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After a particularly dangerous mission, Vantacrow can be seen in Vezalius’ clinic, sitting on one of the pristine infirmary beds. Most of his torso and right upper arm are covered in bandages, while his forearm is still being treated by his teammate, who finished treating Vanta’s more severe wounds and has now moved on to his arm.
“I told you,” Vanta starts, “you have no reason to worry about me! You know I took down 100,000 armed combatants all by myself in the past, right? This is nothi—“
“You lost a lot of blood.” Vezalius interrupts coldly, tightening the gauze around Vanta’s wrist, “You are lucky I was able to stitch your wounds just in time.” He continues, recalling the mission, the events still fresh in his memory.
The heroes from ASH were on the battlefield. An enemy jumped to literally backstab Vezalius while he was vulnerable, but Vanta blocked the enemy’s blade, shielding Zali from the attack and taking the hit for him.
“Despite how deep the cuts are, though, you took the treatment like a champion. You did not flinch or complain a single time.” Zali comments, placing a bandaid on one of the smaller cuts, his eyes still focused on his patient’s arm. “Quite impressive, I must say. You’re so resilient.”
“Hah, I told you it was nothing! I could take any hit any day, especially if it meant protecting you or Wilson.” Vanta smiles at the praise, which slightly lifts up Zali’s spirits. The medic’s words are true, Vanta has some incredible stamina and resistance. He truly deserves his title as the tank of Krisis.
“But still,” Vezalius affirms sternly, pausing his movements, “ That does not mean that you can just go around putting yourself in danger for my sake.” His gaze is still fixed on the bandaged arm between his hands. He sighs bitterly, “I should have taken that hit. I should be the one with these deep wounds right now, not you.”
Vanta puts his less-injured left hand on Zali’s shoulder, prompting the medic to look up and make eye contact with the tyrant for the first time in nearly an hour. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it, alright? You did a great job healing me, I’m perfectly fine now—“
“You are perfectly fine now, but what if next time isn’t as fortunate? What if you keep taking hits for me, and you end up in critical danger, or worse?! What then?!” Zali startles Vanta with his sudden sharp tone, making the tyrant widen his eyes. “You need to stop sacrificing yourself for me. I can’t…” the medic backs away and turns around, his tone growing quieter. He shifts his focus on taking off and throwing away his surgical gloves in the trash can, signaling that he was all done with treating Vanta’s wounds. He sighs stiffly, “I can’t… I can’t lose you.”
Vanta looks down and hums apologetically. “Okay, I’ll be more careful next time...” He glances up at the man in front of him, who has his back turned towards him. He notes how slouched his shoulders are, how unkempt his black hair is, and how his body lightly trembles for a moment.
Vezalius sighs heavily and crosses his arms. “Be extra careful. You know I can’t heal the dead.” He turns around to face Vanta, who notices his furrowed brows, and the tears starting to form in his golden eyes. “I don’t know what I would do if anything were to happen to you.” He mumbles, somehow keeping himself composed despite his tearful eyes.
Vanta’s gaze softens, “Hey,” he starts in a hushed tone, reaching a hand towards his teammate. “Zali…”
Vezalius silently wipes his eyes with the back of his hand in frustration, only for his vision to get even more blurry with tears. He lets out a shaky breath before he sniffles.
“Hey, hey, it’s alright…” Vanta soothes, taking one of Zali’s hands in his own and gently squeezing it. “I’m right here, Zali. I’m not going anywhere.”
Zali notices for a moment how big and calloused Vanta’s hand is compared to his own, and how soothing and warm it is, which helps ground him a little.
“…Sorry,” he exhales, chuckling weakly, feeling the tears threatening to spill, “I was just worried. I was so, so, so worried, Vanta…” his voice trembles as he chokes back his sobs, “I was… I was scared … that you would…”
Vanta gently wraps his arms around the medic’s form and pulls him closer upon seeing the tears run down his cheeks. “Hey, no, no, it’s okay. I’m right here.” He soothes, as softly as he can, while fighting back his own urge to cry. “I got you, Zali.”
Vezalius stands frozen in place for a moment, unsure of how to react to the tyrant’s displays of affection. After a few seconds of being in his warm embrace, Zali feels his tears run freely, and he breaks. “I-I was s-so…” he sobs, “so scared…!” He finally returns the hug, clinging to Vanta like his life depends on it. “So scared… that y-you would leave me…”
The medic was normally so calm and collected, so cold and composed… It was strange seeing him so vulnerable, so small, so fragile. Vanta was shocked at the sight in front of him for sure.
“I know, Zali, I know…” Vanta shushes softly, tightening his embrace, “I’m not leaving you anytime soon. It’s okay…”
Vanta quietly holds him for a few more minutes, whispering reassuring words every once in a while. He waits until Zali’s sobs quiet down to just sniffles, and only lets him go when he feels the shorter man let go first.
“Hey, you know, Zali…” Vanta, still sitting on the infirmary bed, looks up at Zali, whose cheeks are now stained with tears, “I think someone would need to do a little more than this to really take me out.” He chuckles and gestures to his bandaged abdomen. Zali laughs softly before sniffling and quietly wiping one of his eyes with his sleeve. Warmth fills Vanta’s heart at the sight of one of the medic’s rare smiles. Pride, even.
Vezalius takes a few more deep breaths. The realization starts hitting him, this is the first time he’s cried in front of one of his teammates. Actually, it’s the first time he’s cried in years, probably. He’s forgotten what it’s like to show weakness around anyone… It’s a foreign feeling for him.
The shame starts setting in. He trusts Vanta, he really does, he trusts him with his life , but something about being so open, so vulnerable around someone, just feels odd. Revolting, almost.
And almost as if he heard his thoughts, “You’re so strong, Zali.” Vanta begins, “But you can let yourself be weak sometimes.” He places a hand on Zali’s arm and looks into his golden eyes. “Alright? Don’t be ashamed to just... feel emotions. It’s normal. You’re human. We all cry.”
His breathing starts to even out, “Do you?” Asks Vezalius.
“I cry all the fucking time.” Vanta replies with a cheeky grin, “I watched a movie with Wilson the other day, and man, the ending really got me…”
The response elicits a soft giggle from Zali, which fills the tyrant with joy. His laugh could light up a room, Vanta thinks. It’s such a pleasant sound… he wishes he could hear it again and again.
“But… you know,” He says, looking up fondly at the medic’s face, his soft features, his sunset-colored eyes, his long eyelashes… “I think… I think I much prefer seeing you smile.”