CW/TW: conditioned headache, memory repression. Pet whump, lady whump, BBU/WRU, but not a whumpy piece. (I donât think). Is it comfort? Is it angst? I do not know. But itâs after this.
Agony splits her head here, and wonât go away. She lays quietly in the dark, eyes closed, listening to Jonas prowl. Maybe soon Bagel will come out of his carrier and purr her headache down to something bearable. Sheâs not hopeful, though, since she can hear him growling in his carrier.
SHeâs thirsty, but itâs their first night in a new safehouse, and she doesnât know the rules. âHelp yourself to anythingâ is too much an open invitation not to be a trap.
She tenses when her bed dips from the weight of a body sitting on it. But itâs only Jonas. She sits up, and he hands her a water bottle and a pair of white tablets.
She takes the water bottle. Itâs cold and sweating in her hand, the cap unbroken. She twists and opens it, taking a drink, before accepting and swallowing the tablets, trusting what Jonasâ gives her. She washes them down, before speaking.
âWeâre going to leave soon, arenât we?â
He answers in the same almost inaudible whisper. âDo you want to? That person-Moth-knows you.â
âThey think they do. I-I donât remember.â The clean cold pierce of a needle going in, white walls bathed in endless white light, I made a mistake, I changed my mind, please! She moans as the receding headache spikes like a knife behind her eyes. When it ebbs a little, she says, âYou want to stay.â
She pats the other half of the foldout bed. âThen sleep.â
She knows he wonât, even before he shakes his head. Jonas doesnât allow himself to sleep much, or often, and especially not in a new place.
âIâll try.â She closes her eyes again, letting the darkness wash over her. She feels him get up and start circling the apartment again.
Sleep doesnât truly come until she feels the familiar weight of a cat jumping onto the bed. Heâs tentative, he stops to sniff her face and hair, before he curls up next to her. She reaches out to pet him, stroking him to purring and herself to sleep.
Just before she tips all the way into dreams, she realizes she still hears Bagelâs low growl.
Taglist: @canniboylism @simplygrimly @justplainwhump @painful-pooch @whumpinggrounds