[oc x canon, polyship, hurt/comfort]
The man’s heart pounded against his chest. He couldn’t tell if the ringing in his ears was caused by damage to his hearing aids or from the migraine that was splitting his head apart. His vision was fuzzy and he could hardly continue to stand. The scent of iron stung his nose as the warm liquid continued to flow from his torso.
Lightly, he pressed his hand against his side. He began feeling faint as he noticed a large portion of his freshly torn clothes were now soaked in red.
Someone was talking to him.
His voice was muffled by the ringing in Osier’s ears. Was he calling for him? The prince seemed panicked before starting to yell. Fuzzy, familiar silhouettes were running up to the mechanic before everything went dark.
A faint scent of oleander was the first thing the man noticed before opening his eyes. Osier was slowly starting to come to consciousness, but his head was still pounding. The last thing he remembered was being in the middle of a fight, and Noctis needed help. He must have blacked out. Shit.
Hopefully everyone is okay.
The ringing in his ears was going to drive him insane.
Wait…if the only thing he can hear is ringing, then that means…
He reached and felt around his ears. His hearing aids were off.
Osier opened his eyes and shot upright before letting out a pained yelp. Suddenly both of his partners were by his side, Ignis squeezed his hand while Gladio replaced his hearing aids. He was then gently laid back while they both profusely apologized and kissed his head.
“We didn’t mean to scare you, dearest,” said Ignis as he kissed Osier’s fingers.
The man took a moment to recover from the sudden jolt of pain. He took a few deep breaths as he soaked in his surroundings. He was on a soft double bed with a beaten up nightstand on his side. A tall bookshelf filled with vehicle manuals and history books sat across from him. To its left, a simple small desk adorned with a burning incense, an animal skull, a small dish with coins as offerings, and dead flowers hung upside down just above.
“How the fuck are we in my room?”
It seems the group somehow ended up back in his shared house with Cindy, all the way back near Hammerhead. He could have sworn they travelled too far to head back.
“We’re gonna be staying here a few days,” Gladio responded. His voice was gentle, yet firm. There would be no arguing with him on this. Not that Osier had any energy to argue. Whatever happened to him was causing too much pain for him to care.
“Don’t worry about our travels,” Ignis said, knowing where his boyfriend’s mind was heading. “You need time to recover.”
Osier gently rubbed his hand across his lower torso, wincing a bit while doing so. The left side was patched up with bandages and wraps. From what he could feel, the gash was quite deep. He felt a large hand pull his own away.
“Just relax, baby,” said Gladio with a gentle tone.
“How’s Noctis?” Osier asked, concerned.
“He’s alright,” Ignis reassured. “He’s just in the living room with Prompto and Cindy.”
“Speaking of which, we promised Cindy we would tell her when you wake up.” Gladio stood from the bed. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”
Just a few moments later, he could hear Prompto bumbling like an idiot down the hall- likely trying to flirt with Cindy. Next thing he knew, Prompto was being dragged into the room by Noctis, then Cindy entered as Gladio followed.
“Well hey there,” Cindy smiled as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”
Osier chuckled and playfully rolled his eyes. “You know me, can’t stay away from home for too long,” he said sarcastically.
Although he would never admit it, Osier did miss his friend. The two have known each other since childhood, they grew up together and Cindy was even the first person he came out to. She always supported him no matter what. She would buy him new clothes and was always willing to fight people if they ever ‘referred to her brother as a girl.’
Cindy laughed. “Yeah, and grandpa is pissed.”
“Oh yeah, I can hear Cid’s voice now,” Osier mocked. “That boy better watch his ass out there.”
This time, everyone laughed.
“Well ya didn’t watch your ass, and now he and I are gonna go get your meds and some other stuff,” said Cindy. “I’ll be back in a bit. Don’t harm yourself while I’m gone, okay?”
“That’s a big ask,” Prompto teased.
“Believe me, I know. But now he’s also got two boyfriends to make sure he’s alright.” Cindy gave a smug look to Osier before heading out the door. The blue haired mechanic flipped her off in response.
Gladio and Ignis chuckled at the interaction, then took her place at the edge of the bed. Gladio sat closer to his partner’s feet while Ignis was right by his thigh. Oddly enough, seeing both men so concerned over him was starting to do something for him.
“I hate myself,” he thought.
His heart fluttered as Ignis began pressing his hand gently on his face and down his neck.
“Are you feeling nauseous, dear?”
His stomach had been churning since he woke up. He was starving, and yet the idea of eating anything sounded like hell. His lips were dry and he could tell all color in his face was long gone.
“I’m going to get you some water from the kitchen,” said Ignis before kissing Osier’s forehead and slipping out the bedroom door.
Gladio scooted closer and gently placed a hand on his boyfriend’s face, rubbing his cheek with his thumb. Meanwhile, Noctis and Prompto took a seat in the beanbags that sat near the bookshelf.
“Hey, look at this,” said Prompto, grabbing a picture frame from the shelves. The photo inside featured two young girls around the age of twelve. One had curly blonde hair, and her arm was wrapped around her friend. The other girl had long shaggy black hair and gray eyes, as well as a strained smile on her face.
“That must be Cindy,” Noctis pointed out about the blonde on the left.
“Yeah, but who’s the other one?” asked Prompto.
Osier glanced at Gladio with an exasperated expression, and Gladdy couldn’t help but laugh.
“That’s me, dumbass,” said Osier with a sigh. A moment later, Ignis returned with a large cup of water, which the man happily accepted.
Osier couldn’t blame Prompto too much, he looked so different now. He had plenty of gender affirming care by now, his hair was a mullet with bangs dyed blue, and he had three big scars on his face due to his mother.
“My bad, sometimes I forget you were born a woman,” Prompto chuckled. “You look so much happier now.”
A short time passed as the gang spent some time chatting in the mechanic’s bedroom. Ignis and Gladio were gently rubbing their hands across their boyfriend’s cheeks and arms. Osier began to feel so relaxed, he was nearly falling asleep. He desperately wanted to grab both of their faces and kiss them. Show his appreciation towards their refusal to leave his side and tend to him without a second thought.
Another few minutes passed before Noctis spoke up. “Can I, uh, have a moment alone with Osier?”
Gladio looked at him suspiciously before Ignis placed a reassuring hand on his arm. The rest of the team stepped away and Noctis moved his bean bag closer to the bed.
“Um, Osier, I wanted to-“
“Dude, don’t.” Osier raised a hand and stopped the prince before he could speak any further. “Don’t thank me for protecting you.”
“But…you didn’t have to,” said Noctis as he looked down at his hands. “I mean…you have no obligation to risk your life for me.”
“Yeah, I know,” replied Osier. “I didn’t have to do anything. I could have let you get hurt instead of me…but you’re my friend. I may not have an obligation to protect you, but I’ll be damned if I’m not gonna help my friend.”
Noctis gazed up at him for a moment, lost in thought. Something about the man’s words seemed to strike him hard.
“I’d still like to show you my appreciation,” said Noctis. “That’s something a friend can do, right?”
The mechanic chuckled, knowing the prince wasn’t going to let this go so easily. “I appreciate you too, Noct.”
“No, seriously. Is there something I can do to help you right now? Anything.”
Osier thought for a moment, but his brain was still too foggy and he could feel his eyes growing heavy. “Honestly man,” he started. “Right now all I want is to snuggle up next to my partners and fall asleep. How about I take you up on this offer later?”
Noctis chuckled. “Alright, deal.”
