Can The Broken Be Repaired?

Chapter Four

Instantly everyone in the room stopped what they were doing when Ban said that. An expected reaction, even though he internally sighed at the onslaught of lectures he knew he was about to receive.

"Wha- Ban are you insane!?"

"Well, duh. Why do ya think we're in here?"

The deadpan answer was one Ban knew Harlequin wouldn't respond well to, but it was worth it in his mind to see the boy go red in the face from anger.

"Oh, shut up Ban! No one likes your stupid jokes!"

"I know, that's why they're fun. I enjoy the hell out of seeing your face get all pinched and ugly like that." 

He suppressed the urge to snicker at the reaction he got. He could tell by the bags under the man's eyes that his insomnia meds had stopped working again, which meant that Harlequin would be much more irritable than normal. Actually, he shouldn't call it insomnia. It was actually some other weird sleep disorder. Ban could never remember it's long ass name, but instead of not being able to sleep, it made it impossible for the man to actually have productive sleep. Hence the constant naps, and the court order in patient treatment. They hadn't exactly accepted the man's pleas of innocence when dealing with his college science building burning down when he was hallucinating and talking to himself like- well- a crazy person. When the medicine actually worked and he was able to sleep well, he was actually probably the sanest person in the room, but when it wasn't... Let's just say Ban's month would be fun and Diane's would be annoying as hell. The man wasn't sure what it was called exactly, but his cellmate also definitely had really bad attachment issues. Ever since Diane said hi to him the day she arrived, he got obsessed. And it only got worse the more exhausted he got. The girl wouldn't get a moment of peace for quite a while. How fun. 

Whoops, it looked like Ban had started tuning the group out again. He tended to do that when things got too loud or emotional. It was like his brain just quit for a moment until they stopped. Probably some sort of trauma thing. Oh well, it wasn't like he cared too much. It helped him avoid a headache as the group lectured him on why they would never let in the councilor. 

"-so, you've lost your mind if you thought I'd let that bitch anywhere near us! Not with the sexy eyes she keeps giving the captain! I won't let her take him from me!!!"

Ban looked over at Diane as her rant finally ended and he could hear them again, already cooly planning a few points of his own he had a feeling would win them over. After all, five years here with them really gave time for bonding as he knew each of their weak points.

"Look, I get it. You're intimidated because you think she might steal the captain. But you don't have anything to worry about, pigtails! She's waaaaay too bland to be the type Cap'n would go for. And besides, there's the whole patient confidentiality thing. The two would never be able to date! And you know he'd be too respectful to break those rules, right?"

She visibly relaxed some, just as he knew she would. That was the problem with a lot of the psychologists and therapists that had tried getting to know her, including Errie. They all tried to find a solution to help her feel better, which never worked. She'd just get mad because they weren't validating her feelings. So, instead don't bother fighting her! Act like whatever she's mad about is totally justified and then lead her towards what you want with that in mind. Or at least that was how Ban did it. It worked most of the time, mainly when she wasn't too worked up and was just annoyed or distressed. 

"Y-Yeah, you're right. He's way too good for her! But still, we can't trust a councilor to come in here! Not with our captain, it's too dangerous!"

"I totally understand. Ya know I care about him just as much as you do, well, almost as much, no one cares about his safety more than you, right?"