Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Legundo was in his house, checking to see if he had everything he’d need for the day before heading out. Vampires were real. Vampires were real and Avid had been right. He sighed. Now was not the time to dwell on that. He needed to prepare to go out and consecrate some-

Knock. Who was knocking at his door? Was it a Vampire? He took a breath. He couldn't afford the cost of paranoia. “Who is it?” He called, heading over to his door.

“Can I come in?” Ah, Abolish. There was an odd cadence to their voice that wasn’t usually there. Could they have been turned? Okay, calm down, Legs, get yourself together. Abolish was the least likely person to let themselves get turned.

Legundo opened the door. Abolish stood there, looking like they normally did. Same suit, tie, hair, gloves… the only difference was the eyes—which had some inexplicable emotion roiling in them—and their posture—which was more lax than usual.

“Are you okay, Abolish?” Legs stepped aside, gesturing for them to come in. Paranoia cost lives, and there was no real reason to suspect Abolish of anything. They may need help. They stepped inside, seeming slightly off balance, and stood leaning against a wall. Since when did they lean?

“Yeah, I just have this weird…” They trailed off, trying to find the word. “Headache, you could call it.” Legundo hummed.

“What do you mean ‘weird’?” The Doctor asked.

“Like… quicksand,” were the only words Abolish gave in response. What did that mean? Legs was starting to question just how ‘okay’ they were.

“‘Quicksand’?” Legundo echoed, trying to give Abolish the chance to explain themselves.

“I’ stuck. Moving… slowly. And words are hard to… grasp, I guess.” Slurred words, slow thoughts, off balance… Could it be a concussion? Hm…

“How aware are you of your surroundings?” He asked. He needed full confirmation.

“Everyf- thing. Everything is cotton fluff. But you, me, and… d- this house. Room. The room.” What was up with Abolish? Sure, they didn’t speak much, but Legundo was sure they could string together full sentences before. Not to mention the odd accent.

“Do you remember anything from before this ‘headache’?”

Abolish thought for a moment, staring at seemingly nothing. They definitely checked the boxes for confusion, dizziness, headaches, and concentration issues. “I wa- rather not. Seem too… big.” There was an uncanny amount of emotion in Abolish’s voice. The most Legs had ever heard of their emotions were mentions of anxiety in small, dark places and annoyance. This sounded like they were on the verge of tears.

“Did you hit your head or fall recently?” Legundo asked. He had to make sure.

“N-no. I’ fine.” Abolish didn’t sound very fine. They sounded and acted so far from their usual self. They sounded so emotional, and now they were hunched over slightly, playing with their thumbs. They looked like a scared wolf cub trying to hide from a predator.

“I need to ask again: are you okay? Tell the truth.”

“No. I’ sca’ed. I’ wonewy. No wan’ be hewe. Yo’we doctew. He’p me.” [No. I’m scared. I don’t wanna be here. You’re a doctor. Help me.] They moved off the wall, and, despite the fact that Abolish was only a handful of centimetres shorter than Legs, they seemed so small. It was something about the way they carried themselves, clinging to the Doc like he was a lifeline, maybe it was the softness of their speech, but they seemed almost childlike. 

Legundo felt a wet patch at the shoulder of his robe and realised. Abolish was crying. “Abolish. What’s wrong?” He asked. Something had to be very wrong for Abolish to be brought to tears.

“Wan’ hug. Wan’ Mowcan’. Dada know’ how make fear go away,” Abolish huffed out between sobs. The only words Legs could really make out were ‘hug’, ‘dada’, and ‘fear’. What the hell was happening?

“What do you need?” Legundo asked awkwardly. 

“Dada. Hug.” Legundo was pretty sure Abolish was an orphan. What the hell did they mean ‘dada’? 

“A… hug?” Abolish nodded weakly, still sniffling, and Legs awkwardly placed his arms around them. Abolish almost instantly softened, leaning all their weight onto the Doctor. Legs nearly fell back, but it was mostly out of shock. Abolish was surprisingly light. Also, again, what the hell was going on?

Abolish sighed. “Leg’ safe. You hug nice.” Despite his confusion and fear, Legundo couldn't help but feel slightly warm at that. Clearly, Abolish wasn’t okay at all, considering they’d never shown much emotion or even care before this, but everything seemed genuine. Like they truly believed everything they were saying. Legundo wasn’t safe. He’d killed. He’d hurt so many people. So why, why, did Abolish seem to trust him so much? It was too much.

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Abolish felt tired and fuzzy and they used to be scared. But the Doc was here, so they were safe. They were. Because the Doc was strong and scary but also kind. And scary was good when not at Abolish. So they were safe.

The Doc had brought them back to the house they’d woken up in. Apparently, Abolish was living here. There was silver inlaid into the wall. That wouldn’t be allowed back at home. Abolish didn’t really believe in Vampires (some small part of their consciousness reared its head at that, but it scared them, so they ignored it), but Morcant said they got hurt from silver. Why hurt people?

The room they were in was upstairs. All that was there was a bed. Downstairs had more. Why was this room so… empty? Nothing? Well, not nothing… The Doc was here. So it was safe.

“Abolish?” They looked up from where they sat on the bed. Their knees were at their chest and they were in a corner. They wanted to speak, but it would be wrong to heat the cold air passing through their throat with their voice. Out of sight, out of mind. Shadow Organisation and all that jargon. Instead, they tilted their head like a puppy. “How are you feeling?”

Well, they’d stopped crying when the Doc had hugged them. The Doc was warm and safe. Not quite like Dada, but no one could truly be. And now Abolish was in a house they owned. Apparently. In a room with only a bed and some creepy candles that reminded them of the church. It was kinda dark and cold. The Doc was across the room. Couldn’t they come closer?

“Can you talk? You haven’t since we left my house,” the Doc asked. Abolish shook their head slowly. Like, physically, they could. But it would be wrong. Like seeing a stained window and shattering it. Their side of the silence was unbreakable, at least not by force. 

“Are you in pain?” Why so many questions? The Doc had been doing this since Abolish had first decided to go for them for help. Just questions, questions, questions. It was like a quiz or a test. No, they were not in pain. Shut up. Abolish shook their head. “Good.”

Abolish was kinda hungry. If only they could ask for food. They wondered what was even in this place. They knew vaguely that this place was called Oakhurst and wasn’t even lived at. There were still broken buildings unbuilt. Why live here? There didn’t even seem to be any good soil.

Time ticked on, the air empty. Well, nothing was ticking. But the point still stood. Was there something to do? Like read, maybe? Abolish liked to read.

Hm… Why were they here again? If they thought back… Oh yeah. Their parents. They didn’t really know them anyway. Morcant was way better. 

What was the Doc doing? They’d gone downstairs now. Humans were kinda funny. Scuttling like ants. Abolish guessed that was kinda like how they were. Just moving. But not right now. And, speaking of, they had been sitting still far too long for their liking.

Would the Doc come back for them? Maybe not. It put a tiny cold stone in Abolish’s chest. They ignored the stone. If the Doc wasn’t here, that only gave them more freedom. Abolish wouldn’t do anything with it, because they were tired, and fluffy, and kinda stuck in place (that was called inertia, no? Wow, big word), but they could. It was the principle. 

Step, creak. Step, creak. This house was loud. Little yellow flames flickered in the corners of Abolish’s vision. Red candles. Like the church.

“I went outside and got wheat.” Abolish looked up at them. The Doc was confusing, but they were also methodical. They probably had a reason. “Crafted some bread. It’s not the good kind, but it’s what we have.” Abolish gasped and took a flat loaf from the Doc’s hand. 

The loaf was more of a disk. Light tan with some bubbles. It smelled plain. Boring. But not the bad boring. It was also familiar, so Abolish probably wouldn’t get ill from it. They didn’t like getting ill from new foods. New foods are bad. And this looked and smelled and felt familiar. Probably safe then.

The Doc chuckled. “Are you gonna eat it or just stare at it, Abolish? It’s safe, don’t worry.” 

Abolish stuck their tongue out at them. They weren’t worried. They just wanted to check. The Doc looked at them with a funny face. Maybe analysing or confused. It was something though. Abolish let out a laugh. A couple, quiet huffs. It wasn’t funny enough for loud giggles. “Are you laughing at me?” The Doc asked. Abolish couldn’t quite tell what their tone meant, but it was funny. 

“No…?” Abolish said, letting the word drag out like a question. The Doc looked at them sternly, almost like they were confused or maybe upset. It would’ve been a bad feeling, but Abolish chose to instead take a bite of the bread. Not their favourite taste or texture, but at least it was familiar. And it filled their stomach.

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Legundo watched as Abolish did… whatever they were doing. He was honestly still very confused about whatever happened to them, but food seemed to help a little. The butler (they claimed they weren’t one, but what kind of excuse is “I was raised by butlers”?) had found a string and was playing with it by wrapping it around their fingers. They seemed to be… knitting with it? In some way that didn’t require needles.

“Abolish?” Legs questioned, and the man looked up at him, their head tilted like a lost dog. When no reply came—it seemed that Abolish speaking was sparse today—the doctor sighed. “What are you doing?”

Abolish shrunk back a bit before smiling (it was odd to see such an expression on someone who was usually so stoic) and holding up their hands. They tugged at Legundo’s sleeve, pulling him to sit next to them, instead of across, as they silently showed everything they did slowly. Legs had no clue what he was watching, but considering how scared Abolish had seemed barely half an hour ago, it must be something good.

“M’ f’ng’s hur’…” Abolish mumbled, undoing their progress and throwing the string away. They huffed, glaring at the dropped string, and rubbed their eyes. Checking out a window, Legs noticed that it was still quite a bit before midday.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, wanting to see if they were doing any better than before. 

“Y’ talk ‘lot,” they muttered, propping their pillow on the wall and leaning back. Legundo huffed. That wasn’t really a response now, was it?

“And you barely talk at all,” he replied dryly.

“S’ut up. Talking bad.” They curled into themselves, hiding their face. What did that mean? Why was talking bad? Again, what was happening?

“Why,” he said, not really a question. Abolish let out some mix between a growl and a whine, peeking their eyes over their knees to glare at him. A moment of awkward silence before Legs started again. “So, do you wanna do something?”

Abolish sniffled (they had been crying?? Again??) and looked at him with watery eyes, seemingly wanting to say something, but holding back. Legundo took a deep breath. Whatever happened was bound to anyway, and he’d already got himself mixed up with it. Why back out now? Plus, he’d rather it—whatever “it” was—be him and not someone less caring. “Don’t worry, you can say it.”

Abolish’s eyes widened a bit, almost in awe. They stared for a moment before shaking their head. “I- can… can yous, uh… wan’ hugs.” They looked absolutely terrified, but there was a spark in their eyes—something akin to desperation.

…

Screw it. Legundo couldn’t turn down that look, especially from someone usually so cold. He held open his arms, watching as Abolish’s face formed into a watery grin. The man pushed themself off from the wall and into his grasp for the second time that day, but this time, Legs was prepared. He held him firmly, arms wrapped around their sides tightly, and let them lean fully into him, weakly hugging back.

Abolish hummed. “Mm… yous safe. Like you lots.”

…

Okay, it was worth it. Abolish was so endearing like this, whatever this was. It made Legs want to hold them forever, just so they could never get hurt again and- shit, maybe he was a little attached. Can you really blame him though? Here, in his arms, was the man who was usually the most put together person on the planet, softly crying and putting all their trust on Legundo, a murderer, a killer, a poisoner. The trust was so misplaced, so innocent… Legs was nearly crying too.

Fuck, what had he done to deserve this?

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Warm fluff wrapped around Abolish’s heart and their tears felt hot, not cold. Fear, anxiety, sadness, all that bad stuff was gone. Their memories of anything, good or bad, faded into the background, only this moment mattering.

No longer did this feeling feel slightly dangerous. It felt like home. The doctor felt like home. They snuggled further into the doctor’s chest, tears drying and heart swell, letting out a huff of air that was nearly a giggle. Smiling felt so good, they were just so happy they couldn’t help it. It was also way easier than frowning.

Abolish’s thoughts were broken up and stuttered like their spoken words, and it felt a lot better to just ignore them in favour of feeling the way the doctor rubbed their back. The way the doctor held them like they were a treasure.

The doctor said something that Abolish couldn’t really make sense of and their nose wrinkled. They decided to lift their head up and watch them so hopefully they could understand. The doctor was looking at them with such a soft and caring expression that Abolish could almost ignore the slight pain in their eyes. Almost. Because why on Earth would the doctor be sad? They shouldn’t be!

“Do you want to lay down?” The doctor asked. Good idea! Maybe if Abolish cuddled them, they could also feel this warm and fuzzy and wouldn’t have pain anymore. Abolish nodded excitedly, grinning at their plan. The doctor chuckled, a slight smile appearing on their face. Good. “Alright.”

The doctor shifted, Abolish having to (sadly) leave their hold for a moment while they lay down. After what felt like a bajillion years, the doctor held out their hand and took Abolish’s. “You look like a kicked dog.” They giggled—they weren’t a dog! Then they realised what the doctor was doing and Abolish grinned. Yippee! They crawled over to be on top of the doctor, grinning as their strong arms held them close again.

They sighed, settling down and snuggling into the doctor’s chest again. Abolish had never been so tired before, especially now, with both the physical warmth of such a safe person, but also with all the fluffiness. They sorta felt like they were all the way up in the sky on sun-heated clouds. 

“Are you comfortable?” Abolish giggled at the question, nodding. Of course they were! Who wouldn’t be when they felt so safe and cozy?

“Mm,” they hummed. “‘re hugs’re nice… yous so warm…” If they could purr, they would. They held the doctor’s robes tightly in their fists.

There was a silence—warm and safe and cozy, just like all things were—long enough that Abolish could’ve even fallen asleep in it. The two lay nearly perfectly still, the only movement their beating hearts, breathing, and the doctor’s hand rubbing their back.

Just as Abolish was nearly asleep, they heard the doctor say something and move. Were they trying to leave Abolish? They whined. “No. Stay.” The doctor sighed.

“Abolish, I need to-”

“Nu uh. No need anyfing. Jus’ be here.” The doctor sighed again, moving back to where they had been before. Good. They shouldn’t have even tried.

“You’re in the way,” the doctor said, their hand going back to soothing Abolish.

“Good. No ‘eave me,” they said again, snuggling even harder into the doctor’s chest.

“Got it. I’m not leaving,” the doctor said defensively. Abolish hummed and nodded, settling back down.

“Das good.”

Another long silence. Just beating and breathing and fluffy, fluffy clouds. Just as Abolish started drifting off, they mumbled, “yous gweat. I’s loves ‘ou.”

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Just as soon as Legundo could assume Abolish was asleep—truly asleep, not drifting off—he carefully pried the man off of him and tucked them in, heart beating scarily fast considering that there was no physical danger. Dangit. As quickly as he could, he removed himself from the situation. Deep breaths, Legundo. You have been through so much worse than some stupid emotions and… affection. 

For goodness sake! He was in the army, the front lines, for years! He knew what true fear was, what it meant when people say “kill or be killed” but still he felt so… overwhelmed, afraid, even, of the slightest bit of affection? From one person being uncharacteristically clingy? He needed to get a grip.

Legs left the house, grabbed his bag again, and went out on the road. “Oh, hey Doc! There ya are!” He turned to Pearl, who seemed excited(?) to see him.

“Hello, Pearl,” he greeted. Excluding her tendency of getting lost and wandering away, she was among the very few competent people in Oakhurst. Talking to someone was a good way of grounding, he supposed. “Did you need something?”

“No, not really. I was just a bit afraid ‘cause the town seemed so empty, y’know?” She adjusted the skirt of her dress, oscillating in place to see the cloth go back and forth. “With Martyn, Ren, and M out consecrating, the only company’s Avid, Drift, Apo, and Abolish. And, not to be rude, but none of them hold the best conversation. Except maybe Drift, she seems okay. Cleo went out who knows where, and usually they’re the one I go to, y’know? So, ‘m feelin’ a bit lonely.”

Legundo smiled slightly. Pearl being Pearl—she was very smart, but she never seemed to stop moving or talking, a neverending whirlwind. “Well, I was planning on going out and looking through the tombs for tomes,” Legs informed her. “If you stick with and don't run off, I wouldn't mind you joining.”

Pearl huffed and rolled her eyes. “I don't run off. I see stuff that could maybe help us—or the vampires—and go to inspect it.”

“...So you're saying that you get distracted and run off,” Legs repeated dryly. This was already a way more normal conversation than the one with Abolish. That one was- he had to stay focused.

Pearl scoffed and crossed her arms. Legs sighed. “You can come with, just let me know before you go to… inspect stuff.” She instantly brightened.

“Ooh! Adventure! Thanks, Doc!” She took her bag off and held it in her hands, bouncing excitedly. Legundo rolled his eyes and started off to the gate of Oakhurst, letting Pearl run to catch up, pointedly not thinking about Abolish.

———

When Legs got home that night, he went to his bed and sat down, muscles aching. It had been a long day of walking. Only walking. And no weird emotions. Nothing to do with Abolish. Nothing at all. He hadn't even thought of them since, actually.

…

Legundo groaned. Who was he kidding? He’d been thinking about what happened practically all day. Who wouldn’t, when someone like Abolish was so emotional around them?

They had cried, begged, and even been terrified of him. But even still, they had found it in them to giggle and cuddle and have fun. They had trusted him so wholly, so absolutely, that it was scary. A man like Legundo deserved none of that. Not a single bit. But Abolish had given him all of it.

The best way to describe how Legs felt was terrified. Terrified because he was undeserving. Terrified because he could so easily harm them. Terrified because this wasn't normal; wasn't something he had been trained on.

So how was he supposed to handle this overwhelm, this fear, this… love?

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Abolish woke up itchy. Had they fallen asleep in their uniform again? They really needed to get a hold on their sleep schedule. Just the other night, they’d slept on the bare floor because they somehow forgot a bed… Yeah, they could probably use a bit of help.

They cracked their eyes open and stared at the ceiling. The only light was a single candle—the rest had burnt out. Wait, had they left them lit while sleeping? In a wooden house? They really needed to calibrate.

Once the morning fogginess of their brain dissipated, Abolish groaned and sat up, rubbing their head. They stood up and blew out the last candle, only just realising how dark it was. Considering just how much of the lighting was natural, it was safe to assume that it was either late night or early morning. They sighed, changed into a new suit, and put the one they’d slept in on the rack to iron later.  Thank goodness they’d brought multiple with them.

As they headed out the door, they grabbed their pickaxe. If they were awake, they could be getting good work done for Oakhurst. Even without vampires being here (this was supposed to be an, admittedly quite grim, vacation, why was it becoming another mission?) silver was valuable. With how much there was around here, Oakhurst should be way more visited.

Heading into the woods to the less mined caves, Abolish noticed how low the moon was in the east, not the west. So it was just past sunset. How did Abolish feel so well rested? They sighed. What happened during literally any of yesterday? (Or was it today? This morning?) All they could remember was a vague joy and comfort, even the hazy memory more than they’d ever had. A gust of wind blew past them and they shivered, totally not because they were afraid of what that memory loss could mean. It was probably a dream anyway, with how hazy it was.

As they got to mining, Abolish began thinking. What could they actually remember? Happiness, safety, joy—all the positive emotions, really—with barely a sprinkle of fear. Beyond that, they were vaguely aware of Legundo being involved? 

As they tried to dig deeper, tried to figure out what could have happened, tried to pry the silver from the stone, their pickaxe broke. That was both literal and metaphorical, sadly, they both felt an odd amount of discomfort and fear around memories of yesterday, almost like a cactus shield protecting it, and the tip of their pickaxe chipped. How joyous.

Carefully schooling their expression to be neutral and getting back into the character they had created, Abolish went back to town to fix their pickaxe.

———

Shing! Shing! A silver knife was always good to have, but it had to actually be sharp. Abolish was in their ‘living room’ (a generous word for it) leaning against a barrel and sharpening their newly made knife when a knock came at their door.

“Abolish! Are you awake?” Legundo. A part of Abolish felt weird about seeing him. Like they were excited, which normally didn’t happen around anyone but maybe Morcant. But that was only on really bad days.

“Yeah,” they responded, sighing and putting down their whetstone, sheathing the half-sharpened knife and putting it in their boot. Anything was better than nothing. They opened the door and gestured for the doctor to come in. “Welcome to my… humble abode.”

Legs snorted. “Very humble. Practically nothing around.” He stepped in, raising an eyebrow at Abolish. “Are you sure you’re not a butler?” They sighed, shutting the door, and suppressed an eye roll.

“I’m not a butler. I just have manners.” Admittedly, their ‘welcome’ posture—one hand behind their back, the other open in a grand gesture—was something they had seen butlers do and imitated. And they wore the butler uniform. But come on, why did no one trust them when they said they weren’t a butler? “Why are you here?”

“I just came to check up on you. Make sure you’re okay.” Legundo sat on a storage container, looking at them with some mix of concern and curiosity. Abolish carefully controlled their expression, keeping it neutral, keeping the façade. 

“…I’m doing fine. And- and you?” Legs looked like he’d barely slept, but then again, nobody in Oakhurst had the best sleep cycles. Everything was stressful and it only got worse, so it made sense. Even Abolish barely slept, and when they did, it wasn’t good quality. Nightmares and stuff. 

“I-” He stopped himself, reconsidering his words. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” Oh no. Had Abolish messed up somehow? They had been so careful to stay in character. Or, maybe they had done something detrimental to the town. Not that that was much better, but still. “Would you rather do it here or out of town?”

“Here.” Abolish’s house was two things the woods weren’t: private and vampire protected. If they were going to be scolded, they’d rather it be here.

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Abolish looked just as put together as ever, wearing a (presumably new, considering that sleeping in clothes usually wrinkles them) perfectly ironed suit. Their posture was back to the normal, servent-esque (or maybe even soldier-esque, although that wouldn’t make sense with their background) stance it always was. They seemed just as nonchalant and emotionless as normal. Almost as if nothing had happened. 

Legs took a breath. “Do you remember anything from this morning?” He asked. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to be told. On the one hand, if they did, that meant that they were purposely going right to shutting him down instead of talking, which was both unhealthy for Abolish and very heartbreaking for Legundo. On the other, Abolish not remembering would imply that it was either not a big deal, that it had been a really strange and disturbing dream, or that Abolish had memory issues, and all of those were concerning and/or terrifying in their own right.

Abolish looked at him, and their face was a nearly convincing façade of blankness. It probably would’ve fooled Legs too, before earlier. But now, Legundo could recognise a bit of fear in their eyes, mixed with a pinch or two of… something positive. (He wouldn’t dare name it love.) “I… know something happened,” Abolish said cryptically. “But I- I unfortunately can’t… quite… remember what.” Okay. Both options were bad, but this was the worse one.

“What can you tell me about what happened?” Legs asked, trying to remain professional even as his heart rate climbed. Abolish stared at him again, as if trying to solve a puzzle.

———

Abolish’s mind was screaming. Just tell me whether it’s good or bad, please! How should I respond? They carefully maintained the mask, trying not to let the glass crack. There were stress points now, though, and they weren’t quite sure how long it would hold.

“I remember it involved you,” they said simply, leaving out any incriminating evidence, just in case it had been bad. They kept their tone neutral– hell, they’d even gone so far as to intentionally smooth out their stutter. Abolish had to be careful. Every word—every action—was another step on already cracked glass. Anything could finish the job.

“Were you… happy?” The glass cracked beneath their feet, and Abolish crumbled.

———

Legundo watched as Abolish’s mask cracked. They leaned back, pushing themself up a bit to sit on the barrel they were next to. Their face, while still looking more neutral than most people’s, had practically a million more tiny microexpressions, like a furrow between their brows and a slight frown. Legs would’ve almost been afraid that whatever episode had happened last night had happened again, but could feel that wasn't true.

“I was, doctor, I was,” Abolish said. “And… I don't remember all the details, but I- I know you were at least… part of the reason why.” Legs let out a shaky exhale.

“It was a lot, I’ll be honest, Abolish–” their face fell a bit, and they seemed almost afraid– “but it wasn’t bad. Just… overwhelming.” He added, hoping that could soothe some of their worries.

“I- I hope I… caused no… problems.” The way they said problems was strange, and likely had some hidden meaning behind it, but all Legs could think about was that Abolish was so afraid of affecting someone.

He chuckled. “It was fine. I’m more worried about you, Mister ‘Totally fine’.” Abolish rolled their eyes.

“I’m fine, doctor, no need to panic.” Legs had many doubts about the validity of that statement. He decided not to comment on it, though. He’d already got Abolish comfortable enough to let their façade fall, he couldn't push too far.

He huffed. “Alright, but if you need me, don't hesitate to come. And don't stop me from trying to help you.” They were a bit like Owen in that sense. Stubborn, always refusing help.

“...What- whatever you say, doctor.” Abolish thought for a moment, their eyes wandering. They mimed snapping their fingers (they always wore those gloves, they made it impossible to actually snap) and looked at the doctor sharply. “In return, I will pro- I’ll protect you in battle… I know well you are capable, but I doubt you’ve fought a vampire before.” 

As Legundo tried to cut in with a “you haven't either,” Abolish stood up and moved towards him, leaned in, and whispered. “I have. With years of training.” They leaned back, a playful grin on their face.

Legundo had a million questions, but all Abolish did was go back into character, face neutral again. “A new… tome?” They said, and Legs had the impression that this would never be brought up again.