Home Alone
Written & Illustrated by: allergeez
Summary: When Elex takes a dangerous job out of town, he promises it’ll only be two days—just enough to pay the bills and get back home. But when S7en starts feeling under the weather, old fears rise to the surface for both of them. Determined not to repeat their past mistakes, Elex makes S7en promise to keep him on video the whole time, refusing to let distance keep him from watching over the person who means everything to him. As hours turn into a tense waiting game, both of them are forced to confront how far they’ll go to protect each other, and what it really means to let someone in when things start falling apart. 7k words
The apartment was too quiet.
Elex could feel it—the tension humming beneath the stillness, the weight of all the things they weren’t saying pressing in like a slow, thick fog. He double-checked his bag for the fifth time, rolling his jaw tight as he mentally ticked through the checklist again. Gloves. Mask. Lockpick set. Spare blade. Burner phone. Backup charger. All there. All ready.
But his stomach still felt wrong.
Behind him, S7en sat perched on the edge of the couch, hoodie sleeves balled into fists in his lap, orange ears flicking restlessly. He hadn’t said much since Elex started packing. Not that S7en ever really did when he was pissed—but tonight? It was worse. Guarded. Closed off. The walls were already up.
"You’re gonna miss the train if you keep checking that bag," S7en muttered, voice flat but tight around the edges. He didn’t look up.
Elex swallowed down the bite of guilt that threatened to crawl up his throat. “I’m not gonna miss it,” he gritted quietly, yanking the zipper closed anyway. His hands flexed restlessly at his sides. “You know I don’t have a choice.”
That earned him a sharp breath—barely a scoff, barely anything—but S7en finally stood, pacing toward the window without meeting Elex’s gaze. "Sure," S7en muttered under his breath. "No choice. Right."
The words weren’t loud, but they hit like a punch.
Elex’s chest tightened. He ran a hand through his messy green hair, tugging at the roots in frustration. “Look—” His voice cracked and he started again. “Look, it’s two days. That’s it. I’m in, I’m out, I get paid. You’ll barely even notice I’m gone.”
Lie. They both knew it.
S7en’s jaw twitched as he turned slowly, orange eyes flicking up just long enough for Elex to see everything buried there—fear, frustration, exhaustion. He crossed his arms over his chest like he was trying to hold himself together.
"You said that last time," S7en whispered. "And I almost ended up back in the fucking hospital while you were halfway across the city."
The words hung between them like a blade.
Elex flinched. “That’s why you’re gonna stay on the line this time.”
S7en’s ears flattened halfway, lips twitching into a bitter smile. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Bullshit.” The word shot out sharper than Elex meant it to, his throat burning as the panic he’d been trying to swallow all day started to crack through. “You’ve been sniffling all morning, and don’t fucking lie about it— I noticed.”
S7en shifted like he wanted to argue, like he wanted to throw his walls higher, but the way his nose twitched and the slight pink tinge around his watery eyes already gave him away. Elex knew that look. He knew it too fucking well.
“Soon as you get home,” Elex pushed, softer now, stepping closer. “I don’t care how fine you think you are. You FaceTime me the second you walk through that door.”
S7en turned his head to the side, sharp teeth grinding together, but he didn’t argue. He couldn’t.
Elex let out a shaky breath, stepping in close enough to hook a finger under S7en’s chin, tipping his face up. Their eyes locked.
“Promise me,” Elex whispered. “Don’t make me come back to find you half-dead again.”
S7en’s throat bobbed with a swallow. His voice, when it came, was barely a breath. “...Fine. I promise.”
But the badger could already see the lie swimming behind his stubborn, glassy eyes.
The promise didn’t settle the tightness in Elex’s chest. Not even close.
He leaned his forehead against S7en’s for a breath—just one—and tried to memorize the way he smelled, the soft warmth of his skin, the faint scratch in his breath that was already too fucking familiar.
It felt like the last time all over again.
S7en had sworn he was fine back then, too. Had sworn he just needed to sleep it off.
And Elex—fucking idiot—had believed him. Had left town on another job, chasing money that didn’t feel worth shit the second he got that call from Rexar. The ER. The oxygen mask. S7en barely breathing, his voice so weak it didn’t even sound like him when Elex finally made it back.
It had almost killed him, walking into that hospital room. Almost broke him completely.
This job? This time? He couldn’t fucking leave if something went wrong. No sneaking out. No bailing early. No getting on the first train back.
He was stuck. And S7en knew it. That’s why he was hiding behind that fake, tired smirk like he wasn’t scared, like he wasn’t building walls fast enough to crush them both.
Elex gritted his teeth, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets like it might keep them from shaking. He hated this. He hated this.
“You’re gonna answer me,” Elex breathed, pulling back enough to lock their eyes again. His voice dropped to something harder—lower, sharper. “I swear to fucking god, Sven, you better answer when I call you.”
S7en’s jaw clenched. His tail flicked once behind him. “…I said I promise.”
Elex didn’t believe him. Not really.
But he nodded anyway. Because what the fuck else could he do?
He stepped back. Grabbed his bag. Took one more look at the mess of teal and orange and stubbornness standing in front of him. S7en, with his arms crossed too tightly over his chest like he was holding himself together with nothing but sheer attitude. Ears half-flat, tail twitching just a little too much for someone who claimed they didn’t care.
God, he wanted to stay. But staying wouldn’t pay rent. Staying wouldn’t fill the fridge. Staying wouldn’t fix shit.
So he turned, pulled open the door, and walked out— without looking back.
S7en stood there for a long moment after the door clicked shut, throat burning in that quiet, empty way it always did after Elex left. He let out a shaky breath, swiping his sleeve under his nose, ignoring how raw it already felt. Ignoring how damp his cheeks were starting to feel.
“Get it together, you dramatic little shit,” he muttered to himself under his breath, forcing his body to move before he sank into the floor.
He grabbed his phone, double-checked the address Elex had already sent him for the ride, and made his way downstairs. The cold outside hit like a slap, the humid air in the city making his head pound harder as he leaned against the front pillar of the old hotel.
He hated this part. Waiting. Alone.
He shoved his hands into his sleeves, curling them into fists, trying not to shiver too obviously. His ears twitched as he checked the app again—driver four minutes away.
He sniffled softly, tipping his head back against the building behind him, feeling the weight settle in again like it always did when Elex wasn’t there to fill the empty space.
It didn’t take long for the car to pull up to the curb. A too-clean sedan with tinted windows and a driver that didn’t bother to roll down the window until S7en approached.
“You Sven?” the driver asked, not even looking up from his phone.
S7en clenched his jaw at the sound of his real name, not bothering to correct him. He just nodded, muttered, “Yeah,” under his breath, and slid into the back seat, curling against the door like it might keep him from spiraling.
The door clicked shut behind him. And just like that— He was alone again.
The rideshare driver barely made it halfway down the street before S7en let out the breath he’d been holding.
His hand trembled a little as he slammed the apartment door shut behind him, sliding the lock into place with a soft click.
The moment he leaned back against the door, the warmth hit him like a freight train. God, he was freezing. And sweating. Perfect fucking combination.
Peeling off his jacket, S7en grabbed his phone from his pocket, the screen lighting up with a text from Elex before he could even pull his shoes off.
Elex: Don’t get comfortable. Call me. Now.
S7en rolled his eyes but opened the video call anyway, half-expecting Elex to already be pissed. He wasn’t wrong.
The second the screen lit up with Elex’s face, that sharp, assessing stare was already waiting for him. Like he could see right through him.
S7en flopped onto the couch with an exaggerated groan, flipping the camera so Elex could see him propped against the armrest, throwing one arm dramatically over his forehead like he was some kind of tragic romance novel character.
“See?” S7en rasped, forcing a crooked grin. “Home. Alive. You can stop having a stroke now.”
Elex’s expression didn’t budge. His jaw worked for a second, teeth grinding. “…Take the hoodie off.”
S7en froze, trying not to let his smirk falter.
“Wow. Straight to stripping, huh?” He sniffled softly, scrubbing his wrist under his nose as he leaned back a little further into the cushions, ignoring the flicker of pressure already tightening in his sinuses.
He grabbed the game controller from the coffee table, propping the phone on the arm of the couch so Elex had a full view of his miserable, half-assed attempt at acting normal.
“I’m fine, El. Seriously.” He coughed halfway through the sentence, quick and breathless, then cleared his throat like it didn’t count.
Elex wasn’t impressed.
But S7en didn’t give him a second to argue. He booted up one of their usual co-op games, thumbing through menus like it was just another normal night. Another carefree, easy night.
It worked—for about fifteen minutes.
S7en’s focus started slipping fast. His breathing hitched more often, head dipping slightly as the pressure in his sinuses kept flaring, his vision starting to swim the longer he stared at the TV.
“Hh—! Hhh! Hahhdt’tSCHHhhhu!—hhAHT’shiiuh!”
The sneezes caught him by surprise, snapping him forward into the crook of his arm.
S7en groaned under his breath, rubbing at his nose like it might stop the next one. It didn’t.
“h—huhh…! hh’HHDTSCHHh! …Shhh— fuck.”
He dropped the controller with a soft thud, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes as a low wave of nausea coiled in his gut.
Elex’s voice cut in, sharper now. “Pause the game. Right now.”
S7en gritted his teeth, letting out a shaky laugh like it didn’t matter, like he hadn’t just lost every ounce of energy in the span of twenty minutes.
He leaned toward the phone, cheeks flushed, voice rough. “…’m just tired.” A sniffle. A weak, crooked grin. “Don’t start freaking out on me yet, Badger.”
S7en forced it out with a crooked grin, trying to drag some humor into his voice. It didn’t land the way it usually did. Not when his voice sounded like it’d been dragged over broken glass. Not when he kept sniffling between words, trying not to make it obvious how much his chest hurt.
But Elex didn’t so much as blink. Didn’t even crack a smile.
He leaned in, filling the frame with that hard, razor-edged stare that S7en knew too well. The stare that meant he was already on edge. The stare that meant he already knew S7en was lying through his fucking teeth.
Elex’s voice dropped low, sharp and flat, like he was grinding the words out from the back of his throat.
“You’re not hanging up. Got it?”
S7en flinched. Not enough for Elex to call him on it, but enough that his throat went tight.
He knew Elex meant it. Knew there wasn’t a single part of that sentence that was up for debate.
So he nodded. Not a word—just the smallest, slowest nod.
After that, time felt like it unraveled.
The conversation slipped into quiet check-ins. S7en, still on the couch, head lolling back as his breathing grew wetter, shallower, more labored by the minute.
Elex stayed on the other end, watching like it was the only thing tethering him to the ground. Like if he blinked, S7en might vanish.
Minutes bled into hours. Hours stretched like years.
And all Elex could do was sit there, silent and powerless, watching the cat slowly fall apart on the other side of a fucking screen.
S7en stayed slumped on the couch, the phone still propped up, the angle slightly crooked where he hadn’t bothered to adjust it. Elex had memorized the frame by now—the edge of the coffee table, S7en’s arm curled under his head, the edge of his hoodie sleeve pressed to his mouth every time he coughed.
And he was coughing. A lot.
Elex muted himself as he moved through the shadows of the abandoned warehouse with the rest of his crew, checking in silently on the feed every few minutes, glancing down at the phone screen like it was tethering him to the ground.
“Still breathing?” Elex whispered once, barely audible through the comm in his ear.
S7en, half-lidded and flushed, gave him a tired thumbs-up, though the crackling sound of his breathing told a different story.
Elex’s jaw clenched so hard it felt like his teeth might crack. He barely caught the next command from his contact before snapping back to focus.
Hours passed like that. Check the hallway. Look at the screen. Disable the alarm. Look at the screen.
Each glance gnawed a little more at his nerves, because every single check-in showed S7en looking worse.
At first it was just the sneezing—harsh, breathless snaps that bent him forward again and again.
“Hh-HH! hHAHdt’tCHhiuh! Hh-AHTshh’uh! …fuck…”
Then the coughs came heavier, rougher, low in his chest. S7en would press the sleeve of his hoodie to his mouth, hunching forward like he was trying not to let Elex hear, like it made a difference.
But Elex heard everything. Every sharp breath. Every wet hitch in his lungs.
And he was running out of ways to pretend this was still fine.
Elex pressed himself against a support beam in the back corridor of the warehouse, pulling his phone closer, muting the comm again. “S7en,” he whispered. “Hey. Look at me.”
S7en blinked slowly, disoriented for a second like he’d forgotten the camera was still on. His voice was shaky when he spoke.
“’m fine… you—you don’t have to check every five minutes, Lex…”
But Elex could see the sheen of sweat breaking across his boyfriend’s forehead, could hear the strain in every breath, like every inhale was getting harder to pull in.
His throat tightened as the cold pit in his stomach spiked to full-blown panic.
“You’re not fine,” Elex breathed, voice cracking for the first time all night. “Don’t fucking do this again. Don’t you dare lie to me again, Sven.”
On the couch, S7en winced, visibly shrinking in on himself, his ears pinning to his head, lips pressing tight like he was about to snap back—
—but instead, he just let out a soft, breathless cough and whispered, “…I’m really trying, Lex.”
And just like that, Elex felt the ground shift under him.
His throat burned. He didn’t even realize he’d stopped moving until one of his crew hissed his name over the comm, snapping him back to reality.
S7en was on the verge of nodding off, breath shallow against the crook of his arm. Elex could hear it—the soft whistle at the top of every inhale, the way it caught before fully pulling through.
And then— “h-Hhh! HAH’tSCHhh!—hh’HDTschh’uh!—hh-uhhTsschhIEW!”
The sound cracked through the speaker, leaving S7en blinking dazedly, sniffling as he wiped at his face with the cuff of his hoodie. He flopped back, half-smiling, voice scratchy as hell.
“M’fine… see? Better already…” His voice was a mess, like sandpaper grinding on broken glass, but he forced a small laugh anyway, like it didn’t physically hurt to talk. He dragged the phone closer, giving Elex that same fake-ass grin he’d worn this morning. “Seriously, I think—hhuhh…!—think I’m over the worst of it…”
He trailed off, ducking into his arm again with another breathless, desperate-sounding sneeze.
“Hhh’tSSCHhhiuh!—hh-HDTchhh!—hh-Hhuhh… fuck…”
Elex saw red.
His fist slammed into the nearby wall with a dull thud, barely catching himself from ripping his comm out entirely. He didn’t care who heard him anymore.
“Stop it.” Elex’s voice cracked, raw and shaking. “Just—fuck, S7en—stop lying to me.”
S7en stiffened, blinking like he’d been slapped.
Elex sucked in a ragged breath, teeth sinking into his bottom lip until he tasted copper. His vision blurred for a second before he whispered, barely holding it together—
“Please… please don’t lie to me. Not again.”
S7en looked down, his walls crumbling just a little. The fake grin flickered. His ears twitched low, curling into himself as another shaky cough rattled through him.
“…I didn’t wanna make you worry.”
But Elex was already fucking drowning in it.
The badger shoved his back harder against the concrete wall, gripping the phone until his knuckles blanched. His pulse was hammering in his throat so loud it felt like it echoed in his skull. He watched S7en’s face on the screen—watched his eyelids flutter like they were too heavy to keep open, watched his breath hitch again, watched the way his shoulders curled in tighter and tighter.
S7en’s ears had flattened halfway, twitching with every shallow breath. His tail, usually restless and flicking with whatever emotion he tried to swallow, hung limp over the side of the couch, the tip barely curling toward his ankle. Elex knew that posture.
He hated that he knew it.
And then— The screen jostled.
S7en shifted, like he was trying to sit up, pushing weakly at the couch cushion. The phone wobbled, slipping off the armrest, landing at an awkward angle that barely showed S7en’s shoulder and part of his ear. Elex’s stomach dropped.
“Wait—Sven. Sven, stop. Stay down—”
But the only answer was the sound of S7en choking on a coughing fit, gasping like he’d just sprinted up six flights of stairs.
The phone clattered again, hitting the floor this time with a hollow thunk. Elex could barely see anything—just a blur of fabric and shaky movement.
He lost it.
“S7en! Fuck—pick up the phone! Pick it up!”
A rough, breathless laugh cut through the speaker, followed by another broken cough.
“M’fine… jesus—cough—calm down, Lex…”
The phone shifted just enough to catch S7en’s flushed, exhausted face as he leaned over the edge of the couch, trying to reach for the phone again. His ears were pinned flat, tail twitching once—weak, unfocused—before going still again.
Elex felt his throat close up. “No you’re not,” he rasped. “You can’t fucking breathe.”
S7en flopped back onto the couch, lips parted, dragging air through his nose in shallow, uneven pulls, like even that felt like work. He turned his face half toward the phone, his orange eyes glassy, heavy with something way too close to fear.
But the laugh came anyway— Soft. Broken. Tired.
“Shhhit… you’re gonna scare me worse than I already am if you keep yelling like that…”
And Elex, frozen on the other side of the screen, couldn’t tell if he wanted to punch something —or fucking cry.
He pressed the phone so tight to his ear that the speaker cracked with static, like if he could just crush the distance between them, he’d somehow be there. He wasn’t. He wasn’t anywhere fucking close.
“Okay… okay—fuck, just… listen to me,” Elex breathed, pushing off the wall and starting to pace in tight circles, running his hand through his hair so hard he nearly ripped out a tuft of green. “Breathe with me, alright? You remember how I showed you last time?”
S7en’s glassy eyes fluttered back toward the phone, his lips trembling like even nodding took more energy than he had. His ears flicked once, tail barely twitching.
“C’mon, S7en. In through your nose—real slow, yeah?” Elex coached, stepping toward a darkened corner of the warehouse, pressing his back to the wall again. He held up his own hand on the screen, counting out the rhythm with his fingers.
But S7en couldn’t match him.
Every inhale caught halfway in his chest, breaking off into a rough, chest-deep cough that shook his whole body. He doubled over again, wheezing, tail curling in like a dying ember. Even the small, hitching gasp that usually came before his sneezes choked into another fit instead.
“Hhh—h-uhh— cough—hh’tSSCHH—cough-cough—shhii… fuck—”
Elex panicked. His voice shot up like a gunshot in the dark.
“Inhaler, Sven—now. Go get it! Or check your oxygen—something! Move!”
But S7en just slumped further, head dropping against the back of the couch, too dizzy, too breathless, too gone to even try. His orange eyes fluttered, unfocused, watery.
“…’m tryin’,” S7en rasped out, voice shaking. “Lex… I can’t—hhuhh… I can’t fucking move…”
Elex felt the ground give out beneath him, heart slamming against his ribs so hard he thought it might shatter. He pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead, pacing faster, harder, words tearing out of his throat like they burned.
“Please—fuck—don’t do this again, Sven. Please—”
But S7en had already started to go slack, barely keeping his head upright.
Elex had never felt more fucking helpless in his entire life.
He backed into the farthest corner of the warehouse, heart in his throat, phone pressed so close to his mouth that his lips brushed the edge of the speaker.
His pacing stalled. His breath hitched.
“Fuck this,” he growled under his breath. His vision blurred, body trembling as panic clawed up his throat like acid. He pressed his fist against his temple, breathing sharp and fast. “I—I can leave. I don’t give a shit. I’ll leave. I’ll tell them to shove their payout—”
He ran a hand through his hair, clutching at the roots, staring at the frozen frame of S7en on his phone like it was the only thing anchoring him to the ground. S7en hadn’t moved.
He looked— God, he looked like he was fading in real time. Pale. Sweaty. Breath shaking in and out of parted lips, his ears twitching just barely, tail hanging completely limp off the couch like it didn’t even belong to him anymore.
“I’m leaving. I’m fucking leaving. You hear me? I’m coming home.” Elex rasped.
But S7en shifted, the faintest, fragile shake of his head making Elex’s stomach drop.
“Don’t—” S7en’s voice cracked, more air than sound, barely pushing past his lips. His chest hitched again like every word was a struggle. “Lex… you… can’t lose this… not… because of me again…”
Elex slammed his fist into the wall, curling over like the breath had been knocked out of him. "Stop saying that," he ground out through clenched teeth, his voice trembling, cracking wide open. "Stop making me pick between you and anything else, because I fucking won’t."
But S7en just shook his head again, weakly, brokenly, eyes glistening with something Elex couldn’t bear to see. His breath came in short, shaky pulls, but the words still fell out, desperate and raw:
“Stay… please just— stay, Lex… don’t lose this for me again…”
Elex felt his throat lock up, biting down so hard on his tongue he could taste blood. His vision blurred with fury and helplessness all tangled together like a noose around his throat.
His next words came out like broken glass.
“You think this job fucking matters more than you?” Elex choked on the air, shaking his head hard. "I'd burn it all to the fucking ground if you asked me to."
But S7en didn’t ask. S7en just kept breathing—ragged, shallow, barely holding on.
And Elex couldn’t do a fucking thing but watch.
S7en’s bottom lip started to tremble. Just a little at first. Barely there. Barely anything.
But then his ears sank low to his head—defeated, trembling, not in frustration this time, but in something much smaller, much sharper. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, jaw twitching like he was trying to keep it together.
It didn’t work.
A wet, shaky breath hitched in his chest. Another. Another.
And then— He cracked. Completely.
S7en curled in on himself, covering his face with both hands, shoulders shaking as a quiet, broken sob caught in his throat. His tail twitched weakly, curling up toward his stomach like he was trying to make himself disappear.
“‘m sorry,” S7en rasped, voice so small it made Elex’s heart split in two. “I’m s—cough—I’m so sorry—”
Elex’s legs gave out beneath him like someone had ripped the floor away. He sank down into the corner, knees pulled to his chest, phone gripped so tight his knuckles turned bone white. His breath hitched once. Twice. His vision swam as he pressed the phone closer, like he could somehow crawl through the screen if he held it tight enough.
He didn’t speak. Couldn’t.
He just listened. Listened to S7en break down, listened to the choked, exhausted sobs between every shallow breath, listened to the whistle of air that barely filled his lungs.
It felt like it stretched on forever.
Nothing in the warehouse moved. Nothing outside the screen mattered.
Elex sat frozen on the cold floor, hands trembling, body locking down like if he let go, even for a second, S7en might just disappear.
Elex didn’t know how long they stayed like that—him on the cold floor, S7en curled into the couch, both of them connected only by a flickering screen and the sound of struggling breath.
The silence started to crush him.
His throat burned with the words he always swallowed. The ones he shoved down and buried under jokes, or arguments, or sideways affection in the form of thrown snacks and lazy insults.
But not now. Now, everything was stripped down.
“Sven…” he whispered, voice hoarse, breaking around the edges.
The screen flickered as S7en shifted slightly, just enough to peer out from behind his sleeve, eyes red and puffy, cheeks wet.
“I’m scared,” Elex said. Quiet. Steady. But broken in a way he hadn’t let himself be in a long, long time. “I hate this. I hate being here. I hate not being able to touch you or hold you or fucking carry you to bed when you're like this.”
S7en blinked slowly, tears still slipping silently down his cheeks. His breath hitched again. Elex pressed on.
“I love you,” he said, like it hurt to say but would hurt more not to. “I don’t say it enough, but I do. So fucking much it makes me stupid. It makes me stay on jobs like this just so I can keep us afloat, even when every bone in my body is telling me to run back to you.”
His voice cracked.
“I don’t know how to sit here and watch you fall apart again. I—I can’t do it. I can’t just sit and watch you fade.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Then—
“I’m scared too.”
S7en’s voice was barely a breath, choked and trembling.
“I’m scared, Lex. I don’t…” He wiped at his face weakly with the sleeve of his hoodie. “I don’t know how to do this alone anymore. I don’t want to be strong right now. I don’t want to be—” He broke off in a cough, then let out a soft sob. “I just want you here.”
Elex sucked in a breath like he’d been underwater. His chest felt like it might collapse from the pressure.
“I know, S7en. I know.” He leaned his forehead against the cold concrete wall, closing his eyes. “I’m gonna get there. I swear to god I’m coming back the second I can. I’ll fucking teleport if I have to.”
S7en laughed, a broken little sound that sounded more like crying. “You don’t have that kind of magik, dumbass.”
“I’ll figure it out,” Elex whispered, smiling through his own tears. “I swear on my life, Sven. I’m coming back to you. As fast as I fucking can.”
And this time, S7en didn’t argue. He just nodded, slow and shaky.
The cat shifted with a low, exhausted groan, curling tighter into himself on the couch until his knees pressed up to his chest. His tail flopped limply over his shins, twitching every few seconds like his body couldn’t fully relax.
The phone slid a little against his hoodie but settled, propped up on his sternum, framing just enough of his flushed face for Elex to see how completely wrecked he looked.
S7en’s mouth hung open slightly as he breathed—slow, labored pulls of air through parted lips, his nose hopelessly stuffed. His breath hitched every now and then, almost catching on a soft snore, only to stutter out again with a damp-sounding sniffle that didn’t clear a damn thing.
Elex bit down on his bottom lip, heart aching as he watched the scene through the grainy phone feed. God, he looked so fucking small like this. Tucked into the corner of the couch, hoodie sleeves swallowed over his hands, face half-buried in the throw pillow like he was trying to hide. His ears were still drooped, tail curling tighter as he shivered every so often, breathing shallow and damp with congestion.
Elex stayed frozen in place, curled up in the corner of the warehouse floor, staring down at the tiny window on his screen like it was the only thing in the world that mattered.
He watched every breath.
He counted them.
And slowly—finally—S7en’s glassy eyes fluttered closed.
His breath stayed rough. Unsteady. But it kept coming. Kept going.
Elex let out a breath of his own, shaky and wet, pressing his knuckles to his lips as he watched S7en’s chest rise and fall in slow, uneven rhythm. He stayed like that for a long while—just watching, listening, not daring to look away.
And then, just as his throat threatened to lock up again, he whispered one last promise, barely audible against the darkness:
“I’m coming home. I swear I’m coming home.”
He stared at the screen a moment longer before finally muting himself, curling tighter into the corner, and burying his face in his hands.
By some miracle, the job ended three hours early.
Elex didn’t even wait for the all-clear. Didn’t wait for payout. Didn’t wait for the cleanup crew to sweep through and wrap the whole thing in a neat little bow.
The second the last mark hit the ground and the signal buzzed in his ear, he ran.
He ripped off his comm and bolted for the door, ignoring the shouts from the others behind him. Someone cursed after him, demanding he stick around to settle the job, but Elex didn’t give a single shit. Money could wait.
S7en couldn’t.
By the time he threw himself into the driver’s seat of the borrowed car parked two blocks down, his hands were shaking so hard he nearly dropped his phone.
He unlocked it with his thumb, breathing sharp through clenched teeth as the still, dim image of S7en’s sleeping facefilled his screen again.
Still curled up on the couch. Still flushed. Still breathing.
Elex squeezed his eyes shut for half a second, then turned the key and floored it.
The night outside blurred past him in streaks of streetlight and empty highway, but all he could focus on was that tiny frame on his screen.
S7en hadn’t moved much. His breathing stayed rough, wet, uneven, and every couple of minutes, Elex caught him shifting weakly, curling tighter, coughing softly in his sleep.
Every time S7en stirred, Elex’s stomach twisted tighter.
“C’mon… hang on, babe… I’m almost there,” he whispered, glancing down again for the hundredth time, gripping the wheel like it might snap in his hands.
He couldn’t stop checking. Couldn’t stop making sure. Couldn’t stop the fear crawling higher in his chest that the next time he looked, S7en might not be—
No. Not this time.
Elex’s foot pressed harder on the gas, the car groaning under the strain as he tore through the night, heart hammering in sync with the rough, shallow breathing still filling his speakers.
“Just hang on,” Elex rasped again, voice cracking.
“I’m almost home.”
The moment the car skidded to a stop, Elex barely remembered shutting the door behind him before he was sprinting up the stairwell two at a time, phone clutched tight to his chest like it was still the only tether to S7en’s life.
The lock stuck on the first try. His hands shook too bad to fit the key in. He cursed under his breath, shoving harder until the door finally swung open.
“S7en—!”
His bag hit the floor with a thud as he charged inside, breath ragged, head whipping toward the couch.
And there he was. Exactly like the video. Curled up, shaking, eyes half-lidded and glazed with exhaustion.
S7en lifted his head with what little strength he had left, lips curling into the smallest, most stubborn fucking smile.
“...told you I was f-fide…”
It came out so soft, like it took all his energy just to push it out. And right after, the words shattered into another wet, brutal coughing fit.
Elex’s chest caved in. He dropped to his knees beside the couch, catching S7en’s trembling frame in his arms, holding him tight against his chest, cradling the back of his head. “Shh—shhh… it’s okay… I’m here, Sven, I’m here…”
S7en barely stayed upright in his arms, breath hitching again—building, stuttering—before his whole body tensed.
“Hh—hh…HhAHH’tchhuh! Hh’htSSHhiew! H-Hht’shhuh!—k-khh!—”
The fit ripped through him so fast, he barely had time to turn away, scrambling to twist as much as his weak body would let him, hiding his face behind both trembling hands. His ears pinned back, tail curling tight to his leg as his eyes darted wildly, flicking around the room in panic.
Elex could see it in his face—the way S7en’s panic cracked wide open as he choked on the last hitching breath, desperate to find anything to catch the mess.
“Shit—wait, I got you—!”
Elex shot up, snatching the box of tissues off the coffee table. He pressed them gently to S7en’s hands, guiding them to his face just as another harsh, miserable sneeze tore through him.
“Hhh-HH’dtschhHhh!!—hh…f-fffff—ck…”
Elex didn’t stop there. He dived for the drawer, yanking it open with one hand, fingers shaking as they closed around S7en’s inhaler.
He dropped back down in front of him, cupping S7en’s flushed cheeks, forcing their eyes to meet.
“Breathe, babe,” Elex whispered, “I’ve got you now. I’ve got you.”
Elex gently pressed the inhaler into S7en’s trembling fingers, trying to catch his gaze, but S7en turned his face away, stubborn jaw clenched tight.
Elex’s heart twisted.
“C’mon, Sven. You need it.” Elex kept his voice soft, coaxing, even though every instinct in him wanted to snap, to yell that this wasn’t a fucking game.
But S7en shook his head, barely, weakly pushing the inhaler away. “’M fide… just—deed a bidute…” His voice cracked, raw and breathless, his words falling apart on the end.
Elex sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. “No. You’re not fine. Stop saying that.”
He reached again, but S7en pulled back, ears flattened low, tail flicking once in a feeble, defensive jerk.
“I said I’ve got it,” S7en rasped, panic flashing in his glassy orange eyes. His arms curled tight around his middle, like he could physically shield himself from Elex’s worry. “I dod’t—” His voice broke off into another wet, rattling cough, shoulders curling in tighter, ears trembling.
Elex gritted his teeth, biting back the frustration rising in his throat. “Sven… please don’t do this again. You don’t have to fight me.” His voice cracked, raw and low. “Let me help you.”
For a beat, S7en stayed locked up tight—shaking, tense, still trying to build walls with nothing left to hold them up.
And then, finally, like all the fight drained out of him at once, S7en’s hands loosened, his breath hitching on a quiet, broken sound that was way too close to a sob.
“…I— I cad’t do this right dow, Lex… I’b— I’b so fugki’g tired of deedi’g help.”
Elex’s chest caved in. He leaned in slowly, cupping S7en’s flushed cheek, tilting his face back toward him.
“I know,” Elex whispered. “I know, babe. But you don’t have to do it alone. You’ve got me. You’ve always got me.”
S7en’s face crumpled, breath hitching again. This time, when Elex pressed the inhaler into his hands, S7en didn’t push him away.
He leaned forward instead, curling into Elex’s chest, letting the tension bleed out of his trembling body as he took the first shaky pull of medicine.
Elex stayed there on the floor, arms wrapped tight around S7en’s shivering frame, afraid to move, afraid to break the moment.
S7en never let him this close. Not like this.
Sure, they touched. They joked. They clung to each other during fights or after bad dreams. But this? This quiet, broken letting go? Elex could count on one hand how many times S7en had let himself sink into him like this—completely unguarded, no snark, no deflection, no fight left to give.
Elex let his nose press into the mess of damp teal hair, breathing slow through his mouth like he could somehow soak up the closeness and tuck it somewhere deep where nothing could tear it away.
He felt S7en’s weight shift slightly, chest hitching again like he might start coughing—but instead, his breath snagged, body tensing with another quick, sharp build-up.
“Hh—huhH’TSSCHhhhu!!”
The sneeze ripped out of him, completely unrestrained, muffled right against Elex’s chest.
Elex sucked in a breath through his teeth, surprised by the sudden burst of wet heat against his hoodie. His body tensed on reflex, just for a second.
S7en froze.
He stiffened like he’d been slapped, immediately trying to shrink back, the tips of his ears burning with embarrassment. His tail gave the weakest flick, curling tighter to his side as his throat bobbed with a swallowed breath.
“…S-sorry…” S7en rasped, voice small and sharp with something raw, already starting to pull away.
Elex’s chest twisted hard.
“Wait—nonono, hey—no,” Elex rushed, cupping the back of S7en’s head to keep him from shrinking any further. “That’s not—fuck, babe, that’s not what I—”
S7en kept his eyes down, blinking hard, walls starting to slide back up.
Elex felt the panic rise in his throat again, tightening around his voice.
“I just—you startled me, that’s all, I swear.” He pressed their foreheads together, voice shaking. “I didn’t care. I don’t care. I’m just glad you’re still breathing, you hear me?”
S7en hesitated, still flushed, still glassy-eyed. But his body softened just a little, breath catching in his throat again as he leaned back into Elex’s chest, sniffling softly.
“…too tired to fight you adyway…” S7en whispered hoarsely.
Elex let out the smallest laugh, relief flooding his chest, and held him even closer. “Good.” He pressed another kiss to S7en’s temple. “Because I’m not fucking letting go.”
Elex could’ve stayed right there—pressed to the floor with S7en in his arms—for the rest of his life if the universe would let him. But reality still had claws, and S7en’s breathing still rasped too shallow, too tight, not nearly steady enough.
Elex shifted slightly, trying not to disturb him too much. But S7en startled awake anyway, sucking in too fast and immediately coughing into his sleeve, body curling forward weakly.
“Easy… easy, babe…” Elex soothed, already moving to grab the nebulizer from the drawer. He worked quickly, slotting the canister into place, filling it up with trembling hands before turning back toward the couch.
S7en blinked blearily, half-conscious, ears low and drooping. The second he saw Elex holding the mask out, he groaned, flopping back against the cushions like a stubborn child.
“…dod’t wadda do this shit todight…” he rasped, voice thick and petulant.
Elex arched a brow, giving him a look that said don’t start with me right now.
S7en sighed loud and dramatic, taking the mask with another tired grumble. He pulled the strap over his head, but as always, it snagged on his ear, folding it halfway down.
Elex’s mouth twitched—not quite a smile, but something close. Something warm.
S7en squinted through the haze, catching the shift in Elex’s face.
“…shut up…” he mumbled through the mask, already assuming he was being teased.
But Elex just leaned in, smoothing the tangled mess of teal and orange hair from S7en’s damp forehead, pressing his palm softly to his cheek.
“I’m not laughing at you, Sven,” Elex whispered, thumb stroking just under S7en’s eye. “I just love you. Even your dumb ear.”
S7en let out a breathy, reluctant hum, the tension bleeding out of his shoulders as he let Elex guide him back down, curling into his chest again.
Elex gathered him close, feeling the soft curls of mist drift up past his cheek with every shaky exhale through the mask. His arms locked around S7en’s frame like he could keep every piece of him safe with just his grip alone.
They stayed there on the floor together, S7en hooked up to the nebulizer, Elex rocking him gently, holding him like he never wanted to let go.
And when the hum of the machine finally settled into the silence of the room, Elex pressed his lips to S7en’s temple, voice barely more than a breath.
“Next time…” He swallowed thickly, closing his eyes.
“You’re coming with me… or I’m not going at all.”
The End ✨
