The Hurt/Comfort Meme

[winterbolt]

Hurt/Comfort - Hurt/comfort is a fan fiction genre that involves the physical pain or emotional distress of one character, who is cared for by another character. The injury, sickness or other kind of hurt allows an exploration of the characters and their relationship.

- Post with Character Name | Series in the subject.
- Others respond.
- Roll 1-10 at RNG for a scene, play it out and have fun!

1. INJURY. You've been injured. Broken bones or bleeding out or maybe just a tiny little papercut. The choice is yours.
2. SICKNESS. You're sick and laid up in bed, at home or in a hospital. The severity is up to you.
3. FEAR/ANXIETY. Something is happening and you're scared beyond belief.
4. LOSS OF SENSES. Sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell, etc. You've lost some important sense or ability and now you're left to deal with it.
5. DESPAIR. Nothing is good or right anymore and you can't shake the depression. Maybe that friend of yours can help though...
6. BREAKUP. You've been dumped. You need someone to comfort you, possibly by the one who dumped you.
7. MAKE UP. Fight or break up, it's time to makeup.
8. RESCUED. You've just been held captive and/or tortured for however long and finally, someone has come to the rescue.
9. BAD ROMANCE. Fight, cheated on, abused, whatever the case is, someone else can clearly see you need comfort from someone who isn't your terrible lover tonight.
10. LOSS. You've experience a loss of some kind and need help getting through it.
11. INSANITY. You're seeing things that aren't really there, hearing voices, or you're just convinced you're at your wit's end finally and you're going to crack. Maybe someone can give you a helping hand.
12. TIRED. You've had a heard life recently and you're just worn too thin to really care anymore. There's no fight left in you anymore. Can someone help change your mind?
13. ADDICTION. Drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, or any other type of addiction has got you in its grasp. First time or relapse. Will someone be able to save you?
14. INSOMNIA. You can't sleep anymore, no matter how hard you try. Maybe someone can give you company.
15. NIGHTMARES. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, you can't sleep without gruesome, horrible nightmares. Either someone is stuck in your dream with you, witnessing it or they're just waking you up, soothing you out of it.
16. BLACKMAIL. You've been caught doing something you shouldn't and you were blackmailed because of it
17. SEPARATION. You're going to be separated for awhile or were separated for a long time. Either make up for lost time or try to spend every last moment together.
18. VIOLATED. You've been violated in some way. Can include sexual overtones or not. Can someone help you through it?
19. STRANDED. You've been stranded somewhere remote, with no help of anyone finding you for awhile. Can you survive this together?
20. SINS You're feeling the weight of your sins and guilt clearer than ever. Can someone give you absolution or lessen the ache any?
21. SECRET. It's difficult having to keep that secret of yours, be it a relationship or something you just don't want to share with anybody else. Maybe it's okay to talk about it now though...

From Bakerstreet

Comments

[rassera]

[How did it turn out like this?

It seemed like the end of the world, with Tetsuo at its core--the ground zero of the end of humanity as they knew it. What started out as a small flicker of a candle in the night quickly grew into a bonfire, destroying everything in its path. With nothing Kaneda could do to stop it. Tetsuo's power was beyond anything he could have possibly taken on without some kind of plan. Power wouldn't win that alone.

But it had been only for the moment. Whatever power Tetsuo was given was taken back just as rapidly. No longer a bonfire, but like the last breath of a candle, how it flickers most bright before going out.

All that was left was to pick up the pieces.

Kai warned him not to, Kei had agreed. But when had Kaneda ever taken advice that had gone against his own code? Never. If he truly felt something, then that was what he'd do. And he knew that this was something he had to do alone.

He had to go to Tetsuo's rescue one more time.


--

An engine hums just outside the alley.

It's not quite the power of a car, and certainly isn't driving past like they've been. This one was here for a purpose, and only dies down after a few moments. It's immediate--there's no trailing sound of it taking off. Whatever had shown up? It was here to stay.

Footsteps sound in the alley, familiar in their tone, their pace...the familiar weight and air they gave. It was a soft sound, but in the strange silence of Neo Tokyo, they couldn't have been any louder. They're quick as they turn into the building, checking everywhere for him. These houses were sometimes safe places to stash bikes. If Tetsuo were to hide, it'd be somewhere tried and true.

He just had to hope that Tetsuo would reveal himself.

"Tetsuo? Tetsuo!"

There's no light--and Kaneda's only armed with a bike lamp that he kept in his glove compartment. Rubble...rubble. Nothing but rubble.





Except a soft sound. One he'd known since childhood. It rings in his ears, hurrying to the corner of the building and casting light there--seeing Tetsuo.


Once a bonfire, now a small, gentle, dwindling flame.]

[iamtetsuo]

[He doesn't know what to do. Maybe he never did -- except for that one damn bit where he knew exactly... There's nowhere to go from here. Back to the dorms? Yeah right, there's probably people waiting. He can't get food; where would he get it from?

Shit...

And then he starts hearing voices. It's faint; like it's either a distant echo, or the last bits of his sanity slipping forever away. Tetsuo doesn't move, not sure if he wants to find out for sure or not that he's still hearing things even when his head is finally quiet. Because that can't possibly be who it sounds like. He knows that.

Light falls on him and he curls up further, fear stabbing needles into his stomach. They found him, that's it, it's all over - and yet he can't help but look over anyway to try to at least see what it is that's about to kill him.

His black-rimmed eyes widen, mouth hanging open.

No way. It's him? It really IS him?

He's alive...]

[rassera]

[And there he was, curled in a corner of a run down, abandoned building. Crying in the same way he'd heard years ago. It's amazing how fast his heart goes out to him, after everything he'd done. Kaneda was angry, yes, furious even at him for what he'd done.

Yamagata...what Kai had to live through now...

But still, something softens in those eyes as he looks Tetsuo up and down, as if making sure this isn't a hallucination. He was really here.]

Tetsuo.

[He doesn't give him a moment to fight it, he's hurrying over and grabbing him by the shoulders. Because the only way he can know for sure is by touch.]

[iamtetsuo]

[For the first time in his life, Kaneda doing the thing he always does is the last thing Tetsuo would have predicted. They didn't leave on good terms. Hell, they didn't part on any terms. Tetsuo had left him for dead.

A whole new layer of fear grips him as he realizes that's exactly what Kaneda could do. Do the same thing. Walk away. Leave his life forever and never return. Kaneda, the last chance he's sure he'll ever get--

But Kaneda doesn't leave, at least not yet. Tetsuo flinches back at the touch, expecting retaliation of some kind, but in the same time his arm mechanically reaches out to the other boy's. Kaneda's arm feels solid under his hand; his grip on Tetsuo's shoulders feels almost strong enough to bruise, but he's unmistakably real. Very much alive.

A fact that twitches his mouth into a small scared smile - but a smile nonetheless.]

Kaneda?

[His voice is as small and frightened as he feels, and he hates himself for it. He even sounds weak; is he really that pathetic? Was he always quite like that, or is he worse now than ever before somehow?]

[rassera]

[His name was all the confirmation he needed. No matter what he did, no matter what happened between them, Kaneda would always be here to pick up the pieces. He'd made that promise years ago in the children's home, that he'd always be there to protect him.

Even if the one he had to protect him from was himself. His grip is tight, as if letting go meant that Tetsuo would dissolve into thin air, evaporate, or even just an illusion of his starved, tired mind.

A hand goes to his face to check it over, looking at those pupils for drug use, anything. Anything that he should look out for. There's no words for a few moments.

Only a soft, relieved chuckle.]

Some mansion you've got here.

Put the entire city through hell and this is the best you could find?

[He couldn't have sounded happier if he tried.]

[iamtetsuo]

[Silence stretches on, somehow more horrible than anything else Kaneda could do or say. Tetsuo's shoulders hunch more and more, inadvertently pressing further into Kaneda's hands, terror spiking as he tries, and fails, to figure out just what Kaneda's going to do with him.

He could do a lot. Tetsuo's absolutely defenseless now; he hasn't even eaten in a while and even if he had, he never was a match for Kaneda in a fight.

Except for when he could do everything.

When retaliation doesn't come, he relaxes a little, only for his shoulders to hitch for another reason. He can't stand it. This is the last thing he wanted to do, or be found doing, and yet he can't stop the tears.]

You can have it. I don't want it anymore...

[rassera]

[The silence was almost deafening, and each second that passed by Kaneda just hoped for something--anything to come out of Tetsuo's mouth. He couldn't read minds, he didn't have powers. And now, neither did Tetsuo...which made it all the more difficult to deal with...as odd as that was.

Those hands grip his arm tightly, and that familiar sound almost echoes through the room. One Kaneda had been trained to hear for so long. One that instantly made his heart lurch in his chest, the familiar sense of protection shining through.

Tetsuo was crying.

His hand reaches forward to thumb away one of those tears, aggressively brushing it off his cheek as he tries to look him in the eyes.]

Not really my taste. But who needs it, yeah?


We've got our own home. You goddamn idiot.

[It's hard to hide that smile.]

[iamtetsuo]

[He wishes he could hide it, somewhere deep down where he'd never end up being caught crying again. Familiar self-loathing wells up at his own weakness, and it's not brushed away as easily as the tear off his face. Unsure of what to do, Tetsuo's hands flex; one digging deep to grip Kaneda's arm as tight as he possibly can, the other drawing back, uncertain. He knows what he wants to do, but he can't make himself do it. It's like he's paralyzed; unable to move.

Almost like in the accident. When it all began...

I don't need you to look out for me anymore...

At 'we' and 'home', Tetsuo's last shreds of resolve - or is that sanity? - crumble away, like something deep within him fractured into too many pieces to ever identify. No sooner has Kaneda stopped talking than Tetsuo's other hand shoots out, clutching at Kaneda's jacket as if it's a life vest.

They.. maybe they did all have a home. Once. But he's not a part of it anymore... is he? Scared eyes search Kaneda's own, wide and tired, as if looking for the rest of the sentence. Or as if searching for a single reply, because he's run out of words. He's run out of ideas in general.]

Y-you don't...

[rassera]

[The grip is expected, and it only gives Kaneda an opening to wrap those arms around him, pulling him in tight to his chest. There's no hesitation--he's needed this just as bad as Tetsuo did.

His eyes shut as his forehead presses to his, just feeling for once the person who had been in that bike crash so long ago.

Was it long ago? It felt like it.

You've always been a part of it.

He meant it, even if he didn't say it, hand running through that hair, clenching it between his fingers as if he was making sure it was real. That Tetsuo was in front of him.]

It's over. It's over.

[His body shakes slightly, the slightest hint of him trying to keep it together.]

You're okay.

[iamtetsuo]

[No matter what, Tetsuo can't stop shaking. He won't let go, he can't let go, not even for a second, not even long enough to cling closer to Kaneda. Can't shake the feeling that if he does...

Tetsuo takes a moment to close his own eyes, squeezing them shut and silently pleading that if he opens them again it'll still be like this. A week ago, this was the last thing he wanted.

But danger changes perspective. He knows, deep down, that this is the only thing he needs.

He'll stay like that as long as Kaneda lets him. Listening to that mantra until he actually hears it. Pressing his forehead back against Kaneda's and just...trying to breathe. Trying so, so hard to not break down into actual sobs.]

[rassera]

[In a way, it was for the both of him. His words repeat over and over, as if trying to hammer it into Tetsuo's head, and maybe his own. They were okay. Tetsuo was okay. Easier said than believed, when you're sitting in a run down building and nothing but police helicopters sound from outside. But he tried not to concentrate on that, instead keeping focus on the boy in front of him.

His own eyes shut as well, letting a deep breath sound out of his lungs, like he'd just finished a race. And in a way, it was. A hand travels up to Tetsuo's head, fingers clenching that hair as he pulls his head closer, feeling that contact even more.

Police were probably coming the city for them, but he didn't care. They could comb the city and Kaneda would make sure nothing turned up. He had Tetsuo, and it's the first time things have felt right since the accident.

Like hell he was giving that up.]

[iamtetsuo]

[A small leap of faith - the first bit of faith he's had in a very long time.

That if he lets go, for a second...

Tetsuo's hands forcibly unclench, shaking as hard as the rest of him, only to throw themselves around Kaneda's neck and back in the next second, latching tightly. Saying what he can't manage to get himself to say.

In a way, it's funny. He wants to. It hadn't been hard to say anything when he felt no fear of reprisal. Just days ago - was it days? - he could have said anything he liked. But here, in the dead quiet space with just the two of them, he has to fight himself for every word.]

You came for me.

[For once, he actually hopes that's the only reason Kaneda's here.]

Even after everything I did...

[If he had any shred of honor to him, he probably SHOULD seek punishment. Go out there to deal with the consequences of actions that he knows were his. Even though he never would have - well, never thought he would have before he got the ability to - acted on it, he can't deny he sometimes fantasized about it.

That was the worst part. He could lie and pretend he hadn't as much as he liked, but he'd know the horrible truth. All of what happened had been his doing, no excuses. Kaneda wasn't stupid. He had to have known that. Which meant Tetsuo had to know... even though he was so scared of the answer it physically hurt to get the question out. Maybe a little bit of that foolish bravery lingered somewhere, or maybe he managed just because it was Kaneda.

Or maybe it's because if he doesn't he knows the question will haunt him for the rest of his life, no matter how short that might be.]

Why?

[rassera]

The moment Tetsuo closes the gap and presses against him, his own hands grasp for the boy's back, clinging to that tattered fabric, nails practically pressing holes through his gloves. This was real. It sunk in now that this was real. Tetsuo was here and needed him and they could deal with the aftermath together. As they always should have and always would. Fate was a powerful thing, for all the lack of belief Kaneda gave it.

When Tetsuo speaks, it's right against his ear, and just hearing that voice is enough to make his own head lean into it. Press into the sound itself and just listen to Tetsuo talk in words that weren't telling him to die. Or a scream of pain.

Tetsuo can't see it, but there's a weak smile there, hand reaching up into that mess that the boy called his hair.]

Why?

[Truth be told, he couldn't put words to an answer. Not because there wasn't one--oh there was. But it was so hard to describe in such a thing as a language. He went back for him because that's just who they were. No matter what Tetsuo did, no matter how much tension tried to sever the two, you couldn't get rid of one without the other.

The moment they met each other they were inseparable. And if that's not fate…

Heh, fate.

Listen to him. Sinking into that bullshit. There's a quick shake of his head, getting that out really quick before answering.]

You called me, didn't you?




And I heard you.

[iamtetsuo]

[Slowly, Tetsuo relaxes into the hold. He takes a deep, shuddery breath, slightly less shuddery on the exhale. Slowly managing to piece bits of himself together just enough, slowly managing to believe there would be a tomorrow after today.

It's... it's okay. It might actually be okay somehow.

No, that wasn't right. Not 'somehow'. It'd be okay because Kaneda always got his way in the end. And apparently, he hadn't given up on Tetsuo before it was over. If he was going to do something, he would have; Kaneda was just here now. Like he always was.]

Yeah...

[Because... that's how it had always been with them. Tetsuo didn't really need powers for that - Kaneda just knew. That's how it'd been for years. Why had he thought it wouldn't be, now?

This time, even though Kaneda can't quite see it, Tetsuo's smile isn't scared. It's small, but it's relieved.]

I did.