In Between 'Hattan and Brooklyn || A Sprace Story

Chapter 103 - Race Gets to Walk Again (Ft. An Exasperated Specs)

- Chapter 103 - Somebody please see the part that looks like a My Fair Lady reference -
Warnings: injuries, exasperated/exhausted Specs, mentions of East Side, getting soaked/hurt, drugged, abuse, burns
Third Person POV

"You still need to be very careful and you aren't allowed to walk very far until you've-"

"Healed more, I know, I know." Race rolled his eyes fondly. "Just let me get up! I want to walk without that stupid crutch!" He grinned.

Specs raised an eyebrow at him. "Would you like to walk?"

Race pursed his lips. "Yessssssss."

"Then shut your trap and let me finish."

Race rolled his eyes fondly. He gestured as if to tell Specs to continue.

"As I was saying, you can't be very active—specifically, no running or long-distance walking—until you've healed more," Specs informed Race. "You have to get the okay from me or Cloth before you can do that stuff."

Race groaned. "Great."

Specs ignored him. "You also need to be super careful, and I mean this, Racer. I know you think you're unbothered by the cold, but you were seconds away from getting hypothermia and dying when you were pulled out of the water," Specs reminded him sternly. "You need to be super careful when you're out in the cold again, selling or just for fun. Your immune system is weak."

Race raised an eyebrow at him. "All of me is weak, what's the difference?"

Specs sighed deeply. "Racetrack."

Race sighed. "I hear ya, Specs," he muttered, playing with his curls.

Specs nodded. "Good." He paused for a moment, before sighing. "If you want... you can now try walking."

Race beamed. He instantly stood up, swaying a bit. "Woah." He grimaced. "That hurt more than I expected."

Specs shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "What a shocking realization," he muttered sarcastically to himself.

Race held onto the wall to keep himself upright, his eyebrows furrowed. "Why does this feel so hard?"

"Because you haven't walked in over a week without the crutch, and I don't know how much you walked in East Side," Specs answered. "You were carried to Central Park, remember?"

Race rolled his eyes. "Painfully," he muttered.

Specs pat his shoulder lightly. "It will get easier, I promise," he assured him. "Your body is just adjusting. Your knee is still wrapped in bandages."

Race looked down at his knee. "You'd think it would be stronger," he commented. "It's been stepped on before."

Specs paused. He looked at Race for a moment. "Race, I-" he stopped himself, taking a deep breath.

Race looked at him. "What? My body got used to the burns," he reminded him. "Why can't it get used to being stepped on?"

"Oh my god." Specs pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know what? You said you wanted to visit Spot and Snowflake, didn't you?" he questioned. "Let's go do that."