Chapter Text
1:30am
dragona sat on the couch, their sleep-deprived eyes glued to the television in front of them. the last couple of days had been a bit hectic.
their mother had to leave on a week long business trip to the mainland, which left them as their brother's guardian until she got back. along with that, the weather in honolulu was at its worst. it was rainy season.
it brought high winds and above average amounts of rain. adding to that, dragona wasn’t too fond of the thunder and lighting, and having to deal with the debris left behind after each storm. they and their family had been in hawai’i for a while at this point, but rainy season was something that dragona still had to get used to.
*SCREECH*
“what the fuck….” dragona stirred from the nap they had slipped into, muting the program they were (weren’t) watching. they sat still, trying to hear what exactly was going on. they heard the rumble of a truck, then after a few, the sound of its engine shut off.
dragona bolts off of the couch, and grabs the baseball bat that their mother kept in the umbrella stand near the door. according to her, it has come in handy on several occasions in the past. they keep it close, walking up to the door, placing their free hand on the knob.
“who is it?” dragona asks, trying to keep their voice quiet as their brother was asleep just down the hall. no answer. they decide to try again, this time a tad bit louder. “hello?”
“dragona…p-please open the door.” dragona immediately recognized the voice, despite how rough the winds were blowing. they scrambled to undo all of the locks on the door, swinging the door open. paco.
“paco!” they said in shock, opening the storm door so they could step outside. it’s almost 2 am…what are you doing here?” dragona asked, shutting it behind themself. they look down, and immediately goes to tighten the robe they were wearing. they weren’t wearing much, only extremely short shorts and a tshirt. “why didn’t you call me? and you drove here during a storm?”
“i know. ‘m sorry.” paco let out, his voice a bit hoarse. he grips the strap of his backpack, his knuckles turning white. “may i please come in? i don’t have anywhere else t’ go.”
dragona begins to open their mouth, but slammed it shut when the sky lit up, followed by a loud boom. they immediately grab paco by his wrist, forcefully pulling him inside.
paco stands awkwardly in the middle of the living room, his eyes staring down at the hardwood floors. dragona was standing with their back pressed to the door, still trying to process what was going on. in the years they had known him, they had never seen him like this.
“so, what happened? do you want to talk about it?” they asked, hoping paco would at least give them some understanding of what was going on.
“no.” paco replied flatly, refusing to make eye contact. “may i sit down? everything hurts. ‘nd ‘m cold…”
“oh, um…sure. let me grab some blankets first. hold on.” dragona goes to the junk closet, rummaging around in it for a bit before pulling out two blankets. they walk up to paco, wrapping one around him. in reaction to being touched, he jumps a little, looking at dragona with an expression of pure fear.
“hey now…i’m not going to hurt you.” dragona slowly lifted up paco’s head, so they could get a full look of his face. he was covered in cuts and bruises, two very deep looking ones on his cheek and lip. his eyes were also bloodshot red, and he had dried snot under his nose. “oh my god….” dragona whispered, turning paco’s head a little to see any other wounds.
“….please stop. it hurts when you do that.”
“i’m sorry. can i clean those up for you? i promise you’ll start feeling better.” they hold a hand out, hoping he would grab onto it. after standing there for what seemed like forever, paco eventually took a hold of it, albeit with a bit of a weak grip.
they led him down the hall and into the bathroom, turning on the lights. dragona crouched down, rummaging around in the cabinets, pulling out a large white box. “i have a bit of experience with first aid. i patch up jojo more than i’d like to admit.” they said, hoping it would brighten the mood, just a smidge.
“i believe it.” paco mumbled as shrugged his backpack off, letting it fall to the ground. he then takes a seat on the toilet lid, pulling the blanket closer around himself.
“it’s only saline, but it still might sting a little.” dragona brings the rag to the huge cut on paco’s cheek, gently patting the area around the wound. the other man hisses, squeezing his eyes shut.
“ow ow ow!” he whined, swatting dragona’s hand away moments later.
dragona lets out a small sigh, deciding to leave that cut for last. they didn’t want to stress paco more than he already was. they moved to patch up his hand, which was only scraped up, so not as bad as his cheek and lip. “none of these look like they need stitches, which is really good.”
paco didn’t respond at that, his gaze turned at the floor. he sniffled a bit, pulling the blanket closer around himself. dragona sighed once more, continuing to work on his wounds the best they could. the silence between them eating at them alive.
after what seemed like forever, the other began shifting in his seat. “me and my dad got into it again.” paco let out a long, shaky sigh. he tucks his hair behind his deformed ear, it surprisingly staying in place. “it started when he came home from work. i could smell the alcohol the moment he walked in. it was all just his usual drunk bullshit at first but…he…started saying shit about my mom that wasn’t true. he knew none of it was true. then he started throwing fucking beer bottles at me,” he stops briefly, pointing at the cuts on his cheek and lip. “that’s how i got these. then calling me names and slurs and saying that he wishes i never existed a-and…and..”
“slow down, honey.” dragona places a hand on his chest, taking a note at how fast he was breathing. they immediately remembered the breathing techniques his yoga teacher taught them. they take both of paco’s hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. “look at me. you need to breathe. or you’re going to make yourself sick. we don’t want that. watch me, then you try.” dragona did a couple of the breathing exercises, slow enough so the other could catch on.
paco looks up, tears streaming down his cheeks. he simply nodded his head, but instead broke down. dragona’s heart broke at this. they were so used to seeing paco as this quiet, stoic and just an overall coldhearted man. but seeing this entirely different side of him made them feel odd. they wrapped their arms around him, pulling him into a tight, comforting embrace. the duo sat there for a while, dragona rubbing soothing circles on the others back as he cried. they could tell that he needed to let it out, years of pent up sadness and anger all coming out at once.
after a while, he began to calm down, using the breathing techniques he was taught moments before. “good job, love. now, tell me about your mom.” dragona slowly pulls away from the hug, taking a bit to gently wipe at the mess of eyeliner on paco’s face. there was still a lot left around his eyes, but they’d tackle that later.
paco pulls away from them, using the blanket to wipe the remaining tears away from his eyes. “my mamá…she got deported back to argentina. the whole thing was messy. my d- that man lied to the judges about her, which is why he got custody of me. to spite her, pretty much.” paco breathes in, sharp and shaky. he looks down at his bandaged knuckles. he makes a fist, then stretches it back out.
“do you want to go back to argentina?” dragona asks, cutting a piece of gauze to properly fit over the cut on paco’s cheek. “move there, maybe?” “to see my mom, yes. i haven’t seen her in person for nearly 6 years. facetime doesn’t do her beauty any justice.” dragona smiled at that. “as for moving there, no. so much is going on there with the government and whatnot so it’s just not a smart idea. hawai’i is my home.”
“good to know you’re not leaving me.” dragona takes a bit to realize what they had said, clearing their throat. they go to cut one last piece of medical tape, using it to secure the gauze on paco’s cheek. “there! you’re all patched up. i’ll take a look at everything again later just to make sure there’s no infection.” they put away the first aid kit, moving to wash their hands. “are you hungry?” they asked, looking back over to paco.
“n-,” as if on cue, his stomach begins to make noises, cutting him off mid reply. he looks up at dragona with a sheepish grin.
“i guess that answers my question.” dragona laughed, standing in front of the other, offering a hand. “is leftover alfredo okay? it’s the only thing i can make without burning it.”
“that’s fine. i’m down for anything other than the shit my dad’s house. i’m tired of instant ramen.” paco stands up, using the counter as additional support.
“sounds good. go make yourself comfortable in my room.” they nod their head in the direction of the hallway. “it’s the first door on the left.”
paco nodded, slowly waddling out of the bathroom.
dragona cleaned up the mess they had created, taking note to do a deep clean before their mother came back. they sigh, taking a moment to look at themselves in the mirror. their own eyes were bloodshot, full of nothing but pure exhaustion. they were running on literal fumes.
they turn on the sink, splashing the coldest water they could tolerate onto their face. it definitely woke them up, just a little. enough to help them last a while longer.
they make their way into the kitchen, not even bothering to turn on the lights. the nightlight their mother kept on at all times had the room illuminated just enough so they could quickly prep paco’s plate. at the last second, they decided to make themselves one.
and a cup of tea wouldn’t hurt either. they had some chamomile tea that they had gotten from the market earlier that week. they had been meaning to try it, and now was the perfect time. hopefully it would help them both sleep.
when they come back, they saw that paco had indeed made himself comfortable. he was now in dry clothes, a pair of grey sweats and a red tshirt. one that just so happened to hit every curve of his muscles. his wet ones were in the hamper by the closet, but dragona didn’t mind that too much, they had to do laundry later on anyways. he had also thrown his hair into a messy bun, another thing dragona had never seen before. “i see you’re comfy.”
paco nodded. “i used some of your makeup remover to get the rest of the eyeliner, it was starting to burn my eyes.” paco says, rubbing the back of his neck. “and i didnt know where else to put my clo-”
“paco, please,” dragona starts, letting out a little chuckle. “it’s fine. i promise.” they walk over to their bed, setting the platter down so they could climb up into it. they hand paco one of the teacups, and one of the plates. “i hope you like it.”
paco stares into the teacup, then gives it a quick sniff. he scrunches his face up. “what’s this? it smells…like sweet grass water.”
dragona snorts, unsure of what to say at that. “... it’s chamomile tea, with some honey. it naturally helps with anxiety. so it basically will help you calm down so you can sleep.” dragona takes a sip of their own tea, setting the cup on the nightstand.
“sleep sounds amazing right now.” paco took a small sip of the drink, flinching a little. “damn that’s fucking hot. dios mio.” he sets his own cup down, sticking the tip of his tongue out.
“that’s why you blow it, dumbass.” dragona takes a bite of their food, using their hand to cover their mouth. “was it good though?”
“it was aight.” the blonde goes in for another sip, this time around making sure to blow it. he seemed to enjoy it now, finishing most of the cup in a couple of more sips.
they ate in silence, the occasional scrape of forks being the only noise. paco eventually broke the silence, clearing his throat. “thank you for everything.” he suddenly pulls dragona into a side hug, giving them a light squeeze.
“oh, no worries.” dragona sets their now empty plate down onto the bed, so they could fully return the gesture. they caught the smell of his cologne, a powdery smell. it was comforting.
“huh, i didn’t know you and paco were like that.” a sleepy jodio was standing at the doorway, rubbing at his eye. dragona swore they had shut their bedroom door.
“jodio!” dragona pushes away from paco, harder than they intended to, the blond man nearly falling off of the bed.
“mmhmm, it’s me, in my fnaf pajamas..” jodio steps out of the darkness, appearing in front of dragona’s bed. he stands up on the mattress, as if he were about to start jumping on it. “if i remember correctly, mom specifically said no one was to come over while she wasn’t here.”
dragona raised an eyebrow at their little brother, sitting up completely straight. they knew exactly where this was about to go. “jodio, i swear to god.”
“i’m about to snitch! you broke the rules.” jodio says in a condescending tone. he already had his phone out, dialing their mother’s phone number. his finger lingered over the call button.
“oh for fucks sake! if you keep this between us i’ll buy you those new jordans that come out!”
a shit eating grin began to spread across jodio’s face. dragona wanted to punch him in the face badly. “oh yeah? you promise?”
“yes! and i’ll even let you skip school today to go get them! now please go back to bed and leave me alone!” jodio lets out one of the evilest cackles dragona has ever heard. he jumps off of the bed, skipping towards the bedroom door. he stops when his eyes catch onto something else.
“can i have a pack of fruit snacks?”
“take the entire fucking box! now go to bed or you’re getting locked out!” dragona bends down to grab one of their crocs, chucking it in the direction of their brother's head. jodio lets out a screech, shutting the door just in time.
paco burst out into a fit of laughter, which was short lived when dragona lightly punches him in the chest.
“ow! what was that for?!” paco places a hand where dragona had punched him, his lips forming into a pout.
“for you laughing at my kid brother attempting to blackmail me!” dragona couldn’t help but to laugh at how childish they sounded.
the laughter arose again, dragona becoming addicted to the sound of it. however it all ceased soon afterwards, the two of them drowned in silence once again that night.
“you’re really pretty.” paco said out of the blue, followed by a lengthy yawn. the tea was definitely beginning to work its magic. “i like you a lot.”
oh.
“o-oh? really?” dragona really didn’t know what to do with that piece of information. they had begun to get very warm, their cheeks turning pink.
“mhmm. so…so pretty.” paco pulls back the duvet, slipping down into the soft, silky sheets. “so soft…” he whispered, turning a few times until he found a spot that was comfortable.
dragona decides that this was a perfect time to gather all of the dishes, so they could take them to the kitchen. they needed a moment to process what they had just heard.
paco likes them? did he mean it? no, he couldn’t have meant it. the man was half asleep for fucks sake! dragona liked him too, but he maybe he was speaking out of tiredness. right? they wanted to wait until later to address it.
not wanting to deal with said dishes, they rinse them off, placing them into the dishwasher and starts the cycle. jodio can put them away later. they just wanted to sleep at this point.
when they come back, paco had fallen asleep, a soft snore coming from under the blankets. his normal intimidating appearance was replaced with a much more relaxed one. he looked…peaceful for a change.
dragona couldn’t help but to smile softly at the sight. they felt as if they could rest easy knowing that paco was alright. they carefully shut the door, making sure the lock was on just in case jodio tried to pull any more of his stunts. they turn off the lights, going to slip under the covers.
they had to push paco out of the way just a bit though, as he had started to migrate to the other side of the bed. he didn’t stir, thankfully. the man was out cold.
“he’s such a rock.” they mumbled, pulling the blanket over themselves. they turn to face paco, taking in on how handsome the other looked in the moment. “goodnight.” they place a brief kiss on his injured cheek.
they were so tired they didn’t even realize what they had done. they were too far gone into sleep themselves.
。。。。。。。。。。
second part will be posted soon! still have to edit it and whatnot :v even though this was kind of rushed i hope you all enjoy!!! <3