Personal HC of mine (and I'm probably just projecting a bit) but Rain having type 1 diabetes and that's why at the beginning of his first tours he would trip a bunch. His blood sugar would drop low because of all the energy he was expending (and he forgot to eat breakfast)
BEFORE anyone comes after me: I've had type 1 since I was 19 months old. It's hard to deal with and I rarely see anyone talking about it
The pack all make sure now that they carry snacks in their pockets (like that one time Swiss had random tiny packs of gummy bears and was tossing them to people at barrier?) to make sure Rain doesn't drop dangerously low on stage or even afterwards.
@themonstracerock Hi!! Hope this is okay 🥺 I'm so happy you like them. Here's something I cooked up pretty quick.
CW: Needles, talk of blood (very brief), medical talk
“Are you sure you want to do it yourself this time?” Aether asks, looking at Rain with a tiny bit of concern as he hands the ghoul his insulin pen.
Rain smiles a little and rolls his eyes playfully.
He takes a needle from the box of them that Aether has and leaves the infirmary room.
Aether watches him go, shoving his hands into his pocket and biting his cheek. He decides then to keep a tab open in his brain to keep track of his bond with Rain. Not trusting entirely that the water ghoul can handle his dosages this time.
Rain’s always had the habit of either dosing too high or too low before he goes to bed. So he could very well either drop suddenly or keep rising in the night and end up feeling sick in the morning or a couple hours later.
Aether sits back down in his chair in front of his desk and continues working on paperwork from earlier that day.
Meanwhile, Rain gets ready for bed after a busy day. He ran around with Mountain outside in the gardens, he “practiced” with Dew in the band room and he spent some time with Swiss after dinner.
He stepped out of his bathroom and ambled over to the small desk in his room that's situated by the window. He placed his pen there with the needle attached.
Before he dialed up the dose, his brain tried reminding him subtly by automatically glancing over at the small black pouch that was at the very corner end of the desk.
His blood sugar tester..
Rain's tail swished with a small bit of anxiety, biting his lip. He really really didn't want to prick his finger. But he knew he needed to, in able to make sure he was dosing correctly..
But.. he felt fine? Not high but not particularly low either. Just.. fine.
“Ehhh” he waved it off, deciding against the painful pricking option and just going with his gut. He drew up the dosage and that was it.
Rain went to bed, 100% confident in his body.
A couple hours later, about 4 AM.
Aether's bond to Rain suddenly felt very limp and he noticed a certain smell to it. Sour, damp.
“Shit..” Aether hissed, getting up quickly.
He quickly grabbed a juice box from his mini fridge before leaving the infirmary quickly. Speed walking down the hall towards Rain's room, almost tripping over his own feet in the process.
Once there, Aether didn't even bother knocking. Opening the door and peering in.
Rain was already sitting up in his bed.. but he was looking to the floor. One of his legs were bouncing, his tail wrapped around his other leg tightly. Aether could see it shaking.
“Lilypad? I felt you drop..”
Rain finally looked up at Aether when hearing him. His face was panicked, scared, guilty.
“Aether.. I'm sorry I should've–”
Aether was already on his knees in front of Rain before he could finish, “It's okay Rainy, it's okay– I'll take care of you” he took Rain's hands in his own. They were shaking.
Aether squeezed them gently before letting go and getting up, spotting his tester on his desk and grabbing it.
“I'm sorry.. I should've tested before hand.. I'm so sorry for making you do this..” Rain's voice broke. Feeling so guilty about all of this he started crying.
Aether got back down on his knees, gently taking Rain's right hand. Finding the finger he usually used for this.
“Ready baby?” Aether carefully placed the poker in the center of Rain's ring finger.
Rain swallowed the lump in his throat before nodding, flinching when Aether poked him.
He whimpered more when Aether had to squeeze a bit to get a good amount of blood for his glucose monitor to grab. Rain didn't realize he was holding his breath until the monitor finally beeped and he exhaled in a rush.
The quintessence ghoul smiled fondly and rubbed Rain's palm comfortingly, “That's it baby.. good job”.
Rain watched as the meter buffered for a minute before it read off his blood sugar, 46.
Aether whistled in shock, “Yeah that's low..”
“I know.. I'm sorry Aether”
“Stop apologizing,” Aether reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the juice box “I like taking care of you love, you're not a burden”
Aether poked the straw through the box and then handed it to Rain. Helping the shaking ghouls hands to hold the box steady as he drank it down.
Aether felt as his bond to Rain strengthened again. Which made both of them sigh in relief. Rain's tail untangled itself from his leg gradually as his sugar raised back to normal again. His other leg stopped bouncing, resting now.
“I'm going to stay with you the rest of the night, that okay tadpole?” Aether's voice was soft and quiet when he asked him. Rubbing Rain's wrist softly.
Rain's eyes lit up and he smiled softly, “That'd be great, Aeth..”
Again with my Rain being t1d (type 1 diabetic) headcanon because I really want to talk about it.
Aether used to be his own personal monitor for when his blood sugar was low or when it was high. His quintessence would pick up on it and he'd immediately be at Rains side either saying he needed to get a snack soon or that they needed to do a blood sugar test.
Rain used to try and finagle his way out of doing tests though, he hated the poker and the pain it came with it-- because what do you mean he has to test before every meal?
What do you mean if he feels dizzy and limp, that he has to test before eating a snack? Why does it matter? The problem is solved after he eats!
He still curses the human side of his body for having this-- "error"
All of the pack has really had to help him work on managing his t1d, they've had to help him make sure his dosages are correct and that he's calculating right for the things he eats and drinks.
Rains fine with having to stick with only diet drinks and low carb snacks/meals (that does not mean he's not allowed to have them, it's just not at all recommended because he'll feel like shit and not do good for his body).
But that's only because in the pits, he didn't have much to choose from to eat anyways, so it wasn't a huge deal for him.
Copia is also aware of it (obviously) and always makes sure the road crew for tours knows about Rains situation. They set out sugar free snacks and drinks for him-- like veggie trays or low carb granola bars.
They're all super helpful with him and supportive. Always making sure he's okay <3
