Whumptober 2023 – Day 14 | "Just hold on.”
Characters: Stephen Maturin, Jack Aubrey
Words: 482
Warnings: injuries
A/N: Day fourteen for Whumptober, today’s prompt: “Just hold on”
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Stephen was very glad that he did not need to be a part of the actual battle. Being in sickbay, taking care of the wounded and dead was quite enough for him. And the worst part always was if he needed to go see the battlefield after the fighting was over to see if there were more wounded. Today was such a day and automatically, his eyes were scanning the floor for his friends, feeling both relief and sadness every time he could identify someone else instead. But then he saw something that almost made his heart freeze. A small group of sailors had gathered around their Captain. Without even thinking, Stephen hurried to his best friend, ushering away the bystanders to have a look. Jack seemed almost unconscious, whether from pain or blood loss Stephen didn’t know. But judging by the many wounds on his chest and all the blood there was as well as the injury on the back of his head it might as well be both.
“What happened to him?” an unnecessary question, Stephen was almost sure. But if he just knew that he had not been shot and there would be no splinters or bullets to remove that was already a good start. As if he was feeling his presence, Jack’s barely conscious form leaned more onto Stephen than anyone else, almost making the doctor drop him. “Jack?” he asked and all of a reply he got was a slight groan and the fluttering of his eyes. “Just hold on. We’re gonna get you fixed up” he sent the crewmembers surrounding them a glance to ask them help him carry the Captain downstairs. One by one they got what he wanted and carefully got hold of the blond man who ever so slightly gave an acknowledgement that he was aware of the touch and not entirely gone. For one part, Stephen was glad about it, conscious patients always were a good sign but on the other hand he hated to see his friend in such discomfort. Well, that was something he could remedy once they had him in sickbay, the sooner this was done, the better. Four men finally came to help him carry Jack to sickbay. A young boy saw them approach and his eyes widened in shock.
“Is he gonna be alright?”
“Of course he will” Stephen assured him, silently hoping so as well. Because sometimes, even if he did his best, it was too late or a too serious injury to save the patient. At first he had thought that every death that happened in his sickbay would haunt him forever but with time it got better. But he knew one thing for certain; letting his best friend die would be something that would weigh down his mind for the rest of his life and there was no way he would let this happen!
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✖ @ssolessurvivor inquired: fog. hearing stay awake as they are carried to safety.
✖ rest prompts | accepting
The onslaught was endless. How she had managed to get in and out without so much as a scratch from a bullet or beam, was beyond her. If there were gods out there in the vast universe, she must have been in their good graces. Fox hoped that it would extend to the soldier she dragged from the field. Dirt and rock falling from his body with each pull.
“Stay awake,” she instructed in a puff. Exerting yet another portion of her strength to bring her charge behind cover. If only momentarily. They wouldn’t be able to stay there for long and she refused to leave him behind--alive or dead. “Stay awake,” Fox stated again, energy flagging slightly. Her knees buckled, landing them in a heap behind a large boulder. She reached for a light source, something to check his gaze, and found her hands slick with his blood.
“Don’t you dare die on me, soldier, stay with me.” The words came from between gritted teeth, each one a scratch against the dryness of her throat. “Stay awake.” Small flashlight in hand, she pointed the beam over his face, checking to see if his pupils responded.
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luffy is for the sad, pathetic, touch-starved bitches. the ones who shiver at the mere brush of skin. who wince whenever their friends go in for hugs, unsure of where to put their arms. the ones who are so, so aware of their proximity to others. so careful not to brush fingers when walking side to side with a peer, or when handing a pencil to a friend, because they’re sure that one affectionate squeeze of the arm could leave their innards a puddle at their feet, creeping toward the nearest drain.
when you meet luffy, you think he’s one to be admired, not touched. you see the way he infects everyone around him with his reckless abandon. hanging off shoulders and dragging people to and fro. his crewmates are used to it. they scoff and wiggle under his weight for show: for there’s a sense of relief when monkey d. luffy has his eyes on you. you can tell in the automatic decompression of their shoulders, in the languid way they turn to him—saplings curving toward the sun.
you see it, and you envy it. respect it. respect him. but that’s the extent of your thoughts on the matter.
you never considered that he would turn his sights on you.
but he does.
he picks you up like you’re something shiny, holds you up to the light and squints. and whatever he finds must be satisfying, because after that, he doesn’t put you down.
it overwhelms you, at first. he tugs on your cheek at the sight of a frown, like you’re the one made of rubber, and your heart does a funny jig that’s actually not funny at all. he pokes you in the ribcage to grab your attention, and ignores you when you try to tell him that a verbal cue would work just as well. he grabs your hand, instinctively twining your fingers, and pulls you along when you stop in your tracks.
and you feel—you feel like a puddle. be careful your mind warns, or you’ll slip.
but luffy’s there to catch you when you fall.
and that’s what’s so terrible about him, you think. he’s the question and the answer.
and he’s burrowed himself under your skin.
how foolish of him to touch you so casually and expect you not to revel in it. not to crave his pokes and his prods more than you crave air. how foolish of him to drape himself over you like a weighted blankie and not expect you to desire him by your side, always, to keep the cold at bay. he’s a fool and you’re a pauper.
but, sometimes, you think he knows what he does to you. he has to. oh, how he’ll laugh when he catches you staring at his hands. bound over until he’s right in front of you, place a thumb under your chin and tilt until your gaze meets his. his eyes are dark, but so, so bright. you want to look away. you don’t.
everything is so easy for him. it's unnerving. he plops his head in your lap one day with a carefree grin. you still—hold your breath like a child playing hide and seek. he cracks open an eye, like he can read your thoughts. or maybe he can just feel you tremble.
“what’s wrong?”
you rack your brain for an answer he could understand. “what do you want me to do?” you hedge.
luffy furrows his brows. “whatever you want,” he says.
“no, i mean—where do you want me to touch?”
he shrugs. “wherever you want.”
and you feel—you feel like you want to run your hands over every inch of his skin until you have a mental map of his body you could navigate through touch alone. you want to put him in your mouth. you want to inhale him like a drug, want him to burn the back of your throat 'til it stings. you want… him.
you settle for caressing his jawline. tracing the slope of his nose. his eyes flutter shut, and you pause, but he grabs your hand and plants it firmly on his face. and it feels, it feels like you’re the question and he’s the answer. it feels like maybe, just maybe, you’re okay with becoming a puddle of a person, for him.
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