.•What Once Was•. (vixreader)

Trying.

TW: Mentions of PTSD.

When you finally made it back to the Undercity and in the comfort of people that were not dangerous, you made sure the others were okay.
Scar only had a few bruises, and Ekko fortunately had been unscathed.
But it had not been a successful mission.
You'd lost a handful of people, people who had families built within the community.
They were friends, and each time you'd lose another person, your heart chipped.
You ran a hand over your face, the feeling heavy within your heart as you processed the loss of those who gave it their all.

And amongst that heavy feeling of sorrow, you felt frustration. You turned to Ekko, looking at him incredulously.
"What the hell were you thinking, Ekko?! Going in after her? You could've gotten yourself killed!"
You seethed, looking at him with a dumbfounded expression.
"Time and time again, I've told you, stick to the goddamn plan-"
A heavy huff left your lips, your shoulders tense and your heart thundering rapidly within your chest.

"It was out of anger, okay?! She's just-"
He paused abruptly.
His eyes landed on your side, finally noticing the blood seeping through your clothes from the injury you neglected.
You looked up at him, confused, before following his line of sight and glancing down at your torso.
A curse left your lips, and you were quick to place your hand over the graze in attempts to hide it, stupidly enough.
His eyes widened as realization hit.
"You got shot? Fuck, Y/n, this isn't something small to ignore! I'll go get the bandages-"

"Grazed! I got grazed. And you stay where you are. Do not. I can do this myself, I don't need you helping me."
You spat, almost too blunt, before heading over to your room to get the bandages.
Pain erupted from your side as you continued walking, but you did your best to ignore it.
Weakness was unnecessary, and you'd learned over the years to try your best to never succumb to it.
You could still hear Ekko's footsteps trailing along after you, desperately trying to get you to stop.
But even though you were injured, you were still quicker.
You slammed open the door to your room and went to your cabinet, crouching down to open the last drawer.

A hiss of pain left your lips, the wound flexing open upon your action. You could only grumble, rummaging  through your supplies as quickly as possible before Ekko tried to stop you.
You grabbed alcohol, a stray towel, bandages, and a thread and needle. Plopping down onto your mattress, you spread out the supplies onto the area next to you, before tending to yourself.
You'd only just begun to disinfect the wound when Ekko walked in, slightly panting.
"Damn, you're fast."
He whispered, doubling over as he tried to regain his bearings.
You ignored him, patting down the area with the doused cloth before setting it aside.
Your fingers took ahold of the thread and needle, pulling the thin twine through the hole and tying it up.

"Let me help, if you do it by yourself it'll end up being wonky. At that rate, it'll take forever for it to heal." He stated as he walked your direction, but you stopped him in his tracks.
"I told you that I don't need your help, okay? I'm the one who should take care of you, not the other way around. So if you excuse me, I'm going to do this by myself."
His brows furrowed at your comment.
"Is that how you think it's supposed to be? You're wrong, Y/n. We help each other out, that's how its supposed to work."

You ignored him yet again, poking the needle through your skin. You couldn't help the small grunt of pain that left you, your hands beginning to shake as you closed up the gash.
He scoffed.
"Why don't you ever let me help you, huh? Over these past seven years you have never resorted to
me for it. Never,"
He began, exasperatedly looking down at you.
"Not when I hear you awake at night because of your nightmares, not when you get injured, not even to talk about your troubles! This isn't right. It's not healthy for you to be doing this, shutting yourself out."
You stopped the suturing and looked up at him.