He Came to Stay (Blue x Bad Guys)

2

Cross waited outside Blue's door. Nightmare had posted a sentry to make sure that if Blue got up, his needs were met. So far, he'd only gotten up twice, both times just to become violently sick in the bathroom. Cross had gotten him a few glasses of water and a couple little things to snack on, which Blue had taken silently, with only a nod of thanks.
He heard Blue get up for a third time, and waited to hear the sounds of retching from the bathroom. Instead, the door opened, and Blue peeked out. "Why are you still here?"
"Because Nightmare said you needed help. And with the way you've been up and down, I believe him."
"Why are you taking care of me?"
"Because you aren't doing it yourself."
Blue glared at him and shut the door again. Cross heard him take a couple steps, then fall. He debated opening the door, but as he heard Blue get back up, he assumed it was fine. Moments later, he heard Blue fall again. Then he got up, and fell again. Cross sighed and opened the door, just in time to watch Blue wobble and fall again. The little skeleton banged his fist against the floor. "Can't even walk across the damn room!"
"That's because you're pushing yourself too much." Cross made his way over to Blue, helping him up. "One step at a time, okay?"
"I was fine on my own."
"You say that again, I'll smack you. You aren't fine if you can barely stand. You deny yourself food, you've been burnt out for months on end, and Ink and Dream haven't done anything about it! You need to heal, and you need to give yourself TIME to heal. That's why we agreed to take care of you."
"We're...enemies, why do you give a shit?"
"Who cares what we are. If you can't fight, you're no good as an enemy. And you're fun to fight. At the very least, you keep Killer entertained." Cross laughed to himself.
Blue blinked in confusion. "You like...fighting with me?"
"Sure! Why do you think we slowed down when you did? We didn't want to kill you, even if we could. You're cool." Cross shrugged, walking Blue back over to the bed. The two sat down, and Blue started to tug at his gloves. He seemed to be thinking.
"You're not bad either. It was...exciting at first. Fighting. Getting the better of you."
"Getting the better of us?" Cross laughed. "We let you win, half the time."
"You did?" Blue frowned. "That's not fair. When I'm back to fighting, you're going to have to stop going easy on me."
"I would like nothing more." Cross grinned. "But you have to promise to keep eating, and try to get better."
"Yeah. I know I'll have to."
"What does that mean?"
"I'm...not ready to talk about that yet." Blue looked down again. Cross nodded and stood up, returning to his post outside of the door.
Dinner that night was much of the same. Again, Nightmare had to sit Blue on his lap, forcing him to eat until the god was satisfied, then sent him back up to his room, trading out Cross for Error. About ten minutes later, he heard Blue get up, and empty the contents of his stomach into the toilet.
Error kept watch that night, making note of Blue's restless, frequent trips back and forth from the restroom, and constant muttering under his breath. Some of the more interesting phrases included, 'not worth anything', 'need to get back on', and 'wish I wasn't here'.
As morning came, Nighmare decided to take a shift himself. He'd already sent his boys off on different missions, so he and Blue had all the time in the world.
"Good morning." Nightmare's tendrils gently helped Blue to stand and cross the room, the smaller leaning on them like crutches.
Blue offered up a small nod, not looking Nightmare in the eyes. Nightmare helped him down the stairs, and helped him eat breakfast. All the while, he could sense a bitter self-loathing. Although these feelings could feed him, he wanted no part in them if they happened to one of his boys. And now that Blue was included in that bunch, the emotions rolling off of him made the god feel almost sick.
As soon as Blue was done eating, he began to cry. It was clear he tried to hide it, but it wasn't long until he was sobbing, almost screaming, into Nightmare's shoulder. Nightmare didn't say a word, but held Blue as close as he could, hoping it would provide some comfort.
"I thought I was good." Blue sobbed.
"You are."
"I can't be. I'm not like them."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't keep up on my own. And now that you have me, all my progress is going down the drain. I was good, I was doing so good!"
"What progress?"
"I can't."
"You can't tell me yet." Nightmare nodded. "And maybe you never will. But trust me, you'll still be good. You need to heal."
"I need my stuff back."
"What stuff?"
"Can't tell you. Dream always got it for me. So it would be clean."
"Clean? Is it clothing?"
Blue shook his head.
"It it edible?"
"In some forms."
"Is it food?"
Blue shook his head.
Nightmare frowned. "Is it legal?"
Blue paused, then shook his head.
"Drugs then."
Blue stayed quiet, but Nightmare had his answer. "Dream bought you...those. And you think they made you good?"
"I kept up. I was good."
"You aren't supposed to keep up with them. They should have slowed down for you."
"But then we would be too slow."
"But you would be safe. And safe is better than quick."
"But-"
"Hush. No more excuses. You're safe now." Nightmare stood up, helping Blye up as well. "Let's do something fun."
Blue smiled. "But I can't train. I'm too weak."
"I said fun, not soul-draining." Nightmare chuckled. "What about a movie, or a little game?"
"Movie. I kinda wanna sleep some more..." Blue's face twisted in pain. "Bathroom first. Now."
Nightmare quickly helped Blue into the bathroom, turning away as the other heaved. "Do you want a snack?"
Blue was able to give him a small nod before throwing up again.
Soon, the two were settled on the couch, Blue with a small bowl of cereal.
Nightmare turned on a movie, and frowned as Blue curled up on the edge of the couch, as if he was trying to take up as little space as possible.
About halfway through the movie, Blue slumped over, obviously fallen back asleep. Nightmare turned off the movie, taking Blue back up to his room and tucking him in. Then, he settled in the desk chair across the room, content to wait for Blue to awaken again.