Brought Back

Chapter 4

(Songs 8-10)

Jackie opened his eyes, sun shone into the window, cascading onto his face. He pushed himself up so he was sitting, hissing through his teeth from the pain that still made his chest ache. Although it was much better than when he had actually gotten shot. He pushed himself to his feet, looking down at his body. He blinked in surprise.
"Why am I wearing my hero suit...?" He muttered to himself, looking back at the bed he had just gotten out of, then back down at the bright red hoodie (different from his other red hoodie, this one had more pockets for tools and was practically indestructible) and the blue cargo pants.
He tiredly rubbed his eyes, running a hand through his tangled hair while he exited the room, walking to the kitchen quietly. Marvin had his back turned to him, making something at the stove.
"Marv?" Jackie's voice came out quiet.
Marvin jumped and spun around.
"Jackie?" He whispered, tears sparkling in his eyes.
"Uh- is something wrong?" Jackie asked, slightly nervous."Nonono, n- nothing's wrong, I just-" Marvin trailed off, then lunged at Jackie with a hug, gripping him tightly.
"I thought you were gone forever..." He muttered into Jackie's chest.
"What happened?" Jackie asked hesitantly, slowly returning the hug.
"Well, what do you remember?" Marvin questioned, taking his face out of Jackie's hoodie.
Jackie thought for a moment, "Uh... I.."
He racked his brain for a second before it clicked, "I was fighting somebody, and they... shot me, with an arrow, and then I fell."
Marvin nodded, letting go of Jackie and taking a step back, "Yeah, th- that's.. basically it. After you fell I found you in a lake, I pulled you out and you've been out since."
Jackie's heart dropped, "Marv... Exactly how long ago was this?"
Marvin tapped his finger against his chin, "About two weeks ago, I think?"
"Two weeks??"
"Yeah, but you're all good now, right?" Marvin asked, his voice coming unusually high.
"Yeah? I think so," Jackie said.
He had to admit, he did feel a bit... strange. His body was slightly sore, the ache in his chest from the wound oddly painful for how long it had been. And for some reason his hoodie smelled like dirt.
Marvin let out a breath in a sigh of relief, "Oh thank the gods, ok..."
"...Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you so relieved?" Jackie asked, "I always wake up again, remember when I was out for a month?"
"Well... y- yeah, b- but..." Marvin stuttered, his face turning red.
Jackie sighed, "It's fine, never mind," He turned to the rest of the kitchen, "Do we have any food? I'm super hungry."
"O- oh yeah, I'm making breakfast right now-"
Jackie nodded, "Ok, good, because I feel like I'm about to die," He laughed.
Marvin froze with his back turned to Jackie, silent for a few seconds, before bursting out in uncomfortable laughter.
Jackie cringed at the odd reaction but decided to ignore it.

He's probably just still worried about me...
"Anyway, come get some food," Marvin said abruptly, as if he was pretending like he hadn't just done that.
"Uh- ok?" Jackie said, still confused, coming up behind Marvin.
Marvin handed him a plate of pancakes with a nervous smile. Jackie took it with a genuine smile, giving Marvin a small kiss on his cheek.

"Has anything happened while I was out?" He asked while they ate breakfast.
"Not to my knowledge, but I haven't left the house or turned on the tv so I have no idea," Marvin said, stuffing a bite of syrup soaked pancake into his mouth.
Jackie found this odd. Marvin may not be one for social interaction, but he still enjoyed watching tv while doing chores or cooking, and he still had to leave the house to get stuff from the store and gather supplies for his magic.
"Oh, ok..." Jackie muttered, "Should I go out today or wait a bit longer then? My chest still hurts a bit so I don't know."
Marvin's head shot up, his eyes widening, "Nono, you should give it a bit longer."
Jackie blinked, confused by the odd answer, "Marv, is something wrong?"
"No, why would something be wrong?" Marvin laughed nervously.
"Because you're acting really weird."
"I- I am?"
"Uh- yeah?" Jackie said, his voice turning up at the end, making it a question.
"S- sorry about that, it's been a stressful few weeks..." Marvin muttered, looking down at his plate.
Jackie nodded, "Sorry, probably my fault."
Marvin looked up again, "Why would it be your fault?"
"'Cause I got shot?" Jackie said like he was stating the obvious, "I put myself in that situation and got myself hurt, and left you to deal with it."
Marvin turned red, "I- it's fine, really."
The corner of Jackie's lips turned up in a small smile, "You're amazing, you know that, right?"
Marvin looked back down but Jackie could still slightly see his red face.
"Anyway, I have to go figure out what's up with this injury and change, thanks for breakfast," Jackie said cheerfully, bringing his plate to the sink.

He headed into the bathroom in his and Marvin's bedroom, tugging off the hoodie he was wearing, dropping it to the floor.
He looked back up, cringing at the wound that still punctured his chest. The wound sat in the middle of his chest, in between his ribs that the arrow had broken when he got shot. The bones had mostly come back together, but it still felt like there was a large crack going down the middle. The actual gash itself was not sealed, a good sized hole just sitting on his chest. The edge of the gash had turned a dark green, that now looked like it was bleeding into the surrounding, uninjured skin.

That's... not right... Jackie thought, looking down at his chest, just to make sure the mirror wasn't lying to him.
It wasn't.
Jackie grabbed some first aid supplies, starting to clean the wound, biting his bottom lip to stop himself from whimpering in pain. There was something weird about this pain. Jackie had been shot before, he'd had his bones broken before, but this was weird. Instead of the sharp pain that usually came with those types of injuries, this was a dull ache. Like someone had punched him super hard and this was just a bruise. Mind you, a super painful bruise, but it definitely didn't feel like he had a hole in his chest.

By the time he finished cleaning the wound, the green was gone, leaving his skin looking normal, save for the large puncture.
He left his bloodied, ripped hoodie in the bathroom, he could probably get Marvin to fix it later. He headed into the bedroom, walking over to the closet. His hoodie wasn't where it normally was, so he looked through all the clothes, searching for it.
He was unable to find it so he called, "Hey Marv?"
"Yeah?" Marvin's voice came from the kitchen.
"Where's my hoodie?"
"Oh, is it not in the closet?"
"I don't think so," Jackie answered, pushing aside some more clothes.
Marvin was silent for a second.
After a while he said, "Ohhhh, I know where it is."
He came into the bedroom and stood in the doorway to the closet, his finger lighting up as a closed shoe box glowed blue and floated down from the top shelf. He hovered it in front of Jackie so the hero could grab it. Jackie reached out and took it from the air, the blue dropping from it the second his hands touched it. Jackie opened the box to see one of his masks sitting on top of his hoodie. He moved his mask to the side and grabbed his hoodie, gently pulling it out of the box.
"Uh- Marvy, why was my hoodie in a box?" He asked, turning to face the magician.
Marvin shrugged, "I was cleaning out the closet and put it up there so I wouldn't accidentally get rid of it?" He said, more of a question than a statement.
Jackie decided to ignore that, "Huh, ok."
He headed back into the bathroom, carefully placing a bandage on the wound before pulling his hoodie on. He exited the bathroom, turning off the light behind him. The room darkened, along with it the rest of the house, plunging Jackie into a thick darkness.
Jackie stopped, blinking rapidly, hoping his head was just messing with him. The darkness didn't fade however, and Jackie's breathing sped up.
"Marvin?" He called weakly.
The blackness looked infinite, Jackie wasn't even sure he was in his house anymore, the dense scent of moist soil invading his nose.
"Marvin?" He called a bit louder, his voice still quiet.
He slowly sank to the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest, shaking slightly.
"Marvin!" He shouted, the only sound he could hear through the total darkness his rapid, frantic breaths.
No one came, he was completely alone.
"MARVIN!!" He screamed, on the verge of breaking down.
He could already feel his eyes start to burn with tears. Jackie squeezed his eyes shut, curling into a ball. The darkness pressed in around him, blocking out all sound.
"Jackie?" Marvin's muffled voice came from beside him, but Jackie didn't look up.
"Jackie!" He felt someone touch his shoulder and he opened his eyes, shooting up with a gasp.
The room was back, along with a worried looking Marvin.
"What happened? Are you ok?" Marvin asked, his blue eyes flooded with concern as he gently held Jackie's shoulder.
"Marv?" Jackie's voice was quiet, choked by fear.
"I'm here, I'm here," Marvin reassured him, pulling him into a tight hug.
Jackie gripped onto the back of Marvin's blue hoodie, burying his face in Marvin's shoulder, trying to calm his panicked breathing.
"What happened?" Marvin asked quietly, still holding onto Jackie.
"I- The-" Jackie struggled for words, "It was black..."
"What was?"
"Everything..." Jackie whispered, tightly closing his eyes again.
Marvin seemed confused, providing no more answers or reassurance.
After a few minutes, Jackie had finally calmed down. He tried to pull away, but Marvin only hugged him tighter, keeping him in place. Jackie loved Marvin, but this was slightly claustrophobic.
"Uh- M- Marv?" He stammered nervously.
Marvin didn't answer, instead pushing himself further into Jackie.
"Marvin-" Jackie said, beginning to have a hard time pulling air into his lungs, "I- I can't breathe-"
Marvin abruptly let go, pushing himself away from Jackie.
"Sorry," He muttered, pushing himself to his feet and leaving the room.
Jackie was left on the floor, confusion pouring into his body.

What is up with him? Jackie thought, stumbling to his feet.
He winced as he stood, the dull ache of his chest like a punch, knocking the breath from his lungs for a second.