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“Shoot!”
I hear something clatter to the ground, followed by Marm’s frustrated grumbling. I pop my head into her potion lab to see her clutching her shoulder with a pained expression. A bottle lies at her feet–thankfully not broken.
“Oh, Marmalade,” I sing-song, waltzing in. Heading to restock Doak and Go can wait.
I walk over and bend down to pick up the dropped bottle, then offer it to her. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” she grunts, letting go of her shoulder to snatch the bottle out of my hands.
She turns away from me and back toward the potion-making machine. I watch her for a moment as she holds up her right hand and flexes it a few times.
“Are you… okay?” I ask awkwardly. I know Marm doesn’t like that question very much, but I’m not really sure how else to ask it.
“I’m fine, Avid!” Marm snaps.
I flinch, and she immediately looks back at me with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, sorry, I just-” She sighs and lifts her right arm, tapping the metal appendage. “Phantom pains. But I’m fine,” she says quickly. “They’re not real pains, so I’m fine.”
“Oh!” I gasp. “Marm, you should have told me. I can help.”
Some failed experiments landed both me and Marm with prosthetic limbs–me with a prosthetic leg, and her with a bionic arm. I know what phantom pains feel like, and they suck. It’s like electric shocks where my leg used to be. It hurts like heck.
On days when I’m having a lot of phantom pain, I spend most of the day in bed, or sitting at my desk sketching building plans or writing out some idea I had with code. Marm, on the other hand, has been up and about all day, doing random chores around Doak.
“Come on,” I say, swiping the bottle out of her hand.
She yelps and tries to grab it back, but I tut and gently push her away. “No, no, no, not for you, missy! We are going to get you some painkillers, and then we are going to snuggle and watch some TV.”
“Avid,” she groans, pouting at me. “I told you, I’m fine.”
“You may be fine, but you are hurting, and I want to make it better. Plus, you just deserve some rest. So come on, let’s go. I want snuggles.”
“But-”
“Nope!” I put my finger to her lips, and she gives me the death glare of a century. “Marm, I’m needy! I need this. So shut up and let me take care of you.”
She huffs and pulls my finger out of her face, then intertwines her hand with mine. “Fine. You’ve got two hours, then I’m going back to work. Deal?”
“Deal!” I giggle, kissing her knuckles before leading her out of the lab.
And two hours later, when I turn to Marm and see her sleeping peacefully on my shoulder, I smile and place a gentle kiss on her forehead.