![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Hidden
Fandom: Gokaiger
Characters/Pairings: Marvelous/Joe/Luka/Ahim/Don/Gai
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Gokaiger. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: While on vacation Joe accidently has a drink that manifests the injuries he receives during a nightmare.
A/N: Written for estelraca for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
hurtcomfortex.
Hidden:
Joe is trying to enjoy the vacation Marvelous had talked everyone into. Marvelous is still trying to pretend this is Gai’s idea, but Joe overheard Marvelous tell Gai about this planet and its wonderful retreat spots and of course Gai latched onto the idea. At least if they’re getting Gai to explore a world that’s not Earth it’s a kind one meant to teach new skills and encourage relaxation. Still, Joe feels restless. There’s an itch under his skin and a sadness he can’t seem to shake. He also doesn’t miss the way everyone is careful with him at breakfast. It’s difficult to stay distracted after, even though Marvelous keeps suggesting activities.
Lunch with Don and Gai is pleasant mostly because Gai keeps trying to be more exaggerated and over the top. Then Gai lets him know that he and Don have signed up for a class.
“You can join us,” Don offers.
Gai nods enthusiastically. “Or I’m sure Luka and Ahim wouldn’t mind if you joined them.”
Ahim and Luka are taking a guided hike to a tea shop that overlooks the valley. It sounds pleasant. Joe shakes his head. He’s been trying to ignore that he’s been tired since he woke up this morning. He checks the time. “I think I’ll join Marvelous for his daily nap.”
Gai starts to make a joke about neither of them getting much sleep and Don shushes him. It’s Don shushing Gai that solidifies for Joe that today is important and they’re trying to keep him distracted. He’s partway to their rooms when Ahim and Luka call him to invite him along. They’re kind when he says he wants a nap, no teasing from Luka, just understanding. So instead of brushing his teeth and changing into sleep clothes to join Marvelous Joe finds the nearest computer and looks up the date. He frowns at it and then has the computer change the date to Earth time. There are few events he remembers the Earth date for, but all of them are significant. Joe stares at his answer feeling lost. It’s been a year since he killed what remained of Sid.
His face feels suddenly wet and Joe reaches up with trepidation. He’s crying. Joe tries to head to the nearest bathroom with the intention of cleaning his face, but sits back down heavily. He’s crying and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. Joe doesn’t understand. He’s already grieved Sid. He grieved when he realized there wasn’t enough of Sid left to save, that he couldn’t be saved. He grieved the man who saw greatness in him. He grieved the man who sacrificed himself so that Joe to could live. He grieved that man that was turned into a tool that could no longer be himself. And then he’d ended what was left of Sid. It’s what Sid would’ve wanted. Sid wouldn’t have wanted his skills and ideas to keep being used like that. Joe grieved after too. And now it’s been a year and here he is grieving again.
Marvelous says something low, probably sympathetic or maybe something meant to distract, but Joe doesn’t catch it. Marvelous’ arms wrap him slowly and then he’s guided into the nearest bathroom. Marvelous sets the lid of the toilet down and guides Joe to sit. Joe attempts to swipe at his tears when Marvelous steps out of the room, but it doesn’t seem to help. Marvelous turns the sink on, then squats down and squeezes his hands. Joe manages to take a slow breath that not tinged with grief and anxiety.
“Do that again,” Marvelous instructs.
Joe wants to make an annoyed noise at him.
Marvelous grins slightly. Joe huffs, but takes another long, slow deep breath.
“Better,” Marvelous praises.
It takes a moment, but the tears seem to slow. Marvelous turns off the sink, wrings out a washcloth and then steps over Joe’s legs to he’s got them between his. He takes Joe’s chin in one of his hands and Joe lets his head be tilted just slightly. The washcloth is warm, but not too hot, as Marvelous uses it to wipe the last of the tears away. It’s all slow and careful movements. It’s lulling and Joe lets himself shut his eyes. The washcloths moves away and then a soft towel is being patted gently against his face to soak up the moisture. When he’s done Marvelous kisses him. It’s a soft, brief kiss, but reassuring.
“Do you want me to call the others?” Marvelous offers.
Joe shakes his head. “No. Let them have fun.”
“They can do those things on other days,” Marvelous points out.
“I came back to take a nap with you,” Joe counters. He’d, at this moment, kind of rather hide his face in the nearest corner, but Marvelous is still standing over him, gently holding his chin. “Another kiss would be nice though.”
Marvelous smirks, but then gives Joe his kiss. It’s gentle and brief again, but then Marvelous lets him up and stays nearby as Joe brushes his teeth. Marvelous asks if he wants to change. Joe shakes his head. Marvelous takes his hand and leads him to the room with the biggest bed, the one that fits all of them, and Joe suspects is the reason that this suite was booked.
It takes a moment of deciding, but eventually Joe ends up with his head on Marvelous’ chest. He falls asleep to the sound of Marvelous’ heartbeat.
*
Marvelous wakes up when Joe rolls away from him with a noise of distress. He presses the button on the nightstand that will bring the lights up gradually hoping that’ll help Joe wake up. He frowns at the bruise on Joe’s upper arm. He’s sure that wasn’t there when they went to sleep.
“Sid!” Joe calls out.
“Joe,” Marvelous tries, hoping to get his attention, but Joe just makes another noise of pain and twitches. Joe’s hands reach out and Marvelous catches them squeezing. “Joe wake up!”
Nothing. Joe is clearly distressed. Marvelous frowns as he watches a bruise blossom from nothing on Joe’s shoulder. He releases Joe’s hand and sprints from the room intent on calling Don. He needs a doctor’s advice, because sudden bruising isn’t actually possible, is it?
Ahim and Luka are drinking tea and watching a program when he makes it into the common area. Luka immediately stands. Ahim reaches up and takes Luka’s teacup and place it on the table in front of them, before she asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Joe’s having a nightmare,” Marvelous informs them.
Luka looks at him skeptically. “And that’s got you running from the room?”
Ahim sets her teacup down and starts to move towards the bedroom.
“No, he’s developing bruises,” Marvelous defends.
Ahim hesitates in the doorway, but only briefly before she’s running towards the nearest bathroom. “He’s bleeding.”
“Call Don,” Marvelous tells Luka as he starts to turn back towards the bedroom. Thankfully at that moment Don and Gai trip their way back into the room. Don frowns as he looks past Marvelous. Ahim is running back into the bedroom with the medkit. Don rushes to follow her. Marvelous manages to get into the room before Luka and Gia accidently meet each other at the door. Gai steps back to let Luka in.
Joe is still laying on the bed, sweaty and moaning. Ahim is pressing a bandage to a cut on his wrist. Don is opening the cabinet with the computer/TV, then seems to be looking something up on it. Don rushes out of the room. Marvelous follows as Don makes a quick call using the resort line. When he hangs up Don moves to make sure their door is open then rushes back to the bedroom.
“You know what this is,” Marvelous grumbles. He wants answers. He’d prefer to already have answers.
“The drink Joe had a lunch,” Don informs them. “For some people it can lightly physically manifest dreams. They assume you’ll have good dreams here.”
“He’s bleeding,” Luka protests.
“This is an extreme reaction,” Don agrees. “One of the medical staff is on the way with medication that should reverse the affects.”
“He’s having a nightmare about Sid,” Marvelous informs them.
“You mean he could be grievously injured from a nightmare,” Ahim worries.
Marvelous lets himself sit down on the bed and takes Joe’s hand.
“Gai,” Don instructs, “Can you go to the door and guide them in here?”
Gai nods and rushes out. Marvelous lets himself squeeze Joe’s hand and tries not to worry as he takes in the distress on Joe’s face, the tense way he’s holding himself while dreaming. Luka bounces on her toes. Don takes over bandaging Joe’s arm. Ahim stands to wrap an arm around Luka, who stops bouncing and makes a noise of distress.
“I’m going to want to know what drink this is so I can avoid it,” Luka insists.
“It shouldn’t affect you,” Don says quietly. “I already checked all of us. It’d only affect me and obviously Joe. I should’ve looked these things up before we landed.”
“It should come with a warning label,” Marvelous mutters.
“It’s part of the welcome package,” Ahim says. “A list of the food and drinks, how they can affect people, and a place to list allergies or requests not to be offered certain things. It’s extremely long and detailed Don, you shouldn’t blame yourself for missing one thing.”
Don grimaces. Ahim lets go of Luka to give him a hug. Don leans into it. Joe grumbles in his sleep. Marvelous frowns as another bruise blooms on Joe’s cheek. He wants to snap at Don that help is taking too long. He tries not to think about how poorly some of those battles against Sid went.
Gai comes back into the room with a women in a white shirt with a medical symbol stitched onto her sleeve. She got a med kit with her. She listens to Don, then scans Joe quickly, explaining that she believes Don is right and that she can see what Joe had for lunch, but she’s just running this scan to confirm. Then she pulls out a prefilled syringe, explaining that the medication should reverse the affects of the drink. She then explains that she’s finding Joe’s deltoid to inject the medication into. It’s quick. Then they all wait.
After a few moments Joe seems less tense. Marvelous doesn’t feel like it’s working until Joe’s eyes flutter open. Joe stares at all of them silently. The women introduces herself to Joe, but Marvelous doesn’t catch her name, he’s only got eyes for the confusion on Joe’s face. That confusion eases slightly as Joe finds out what happened to him. Marvelous wants to step forward as he watches embarrassment take over.
“It seems that Don is capable of monitoring you and I suspect you’d be more comfortable with him,” the women says. “We’ll expect you to check in before dinner and obviously that drink won’t be on a menu for you again.”
“Thank you,” Joe manages.
Don follows the women out of the room. They’re conferring, Marvelous concludes. Don will probably want to look Joe over before they go back to sleep. He watches as Ahim and Luka start to wrap Joe up between them.
“I think I should look you over first, makes sure you’re not bleeding anywhere else,” Marvelous interjects.
“We should brush our teeth if we’re taking a nap,” Ahim puts in before anyone can protest. She and Luka grab Gai on their way out of the room.
Joe gets up slowly and lets Marvelous help him out of his shirt. In the low light of the room Marvelous doesn’t think Joe has any bruises that he doesn’t see. Still he runs his fingers over Joe’s torso testing for pain, reassuring himself that Joe isn’t more hurt than he appears.
“Are you alright?” Joe asks.
“I should be asking you that,” Marvelous points out.
“This whole trip is about keeping me distracted and now all I’ve done is worry all of you,” Joe says softly.
“We deserved a vacation,” Marvelous objects.
Joe raises his eyebrows.
“Well nap today and distract you tomorrow,” Marvelous decides. “Do you want to shower or wash up?”
Joe grimaces, but concedes to washing up. They take over the second bathroom and Joe runs a clean wash cloth with sweet smelling soap over his already damp skin. Marvelous watches from the doorway and then hands him a towel.
When they're all back in the room they make Joe get in the middle of the bed.
"I want to kiss you before we take a nap," Luka declares. She's still, not moving restlessly anymore, but watching Joe intensely. Everyone else chimes in agreeing.
Marvelous watches as Joe stares at each of them in turn. His hand twitch as if he's going to cover his face. Marvelous shifts over to the bed and lightly touches Joe's shoulder. "You didn't know."
Joe's gaze shifts to him. Marvelous leans in and gives him as reassuring a kiss as he can manage. Then he shifts back.
"You were bleeding, we were all worried," Ahim adds as she joins them on the bed and leans in to kiss Joe. It's brief, a quick presses of lips, but they linger as their eyes meet and Ahim squeezes Joe's hand before moving back.
"Wasn't sure how quick help would get here," Luka agrees before she leans in and gives Joe a long slow kiss. Marvelous watches as Joe settles further into the pillows, letting Luka control the kiss, letting them both seek reassurance from each other. Luka pulls back and wets her lips. Her eyes meet Joe's as she smiles at him and steps back.
"Today was supposed to be about making you know we cared and that you weren't alone," Don stresses as he shifts in close. Joe nods and cups his face, drawing him into another slow deep kiss, except this time it's Joe leading the kiss as Don sighs and lets him. Marvelous watches as that kiss helps both men relax further and smiles.
"I don't have anything to say, you'd think I'd have a hero's struggle to compare this to, but watching you get hurt from your dreams and worrying it would get worse..." Gai trails off as Joe reaches for him. Joe's thumb brushes against Gai's lips before Joe leans in and kisses him gently. Gai blushes. Marvelous smirks and then starts directing everyone into bed so they can take a nap. Marvelous gets one side of Joe while Luka takes the other. Ahim cuddles up behind Luka, wrapping her arm around Luka's waist so she can reach tangle her fingers with Joe's. Gai cuddles up behind Marvelous, face pressing against Marvelous' back. Don arranges blankets on them, making sure they have enough pillows and are warm enough. Marvelous wants to tell him to get into bed, but he also know Don needs this moment of fussing over all of them. Eventually Don settles behind Gai, his hand at Marvelous' waist.
"Comfortable?" Marvelous asks Joe.
"And feeling very loved," Joe says softly before closing his eyes. Marvelous nods, satisfied. They can't change the past for Joe, but they can comfort and reassure him in the present.
Fandom: Gokaiger
Characters/Pairings: Marvelous/Joe/Luka/Ahim/Don/Gai
Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Gokaiger. It's not my toy box and I'm merely playing.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: While on vacation Joe accidently has a drink that manifests the injuries he receives during a nightmare.
A/N: Written for estelraca for
hurtcomfortex.Hidden:
Joe is trying to enjoy the vacation Marvelous had talked everyone into. Marvelous is still trying to pretend this is Gai’s idea, but Joe overheard Marvelous tell Gai about this planet and its wonderful retreat spots and of course Gai latched onto the idea. At least if they’re getting Gai to explore a world that’s not Earth it’s a kind one meant to teach new skills and encourage relaxation. Still, Joe feels restless. There’s an itch under his skin and a sadness he can’t seem to shake. He also doesn’t miss the way everyone is careful with him at breakfast. It’s difficult to stay distracted after, even though Marvelous keeps suggesting activities.
Lunch with Don and Gai is pleasant mostly because Gai keeps trying to be more exaggerated and over the top. Then Gai lets him know that he and Don have signed up for a class.
“You can join us,” Don offers.
Gai nods enthusiastically. “Or I’m sure Luka and Ahim wouldn’t mind if you joined them.”
Ahim and Luka are taking a guided hike to a tea shop that overlooks the valley. It sounds pleasant. Joe shakes his head. He’s been trying to ignore that he’s been tired since he woke up this morning. He checks the time. “I think I’ll join Marvelous for his daily nap.”
Gai starts to make a joke about neither of them getting much sleep and Don shushes him. It’s Don shushing Gai that solidifies for Joe that today is important and they’re trying to keep him distracted. He’s partway to their rooms when Ahim and Luka call him to invite him along. They’re kind when he says he wants a nap, no teasing from Luka, just understanding. So instead of brushing his teeth and changing into sleep clothes to join Marvelous Joe finds the nearest computer and looks up the date. He frowns at it and then has the computer change the date to Earth time. There are few events he remembers the Earth date for, but all of them are significant. Joe stares at his answer feeling lost. It’s been a year since he killed what remained of Sid.
His face feels suddenly wet and Joe reaches up with trepidation. He’s crying. Joe tries to head to the nearest bathroom with the intention of cleaning his face, but sits back down heavily. He’s crying and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. Joe doesn’t understand. He’s already grieved Sid. He grieved when he realized there wasn’t enough of Sid left to save, that he couldn’t be saved. He grieved the man who saw greatness in him. He grieved the man who sacrificed himself so that Joe to could live. He grieved that man that was turned into a tool that could no longer be himself. And then he’d ended what was left of Sid. It’s what Sid would’ve wanted. Sid wouldn’t have wanted his skills and ideas to keep being used like that. Joe grieved after too. And now it’s been a year and here he is grieving again.
Marvelous says something low, probably sympathetic or maybe something meant to distract, but Joe doesn’t catch it. Marvelous’ arms wrap him slowly and then he’s guided into the nearest bathroom. Marvelous sets the lid of the toilet down and guides Joe to sit. Joe attempts to swipe at his tears when Marvelous steps out of the room, but it doesn’t seem to help. Marvelous turns the sink on, then squats down and squeezes his hands. Joe manages to take a slow breath that not tinged with grief and anxiety.
“Do that again,” Marvelous instructs.
Joe wants to make an annoyed noise at him.
Marvelous grins slightly. Joe huffs, but takes another long, slow deep breath.
“Better,” Marvelous praises.
It takes a moment, but the tears seem to slow. Marvelous turns off the sink, wrings out a washcloth and then steps over Joe’s legs to he’s got them between his. He takes Joe’s chin in one of his hands and Joe lets his head be tilted just slightly. The washcloth is warm, but not too hot, as Marvelous uses it to wipe the last of the tears away. It’s all slow and careful movements. It’s lulling and Joe lets himself shut his eyes. The washcloths moves away and then a soft towel is being patted gently against his face to soak up the moisture. When he’s done Marvelous kisses him. It’s a soft, brief kiss, but reassuring.
“Do you want me to call the others?” Marvelous offers.
Joe shakes his head. “No. Let them have fun.”
“They can do those things on other days,” Marvelous points out.
“I came back to take a nap with you,” Joe counters. He’d, at this moment, kind of rather hide his face in the nearest corner, but Marvelous is still standing over him, gently holding his chin. “Another kiss would be nice though.”
Marvelous smirks, but then gives Joe his kiss. It’s gentle and brief again, but then Marvelous lets him up and stays nearby as Joe brushes his teeth. Marvelous asks if he wants to change. Joe shakes his head. Marvelous takes his hand and leads him to the room with the biggest bed, the one that fits all of them, and Joe suspects is the reason that this suite was booked.
It takes a moment of deciding, but eventually Joe ends up with his head on Marvelous’ chest. He falls asleep to the sound of Marvelous’ heartbeat.
*
Marvelous wakes up when Joe rolls away from him with a noise of distress. He presses the button on the nightstand that will bring the lights up gradually hoping that’ll help Joe wake up. He frowns at the bruise on Joe’s upper arm. He’s sure that wasn’t there when they went to sleep.
“Sid!” Joe calls out.
“Joe,” Marvelous tries, hoping to get his attention, but Joe just makes another noise of pain and twitches. Joe’s hands reach out and Marvelous catches them squeezing. “Joe wake up!”
Nothing. Joe is clearly distressed. Marvelous frowns as he watches a bruise blossom from nothing on Joe’s shoulder. He releases Joe’s hand and sprints from the room intent on calling Don. He needs a doctor’s advice, because sudden bruising isn’t actually possible, is it?
Ahim and Luka are drinking tea and watching a program when he makes it into the common area. Luka immediately stands. Ahim reaches up and takes Luka’s teacup and place it on the table in front of them, before she asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Joe’s having a nightmare,” Marvelous informs them.
Luka looks at him skeptically. “And that’s got you running from the room?”
Ahim sets her teacup down and starts to move towards the bedroom.
“No, he’s developing bruises,” Marvelous defends.
Ahim hesitates in the doorway, but only briefly before she’s running towards the nearest bathroom. “He’s bleeding.”
“Call Don,” Marvelous tells Luka as he starts to turn back towards the bedroom. Thankfully at that moment Don and Gai trip their way back into the room. Don frowns as he looks past Marvelous. Ahim is running back into the bedroom with the medkit. Don rushes to follow her. Marvelous manages to get into the room before Luka and Gia accidently meet each other at the door. Gai steps back to let Luka in.
Joe is still laying on the bed, sweaty and moaning. Ahim is pressing a bandage to a cut on his wrist. Don is opening the cabinet with the computer/TV, then seems to be looking something up on it. Don rushes out of the room. Marvelous follows as Don makes a quick call using the resort line. When he hangs up Don moves to make sure their door is open then rushes back to the bedroom.
“You know what this is,” Marvelous grumbles. He wants answers. He’d prefer to already have answers.
“The drink Joe had a lunch,” Don informs them. “For some people it can lightly physically manifest dreams. They assume you’ll have good dreams here.”
“He’s bleeding,” Luka protests.
“This is an extreme reaction,” Don agrees. “One of the medical staff is on the way with medication that should reverse the affects.”
“He’s having a nightmare about Sid,” Marvelous informs them.
“You mean he could be grievously injured from a nightmare,” Ahim worries.
Marvelous lets himself sit down on the bed and takes Joe’s hand.
“Gai,” Don instructs, “Can you go to the door and guide them in here?”
Gai nods and rushes out. Marvelous lets himself squeeze Joe’s hand and tries not to worry as he takes in the distress on Joe’s face, the tense way he’s holding himself while dreaming. Luka bounces on her toes. Don takes over bandaging Joe’s arm. Ahim stands to wrap an arm around Luka, who stops bouncing and makes a noise of distress.
“I’m going to want to know what drink this is so I can avoid it,” Luka insists.
“It shouldn’t affect you,” Don says quietly. “I already checked all of us. It’d only affect me and obviously Joe. I should’ve looked these things up before we landed.”
“It should come with a warning label,” Marvelous mutters.
“It’s part of the welcome package,” Ahim says. “A list of the food and drinks, how they can affect people, and a place to list allergies or requests not to be offered certain things. It’s extremely long and detailed Don, you shouldn’t blame yourself for missing one thing.”
Don grimaces. Ahim lets go of Luka to give him a hug. Don leans into it. Joe grumbles in his sleep. Marvelous frowns as another bruise blooms on Joe’s cheek. He wants to snap at Don that help is taking too long. He tries not to think about how poorly some of those battles against Sid went.
Gai comes back into the room with a women in a white shirt with a medical symbol stitched onto her sleeve. She got a med kit with her. She listens to Don, then scans Joe quickly, explaining that she believes Don is right and that she can see what Joe had for lunch, but she’s just running this scan to confirm. Then she pulls out a prefilled syringe, explaining that the medication should reverse the affects of the drink. She then explains that she’s finding Joe’s deltoid to inject the medication into. It’s quick. Then they all wait.
After a few moments Joe seems less tense. Marvelous doesn’t feel like it’s working until Joe’s eyes flutter open. Joe stares at all of them silently. The women introduces herself to Joe, but Marvelous doesn’t catch her name, he’s only got eyes for the confusion on Joe’s face. That confusion eases slightly as Joe finds out what happened to him. Marvelous wants to step forward as he watches embarrassment take over.
“It seems that Don is capable of monitoring you and I suspect you’d be more comfortable with him,” the women says. “We’ll expect you to check in before dinner and obviously that drink won’t be on a menu for you again.”
“Thank you,” Joe manages.
Don follows the women out of the room. They’re conferring, Marvelous concludes. Don will probably want to look Joe over before they go back to sleep. He watches as Ahim and Luka start to wrap Joe up between them.
“I think I should look you over first, makes sure you’re not bleeding anywhere else,” Marvelous interjects.
“We should brush our teeth if we’re taking a nap,” Ahim puts in before anyone can protest. She and Luka grab Gai on their way out of the room.
Joe gets up slowly and lets Marvelous help him out of his shirt. In the low light of the room Marvelous doesn’t think Joe has any bruises that he doesn’t see. Still he runs his fingers over Joe’s torso testing for pain, reassuring himself that Joe isn’t more hurt than he appears.
“Are you alright?” Joe asks.
“I should be asking you that,” Marvelous points out.
“This whole trip is about keeping me distracted and now all I’ve done is worry all of you,” Joe says softly.
“We deserved a vacation,” Marvelous objects.
Joe raises his eyebrows.
“Well nap today and distract you tomorrow,” Marvelous decides. “Do you want to shower or wash up?”
Joe grimaces, but concedes to washing up. They take over the second bathroom and Joe runs a clean wash cloth with sweet smelling soap over his already damp skin. Marvelous watches from the doorway and then hands him a towel.
When they're all back in the room they make Joe get in the middle of the bed.
"I want to kiss you before we take a nap," Luka declares. She's still, not moving restlessly anymore, but watching Joe intensely. Everyone else chimes in agreeing.
Marvelous watches as Joe stares at each of them in turn. His hand twitch as if he's going to cover his face. Marvelous shifts over to the bed and lightly touches Joe's shoulder. "You didn't know."
Joe's gaze shifts to him. Marvelous leans in and gives him as reassuring a kiss as he can manage. Then he shifts back.
"You were bleeding, we were all worried," Ahim adds as she joins them on the bed and leans in to kiss Joe. It's brief, a quick presses of lips, but they linger as their eyes meet and Ahim squeezes Joe's hand before moving back.
"Wasn't sure how quick help would get here," Luka agrees before she leans in and gives Joe a long slow kiss. Marvelous watches as Joe settles further into the pillows, letting Luka control the kiss, letting them both seek reassurance from each other. Luka pulls back and wets her lips. Her eyes meet Joe's as she smiles at him and steps back.
"Today was supposed to be about making you know we cared and that you weren't alone," Don stresses as he shifts in close. Joe nods and cups his face, drawing him into another slow deep kiss, except this time it's Joe leading the kiss as Don sighs and lets him. Marvelous watches as that kiss helps both men relax further and smiles.
"I don't have anything to say, you'd think I'd have a hero's struggle to compare this to, but watching you get hurt from your dreams and worrying it would get worse..." Gai trails off as Joe reaches for him. Joe's thumb brushes against Gai's lips before Joe leans in and kisses him gently. Gai blushes. Marvelous smirks and then starts directing everyone into bed so they can take a nap. Marvelous gets one side of Joe while Luka takes the other. Ahim cuddles up behind Luka, wrapping her arm around Luka's waist so she can reach tangle her fingers with Joe's. Gai cuddles up behind Marvelous, face pressing against Marvelous' back. Don arranges blankets on them, making sure they have enough pillows and are warm enough. Marvelous wants to tell him to get into bed, but he also know Don needs this moment of fussing over all of them. Eventually Don settles behind Gai, his hand at Marvelous' waist.
"Comfortable?" Marvelous asks Joe.
"And feeling very loved," Joe says softly before closing his eyes. Marvelous nods, satisfied. They can't change the past for Joe, but they can comfort and reassure him in the present.