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Morgana wasn't very strong. In either sense of the word.
He wasn't very physically strong, relying on magic in the metaverse.
He wasn't mentally strong. He struggled to articulate what he was feeling properly, he wanted to be there with Joker during his interrogation. He wanted Ren back already. There wasn't much he could do besides pace on their shared bed as Futaba monitored the news on the chair nearby.
"Where is he?" Morgana whined, scratching at his ear impatiently. "His death was announced an hour ago. Sae should have gotten him out by now!"
"Quiet Mona! I'm focusing here." Futaba snapped, clearly just as upset as Morgana. Morgana's ears flatten and he grumbles as he moves downstairs. Sojiro is clearly out of it as he sits in one of his booths staring at the ceiling while smoking.
Morgana turned his nose up at the smell and moved to the door to Leblanc. Staring at the door, hoping, praying, his thief was alright. He curled up into a ball and let out a pathetic meow, vaguely directed at Boss. Sojiro snapped out of his stupor for a moment to look at Mona before shaking his head and looking away again. He couldn't really blame the man, he just lost the closest thing he had to a son.
Suddenly a familiar scent catches his nose, followed by the intense scent of blood. Blood? Mona jumped back to his feet and started scratching at the door. Boss yelled something at Mona, but he didn't care. He leaped off the ground and messed with the doorknob until the door opened. Morgana rushed outside, the cold November snow falling onto the ground as he looked to his left.
Sae Niijima looked shocked to see that a cat opened the door, not that Mona cared. Leaning on her shoulder was Ren, half conscious, weakly staring at Morgana.
"Hey Mona…" He said, his voice somehow quieter than usual.
Morgana burst into tears as he rushed over and clang to Ren, Sae just grumbled something under her breath and moved them into Leblanc, letting Ren sit on one of the booths, Morgana firmly planted into his lap, claws dug into his pants.
What happened next was a blur, Sojiro burst into tears at seeing Ren, Futaba ran downstairs also in tears. Takemi was called in for a late night emergency. And Morgana never left Ren's side. The doctor tried to remove the cat from the attic, Sojiro and Futaba tried to lure him away with treats and eventually sushi. Boss eventually left the cat alone (with a few cat scratches to boot). Takemi finished her evaluation.
"A broken rib, a concussion and whatever drugs they injected into his system. I can't give him any medicine until I know what they injected him with. Niijima-san, was it? I need that information quickly." Sae nodded pensively, "I'll have it for you by tomorrow at the earliest." Takemi grimaced slightly.
"Bed rest for the next 48 to 72 hours. Absolutely no physical exercise or intense movement. Feed the kid, if they get a fever let me know. and don't let the cat mess with him too much. He needs rest desperately." Takemi finished. Morgana looked offended as he laid on Ren's chest who was falling in and out of consciousnesses.
"Hear that Mona..? No funny business." Ren smiled weakly before putting his hand on Mona and passing out properly.
"Well, if he can joke, he can recover quickly." Sojiro grunted, rubbing his eyes that were red and puffy from crying. "I need to head to bed. So do you, Futaba." Sojiro said, now turning to the group of people and ushering them out of the attic.
"You said the cat can talk?" Sojiro directed to Futaba who nodded. "Morgana. Come get us if something goes wrong." Sojiro said before moving everyone out of the attic and shutting off the lights. The room heater buzzed softly, it and the blanket being the only protection from the worsening snow storm out the window.
Morgana resettled onto Ren's chest. Who was breathing softly, softer than Morgana had heard from the half a year they spent together. All he could do was make sure he was breathing and be there when Ren awoke. Barely in the back of Morgana's head, he could hear a familiar opera voice as Ren slept.
Zorro spoke in the back of his head, overwriting the singing,
I spoke with Arsène. He is… keeping back the nightmares for now. Joker will sleep somewhat peacefully, Debes descansar. (You need to rest)
Morgana wanted to argue, but arguing with his inner self would be something he would not win. Reluctantly, he placed his head near Ren's and fell asleep quickly.
The next day, Ren was still out of it. His eyes were still half closed as he laid on his side staring into the wall. The bruise on his face was covered by his hand as he massaged his own head. A plate of hot curry sat on a chair right next to his bed.
"Ren… You need to eat."
"'m not hungry."
"You haven't eaten since before the mission. You need to eat." Morgana pawed Ren's back which caused him to flinch slightly. Morgana retracted his paw quickly and sat back down. "I will get Boss if you don't eat."
This seemed to make Ren push into himself further before the teen finally sat up slowly, multiple pillows were stacked against the wall for him to sit up easily without hurting himself. Ren moved the plate to his lap and reluctantly took a few small bites. Swallowing shakily. Morgana visibly relaxed at the sight of his trickster eating and took his place by his side.
Morgana used his head to help support Ren's arm to move up and down to eat. Once he gotten through about 1/8th of the curry. He sat the curry back on the chair and laid back down.
"…I'll get boss to put it away for later. I'll be right back, okay Ren?" Before he could move, Ren grabbed Morgana by a paw gently, his eyes filling with tears.
"Please don't go."
"…Okay."
Zorro let Necronomicon know to get Futaba to grab the food. She walked up the stairs quietly and grabbed the curry. (Definitely not stealing a bite for herself) She stood motionless for a moment, bruises lined the back parts of Ren's neck. Including a visible injection mark just under his neck. Tear started falling as she walked back downstairs to not disturb him with her sobbing.
The sobs echoed through the floor and reached the two of them anyways.
Takemi came and cleared Ren for movement. But to keep it easy and not overexert himself. Something he took as a challenge, immediately calling a phantom thieves meeting despite everyone yelling at him (through text) for doing so.
This didn't stop anyone from showing up though, Although they all showed up with snacks, blankets and other assortments of items. No proper meeting would take place it seemed.
"We already cleared it with Boss, We're staying to keep an eye on you and you have to deal." Ann said gleefully, claiming the area next to Ren's bed on the floor for herself.
Morgana swatted at Futaba who tried to claim the other side of Ren's bed.
——
It was hard to fall asleep again after being tortured for information in a small room underground as Ren found out the hard way. He sat pressed against his wall as everyone but Morgana snored around them. Ryuji and Ann fell asleep on top of each other, Futaba somehow fell asleep sitting shrimp style in the chair. Yusuke fell asleep with food on his lap. Haru had tried to claim Morgana for the night, only for Ren and Morgana to fight her on that. She settled for the cat plush Ren had for when Mona had to step away while he was asleep - after that fiasco in September. Makoto was the most peaceful, sleeping in a sleeping bag next to the TV where the end credits to a drama movie was playing.
"You wanna try lying down at least?" Morgana asked, pawing at the not bruised side of Ren's face. His normally striking eyes were down turned and tired. Ren shook his head softly.
"…"
"…"
"I didn't turn off my third eye fast enough. I saw- felt Akechi…" He trailed off and touched the tip of his forehead. The false feeling of open flesh hadn't left him since the interrogation. Morgana settled into his lap and started purring softly. Ren blinked slowly, exhausted. "Thank you Morgana." He whispered softly.
Ren eventually fell asleep. Morgana pulled the large blanket over his trickster, and stared at him peacefully.
He could be strong for Ren.
He had to be.