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Douxie was never one to take care of himself, if it weren't for Archie he'd be dead by now. But recently it has been getting worse. Douxie had lost both Merlin and Morgana, his father and sister, in the span of barely two days. He had been forced to push it aside because there were bigger things at stake, the world for example.
They had some time before the Order attacked again, and yet as Archie looked over at his boy, he looked more scared then when they were attacking. Douxies eyes were bloodshot, his eye bags like tea bags hanging down in front of his face, his hair was a rat's nest, his clothes wrinkled and ripped, in short, he looked like shit.
Not only that but Douxie had quite literally died just a few days ago, he had come back of course but there were some things that had stayed from his death. He had long scars littering his body, looking like he had been stitched back together, he also had lost hearing in one ear from the magic explosion.
Douxie had been hunched over his desk, books and papers littered the whole room. Archie had not been able to even get him to sleep or eat, no matter how hard he tried. Nari and a few of his friends had tried as well but Douxie wouldn't even speak to them.
Archie knew this had to end, the boy needed his rest. That was why Archie was currently on his way to Jim's house, they had to help Douxie.
Archie had practically pounced on Jim once he saw him, almost knocking him over, “ow! Archie?! What the hell?” Jim rubbed his head, he was trying to head to bed but nevermind to that.
“Apologies, I was in a rush.” Archie pushed up his glasses and sat down as Jim regained his composure.
Jim saw how antsy Archie looked, worried filling his expression. “Is something wrong?”
“Douxie needs help, urgently.” Jim’s eyes widened at that.
“What happened? Does he need a doctor? I can get my Mom.”
Archie shook his head, this was nothing no doctor could fix, Doucie was fine physically, except for him being heavily dehydrated and starved, mentally Fine was what Douxie wasn't.
“As you most likely know, a lot has happened to Douxie recently, he has lost a lot. He hasn't been taking care of himself lately, he needs a break, time to relax.”
Jim nodded slowly, until after a moment, he just might have had the perfect plan.
Jim and Archie had talked the rest of the night, devising a plan. They would need help from all their friends, but it would work, hopefully.
Jim had started a group chat with all the people involved, letting them know of the plan. Everyone had their own part, it was simple, throw Douxie the best party they could. Since no one knew his birthday, hell Douxie probably didn't even know, it was an appreciation party that was really just a birthday party.
The party had taken 2 days to fully set up, luckily Douxie was too cooped up with his books he didn't notice Archie leaving all day.
Jim was finishing up the decoration of the cake, it was a lemon blackberry cake with blue frosting. The whole house was decorated in a blue and black theme, balloons, banners, flowers, and somehow confetti and glitter had gotten everywhere. Jim knew this would be a pain in the ass to clean, but it would be worth it, for Douxie.
Everyone else was already there, Claire was making her iconic guacamole, Aja, Steve, Toby, and Aaarrrgghh!!,and Nari was decorating, Krel was setting up his DJ booth, And Blinky and Barabra were just supervising. All they needed was Douxie.
Douxie was currently still hunched over his desk, he hadn't moved a muscle besides to turn the page of one of Merlin's Books. Archie would need to get Douxie to leave and go to Jim's house, and he couldn't just tell him the truth, so here goes nothing. “Douxie! Jim needs your help!” but Douxie barely flinched. Well, guess he's going to have to hit harder. “Nari can feel the Arcana Order coming closer!” that got his attention.
He jolted up and whipped his head around, loud cracks coming from his stiff bones. “What?! Already?!” The poor boy's voice was hoarse, he hadn't drank anything in days let alone spoke at all.
“Yes! Jim’s having us all meet up at his house to think of a plan.”
Douxie quickly stood up, ignoring every protest from his muscles and bones. He walked out the door before Archie could even tell him to slow down.
It wasn't long before Douxie made it to Jim's house, he was out of breath as he opened the door. The first thing he saw was all his friends' faces, they were smiling….? At a time like this? He stood there confused until they yelled out. “Surprise!!”
They moved out of the way, showing him a full view of the house, a large banner saying “Happy Birthday…?” like a question. He glanced at all the decorations one by one, then at his friends, taking it all in.
Their expressions faltered, did he not like it? “Is this for me?” he asked so softly they almost didn't hear.
“Duh, who else would it be for?- ow!” that was Steve, who received a jab in the side by Claire.
Douxie hummed and Krel handed him something, it was Akiridion tech, it looked like a plain blue orb until he pressed a button on it, which it lit up and displayed a picture, it was all of them together, smiling. “It was all our idea, but I made it of course.”
Douxie started to laugh but it started to turn hoarse, tears pricked his eyes, then they fell, then he was sobbing. Everyone quickly rushed over to Him, asking whats wrong,
“Did you not like the gift?”
“Dude you good?”
“It's okay.”
“Calm down.”
Eventually they stopped talking and just stood there with him, waiting for him to calm down.
He took a deep breath and looked at everyone and smiled, “thank you.”
Claire put a hand on his shoulder, “you deserve it, Teach.”
Everyone else nodded in agreement.
“So, who wants cake?”