It'll Take Your Breath Away
Chapter. 9
Waking up to Meta's call has become normal for Bate during this very hectic week. He didn't bother trying to ignore the Puff and learned to accept it until the arrival of Alba this evening. A few hours felt so far away, but Bate was relieved that this may be the last time he'll be woken up like this. With the alarm now going off from the timer Meta received from Mends, Bate tiredly lifted his arm to show Meta he was getting up. Meta's been extremely strict with his schedule since the incident. He wouldn't dare let Bate sleep in not even a minute over without the constant reminder that he needs to take his medication on time. Meta took the instructions on his prescriptions quite literally, and Bate knew if he overslept, his student will start crying in hysterics.
"Teacherrrrr....." Meta's anxious voice called when he wasn't getting up.
"I'm up, I'm up...." He muffled into his pillow. Slowly pushing himself away from his bed to face Meta, he noticed the little warrior already had everything ready for him.
'Sweet Nova, he's just like Gordon...." He thought to himself as he reached for his peak-flow first. Meta already knew what to do right after, and handed him his notebook so he can record his reading after he blew into it. Meta peered over so he can take a peek once he wrote it down, and although he's unable to understand it, Bate gave a confident nod; giving him the reassurance that everything is fine.
"Or Ellie....or even Mends...." He replaced his previous thought and watch as Meta shuffled with the dozens of other items he placed on his bed. It was like he brought his entire medicine cabinet to him, and even with everything that's been going on this week, Bate couldn't help but crack a smile. He really was quite amusing when he wanted to be. While he didn't prefer Meta fretting over every little thing throughout the day, he did enjoy the smaller attempts at being helpful. Constantly waking him up wasn't one of them, but keeping him company was. Meta would always stay by his side until he was done; some sessions lasting over 15 minutes if he decides to use his nebulizer. The last time anyone really kept him company was when Ellie was alive, so it was a strangely pleasant, familiar feeling. He hoped once this was all over, he'd still keep him company from time to time.
"The orange one, Gumball." He spoke up when he saw Meta hesitating which inhaler to grab.
"I...I know..." Meta lied, picking it up to hand it to him.
"Sure you did." He slightly smirked when he saw how flustered the little warrior was getting. Meta quietly waited to make sure he took it before becoming fully content. Bate could clearly see he wasn't as anxious like before, and he watched as Meta crawled off the bed before toddling back to the living room....leaving Bate to clean up all the items Meta left on his bed.
Once everything was cleaned up, he took a few minutes to wash his face and brush his teeth before heading out to greet Gordon and Nonsurat who were in the living room. Gordon held several empty shopping backs while Nonsurat held a list he made last night.
"So, are you sure you'll be okay?" Gordon asked Bate as he and his student were preparing to leave to pick up several welcome gifts for Alba.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I've lasted the whole week, a few more hours won't kill me." He gave him a supporting smile. "You and Nonsurat have fun. I'll....be sure to get you if anything happens."
"Alright, then." He gave his friend a nod and motioned Nonsurat to follow him. "We'll be in the plaza if you need us. See you this evening." He waved.
Soon after, Meta appeared and gave a similar looked that mirrored Gordon. "Teacher.....I don't want you to be all alone."
With Arthur out of the house to meet up with Petta, Meta was unsure if he should leave his mentor all by himself. Arthur wasn't as weary like he once was, so he took it upon himself to watch over their mentor. What if something happens while he's gone? What if he needs his help?
"Gumball, I'll be fine." He softly chuckled. "You already promised you'd meet with Dragato and Cite today. Have fun, and I'll be here when you return."
"But-"
"No buts, now go." He lightly pushed the warrior to the door. After bidding farewell to his student, Bate headed to the living room to catch up on his reading. Atka sent him a newly published book she just finished, and he hasn't found the time to sit down to read it. Now that Meta's finally out of the house, he can finally relax and have some personal time to himself.
-----
"Thanks again for inviting us, Cite." Dragato spoke to the Squishy across from him. He dipped one of the brushes into the cup of blue paint as he began lightly dabbing the canvas he was working on.
"I...I...It's fine, Dragato." He smiled back as he mimicked the Puff and reached over to dip his brush in the paint too. He knew he and Meta loved to draw, so he figured it would be nice to spend the afternoon drawing together. They all went outside and picked the ocean as their subject. All three seemed to be having fun, expect Meta kept looking at a watch he brought with him for some reason.
"Hey, Meta, are you in a hurry or something?" Dragato piped up once he saw the warrior glance at the watch yet again. "You keep looking at that watch an awful lot."
"O-oh....i..it's nothing." Meta gave a weary smile, dismissing his question and picked up his brush to continue painting.
Dragato just shrugged it off, and went to finish the sky he was painting. When he heard a ringing sound on the watch go off several minutes later, he and Cite watched as Meta scampered off his chair, and frantically started to pack his things.
"A-aaah, I gotta go! Teacher needs me!!." He spoke, shoving his items in his backpack.
"H-huh? Why? Is he in trouble?" Dragato jumped off of his chair, equally worried when he saw how scared Meta was becoming.
"Hm! Yeah, I gotta hurry!" He stated, zipping up his backpack. While Dragato was about to start packing as well, Cite held out his hand to stop him. He shyly looked up at Meta and called out before he left.
"M....M...M-Meta. I...I don't think anything w-w..w-will happen to him....." He softly said, not used to intervening. "H...He knows how to t-t...take care of h-himself."
Dragato glanced at his friend, trying to piece together what he said. It seemed like Cite knew something he didn't. The Navy puff slouched his wings once he said that, and slowly turned around to face him.
"I know you m...m-must be worried. A-About the i..incident." He quietly spoke. "Ummm...h-he told me about it w-w..w-when I saw him y-yesterday. I saw what you p-p..p-put on his wings. You've....ummm...b-been very h...helpful....m-maybe a bit too helpful?"
"Wait...you mean that incident from last week?" Dragato ask. Cite nodded soon after, and the Puff looked at Meta with a troubled frown. Was he still scared of that?
"Meta, you can't keep bugging him about that. I don't think he likes it when you treat him like he's unable to care for himself. I, ummm.....sure he's glad you care about him, though, but that's like me getting worried about every little thing Teacher Ramset does. You can be helpful, but maybe not so much where it makes him feel uncomfortable. Trust me, Falspar did the same thing with Cite one time and none of us were particularly happy about it." Dragato spoke, trying to get him to stay with them. "How about we finish our paintings, and then you can head back home? I'm sure that's what he would want, right?"
"Yeah, I guess...." He mumbled, still not convinced. Would Teacher really be okay if he didn't remind him? But what if he forgot, or if he fell asleep? Arthur was with Petta and Teacher Gordon was out shopping. Maybe if someone was at home, he'd be okay, but....
"I, ummm...maybe next time." He declined their offer and made his was back to his house.
"O-oh, okay..." Dragato sadly waved back and looked at Cite who seemed equally disappointed.
"Teacherrrrr....." Meta's anxious voice called when he wasn't getting up.
"I'm up, I'm up...." He muffled into his pillow. Slowly pushing himself away from his bed to face Meta, he noticed the little warrior already had everything ready for him.
'Sweet Nova, he's just like Gordon...." He thought to himself as he reached for his peak-flow first. Meta already knew what to do right after, and handed him his notebook so he can record his reading after he blew into it. Meta peered over so he can take a peek once he wrote it down, and although he's unable to understand it, Bate gave a confident nod; giving him the reassurance that everything is fine.
"Or Ellie....or even Mends...." He replaced his previous thought and watch as Meta shuffled with the dozens of other items he placed on his bed. It was like he brought his entire medicine cabinet to him, and even with everything that's been going on this week, Bate couldn't help but crack a smile. He really was quite amusing when he wanted to be. While he didn't prefer Meta fretting over every little thing throughout the day, he did enjoy the smaller attempts at being helpful. Constantly waking him up wasn't one of them, but keeping him company was. Meta would always stay by his side until he was done; some sessions lasting over 15 minutes if he decides to use his nebulizer. The last time anyone really kept him company was when Ellie was alive, so it was a strangely pleasant, familiar feeling. He hoped once this was all over, he'd still keep him company from time to time.
"The orange one, Gumball." He spoke up when he saw Meta hesitating which inhaler to grab.
"I...I know..." Meta lied, picking it up to hand it to him.
"Sure you did." He slightly smirked when he saw how flustered the little warrior was getting. Meta quietly waited to make sure he took it before becoming fully content. Bate could clearly see he wasn't as anxious like before, and he watched as Meta crawled off the bed before toddling back to the living room....leaving Bate to clean up all the items Meta left on his bed.
Once everything was cleaned up, he took a few minutes to wash his face and brush his teeth before heading out to greet Gordon and Nonsurat who were in the living room. Gordon held several empty shopping backs while Nonsurat held a list he made last night.
"So, are you sure you'll be okay?" Gordon asked Bate as he and his student were preparing to leave to pick up several welcome gifts for Alba.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I've lasted the whole week, a few more hours won't kill me." He gave him a supporting smile. "You and Nonsurat have fun. I'll....be sure to get you if anything happens."
"Alright, then." He gave his friend a nod and motioned Nonsurat to follow him. "We'll be in the plaza if you need us. See you this evening." He waved.
Soon after, Meta appeared and gave a similar looked that mirrored Gordon. "Teacher.....I don't want you to be all alone."
With Arthur out of the house to meet up with Petta, Meta was unsure if he should leave his mentor all by himself. Arthur wasn't as weary like he once was, so he took it upon himself to watch over their mentor. What if something happens while he's gone? What if he needs his help?
"Gumball, I'll be fine." He softly chuckled. "You already promised you'd meet with Dragato and Cite today. Have fun, and I'll be here when you return."
"But-"
"No buts, now go." He lightly pushed the warrior to the door. After bidding farewell to his student, Bate headed to the living room to catch up on his reading. Atka sent him a newly published book she just finished, and he hasn't found the time to sit down to read it. Now that Meta's finally out of the house, he can finally relax and have some personal time to himself.
-----
"Thanks again for inviting us, Cite." Dragato spoke to the Squishy across from him. He dipped one of the brushes into the cup of blue paint as he began lightly dabbing the canvas he was working on.
"I...I...It's fine, Dragato." He smiled back as he mimicked the Puff and reached over to dip his brush in the paint too. He knew he and Meta loved to draw, so he figured it would be nice to spend the afternoon drawing together. They all went outside and picked the ocean as their subject. All three seemed to be having fun, expect Meta kept looking at a watch he brought with him for some reason.
"Hey, Meta, are you in a hurry or something?" Dragato piped up once he saw the warrior glance at the watch yet again. "You keep looking at that watch an awful lot."
"O-oh....i..it's nothing." Meta gave a weary smile, dismissing his question and picked up his brush to continue painting.
Dragato just shrugged it off, and went to finish the sky he was painting. When he heard a ringing sound on the watch go off several minutes later, he and Cite watched as Meta scampered off his chair, and frantically started to pack his things.
"A-aaah, I gotta go! Teacher needs me!!." He spoke, shoving his items in his backpack.
"H-huh? Why? Is he in trouble?" Dragato jumped off of his chair, equally worried when he saw how scared Meta was becoming.
"Hm! Yeah, I gotta hurry!" He stated, zipping up his backpack. While Dragato was about to start packing as well, Cite held out his hand to stop him. He shyly looked up at Meta and called out before he left.
"M....M...M-Meta. I...I don't think anything w-w..w-will happen to him....." He softly said, not used to intervening. "H...He knows how to t-t...take care of h-himself."
Dragato glanced at his friend, trying to piece together what he said. It seemed like Cite knew something he didn't. The Navy puff slouched his wings once he said that, and slowly turned around to face him.
"I know you m...m-must be worried. A-About the i..incident." He quietly spoke. "Ummm...h-he told me about it w-w..w-when I saw him y-yesterday. I saw what you p-p..p-put on his wings. You've....ummm...b-been very h...helpful....m-maybe a bit too helpful?"
"Wait...you mean that incident from last week?" Dragato ask. Cite nodded soon after, and the Puff looked at Meta with a troubled frown. Was he still scared of that?
"Meta, you can't keep bugging him about that. I don't think he likes it when you treat him like he's unable to care for himself. I, ummm.....sure he's glad you care about him, though, but that's like me getting worried about every little thing Teacher Ramset does. You can be helpful, but maybe not so much where it makes him feel uncomfortable. Trust me, Falspar did the same thing with Cite one time and none of us were particularly happy about it." Dragato spoke, trying to get him to stay with them. "How about we finish our paintings, and then you can head back home? I'm sure that's what he would want, right?"
"Yeah, I guess...." He mumbled, still not convinced. Would Teacher really be okay if he didn't remind him? But what if he forgot, or if he fell asleep? Arthur was with Petta and Teacher Gordon was out shopping. Maybe if someone was at home, he'd be okay, but....
"I, ummm...maybe next time." He declined their offer and made his was back to his house.
"O-oh, okay..." Dragato sadly waved back and looked at Cite who seemed equally disappointed.
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Artist Comment:
Date: N/A
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Date: N/A
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Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
