take care

The first day home is rough. Yuri lays in bed mostly, tossing and turning constantly since the pain and temporary sensors on his back keep him from getting comfortable. He’s not allowed to lift anything over a few pounds, so that leaves Hans to do his housework.

Being domestic isn’t something Hans is particularly skilled at. They struggle to do dishes without breaking anything. Doing the laundry goes okay but they notice Yuri trying to stealthy refold some of it when they set it on the bed.

They don’t even try to cook out of fear that Yuri will hurt himself while tackling them out of the kitchen. The only reason they get away with cooking in their own home is because their live-in robot girlfriend doesn’t have mouth to taste their terrible creations with. Thankfully, said girlfriend brings them homemade meals on her break. She works for Yuri’s sister, and it’s Bosco’s way of helping while still having a bar to run.

Other than Takyaan’s short visit Hans is alone with Yuri, who hasn’t been up for talking. He lays quietly and watches TV on the screen that Hans moved in from the living room for him. They join him when they finish with chores and tries to strike up conversation. They can talk enough for both of them, but having to see him look and sound so miserable leaves them struggling to find words.

Hans crawl under the covers with Yuri, and it doesn’t take long for their friend to roll over and cuddle up to them. They wrap an arm around him, careful to avoid touching the damaged part of his back, and he rests his head on their chest. They turn on some brain-numbing shows, the kind of stuff you can watch but don’t have to put any extra brain power into watching. It doesn’t take long for the pair to fall asleep. Yuri’s exhausted from pain and medicine and Hans had been doing chores or worrying themself sick all day.

They can’t tell what time it happens, but it’s after the TV turned itself off and before morning. Yuri jolts awake with a loud yelp and tears streaming down his face, and it scares the hell of Hans who was only in a light sleep due to Yuri kicking his legs every so often.
They’re quick to sit up and turn on their phone’s flashlight. Yuri wipes the tears off his face while they lean over to check his back incision.

“Did I touch it or something?” They ask hesitantly, but he shakes his head where it’s still resting on their chest.

“Nah. Just a nightmare.” He says with a finality that keeps Hans from asking further questions. Yuri’s long legs wrap around one of theirs and he lays an arm across their stomach. They carefully cradle him again in a sort of side hug. The affection is sweet, but Yuri keeps trembling and it’s keeping them both from sleeping.

Hans gently tilts his head up to look at them in the dim light from the window. “Do you wanna talk about it?” They ask and Yuri looks away.

“I can’t.” He sounds strained, which just makes Hans more worried.

“You don’t have to if you don’t wanna, but you know I’m not gonna judge you, dude.”

“I mean like… I’m not allowed to.”

There’s a heavy silence. Yuri struggles to make himself stop crying and Hans’s mind feels like static. They want to help their friend, but…

“Is it the accident? Are you having nightmares about it?” They ask in quickfire, and Yuri winces. “Who’s stopping you from telling me about it? It’s just us here. There’s no Provident --”

A finger presses against their lips and they shut up real fast.

“You know if I could, I’d tell you all about it.” Yuri gives them a little crooked smile despite the tears streaming down his face. They still worry, and they’ll still continue to worry, but Hans just nods their head and gives up.

They hold him close and wipe away his tears until they stop. It doesn’t take him long to fall asleep again, but his legs start twitching like they did before he woke up yelling. Hans runs a hand through his hair to try and calm him down without waking him. The twitching resides and Yuri’s breath steadies, and Hans lets out a sigh of relief.

Hans doesn’t get a lot of sleep. They’re just glad that Yuri does.