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“Shit- h-hey Freddie! Frederick!”
Aria was shouting at him, probably trying to drag his ass out of bed before they were late to work again. He couldn’t remember if she’d stayed the night in the first place, but she did know where the spare key was stashed under the mailbox, and she had no hesitation in using it.
“A-Aria, be careful where you put your hands!” A second voice- Asuka? Had he tagged along? That was new. No…maybe he’d fallen asleep on the lab sofa again. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Christ, Asuka, it’s not like I can make it much worse-”
“That is absolutely horrible logic! We’re in a bad enough situation as it is!”
Sheesh, typical Asuka. Always getting worked up over the little stuff. He was just trying to sleep for chrissakes, not the end of the world. Guy needed to splash some water on his face, get some fresh air. Maybe it’d help him calm down.
Frederick’s thoughts stumbled over themselves for a moment. Fresh air, why was that sticking out in his mind? Weird. Maybe some piece of a dream his brain was clinging onto.
Something tapped his face, and he was officially annoyed. Couldn’t even let him have a couple more minutes, could they?
“Frederick! Frederick, c’mon-” Another tap. Then a third, slightly harder. “Don’t you dare fucking go to sleep on me! You are *not* dying, especially not on a stupid goddamn hiking trail!”
Hiking- what? What the hell-
The light hurt his eyes, but his arm didn’t want to move to block it out. All he could do was squint through it. Something leaned over him after a few moments, dropping enough of a shadow over his eyes that he could open them a little more.
“Aria…?”
“Wh- Frederick, shit-” Even with the lingering blurriness, the woman was obviously frazzled. Her clothes had been rumpled and dirt-smeared. “Asuka, he’s awake! He’s awake!”
“Small miracles, at least. Just make sure he stays that way.” Asuka was…somewhere. Not someplace he could see. Frederick turned to where he thought the sound was.
Suddenly, a horrible pain lanced across his arm and shoulder. He couldn’t stop himself from making a strangled sound of pain- though he regretted it just as fast, as it awakened a new pain in his ribs.
A hand pressed his shoulder, thankfully the one that didn’t hurt. “Shh, don’t move. Still haven’t figured out everything that’s broken. Don’t wanna make it worse.”
The canopy overhead was unfamiliar. Leafy trees with long limbs barely blocked out the sunlight, and if he strained his ears, he was sure he could make out the sound of running water.
“Where are we?”
Aria turned away, presumably, to Asuka, with a worried look. “I think he’s got a concussion after all…”
“Why the hell would I?” He asked back.
“You fell down a cliff, Frederick,” Asuka replied. “And somehow you haven’t noticed that you’re bleeding in at least three places. So if that’s not a sign of a head injury, I’m not sure what is.”
“…I did WHAT??”
“Woah, woah, back down.” The very moment he tried sitting up, Aria shoved him back against the ground. “Look, i-it’s my fault, I was the one who said ‘hey, let’s go on this dumb hike! I’m sure the guys could use the fresh air and get out of the lab for a while.’”
Asuka huffed. “You couldn’t have known about how poorly-maintained the paths were, I should have picked a different hiking trail.”
“We can argue about whose fault it is once we’re out of here.” The woman shook her head. “Dunno how long it’ll take the EMTs, just hope they’ve got the right stuff to haul you out safely. We can only do so much, even with all the stuff we brought- for once, Asuka, I’m glad your ass is so paranoid.”
Though the pain forced him still, Frederick still tried to look around. “I can’t see Asuka, where is he?”
“Asuka is working on the leg that’s currently backwards. Probably good you can’t.” Aria thumbed the flyaway hair out of his eyes. “You’ve got something coming out of your ear, but I can’t tell if it’s from a skull injury or if you tore an eardrum when you hit your head. Bad either way.”
She pressed a wad of something against the hole, and it made him plenty aware of whatever unpleasant wetness was gushing out. Still, some part of him felt reassurance that it was his friends doing this. He knew how skilled they were, he’d spent countless hours side-by-side with them.
“Hey! You, down there!” A distant, unfamiliar voice called.
Aria looked over her shoulder. She offered Frederick a reassuring pat and stood up, waving her arms over her head. “Yeah, down here! Our friend’s hurt!”
While she was gone, Asuka scooted into view. His eyes, as always, were half-hidden, but the half he could see were brimming with worry. The man carefully pushed back one eyelid with a finger.
“Pupils look symmetrical. And you can follow movements. You don’t sound like you’re slurring, but I’m worried about your initial moment of confusion. I’m sorry, Frederick. I’m so sorry.” Asuka moved his hand down to give one of his a squeeze. “They’ll do a better job looking you over when you’re at the hospital. All I could do was improvise.”
He wasn’t used to seeing his friends like this, either of them. It felt like he should say something. Maybe it would only mean so much, trying to reassure him while he was already banged up and bleeding, but was it worth a try anyway?
Before he could think of what to say, though, several strangers barged into his sight, nearly knocking Asuka over in the process.
“Hey, man.” One of them said, slinging a pack off their back. “We’re gonna get you out of here, alright?”
They moved with purpose, everything a calculated, practiced gesture. That, by itself, offered some sort of reassurance, how they worked with no hesitation. In a few moments, he could spot Asuka and Aria standing at the sidelines, silent. He wanted to call out to them. Wanted to reassure them. Wanted them to reassure *him.*
Even as he was strapped to a board, hauled out of the ditch, and pushed into the safety of an ambulance, all with perfect coordination, he still didn’t feel quite as secure as he had with his friends looking over him.