RITPN ✮ Ray x Reader

091045 ✩ Good Kids

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

I stuffed another jar into the tree nook, meeting our set quota of two a week. We stored items related to food, here – non perishables or foods that came close, plus jars for water. I started to climb back down the tree, when my foot slipped across the bark; still slick from yesterday's rain. I let out a small yelp of surprise as I crashed (very gracefully) to the ground.

"Ow, fuck," I seethed, rising to my feet. You can imagine I was very pleasantly surprised to see the blood trailing down my leg from my badly scrapped knee. I groaned aloud, knowing that I now had to explain how I fell out of a tree to Yukko when she found out.

"Oh, Y/N," I mocked, "You know you're not supposed to do strenuous activities like that... So how about we stick you in the infirmary for another three weeks because honestly, if I don't ship you out in perfect condition I'm going to lose my job and die!"

Not that she'd actually say that, but... Just reading the subtext.

I muttered to myself all the way to the house, keeping a wary eye out for Yukko. "Dumb, dumb, dumb, idiot. What's the point of having a Grace Field Grade brain if you have the elegance of a troll in high-heels?"

"Y/N, what's a troll?" one of the kids I hadn't noticed asked. They watched me with a curious little tilt of their head, blue ball in hand.

I looked their way for a moment before trudging toward the house. "Poppy."

"Oh!" the kid was pleased with the answer. "Hey Poppy, guess what!"

I'd probably get put in a headlock or two for that later, but I was a little too preoccupied to care.

I crept through the halls until I made it to the infirmary. What I'd do when I got there, however, I had no idea. My knowledge in medical expertise was severely limited in comparison to the extensive knowledge on every other subject known to man I apparently had stored in my mind. Hah, who needs to know first aid when you can use all of the trig functions without a calculator?

Eh, I'll stick a bandaid on it. I'll be fine.

I poked my head in the infirmary door, and found someone already inside.

"Y/N?" Sifting through the medicine stock was a kid a year younger than me. They were incredibly petite – the only kid older than eight who was shorter than myself – with short, dusty brown hair. Their eyes were like cinnamon, a sort of reddish-brown colour, and their round cheeks were dotted with a few faint freckles. "Did you hurt yourself again?"

"Oh..." I chuckled sheepishly, pulling the door open. "Just a bit."

"Your bleeding!" they exclaimed at the sight of my knee. "Come inside!"

I was ushered to take a seat on one of the beds, and Niko disinfected and plastered my knee quickly and without a single flaw. They were completely focused as they completed the task, a certain sparkle in their eyes that led me to believe this was their passion.

"You're good at that," I hummed.

Niko tossed the garbage away, a quiet sort of smile on their face. "Well, I've had a lot of practice, thanks to you." They chuckled in a shy, airy sort of way. "How'd you get hurt this time?"

"Ah... I was distracted and fell out of a tree."

The quiet kid hummed out another shy laugh. "You can be a bit of a space-head when you're thinking."

I folded my arms over my chest. "Gee, thanks," I grumbled, but being around Niko was like stepping into an aura of warm fuzzies, and it was hard to pull a grumpy expression for very long. "I'm going to go back to playing outside, then."