Chapter Text
"Vooooolt."
"Live wire! Darling, is something the matter?"
"I broke my leeeeeeg."
There was silence from your phone for a few seconds. "What?! Are you--amp, of course you're not alright, what on earth happened?!"
You sniffled. You were calmer about it now, but before the pain medication, you think you would have been blubbering. "Stepped off the bus. Into a pothole. 'm in the ER now." You took a shaky breath. "I-it's, they said it's not a bad break, but..."
"Oh, my poor darling, I wish we were there for you... Hold on, let me get Eddie. EDDIE!"
Distantly, you heard, "What?"
"Our darling's in the hospital!"
There was scrambling, something hitting the floor, and then Eddie's voice was in your ear. "Spark? Shit, what happened?" ("They fell in a pothole, darling," Volt said.) "We'll be home as soon as we can. Did you call anyone else?"
You shook your head, then belatedly realized you weren't on video. "Nuh-uh. You guys first."
"Okay. Shit. Uh--I'll give Dasha and Abel a call. They can take you home and take care of you til we get back."
You whined at that. You didn't want anyone but your boys, but they were two days out of town on a renovation job. And it had been too long since you got Dasha to carry you around like a cat... "Okay," you pouted. "Okay. I miss you guys."
"We miss you too, live wire." Volt sounded on the verge of tears.
"Love you, spark."
Eddie was the one to hang up, and you wished you could've just listened to your boys talk to you while they packed up. You slumped back against the pillow, clutching your phone to your chest.
The doctor and nurses came to check on you a couple more times, bringing you water and reassuring you that your leg would be put in a cast soon, before two tall and broad figures stepped into your room. "Aw, shoot," Abel said, holding his hat to his chest. "What kinda trouble got you here, friend?"
"Fell in a pothole," you mumbled, rubbing at your eyes. Exhaustion was settling in, and you so badly wanted to go home and lie down on something actually comfortable.
"Shucks." Abel went and sat down in one of the chairs, reaching out to pat you on the head. "You been here too long?"
"Like... an hour?"
"Inexcusable!" Dasha shook her head. "You should be at home and resting, da? I will go and have words with your doctor." Abel chuckled as she strode confidently out into the rest of the ER.
You were too tired to laugh too, but you did smile and fiddle with your phone. Eddie and Volt were both messaging you, and you were replying with emojis or short sentences, mostly.
[14:33] DeliStyle: tables r here
[14:33] Eddie: Oh good. Howre you holding up spark?
[14:34] DeliStyle: :(
[14:34] Eddie: Sounds right. Volt n I are packing up and we will be on our way soon.
[14:34] Eddie: Hes VERY upset.
[14:34] Eddie: We should be home in 2 days. Think u can hold on?
[14:35] DeliStyle: okkkkk i guessss :( i miss u
[14:35] Eddie: I know baby. Ok I need to go help Volt. Kisses.
[14:35] DeliStyle: kiss kiss kisses sksiskskiss
[14:35] Eddie: <3
"The boys worryin' about ya?" You flopped your head over, looking sleepily at Abel, and nodded. "Volt was soundin' real upset in the background when Eddie gave me a call. Goin' on like an upset cat..." You snorted, and Abel smiled. "Well, I promised 'em that Dasha and me would take good care of ya. Next two days, anything you need, we're at your service."
"Thanks, Abel," you said. His hand felt nice on your head. Big and warm. You closed your eyes and hummed. You were still miserable, but at least there were a couple of reliable friends here to keep an eye on you.
Dasha came back with your doctor a moment later, and he looked more than a little bit abashed, promising to bump you up the patient list. "I made sure he understood you have been here too long," she said, once the doctor was out again. "It does not do to rest in unfamiliar surrounds, da?"
You hummed your thanks, relaxing more knowing that you'd be out of here faster.
Abel and Dasha, clearly more used to you being the talkative one between them, took a little bit to get the hint that you weren't up for intense conversation. Abel started telling you about the last farmer's market he went to before Balloween, all the costumes and fun fall getups and gorgeous produce. You barely paid attention, just soothed by his and Dasha's voices.
The commotion surrounding your leg being wrapped in a cast was enough to draw you out of your painkiller-induced stupor, and you let Dasha and Abel both hold your hands while they worked. (Asked them to. You asked them to hold your hands because you were scared.) You were given some crutches, and the doctor had you take a few shaky steps around your room with them just to make sure you could. And not too long after that, you were checked out with a prescription to pick up, and Dasha wheeled you outside.
Dasha picking you up and gently buckling you into the back of her and Abel's minivan was the best part of the entire shitty day and almost made it worth it. "You ready to get home?" Abel asked, turning to look at you from the driver's seat.
"Fuuuuck yeah," you said, slumping down in the seat.
You must have dozed off immediately, because the next thing you remembered was Dasha carrying you through your front door, and you blinked up at her. "Oh," you said. "Hey."
"And hey to you too!" Dasha said cheerfully. "Abel is going to get some things from our home and pick up your medicine. We will be having sleepover until Eddie and Volt return. Sound good?"
"Sounds good," you agreed, making yourself comfy in her arms. You almost didn't want to be set back down. "Thanks, Dasha. It means a lot that you guys are willing to help me out."
"Eh, is the least we can do! You made us into real flesh humans, da?" You would not have phrased it like that, but you nodded. "Now, tell me how I can help you."
At your request, Dasha carried you upstairs so you could change into some comfy clothes from your dresser, and she made you laugh by gently carrying you on one arm and a stack of pillows under the other back down to your couch. Once you were settled with your leg propped up on two pillows and your head squishing into your couch cushions, she fetched your phone charger, found you the TV remote, and went to take stock of the situation in your kitchen.
You gave yourself a minute to just be comfy and warm, then dragged your phone off the coffee table.
[15:18] DeliStyle: boyyyys i'm home safe
[15:18] Hotwires: live wire!!!!
[15:18] Hotwires: eddie is driving but he says hi!!!
[15:18] Hotwires: how are you???
[15:19] DeliStyle: i mean still bad. but dasha carried me around a bunch
[15:19] DeliStyle: so pretty good
[15:19] Hotwires: thats our spark! its so sad that we have to wait to see you though
[15:20] Hotwires: i said we should drive through the night but eddie said no.
[15:20] DeliStyle: omg don't get in a car wreck and break your legs too
[15:20] DeliStyle: we'd need to call in the hanks just to get around
[15:21] Hotwires: darling you are so right that would be terrible.
[15:21] DeliStyle: LOL
[15:22] Hotwires: well do keep us posted ok?? we will both video call you when we get to a motel.
[15:22] DeliStyle: ofc baby i will. i'm going to just watch tv and nap and eat some garbage food.
[15:23] Hotwires: eddie says to eat your greens!!!
[15:23] DeliStyle: love u too eddie.
You and Volt exchanged kissy emojis and hearts for a few more messages before you shut off the phone screen and let it rest on your chest. You grabbed the remote, and very quickly decided that you wanted to watch Col. Stumblo on Valdiviflix. Peter Chalk's shabby little detective was the most soothing thing you could think of.
As the sounds of a 1970's serial drifted into the kitchen, Dasha poked her head in. "Is that Stumblo?" she asked, and you nodded. "Oh, I very much enjoy that silly little man. May I?"
"Absolutely." You motioned to one of the chairs, and Dasha eagerly sat down to watch with you. "Stumblo's popular in... Romania, or something, right?"
"Hungary, actually! There is a statue of him and Cat in Budafetch. But he is quite popular in many parts of eastern Europe..."
You listened to Dasha ramble about the show, and comment about how the killer was going to get caught, and you let yourself doze off.
The next time you opened your eyes, Col. Stumblo was puttering around and harassing a different famous actor from the 70's, and you could smell something absurdly delicious. You sat up with a groan and turned towards the kitchen, where you could hear Abel and Dasha talking and the sounds of cooking. "What're you guys making?" you called.
"One o' Dasha's specialties!" Abel called back. "Food's almost ready, so sit tight there!"
Sit tight you did, though your stomach was growling and you could barely focus on what the murderer played by Leonard Convoy was doing to try and further cover up his misdeeds. When Abel meandered in with two bowls of pasta and beef and gravy, you felt your heart grow light. "Beef stroganoff!" he announced, setting a bowl and silverware on the coffee table for you.
"Boys don't know this," you quickly sang to yourself, before picking the bowl up. The bowl was warm and holding it in your lap made you feel cozy.
"You know that song too?" Dasha chuckled as she came in with her own bowl. "Mac showed it to me one time. Amusingly inaccurate." Her face hardened. "It does have to be beef."
You almost choked on your first mouthful and had to cover your mouth to keep it from falling out while you giggled helplessly. "Careful there, pepper," Abel said, though he was laughing too. "Don't want 'em to hurt themself even worse."
"Wait--pepper?" You swallowed and looked up between Abel and Dasha.
"Yeah." Abel smiled fondly. "She's my dash-a pepper." Dasha blushed and sat down in the chair she'd claimed before, while Abel sat next to her. "Darn good food as always."
You nodded eagerly. "Yeah--this is delicious, Dasha," you said. "Thank you so much for making it."
You all chatted over the rest of the meal, and Abel cleaned up the dishes while you and Dasha focused intently on a Stumblo episode where he seemed to be especially cute and bumbling. Near the end, though, you found yourself getting properly sleepy, and you couldn't even keep your eyes open by the time it was wrapping up.
Dasha woke you with a gentle touch to your shoulder, and you made a sleepy noise. "Time for bed, I think," she said. "Come, I will help you get ready."
"Nooo," you whined, but you were so sleepy you wrapped your arms around her neck and snuggled up against her as she carried you upstairs. "Gotta stay up for Eddie 'n Volt... They're gonna call me."
Dasha nodded. "Then we will ensure you are as comfortable as is humanly possible, so you do not have to worry or squirm while you speak with them. Is good?"
"Is good," you yawned. Teeth brushed, face washed, phone charged, and then once in bed Dasha surrounded you with spare pillows and she stared at the Bat-man body pillow for a good thirty seconds before removing the cover and propping your leg up with it. Your crutches were in reach, and you felt like you could crutch yourself into the bathroom in the middle of the night if you needed to.
"You need us, you will shout, da?" Dasha asked, shutting off the overhead light and leaving your bedside lamp. You nodded, trying very hard not to fall asleep before your boys could call. "Goodnight, my friend."
"Night, Dasha. Tell Abel g'night too." She left your door open enough that they could hear you if you shouted, and you got yourself comfy. You were struggling to keep awake when the video call request came through.
"Spark!" "Live wire!" Eddie and Volt both came onscreen, looking equal parts worried and relieved.
"Hey," you said, giving a sleepy wave. "You almost missed me."
"Sorry." Eddie wore one of his guilty blushes. "Long stretch of highway, but we found a place. How're you doing?"
You hummed. "Better. Dasha made beef stroganoff. 'N we watched Stumblo all night."
Volt chuckled. That had been your comfort show since even before you Realized the two of them. "Sounds like you had a good enough evening, but you look like you've wanted to be asleep for hours, darling." You nodded. "We won't keep you up. Get some sleep, my love."
"'kay. Love you, boys."
Eddie gave you a smile that crinkled his eyes and Volt blew you a kiss with a wink. "Goodnight, spark." "Sleep tight."
You ended the call and fumbled to turn off your lamp, exhaustion dragging you under in seconds.