Dragonfruit ~ Mini stories and one shots!

Damage (Flufftober 2)

Mei shoved a bush out of her way, stumbling over ferns and what not. She was trying to 'find peace' since Sandy suggested it. He was the group therapist and so she had to abide by what he said.

"Where is this 'peace'?" She muttered under her breath. After what felt like an hour, which was 10 minutes, Mei was making her way down a flower filled path. "Woahhh! I see what he meant by peace! This is just like the gardens at home! But I can actually play around here!" She started to get a little too adventurous and slipped, tumbling down a steep hill. "AH BUD-'' She screamed when she finally stopped tumbling. She gripped her ankle and rocked back and forth, biting her lip in agony. "WHY ME!" She groaned and laid on her back. She sat up straight when she heard rustling noises.

"Why do I always find you in the woods, broken?" The voice snarked. Mei looked over, rolling her eyes. Red son stood there, arms crossed, but he didn't seem that mad. Or at least not as mad as usual.

"I'm not very happy about this either!" She groaned, falling back onto her back as sharp pain split through her ankle and she shouted in pain. Red son's eyes flashed in alarm as he tried to discreetly rush over. Mei turned her head and smiled to herself a little. He really always did care about others, but he refused to admit it. He has helped them all on several occasions. And the fact that he didn't just leave her on the grass struggling home by herself said enough. He wrapped an arm around her and helped to pull her up, as he did, she fell into him in an attempt to not put pressure on her injury. They both blushed and tried to distance themselves, as much as you can distance yourself when someone is bracing you.

"I can't believe I'm helping you." He grumbled.

"Oh come on. You like it!" She smirked, and they began walking.

"Ugh." He scoffed and nudged her, forgetting she couldn't walk. She tripped and face planted, looking back up at him with a mouthful of grass and dirt.

"BLEH-" She spat it all out. Red son kneeled down and held out a hand to her.

"I'm s-sorry." He forced out, he wasn't one to typically apologize. "I forgot." Mei gave him a sweet smile and took his hand. He pulled her up and into his arms, wrapping around her once again and holding onto her. Mei knew she was blushing, but like, who wouldn't? He may be snarky, stubborn, rude, mean, harsh, and cruel, but he had manners. They made their way close to the edge of the forest, but not before it started to rain. Mei held her free hand out and felt the light drizzle begin.

"We gotta find somewhere dry. Fast." She began looking around.

"Well I could just teleport us elsewhere." He shrugged.

"NO. We are not starting a forest fire because we can't handle a little rain." She tapped his shoulder and then pointed to a small cave behind a large fern. "Let's go there!" Red son nodded and began to help her make her way over. As the rain began to pour harder they were hiding in the small cave. It was the perfect size, maybe a little tight, forcing them to intertwine their legs but other than that it was fine. Mei picked at her fingernails anxiously, Red son seemed to notice so he put his hand on hers. She smirked at him.

"Awww." She sang.

"It's just annoying." He frowned, his cheeks were dusted pink though. He looked at her ankle and began to press on it.

"OW!" She yanked her leg away from him.

"Relax Dragon girl, I'm just making sure it's not more serious than a mere sprain." He held her foot in his hands and began pressing at different sides and angles. About half the time Mei wanted to scream.

"You're definitely enjoying this!" She hissed through her teeth.

"Not necessarily." He sighed, still looking down. Mei's eyes shifted to look at his.

"Thanks for helping me though, I would have been doomed if not for-" Mei and Red son were startled as a loud crack split the air. Red son jumped, not expecting it.

"O-of course." He stammered, clearly freaked out. But Mei could tell it wasn't that she was the problem.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She grabbed his hand and spoke softly. He quickly pulled his hand away.

"Nothing. Just. Be quiet okay, I don't want to be here longer than we have to." He narrowed his eyes, looking out through the fern's leaves that covered their hiding spot. The rain was plummeting down, even if he tried to teleport away, the fire would be put out before he could get anywhere. Besides, he couldn't let Mei know he was afraid of a ridiculous thunderstorm. He wasn't sure how much he cared about her opinion, but he knew he did.

"Oh... okay. Well- I'm here if you wanna talk... it's not like I can run away!" She started laughing, Red son could have sworn her laugh was contagious because he laughed right through the thunder.

"I need to get better at the whole friendship thing don't I..." He murmured. Mei once again tried to grab his hand, but then let go.

"Sorry, I forgot you didn't like-" She froze when he grabbed her hands. She shook her head, trying to break her stare. "Well... you don't need to work on friendship! Everyone just makes friends in different ways, and gets along in different ways. For example, the way I'm friends with MK will never be like how I am friends with you." She kept her voice calm and even. Another round of thunder rolled through and lightning flashed through the ferns leaves. Red son shut his eyes and pulled his knees close to his chest. Mei put her hands on his cheeks and smiled softly when he opened his eyes. She blinked slowly at him, intentionally or not, Red son felt stress lifted off of him.

"I-" He hesitated, unsure. "I'm glad I found you. Although if I hadn't helped you I could be at home right now, not in a bush, in a thunderstorm but..." He paused when he saw her looking at him with bewilderment.

"So you're glad I'm here but blame me for it all?" She summarized.

"Yes? No? Gah I don't know. But if I had to be stuck here, I'm glad you're here." He shook his head and hid his face in his hands.

"Hey! Don't hide! Come on, Red boy!" She grabbed his wrists to try and keep him opened up. Mei then inhaled sharply and groaned.

"What happened?" Red son looked at her ankle then to her.

"I just put too much pressure on it. It's okay. Maybe." She sighed. "We're a broken pair huh." She sniffed, leaning against the rock behind her.

"I'm not sure if pair is the word. But we are both definitely broken." He shrugged. He kept his hand on her ankle.

"Why not pair? It doesn't have to mean a couple- I know how against that you are." She snickered at the end. He shifted uncomfortably. The rain began to pour down hard again.

"Well. I don't think I'm as opposed to it as you think. I just think I need a bit more to figure out how I'm feeling." He relaxed visually but was still tense. Mei smiled once again. Her hair blew like crazy as a gust of wind barged in.

"I completely understand. And it's SO COLD! HOW ARE YOU NOT FREEZING!" She emphasized the words, but didn't shout. He simply shrugged and shifted a little, creating some space near him. Mei blushed and felt her stomach soar. He wanted her near him! Weird how they get here from how they were in the woods. When more wind rushed into the small cave, Mei made her way over to him, resting her head on his chest and hugging him. She lay in between his legs on him, a very 'intimate' position, but neither took it that way. Throughout the rest of the night whenever Mei's ankle hurt she would turn to Red son for comfort. And whenever Red son got nervous, he would find a way to pull Mei closer to him. As if she was an emotional support animal. "You're so warm." She laid completely relaxed.

"I'd assume so. Fire is my thing." He wrapped his arms around her.

"You are my thing." She whispered.

words: 1445

Flufftober day 2 with Damage as our word prompt hehe.

LMK if you have any prompts but other than that have a good day/night/afternoon/etc and I'll see y'all soon!!!