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“Shulk? Shulk, how long have you been in here?”
Shulk startled, and turned towards the door. Standing in the doorway, his brow furrowed in concern, was Dunban. He hadn’t noticed that the older man was there until he’d spoken. Pausing to think for a moment, Shulk realized that he didn’t know the answer to the man’s question.
“I don’t know, maybe a few hours?”
Dunban sighed. “I don’t think that’s true, Shulk. Nobody’s seen you in the last day and a half, and your hands are shaking.”
Shulk glanced down at his hands, and was startled to see that Dunban was correct. He somehow hadn’t registered it while he was working, but there was a visible tremor. How he hadn’t noticed it before, he wasn’t sure, but he was sure that it would start interfering with his work in the near future. Now that he was no longer oblivious to the world, he was starting to notice how heavy his limbs felt, and the sharp hunger gnawing at his stomach.
“Shulk?”
Shulk took a moment to register the fact that Dunban’s left hand was now on his shoulder, steadying him. He blinked at his older friend, suddenly having trouble making his eyes focus.
“Come on, Shulk, we should really get you- Woah!”
The younger man’s eyes rolled up in his head, his knees going weak as his disregard for his own wellbeing caught up with him. Dunban moved quickly to catch him, wrapping his left arm around him as he let the rest of Shulk’s weight fall onto his torso. Pressing Shulk close to support him, he lowered them both to the ground, then cradled the scientist against his shoulder. He didn’t really seem to be fully unconscious, his eyelids already fluttering as he stirred. Letting out a small breath, the younger man blinked awake and glanced around, clearly disoriented. He sluggishly moved to push himself fully upright, only to be stopped by Dunban lightly tightening his grip.
“Easy there, you just passed out for a few seconds. You should stay put until you’re certain that you won’t black out again.”
Shulk reluctantly relaxed back against Dunban’s shoulder, still trying to reorient himself.
“What? I-“ He trailed off, not quite sure what to say. Dunban squeezed him arm reassuringly.
“You really need to start taking better care of yourself, you know. Fiora won’t be happy if she gets out of the regeneration chamber and learns that you’ve been falling back into old habits in her absence.”
Shulk stiffened. He knew that Dunban was right, but in the month and a half since Fiora had gone into the regeneration chamber, the younger man had been at a loss. In the past weeks, he had started retreating into his lab to try to pass the time, knowing that the next four and a half months would likely be some of the longest of his life. After the rush to avenge her, sitting and waiting half a year for her body to regenerate, unable to do anything to speed up or help with the process, was near unbearable. He knew that it would be worth it in the end, but knowing that she was so close yet being unable to speak to her was torturous. In the process of trying to pass the time, he knew that he’d been slipping back into his old habits of forgetting to sleep or eat, but he hadn’t realized just how long he’d forgotten until he was waking up with Dunban holding him.
“I know,” he mumbled, “sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize, just try to take better care of yourself going forward. For now, let’s just get you out of here. You need to eat and sleep.” Dunban paused, then added, “and maybe we should have Sharla look at you, just to be sure you’re alright.”
Shulk sighed, but nodded against Dunban’s shoulder. He knew the older man was right, even if he didn’t want to get checked over by Sharla. He didn’t want to worry her, but he supposed that it was really too late for that now. This time, when he pushed to sit fully upright, Dunban allowed him to do so without resistance. The older man stood, then reached down to Shulk and offered his hand.
Shulk took it, and let himself be hauled to his feet. When he reached them, however, he staggered and nearly fell back to the floor. Dunban steadied him, looking at him with concern.
“Will you need help getting back to my house? I don’t think you should stay alone right now. If you come stay on the couch, then I can keep an eye on you.”
Shulk sighed, but sheepishly admitted that he probably did need the help. Walking across Colony 9 alone didn’t seem like the best idea at the current moment, and Dunban was probably right that someone should be there to keep an eye on him. He’d probably feel much, much better after a meal and a solid 12 hours of sleep, but on the off chance that he didn’t, it would be better for someone to be on hand to help.
Once he admitted this, Dunban helped situate Shulk with an arm around his waist, so he could help him walk. Turning towards the door, the two started their slow walk across the colony. As they walked, Shulk let his mind wander. It was a large part of what had gotten him into this situation in the first place, but now that the man that was practically family was there, he didn’t need to worry about losing track of time the same way again. Dunban would look out for him until he was in a state to look after himself again, so for now, Shulk would let him.