A/n: A request from bashfulkayla. Reader is suffering from hanahaki disease. I'm sorry if I missed details from your request. Love you all!!! ~✨Celestial✨~ ••••••••••••••••••• ~(Y/n)'s POV~
A month had passed since we departed from the Crown City. The five of us were currently resting around a campfire at Telghey Haven that was located near Alstor Slough. At the request of Gladio, Ignis gave him the first-aid kit because of a few minor injuries I had sustained from our hunt. The shield wanted to clean my wounds because they were too small for a potion but too big to leave untended due to infection. I tried to shoo him away, but Gladio sat the first-aid kit down and grabbed both of my wrists in one hand. With his free hand, he pulled what he needed from the kit and tended to the wound on my cheek.
I winced in pain the moment the rubbing alcohol made contact with the gash on my face. I gritted my teeth and tried to break free from Gladio's hold, but he refused to let me go. "Y'know, you're a big baby when it comes to cleaning wounds," he chuckled.
"It hurts!" I defend, a slight blush tinting my cheeks at his close proximity.
"Almost done. Just give me a few more seconds." As promised, he was done and all that was left was a band-aid on my cheek. When I reached to tear it off, Gladio had stopped me. "Don't you dare, (Y/n)."
"I don't need a band-aid on my cheek," I pout.
"Just leave it there. You can take it off in the morning."
I sigh and cross my legs. Ignis was tending to dinner in silence while Noctis and Prompto were too occupied with playing King's Knight on their phones. Since they were distracted, I decided to speak to Gladio. "Thank you for helping me earlier, Gladio."
"What're friends for," Gladio smiled.
I bit my bottom lip, trying to keep it from quivering. "Yeah..." The one word that wounded me on a deeper level than I could've imagined. "What're friends for..." I repeat his words in a hushed voice. Feeling tears starting to surface, I excuse myself and head to the tent for the night without dinner.
When I was able to prevent my tears from escaping, I laid down and curled into a ball. When I closed my eyes to welcome sleep, they immediately flew open due to a violent coughing session. Hunched over, I felt something fall out of my mouth. When I recognized it as a flower petal, I knew exactly what was happening to me. I pick up the small pink and yellow petal and felt a tear slip from my eye.
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"Hanahaki disease..." I held the petal tightly in my hand, crumpling it into a small ball. "I'm surprised it's only starting now." I return to my position and wait for sleep to come. Luckily, after a few tears had sprung free, I was able to fall into a deep slumber.
-Next Morning-
When Ignis handed me a plate of food, I thanked him for his hard work but denied the meal. My words caught everyone's attention and now all eyes were on me.
