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Eira never liked nights like these. Where his skin crawled despite himself, and when he couldn’t sleep until the early morning hours no matter how hard he tried. Close calls like the one they had just experienced always got under his skin, under his scar, and this had been one of the closest. He wasn’t that close to Doppel - saying he even liked the kid was a stretch - but seeing the little punk go down and hearing Glass scream had set something off in him. Logically, he knew everything would probably be okay. River had gotten to him quickly, and Eira had been on the receiving end of her miracles before, but Doppel still hadn’t woken up, hours later. If he really sat and listened, he could almost hear the shuffling of their team medic next door: he wasn’t the only one not sleeping tonight. He could only hope River had the sense to at least wake up Alchemy to take over soon, but… Doppel had looked awful. The sound of Lance’s sword tearing through him, the blood on the blade, the look in that asshole knight’s eyes as Doppel’s body slumped to the ground, hell, the look in Doppel’s eyes-
...Yea. Eira needed a smoke.
He knew it wasn’t good for him. River reminded him often enough, but old habits die hard, and when he was like this? Smoking was the only way he was going to calm down enough to get some rest tonight. So Eira grabbed his scarf, his cigarettes, and his lighter, slipping out the door and making his way down the hall towards the fire escape, careful not to make a sound. He’d rather avoid a scolding from River, thank you. She barely came up to his chin, but frankly? She could kick his ass.
He didn’t even make it to the end of the hall before something stopped him in his tracks. He didn’t even know what it was at first, but like it always did, Eira’s head immediately assumed he was in danger. Was the Jury back? Hadn’t they had enough with his friends for the day? He was half a second from summoning his sword before he finally heard it again - it was muffled, and quiet, and oh so broken.
That noise wasn’t an intruder.
It was crying, and it was coming from the Doppel duo’s room. Just Glass’s room, tonight.
Eira decided his smoke could definitely wait, shoving the cigs and lighter into his pocket as he crept a little closer to the door, taking extra care to be quiet for an entirely new reason this time. Glass apparently hadn’t shut the door all the way when he tucked in for the night - or, more accurately, was forcibly pried away for the night, when his worried checking was starting to get in the way of River’s work. Thinking back as he peered into the room, maybe separating them hadn’t been a such good idea.
The first time that the group tried to separate Doppel and Glass, Doppel had almost shanked him with a mirror shard (what a wonderful start to a working relationship, huh?). The first time they actually succeeded, both halves had been a jumpy wreck for most of the day, though Doppel didn’t admit it. He just would not calm down, bristling at every movement in the shadows and giving everything a second glance, never putting his guard down until their group had finally met back up with Glass’s. The two had immediately embraced each other in a hug, not leaving the other’s sight all afternoon afterwards. Eira had been in Doppel’s group, though he had heard about what had happened with Glass. The poor kid had almost had a nervous breakdown, hiding behind Flint at every turn, jumping at every noise.
Given the small sliver of the scene that Eira could see through the crack in the door, he could only assume that this was what happened when you left Glass entirely alone with his own thoughts. What little he could see of the room was an absolute trainwreck. Both beds were unmade, but the occupied one almost seemed like the sheets had been thrown off of it in a panic, only kept on the bed by how tangled they were in Glass’s legs. At the angle he was at, he could barely see Glass, but he could hear him more clearly: hitched breathing echoing through the too empty space as he sobbed, occasionally broken by a hiccup, or a sniffle, or even a gasp as he tried to take in air.
...They had really fucked up, hadn’t they?
He gently knocked on the open door, just to be polite, before pushing it open and sliding inside. Given how Glass didn’t react at all to the movement, his stealth really wasn’t needed. He looked so small, curled up in a ball tinier than you would think anyone could ever manage, with one hand dug into his hair and the other clinging so hard to his arm that, even from this distance, he could see the imprints he was leaving in his skin. Eira recognized the look in his eyes. That glazed-over stare. He had worn it, before, and his heart pained. Of course Doppel almost getting killed would leave Glass so fragile.
Leaving him alone had been so stupid, all of them so caught up in Doppel’s physical wounds that they all ignored Glass’s mental ones. Eira, of all people, should’ve realized, but it wasn’t like he had been there to notice. He couldn’t… function well, with the smell of the blood that lingered in River’s room whenever someone was injured, and he didn’t have a particular attachment to Doppel anyway, other than him being a part of the group. He had simply stepped out to help Heartless instead, the poor kid having his own breakdown outside in the rain after almost losing control of his magic, on top of everything. But no one had thought about it. Alchemy had busied themself with helping River as much as she would allow, Flint had nearly paced a scorch mark into the floorboards out of worry, and Heartless was so emotionally exhausted after crying in the rain that Eira had to carry him back inside, but…. No one had checked on Glass. River at least had the excuse of being extremely busy keeping Doppel from bleeding out, but still.
In that split second, it suddenly didn’t matter to Eira how much he hated Doppel, or how much he wished their crew hadn’t picked up the duo of troublemakers at times. They had dropped the ball when it came to their most anxious teammate, and Eira was the only one here who could fix it.
First things first, get Glass to notice him. A sudden noise in his state definitely wouldn’t help, so Eira made his way forward, sliding over to the bed and sitting down in front of him as gently as he could muster. Even though he had carefully telegraphed his movements, Glass still jumped sky high with a startled gasp, trying to get further away from him but failing, his back already pressed against the headboard. At least he was looking at him, now, and not the empty space.
Eira gently shushed the other boy, putting his hands overtop of Glass’s, trying to keep his voice low. “It’s just me, Glass. Just Eira. Nothing’s wrong, and no one’s here to get you, or Doppel. You’re safe. Just breathe with me. In….” He took an exaggerated breath, “....and out. In….” Eira continued the pattern for longer than he would’ve liked, watching Glass carefully as he tried his best to follow along through his panicked sobs and breathing.
Apparently, the noise the two had made had gotten at least someone’s attention, as a small “Mrurp!” came from the open doorway. Eira wouldn’t have noticed the little void cat that was Murphy if not for the noise and the two big yellow eyes that now stared up at him. Silently, Eira was grateful for the backup, gently patting the bed as the black cat hopped up, immediately making a beeline for Glass’s lap. Murphy clearly didn’t care that there wasn’t room for him there, wedging himself in and making room, which had the added effect of forcing Glass to uncurl a little, burying his hands in the cat’s fur instead of his own skin. He still didn’t look okay, not in the slightest, but it was better. He was listening, now.
“Glass? Could you look at me?” Eira tried for a small smile of encouragement as Glass looked up from Murphy, meeting his gaze. “Keep breathing. You’ve got this. Now. Tell me five things you can see?”
Eira watched the younger witch’s expression as his eyes drifted around the room, Glass sniffing and rubbing his face as he did so, trying not to cry again as he looked to his right. “...Doppel’s… D-Doppel’s bed…” His voice cracked a little, letting out a distressed whine before gathering Murphy in a hug (Murphy, bless that little cat, thankfully wasn’t bothered).
Of course that’s the first thing he focuses on. Eira shifts, gently squeezing his shoulder and speaking gently. “Good, that’s one thing. Just four more, keep going.”
Glass sniffed again, tears still slowly dripping down his face as his gaze instead drifted to his own bed. “The… the door’s, it’s… it’s open, I… I-I see you? A-and Murphy…” He stalled a little, hesitating, Eira giving a reassuring nod and squeeze before he continued. “...m-my bed… and…… a-and… the sheets?” He says the last one with a shaky finality, almost confused as to why they were doing this.
“Alright, that’s good. Good start. Four things you can feel?”
“Y… y-your hands… they’re really cold?”
Eira chuckled a little at that, shifting and tucking his legs onto the bed. “Yea, I know. Sorry, I run cold. I can move, if you want.”
“No!” Glass’s reply was sudden and immediate, leaving Eira to raise his free hand in surrender before gently placing it on the other boy’s leg, and letting Glass continue. “...I-I don’t mind… it… it helps. I…. is… that, is that okay?”
“Mhm. Don’t worry about it- I get it. Touch helps. Now, three more things?”
It didn’t take him as long to reply this time, shifting a little in the blankets and continuing to pet the cat on his lap. “...My sheets. Murphy. …I’m pretty sure- I think one of my socks came off…. But I can feel the other one, if… does that count?”
Eira couldn’t help a small smile at that. “Counts in my book. Three things you can hear?”
“....Is it okay that I just keep saying you and Murphy? H-he’s purring.”
As the two quieted down for a second, the vibrating grew audible, and Eira couldn’t help but chuckle a little, reaching over and scratching Murphy’s chin, resulting in even more, louder purring. “....Yea. Yea, that’s okay. Can you hear anything else?”
“....Me? Do… Do I count?”
“If I count, Glass, then I think you count, too.”
“....Oh. Right.” He started drawing into himself again at this, ducking his head and drawing Murphy closer as he tucked his head in.
Eira reached out once more, moving his hand from the boy’s shoulder and grabbing his hands instead. “Hey, you’re doing good. Don’t worry about it. ...You haven’t done this before, hm?”
Glass shook his head slightly, worrying at his lip a little and glancing back up at the colder wizard. It made sense: from what little Eira knew about the Doppel Duo, they were relatively on their own, relying only on each other, and he doubted Doppel would know these kinds of grounding techniques. Thank Arthyr for walking him through these steps so many times. “That’s okay,” he continued, trying to ease Glass’s worries. “I’ll tell you about it in a minute, alright? Just gotta finish first. Now, what about smell? Can you give me two things?”
He clearly had to think a little more about this answer, taking one of Eira’s hands and squeezing it while scratching Murphy’s ears with the other. “....Moira’s detergent. I… I think she washed the sheets while, while we were gone. And…. that’s… that’s cigarette smoke? I think it’s your scarf.”
“Makes sense. Last one, can you taste anything?”
“....Not really. My mouth’s kinda dry, I guess.”
Almost without thinking, Eira took his spare hand and created a small ice chip, passing it to Glass who, a little startled, took it with a mumbled “Thanks-” and popped it in his mouth. Immediately he looked a little confused, sitting there for a second just eating the ice before saying abruptly, “Your magic tastes like mint.”
….Okay, he had to try this out. So Eira conjured himself an ice piece, popping it into his mouth as well, and sure enough, it did faintly taste of mint. “....Huh. Fair enough. ….feeling a little better?”
“...Y-yea, a bit.” Glass sniffled and nodded, wiping his face of tears with the heel of his hand and leaving wet streaks instead. “But… why were you…?”
“That, is a grounding technique Ar- my friend taught me. It brings you back to the present, instead of wherever you were.” He shrugged a little. “At least, that’s what he told me. Feels like it, too. That’s also why the touch helps some people. ...Doesn’t help me, but it makes sense that it would help you.”
“...Wait, so you….? It, you’re…” Glass looked confused at this. “But you’re so… put together.”
“Practice. It’s practice. Even then, it gets bad, sometimes. Seems like both of us have been having a bad night. Why did you think I was awake?” Eira carefully skirted mention of how injured Doppel was, or the blood, or any of his other triggers.
“But… but I didn’t think you liked us. Why… I mean. I just- you didn’t have to-”
Eira flinched at that, taking a deep, slightly ragged breath. “You’re both still a part of the team, Glass. And I… We, shouldn’t have left you alone after all of that. For… other reasons that I don’t feel comfortable saying right now, yea, Doppel getting hurt did affect me. But it obviously affected you more, and you shouldn’t have been pushed aside like that. I don’t… want you to think I don’t care. Doppel gets on my nerves, a lot, but you don’t deserve to get pushed aside because of that. And I’m sorry.”
Glass was quiet for a while after that, Murphy’s purring now the only sound filling the space. Eira fiddled with the end of his scarf, now seriously debating getting up and going to smoke: this was getting awkward and he was getting anxious. Just as he was about to excuse himself, it was Glass who broke the silence instead, quietly and tentatively, with his voice trying not to break. “...Could I get a hug, please?”
Eira was not a touchy person. Under any other circumstance, he probably would’ve said no.
But this was no ordinary circumstance, and so Eira opened his arms with a sigh and let Glass hug him like there was no tomorrow (alongside an indignant squeak from Murphy, as he became the filling in a wizard sandwich).
Glass really didn’t seem to be letting go anytime soon, so Eira moved both himself and the clingy wizard into a more comfortable position, leaning himself up against the headboard with a soft sigh. Murphy made himself more comfortable, too, curling up at the foot of the bed instead, his work now finished. They just sat there in comfortable silence for a while, with Glass squeezing Eira tightly and Eira putting his arms around the other wizard’s shoulder’s awkwardly. Glass seemed reluctant to break the silence, but asked anyway, anxiety and uncertainty dripping from his voice, “Is… it okay, if I… if you could….. Could you stay here? T-tonight? I just…. I don’t….” He tucked his face down, looking at the sheets. “...I don’t want to wake up alone, again.”
Eira’s heart broke a little at that, shifting enough to give Glass a small smile. “...Sure. I can do that.”
It didn’t take long for Glass’s breathing to even out, finally sleeping soundly with Eira’s scarf as a pillow. It took Eira a little longer, trying to get comfortable enough to sleep without waking him.
And if that’s how River found them in the morning when she came to tell Glass Doppel was okay, then, well. That was nobody’s business but hers.