Tagging @mnmlover2002, @cupcakes-and-pain, @lave-e, @appy-polly-loggies, @lovely-little-whump, @just-another-whumper, let me know if you want to be added/removed!
CW: broken/recovering whumpee, trauma response, referenced violence/injuries/trauma, let me know if I missed anything
Masterlist // Previous
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Devin woke up to a knock on the door of their room. They’d fallen asleep late afternoon the day before and had woken every few hours when nurses came in to check on them. Each time they woke back up, their body seemed to hurt more.
By midmorning the next day, they felt like they’d been hit by a truck. So when the knock sounded, they let out a soundless groan and turned their head away. They heard the door creak open and footsteps pad against the hard floor.
There was a small sigh before a tentative voice said, “Devin? You awake?”
Their eyes flew open and they found themself staring at a familiar tilted face. Sitting up slightly, they ignored the pain it caused as they kept their gaze on the man sitting next to their bed.
Elliott Wright looked back at them, his stormy gray eyes narrowed in on them in concern. They felt it’s not him those aren’t his eyes their heart leap into their throat. They steadied their breath as they took in his appearance. His usual attire of a button up shirt, pullover sweater, and khakis was as spotless as ever, even his hair carefully tidied up. But the genuine worry in his normally cold eyes had Devin pausing.
Elliott was the nephew of the man who owned the Middleland Muse, the newspaper they worked at. At 26, he was a year younger than Devin, but he had worked there nearly as long as they had, which they had originally believed to be a clear sign of nepotism. However, within a few years of them working together, they’d both proven themselves to be the most skilled among a skilled team of writers. So Devin had been forced to admit that he was, unfortunately, quite the talented and hardworking journalist.
However, they had never gotten along. Elliott was always trying to outdo Devin, so they had to always be on guard around him. Sure, the two had begun to grow closer, but that was only out of necessity; with the increased amount of news spread online, the Muse had had to work twice as hard to stay afloat.
So the fact that he was here, in front of them, gave them pause. The question must have been evident in their eyes because he sighed, a weak smile on his face. “Hey, Dev. How are you feeling?”
They rolled their eyes at the dumb nickname, wanting nothing more than to snap back just dandy, elli but their throat only allowed a hoarse huff of air through. He must’ve read their expression, though, because his smile faltered and he leaned forward, hiding his face in his hands. They heard him exhale, slow and heavy before he began to speak.
“I.. I was so worried about you, Dev.” Whatever they had expected him to say, it wasn’t that. Their mouth fell open, slightly, as they stared at him. The man who, since day one, had been trying to show them up and outdo them and be better than them, had been worried? Devin pushed away the thoughts of the last few weeks before they’d been taken been hurt been broken gone to that party.
Sure, they’d admit that they had become less reluctant to talk to Elliott, but it was only because he was a good writer, regardless of their personal feelings towards him, so they knew they could go to him with their problems and he could go to them with his. But for him to have actually been worried about them? To have gone out of his way to look for them? Devin called bull.
He glanced up at them, leaving the safety of his hands, and something in their expression made him wilt, curl in on himself. “I know you probably don’t believe me,” he said softly, staring back down at his clasped hands. “But when you didn’t show up for work that Monday- I mean, I figured you were just upset about the Thursday before, that’s why you didn’t text me at all. But then you didn’t show up to work. You never take sick days.” His voice cracked and he dragged a tired hand over his face before daring another look at them. Now that they got a good view of his face, they were taken aback. His eyes were lidded heavily and he had dark circles under them. His face seemed more drawn and pale than usual. The corner of his bottom lip was red and slightly swollen, they noted with a frown. When did he pick that bad habit up again? They wondered idly.
He began to reach out but thought better of it and drew back before they could touch. “When I reported you missing, the cops- they laughed at me. I mean, not literally, but you could tell, they thought I was making it all up, like I’d been ghosted or something. Obviously, I made it clear that we were just coworkers,” he added hastily as he saw the utter shock on Devin’s face. But that wasn’t what they’d been stuck on.
It had been those five little words when i reported you missing that had stunned them so much. They’d never in a million years thought that anyone would actually bother to go looking for them. In fact, it had been one of the things they’d remained grateful for when Wil- when he had been hurting them. They had told themself over and over at least nobody else will get hurt looking for you. But someone had been looking for them.
And that person was their sworn enemy.
And the closest thing they had to a friend.
Devin’s mind was spinning. They couldn’t quite believe or comprehend what they were hearing, and too many thoughts and emotions were clamoring for their attention. Their breathing picked up, and they saw Elliott lean forward. They flinched back, instinctively closing their eyes and bracing for the hit, but when several long seconds passed, they slowly opened their eyes.
Elliott had recoiled in his chair, holding his hands close to his body, horror evident on his face. They saw the unspoken question what happened to you in his eyes that were just a couple shades darker than his, but he slowly stood, keeping his hands where they could see them. “I- I think I’m going to go now. I hope you-”
He was cut off as Devin’s hand darted out and latched onto his sleeve. They stared down at their arm, nearly as surprised as he was. They slowly raised their gaze to meet his stare and mouthed slowly, “Stay?” They didn’t know why they did it, only that, as obnoxious and arrogant and utterly awful Elliott was, he was familiar. And Devin just didn’t want to be alone right now.
He hesitated before nodding and sitting back down in the chair, their arms outstretched between the pair, grounding Devin as they fell back into a fitful sleep.
