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There was a gentle knock at the door. Heart perked up at the evenly paced sounds, and reached over to his blindfold. He slipped it on quickly, and answered a brisk “(Come in!)”.
The automaton freak stepped through the door and shut it behind him. Her fans faintly whirred from within, only heard when his footsteps weren’t too noisy. “[You can take off your blindfold, Artemis.]”
And so they did, gently setting it on his bedside table. They felt a large body tremor course along their back, and shook. “(How come you’re here so early?)”
“[What ‘early’ do you call 3:45pm?]” Mind joked, sitting down beside Heart. “[Is everything alright?]” Heart was silent. Yes, there was something wrong, but no, he didn’t want to bother Mind. Yet Mind turned to Heart with a stern look, and placed a firm and on his shoulder. “[Tell me, is anything wrong?]”
Heart smiled faintly, but just flopped back onto his bed. “(Whole’s got heartache.)” They mumbled, spreading their wings out to cool himself.
Heartache meant lots of problems for Heart: mild fever, body tremors, lack of energy, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, muscle tightness, etc. He never had anyone to help them, Mind and Soul were supposedly under the impression that this heartache only had physical symptoms once (due to “how bad” it was). It was different though, with Heart’s diminished vision picking up the faint glow of Mind’s blue irises staring into his eye sockets.
“[Again? Is there anything I can do for you?]”
Right, Heart and Mind were on good terms. Heart really wasn’t accustomed to the amicable side of Mind, so the question caught them off guard. “(I.. am not sure. I usually just sit here and rub my chest, hoping it goes away.)”
Apollo tsk’d, tapping a finger on her chin. “[Perhaps I could get you something to eat? You haven’t left your room in a few days.]” She stood up, but Heart held him back. He raised a brow.
“(Please, stay.)” He pleaded. “(I’ll tell you what.. you can do.)” Artemis sighed, relieved, as Mind took a seat next to him again. “(I’m sorry if I expect too much from you but at the very least.. you could hug me?)” Mind blinked once. And then twice. Heart braced themself for the peace to be broken but-
“[Is that all?]” The Sun asked. The Moon nodded, and slightly jumped at the sudden hug initiated by Mind. For a moment, his body tremors spiked, but they calmed right down, and nearly stopped altogether. “[You’ve got quite the fever, Heart. I’d avoid using too many blankets.]”
“(Yes, but pressure and weight helps relieve the ache.)” Artemis argued back lightheartedly. “(It’s really one of the only ways to stop the pain.)”
“[Pressure and weight?]” Mind thought to herself for a moment. She hugged them tighter, and laid down with him in her arms. “[Does this help?]”
Heart felt the palpitations stop rattling their frail chest. He sharply inhaled, wrapping his arms around Apollo in return. She smelled of blueberries, he noticed, as they buried their face into her shoulder. “(Yes.. thank you so much for this, Sun, I appreciate it.)”
“[It is no worry. I assume that physical touch helps relieve your symptoms?]”
“(It appears so. I’ve never had help for this.)” Heart mumbled into Mind’s shirt.
“[Has it not only happened once?]”
“(I don’t want to be a bother, is all.)” Artemis shrugged it off nonchalantly, but Apollo only tightened her hold.
“[Please don’t hesitate to tell me in the future. You aren’t a bother at all.]” Mind started to run her fingers through Heart’s wings, feeling the softness with his mechanical hands. Each feather was like a cloud, tethered to this sickly man, yet they hummed contentedly with every brush of Mind’s hand. The Moon melted into the touch, moving closer to the warmth of the Sun. She was clearly taken aback by the desire for affection, but reciprocated with a chuckle and a kiss on their forehead.
Heart’s wings fluffed up in shock again, but wrapped around them both. “(Thank you, Apollo, for this.)” He murmured into her shoulder, before pressing a brisk kiss to his lips in return. “(Thank you.)” Mind smiled. With arms wrapped around each other, Heart stifled a yawn. “(If you ever need me for anything, I’d like to return the favour…)”
“[I’m alright for now. Just keep your focus on resting, Juno.]” Mind whispered into their ear. For once in this ache, Heart finally had peace. His fever was still there, his body was still pained, but his joints and muscles were calm, as their body was pressed against Mind’s.
He wasn’t fully healed, but she made him better.