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Rowen x Cye Couple... thing...
I read on the wiki their heights in Message and Rowen just SHOOTS up. XD and all I thought of was this:
Yeah. XD Didn't turn out that great.
More of the hurt arm idea. Episode 23.
Rowen and Cye are a thing.
Kento is protective annoying best friend doing what he does best.
Rowen also apologizes for snapping at Ryo.
“Kento, you don’t have to carry me bed…I can walk.” Though he made no move to pull away, he sighs groggily holding his arm close to his chest, his head resting on the other’s shoulder as he’s carried up the small set of stairs in the lakeside cabin. “Besides, I’m not even tired and-“
“You were falling asleep on the couch and your arm is hurting.” The bearer of hardrock was a gentle as he could be as he carried the smaller warrior up to the room where the rest of them were sleeping. “Who knows, maybe even Ryo will join us up here now that White Blaze is feeling better.”
“Oh, that would be lovely… five of us and a tiger…?”
“Hey, Blaze could keep ya warm. If not the tiger, we could always ask Ryo.” Kento offered as he flicks the light on with his elbow. He walks over to the bed that Torrent and Strata was sharing and as gently as he could laid Torrent down on it.
“Rowen does just fine, thank you-” Cye groaned in pain as his arm was jolted. He was left breathless as he tried to relax feeling the bed moving.
“C-Cye? Did I move you too fast?”
“I-I’m a-alright…I’m afraid any movement hurts…” He offers back as best he can, his eyes clenched shut.
“Ok, Sage said to put a pillow under your arm so it can hold the weight instead of your body. Do you want to try it?”
Cye opens his eyes to see his friend staring his way looking terrified that he couldn’t fix it. He sighs forcing a smile as best he can, before he’s forced to close his eyes again. The burning sensation was back and hurt a lot.
Kento sits on the edge of bed as gently as he can so he doesn’t jolt the smaller warrior, “I’m here.. I’m not leavin’ ya. At least until your boy friend gets here. I can’t believe I got beat out by space boy…”
“K-Kento…”
He looks down grinning, “I just gotta know one thing, Cye… does the curtains match the drapes?”
“KENTO! What kind of question is that?!” Torrent growled blushing bright red. “…a-and I wouldn’t know…”
“What? Really? Nothing juicy to tell me? No midnight romps in the closet?”
“What kind of stuff do you watch in your private time?” Cye raises his eyebrows laughing weakly. “Some hentai nonsense?”
“Maybe… I don’t know… just thought you may have had some fun.”
“Kento, when have we had time? We were both injured right after the fight with Talpa, then I got injured again with my arm… not mention the fact that you and I share a room. I believe this outing to find the swords was the first time he and I had been together like this.” He cries out as his arm is lifted in mid conversation onto the pillow. His friend wasn’t rough by any means but any touch hurt right now. ‘W-What t-the bloody hell was that f-for…”
“Your arm is up where it needs to be.” Kento grins giving double thumbs up. His smile drops off at seeing a few tears escape as his friend tries to catch his breath and ride out of the wave of pain, “S-Sorry dude.. I moved too fast. Do you want me to remove the pillow?”
“D-Don’t touch it… p-please… it really hurts.”
“I’ll leave it be. …man, let me go get Sage. He can help take your pain away.”
“K-Kento, don’t bother…bother him…” Cye opened his eyes to see Kento was already gone.
*~*
“Hey Ryo..uh…. I wanted to apologize about earlier. Ya know with what I said about you not joining us to fight?” Rowen offers awkwardly as he joins the other out on the small porch attached to the house.
“Oh…no. You were right. I would have just gotten everyone hurt if we had gone for a planned attack.” Ryo leans forward on the railing looking out into the lake. “And now I have the ferver swords and my tiger has been possessed by a different tiger.”
“It doesn’t seem to be a bad thing. Sage said he didn’t feel anything bad… Blaze had all of his memories and treated us all how he did before.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“He treats each of us differently in our way…its weird.. but if you watch closely you can see it.”
“Are you ok, now?” Wildfire asks glancing over.
“Me? I’ve been fine.”
“You’re about as bad at lying as I am. You’ve been worried about Cye fighting while his arm is injured. Sage kind of explained a little bit of it yesterday… you were upset that you couldn’t trust me to keep everyone safe.” He smiles weakly sighing before looking up at the stars above them. “Not that I could blame you… I’ve been kinda suckin’ at that recently.”
“You haven’t done too badly.”
“Cye’s not ok is he?”
Rowen sighs shrugging, “Who knows. The injury is left over from Sarenbo. When he tried to break the White Armor up, each of us got injured. Sage, Kento and I healed from our injuries almost instantly. His left arm is still badly injured. Sage has looked at it and there is no visible injury that is consistent… it will be covered in bruises one day then the next it will just be swollen… regardless, he can’t move it without help.”
Loooove the Rowen x Cye vibes of this image!!
Breaking Up - Black Armor
Rowen X Cye
Cye’s POTS has gotten worse but after the battle with the black armor and the fight he had with the guys over it, he doesn’t tell them why and breaks it off with Rowen.
Sayako tries to help him as best she can.
——
Sayako sits quietly in the chair by the hospital bed as she flicked through the magazine she'd brought. The beeping of the heart monitor reminded her why she was here. Even though she had heard it every 30 to 45 minutes, it still unnerved her. She sighs lowering her magazine to look at her younger brother.
He was unconscious having fainted just a few minutes ago.
The doctors were doing test after test to find out why his POTS had gone insane the past couple of months. She hated to be the one here to go through it with him. Not that she minded, but the one who needed to be here wasn't.
And for some reason, Cye didn't want him here even though it was obvious he needed him.
She hears a moan and puts her magazine down before scooting closer to the bed. She reaches out holding one of her brother's cold hands, "Welcome back."
"….Ro…?"
She felt her heart drop as she shakes her head forcing a smile, "Nope! Just me."
"Say?"
"Hey there. It's okay, you weren't out but a few minutes this time."
She shivered looking into his dull green eyes as they went in and out of focus. She felt him weakly squeeze her hand as he moved onto his back. She could tell he was trying to hide how upset he was that he wasn't there. "I can go call him, Cye. He'll come right away."
"No. I can't. I-I stupidly broke up with him over the black armor. There is no way he'll take me back after how I acted." He answers weakly. "…and I don't blame him."
"Cye, you were exhausted and had just left the hospital. If you had told them, they could have excused most of your behavior."
"I don't want them to worry a-and its…" He swallows nervously clenching his eyes shut as he turns his head away from her. "i-it's better this way. Now he can live his life without following me around."
"What made you think he would want that though? I'm confused." Sayako moves to sit on the edge of the bed holding his hand tightly. "He was so smitten and had fallen heads over heels…this doesn't like how Rowen at all."
"He was supposed to go on vacation a month or so before that black armor attacked. He cancled his plans for me because I got sick. I was in the hospital and he wouldn't leave. Kento and Ryo even offered to stay with me, so did Sage but he refused."
"That's called love." She replies smiling. "Please let me call him. You need your friends. You need Rowen." Her eyes widen nervously as the heart monitor starts to go off again, "Cye?! Cye can you hear me?!"
Cye started to respond but his head dropped to the side as he blacked out again.
The doctor knocked on the door before entering, "Did he pass out again?"
She nods getting up, "Have you found anything?!"
"He needs to relax and that is obviously not happening. I can't get his heart rate down low enough to do any other tests. His blood work is coming back fine." She crosses her arms as she explains it all. "Sadly, he's going to continue doing this until we can get it handled."
Sayako turns back to her brother before sighing, "…I may have a way to help him relax. I need to go make a phone call."
*~*
"Sage? Have you seen Rowen?" Ryo calls as he steps into the large kitchen where Sage and Mia were making dinner.
"Probably up on the roof."
"Again?"
"It's where he goes to get some alone time."
"Well yeah but he's been up there for the most of the day for almost a month now. Aren't you worried?"
Halo sighs turning around, "Of course I am but this is something he and Cye have to work out."
Mia smiles sadly, "I really didn't think the break up would last this long. I expected it to cool off and they would be back together before we knew it." Her eyes narrow, "I just hope Cye is ok. He hasn't responded to any of our messages, not even Kento can reach him."
The telephone started ringing and Sage wiped his hands off on the apron he was borrowing and walked over picking it up, "Koiji residence." His eyes widened, "Sayako? Ok, calm down and walk me through it."
Everyone turned to look at him. "Sayako?" Ryo whispers.
"Cye's older sister." Mia replied quietly. She bites her lip looking up at the ceiling. "…go get Rowen."
"But Mia."
"Go. My instinct says something's happened."
Ryo nods and runs out of the kitchen calling for the bearer of Strata.
*~*
He uncurled gasping for air as his body came back. The pins and needles physically hurt as the sensation moved up and down his arms and legs. He tried to open his eyes expecting to see him hovering over him. He waited for the reassuringly hand on his head that he always got when he woke up laying down.
It never came and neither did the reassuring voice he was used to speaking to him.
The room spun in his vision as he looked around, he couldn't see him. The book on the table by the bed didn't look familiar, neither did the jacket hanging off the back of the chair. He saw a girls purse instead.
His heart dropped as memories started to come back on what had happened. Why had he hid it from everyone? From him? How could he go back to them after the way he acted? It didn't feel right to go back and just drop this on everyone.
He had to do this himself somehow. Tears welled up in his eyes at the feeling of loneliness and the weight of it all grew heavier. He couldn't stay awake long enough to ask the doctor on how the tests were going, when he was told he'd faint and then he'd forget.
His sister was doing her best but she wasn't good at this.
He clenched his eyes shut trying to squeeze the tears out so no more would come. He felt so sick to his stomach, so dizzy with the thought that he truly was alone.
What had he done?
Was this really what he wanted?
"…S-Sayako?" He calls out hoarsely just wanting someone else there.
At getting no response, his hands go over his eyes as he breaks down. First the armor, then the breakup, then the POTS flare up. Why was all of this happening to him? Why did he have to break off a good thing?
His heart hurt so much.
He heard the heart monitor start to beep at the same time he could hear his heart beat in his ears. He didn't fight it this time only welcoming the darkness, hoping it would take some of the hurt away.
*~*
"Kento, let me go. I was fine up on the roof. I just readin'. I ain't hurting no one." Rowen grumbled as he was manhandled into the kitchen. Books were his safe escape for right now, the deeper he was into them the less worried he was about the obvious and the less it hurt knowing he was dumped.
He looks up confused as to why everyone was gathered in the kitchen. He was starting to get an uneasy feeling.
"Rowen, it's Sayako." Mia explains. "She wants to talk to you."
He freezes looking over nervously. "Why me?"
"Yeah, he's right here." Sage hands the phone over to his friend watching carefully.
Rowen takes it, holding it to his ear. "Hello?"
"There you are! Look, I need you here at the hospital! He's not resting. He's not relaxing and-"
"Say, I can't do anything to help. He made it clear that he didn't want me around anymore… any of us around anymore." He sighs hunching over.
"You don't understand, he's fainting every 15 minutes."
"H-He what..?"
"He's been in the hospital for the past month and a half. They can't get him to stay awake long enough to do any tests. The doctor thinks he needs to relax but he can't."
"What does this have to do with us?"
"With you."
"..with me."
"Every time he wakes up, he asks for you Rowen. When he sees it's not you, he gets upset and passes out again soon after." She rocks back and forth on her heels. "Please Rowen… I'll hit him later. I don't know what went on with this Black Armor b-but he doesn't want to worry you all a-and he doesn't think he deserves your friendship because of it."
"Of course we're still his friends, we never weren't but-"
"So you'll come visit?"
"Sayako, stop, listen to me. He doesn't want to see us."
"No, you listen. My baby brother maybe dying from this POTS thing and if seeing you will keep him from going, you're going to come. You two can have a lovers spat. It may have to be time constrained to less than 15 minutes.. But he needs you. He won't out right say it, so I'm saying it. Cye needs you Rowen. He needs all of you."
Rowen looks up at everyone who were listening intently. He sighs, "Which hospital?"
*~*
"Mia, Kento, and Ryo, are you three ok sitting out here until we know what's going on?" Sage asks as he wraps an arm around Rowen's shoulder keeping him from chickening out. "I'm hoping if we keep it to just the two of us, like normal, we won't overwhelm him."
"But Cye's my best buddy and-"
"Sage is right, Kento." Mia reaches out and pulls him to her. "Come on, let's go sit and wait."
The main door opens and a girl with reddish brown hair walks out looking around. Her eyes widen as she sees them. She runs over hugging Rowen tightly, "Y-You're here! P-Please," She whispers. "Help him. I know you can."
"S-Say.." The other blinks before he hugs her. He swallows nervously. "I-It's okay Sayako. We're here now."
She pulls back and grabs his hand tugging him, "This way. His room is down here." She nods to Sage to come down as well. "He was still out when I got back and he hasn't moved."
As they got closer they could hear the familiar heart rate monitor beeping, letting them know the other warrior's blood pressure was too high.
"Rowen, you and Say check on Cye. I'm going to talk to the doctor. Are we still labeled under the medical contacts?" The blonde asks.
"Yes. I made sure to add all of you when I came in."
"Great. I'll go get the full update."
Rowen watches him leave then turns to look into the room. The room wasn't as inviting as it usually was. Even though it was a hospital room, he and Sage always tried to add color into it via blankets and a pillow and a stuffed animal or two to make it not as depressing.
The only colored thing in this room was Cye's jacket that was laying over the chair. He walks in and stands quietly watching. Cye was unconscious on his side and wasn't laid out properly. The way he was curled up was making it worse. He sits his bag down and hurries over, "Here is part of your problem. His legs are crossed and he's fallen to the side with his arm bent. You'll mess up his blood flow." He reaches out to help move him around but stops and hovers for a few seconds.
"Rowen, please, don't stop. He won't be angry. I think he's realized what he did but he's too weak to fix it." She offers smiling.
He takes a deep breath before nodding. He eases his friend's smaller body into his arms and repositions him on the bed with ease as he knew what to do. "Get me those pillows. We need to prop his legs up." He takes them from her and he props them up before bending one of the legs in and out.
They both look up as they hear a moan. Sayako sighs relieved, she squeezes Rowen's shoulder.
"…ro..?"
Rowen looks up at hearing the familiar groggy call of his name. He didn't like to admit how good it felt to hear the other speak and not be angry at him. He takes a deep breath and reaches out placing a hand on the other's head, "Easy, take it slow. Sounds like you've been out for a bit."
Cye's eyes struggled to open, he had to be dreaming. He reached out groggily and feels a hand take his. His eyes finally open and as his vision focuses for a few seconds, "…rowen..? You're here..?" His voice shook as he tried to not show how relieved he was.
"I'm here, buddy. We all are. Say called us. W-Woah. No need to move so fast - are ya nuts?" Rowen exclaims as he reaches out catching the younger warrior as he forced himself to sit up.
The other fell into him and hugged him as tightly as he can. Strata blinks not expecting any of this. "..C-Cye?"
"I'm sorry. I-I don't … I don't know what happened… I-I didn't mean to… all of what I said…p-please.. Forgive me.."
It wasn't every day that he got hear Cye trip and stumble over his words. He sighs and smiles hugging him to him. "All you had to do was tell you felt like shit, buddy. We would have given you energy to call the White Armor."
He felt the other nod and felt his shoulders shake. "I'm here, Cye. It's okay."
"…I feel so stupid…I nearly lost you f-for good…please don't leave. I don't ever want to wake up with you not there again…I-I mean if you're alright with that." The other rambled slightly going in and out of english and japanese.
Rowen just smiles and pulls him back, "Hey look at me. I told ya when all of this started.. I'm not leaving your side. As long as you'll have me, I'll be here to do whatever is needed." He reaches up and brushes back some of the red hair. "I meant it." He pulls him down and kisses him gently getting a weak one in return before he was hugged tightly as Cye collapsed against him. "Hey, it's over.. I'm here now. I'm here."
Sayako sits back quietly on the bed her hands over her mouth as she tried to hold in her own emotions. She was so relieved. She gives Rowen a wet smile as she wipes her eyes. It hurt so much to see her little brother in so much pain and suffering so badly.
She looks up as the heart monitor starts to beep but Rowen is calm about it. "Go on buddy. I'm here. I'll be here when you wake up." She watches as Cye goes limp against Rowen, his arms dangle as his head slides.
Rowen just sits back holding the younger one up against his body. "I've got him."
Ryo’s Birthday: Setting Up
This universe practically exists in Gaiden so naturally I had to all but rewrite the OVA. There are several parts to his birthday.
This is when they are setting up.
Kento has learned what Cye is going through and is a bit jealous that his best buddy is relying on Rowen instead of him for it all.
Rowen x Cye
*~*
“I’m going to have a little bit of fun, it’s Ryo’s birthday after all. I’ve rested for three days and I’ve only fainted a few times.” Cye argued frustrated as he picked his clothes out of his closet. “You talked me out of the suit.”
“I had to, buddy. Even the button down is making me nervous but let’s see how it goes, ok?” Rowen sighs smiling as he reaches out steadying the other. “And you know you shouldn’t be drinking… but. Since you’re going to have supervision you can have a little bit. Once you start feeling tipsy, we’re going to cut ya off though.”
“You sound like Sage.”
The other grins sheepishly, “Hey, we’ve all but been living together for several months. He’s sure to rub off on me somehow.” He then tilts his head, “You ok?”
“I just hope the food and decorations are alright…” Cye looks down a little nervous. “What if I faint at the party? Ryo and Yuli will be there a-and I’d rather them not know.”
“You just stick close to Kento or I. If you start to go down, we’ll make up some kind of excuse.”
The water bearer looks up smiling weakly, “Thanks. You don’t think they’ll be able to tell?”
“Tell what?” Strata asks reaching out to take the clothes out of the shaking hands. He walks over and lays them out on the bed. He could see Cye was almost scared to do this.
“That I have POTS? The phamplets keep saying it’s an invisible illness…” He sighs before hanging his head. “But so far, it doesn’t feel invisible at all. It feels like a bloody spotlight on me at all times.”
They both stood there in silence before Rowen forces a smile, “Nah, you still look like Cye to me.” In reality, it was obvious something was wrong. The dark circles under the green eyes were no longer as prominent but they were still there. Cye had lost some weight from not being able to keep everything down and looked exhausted. Most of his clothes were a little too big, but with him being bedridden most of the time recently, they hadn’t been able to go shopping for more. The only new clothing he had gotten was the outfit for the party.
Rowen hoped with the smaller clothes that it wouldn’t look so obvious. He can tell the other didn’t believe him. “Hey, don’t panic. We’ll ask Sage for some help.”
“What kind of help?”
“Or Mia. You know that stuff girls use to fix they’re under eye?”
“…you mean concealer?”
“..uh. yeah. That. All you need is some of that then you’ll be golden!” Still the other didn’t budge. Rowen sighed walking over and hugs the smaller warrior. “Cye, just be yourself. It’s just the guys. We know each other and we’ve seen each other literally through the end of the world twice. If for whatever reason Ryo does find out, he won’t be mad. He’ll just be worried about you like the rest of us are.” He feels the other hug him back then pulls back. “Deep breaths. Lets get you dressed then I’ll go get dressed. We’re meeting Kento there early so we can decorate.”
“Sage will be there right?”
“He promised he was coming back from New York just in time for the party.” The archer helps the water bearer pull of his hoodie. “Ok, the rest of you it, you can do. But sit down on the floor and take your time. We have six hours before the party starts. You’ve got time to do it slowly.”
“Oh alright…”
“I’m going to be watchin’ ya. So don’t try and cheat. The more you sit now, the least likely you’ll faint on Ryo later.” He walks to the doorway that led the hallway listening carefully, he hears rustling and turns around relieved to see that Cye had listened and was on the floor. “Ok, I’ll be right down the hallway. Call if you need help.”
*~*
“Alright, now you just stick close to me. I’ll keep ya from fainting!” Kento says happily as he helps Cye put out the food the other had made. He was fighting himself from grabbing a bite here and there knowing the youngest warrior would beat him over the head if he did. That would only cause Cye to get excited then possibly faint.
He didn’t know how they were going to pull this off, but Cye was adamant about Ryo not finding out. Given the lack of response from Rowen, the archer didn’t have a clue either.
“Now Kento, hands off until it’s time to eat. Ryo will get first dibs.” Cye hands Kento the last platter from the back of the jeep. He wobbles unsteadily as his body tried to level it’s self out. He had stood up too fast. His hand reached out to grab the side of the jeep or Kento’s arm but only gets air as his vision goes dark.
“Yeah yeah.. don’t worry… I won’t-“ Hardrock sets the platter on the rolling cart then turns around just in time to catch his best friend as he fell to the side. His friend wasn’t heavy but it was awkward in how he had caught him. He wraps his arm around the small waist holding the dead weight up, his other hand up leaning on the jeep, “Ok, easy. Easy.” He looks up, “Rowen!?”
“I’m coming!”
A few seconds later the bearer of strata ran out from the lobby of the club they were trying to set up the party in. His eyes widen at seeing Torrent limp against Hardrock. “Here, see if we can lift him into the back of the jeep. He’ll never forgive us if we let him get his clothes dirty.”
Together they lifted the smaller limp body into the back of the jeep. Kento pulled away once Cye was sitting as well as he can while being unconscious. He watches as Rowen braces the smaller Ronin up against his side as if he’d done this before. One of Rowen’s hands was holding Cye’s head up right by his forehead.
“Surprised he lasted this long.” Kento comments waiting nervously. Cye didn’t look asleep, he didn’t look peaceful… he just looked ….lifeless. He swallows scared before shaking his head. He couldn’t panic.
“Kento, don’t be nervous. Just give him a minute or so and he’ll be back.” Rowen smiles down at unconscious one he was holding up. “I made sure he didn’t over exhert himself today, so he wouldn’t faint as much tonight but POTS doesn’t care what your plans are.”
They both quiet as they hear a sharp inhale and gasp followed by a groggy moan. Kento was going to speak but the other beat him to it, “Hey buddy, you fainted on Kento. None of the food was ruined and he caught you before you hit the ground. We’re outside sitting in the back of Mia’s jeep. You weren’t out but for a few minutes.”
Slowly the water bearer looked around his surroundings as best he could. His body still felt heavy and lethargic, his arms were limp. He could feel his legs but had no energy to move them. He felt a hand holding him up by his forehead and was grateful it didn’t leave.
“Go on and get that food inside. Once he’s back, we’ll carry the streamers in hats in.”
“But Rowen I-“
“It’s okay, Kento. He just has to come back.”
“I know.. b-but…” He couldn’t explain it, but he was scared to leave his best buddy behind. He didn’t like seeing him so dazed and disoriented. He reached out to touch his friend but held his hand back before nodding. “If you’re not in within 15 minutes, I’m coming back out.”
Rowen sighs but nods watching him head inside pushing the cart. Once the other is gone he smiles and kneels down slightly, “Do you know where you are?” Even though he had just told the other exactly what was going on he had a feeling the other wasn’t coherent enough to hear it or if he did, comprehend it. He watches as green eyes search for an answer.
His hand reaches out and he pulls out one of the streamers Cye had made. “Here, we’re decorating for Ryo’s birthday.” He looks down relieved that the small pale hands were feeling the streamer. “You made these and the food? Kento took it in but I don’t know if he’ll eat it or not.”
This got some sort of reaction as the eyes fluttered again. “…h-he better..n-not…”
Rowen blinks at hearing the response come out in English. He laughs, “I told him not to but ya know how well he listens.” He responds back in English. He slowly releases his grip on the other’s forehead as the younger warrior starts to move properly and hold himself up. “There we go. Anything still feel off?”
“I-I can’t move my arms very well… they are tingly.”
Without saying another word, the bearer of Strata reached out and gently started to massage one of the offending arms, he gets a wince in return, “The pins and needles? Just let me work you through it. Is it moving up or down?”
“…d-down.” Cye turns his head embarrassed as he bites his lip. Before POTS Pins and needles rarely actually hurt.. now they were a painful after affect of a fainting spell if he had been clenched up before it happened.
“I know.. I’m tryin’.” He gently massages the arm moving from his shoulder down to his elbow then finally his hand. He knows he was doing something right when he felt the arm relax and the fingers move.
*~*
Mia walks over to where Kento was standing and staring out the window. “You’re worried?”
“How can I not be? Cye hasn’t been here more than an hour and he already passed out on us.” He sighs frustrated. “How are we supposed to keep this from Ryo if he can’t stay conscious? I don’t like lying to him either. Ryo deserves to know. He’s one of our best friends.”
She smiles sadly, “I know, I agree. I think Cye’s trying to protect him… you know how much it tore Ryo up to think he’d hurt you all with the White Armor.”
“Yeah but it’s not the white armor… right?”
“We don’t know. Sage has been trying his best to connect with the ancient and Torrent to figure out what is going on. For all we know, all of this is the armor.”
“And if it’s not?”
“Then Cye has POTS and needs to come to terms with it, just like we all do. I know it’s terrifying watching him faint. I’ve been there numerous times.” She offers trying to make him feel better. “But it takes 30 minutes maybe less and he’s back to normal. Usually, you can’t tell a difference.”
“I should be the one out there right now. Man, he’s my best friend and all I did was pass this over to Rowen and Sage.” Kento groaned clenching his hands into fists. “I didn’t know it would lead to anything.. I just thought he needed to rest. H-He never rests. He’s worse than Ryo. He will just keep pushing himself until he passes out. Then you force him to rest and he’s back on his feet only to repeat it…” He presses his forehead against the cool glass window clenching his eyes shut, “T-that’s all I thought it was…he had been really busy and I thought he was over doing it again…I just dropped a call to Sage on my way to the airport like it was nothing… I should have canceled the flight to China and checked on him myself.”
“Kento!”
“No Mia, I did this… what a friend I turned out to be. I hate not being the one he trusts with this stuff.”
“Rowen has been there from the beginning, it makes sense that Cye would feel more comfortable with him after he faints.”
“He didn’t want me there.. I could tell.” He heaves a sigh groaning. “I mean, I knew it… b-but…”
“Stop that. From what Sage and Rowen have told me about him coming back, he probably didn’t know you were even there or even Rowen. Did Rowen raise his voice a bit when he spoke to him?”
“Well yeah… just figured he was trying to talk over me.”
“You have to talk a bit loudly at first for Cye to hear you. His heart is racing and all he can hear is his heart beat at first, then all of his senses come back… it’s not very pleasant. Rowen probably sent you in here so Cye wouldn’t be overwhelmed.”
Kento sighs again turning to look at her, he looks past her smiling, “Welcome back dude!” He hurries over as Cye walks into the lobby a bit unsteadily but coherent. His friend was holding the streamers in his arms. He stops tilting his head, his friend’s green eyes didn’t look right.
Rowen walked in immediately after wrapping an arm around the smaller shoulders. “Let’s get up to the bar we’re renting.”
“B-But… Cye are you…?”
“I’m alright. I just need to rest and catch my breath.” The younger warrior smiles as best he can kicking himself for doing too much to unload. “Rowen said I didn’t mess up any of the food so I’m doing fine.”
“Kento caught you in mid faint as well. It was impressive.” Rowen says grinning. He walks over and presses the button for the elevator. “How long do we have the room for?”
“I rented it for five hours.” Mia explained as she walked in beside him. She watched as he got into position to help Cye on. She reached out and pulled Kento close to her, when he started to gripe she held his hand squeezing it telling him to be quiet.
Kento tilts his head as the door shuts and they head up to the top floor. He felt a different hand grab the back of his dress coat. When he turned to look the elevator shook and he felt his stomach do that drop feeling. What he didn’t expect was Cye barely conscious leaning heavily against Rowen. “C-Cye?”
“Mia, can you get him a glass of water?” Rowen asks not fazed by any of this. He turns, “Kento, help me. We’re going to walk him out and help him sit on the ground until his heart rate returns to normal.”
“S-Stop.. I’m …I’m alright…”
“You are not.” Kento started wide eyed. “Dude, you’re not entirely conscious.”
“Cye, don’t work yourself up. It’s just a blood pressure fluctuation. The elevator caused it. You just need to catch your breath.”
The water bearer sighs nodding as he stumbles out of the elevator. He sits back relieved to feel the cold floor underneath him. He leans back breathless and so frustrated with himself. “B-Bloody elevators..."
Mia comes out with a glass of water and a compress she had made from one of the napkins. “Here, try this. Kento, come help me. We’ll hang these streamers.”
“I-It was just an elevator..”
“The elevator levels itself each time it reaches the floor right? That’s the “dropping” feeling you get in your stomach?” Rowen explains gently as he kneels beside the other. He looks up at Kento, “That can cause a blood pressure fluctuation and THAT will cause him get to light headed at the very least.” He takes the compress and rests it on the other’s forehead then helps him drink the water.
“I didn’t expect this to be a POTS 101…” The youngest grumbles moaning.
“You’ve still got 2 hours before Ryo is supposed to show up. Do you need to elevate your feet?”
“In the hallway?”
“You feel sick to your stomach, I can tell. If we don’t reset your blood pressure, you’re going to be getting sick out in the hallway.” Rowen sighs then smiles as he shrugs his dress coat off, “Come on, you know the drill. A leg on either shoulder then bend them at the knee.”
The youngest was too dazed otherwise a slew of phrases would have come out of his mouth. Most of them about how lewd this was and that he was doing it in public and not to get any bright ideas, etc..
“No one else is here, just us. Otherwise I wouldn’t have offered.”
“Fine…” The other grumbles as he lays back onto the floor, the vertigo got bad when he did that but he knew Rowen was right. If they could reset his blood pressure all of this would die down. He feels hands lift his legs up and prop them on the other’s shoulder. “This is embarrassing.”
“That maybe but the color is returning in your face. It’s working.”
POTS Nightmares
Summary: Cye still can’t stop the nightmares from when they were captured by Talpa. It’s been two years and he can’t shake them. Sage is the one who finally helps him break through.
Sickeningly sweet fic. Actually a lot of Sage x Cye vibes.
I know I probably give Sage more power than he actually has with Halo. Old fandom canon was that with Halo he could heal everyone, talk to their armors and in turn talk to the guys. Kind of like a priest of some sort or something.
Cye is the youngest in my universe.
Sage sits up in a panic as he looks around the room. The den was dark except for the streetlights outside. The clock on the tv stand said 3am. That’s right he was sleeping at Cye’s apartment until further notice.
The dream he just had… that wasn’t his. The scene had been familiar and while he had been there to experience it as well this wasn’t what he saw.
To be fair it wasn’t a dream, it was a nightmare.
He hunches over trying to get the visions out of his head and block Talpa’s laugh from his ears. It had been two years and it still haunted them. Some of them more than others.
He gets to his feet not bothering with his slippers or robe. If he was having this nightmare, then it was projecting from someone else.
He didn’t need to be having this nightmare, it would just make everything worse.
Sage stumbles down the dark hallway feeling the walls as he does. As he gets closer to the bedroom he’s pushed back by the power of the nightmare.
The fear, the sickening feeling of failure, the weight of knowing they could be the one who sealed the fate of their friends.. that man’s evil laugh and the sound the spirits made as they stole their armor’s power. The sickening scent of decay and burn of the sulfur water beneath where they had been hanging.
He couldn’t breathe.
It was coming back to him as well.
He leaned against the doorframe shivering, a cold sweat coming on. He had done his best to hide his memories so he wouldn’t ever feel that way again. He thought he had succeeded but right now, he wasn’t so sure.
He had to get past this so he could pull the other out of this nightmare world. He closed his eyes concentrating as hard as he could to put a barrier around himself so he could think properly.
He finally made his way to the bed and hovered over it trying to figure out which side Cye was on. He was half annoyed that Rowen was sleeping so soundly through all of this.
It didn’t surprise him that Rowen wasn’t feeling it or wasn’t awake. The bearer of strata slept hard, and he also wasn’t sensitive to this kind of thing.
The blonde stops and listens… he could hear crying and soft sobs coming from the other side of the bed. He carefully makes his way over to the other side and kneels down. He reaches out placing his hand Torrent’s head. “Cye?” He whispers. “Wake up. It’s okay, it’s just a dream..”
The smaller one in the bed turns on his side reaching out for whoever had spoken to him as if they could save him from the world, he was stuck in.
He reaches out and holds one of the outstretched hands holding it tightly. The horrors that Cye was seeing in his dream knocked him back again. He has to let go briefly to bring himself back to reality.
He finally reaches up and slowly pulls the younger warrior out of the bed and onto the ground holding him tightly. It broke his heart to hear the cries to terror knowing he was reliving it. “Cye,” He whispers again, this time in the other’s ear as he held him close. “It’s over. Talpa’s dead. We killed him. Everyone is safe.”
He feels the smaller hands grip his nightshirt. “I know,” He says softly. “I know. It’s scary. It was awful…”
The next vision he got was new. His hands drop from his friend’s back as he steadied himself. His eyes widened as he was forced to listen to everything Talpa had told the young warrior. He finally pulls himself out of it, his own tears streaming.
No. No no no.
This was why Cye thought all of this? This is where all of that self-doubt came from? The talk about being weak, about not being a good warrior…
The blonde looks down at the one leaning against him. That was changing starting immediately. He was going to have let the guys know about this one.
First he had to get Torrent out of this hellscape. Halo hugs him again before pulling him back enough to where he could press his forehead against the other. He closed his eyes and gently pushed happier memories over the dark ones.
They both glowed a soft green as he tried to change the energy and darkness in the dreams. The green light woke up Rowen. He sat up groggily watching as Sage did something.
He saw Wisdom appear on the blonde’s forehead, then Trust appeared on Cye’s under his bangs.
From what he could tell, Cye was having some kind of nightmare? He runs his hand through his blue hair yawning before he scoots to the edge of the bed leaning over. He didn’t want to scare them, but it looked like they may need his help.
Cye was having trouble figuring out what was going on in his dream.
It started off the usual nightmare of when Talpa had caught them. Though because he was so tired, the nightmare turned dark really fast and he was so deep into it, he didn’t know what reality was and what was in his head.
Now different visuals were being played over the bad ones.
He felt sick to his stomach as he reeled from the two of them.
He started wretching at seeing that damn sword of their powers kill Ryo and then Rowen. There was nothing he could do to help or protect them. He was stuck hanging there.
However, a different memory came next.. he and Rowen in New York on their first “date”. Then the flight back when he and Kento got into a tug a war over the blanket with Ryo sitting in the middle.
Each time his mind replayed one of the bad scenes another good one was put in its place. At the end of one he saw Sage in his mind. He was calling him to follow him, kept saying it was all ok?
The two sides still felt like they were fighting each other as he was suddenly no longer hanging by his arms. He ran towards his friend wanting to get out.
“Cye!?” Sage asks out of breath. “A-Are you awake?”
“…I-I think s-so.” He sits back looking at his shaking hands. He felt tears streaming and didn’t have the energy to wipe them away. Somehow, he knew whatever tears he wiped away more would be coming.
The blonde sits back sighing relieved, he looks up startling to see Rowen watching the two of them. He shakes his head telling him to keep quiet for now. “…how often do you have that dream?”
“…you mean, nightmare.” The youngest hangs his head clenching his hands into fists. “…e-every night? It only really gets bad if I’m tired b-before bed… I fainted trying to get ready earlier…so I was tired..”
Sage sighs, “Why didn’t you tell us, Cye? We could have helped.”
“Helped with what?”
“For starters, Rowen could have been here for the worst part of it. You’ve told him, haven’t you?”
“I-I haven’t told anyone anything… I don’t want to worry them a-and its silly after all.. it’s just a dream.” Cye moves off of Sage’s legs onto the ground pulling his knees up. He presses his face into them. “An awful terrible nightmare.”
“A nightmare that you, Kento, and I lived through. It’s not silly. It’s terrifying. It took me months to get mine sealed away and even then… I learned the hard way tonight, mine isn’t gone either.”
“What does that say about me then? It’s been two years and I’m still not over it.” He lifts his head nervously. “…h-he’s ok isn’t he?”
“Why don’t you ask him?” Sage nods towards the bed.
“Hey buddy, what is this dream you keep having? If it’s this bad, you need to tell us. I can’t help unless I know…I’m guessing i-its from when Talpa had you three held captive?” Rowen reaches down offering a hand. He smiles as the bearer of torrent takes the offered hand. He reaches out with his other to stabilize him as he pulls him to his feet. He rests a hand on the small hips keeping him steady.
The three of them go silent as they wait to see if Cye had moved too fast or not. Sage got to his knees nervously ready to catch him but the other just hugs Rowen tightly.
Through panicking sobs Cye finally tells what he’s been dreaming since he can remember. He didn’t let go of the bearer of strata only hugging him tighter, “….t-the sword killed you and Ryo…s-straight through… he said my power was the strongest a-and it was me who killed you both… I’m sorry.. I couldn’t stop Talpa from taking my power…”
“No Cye, it’s ok.. shh.. it’s over. It’s all over. Ryo and I are fine.” He sits back and takes one of the other’s hands placing it on his chest where he was told he got stabbed. “See? There isn’t any injury or scar…” He presses his hand on top of the pale one feeling it shake. “He never got to use it against us. We were able to call the white armor that day,” He smiles wiping some of the tears away. “Your powers, the three of you, were so in sync with us that without the ancient’s power we were able to call it. Ryo burned the crap out of that sword.”
“W-What..”
“That’s right and let me tell you… the color that was the brightest? A beautiful sky blue.” He pushes some of the auburn hair back behind the other’s ear as he leans into kiss him. “Talpa didn’t know what hit him.”
“I was wondering what happened to that thing… we never heard about it again after he taunted us that day.” Sage mused out loud as he sits on the bed beside the other two. “Nice to know he never got a chance to use it.”
“Yeah, Ryo toasted it with the inferno rage.” Rowen explains keeping an arm around his lover’s shoulders holding him close. “Before that, we were having to use the ancient staff to call on the white armor… but that was the day we didn’t need too.”
“I was wondering why Talpa went quiet for the rest of the day. He didn’t come back in to taunt us anymore.”
“That was also the day that I kicked Kayura’s ass finally.” Strata grins smirking. “I finally got an arrow through her defenses. She was mad. It was great.”
“You’re never going to let that go are you?”
“Why should I? It took me forever to get through her. God, I’ve never hated someone so much.. she was close. Let me tell ya.”
Torrent sighs smiling as he listens to the other two and curls up against his lover resting his head on his shoulder.
Halo rolls his eyes as the other continues to gloat. He then looks down and sees Torrent has finally calmed down properly. “Cye, please don’t hide this from us anymore. No one should have to live through that alone. It’s why we have each other..”
“How did you know he was having the dream?”
“When a person has a nightmare, it’s very easy to “escape” the mind. When that happens any person sensitive enough to receive the visions gets gobsmacked.” The blonde explains.
“…s-so you saw my dream as well?”
“Very vividly.”
“Sage, I’m sorry, I didn’-“
“I’m glad I did though, I had no idea you were still having that one.” He reaches out wiping some of the last few tears away before he smiles warmly. “Are you feeling better?” He gets a silent nod in response. “Good..” he finds himself yawning as his own aderline starts to die down.
“Come on buddy, you need to get some sleep. If you’re too tired tomorrow, you’ll have a hard time.” Rowen says as he pulls the covers down getting them rearranged. He watches as Sage gets to his feet and starts to head to the door. “Hey, where are you going?”
“Back to bed. It’s late.”
Cye looks down nervously unsure if it was right to ask or not, “…y-you’re welcome to stay in here.”
The blonde turns back around. “Three adults in that bed?” He laughs shaking his head.
“Please? If it happens again and I wake up from it, I’ll know I’m safe if you both are here.” The youngest pleads. “J-Just for tonight. If you don’t like it, then you can go back to the bed in the den.”
“Bed? He’s sleepin’ on the couch.”
Cye looked over mortified. “You didn’t pull the couch out or anything?”
“Why? Your couch is actually really comfortable.” Rowen tilts his head. “Is it a sleeper sofa?”
“Yes.” The bearer of torrent was starting to panic a bit. He didn’t realize one of his friends was sleeping like that and for that long? He wavers unsteadily as his mind starts racing through the several nights in a row they had stayed over. “I-I’ll go get the sheets and the blankets and-“
“Cye. Cye. Stop panicking. It’s ok. We didn’t know. Look, Sage is going to come sleep with us tonight. Right?”
Halo sighs frustrated as he runs a hand through his blonde hair. “Yes.” He lets out another sigh at seeing Torrent’s nervous look. He lets his shoulders drop and forces the smile he had learned to put on so as not to scare the youngest. “I’ll sleep in here.”
“Then tomorrow we’ll figure out that sleeper sofa.” Strata yawns dramatically falling onto the bed before sitting up as he catches the third pillow be thrown at him. He lays it between the other two and reaches up gently tugging Torrent down beside him. He starts to feel groggy at feeling the familiar weight and warmth beside him as Cye curls up on his side.
Sage lays down on the other side unsure how much space to take then he realizes that the guys weren’t joking. Cye was small. A genuine smile crosses his features as he gets comfortable. He rolls over to where he can see Rowen… they both lay silently watching as the youngest drifted off finally feeling safe.
The blonde pulls the covers up tucking them in around the smaller body, he watches as Rowen pulls Cye to him wrapping his arms around him. He drifts off in a different sleep, one hadn’t felt in a long time… the feeling of keeping the one who mattered the most, safe.
They had done this during the war with Talpa and everyone would sleep together, each of them in a position to protect Torrent.
He finally fell asleep, one of his hands holding onto one of Cye’s.
Cherry Blossoms
By Robin Gurl
Summary: cherry blossom festival in the POTS Universe. Protective White Blaze, overly sweet Rowen boy friend, Sage appears in a fancy 80s dress suit and over coat, Ryo and Mia are there, lots of food because Cye made way too much and more!
“I can’t believe I let you cook this much food…” Rowen grumbles as he carries the large bento box and the usual tote bag that came with them when they left to go anywhere. “It’s just going to be the three of us… well 2 and half of us. You can’t even eat over half of what you made.”
“You and I both know that your appetite rivals Kento.”
“Yeah but I have something called self control, which Kento lacks.” He rolls his eyes grinning. Then he turns back watching the other stagger a bit. He lifts his arm to catch a glimpse of the watch on his wrist… they had just rested 15 minutes ago. If Cye already needed to take a break then things were starting to go down hill. He stops and turns around, “Are you sure you can carry those drinks? Here, let’s switch. You can carry the tote bag.”
“No. I made the lemonade and the tea. I’m carrying it.”
“Cye, drinks are really heavy. You put them both in heavy thermos’. You don’t want to faint before we even get there do you?”
The other warrior groans frustrated, “I’m not weak, Rowen. I can carry things.”
“I never said you were, but you have POTS and the last thing you want to do is faint out here. You just have to find things you can carry. And this isn’t one of them, unless you want to face plant and be down for the count before, we can even dig into the lovely meal you made us.” The archer sat the tote bag and bento box down then reaches out steadying the water bearer. “Hand ‘em over.”
Torrent grumbles before handing them over. He then watches as Rowen re-arranges things. To his surprise a few bottled drinks came out of the totebag, then out of the other bag where the drinks were the other pulled out the big blanket and silverware and plates.
“There. Now. You can carry other important things.” Strata stands back up to his full height and hands Torrent the blue tote bag. “And I’ll carry the heavy stuff.”
He sighs taking the offered back unable to hold in the relief that it was no longer heavy in his hands. His shoulders dropped as he relaxes. “…Thanks. I just feel awful, I’m the one that cooked it all.”
“Nah, don’t.. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it. Besides,” Rowen smiles nodding his head down to where they were meeting. “It looks like Mia and Ryo came so we’ll have plenty of food.”
Cye’s eyes light up happily as he smiles, “Too bad Kento went back to China… he would rather be with us then babysitting all 18 of his cousins….”
“I’m surprised he missed this. He always brags about your Cherry Blossom picnics.”
“Well, his aunt was having a hard time after her recent child. She wasn’t able to leave the hospital like she had wanted to. So, he volunteered to go watch her children while she recovered. He sounded disappointed on the phone earlier but reassured me several times that his Aunt was doing better.”
“That’s good.” Rowen then stops as they get closer realizing that they would have to go on an incline to get to the others. “Ok, stop here. Let me go drop things off.”
“Rowen, I’ll be fine.” He looks past him to see Mia already coming to meet him, “See? You already have Mia worrying.”
“Hey there! We’ve been waiting. I think Ryo and I found a good spot. Sage is on his way.” She explains happily, she takes Cye’s bag from him and the bento box before turning her head, “Ryo!? Come over here and help!”
“I can’t believe ya got the tiger in here for the festival.”
“That was Ryo’s doing.”
“Hey guys! Happy to see you made it!” Blue eyes light up at seeing the usual bento box. “ALRIGHT! Cye made lunch and Kento isn’t here to steal it all!” He takes the bento box carefully like it was made of gold and carried it up the small hill towards where White Blaze was laying.
Mia takes the other bag from Rowen before hurrying to put hers down as well. She turns as she sets hers down. “Ryo, do you want to go help Cye up?”
“It’s not that big of a hill.”
“It’s how steep it is. For us it’s a slight workout… for him, it could cause him to faint.” She explains smiling. “And I don’t want him to faint before we’re even set up. He looked so happy to see everyone and how excited you were over the food.”
Ryo starts to move when White Blaze gets up as well, “You want to help as well? Okay but don’t knock him over.” He walks down unsure how he was going to help. Rowen and Sage were better at it then he was.
He feels the tiger brush up against his side before letting out a chuff and walking towards the other two down the hill.
“White Blaze?” Rowen looks past him to see Ryo standing there watching. “Hey boy.. want to help Cye up?” He runs his hands down the long back scratching him.
Cye looks down smiling as his hands run through the coarse fur scratching the large ears. “I’m happy to see you too!”
White Blaze was gentle with the youngest warrior like always. He made sure not to push him over or nudge him too hard. He chuffs nudging his head further into the hug when he felt hands grip the fur around his neck and shoulders. He then started to back up the hill pulling Cye with him, he seemed to know when to stop and let the other catch his breath and when to keep going.
Rowen followed closely ready to help and catch if the water bearer started to go down. “You’re doing great, buddy… do you need to take a break?”
“I-I’m a-alright…” Cye responded breathless as his blood pressure started to rise. He made it to the top when he was forced to take a break as he slid to his knees falling into the tiger who caught him holding him up. He pants feeling dizzy. “….R-Rowen….?”
“I’m here. Deep breaths. If you feel faint go on.” The other kneels down rubbing the smaller back then looks up past the tiger to Ryo and Mia who were watching. “I can feel your heart beat, it’s still high…”
White Blaze chuffs growling a bit to give Rowen a warning before Cye fainted into him. He stood strong then gently went down to rest on the ground, the smaller warrior falling with him. He looks up at the bearer of Strata chuffing again, getting a relieved sigh in return.
“Good job, boy…” He reaches out and turns Cye onto his side making sure he’s supported against the tiger’s body before getting to his feet.
“Rowen?” A voice called from where they had been.
His eyes lit up, “Sage! Perfect timing – we just got up here.”
“Cye fainted?”
White Blaze made a noise answering him. The blonde blinked before laughing, “Alright, alright. I’m coming.”
“What did he say?”
“He chastised me for not being here earlier.”
“I forget you can speak tiger.”
“I can speak to most animals.” He kneels down and carefully gathers the water bearer into his arms holding him close. “Did he faint at all on the way?”
“No, but we stopped every 30 minutes to catch our breath.” Rowen explains watching as Cye is lifted into the other’s arms. He walks over, reaching out to feel for a pulse. “…it’s still goin’ pretty fast.”
“To be expected if you walked the entire way here.” He steps up carefully making sure to not stumble himself as well. “Did Cye make any food?”
“…oh yes.” The other sighs shaking his head, “He made a lot.”
The blonde turns to look ahead to where Mia is taking the bento box apart, there were at least 8 layers. He blinks as each one reveals more food. “….woah.”
“Woah is right.”
“He managed to stay awake during all of that?”
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I honestly lost count of how many fainting spells… he’ll crash tonight for sure.”
Sage sighs as he walks over easing the smaller warrior down to the blanket just as White Blaze was getting comfortable on the ground. He leaned him back against the tiger before taking off his outer wear and laying the dress coat over the small body.
He and Rowen both take their shoes off before crawling onto the blanket. Ryo looks over worried to see Cye not awake. “S-Should we wait for him to wake up? I feel bad starting on all of this when he’s not awake to join us.”
Sage looked to Rowen before he smiles weakly, “I’m not sure how much of this Cye can actually eat. A lot of this would upset his stomach and he would be miserable the next day but we’ll see what he would like.”
Ryo looks down at the food unsure what to grab before looking to Sage, “You make a lot of his food right?”
“W-Well uh… yes I do. When he’s not feeling well, he trusts me to make it. Why?”
Wildfire picks up a plate and hands it over as well as a clean pair of chop sticks, “Pick what he will eat and then we’ll eat the rest!”
Halo blinks a few times before he sighs smiling, “Alright, that’s a good idea. We’ll keep it in the bento box with the top on until he wakes up.” He then turns his head, “What time is it?”
“Oh.. uh.. almost noon why? Late for a meeting?” The other jokes. “’Cause your date is right here.”
Mia blushes before rolling her eyes. She takes the plate from Sage and carefully places it in the bento box before putting the lid over it. “Will he be alright? He didn’t faint again did he?”
“Who? Cye? I think he fell asleep after fainting. If what Rowen told me was true, he worked hard today making all of this. He’s worn out.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll wake him up in a bit. He won’t miss all of it. He’d never forgive us if we let that happen.”
*~*
Cye shivered letting out a tired moan as he uncurls from where he had fallen asleep. His eyes flutter as his vision blurs again, he had been clenched up for too long.
“There he is. Welcome back, buddy!” Rowen reached out helping him sit up slowly. He saw Sage put his own plate down to help. “Take it slow. You passed out on us earlier and fell asleep before you could come back. We just let you sleep it off.”
He looks around groggily trying to remember where he was. He was surprised and a little confused to see Ryo and Mia there with White Blaze. His gaze dropped to the food on the blanket.
“You’re at the cherry blossom festival. You made us all a big dinner.” The blonde explains gently realizing the confusion and brain fog was still present. “We met Mia, Ryo and White Blaze. You and Rowen came by yourselves. I came from my afternoon class and Mia, Ryo and Whiteblaze came together.”
Ryo watches worried unsure how to help. For some reason the brain fog was what bothered him the most out of all the POTS symptoms. His friend was so sharp mentally and to see him struggle, even temporarily, threw him off a bit. He smiles at him waving a bit, “Here, Sage put together a plate for you… and there is some tea left.”
Rowen finishes off his plate then sets it to the side before he gets up on his knees and crawls over. He lifts the over coat holding it up to hide the two of them briefly, “It’s overwhelming isn’t it?”
The other nods groggily.
“Come here. Just curl up against me and take your time. It’s cold enough out here that if you want to bury yourself under this coat, you wouldn’t over heat.” He smiles as the youngest takes the offer. He feels him curl up and rest his head on his chest.
He sat back steadying himself before dropping the coat over the smaller body hiding him from the world for a short amount of time. He then drops his hand onto the small back rubbing it gently. “Cover his food up will ya? We’ll try again in a bit.”
Ryo nods unsure how else to help. He looks over to Mia and Sage who had gone back to eating.



