#ch: sampo koski

[shoezuki]

Doctor, the problem's in my chest

Chapter 6

Sampo breaks his promise as soon as Gepard falls asleep.

Gepard had been drained and fatigued, his panic attack and the threat of the fragmentum monster having exhausted him. Sampo usually would’ve protested and insisted Gepard eat something when he tries to say he’s not hungry, but that time Gepard had seemed so small, worn, a bleary shadow of himself. It was unnecessary, Gepard able to get around by himself well enough, but at the slightest wince Sampo rushed to Gepard and helped him into the bedroom, tucking Gepard in like a child despite his flustered protests.

He’d stood in the wide open doorway as Gepard sank into the mattress, the comforter thrown over him messily. He’d fallen asleep practically as soon as he’d settled in, the awkward way he’d shuffled his injured leg and the uncomfortable twist of his expression melting away in the blink of an eye. Sampo still watched him, the soft rise and fall of his breathing under the blankets and how he’d curled in on himself in his sleep. His blood was unsettled, something still anxious and frantic humming in his bones, but he had to forcibly peel himself off the doorframe and look away.

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