CW // being overworked, panic attack, mentions of alcoholic relapse, mentions of vomit
And i gave him phone boyfriends
he/they for harry+roger, she/ze for jake
/ / /
Roger was sitting at the dining table, scribbling rapidly at some paperwork. Harry crouched down next to him and stared for a couple of seconds. "Roger. Give me a hug right now." Harry leaned in far too close for Rogers liking. "Wh- O-Okay?" Rogers tone was confused as he leaned over to give the other man a half-hug. He turned back to the paperwork. "Roger." Harry repeated. The phone-headed man in question looked over. "Yes, Harry?" They asked somewhat impatiently. "Jake says you should take a break." Harry stayed staring, and Roger started getting uneasy. "Jake has been sleeping for the past two hours." Roger turned back to his work. "And she's been saying that for a week. Roger, look at me."
Roger turned around again. Harry sounded disappointed. "You know this isn't healthy, right? Working yourself to the bone like this?" They shifted their position a bit so that they were balancing on their toes like a ballerino of some sorts. Roger would've chuckled and pointed it out if the situation wasn't serious. "I know, I know...I just have to get these papers in by Wednesday and-"
"Roger. Take a break."
Harry reached out to touch his shoulder, and Roger practically folded. He moved away instinctively. Harry paused. "Alright. I'll be in bed. Goodnight, Roger." Harry stood up and turned around. "Shoot, Harry, I-" Roger tried, but gave up as they heard the bedroom door close. He sighed and dropped his head into his hands.
/ / /
It was if the next day was even worse.
The orange phone-headed man jolted awake with his head in his arms. They had fallen asleep on the dining table. Again. He looked around a bit to see Jake sitting calmly with a mug in his hands. She wasn't even drinking anything, just sitting there. "Morning." Ze said. Her voice box was extra scratchy this morning, and Roger couldn't tell if he liked it or was annoyed.
What? How could he be annoyed by his partners voice? That's horrible.
He's horrible.
"Roger? You okay there? You zoned out for a mome-" Jake reached out, and Roger shuffled away yet again. Why did he keep doing that? "Sorry, sorry, I-I'm just a bit jumpy this morning." They glanced at the time and quickly stood up. "Oh, I'm going to be late, I'm sorry, when Harry wakes up tell him I love him-!" He rushed to pick up his suitcase and pull on a suit before running out of the small but neat apartment.
He practically threw himself into the car they'd all chipped in for and ignored how much his hands shook while he drove. Something was clearly wrong but would he ever admit that? Of course not. Sure, maybe their stomach was churning and the world around them was spinning and they felt like they were sinking and their throat was getting clogged up and-
Okay, he needed to pull over.
He pulled over to the side of the road and fumbled to dial one of his partner's numbers on his head.
"Wh- What was Harry's number again-?" They whispered to themself as if it would help them. He racked his brain, but ultimately couldn't remember. "F-Fu-F- Heck." Their censor decided to punch them in the face. "God fu- hecking dammit-" He choked out as his hands fumbled to call Jake.
One ring. Okay.
Two rings. Maybe ze was busy.
Thr-
"Hello? Hello, hello?" The familiar faulty voice box brought terror into Roger instead of comfort like usual. What the hell was he supposed to say now? "Um, hello, Jake, uh- Shoot- I just-" They stammered out. "Do- Do you have any tips on uh, y'know, not hype- hyperventilating? Just in case, y'know." He forces out. God, their voice would sound better with a sip of whisky or- No, no, don't think about that. Not right now. He'd worked too hard. And he was scared Harry would yell if he found out.
"Roger? Roger, are you okay? Are you safe? Do I need to call someone?" Jake's tone was now concerned, but Roger couldn't quite tell if it really was. All he knew was that he felt like he was sinking into the car seat and that the world around him was shaking like hell. "Jake, I-" He choked out, but his throat felt like it was full of marbles. He wanted to vomit to get rid of the feeling. The thought of that caused them to let out a strangled noise. "Roger? ROGER?" Jake was now louder and more distressed.
"Jake, I'm about f-four minutes from- from the apartment, I'm at [---] street and- and I don't know what's happening. I think I'm dying-" Roger's voice box flipped back and forth from the stuttery voice and his real voice. "Roger, you're not dying. You're just very...um...panicked. And it's concerning. I'll be there as fast as possible." Jake spoke firmly.
/ / /
After what felt like forty million years, Roger unlocked the car door for Jake to communicate with him. She pulled Roger into zir arms. "I don't know what's happening here, but uh, I can try to help. Just, um, just try to breathe? If you can." Jake offered. Roger was dead silent, minus a quiet staticky ring from his phone head. He was shaking like a leaf, and it wasn't pretty.
The two phones sat in the car for a long, long time.
Even after Roger had stopped shaking, stuttering, and hyperventilating like a terrified little kid, he was ominously silent for a while. They were 'staring' off into basically nothing for a bit. Jake had noticed, and simply loosened zir grip. Things were what could technically classified as calm.
/ / /
^ word count: 962
me when the phones are gay