𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦

twelve

If only there was a way to heal this stupid fucking disease without reciprocation or surgery, Gluttony thought bitterly. His phone screen showed the time—2 AM—he'd spent hours poring over books that surrounded him, stacked on his bed and his desk and the floor.

Flashbacks to the similar scenes where he tried to save Addiction were threatening to take him under and send him into a dissociating mess, but he reminded himself that they're both safe and that will never happen again.

Just as another memory resurfaced, someone knocked on the door and walked in.

It was Lust, bringing two boxes of pizza and smelling like alcohol. "I just got home," she explained, using her free hand to gesture to her crumpled clothes, "and you're awake, so I didn't put these in the fridge, cause I thought you might be hungry."

Living in the same house as my siblings isn't bad, he thought.

With a small smile, Gluttony got up from his eight-hour perch on the chair and navigated the maze of books as well as he could with his numb feet. Lust had entered the room and placed the boxes on his empty area of the bed. "Thanks," Gluttony said, letting himself lay down for a while. "Where did you get them from?"

Lust shrugged. "Someone decided to drunkenly order pizza for me," she said, quietly laughing, causing Gluttony to follow suit.

A comfortable silence ensued for a minute before Lust broke it. "What are you researching?" Lust asked, running her fingers through Gluttony's silky hair, considerably lessening the headache he'd opted to ignore. "Your sister here is worried."

Still laughing, Gluttony closed his eyes. "Hanahaki," he answered, "and besides, I'm sure Envy's room is in the same state as mine."

He didn't realize Lust's surprise at the word "hanahaki." Maybe it was because he's too tired and burnt out. But she didn't ask anything about the disease. Instead she stopped combing Gluttony's hair and opened one of the boxes.

"You're still in your uniform," Lust pointed out, placing a slice on Gluttony's hand. "Eat this. I still don't understand how you're the sin of gluttony, but you manage to forget to eat. I never forget to point out sexy people."

"Ugh, fine," Gluttony groaned, opening his eyes and forced himself to sit up, then he ate the slice as slowly as possible. Lust raised an eyebrow at this, but she didn't comment further. "and I thought it was because you're a proud whore and that's your job."

Lust punched him playfully. "You're not wrong," she laughed.

"Then why did you punch me?" Gluttony asked, joining in her mirth yet again. Lust's laugh was one of those contagious ones.

And for a few moments, he wasn't thinking about hanahaki or his past anymore.

He didn't cough at all that night.