Ink Stains (MCYT Oneshots)

[R] Take A Break (Quackity-centric)

(A/N: request as a pic. i know nothing about law school exams but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ also the word "help" here was kinda,,, vague? so i took some creative liberty. uh yeah! enjoy!)

Quackity hadn't streamed in a while, since he was in the middle of exam week, and he wanted to focus on revising for his exams. Luckily, he had decided to take some of his exams earlier, since he was allowed to do so, leaving him with little breaks between exams. Unluckily, this did not decrease the amount of work he had to memorise and revise.

He knew he had lessened contact with his friends and fans, focusing more on making sure he stayed on top of his school, and passed with flying colours. But that was understandable; they all seemed pretty understanding when he had announced his mini break, anyways. Still, he was pretty sure he wasn't doing anything too bad; nothing that would make his friends concerned, that was.

Except, apparently he had been.

"I'm fine," Quackity insisted, arms leaning on the papers on his table. He had been surprised at Sapnap and Karl suddenly giving him a call, and even more so when they started telling him to take a break.

"You look like a mess," Sapnap said, which really wasn't a retort. Quackity glanced at himself in the camera of the discord call, and winced.

"I'll clean myself up later," Quackity responded, trying not to let his frustration show, but probably failing. "Look, I- I'm almost done with this chapter, alright? I'll be fine, I am fine. You don't have to worry so much-"

"Just take a break, Quackity," Karl said, his voice gentle but firm. "You can call in a sick day if you want. Just- you look like shit, man! You're gonna work yourself to an early grave at this point."

His last comment was clearly meant as a joke, as a way to cheer Quackity up, and it kind of did. Still, Quackity couldn't just stop studying; it seemed like every time he tried to test himself, he came back with mistakes that could've been avoided if he had just been better, if he had revised better-

"You're one of the smartest people I know, Quackity," Sapnap said, cutting through his inner monologue. "You don't need to get full marks to be 'good enough'; passing your exams — hell, even getting an A! — is already a good thing. You don't have to push yourself to do more, not if it leaves you so- so exhausted."

"Easy for you to say," Quackity snorted, bitterness tinging his tone. Sapnap and Karl just didn't understand — how was he supposed to be taken seriously if he couldn't even get the top marks? He had always been getting top marks throughout his entire year, and if he failed this once, if he dropped in the rankings this once...

"Marks aren't everything, Quack," Karl piped up, startling him from his thoughts. "Law firms probably won't look at your exact marks, and even if they did, they'd see that you've been consistently getting high marks, and there's no doubt that they'll accept you in."

"But-"

"This exam is, what, two days away?" Sapnap continued. "Just take- it's okay to rest, every once in a while. I know you haven't been resting, I've been speaking to your mom-"

"You've been what?!"

"-and she agrees that you need to take a break too, so god help me before I come there myself to kidnap you to take a break."

The idea was so absurd that Quackity couldn't help but bark out a laugh. He glanced down at his revision. Now that he wasn't actually studying, he felt how sore his shoulders were, and his eyes blinked to stop themselves from drooping.

Ah, he really was exhausted.

"You'll take a break, right?" Karl asked, sincere and worried. "We just don't want you to overwork yourself; you're our friend, y'know? So- so you'll rest up for a while, right?"

"Yeah," Quackity sighed. "Yeah. I will."

"Alright. You should go drink some water, and get some food in you," Sapnap told him gently. "Do you still want us on the call? I'm free to talk whenever."

"Please."

"Alright, we'll be right here when you come back. Just take a break, Quackity; you've worked enough, for now. It's alright to take a break."

"Okay. Thanks for... telling me this, I guess. And helping me out."

"We're your friends; of course we'd help."

Quackity got up from his chair and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Despite the exhaustion that seemed so evident now, and the nagging worry at the back of his mind, he smiled, and went to grab some snacks and water before heading back to talk to his friends.

Maybe a break wouldn't be so bad after all.