Chapter Text
This was it. This was what Blue wanted to do with his life. He wanted to help people, he wanted to make a difference in the world, one smile at a time. He wanted to right some of the wrongs the world had deigned to allow to occur.
He wanted to be a nurse.
And today, after so long in medical school, after all the blood, sweat, and tears he had put into his studies, he was finally qualified.
He had his dream job.
And his first patient.
Blue could barely contain his joy as he opened the door. "HELLO!" He said in his most cheerful voice. "I'M BLUE! AND I'LL BE TENDING TO YOU TODAY!"
The figure on the bed, who had been facing the window on the opposite wall, rolled their head over to look at Blue. It was a skeleton monster, with dark stains under his eye sockets and a lazy grin. He had one of his legs elevated in a sling that hung from the ceiling. "heh. gotta give ya credit for your hospitality."
Blue stopped, blinking at the patient. He wasn't surprised about him being a skeleton (after all, Blue was a skeleton monster himself). What had caught him off guard was the pun. Blue was used to hearing puns (his brother was always making them), so much so that he had even begun picking out the unintentional ones that occasionally popped up in everyday conversation. However, the stress that had been placed on the words in question made it clear that these were quite intentional.
The guy chuckled, as much at Blue's expression as at his own joke, his grin spreading wider across his face. "names comic. nice to meet ya."
"IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU TOO!" Blue agreed, returning his megawatt smile to his face as he stepped up to the bed. He picked up the clipboard to get his bearings on the situation. "NOW, IT SAYS HERE THAT YOU BROKE YOUR LEG?"
"thats no fibula."
"IT MUST HAVE HURT!"
"the pain was crippling."
"HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW?"
"questionable. i don't have a leg to stand on after all."
Blue felt his shoulders start to shake, breathy snickers trying to escape through his teeth. He schooled his face. "LET'S BE SERIOUS, NOW!" He said, looking up from the clipboard to examine his patient up close.
The first thing he noticed were the handcuffs. Comic had both his arms strapped to the railings of the hospital bed with thick, padded leather cuffs. Furthermore, the leg which was not broken had a thick metal band clasped around the ankle, which Blue recognized as a magic suppressor. A device like that would only hinder the healing process of a monster like Comic, whose physicality depended on his magic! Blue looked back down at the clipboard, searching for some sort of explanation. He flipped to the other pages, scanning quickly, his smile gradating to a concerned frown.
Suicide Watch
Blue was assigned a good dozen patients, but he found he paid extra attention to Comic. So much so that he even picked up extra hours, just so he would be on shift to do his regular check-ins. Comic had to be looked in on every 4 hours, for safety, and Blue did his damnedest to be assigned to every one of them. He couldn't for the life of him understand why. Perhaps it was the way Comic greeted him, with his lazy smile and intelligent sparkle in his eyes. Perhaps it was because deep down Blue liked hearing all his awful puns.
Perhaps it was because of that first day.
It was during the second of these regular check-ins, while Blue was feeding him lunch, that Comic asked it for the first time, that question that seemed so innocent at first, but Blue soon came to loathe.
"what day is today?"
"TODAY?" Blue thought quickly as he spooned in another bit of oatmeal into Comic's mouth. "THURSDAY!"
Comic's swallowed, shaking slightly, his eye lights darting to Blue's face. "the date?"
"THE 4TH OF XX. WHY?"
"what time is it?" Comic asked, his voice slightly higher, insistent.
Blue checked his watch. "TWO THIRTY-..." He paused. "-TWO! PM! WHY?"
Comic sighed in relief, his body relaxing as his gaze drifted to the ceiling. "no reason."
Blue eyed him, letting the spoon settle in the bowl that Comic had dutifully emptied. "COMIC, I KNOW IT IS NOT MY PLACE TO SAY, BUT, IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO LISTEN. I AM A VERY GOOD LISTENER, YOU KNOW!"
Comic's grin turned up a little more, the glow in his eye lights brightening. "thanks, bud. i'll keep that in mind."
Blue heard that question again, later that day, during the fourth check-in he had with Comic.
Blue was tired. He had been on his feet all day, running up and down the many stairwells, fetching one thing or another for patients that were not his, yet seemed to feel exceedingly entitled to his attention, between doing his actual responsibilities. He was learning very quickly which coworkers could be relied on, and which ones could most often be found kissing their S/O in the break room with their pagers turned off like this wasn't a hospital and people didn't need help oh no Rick just go make out with your girlfriend while the poor guy in room 212 has a fucking seizure! Blue had never experienced this level of irritation before, and he had found it increasingly difficult to maintain his smile.
So when he stepped into the dark room where Comic was, his reflexes gave out on him at the sight he was presented.
Comic was thrashing on the bed, bright blue streams of glowing magic dripping from his closed eye sockets, brightening the darkened room like some kind of horrific night lights. A whimper escaped into the sterile hospital air, gut retching sobs shaking Comic's small frame so violently Blue worried he would break his wrists in the cuffs.
Blue shook himself out of his stupor, smashing the light switch on hard and fast before running over to Comic's side. He put his hands gently on each of Comic's shoulders pinning him down. "WAKE UP!" He said firmly, trying to keep his own panic out of his voice. "UH, COMIC? COMIC, WAKE UP! IT'S JUST A DREAM! IT ISN'T REAL!!" Blue didn't know what else to say (this wasn't part of his training!) so he just kept repeating the words that had always worked when his own brother had nightmares.
After a few more attempts, Comic's eyes shot open, a little of the glowing tears flying into the air. He lay there, his bones rattling loud enough to hurt Blue's ears, the bed shaking with the force of the motion. Comic took deep shuddering breaths, an action Blue knew he didn't need for anything but comfort. Blue carefully removed his hands from his shoulders, willing his own SOUL to stop pounding.
After a moment, Comic finally spoke. "w-what day is t-today?" His voice shook, the tears still streaming down his face and leaving discolored stains on his pillow.
"THURSDAY, THE 4TH." Blue answered.
"what t-time?"
"ABOUT 10 PM."
Comic spasmed in what Blue knew was the skeletal equivalent of a hiccup. "could you s-say it again? please..?"
Blue felt his insides twist. That was the voice of someone asking him to make the pain go away. Blue had heard it plenty of times that day. He had just never heard it used so desperately before, as though afraid the plea would be ignored.
"IT IS THURSDAY THE 4TH, AROUND 10 PM."
"again..?"
"THURSDAY THE 4TH, 10 PM."
"...once more, please..?"
"THURSDAY THE 4TH, 10 PM."
Comic's breathing began to slow, evening out as his shaking faded to nothing. With each utterance of the seemingly innocuous fact, his body relaxed, his crying dwindled, the pain on his face replaced with exhaustion and tentative relief.
"thank you... blue, was it?" Comic's voice was steady now, only the shadow of a tremor left from his recent hysteria.
"YOU'RE MOST WELCOME." Blue replied, getting a few tissues. He carefully cleaned up Comic's face, dabbing gently at the liquid. Comic, leaned into the touch, seemingly without thinking about it, desperate for some kind of contact. The gentle pressure made Blue's insides tighten. He had never seen someone so... broken, before. He felt his usual smile, which had already been under strain, fall away. "IS THERE SOMEONE YOU WANT ME TO CALL? FAMILY? FRIENDS? MAYBE YOUR DOCTOR..?" Blue wasn't certain what the protocol for this was, but it seemed wrong to just leave Comic alone after something so traumatic looking.
"no! no, uh," Comic closed his eyes, seemingly thinking about something. "look, i'mma level with ya. i only got one friend, who is crazy busy, and we aren't so close i'd expect... well, midnight hospital visits. and my family... i only got my bro, and he doesn't know i'm here. he's off training, out of town, and i don't wanna worry him." Comic put on a strained smile, one that didn't reach the eyes which were still damp with cyan magic. "and i ain't got a doc like you're thinking. can't afford one. insurance won't cover that kinda thing, ya know? heh." He looked at his leg, still hanging in the sling. "but it sure goes out on a limb for this stuff. told them e.r. guys five times i couldn't pay 'em a dime, but they stuck me in here anyway."
Blue took a deep breath of his own. "THEN I WILL JUST HAVE TO SIT WITH YOU FOR A WHILE." He announced to himself as much as Comic. He then pulled up the visitors chair and made himself comfortable. He rested his hands on the railing of the bed, near where Comic's were tied. Comic hooked a finger around one of Blue's without thinking about it.
Comic blinked. "don't go outa your way for me, kid... hate to get ya in trouble. sure you got lots of other things to do besides watch dust settle." He snickered. Blue gave him a horrified look. "okay, maybe that one was a bit morbid."
"QUITE MORBID! THIS IS NOT A CASINO!" Blue found himself saying.
Comic snorted out a laugh, deep and clear and genuine.
Blue felt his SOUL skip in his ribcage, a gentle warmth rushing through his marrow.
Perhaps it was then that he decided to always be there for Comic.
Comic's leg took 6 weeks to heal.
Through it all, Blue made certain he was there for every one of his regular check-ins. Every day, Comic would ask for the day, date, and time. And every day, Blue would see the anxiety in his eyes flair until Blue answered him. Then there would be a flash of relief, and Comic's body would relax, and then he would dive right into light conversation, speckled with puns and jokes.
After the first week, Blue took his meager savings and made a purchase at a the local shops: a sophisticated clock that kept track of not only the time, but the day, week, month, and year, the large display a clean bright green glow on a black background. He brought it in and 'accidentally left' it in the room, on a shelf within Comic's line of sight. It's against protocol to buy gifts for patients, but this wasn't a gift, oh no. This was a personal investment, and he just happened to forget it in Comic's room.
Comic quit asking about the time.
But his nightmares. His nightmares remained.
Blue came in every night, and every night he found Comic wreathing in his bed. Sometimes he could just make out a few words: 'Pap,' 'No,' 'Stop,' words that made Blue's chest ache and eyes burn. The first few times, Blue maintained his professional decorum. However, he eventually couldn't stand it anymore, and started giving Comic hugs to help calm him down, whispering the date and time soothingly against his skull. Blue didn't know why that helped, but it did, calming Comic's shaking and quieting his sobs faster than anything else he could think of. So he did it. He did it over and over until Comic said the first joke of that visit, and the light returned to his smile. Then Blue would pull away, and clean up Comic's face, and engage him in pleasant (usually pun-filled) conversation until Comic fell back asleep.
And then (sometimes) Blue would take the midnight bus home.
And he would listen to his brother's passive-aggressive remarks about the late hours, and the extra shifts, and the fact that Blue hadn't been home to sleep in his own bed in three days, all with worry practically oozing from his face. Of course, Blue would brush it off, smiling and saying how he was strong and didn't need as much sleep as a lazybones like him. Blue never mentioned that he had begun power napping between jobs, using the roof and the break-room and sometimes a broom-closet (because if he was going to be this small he was going to make the most of it!) to curl up and catch a few hours here and there.
And Blue would see that his brother was not satisfied with his reassurances, but he would sigh, and pull Blue into his warm embrace, and whisper words of brotherly affection before pulling away and going to bed himself. Then Blue would get those few hours sleep he allowed himself before starting the cycle all over again. It pained him to take that time to sleep, because it meant missing one of the shifts to check in on Comic. But Blue had to do it, he knew that.
However, that didn't stop him from rushing to catch the first bus back to work, his eye lights dancing at the prospect of seeing him again. Blue power walked down the hall, jumping up the stairs two or three at a time, until he got to Comic's room and threw the door open. And then he would see that lazy smile, and those bright eyes, and hear that deep gentle voice, and all of Blue's weariness would melt away, leaving nothing but genuine delight.
Delight which lasted him through each shift until he was allowed to walk through that door again.
Despite Comic's protests, the hospital provided a psychologist. Blue, as his primary caregiver at the time, was given a front row seat to the one and only session before he was discharged, which occurred during the 5th week of his stay. The psychologist was human, old and greying, wrinkles deep and telling on his face.
"So, your name is Comic?" The psychologist asked.
"funny enough, yeah," Comic answered, smiling. He always smiled.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"because someone put their foot down," Comic said, sounding smug and innocent all at the same time, that amused sparkle in his eyes. He wiggled the leg still in the sling. "and i can't exactly carry my own weight right now, so..."
"How have you been feeling lately?"
"its a tie between boredom and contentment."
The psychologist raised an eyebrow. "You're content?"
Comic shrugged. "i haven't had any ketchup in a while, but other than that, this isn't much different than being home. well," he snickered, shaking his wrists just enough to rattle the chains, "maybe a little more hands off, but i can't complain. blue here's good at his job."
Blue felt himself flush with the compliment.
The psychologist eyed him, clicking his tongue thoughtfully as he made notes. "Alright. How about we talk about the other night? When you hurt your leg."
"okay. what do you remember?" Comic asked, teasing.
Blue rolled his eye lights. The psychologist looked like he wanted to do the same. "What happened that night?"
Comic looked up at the ceiling. "guess my watch broke."
"And?" The psychologist looked at him.
"thats it."
"You jumped off a bridge because your watch broke?"
Blue bristled. He jumped off a bridge?! Blue had never asked about the circumstances that had brought Comic to the hospital. He didn't think it was his place to ask. All he needed to know had been written on the clipboard, and Comic didn't have to tell him anything he wasn't comfortable to say.
Comic shrugged, making a noncommittal noise. "never said anything about a bridge. or jumping."
"Then how did you break your leg?" The psychologist asked, earnestly.
"dunno. last thing i remember before waking up here was checking my watch." Comic's voice was light, even, but something about it made Blue pause. The delivery was different than he was used to. Blue didn't think he was lying, exactly, but Blue liked to think he was particularly good at reading people, and what he read from Comic told him there was more than he was saying.
Blue listened to the rest of the session, which lasted a few hours, but he didn't pay as much attention. He focused more on Comic's expressions. They were light, easy, relaxed, but the light in his smile, the vibrance that Blue was so used to, was missing. It was clear to Blue that Comic was putting on a show, of sorts.
But at the end of the session, the psychologist stood up and left without more than a word of farwell.
And the next day both the cuffs and the magic suppressor were removed.
Blue watched as Comic took his first steps in weeks, testing the leg that had been broken over a month ago. Comic's eyebrow ridges were furrowed in discomfort. His magic didn't seem to want to obey him, to support his weight. Blue could see the faint shimmer of magic around the bones, where he was focusing a little harder than he should have had to. His legs moved, and he kept his balance.
"ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO STAY A FEW MORE DAYS? YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AN OUTPATIENT FOR YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY..."
Comic chuckled. "naw. i gotta get home. gotta feed my pet rock. it's probably starving."
Blue felt a flutter in his chest. "WELL, IF YOU'RE SURE." He turned around and got the wheelchair. "BUT EVEN IF YOU INSIST ON LEAVING NOW, YOU STILL HAVE TO RIDE THE CHAIR!"
Comic looked at the wheelchair with obvious distain. Blue giggled. Comic's smile returned. "welp," he said, taking the two steps to close the distance and sinking into the chair, "to the exit, chair slave!" he exclaimed, waving one hand dramatically in the air, indicating the door with a flourish.
Blue giggled harder, gipping the handles of the chair as much for his own support as anything. He took his time, leisurely pushing Comic through the halls. Occasionally his eyes would train down to him. He looked so much better in his own clothes, the light blue jacket and track shorts making him seem more like himself than the hospital gown he had been wearing before. It just... fit him. It felt right, seeing him dressed like that. Just like it felt right seeing his brother in his orange hoody.
Blue felt a dull ache in his chest. He was probably never going to get to see Comic again. His feet slowed, and it was a struggle to maintain his smile, but Blue managed.
They entered the elevator, the cheep bell music playing quietly.
"hey. uh..." Comic broke the silence that was more awkward than companionable. "as of today, i ain't your patient anymore, right?"
"THAT IS CORRECT..." Blue answered, softer than usual. He felt his SOUL twist, unsure of how to feel about that. On the one hand, it meant that Blue had done his job, and done it well. His patient, his first ever patient, was now better, both mentally and physically, and taking his life back into his hands.
On the other, it meant he would not be seeing Comic anymore. And the idea of never seeing him again... left him feeling empty.
Which was strange. Because Blue by this point had seen dozens of patients come and go. And none of them had made him feel that way.
"well... if thats the case..." Comic scratched at his maxilla, shifting his skull to one side. Blue wished he was in a position to see his face. "is it alright to ask... when you get off?"
Blue felt his face light up. Did he hear that right? Did he interperate that right?! Did Comic really want to- want to- maybe-?! Blue had been certain that his feeling had been one sided, that Comic had only been being friendly, and kind, and sweet, and funny, because that was just the kind of guy he was, and that Blue just let himself get attached because he was a sentimental fool who had a thing for big beautiful smiles and bright eyes and-
"heh, guess after seeing me like that, it takes all the fun out of it, huh? didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. just forge-"
"YES-I-GET-OFF-AT-8-WHERE-SHOULD-WE-MEET?!?!?!?!??!??!?!?" Blue blurted so fast some of the words smashed together, his volume (which was loud by normal standards) shooting up three clicks.
Comic was quiet for a moment, then silky chuckles erupted from him. Blue thought he saw a soft blue glow, but he couldn't be sure. "ya ever heard of Grillby's?"
Blue smiled. "SURE! MY BROTHER GOES THERE SOMETIMES WHEN MUFFET'S IS CLOSED!!"
"can i meet ya there? tonight?"
"CERTAINLY!!"
Blue felt his SOUL dancing back and forth in his ribs. He hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
The elevator door opened. And Blue pushed Comic out into the sun.
He couldn't wait for nightfall.