Varying Perspectives [G/T Oneshots]

For Once (canon)

"Dad. I brought you some water for your head."

Gabriel wandered into the darkened room, hearing the laboured breathing of his father high above him, and looked down to the small amount he was able to bring for him. It would do nothing. He could do nothing. 

But it could.

The human heard the gentle shuffle of clothing, and the blankets that hung over the edge of the giant bed moved out of the way to be replaced with a pillar. But it wasn't really a pillar, it was a bare arm around 5 times taller than Gabriel could ever hope to grow, slowly descending from on high to set a hand of equal proportion before his feet. He was quick to clamber on, becoming worried at how cold the fingertips were as they pressed to his skin and back.

Gabriel was ungratefully tipped off onto the mattress and blinked up at the giant before him. He could see the sickness in the way Seto's hands shook and moved so slowly, how the muscles in his neck were taught, how his breathing was audible - he was sick.

"You...came up, all, all...by...y-yourself." The teenager heard the disappointment clear as day in the croaky tone and huffed as he looked over the rest of his father, seeing he hadn't moved since Jewel had brought him up before. The giant was disappointed in himself, that his condition had forced his son to climb all the way up to see him, up towering stairs that weren't suited for him and across expansive hallways. 

"Mum went to get medicine," Gabriel paused and sighed up at the steadily moving chest, longing to curl up on it and offer comfort, but knowing he had a job to do.

"I told you, you should've had the vaccination."

"I...thought I could...handle it. Are you alright from...the stairs?" 

The massive head attempted to turn toward him, half-lidded grey eyes moving to the corners lazily, but Seto barely moved a few centimetres before he shuddered and his face contorted into something filled with pain, sucking air through his teeth.

"No! Dad, don't move." Gabriel put down his things and sprinted to Seto's side to try to push the large face back into position, gasping at how hot the skin beneath his hands was. "Oh no. Oh no, oh no, you've got worse."

"What?" The human stared helplessly up to his father, knowing the thoughts were running through his head just from the croaky tone of his voice.

Get Eridan. Bring him back from Phasma. Use my magic. Tire myself out even more

Backing away to climb up his hair, Gabriel weaved himself through the dark locks to emerge on top of the giant's forehead, standing defeated on feverish skin. He didn't know what to do, but he knew never to hide something of this importance from a loved one, so he explained what he thought was happening to his father.

"You're sicker. You're hotter than before." The human carefully made his way down the landscape of Seto's face, looking into the large orbs below, delighting a little in the way the lids opened and irises looked up to him. To see pupils instinctively contract was a good sign that he was aware, or at least trying very hard to be. But Gabriel couldn't even manage a smile. The muscles so grey they were almost black, even the sight of his face peering over the edge did little to encourage any sort of colour to appear in their depths. 

"You need to rest until mum comes back." He ordered.

"No...I need to...get-"

"No. Eridan left. We don't need to call him anyway, you're getting medicine." The rolling eyes closed for too long to be a blink, the large nose crinkling as Seto frowned, teeth grinding against each other. The appearance of a long arm rising caught Gabriel's attention, and he immediately jumped forward to slide further down Seto's face onto his nose, finding balance on the very unstable surface by holding his father's fringe.

"No, dad! You're sick!" He pointed an angry finger, but the giant paid him no attention. This was the worst time to be ignored when the one he loved was in danger of hurting himself.

"I can-"

Gabriel suddenly struck the head below him, glaring furiously and feeling the muscles beneath him tense as the eyes locked back onto him, cross-eyed, flashing shocked signals in red, blue, and brown. It wouldn't have hurt at all, but he still hit his own father, which might earn a talking to when he was well again.

"No! You can't dad. You need to rest!"

"Nngh..." Seto looked rather annoyed with Gabriel, though the human was a bit too close to discern proper facial expressions, but the giant obeyed and lay still. He sighed, swallowed past a dry throat, and then stared down his nose to his son. A look over his shoulder confirmed no spells were trying to be cast, which allowed a tight smile to come over the teenager's face.

"Don't worry! I will take care of you until mum's home." He patted the bridge of Seto's nose before wriggling his legs into the right position and slipping down the hills of his face to land in a clumped heap by the wide neck. He was quick to recover and retrieve his soaked towel though, determined to help even the smallest amount. It was a cool blessing in his hands, he'd actually started feeling quite faint due to the overpowering warmth the sick giant was emanating, and he couldn't help but wipe the water all over his face.

Gabriel backed up off the pillow, clicking his fingers at the massive form before him. The head was so large it filled all his vision at once, but that was all the teenager needed right now. 

"Try and turn your whole body toward-"

"P-P-Pain...cap" Seto coughed, his voice immediately drowning out that of his human son and making Gabriel wince at the volume echoing in his ears. He held out one dripping hand toward him.

"I, I know dad. Just do it for me please, it will make things a whole lot easier. Just try."

With a grunt, the half-dead Seto managed to stir his stiff limbs into motion, blinking bleary eyes as he performed a mental countdown in his mind, motivating him to flip over rapidly and land with a powerful sigh and rush of air that knocked the teenager completely off his feet, sending him sliding toward the edge of the mattress. 

"C-Cap! Sorry, sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

Gabriel recovered quickly, drawing breath into his winded lungs and sitting up to face a billboard expression that conveyed deep concern toward him, eyes wide open at the thought that he'd just nearly thrown his own child off a bed. Seto's actions had shown no consideration for Gabriel's size and seeing the human sprawled there, panting. 

"Cap? Gabriel, I'm so sorry. I'm sick I can't look after you."

To the young teenager, the answer was simple. Gabriel approached while two dark eyes tracked him through the haze of sickness and worry, holding his severely ineffective, but love-filled items. He set them beside the billboard face and its splaying array of hair, approaching the forehead first and pushing away the locks of hair to expose skin with a sheen of sweat and sickly heat. 

He picked up the sopping towel and pressed it to his forehead, spreading it as far as it could go and not feeling discouraged when it barely covered any of Seto's skin. 

"Then let me look after you, dad. Go to sleep. I'll be okay, I don't need you breathing over my shoulder." 

Gabriel tried to get to work, but he couldn't shake the feeling of Seto's gaze settled on him, watching his every action even if he was as sick as he was. The sorcerer had to relax, he had to put his trust in Gabriel to take care of him, he had to become completely unaware of his surroundings because that was the best way to let his body fight.

"Dad~ you're staring." He whined, and the sorcerer stayed silent while the sensation didn't waver. But in the end, Gabriel didn't mind, as after he'd set the first towel down and brought up a second, his method became slow and methodical, and the feeling vanished entirely.

~~~

Rewrote this a little for @MakeFluffNotVore's "Fluff Awards", sharing my abundantly fluffy father-son duo with the world. 

The concept of tinies helping or standing up for their giants in any way is kinda unrepresented, or at least I don't see much of it in the stories I read. In my opinion, tinies that are dominant in a protective way, instead of defensive/offensive actions, are too good to be left out!!

~Tsunami