Chapter Text
Wendy wanted nothing more than to stay by Clayman's side until he woke. They let their fingers tenderly graze his cheek, watching closely for any response. They sighed when they found none. He had really done it this time - Naming that Orc had left him unconscious. Everyone was panicking, and Wendy was frankly exhausted from getting them to calm down, let alone their own fear at the sight of Clayman fainting.
And then, of course, they'd carried him home. They'd undressed and redressed him in his sleepwear with the utmost care, and tucked him into bed to recover.
And now they found themself in a difficult spot. They wanted nothing more than to stay at his side and watch over him until he awoke. But it was uncertain how long that would be, and with him like this, they were the next in command. They couldn't afford to be so selfish.
They sighed, leaning over to press a kiss to his forehead.
"You dumbass." They whispered lovingly. "Wake up soon so I can scold you, okay?" They smiled wryly to themself, before their expression softened. "I love you."
There was no response. They pressed another lingering kiss to his forehead, before forcing themself to pull away, getting to their feet.
"I'll handle everything." They said, nodding sharply to him, despite his unresponsiveness. Sucking in a deep breath, they forced themself to turn towards the door, breaking their gaze from his face.
And then they left.
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It had been an exhausting day. The Five Fingers were a handful on the best days, and on the worst days, they were...
Impossible. They were impossible. Wendy almost regretted sending Eva to watch after Clayman. Eva had a knack for getting this lot under control. But no - it was more important that Clayman was well looked after. Rain had shuffled off after her, looking far more concerned than Wendy would have ever expected, muttering something about it being a maid's duty to help even a temporary master.
Honestly that didn't thrill Wendy, but as long as Eva was there, it was fine. They hardly had time to worry about that anyway, with the others occupying her attention so fully.
Gelmud had been sobbing on the floor more or less since they got back. The Koenigs were in a similar state, with Pirone desperately trying to get them to pull themselves together, though she was clearly equally stressed, her voice wobbling and her stance tensed.
Yamza had grown aggressive, arguing with basically every word Wendy said. It made their head throb, and it made them want to put him in his place. They'd had to do that more than once before, but it seemed he never learned. She did her best to remind herself that he was acting up because he was worried about Clayman. Even so, it was difficult to resist pummeling him into the ground. If this kept up, she was absolutely going to clock him sometime in the next day or two.
The only two who were calm and mostly composed were Mjurran and Alvaro. This was a relief as much as it was expected. Mjurran seemed truly prepared to execute any orders Wendy had (including getting the others to calm down, thank goodness), seeming largely unshaken. Wendy expected this had to do with her service to Clayman being a forced servitude up until recently. This wasn't to say she didn't seem upset - but it wasn't as debilitating as it seemed to be for the others.
Alvaro was a different case, though. He was making efforts to keep himself calm, but it was obvious how tense and upset he was despite this. Wendy knew him too well to not see the signs. It was rare to see the dark elf ever this upset. Wendy felt sympathy for him. Alvaro was probably the most devoted of Clayman's Five Fingers, by their count. Kazalim's affections for the Deathman had no doubt filtered down to Alvaro, who had adopted them by extension. He so obviously actually cared for Clayman. And thus while he claimed to be ready to serve, Wendy only gave him the simplest tasks, worried that he was much closer to breaking than he seemed to think.
Wendy flopped down onto one of the couches in the sitting room after a long day, groaning. They sighed heavily at remembering that Eva was watching Clayman, and as such would not be providing tea. Maybe they should go see Clayman now...
There was a gentle clatter as a tea set came to rest on the coffee table, steam rising from the teapot as Laplace picked it up and began to pour tea into several cups. Yuzu jumped onto the couch next to Wendy, nuzzling her face against them before laying across their lap. Tear and Footman were sitting on the couch opposite them, chattering quietly.
They smiled. They weren't alone, even though Clayman was unconscious. They had their family.
"Long day, huh?" Laplace remarked, gesturing at the tea cups as he sat down next to them.
Wendy sighed, picking up a tea cup with one hand and giving Yuzu an affectionate scritch behind the ears with the other. The fox purred in response.
"If I don't kill Yamza by the time Clayman wakes up it will be a miracle." Wendy replied dryly, rolling their eyes. Laplace chuckled. Wendy smiled back, before their expression dropped.
"Hey, don't worry." Laplace threw an arm around their shoulders. "He may have been a total dipshit naming that Orc on a whim, but he's gonna be alright. He's one of us, ya know, and he's only been gettin' stronger lately. You know that better'n any of us."
Wendy snorted. "I am gonna scold him when he wakes up, though."
Laplace laughed. "As ya have yer right to."
"Laplacle's right, Mom," Yuzu added, looking up at Wendy. "Clayfather is strong." She looked proud. Despite her tendency to heckle Clayman, Yuzu did actually care about him.
Laplace giggled to himself. "That nickname still gets me," he mumbled to himself, before he composed himself. "Yuzu's right."
"Yuzu's right." Yuzu repeated, beaming even more. "Clayfather was way more upset when Mom passed out after naming me."
"Huh?"
That seemed to catch everyone's attention. Wendy flushed faintly. He had scolded them quite thoroughly when they woke up.
Don't you know the risks of Naming? You'd been a majin for so long, I forgot you'd somehow retained the naive human view that all things require names. Yes, yes, she's family, but did you really need to name her so suddenly?!
They smiled faintly at the memory.
"Is that so?" Laplace asked, leaning down towards Yuzu. At the time, the jesters hadn't been around, so it had only been Eva to witness the scene. Or so they'd thought - of course, Yuzu had been present, too.
"Is so." Yuzu nodded, getting up and switching to sit between Wendy and Laplace, putting her front paws on Laplace's legs. "Yuzu can tell you aaaaall about it!"
Yuzu the fox had been a gift from Clayman to Wendy some time after their naming ceremony. At the time, she was an ordinary fox, just intended to be a pet, lacking in true sentience. Wendy had been beyond excited, and in a massive moment of forgetfulness had named Yuzu right then and there. As a result, Wendy had passed out.
Yuzu had evolved into a Crystalline Fox, inheriting abilities that were related to Wendy's Crystalline based Unique Skills, as well as a few others like Shadow Movement. Yuzu could change size at will, though she tended to remain in the small size she had been born into when spending time in the castle with Wendy (Mom) and Clayman (Clayfather).
Clayman had been distressed at this turn of events, to put it mildly. Thus had marked the beginning of a conflict between Clayman and Yuzu that manifested in snarky comments and fighting for Wendy's attention. Underneath that, there was actual love and care, but it was difficult to read on the surface.
The more Yuzu shared of the story, the more Wendy lowered their head, until their head was in their hands and practically in their lap.
"You're just as bad as Clayman!" Tear teased, giggling.
"Hohoho! Two peas in a pod!" Footman added.
"I...I learned my lesson, after that." Wendy grumbled, still hiding their face.
"It's hip- hippo- hippotle-" Yuzu struggled, expression serious.
"Hypocritical!" Footman interjected.
"Hehehe! So true!" Tear kicked her feet with delight.
"Hypocritle." Yuzu nodded sagely.
"Aw now, come on." Laplace, arm still around Wendy's shoulder, offered a gentle squeeze. "Let's cut 'em some slack. They had a long day."
"Thank you, Laplace." Wendy lifted their head up, face flushed from embarrassment.
"And besides," he winked at them, "we already knew Wendy and Clayman were both lovable dorks, didn't we? So this is well within expectations."
"L-LAPLACE!" Wendy looked aghast as Laplace was taken by a laughing fit.
"Yer face, Wendy! I got ya real good huh?" He grinned, still laughing a bit.
"He did, he did!" Tear cheered, while Footman's laugh boomed.
Wendy sighed. "You're all relentless." They sipped at their tea. "Look the point is, everything's a fucking mess without him, so he better wake up soon." They grumbled. "Tea doesn't even taste as good without him here."
Tear looked as if to remark on the last bit, but Footman put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Laplace nodded slightly in approval.
"That all said," Laplace took his arm back from Wendy, leaning back against the couch, "I think the hypocrisy here belongs with Clayman, ta be honest."
"Hypocritle." Yuzu repeated, nodding. Fighting down a giggle, Laplace continued.
"Right yeah, hyp - snrt - hypocritle. I mean, sounds like Wendy got an earful from him, and yet he goes and does the same thing?" Laplace shrugged dramatically. "Par fer the fucking course with him, though."
"Yeah, that's true." Tear agreed.
"He doesn't always have the best self awareness." Footman added.
"...I feel like I should be defending him but...Laplace does make a good point." Wendy chuckled wryly, running a hand through their hair. "He's so impulsive sometimes."
"But ya love him." Laplace bumped his shoulder into theirs.
"But I love him." Wendy affirmed, smiling.
"Awwww." Tear and Footman cooed. Yuzu nuzzled Wendy's leg with their face affectionately.
"And I am also very tired." Wendy set down their teacup, offering Yuzu one last scritch before getting to their feet. "If I have to keep everyone in line again tomorrow, I had better get some rest."
"Sounds good. We'll keep watch tonight, so don't worry about anything." Laplace waved, the other two chiming in with their agreement.
Yuzu hopped to the floor, padding over to Wendy after a quick stretch.
"Yuzu sleepy too." She said, rubbing against Wendy's leg. Wendy reached down, and Yuzu eagerly positioned herself for Wendy to scoop her up. Yuzu purred in Wendy's arms, while Wendy pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Thank you, Laplace, Tear, Footman. I really appreciate it." Wendy smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight!"
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After briefly checking in with Eva and dismissing her for the evening, Wendy got ready for bed. They felt sluggish. As eager as they were to get into bed and see Clayman, by the same token their stomach twisted and turned at knowing they'd be seeing him unconscious and unmoving. It wasn't right - he was always so full of life and motion normally. And his expression was...pained would be an excessive way to describe it, but he looked worried, frowning faintly.
Nonetheless, they finally found themself slipping into bed, breath catching in their throat as she looked at Clayman. He was beautiful in sleep, or in this deep unconsciousness, even as they felt guilty for the thought. They scooted closer, reaching out a hand to gently caress his cheek. As it had been earlier, there was no response.
Yuzu watched from the foot of the bed, whimpering ever so softly at the sad look on Wendy's face. But Wendy was focused - they didn't notice. Yuzu curled up, settling in for sleep.
"Clayman, today was pretty rough." Wendy cuddled up close to him, laying her head down on his shoulder with a sigh. "Everyone is so upset. I managed to get them mostly under control, but...well, if I had to put a positive spin on it...they just care about you a lot." They sighed again. "I miss you."
They pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
"I miss you a lot. Laplace, Tear, Footman, and even Yuzu are helping me get through it though. Still," Wendy grinned wryly, "I'm going to scold you so hard for this when you wake up."
"Hypocritle." Yuzu said sleepily.
"Hypocritle, Clayman." Wendy repeated, with a little laugh. They pressed another kiss to his cheek, before lifting their head off of him, scooching their pillow to be right next to his before lying down on it. "Goodnight. Rest well, my love."
Worried as they were, sleep did not come easy.
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They woke up cuddled up against him. Blearily, they blinked, confused that he was not already awake.
Ah. Right.
"Clayman?" Wendy murmured softly, gently pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Clayman?"
Their heart sank. He was still unconscious. For a moment, they felt frustrated with Clayman for still being out and leaving this situation to them - but then they forced their body to relax, a wave of guilt washing over them. They were sure Clayman hadn't intended any of this.
"Yuzu," Wendy said softly as they sat up. Yuzu's ears twitched in response before the fox slowly got to her feet, before making her way carefully across the blankets.
"Yes, Mom?" Yuzu asked, nuzzling her head against Wendy's arm.
"Can you tell Eva to look after everyone for a bit? I'm going to give Clayman a towel bath this morning."
"Tower bath?" Yuzu tilted her head cutely.
"Towel bath." Wendy repeated, smiling.
"Okay! Yuzu tell!" She gave one further affectionate headbutt before jumping off the side of the bed, landing on the floor with a soft thud. Wendy listened as Yuzu's claws tip-tapped on the tile floor until they could no longer hear them anymore.
Only then did they rouse themself properly, giving Clayman one last kiss on the cheek as they got up.
"I'll be right back." They murmured. "Going to get you all clean."
It wasn't long before they returned with a small cart. Two steaming hot, wet towels were draped over one side, while the other side had several dry ones. Wendy laid one of the towels, a larger one, down on the bed.
With the utmost care, Wendy began to undress Clayman, undoing his robe. Their expression was tender, actions gentle and full of love. Wendy gently lifted Clayman up, shifting him over to rest on the towel, still on his back. They grabbed one of the hot towels, testing it's warmth to ensure it wouldn't burn the unconscious Clayman. Then, they began to gently wipe him down.
This truly was an act of love, as they very carefully cleaned every inch of him without hesitation. Certainly, there were cleaning spells, and certainly, Wendy knew them. But it simply didn't occur to Wendy to do something like that - it was the intention and the love behind the action that had meaning to them. They were taking care of him - an intimacy that belonged to Wendy and Wendy alone.
When they were finished with his front, they gently dried him with one of the clean towels, before lifting him up once more and placing him onto his stomach, gently resting his face on a pillow.
And then the cleaning resumed with the second hot towel.
After some time, they had finished. Smiling softly to themself, they carefully put his robe back on. Once done, they tenderly brushed back his hair, pressing gentle kisses to his face.
"I've got to hand you over to Eva now." They said ruefully. "But I'll be back the moment you wake up, I promise."
With that, Wendy headed out of the room, and was promptly greeted by the sound of Yuzu sliding across the floor towards her.
"Uh-"
"BABY BABY BABY!" Yuzu yelled, barking as she circled Wendy. "BABY BABY BABY!"
"Yuzu, what is-"
"Oh! There you are, Mistrum Wendy." Eva smiled at them as they walked into the hallway, Yuzu still circling them and yelling.
"What's going on?" Wendy asked, shooting Yuzu a pained smile. Yuzu stopped, not quite grasping the nature of the smile, sitting back on her haunches next to Wendy and beaming.
"BABY!" The fox yelled again.
"The egg hatched." Eva said with a smile.
"Ah, I see." Wendy paused, processing that. "THE EGG HATCHED?!"
"BABY!!!!" Yuzu asserted again, jumping to her feet and barking.
"Indeed!"
"Wh- what- what is- where?!" Wendy was at a loss for words.
"Laplace, Tear, and Footman are looking after it for the moment." Eva seemed entirely unbothered by both the development itself and Wendy's panicked reaction. "Are you all finished with Lord Clayman?"
"Um- yes." Wendy blinked, shaking themself back to a calm state. "Please look after him well for me." Their expression softened, and they ducked their head slightly.
"Of course." Eva put a hand to her chest, bowing to Wendy in return. "Don't worry, Mistrum. He'll be okay. He's strong."
Wendy smiled, laughing softly. "Thank you, Eva. Now, I, uh, better go check out the, er..."
"BABY!" Yuzu interjected.
"Yes, the baby." Wendy was beginning to look frazzled again.
Eva let out a gentle laugh herself. "I will leave you to it."
Wendy departed for the main sitting room, Yuzu excitedly trotting next to them.
"G'morning, Wendy." Laplace said. "Lookit this little one." He was perched on the back of a couch, while Tear and Footman sat on the floor. Between them was...
"An ant?" Wendy blinked. "Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense. What's in the bowl?"
"Sugar water." Laplace answered, jumping down from the couch to do a twirl.
"Is...is that enough food?"
Laplace shrugged. "It seems happy enough."
"Yuzu gonna be the BEST older sibster." Yuzu declared proudly, joining Tear and Footman next to the ant. It looked up at them curiously, chittering.
"Oh, yer gonna get a kick outta this." Laplace whispered to Wendy.
"Ant bro!" Yuzu addressed it, dropping into a playful stance. "I have brought Mom! See? Mom is the PRETTIEST ever!"
Wendy couldn't help but smile, cheeks flushing. Laplace giggled to himself.
"It's true." Tear added.
"Listen to your elder sister, little one." Footman's laugh boomed.
"It isn't-" Wendy started to interject, but was stopped by Laplace.
"Now, ya know Clayman wouldn't stand fer that kinda talk outta ya. Don't think just cuz he's asleep ya can get away with it." Laplace shook his head at them in disappointment, wagging a finger in their face.
Wendy pouted but quieted down.
"Mom is really nice and sweet. Mom was taking care of Clayfather!" Yuzu continued, entirely unbothered by the exchange. Had Wendy been less stressed, they would have noticed the way Yuzu's tail wagged at all of their reactions, and how much Yuzu was going over the top to make them smile. "Clayfather...is very strong and smart." Yuzu said, nodding sagely. "But also hypocritle."
Everyone burst into a fit of giggles at the use of hypocritle. Yuzu beamed, delighted her plan to cheer Wendy up was working. The ant tilted it's head, looking around at everyone in confusion.
"That's called lafling and it's good! Everyone happy." Yuzu explained to the ant. "Mom, say hi!"
Laplace nudged Wendy, and they got down on their knees to greet the ant.
"Hey. I'm Wendy." They smiled. "Um...Yuzu's right. I'm your Mom now."
Yuzu beamed again, purring faintly.
The ant looked back at them curiously, clearly not yet understanding spoken language. Well, that was fine. Wendy reached out a hand, gently petting it's head, between it's antenna. The ant closed it's eyes, pushing into the touch a bit.
"Aww..." Wendy's expression softened, briefly forgetting her woes at this sweet moment. "Aren't you cute?"
Yuzu's tail wagged furiously. This was how Wendy should be - happy and smiling, rather than...subdued and stressed. Yuzu knew the bad feelings wouldn't fully go away until Clayman was back - but she couldn't help but try.
Just one happy smile from Wendy was worth all the effort.
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Wendy was only slightly alarmed by how fast the ant had grown. In just under 3 days, while Clayman remained unconscious, it had grown to be about the same size as Yuzu. It had only consumed sugar water in this time, too, which somehow made it even more concerning how much it had grown.
In all this time, Clayman had remained unconscious.
Wendy was thoroughly exhausted, the strain clear on their face even when they attempted to relax. Clayman had quite literally always been there since they had been summoned. Something like this had not happened before, and they hardly knew what to do with themself without him around.
Yuzu dutifully continued trying to cheer them up and distract them with cute antics, but their reactions continued to dull as time passed. Yuzu worried over this, but didn't have the capacity to fully process it, or express her feelings to Wendy. All the same, she continued trying to get Wendy to smile, even when the smile she received was a weak one.
In the middle of the morning on the third day, Wendy bolted upright suddenly as if shocked.
(Wen...dy...) It was Clayman reaching out over Thought Communication. He was clearly not fully awake, his thoughts coming weakly into their mind. But the sense of longing, the sense of missing their presence, was clear enough.
Wendy got to their feet straight away, expression determined as they practically sprinted to their shared bedroom.
(I'm coming.) They said, sending their love, their relief, and their joy along the connection. (I'm coming!)
They felt love in return. They were barely aware of Yuzu running along beside them, the fox having guessed at what was going on by Wendy's actions alone.
They burst through the bedroom door, only resisting slamming it open by the thinnest margin.
"Clayman." Wendy said, meeting his gaze. He was sitting up in bed now, the ant just about on his lap. "Clayman!"
With tears beginning to slide down their cheeks, they ran for the bed. Having an expectation that this might happen, Eva scooped up the ant, just moments before Wendy tackled Clayman. Rain let out a quiet snort at that, but Eva gently shooshed her.
"Wendy?" Clayman breathed out, catching his breath after they'd just about knocked the wind out of him. "What- why are you-"
"I missed you." They mumbled into his neck. "Don't you ever do that again."
Clayman opened his mouth as if to defend himself, but closed it again, smiling softly. "I'm sorry I worried you."
"You should be." They mumbled. He could hear the smile in their voice. "I was getting ready to kill Yamza for being such a pain in the ass."
"I am grateful for and impressed by your self restraint," Clayman teased, chuckling. The gratitude behind his words was real, disguised as it was. "It would've been fine to show a little strength, you know."
"I know." Wendy sighed, lifting their head up to look at him, a few tears still resting on their cheeks. They smiled. "It's just, well, he was just worried about you...and so was everyone else. Me, too."
"I didn't- er-" Clayman was perfectly willing to admit to Wendy it had been an accident. But only to Wendy. He furrowed his brow as he realized that Rain and Eva had snuck out of the room without him noticing. Yuzu rested at the foot of the bed, curled up with a wagging tail. "I didn't intend to do that, let alone to be out for three days..."
Wendy stared at him.
"Wh-what?" He stammered out, paling under their gaze.
"I can't decide if that's better or worse than doing it intentionally..." Wendy replied bluntly, mouth a thin line.
Clayman sighed, blushing and looking sheepish. "Well, I think it's-"
"Hypocritle." Yuzu chirped, sitting up to look straight at Clayman. "Hypocritle Clayfather."
Wendy began to laugh. Clayman looked scandalized as he glared at the fox.
"Ex cuse me?!" Clayman asked. "What did you just say?!" He shot a glance at Wendy who was now doubled over with laughter.
Emboldened by Wendy's reaction, Yuzu continued. "Hypo," she began to walk towards Clayman on the bed, eyes twinkling, "critle!" She pounced on his arm, looking proud of herself.
(Hypocritical, Clayman. You're a hypocrite.) Wendy explained via Thought Communication, as they began wiping at their eyes, finally catching their breath from the giggle fit.
"Well, I never ." Clayman pouted at the both of them.
"No, Clayfather did , that's why hypocritle-" Yuzu began.
"Yes, yes, I get it!" Clayman scowled, crossing his arms. "Is this any way to treat someone who was passed out for 3 days?!"
"Aww." Wendy smiled at him, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips. "Not really, no."
Clayman smiled, looking smug.
"But I did say I was going to scold you. Yuzu did a much better job than I would have." Wendy teased. Yuzu beamed.
"Great." Clayman replied flatly. "Could we go back to kissing now? I'm appropriately scolded." His pout intensified.
"Mom took care of you." Yuzu said softly.
Wendy and Clayman looked at Yuzu curiously. Suddenly, Wendy blushed, realizing what Yuzu was about to say.
"Mom washed and cleaned you every day. Mom loves Clayfather." Yuzu said, fixing Clayman with a very serious look. "Yuzu felt..." The fox paused. She couldn't put it into words. "No grump at Mom."
Clayman's expression softened, and he turned back to Wendy. "Did you?"
Wendy nodded, looking away shyly. "Well, yes. Of course, I- I wanted you to be clean and comfortable."
Clayman cupped their cheek with a hand. Wendy's gaze shot to his, blushing more.
"You didn't have to do that."
"I wanted to." They whispered, tears pooling at the corners of their eyes again.
They didn't need to acknowledge out loud how much simpler the cleaning spell would have been. It was known without words. To speak of the love and care that had shaped this decision would only be to tarnish it with clumsy words.
Clayman leaned in and kissed them softly. They kissed him back, hands gently grasping at his robe. Yuzu settled in, laying down face away, satisfied to see her parents happy again as they kissed over and over.
Soon it would be time to get up and deal with the aftermath of Clayman's absence. But for now, there was only each other.