Xavier’s dad visits, but it’s a one sided conversation.
Themes: Psych whump, psychiatric hospital, forced drugging, misunderstood whumpee, forced restraints, lack of control
Masterlist
Someone adjusted one of the straps around his wrist; he flinched, but they only tightened it slightly, checking for movement.
“See? You’re okay,” the nurse said softly, her voice almost singsong. “It’s over now.”
He didn’t respond. He stared at the ceiling, the faint grid pattern swimming in and out of focus. The bitter taste of the pills clung to his tongue.
When they finally left, he couldn’t tell how long it had been. Maybe minutes. Maybe longer. The room was empty again except for the sound of his own breathing.
For a while he just lay there, panting, willing the tears to stop.
The room smelled odd, cleaned with chemicals they used in his school- not somewhere he should sleep. The fluorescent hum pressed against his skull.
The medication hit slower this time. Not the hard crash of injection— more like water soaking through earth. His thoughts began to blur.
He tried to keep them linear- clear-
But the words slipped away, one by one, and his mind started to spin in slow circles.
Some time later— minutes, hours— there was movement at the door again.
He couldn’t lift his head when it opened.
Boots.
Low, measured steps.
“Hey, kid,” his father’s voice said quietly.
That was strange already— the soft gentleness.
The sheriff’s voice had always been harsh and gravely.
Xavier turned his head slightly, and saw him through the haze. He was standing near the wall, hat in his hands. He looked greyer and more washed out than Xavier remembered.
His father sat down in the chair by the bed. Didn’t touch him. Just looked at him for a long time.
“You’re on some heavy stuff, huh,” he muttered, almost to himself.
Xavier tried to answer, but the words wouldn’t go past his throat.
“I didn’t know they’d—” the sheriff began, then stopped. His jaw worked. “They said you were agitated. But- Well. The doctors know what they’re doing.”
Xavier blinked slowly, tried again. “Dad.”
It barely came out.
His father leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You gotta cooperate, Xavier. They’re just trying to help you.”
He sounded like he was explaining something to a stranger’s kid.
The kind of tone you use when you’re afraid of making something worse.
“I–” Xavier managed, but it dissolved into a half-breath.
“Easy now.” The sheriff’s eyes flicked to the restraints, then back to his face. “They said you fought ‘em. That’s why they had to do this.”
He said it gently, almost apologetic, but the words still landed like blows.
Xavier wished he could talk- convince him. Say anything.
He paused again, and when he spoke next, his voice was softer than Xavier had ever heard it. “You scared me, you know that? You’ve been talking nonsense about those kids and Maddie. I thought maybe you—maybe you’d gotten yourself real twisted up over what happened.”
Xavier turned his head toward him fully, the effort immense.
The sheriff’s face tightened— a flicker, almost guilt. “I know you keep saying all of this- first to me and now to the doctors- And I think you believe what you’re saying. That’s what I told the doctor.”
Xavier shut his eyes. The words sank through him.
His father kept talking— carefully, evenly. “They said you’ll be here a little while. Just ‘til you get leveled out. Once you’re thinking clearer, we can figure the rest.”
“Please,” Xavier whispered, barely audible.
“I’ll come by again,” the sheriff said. He stood up, placed his hat back on. “Try to get some rest. You’ll feel better soon.”
That gentleness— that wrong, measured gentleness— felt worse than shouting.
It was the same voice the sheriff used with people he was about to arrest, getting them calm and compliant before the cuffs came out.
When the door closed again, Xavier stared at the ceiling until the edges blurred.
This is one of my favorite ocs that I rarely update.
Silas is locked away- exactly where he should be after Sydney put him there. But this time he caught him, the hero didn’t expect them to put his long time nemesis into the city’s asylum. Each time he checks in on him a confusing guilt works its way deeper and deeper into him. Silas is destructive and dangerous, always has been since he first came across him years ago… but he’s not sure that where he is now and what’s happening to him is deserved.
Set directly after this.
—
That was it. He needed to see him. He’d be damned if Silas didn’t want to.
Sydney slammed the computer shut and all but jogged out of the precinct, all attempts at casual disinterest fallen away.
Who the fuck knows when this happened, could’ve been hours earlier or days, maybe even weeks. And Silas had been alone for all of it… was still alone. Sydney couldn’t describe what he was feeling but it propelled him forward, speeding down the interstate, and yelling through security and weak protests until he was looking through the wire reinforced window to Silas’s cell.
There were no sheets on the institutional mattress, although the young man was curled into himself on the ground anyway.
What the fuck was he doing on the ground, why hadn’t someone helped him into the bed?
The orderly clicked the door open much too slowly but Sydney pushed past him and into the cell.
Silas, already curled into himself with his back facing the door, flinched violently. Then he weakly tried to drag himself under the bed. But he didn’t do a good job of it, clearly expending a lot of effort for little result.
“Woah woah, it’s me- it’s Syd-”
But he didn’t stop struggling, trying to get away. Sydney’s heart sunk lower.
“Silas- it’s me-” He got on his knees and put his hands on Silas’s side. But Silas was still struggling, panicking actually.
With a sickening feeling, Sydney made his grip firmer, Silas stopped, finally looking up and behind him at the man above him. He looked completely terrified with pupils blown wide.
“Si- it’s me, it’s Sydney, I’m not gonna hurt you.”
Silas just stared back, looking as if he’d seen a ghost, frozen in the place on the concrete floor.
“It’s just me- I won’t hurt you-” He whispered.
At last Silas blinked, “You’re back-” He whispered in return.
He only wore a hospital gown, which was twisted awkwardly around him. Sydney’s hands were still on his shoulders.
“It’s okay. You’re okay.”
At this assurance, Silas blinked a few more times, eyes welling, “They-” and then he collapsed into himself crying, but very very quietly.
Sydney pulled him closer, so he was crying into his shirt and he rubbed his back, bare and betraying old scars and fresh bruises where the gown had fallen away.
“Shhh- you’re okay, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” Silas began to cry harder, his body trembling cruelly.
He stayed like that for a while, shaking and soaking Sydney’s shirt with tears as he continued to speak quietly and hold him. The visceral need to help him cast out any sensation of awkwardness or discomfort at holding his once nemesis as he sobbed in despair.
Silas didn’t even know Sydney had seen the tapes yet.
No one bothered them, probably off frantically looking for the doctor to tell him Sydney Fitz was here and had barged in without authorization.
Eventually, Silas said something but Sydney couldn't understand him at first, “What was that?”
“Please- please… I can’t stay here-” He croaked into Sydney’s shirt, still so quiet.
Silas was begging.
There was a languid bruise mottling nearly half of his face. Spindly chapped fingers clutched his shirt, but he didn’t look up, keeping his face buried, “Please.”
“Mr. Fitz,” A voice rang out, “I must insist you exit this room this instant, you’re not authorized and now aggravating the patient!”
Oh. So the clever doctor had arrived.
Silas flinched back violently but stayed where he was cowering into Sydney.
A fire of anger flickered to life in Syd at the thought of the position he was in- for someone to have reduced Silas to this, and for them to think they were in the right.
“I am afraid I can’t give you a warning. If you don’t leave this room now, you will be physically removed.” The doctor’s threat wasn’t empty, there was a coterie of staff behind him.
But Syd didn’t want to leave Silas, not after what he’d seen… what he was currently seeing in fact. He couldn’t leave him like this could he?
God, he was the one that put him here. It was his fault.
His hesitation was all they needed, the doctor nodded to his staff and they descended, it was clear they felt awkward about taking the arms of one of the city’s greatest living heroes, but it didn’t stop them from obeying orders.
Sydney stood with them, “Hold on- hold on- you’ll make it worse!”
And it was true, Silas pushed himself to the back of the bed like he’d been burned and let out a vile scream like an animal as a few of the others stalked towards him.
“Restrain the patient-”
He began to struggle viciously, “No-!” he cried out, tears streaming back down his face again, “Syd- Please!!” They were trying to hold him down to apply the bed restraints but he tried to bite someone, then he lurched out of one grip screaming, trying to claw, trying to do anything it seemed.
Sydney tried to break free from his own escorts, “Let him go-! He wouldn’t hurt anyone if you didn’t do this!”
“Make this easier on him!” The doctor was yelling over the chaos, “Cooperate and exit the room so they can help him-”
Syd wanted to bare his teeth and tell the doctor what he should be doing. But instead, in his moment of fury, the staff members grabbing at him got the upper hand and forced him through the door. Four against one never was fair.
They forced him quickly down the hall as he heard the struggle continue behind them, until suddenly it stopped. Silas’s screams went quiet. They had finally gotten the needle in him.
Syd knew in that moment Silas’s body was betraying him as his eyes emptied and his muscles slackened. Then he would be lost to all of them.
—
A little while later a young man opened his eyes in a cool and overly bright place and didn’t know who he was.
