Chapter Text
“Encore! What are you doing here?” Jiyan exclaims, concern evident in his voice.
She doesn’t even answer, ignoring him completely and instead making a beeline straight for Aalto the second she sees him. There are tears in her eyes, not even hesitating as she practically launches herself onto the cot beside him. Instantly, he wraps her in a protective hug, paying no mind to the pain of moving or the way Encore’s soaked hair makes him shiver. He doesn’t care. She’s safe and she’s here. And that’s all he needs.
“Hey, sweet girl.”
She sobs then, burying her face into Aalto’s neck and holding on for dear life.
“I…I thought–”
“Shhh, I’ve got you. It’s okay now. I’m right here.”
Aalto rubs her back as she cries, letting her get everything out that she needs to. He can’t even begin to imagine how she’s been feeling for the past few hours, probably thinking she’d lost someone again. Encore has always been resilient. Too resilient for her age, really. Aalto doesn’t want her to have to be anymore. He’s always done his best to make Encore feel safe and protected like he never was. She deserves to be carefree, and happy, and young, and unburdened by everything that goes along with growing up. She’s dealt with enough of that already.
“We’re okay.” He soothes her again, hoping she doesn’t hear the exhaustion in his voice. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
A moment later, Jiyan appears with an extra blanket, wrapping it around Encore as well as he can without asking her to move from her spot. He doesn’t say anything, just takes care of her. He then moves to sit back on his own cot, visibly relaxing. Jiyan seems more at ease now that Aalto and Encore have been reunited, giving a soft smile when Aalto meets his gaze.
‘Are you okay?’ Jiyan mouths silently, making sure Encore isn’t hurting Aalto too much.
Aalto nods, returning the smile. He’s never felt worse, but he wouldn’t trade this moment for the world. Hopefully, this is what Encore remembers when she thinks back on this day.
Not even half an hour later, Encore tires herself out, falling asleep right there in Aalto’s arms. He brushes the last of the tears from her cheeks with his good hand, then presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. She doesn’t even stir, perfectly content where she is and finally able to rest.
“Is she asleep?” Jiyan asks quietly.
“Yeah. She really needs it, too.”
“So do you.”
“Nah,” Aalto smiles tiredly as he half shrugs, careful not to move his left shoulder. “I’m okay.”
“Aalto.” Jiyan says in a tone he’s all too familiar with.
“A few more minutes. Then I’ll rest. Promise.” A weighted pause, and then, “I thought I lost this, y’know?”
Jiyan’s expression softens again, a bit of the worry easing from his face. “...I know.”
“Yeah.”
Aalto breathes in as deeply as he’s able to without too much pain, and lets out a long sigh. He relaxes a bit more into the pillow and the blankets he’s wrapped in, gradually feeling the tendrils of weariness threaten to pull him under. He wants to stay here in the waking world, shielding Encore even as she sleeps, dissipating the nightmares she’s prone to after hard days.
“Don’t fight it, Aalto. Just get some sleep.” Jiyan advises, voice kept gentle.
“But what if–”
“I promised you, didn’t I? I’ll take care of both of you.”
Nearly everything in Aalto’s mind screams at him. He’s so used to only relying on himself, never wanting to burden anyone around him. He knows he’s in bad shape. Full recovery, though Jiyan seems confident he will, won’t be short or easy. Months, at least. Can he really–
“Aalto.” Jiyan breaks him from his thoughts. “I want to.”
“But–”
“Do you really think you’re too much?”
Silence.
“Then you’re wrong.”
Aalto has no way to respond. He’s so tired. He wants so badly to just let himself trust that Jiyan doesn’t mind. At this point, Aalto doesn’t have much of a choice. And thankfully, Jiyan is patient. He’s gotten all too used to how Aalto’s mind works, thinking he’s a burden at even the slightest inconvenience to someone else. Dispelling his worries has become second nature.
“Come on, Aalto. Just rest.” Jiyan encourages softly.
He’s right and Aalto knows it. His eyelids nearly flutter shut more than once as he tries to stay awake, but he’s failing quickly. Fighting it is becoming far too much work. Jiyan has taken care of him before. If he says he’s willing to do it again, there’s no reason not to believe him. Aalto’s mind finally relents, letting him rest. He’s safe. Encore’s safe. And they’re all going to be okay.
–
By the time Aalto wakes again, Encore is already up, her and Jiyan’s hushed voices barely audible over the sounds of the rain and the crackling fire. He’s still exhausted, torn between just letting himself go right back to sleep and actually trying to get his eyes open. More rest would be nice, and probably needed, but he’s a little more aware of the pain than he was earlier, and colder than he’d prefer. He tries to shift slightly to get more comfortable, not quite managing to stifle a soft groan when it hurts more than he’d expected.
“Uncle Aalto?” Encore’s voice gets closer, worried.
“Hey, Encore.” He responds quietly, managing to get his eyes open after a decent amount of effort.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, sweet girl. I’m okay. Just tried to move a little too much. Don’t worry.”
She doesn’t look fully convinced, but at least the deep concern in her eyes eases slightly. She turns back to look at Jiyan like she’s asking him for confirmation. Smart girl, going right to a medical professional rather than listening to Aalto that he’s fine. It occurs to Aalto that she probably shouldn’t know to do that.
“Aalto. You’re awake already. How are you feeling?” Jiyan walks over to his cot, sitting down on the edge beside him.
“About the same I guess. Tired.”
“You look like you’re hurting more. How’s the pain?”
He doesn’t want to worry Jiyan more than he clearly already is, but keeping things from him at this point won’t do anyone any good.
“Yeah. A little worse than earlier.”
The slight furrow in Jiyan’s brow gets a bit deeper. “I gave you some painkillers the first time you were asleep. I thought they would’ve helped more than they did, but I’m not sure how long these supplies have been here. They might be old. Just hold tight, I’ll get more.”
“Thanks.”
Jiyan heads back over to the cabinets, rummaging through them again. Encore watches him from where she sits on the other cot, kicking her feet lightly. There’s a blanket around her shoulders, and her unruly hair thankfully looks dry now. Compared to how she was earlier, she seems significantly more at ease. No doubt Jiyan spent a lot of time reassuring her that Aalto would be alright.
“Here.” Jiyan says, walking back over to Aalto’s cot with a syringe in hand. “I’ve got a stronger dose this time; hopefully it will last longer.”
There’s a small pinch, barely anything compared to the rest of what he’s dealing with. Still, Aalto looks away. He notices that Encore does the same, a slight cringe on her face that she probably doesn’t even know she’s doing. Aalto catches her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile.
“That should help within a few minutes. If you don’t notice anything, tell me. Alright?”
“Deal.” Aalto agrees, redirecting that same smile at Jiyan.
“Anything else going on I should know about?”
“Just a little cold.” He admits. “Are there any more blankets?”
Both Encore and Jiyan start to offer the ones around their own shoulders.
“No. no. You guys need to keep those.” Aalto says quickly, discouraging them. They’ve got to be cold too.
“That’s all of them. I’m sorry, Aalto.” Jiyan tells him regretfully. He still looks like he wants to give up his own, but doesn’t. He likely knows Aalto wouldn’t take it from him anyway.
“Nah, don’t worry about it.”
Jiyan is clearly still worrying about it. He sits down on the edge of Aalto’s cot, placing a hand on his forehead. Jiyan’s palm is freezing, instantly sending a shiver through him.
“Sorry.” Jiyan tells him, rubbing his hands together to warm them a bit before reaching out again. He keeps his hand there for a moment, even putting his other hand on his own forehead to compare.
“You’re warm.” The concern is unhidden in Jiyan’s voice. “Your fever is higher than it was earlier; that’s why you’re cold. You’re sick.”
“Will Uncle Aalto be okay?” Encore asks quietly, fear returning to her eyes.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you, Encore.” Jiyan reassures. “He’ll be just fine. We’ll just have to take really good care of him, okay?”
“‘Kay.” Encore smiles like she always does when she gets a good idea, climbing down from the cot she was sitting on to curl up next to Aalto again, sharing her blanket. She’s so gentle, wrapping her little arms around him as much as she dares.
“I’ll keep you warm.”
“Thank you, sweet girl.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea.”
Jiyan smiles, pushing the other cot against the first one and lying down on the other side of Aalto. He wraps his blanket around all three of them. Aalto can’t help but grin, wrapping his uninjured arm around Encore and shifting ever so slightly to rest his head on Jiyan’s shoulder.
“Thanks, you two. I feel better already.”
Between the added warmth, the sound of the rain on the metal roof, and the low flickering light of the fire, it’s barely any time before Aalto finds himself barely able to keep his eyes open.
“Get some rest, Aalto.” Jiyan says quietly, noticing him trying to stay awake. “We’re not going anywhere. Right, Encore?”
“Right!”
–
The next thing Aalto is truly aware of is waking up in yet another unfamiliar place. His mind is hazy, but he half-recalls brief moments of being found and of a long trip back to…where is he? A decent part of his mind doesn’t even care. He’s warm and comfortable, and finally not in as much pain. It would be so easy to go right back to sleep and stay that way for maybe days.
Still, curiosity gets the better of him. Aalto forces himself back into focus just enough to take in his surroundings. Definitely a medical facility based on the equipment beeping softly to his right-probably the infirmary at Jiyan’s base if he had to guess. He’s been properly patched up now-he doesn’t remember any of that. Thick bandages span from his side up over his ribs and shoulder, holding him together. His arm rests in a sling, and casts immobilize his wrist and leg. There are already a few doodles on them, no doubt courtesy of Encore.
Aalto can’t help a soft smile as he spots Encore and Jiyan fast asleep in a chair off to his right. Jiyan is sprawled in a way that doesn’t look even remotely comfortable, and Encore is curled up in his lap holding Cloudy and Cosmos tightly to her chest.
Until they wake up, Aalto just lets himself rest, relaxing back against the pillows. He might as well get used to it. But compared to the outcome he expected, he’ll take it. Encore is safe, and he’ll be back in one piece eventually. It will take some time, but they’ll be okay.
Soon, Encore stirs, yawning as she blinks the sleep from her eyes.
“Hey, sweet girl.” Aalto whispers, trying not to wake Jiyan.
Encore’s eyes light up immediately.
“Uncle Aalto!” She exclaims a little louder than she meant to, quickly putting a hand over her mouth when she realizes Jiyan is still asleep. “Are you feeling better now?” She asks, much quieter this time.
“I sure am. I’ll be good as new before you know it.” He tells her softly, giving her a reassuring smile.
It doesn’t take long before she’s squirming out of Jiyan’s lap and clambering up onto Aalto’s bed to sit next to him.
“Did you see Encore’s drawings?” She asks excitedly, thoroughly pleased with herself.
“I did, and they’re wonderful! You’ll have to draw more.”
“Maybe I can get Uncle Jiyan to draw another one too!”
“Another one?”
“Yeah! That one is his!” Encore says amusedly, pointing at one of the doodles on Aalto’s cast. Aalto can’t help giggling with Encore. Truthfully, he would’ve never been able to tell the difference.
“Criticizing my art skills while I’m asleep?”
“No, of course not!” Aalto says dramatically, making Encore laugh even harder.
Jiyan yawns and stretches, uncurling himself from the chair. He moves over to sit beside Encore, perched on the edge of Aalto’s bed.
“I thought my drawing was nice.” Jiyan says, pretending to be offended momentarily before giving Aalto a genuine smile. “You look better. How do you feel?”
“Better. Tired, but definitely better.”
“Good. You were out for a couple of days. Your fever spiked, but it’s back down now and should be gone in a few days. You’ll probably be here for a few weeks, but then you should be cleared to go home.”
“That’s a long time.” Aalto says, making a face.
“Don’t worry! Encore will keep you company!” She tells him brightly. “And Uncle Jiyan too!”
Jiyan nods, confirming. “I’ve got leave to help you and Encore until you’re back on your feet. It wasn’t any trouble.”
“Well then, I guess it won’t be too bad. Days off work and my two favorite people? Hmm, I might even enjoy that. Maybe I should get shot more often.” He jokes, thinking better of it when Jiyan gives him a look. Thankfully, it goes over Encore’s head; she’s too busy trying to get her woolies to grab her markers for her so she doesn’t have to move from her spot.
“Aalto.” Jiyan scolds lightly, “Don’t even joke about that.”
“Sorry, you know I didn’t mean that.” Aalto offers a placating smile.
“I know, but still. I don’t even want to think about that.”
“Then I’ll try to keep it from happening again. I can’t promise—you know how my job is—but I’ll do my best.”
Jiyan looks relieved, expression softening considerably. “That’s all I ask. We need you.”
“You got it.”
Thankfully, Jiyan seems satisfied by his promise. He’s right. They’ve all lost too much in their lifetimes. Encore with her mother and Jiyan with countless friends on the battlefield. Aalto wouldn’t dream of adding another name to either of their lists. This world is cruel and unforgiving, but they’ve found something worth cherishing.
Aalto allows himself to rest, safe in their care.