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Dragging his barely stable body down the empty halls, Dandy finds himself searching for Sprout's room.
Why? He wasn't all too sure himself. Hell, he could handle this alone. It's nothing new. Just a small price to pay.
...atleast that's what he tried to tell himself. But walking was torture, and he couldn't even see the injury himself. Dandy softly sighs, clinging close to the wall as if he'd collapse completely without it.
Despite this, there was a nagging in his head, telling him that he didn't need help. That he'd be fine. That it'd be unnecessary to show weakness infront of someone like Sprout. Still, the sharp pain that struck throughout his being every time he took a step seemed to disperse those thoughts, never making them quiet. With another move forward, he pauses when he feels the ichor that was bleeding from his leg with every step finally start to drip down from the opening. Looking behind him, Dandy's face scrunches up at the sight of ichor trailing behind him, staining the carpet he walked on. It hadn't even been that long since he applied the bandages...
He'd have to clean that later tonight, wouldn't he? The mere mention of doing another thing this night makes him groan. Glancing down at the soft darkness that engulfed the hall, Dandy wondered if he should just... go to Astro. So that he didn't need to do needless things like being vulnerable around someone else. He can't risk Sprout possibly leaking what he had to do this night.
But. Dandy needed actual medical attention, from someone who knew what they were doing. He had a set tomorrow, and he can't afford not to show up.
Stopping outside of the berryboy's door, he braces himself. It felt beneath him to ask for help, especially when it's something like this... but what other choice does he have?
Meanwhile, inside of the room, Sprout's eyes bore into the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. This seemed to be a recurring thing nowadays. Even with Astro's repeated help, nightmares always seem to jolt him awake deep in the hours of the night. Sprawled out on his bed, he tiredly rubs his eyes. He already finished writing his to-do list for today and picked out what he was going to wear for the shoot... what more could he do to occupy himself?
Sighing, he sits up, ready to head outside to begin preparing the ingredients for today's breakfast. Wondering what he should make today, he begins to head to the door, a little excited to start the day super early.
As the door swings open, Dandy stands there in shock, looking like a deer in headlights. He was just about bring himself to finally knock. Well... no turning back now, he can assume he already looks horrible. There's no way Sprout would allow him to head back to his room, not in this state.
Sucking in a sharp breath, he ignores every idea that this is a horrible thing to do, that it'll backfire on him in some way.
"...hi sprout, sorry. i know it's late, but could you- uhm..." Dandy started, only to begin to trail off. God, he felt so pathetic asking for help from someone else.
"could you help me out for a bit? i need to... fix some injuries. and i can't do it myself." His voice sounded so forced, and he knew it. Turning away, Dandy decides not to look at Sprout's reaction. It must be surprising for a toon such as him to show up at his door, asking for assistance.
Looking down at the flower infront of him, Sprout nearly didn't know what to say. Out of habit, he starts taking in Dandy's appearance, assessing what the damage may be.
Dandy's apron was ever so slightly stained black, barely noticeable from far away. He was shifting his weight onto one leg, so something might be sprained or broken. There was a spotty trail of ichor following behind him, dripping from a rapidly darkening spot on his pant leg- oh hell...
"yeah- Yeah! Get in.. I have a... medkit somewhere." Sprout stammers out, quickly rushing Dandy inside, taking a silent note of the way he was limping.
'...what happened?'
Mumbling a small "thanks', he forces him far enough in so that Sprout can close the door. Not even bothering to look around, Dandy beelines straight for the bed, immediately sitting down so that he doesn't have to push himself to stand any longer.
However, sitting down seemed to make the searing feeling more intense. Did... did walking around make the broken bone move out of place?
...
It's fine. He wanted this anyway.
Turning his gaze to the toon at the door, he finds himself uncomfortable by Sprout's stare. It doesn't take a mind reader to guess what he's thinking by this point.
Heading over to his closet, Sprout searches through it, eventually pulling out a first aid kit. He checks to make sure that most of the essentials are still in there, atleast enough for Dandy and him.
As he set down the kit on the bed, curiosity egged him. Maybe it was the idea of not knowing if another toon was going through the same things he was. But now isn't the time for this, Dandy asked for help, and Sprout is sure that he wouldn't appreciate being interrogated like this in a moment of weakness.
"Can you roll up your pant leg a bit, just so I can see the wound?" He asks as he starts kneeling infront of Dandy.
Ignoring the gentle push to get him to open up, he ends up wrapping his arms around his waist, finding himself wanting to say no. That he changed his mind or... or another excuse to not let Sprout do this.
Sure, this might seem hypocritical of him, seeing how he practically crawled all the way to his door. But when faced with the option, it made him feel... vulnerable. Fragile. Like he wasn't the untouchable toon he painted himself to be. Still, he does as requested, revealing the soaked bandage underneath. It was practically rendered useless by the time Dandy had to walk.
"...don't ask. please." Talking about this night's events is something he'd only want to do with Astro... if he's still awake by the time Dandy gets back.
"Of course." Sprout reassures, his tone soft as he walks over to Dandy's side. He understands all too well not wanting someone to press about your injuries. But, he did want Dandy to talk to him. This seemed serious, and if it's anything like similar to what Sprout thinks...
"... but if you want, you can tell me about it." Sprout suggests, his tone a gentle coaxing. Still, he wouldn't force answers from him. He knows when not to press... unlike Vee.
As he takes another quick once-over of the flower, the bruising on Dandy's wrists caught his attention. The small dark circles adorning his green skin. They didn't seem like handprints, more so like cuffs.
'...was he being held down?'
Dandy attempts to keep his attention off of Sprout, but as the strawberry goes silent, it causes Dandy to overthink the reason why.
As he looks around for a moment, he suddenly notices how quick he was bleeding out, a small look of disdain on his features. The wrapping that was white only a few moments ago had been stained black, the color seeping onto Sprout's sheets.
"...sorry." Dandy mumbles out, already feeling worse enough that he practically woke Sprout up, he didn't need to bleed all over his bed too.
The meek 'sorry' from the flower infront of Sprout makes him snap out of his thoughts. He dismissively shakes his head, not caring all that much about his bed.
"It's fine, I can always wash them later." He replies as he gently takes off the carefully wrapped bandages, so as not to startle Dandy and make things worse for him. He already seemed so... shaken up.
Taking some gauze from the kit, he takes a moment to look at the wound. It was... bad. As if someone took the time to deliberately drill a hole straight through his leg. It was big enough that Sprout could definitely put the whole roll of gauze in there, and still have some room. To make matters worse, it was so high up, and angled in a way that would make Dandy unable to see it.
"...how did you even get here in this state-" He starts to ask, cutting himself off when he looks up at Dandy's dejected face. It'd be wrong to remind him of what he just went through, right? It's not Sprout's place to figure out answers, but it's not as if he could just ignore it.
As he mulls over this, a focused look forms on his face as he starts ripping the amount of gauze he thinks he needs.
Sprout places the rest aside, making sure not to touch Dandy more than he needs to. As he starts to carefully stuff the wound, he winces as he feels Dandy flinch underneath his hand, a small muffled noise of discomfort coming from him.
"I know, I'm sorry. I don't have anything to numb it. Just try to stay still..."
The disinfected gauze stung, and it felt like Sprout had poured lava into the open injury when he started patting it in. Still, Dandy tries not to show it much. It would do either of them any good if he started acting up now.
"it's...fine." Two words he was barely able to get out, sounding so... strained as he tried to stay quiet.
As he attempts to distract himself, he found it... nice that Sprout actually... listened to him. Making sure to keep questions to himself, being careful not to touch Dandy anymore than he had to... it was all too foreign. The only other toon that actually respects any boundaries that he has is... Astro. He hopes he's not too worried about him... it's way past the time he said he'd return.
As his thoughts faded back into nothingness, Dandy found himself glancing down at the strawberry that worked diligently. There was a question that started to form in his empty mind as he watched him work. "...sprout?"
Sprout pauses, a quiet voice urging him to look up. Turning his attention to Dandy, he wonders what he's going to ask of him.
"Yes?" He asks softly, so as not to discourage Dandy from speaking to him.
"...why are you doing this?" Dandy softly asked, averting his gaze.
It couldn't be just because he asked him to.
There had to be an ulterior motive or something. anything. After this was over, he'll want payment, something in return. It's unlikely he's doing this just because he's that nice.
"if it's.. something you want... i'd rather you tell me now-"
"That's not it." Interjecting Dandy's admission, Sprout gently, but firmly tells him otherwise. It's not like him to demand anything from someone who just... wanted help.
"Dandy, I'm doing this because I want to. Because you decided to trust me enough to come here. Why would I want anything?"
The concept alone struck him as odd. Watching as Dandy turned away without a word, Sprout finds it necessary to just... talk to him. He doesn't have to respond, he just wants him to know it'll be alright.
"...dandy- whatever happened... here, just know that as long as you get through the next day, that's all you need. You don't have to keep up this image, not around people you trust."
After saying that, he returns to what he was originally doing, a small frown etched into his face.
'..oh.'
Dandy honestly hadn't expected Sprout to say any of that. None of it.
Dandy really wanted to tell him to shut up, that he didn't get it. That he never could understand the choices he's made to be...
normal.
But, he held his peace. Letting Sprout work in the comfortable silence that had fallen over the room.
After a bit, he became used to the feeling of Sprout prodding around in the open wound. Eventually, it stopped leaking ichor as well.
Slightly moving his leg, Dandy notices that it feels better. It was still painful to add pressure on it, but it did feel better.
"...thank you." He softly mumbles, not sure if it was for patching him up, or how he treated him this whole time. Maybe both.
"No need." Sprout slightly chuckles, a pleasant contrast to the mood of the room. Placing the items back into the kit.
Taking another look at Dandy, Sprout seems not find anything.
"Is... that all?" He asks, wanting to make sure he's alright before letting him go.
Dandy pauses, wondering if he should tell him the rest. It'd only get worse if he left it alone...
"...the bone is broken also." He hesitantly admits, deciding against keeping the information to himself. He'd rather not be here any longer than he has to, more concerned about Astro than his own health... but if it's what he needs to avoid suspicions, then so be it.
"it's... probably shifted around by now..." Dandy sighs, already feeling the effects of tonight's events. In all honesty, he just wanted it to be over with.
'..what the hell could've possibly happened?' Sprout knows he can't ask questions, but this was a completely different matter altogether. Who... would've done this? Especially to someone like Dandy.
'was it the same reason why he came back so late in the night? is... there a reason why he keeps going back?'
No, there's no place for Sprout to assume he's doing this out of his own free will. Even less to accuse it of being his fault.
Still, the question seemed to plague his mind, his concern increasing with every passing moment.
"...oh."
Slightly moving Dandy's leg over, he notices the protruding area where the broken piece might be. It seemed just beneath his skin, just enough so that it wouldn't cause an open fracture, but it was definitely tearing through layers of flesh with each movement.
"Dandy-..."
Cutting himself off with a sharp inhale, he decided to keep the question to himself. No matter how much it was nagging at him. Leaning closer to inspect the damage, he tries not to imagine how bad it would be to put the fracture back into place.
"I'll... try to make it quick."
Surprisingly, Dandy severely underestimated how much that would hurt him.
He had thought that it would atleast be able to handle it, seeing as he's gone through worse before... but the moment Sprout placed both hands on either side of his thigh, he knew he was wrong.
No matter how fast Sprout had set it, it didn't lessen the burning pain that practically erupted the second it was set. A sickening small snap was heard as Dandy felt the flesh that had only started to shift around the dislocated fracture rip apart to accommodate the sudden readjustment.
"AGH, FU- mph..." Quickly covering his mouth, Dandy tries to keep his cry from getting too loud.
It's past the middle of the night, and he'd be damned if he lets anyone wake up and hear him like this. Unnecessary suspicions, and a few might pin the blame on Sprout.
He doesn't want to deal with that.
'..he's shaking.' Sprout silently relays to himself, taking note of how badly Dandy appeared to be trembling under his hold. It made him feel... guilty for some odd reason.
Staring at the hand held out infront of him, Dandy ignores it, helping himself up from the bed. It's not that he found it beneath him to take Sprout's help, he wouldn't be here if he did. He just... didn't want to. It felt wrong for him to have to rely on Sprout for such a thing. But despite what he felt, Sprout still had him lean on him after Dandy nearly stumbled over, only letting him go when he felt he had stabilized.
...he hated this feeling. As if it were wrong to ask someone for help. Having another toon's hands on him, no matter how loving or helpful, made Dandy's skin crawl in a way he could never explain.
Gently pushing Sprout away, he takes a few steps towards the door. The patching he did made it way more bearable to walk, compared to a few minutes ago.
"...it's better. thank you."
As Dandy staggered towards the door, Sprout had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. The others would be concerned if they saw him like that...
"Wait-" Sprout quickly calls out, waiting for Dandy to pause and look at him before he heads over to his closet, picking out a clean pair of clothes for him to wear.
"Here... you can put these on, I don't want you to walk out there in the same ichor-stained clothes." He suggests, placing the clean pair down on the bed.
"I'll... uhm... step out for a bit if you want to change." Sprout awkwardly clarifies, before rushing himself out the door.
Dandy glances between the door and the clothes on the bed, wondering if he should take them.
Sprout was right... questions would arise if Astro saw him like this. It'd be harder to explain why he was covered in ichor, and why it was so late when he eventually came back.
Walking over to the bedside, he takes off his apron and sets it beside the ichor stain he had previously left on Sprout's sheets. His wrists ached as he unbuttoned the shirt he had on underneath, the bruising looking darker than before.
It only served to be a reminder of what happened many floors beneath him. Of course, he never blamed them for having to... restrain him, not after he panicked a few times earlier. He just wished...
Nevermind. It's selfish enough for him to ask any more from them. They've already done so much.
A few moments pass until he eventually slips into the new set of clothing. Since they were Sprout's, they clearly were a bit too big for him, but they covered everything that they needed to.
Giving himself one quick lookover in the mirror beside Sprout's bed, making sure he seemed as fine as he could. As long as Astro didn't... press on the matter, Dandy was sure that he could come up with a viable excuse.
Outside, Sprout was leaning against the wall, nervously fidgeting with his scarf. A million questions seemed to pop up inside his head, and no matter how much he tried, not a single one of them had a good answer.
The dried-up ichor trail spotted to his doorway only seemed to confirm a few of those thoughts.
The one that seemed to really bug him was the idea of who would do that to Dandy. Sprout had met all of the handlers before, and his in particular was way too kind for his own good. Always checking up on everyone and their toons... is that actually what he's like behind closed-
Sprout hadn't noticed Dandy leave the room, it jolted him out of his mind when he eventually did.
"Oh... sorry I... didn't see you."
Looking down at the flower next to him, he kind of wants to chuckle at the sight of his clothes on him. It definitely didn't match him at all, and it momentarily took his mind off everything that occurred inside that room. "...I hope you're alright."
The flower felt the notion was stupid. Maybe it was a pathetic attempt to make Dandy feel better, or a slight admission to agree not to mention what just went on in the room behind them. Either way, whatever its purpose was, it did... kind of make him feel better about this whole thing.
Glancing at the dark spots that contrasted the rainbow carpeting, it seemed to strike up the previous fear he had before he set foot in that room.
..what if Sprout does tell someone about tonight? It'd be weirder if he... didn't. A toon like Dandy shows up at his door, injured and disheveled, and asking for help... if he were the overprotective berry he's known all this time, he's bound to tell someone about this. As a safety precaution or because he's worried.
"don't-... don't tell anyone about this." It seemed like more of a plea than a demand, but there was no other way he could say it.
"Of course." Sprout softly assures Dandy, hoping that it'd be enough to show him that he'd keep his word, no matter the cost.
And to his surprise... Dandy actually stays for a bit longer. Sprout had completely expected him to leave or... something. Sticking around for a second more was unprecedented.
The silence that fell between them was comfortable, different than before. Like a small unspoken moment shared in the middle of the two toons. One that couldn't be described as understanding or gratitude, but somewhere right in between. As fleeting as that moment was, Dandy had left just as quickly.
Sprout stays for a bit longer, his eyes trailing away from him down to the carpet floor. That was an unpleasant way to start his day, but if given the choice, he wouldn't have it any other way.
Holding his discarded clothes close to him, Dandy finds himself heading straight to his room, deciding to talk to Astro in the morning, after he sleeps away the rest of this night.
He hadn't noticed when he opened the door, but a soft blue glow engulfed his dark room when he closed it.
A feeling that Dandy had only started to become accustomed to, something akin to fear spread through the fiber of his being.
Why? The toon that was emitting the hue would... never hurt him. So why did he feel like this?
Dandy turned his eyes up to the one who sat on his bed, waiting ever so patiently.
"...astro?" A quiet, trembling voice asked.