(Archived) Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

Cold Reception - Chapter 5

Warning: May contain fluff and puns

***

Warm... and soft.

Those were the first words that came to mind as Goth roused from unconsciousness. There was a soft beeping noise coming somewhere from his right side. It sounded a bit muffled... as if his skull was stuffed with cotton.

Where am I? I was... wasn't I outside before? It certainly doesn't feel like I'm on the cold ground anymore. It doesn't smell like I'm outside either... it's more along the lines of... disinfectant. A hospital, maybe?

Attempting to open his eyes didn't cause pain now, so there was that. Everything was still blurry and a little dark, but it was a marked improvement from the last time. An orangish-gold hue painted the room... it felt calming.

He shifted in an attempt to pull himself into a sitting position. Trying to sit up, however, proved to be too much. His arms weren't able to support his body's weight at all. Giving up, he eased back into the bedding with a quiet groan.

"Easy kiddo, you had a pretty rough day yesterday," a low voice broke the silence. 

That voice... 

"Dad...?" Goth croaked, his voice straining against the raw feeling in his throat to get the word out.

A blurry black and white blob on his right side... his dad leaned towards him. "Yup," came a soft reply, "You've nearly slept the day away. Had your mom, Palette, and I pretty worried for a while. Had me almost worried to death."

Goth frowned, guilt knotting in his chest... then he registered his dad's pun. He let out a breathy chuckle, and could practically hear the grin in his dad's voice as he continued, "It was a chilling experience. Definitely snow joke."

Goth couldn't suppress his quiet laughter as Reaper kept up his string of winter-related puns, "I was piste. But It looks like you're having an ice time now. 

"I'm really sleigh-ing you, huh? Guess you got more than you toboggan-ed for."

He only stopped when Goth's laughter devolved into a coughing fit, the noise harsh and grating in the otherwise silent room. Reaper brought his left arm forward to lift Goth's head up a bit, moving something away from his face and something else was placed in front of his mouth. 

A cup? Water?

He was proven right as his mouth opened and cold liquid trickled in. Once he was able to stop coughing long enough to get a few sips of water, the small skeleton was able to settle back down and calm his breathing. The water definitely helped to soothe his throat, at least.

The commotion prompted the sound of bone on bone contact. A slap, Goth realized. 

"Stop trying to kill our child with your jokes, Reaper," scolded a new voice. It warmed considerably as a white and red figure nudged the black and white one aside and leaned over him, "How are you feeling, honey? Does anything hurt?" A warm hand glided across the small skeleton's right cheek. He leaned into the touch.

"Tired... but m'alright, mom," he mumbled, his contented smile fading as something else came to him, "Oh, my eye... I can't... It's not..."

"The nurse said the crack next to your socket is probably disrupting the magic in your eye, so your eyes might not be able to focus properly right now," Geno interrupted him gently. Before Goth could become upset, the parent continued, "She also said as long as you don't strain yourself and get plenty of rest, you should be fine in about two more days at the most."