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an odd sense of resolve

Summary:

Pavitr is broken in every sense of the word. Hobie tries to help.

or, what if the anomaly in Pavitr’s universe couldn’t be contained, and it collapsed as a result?

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

"Have ya moved, like, whatsoever today?"

 

Hobie's blunt tone was tainted with annoyance, but that was how he talked after all. Any harshness or bitterness one may infer from his speaking wasn't usually the case with him, and if anyone knew that, it was Pavitr. Still, he flinched a little bit, shaking his head with subtlety. Hobie knew the answer anyways. 

Pavitr wasn't sleepy. Pavitr was too depressed to move. He had lost everything. Quite literally everything. The anomaly in his universe that was caused by the distruption of his canon event couldn't be contained, and as such, it collapsed, never to be returned to.

 

It was as straightforward as that. He had lost everything in one fell swoop. His friends, family, girlfriend, home.

 

It was all gone just like that.

 

Of course he'd be directionless. 

 

Hobie was the first to offer Pavitr a place to stay until he figured out what to do next, but truthfully, what was there for him to do? He's a Spider-Man with no city to protect, and without a watch glued to his wrist at all times, he could die in any other universe he sets foot in. Deep down, Hobie knew there was probably nothing that could be done for him, even if they were to ask for help from the Spider Society (who probably wanted nothing to do with them anyways, and Hobie would be fine with that if Pav's wellbeing wasn't at stake). The least he could do right now was offer him a nice bed to rest in while he processes this damage that's taking a painfully long time to soak into him, opening more bleeding wounds that would have stained the bedsheets a great deal had they been physically present. Hobie almost swore he could smell such a stench.

Shuffling around his messy floor (which he attempted to clean for Pav's sake, to a pathetic avail), he gently and not-so-gently set down a small bag of groceries on a nearby table and slid off his guitar a bit further away before sitting himself down at the foot of the bed. Unlacing his boots, he stole a few glances at Pavitr, who hadn't responded to his presence. Those stolen glances grew a lot longer each time, and it took him longer than it needed to for him to get his boots off. Eventually, he stared at Pavitr, waiting for some kind of response, or moreso, trying to think of what to say that wasn't so "him". For all his rebelliousness and carelessness, Hobie knew when to read the room. 

What was there to ask him? He can't say to him "Are you okay?" because no, he isn't. "How are you doing?" and "What are you feeling?" can both be answered by "Terrible". Hobie thought for a moment for something that had no painfully obvious answer before he spoke.

 

"Is there, uh, anythin' you need to get out of you?"

 

He hoped that was something.

 

Pavitr seemed to shift at that. He sat up, sheets still over his head, and leaned against the wall as he hugged one of his knees. Hobie leaned back next to him, noting sadly just how ghastly and tired his expression was. It was awful to look at. "I didn't think..." Pavitr began weakly, before eventually trailing off into silence.

"You didn't think what?" Hobie repeated. Pavitr seemed to struggle to gather his thoughts, so Hobie gave him a patient look so that he knew it was okay to take his time. 

"It sounds... stupid. I didn't think... this was what it was all about." said Pavitr's first full sentence in days.

"Normally, it ain't. Can't be Spider-Man with no city to protect, can ya?" Hobie hoped that didn't sound too harsh, and thankfully Pavitr just nodded in agreement.

"I knew... I'd probably lose my uncle Bhim and all, but this... this is..." he trailed off again. Emotion seemed to well in Pavitr's eyes, and he took a panicked and shaky breath. His hand found itself in his hair, gripping it with stress and anxiety as he gulped. Hobie pulled him in for a side hug before he began crying, knowing any more of that could result in him withering on the spot as he had done it so much already. 

"Take it easy, mate, can't cry until you've had more water." Hobie gestured to the bag on the table, indicating there was some in there. Pavitr seemed to relax himself accordingly, agreeing that he didn't want to feel that unpleasant soreness in his throat again right now. 

"I don't know... where to go from here. I mean... what do I do...?" Pavitr asked despite both of them knowing the answer.

Hobie shook his head, trying to think of something other than "I dunno". Pav needed something more than that. He already knew nobody didn't know. "Whatever we do... we're gonna find somethin'. I'll promise ya that. Miles and Gwen and the others and I, we're all gonna figure out somethin'."

 

Pavitr relaxed against him. Hobie sighed in relief in his head. That seemed to work.

 

"Thank you..." Pavitr whispered. As lost and as hopeless as he was in this moment, there was still the comfort of knowing he had people looking out for him. As alone as he felt, he knew that was not the case. He laughed to himself, 'I need to keep up!' he thought.

Hobie smiled at him too before gesturing a little more clearly to the bag on the table. "Now go drink some water, won't ya? Gotta get up and move some. Your body will like ya again, promise."

Pavitr nodded. "You're right." he said before slowly shedding the sheets off of him, stumbling around as he stood and tripped over Hobie's clothes and items to get to the table. He searched through the bag of water and a few other miscellaneous healthy food items before coming across something that may have sent him reeling had he not felt so hopeful and calm right now.

 

A few boxes of bagged chai met his gaze, and boy, did Hobie bring options. He pulled out a box to stare at it, almost in disbelief. Hobie noticed this. "Oh, yeah, I wasn't sure what kind ya liked, so, I just grabbed a bunch. It ain't gonna be exactly what home had, but it's still chai, if that's anythin'."

 

Pavitr didn't answer him. He just looked to him with the biggest smile Hobie had seen in ages. His smile wasn't ear to ear, but it was genuine, and that was all that was needed. The sun reflected behind Pav through the window blinds, casting a comforting deep tangerine color on him, seeming to embrace him. Some light had returned to his eyes, and Hobie was relieved. He was glad the gesture ended up not being something too soon and too mean to make, especially with how often Pav loved to reflect on chai time with his auntie before his universe died. 

As he watched Pavitr look at all the chai boxes, commenting on them with enthusiasm, Hobie felt an odd sense of resolve. Now, more than ever, he wanted to find a solution for Pavitr. If it meant demanding the Spider Society help out, so be it! He'd go to such lengths. In fact, he was ready to storm over there right now, especially when he didn't like being confined to such a thing as a plan (something Gwen was likely to suggest before they take any sort of action). Yet, he stayed put, because right now, Pavitr needed normality and to be in a calmer headspace. Patience was not usually Hobie's thing, but he had already adjusted so much for Pav when he haphazardly moved in, so this was nothing.

 

As Hobie watched Pavitr slowly return to his usual self, if even for a brief moment, his determination reached a boiling point. He discarded any previous thoughts of doubt he may have had, even if his unsure attitude had a great deal of merit. He ignored that. 

 

There was hope. There was a solution. He was going to make sure of that.

Notes:

back at it again with another random hurt/comfort fic! like everyone else on the planet across the spider-verse rewrote my brain chemistry and i love love love these two and their relationship so muchhhhhh ahhhhh!!! this what-if scenario haunted my mind recently so despite my major insecurity when it comes to writing i wanted to give it a spin :’) hope bro doesn’t actually lose his universe though that would suck big time