𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐏𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐘 [ᴀ ꜱᴄᴀʀᴀʙᴇᴅᴏ ꜰᴀɴꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ]

❈𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍❈

As time had passed it was inevitable that Scaramouche would leave for the Academia at ungodly hours of the morning, only ever being 'home' for 8 hours or maybe even less and as the weeks passed by he was slowly and slowly coming back seemingly more worn out than he had been previously. Hell- one night, he didn't even return at all.
Upon his recent trek back home, he felt himself feeling a little lightheaded. He hasn't anticipated being forced to stay conscious during such vigorous operations. The doctor ripping open his back, only for it to go wrong and to be forced together again. He swore he felt the wetness of his own blood seeping through the bandages under his shirt. As he stared upon the resting village in front of him, he took his usual route, ensuring that he wasn't seen by anyone who would suspect the worst.
He felt a pang of light-headedness as he stood at the entrance of his home, furrowing his brows and holding his head, steading himself before eventually stepping inside. He looked around, subconsciously making sure Albedo was still there before he went to change out of his dirtied attire. Thankfully for him, his clothes were dark enough to hide any bleed throughs- though that didn't last for very long. As he pulled his undershirt over his head, he felt a pain shooting through his back, causing him to stop his movements momentarily, biting his tongue to try and ignore it before continuing his movements. He may not have fully human skin - an illusion of such, yes, but it was still as fragile as any porcelain figure if damaged enough. He didn't exactly realise that the tightly wrapped bandages around his chest and back began to stain in colour, small, but noticeable splotches of red seeping through the fabric that covered his spine- and soon enough it began to spread. He didn't realise he would begin to lose blood at such an unnatural rate. Feeling himself become dizzy and lightheaded, he just stood there for a moment, soon leaning forward and resting his head against the surface of the drawers, doing anything he could to stop the dizzying feeling. Surely it was just fatigue, right? Surely. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily as he brought his hands to the side of his head. Why did he feel so weak all of a sudden?
–
Albedo would be cleaning up around the home, making sure things were in place before the other had come home. Upon hearing the door closed he stopped his cleaning and went to check up on what it was.. or who it was. His head turning to the kitchen he caught sight of the Harbinger standing there "Your home earl-" he stopped mid way of his sentence as he saw the blood on their back. His face being full of worry and concern as he rushed over to their side with a towel he had in his hand "What happened? Are you ok?" he questioned, panic in his voice as he placed the fabric on the wound "lets go, I'll.. patch you up.." he would take them by the waist as he guided them to the bedroom. He kept pressure on the others back as he slowly removed their clothes and bandages. He stared at the others back as he furrowed his brows "I think you need to tell me the truth.. What the hell is happening to you?"
He would sigh out as he picked up a medical kit and some disinfectant "this might sting.. you might want to sleep for this part.." he would bring the disinfectant and apply it to their back. He continued to put pressure onto their back to help stop the blood from flowing down, he was focused on healing their back and making sure the other wouldn't die on them as he furrowed his brows. Several minutes passed by as he started to use a needle to patch up the wound on their back, wrapping them up in bandages and gauze he would sigh once finishing "there.. all done.." he mumbled as he stood up and picked up the others blood stained clothes
–
As Albedo made an attempt at guiding them to their bedroom, he tried to get out of their grasp, insisting that he was fine, only to feel himself slowly blacking out. Surely he wasn't overworked, right? He wasn't bleeding too much.. right? Wrong.
The bandages were almost soaked with his own blood as a dazed look spread across his features. If he could just close his eyes- and yet upon seeing how much blood there was upon the fabric that was supposed to stop the bleeding he just couldn't bring himself to doing such a thing.
"Albedo- I'm fine. It's nothing I cant- I can't.. handle" he spoke, bringing a hand to his head to try and steady himself, gripping onto the bed as he felt himself fading in and out of consciousness. For afew moments he sat in silence, darkness ringing his vision as he heard a static in his ears- his whole body had felt numb. Why did he feel so weak?
Upon feeling the other cleaning his back he gritted his teeth and hissed in pain, furrowing his brows as he tried to pull away, only to feel a horrible heaviness wearing him down. His chest was rising and falling slowly, the darkness in his vision expanding as time had passed and once Albedo was done with him, he promptly lay himself down, feeling strangely cold, heavy and.. extremely tired. He swore he could feel himself dying. How absurd.. he couldn't- he WOULDN'T die from something so.. pathetic, right? Of course not. He was a divine creation- a fatui harbinger. He couldn't, right?
Eventually he closed his eyes, his brows furrowed as his 'breaths' became slow and shallow, and soon reached a point of where it looked like he wasn't breathing at all. He just lay there, cold, seemingly motionless and tired from the amount of blood that had been lost.
–
Albedo would put the harbingers' clothes to wash somewhere as he sighed a little bit. He then walked back into the bedroom to see that the other was asleep, furrowing his brows he covered him up with a clean sheet as he moved their hair to kiss their forehead "You lost so much blood.. I need to find some way to get some back in you.." he mumbled to himself as he took a small sample of their blood and put it to the side.. perhaps he could find someone who would give some over. If not.. he'll just have to kill someone for it. He would take another needle and inject some pain medication into their arm before pulling the covers over him "sleep well.." he mumbled as he left the room, closing the door behind him as he walked over to the kitchen to do a bit of research
–
As the other left, he let out a soft whine, forcing his eyes open as he watched them leave- lifting his arm as if to try and call them back, practically asking for them to stay. He didn't know if these would be his last moments or not, and at this rate he didn't want to know. All he wanted was for his lover to be by his side. He forced himself to sit up, almost falling back down onto the bed for a moment. After a short struggle, he ends up getting up, using his surroundings as a support before he eventually found Albedo again.
He didn't care how weak he was, or the fact he was practically seconds away from collapsing- or possible death, but he didn't care. He had found himself cracking under the others' touch, growing soft for the Alchemist and wanting their attention even when he didn't necessarily need it. He just wanted it. He quietly stumbled behind them and wrapped his arms around their body, pressing into their warmth. He felt so cold that he felt as if he needed to be around them. He let out a quiet humm as he nuzzled his face into the crook of their neck, doing anything he could to warm himself.
"Don't leave..." he mumbled against their skin. His body was colder to the touch than it was normally, he felt frail and desperate for their attention- as if he were a lone child.
–
Albedo would freeze from the others touch as he looked back at them, smiling he would put the vile he had with the others blood in it as he held their hand "You want my attention? You should be resting.. I'm calling a doctor for you to take you in.." he sighed as he turned around. He would gently hold the other close to his body as he placed his hand on their back carefully "I promise I won't let you die on me, but you have to help me out by resting.." he would stare at them as he gently cupped their face, kissing them softly he sighed. "The medicine I injected into you should work.. if not I'll give you something else" he would kiss the top of their head as he walked them back to the bedroom
–
He grumbled as he leaned into their touch, his brows furrowing as he followed them back to the bedroom. Upon seeing the bed in front of him his tired eyes weakly focused upon it for a moment, eventually letting himself fall onto it and then turning to look at Albedo. His eyes focusing on him, a somewhat dazed look in his eyes before he weakly locked his hands with the blonde's. Surely he would stay, right?
"..stay" he spoke- more like demanded, desperate for the others warmth, their touch, their everything. He just wanted them next to him. After afew seconds of silence, staring at them expectantly he furrowed his brows a little, weakly squeezing their hand in the process "..please" he added, tugging their hand a little, as if telling them that they wanted to lay with them.
He would never openly admit he would want attention, usually he would be a little more brattish or deny it completely- hell. Sometimes he would provoke the other just so he could get what he had wanted.
–
Albedo would look down at him as he sighed softly, smiling he walked over and laid down beside them on the bed. Gently holding them close to his own body, his touch being warm and loving, careful and gentle to not hurt the other "now that you're like this I'll definitely be staying alongside you.. you need to be careful.." he mumbled a little. He would hold them with one hand on their waist and their other gently stroked their hair, his fingers brushing thru them as he stayed silent for awhile
–
Upon the other laying next to him, he quickly- well.. as quickly as he could, tucked himself under their chin, wrapping his arms around their body and furrowing his brows from the dulling pain that had been pulsating throughout his body. After a while of staying quiet he had finally forced up the energy to speak, though his voice was..quiet, and tired.
"Dottore has been figuring out ways to put a different plating on my back," he said plainly, staring down at the fabric of Albedo's shirt. He breathed in for a moment, soon remembering he didn't need to breathe to survive. Why was he doing such a thing? Habit, perhaps? Maybe the moment just made him feel more alive. "Though.. in the process it went.. wrong so many times" he grumbled, his fingers tracing small circles along the blonde's back.
"He said it was a necessary change to become a god. I already have a gnosis. Why do I need to be in some kind of... machine?" He huffed- soon stopping and slipping into silence again, closing his eyes as he felt an ache beginning to form within the back of his head.
–
Albedo would listen to their words as he sighed softly, he would cup their face with his hands as he looked at him "You don't have to become a god, your already powerful as it is.." he smiled creasing his cheeks lovingly "you won't be going back, not until you have healed up.. I will be checking up on you everyday and making sure you aren't doing anything to hurt yourself again.." a serious tone in his voice could be heard. He furrowed his brows as he kissed them softly "do you understand?" he mumbled as he held them closer, pulling the sheets over them he gently placed a hand on their back and held their head close to his chest. Was he worried about the other? Certainly, after all he was his lover and someone he didn't want to lose. He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes, keeping the other in his hold
–
Scaramouche furrowed his brows as he adjusted himself, stopping for a moment as he felt a mild stinging in his back. He then lay back where he was before and simply just moved his head to look up at the other, taking in his features for a moment before scrunching up his nose slightly.
"I don't have a choice but to go back. The sooner I'm in that thing the better." He grumbled, partially forgetting that once he was in the machine, it wouldn't be an easy task to get back out. He would be stuck. The moment the connection is severed, he would be out like a light. Death would be a probability. So would a coma, actually. He let out a silent huff and rested his forehead against their chest, closing his eyes as he let himself slip into deep thought. "..My purpose in life was to be a vessel for a gnosis. I don't believe I've ever told you that, have I?" He asked, his mind slightly cloudy and in a whirl from what had happened moments prior.
"In order for me to become a god, I had taken my..creator's gnosis. The next step is to just. Go under the knife in order to be compatible with the machine I will be put into to harness the power of it." He spoke plainly, his arms staying wrapped around Albedo's waist as he spoke, not daring to go into too heavy detail. If he said he had almost became completely broken more than once he didn't exactly want to dwell on what Albedo would do. "..if I was hypothetically trapped in that machine, what would you do?"
–
Albedo would furrow his brows as he thought over the question, sighing he looked at them "I would save you from that thing.. and then I would take you somewhere and keep you safe.." he smiled as he pushed aside some of his lovers hair "don't go thru with it tho.. just wait until your healed, it's not worth dying before you even have a chance.." he would sit up a little as he kissed their forehead, he then made sure they were comfortable before getting out of bed "how much pain are you in? I have medicine for you.. I'm going to inject them into you, it should fasten the healing process and make things less painful.." he softly said as he pulled out a few needles from a bag and some liquid medication.
–
Scaramouche huffed, feeling let down as he felt the other slowly leaving his hold, groaning in distaste as he watched them leave. He had just managed to get himself into a comfortable enough position to start falling asleep. Truly upsetting.
"Oh please. As if I have a choice" he spoke, sarcasm dripping from words as he burrowed his face into his bedding. He knew that by the morning he would be in a well enough state to go back, he just.. wouldn't return for a day or two if he did. That's usually what happens when things go severely wrong. "And I'm fine.. i don't need any more medication.." he grumbled, soon following with an almost silent 'I fucking hate needles', slightly muffled from the pillow he had forced his face into.
As much as he appreciated the others' hospitality, once he had afew hours to pull himself together, he knew it would be nothing he couldn't handle... hopefully, anyways.
–
Albedo sighed as he placed the medicine down on the table, sighing he walked over and sat on the edge of the bed "I'm just trying to help you.. I don't want anything bad to happen to you.." he mumbled as he would softly take their hand, creasing the top of his hand as he locked their fingers together "I'm sorry for being overprotective.." he sighed as he kissed their cheek and got up "get some rest, we can talk when your feeling better" he would cover them up as he walked to the door. Glancing back at the other he furrowed his brows and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him he headed to the kitchen to grab something to drink. He could feel his heart rush against his chest as he leaned up against the counter thinking to himself.
–
Scaramouche let out a soft huff as the other left the room, sinking further into the bedding as he closed his eyes. He found himself slipping into a deep slumber, holding his pillow close to himself as he moved his body so he could lay on his stomach- taking any unwanted pressure off of his back.
He knew he wasn't in any right condition to go back to work just yet, but he didn't have a choice. Maybe if he just powered through it- forced his way out, masking any pain that he would endure until he got back to academia. If anything really went wrong he just simply wouldn't return home the next day. A quiet grumble escaped his throat, pushing his face into his bedding as he finally fell asleep, pushing aside any worries he had previously had as he let the comforting smell of 'home' take him over.