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Boboiboy rushed into his and gopal's shared room, he took off his power watch and placed it on the table. He grabbed his pillow and muffled his screams. It was getting harder to control the urges, plus the fact it was an especially no-good day for him. His arm was itchy and everything was horrible.
The day started of good, he woke up feeling not so heavy, managed to finish his breakfast, and got to school on time. It went downhill when they were called in for a mission.
It was a simple mission, grab Napbot then leave as fast as they could.
The problem began with the fact napbot didn't trust them. They tried everything they could to prove to Napbot that they weren't evil and were trying to save him. Their efforts were futile because before napbot even thought of trusting them, they were ambushed by a pirate gang.
They were outnumbered and all of them were injured, the building didn't look like it could hold up any longer so he had to think fast. He had found a route of escape, but now he was left with a choice.
Save Napbot or save his friends.
Yeah no, screw that.
He grabbed Gopal by the collar and ran towards the exit, all while informing his team to follow his lead. Yaya, who was trying to stabilize the building, heard his call and grabbed both ying and fang using her gravity manipulation and blasted out.
They were all heaving and coughing when the building collapsed and dust infiltrated their lungs.
"You- you got Napbot right Boboiboy?"
Yaya said in-between her coughing fit, "N- no." He wheezed out.
"WHAT! SO WE DID ALL THAT FOR NOTHING? HUHUHUHU" Gopal shrieked, dramatically crying as he clung to an annoyed Fang.
"Stop hugging me Gopal!"
"What do you mean "no"? Napbot is the whole reason we came here for!" Ying yelled, her breaths labored.
"I couldn't save the both of you, what did you want me to do!" He groaned out in frustration.
"Oh I don't know.. SAVE NAPBOT?"
Boboiboy opened his mouth to retort but Yaya stepped in, "Guys, please stop fighting. This isn't going to help." She turned to Boboiboy, she schooled her expression into something along the lines of pity. "Boboiboy, as much as we appreciate you saving us. Napbot was our priority, now he's probably in the hand of those pirates from before. What would the admiral say about this?"
Boboiboy stared as his friends in disbelief, he glanced at them. Gopal had twisted his ankle and there was noticeable bruising across his face. Fang had his arm wrapped around his side, no doubt it was either severe bruising or an open wound, though he hasn't seen any blood yet so that's a relief.
Ying's glasses were cracked, she most probably had a concussion too from the hits she took, her knees were scrapped and bruised and there were small cuts on her legs. Yaya's hijab looked disheveled but it did its job, she definitely busted her knuckles open, there were small cuts all over her, and a larger one on her forehead. He wasn't so hot either, There was definitely severe bruising on his stomach, a few cuts and scrapes, he was limping too.
He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, flinched slightly when it caused him pain. "Look, I'm sorry, but I couldn't just leave you guys there. Napbot may be your priority but our safety is mine." His friends only looked at each other with defeated looks.
His mind kept replaying the moment over and over again, trying to make sense of what happened. His friends were badly injured, the building they were in was about to collapse, and they wanted him to save napbot? Sure! Their mission was to retrieve napbot, but he wasn't just going to grab napbot and leave his friends to die! If it was only him then he wouldn't have cared so much.
And of course right after they came back empty handed, he got chewed out by the admiral for failing to retrieve the power sphere.
God, his ears were still ringing.
His friends were in the infirmary getting treated so he was going to be alone for a while. Adrenaline finally wore off as the weight of his injuries settled in, he fought back tears as the injury on his stomach pulsed with searing pain. Okay... maybe he should've went to the infirmary too, but he was way too adrenaline high to realize how bad his injuries were.
He hissed, Well, too late to turn back now right? He'll just tough it out, he survived worse.
His arm was itchy again..
They watched as the screen turns black, signaling that their owner took off the watch.
Gempa clicked his tongue, he understood why his owner was upset. Halilintar was still complaining about the owner's friends being ungrateful that their owner saved them. The TTM agreed, pouts on their faces as they listened to Halilintar's rant. Solar was nowhere to be seen, probably in his room. Ais seemed to be sleeping but everything knows he was listening to Halilintar's complaints. "I feel bad for master, he must've been so upset.." Duri's lips wobbled. "Yeah, and also he rarely ever takes off the watch.." "This is all that admiral's fault!" The TTM's voices faded into the background as gempa continued to stare at the black screen, something was seriously wrong.
Why'd he take off the watch?
Was he doing something he didn't want them to know of?
No no, he shouldn't think like that, he probably took it off to take a bath or something along the lines. Yeah, maybe that. He knows he shouldn't worry, really, it could've been nothing, but there's still that inkling of doubt. A cool hand touched this shoulder, "He'll be fine, you, halilintar and taufan have been with him the longest, you know how he is."
He sucked in a breath. He shouldn't worry, but something was wrong.
Ais frowned at the action but chose not to mention it, "You go meet up with the others, I think I'm gonna stay here for a little longer." He glanced at the screen again. Ais's hand lingered on Gempa's shoulder, clearly hesitant on leaving Gempa alone, but said nothing as he complied and walked away.
Boboiboy sat on the edge of the bed, eyes blank as he stared at the box on his lap. There was nothing much in the box, only a few photographs, post cards and some old coins. But one thing sat on top the mess.
A razor blade.
He knew he shouldn't do it, he knows the consequences, but as the cool blade presses against his scarred wrist, The thought escaped his mind.
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His eyes were dim as he watched the blood slowly trickle down his wrist, staining his pants. He should've probably cleaned the wound by now, but would it have really mattered? Nobody would even have thought of the possibility that he did this to himself.
Oh, boboiboy did this to himself? No way! He's a sunshine! He's always so bright and happy, you're saying nonsense!
Thank god he locked the door, he didn't want anybody to find out. He doesn't know how the power watch works but hopefully by taking it off, the elements wouldn't know about this.
Would they care if they knew? Probably not, but it was a nice thought.
The smell of copper lingered in the air.
His eyes felt heavy.
Was Tok Aba doing okay? He hasn't had time to check in on him in a while.
He knew Ochobot was safe. He had been waiting in the spaceship while they were trying retrieve Napbot.
He groaned in pain, the bruising on his stomach reminding him of its existence. God, he's so tired.
Tired of all the missions.
Tired of the fighting.
He loves helping people, but he's still human.
He curled in on himself.
He wants to go home.
He wants Tok Aba.
He wants Uncle Mimi.
His eyes burned.
He wants his dad.
Slowly, the tears slid down his cheeks, he gritted his teeth. More tears spilled from his eyes, he choked on a sob, slapping a hand across his mouth to muffle it. He winced as his tears hit fresh wounds. He curled in on himself, digging his nails into his forearms.
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Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed his power watch glowing brightly.
W ar m.
That was the first thing he registered when he came back to the realm of consciousness. (When had he left?)
The warmth alone had almost dragged him back to sleep. He bleary opened his eyes, his room was dim despite the fact he clearly remembered leaving the lights on. He grunted as he tried to sit up but his stomach pulsed with hot pain. The hands that were holding him flinched. "Are you okay Master Ori?" The voice (Or should he say his voice?) was laced with worry. He tilted his head upwards, following the voice. His own brown eyes met with golden ones.
"Gempa?.."
"It's me, Master Ori."
God, he felt like crying again. He shifted his gaze to his arm. It was neatly bandaged.
His throat closed up.
Now he really felt like crying.
Gempa had noticed his Master staring at his own arm, he frowned. He didn't know how to approach the subject.
When he exited the watch with the help of Solar, he was expecting something. But not this, never this. Gempa had panicked, had something happen? Was this about the mission?. It seemed like his owner was trying not to break out in tears, he rushed over and tried to pry his owner's nails away from his forearms. He succeeded, he was way more physically stronger than his owner so it was easy. But the scars on his owner's wrist made him freeze.
What.
Clean cuts littered his wrist, some fresher than others. He felt bile crawl up his throat.
A choked sob broke him from his thoughts, he looked up, meeting his owner's pained gaze. His owner's teeth were gritted, fat tears slowly rolled down his cheeks, his eyebrows pinched together, His glassy eyes held so many emotions in them. He felt his own eyes water at the sight of them.
His owner aggressively shook his head, trying to pull his wrist away from Gempa's strong grip. He opened his mouth but only a wet gasp came out. He looked around, grabbing a med-kit his owner kept under his desk for emergencies. Grabbing gauze, disinfectant, wipes and medical tape. He looked at his owner, he was trying to say something. His mouth was moving but his voice wouldn't corporate.
He knew he was trying to apologize.
He de-summoned his earth gloves, carefully grabbing his owner's wrist. His owner had stopped crying, no longer curled into himself. He slumped from where he was sitting, seemingly lost energy to fight back. He poured some disinfectant on the wipe, dabbing it over his owner's wrist. He flinched and hissed at the sensation, but stayed quiet. Gempa muttered an apology, Boboiboy shook his head dismissively.
He neatly wrapped the gauze around his wrist, securing it with medical tape.
"Done."
He whispered, gazing up at his owner only to see him with his eyes half shut. dried tears stains his cheeks, his eyes dim. He felt a pang of guilt. He stood up, grabbing a wipe, heading into the bathroom. Wetting the wipe before walking back. He crouched In front of his owner, wiping the tear stains on his cheeks. His owner let out a soft hum. He sat on the bed, softly pulling his owner into his chest. Boboiboy shut his eyes as a wave of exhaustion hit him, snuggling into Gempa. Gempa rested his head on top his owner's, the conversation they were going to have was going to be difficult.
He isn't mad.
He could never be mad at him.
He was mad at himself.
By the looks of the scars, this had been going on for some time already, his heart broke at the thought of his owner struggling. His eyes burned with unshed tears. Whenever they were out of the watch his owner had seemed so happy, laughing and smiling with them. How could he have been so blind?
He took a deep breath, pressing his lips in a quick kiss to his owner's head. There's no use blaming himself for the past, what's important is that now he knows. He's not gonna let his owner struggle by himself anymore.
He wasn't expecting this when he woke up from his nap.
Boboiboy was silent from where he sat, Gempa opposite of him. Why did he have such bad luck?
Gempa observed him, he didn't know what to say. How do you even talk about stuff like this? His lips pressed into a thin line, the silence was killing him.
"Master Ori.." Boboiboy winced at the title, he had told them many times not to call him that, but they refused saying, "We just respect you!" he had given up after that.
"I-" Gempa struggled to find words, he didn't want to make the situation worse, or make Master Ori think he's mad at him.
"Gempa?.. Please.. don't tell anyone.."
His too soft voice pleaded with Gempa. "Just.. please." Gempa was reluctant. Of course, it was his choice if he didn't want to tell anyone. But he feels that the elementals should at least he aware of it.
"I don't know Master Ori, you need to talk to someone about this."
"I have you!"
"I don't think I'm suitable for this Ori.."
His hands grabbed Gempa's own, intertwining their fingers together. "Gempa, can we please talk about this another time?" He pleaded with the earth element, using his signature move, puppy eyes. He hadn't realized he had called him "Ori" instead of "Master Ori", though he is thankful for it.
Gempa tried to resist but it was futile, he knew he shouldn't, but he himself didn't know what to do as of then. Plus, he could see the exhaustion in his master's eyes, he sighed, exasperated.
"Tomorrow, we talk about this okay?" He noticed that his master was slightly uncomfortable but had agreed nonetheless. It was a conversation they were going to have whether he liked it or not. So might as well get it done fast right?
"Okay, good. I should probably-" As he got up to leave, he was pulled back onto the bed. He yelped, his master buried his face into Gempa's chest. "Stay. Please." His words muffled by the fabric of Gempa's clothes, Gempa wrapped his arms around his owner. "Are you sure you want me to stay?" He wanted confirmation that it was truly okay for him to be here. He didn't want to intrude on anything.
"Yes, if you want to of course.. I don't want to force you or anything." Boboiboy looked up at Gempa from where he buried his face. It was true, if Gempa didn't wish to stay, he wouldn't force him too.
"I don't mind." He smiled at his owner, he sometimes forgot his owner was still a child
. A child who was given shoes too big to fill. He felt anger stir in his chest, at those who had hurt his owner.
Did nobody care about the fact they were fighting a child? What enjoyment did they get out of hurting a kid?
His owner snuggled deeper into his chest, his soft breaths filling the silence. He hadn't noticed he had fallen asleep in the first place. Feelings of affections swarm him as his pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead.
His owner means a lot to him. A lot.
He knew that both him and the other elementals would kill everyone and then themselves for their owner.
His eyelids grew heavy.
The other elementals were going to worry soon. Hopefully they have enough trust in him to hold till morning. Or the space equivalent of morning.
Until then, he'll just sleep the night away with his owner in his arms.