"Ice!"
"I know, I know! I'm coming!"
Ice shuffled through his brothers, pushing them aside as he sat himself next to you. "Here, (Y/n)." You feel the cold ice pack behind your head as its very persona held it in place for you.
"Thanks, Ice." you smiled at him. His cyan orbs shining so brightly as he returned the gesture.
"Y-you're alright... R-right?"
Solar stammered, reaching for your hand and clasping it in both of his. "I'm fine, Solar. Stop worrying... Look at yourself, you look like Adu Du beat you up with his electric spatula."
In an attempt to at least make him laugh, you cracked jokes here and there to stop him from worrying... It didn't really work out.
Turns out, there wasn't anything too major about your head... Ochobot took the duty of becoming your doctor and gave you a retinal scan. All he found was a mild concussion, which explained the extreme dizziness you experienced after the blow.
"Eesh! Stop joking around, (Y/n). I was really worried!" he exclaimed, scolding you as he sighed. You couldn't help but roll your eyes at him. Sure, there was a mild concussion on your head, but according to Ochobot, nothing else was gonna happen and the pain will go away after a good rest.
In a way, your overly-dramatic bff had nothing to worry about.
"Boboiboy she's fine." A gentle smile was plastered on Tok Aba's lips as he approached his grandson who stood by your side of the bed, suddenly coming into Solar's room to check on you... Where the male insisted for you to rest, as per usual.
"Ochobot said she just needs some rest... You don't even look that good, yourself. You have scratches and bruises everywhere!"
"I'm fine, Tok." Solar sighed as his grandfather gently pulled him about, checking his face and body for any major injuries. Said male resisted, wanting to stay by your side til he was sure you were really alright.
"Mhmm... Come on, let's get Yaya to clean you up. Ice, I need you back at the stall to help your older brother." were his following orders.
"Ok, atok! Here, (Y/n), hold this." You thank Ice and the boy stands to leave the bedside, patting your head with a smile. "No problem, (Y/n)."
Solar sighs for the nth time. The thought of leaving you alone was making him suffocate. Of course he wouldn't dare disobey Tok Aba, afraid of recieving an ear twist later on, but he just couldn't leave you.
He swore the second you became his best friend, that he'd protect you, make sure no harm came your way.... He felt like a failure.
He looks passed his golden visors, hoping you'd convince Tok Aba to make him stay... Not that you needed it.
"Just go." You pushed his arm, "I'll just be resting here, don't worry." I'm not gonna die you lamp....
He anxiously bit the inside of his cheek, debating whether or not to actually leave you. His foot was impatiently tapping against the cold floor, a finger scratching under his chin, eyes obviously lost, deep in thought.
....And he sighs, shaking his head as if he were disappointed, and leaned down to kiss your forehead. He caresses your hair, ever so gently as to avoid causing you more pain by accident, "Fine, fine just... You stay... Put. I-I'll be right back after..."
You giggle, finding his puffed cheeks kinda cute.
You nod and settled yourself comfily on the bed whilst the light elemental finally left the room.
It wasn't that you didn't want his company, but rather you didn't want him to worry and worry when there was practically nothing to worry about.
Ochobot himself already said you were alright. How could he not trust his robotic best friend? It was kinda silly, to think even a narcissistic genius like Solar was caring for someone other than himself.
But of course. You were his self-proclaimed-sister after all. There was no doubt he'd worry about you every single second.
A groan escapes you, the image of Zach suddenly making you curse in the silent room for giving you the worst headache in your life.
"Asshole... I swear I'll get him back for this...Ugh..."
Irritating, shady bastard.
Fights gave you a blast, truly, and injuries you gain after don't usually matter to you but this, oh god, Zach better run. Cuz not only were you gonna go after him..
...Solar might even wanna kill him himself. And if it weren't enough, Thunderstorm will pull him out of his grave and kill him again.
You shake the thought away, rendering it useless when you were trying to relieve yourself of stress.
Thunderstorm didn't bother to knock and simply opened Solar's door, entering unannounced with a tray of his granddad's special iced chocolate in hand.
"Thunder...?"
Said male turns his head, subtly glancing at your figure beneath his cap. "Hey...", he groaned as he placed the tray on Solar's desk. "You feeling better?"
You smile, to an extent, tilting your head in response. "Kinda... It still hurts, but I'm doing fine..."
There was an awful silence, an awkward atmosphere that began to build up betwen you when neither of you continued to speak. You took it as a mere hint, that the lightning elemental was only there to deliver for his granddad, nothing more.
....And yet you gasped when you noticed that his wounds were still open with dried blood covering them.
"H-Hali, you're- Fuck, that bastard is so gonna get it!"
Thunderstorm frowns, confused at your sudden outburst. But furrows his brows when you tried to stand up as he realized what you were babbling about.
At your useless efforts to get up from bed, Thunder was quick to push you back down on the mattress. "You idiot, stay down! You already got hurt, dumbass."
You roll your eyes at him, completely ignoring his retort, "Yah, why don't you let Yaya patch you up? Your wounds will get infected, you jerk."
Oh he could care less. All he wanted was for you to be safe anyway.
He turns away, avoiding your eyes like he always did. "No, I don't need it."
"You don't need it?" you repeated, unamused.
He doesn't respond, already planning to leave but you don't let him.
You held a firm grasp on his wrist, preventing him from moving further knowing you wouldn't be letting go anytime soon.
He stares at you, silently telling you to release him. But you don't. You only returned his stare, not once faltering as he stood in place. She really won't let me leave that easily, huh?
"Let me go."
"No."
"(Y/n) I-"
"If you're gonna leave but won't see Yaya to clean them up for you, then you might as well stay and I'll do it myself."
Persistence was always the key, your father had once said, and it never failed up to this day.
With a defeated sigh, the restraint on Thunder's wrist lessened as he showed that he wasn't going anywhere.
"Good." with that said, you move to stand to retrieve the first aid kit in Solar's bathroom. Only to halt your actions when Thunder turned away to get it for you.
He comes back in a flash with the med kit now in hand. Did he just read my mind? You doubted it. No way his neuroelectrical brain could do such a thing.
You felt his stare on you while you were busy opening the kit and it made you somewhat self conscious. "Well? Are you gonna sit down or what?"
He groans, annoyed at this point, and was forcefully sat on the bed next to you.
You sigh, the look on his face made it so obvious that he wanted to leave ASAP, "Come on, gimme your arm."
He obeys, extending his arm to you without looking in your direction. In silence, you damped a cotton ball with betadine and carefully pressed it against his wounds.
Thunder winces, every now and then, and turns to watch you work. There was so much grace and delicacy in your touch despite your rough-house-experienced hands.
And he liked it. How soft your touch was against his skin.
Once the bandages wrapped his arm nicely, you move closer to him, opting to clean up the cuts on his face next. "Hali, come closer..." you requested, finding no more strength to battle whatever pain from moving your head around to much.
Thunder was quick to realize this and moved in closer, completely facing you.
You don't hesitate to lean in even closer just to get a better look at his wounds. The male, on the other hand, was struggling to stop himself from blushing.
He didn't understand... A few days ago he was the one leaning closer to your face but he didn't feel like this- like his face was heating up- like... Like he had.. Feelings...? For her??.... Is that what this is???
You were oblivious to his stare, scarlet eyes scanning over every inch of your face. From the loose hair hanging by your forehead, the long lashes fluttering over your eyes, your small button nose, to your plump pink lips...
Thunder felt a small smile appear on his face.
"Alright... Here, lemme patch that up." you grabbed a bandaid, gently covering his cleaned cuts, caressing the one on his cheek as you cupped his face.
Your eyes dart up, meeting his gaze in wonder. There was a glimmer in his eyes, one you've never seen before nor did you ever think you'd witness. A sort of emotion... A feeling that you somehow.... Mirrored deep in your soul.
Eyes widening and blinking, you tore your gaze from him in embarrassment as you realized what you were doing.
Thunderstorm looks away, hiding his face as he felt his cheeks heat up further. He recomposes himself and the heat was gone in a second. A little too quick, don't ya think?
"There.. Um, gimme your other arm..."
At the least, you were able to dodge the heart racing atmosphere and continued with your current job.
"Eesh, Hali... You have so much bruises... Did you put ice on this yet?" you asked, trying to make things more... Comfortable.
Thunder shrugs, seemingly uncaring if he were even to bleed to death.
He spots the patches and bandages around you too and decided a comment wouldn't hurt. "Speak for yourself, you probably have more bruises than I do. Especially that one on your head."
You rose a brow at him, intentionally tightening the bandage around his arm harshly as pay back. "I was helping, you jerk!"
"Ack-!... Helping?" he mused, "To give yourself a concussion?"
You gape at him, suddenly speechless with his sly comeback.
He watches your expression as his eyes drifted to the side of your head, now wondering about the concussion.
"Idiot." He voiced out. "What the hell were you even thinking, pulling a stunt like that." it pretty much sounded more like a taunt than a question in your ears.
"Excuse me, but I saved your life. You're welcome." you slyly grinned at him, seeing where this was going. Wanna be like that, I see. Well two can play that game, mister.
"Saved me?" he almost cackled.
"Duh! If I haven't pushed him off of you any sooner, who knows, we might be attending a funeral in the next few days." sarcasm dripped venomously from your voice and Thunder doesn't miss it.
He was by far, amused of your personality, and the way you handled situations, be it a talk-back-session with him, or surviving a beating from a fist fight.
"You're really something, you know that." there was amusement in his voice, you could tell. Even the way his stare softened proved that thought.
"Yeah? Guess I just learned to roll with it." you say, firmly pinning his bandages as you pulled your hands away.
"It was ironic...." you muttered under your breathe but still, Thunder heard it. He noticed the change in your tone. No longer sounding harsh, causing him to openly wonder, "What is?".
Your fingers dragged your hair back as you winced a little when a finger came in contact with the hurt muscle on your head. "How Solar always kept me away from harm when I wanted it to come anyway."
Thunder knew you fought a lot... And he most certainly knew that his brother was too protective of you, a soul with a fighter's spirit. It is ironic...
He was silent, just wanting to listen.
"Solar just came along and... I told him millions of times that I was capable of defending myself... I knew he was only looking out for me but.. He doesn't have to be so protective. The last thing I'd imagined is for him to be lock me up, away from this world."
"You don't listen to him though." he suddenly commented.
You look up at him, wondering how he came up with that thought.
"Earlier, he told you to stay behind him and shit... And yet you pushed Zach off of me before I suffocated moments later." he clarified.
You blink at him.... Suddenly lost. "And?" you pried. "What are you trying to say?"
You were unsure of the new glint in his ruby orbs. There was definitely something in there, something you had yet to understand. Lucky for you, he was ready to voice it out.
"Just let him protect you... Let him be that overprotective best friend to you... You can fight for yourself, obviously. But when you get stuck in a situation you can't escape on your own, then Solar will be there... Cuz he promised to protect you. He'll be there when you need him."
Speechless was an understatement. You were shook! Your brain was busy processing all that shit so you just sat there, gaping at him whilst the guy held back a smile at your silence.
You shook your head gently, amusement all over your face, "That was the longest shit you've ever said to me."
And Thunder laughs. "Well... My brother's arrogant, but I know his intentions for insisting to keep you safe... And you're lucky.. He'll always have your back (Y/n)."
Was he the same guy from a few moments ago? You couldn't help but wonder. There was a smile carving his lips, a beautiful glimmer in his scarlet eyes.... And he was talkative. He just keeps surprising and surprising me.
"Thank you... " was all you could muster to say. Thunder nods, shyly scratching his head as he ripped his eyes from you.
"D-don't mention it.... And thanks for.. For patching me up... For jumping in to save me."
Again. Fucking. Speechless. Bitch.
You really weren't prepared for all this, the pep talk, the thank you's... His kind, caring aura... It was all so new to you. It was like talking with a different guy!
"But on a serious note, (Y/n), don't do that again... You're gonna give me a heart attack."
Eh?
Whoa... Wait what??
Your lips curved up as you giggled. "Hang on, you were that worried?"
Fuck. He mentally face palmed, regretting he actually said that out loud. He literally just gave you a reason to tease him. And from the looks of it...
"Oh my god, you were really that worried?" you were fucking amused, helplessly giggling as you gently hit his shoulder. He blushed quite evidently, pushing your hand away in embarrassment. "Eesh! Shut up, you idiot!"
....You weren't gonna drop it that easily.
『・・・・・』
It's 2:03am.... Fuck.