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☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
You woke up early that morning, jolted awake by an agonizing pain in your lower stomach. It felt like someone had reached inside and were twisting your insides into pretzels. Your period wasn’t even due to start for another three days and yet the pain always came early, like a warning bell that refused to be shut off. You considered just staying in bed and skipping class but you knew Riddle would find out through Ace and scold you. You weren’t even in Heartslabyul and yet you still always got scolded by the short male. It was a real pain sometimes. Though, you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t sweet that he seemed to genuinely care about you.
A groan passed your lips as you pulled yourself out of bed, wincing in pain. You didn’t have the energy to pick your feet up, dragging them across the floor to the bathroom so you could look for some painkillers. You sighed in relief seeing the white bottle, but your hopes were crushed when you picked it up, noting how light it was. Shaking it confirmed your fears – it was empty. You had forgotten to buy more after your last period. Not only that, but you had spent the last of your thaumarks buying laundry detergent for Ruggie and tuna for Grim.
All you wanted to do was curl in on yourself right there on the bathroom floor and not move for the next week and, honestly, you were about to do just that when you remembered that today was test day. If you missed them, you wouldn’t be allowed to make them up. As a student without magic, you already struggled to keep your grades above a passing level and if you tanked all of your tests for not showing up, it’d be nearly impossible to recover from.
“Damn it,” you muttered, dragging yourself to the closet so you could get your uniform. ‘I don’t know if I can survive the day… but I have to at least try. Damn you mother nature for cursing me with painful periods!’
When you finally managed to get changed, you made sure you had some pads in the pocket of your pants before you made your way down the stairs, each step taking way more energy than it should. You had just woken up but you already felt completely drained.
“Woah, you look like shit!” Ace commented as soon as he saw you, a startled look on his face. “You get cursed or something?”
“That’s rude,” Deuce scowled at him before frowning at you. “You do look terrible, though. Are you okay?”
“Peachy,” you grunted, walking past them toward the door.
Both males looked at Grim who was happily munching on tuna. When he finally noticed their looks, he blinked at them. “What?”
“What did you do to Y/N?” Deuce demanded, slapping his fist into his palm.
“Hah? I didn’t do nothin’ to her!”
“She was fine when we left last night,” Ace commented suspiciously.
The three of them started to argue, the sound grating on your nerves. Between the pain, the weakness, the worry over the tests, and now their yelling, you were already at your breaking point.
“Shut the hell up!” you snapped, glaring at them. They looked at you in surprise, looking like small children. “God, all the three of you do is argue and nitpick! Just grow up for five minutes!” You shoved your feet into your sneakers before throwing the door open and heading outside, not waiting for them to recover.
The morning was foggy, dark clouds loitering in the sky as thunder rumbled somewhere off in the distance. Normally, you would have been on cloud nine knowing that it was going to rain and seeing how dark the day was, but no matter how hard you tried to focus on that, your pain was greater and it would remind you of that every time you tried to think of something else. You held your hand over your lower stomach and you leaned forward as you walked to try and alleviate some of the pain, your free hand on the wall to keep you steady. The other students looked at you weird, whispering as they easily passed by your slow pace. One of the biggest downsides to being in an all-boys school was that they just didn’t understand the pain you went through each month. Even if you tried to explain, it was one of those things that you just couldn’t really grasp unless you’ve experienced it for yourself. Most of them didn’t want to hear about it, anyway, which was a good way to get out of awkward conversations, at least.
You finally made it to the classroom, taking a moment to compose yourself before heading inside. Sitting down helped a little bit but not much, so you brought your knees up toward your chest, resting your feet on the side of the desk for leverage. It was the most relief you had felt so far and you sighed in relief.
“Y/N-san, this is not a barn,” Trein scolded when he entered the classroom. “Put your feet down and sit properly!”
You were about to argue, in the perfect mood for doing just that, but you knew it would be pointless. Even if he did understand, you doubted he would care or give you special treatment because of it, so you just gritted your teeth and did as he asked, closing your eyes as the pain got worse.
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
You had somehow managed to make it to lunchtime, but you knew you had probably flunked half of your exams. You just couldn’t focus and when you weren’t breaking your pencil, you were resting your head on the cool desk. Most of the questions had been left unanswered and the ones you had answered were most likely wrong. Not that you really cared right now.
Ace paused when he realized you weren’t following the group toward the cafeteria. “Y/N, you comin’?”
You forced a smile, feeling guilty about your actions earlier but you weren’t ready to apologize just yet. Your period always made you easily annoyed and quite cranky, so you weren’t entirely confident in your ability to stop from snapping at them again. It would be easier to apologize all at once, in that case. “I’m gonna study for a bit.”
With a shrug, he turned back around and walked away.
It was a lie, honestly. You couldn’t care less about studying, but you felt sick to your stomach and the thought of food made your nose wrinkle up. Plus, this was the perfect time to find a quiet place and curl up into a ball, hoping the ground would swallow you whole. This came in the form of a large tree behind the school, the wood dark and old. You just made it beneath the branches before the sky opened up, showering down rain onto the earth.
‘Perfect,’ you thought with a smile, sliding down the tree and bringing your knees as close to your chest as possible. ‘It’s quiet, I can sit however I like, and it’s raining. I should be able to relax for a bit here.’ You took a few deep breaths, breathing in the scent of the rain as you focused on the soft pitter-patter. For the first time all day, you actually started to relax and your pain lessened. You had found your tranquility.
Maybe a bit too much tranquility.
Your eyes grew heavy and though you tried to fight it, your body was just too exhausted to win. ‘I’m just resting my eyes… that’s all…’ Your breathing evened out as you fell asleep.
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
You jolted awake, blinking tiredly as you slowly became aware of your surroundings. You were still under the tree, the rain a soft mist around you. Night had fallen which meant that you slept through your exams. ‘Well, what’s done is done… but what woke me up?’
You faintly remembered the sound of a frantic cry, but you assumed you had just been dreaming. Maybe it was a nightmare in which your period became a living person whose sole reason for existing was to make you miserable. You shook your head at the thought, starting to pull yourself up but you lost your balance, falling back to the ground. Your back was killing you and your cramps had returned with a fiery vengeance. What you wouldn’t give for a heating pad and some painkillers right now. Maybe Sam would let you take out a tab? Or maybe you could charge it to Leona’s account… but that would mean taking the trip out to his shop and it’s already nighttime.
‘Well, I’ve made it this far, why give up now?’ So you rolled onto your side, your back facing the tree. The temperature was dropping, the air damp from the rain, but you just wrapped your arms around yourself and closed your eyes. There was a rock or a twig digging into your shoulder but you didn’t have the energy to lift up and move it. It was nothing compared to your cramps anyway.
You had just about dozed off when you heard it – a very distressed and familiar voice crying out a familiar nickname.
“Namazu-chan! Where are you?!”
Was that… Floyd? It had to be. He was the only one that called you catfish, after all. The sound of his voice gave you strength and you slowly pushed yourself up, wincing in the process. Would he think to look back here for you? No one else had come across you in the hours you had spent there, but you couldn’t bring yourself to yell for him. So, you did the next best thing. You tried to send him a psychic message, hoping the universe would help you out. ‘Floyd, I’m behind the school, hidden behind the giant oak. Please come find me and take me to a soft bed. P.S. bring painkillers.’
The bushes to your left rustled before a giant bullfrog came hopping out, croaking loudly as he did so. He stopped halfway, turned his head toward you and blinked. You stared back, lifting your hand and giving him a little wave. He croaked again before turning away and continuing to hop along, enjoying the rain.
Loud footsteps reached your ears and you glanced over just in time to see Floyd’s lanky form turn the corner, his wide eyes falling to you. He was breathing heavily, soaked through to the bone because of how long he had actually been searching for you. For a moment, he just stared at you as if worried that you were going to disappear from in front of him. You offered him the same little wave you had given the frog and he snapped out of it.
“Namazu-chan!!” He darted toward you at full sprint and it honestly would have been terrifying if not for the glassy look in his eyes as he held back his tears. He fell to his knees in front of you, throwing his arms around you and bringing you into a tight, almost painful hug. “I thought I lost you! I thought… I thought you went back to your world!”
You frowned at how his voice broke and you rubbed his back to try and calm him down. If someone were to ask you what you and Floyd were, you wouldn’t be able to answer that. He had never told you he liked you, but it was obvious that you were special to him like no other. Without any words of affection exchanged, you had just kind of become Floyd’s and vice versa. You knew he would kill for you, die for you and he knew you’d do the same for him.
Ace had been concerned over how quickly the two of you had gotten close and you can’t recall when it actually happened. From the moment you met, it just felt right to be with him, as if you had known each other your whole lives. You felt comfortable around him, never nervous or anxious. From the moment you met, you had given this man your complete, unwavering trust.
“There, there,” you told him softly. “I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye fir -“
Before you could even finish your sentence, he had pulled away, holding you by your shoulders with his eyes narrowed. “You’re not allowed to leave!” Though said like an order, you could hear the pleading undertones.
“I was joking. I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s not funny, Namazu-chan,” he pouted before letting his eyes roam over your body, checking for any injuries or wounds. “I’ve been searching for you for ages!”
“Sorry,” you offered him a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of your neck. “I fell asleep.”
“You should have told me you were sleepy, you could have used me as a pillow.” He embraced you again, nuzzling his face into your neck and inhaling that natural scent of yours that always made him smile.
You shifted to get more comfortable only to wince, your whole body sore from both your period and the place you had chosen to sleep for so many hours. “Floyd?”
“Hm?”
“Can I ask you for a favor? Or five?”
He pulled back enough so he could meet your eyes, head tilted to the side. “What is it?”
You rubbed the back of your neck, a frown on your lips. “I’m starting my period soon so I’m in a lot of pain which sleeping against a tree is apparently not a good way to combat this. I ran out of painkillers and I’m out of thaumarks. Would you be willing to help me out?”
Floyd suddenly slid his arms beneath your body, standing up with ease as he held you close to his chest. There was a deep frown on his face, his brow furrowed. “You should have told me this morning!”
“Aren’t I too heavy?”
“Of course not!” If he wasn’t holding you, he would have puffed out his chest proudly.
You chuckled. “Thank you, Floyd.”
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁
Floyd brought you to his bedroom, setting you down gently on the bed before pressing a kiss to your lips. “I’ll be right back, Namazu-chan!”
You slid under his covers, releasing a sigh of relief at how soft and comfortable his bed was. His scent lingered on the sheets, a mixture of seawater and mint that delighted your senses and made you feel a sense of calm that made your worries melt away. Since you didn’t want to fall asleep before he got back, you busied yourself with the manga sitting on his bedside table. It was about basketball, one you had seen him read more than once, but you had never actually checked it out yourself. You made it halfway through before he returned to the room, his arms so full that he had to close the door with his foot.
He set down a white plastic bag with painkillers, chocolate, and your favorite drink. He was also carrying the softest cat plush you had ever felt in your life and you didn’t hesitate to cuddle it to your chest before reaching for the painkillers but he snatched it away before you could, earning a confused look. He popped the top, dropping a few pills onto his palm before he tossed them into his mouth and bringing the soda to his lips.
“Those are supposed to be for me,” you pouted, but it disappeared as he crawled on top of you, his mouth finding yours. He tilted his head to the side, parting his lips so you could take the pills and the soda but he didn’t end the kiss when you did, his lips moving slowly against your own. His body was warm on top of yours, his weight against your stomach helping with the pain of your cramps.
Floyd’s sharp teeth nipped at your bottom lip as he pulled away. “You’re not allowed to leave this bed until your pain goes away. Doctor’s orders!”
You chuckled, resting your hand on the side of his neck. “Only if you promise to stay with me.”
“Silly, Namazu-chan~” He giggled, nuzzling into your neck as his long limbs wrapped around your body. “You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried.”
“Hm, I guess it’s a good thing I don’t want to, then.”
You could feel his smile against your skin, bringing out your own smile, your eyes sliding closed. If this was the treatment you got, maybe you could survive your period, after all.
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ⋆.:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁