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A little recorder sat on a wooden desk, wheels spinning the gently whispering magnetic tape. The desk had small doodles here and a few incomprehensible notes there. The desk sat flush with the wall, and just before they met was a lamp, casting a gentle, warm glow onto heavily-ringed hands. These hands really didn’t fit into the category of chubby or lanky, but somehow both. They were pale, nails painted a deep shade of brown as means to get the owner to stop biting at them. Occasionally, a hand would lift to brush dark hair decorated with nature out of the way of gray-blue (were they though?) eyes. The eyes, surrounded by dark eyebags, looked fatigued beyond words, absently staring at the desk below.
“The kids are gone. They all left a couple days ago. I mentioned it then, but I’m still thinking about them. Missing them.” a voice began quietly, the tape picking up every note, every fluctuation of tone or volume. The voice came from the man with the tired eyes, who owned the hands and the hair.
“Everything hurts,” the voice continued. “Using my crutches to walk hurts my hands and shoulders, but trying to walk without them is excruciating for my legs. Using my chair hurts my arms and tires them out almost instantly. I’ve been at the desk since I first tried to get up- which.. God I don’t even want to think about how much it hurt. I haven’t even been able to take my medication, since Lucille forgot to refill the prescription and.. Despite the fact I’m a fully grown adult, she won’t let me use her phone to do it myself and it’s not like I can just leave camp. All I’d hear is ‘Sydney you can’t leave camp! You get sick! Sorry about your medication though haha!’” There’s a deep sigh, Sydney’s hand running over his face as if rubbing it would take away the sleepiness that made his entire body feel as if it were filled with lead.
“It’s like everything here but Jeddie is against me, and sometimes it’s like he is too. He’s been better at helping lately. He actually listens to me when he’s around now, rather than the occasional hum as if he’s paying attention when he really isn’t. He’s been taking my bed though, which, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the warmth and closeness, but he tosses and turns at night and his elbows sometimes jab into my sides and it hurts. I think I even have a few bruises, but then again, someone could flick me and I’d bruise. Hehe, I’m a bit of a banana.” There’s another pause, and the lighting on Sydney’s face, previously having shone through the window blinds, dims, the clouds covering the light source outside. Syd’s head swings too quickly to see if it could be Elijah, despite the creep’s recent escape. This causes him to let out a small, strangled gasp at the sharp stinging in his neck and, subsequently, shoulder. Quickly seeing it’s just the clouds, he turns back to the desk, looking horribly pained from the small movement and embarrassed from the paranoia.
“My hair is disgusting. I can hardly touch it. I haven’t had a shower in a few days. I always keep my hair clean, since I touch and mess with it so often. It’s almost always a safe texture. I’d usually have taken a shower yesterday but that’s when the flare up started, so it’s extra greasy today. It doesn’t help that I got my period the day the kids left, and the cramps were so bad this morning that I was sweating cold, which is now in my hair. I don’t even want to think about what it’s like down there. I just feel gross and sticky and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s just causing so much..” he takes a shaking breath, face twisting into an expression of “-frustration.” The seat creaks as Sydney shifts his weight. “Fuck it.” He holds his breath and clicks off the Ghost Recorder, doing his best to stand, along with the help of his crutches, so he can go shower.
The pain is excruciating, causing Sydney’s legs to give out. The crutches, along with Sydney, fall to the floor, the man a sobbing heap. The clatter of the crutches was too loud and the pain was too much. The sun was shining again, right into his eyes. His sobs are frustrated and pained, so fucking sick of this hell he’s living in. The floor vibrates in the pattern of footsteps and suddenly the door is open, an average height man rushing to Sydney’s side.
“Sydney- oh- Christ, honey are you–” about to ask the rather pointless question of ‘are you okay’, Jedidiah stops himself, thinking better of it, given Sydney’s very obvious not okay-ness. He sets the crutches on the bed and goes quiet, never one for comforting people. Sydney didn’t often like to be touched, particularly when overwhelmed like this, and sometimes flare ups would cause his skin to be more sensitive than usual. So, Jedidiah sat beside Sydney, staring at the man with concern filled (and slightly tear-filled) eyes. It hurt to see his boyfriend like this. If only he could make it all better, make all the pain go away. “What do you need me to do?”
“Everything–” Sydney takes a wet, shaking breath, coughing slightly at the end. “Hurts. And my– my hair is disgusting. And I am. Feel so-” Sydney sniffs, “Sticky.”
“Do you need a shower? How can I help?” Jedidiah repeats quietly.
“Yes but it hurts. I can’t.. I don’t have my meds. Lucille didn’t get them filled. I was gonna try and get there but now I am–” Sydney musters up the most sarcastically cheerful voice he can and finishes with, “on the floor! Yippee! .. that was sarcasm.”
“Okay.. uhm..” Jed thinks for a moment. “How about we, uh, get you into your chair and I-, I get you to the bathroom from there? I’m due for a uh, a wash myself so I can maybe uh, maybe help you clean up?” his face flushes at his own offer, despite the innocence of the offer. He really didn’t mean it to be sexual in any way, and hoped to whatever god might be out there that Sydney did not take it that way.
“You..” Sydney lifted his head, puffy eyes looking at Jedidiah with something that may have been absolute relief? Appreciation? Adoration maybe. “You would do that? If- if so that would work, maybe.” Sydney looks hopeful, and Jedidiah looks relieved to have found a possible solution. He nods and stands, moving to the corner of the room to open Syd’s chair and wheel it over, locking the brakes so that it doesn’t move while they’re trying to get Sydney into it. They succeed, and Sydney looks absolutely exhausted by the time he’s settled into the chair. Jedidiah hands Sydney a fresh pair of clothes to hold onto for after he’s all clean, and finally begins the short trip to the bathroom.
“Don’t zonk out right here,” Jed chuckles faintly. “Still gotta help me get you into the shower.”
“Mmh. Yeah, because you have actual noodles for arms,” Syd giggled sleepily. Jedidiah scoffed, though Sydney knew he wasn’t upset by the silly comment.
Getting the chair into the bathroom is a slightly difficult endeavor, though Jedidiah manages with very slow and precise movements (wow, shocker.. Really not his thing). He turns on the shower and lets it warm up for a while, Syd occasionally sticking his hand in the stream to test the temperature. While it warms, Jed grabs Syd’s hairbrush and carefully works through any untouched knots, his hair having been unbrushed for a day and a half or so at this point. Sydney occasionally flinches away, though not often, considering Jed is almost too careful, though Syd certainly isn’t complaining if his hair isn’t being ripped out by careless hands. Syd sticks his hand in again after his hair is fully brushed and nods, satisfied with the current (probably too hot to be good for you) temperature.
“Do you need help getting out of your clothes?”
“I uh..” Sydney attempts to take off his shirt, but winces upon lifting his arms. “Yes, please.”
Jedidiah nods and gently slips off Sydney’s t-shirt (it was actually Jed's.. Sydney had taken to sleeping in his boyfriend’s shirts recently, though Jedidiah wasn’t even close to complaining.) and drops it in the hamper. Sydney’s skirt and socks came off easily, but his boxers proved to be a little more difficult than would have been preferred, causing mild frustration for Jed and a bit of pain for Syd. Every noise Sydney made, Jed apologized, until finally they were off as well. Jed quickly slipped out of his own clothes and helped Syd into the shower, sitting him on the chair that was in there and standing behind it. The stream of water was only just hitting the top of his head, the majority falling onto Syd, though upon seeing how relaxed he looked, Jed really couldn’t care less how little he was getting.
“Temperature good?” Jedidiah asks, hesitating a moment before kissing the top of Syd’s head, whose face scrunched with disgust.
“Temps good. Hairs still dirty though, don’t get that on your face. All sweaty and greasy.” Jedidiah hummed in response to this and got some of Sydney’s shampoo on his hands, carefully running it through his hair. Syd hums, very much enjoying the feeling, letting his head lean back into it.
“Maybe I should do this for you more often. You look.. Really cute, actually. Relaxed suits you.” Jed’s voice is a low hum, just audible over the gentle hiss of the shower. Sydney blushed, though considering he’s already red from the heat of the shower, it goes mostly unnoticed.
“I agree. ‘S nice. We should spend more time like this together.” Sydney mumbles in response. Jed has.. Very little idea of what he said, but it doesn’t seem too important, so he doesn’t ask.
With the way Jedidiah’s fingers move, Sydney thinks he could be a wonderful professional masseuse, though he doesn’t vocalize this. His entire body feels like half-melted jelly, and opening his mouth seems like it would take far too much effort for what its worth, so he stays silent as the shampoo is rinsed out of his hair and the conditioner is worked in.
“Temperature still okay?” Jed asks after a minute, knowing the first-aid cabin often had inconsistent water heating. Sydney makes a little noise that is mistaken for a no. One of Jed’s hands leaves Syd’s hair. “Up or down?”
“Hm.? Oh- no sorry it's- it’s still good.” the hand returns and Sydney smiles. Jedidiah mirrors this, but more so because seeing Sydney genuinely relaxed and smiling makes him warm to the core rather than just being ADHD and mirroring people.
Jed grabbed a washcloth and soaked it, squeezing on a little body wash and handing it to Syd.
“Here, I uh, I know you get uncomfortable with washcloths so I uh.. Thought you might want full control of that. Also because you said your uh, male-box, as you call it,” Sydney snickers. “Gets icky feeling when you’re.. Uh, bleeding. When that happens.” Jed flushes again, though Sydney looks incredibly grateful for this and takes the washcloth gladly.
“I know we have our ups and downs, Jeddie.. But this.. Is definitely an up. I might as well be high, it is such an up.” Syd grins up at Jedidiah. “Come down here, Mr. Taller Than Me, I need to give you a gratitude nose kiss.”
Jedidiah raises a fond eyebrow at this, amused, though does as he is told and receives a kiss to his nose, as promised. He asks if he can return the gesture and Sydney nods, so he plants a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s nose as well. They’re smiling at one another, content.
Sydney uses the wash cloth (and one of those extended scrubby boys on a stick) to clean the rest of his body while Jedidiah cleans up himself, having to clean his hair and body. It takes him about the same time as it takes Syd, though, since he has a considerable lack of hair, in comparison to Sydney at least.
It’s a struggle for the both of them to get out of the shower when all is said and done and both are squeaky clean, but they manage. Sydney feels a little better, pain wise, and is able to do a little more on his own, though getting dressed still proves to be a bit of a struggle, primarily his underwear and flowy pants. Jedidiah helps him into them, and once Sydney is sitting again, he puts on the shirt Jed had grabbed for him, smiling as he sees it in the mirror.
“Your Skyrim shirt? Really?” he’s amused, evident from the awkward grin on his face.
“Well.. you’ve been stealing my shirts more recently. I chose which one this time- plus, it’s one of the softest I have and doesn’t have any shitty seams that scratch skin. Trust me, it’s why I wore it so often.” he shrugs, slipping into one of Sydney’s nightgowns, despite the day having just started. They could both lounge around, switch things up a little clothing wise.
“Jeddie.. Oh my god..”
“What- is it- is it bad? I can take it off- I just thought, y’know, it’d be cute if we switched clothes! Maybe- I don’t know– it was– it was dumb-”
“If I could stand up I would kiss you to shut you up right now you look so fucking adorable.” Sydney interjected, grinning widely.
“Oh! Okay. Cool. Heh.” Jedidiah’s face was red, embarrassed to have gotten so worried over such a thing.
“Now, wheel me back to the room, good sire! We must have a good lie down and maybe a game of Bullshit!” Sydney did his best Juniper impression.. For.. some reason. Jedidiah snorted.
“Bullshit takes more than two people to play, Syd,”
“Okay then we’ll play trash.” Syd shrugged slightly and Jedidiah brought the two of them back into the room.
Carefully, he returned Sydney to the bed, pulling the blankets back in case he wanted to stay uncovered, but making them easily accessible if he got chilly.
“Want anything? Water?”
“Oh uhhh, sure! Thank you, Jeddie. Can you get me some crackers too?”
Jed sighed. “One day I– we, will figure out how to undo that stupid curse so you can have actual food again.” Though seemingly saddened, he smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to Syd’s forehead, taking off for the kitchenette.
As soon as he left the room, Sydney grabbed the Ghost Recorder from the desk, which sat next to the desk, and clicked it on. It whirred to life.
“Good midday? Ghost Recorder, the time is 13:48 and Jeddie has been helping me since I fell earlier. I kind of.. Tried to go take a shower on my own, with the crutches, but it was.. It hurt too much and I fell. I cried on the floor for a bit while he- Jeddie, sat next to me. Eventually, he helped me into the shower and washed my hair and everything. It was.. Possibly the sweetest thing he’s done for me in a while. It was amazing.” Sydney lets out a happy sigh, and the door creaks open, Jedidiah stepping in. He is immediately eyeing the recorder in Sydney’s hand, amused at the little ghost on the post-it note stuck to it.
“The kids are gone? You don’t need to do the end of day checks anymore, hun,” Jed hums, sitting on the bed beside his boyfriend, the mattress groaning in protest.
“Oh no this? This is Ghost Recorder. It’s like.. Therapy.. Sort of a diary at this point.”
“Ghost… recorder?” Jed raises an eyebrow, curious.
“I like to think there’s a little ghost in it that listens to my problems..” Syd grins, knowing it's silly. Jedidiah grins, finding this yet another endearing thing that he had no clue about since it began. He feels bad for only a moment before looking down at his hands.
“Oh! I brought you some ibuprofen and some water-”
“And my crackers?”
“Yes, and your crackers.” Jed smiles as Sydney takes the items.
“Thank you, Jeddie.”
“Hi, Ghost Recorder.” Jedidiah hums after a moment of staring at the whirring machine. Sydney giggles at this and, after getting his meds down, lies propped against a pillow, Jedidiah following suit.
“And now, Ghost in my recorder, Jeddie and I are going to play some sort of card game, because fuck chess!”
“Fuck chess!” Jed gladly adds after a moment of processing. He laughs.
“And with that, good day to you, Ghost!” Sydney’s grin is evident in his voice.
The recorder clicks off.