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Daisuke wasn’t dumb. Well, he mostly wasn’t-he was getting smarter by the day! Swansea was such a good teacher, even if he was mean sometimes. Oh! Ahem, he was getting off topic. His point was, he could tell something was wrong with his favorite nurse. (She was the only nurse on board, did that make her favorite by default? Hm….he was getting off topic again!) She was…jumpier than before, more scared. Before, he could hug her or bump her shoulder playfully or whatever and she wouldn’t mind, but now, she just…flinched away. At one point, she asked him bluntly, but politely, he didn’t think she had a single mean bone in her body, to stop touching her completely. And of course, he listened, but it made him confused. She even flinched away from Curly! And she didn’t smile as much as before, even during game night, she used to argue with him, huff in annoyance when he’d win, now she just let him have it. She didn’t seem all there. One time, she completely zoned out during the game. He could still remember it.
“I won!!” He said triumphantly as he set his game piece down, met with an eye roll and scoff from Jimmy and Swansea, Jimmy leaned back and crossed his arms, mumbling a small “the game was stupid anyway” under his breath. “Well done,” Curly said, that same smile he alway had on his face. But, there was no response from Anya. “Uhh Anya? I won again!” She hummed in surprise, being brought back to reality. Instead of being upset or annoyed with his win, she simply smiled, but it looked tired more than anything. “Oh? Sorry, good job Daisuke.” He frowned, but laughed it off. Maybe she was just tired that day?
But, that tiredness never seemed to go away, her cheeks would be red from tears more often, just overall she didn’t seem okay. Something clearly happened. So, being Daisuke, he wanted to help! At first, he couldn’t think of any way how, but he was sure he’d find some way.
It was the middle of the night and he couldn’t sleep. Everyone else was sleeping, he could practically hear Swansea’s snoring through the walls. God, he snored just like Daisuke’s dad. He snickered at the thought, but quickly stopped himself from being loud. As quietly as he could, he got up from his bed, tip-toeing down the hall towards the medbay. Hopefully, Anya had something that could put him to sleep. Maybe she had some of those melatonin gummies?
As he walked down the hall, he accidentally jumped against someone’s shoulder– it was too dark to notice. “My bad dude,” he mumbled, friendly as always. “Yeah, it is your fault, watch where you’re going dude.” The man, now revealed to be Jimmy, said in response. Wow, rude much? It didn’t bother Daisuke that much, simply laughing it off as he continued down the hall.
When he eventually did make it, he heard…sniffling behind the door. “Anya?” He called out, his happy tone from before faltering. Was this a bad time? Still, he went to open the door anyway.
Behind the door, Anya was zipping up her jumpsuit, her hands shaky. He opened the door and she jumped. She seemed surprised by his presence but tried to seem calm, trying to act normal. But the tear stains–must have been from her mascara– gave her away. “Daisuke, it’s past working hours, you’re supposed to be in bed.” Then why aren’t you in bed, why was Jimmy in here? He wanted to say, but for some reason, the words got caught in his throat. Anya sighed, wiping her tears away. “What do you need?” He looked away, scratching the back of his neck. “I-I was just wondering if you had anything to help me sleep…?” She visibly softened at that, a small, but tired smile on her face. She walked away, looking through the cabinets in the room. “We’re technically not supposed to have anything, but I stock up on supplies between hauls, I should have something.” The younger nodded, stepping into the room and simply lingering there. When she eventually did turn back around with two gummies in hand, Daisuke smiled and said thank you and took them, but he stayed in the room.
There was a silence between them, before he eventually broke it.
“Are you okay?”
Those three simple words made her stop, her smile disappearing.
“What?”
“Are you okay?” He questioned again.
“...Why do you ask?”
“Well, I just– I saw you crying when I came in, a-and I want to help. We’re friends right? I just…” He trailed off, glancing between the surprised woman infront of him and the wall beside him.
When he was met with no response, he continued, starting to rant. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been quieter, and you’re just…sadder, I guess?? I don’t know how to explain it. You're not nearly as happy as used to be, you’re quieter than usual. Don’t get me wrong, you’re still just as cool!! I’m just, I'm worried, y’know?” He spoke, a nervous smile on his face as his gaze finally stayed on her. “A-And, you keep avoiding Jimmy like a plague. I think everyone does, or at least Swnasea does, but it seems…different, with you No one has said anything, so maybe I’m imagining things, but better than sorry, right?”
Anya just looked at him, like he said something he shouldn’t have, like there was an inside joke that he wasn’t in on. But, after a moment, she hesitated before smiling again and sighing. She stepped forward, ruffling his hair. “Dai, I'm happy you’re concerned about me, but I'm fine, really. You should really get some sleep.”
He nodded, chuckling a bit. “Yeah, I should. But thanks for the gummies.” He spoke, before starting to walk away.
He almost hugged her. Almost. But, he knew how much she had been avoiding touch recently. So, he continued to walk, until he made it to the doorway of the medbay and stopped, turning to face her again.
“You'd tell me if something happened, right?”
Anya looked away again, biting her lip before nodding and making eye contact. “Yeah, I would. Goodnight, Dai.” He wanted to believe her. He really did. However, her words sounded like she was just trying to comfort him.
He didn’t press any further.
Maybe he should have, but he didn’t. Maybe he should’ve put two and two together that Jimmy was leaving Anya’s room. But he didn’t.
Still, he yawned as he laid in bed, starting to fall asleep.