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Licorice leaned against a wall of his chamber as he coughed up jam, the red and green mix just slightly trickled down his mouth. They felt so pathetic, first Pomegranate's rude remarks, and now this? This wasn't the first time it had happened too, and every time it did, it always hurt like shit. They wanted to cry, they really did. They fucked everything up, and now they had been overworked and overwhelmed to the point their body had started to give up on them again. They stumbled over to their bed like a fawn taking its first steps, his legs just barely supporting his light weight. He threw himself onto his soft, plush bed once he had gotten close enough and shuddered as he pulled the blankets over his thin frame. They brought their knees up to their chest as they wrapped their arms around themself. They let out a quiet whimper and tears welled up in their eyes as they swallowed, their throat sore. They couldn’t let anyone see them like this, it’d be embarrassing and it’d make him feel worse than he already did.
As Schwarzwälder passed his master's bedroom, he could hear violent coughing and quiet whimpers. Worried, she slowly opened the door, as to not startle the other. He could see Licorice curled up under their blankets and their eyes glazed over, he could smell the familiar mix of strawberry and lime jam, and he carefull made his way over to his master. He sat down on his knees, since he was quite the tall one. She could tell that Licorice hadn't processed what he who or what looking at all the way. “Master, are you okay?” She said with a gentle tone. It winced as Licorice startled at its voice, causing him to flinch and start coughing again.
“Don’t- Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Licorice chided as he wiped the jam off his face, and wiped it on his sleeve. His face was flushed as he had now realised it was Schwarzwälder, the chocolate smell now violating his senses. He pulled the blanket up over the lower half of his face, "I’m fine, go away," he grumbled. For the love of all that was unholy, why did it have to be Schwarzwälder to see them like this, their underling. Though, now that he thought about it, it could be worse. It truly could've been worse, but he was still embarrassed about being seen like this by someone.
“You don't seem fine,” Schwarzwälder said as she reached up and felt his forehead. “You’re as cold as a corpse,” she noted with concern laced in her voice. He knew that the smaller’s body temperature was colder than most, but he didn’t think it could get that cold.
“Oh, quit it, I’m fi-” Licorice covered his mouth before a coughing fit started. He sat up as his coughing started to make him gag, and before he could stop himself, he could feel the bile spilling out of his mouth and onto the floor. Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he whimpered.
Schwarzwälder winced and moved out of the way as Licorice started to gag. He got up and sat down next to them as he rubbed their back, “Get it out of your system, it’ll be okay,” he soothed as he watched the other vomit up whatever was left. “I’ll clean it up later.” It gently lifted Licorice into its strong arms, although it could feel him struggle with what energy he had left.
“Put me down before you crumble me, Schwarzwälder!” Licorice groaned, their voice hoarse and quiet as they slightly kicked their legs, although it sounded more like a whine, “I can handle myself.” Although, he had to admit, her hold was comforting and warm. He eventually went limp in her arms as he felt her wipe the tears away the best she could. He rested his head on her ‘shoulder’ as he pressed into her hold, the familiar rich chocolate smell now less overwhelming but now comforting. ‘This is so embarrassing...' They thought as they hid their face in their sleeves. They didn’t know why, they always thought it’d make him feel like shit, but being held by Schwarzwälder... It felt nice, like he would be okay, be protected, be taken care of. It felt like a weighted blanket.
“I don’t think vomiting up jam and being out of energy like this is quite yet ‘handling yourself’, master,” Schwarzwälder pointed out as he gently rubbed their back. It could feel him nuzzling his cheek against it, “Well, aren’t you a cuddly one?” It chuckled. She was promptly met with a sleeve lazily over her mouth. She smirked as she put his arm back down, “Alright, alright, I get the message. I’ll spare you from the teasin’ for now,” she sighed as she continued to hold him as he seemed quite comfortable. Eventually, he felt their breathing slow down, quiet snoring taking its place. There was a small smile on his face, until he realised... Ah, he should probably clean up that vomit now…