wanted. Wednesday x Tyler
— entry for 2024 Wyler Spring Fest [@weylerwritingevents] │ inspired themes: change, spring allergies
summary: Tyler cares for a sick Wednesday.
—warnings: mentions of vomiting
—a/n. this was something i wrote really quick because i've always wanted to participate in a writing event like this. i didn't have a lot of time so i hope this is good enough. :)
Tyler carried the steaming bowl with one hand while the other knocked on his bedroom door. But when there was no response, he cracked the door enough to slip through and shut it in his wake. Setting the bowl on the bedside table, he faced the blindside of Wednesday’s still body to reach out with a gentle hand.
“Wednesday?” His voice hovered above a whisper while he brushed her bangs back. Her brow gently hardened under his touch before she rolled over to look up at him through narrowed eyes, a groan pressing her throat. “Hey. I made you some soup.” A chuckle left his lips when she only blinked. “Yeah, I know it’s not your favorite, but it’s the best thing to eat when you’re sick.”
He placed her pillow against the headboard so she could sit up properly. Bringing a spoonful to her mouth, she parted her lips but not to take him up on his offer.
“I’m sick, Tyler, not disabled.” Her voice was still hoarse and was held hostage in a softer tone. “I can feed myself.”
Galpin beamed awkwardly. “Oh, y-yeah. I just didn’t want you to spill it on yourself.” Those dark orbs of hers struck like sharp, onyx gems as usual. “I thought you might still be a little loopy from the cough syrup.”
“I was never loopy,” grumbled Addams.
He nodded. “Aye-aye, captain.” Handing her the bowl, he watched her stare at the broth before taking a sip. Then another. “Better than taking medicine, huh?” She had fought him on taking medication, claiming that doing so only compromises the immune system’s natural defenses further. Or in simple terms: adapt or die.
The other glared at him. She did not appreciate his humor even if she did prefer the soup over thick, cherry-flavored syrup and horse pills. Although she did not like soup much more, it did soothe her raw, sore throat.
She only glanced away when the Hyde’s hand pressed her forehead for a moment.
“You still feel a little warm,” he reported and then touched her cheek. “That might be because you’re under the covers.”
Wednesday did not bother keeping the conversation focused on her. “I thought you had to work this evening.”
“I was, until I found out you won’t take care of yourself.”
“I’m not a child,” her comeback was quick but more mellow than she anticipated. “I know how to take care of myself, Tyler. Trying to do a good deed by forcing medicine into me and waiting on me, hand and foot, isn’t going to have a good word carved on your epitaph.”
The other smirked. “I’d hope not.” He sat down on the edge of the mattress. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I’m just tryna be a friend, Wednesday.” On seeing the weariness in her pale face, he decided to leave her be for the time being.
Once the Raven finished as much of the broth as she could manage, Tyler took the dish downstairs and allowed her to occupy herself with her book while he focused on his laptop. The two kept quiet for about 30 minutes before Wednesday’s voice broke the silence.
“Can you come sit with me?”
This had Galpin turning in his desk chair. He found that she had put her novel on the side table and was sitting further up as if she was uneasy about something. “Sure,” he responded, getting up from his seat. “Are you okay?” He rounded the bed to meet the mattress.
“I’m just a little nauseous.”
“Okay, well, I have Pepto. That might help.”
But she shook her head. “No, I just-” Her stomach churned, forcing out what she never thought she would ever ask him. “Could you just stay with me?”
“Yeah, anything you need,” was his vow. As she released a nasal sigh, he glanced at his computer and hatched a quick idea. “Do you want to watch something to help take your mind off of your stomach?” Luckily for him, she gave a somewhat-reluctant nod.
Returning with his laptop, he sat back against the headboard and scrolled through his downloaded movies. “Is there anything in particular you wanna watch?” He left it alone when the other’s reply was a quiet “you choose.”
The beginning of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy flashed on the screen. The uncomfortable fizzing in Addams’s stomach persevered despite the proposed distraction. She chose to stay still to keep any sloshing at bay while her black nails curled into the covers beneath them. Normally, reading was soothing to her, but this time around, she could not focus on the words without the bubbling feeling in her stomach threatening to reach up her esophagus. If she needed to run to the bathroom, it was better to keep her book away from any possibility of being vomited on. While she was not too nauseated, she was waiting for that one moment to send her running.
Then she felt a hand touch her back.
“It’s okay, Wednesday. Just try to relax.” Galpin’s palm glided up and down her spine with strokes that leveled her nerves better than she knew was possible. No one had touched her like this before besides her mother. No one had ever dared to. To her surprise, it was something new that she felt was different… but in a weirdly, calming way.
Taking another deep breath, the Raven maintained her stiff position. Every now and then, she would feel the Hyde’s gentle caressing upon her six while trying to focus on the movie playing. Her claws began to loosen their grip as her stomach slowly leveled out with her anxiety. Yes, the film was something to listen to besides her contemplating thoughts, but that distraction was not what had her falling back into peace – it was Tyler who distracted her.
One thing led to another before Wednesday was lying down once more. She had shifted closer to the barista yet kept her head up to see the laptop’s screen. Her sinuses pulsed while her brain struggled to keep up with its ability to stay awake with each passing minute. But when she did finally give into sleep again, the other felt a weight lean against his bicep.
Looking over, Tyler found shut eyelids and the soft rise and fall of his crush’s torso. Her head had fallen onto his arm like she could trust him for once. That was all he wanted. He wanted her to feel like she could trust him with whatever, whenever. He would always be there for her whether she liked it or not. Yeah, she drove him wild with her remarks and ways of doing things, but that somehow only made him fall for her harder, and made him want her even more.
And she would deny it, no doubt. She denied countless offers of his sympathy and refused his help with things that she struggled with. She was stubborn. It was in her blood, but it was also in her blood to fall in love as any given girl does. Outcast or not, she was still human, still had a beating heart, and still had just as much of a chance to have her steel walls come crashing down by someone who has the courage to love her. Tyler Galpin loved her; that was no secret. But if you asked Wednesday Addams if she loved him…
She would lie, without a doubt.
