ‘cause that’s just normal to you.’

He couldn’t move, his feet were planted in place as his head hung low.

Huh… he really did mean a lot to the people at Libra, they weren’t just saving him because he was their coworker - he was their friend. Despite how much he didn’t want to get more people involved, they were all counting on him to stay alive and out of those creature’s clutches.

And he was determined not to fail them.

Considering he didn’t know where another Libra member was, he needed to find a place to hide. Those things kept appearing everywhere, if he laid low for a while maybe they’d search somewhere else, giving him enough time to track someone else down. With some rest he hoped the persistent fever would go down too.

He couldn’t be reckless, he had to play it safe.

Starting forward again, his eyes caught sight of a very familiar scene, one that made him stop walking again and lightly hold his hazy head.

Faint laughter and chatter echoed through multiple memories as he stared at a place called Dianne’s Diner. His heart felt so warm, feeling nothing but happiness radiating from it.

This place was very important to him, which meant he needed to get as far away as possible from it. He didn’t dare put innocent people at risk even if there was a chance someone from Libra would search there.

Spinning on his heels, he headed in the other direction, feeling as if his body was on autopilot.

He needed to find a safe place, a place out of sight and out of mind… even without his memories, he seemed to know where that said place was.

After a few blocks he blinked, seeing a colorful butterfly fluttering past him, and he didn't even think twice as he followed.

Somewhere safe, somewhere away from innocent people...

----

Two hours had passed since the last time anyone saw Leo, putting everyone on edge. Not knowing if those things got to him or not was absolutely maddening as they weren't sure if searching the streets was a waste of time or not.

“The kid’s sick and scared, he’s not going to stay in one place for too long,” the young blonde heard Zapp point out on the secure phone line as he nervously tapped a finger against the desk he was leaning against.

“He’ll probably try hiding out in a place that feels familiar,” Zed added, his exhaustion evident. They found him unconscious inside a dumpster, thankfully still alive, just injured. “He tried clinging to me instead of waiting in the store since I was the only thing that comforted him.”

No one said anything for a moment, the anger far too overwhelming as they imagined their best friend clinging to anything that sparked even the faintest memory, no matter how little it was.

It made the blonde grit his teeth and clench his fists angrily, feeling useless. He should be out there helping the others search for him, but he was ordered to stay put.

“I already checked Dianne’s Diner; Vivian said she hasn't seen him all day but would call if he showed up.”

He’d never get a call though, the blonde was certain of that as locks of hair fell in his face, smudging his glasses and hiding his bright blue eyes. Leo would never put others in danger like that even if it saved his life. Black was more than sure he was hiding somewhere secluded and away from others. He was too kind hearted for his own good.

“He hasn’t shown up here either,” he mumbled bitterly, clenching his fists as he glanced back up at the live feed cameras that were facing each of Libra’s secret entrances, not seeing anything. Part of him wondered why he was even listening to their orders in the first place; they needed all the help they could get to track him down before those things found him after all. He wasn’t the same weak kid the King of Despair possessed. Yet the other part of him knew why he had to stay. He wasn’t the only one invited to the surprise birthday party, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to the other guests.

“William,” Klaus called, pulling the blonde back into their conversation. “Do you have any ideas as to where he might’ve gone?”

He was honestly surprised Klaus was asking him, after all Zapp spent more time with Leo than him considering he no longer lived in Hellsalem’s Lot. Then again, it was probably because Zapp spent the most time with him that he was asking. The idiot might care about Leo, but he was still a jackass. The brunette needed a sanctuary not even Zapp knew about to unwind.

“Not really,” Black hated to admit as he crossed his arms, feeling useless. “Aside from the hospital and theater in the park, we just went to Vivian’s. I doubt he’d be at any of those places though.”

“At this rate we’ll try anything,” Klaus said with a heavy sigh. “Thanks to Chain’s rescue attempt, we know he’s at least in familiar territory now.”

That wasn’t good enough though. “Let me help-” Black quickly blurted out, slamming his hands against the table. “We’re running out of time and we have no idea what state Leo’s in right now-”

“No,” Steven interrupted, making Black grit his teeth angrily. “You need to stay with Michella in case anyone’s found out she’s here. We may have our security system, but it’s useless when the enemy’s invisible.” Black clenched his shaking fists as he glanced over at Michella, who sat next to him looking just as pissed off as her starry night eyes shimmered with determination.

They awkwardly met for the first time this morning as they all prepared for Leo’s surprise birthday party - the mission Leo never showed up for. Klaus mentioned she was coming, but nothing could prepare him for meeting her. She reminded him so much of his own sister it was hard to believe they hadn’t been friends. It should’ve been painful for him, especially since this was only the second time he’s come back to visit Hellsalem’s Lot after the second Great Collapse where he lost his twin sister.

But it wasn’t. Just like Leo, she had this way of making him feel oddly safe and comfortable, not to mention laugh. Her dark sense of humor even reminded him of his sister’s, giving him a sense of peace he didn’t know he was missing until now.

“I’ll let you know if I think of anything else,” Black bitterly replied, realizing Steven was waiting for his response before putting their microphone on mute. After what happened a year ago, he didn’t dare do anything that even remotely put Michella in danger. It pissed him off that Steven kept pressing those sensitive buttons just to prevent him from leaving. He knew those creatures wouldn't even think twice before using Michella as a hostage against Leo if they found out she was in Hellsalem’s Lot, but that’s what the defensive system was for! Besides, while there was a very small possibility of that happening, there was a dangerously high probability that Leo was being dragged into the depths of the Alterworld never to be seen again. He had to help find him before it was too late!

A gentle hand cuffed his own, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Don’t worry, my brother doesn’t give up easily,” she reassured, making the psi user look down at her. She was smiling as a flicker of hope remained ignited in those starry night sky eyes. She was blind and paralyzed from the waist down, yet she still had that hopeful glint in her eyes.

He didn’t know how she did it.

“I know,” Will sighed as he looked back at the microphone, gently squeezing her hand back for comfort. She reminded him so much of Mary. “That’s exactly why I’m worried.”

“Me too,” she admitted as her smile fell a little, gripping Will’s hand back just as tightly. “I still have nightmares from the last time I was here, but no matter how bad it gets, my brother won’t give up, and neither will his friends.”

Black frowned as he looked away, his grip loosening. He knew the others could save Leo, but something wasn’t sitting right with him. What everyone was describing made him think this mess was caused by someone powerful, someone who couldn't be found in Hellsalem’s Lot.

“They always do,” he agreed, unable to deny that. “But something just doesn't… feel right.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, tilting her head to the side worriedly.

Black bit his bottom lip, not really sure how to answer that without getting too deep into his past. “It’s… complicated.”

“Black,” her tone made him stiffen as she literally did a one eighty. Before her voice was soft and warming, now it was insistent and stern. Just like Mary, she was stubborn. It was useless trying to hide anything from her.

“This whole scenario feels familiar,” he said, trying desperately to form his jumbled thoughts into words. “Like it’s happened before, but back when I was possessed by the King of Despair so I don’t really know any details. I just know it happened.”

It was honestly very frustrating. The time spent being possessed by the King of Despair was complicated, and overall hazy. There were times where he had been somewhat lucid, seeing, hearing and feeling what was happening around him, and sometimes he’d just be asleep. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for it, it just happened. Of course, even when he was aware of what was going on, the King of Despair was one of the Thirteen Kings, being far too powerful to overwhelm and force aside; not without him being severely weakened.

“The only thing I know for certain is that the Alterworld is directly involved somehow.”

Michella’s eyes widened in fear yet again, making him regret saying anything at all. But instead of freaking out, she merely took a deep breath and remained calm. “He’ll be okay,” she said, her voice full of hope. “Do you know why I call him my tortoise knight?”

Black blinked a few times before shaking his head. “Leo’s mentioned it, but says he doesn't even know why you call him that.”

Michella couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at that. “Did you know tortoises can’t move backwards?”

“No, can’t say I did,” Black admitted, trying to piece it together before she could finish.

“My brother is just like them. Even if his knees lock up and he can’t move, even if he’s frozen in place with doubt, he never runs away. He just hunkers down and endures it until he can take a step forward.” She said, recalling what she told Klaus not too long ago.

His bright blue eyes slowly widen, the teasing term now holding meaning. She was right, he was exactly like a tortoise, sometimes in more ways than the ones she described.

It gave him an idea.

“I think I know where he went,” Black beamed excitedly as he looked around, making sure they were the only ones in the room.

“You do?!” Michella gasped in relief, looking at him with growing hope as he went to the table that held the equipment Gilbert was handing out earlier.

“Yeah, I think he was led there.” Picking up a bluetooth earpiece, he quickly synced his phone to it before placing it in his ear. Seeing her worried gaze, he walked back over to her and gently ruffled her hair. “He’s fine, don’t worry. It’s sort of a sacred place for us. If he’s there, there’s a slight chance he’ll even vaguely remember me.”

“And maybe it’ll slowly make him remember everything else,” Michella’s hope glistened as she looked up at him almost desperately. “I won’t tell the others, just be safe, and bring him back okay? I’ll have Toby watch the cameras and open the elevator for you.”

Determination flashed in Black’s eyes as he nodded. “Thank you, I will.”

----

Leo’s body trembled and shook even worse than before as he threw up for fifth time in a row, making him huddle against the corner of the half demolished church. Despite not having anything left in his stomach to let loose, there was a mass that would start to move as he heaved, only to settle back down towards his stomach. It made him choke and sputter, which in turn made him try to heave again with no success.

The hospital was right there, he could get help, but there were so many people there, so many helpless people that he didn’t dare so much as glance in its direction fearing those things would come tearing through it.

He wondered how the others were doing… he hoped they were still alive. He knew what the others saw in him, but it was getting harder to see why they’d still go through all this trouble just to save him when he was already giving up on himself.

‘Getting your ass handed to you, and giving up, they’re completely different things,’ he vaguely heard himself say in a memory, making him close his eyes. Since when did he get so wise? Giving up seemed like a pretty good option right now even if it was cowardly. Dying from dehydration and starvation seemed like the better alternative to being drowned by those creatures.

Yet… giving up didn’t feel right. It made him wrinkle his nose in distaste. Despite not remembering everything, he knew there were so many people that counted on him besides his sister. For example, he was literally the only one that could see those creatures that were hunting him down. If he died, how would the others from Libra deal with them? They couldn’t even keep him safe and it wasn’t due to the lack of trying. He wasn’t even sure if they were even still alive. The mere thought made him clench his teeth and fists in anger.

He didn’t even remember them, but they still threw their lives away trying to help him. If he gave up now, all their efforts would be in vain.

And that was unacceptable. Even if he couldn’t do much against those things and would probably end up dying anyway, he still had to try. Trying was better than just giving up and letting death take him without a fight even if it was reckless.

‘Stay here until you die, or you go free until you die. Either way you’re gonna die sooner or later.’ Despite the way that voice sent waves of uneasiness into him, he couldn’t help but agree. Whoever said that was right. If he was going to die, he would go out fighting the bastards that did this to him. It was better than giving up.

Taking a deep shuddering breath, he moved to stand only to stop midway. Breathing literally became impossible as he felt something wrap around his lungs, making him let out a strangled cry that morphed into desperate coughs and sputters as he tried dislodging whatever had a tight grip around his lungs. Tears of pure fear fell down his cheeks as he watched his sight slowly go in and out.

What the hell was happening to him? Was something really inside him?!

The grip around his organ slowly started to loosen just as he nearly lost consciousness. He couldn’t help the whimper that left him as he curled up on the ground, unaware that he fell over during the attack. Ever since the creature tried drowning him with it’s goo, his symptoms felt like they got ten times worse to the point where he swore there was a living thing crawling inside him. The mere thought terrified him, but he tried not to focus on it. He had enough to worry about on the outside world as it was, like the colorful butterfly that landed on a rock next to him, seeming to try to comfort him.

Butterfly… was it strange that he felt like he knew it somehow?

“Leo?” A soft voice whispered, making his eyebrows scrunch up in confusion. Did that voice… come from the butterfly? “Leo-” No, that wasn’t the butterfly. Reality came rushing back at him as he glanced up, seeing a boy around his age with short blonde hair that slightly covered his face and bright blue eyes that were hidden behind perfectly round silver frames. His choice of clothing made him blink in shock realizing he literally picked out the same outfit at the store just in different colors.

Now that he thought about it, did he subconsciously pick those clothes out to match this guys? The flannel he picked out was also white as the base color, but while the blond’s stripes were black and gray, the one he picked out had been orange and brown. He even picked out jeans despite never really owning a pair, and the hoodie looked the same except while his was black the one he picked out was white.

White… Black…

A sharp pain shot through his head, making him gasp and clench it. Yes, he knew this person, it was someone who meant a lot to him. If he understood his emotions correctly, they literally went through hell and back, losing someone dear to both of them.

Slowly opening his eyes, he saw the male kneeled down in front of him now, calling his name softly. “Leo, Leo can you hear me?”

“Y-yeah,” he hoarsely managed out, coughing a few times to clear the acid from his throat. “You… I know you?” He asked, his voice so rough it sounded like he was a long time smoker.

The other looked shocked before nodding despite the frown that made its way to his face. “Yeah, we’re really close friends, you even saved my life,” he smiled warmly. “I guess my soul is more accurate.”

Soul… why did this sound so familiar?

“I… what’s the code word?” He tried, watching as the other’s face contorted in confusion for a moment. Asking was instinctive at this point, like carrying around a security blanket. Somehow he knew he didn’t have to ask, but not asking made his anxiety worse.

“Oh, I’m not part of Libra, though I know the code because I’ve been working with them to find you.” Leo tensed slightly. He wasn’t part of Libra? They’ve been the only people he’s been able to trust so far, then again they’ve been the only people he’s trusted so far. Zed told him not to talk to anyone else, but.. what about this guy? He even felt the need to protect him, though he had no clue why. Surely he could trust him… right?

The colorful butterfly fluttered up, gracefully landing on the newcomer’s shoulder. He waited for the other to notice, but it seemed like he was the only one that could see it.

If it trusted this person enough to land on him despite being frail, surely he wasn’t bad, right?

“Considering you’re not surprised, they told you about my memory,” Leo said, watching the frown return to the other’s face.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, a glare hiding his eyes behind his glasses. “I’ve been really worried about you. This City, no, this entire state is too dangerous to be in without knowing how to live in it. It doesn’t help that your eyes make you an even bigger target. You can say I’ve been terrified for you. The both of us have been.”

Leo tilted his head as much as he could on the ground, confused. “Both?” Was he referring to the butterfly?

“Yeah,” he said, the glare leaving his glasses, the warmth in his eyes coming back. “Do you know what today is?”

Leo couldn’t help but glare at him. “Didn’t we just go over this-”

“No, because you have a tendency to forget this day even with your memory intact,” the other said, his voice rather harsh. “At any rate, we should get going, I’d rather not give those things anymore more time to find us. Do you need help getting up?”

Leo groaned, realizing he had to move and really didn’t want to. This was his best shot of getting out of here alive and to safety, he had to take it.

Taking a deep breath, he moved, trembling as he pushed himself to sit up. His hoodie was completely caked with throw up, making the other cringe.

“Wait-” he said, making Leo watch in confusion as the other clumsily took his black sweater off. “They might smell you if we don’t ditch yours.”

The brunette would’ve been insulted if he wasn’t right. Besides the other probably didn’t want to smell him all the way back to the hideout.

“So,” he said as he struggled taking his own off, trying his best in his sickly daze not to rub the throwup in his face and hair. “What’s your name?”

“William Macbeth,” the other responded as Leo tossed his sweater aside, watching as the other’s face heated up in a blush before turning away. That’s when Leo felt his own face flush, feeling the nice cool breeze against his hot skin. He wasn’t wearing a shirt under his hoodie like he normally did. Then again, he didn’t remember he wasn’t the one that dressed himself this morning.

“B-but I uh, I go by Black.”

“Black huh? That’s definitely different than William,” he commented as he took the black hoodie and slid it on. It was surprisingly a nice fit. Unlike his own that literally hung off his body, this sweater clung to him and showed off how skinny he really was.

Black looked away, and if Leo didn’t know any better, it was to look at the butterfly that still rest against his shoulder despite the clothes change. “Yeah, there’s a story behind it, but hopefully I won’t have to remind you.”

“I hope so too,” Leo admitted as he slowly went to stand, only to gasp as his lungs were squeezed again.

Black instantly came forward and caught Leo just as his knees gave out, fear coursing through him as he wasn’t sure how to help as his friend wheezed, choked and sputtered. “What’s wrong!?” Black desperately asked, knowing the other couldn’t provide an answer. If he knew what was going on he might be able to help-! It sounded like he was choking, but there was nothing Leo could have choked on! With his chest pressed against Leo’s, he noticed the other wasn’t taking deep breaths, or maybe he couldn’t. In fact he basically wasn’t breathing at all.

Desperate Black started patting Leo’s back as they both slid back to the floor, Leo’s body completely slumped against his own as he beat even harder against him. He wasn’t even sure if it was helping but he had to try something! “I’m sorry-” his whispered into Leo’s soft hair, feeling tears of fear slip past his cheeks. He couldn't lose Leo too, he refused to lose him- he’d do whatever it took to keep him alive!

The brunette suddenly took a desperate gulp of air, Will finally feeling him take a decent deep breath. “Y-yes that’s it - that’s it-” He choked on his tears, holding Leo tightly against himself, afraid he’d disappear if he loosened his grip.

He let Leo take all the time he needed to catch his breath, listening and feeling his chest slowly find its natural rhythm again as his forehead burned through his shirt as his head nestled into the crook of Black’s neck. The heat only made him worry even more.

“B… Bla...ck,” he heard Leo almost whimper after a few moments, making the blonde clench the hoodie he let him borrow.

“I’m here,” he said, trying to sound composed.

“Happened… again…” he whimpered, trying so hard to stay conscious.

Black bite his bottom lip, trying his best to remain the strong one right now. “What happened again?”

The terrifying silence made Will want to cry, assuming Leo passed out on him. He thought he could handle this, he thought he could save him, but he was wrong. He couldn't save anyone.

“In...side-” Leo’s frail voice pulled him back to reality, making his eyebrows knit in confusion. “Something inside… every time I try to get up-” he coughed a bit weakly, almost wheezing. “Squeezes, my lungs.”

Black’s eyes went wide, looking down at Leo’s hair urgently. His lungs - something was wrong with his lungs? Did he sustain an internal injury while on the run or was this damage the drugs caused? Or was there something else going on?

The reason didn’t matter right now, he needed to get Leo back to Libra’s headquarters and to Dr Estevez.

Taking out his phone, he quickly dialed Klaus’s number, the call connecting to the bluetooth earpiece. They exchanged information before he left the state just in case the King of Despair tried rearing his evil head.

No answer, which was out of character for the Leader of Libra. He was probably fighting those things or that Blood Breed from earlier.

“We have a doctor back at headquarters waiting for you,” Black reassured as he tried to think of the best way to do this. Leo could easily pick him up, but he wasn’t as strong as him. At least physically.

Taking a deep breath, he focused. Leo started floating in midair, allowing Black to reposition himself, letting his powers gently rest his friend against his back. His hands quickly looped around his legs as Leo’s head nuzzled into the crook of his neck again, that abnormally hot forehead sending shivers down his spine.

“Before you freak out, I have psychic powers, and yes, you knew this before you lost your memory,” he said, not wanting the other to waste his energy asking questions. “Sit tight, and if you can, help me keep an eye out for those creatures okay?” His light blue eyes lit up a little with power as he willed the hood to cover Leo’s head. It wouldn’t do much, but at least it made it harder for those things to recognize him.

He took to the streets, but avoided the major ones. The one good thing about being possessed by the King of Despair was learning how to get around without being seen, something Leo was horrible at doing.

A few shady people glanced over at them, but knew better than to get in his way. They tried having their way with the King of Despair and quickly learned to appreciate the fact they could still breath. Most turned away as soon as they recognized him while others fled in the other direction. Their fear used to make Black feel guilty and disgusting. For once he was grateful for it.

Leo’s breathing started getting worse a few blocks away from the hideout, making Black push himself to walk even faster. He realized he didn’t even know how to get into the hideout. When they were coming in Gilbert somehow made a handprint scanner appear which then opened the door to the elevator. The only problem was Black didn’t know how to even get the scanner out in the first place.

‘I hope you’re watching out for us Michella,’ he tightened his hold around Leo’s legs, making the other groan softly into his neck. Black blushed deeply before a loud metal crashing sound made him freeze. He didn’t have to look, he threw up a barrier to his right, instantly hearing something splatter against it.

They finally found them.

Okay, he couldn't mess this up. He got tired really easily while using his powers, so he had to make each time count. “Leo, are you awake?” He asked as he ran, though it wasn’t much faster than his speed walk.

The other groaned against him, but nodded. “If you can, please be my eyes. We’re literally just three blocks away from safety and unlike your friends I’m not well versed in self defense.”

Three blocks away…? Were they really that close? He tried moving his head, finding his eyes could open slightly. All he could really see was Black’s shirt though. Maybe… he could try something else.

Black nearly skid to a stop as he felt something wrap around his eyes, his sight becoming blue and purple hues. He quickly recovered and kept running, looking left and right, seeing one of those creatures hopping from roof to roof, getting ready to dive down. He saw a flicker of movement further up, seeing another one of those creature’s skeletal faces as it crawled out of a large trash can, blocking their path out of the alley.

That face -

their bodies-

The one above them didn’t even get close to the edge of the next building before it literally splattered in midair, Black’s eyes flickering with powerful light in his pupils as his features resemble a face the King of Despair would make when he was thoroughly pissed off. The other one burst as well before it could even attempt to pounce, painting the walls black.

These creatures - they looked sickeningly familiar to something he saw during one of the many trips the King of Despair’s took to the Alterworld. The only reason he remembered them was because even Despair thought they were disgusting tools and threatened to blow them all up. The pain and choking sensation Leo was describing made sense now even if he wished it didn’t.

This whole situation was far worse than they could've ever anticipated. He honestly wasn’t sure how they were going to help Leo, which only made him more determined not to give up.

First things first, he needed to get him back to the hideout, even if it used up all his energy.

Closing his eyes he stopped walking, concentrating on the hidden door in the alley way that took them to Libra’s headquarters. Normally it took awhile for him to concentrate, but with Leo’s borrowed vision, he saw it almost instantly. ‘Please be watching,’ he begged as he let his energy flow, stumbling and bumping into the new hidden cramped alley wall as they teleported. His arms felt like jello as the hold he had around Leo’s legs started to falter, much to his annoyance. Glancing around, he let out a sigh of relief seeing the red door.

“Michella-” Black called out, unable to help it as he dropped to one knee. Only pure determination stopped him from letting Leo go and falling on his face. “Please-”

She was way ahead of him. The door opened to the elevator, Dr Estevez and Anila running out to greet them. Black smiled up at them the best he could as Dr Estevez threw one of Leo’s arms over her shoulder and dragged him to the elevator.

“Can you stand?” Anila asked, her dark brown curly hair bouncing against her dark cheeks.

“I might need your help,” he admitted, feeling her drape one of his arms around her in a similar fashion as they limped to the elevator. Black watched with bated breath and Leo’s eyes until the elevator closed, letting out a sigh of relief.

He did it; he finally got Leo to safety.

“Press it now Toby,” Anila ordered, the alarm blaring right after.

“Security alert, Defcon Level 1 now activated. Please do not leave the building and stay away from the windows.” The security system confirmed as Anila pulled out her cellphone.

“This is Anila, Leonardo Watch has been recovered and Defcon Level 1 is now activated.”

“What?!” Black heard Steven on the other line. “Did he wander over there himself?!”

“Let me talk to him, it’s important,” Black said, the women looking down at him, unsure.

“William found him, he wants to speak to you.” She handed the phone over as the elevator reached their floor. Dr Estevez immediately ran out and headed to the room she was given to work on him - the conference room - much to Black’s protests.

“She needs to hear this too,” he grumbled as Anila helped him down the hall.

“I’m listening!” The doctor called back, much to his surprise. He didn’t expect her to hear him. “Those creatures, I’ve seen them before when the King of Despair was possessing me,” he started, everyone becoming silent and grave. They already knew this wasn’t good news. “They’re creations from a Collector in the Alterworld who sells his pieces on the black market. If I’m remembering correctly, he’s the one in charge of the auction he sells his ‘pieces’ at.”

“Do you know his name?” Klaus asked, not wasting a moment. Everyone knew how dangerous collectors from the Alterworld could be, especially if they worked with the black market. “Unfortunately no, but he’s very popular with powerful people like the 13 Kings, hence why the King of Despair was involved with him,” Black informed, staring at Leo’s panting body as Dr Estevez started her work. “Those creatures are his hunters. They stalk the Collector’s prey until they find a chance to essentially mummify the victim by filling them up with that black goo, literally preserving their life and force them into becoming comatose dolls.” Anila and Dr Estevez’s faces went pale as they recalled the story from Chain and K.K. about the creature trying to ‘drown’ Leo. “The Collector then either keeps them or sells them, allowing the new owner decide if they want them to stay comatose or turn them back to normal.”

“That would explain the fevers-” Dr Estevez said as she felt Leo’s forehead again, clicking her tongue when he was still dangerously warm. “His body is trying to fight off the intruder, but it doesn’t know how to so it’s been trying to get him to eject it.” She stopped as she saw Leo open one of his eyes, the godly glow dim.

“Something’s in.. my chest,” Leo breathed out, trying his best to wrap his mind around the disturbing and disgusting revelation. “My lungs…”

“I think it was trying to stop you from running away by essentially petrifying your lungs,” Black said as he came up to his side, knowing the other wouldn’t remember Dr Estevez and didn’t want him to freak out. “But it can’t affect just one of your organs or you’ll die, so it did it just long enough to keep you incapacitated. Their deadline must be coming up if they’re getting this desperate.”

“But how does that explain his amnesia?” Dr Estevez asked, mostly to herself. “Unless we assume it first targeted the brain. Maybe it tried attacking Leo last night, but he was able to fight off.” She turned to Black, seeing if he could approve the theory or not with what he knew.

“That would make sense,” Black admitted. “Those creatures can’t even be seen by other Beyondians due to a massive cloaking spell the Collector created. So when they found out Leo could see them and fight back by controlling their vision-”

“They found a way to make it harder for him to fight back.”

“Anila,” Black heard Steven call, making him quickly put the phone on speaker so she could hear. “Call the forensics team, see if they can find any trace of that thing in the bile samples. If they can prove there’s traces in his system before Zapp got there, that’ll help us piece some of this together and maybe find a way to treat Leo.”

“On it,” she said as she took the phone back and made to leave. “Is there anything else you want to add?”

“Not right now,” Black said as he collapsed in one of the conference room chairs, no longer having anyone to support him. “I have Klaus’s number, I’ll call if I remember anything else.”

“Thank you,” Klaus’s voice came from the phone this time. “Sorry I missed your call, I was taking care of the Blood Breed.”

“It’s fine,” Black reassured as the Libra agent left, his eyes going back to Leo who went quiet and stiff. He was obviously uncomfortable. “Leo this is Dr Estevez. She can clone herself in order to be in more places than one, so don’t freak out if you see double of her.”

“Thanks,” Leo weakly responded, making Black frown. He sounded so frail and fragile like that.

“Go ahead and rest, you’ve earned it,” Dr Estevez reassured the brunette, both watching him fall asleep almost instantly. “You too William,” she said, side glancing over at him. “We’ll need you in case those things somehow find a way in here.”

He wanted to protest, but he couldn't disagree with that logic. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea.”

----

To the Alterworld they went. There were no records of someone like the man William described, but that meant this guy must’ve avoided Libra’s radar until now. There was only one person Klaus trusted to get reliable information about someone dangerous like this: Don Arlelelle Eruca Fulgrouche.

Zapp tapped a finger against the cast his arm was in impatiently, his eyebrows twitching in irritation. The chief had been in the room for only thirty minutes and he was already losing his goddamn mind. “Why can’t we just beat the information out of the shitbag?” He grumbled under his breath, not really caring if the guards heard him or not. K.K. elbowed him hard in the side, making the other whimper.

“Because he’s one of the most powerful and influential mob bosses in the Alterworld. You don’t want to get on his bad side.”

“Tch, he’s about to get on mine. Why didn’t I volunteer to go with Steven?! It would’ve been less boring than waiting for the stupid door to open!”

----

Steven and Chain walked around the Underworld markets, the fog so thick they had to stay really close to each other so they wouldn't get lost or separated. They got a small lead that a few punks were selling something that could lead anyone to the All Seeing Eyes of the Gods. Typically they ignored these kinds of rumors considering they were always scams, but they couldn’t take a chance right now.

“What do you think? This seems like the general area the flier described right?” Steven asked the Invisible Werewolf who nodded, her eyes staying peeled despite the small blush that stained her cheeks. She didn’t realize how close she’d have to be by Steven during this mission.

“Yes,” she confirmed, her eyes narrowing on an alleyway where no stalls seemed to linger.

Why was it always alleys with them? “Look over there, it’s the blue star from the flier,” she pointed at the graffiti on the wall, slowly advancing forward. The second in command nodded, hardly able to see it himself, but trusted her with his life.

“I honestly don’t know how these people can live down here,” the ice user admitted, seeing the fog not bothering them at all.

“They’ve learned to cope with it as their reality,” Chain said, signalling him to stop. “Let me go first.” Slowly her body phased into the building before the alley like a ghost. No one screamed, so it must’ve been vacant.

“There’s only two and they’re unarmed, but they have a sonic speed monkey. It could be Sonic,” her eyes sterned in anger, watching as Steven’s followed suit.

These guys were obviously involved somehow.

“Cover the back exit, I’ll do the talking.”

Both the suspects seemed to be part of the same species, though Steven honestly wasn’t sure what they were. They resembled medium sized goblins, though while one of them was red, the other was blue. Just like all the other creatures from the Beyond, they were wearing clothes which were really baggy on them. They didn’t look like much, but he knew better than to assume anything.

“Hey you two, heard you had something interesting for sale,” Steven said as he walked up to their janky makeshift table that looked like it’d fall apart at any moment, his hands casually stuffed in his pockets. Immediately the sonic speed monkey they had in a cage jumped up against the bars and dramatically cried, a hand stretched out towards him as if begging Steven to get him the hell out of there.

Yep, that was definitely Sonic.

The two immediately straightened up. “Our first customer-” one of them whispered happily as the other elbowed him.

“Yes we do Sir. We have something that’ll help you obtain the powers of the gods themselves!” The other one pointed to the monkey in the cage, to which Sonic glowered back at them. They obviously haven’t been treating him well; he looked ready to bite of their noses.

“A monkey?” Steven asked with a raised eyebrow, making sure his voice was filled with doubt, watching the two punks eat it up.

“But this isn’t just any ordinary sonic speed monkey, it belongs to the owner of the All Seeing Eyes of the Gods! Not only can it lead you to him, but you can also use him as a hostage!”

So that was their game. They obviously couldn’t kidnap Leo so instead they were selling a way for others to get a hold of him. He wondered if this is how the Collector learned about him in the first place.

“That is a very tempting offer,” he admitted, his face turning sour as he dropped the charade. “But how do you think the sons of bitches that purchase the monkey should handle the other Libra members when they come knocking?” Both of the men froze, their eyes widening in terror. They weren’t stupid, they managed to kidnap Sonic after all.

“Th-they should beg Libra to show mercy a-and offer to do anything to let them live!” The blue one cried, doing nothing as Steven reached forward and pulled the rusty cage open with minimal effort. Sonic wailed as he crawled up Steven’s shoulder and hissed at his two kidnappers, probably cursing at them in his own language.

“So tell me, how did you two idiots manage to kidnap him anyway?” He asked, his voice softer again, but still held that icy malice that made them shiver. “And know if you try to scream or escape, you’ll feel my icy needles crawling through every inch of your body.”

Both of them gulped, the blue one peeing his pants. “W-we saw him w-walking home-”

“The monkey?”

“The kid!” The red one shouted out of nervousness.

“Y-yeah, the kid, we saw him walking home a-and followed him. We really need the money, so we… came up with a plan.”

“What money?” Steven interrupted, making them jump at his sternness.

“The bounty money!” They stammered. “Th-that’s why you’re here too, right?”

A bounty was pretty typical for all the members of Libra. Most of them were literally worth millions of dollars dead or alive. So what was so special about Leo’s bounty that got him into this mess? He’d grill into that later. “Go on, what did you idiots do next?”

“His white haired friend kept getting in our way and scared us, so we came up with a plan-”

“A really elaborate one,” the red one continued, seemingly proud.

“We noticed the air conditioning broke, so we kept turning the heater on-”

“Which forced the tenants to leave their doors and windows open to get any relief.”

“It was seriously hot in there, they were better off outside-”

“But the brat wouldn’t leave his fucking door open!” The two kept alternating, almost making it hard to follow along.

“So we followed him to the store, and bought Pepsi labels to put on our sodas.”

“And tricked him into thinking there was a package for him downstairs so he’d leave the door unlocked-”

“And switched his soda with ours.”

Steven’s eyes narrowed. “You switched his soda out with ones that were drugged.” Both of them looked up at him, the red one wetting himself this time as he could almost feel that icy glare piercing his nerves.

“Y-yes… b-but we didn’t want to hurt the brat, we just needed him unconscious long enough to transport him,” the blue one stammered.

“But he wouldn’t drink the fucking soda!” The red one angrily said despite the fear. “He kept opening them and putting them off to the side until he opened half the pack, then he finally drank half of one. But that’s not nearly enough in his system to do the job!”

“So we had to improvise. Luckily we still had some left over Hellfire from our last job.”

Hellfire- it was a drug for Beyondians that was nearly too strong even for their own kind. Not only did it make them higher than a kite after one inhalation, it also had a horrible side effect that paralyzed most of the drug abusers who used more than the recommended amount, the paralysis sometimes becoming permanent. Those who didn’t suffer permanent paralysis often became violently ill and died of severe dehydration because they couldn’t become coherent enough to take care of themselves.

“The tenant right above his room moved out because of the heat, allowing us to slip in and use a rope to drop down to the brat’s open window when he fell asleep-”

“Where we released the drug into the room. But that’s when this stupid shit head got in the way!” The red one angrily pointed to the monkey who hissed at him again.

“It saw us and alerted the brat, but the drug made it hard for him to even sit up without falling over, so that thing jumped us and attacked-!” Both their faces caved to fear after that, shaking.

Steven rose an eyebrow, not understanding their sudden fear. “Sonic scared you that bad?”

“N-no-” the blue one whimpered as the red struggled to speak.

“That’s when… that’s when it showed up.”

“It?” Steven pressed, though had a sinking feeling he knew what it was.

“We couldn't see it… but the kid screamed and fought against something, even using those eyes of his. Then this weird black stuff came out of nowhere and dripped into his mouth. That’s when our rope broke.” The blue one shivered. “We don’t know how we survived the fall, but we did.”

“But we were empty handed.”

“We were tempted to go back in there and collect him, but we didn’t know if that thing was still in there, and if it was, we wanted nothing to do with it. So we settled with taking the drugged monkey instead.”

The pieces were coming together, proving their latest theories correct. Leo must’ve been able to fight the thing off and tried to text Klaus for help. The poor kid couldn’t even finish the text before the drugs and that black stuff took control. Part of him was glad Leo didn’t remember, that sounded like a nightmare.

“That bounty,” the ice user inquired, the floor beneath him now a slate of ice from his anger. “Do you have a copy of that poster?”

“Y-yes-!” The red one quickly fidgeted with his clothes, pulling out the half ripped and dirty rolled up piece of paper. Steven took it and unrolled it, clenching the paper angrily.

In big letters read ‘Leonardo Watch, Member of Libra, Holder of the All Seeing Eyes of the Gods. Reward: Crimson Elixir and $10,000,000.’ The fact someone was literally offering both money and Elixir meant they were trying to get as many people as possible to go after Leo so they didn’t have to. If the Creator was commissioned to retrieve him, it had to be by someone very powerful, dangerous, and influential. Someone who didn’t feel the need to leave the safety of their base of operations.

‘Crimson Elixir,’ he mumbled to himself, his eyes narrowing. Rumors say it can heal any wounds and illnesses, even allow you to regenerate lost body parts and grant someone eternal life. At least, those were the rumors that were going around Hellsalem’s Lot after the First Collapse. With that offer he was surprised Leo wasn’t attacked earlier and by more people. Then again, most people probably that it was a hoax.

“Thank you for cooperating. For that, you get to live.” The two creatures eyes widened before their eyes rolled up into the back of their heads, Chain easily knocking them both out. “Tell Gilbert to personally pick these bastards up. They’ll get what’s coming to them,” he growled. “I’ll fill everyone else in.”

#phage writes #kekkai sensen #leonardo watch #blood blockade battlefront

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your-iron-lung · 6 years

Text

The Language of Birds

A man saw a bird and found him beautiful. The bird had a song inside him, and feathers. Sometimes the man felt like the bird and sometimes the man felt like a stone- solid, inevitable- but mostly he felt like a bird, or that there was a bird inside him, or that something inside him was like a bird fluttering.

This went on for a long time.

-Richard Siken

available to read on A03 HERE

Sometimes love manifests itself as a disease; nigh incurable and invariably fatal. Hanahaki, they call it- the disease of flowers.

Steve has lived his entire life with it, managing the symptoms as best he can until he simply can’t any longer. He’s never met anyone else who’s suffered the same way until Billy Hargrove.

Pairing: One-sided/unrequited Harringrove

Word Count: 2349

Rating: Non-explicit

so um. an overwhelming amount of people wanted a sequel to ‘The Language of Flowers’, or at the very least a happy ending variant but uhhhhh

:^)

i am a creature that thrives off of sadness and misery im sorry

The first time it happens, he doesn’t understand why the rest of his elementary school friends run from him screaming ‘cooties!’ at the top of their lungs.

Steve holds the yellow flower petal in his hand and cries because he doesn’t understand what it means, or why it came from so deep within his itchy throat. His mom thought he’d had something called ‘strep’, but when the beautiful, kind Ms. Julia takes him to the school nurse he finds out she was wrong.

Both Ms. Julia and the nurse share a worried glance when he presents his flower petals to them. The nurse calls his mom, and for a moment Steve believes he’s in trouble, but if being in trouble means he gets to spend some extra time alone with his teacher, then, well, maybe getting into trouble is worth it.

His mom picks him up from school early, but instead of going home she takes him to an emergency doctor even though he doesn’t feel sick. She looks so scared that Steve becomes scared, worried of what he’s done wrong to prompt this trip.

He asks her what’s wrong, why the strep is causing flower petals to push up out of his throat, but she doesn’t answer; only attempts to comfort him by repeatedly saying: “It’s nothing, sweetheart, don’t worry. You’re okay.”

But the doctor disagrees with her when they finally arrive.

The doctor is young, but is already outstanding in her field. She’s the only doctor close to Hawkins that treats Hanahaki Disease, but she’s never had to treat it in a patient as young as the little Harrington boy.

“It’s rare, but not entirely unheard of,” she says to Mrs. Harrington, who has tears in her eyes and won’t take her hand away from her mouth, already grieving. Steve watches them talk from atop the examination table, holding a few of the yellow petals in his hands. They’re soft and velvety; smooth to the touch, and he doesn’t know why they should be causing his mother so much distress. “Children fall in love with things all the time; just because they’re young doesn’t mean they’re immune to their feelings.”

The doctor turns away from his mother and smiles at Steve, coaxing a shy smile from him in return.

“What’s the name of your favourite teacher at school, Steve?” she asks, and Steve’s shy smile transforms instantly into one that is so much more genuine; he even starts to giggle.

“Missus Julia.”

“Is she nice?” Steve nods, fingers tightening around the petals. “Pretty too I bet, huh?”

“Yes,” he replies. “She smiles at me every day.”

The doctor turns a knowing look to his mother, who finally takes her hand away from her mouth to speak.

“Is it- will he be okay?”

“Hanahaki is 100% treatable, but I’d like to take some x-rays to get a better idea of what we’re dealing with here.”

Steve’s mother nods, and the doctor takes him by the hand and leads him out of the room.

The technicians take the x-rays, cooing over how adorable little Steve is. The doctor of course agrees that he is, but this is a medical practice, so could they please not get too distracted? The x-rays come back quickly enough after their exchange, and the doctor is dismayed by what she sees. Steve’s condition is abnormal in more ways than one, which is saddening, because his capacity for love is so strong.

Even still, she understands his life is on the line, and the disease must be treated.

“In most cases, Hanahaki manifests itself in the host’s lungs,” she begins, speaking slowly as she pins up the x-rays to the light board for Mrs. Harrington to observe, “but in Steve’s case, it appears to have taken root in his heart-”

“His heart?!”

“Yes,” she replies calmly, aware that Steve is monitoring their reactions. “Again, it’s not untreatable, but the usual recommended surgery to remove it is invasive, and not generally recommended for a patient his age.”

Mrs. Harrington starts to cry, and the doctor really wishes she hadn’t. It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s not like her son is dead. On the examination table behind them, Steve shares in his mother’s grief and also begins to cry.

He sees the doctor off and on throughout his life. His unique condition requires routine monitoring to adjust medication doses in order to keep the flower from completely harvesting his heart, because no one wants to have to put him through the open-heart surgery to remove it. They become friends, in a word- about as good of friends as a doctor who treats a patient with a chronic heart condition can be friends- and he’s never really been unhappy to see her until his break up with Nancy.

His medicine stops working. The flowers and pain in his heart become more persistent, and he’s ashamed to admit that he breaks down in the exam room over it.

“Bullshit,” he mutters, spitting Nancy’s words out with disgust. He reaches into his mouth and pulls out a petal that’s been caught in his throat for the past hour. “It was all just bullshit to her.”

His doctor smiles a bit sardonically, and she wishes she could tell Steve that first loves often are just bullshit, but she’s not a therapist and doesn’t want to invalidate his feelings, although she knows that Nancy is just one of many in a long series of heartaches for Steve.

“How long have your symptoms been persisting?” she asks, kindly ignoring his tears as he wipes them away.

“Couple of weeks. A few months, maybe.”

“Steve.” She doesn’t bother hiding her disapproval, her brow furrowing as she admonishes him. “Months? You should’ve come sooner; you can’t afford to go months without treatment!”

“I didn’t want to believe it, alright?!” he says angrily, though most of his anger is directed towards himself for believing everything was fine in spite of the evidence. “We were happy; she told me she loved me, kept telling me she loved me, so how could I be choking up those fucking flowers if that were true?” He sniffles and looks up at the ceiling for a moment, collecting himself before he can address his physician again. “I mean, would you believe it, if someone kept saying that to you?”

Her professionalism keeps her from answering honestly.

“I would have come to see me the minute I realized my medication stopped working,” she says and sighs, studying him for a minute. That great capacity to love that he’s carried with him since he was a child is still strong, and she’s comforted by that thought, but at the same time it’s worrisome. “The growth in your heart could have advanced; we need to make sure it hasn’t.”

He touches his hand to his chest briefly, still wallowing in his sadness, and she sympathizes for him, she really does, but he’s treading a very fine line: to let the disease advance any further could result in surgery. Steve stays quiet while the x-rays get taken, and his doctor is relieved to see that the flower’s growth has been minimal. The roots have spread, yes, but it isn’t gotten to the point where he needs the surgery just yet, though there isn’t much point in fighting the inevitable.

“Don’t do this again, Steve; you’re really pushing your limits here.”

She ups the dosage on his medication and prescribes him an anti-depressant and releases him back into the world he can’t afford to love too strongly.

When Billy goes down hard on the court after being shoved violently aside in what should have been called out as a foul, everyone expects him to get back up and start a fight over it, but he doesn’t. No one’s sure what to do when he starts coughing, and Steve swears the whole gymnasium goes quiet just so they can listen to each strangled intake of breath.

His teammates cast nervous looks at each other, but no one makes a move to help him. As captain of the team, Steve takes the initiative and jogs over to his side to try and help him up. Billy brushes him aside but he persists, reaching out his hand for support but stalls when Billy throws up, a horrific mixture of blood and flowers spewing across the midcourt line.

“Holy shit dude,” he says, brown eyes blown wide at the familiar sight.

“Fuck off,” Billy hisses before fleeing the scene, leaving the mess for the Belleview High janitor to mop up so they can finish their game.

Steve watches Billy’s health deteriorate rapidly over the course of the next few weeks, and it’s like he’s seeing an alternate version of himself that decided to rot instead of seek help with treating the symptoms.

It’s agonizing seeing him like this; suffering to maintain an image that is losing value the more time that passes.

So he tells him about his doctor; about the options she provides so that maybe he doesn’t have to die if he doesn’t actually want to, because despite what he says, there’s a spark in his eye that shines when he looks at Steve that suggests he isn’t seeking death quite as hard as he lets on that he is.

In the end, he gets the treatment. Goes to see Steve’s doctor and comes back to school healthy as ever, physically. He does a good job of hiding it, but Steve can tell that, emotionally, Billy hasn’t healed, and there’s something about his sorrowful looks and how beautiful his personal tragedy is that draws Steve in, compels him to care despite his best efforts not to. Billy’s not the first boy he’s managed to develop strong feelings for, but when the flowers come back, again, he tries to tell himself that he’s wrong: there’s no way in hell he’s fallen for Billy Hargrove.

Except, the flowers are different this time.

For as long as he can remember, the flowers he’s been infected with have always been the same colour and texture: for his elementary school teacher, for his middle school crush, for the French foreign exchange boy that came to Hawkins freshman year, and even for Nancy, the flowers in his heart have always manifested themselves as soft and yellow. But the flowers he coughs up for Billy aren’t yellow, or velvety soft to the touch- no, instead he finds himself coughing up husks. Paper-thin, dried up, brittle petals that cause tears in his throat when he coughs that give the little grey shreds some colour.

When he coughs up flower petals this time, they’re dead.

He panics; what does it mean? What could it mean? It’s related to Billy in some regard, but his fear prevents him from thinking too much about it.

His medicine stops working and the coughing gets worse. Steve heeds his doctor’s prior advice and immediately goes to see her, but she isn’t as surprised as he thought she’d be.

Just like with the rest of the circumstances surrounding his variant of the disease, it’s extremely rare, but not entirely unheard of.

“It happens, from time to time,” she explains, studying one of the petals that Steve coughs up. It falls apart easily in her fingers, but has hard edges that’ve been tearing up her patient’s throat.

“Why?” Steve asks, and his voice is hoarse from the abuse it’s been enduring. “It’s never been like this before.”

His doctor tilts her hand over the little garbage bin in the room and lets the fragile petals fall in. She wipes her hand clean of the remains and then takes a seat on a little black stool, flipping through Steve’s file.

With a deep intake of breath, she sets the file aside and looks Steve in the eye. “When a patient exhibits symptoms like this, it’s because the subject of their affection physically isn’t capable of reciprocating.”

“What does that mean?” He feigns ignorance, but he understands the implication of her words.

Billy. Billy had liked him; had had real, genuine feelings for him that had eventually begun to kill him, and Steve had so callously rejected him- told him to get them cut out and to move on.

“I mean, why let yourself suffer over someone who doesn’t even like you back, right?”

But how could he have known? How could he have possibly known?

There was nothing, never an indicator that Billy could have ever liked him- except, except for all the side-long glances Steve had pretended to ignore. The way Billy always sought him out after their team won a game to softly touch him on the back in shared congratulation with a hand that always lingered a little too long. The smiles, the goading, the pathetic attempts to always be in Steve’s periphery to just be able to look at him.

His chest feels heavy, and his heart aches like the roots of his disease are strangling it when he remembers the gory mixture of flowers and blood Billy spit out for him.

“You know what it means,” his doctor says with a soft voice, watching him somberly as he blinks out a few tears. “We’re going to have to remove it now, Steve, do you understand? It’s in its final stages now.”

Steve nods, shakes his head, lets out an abrupt sob and nods again.

He lets her call his mom from her office to talk about his progress and to schedule the surgery.

Because of the severity of his operation, Steve is benched from playing in any of the remaining games his team has left in the season, but that’s fine; Steve finds it very hard to care about the sport when Billy won’t even look at him anymore. The asshole doesn’t even try to rile him up the way he used to, and half the fun of playing on a team with a man like that was the competition between them.

But now there’s nothing left.

Steve’s chest still hurts, but it’s only because he’s recovering now.

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #hanahaki disease #harringrove fic #stranger things fanfiction #unrequited feelings #one-sided attraction

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