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things in l'manburg will never be the same, and gods how ranboo wishes he could cope.
words tend to escape ranboo when he's anxious, like words were simply another breath to his existence. he watched as tommy paced the room, watched as they all were staring at him. why him? what did he do this time? this time? why were they looking at him?
his anxieties pricked at his skin underneath the his suit, sweat nearly drenching the back of his shirt.
"ranboo, do you have anything to add?" tommy prodded, his pacing coming to a sudden halt as he pointed a finger at him.
"a-anything to add? n-no-" he tried to clear his throat, the words getting stuck in his throat, the feeling of his airways closing in on him making his eyebrows quirk in worry,"i-uhm...i-" his voice weakened as he slowly stood, eyes wide and unblinking and raising a hand at tommy's posing question, all but stumbling into the hallway.
he didn't see philza getting up after him.
his feet dragged the floor as he stumbled down the hall, hands skimming the wall for support, his hand plastered against the rocky surface of both the cobble and the feel of his fabric coat.
"ranboo? hey, can you-?" the figure in question whipped around to look at the person, eyes wide and tear tracks down his cheeks. his hand clutched painfully at the wall as he wheezed, trying to get any ounce of air into his lungs, as his other hand reached to cover his gaping mouth,"hey, ranboo it's alright! it's me, phil."
a shaky exhale as ranboo felt his arm crumble under him, feeling the cobble rake against the back of his clothes in protest as his ass hit the floor. his hand the was against the wall moved to his knees, drawing them closer as he kept wheezing for air.
philza walked closer to him, his wings fluttering softly as he began to crouch next to him, taking a crisscross next to him, his eyes wide and watching. the scene before him startled him, to be truthful, but he kept his composure.
he had no idea what stressor caused this attack, but he figured he could help in any way he could; yet, when he looked into ranboo's frightened eyes and shaking white hand that pressed anxiously against his mouth. he is left breathless. he'd never seen him his vulnerable.
"hey, can you hear me?" the look in his eyes did not waiver, yet he received a shaky nod. it's enough for him. he reached forward, allowing ranboo to shrink away if needed. when he did not, he gently grabbed his shoulder and his hand, slowly pulling his hand away from his mouth.
he gasped, his eyes moving around the room in anxious monger as he felt hot tears rivet down his chin, painful wheezes coming from his mouth as he tried to think. ranboo, think! think, how-
"ranboo-" philza tried again, watching as the man clutched at his robes and dig his knuckles into the fabric. philza tried to think quickly, eyes darting around when he heard rustling, head whipping to see tommy standing a few feet away. another painful wheeze. his wings twitched to wrap around ranboo enough to shield him from public view.
it was nice. this felt nice.
he makes the executive decision to slip his hands over ranboo's drooped ears, trying to drown out any outside shuffling. his eyes snap to philza's, immediate panic surfacing to his mouth again as he clamps his mouth shut with his hands in fear. we can't breath, can barely see, help me phil! phil, please-!
his eyes clamp with fear as more tears roll.
"ranboo." philza whispered, his voice settling between his hands, receiving a nod from the sickened boy,"i'm here to help, remember? help you, i'm here to help. i need you to breathe with me, please." he slightly tapped his hand, feeling it loosen from his mouth as he placed it on his chest to mimic his breathing.
"tommy," his voice rang out, his back still turned away from the boy,"get me a wet cloth, hm?" he heard him steel his foot and turn with a hum, going to (hopefully) grab the cloth.
he felt the tension in ranboo's hand lessen, the tightness of his palm a lesser pain, a lesser ideal,"you're doing amazing," he murmured, his breaths coming slow to prevent unnecessary panic,"well done kid." his thumbs wrapped to swipe at the tears on his cheeks, staining them a light golden color. the tips of his thumbs glared golden, his smile a soft memory.
a memory, ranboo! a memory!
"pops, here is the-" tommy came to a stop just behind philza's right wing, his hands coming to clutch the wet cloth,"oh." philza's wings twitched closer, one coming to almost cover the top of him as he reached his hand out.
"thank you, tommy." he hummed, seeing how ranboo had now released his mouth from captivity, his eyes slowly drooping from exhaustion as philza slowly smoothed the cloth over his forehead and cheeks, grazing the smooth fabric over his wrists as another means of grounding.
"'m sorry. . ." he mumbled, giving a tired hum to the cold water against his flushed skin. he noticed his suit coat had come off at one point, but he had no idea when. *another forgotten memory for the memory book.*
"no need." philza smiled, letting ranboo stand on his own and take a shaky breath of air. he watched him habitually wipe at his eyes, nearly rubbing them raw as philza stood.
"are you alright?" tommy's voice rang through the air, startling ranboo with a sharp gasp, gasping the latter to nearly drop his suit coat. he gave him a short nod, hands coming to clutch the tweed of his jacket collar as tommy smiled at him cheekily.
"welcome back to us, ranboo!"
things in l'manburg are never going to be okay. and maybe they'll have to learn to cope.