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Right when Dark woke up, he knew it was going to be a bad day.
And it was a bad day.
Dark groaned, tensing with his mangled wings trying their best to twitch and flutter behind him. He couldn’t even open his eyes, screwed tightly shut as agony rocketed through him. His loving grip on the sleeping Wil rapidly tightened, burying his face in his husband’s feathers and curling his legs up a little, trying desperately to ground himself.
Wil grunted, shifting a little and attempting to roll over, but Dark didn’t let him, just whined and twitched, wings spasming. He felt Wil’s wings fluff against his face, and Wil sighed, gently covering Dark’s hands pressed against his stomach with one of his own. When he spoke, his voice was rough with sleep, his slur nearly gone. “Bad day, my love?”
Dark made to nod, but his broken neck did not like that, sending a sensation not unlike being struck by lightening shooting down his spine, causing him to cry out. Wil made a distressed noise, gently stroking Dark’s hand. “I suppose that answers my question.” Dark’s aura snapped to attention as Wil slowly and carefully disentangled himself from Dark, the swirling, shadowy mass clinging to Wil’s wings and arms as he slipped off the bed.
Dark cracked his eyes open, his irises long-since changed colors, just in time to see Wil plant his hands on his hips, his wings shuddering and shedding a few pink and fewer brown feathers. “Do you think you can get up?” Dark simply whined in the back of his throat, closing his eyes again, his wings twitching pitifully. He curled up a little more on the circular bed, breathing heavily as agony continued to worm its way through every bone in his body.
Wil sighed again, his wings audibly shifting as he leaned over to press a kiss to Dark’s forehead. “Let me go get you a blanket,” he murmured, voice soft and soothing. “I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, a blanket was being draped over Dark’s body, and he sighed with relief at the warmth, though his breathing was still rapid, every muscle stiff and taut with pain. He whimpered as Wil brushed his hair from his eyes, relaxing a tiny bit. He stiffened further, however, when he felt Wil take hold of his wings, situating them carefully so they hung less off the bed. “Shh, I know, dear, but it’ll hurt more if I accidentally trip over them. There we go.”
Dark opened his eyes again as Wil came around so he could see him, mismatched irises glowing. Wil gave him a small smile, ghosting the end of one wing along Dark’s hair. “Get some more sleep, Dark. I’ll be back after breakfast. And then I’m taking you to Dr. Iplier.”
Dark’s eyes widened, wings twitching again. “Nooo…Don’t…want them to see me…not like this…”
Wil raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s just too bad. He can help. Maybe not a lot, but he can.” His expression softened. “Besides, they’ve all seen you on your bad days before. They aren’t going to judge.” He giggled suddenly. “You almost killed Bim one time, remember?”
Dark groaned, eyes slipping shut, fingers twitching, and aura obscuring his face from view. “…Thanks for reminding me.”
Wil laughed, the sound traveling around Dark as he headed to the door. “I love you! Sleep tight, Dark!”
Dark grumbled unintelligibly under his breath, shifting as mush as he dared into a tighter ball. “I love you, too.”
Dark didn’t know how long he drifted in and out of sleep, but he was awoken from his light doze much later by the door opening, and then Wil was stepping through. “How you feeling?”
Dark groaned, attempting to fluff up his mangled wings. “Pain,” he ground out through gritted teeth.
Wil let out a concerned hum. “I brought some food. Google made pancakes. Well, Bing did, and Google saved them from death.”
Dark couldn’t even laugh, chest spasming briefly. “No food. I guarantee I won’t keep it down.”
He heard Wil set the plate down on the nightstand, and then the bed was dipping and he was carding his fingers through Dark’s hair. “…I hate seeing you like this,” he whispered. “I wish I could take all this pain away from you.”
Dark offered him a tight smile, eyes still closed, and slowly reached a hand up to hold Wil’s hand. “I know. But there’s nothing you can do. Just have to wait it out.”
“I can’t, but Dr. Iplier can. I talked to him at breakfast, he’s waiting for you. Come on.”
Dark’s eyes snapped open. “Wil, don’t you dare –”
He blinked, and suddenly he found himself surrounded by the sterilized white of Dr. Iplier’s office, laying on the hospital bed. His whole body jolted in the teleport, and he borderline screamed, drawing in a single, shuddering breath before spitting out, “Ow, fuck!”
Dr. Iplier burst out a laugh as he bustled about the bedside, shutting up quickly when Dark shot him a glare. “Sorry! Sorry, I know you hurt, that wasn’t cool.” His brow furrowed. “Haven’t seen you this bad for a long while. Jesus, I really am sorry.”
Dark hissed, wings spasming wildly and breathing heavily as he adjusted to the abrupt new setting and position, now lying on his back rather than curled on his side. “I don’t understand why I’m fucking here!”
Dr. Iplier raised an eyebrow, exchanging a look with Wil, who was standing a bit away with his arms crossed. Dr. Iplier brushed Dark’s wing lightly with the end of one of his own, and Dark cried out, hands clenching into fists. “That is why you’re here. And you’re going to stay here until you can walk out on your own. And I mean walk. No Void portals.”
Dark closed his eyes, pouting, and letting out a drawn-out whine of his husband’s name. “Wiiiiiiil!”
Wil scoffed. “It was my suggestion!” Dark opened his eyes as he felt Wil place a kiss on his forehead, his wings covering him with the ghost of warmth. Wil gave him one last loving smile, and then he was gone.
Dark sighed, face going taut as he shifted his shoulders just the smallest amount, gasping and trying not to cry out but not quite succeeding, a few small noises escaping him. Dr. Iplier made a concerned, frustrated noise. “Fuck, I wish painkillers worked on you. A side effect of being physically dead I suppose. I’ll call the Host up, so he can work some of his magic.”
Dark’s bitchy façade shattered, voice breaking. “Please.”
A few minutes later saw the Host entering the room, the ends of his wings trailing after him a good couple feet and a soft smile on his face. He kissed Dr. Iplier hello before taking a seat in the bedside chair, taking a moment to finesse his massive wings into a comfortable position. He smiled at Dark, one eyebrow raised. “Darkiplier should not fear asking for assistance. His pride should not override his pain.”
Dark scoffed, rolling his eyes, and immediately regretted it as pain stabbed down his spine. “Says the man who would be perfectly content to bleed out all day if you didn’t have a paranoid, overprotective partner.”
Dr. Iplier snorted into his mug of coffee in the background, and the Host flushed. “Whatever. Lie still.” Dark let out a strained, high-pitched laugh – the best he could manage – and the Host rested a hand gently on his forehead, muttering furiously under his breath. When he pulled his hand away, Dark sighed with relief as his pain lessened marginally. The Host gave him another small smile. “Give it time to sink in. It should get better as time goes on.”
Dark shot him a thumbs up, not wanting to risk trying to nod again. The Host jumped in his chair suddenly, making Dark start and consequently hiss, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. “What the fuck, Host?!”
The Host smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. The Host was just ah…reminded he has something else to give Darkiplier.” He reached into one of his coat pockets, wings fluttering a bit, and, after a moment, his face lit up and he pulled Midnight out of his coat pocket, the little bunny looking up at him and sniffing, nose twitching and clicking her teeth happily.
Dark’s mouth fell open, eyes wide, and Dr. Iplier snorted again, bracing against his desk as he choked on his coffee. “You had a fucking rabbit in your pocket?! What the Hell?!”
The Host grinned. “Eric was very enthusiastic about her healing properties, and Silver backed him. They both requested the Host bring her to Darkiplier.” He set Midnight down on the bed with Dark, and she spent a moment sniffing at him, ears perked, before she pushed her head under his hand, settling down so that Dark’s hand rested comfortably on her back. The Host’s sheepish look returned. “And…she is not the only one the Host brought.”
As if on cue, Peggy poked her head out from beneath the Host’s coat by his shoulder. She scrambled up to perch on his shoulder, wobbling a bit with only three legs. She licked the Host’s head, giving him a cowlick that had Dr. Iplier laughing and Dark smiling before she leapt onto the bed as well, knowingly avoiding Dark’s wings and stepping carefully over one leg before settling between his knees, purring loudly.
Dark smiled, tentatively petting Midnight and delighting in her happy purr. Already, the Host’s magic was seeping deep into his bones, relaxing him greatly. He turned his head to face the Host, smiling softly and eyes half-lidded, exhaustion beginning to creep up on him. “Thank you.”
The Host reached over to stroke Midnight’s cheek, a little smile on his face. “It was the Host’s pleasure. Now he suggests that Darkiplier get some rest. The Host will be back later to renew his magic if need be.”
Dark sighed, obediently closing his eyes and drifting off easily at last.
(He fell asleep to the sound of Dr. Iplier’s laughter as he offered to fix the Host’s hair.)