Jay was still sound asleep when Minoru set Dee down gently on the bed.
"Anything else you need?" He whispered. As an orderly, this felt all too natural to Minoru. Sometimes, it was all about meeting a patient where they are, not where you want them to be.
"Just... tell Choko I'm sorry... please?" Deep down he did want to be a person she could look up to, but he knew he already ruined that. And just about everything else too, apparently.
"Okay. No problem." Minoru nodded. "Anything else?"
Dee timidly shook his head. Maybe he could just stay back here until all of this blew over.
After Minoru left, Dee laid there in bed for a while. The events of the last couple hours replayed themselves in his head like an unrelenting stampede. Panic rose like bile in his throat. He reached out for Jay's arm, tugging on it until his partner finally woke up.
It took about half a second to go from groggy to alert when he saw Dee shakily sobbing next to him.
"I... I think I just got us all fired..." he choked on the words.
"Okay, yeah, that would definitely qualify as a nightmare." He held Dee close, stroking him soothingly. "But it's over now. Everything's okay. Breathe with me..."
"It's not a... a nightmare... you can wake up from..." he sobbed. "I... I think it really IS over..."
Jay pulled back in complete confusion. "...what?"
Dee was serious. He was crying, shaking like a leaf, damn near hyperventilating. "I tried.. t..to... to use Choko's chair... I panicked... and Damien... and our music... The Ministry... kick us off the tour... If I say anything... about it... and I can't drink the tea... I won't let them drug me..."
Unfortunately, the more he tried to explain, the more confused Jay was. "...are you sure you weren't dreaming?"
"It's REAL!" Dee clung to Jay with whatever strength he still had left. "You can ask Minoru... the PT guy... he was there... he... stopped us... I can't... We can't... the whole security team... We're everything bad that ever happened to them... on stage... every time we play..."
None of this was logical, but suddenly the strange looks on the faces of the Dogs started to make sense. The security team always did seem a bit uneasy, almost on edge, during all their shows. They watched the Prophet like a hawk, but Jay had heard enough horror stories from other bands to reason they were just being vigilant.
"It's probably just a big misunderstanding." Jay whispered, pulling Dee in close again.
"I... I can't even run away..."
Jay still had no idea what actually happened. But he did know one thing. This was going to be a very, very long day.
5 - Until this Blows Over (Ziggyverse AU)
"Anything else you need?" He whispered. As an orderly, this felt all too natural to Minoru. Sometimes, it was all about meeting a patient where they are, not where you want them to be.
"Just... tell Choko I'm sorry... please?" Deep down he did want to be a person she could look up to, but he knew he already ruined that. And just about everything else too, apparently.
"Okay. No problem." Minoru nodded. "Anything else?"
Dee timidly shook his head. Maybe he could just stay back here until all of this blew over.
After Minoru left, Dee laid there in bed for a while. The events of the last couple hours replayed themselves in his head like an unrelenting stampede. Panic rose like bile in his throat. He reached out for Jay's arm, tugging on it until his partner finally woke up.
It took about half a second to go from groggy to alert when he saw Dee shakily sobbing next to him.
"What the..." he immediately pulled his fiancé into him. "It's okay... it's okay... did you have a nightmare?"
"I... I think I just got us all fired..." he choked on the words.
"Okay, yeah, that would definitely qualify as a nightmare." He held Dee close, stroking him soothingly. "But it's over now. Everything's okay. Breathe with me..."
"It's not a... a nightmare... you can wake up from..." he sobbed. "I... I think it really IS over..."
Jay pulled back in complete confusion. "...what?"
Dee was serious. He was crying, shaking like a leaf, damn near hyperventilating. "I tried.. t..to... to use Choko's chair... I panicked... and Damien... and our music... The Ministry... kick us off the tour... If I say anything... about it... and I can't drink the tea... I won't let them drug me..."
Unfortunately, the more he tried to explain, the more confused Jay was. "...are you sure you weren't dreaming?"
"It's REAL!" Dee clung to Jay with whatever strength he still had left. "You can ask Minoru... the PT guy... he was there... he... stopped us... I can't... We can't... the whole security team... We're everything bad that ever happened to them... on stage... every time we play..."
None of this was logical, but suddenly the strange looks on the faces of the Dogs started to make sense. The security team always did seem a bit uneasy, almost on edge, during all their shows. They watched the Prophet like a hawk, but Jay had heard enough horror stories from other bands to reason they were just being vigilant.
"It's probably just a big misunderstanding." Jay whispered, pulling Dee in close again.
"I... I can't even run away..."
Jay still had no idea what actually happened. But he did know one thing. This was going to be a very, very long day.