CW: aftermath of gun violence, mostly hurt/comfort though
The first coherent thought Bose has when he wakes up is, ‘Ow. Fuck.’ The next is, ‘Holy shit it’s loud.’ The first person he can really hear is Schwoz frantically saying, “Do not sit up! Do not sit up!” Bose follows this advice. His eyes open sluggishly, too heavy to keep open for more than a few seconds at a time. “It’s okay Bosie, you are still healing, you can go back to sleep.” His eyes close again.
When he comes to a second time it’s to low murmuring. “I’m worried about him. What if…what if he’s different? Or he doesn’t want to fight anymore?” “Mika,” he hears Miles sigh in worry. He’s not awake long enough to hear the other boy’s response.
He comes to a few more times, each with a different person sitting vigil by his bedside. “Ay Bose, you’ve really done a number on all our hearts this time.” He thinks he hears Ray once. “Please Bose, please wake up,” Mika begs through tears. “Come on man, don’t leave me like this.” Chapa. “We love you man, so just wakeup okay?” Miles. And it repeats.
He finally wakes up fully a few days later to Schwoz leaning frantically over him. “Ah! Bosie! How are you feeling?” “Like I got shot,” he wheezes, trying to joke but not having the energy to make it land softly. “Ah yeah, I could’ve guessed that.” Schwoz peels back a bandage on Bose’s torso. The bullet wound has been stitched close neatly, the stitches nauseatingly black against Bose’s tan skin, firmly Bose looks away.
“Ok Bose, I need you to pay close attention okay?” Bose nods and politely doesn’t remind Schwoz he literally can do nothing else currently. “Do not get this bandage wet, call me over if you do. You have an IV in for fluid and nutrients, now that you’re awake and can eat on your own we should be able to remove it soon. I’ll administer pain medication at specific times, I need you to tell me if it helps and how much; this will likely make you drowsy. Chapa has already lied to your parents for us so you’re clear to be here for a few more days, but before you can leave we’ll go over wound care at home.” Bose nods to show he’s still listening and Schwoz moves on.
“You will likely experience more anxiety than usual as well as insomnia or depression, these are normal symptoms of this kind of trauma, and Ray and I are both available to help you if need be. Next, your arm is broken. Please never fight with a broken bone again.” Schwoz’s look is stern so Bose gulps and nods his head.
“Don’t get the cast wet, mainly use the other arm. You do not have a splint because you broke the bone near your wrist but still be careful not to move the arm too much. The others have already signed your cast.”
Bose looks down and sees he’s right. Chapa’s name takes up the entire part of his cast where his forearm lies with, “get better soon loser” written under it, Miles wrote his name with a little smiley face and a get well soon message, and Mika wrote a paragraph about how she hopes she feels better on the top of the cast. In the small amount of space left both Ray and Schwoz wrote their own get well soon messages. It makes his heart swell in gratitude. Of course, there’s absolutely no room for anyone else to sign, except for maybe his mom, but well he wouldn’t even ask his stepdad and none of them really have any other friends.
It’s lonely being a superhero.
“Ok, here's your meds Bose, Ray texted the others and I’m pretty sure Miles just teleported them in here so-” Schwoz is cut off by him being literally run over by three overeager teenagers. “Bose!” they all cry happily. And then, “I’m going to kill you!” Chapa announces her hands are already sparking. “Ah!” Miles and Mika both yelp before Ray picks her up and winces as she shocks him. “No shocking the patient.” He’s sterner than normal and holds Chapa steady as she struggles.
It’s not until after a few minutes of watching Chapa fruitlessly struggling that Bose realizes he can hear soft sobbing. Chapa is crying. “You, you asshole!” She gasps out in between sobs. “Never do that again! I don’t care if you quit being Brainstorm forever as long as you’re safe! I love Bose O'Brian more than I love Brainstorm.”
She’s started sobbing too hard to speak clearly as Ray sinks to the ground wrapping her in more of a hug than the restriction hold he had before. “She’s right Bose,” Mika reassures, tears also in her eyes. “Yeah, I couldn’t-I couldn’t live without you man, okay?” Mika hugs Bose on the side he wasn’t shot, narrowly avoiding hitting his cast. Miles waits until Mika moves before doing the same, a few tears hitting his shoulder.
After Chapa has stopped sobbing she crawls on the bed with him, ignoring Ray’s worried wince. Bose isn’t worried. Chapa would never hurt him. Chapa curls up near his cast, placing it in her arms on top of a pillow so it’s elevated and comfortable.
“You asshole,” she hisses, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry,” he responds softly ducking his head to hide the tears in his own eyes. It’s not long until Miles pulls up a chair and allows Mika to climb onto the edge of the bed as well, a muscle jumping in Ray’s jaw at the sight, no doubt trying to figure out how to get the girls down without being shocked and sonic screamed into a new country. “Do you want up here too?” Bose checks with Miles but he shakes his head, “Nah man, I’ll get my turn,” he does reach up to grab Bose’s hand though.
When it’s night, later than Ray would normally let any of them stay he starts corralling the kids out. Chapa bites him when he tries to grab her so he dangles her by her shirt for a moment before dropping her. “Bose needs his rest, and so do all of you, you can come by tomorrow.” Unhappily the trio turns to give Bose tight hugs, and he bites his lips about telling them that it hurts. They hold on for longer than normal a few tears falling between all four of them. “I love you guys,” Bose whispers, and the others all echo the sentiment back before finally allowing Miles to teleport them home.
Bose submits to Schwoz checking him over and giving him his night pain medication before Ray unsubtly shoos Schwoz from the room. “Hey kid,” he starts softly. Bose, already getting a bit tired from the medication, smiles weakly at him. “I’m sorry kid, you never should’ve gotten hurt, Chapa was right,” Bose can’t ask what Ray means because he’s already moved on.
“I tried to fire Henry after he got hurt once, did you know that?” Bose tries to sit up because no, he most certainly had not known that, but Ray presses him gently back onto the makeshift hospital bed. “He freaked. We got into the biggest fight we’ve ever had.”
He must see Bose’s surprised look because he nods, “Oh yeah, me and Henry used to have the worst fights.” There are a lot of things Bose wants to say to that. Why do you get disappointed when you remember we aren't him? Could we ever live up? If even your golden child isn’t good enough in your eyes how could we ever hope to be? He doesn’t say any of that. Now isn’t the time, and honestly, it’s a fight he’d rather instigate with the others by his side.
“But anyways, Henry was furious. I’ve never seen him that mad and that was right before well… you remember the whole blimp thing right?” Bose nods, it’s not something he can ever forget, not when some villains still pull their punches, not when sometimes when Frankini knocks them down he’s the first to pull them back up, not when he looks into their opponents' eyes, and knows sometimes it nauseates them to be fighting a kid.
“Obviously me firing him didn’t work. So, I won't fire you.” Bose blinks because he hadn’t thought of Ray firing him, even though he really should’ve with the whole losing their powers when they were younger mess. “But…Bose, I will never judge you for walking away. I’d get on my hands and knees and beg you to if I thought it might make a difference.” Bose gulps at the sincerity in Ray’s eyes. “I can’t…I can’t quit…Not if the others will still be out there fighting.” Ray nods sadly, “That’s what I thought you’d say.”
