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The latest FM-ian had caused some problems for Subaru and War-Rock.
For starters, the power the FM-ian had had something to do with something they’d called vertigo. War-Rock didn’t know what that word meant, but Subaru certainly did. The boy had tried to explain it, but the AM-ian still didn’t understand.
It wasn’t until Subaru got hit with the beam that he had a clue. Immediately, the boy started swaying on his feet. It was clear Subaru tried to stay standing, but it soon became too much for him before he fell off the Denpa Path. The resounding CRACK when Subaru hit the ground startled War-Rock out of the transformation.
And the scream of pain that the boy let out would forever haunt the AM-ian.
Currently, Subaru was napping on his bed, his right arm in a sling and his right wrist in a cast. What sucked the most was that the symptoms refused to let up. The boy couldn’t stand up without swaying dangerously, his head was pounding, and he felt nauseous (again, Subaru had to explain what that word meant). War-Rock wanted to help, but Subaru told him there wasn’t much they could do except let it run its course.
War-Rocked decided to keep watch over Subaru, and he allowed his thoughts to run wild.
If someone had told him that he would find himself enjoying the company of a young boy, he would have scoffed. But now, seeing Subaru curled up against his chest plating; made him feel something . He didn’t know what it was, but it was like he wanted to hold onto the kid and never let him go.
Was this was it felt like to love someone?
That made War-Rock pause. Love, as Subaru had tried to explain once, was complicated. There was romantic love, but there was also platonic love.
Love in itself was tricky because there was a lot more involved than just feeling like you wanted to be with someone. No, there was also the need to make the other person happy, and there were feelings of excitement around them. They were constantly on your mind, and you just wanted to be there for them when they needed you.
However, the difference between romantic and platonic love was that, with romantic love, there was the desire to make them yours. When War-Rock asked what that meant, Subaru started stammering, his face red.
War-Rock was thrown out of his thoughts when Subaru did a full-body shudder. Quickly, the boy’s eyes opened before he bolted off the bed and stumbled over to the bathroom. A retch made its way to his ears, and AM-ian winced. While this wasn’t the first time he’d seen/heard Subaru throw up, he still didn’t like it. It was one of the most disgusting things the human body could do, and War-Rock was grateful that he didn’t have to deal with it.
Subaru came out of the bathroom a long while later. His face was pale and sweaty, and his body swayed where he stood before tumbling into the doorframe. The boy groaned in pain before dropping to the floor.
“Whoa,” he murmured.
“You okay?” War-Rock asked softly. The AM-ian didn’t want to aggravate Subaru’s headache.
“I’m fine. Just got dizzy for a moment.”
War-Rock picked his charge off the floor and carried him to the bed.
“I’m alright.”
“Oh, really?”
“We’ve been over this,” Subaru sighed. “It’s just a bit of vertigo, a dislocated shoulder, and a fractured wrist. I’ll recover.”
“But you got hurt.”
“Maybe so, but it could have been worse.”
“How so?”
“Well, for starters, I could be dead.”
War-Rock bristled, but the AM-ian didn’t argue.
“Staying in the transformation with you saved my life,” Subaru continued. “A fall from that height would kill a human of any size. However, because you and I were Rockman, it kept me from having worse injuries.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
Subaru nodded before falling onto his pillow, vertigo making him go sideways. The AM-ian started to float away when a hand gripped his wrist.
“Stay?”
War-Rock felt the need to protect, guard, and care for the boy in front of him. The only word that came to mind for those feelings was love.
“Always.”
Smiling, Subaru tugged War-Rock close and curled up next to his chest-plating once more.
“Love you,” was all Subaru said before slipping into dreamland once more.
“And I, you, Hoshikawa Subaru,” War-Rock murmured.
The warmth in his chest expanded when Subaru snuggled impossibly closer. Yes, he decided, this was what love felt like.