Innerworks

10. Still

His lips, they were as red as Prince's sash, he only coughed once; then he stilled.

-----

Anxiety went limp and Prince tightened his grip on the younger, he could hardly hear his raspy breaths.

Hands now shaking, the fanciful personality grabbed a bit more toilet paper and wiped the crimson stain from his counterpart's parted lips.

"B-bring him to my room", Thomas' voice was shaking worse than the Royal's hands.

It was obvious why the manifestor said this, they had no choice in the matter. No one knew how bad of a state Anxiety was in, so moving him down to the couch was a no go, that and he was in Thomas' room before and it was far closer.

However, just before Prince could move, Anxiety coughed again. There was no blood this time.

But his body seized.

-----

Morality jumped.

He didn't expect Thomas to speak, the poor boy, seeing his youngest manifestation this ill was really hitting him hard.

Of course it hurt him too but he needed to maintain composure, it would do no one any good for him to panic as well.

All those thoughts and emotions fled from his mind the moment when Anxiety seized. No one else was moving, so he took action immediately, sure he was considered a joke of a Dad, but at the end of the day he was a father and good parents always take care of their children, no matter what.

"Easy there kiddo"

----

Prince gaped, one second he had an absolutely still Anxiety and in the next, the younger was curling and practically clawing onto him, desperately trying to breathe.

The darker personality's pitiful gasps for breath were heart breaking. He wanted nothing more than to try to comfort the younger but he didn't know what to do.

It was when Morality stepped up from behind Thomas...he had to blink.

Dad quickly grabbed Anxiety's head, keeping it steady, his knees pressed down on the younger's legs, to keep them still.

Slowly he moved, gently placing one hand on Anxiety's forehead and one on the other's curled and gasping chest.

"Easy there kiddo"

He wiped the sweaty bangs from the younger's face.

"You're ok, we got you, just try to breath"

Morality spoke calmly and gently, even while Anxiety's body continued shuddering and squirming.

"Come on, slow breaths, slow breaths"

He kept talking, whispering reassuring words to the younger.

Surprisingly, it worked.

After a good ten minutes Anxiety stilled against him once more, his breathing was raspy but slow and his shaking hands remained clutching on to his red sash.
Prince blinked again as Morality removed the cardigan from off his shoulders and draped it over Anxiety, it took the royal a few seconds to realise that his counterpart was shivering.

"The fever went up"
Morality's voice rang out, thick, quiet and somber.

They all swallowed thickly.

The air was so tense with worry and fear, someone could have could it with a knife.

------

They moved.

Prince, with Morality hovering at his side, carefully carried Anxiety to the bedroom.

Thomas ran to a closet to get a thick quilt, leaving Logic alone in the bathroom to clean up the mess.

Actually there wasn't really a mess, all the Intellectual personality had to do was flush the toilet, he wiped clean the seat for good measure.

With that done, he went downstairs to retrieve a bucket and fill a couple of water bottles.

-----

Anxiety was shivering, yet sweat trickled down his forehead, his hair was almost completely plastered to his head.

The fashion side of Prince questioned how even when plastered down, the younger's hair still looked messy.

Of course the Royal pushed back that part of him and easily set down the ill personality, on the bed- well, he tried to.

Anxiety, like the first two times, clung to him. All of them had short nails yet Prince could swear his counterpart had claws. Resigning himself to his rightful position as a pillow, the fanciful personality sighed and lowered onto the bed, adjusting himself and Anxiety comfortably.

Morality, already knowing that Prince was officially the younger's teddy bear, simply draped the quilt over them. Dad took great care, making sure he covered Anxiety as best he could without covering the younger's unconscious face.