#quickmechlabs

the start of the from the fog holiday series but Robert gets sick (frostbite or anything else really), and Sean and Shadow have to nurse him back to health

:D

Shadow grunted with effort as he pushed a branch out of his face, carefully stepping over another berry bush- and getting his pants leg snagged anyways. When he felt the thorns tug in the fabric, he groaned, dropping his sword as he leaned down and carefully untangled himself. Picking his sword back up, he glances around the clearing Sean, Robert and him had built in. He stepped up to their shabby cabin, ducking his head down to enter through the doorway. Sean was inside, tending to a furnace- from what Shadow could see, it was some of the little mutton they'd managed to collect thus far.

"Hey," he greeted passingly, walking over to the bed they all shared- technically three separate beds, but pushed together. The group wasn't new to these scenarios, they knew it would be safer to sleep in a pile than each separately. For heat conservation, they all reminded themselves consistently. Sean gave an acknowledging nod, but didn't look up, and Shadow set his sword down on the hard ground, the dirt floors housing a top layer of permafrost from the freezing climate.

"Where's Robert at?" Shadow mused, turning to face Sean as he stretched his arms up, grunting under his breath as his muscles relaxed.

"Uhh, I think he said he was gonna go looking for something- animals, or resources- maybe you, I wasn't paying much attention." Shadow raised an eyebrow at Sean, who still had his back turned to the taller man.

"Uh, alright then, I'll go wait outside," he mumbled. He took large strides towards the door frame, once again ducking to fit through. He glanced around the clearing once again, eyes landing on the small chicken pen and berry farm they'd managed to get up and running.

We're lucky these berries are so resistant to the cold, he thought, they've been our primary food source so far. He glanced at the snow on the ground, and a smile creeped up his face. He crouched down, adjusting his hood as it came down in front of his eye, and stuck his hands into the snow, starting to ball it up and pack it together. He made a few snowballs, smirking as he leaned back against the fence, holding the cold, half-frozen objects in his lap as he waited.

It didn't take long for Robert to return, coming out of the forest from generally the same area Shadow had. His head snapped up as something hit the tree beside him, seeing Shadow and ducking a second too late, taking a snowball to the face. Shadow dropped his last snowball in surprise, sucking air through his teeth sympathetically

"Ooh- shit, sorry man," he apologized, stepping forward. Robert wiped the snow off his face with his sleeves, his eyes squinted. His nose was pink, and as Shadow looked more closely at him, so were his ears- and his knuckles and fingers.

"It's- it's fine, dude, I'm good-," Robert grumbled, stepping through the brush towards the berry farm. "Do you have any food-? I- ran out halfway back, almost got ambushed by something," Shadows brow furrowed, his level of concern for Robert immediately rising. He glanced down at Robert's hands, seeing they were shaking.

"Uh- yeah, yeah, give me a second," He sputtered, digging in one of his bags, pulling out some berries and handing them to Rob. "Sean's cooking the mutton we got inside, c'mon," Shadow urged, placing a sturdy hand on Roberts back to lead him.

The two went inside, and Sean, hearing two sets of footsteps, glanced up. He immediately locked on to Roberts rosy features, and handed him some of the freshly cooked meat. "Rob, come sit down," he ordered, and he didn't even hesitate before grabbing Robert's arm and pulling him towards their beds.

Shadow frowned, following and sitting by his side. "You cold? What's wrong?" He asked, both him and Sean having already clocked something was up.

"I- I don't know, It doesn't matter probably, just- really.. *cold*," he shuddered, leaning into Shadows' side, subconsciously seeking warmth. Sean hesitated, but pulled his mask off.

Shadow glanced up at Sean's face with slight surprise, but ultimately returned his focus to Robert as Sean leaned forward, pressing the back of his hand to Rob's forehead.

"..are you- sure you're cold, Rob?" Sean asked, eyes narrowed. Shadows surprised, did the same as Sean, wincing when he felt the fever Robert was nursing.

"*Oh*, you-.. Finish eating, then lay down." He said, his tone stern, leaving little room for argument, though it wasn't like Rob had the energy to argue anyways.

~...

I'm bored. I love this sm but I've been writing for the past hour and I still have like 2 hrs almost left so I'll come back to this if I get bored and finish this drabble but like. 😭

//strong language

“Sean lets out a sigh. “You can’t keep doing this, Rob. It’s not good for you. What are you gonna do if me or Shadow can’t be here one time? You can’t just rot here all day.” Sean tries not to get frustrated, he really does. But it’s so difficult when his lover is being so stubborn, not accepting help from anyone, or anything.

“I’ll be fine, Sean-”

“But you won’t!” Sean stands, hand slipping from Robert’s and gaining the other’s attention. “You’ll say that you will but you won’t. I know it, Shadow knows it and you know it. You’re so fucking stubborn, Robert. We want to help you, we love you, we love you so much and I don’t think you realize it! How can we help you if you can’t even help yourself? If you don’t even try?”