no hospitals
1.8k words
a fic about gently caring for my superhero partner's injuries. please read the warnings carefully!
CW: injury/blood, vague references to violence, depictions of panic/anxiety/OCD, a prescription drug that is commonly abused (Xanax; it is not abused in this fic, and the character has it as a prescription, but the word “drugged” is used and there is a vague description of its effects).
Leo startled awake, at what was assuredly the middle of the night, to a crash echoing through the apartment.
His heart fluttered uncomfortably, scenarios running rampant in his mind. Wasabi hadn’t been home when Leo went to bed, but with the double life Wasabi lived, there was no guarantee that the source of the crash had been him returning. A few too many supervillains out there knew Wasabi’s identity.
Leo took a knife out of the bedside drawer. Couldn’t be too careful.
He tiptoed on his shakey, half-asleep feet towards the source of the crash, which seemed to be near the hallway—maybe the bathroom. He was proven right a moment later by the bathroom light spilling out into the hallway through a sliver in the door.
Probably was Wasabi, then. No reason for an intruder to be investigating their toiletries.
Knife still clutched tightly in his hand, the handle leaving indents in his palm, Leo gently pushed open the door, bright lights stinging his dark-adjusted eyes.
Inside the room was Wasabi, armor still on, sitting on the floor in front of…some kind of mess.
“Hey,” Leo said, clicking the knife closed and shoving it in the pocket of his soft sweatpants before dropping to the floor. “What’s going on?”
“Dropped it,” Wasabi said. “And knocked over the…the…soap…thing.”
Leo observed the scene more closely. In front of Wasabi was their first aid kit, its contents scattered. Off to the left, beside the sink, was their ceramic soap dispenser—completely shattered, its contents spilled in a glob of shiny purple, slowly spreading towards the rest of the mess.
“Hey, hey,” Leo said softly, “hey, what’s wrong? You’re shaking.”
“No, no it’s okay,” Wasabi said unconvincingly. “I just needed some gauze.”
“Are you hurt?”
“It’s not that bad,” Wasabi muttered, shuffling around in the pile of medical supplies. “I-I’m sorry for knocking over the soap dispenser. It was really loud.”
“It’s okay,” Leo said, reaching for Wasabi’s still-gloved hands. He threaded their fingers together, squeezing, trying to steady the shaking. “Tell me what happened?”
“It was just a fight,” Wasabi said. “I swear it’s not that bad, I didn’t even know I was hurt until the battle was over and sh-she’d run off, and Baymax pointed it out to me. GoGo thought I should go to the hospital but it’s not even that bad I swear, please don’t make me go to the ER—”
“If I see it,” Leo began, squeezing Wasabi’s hands just a little tighter, “and you need stitches, I’m going to be pissed.”
“I don’t need stitches.”
“Prove it.”
Wasabi let out a long, hitching exhale, his eyes fluttering shut. He scooted away, his back hitting the wall of the bathtub, and Leo caught sight of it: a clean cut through his bodysuit and into his skin, dripping red.
It ran, diagonally, from the lower side of his ribcage, right where his armor ended, and nearly to his naval. Leo couldn’t tell how deep it was, but it was long.
“I’ll be honest,” Leo said, lips quivering, “I’m a fraction of a second away from calling nine one one.”
“I will straight up break up with you if you do that.”
“The only reason that isn’t gonna work on me is because I know you’re bluffing,” Leo said. “Look—let’s get your armor off and then I’ll decide.”
“I…” Wasabi said. He swallowed thickly. “Yeah. Okay. I’m really sorry I said that, I just…”
“You’re panicking,” Leo finished. “It’s okay. You don’t deal with getting hurt very well. But work with me here, alright?”
Wasabi nodded.
Together, one piece at a time, they stripped Wasabi of his armor and placed it in the tub behind them, just to get it out of the way. Then they rolled down the upper half of his bodysuit—careful around the cut—and Leo sat in front of him, phone flashlight in hand, to get a better look at it.
It was almost surgical, and it took Leo very little time to realize who had done this to him.
I’m going to fucking kill her, Leo thought, briefly entertaining the fantasy; though he definitely didn’t have the ability to stand even half a chance against the supervillain.
“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Leo said, taking a few deep, deep breaths, feeling the oxygen fill his lungs and flow through his body. “I can’t really tell how deep it is, because of all the blood, so I’m gonna wash my hands, and then I’m gonna clean the cut. It’s gonna hurt. Do you want me to get you a plushie or something?”
Wasabi shook his head. “No,” he said, giving Leo his best puppy-dog eyes. “Don’t want you to leave.”
“Okay, I won’t,” Leo said. He looked at the broken soap dispenser, frowning, and then grabbed a bar of soap from his shower caddy. He washed up, and then knelt back down in front of Wasabi, a clean, damp washcloth in hand. “Are you ready?”
“I hate this.” Wasabi looked like such a sad, abandoned kitten that Leo just wanted to squeeze him.
“Angel…what do you want me to do? Even if I wasn’t checking to see if you need stitches, would you want me to bandage it without cleaning it?”
“No…” Wasabi frowned deeper.
“You’re not making this easy for me.”
“That’s because I hate this, and it’s making my OCD flare. That washcloth isn’t sterile,” Wasabi said, trembling slightly. “Your hands aren’t, either. This room isn’t. No matter what, it’s not gonna—OW! Leo!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Leo apologized, cleaning the cut as best as he could despite Wasabi violently flinching away from his touch. “I don’t like this either. I don’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Wasabi appeared to be holding his breath as Leo went on. Thankfully for both of them, the cut was just long, not deep, and though it would probably be wise to take him to the hospital, Leo didn’t think it would be necessary—and it certainly wouldn’t be worth the panic.
Hospitals were full of bright lights, strong smells, and most pressingly, sick people. Wasabi was an absolute wreck whenever he needed to be in one.
Leo put the bloodied washcloth on the floor, reaching for the gauze and medical tape. Wasabi seemed to relax at the sight.
“No hospitals?” He asked as Leo began to gently plaster gauze to the cut.
“No hospitals,” Leo confirmed. Wasabi still felt tense under his fingers. “When I’m done I’m gonna get you some comfy clothes and a Xanax, okay? Maybe some Ibuprofen?”
“The Xanax is only for emergencies, though,” Wasabi protested.
Leo looked down at the wound he was bandaging, and then up at Wasabi, his eyebrows raised to his hairline. “I think we have different definitions of ‘emergency’, dear.”
“No, I mean like…for the panic attacks where I think I’m dying?”
“I won’t make you take it,” Leo said, gently rubbing the last of the tape to make sure it was fully stuck to Wasabi’s skin. “But I know the sterility of my hands and the washcloth are gonna bother you. More than bother you. And I just want you to be able to sleep, okay?”
Wasabi huffed a sigh. “I know you’re right,” he said, “I just don’t like taking it.”
“It’ll be okay,” Leo said gently. He pressed a kiss to Wasabi’s bare clavicle. “We’ll get you all comfy in bed before it kicks in, and things’ll be just fine by tomorrow morning.”
“Okay.” Wasabi leaned down to kiss the top of Leo’s head.
Leo’s lips quirked in a bare smile. “Which clothes do you want me to grab for you?”
“Mmm…” Wasabi hummed, thinking. “Gray sweatpants. Cinnamoroll shirt.”
“You’re adorable,” Leo said. “Cinnamoroll. Got it. Cinnamoroll, Xanax, Ibuprofen, cup of water. Anything else? Tea or something?”
“No,” Wasabi replied, “but thank you.”
Leo pressed one last kiss to the scruffy underside of Wasabi’s jaw before leaving.
When he re-entered the bathroom, Wasabi was trying to clean up the remains of the ceramic soap dispenser. “No, no no, honey, it’s okay—“
“It’s gonna bother me. And I’m like, actually upset about it.”
Leo held up the bright orange prescription pill bottle in his hand and gave it a little shake. “That’s what the benzos are for. I’m gonna clean it up in the morning. You don’t have to see the mess while you’re in bed, and I don’t want you trying to clean while that cut is still fresh.”
Wasabi pursed his lips, looking up at Leo with a conflicted expression.
Leo continued: “Is cleaning the mess right now more important than taking care of your body while it’s injured? What if you stress the injury and make it worse?”
“I really need you to stop talking.”
“Sorry,” Leo said. “Sorry. I’m sorry. Take your meds? Please? I’ll clean it up now if that helps, but I really just wanna sleep. It’s the middle of the night.”
Wasabi let out a frustrated noise, sitting back on his heels. “This is stupid. This is really stupid.”
Leo kneeled down beside Wasabi, handing him the glass of water and meds, clothes still tucked under one arm. “You’re okay. It’s okay. You’re tired and hurt and stressed, that’s all.”
Wasabi took the meds and water, swallowing one Xanax and two Ibuprofen. He let out a dejected sigh. “Are lobotomies still legal?”
Leo frowned. “Don’t say that.”
“It would be easier.”
“No it wouldn’t.” Leo handed him the clothes. “It would be harder and shittier and you know it.”
“It’s going in circles,” Wasabi said. “My head. I mean, it’s always doing that. But it’s worse than normal. Circles and threads and spiderwebs of horrible thoughts.”
Leo handed Wasabi his clothes. “Take a few deep breaths with me. The thoughts can’t hurt you. You’re an observer. They’re passersby. Deep breaths. In…out.”
Wasabi followed along.
Eventually, he calmed—a combination of the breathing and the medication flowing through his system. Leo left him alone to let him get ready for bed, trusting he wouldn’t spiral, and when he finally climbed under the covers beside Leo, Leo felt indescribable relief.
“I’m going to fucking kill her,” Leo whispered to the top of Cinnamoroll’s head. “I’m gonna cut her into tiny little pieces.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Wasabi mumbled, barely awake. “Actually, pretend I didn’t say that. No I wouldn’t. I’d rather not have to rescue you from her again.”
“That was one time.”
“One time too many.”
“It was really hot when you rescued me, though.”
“You’re,” Wasabi mumbled, nuzzling the top of Leo’s head, “the worst.”
They lapsed into silence for a long moment, until Leo broke it with: “Are you okay?”
“Sleepy,” Wasabi whispered, “foggy. I’m thinking through molasses.”
“But you’re okay?”
“I guess so.”
“Good,” Leo said. He looked up, a hand on the side of Wasabi’s face, brushing their noses together. “Can I kiss you? I brushed my teeth earlier, I promise. And just a peck, ‘cuz you’re drugged.”
Wasabi snorted. “Sure.”
Leo kissed him, short and sweet and chaste, thumb gently running along his cheekbone.
“Sleep,” Leo whispered into the minimal space between them. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
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