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Uzi hated this feeling. She really, really did.
She hated the feeling of something writhing around in her chest. Yet, her chest felt almost empty at the same time.
She gagged over the sink as a particularly queasy feeling wracked her body, gripping the counter with what would’ve been a white-knuckled grip if she were human.
Core pounding in her chest, she stole a glance at the bathroom mirror, taking stock of her appearance. Her violet locks were askew and her pyjamas were ruffled.
She just wanted it to STOP.
The dead silence amplified her throbbing heartbeat, the sound reverberating through her audio receptors as she stood on shaky legs, hunched over the sink with a tense posture.
She moved one hand to run it through her hair, a wavering sigh leaving her. She just wanted to go back to bed and sleep already, but nope! Of course the consequences of swallowing a black hole had to catch up to her when she was trying to get some well-needed slumber!
She groaned, raising her hands and letting her head fall into them. She wobbled in place, head spinning from the awful, awful feeling in her chassis.
She didn’t know how long she stood there, but before she knew it, there was a knock at the locked restroom door.
“Uz, you in there, love?” a voice—N’s voice—asked, a palpable note of concern gripping at the words. “Are you okay?”
Uzi blinked, snapping out of her trance and staggering till she turned to face the door.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she called back, cringing at the strain in her tone. “S’core stuff, that’s all. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Silence.
Then, something seemed to snap.
“…Uzi, I’m worried about you,” he suddenly mumbled, “you don’t talk to me about anything anymore. I can’t force you to, I don’t want to force you to, but please consider letting me help you. I don’t want you to have to feel like you need to deal with this by yourself.”
Uzi balked, unable to get any words out. The admittance was so sudden—she didn’t know what she had said to trigger the words.
“I love you so much but I’m scared I’m going to lose you,” the disassembler admitted. “I saw how the Solver affected my sister. I don’t want that to happen to you.”
She hesitated, trying to construct a coherent sentence that could convey her feelings.
“I’m sorry,” was all that left her lips.
“Don’t apologise,” he insisted adamantly, “don’t apologise to me for struggling, Uzi. Just… let me help you? Please?”
Another stretch of silence, before Uzi hobbled to the door and unlocked it. After she did so, N opened it, wearing a gentle look.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“My chest,” she groaned, moving to bury her face into his chest. At the contact, N embraced her, bending down to burrow his face into her soft yet frazzled hair.
“Your chest?” N tilted his head. “Whaddya’ mean?”
“Feels like somethin’s writhing around in it,” Uzi explained vaguely, adrenaline beginning to wear off.
He drooped sympathetically, tenderly raking his fingers through her hair, then resting his hand on her head, fingers settling between strands.
“Mm,” N hummed, “d’you wanna go back to bed, maybe? Laying down might help you out a little.”
“…‘Kay.” She simply leaned further into him.
With a giggle, N hooked his arms under her legs and hoisted her into a cautious bridle carry, much to the girl’s dismay. Unfortunately, she was too sleepy to voice said dismay. So, she relented and reluctantly allowed him to carry her to the bed.
Eventually, she and N were tangled in each other’s limbs, a warm blanket draped over them. Eyes half-lidded, she lazily wrapped an arm around her boyfriend.
“…If I stop bottling everything up, will you stop worrying about everything?” Uzi asked—when she got no answer, she added, “We’re okay, now. Solver’s gone, s’over. Everything’s fine… maybe not completely, but sometimes I think this planet’s too crazy for everything to be completely fine.”
Despite himself, the words elicited a giggle from the other. “I’ll try,” N whispered, an affectionate smile upon his face, “I promise.”
“Good… and I promise to stop bottling everything up,” she mumbled. Then, “Love you,” she added, already on the cusp of unconsciousness as the warm embrace of sleep gripped at her systems.
The last thing she heard before her systems initiated sleep mode was some unintelligible proclamation of love, obscured by her systems initiating rest mode, and a delicate kiss being pressed to the crown of her head.