The "Take Care" Meme

[promenades]

The "Take Care" Meme
a shipping meme

Life is hard. You can go through rough patches and over bumps, and sometimes it feels as though you're definitely worse for the wear, both physically and mentally. It's nice to have someone - someone more than a friend - there for you in those times...even if you don't think you want them or deserve them. But they're here, and they'll take care of you.

How to Play:
* This is a shipping meme for more tender, soft moments, but a little more serious than your usual "fluff." It's for people who've been broken down by their experience and those who wish to heal them.
* Comment with your character/your preferences. You may also want to specify whether your character will be the one "cared for" or the one doing the "caring" + pertinent information, but for most effectiveness, it's best to be open to both.
* Comment around.


Prompts
1. Know You've Been Hurt By Someone Else: There are scars left on their heart from a past relationship or fling, and you have to let them know you're not the same way.
2. Can Tell By the Way You Carry Yourself: The person you have feelings for is one of those "cold stone wall" types who pushes people away. Can you get past that?
3. I've Asked About You: You've only heard bad things about this person, but you don't believe it.
4. What's a Life with No Fun: Lighten up a bit! You'd do anything to bring a smile to their face.
5. Please Don't Be So Ashamed: You have a big, BIG secret you don't want the other person to find out about, because surely they wouldn't want to even be near you if they did.
6. I've Had Mine, You've Had Yours: You've both had problems, and it could help to compare wounds so they can begin to heal.
7. Those Lies Heal: Protecting your loved one is more important that the truth, isn't it? It's a lie, but there are good intentions here.
8. You Can't Sleep: Because of past trauma, you're having a sleepless night. Luckily, this time you have somebody to help you and give you some comfort.
9. You Cry Still: The obligatory "seeing your significant other/love cry over something and wanting to make them stop at any cost" option.
10. All Get a Little Taste: Your loved one is sick or injured - literally this time - and you're looking out for them and trying to get them better.
11. You Just Don't Know: Either through magic, torture, or blunt trauma to the head, your special person can't remember you! It's up to you to get them to remember what was between you two by showing all the ways you cared for each other.
12. I Give Her Space: Part of being a careful lover is knowing when you need to leave them alone.
13. Tryna Run from That: Uh-oh, you don't want to fall in love, because you've been there, done that! Maybe there's still time to escape from this...or maybe it's too late.
14. I Will Care for You: After a particularly rough day, you're need a little TLC. Your loved one is going to do everything for you - a bath, food, the works.
15. All the Baggage Just Ain't as Heavy: You know it will take a while for this person to mend psychologically and spiritually, and you're willing to wait.
16. Change the Pace: And the smut option. Show you care through sex.
17. We'll Just Go Slow: You're going to take things one step at a time. No need to rush and define things. Just enjoy each other's company and the healing it brings.
18. We All Have Our Nights: Your lover, because of their past experience, is having a complete breakdown. You have to bring them back from the edge.
19. You Don't Say You Love Me: You both know how you feel, but one of you is having problems saying the four letter word. That's okay, though. Your lover understands.
20. To Save You: After months or years, you've both worked on the problems and old scars and you might just be ready to start something resembling a normal love.
21. CHOOSE SOMETHING ELSE

Comments

[talkscrap]

It's not fine! [Seriously, it hurts just to look at it; Aoba swears he sees parts of the nail wobbling, disconnected from the flesh. Ouch, ouch, ouch...

So no, he's not sitting down; he'll let Noiz head back to the couch, though, and kneels in front of him with the first aid kit.]

Ahhh, that looks so painful... How can you say it's fine?!

[It's more sulking than a serious question, as yet.]

[noizless]

[ He eyes Aoba's position and mistakes it for something else at first, until he realizes the idiot still has that first aid kit and is mumbling about his toe. Noiz shakes his head, slightly irritated.

He cocks his head to glance down at Aoba, wondering... ] It'll heal by itself. Get up. [ He doesn't even flinch as he shifts on the couch, dragging the nail against the carpet, making it worse. ]

[talkscrap]

It will heal faster if you take care of it!

[What is this guy's problem?! Flinching at the sight of the nail dragging against the carpet, Aoba decides he's had enough.]

Right... Give me that.

[And he grabs Noiz' ankle to pull the injured foot closer to him. If Noiz is going to act like a kid, he can be treated like a kid.]

[noizless]

[ NOT A KID THANK YOU. Moving on.

Noiz flinches at that. Not the pain, of course, but because Aoba just grabbed his ankle. He's going to try and wrench it free, even resorting to trying to nudge his foot hard against Aoba in the process. He is not having this conversation right now, and it truly is fine ]

Cut it out.

[talkscrap]

[Totally a kid. Erogaki.]

I'm not going to cut it out!

[That said, he does let go of Noiz eventually, more because he's afraid to hurt him worse than he already is than because he's afraid to get hurt himself.]

Fine! You do it, then.

[Have a first aid kit dropped in your lap while Aoba sulks and sits down next to you.]

[noizless]

It doesn't need to be fixed. It'll heal on its own. I'm not doing it.

[ Noiz regards the first aid kit in his lap rather uselessly, shaking his head. He glares over at Aoba, but it isn't vicious or cruel.

It almost looks exhausted, ok. ]

[talkscrap]

Now, listen. You can't just leave injuries untreated!

[Exhausted or not, Aoba doesn't care. One of them is going to bandage that damn toe, whether Noiz likes it or not.

Aoba may or may not have forgotten how they ended up this way in the first place, but give him a moment, it'll come back to him.]

[noizless]

It doesn't matter.

[ Because even if it gets worse, he won't feel it. And things have always healed on their own before. Aoba, you really aren't doing a good job of helping his sleepless night. You're just getting him more wired, more worked up.

More unwillingly exposed. ]

[talkscrap]

Of course it matters!

[He's so close to flipping completely - how can Noiz be so frustrating?! - but he catches himself doing it, takes a deep breath, and tries to be reasonable about this.]

It matters to me. So just... let me do this. Please.

[noizless]

[ Noiz frowns, leans his chin into his palm again, and slowly answers the affirmative. Fine Aoba, fix his foot. He doesn't care.

Likely it'll be a dead giveaway something is up when the disinfectant doesn't even cause a wince on his expression, or a tensing of his body. No, completely stone-still and unmoving. ]

[talkscrap]

[The relief is overwhelming; at least he gets to do something! Taking the first aid kit off Noiz' lap, Aoba puts it on the other side of himself, takes Noiz' leg and and urges him to turn just a little, so Aoba can rest it on his lap. It looks so painful... Aoba warns before applying disinfectant, but Noiz doesn't even flinch.

That's weird... and a little worrying. Could there be more damage than Aoba thought?]

... Doesn't it hurt?

[noizless]

No.

[ It's flat, not at all surprised or concerned, and Noiz doesn't even wiggle his toes. He does shift, though, showing that there are other, now healed, huts and scars on his arms that aren't cared for, either, that are there and yet show no sign of pain. ]

It doesn't. Are you done yet?

[talkscrap]

[It's honestly a little creepy, but mostly worrying. How can Noiz just ignore injuries like that? Biting his lip, Aoba tries not to think too much about it for now, focusing on bandaging the toe as quickly as he can - before Noiz changes his mind about letting him.]

Just a moment... There. That's the best I can do. But if it doesn't hurt, you should really get a doctor to look at it...

[It's a question, really; it's not normal for an injury like that not to hurt - not to mention all the old ones. Just what is going on here?]

[noizless]

[ He almost looks offended at that doctor comment - do you think something is wrong with me aoba he almost wants to snap, and then curl in on himself and shut out the world - but he flinches. normal people feel pain. normal people don't shrug others away and refuse to accept help.

normal people.

not monsters. but aoba is here right now. noiz eyes him for a long moment before he reaches into his sweat pocket and takes out a dull knife - yes, he carries one around with him at all times, just in case. just incase... as a team leader it's a must and he doesn't really trust people to begin with.

he pointedly catches aoba's gaze and gingerly slices a thin line across his fingertips, knowing that normal - not monsters - are most sensitive on their hands on their fingertips. it's only enough to cause marks as small as paper cuts on his fingers, but it's a point he needs to prove. ]

I don't need a doctor. [ he breathes it out, exhausted again, before he sets the knife away. he doesn't want to have to explain it, say it, if he's going to let aoba be privy to this, going to let this selfless idiot in on this, he isn't going to verbally announce it.

it's too shameful. ]

[talkscrap]

[It's too shocking for Aoba to even respond; there's a moment where he thinks that he's finally gone too far, that Noiz is going to threaten him, but... what happens is the opposite, if anything, and Aoba can only stare.]

Why -... Why would you..?

[He doesn't understand; he doesn't understand any of this, but it hurts to see Noiz do that, to see Noiz act like that. It's not that Aoba expects Noiz to avoid doing it for his sake - he certainly doesn't expect Noiz to care about him - but shouldn't Noiz at least care about himself a little?

That question hurts more than thinking about the physical pain, and Aoba can't even figure out what to say in response.]

[noizless]

Nothing hurts.

[ He finally says it, moving his hand to his sweats to rub off the tiny amount of blood from his fingertips. ]

Nothing.

[talkscrap]

[That... is so sad. Aoba can't even begin to imagine what that means - what it does to a person. The breath he takes is just a little too sharp, like he's the one in pain, and that's not entirely false.

He doesn't know what to do; he can't think. Eyes downcast, he goes with his first impulse, reaching out to take Noiz' hand in his, just to hold it. It's not smart - hell, the way Noiz has been acting, it's borderline suicidal - but he wants to, desperate to be connected somehow, so he can share the burden.]

[noizless]

[ His first reaction is to yank his hand free, but the realization that Aoba isn't shunning him, isn't calling him a demon, isn't doing any of that, freezes him in spot. he can barely even feel the warmth of aoba's hand in his and he blinks a few times, not certain what to do, either. aoba isn't like the others. he's not... leaving. ]

...You'll get blood on yourself, idiot...

[talkscrap]

You're worrying about a thing like that?!

[Aoba manages to breathe a soft laugh, but it still takes him a moment to gather courage, biting his lip before he looks up and meets Noiz' eyes. He wasn't sure he could handle looking into those eyes and recognizing their usual look, anything from empty to vaguely aggressive, for what it really is.]

I'm sorry... [It's barely more than a whisper.] That must be so hard.

[noizless]

You get used to it.

[It's a bit dejected, emotionless, but at least it isn't irritated, angry, or closed-off like usual. He stares back at Aoba, uncertain, almost as if he's waiting for the other to change his mind and to lurch away. He waits, and waits, and he really ought to know it's just not coming, is it? ]

[talkscrap]

[Lightly squeezing Noiz' hand, Aoba finally lets go of it, lets his hand fall to rest in the too-small space between their legs. Still touching; still not moving away.]

Even so -..!

[No, no, don't argue about pointless details now. The last thing he wants is to upset Noiz. But it's so tempting to go overboard with sympathy and reassurances; he wants Noiz to feel better, to know he's understood.

Well... In so far as anyone can understand. Aoba wants to try.]

Is that why...? I saw scars, from older cuts...

[noizless]

[ Yes, Aoba, that's exactly why. Noiz breathes out through his nose, trying to stay calm, trying to remain unemotional and indifferent but it's hard when Aoba is close again and doing those things. What an idiot... ]

They healed on their own. I never bothered to look at them. [ Some of the scars were from early on, when he was still convinced he could be fixed, when he was certain he wasn't completely broken. Fights, brawls, just to prove he could feel it. It never worked, surprise, surprise. ]

[talkscrap]

[They would have healed faster - and better - if Noiz had taken care of them, Aoba thinks, but that's a pointless thing to say to someone who can't feel pain. Can Aoba really claim that he would have acted any different, if he was the same?]

Have you... always been this way?

[That's hard to imagine, but the idea of someone becoming painless is even stranger.]

[noizless]

Yeah. [ For as long as he can remember. He passes another glance down to his bandaged foot, as if cursing it for revealing such a safely guarded secret. This guy...

Noiz heaves a louder sigh and tosses a look back to Aoba. ] Don't pity me.

[talkscrap]

I don't pity you. [Aoba manages to look very serious as he says it. While it may technically be a lie, he considers it true all the same.] I care about you. There's a difference.

[A very thin line, really, if it even exists, but pity implies a certain amount of looking down on someone, and Aoba would never do that, especially to Noiz.]