Chapter Text
You played the audio clip for the billionth time that afternoon.
“Hey I’m Grump! I’m not so grAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”
The computer froze and distorted the clip. You threw your headphones off having been startled at the loud noise. Ross looked up from his computer. You were the only two working in the room.
“All okay?” He asked. He sounded truly concerned.
“Yeah.” You huffed. “I don’t think this video is coming out tomorrow. None of it is working.” You sat back, depressed in your chair. You had too much to do other than fighting an editing engine, and the stress of the whole thing was killing you. There wasn’t enough time in the day, week, or month to get everything done. “Ugh…” you muttered. Your stomach knotted unexpectedly. You got up to go get a drink.
Walking along the office hall, you could hear Dan and Arin yelling. They were playing something for the upcoming Halloween special. You could hear Dan’s hearty laugh, and you stop for a moment. He was always laughing at something, and it was like music to your ears. Ever since you had started working at Game Grumps, you’d wanted to spend more time with him. Not like a date, at least not at first, but just to get to be better friends. You smiled After a moment, you continued to the fridge to get a drink.
As you muddled around trying to find what you wanted to drink, the door to the recording studio opened. Dan and Arin’s voices fill the break room. They were still laughing about some joke Dan had made during the recording when they noticed you.
“Hey you.” Arin laughed. “How’s the editing coming?”
“It’s not.” You sighed, cracking a Pepsi open. “The computer keeps freezing, the audio is corrupted, and things have just kinda gotten, as they say, fucked.”
Dan laughed, and you could manage a smile for a moment. “It’s fine if it isn’t finished by tomorrow.” He said “Are you feeling okay?”
Your face felt hot, but not in a blushy-flirty way. It was more uncomfortable than that.
“Y-yeah, I’m just tired.” You shrugged it off. Your stomach still kind of hurt as you sipped your soda. It didn’t help.”
“[Y/N], you look really sick.” Arin sounded really concerned. “Do you need to like, sit down?”
The room was getting a little wobbly. “I shwear- I’m fine…” You stumbled.
That’s when things went black.
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Your eyes fluttered open to a white tiled ceiling. Your mouth was dry, and the world smelled like cleaning solution. Someone called your name quietly.
“What happened?” You groaned.
“Glad to see you’re awake.” an unfamiliar voice responded. “I’m Dr. Kenneth. You passed out at work this afternoon and hit your head pretty bad. Don’t worry, there’s no major damage, but we are concerned that there may be a concussion.” You tried to sit up, but your head felt like a boulder. You groaned. “Just rest easy. Your friend here and I have got you covered until you’re ready to be discharged.”
“My… friend?” you were still dizzy and confused. you lolled your head to the side to see a blurry leather jacket and jewfro sitting in a chair. Your vision cleared and you realised that it was the familiar jewfro of Danny. He quickly stood and came over to your bed side.
“Hey…” He said quietly. “How you feeling?”
You blinked several times, only then realizing the throbbing in your head. “D-Danny, I sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.. and now I keeping you from work- oh god, I’m sorry Danny-”
He cut you off. “Hey hey hey, it’s okay, it’s fine.” He smoothed your hair back to calm you. “We were done recording anyways, and you’re more important than any Mario Maker could ever be.” He smiled brightly, a serene stillness in your mental hurricane.
“While you recover, you’re going to need to avoid staring at any screens, any strenuous work, or any stressful activity.” Doctor Kenneth continued.
“I can’t, I have to get back to work!” you protested, But Danny stepped in.
“[Y/N], you have to listen to him. A week away from work is better than causing a lifetime of damage.” Danny insisted. You tried to protest with a pout, but he simply shook his head. “You need rest.”
You looked at Doctor Kenneth. “How long?”
“At least a week, then we will reevaluate your condition and see if you can return to work.” He scribbled on his clipboard and handed Dan a paper. “No driving either. This is a prescription for a comfort medication, should help with the discomfort. If you can get her home and pick that up, that would be great.” Doctor Kenneth smiled at you. “You’re in good hands with this one.”
You looked up at Dan. This hadn’t been how you planned to spend time with him, but it could work.
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After the discharge papers had been filled, the nurse pushed you in a wheelchair to where Danny had parked. You insisted you could walk, but the nurse strong armed you into it. Dan had gone out to warm the car up and clean all the CDs off the passenger seat, you assumed. He got out of the passenger seat and helped you into the car. He had one of his huge sweatshirts on the seat. The hospital and been freezing, so you pulled it on and tugged the hood down. The overcast sky was a killer for your headache. The two of you drove downtown to a pharmacy to pick up your subscription, the sound of quiet rock playing from Danny’s radio.
He drove thru the drive thru, as one does, at the pharmacy. The nice lady behind the glass explained that for the first few doses, someone should be with you. Danny explained with a flair or charisma that it would be handled. You looked at him with a confused but hopeful glance from under his hood as he drove off.