Archive of Our Own

~ Juan ~

Juan stared blankly at the pristine white floor, if he squinted he could almost make out his reflection in the light that reflected off from the ceiling. It buzzed endlessly above his head, the same droning noise you’d hear in a quiet hospital room. It didn’t help how clinical everything felt, stripped of humanity and replaced with clean white lines. He gripped Teddy a bit harder, sinking the lower part of his face into the plushie’s once soft fur, now matted in a few spots with his own dried blood. The door handle jiggled, making Juan’s eyes dart to the door as he tried his best to push himself further back into the corner. The room was almost blindingly bright, it felt pathetic trying to hide but the sensation of the walls squeezing his shoulders almost felt comforting enough to provide a false sense of security.

An officer stepped out, the shiny black shoes he wore clicking against the tile. He tried his hardest to remember if he looked like the same one as before, maybe if he was different he’d know that at least enough time had passed for a shift to be over. But they all looked the same, a featureless face, pristine uniform free of any wrinkles or evidence of what they’d done to him here. Absolutely nothing that could tell Juan how long he’d been trapped, getting picked apart until his vision was bleary and of what little he could see was how his blood looked so stark against the white tiles underneath him.

On shaky legs he rose from how he was curled up on the ground, Teddy pulled to his chest, he felt small, childish. With a deep breath he began to shuffle his way towards the officer, the hand not holding Teddy trying to find purchase on the smooth walls as he leaned into them to support a body that felt way too fragile.

The officer’s head turned slightly in his direction, he assumed that meant he was watching him. Pushing himself from the walls he stumbled towards the center of the room where he stood. Teetering on his feet he stopped to steady himself. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to gain control over the dizziness before he felt the cut of glass at his legs and the familiar fumes of a blindness potion overwhelming his senses. 

“Son of a bitch! Haven’t you fuckers done enough?”  He opened his eyes to much of the same darkness only this time a familiar face pierced through, glowing with if he didn’t know any better holy light that burned into his eyes. Lighting up just enough to see as well as feel just how the skeletal hand ripped into the hem of his shirt. He fumbled backwards trying to get away, still not steady on his feet he ended up slamming back onto the ground in much of the same position as before. Teddy escaping his grasp and skidding across the ground into the darkness. What was one glowing face of Cucurucho became two, and then three, as the faces swarmed above him, taunting him. A spindly charcoal hand lurches down towards his throat cutting any scream off into a muffled sound of struggle. Fingers sharpened to look more like talons that he knows can hold him down, that scrape their way through plush skin. Feeling as the blood rolls down his neck, the only distraction from the feeling being how the others try to pull him further apart, his nerves scream out in pain as the figures above him take their time shredding all they can get their hands on. His body high on adrenaline only grows weaker trying to fight the sensation of pain. Every piece of human will trying its hardest to scrap and bite for a chance to survive. The Cucurucho faces that pierce through the darkness growing more fuzzy and dull until everything within Juan finally takes pity on him, letting him slip into unconsciousness.

Juan wakes up slowly, his body aches, heart beating out his chest as if screaming to let him know he’s still alive. The floor feels soft and warm, nothing like the cold hard tile of his jail cell and when his eyes blurred from what might be tears focus a bit more he can see the outlines of his room beneath the darkness. He jerks up, trying to sit straight as he chokes out a sob, breath caught somewhere in his throat as relief rushes through him. Even then he can’t shake the feeling that this is wrong. That any moment now he’ll come to his senses and wake dazed and weakened on the cold hard white tile of wherever the fuck he’d been dragged off to, the only evidence of what had happened stained on his shirt and seared into his body.

Juan snuffed, the sticky feeling of mucus and tears painting his face only adding to how gross and pathetic he already felt. Carefully he stumbled through the darkness of his room to reach the closest cloth, wiping himself clean of all the blubber before he followed the walls until he reached the bathroom door.

Flicking on the light his eyes blinked rapidly as he leaned himself over the sink trying to get his bearings. It was a dream, just his body trying to process a week's worth of hell. He knew this but shit, couldn’t it give him just a little break to rest? He was okay, he was safe, he was home. He repeated the thought a few more times hoping it’d give him some comfort.

He’d gotten home almost 10 hours ago, caked with blood and bone deep exhaustion. Relief washing over him in waves as he felt the sun warm his skin and the stirring of other members in The North mansion. He’d never fucking complain about how noisy they get ever again he swore up and down, the chaos that was stripped from him now wrapped around him into something warm and familiar. Even if all the new sensory input was tilting his brain into overuse after so long without it. The voices grew closer, Graf and Tina eventually stumbling in on him, then Alondrissa. He tried his hardest to show them as put together of a man as he could portray at the moment, before burning up all the pent up anxieties on menial house chores until he could barely keep his eyes open. 

Taking in his reflection he fucking looked like it too, his eyes sunken in and bloodshot, dark circles lining them. Cuts, scrapes, and bruises stained the skin, littering the little he was showing. He didn’t quite think he could stomach seeing himself again like he did before his shower. The nastiest of the injuries were now covered by bandages and the softest clothes he could find that wouldn’t irritate the wounds, though he could still trace with his eye things destined to scar over as he examined himself in the mirror.

His body groaned again in pain reminding him why he’d come in here. Opening up the medicine cabinet he shook pain killers into the palm of his hand and swallowed them dry, too unbothered and uncomfortable to find a glass of water. Flicking off the light he made his way back to his room, feeling a cool rush of air come in from the balcony. He glanced sideways at his bed, blankets strewn across the floor in a panic. He could tell by how the moon hung in the sky it was late, late enough where it’d only make sense to go back to sleep. But Juan, not for lack of being tired couldn’t make himself do it, especially without Teddy being here. The plush Tina gave while a nice gesture wasn’t the same. Fresh air was probably what was best for him right now anyway. He’d calm down, find the knock off Teddy, and try again once the meds kicked in. For now he could procrastinate the enviability of risking reliving his last week in another fucked up nightmare. 

He leaned against the railing breathing in the crisp night air, he admired what he could, how the dragon’s eyes glowed and how the fog settled around it. It really was pretty he thought, before his mind started drifting briefly to another set of glowing eyes. He did his best to shut down the train of thought. Juan shuddered, goosebumps raising that he tried to blame on the chill. A yawn escaping him before the little voice in his head started to belittle him, for as a grown fucking man he couldn’t just go back to sleep after a nightmare without Teddy. He’d always ignored Foolish’s comments about how immature it was of him to still sleep with a stuffed animal. But now that Teddy was really gone and he knew he’d be way too scared to go back to bed without him, it suddenly made those comments feel a lot more like the slight they were intended to be.

“Fucking asshole” he muttered to no one in particular.

He stood in silence for a little while longer, fighting the way his head tried to swing back to memories from the last week. Fighting the voice in his head that told him this was the dream and the second he fell asleep again he’d wake back up in that sterile torture chamber. The nightmare just felt so fucking real… he knows he’s awake! He knows he’s being fucking paranoid right now! But he can’t help it, everything just feels so scary.

He starts to fidget slightly before something shiny leaving the dragon catches the corner of his eye. He squints trying to get the world to focus, his glasses still neglected on his bedside table. However it takes little time at all to recognize the figure as Foolish, if not for the golden skin but also for his abnormal height he liked to insist was average. “I don’t know pal, maybe you're just short.” Foolish had quipped as he held something he’d stolen from his desk just out of reach. The bastard. Yet despite everything wrong with Foolish, how ugly and annoying and stupid he was. Juan always craved his company, and he couldn’t help but crave it just a little bit more when he felt so rattled like this. Letting go of the railing he made his way across the room, pausing to slip a throw blanket that was discarded at the end of the bed around his shoulders. Shuffling his way to the waypoint.

~ Foolish ~

Sleeping was hard for Foolish, being a shark-hybrid he didn’t seem to have the same type of rhythm as the people around him. A rhythm he didn’t even particularly take note of until he lived with so many of them at The North. His housemates would sleep for hours on end, he could fuss with things outside their doors and for the most part they’d stay asleep. Even a night owl like Tina would eventually turn in before the night was over. Meanwhile Foolish tossed and turned until the dawn blared its way through his windows. 

On the odd night that he could fall asleep, it wouldn’t last long. He was such a light sleeper it took the house being dead quiet, which frankly in The North no matter the hour was nothing short of a miracle. Even if the stars did align, his record was only 40 minutes. He’d seen nothing wrong with that until he was up and ready for the day at 11:30PM and the household was quick to complain that he’d woken them with his usual morning antics. A little research told him that this was just the nature of the shark side of him. So after a few dozen noise complaints from the rest of the house, it wasn’t a surprise to find him spending nights fussing in the Kelp Dragon to insure that he didn’t wake any of the humans around him.

Tonight was much of the same, Foolish had been so preoccupied chasing down the Fatal Error that he’d found himself a bit behind on cleaning at the Kelp Dragon. The sounds of his broom against the stone floor filled the quiet of the night, his cortisol being the lowest it’d been all week. Mindlessly he walked himself backwards out the Kelp Dragon, keeping all the dust and dirt from straying from his neat little pile. Despite his calm he still startled slightly as the Waypoint suddenly sounded behind him. The thought that all that monster hunting was getting to his head briefly crossed his mind as he turned to see who had teleported over this late into the night.

“Oh, Juan. Hello!” Foolish spoke giving his usual chipper wave and warm smile.

“Hi.” he muttered back, lacking his usual gusto. Not that Foolish was all that surprised, he’d heard from Tina how much of a mess he was this afternoon, partly why he was going to leave it until Juan woke up in a couple hours to greet him. 

Now that he was finally getting a look at him himself, Tina really wasn’t exaggerating when she told him he looked like shit. His eyes were bloodshot, face unusually pale, the dark bags under his eyes doing nothing but further contrasting the lack of life in his complexion. Bruises and cuts littered the arm he held the blanket around his shoulders with, and judging from what wasn’t obscured by fabric that probably wasn’t even the worst of it. A nasty scratch mark left on the sides of his neck disappeared under the baggy t-shirt he had on, ill-fitted clothing doing nothing to make him look less disheveled. Bandana crooked across his forehead and hair ruffled up in places it shouldn’t be.

“You look fucking horrible.” Foolish blurted out.

“Thanks man… fucking asshole” he grumbled, leveling him a glare. “You’re a monster, you know that? I’ve been fucking tortured for the past week and the first thing you tell me is how horrible I look.” His tone wasn’t outright offended, just enunciated with that touch of drama Juan always had when was digging for a certain response.

Foolish caved. “I’m glad you’re back.” he said softly but not without a heavy sigh feigning reluctance. 

He watched as a satisfied expression crossed Juan’s face, almost smug that he was able to squeeze a nicety out of him. He was lucky he looked so miserable right now or he wouldn’t have even gotten that. Silence lulled for a moment, Foolish beginning to feel awkward as his sweet words hung in the air. This wasn’t their usual tit for tat, the energy was far too solemn to swing back into normalcy without it feeling forced. 

Foolish lay his broom on the side of the dragon. Stretching his arms slightly before he went to sit on the steps, patting the spot next to him to signal Juan to follow. A good move considering watching him move forward only gave away how feeble he must be feeling. Foolish remained silent debating whether it was right to get up and help him, it was obvious to him Juan was trying his hardest to hide it. So Foolish did him the favor of protecting his dignity, pretending to focus hard on the brick in front of him, as he watched Juan wince trying to lower himself onto the step in his peripheral.

Juan shifted getting comfortable, burrowing himself further into his blanket. “What’s this?” Foolish tugged at the end slightly.

“Blanket, idiot.” the sound of his voice muffled by the fabric.

Foolish huffed out a sigh. “I’m asking you if you're cold.”

Juan just shrugged, staring blankly ahead of him. Either unbothered or too in his own world to notice how intently Foolish had begun to watch him. He let the silence go on for a little longer before trying to spark conversation again.
“You’re awake.” 

“Yeah, I have- I had a nightmare. I didn’t feel like going back to sleep after that…” he trailed off, still not trying to meet Foolish’s eyes.

“Oh.” Foolish nodded sympathetically.

“Yeah..” 

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“To be honest with you Foolish, I’ve done a lot of talking about it today. I’m tired. I want to forget all of last week ever fucking happened. Can’t close my damn eyes without seeing that fucking son of a bitch grinning at me.” and just as quickly as the frustration rose with his last sentence, it went, “I was so fucking stupid to follow him like that.” he paused glancing at Foolish as if expecting a jab. “Don’t.” he scolded, pointing a finger in his direction.

Foolish lifted his hands up in surrender, biting back his satisfied expression. He didn’t need to say or do a thing to make all the times he’d told Juan how idiotic it was to chase after Cucurucho become top of mind. As Foolish’s eyes raked over his face it became easier to stop himself from gloating. He tried his best for his attention not to catch on any of the bruises or scrapes that threatened to cut away at the little levity Foolish managed to foster. Juan will be okay eventually. He tried to keep Aldo’s status out of his thoughts, diverting his eyes to the ground.

“I imagine Tina filled you in on everything?” Foolish changed the topic.

“Yeah, I know about the Aldo situation and everything.” he spoke somberly, resting his head on his knees as he blinked away sleep. “I also know that you’ve been out hunting fucking monsters over doing your damn job. The house is a mess by the way!” Juan opened his mouth to complain more but Foolish stole the floor before he could get the words out.

“Looking for Fatal Error is an important job! And I’m considered the island expert.” He said proudly, Juan rolled his eyes.

“Could you become an expert at doing your job? You don’t work!” Juan continued to fuss.

“Well I was trying to and like always you’ve come to interrupt me!” Foolish tried to feign annoyance but it was broken by a tiny grin which Juan returned. His eyes following Foolish as he stood up again and made his way back to the broom, hiding a yawn in his blanket when he thought Foolish wasn’t looking.

“Do you need help?” he asked, pushing the tiredness from his voice.

“You sure you don’t want to go back to sleep?”

Juan shook his head, “I’ve been asleep all day, I'm fine.” and if Foolish was as stupid as Juan liked to say he is, he would’ve believed this. However Tina hadn’t failed to mention how he had worked himself into the ground from the second he could escape the fanfare. Foolish was honestly unsurprised to learn that Juan liked to work as a way to avoid things, although he was surprised that Juan thought he could get away with no one in The North noticing. He really is an idiot. An idiot who was now Foolish’s responsibility as he was the only one up late enough to stop him from doing something stupid. Which according to Tina was what her and Alondrissa had spent their afternoons doing, babysitting Segundo al Mando Deluxe to ensure he wasn’t trying to lift things with a broken arm.

“Okay!” Foolish agreed easily, already scheming as to ways to get him out of the Kelp Dragon and back to bed. Juan trailed Foolish into the dragon, stopping together not too far away from the entrance. “I’ve got everything I need to do up there.” Foolish motioned over to the large computer screen at the back wall.

Juan squinted trying to make out the screen from where he was standing. “I can’t see it, I don’t have my glasses stupid.”

Foolish sighed dramatically “How are you gonna be any help then?” He crossed his arms.

Juan gave him a flat look of annoyance. “I’m near sighted not a fucking imbecile.”

“Debatable.” Foolish chirped before turning to approach the table on the far side of the room. The sound of papers shuffling and hurried writing filled the silence as Foolish scribbled down the easiest tasks before returning and shoving the checklist in his hands. “This is everything I need to get done before the sun comes up.”

After moving the paper a bit closer to his face to read Juan nodded, determined. Making his way over to the table to sort through the piled up paperwork Foolish had been neglecting. In the meantime Foolish finished up his sweeping before slotting the broom back with the other cleaning supplies, trading it for a spray bottle of glass cleaner and a cloth. Making his way around the room he cleaned each of the test tubes thoroughly, sneaking glances over at Juan to assess how well he was doing. 

Juan sat head propped up on his good arm while the other lazily held the paper he was reading, blanket resting around his shoulders as he carefully formed piles Foolish knew was going to evolve into some overly complex organization system. He’d curse himself later for having to learn it. But as long as Juan was sitting, Foolish could ensure that he wouldn’t get an earful from Tina or Aldo (If- When he returned.) that he’d let him crack his head open trying to reach things in a laboratory built for the incredibly tall totem.

“Where’s the trashcan?”

Foolish paused, setting down his things to pull the tiny waste bin you’d see in a cubicle over to Juan’s side. “What are you throwing away?” Foolish asked, hovering over his shoulder trying to get a closer look at the document.

“Stupid Federation tax forms. Still can’t believe they wanted three fucking stacks.” He grumbled as he dumped the hefty packet into the can beside him. Foolish made a sound of agreement, returning to the task at hand. 

Other than that Juan was relatively quiet, occasionally asking for the odd definition of some legal jargon as the majority of Foolish’s paperwork was only written in English. Foolish would continue to glance over as frequently as he could justify if he were asked about it, catching Juan trying to muffle a yawn or fight nodding off enough times for Foolish to have no doubt (not that he had many in the first place) that Juan was putting off going back to bed.

Foolish’s mind wandered to what the contents of the nightmare could have been as he cleaned. Obviously it was about what he’d experienced at The Federation’s hand, but Foolish wished he knew more than what he’d been told from Tina. He wanted to know each and every unpleasant and painful detail of what Juan experienced in the last week, he wanted to listen even if it was uncomfortable to hear. Even if Juan had been nothing but annoying and bossy since the moment he’d arrived, Foolish wanted to help. He knew he couldn’t be just fine with this, as far as he was aware this was the first time he’d been up against such blatant brutality. Being immortal Foolish had seen lots of violence, been on both sides of it and in many ways he craved the chaos it served. The adrenaline hits of risk becoming addicting in a life that can become predictable after experiencing so much of it, even then Foolish still knows the feeling of fear. He had millennia to become jaded to these types of things, had millennia more to see them as what made life exciting, Juan on the other hand was simply Vegetta’s little errands boy. He’s stupid and naive to how the island could hurt him, fuck he’d ignored every warning Foolish had heeded him about Cucurucho. 

Putting on a brave face for The North (or as brave of a face as Juan could considering the breakdown Tina described, which really only proved his point further.) was fucking stupid, ignoring it would only exacerbate the fear and the nightmares and the hopelessness that they’d ever get to see life off of this island. He’d kill himself before he’d say it to Juan’s face but he didn’t want that for him. Forcing it out of him wasn’t the way, Foolish knew that, he also knew he wasn’t the best with words or being gentle with others feelings. Regardless he’d try, because no matter how much he hates to admit it Juan is one of the people he trusts most on the island, and maybe in some way he cared about his sanity. If only because at the end of the day he has to work with him, and he’d probably be more annoying if he was both stupid and insane.

Foolish eventually finished cleaning every glass surface the lab had, returning the spray bottle and cloth back to the little nook he’d shoved all his cleaning supplies in. He scanned the area for the disinfectant wipes, his eyes passing over once, twice, thre- ah! He found it! And just like that the perfect idea on how to get Juan back into his room had come to him. All he really needed to do was pretend he forgot something at the house and then lie saying he needed his help finding it! From there he’d just go into Juan’s room without permission and tada! Juan would be back in the room he needed to be, and all Foolish would need to do is play goalie until Juan either gave up or slipped past him. So Foolish set down the wipes and started to make a show of it, huffing out a sigh as he played the confused fool he was so good at pretending to be.

“Oh my god! What?!” Juan perked up from his seat after the fourth dramatic huff he’d heard from Foolish’s direction in the span of a minute.

“I think I have to go back to the house, my uh-” he scanned the cleaning supplies for anything he was lacking. “I forgot something.” he spat out after becoming too panicked by specifics.

“Oh, wha-?” Juan started to ask though Foolish took the chance to hurry out the mouth of the dragon before he’d have to make up a solid answer.

Foolish assumed that Juan would just shrug off his weird behavior and continue sorting, leaving him to have to message him to come help look after a minute or two of stalling. But that wasn’t the case, abandoning his blanket, Juan trailed Foolish like a puppy across the bridge and up the stairs of the mansion. 

“What are you looking for?” Juan asked as they climbed, promptly ignored by the golden man in front of him. Impatiently he began to pester as they reached the top of the stairs “Foolish? What are we looking for?”

“Uhhh..” He mutters as he enters the house.

“Where the fuck are you going monster!” Juan hisses from the doorway, watching as Foolish circles the left side of the Kelp of Peace. Straying further and further away from his own bedroom or any communal chests, he stops at the head of the stairs before turning back around to face him. Foolish flashing him a smirk before he takes off up the stairs. 

The sound of two sets of rushed footsteps fill the halls as Juan chases after him towards the double doors of his bedroom. Foolish cringes slightly as he registers the pure amount of noise they are making in the middle of a house with walls of fucking paper, regardless it doesn’t stop him from throwing open the doors of Juan’s room and staggering his way inside. Juan not so far behind stops, bracing himself on the door casing as he catches his breath.

“What.. the… fuck?” he huffs between each word, Foolish can feel his eyes on his back as he saunters around the table in the center of the room. “Why are you in here? Foolish?” Foolish continues to ignore him making sure to mess with each of the placemats he passes. “Stop touching shit!” Juan projects his voice as loud as one could while maintaining a whisper. When Foolish doesn’t stop Juan starts moving closer trying to swat him away, Foolish luring him around the room as he pokes and prods at any item that he can get his hands on. “What the fuck are you doing? Foolish!” he complains, stopping to re-arrange the spices Foolish had scrambled as he scampered past. Taking the chance while Juan was distracted, Foolish closed, then locked for good measure the bedroom doors he’d left flung open.

“Ha!” Foolish scoffs suddenly, whipping around just in time to see how he made Juan jump slightly at the sudden exclamation.

“If you left something in my office you could’ve just went in there without fucking up my whole room!” he speaks softly now that the doors have closed.

“Oh yeah! The office door!” Foolish chirps, happily walking over and locking the door he’d forgotten about.

Juan continues to fuss with the various things Foolish had knocked over or moved in some way, meanwhile Foolish continues to stay vigilant of when he passes any of the doors, trailing him like a shark. “You’re so fucking weird.” Juan chuckles fondly as Foolish rushes to his side when they pass the front doors. “Did you get what you needed from my office?” he says, stopping at the waystone before leaning against it.

Shit, the waystone! Foolish huffs at the thought. Unlike Juan who’d just rolled out of bed however, he still had his tools, so with one fell swoop he pushed Juan aside and broke the waystone. “Foolish!” he said a little too loudly, slapping a hand over his own mouth.

“You’re gonna wake Tina.” he replied casually from the floor where he was pocketing the pieces of waystone safely in his backpack.

“I’m gonna kill you one day.” he informed, “Why the fuck did you break my waystone?!” Juan demanded, glaring down at Foolish.

“Because,” Foolish stood, “Fun is over pal, you’re going back to bed.”

Juan scoffed, searching for the tell of a joke on Foolish’s face and finding nothing. Upon realizing that Foolish was completely serious the amusement on his face faltered into disbelief. “You’re such a fucking idiot, come on.” Juan spoke, walking towards the door and shaking the handle for it only to be locked. “Unlock the door.” Juan ordered, giving him a flat look of annoyance, exasperation building.

“No.” Foolish crossed his arms, probably looking to Juan much like a petulant child judging by the sigh that left his lips.

“Okay.” he rubbed at his temples, it was clear to Foolish that he didn’t have the energy to keep up with their usual back and forth, not that the option of yelling at Foolish was even viable unless he wanted the entire house to hate him in the morning. This was going perfectly and he let that slip onto his face to rub salt into Juan’s wound. “First of all-” he started before Foolish cut him off.

“I saw you falling asleep at my table, so don’t give me that bullshit about how you’re not tired. Tina told me all about how her and Alondrissa had to babysit you this afternoon to make sure you didn’t overwork yourself.” Foolish continued ignoring how Juan’s temper was getting thinner and thinner. “You are obviously injured, so don’t even try to lie to me about not being in pain. What your body needs is rest, not to help me clean, or to fuss with the plaques around the house. Those things can wait. Don’t be a fucking idiot.” He spoke plainly in a manner he knew was rare for him, and was most likely what had thrown Juan off enough for him not to try and talk over him.

“I appreciate the concern.” Juan gritted out clearly trying to maintain his temper. “But Foolish, I do not need to be babysat, and I do not need a fucking bedtime! Now let’s just go back to the dragon and…”

“You either go back to bed on your own or I pick you up and lay on you until you fall asleep.” 

Juan laughs as if Foolish wasn’t being completely serious. “You’re so full of shit. How does my sleep schedule concern you anyway, idiot?” he says reintroducing some levity.

“Because you won’t be the only one that will be getting an ear full of complaints in a couple hours, that you” He stresses by pointing at him. “didn’t go to bed. Oh Foolish!” his voice goes up a couple octaves as he mimics someone else talking to him. “Why did you have Juan help you clean the dragon? You're a bad guy, he should have been resting.” Foolish complains. “Do you see what I deal with?!” 

“Fine, Foolish! I’ll tell them that you made the effort so you don’t get any shit tomorrow, just let’s- go back to the dragon!”

“Is it the nightmare? Is that why you don’t want to go back to bed?” Foolish prods further.

Juan groans clearly frustrated, “I don’t want to talk about it, I’m fine! I’m okay! Thank you, Foolish.” 

They stand in silence for a moment as Foolish tries to review his options, he very well could let this go. Juan would tell the house that he’d tried, there was only so much one can do to enforce a bedtime on a grown adult man after all. Even then Foolish still didn’t feel satisfied, the nightmare was obviously fucking with him, it wasn’t hard to see how exhausted he looked. Juan was just scared, and Foolish understood scared. This island was scary, but that couldn’t stop them from functioning like normal people, or going about their lives, that option was stripped from them the second they realized the power The Federation dangled over their heads. It was stripped from Juan the second he’d decided to join The North. So Foolish made the decision that this one would be out of his hands, and like always blamed the care he had for his dumb little colleague on something just out of his own reach.

“Okay.” Foolish sighed, why he’s decided to put so many eggs in one basket had crossed his mind more than once at this point. “Unfortunately the rest of The North disagrees, you’re tired, you’re injured, you need to go to bed. We both know no matter what you say! If you don’t wake up tomorrow in better condition than when you fell asleep, it’s not just you who will be facing Tina’s wrath!” He smiled trying to make the sentence sound more lighthearted than the contents of the actual words felt, though how much he had to care about keeping the status quo was still fuzzy to him. Tonight they had already been weirdly tender by their usual standards, maybe they could just strike this one out from the record.

“Look, I told her, and I’ll tell her again that I am fine! Tina and everyone else will just have to trust me, because I’m not going back to-” Juan was cut off as Foolish promptly picked him up, making his way over to the bed. “PUT ME DOWN ASSHOLE!” Juan yelled, thrashing as best as he could in Foolish’s grasp.

“Quiet down! Fuck! You’re going to wake everyone!” Foolish spoke softly.

“Let me down!” Juan scowled a little too loudly, continuing to hit and kick Foolish the best he could before dropped unceremoniously onto the bed, the totem’s weight crashing down quickly on top of him. “Get off!” Juan whined, slamming his fist on Foolish’s back as he swore at him in a flurry of Spanish and English.

Eventually Juan’s struggling had slowed, out of breath from the attempts to lift the massive totem man laying on top of him. Foolish however remained unaffected. Even with all the lifting needed for building or strength for fighting, Juan was on the scrawnier side when it came to those on the island. Rather average for both his height and weight, it didn’t surprise Foolish that he was unimpressed at much of his hitting and kicking. After all, Foolish was tall, solid, and had the immortal magic of a totem pumping through his veins. The human posed more risk of bruising his ego than ever injuring him in any real way.

~ Juan ~

“If one of my arms wasn’t broken I so would’ve fucked you up by now.” Juan huffed and pouted as he looked up at the stupid totem above him. Foolish didn’t even dignify that with any verbal answer more than a snort, but by his face it was clear he was very skeptical. That only served to annoy Juan more, who was Foolish to give him a fucking bedtime?! “Stop making that stupid face!” Juan fumed, trying once again to push against Foolish’s chest. Why was this stupid man so hard to move?! He’s only seen him eat creamy pasta and avocado toast for Christ sake! And somehow he still doubts that those alone would sustain an immortal being to such a degree.

When strength wasn’t working he simply tried to beat him in a game of patience. He knew the guy wasn’t exactly known for being able to sit still and endure boredom. Juan however as Segundo al Mando Deluxe was a professional at sitting in one spot and enduring boredom, afterall it was part of his job to handle all the managerial tasks like paperwork. So that’s what he did, unmoving as he simply glared back at Foolish.

“What are you just giving up?” Foolish said after a prolonged staring contest. Juan decided that responding would be too entertaining for the man so he continued to say nothing. “Fine. Silent treatment! Real mature!” He replied after Juan’s decision became clear to him. “You’re acting like a big baby! Won’t go to bed, won’t speak to me… Say nothing if you’re a big stupid idiot and I’m the better Segundo al Mando!… Really? Nothing?” Foolish’s face fell flat with annoyance and Juan couldn’t help but smile slightly as the tables turned in his favor.

“I see you fucking smiling! Know you’re not gonna win this by the way pal! I once sat while a guy hit me with a fish for 3 hours!” His face continued to stay completely serious despite the odd sentence.

“Huh?” Juan started to laugh, though he quickly tried to smother it.

“Yeah, on the last island…” Foolish nodded before his face lit up. “I won! You laughed, I won!”

“You did not win! You cheated!”

“I cheated?!” Foolish spoke incredulously, his voice going higher in octave.

“Yeah by saying something so fucking idiotic that I had to laugh.”

“It’s true! I did! Max will tell you.” Foolish nods like he said something sagely.

“You just never actually work do you? 3 fucking hours? Who has 3 hours for that?”

“It was a matter of pride!” Foolish grumbled.

“3 hours with you sounds like hell. Who’d be stupid enough for that?” Juan continues to try and prod at Foolish for this frankly ridiculous statement. Whether he was doing it to be able to get a few more jabs in and get on his nerves, or out of genuine curiosity was unclear even to him.

“An old… friend?” He said the friend part with an exaggerated reluctance, not far off from how he’d declare his friendship with Juan.

“You’re boyfriend!” Juan teased, meanwhile Foolish looked back at him with a mixture of disgust and annoyance.

“Ew! No! He’s fucking annoying, I’m glad the both of you aren’t on this island, I’d actually want to pull my hair out.”

Juan let out a dry laugh before they settled into a comfortable silence for a moment. “Can you seriously get off me now? I don’t want to go to bed.”

“Why? You need the sleep.” Foolish replied with the same sincerity. “It’s the nightmare right? You don’t wanna go to sleep because of the nightmare.” 

Juan groaned again, why wouldn’t he just let this go!

“I’ll get off you if you tell me about the nightmare.” The offer slipped suddenly out of Foolish’s mouth. “If you still don’t want to try after you talk to me about the nightmare, we can just go back to the dragon and forget about it.”

“Fine.” Juan agreed though he wasn’t too happy about it. But if this was what he had to do to get Foolish to stop squishing him, he guessed he could get into it one more time. As soon as he agreed Foolish eagerly rolled off of him, sitting crisscrossed on the bed next to where Juan laid recounting the moments that had gotten him to this point. With a sigh he started “I’m gonna say this in Spanish, it’s easier, okay?” He turned his head to look at Foolish.

“Of course.” He smiled back, by the way he almost cooed around the words he could tell Foolish was trying to make him feel comfortable and safe. Juan appreciated the effort, but retelling it felt much like reliving it, and living it made him feel sick to his stomach with unease.

“I was back in the room where I was kidnapped, and… and it felt so real.” Juan’s voice broke slightly and he took a deep breath. “They would leave me in there for god knows how long with nothing, but every now and again an officer would come in and blind me. It was just like the attack they did on the house that one time, except there was nothing I could do to stop or resist it. All I could do was wait until they managed to back me into the corner, or the guard got tired of waiting and just…”

“Take your time.” Foolish said gently, to be honest Juan didn’t even notice he’d stopped talking.

“They’d tear into me. The skeletons. Sink their gnarled fingers into my skin and slowly rip their way through me. I couldn’t- I couldn’t do anything but watch, even with the darkness I could still see the damage when I looked down. I could still feel how they’d shred through me when I closed my eyes, and struggling away only made things worse for me.” Juan could see how Foolish was watching him from his peripheral, his eyebrows drawn together, his mouth tight with some mix of anger and grief. “I- I’m not surprised I dreamt about it, or even that it upset me. That’s expected. It's just so, so disheartening. I’m free, I should feel free, I should be happy. But I just- part of me still feels locked in that little white room waiting for that fucking officer to walk through the door! That I’ll wake up in that room again and it will look just as untouched as it had when I walked in the first time. Empty, white, pristine, like they didn’t just leave me there half to death! Like I had just imagined seeing my blood spill out onto the floor! Or- or those fucking skeletons with his stupid fucking face on it!” Juan sniffled between each charged sentence. He sounded completely pathetic and stupid. Stupid to fall in love, stupid to think that maybe someone would love him, stupid enough to not listen to all the people who said The Federation was something dangerous. And if shame and self loathing already hadn’t burned onto his face, falling apart in front of Foolish like this certainly would insure it. 

He was supposed to be strong for The North, he was supposed to keep his pride intact in front of this totem that seemingly was always scanning for his weaknesses. Yet somehow in between it all he still couldn’t find it in himself to give a shit enough to protect his decency. He was so fucking exhausted, his body was still buzzing with a faint pain despite the pills, and all he could think about was wanting to curl in on himself and sob until he looked so pitiful the world would just put him out of his misery.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Foolish said firmly, “Here,” He says as he pulls his backpack in front of him and rummages around until he finally pulls out a tissue and offers it to Juan. 

“Thanks.” Juan mumbles as sits up to accept it, patting it on his face below the tear duct on each side. 

“Listen, I’m here, The North is here, Aldo will come home, and I promise we won’t let it happen again.” He says gently though Juan can only feel a familiar feeling of annoyance bubble up inside him. He’s tired of this conversation right now! He wants to hide, lick his wounds, don’t get him wrong even within this thick cloud of dread he despises The Feds and would do anything to gain the upper hand. But he needs time!

“You can’t promise that!”

“We’ll figur-”

Juan whinges, head in hands. “Please Foolish, just drop this! I’m fucking exhausted, I’m in pain, and honestly all I want to do is curl up in the corner and sob! This is the last thing I want to talk about right now!” Juan snaps at Foolish who just stares at him quietly for a moment, his eyes all big and sad like he’s some kicked puppy. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I can’t do what you want of me right now.”

“I just want you to be okay.” Foolish mumbles earnestly. “If okay is not talking about it, then we don’t talk about it. I just didn't want you running from things because doing stupid stuff like that will only make it hurt longer.”

“And I appreciate that Foolish, but even if I tried to go to sleep right now it wouldn’t work! I dread even the idea of getting that stupid nightmare again.” he huffed.

“You didn’t let me finish! Regardless it wasn’t right for me to keep pushing you on it, and I’m sorry. Okay? I’m sorry I tried locking us in your room until you fell asleep.” Foolish finishes sincerely.

“Thank you.” Juan smiles, giving him a small nod and Foolish returns it before they settle into comfortable quiet. “You really suck at plans, man.” Juan scoffs, breaking the peace.

“Yeah, okay and you’re just sooo good at them?”

“Yes I am.” Juan says, puffing out his chest slightly.

Foolish grimaces at his show of arrogance. “Well I had one last idea on how to get you to sleep, but I hadn’t exactly made it to that step of the plan yet! So I don’t want to hear it!” he sasses.

“Yeah? And what was this final step of your great plan then?” Juan mocks. Raising an eyebrow at him, he tries to summon the most annoyingly pretentious face he can but is interrupted by a yawn.

“What I do every time, hum a little lullaby and trace little shapes until they fall asleep.” Foolish says as if he was well seasoned in the field of helping people after a nightmare. Juan doubts that heavily.

“That’s stupid.” he spat.

“It’s relaxing.” Foolish counters. “Plus I always promise to stay just in case they wake up again. Though the nightmares and fear usually go away when you know someone close to you is nearby.”

“You’re being pushy again!”

“I didn’t say you had too! I just answered the question you asked!” Juan and Foolish exchange a glare, before Foolish’s face starts to lighten with a smile. “You want to try it don’t you?”

“No!” Juan crosses his arms, petulant, but playing hard to get was simply how they communicated and Foolish understood that just as well as Juan did. 

“Yeah okay pal.” Foolish smiles, the same stupid goofy little grin still painting his face as he fusses with the pillows and blankets until he determines it’s good enough. “Come on! It’ll work!” He chirps as he starts to drag Juan over to him.

“Yes, and we all know how well your plans work.” Juan sulks, one last lame excuse for an objection spilling from his lips. Though how he was further breaking into Foolish’s personal space did add to his weariness, he did still let Foolish continue to guide his head onto his lap. Staring up at him like this felt odd. Well not the looking up at him part, maybe the angle was slightly. The whole being close enough to hear his breathing if he was so determined definitely was odd. 

“Oh Shut up! I used to do this for Leo when she’d wake up from a nightmare and it always worked.”

“Who’s Leo?” Juan asks quietly. 

“My daughter, from the last island…” 

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Foolish frowns for a moment, “I brought her up stupid. It’s a good memory anyways.”

“You liked when your child had nightmares?! You’re a monster!” Juan joked, before a part of him wondered if maybe it was too far to joke about his very much dead daughter. But Foolish didn’t seem to mind in fact he smiled fondly, almost reminiscent.

“No dumbass. I liked comforting her.” He started, his voice growing fond in a way Juan had never heard before. “She made me feel like there was more out there than just building things, like I was useful, wanted for more than just…” Foolish paused looking back down at Juan thoughtfully, almost like the look he gets when his brain was finally catching up to the terrible idea he’d already put into action.

“Why am I telling you this?” He shook his head, seemingly more speaking to himself than the man he was looking at. “Anywa-“

“You know,” Juan cut him off. “I do like you for more than your abilities to build a dragon.” He scoffed, Foolish was being ridiculous to think that he was unwanted if not for the skill he’d mastered. “Even though I tell you you're useless or stupid or whatever the fuck we like to joke about, you’re far from it.”

Foolish seemed surprised, “Uh-“ a flustered sound escaping him.

“You never needed to pull me back here and as much as I fucking hate you for it, I’m grateful that you’re still here, and helping me try to go back to sleep again.” Juan gave a small smile, “Even if you’re ideas as to how are fucking stupid. I needed the help, thank you.” he admitted begrudgingly. “I hate you even more for that, so enjoy you’re fucking win while you can cause I won’t repeat it.” Juan crossed his arms and pouted, though it was quickly broken by the same giggling that’d interrupt their yelling matches. Meanwhile Foolish looked at him frozen. Despite the darkness Juan could make out how red his cheeks had gotten. At first he paid no mind to it until it dawned on him that Foolish was flustered, Juan had flustered him! So much so he was blushing? Fucking blushing! He wasn’t ever going to let Foolish live this down, Juan was certain this was all the good karma he’d earned through his suffering coming back to gift him the perfect blackmail. Something he could gleefully hold over Foolish for the rest of his life that him, Juan, of all fucking people had managed to fluster him.

“Are you fucking blushing?” He pointed out, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face as he laughed at him.

“S-Shut up!” Foolish spat.

“All I did was give you a little compliment.” Juan continued to tease.

“Shut up! You fucking idiot! You can’t go to bed if you’re too busy being fucking stupid, and I have other things to do than babysit you. Besides you’re way too fucking tense! Just calm down!” He huffed, avoiding Juan’s eyes.

Juan laughed at his attempts to save face, regardless he listened, taking a deep breath and relaxing all the little ways his body was tensing. Then Juan wrangled the left over amusement he felt from flustering Foolish and stored the rest of his teasing for later. “Okay.” He said finally, and Foolish began to trace little shapes and patterns gently on his face, humming softly some type of nursery rhyme Juan could recognize as familiar. His eyes began to feel heavy as Foolish continued. He honestly needed very little to coax the exhaustion back to the front of his mind, and with the constant reminder of someone he trusted far more than was probably wise being with him, the fear quieted quickly just like Foolish had said it would. Leaving a feeling of solace in its wake, something Juan couldn’t remember the last time he’d truly felt. 

It’d been so confusing to wake up one day stranded on this strange island, and things had only gotten more and more chaotic and stressful. It was nice to know he’d made connections with such good people in the short amount of time he’s been here. People who have gone through this once before and he could trust to help be a guiding light in some ways. A tall, annoying, and very stupid bright light, that despite what bullshit he claimed about doing it for Tina’s sake, once again has surrendered his time and attention to him. Juan fell asleep with a warm smile on his face, knowing that this was far from the last time his dumb little colleague would do such a thing.

~ Foolish ~

This wasn’t exactly how he planned for his night to go, looking down at his lap Juan slept peacefully. In a weird way it charmed Foolish, he guessed it made sense that he was more appealing to him when he wasn’t talking. Because the last couple times Juan was talking he felt confused. His mind wandered back to the nice things Juan said to him on the balcony the afternoon before he was taken, and now before he’d fallen asleep. Foolish wondered if he really meant it, sometimes even if he knew it was just playful bickering his head could get lost. But then Juan would build him a little balcony or insure all the blocks he removed were right near the place he’d fucked with and Foolish’s mind would right itself again. Actions like that were much easier for him to make sense of then words, words felt tricky, like they pinned him in place, and prodded at sore spots. Words held expectations and long talks where he’d be forced to justify things even he wasn’t always sure of the reason behind. Life is boring when you try to justify every little thing, especially if you live a life as long as his. 

Speaking of boring, Foolish as usual started to feel restless after being in the same position for so long. His eyes drifted back down to the stupid little squatter that was taking up his lap, he looked so serene. It almost felt bad to disturb him after the fight of a night he’s had, his face leaned against Foolish’s core as his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Between the calm expression and slight disarray of his bandana and hair, it made the usually tense and boisterous man look a lot softer. Foolish scrunched his nose in playful disgust as the fond feelings kept hugging his heart. He’s well aware that he unfortunately ended up enjoying this stupid idiot’s company, there was no reason for his heart to try and eat at his pride like that.

Carefully he shifted Juan off of his lap and tucked him properly into bed, Foolish sprawled next to him as he stared up at the ceiling. What was he gonna do now? Just watch him sleep? The thought briefly crosses his mind that he could leave, go back to the dragon and continue his cleaning but it snags against his morals. He’d promised Juan he’d be here when he woke up and he wasn’t about to break that. But now what? 

His mind wanders on how to burn time, sinking further into the mattress the totem gets more and more comfortable as he runs through his options. He could always try and get some rest too. Not that it normally works, but he could try. The feeling of an arm falling across his abdomen as Juan practically lays halfway on top of him, both pulls him from his thoughts and makes the decision for him. 

Foolish scoffs, “Our Segundo al Mando Deluxe” he mutters with a bit of an attitude, although a fond smile still manages to find its way onto his face. Stupid fucking idiot, always so goddamn clingy even when unconscious. Laying a hesitant hand on Juan’s back he returned the half hug, making the note to tease him for this in the morning as he let himself close his eyes. It wasn’t much longer until sleep would take him too.