TW: Graphic depictions of chronic pain and meltdowns, based on personal experience.
By the time lunch came around, Blue was exhausted, and his pain had increased to a point where he was nearly in tears. His entire body ached and stung. It felt like bugs were biting his skin, but when he went to hit them, they weren't there. It felt like his bones were trying to tear through his skin.
When the four sat down for lunch, Blue found he couldn't sit still. The itchy, painful, uncomfortable feeling all over his body made it impossible. Suddenly, he felt tears streaming down his face. He couldn't understand anything being said around him. His vision felt too fuzzy to see anything. He wanted to scream, but found he couldn't.
He felt himself being picked up and set on someone's lap. He wanted to fight back, but all he could do was cry. He felt a hand on his back. He heard a soothing voice, though still unsure what it was saying. He shook in the person's arms.
Slowly, the world around him started to come back into focus. Tears continued to stream down his face, and he was still shaking, but he felt calmer. His pain felt worse from crying. He took a shaky breath through his note.
A sweet scent like lavender and honey filled his nose. Tressa was holding him. He tried to get closer, and Tressa hugged him tighter.
"That's it, baby. I've got you. You're alright," Tressa cooed to the Little. His breathing started to calm down. He hadn't noticed that he'd been hyperventilating. "Good job, honey. You're ok. Deep breaths."
Blue looked up at Tressa.
"Aww baby. That must have been awful, huh?" Tressa cooed, wiping his tears with the pad of her thumb. "Can you talk, sweetheart?"
Blue tried to talk, but all that came out was a squeak.
"Shh. It's alright. Take your time," Tressa said softly. "Do you want to write it down?"
Blue nodded. Tressa looked over to Mary, who handed her a notepad and a pen. Tressa handed the pen to Blue, turning him around, but keeping her arms tightly around him. His hands were shaking so badly that he could only write one word. 'Hurts.'
"What hurts, sweetheart?" Tressa asked. Blue slowly wrote a small phrase. 'All hurts. All the time. But hurts bad today.'
"Shit," Tressa mumbled under her breath. "Baby, I'm so sorry we didn't notice."
Blue shook his head. He didn't want them to feel sorry for him.
"Alright... We're gonna get you home," Tressa said. "We'll see what we can do. And we're going to talk about what we can do next time this happens so you don't hurt so bad, ok?"
Blue nodded, snuggled into Tressa.