I am so sorry this has taken so long!! This fic, and this chapter specifically, has given me so much trouble for some reason. That, paired up with some other things going on in my life, is why this took so long.
You can also see that this isn't the end yet. I decided to cut the chapter off early in order to get it out today. But, I have a better idea where the rest is going so hopefully it won't be as long for the next chapter.
Anyway, thank you all for your patience and I hope you enjoy!
Jimmy started to back away slowly, keeping his movements light. It was a trick to appear to predators that you weren’t moving and that they wouldn’t realize you were until it was too late. But the cat’s eyes were far too focused on him and stalked forward in time with his own steps. The cat seemed to match his slow speed as well but he made up much more ground in one step then Jimmy ever could.
So, while their steps did match, the distance certainly didn’t.
He looked around, trying to find somewhere he could hide, somewhere where Maui wouldn’t be able to reach him. But he had become so lost in his thoughts while exploring that any kind of furniture that could have hidden him was much too far away. Jimmy feared that, even if he did try going for it, he’d be caught long before he could reach it.
But, if he did nothing, then he was all but caught already. Maui was going to reach him for sure if Jimmy didn’t come up with something quick.
The bed was probably the closest thing Jimmy could reasonably reach but the problem with that was Maui would be able to fit underneath it as well. It could possibly buy him some time though. If he waited for Maui to squeeze underneath, he might just have enough time to get somewhere Maui for sure wouldn’t be able to reach.
Jimmy bit his lip, it wasn’t the best plan, it might not even work, but it was the only option he had and he was very quickly running out of time. He glanced back and forth between Maui and the bed and then in one swift motion he turned around and started running.
Unfortunately, his running must have kicked Maui out of his hunting position and straight into actual hunting because Maui leaped forward in the next instant. Jimmy yelled in fear as Maui landed right in front of him, effectively blocking Jimmy’s way toward the bed. He halted before he could run into him and, with nowhere else to go, Jimmy turned back around and started running again. The only thing on his mind now was to get as far away from Maui as possible.
Maui was quick to follow though, moving forward with a speed Jimmy wasn’t even aware of until something heavy came down on him, hard and fast. Jimmy let out a yell as the weight slammed him to the floor and stopped his escape, and he wheezed as all the air escaped out of his body.
Jimmy laid still as Maui’s face came close, a small sniff escaping his nose. Jimmy shut his eyes tight, hoping that Maui would move on. Maybe now that he had been caught, the cat would lose interest?
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
Maui’s face left and the paw that was still holding him down moved him slightly before completely lifting off of him. Jimmy didn’t even have a chance to think about getting up though, as in the next moment, Maui’s paw hit him in the side and set him flying a few feet. He let out a noise as he came to a stop only because he hit the wall and groaned as he laid there. The hit had hurt and slamming into the wall hadn’t been fun either. A small meow had his eyes snapping open though and Maui was stalking closer once again. He needed to move but as he tried, he let out a hiss of pain and curled back up subconsciously.
Before he could work through the pain and make himself move, Maui was right on him and another paw came down. This time though, it wasn’t just the brunt force of Maui’s paw but also his nails slicing across his side. Jimmy screamed at the sharp and sudden pain, tears leaking out of his eyes as he immediately clutched at his side.
He squeezed his eyes shut, keeping pressure on his side. It hurt so much but Jimmy knew he had to get up. Maui was still there, still a threat, and if he didn’t get up, then he’d be in even worse trouble.
He shifted slightly and let out a hiss as his struggle was met with pain. He groaned, face in the carpet as the ache and the sting washed over him.
He ignored it though, he had to ignore it. Gritting his teeth he moved his free hand down to the floor, gripping the strands of the carpet in a fist as he pushed himself up. He ignored how the pain in his side flared up again, ignored how much his body was protesting about being moved, and finally managed to sit up on his knees.
His other hand was still held tight at his side and, for the first time, Jimmy was aware of a wet and sticky feeling covering that hand. Swallowing the forming lump in his throat, Jimmy took his hand away from his side for a moment to look.
His hand was completely red.
Jimmy felt sick and quickly moved his hand back to press against his side. Red, red, red…Jimmy chanced a glance down and almost threw up at how much red was covering his clothes, his body, the carpet…
He felt dizzy watching the amount of blood spilling out of him and moved his eyes away, making himself look up instead and suddenly remembering that Maui was still there. The cat was just sitting there, simply watching him, his tail wagging back and forth slowly behind him. Jimmy got the sudden feeling that Maui was enjoying watching him like this.
Jimmy shook his head, ignoring the dizziness that went along with the action and managed to get to his feet with the help of the wall behind him. But as he stood, it seemed Maui was no longer interested in just watching him anymore. He once again drew himself lower and stalked closer, but Jimmy couldn’t help but note that his form was a bit more relaxed than before. It was like Maui knew Jimmy was hurt and therefore not as much of a challenge.
Not that he had been much of one in the first place.
Jimmy leaned heavily against the wall, his hand still clutching at his right side and ignoring the way he could feel the blood dripping out of him. He wanted to run, needed to run, but he took one step and he was back on his knees, wincing at the ache that went through his body at the motion.
A shadow fell over him but Jimmy couldn’t move. Everything hurt and Jimmy felt close to passing out. From pain or fear, he wasn’t sure but whatever the reason, he was completely at the cat’s mercy now. The thought would have brought tears to his eyes if there hadn’t already been some rolling down his face from the pain. All he could do was curl up and brace himself.
Something snagged the back of his shirt and Jimmy yelped as he was suddenly lifted into the air. The pure fear the action brought him jolted him just enough to try and struggle against the cat. But it only caused him pain to move like that and it did nothing but move him back and forth, making him even dizzier than before. Jimmy stopped and hung there limply, unable to do anything more. He couldn’t even keep a hold of his side anymore, the way his shirt was being held had his arms hung up at a weird angle.
He looked down, seeing several drops of blood falling to the ground below. The sight had Jimmy’s head swimming.
It was then that Maui started to move and Jimmy felt a deep sense of panic as he realized Maui was heading out of Grian’s room completely. And if Maui took him somewhere else, somewhere hidden, then there might be no way for Grian to find him…
At the thought, Jimmy found a bit more strength to fight against the hold, but his struggles were still weak and no amount of twisting and turning was going to make Maui let go. The cat’s hold was far too strong.
Maui, at the very least, stayed upstairs, turning to the right and going down the hall, toward a room with the door already partially open. He slipped inside and Jimmy scanned the room as best as he could. It looked to be another bedroom, similar to Grian’s. He didn’t take in much more than that though before Maui had picked up speed and jumped on top of the bed, causing Jimmy to close his eyes as the quick movement jostled his body.
“Oh, well hello Maui.” A voice spoke and Jimmy’s breath hitched. It was a vaguely familiar voice but only because he had heard it a few times over the course of yesterday. It was Pearl, Grian’s sister, and the only human left in the house.
If he had the energy, he might have been more afraid. But at the moment, a human was a lot better than a cat. He just hoped she would notice and help him.
There was a small pause, a silence that seemed to stretch on for far too long, before Pearl spoke again. “Wait…Maui, what do you have?” Pearl asked, an edge of something in her voice. As if in answer to her question, Maui bent down and finally released Jimmy from his fangs.
Jimmy watched as Pearl’s eyes went wide as she realized what exactly she was looking at.
“What…?” She trailed off, the words caught by her own shock. Her eyes then focused more on the wound he was still clutching at his side. “Oh my god, you’re hurt.” Pearl’s hands started to come toward him and he flinched. It had been a while since a hand coming toward him had made him nervous, it was almost strange.
Thankfully, it seemed Pearl had noticed his flinch and her hands halted before even getting too close. She quickly brought them back toward herself and Jimmy let out a small breath at the action. In fact, he would have fully relaxed at the gesture, a sign that Pearl really did mean him no harm, but he was quickly reminded that Maui was still there when movement caught his attention. Jimmy yelled in fear and launched himself back as a paw, claws at the ready, had swiped where he had just been.
“Maui, no!” Pearl yelled and then quickly reached over Jimmy and grabbed Maui before the cat could try anything else. She ignored the cat’s squirms as he struggled in her grip and kept her hold strong as she got out of bed. She met Jimmy’s eyes and Jimmy only found worry in them. “Just…just hang tight, mate. I’ll be right back.” She said, before rushing out of the room with Maui in tow.
With Maui gone and Jimmy finally feeling safe, he felt his body slump over. The adrenaline that had coursed through his veins throughout this whole thing was gone and now Jimmy just felt…exhausted. Hurt. Still rather dizzy too.
He looked down at his side again, moving his hand a little to properly see the wound. It hadn’t stopped bleeding and he was surely staining Pearl’s sheets with his blood. The amount of blood coming out made him even dizzier. He tried taking deep breaths but no amount of breathing deeply or clutching his side tight was making anything better.
He opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) when he heard Pearl rush in. Maui was nowhere to be seen, thank goodness, and instead Pearl was clutching a small white box in her hands. “Okay, Maui is locked up in the bathroom, so you don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Pearl said, stepping closer. “And I brought a first aid kit so-hey, hey don’t fall asleep on me now!” Pearl said, suddenly in a panic as she had gotten a better look at Jimmy.
She came forward and kneeled in front of the bed, looking worried. “Come on, please stay awake.” Pearl said. She had put the first aid kit down and her hands were now hovering, not too close though, like she was afraid of touching Jimmy.
Jimmy would have loved to listen but found that he couldn’t. His eyes were already closing again against his will.
The last thing he was aware of was Pearl’s voice, desperately trying to get him to open his eyes again, before he finally passed out.
Silly drawing of jimmy and tango from @arc852’s bbbcau because they wrote a really cute thing for it and art is my form of catharsis. Idk if borrower jimmy is actually supposed to have a tail or not but I think he deserves one.
Here is a fanbind of @arc852 BBBCAU. I can't put into words how much I love this AU. Arcs work inspired me to start writing, and the BBBCAU deserves a hardcover
I'm sorry this took so long! I haven't been in the greatest of headspaces the last few weeks so I haven't gotten a lot of writing done. I think I'm getting better though writing still might be slow for a bit longer unfortunately.
I really did want this chapter to be longer but I think it's still good. And the next chapter is intended to be the longest and the most intense, so look forward to that! (Also, at this point in time, I'm not gonna guarentee it'll be out this next Saturday or even the Saturday after. I'm gonna try! But I'm not going to give myself a set schedule for this one. Especially since this next chapter is the most important one of this whole fic and the chapter I care about the most and want to be perfect).
Anyway, sorry for rambling and thanks for sticking around! I hope you all enjoy!
Grian closed the door behind him with a small click and let out a sigh. Jimmy would be fine by himself for an hour. Grian couldn’t let his worry get in the way of the fact that he knew Jimmy could take care of himself just fine. Besides, Grian was fairly certain there wouldn’t be any traps like in Joel’s place. With Maui around, there was no need for them.
Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a reassuring thought only brought up images of Maui catching Jimmy like a mouse and he shivered. He urged the images away and instead started to walk downstairs. Maui seemed to be waiting for him at the bottom steps and the tension in Grian’s shoulders eased a bit at being able to actually see Maui and know he wasn’t getting into any trouble.
He reached down and petted Maui as he passed before heading into the kitchen where his dad was moving dinner over from the stove to the table. His dad looked over and grinned. “Hey, just in time!” He said and Grian couldn’t help but smile as well. “Dinner is ready!” His dad called into the living room and a moment later, his mom and Pearl walked in.
Now that he didn’t have to worry about Jimmy being smushed, he walked over and hugged Pearl. Pearl was caught off guard but only for a second and she quickly wrapped her arms around him and hugged back. “Finally. I was wondering when I was gonna get my hug.” She teased with a small laugh and Grian huffed but he was smiling too.
He then hugged his mom and then his dad and the awkward way he had arrived was completely forgotten.
As they all sat down to eat, which seemed to be meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans, Grian’s mom turned her attention towards him. “So, how has school been?”
Grian swallowed the bite he had taken and smiled. “It’s been good. Classes haven’t been too hard and thankfully I don’t get too much homework.” Grian joked a bit and his family laughed.
“What about Joel?” His dad chimed in. “How has he been?” When Grian had told them that Joel had ended up being his roommate they were all thrilled for him. They all knew how much he had missed Joel when they had moved.
“He’s great! Same Joel as ever.” Grian laughed. He continued to answer questions and catch up with his family as they all ate. It was sometimes hard not to mention Jimmy, considering he was such a huge part of his life, but Grian managed. He trusted his family, of course, but it was better for Jimmy if not many people knew about him and Grian intended to uphold that.
When it was getting toward the end of dinner, Grian made sure to leave a little bit of everything on his plate. He moved it around aimlessly with his fork to make it look like he was still eating it and as soon as his parents and Pearl had gotten up from the table to clean their empty plates, Grian grabbed a napkin and loaded it up with the bits of food he had left.
He didn’t notice Pearl looking at him with a furrowed brow. She didn’t say anything about it though, instead moving past their parents to put her plate in the sink.
Grian folded up the napkin and shoved it into his pocket before standing up himself and following after everyone. Once the table was clear, his mom brought out some cookies she had made for dessert. Grian couldn’t help but grin at the dessert, knowing Jimmy was going to be happy. He sneakily grabbed two, shoving one of them into his pocket as he ate the other one himself.
Once his cookie was finished, Grian faked a yawn and stretched. “Thanks for dinner, it was great.” He said to his dad, who grinned proudly. “I’m pretty tired though, I think I’m gonna turn in early for the night.” Normally he would spend a bit more time with his family, but with Jimmy up in his room, he didn’t want to leave him alone longer than he had too. Not for this first night at the very least.
“Of course, honey.” His mom said, rubbing his back a little. “Get some rest. We can hang out and catch up more tomorrow.”
Grian nodded and headed out of the kitchen with a goodnight and love you to his parents and Pearl. Except as he made it to the stairs, Pearl followed him and grabbed his arm. Grian blinked and looked back at her, confused to see the worry in her eyes.
“Hey, is everything okay?” Pearl asked, her voice low to keep their parents from hearing and looking Grian over.
“Uh, yeah. Why?” Grian was confused because other than not hugging Pearl right when he got home, he didn’t think he’d done anything too weird.
Pearl searched Grian’s eyes. “I saw you…” Pearl paused and shook her head. “Why are you taking food up to your room?”
Grian tried his very best not to tense but it was impossible when he really hadn’t been expecting that question. Pearl looked even more concerned now and Grian had to wipe her worries away. He placed a hand on top of hers. “I’m okay, Pearl. Really. I just wanted a little snack for later, I promise.” Though he didn’t quite know what kind of worries were going through Pearl’s head, he hoped his words would help.
Pearl looked at him for a long moment before sighing and releasing Grian from her grip. “Okay, sorry. You just don’t normally do things like that.” Pearl said, trying to joke a bit and smile. It came across as more of a grimace though. Grian pulled her into a hug.
“You worry too much.” Grian said when he pulled back from the hug, grinning at his sister.
Pearl sent him a look, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. “Yeah, cause I’m the problem here.” She joked. The two laughed. “Alright, go to bed. Enjoy your midnight snack.” Pearl said and then went back toward the living room.
Grian watched her go for a moment before climbing up the stairs and to his room. He was at his door and knocked once on it before carefully sliding it open. “Jimmy?” He said quietly into the room. “It’s just me.” He scanned the room and saw Jimmy on the floor by his nightstand. Smiling, he pushed the door open some more and took one step inside.
Unfortunately, Grian hadn’t been paying enough attention. As he tried to step inside, a blur of movement ran past his legs and into the room. It took Grian a moment to comprehend what had just happened, but Jimmy’s scream was enough for him to realize.
“Maui, no!” Grian screamed, running into the room after his cat. Maui wasted no time in running toward Jimmy, like a predator about to snag its prey. Jimmy looked panicked, terrified, and he ran into the space between the bed and the nightstand. It was enough where Maui couldn’t fit in the tight space but he could still get a paw in and he swiped into the little crevice, trying hard to get his prize.
Grian grabbed Maui and the cat in his arms squirmed to the point he almost dropped him. But he held on tight, not wanting anything more to happen. “Out you get.” Grian said through gritted teeth, dropping Maui outside his room and closing the door quickly to prevent Maui from coming in again. He loved Maui, he really did, just not right now. Not when his cat was trying so hard to hurt Jimmy.
Maui scratched at the door, meowing insistently. Grian locked his door for good measure and turned his focus away from the cat and over to where Jimmy had run and hid. Grian’s heart was beating fast and fear prickled his skin as he hoped Jimmy was okay.
He practically fell to his knees in front of the nightstand and leaned down to try and spot Jimmy within the crevice. “Jimmy? Are you okay? Maui’s gone, you can come out now.” Grian said, holding his breath as he waited for Jimmy to say or do something.
He let out the breath, his shoulders slumping with relief as Jimmy cautiously revealed himself, gripping the edge of the nightstand as he looked up at Grian with wide eyes. Grian didn’t hesitate, he scooped Jimmy up in his hands and started looking him over, making sure he was okay. He felt Jimmy take in a shaky breath and plant both of his hands on Grian’s thumb. “Grian, Grian I’m okay.”
Grian’s eyes locked with Jimmy’s, searching to make sure it was true. “I’m so sorry.” Grian said, tears pricking the corners of his eyes but he didn’t let them fall. He should have been paying more attention, should have noticed Maui following him up the stairs and kept him out.
“It’s-It’s fine. Nothing happened.” Jimmy said, rubbing Grian’s thumb in a soothing way. But Jimmy shouldn’t be the one comforting Grian right now. Grian should be the one comforting Jimmy after what had just happened.
“It could have though.” Grian muttered. If Jimmy hadn’t been quicker in hiding. If Grian hadn’t been quicker in grabbing Maui, things could have ended far differently. Grian sighed and stood up, still holding Jimmy in his cupped hands. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Jimmy nodded. “I’m fine. Just…a bit shaken is all.” Jimmy ducked his head at the admission but it wasn’t like Grian could blame him. Grian’s heart was still trying to get back to normal, he couldn’t even imagine how hard Jimmy’s must have been racing at the scare.
He looked at the nightstand and the last thing he wanted was to put Jimmy down but he knew he still needed to eat and Jimmy probably wouldn’t appreciate trying to eat while still cupped in his hands. So with a small sigh, Grian set Jimmy down on top of the nightstand. “I’ve got dinner.” Grian said, trying to get his thoughts away from what had just happened. He dug into his pockets and grabbed the napkin, putting it on the nightstand near Jimmy and opening it up.
“Oh, that smells so good!” Jimmy said, moving closer to the food. Food was always a good distraction, especially for Jimmy. And thankfully, the food was still warm. Jimmy ripped off a piece of the meatloaf and started to eat.
Grian watched him for a moment, a small smile on his face, before pulling himself away and deciding to busy his mind with unpacking his luggage. As he placed his luggage on the bed and started taking out the folded up shirts and pants, he couldn’t stop yet another apology from slipping through his lips.
“I’m sorry Jimmy.” Grian said, glancing over and noticing the way Jimmy paused in his eating. “I’ll be more careful. I won’t even give Maui a chance to come in next time.”
Jimmy put down the piece of meatloaf he had been eating. “I know, Grian.” He said, a small smile on his face. He took a deep breath and fidgeted with his shirt for a moment. “I’m not going to lie and say that wasn’t terrifying or that my heart isn’t still racing.” Jimmy said and Grian winced. “But I’m not blaming you for it. Cats are quick and…yeah.” Jimmy finished a bit lamely.
Grian left his clothes where they were and sat on the edge of his bed, closer to the nightstand and to Jimmy. “I know. I just feel like this whole thing is my fault because I didn’t think about how dangerous Maui would be for you. I just…feel like I should have prepared better.”
“You didn’t really know. You can’t blame yourself for something like that.” Jimmy said. “Besides, I’m still determined to have fun despite the cat and I think that’ll be an easy thing to do. I trust you to keep me safe.”
Grian swallowed a small lump in his throat. “Even after what just happened?”
“Yes, Grian.” Jimmy said, his smile a bit wider now. “Because you did save me, you know.”
“Yeah…” Grian trailed off and both knew he was still blaming himself. But for now, Jimmy decided to change the subject, going back to his dinner.
“What’s this called, anyway?” Jimmy said, picking up the meat and taking a bite.
Grian chuckled. “It’s called meatloaf. It’s pretty much just ground beef and some other stuff.” Grian explained and Jimmy nodded along.
“Well, it’s really good.” Jimmy said, finishing off the piece and moving on to the mashed potatoes.
“I’m glad.” Grian said and then remembered he had one more thing for Jimmy. “Also, I’m sure you’ll be happy about this.” Grian said as he took out the cookie from his pocket. Jimmy’s eyes lit up and it was almost like Maui hadn’t gotten in at all anymore.
“Yes!” Jimmy cheered and reached for it but Grian pulled it out of reach. “Hey!” Jimmy pouted and Grian laughed.
“Finish your dinner first and then you can have the cookie.” Grian said and Jimmy rolled his eyes with a small huff.
“I’m not a kid.” Jimmy said, though it was light and he couldn’t fight the smile slipping onto his face. Grian laughed but he held onto the cookie until Jimmy was done with dinner, only then handing it over to the borrower.
Jimmy munched on it happily and his happiness was infectious as the scare from earlier slipped away from Grian’s mind. Grian went back to unpacking, making lighter conversation with Jimmy as he did so.
With all his clothes put away and Jimmy done eating (he had eaten the whole cookie and Grian still wondered how he was able to pack that much away in such a small body), the two settled into bed for the night. Grian had set up a little makeshift bed for Jimmy on his nightstand, similar to the one back in the dorm. He watched Jimmy get comfortable before turning off the lights and getting comfortable himself.
“Night, Grian.” Jimmy said into the darkness.
“Night.” Grian said back.
Despite the scare and realization of Maui being dangerous for Jimmy, Grian was determined to not let it ruin their vacation. He would keep Jimmy safe and they would still have a great time.
He was sure in himself that he wouldn’t let anything else go wrong.
He ignored the small feeling of dread deep in his gut, chalking it up to anxiety, and fell asleep.
Yay! I'm super excited to share this with you guys! This was actually a commission, but the person who commissioned it wished to not be tagged. You know who you are though and I thank you again for the commission! I had a lot of fun writing this!
Heed the warnings a bit on this one though, it's hurt/comfort but we gotta get through the hurt first. And I went into quite a bit of detail on the actual sickness itself. So just be aware of that!
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy part 1 of this! Part 2 will be posted on the 11th!
Jimmy placed a hand over his mouth and did his best to muffle the cough. The action was successful in not alerting his humans to the sound but it did nothing to stop the ache in his throat. He rubbed at his neck with a wince and tried to clear his throat, but the action only made the pain worse, making him wince all over again.
He glanced over at Grian and then at Joel, both of whom were at their respective desks and working on homework. Jimmy was, as he always tended to be, on Joel’s nightstand with Joel's phone. Of course, he hadn’t been paying attention to it for the last several minutes, too focused on the scratchiness of his throat and the fact that he was feeling much too hot all of a sudden.
Jimmy couldn’t deny it, no matter how much he wanted to. He was getting sick.
The thought sent a shiver down Jimmy’s spine. Over the course of his life, he hadn’t been sick very often. A couple of times at most. Once when he was still with his parents and again a couple of years after he had moved into the dorm building. Thankfully, the sickness he had by himself hadn’t been too bad. He had managed to gather some herbs in preparation beforehand and mixing them and taking them with water had been enough to help. After a week in bed he had been feeling a lot better.
The sickness he had dealt with when he was with his parents, though? That one had been bad. Like, he almost didn’t make it, kind of bad. He had been young though and his parents had done their best to never let him know just how close to death he had come. But Jimmy had known, it was hard not to when he could hear his parents crying in the next room over.
Thankfully, Jimmy’s fever ended up breaking a couple of weeks later and he was right as rain another week after that.
Jimmy barely remembered the worst of it, just that it felt like he was going to die. His hand tightened around his throat a bit, remembering the symptoms he had experienced back then…
Jimmy shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. He couldn’t think like that. It was probably more similar to the sickness he had a few years ago. Which meant all he needed was some rest and hopefully the scratchiness in his throat would go away.
He muffled another cough and ignored the way his throat flared up in pain again.
“Alright, I’m done staring at this screen for now.” Joel suddenly said, causing Jimmy to jump slightly. He quickly recovered though and looked over to see Joel had pushed his chair away from his desk and stood up. Grian glanced behind him.
“Joel, we’ve only been doing homework for an hour.” Grian said but Jimmy could already see Grian moving his mouse to save his current work.
“And it’s been a very productive hour! But it’s also five and I’m starving. Right, Jimmy?” Joel asked, turning to look at Jimmy with a grin. Jimmy blinked but quickly matched that grin, ignoring the way his head started to pound when he did so.
“Yeah, I’m pretty hungry too.” Jimmy said and Joel made a gesture toward him for Grian, as if to say ‘see? He wants food too.’
Grian simply rolled his eyes but closed the face of his laptop and stood up, his phone already out. “Alright, alright. It’s not like I really need more convincing.” Grian said as he typed on his phone. Grian always acted like he was the most responsible one out of the three of them, and in some ways he was, but it was almost too easy to get him out of that role. “How do wings sound?”
“Sounds good to me.” Joel said, moving to sit on his bed to be closer to Jimmy.
Jimmy remembered the last time he had wings and nodded along. “Can we get those parmesan ones again?” He remembered liking those ones the best.
“Way ahead of you.” Grian said and Jimmy smiled, ignoring the way his nose started to itch.
Of course, he couldn’t ignore it when the itch turned into a sneeze and it was too late for him to try and muffle it. He sneezed, his head pulsing in pain, and wiped his nose with his sleeve.
“Bless you.” Joel said, a look of surprise on his face. “You okay?” Joel asked and Jimmy nodded, smiling and trying to ignore the pain in his head.
“Yep! It’s…uh, just a bit dusty in here.” Jimmy lied and felt bad for it but he couldn’t help the relief he felt when Joel believed him.
“Oh, sorry. I can try dusting after we eat. Hopefully that will help.” Joel said and Jimmy just nodded, smiling at him.
It wasn’t like he wanted to keep this from Grian and Joel, but he just…didn’t want them to worry. They had enough on their plate with school and having to worry about him the normal amount. If he told them he was sick, he was sure they would drop everything for him and Jimmy didn’t want that. Besides, Jimmy was fine. His head may be pounding and his throat scratchy and his nose just a bit stuffed up but he was sure, with some rest, he would be perfectly fine.
He ignored the feeling like there was a rock in his stomach and kept on smiling.
“Alright, food will be here in 20 it looks like.” Grian said, putting his phone back in his pocket and moving closer to where Jimmy and Joel were. “What’s this I heard about dusting?”
Joel waved him off. “It’s just a bit dusty in here for Jimmy, figured I could clean up a bit after we ate.”
Grian hummed. “It has been a bit since we cleaned up…” Grian trailed off, a small grin forming, and that was all the warning Jimmy got before he was being scooped up into Grian’s hand. He was brought up to Grian’s face, now eye level with his grin. “Well, if the dust is bothering you so much then I guess I can just keep a hold of you for the time being.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes, as if Grian ever needed an excuse to hold him. Same with Joel, it just seemed like Grian had gotten the idea first. “Thanks, I appreciate your sacrifice.” Jimmy said, filling his words with as much sarcasm as he could manage. Grian laughed and poked Jimmy in the side.
“It’s definitely a sacrifice, I’ll have you know.” Grian said, just as much sarcasm in his own tone. Jimmy laughed along with the human and settled into a comfortable position in Grian’s hand. Grian lowered him down to chest level and then took a seat next to Joel as the two started talking about their assignments. Jimmy found himself zoning out a bit. He still didn’t know nearly enough to keep up with what they were talking about and the pounding in his head only got worse whenever he decided to tune back in and try.
Jimmy squirmed a little in the hand, trying to get comfortable. It was usually so easy to settle into the warmth of either human’s hands. He loved soaking up as much warmth as he could considering borrowers always ran cold. And Grian’s hand was still warm, that part hadn’t changed. But now, it was…too warm. Jimmy felt sweat dripping down the side of his forehead and quickly wiped it away before it could be noticed. His palms were gross with sweat too though and the warmth Grian’s hand provided felt more suffocating than anything else.
He forced himself to settle down, not wanting to draw attention to himself with all his movement. A little bit was normal for him to get settled, but if he did it too much then Grian would surely notice and then ask about it and then Jimmy would have to lie again…Jimmy shook his head and ignored the way the warmth from Grian’s skin was making him feel a bit dizzy.
There was a knock on the door a few minutes later and Grian handed Jimmy over to Joel as he got up to go answer it and grab their food. Joel’s hands were a bit colder but still far too warm for Jimmy. He, once again, ignored his want to squirm around and settled quickly, knowing he wouldn’t be in Joel’s hands for too long anyway.
Sure enough, as Grian came back with the food, Jimmy was set down on Joel’s desk as they pulled it out to eat on. He sat down, appreciating the cooler surface, and waited as Grian loaded a napkin with Jimmy’s portion of food before sliding it over to him. The food looked good but as Jimmy smelled it, his stomach twisted up in knots and Jimmy had to hold back a gag.
There was definitely nothing wrong with the food, and that was more apparent by Grian and Joel chowing down with no hesitation. Which meant, unfortunately, there was something wrong with Jimmy himself.
Jimmy bit his lip and tore a piece of the wing off anyway, forcing it down. The taste was, thankfully, better than the smell but it definitely hurt his throat going down. And as it reached his stomach, it settled like a rock.
It would look weird to Grian and Joel though if he didn’t eat. So Jimmy continued to do so. Besides, it was probably good for him to force himself to get food down. He needed the nutrients from the food, after all, especially if he wanted to get better quickly.
He ate enough to not be too suspicious and took a few steps back to indicate he was done. Joel noticed and reached over, picking up the untouched wing and popping it into his mouth. Jimmy ignored the way his stomach somersaulted.
“Man, that was good. Good call on the wings, Grian.” Joel said, leaning back and patting his full stomach with a satisfied grin.
“Thanks. Were they just as good as last time, Jimmy?” Grian asked, taking it upon himself to clean up after all of them.
Jimmy forced a smile and nodded. “Y-Yeah! I really love the parmesan ones, they're still my favorite!” Jimmy said and barely bit back a cough as raising his voice had tickled his throat a bit too much.
Grian and Joel continued to make conversation and Jimmy spoke enough to not seem too suspicious. As their food was cleaned up and thrown away, Joel got up and searched for the duster since he had promised he would clean up a bit to help out Jimmy’s senses. Jimmy was grateful, even if the dust wasn’t what had Jimmy sneezing.
“There we go, that should help hopefully.” Joel said as he crossed his arms and looked over his work. Every surface in the dorm room had been dusted and Jimmy had to admit he hadn’t even realized how much dust there had been. Maybe the dust really had been the thing that was affecting him.
“Thanks, Joel! I appreciate it.” Jimmy said, Grian moving over to the nightstand again.
“We probably should keep some sort of a cleaning schedule.” Grian thought out loud and Joel nodded in agreement.
“Probably a good idea.” He shoved the duster into Grian’s hands with a grin. “You’re on cleaning duty next though.”
Grian blinked, looking down at the duster that had just been shoved into his hands. “Hold on a minute! Joel, all you did was dust! What about vacuuming or cleaning the bathroom?”
“I did my job!” Joel argued back and Jimmy settled into his makeshift bed, watching with a smile as Grian and Joel argued back and forth. It was always funny watching them go at it, even if, right now, their slightly raised voices were causing his head to pulse.
Jimmy stayed awake as he listened to Grian and Joel come to an agreement, finally, about a schedule for cleaning. Jimmy chimed in about how he could help with some things, though both humans were a bit wary at his suggestion. They told him they’d think of something and Jimmy knew, if anything, he would be put on a very specific, but rather safe, job. Like cleaning the nooks and crannies of the room, places where it was hard for Joel and Grian to reach. He was fine with that, as long as he was able to help with something.
It wasn’t long after that that everyone got settled into bed for the night. Jimmy, having already been in bed just waiting for his two friends to get settled, tried getting into a comfortable position once the lights went out. It was proving difficult with how hot he was though. He ended up pulling on his covers only halfway, covering his bottom half but leaving his torso and arms free.
Once that was settled, he closed his eyes, ignoring everything about his body that felt wrong, and fell into a cautious sleep.
***
Jimmy woke up with a gasp and he rolled over and kicked at his blanket, eventually getting it off of him completely. He panted, his body was drenched in sweat and his head pounded behind his eyes and against his skull. His mouth felt dry and he reached over and took a generous gulp of the water that was always left out for him. He coughed as it went down, the pain in his throat even worse than it had been earlier. Water shouldn’t make your throat hurt, that just seemed unfair.
Something in Jimmy’s stomach bubbled up and that was all the warning Jimmy received before he was throwing up. That only made his throat hurt more and the pounding in his head got worse. He blinked away some tears and looked down, almost throwing up again at the sight. He whipped his head over towards Joel and then Grian but both humans were still asleep, thankfully.
Jimmy needed to clean this up and so he grabbed his blanket and moved it over the puke. He gagged but managed to keep himself from throwing up again. He rolled up his blanket and pushed it by the lamp, hoping that would hide it for now. Just until he could throw it out or get it cleaned or whatever.
He collapsed back onto his bed, breathing heavily, the icky taste of puke still in his mouth. He sat back up and took another sip of water, trying to get rid of the taste. He laid back down, throwing an arm over his head. He winced and took his arm off, very aware of how hot his head was. He placed the heel of his palm on his head and swallowed thickly at just how much heat was emanating off of it. That wasn’t good. That was…that really wasn’t good.
Jimmy had to do something, before Grian and Joel woke up and realized what had happened. He couldn’t let them see how sick he was, he didn’t want them to worry. They shouldn’t have to worry. Jimmy racked his brain for an idea, trying to figure something out. It was difficult with the pounding in his head though.
He thought back to the last time he was sick, memories blurry and not quite there but he did remember that he had gathered some herbs back then and he should still have some. That could help, if he could just get back to his old home and whip up some stuff from those herbs then he should be fine. And Grian and Joel would never know what had happened.
Now all he had to do was actually get to his old home in the walls.
Jimmy carefully got himself up, trying not to move too fast lest he want to throw up again. He managed to stand but his legs were wobbly and it took him another moment to get them feeling like he wasn’t about to fall over. Jimmy took in a deep breath and grabbed his bag, pulling out his hook. He settled his bag over his shoulder but swayed and realized the weight was too much right now. So he left his bag on the nightstand and just took his hook, moving toward the edge.
He climbed down his hook and as he hit the carpet, he tried pulling on the string a few times. It wasn’t budging and Jimmy didn’t really have the strength to keep trying so he decided to leave it there. It at least gave him easier access to the nightstand once he came back, he wouldn’t have to worry about trying to throw his hook or anything like that.
He glanced up toward the two beds but it seemed like Grian and Joel were still fully asleep, unaware of what Jimmy was doing. That was good and hopefully, he’d be back long before either of them woke up. He just had to get to the walls, grab the herbs, and come back out. Simple. Easy. It should be no problem.
He made his way across the floor, toward Grian’s desk where his entrance into the walls lay. He was walking slower than normal, not wanting to rush and risk losing whatever was left inside his stomach. He blinked regularly too, trying to combat the pounding in his head and he only risked swallowing when he absolutely had to, not liking the pain that went along with it.
Finally, he reached underneath Grian’s desk. Grian’s bag was over on the side but ever since that first time they met, Grian had been sure to never leave his bag in a spot that would cover up his entrance. For which Jimmy was thankful, even if he didn’t go into the walls very often anymore. It was especially good for times like this and Jimmy went ahead and slipped into the walls.
It was getting harder to think but thankfully Jimmy didn’t need to do much thinking in order to make it to his old home. Muscle memory took over and Jimmy felt his legs take him down the correct path. At some point, he had to hold himself up with one hand on the wall and he had to swallow down some puke that almost made it come back up again, but eventually he reached his old place.
He hadn’t been here too long ago, having been in this room with Skizz only a couple of weeks ago. So he knew everything was exactly as he had left it since then. The map they had left behind was sitting on his makeshift table and his old bed was made. It was still dusty and Jimmy found himself sneezing again, wincing at both the pain in his throat and the snot that came out of his nose.
He wiped it off with his sleeve, ignoring how gross that was, and started looking around for where he would have put those herbs.
He checked the pantry but it was completely empty. He checked under his bed but there was nothing but dust. Every other place he thought it could be also came up empty and Jimmy was starting to wonder if he had any herbs in the first place.
And then the memory hit him, of having used up all the herbs the last time he had gotten sick and Jimmy’s heart sunk. He had come all this way and it had been for nothing.
He was so tired. Walking so far and searching for so long had drained his energy completely. He needed to get back home, especially before Joel and Grian woke up but he couldn’t make himself start the journey back. Instead, he looked to his old bed, which looked so comfortable and inviting…
Jimmy was on the bed before he fully realized what he was doing. He was still hot, so he left the blankets off of himself but he snuggled into the makeshift bed. He just needed to rest for a second, just five minutes and then he would head back.
Jimmy closed his eyes and five minutes passed. And then ten minutes. And then an hour.
Jimmy remained in bed in a restless sleep.
***
Joel woke up the next morning slowly. He let himself rest for a few more minutes before finally opening his eyes, blinking so they could get used to the light coming from the window. He sat up, stretching his arms and glanced toward his nightstand. He glanced at the clock first, which told him it was about 8 in the morning. His eyes then glanced over to Jimmy’s makeshift bed but found confusion taking over as he realized Jimmy’s bed was empty.
“Jimmy?” Joel called out, reaching out and moving the pile around just to make sure Jimmy just wasn’t buried under there. But no, the bed was void of any borrower.
Joel hummed and looked over to Grian but Grian was still asleep. He scanned Grian’s area but didn’t see Jimmy anywhere over there either. Joel grabbed one of his pillows and threw it over at Grian, hitting him square in the face. Grian was jolted awake and Joel couldn’t help but laugh at the face Grian was making.
Grian sat up and glared at him, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. “What the hell, Joel?” Grian said but Joel ignored his question.
“Do you see Jimmy over there?” Joel asked instead and Grian blinked, taking a moment to process what Joel was asking. He looked around, trying to find the borrower, but he came up empty.
“No, he’s not over here. Why? Is he not in bed?” Grian asked, moving his blankets off of him now that he was awake and planting his feet on the carpet below. Not before scanning the floor first though.
Joel shook his head. “No, he’s not.” Joel let out a small hum, looking around at the floor and over by his desk. But still, there was no sign of the borrower. “Jimmy!” Joel called out again, this time louder. They both waited for a moment, but they didn’t hear Jimmy calling back and both humans frowned.
“That’s weird.” Grian commented as he stood up. “Maybe he went to see Skizz? Did he say anything about that yesterday?” Grian asked as he took off his pajama shirt and pulled on a t-shirt for the day.
Joel shook his head. “Not that I remember, but you’re probably right.” It wasn’t like Jimmy had to tell them where he was running off too. And there were only so many places he’d go, Impulse and Tango’s dorm room being the main one. Jimmy had been spending even more time there ever since he had met Skizz. Joel shook off the slight bit of jealousy he felt, still doing his best to get over that, and decided to be happy for Jimmy instead. And he was happy for him, having a friend his own size after so long without one was great for him.
Joel got out of bed and started getting ready for the day himself, heading into the bathroom to wash up a bit.
As Joel headed into the bathroom, Grian changed out of his sweatpants and into some jeans for the day, checking the time on his phone as he did so. It was a little after 8 but thankfully neither he nor Joel had any classes today. He started thinking about what they might want to eat for breakfast when his eyes decided to drift over to Joel’s nightstand.
He paused, eyebrows furrowed as he moved closer. He bent down and grabbed the string and hook that had been dangling from the nightstand, looking it over with increasing confusion. Clearly Jimmy had used this to get down from the nightstand at some point but why had he not taken it with him? He usually took his hook everywhere, especially if he was leaving the room to visit Skizz. Grian hummed, but dropped the hook and string in a pile on the nightstand. Maybe he was overthinking this. Maybe Jimmy had either forgotten or meant to leave it behind, knowing he wouldn’t need it once he got to Tango and Impulse’s dorm. It was still strange though.
He was about to walk away to finish getting ready when his eyes settled on something else. This time, his eyes widened when he went to go pick it up, confirming what he had already seen. It was Jimmy’s bag. Jimmy had left his bag behind.
Grian’s stomach somersaulted as he stared at the bag. If Jimmy leaving his hook behind was strange than Jimmy leaving his bag behind was beyond concerning. Jimmy was always one to take his bag with him, not only because Jimmy might need it but also because Jimmy himself had admitted it was a comfort thing. It being left behind put a bad taste in Grian’s mouth.
Joel exited out of the bathroom and Grian turned around to face him. The look on his face alone had Joel freezing. “Jimmy left his hook and his bag here.” Grian said, not beating around the bush. Joel’s eyes went wide and his gaze drifted to the proof in Grian’s hand.
“He…what? That doesn’t make any sense, he never leaves those things behind.” Joel said, walking closer, eyes still staring at the small bag in Grian’s hands. “Especially not his bag.”
“I know.” Grian said, staring intently down at the small bag himself. “I mean, I guess it’s still possible he left these behind on purpose, but...I don’t like it.” Grian said after a moment. Of course, Jimmy leaving these things behind on purpose could still be possible. But it was so out of character for Jimmy that it just wasn’t likely. And to be honest, it was also out of character for Jimmy not to tell them where he was headed off to, even if he didn’t need to.
“Maybe we should…head over to Tango and Impulse’s room? Just to make sure Jimmy is okay.” Joel suggested, concern and a bit of urgency dripping from his tone. Grian nodded, having just been about to suggest the same thing. They weren’t blowing this out of proportion, they were just a bit worried and weirded out by Jimmy leaving his things behind. Stopping by and checking on him was a very normal friend thing to do.
He didn’t really know why he was trying to defend himself here, maybe because he knew Jimmy was his own person who could make his own decisions. And he knew Jimmy thought they already worried about him more than enough. Though even so, it wasn’t like Grian or Joel could hold back that worry for long.
The two humans got their shoes on and made their way out of their dorm and down the hallway where they knew Tango and Impulse’s were. They both tried not to think about it, despite being worried they were still pretty positive this was where Jimmy was. After all, where else would he have gone?
Grian knocked on the door and both humans waited as a distant voice shouted, “Be right there!” It sounded like Impulse and sure enough, as the door opened, Impulse was the one to greet them. He seemed a bit surprised but smiled nonetheless. “Oh, hey! What are you guys doing over here so early?” Impulse asked, moving out of the way to let the two in. He closed the door behind them.
“Oh, we thought we’d come check in on Jimmy. He left his bag behind and we figured we’d bring it to him just in case.” Grian said, taking the small bag out of his pocket and holding it out for Impulse to see. Impulse, in response, tilted his head to the side and that alone was enough to send a sense of dread through Grian and Joel.
“Jimmy? I don’t…I don’t think Jimmy is here.” Impulse said, though he didn’t sound too sure. He glanced across the room and it was then that Grian and Joel noticed Tango wasn’t in the room. It made sense though, they were both pretty sure he had a Saturday class. They turned back to Impulse as he shouted into the room. “Skizz! Is Jimmy with you?” Impulse called out. They waited a moment and then Skizz popped out from under the bed, looking confused.
“No? Should he be?” Skizz asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion. Impulse bent down and scooped Skizz up and off the ground.
“Wait, so Jimmy isn’t here?” Joel asked, his panic pushing into his words.
“No, I haven’t seen him since Thursday.” Skizz said, Impulse nodding along with him. “After we all had dinner.”
“When was the last time you saw Jimmy?” Impulse asked and Grian sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“We saw him just last night. He went to bed with us like normal but when we woke up he was gone. Normally we wouldn’t be too worried, but he didn’t take his bag or his hook and now you guys are saying he isn’t here…” Grian was trying not to let his panic show, not like Joel, but it was getting harder and harder when he thought more about where Jimmy could be.
“Well, maybe he went to class with Tango?” Skizz suggested and Joel was already getting out his phone before Skizz had even finished speaking, typing a quick message.
“I guess we’ll see, hopefully he gets back to me soon…” Joel trailed off as the little dots indicating Tango was texting back popped up. He waited with bated breath and then released it in a hiss as Tango’s message was sent.
No, I don’t have him. Is something wrong? Should I leave class?
Joel was tempted to say yes but he texted back that Tango should stay in class but that they’ll keep him updated if anything happens. Tango only had about an hour left anyway. After that was done Joel shoved his phone back in his pocket. “He’s not with Tango.” He said curtly as he tried to control his breathing.
“Well, that’s really not good then.” Skizz said what everyone else was thinking. He thought for a moment. “If he’s not here or with Tango then…do you think he might have gone into the walls?” Skizz suggested.
Grian crossed his arms. “He doesn’t usually go into the walls much anymore. Only when he wants to get over here on his own or if he’s with you. But, considering we’re running low on options…” Grian trailed off. It was very possible Jimmy could have gone into the walls. But if it wasn’t to meet up with Skizz, then why would he have gone in?
“It’s our best bet at this point.” Joel said, all but finishing Grian’s train of thought. He then turned to meet Skizz’s eyes. “Do you think you could go and look for him? Just to make sure…he’s okay?”
Skizz didn’t hesitate to nod. “Of course! I don’t really know the walls as well as Jimmy does but I’m sure I can navigate it. Besides, I have an idea where to check first at the very least.” His thoughts wandered to Jimmy’s old home. They had just gone there a couple of weeks ago, so the route to get there was still fresh in Skizz’s mind. He wasn’t sure if he would actually find him there but it was the best place to start.
Skizz turned around to look up at Impulse. “Mind setting me down near Tango’s desk?” Skizz asked and Impulse only hesitated for a moment before moving over and setting Skizz back down on the ground.
“Just, be careful in there.” Impulse said, worry clear in his tone. Skizz smiled, waving his concerns away.
“I’ll be fine. And I’m sure Jimmy is fine too.” He said, pointedly looking at Grian and Joel, who now looked sheepish but still no less worried. “But I’ll find him and drag him out here so you guys can go all overprotective friends on him.” Skizz joked and slipped under the desk and into the walls as Grian and Joel started to try and defend themselves.
Skizz laughed a bit as the distance made it so he couldn’t hear them anymore. He was sure everything was fine. He didn’t know why Jimmy would go into the walls if it wasn’t to meet up with them but he’s sure Jimmy had his reasons.
He started along the familiar path, using the subtle landmarks Jimmy had pointed out to him along the way. His home wasn’t actually too far away from Grian and Joel’s dorm room, and only an extra few minutes were added on if you left from Impulse and Tango’s dorm, and with Skizz speed walking, he managed to make it to Jimmy’s old home in only twenty minutes.
He paused as he noticed Jimmy’s makeshift door open, which they had definitely closed the last time they were here. That was enough of an indicator for Skizz to know Jimmy must be inside. He smiled as he walked in. “Jimmy! You in here, buddy?” Skizz called out into the home.
He paused for a moment, frowning a bit when the home remained quiet. “Jimmy?” Skizz called out again, less sure this time. He walked past the front room and paused again when he actually heard a noise. It sounded like a low groan.
Skizz beelined for Jimmy’s old room, coming into the doorway and fully freezing at the sight before him.
“Jimmy!” Skizz yelled as he ran over to the other borrower. Jimmy was laying in bed but he was anything but still. His legs kicked at the blanket at the end of the bed and he was turning every which way. His brows were furrowed and sweat was pouring out of him, all while he was still asleep.
Skizz hovered there for a moment, unsure what to even begin doing, before he gently rested a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. Jimmy’s movements threatened to knock Skizz’s hand away but he kept it firmly there. “Jimmy, come on buddy, snap out of it.” Skizz said, worry spilling into his tone.
Jimmy’s movements thankfully died down but his breathing was still ragged and a small whimper escaped out of Jimmy’s lips, causing Skizz to wince. “It’s okay Jimmy, everything’s gonna be okay…” Skizz said, maybe more to himself than to Jimmy. Jimmy whined and Skizz lifted his hand off of Jimmy’s shoulder so he could lay it over Jimmy’s forehead.
Skizz snapped his hand back, his eyes going wide at just how hot it was. “Oh god.” Skizz whispered and placed his hand back on Jimmy’s forehead just to make sure. Skizz’s panic grew as Jimmy felt like he was burning up, hotter than any borrower had a right to be.
Skizz took his hand back and placed it over his mouth as he tried to think about what he should do. He needed help, Jimmy needed help and so he clearly couldn’t stay here. Their humans would know what to do a lot better than he did and besides, there was nothing here that could help Jimmy anyway. It made Skizz wonder just what Jimmy was doing here in the first place but he buried that question down for another time. He had bigger things to worry about right now.
With only one option, Skizz placed one hand under Jimmy’s back and the other underneath his legs and lifted Jimmy up bridal style. Jimmy groaned at the movement, his head swaying until it fell against Skizz’s chest. Skizz swallowed thickly. “Don’t worry Jimmy, I’ve got ya. We’re gonna get you some help.” Skizz tried to reassure, but Jimmy only whined in response, still clearly out of it. Skizz could feel the heat emanating off of him and knew he needed to hurry.
Thankfully, Jimmy was rather light, so Skizz had no problem moving with Jimmy in his arms. He made his way out of Jimmy’s makeshift home and went as fast as he could through the walls.
He really hoped Grian, Joel, and Impulse could help. Because looking at Jimmy’s face as he quickly but carefully made his way through the walls was doing nothing to settle the fear and worry that had settled deep into his chest.
He pushed on, determined for the journey to not take the full twenty minutes it had the first time. For Jimmy’s sake.
For the BBBCAU, what if the heating in the dorms got messed up and Jimmy got too cold?(little bit of trick, but his friends helping him warm up would be a really cute treat!) (it’s crazy cold at my college right now so I couldn’t imagine how bad it’d be for a borrower)
Jimmy shivered, pulling the blanket even tighter around him. For some reason, today was a lot colder than normal. He could even feel it through the wood of the nightstand. And though his blanket was usually enough to keep any cold out, it was doing close to nothing for Jimmy right now.
Both Joel and Grian were currently at their classes, so Jimmy couldn’t even go to them for warmth right now. But, as he looked at the time on the clock, Joel should at least be back soon.
He let out a small breath and was surprised to notice that he could see it. Jimmy knew that only happened when it was really cold and honestly? It definitely felt like it. Making a decision, he got out of bed and let the blanket fall. He shook from the cold but went over to where he kept his clothes. He kept his current shirt on but grabbed one of the hoodies Cleo had made for him, a blue one, and put it on for some extra warmth. He then made his way back to his bed and wrapped himself back up in the blanket.
It was a little better, but he couldn’t wait for Joel to get back.
Sure enough, around ten minutes later, the door to the dorm opened. Joel walked in and his eyes immediately went to Jimmy. “Hey, you okay?” Joel asked as he closed the door behind him and mindlessly threw his bag over by his desk. “We all got a text that the heating went out.”
Oh, so that’s why it was so cold in here. It made a lot of sense, usually the college dorms were adequately heated. Jimmy shook his head. “I’m fine, just…really cold.” Jimmy admitted. Thankfully, he didn’t have to say much else as Joel got the hint. He came over and Jimmy let the blanket fall away as Joel wrapped a firm but gentle fist around him.
Already the heat from Joel’s hand was seeping into Jimmy’s own skin. Jimmy relaxed into the warmth, the cold having no way to get to him with Joel’s body so close. Joel moved to sit in bed and adjusted his grip slightly so Jimmy was also pressed up against his chest. And now, surrounded by all sides, Jimmy was no longer cold.
“Better?” Joel asked, looking down at the borrower.
Jimmy did his best to look up and meet Joel’s eyes. It was a bit difficult with the angle he was at but it helped that Joel was tilting his face down. He nodded. “Way better.”
Joel smiled and a finger started rubbing Jimmy’s back. Jimmy let out a small, content sigh.
Some time passed, Jimmy wasn’t sure how long, but the next thing he was aware of was the door opening again. He turned his head away from Joel’s chest and saw Grian walking in. He looked at the scene in front of him and smirked. “Using Joel as your own personal heater?” Grian said with a chuckle as he dropped his bag off to the side. “Smart move.”
Jimmy laughed and Joel rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you saw that the heaters are out right now.”
“Yeah, I did.” Grian said and then stepped closer to Joel. Joel eyed him a bit.
“What are you doing?” Joel asked and Grian grinned and that was all the warning Joel got before Grian plopped onto the bed and on top of Joel, obviously being aware of where Jimmy was and making sure he didn’t hit him at all.
Joel yelped and Jimmy was a bit startled at the sudden movement. “Grian!” Joel yelled but Grian just laughed.
“What? I’m cold too.” Grian said and then took out his phone, looking like he didn’t plan on moving any time soon.
Jimmy smiled. “Well, this is one way for all of us to stay warm.” Jimmy said, snuggling back into Joel’s chest.
Joel looked at his two best friends and sighed. Honestly, he wasn’t all that upset by this. He let his lips twitch up into a small smile. “Yeah, I guess.” There was no way to hide the fondness in his voice.
Jimmy groaned as a bright light shone in his eyes. He turned over with a huff, but it was too late. He was already awake. He opened them up and looked over his shoulder at the source of the light. He was sleeping on Grian’s bed today, and with how it was placed within the room, it was pretty well aligned with the window. There was just a speck of light shining from it, the sun only just starting to rise, but it had been enough to reach Jimmy.
He turned back around and looked in front of him, Grian’s sleeping face meeting him. The light had yet to reach Grian but he knew once it did Grian would simply turn over and ignore it until his alarm actually went off.
Jimmy couldn’t help but take in the sight of Grian’s sleeping face. It wasn’t often he found himself in this position. Usually, Jimmy was the one falling asleep or being asleep near his awake friends. Now that it was the other way around, maybe he understood what they meant when Grian and Joel told him he looked so peaceful and cute when he was asleep.
He wasn’t sure if cute was the right word, not on such a massive face anyway. But Grian definitely looked at peace.
Jimmy sat himself up and moved a bit closer to him. Up close like this, Grian’s face basically took up his entire vision. Even after all this time, it was a bit overwhelming. But thanks to months of practice, Jimmy pushed beyond it. And he couldn’t help himself as he reached out and placed a hand on the tip of Grian’s nose.
Grian’s nose twitched but that was it. Grian remained asleep as Jimmy kept his hand where it was. Jimmy hummed to himself, wondering if it was even possible for him to wake Grian up like this, with touch alone. He took his hand off Grian’s nose and moved further up, placing a hand on Grian’s cheek and patting it a few times, just to see. There was another twitch and Jimmy saw movement happening behind Grian’s eyes, but he settled right back down again after.
It was nice to know Grian was at least somewhat aware of his touch, even in these subconscious and subtle ways. But it made him feel so small that his touches couldn’t wake him up. If Joel had done something similar, Grian would be up right away and probably yelling at Joel for being weird and waking him up in the first place.
Jimmy laughed a bit at the mental image and turned around to catch a glance at Joel. Joel was also still asleep, spread out in his bed like a starfish. Joel always did take full advantage of the bed when he knew Jimmy wasn’t sleeping with him. It really spoke about the control he had, that he was able to sleep still when Jimmy was there.
He turned his attention back to Grian as the human started to shift a little. Grian was still asleep though, just getting a bit more comfortable.
Jimmy took his hand off Grian’s cheek and moved even further up so he was close to Grian’s eyes. They were, obviously, closed, which Jimmy didn’t really see very often. He reached out but paused, wondering if this would be a bad idea.
But Grian’s eyes were closed and protected, so Jimmy let his curiosity win and continued moving his hand until it was resting on Grian’s eyelid. Jimmy raised an eyebrow at the feeling. It was certainly weird, very unlike any other part of skin Jimmy had touched. It was thinner for one thing, which was easy for Jimmy to tell when every other part of Grian’s skin was so thick. It was also…softer? It felt less like leather at the very least. Jimmy couldn’t help but run his hand over it.
Grian’s eye twitched and his brows furrowed and that was all the warning Jimmy got before a hand wrapped around him from behind. He let out a noise in surprise, his hand jumping off of Grian’s eyelid and moving to lay on one of Grian’s fingers. The hand didn’t pick him up though, it simply held him there and as Jimmy looked back up, he saw that Grian’s eyes were open. He smiled sheepishly.
“Good morning…” Jimmy said quietly, trailing off as Grian raised an eyebrow at him. He was moved a bit back so Grian’s eyes could actually focus on him but he was still very close to Grian’s face all the same.
“Were you…touching my eye?” Grian asked, his voice staying quiet so as to not wake Joel up.
Jimmy looked away. “No…?” Jimmy said but he had always been a terrible liar and obviously Grian saw right through him. One of Grian’s fingers came up to his face and gently pushed his head back to look at Grian. It stayed where it was, gently pressed into his cheek.
“What is wrong with you?” Grian said but he was smiling a little as he said it, a barely concealed laugh in his tone.
“Hey! As if you don’t touch me and stuff while I’m asleep.” Jimmy paused and placed a hand on the fingertip that was still being held against his face. “Or when I’m awake.” Jimmy said with a slight laugh.
Grian rolled his eyes but moved his finger so it went back to being wrapped around Jimmy along with the rest of his digits. “I guess. I’d preferred not to be poked in the eye though.” Grian joked and Jimmy huffed.
“I was touching your eyelid not your eye, it was fine.” Jimmy defended and Grian chuckled. “But uh, I’m sorry for waking you up.” Jimmy said after another moment, feeling bad for having interrupted Grian’s sleep. He really hadn’t thought he’d be able to wake Grian up like that. “I guess your eyelid is a bit more sensitive than I thought.”
Grian shrugged, at least, as much as he could while still lying down on his side. And then he smirked. “Eh, it’s fine. It was cute.” He grinned. “And trust me, I was already awake by the time you got to my eyelid.” Grian revealed.
Jimmy blinked, confused. “Wait, what?”
Grian didn’t answer right away, instead, he turned over to his other side, taking Jimmy with him. Jimmy let out a small yelp as Grian turned quick, settling onto his left side with Jimmy still in his hand. As Jimmy gained his bearings, Grian took this time to answer. “I woke up when you touched my nose. I was just pretending to be asleep after that to see what else you would do.”
“...Really?”
Grian’s smile turned softer and he brought Jimmy a bit closer. “Well yeah, of course, it’s kind of hard to miss you.”
It actually wasn’t hard at all to miss Jimmy and he had been so sure Grian wouldn’t wake up with his light touches. He thought Grian’s subconscious reactions had been enough to make Jimmy feel soft inside but realizing that Grian had actually woken up?
Grian was, apparently, so aware of him that even something like that was enough for Grian to notice.
“Oh.” Was all Jimmy could bring himself to say out loud. It was much too early for all the things he was currently feeling.
Grian must have noticed him going quiet though, because he suddenly looked a bit concerned. “You okay?”
Jimmy blinked and looked up at the human. His hand was still gently wrapped around Jimmy’s body and he grasped at the nearest finger. “Yeah.” He managed to get out, a bit choked up from everything.
Grian still looked concerned but he didn’t say anything more, just shifted and brought Jimmy closer until he was pressed against Grian’s chest. His heartbeat was loud but comforting all the same and Jimmy leaned into it. “Well, we still have an hour before we have to wake up.” Grian said and Jimmy could feel his voice through his chest. “Might as well enjoy it.”
Jimmy hummed in response, already feeling his eyes getting heavy. It was hard to stay awake with the rhythm from Grian’s heart and the warmth coming from his hands. Despite the emotions that still wrapped around him, he decided to focus on the sleepiness that was creeping into him more and more instead.
It was only another moment before Jimmy, and Grian, fell back asleep.
