Darkness Falls - 9
Warnings: Infection, Fever, delirium, panic attack, begging, illness, implied non-con, nightmares, past child abuse mention, past homelessness mention, past abandonment, antibiotics, needles tw.
Taglist: @purple-heart-x, @whumpwillow, @briars7, @shydragonrider, @whumpsday, @kira-the-whump-enthusiast, @mylifeisonthebookshelf, @interdimensional-chaos, @wolfeyedwitch, @elrys-creates
NOTE: We can always have extra fun with fever whump.
Also, If anyone is curious or wants to send asks to my characters, feel free! (Read as, Please I beg you.)
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Nemesis had fallen asleep in a chair next to the bed, her dreams haunted by memories of her childhood and teenage years. She dreamed of the old box she’d used to sleep in, of spending her time alone in the streets.
But the clearest of these memories was the day her parents had abandoned her.
She’d been sitting on the dingy kitchen floor, trying to amuse herself with drawing. Her father had come in, holding a backpack in on hand.
“Girl.” He said gruffly.
The nameless child looked up at her progenitor, her light green eyes meeting his bloodshot ones.
“Yes?” The child asked, standing up.
“Come this way.”
“Okay.” She said, and got up to follow him to the door of the shoddy apartment.
“You’re twelve now.”
The child blinked in surprise. Her parents had never acknowledged her birthday before.
“Today?”
“Yes.” The man said curtly, stopping at the door. The child’s mother stood next the man, her eyes unreadable.
“It’s time for you to go, girl.” The man said.
The child looked up at him in confusion. “Why do I have to go?” She asked. “Did I do something wrong?”
“You’re not wanted here.” The man said.
Tears welled up in the child’s eyes. She looked to the woman. “Mama?” She asked, reaching out with a small, shaking hand. She’d never reached for her mother’s hand before.
The woman looked away.
“Just go, girl.” She said coolly.
The man handed the child the backpack, and opened the door. When she hesitated, he pushed her out. It wasn’t a hard shove, but it was firm, it’s meaning clear and final.
As the door closed, the child began to cry, not understanding what she had done wrong.
Shivering from the cold, the child reached up with shaking hands, pulling up the hood of her coat, concealing her pure white hair.
Nemesis’ eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright, breathing shakily. Her cheek tickled, and when she lifted a hand to it, her fingers came away wet with tears. Ten years later and she still cried every time she had that dream.
She hated herself for that.
A low groan caught her attention, and Nemesis peered through the darkness at Slipknot.
“Slipknot?” Nemesis asked, standing up.
“No.” He moaned, tossing and turning restlessly. “No, no... please.”
“Hey.” Nemesis murmured, reaching out to cup his cheek in her palm. She froze, able to feel the vicious heat of his fever from an inch away. Immediately, she was alert. It was much worse that it had been that evening.
She turned on the bedside lamp, bathing the room in a soft red glow, her hands were still shaking as she reached for a pair of scissors in the medical kit. She took a deep breath to steady herself as she cut through the bandages.
Nemesis winces at the smell as the bandage peeled away from the festering mess of sickness and blood on his chest. The stitches were torn, the infection already seeping from the wounds.
“When did this happen?” Nemesis murmured, as Slipknot’s icy blue eyes fluttered open, foggy with fever.
He moaned in pain, too delirious to answer her.
Nemesis stood up, knowing she needed Joey to deal with this, when a hot, clammy hand grabbed her wrist in a weak grip.
“W-wait.” Slipknot whined, shifting with a hoarse sob. “D-don’ leave me h-here...” He mumbled, his glazed eyes full of panic. “She- she’ll f-find me. I-I can’t.” He squirmed in the drenched sheets with a frightened sob, his skin coated in sweat.
“I-it was b-bad enough when sh-she d-did it, b-but th-then he thre-threatened too- I-I can’t do this, d-don’t make m-me do th-this, please...” He trailed off with an exhausted whimper.
“Slipknot.” Nemesis murmured, sitting next his head, and gently brushing his sweat-soaked locks back. He tilted his head into her hand, mumbling incoherently.
Unwilling to leave him in such a state of terror, Nemesis grabbed her phone, and called Joey’s number.
“Why are you calling me from down the hall at... 2:47 in the morning?” Joey asked with a yawn.
“It’s Slipknot, he’s worse. The infection in his chest. It’s worse, he’s delirious again. He’s scared, he thinks I’m leaving him for those sick bastards.”
“Fucking hell. Okay.” Joey replied, and hung up.
Mere seconds later, he opened the door.
__________
“Hey kid.” Joey said softly.
“Hey.” Nemesis replied, equally quiet, as Joey flicked on the overhead light. Slipknot flinched at the sudden brightness, hiding his face against Nemesis’ leg with a whimper.
“Sssshhh, ssssshhh, it’s alright.” Nemesis soothed, cupping his cheek in her hand.
Joey cursed softly, looking at the wounds.
“He tore the stitches. Fuck, he should have told me, or you.”
Nemesis just looked down at Slipknot, who was breathing raggedly.
“Damn the Rogues, especially Lena, for what she did to him.” Joey hissed, noticing how Slipknot flinched at the mention of his tormentor’s name.
He flinched hard when Joey probed at the hot, damp flesh around the festering wounds, a distressed whine slipping past his lips.
“Easy, easy, just lay still, I know you’re scared, try to relax.” Joey murmured, his heart breaking for Slipknot.
He continued speaking softly, exactly how he had to Nemesis when he’d first found her. He’d never forgotten how scared she’d looked that night, freezing, starving, and covered in blood that wasn’t hers.
Joey shook his head, watching as Slipknot shuddered, whimpering quietly.
Nemesis carded her fingers through his hair, speaking softly to the shivering Supervillain.
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It was four-thirty in the morning by the time Joey finished cleaning and re-stitching the wounds. Slipknot was barely conscious by now, his fever having spiked too high for him to stay fully awake.
Nemesis sat next to him, holding his hand as he mumbled incoherent pleas for mercy.
With a sigh, Nemesis lay down beside him, draping one of her arms around his broad shoulders, and cupping his flushed face in her other.
“Just rest. No one is going to hurt you.” She murmured, stroking her thumb over his overheated skin.
He fell still at her touch, his breath steadying slightly.
“Sssssshhhh, that’s it.” She cooed, letting him snuggle against her, smiling slightly as his shivering slowed.
Joey had given Slipknot some stronger antibiotics, as well set up an IV drip to keep him hydrated.
“I’m here, I’ll keep you safe.” Nemesis whispered, holding him as tightly as she could without aggravating any injuries.
She stayed beside him, dozing lightly, until well after sunrise.
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