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The morning sun rose on a humble campsite, the warmth a welcome feeling for the heroes of robloxia.
Player stepped out of their tent to breathe in the fresh air. It was a new day! And they had to prepare to get going. For now, they had to wait for their partner…friend? What even were they at this point? They had to wait for Parker to awaken.
While they waited of course, player would start preparing for the trek they had to make. After all, it never hurts to be prepared!
…However something didn’t sit right with them. Crawling back into the tent to fold up their sleeping bag, they saw Parker still completely passed out.
A sigh escaped them. Player leaned over their companion, and shook them awake. “Rise and shine~” they smiled
“…morning…” Parker mumbled hoarsely, almost immediately going back to sleep.
“Hey, don’t go back to sleep!” They laughed, rolling up their sleeping bag before leaning over them, “we have a big day ahead of us, and I’m not gonna be the one carrying all of this.”
“Okay…okay….” They sat up, “I’m awake….”
Player’s smirk faltered, seeing players complexion, “woah, you look…”
“Hot?”
“Sick.”
“Hah… nice…” Parker coughed into their arm
“Not in a good way, sweetheart.”
“Ah..” they sniffled, laying back down, “…’msorry.”
“It’s okay. You get some rest, I’ll take care of you.” Player unrolled their sleeping bag before heading out to make or find food for their darling avian.
…
Parker fell back asleep, their head wings completely relaxed as they drifted once more.
They ached everywhere… any movement hurt. But they couldn’t stay still forever.
Blearily, they opened their eyes, looking up at player.
“Was your nap good?” They asked, holding back giggles
“Mm. Not….not really.” They sniffled, “I just kind of feel sore…”
“Awe…” they brushed Parker’s hair from their face, “can you eat?”
“Sure… probably not much though…. I’m not hungry.”
“That’s alright, sweetheart.” They kissed Parker on the cheek, helping them sit up.
….
After Parker was able to eat some food, they put their hair up.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting ready. We have to go to town today, right?”
“….in your state? I don’t think so.”
“I’m feeling better— I promise.”
“…” they raised an eyebrow, not believing them. “Really now?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“…” player leaned in, putting a hand on Parker’s forehead, which they leaned into.
“…okay, I’ll rest.” They mumbled, their voice small and slightly hoarse.
“Good.” Their usual smirk graced their expression as Parker laid back down. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
They get up, leaving the tent before they feel Parker tugging at them. “?”
“…” they looked at Player with anxiety. Breathing out, they asked a simple, but powerful question: “…stay?” Their poor voice broke, as if the thought of being alone was terrifying.
“Yeah! Yeah.. I’m staying.” They plopped themself next to Parker again. “Come here.” They pulled them closer, Parker sniffled as they listened to Player’s heartbeat.
…
It was inevitable, that Parker would be asleep in mere seconds once more. Player ran their hands through the Avians hair. It was weird seeing them so frightened…maybe bad memories resurfaced? They couldn’t know for sure…
Player laid down, Parker still on top of them. They kept watch, holding them tightly. There wasn’t anything that was going to lay a finger on Parker.
…
But in the silence, the pitter patter of rain began pouring down on their humble campsite. Player got up to fetch their things and put it into the tent before it got soaked.
Coming back into the tent, they saw that Parker was awake again, didn’t seem like they were completely aware though.
“Morning, starlight, how are you feeling?” They asked, leaning over them
“.. mm.” They took a breath, it was clear how much they were fighting sleep just to chat with them, “im…I’m okay.”
“Snrk…. You’re not, baby.”
“I’m not?”
That simple innocent question would’ve made player laugh their ass off if they weren’t trying to keep them calm. A small snicker escaped them before they steeled themself. “You’re not. You’re running a bad fever.”
“Oh….” Their heavy eyelids shut “…”
“…”
A silence went over the them, only interrupted by the rustling of clothes as Player laid back down and put Parker over them again.
Parker looked up at them hesitating to sleep again, despite the ache in their body. Their head felt heavy and completely fogged over. And Player brushing their hair with their hands was not helping.
“You make it hard to stay awake…” they muttered.
“Pff…good. You need sleep. Like a lot of it.”
“…fine..” they mumbled, shutting their eyes, letting Player help them go to sleep once more.
…
As Parker rested, Player decided to do something quiet while they waited. They picked up a notebook and pencil, flipping to an empty page.
They started idly sketching, just drawing Parker as they are right now, before going on to doodle them in various poses.
After the page was filled with drawings of them, most of them studies, they put down the notebook and pencil to check on Parker, who was thankfully still resting.
…
Even as Player watched over them the entire time, their soul nearly jumped out of their body as Parker sat upright, suddenly awake
“Jesus—!”
“Where- where am I?” Parker asked frantically
“Easy…you’re in our tent.”
“Our…?”
“Yeah, we’re traveling together.”
“Really?” Their eyes widened, “NO— you shouldn’t— you’ll only get hurt, I mean they’ll just.. they’ll…”
“Hey, hey…” they leaned in, gently taking their hands, “calm down… who is “they”?”
“…” they sniffled. Their shoulders shook as tears rolled down their face, “I…I don’t remember.”
“Hey, hey, come here…” they pulled them into a hug, just letting them cry. Their poor brain must be fried right now.
“…I’m…-sniff- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…I…”
“Hey, you’re okay, nobody’s here to hurt you.” Player reassured them, “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Parker didn’t say anything in return. They didn’t trust themself to talk without breaking down again. Instead they wiped their tears, and listened to Players heartbeat… it helped in a way, to ground them.
“Better?”
“…mhm.” They closed their eyes, their trembling hands holding onto Player’s tank top a little more.
“That’s good…” they ran their fingers through Parker’s hair, feeling them relax, though the grip on their top didn’t falter.
…
The only noise that was the constant rain… it seemed to be coming down hard. They were both lucky enough to stay completely dry during all of this.
The silence felt…odd. It was both calm yet tense for a reason. Player grabbed one of their hoodies, putting over parker.
“Thanks…”
“No problem.” They mumbled “you hungry?”
“Not…not really. Sorry.”
“That’s okay”
it felt almost too quiet for either of them. Players thoughts were slowly bleeding into ones they didn’t want… and Parker’s mind had completely fogged over.
A sigh escaped Parker as they looked up at Player.
“…? What’s on your mind?” Player smirked
“Nothing. You’re just pretty…or handsome, whatever you prefer, really.”
“You like lookin at me?” It became easier to deflect any bad feelings as their shoulders loosened.
“Mhm, you’re like…uh…” they blinked, blanking out for a moment, “eye candy.”
Parker adjusted themself, putting their arms into the sleeves of the hoodie that was placed upon them, wrapping their arms around them.
“Am I a good teddy bear?” They teased
“The best…” they mumbled back falling asleep, more comfortably this time.
Player pulled them closer, kissing them on the forehead. They kept watch, making sure not anyone or anything disturbed their peace.
…
The rest of the night had no disturbances, no frantic civilians, no gang of thieves, nothing. Just the two them in their bubble of safety that would accompany them until the morning.
Parker woke first this time, a rare occasion. They sat up brushing their hair from their face before checking on their inventory.
“…you’re up early” Player’s groggy voice interrupted the silence, “you feelin better?”
“Much better…. Thanks for staying”
“Of course…” they sat up
“I’ll make you breakfast, you stay cozy.” They kissed Player on the forehead before leaving the tent…. Before immediately coming back in. “Eugh. It’s still raining, let’s not hike that.”
“So we’re staying inside one more day?”
“Yup…” they nodded, sitting back down next to them.
“…” Player silently looked up at them. It wouldn’t hurt to ask them for more closeness right? It would though, they rationalized. Any moment being soft with them was just fuel for pain later.
Players thoughts were interrupted when Parker curled up next to them. “Couldn’t resist cuddles?”
“Well if you know anything about me, it’s that I am a huge cuddle bug~” they giggled.
Player gently touched Parker’s feather covered neck. The softness soothing whatever their heart was feeling in the moment.
It felt right, warm even, for them to be with each other like this.
“You’re really warm”
“I am?”
“Yeah. It’s good for cuddling, I hope I didn’t get you sick though”
“Nah, I’m doin okay. We’ll get packing when the rain stops.”
“Alright” they smiled, kissing Player on the cheek, which prompted them to kiss them back, this time on the lips.
Their hearts knew it would hurt later. When the inevitable would happen, when they would see the truth about each other.
But for now? Things were good.