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◢◤◢◤◢◤ YOUR POV !
Five minutes after noon, you woke up. Someone new sat behind the receptionist desk— a girl with bright red hair and a mostly blue outfit. When you got closer, you read her nameplate. Nilou.
"Hi! How can I help you?" Her voice was much softer than the old cat receptionist.
"I'm here to visit a patient. Raiden Scaramouche. He was admitted last night." You tried to stay calm, keep your voice level, and prepare for rejection.
"Alrighty. What's your relationship to the patient?"
"Huh?"
"Friend? Sister?"
"...Girlfriend?" Why didn't you sound so sure?
Nilou frowned, "I'm sorry. Hospital policy, only immediate family is allowed in unless specifically requested by the patient. And, according to the reports I have, he is still unresponsive."
"If I say please, will you let me?" You said. You laughed at yourself, Nilou smiled woefully, so you nodded and turned around.
You sat back down. Your phone had died before the sun rose— maybe you should have been better at conserving battery. You sighed. Infinitely bored, infinitely exhausted despite sleeping at some point, infinitely worried. Patient confidentiality or whatever the reason was you couldn't see Scaramouche was officially the worst thing ever.
Part of you expected his mother to walk through the door. You could picture it. The temperature would drop, time would slow, and everyone would stop what they were doing in order to see to the woman's every want. You figured that was the effect Raiden Ei had on people, given your first interaction with her.
You stared at the generic art on the wall, signed by some guy named Albedo.
You watched people come and go.
You ignored the nurses who passed you. Especially the one who offered you a snack. I don't need any of you right now.
You knew exactly what you wanted, what you needed. Who you needed, and so did they. But according to some rule, in some book, you could not have him.
Hours, minutes, or maybe days passed before someone approached you. With black hair that fell just below his chin and doctor coat, you read the Dr. T. Gandharva embroidered on the breast pocket. He held a clipboard and seemed... stoic and gentle at the same time. As if he felt the pain of all his patients so much, he couldn't feel anything.
"L/N Y/N?" Dr. Gandharva asked.
You nodded and sat up a little straighter.
"Raiden Scaramouche asked to see you. Please, follow me."
You got up. Nilou gave you a small smile and you trailed behind the doctor. Into the elevator, down several hallways, up another flight of stairs.
Eventually, finally, Dr. Gandharva stopped in front of a sterile white door in a sterile white corridor identical to the previous one. You looked at him, he nodded, turned, and walked away. You hesitated for a long, long minute. What would you see on the other side? Scaramouche.
What side of Scaramouche, though? The one that closed himself off from the world— the one you first met? Who didn't seem to care about anything or anyone? Or the one you played Uno with on the outskirts of a concert at Yuugen Park? The one who took you to Komore Kats! and adopted a cat simply because you said Why not? Or would you see the Scaramouche that Dottore wanted dead? The one attacked at the Irodori Festival?
Only one way to find out.
You opened the door.
Nothing. Nothing significant. You couldn't see the hospital bed or Scaramouche from where you stood. It was a short hallway, with one singular door that you assumed led to a bathroom. You breathed. In and out. Maybe this wouldn't the Scaramouche who thought it was him against the world. He had asked for you, after all.
Or maybe it would. Breathe. In and out. Step once. Twice. And there you were, by the foot of the bed.
"You came." He said. As if you wouldn't.
"I did." You confirmed, taking a seat on a couch pushed into the corner of the room.
"Come here." Scaramouche demanded. You had never seen him so... vulnerable. So tired. He blinked slow, like he would fall asleep at any moment. As he moved over to make room for you, his movements were sluggish. His breathing had a natural rhythm, but it, too, was slow. You wanted to immediately erase this version of Scaramouche from your memories. Delete it from the Irminsul entirely.
You obliged. You fit comfortably, your head resting near his collarbone, your arm casually around his waist. You matched his breathing. He drew small circles on your back.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, would take you away from this moment.
If the old, mad cat receptionist came in to inform you about visiting hours being over, let her. You wouldn't listen.
If the world went up in flames on the other side of the door, let it. You wouldn't mind.
If anyone tried to take you away from Scaramouche in this moment, let them try. You would raise the Abyss to stay here, with him. Time and time again.
Simp behavior, the imaginary, little Itto on your shoulder said. Siiiimp. He repeated.
You and Scaramouche laid in peace for a long while, until the silence became more suffocating than reassuring. You curled up, closer to him, your legs entangled with his. You weren't sure where you ended and he began. You didn't want to know.
You didn't consider yourself the type to spill your heart out, yet here you were. Talking and talking, waiting for Scaramouche to stop you. You weren't sure where you were going with your monologue, you were just relieved. He was here, with you. You were here, with him. So you spoke and spoke until, whatever little demon possessed you to say, "I love you." And only then did you look up at him.
Sound asleep.
You smiled to yourself. Scaramouche didn't hear you. Maybe that was for the best.
You loved a lot of things. Your closest friends, the perfect summer sky— where it was slightly cloudy but not enough to block out the sun— sunrises and sunsets, Yoimiya's eccentric ponytail and smile, Ayaka's kindness, Itto's hugs, Shinobu's straight to the point attitude, Kokomi's gentleness, Sara's formality. You loved hot chocolate, the feeling when you had missed messages from your friends being neurotic in the group chat, the smile as you read over the conversations again and again.
You loved a lot of things. Like when you bought something new and shiny, or when Monday came around, or when it was your friends' birthday.
When Scaramouche picked you up for school in the morning and dropped you off back at home. When he spontaneously asked you on a date the same day. When he kissed you. When he drove— his concentrated face, one-handed turns as his other hand held yours, the radio quiet so he could focus but loud enough you could lose yourself in the music. The perfect harmony of the two of you.
Okay, maybe you are a simp.
◢◤◢◤◢◤ TARTAGLIA POV !
private messages (tartagalicious, rosa.lohefalter)
rosa.lohefalter
Wanna go to today's Irodori
Festival?
tartagalicious
brotha u tjink i wanna do shit
w/ u? u funny 💀💀
rosa.lohefalter
Seriously?
tartagalicious
i am so deadass rn
💀🍑 me af
u got me fucked up if u think we
homies again
rosa.lohefalter
Nothing I did affected you
at all. Why are you the one
mad at me?
tartagalicious
o no sweaty everyone is mad at u
but my boy is in the hospital & my
girlie is with him. priorities man
andplusalso if u think i dont want
to kill dottore rn ur silly
a fool, even
u alsoa. Bitch 🥱🥱
rosa.lohefalter
Whatever. I get it. What do
I have to do to make it up
to you?
tartagalicious
dont ask me
as long as y/n & scara hate u, i do
so like thats forever
cuz u know he holds grudges like
a motherfuck‼️💯
goodluck!
tartagalicious blocked rosa.lohefalter
Childe thought for a long time about his answers to the Bakufu who questioned him and detained Dottore. Had he said too much? Incriminated Scaramouche by accident? Does Dottore seem like the good guy now in the eyes of the law? Shinobu assured him it wasn't that deep, but he couldn't help but hope and wonder.
What's your name? Ajax Skirkovich.
Can you identify the victim and the assailant? Raiden Scaramouche and I-don't-know-his-last-name Dottore. That's an odd name... I know, right?
What happened? Uh... I was playing this ring toss game or somethin' with Yoimiya and then Miya wanted to show off her prize and Scaramouche wandered off and then some dude jumped out and attacked him. Turns out, it's Dottore.
Yoimiya? Naganohara. Alright.
What is your relationship with the victim and the assailant? Scaramouche is my homie— friend. Dottore? Always hated that guy, honestly.
The microwave beeped. Tartaglia got up, grabbed his instant mashed potatoes, two spoons, and rejoined Yoimiya on the couch with her goldfish. They had decided to watch Legally Blonde, a movie Childe could watch a million times and never get tired of, but he hardly paid any attention.
Was there any motivation for the assailant? I mean, they never really got along in school. Dottore picked on Scaramouche a lot until Scaramouche got fed up one day.
What do you mean by "fed up"? They got into a fight and that's it. Okay. Thank you. Yep, any time.
"Hey, hey, hey, check your phone." Yoimiya said.
group message: childe's charity cases
(tartagalicious, scaramoucheee, u/n, yoi_miya)
scaramoucheee
dead chat
ne ways hi besties
tartagalicious
scara texting first? 😱🥺🥺
yoi_miya
we're besties??🥺😊
scaramoucheee
"tell them its not me"
ugh fine its y/n, phone died
why tf does rhis fuy have no
recently used emojis ⁉️
its so hard fnding them rn
tartagalicious
ogmgg y/n hru bbg
scaramoucheee
IM GOOD ‼️ TY
yoi_miya
does he rlly not use emojis??
what a sad life 🙁😭
scaramoucheee
no!!! it sucks! 💯
tartagalicious
i bet thats why h's short
L BOZO SHORT💯‼️‼️🫵
yoi_miya
😯ur so right
scaramoucheee
oh hmgnarchons this mfer
is pretending to be asleep
now 🙄🙄
what an asshole
hate this guy
yoi_miya
its ok we'll entertain u
tartagalicious
HELL YSAH ‼️
omg xan we visit
scaramoucheee
only one way to find out!!
◢◤◢◤◢◤ YOUR POV !
You were almost certain while feigning sleep, he had actually fallen asleep. The room was peaceful, quiet, and you felt yourself dozing in and out of sleep. You sat Scaramouche's phone on the bedside table and promptly fell asleep yourself.
Until, of course, mere minutes later, Tartaglia and Yoimiya walked in. "Good morning, sunshines." Yoimiya said while Childe threw open the curtains.
It was Scaramouche who stirred first; you tried to keep your eyes closed and block them out. Scaramouche mumbled, "You guys are fucking idiots."
"But we come bearing gifts." Tartaglia said.
At that, you looked up. Yoimiya started taking a few things out of a plastic bag. Uno, Monopoly, goldfish, and other snacks and games.
◢◤◢◤◢◤ TIGHNARI POV !
At three o'clock, Raiden Scaramouche was free to go. It was clear after eighteen hours of observation and full bedrest, he was not seriously injured nor incapable of taking care of himself. Tighnari told him to keep taking his prescribed medication for at least another week, and if pain persists to return immediately. Tighnari would remember the scene for a long time to come.
When he entered, the laughter he had heard all day from the room stopped. Everyone, except for the patient himself, looked at Tighnari with fear. As if they had all prepared themselves for him to say Raiden Scaramouche hadn't made it.
And when quite the opposite news was delivered, the tension dissolved. The two newcomers, a tall ginger man and a shorter blonde woman joined Y/N and Scaramouche in a group hug.
Tighnari smiled, ever so slightly, to himself as he left the room.
Even if he were to never see these people again, even despite his hesitations about Raiden Ei never showing up for her son, it was clear Raiden Scaramouche had found his own family with his friends. Maybe that's why Tighnari did what he did; for these rare moments.
Either way, he still went home and went to bed.
◢◤◢◤◢◤ WORD COUNT : 2,055
(a/n) lol 4 chapters left 😋