escape the night - oneshots

painkiller (manpat)

hanahaki disease au ✨

It started with one.

One stray petal, a gentle dark green—almost turquoise, resting lightly on his pillow after a particularly peculiar dream about a specific friend of his.

Matthew tried to pay it no mind. He tried to push all theories of its origins from his head, because he knew they'd only stress him out. He also knew there was a logical explanation, there had to be, anyway. Overanalyzing was, of course, Matt's best talent. Of course he was bound to think too hard, to psych himself out and ruin his own day. He brushed it out of his thoughts; he moved on.

The rest of his week was at the least uncomfortable.

As the days passed, his chest grew tighter and a strange cough plagued him that got worse as time went by. Matt often found these same petals in its wake, although he managed to convince himself he was imagining things, or that the strange phenomenon was simply... normal, somehow. The thing that threw him off was the blood that would stain his chin after every other strangled wheeze.

The detective didn't often get sick—he was left to wonder who'd passed this ailment along to him. Probably someone on his team who'd forgotten to wipe down supplies at the station, or one of his friends that didn't often exude caution like Roi.

Rosanna visited the station one particular night, just a few minutes before his shift was to end. He coughed into the crook of his elbow as he stood up from his chair in a happy greeting to his friend, the girl in question moving to lean over the desk.

"Hey, Ro! What brings you here?"

"Matt! Well, me and Safiya were just wondering if you wanted to come hang out tonight!" She giggled, a bubbly laughter that lit up the darkened office like sunshine. "You know, head over to Fat Man Slim's, get a little drink, the usual!"

Matthew chuckled, clearing his irritated throat. "Ah, gosh... I'd love to, but I promised Manny that I'd go visit the carnival with him tonight. Nikita was busy, so I'm proud to say I'm his second choice." The detective placed his hands on his hips, smirking in mock-pride (although he admittedly was bitter about it) before the pair both shared a hearty laugh.

Ro grinned fondly at him, now standing up straight. "That's okay! 'Nother time, then! You-" She paused, poking Matt in the stomach (which elicited a high-pitched giggle and a bat of his hand), "-go have fun!"

"Thanks, Ro," He sighed gently, smiling. "We will! Enjoy your night with Saf. See you soon, then, okay?"

Rosanna didn't have enough time to respond before Matthew erupted into another fit of coughs, hunching over himself and turning to face the side of his desk opposite her. The girl in question waited, patient, likely thinking nothing of it.

Matt soon recovered, regaining his breath and slowly wiping his sleeve over his mouth. "S-Sorry."

Ro hesitated before letting out a nervous and airy chuckle, tucking strand of hair behind her ear. "That's okay. Are you... alright?"

"I, uh, heh..." Matt smiled sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, just caught a bug or something. Maybe it's going around." He shrugged, disregarding the issue entirely. He wasn't really one to ask for help or make a spectacle to others about his issues. Besides—he was fine, wasn't he?

The jet setter tilted her head slightly to the side. "...If you say so! Well, if—" Rosanna cut herself off, which threw Matt for a loop. "What's this?"