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DJ tugs a thread from the blanket covering him. Although he has sweat trickling down his forehead, he can’t bring himself to pull the comforting weight of the throw off of his body.
He gingerly picks up his phone from the side table, arm sore with red indentations from the folds of the cover. DJ taps his phone on, wincing at the bright light suddenly emitting onto his face. He quickly turns his brightness down.
It’s 11:47. He slept through three alarms, and he has 5 notifications from Superfish. Three messages and two missed calls.
| 8:39 AM [Fishboy]: are you alive?
| 9:42 AM [Fishboy]: did you oversleep?
| 10:03 AM [Fishboy]: since you’re dead i can claim ownership of your cat right
DJ drops his phone and allows his to head fall back against the pillows. It’s too early for his bullshit, and he feels like he’s being split in two from the head down.
He sighs as his stomach churns. Around him, his room seems to spin and his walls distort.
The pain started in his stomach as a dull ache, nothing serious. Nothing worth mentioning. It was probably just cramps — cramps that every other human being experiences.
He had gone about his day like normal, brushing off the strange warmth twisting beneath his skin and the uncomfortable feeling that something inside him was shifting.
Now, hours later, DJ curls up beneath his blankets, one hand gripping the fabric tightly while the other pressed flat against his stomach.
These are not just cramps.
These are the kind of twinges that you should immediately see a doctor about — or a specific teal haired witch.
DJ retrieves his phone from where he discarded it earlier and sickly replies to Superfish’s texts.
| 11:50 AM [Me]: i think there’s something wrong with the core please come
Almost immediately, a text bubble pops up. DJ can imagine Superfish nimbly typing, and he lets himself huff in an attempt to laugh.
| 11:50 AM [Fishboy]: i’m coming
DJ sets his phone down at the reassurance, only to immediately jump at the sound of knuckles rapping on his window.
He turns his throbbing head to see Superfish, his purple earring glinting in the daylight.
How is he already here?
DJ has learned to not question Superfish’s abilities in the short time he’s known him.
Hesitantly, he stands up. His head pulses an unpleasant and rhythmic sensation as he moves to unlock the window, back hunched because of the pain in his stomach.
Superfish tumbles in and promptly pushes DJ back down onto his bed, albeit gently.
Even the slightest of movements causes DJ to wince. Superfish pulls a blanket over him and snakes his hand up his shirt, placing his hand on the bare skin of DJ’s stomach.
It’s a good thing DJ’s face was already red before.
“What are you doing?” DJ mumbles, his gaze turning to look down at Superfish and the messy bundle of teal hair.
Superfish glances up at him in return, his slightly calloused hand still resting on the lukewarm skin of DJ’s stomach. “Regulating it. Just stay still, won’t you?”
DJ sighs and drops his head against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s kind of hard to stay still when all I wanna do is curl into a ball.”
“…Uh… Push down the urge.” Superfish suggests like it’s genius and it’s going to help.
“Thanks.” DJ croaks simply and inhales sharply when an abrupt pain strikes his stomach. He looks down at Superfish again, this time with a glare.
“I didn’t do anything.” Superfish gazes at him, the corner of his lips pulling into a frown. “Is my magic not helping?”
“…It is.” DJ sighs. “When is this gonna be over?” He turns his head to the side, rubbing the corner of his eyes with his knuckles.
“I don’t know… I’ve never experienced this.” Superfish muses. “Do you need anything?”
“I need my stomach to stop making me feel like I’m being ripped in half.”
“Fair.”
A few more moments pass of comfortable silence. Superfish’s hand stays on DJ’s stomach, the essence of his magic flowing into his stomach to regulate the core and hopefully make it calm down.
DJ’s breathing increases a few times as sharp pains continue to shoot through him, making him grip the sheets.
But he trusts Superfish, and he has faith that whatever Superfish is doing will help him.
“Is it working?” Superfish asks. When did he get so close?
DJ attempts to move his head away from Superfish, but shifts his body accidentally. Superfish grumbles and moves his hand with him.
“I told you to stay still.”
“Sorry.”
“Are you?”
DJ stares at him, unimpressed. “Yes, I’m sorry. And yes, it’s working. I… I think it’s gone.” He murmurs, placing his hand on Superfish’s wrist.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to let go and have you immediately start crying out in pain.” Superfish looks at him, and for maybe the second time ever, DJ sees genuine concern in his eyes.
“…I’ll be fine, Fishface. C’mon,” he gently removes Superfish’s hand from his stomach and takes a breath.
No sharp pains.
“So?” Superfish stares at him.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” DJ replies. “…Thank you.”
“It’s for the core.” Superfish declares. DJ has to hold back an annoyed laugh, because he says that every single time something like this happens.
“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” DJ sits up hesitantly. He wipes sweat from his forehead and instead — a stark contrast to the sweat he just wiped off — shivers.
Superfish stares, his eyes fixated on DJ before he clears his throat.
“Okay, well, if you’re feeling better then I’m going to leave.” Superfish stands, turning on his heel to hop out of his window.
DJ reaches out and latches his hand onto his wrist. “Can you stay?” He asks, looking up at him with a shine in his eyes.
“Uh..” Superfish’s face flushes a vibrant red. “Yeah. Yeah, I can.” He says without hesitation and turns, sitting on the floor next to his bed.
Superfish sits there, quiet and still. And for once, he doesn’t have anything snarky to say. It’s almost like when he sleeps — peaceful.
DJ watches him for a while, letting only the quiet noise of DJ’s fan settle between them.
“…Were you actually worried about me, fishface?” DJ says after a moment of content silence.
“Why must you always call me that?” Superfish’s eye twitches.
“Why must you avoid the question, I guess we’ll never know.” DJ shrugs and turns to lay on his side, some small pains in his stomach but not ones that make him wince and writhe like earlier.
Superfish sighs after they let the silence linger. “Of course I was worried.” He scowls to nothing in particular. “Why would I not be? I mean, your life — the.. the core’s life was on the line!”
DJ smiles at his slip-up. He turns over, driving a finger into the back of Superfish’s head. “What were you about to say, Aquaman?”
“Nothing? I wasn’t gonna say anything! And Aquaman? Really?” Superfish smacks his hand away to shift his head and glare up at DJ from his spot on the floor.
“Whose life was on the line?” DJ’s lips quirk into a wry smile.
“The core’s!” Superfish snaps and ducks, attempting to hide his burning face.
“I can’t hear you, you’re gonna have to look at me.” DJ hums, feeling accomplished in finally getting Superfish to be flustered.
Superfish slowly turns to look at him. “Your life. Was on the line.” He admits through gritted teeth and a flushed face.
“I don’t get it, why are you so embarrassed?” DJ huffs with a grin. “I would feel heroic, Aquaman.”
“You’re gonna take that to my grave, huh?”
“Absolutely.”
They stare at each other for a moment. Maybe a moment too long, because the next thing DJ knows, there’s a soft yet hasty kiss on his forehead. The lips that fall on it are soft and a little chapped, and DJ would be lying if he said he didn’t want to feel more.
“Get some rest and I’ll see you at school.” Superfish says in an unusually soft tone and hops out of DJ’s window.
DJ is in a daze, staring at the floor where Superfish was sat fifteen seconds ago, until he eventually collapses back onto his bed and stares up at the ceiling.
What just happened?