#crow.msg

very late MERMAY SPECIAL

Crow understood that a break was what he needed. It would do him some good to have time off, time to relax, as much as he refused to admit it.

But England, of all places. Out of everywhere his captain could have sent him to, Crow was to spend leave in England. He was almost worried he’d done something wrong for his captain to be filled with such spite but he was shipped off to the North Sea’s coastline before he could ask.

…The beach was nice though.

Begrudgingly, Crow had found a loose routine in the remote cabin he’d been given near the beach. It was walks with sand between his toes and late morning swims daily.

And the occasional adventure past the sand, where rocks threatened to damage the skin of his feet while he climbed them all for the sake of finding the quiet corners of the beach to properly sit and relax in, enjoy the sounds of waves washing up and… more waves splashing against the rocks.

He’d started to spend whole days in those closed off parts of the beach, next to tide pools and small caves on his own, tutting the occasional greeting to seagulls that decided to join him, blaming the feeling of being watched on them. When he’d return back to the cabin at the end of the day he’d always be covered in sand and more sunburn than the day before, but he didn’t mind.

That’s where he found the most trinkets, too. In his hideouts, every day he’d return for another day of lounging, he’d find things like shells and pretty rocks and sea glass he’d tell himself looked the same colour as his eyes, all left behind by the high tide, he’s sure. And he always pocketed them, knowing they’d look good in his assortment of collected items back on base.

And then a storm hit the coast. Crow knew it wasn’t too bad. He comfortably waited it out with a blanket over his shoulders and his sketchbook in hand.

Walking outside the next day made him realise that it actually was too bad, if how wrecked the beach had gotten was anything to go off of.

There was seaweed and even a few jellyfish thrown across the fields of sand, making the place look a right mess. And Crow got right to work cleaning it up. It was the least he could do to pay the beach back for its many gifts. And if he’d also gotten a little attached to the place over the last week or so, that was something only he got to know.

While he was letting a moon jellyfish slip from his hands back into the sea though, he heard a sudden commotion he didn’t expect to hear, something human with what he heard of a grunt.

His head snapped toward the sound, toward one of his ‘hideouts’, concern quickly building in his mind as he shot up onto his feet and another wince sounded from past the wall of rock.

Feiyun was tired of everything. The day has been especially rough for no perceivable reason, and now, she had to try to wrangle one of her most stubborn patients into a follow up appointment. She knocked on Crow's door, rubbing her forehead as another jolt of pain from her current headache shot through it, her tail lashing back and forth as well.

@feiyunaskblog

Crow had been doing better, mental health wise. He didn’t seem to have as much trouble going out into public spaces and talking to others after his little episode a few days ago. Physical health had been a different story.

Mayyybe he’d been skipping out on taking his pain meds, and mayybee laying around all day had his back aching and whining in stiff pain. So it was safe to say Crow hadn’t been all that busy today. He’d honestly been looking for things to do while rotting in his own bed.

The sound of his door being knocked on had the man almost excited but rather than yanking his door open and welcoming some interaction, he had to get up as slowly as he could without pulling at his back too harshly. He was unsuccessful, having to take a moment to sit at the edge of his mattress with a choked sigh.

He wasn’t sure how Crow could help that… as far as he knew, the man was stuck in bed due to back pain. Maybe he shouldn’t be bothering him.

Yet he sent the text anyway.

[ You busy? ]

[ If you are it’s fine.]

[ Sorry, forgot you were feeling like shit. ]

- @sgt-fluffy

Bedrest was the worst, soul sucking with how boring it got sitting in his bed doing nothing.

Which was why Crow wasn’t on bedrest. No, instead of following doctor’s orders, the man was up and about in his room, rushing between different hobbies to keep his mind occupied and the medics on base stressed.

He was sitting at his desk working on a new sewing project when his phone buzzed with a new notification, a new text, from Nico.

He was typing back as soon as he could, lips tugged into a soft smile while his fingers ran over the keyboard, practically buzzing with the idea of having another thing to keep busy with.

[ i wouldn’t say shit ]

[ ah whatever, no i’m not that busy, pls tell me what you want pup ]

@ask-corporal-raccoon

aye, nice to meet you lad :) glad one of us eventually said hi

kyle lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling like it might start telling him bedtime stories if he looked long enough.

it didn’t.

he huffed through his nose, chest rising with another frustrated breath as he turned his head to glance at the red, glaring numbers of the clock on his nightstand.

1:30AM.

“fuckin’ hell…” he muttered under his breath, voice thick with exhaustion that refused to do what it was supposed to.

sleep never came easy on base—but tonight it felt impossible. he tossed, turned, flipped his pillow, kicked off his blanket, dragged it back on, shifted onto his side, then his other. nothing helped. it wasn’t the mattress, or the hum of the vents, or the occasional creak of the old building.

it was the empty space beside him.
it was toby’s absence.

kyle missed the heat of him, the way their legs tangled together automatically, the way his boyfriend would mumble something half-incoherent right before knocking out cold. he missed how safe it felt to be curled around toby, like whatever chaos they’d lived through during the day could be pushed aside until morning.

the bed was too big without him.
and too fucking cold.

kyle rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into his pillow with a muffled groan. his hands reached across the sheets, still hoping for something warm to hold, but only met empty cotton.

enough.

fifteen minutes of this shit was too long already. quietly—carefully—he slid out from under the blankets, wincing when the floor bit at his bare feet. the corridor was dim and dead quiet, base winding down into the dead hours of night, and kyle padded softly through it like he wasn’t about to do something that would earn him a dozen teasing remarks tomorrow.

he stopped at toby’s door, heart beating just a little faster than he’d like to admit, and lifted a hand to knock—soft and tentative.

three little taps. quiet. hopeful. needy.
"...toby?" he whispered, just barely audible, like he wasn’t sure if he was hoping for a response or dreading one.

(dont feel pressured to reply to this hahaha i just thought of it and made it fifteen mins ago)

- @ask-gaz

A month off base had been too long of a time in regard to how accustomed Toby had gotten to being so comfortable (Kyle would say he’s spoiled. Toby would just nod along in agreement).

Base was so vastly different to the warmth of his apartment, was so much more unkind, lacking the genuine feeling a place he much preferred to call home did. It lacked that truly domestic feeling him and Kyle had built in a month and his room lacked a guarantee to have his boyfriend huddled up into his side before bed.

Toby didn’t sleep well either on base after they got back, also found his bed was just too big and too empty whenever he set his head on his pillow to clock out for the night. He near mourned Kyle’s missing presence every night he had to sleep without him now.

Tonight was no different.

Hours of tossing and turning had passed before Toby donned one of Kyle’s hoodies that he’d stolen borrowed from him in the desperate hopes that he’d be able to burrow into the fibres of that hoodie, detect the last bit of warmth and affection in its material and finally be able to rest.

It worked, kind of. Kyle’s scent had lingered on that material and Toby miraculously dozed off with his nose buried in the neck of the hoodie, breathing in what little bits of his boyfriend he could.

But it was just that, a doze. A bit of clothing couldn’t compare to having his actual boyfriend at his side so Toby dozed.

He had no trouble hearing the carefully quiet knocks at his door, had no trouble discerning who it was either.

With a soft rustle of his sheets, he was up and walking with a gentle smile he refused to acknowledge, a soft buzzing starting up and slowly growing in his chest as he opened his door to see who was on the other side, like he didn’t already know.

Kyle looked as disheveled as he could in a domestic sense, dark circles under his eyes indicating a desperation for sleep that Toby heavily related to.