cadnis oneshots so i can get some f*cking sleep

128√e980

i think this might be the softest thing i've written so far. potential tw for panic attacks, putting that in to be safe.

otherwise, enjoy!

———-

"Hey, Damian," Cady calls as she plops her lunch tray onto the table. "Janis isn't here?"

"No, I thought she was with you," Damian replies, taking another bite of his burger.

"She was in homeroom, did she get sick?" Cady asks, now anxious for her girlfriend.

"She would've told one of us, she always does. We going Janjan hunting?" Damian shoves the rest of his food in his mouth, holding out a hand to help Cady up. She puts what she can into her backpack to eat later and takes his hand with a determined nod.

——-

She wasn't in their usual bathroom, so Damian leads them through the corridors towards the art rooms. Cady is too busy trying not to worry for her girlfriend to pay much attention to their surroundings, but she does grin a little as she spies one of Janis' recent paintings hanging on the wall outside the room.

Damian gestures for her to go in first, so she knocks lightly and pushes the door open. The room is dark other than the sunlight streaming through the window, and silent other than the hum of the air conditioning thrumming through the building. She's about to turn around to leave when she hears a few quiet sobs come from the easel storage area.

"Janis?" she calls, wincing as she hears a thump and a quiet "ow, shit" come from the same area. They've definitely found her, at least. They put their bags down on the counter by the door and head over, working their way through the maze of easels and tables of paint, peeking around one as Damian finally spies the toe of one of Janis' boots poking out from behind another counter.

"Janis? What are you doing back here, we were waiting for you-" Damian tries to say, getting cut off by Janis suddenly sobbing much harder. He and Cady lock eyes knowingly as they sink down next to her, she's having a panic attack.

"Oh, darling, what happened? Can I touch you?" Cady says, suddenly much more worried than she was a few seconds ago. Janis hasn't had a panic attack in almost six months. She nods quickly, reaching out for a hug. Cady shifts positions and hauls her into her lap with just a bit of effort, rocking them gently as her girlfriend wraps her arms around her neck and sobs brokenly into her shoulder. "What happened, mpendwa? Why are you so upset?" She murmurs, kissing her hair lightly as Damian starts rubbing Janis' back to help calm her.

"I-I-" Janis chokes out, but she's still crying too hard to speak. She sinks back into Cady's embrace and cries harder, staining her top with mascara. Cady doesn't care. She gestures for Damian to grab her backpack as she continues gently shushing her girlfriend, still rocking them slowly. He rushes to grab it and bring it to her, unzipping it so she can root through with one hand to find her small water bottle. She pulls it out and unscrews the lid, gently pulling Janis' face away from her chest and handing it to her.

"Here, darling, drink some water. Shh, sweetheart, you're crying so hard. This'll help a little," she says lowly, looking to Damian with a concerned grimace as Janis takes little sips from it, hiccuping slightly between them. She takes deep breaths for a second and her sobs slow slightly, but another malicious thought passes through and she's crying again. "Oh, mpenzi, no," Cady coos sadly. She suddenly remembers something she read about when she was researching panic attacks and how to help Janis when she got them.

"Jellybean, can you do something for me?" Janis nods quickly, trying desperately to focus on Cady instead of inside her head. "Can you tell me five things you can see?"