Au: Hanahaki :)

Word Count: ~1.3k

TW: Blood, graphic descriptions of throwing up

Bdubs was shaking, feeling so pathetic in front of Doc. As tears rolled down his cheeks, he was speechless. "What's wrong with you?" Bdubs was waiting for Doc to say, or at least make some kind of face.

But nothing.

The hybrid simply gave a weary smile, before kneeling and hugging him. Don't make me fall even harder for you... he thought as he gripped Doc's lab coat. "Are you okay?" the taller hermit whispered in his ear, sending a chill down his spine.

"I'm fine," he muttered. The darker brunette clearly didn't buy it. Pulling away, he narrowed his eyes, frowning.

"Don't lie to me, DoubleO. You can talk to me," Bdubs just couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with him as he felt more blood dripping from his mouth. Pulling out a small cloth, Doc gently wiped his face.

"What's wrong with me?" the lighter brunette whispered. He felt like all he's been doing recently is asking himself the same question. The other hermit simply patted his head.

"There's nothing wrong with you," he insisted.

"Really?" Bdubs raised an eyebrow, before glancing at the shulker box.

"Okay so maybe the flowers are a little... weird," Doc gently turned his head so they could make eye contact. "It doesn't change the fact that you're an amazing person, Bdubs,"

As comforting as his words were, they still stung. Taking a deep and shaky breath, Bdubs leaned his head forward, pressing against the hybrid's chest. He clung to his lab coat, blinking back tears. Doc silently wished he could do something more for his close friend as he squeezed him.

"Listen, Doc, I-" his words were cut off by the overwhelming feeling of something clawing at his throat. Pushing the dark brunette away, he moved to the side as he coughed.

First, only splatters of blood hit the grass. As the hermit struggled to breathe, red and pink roses stained with his blood poured out. The thorns that were growing out the bottom of them scratched up his throat and mouth. Doc wrapped an arm over his shoulder, silently comforting the shaking brunette.

Once the last flower dropped to the ground, Bdubs slumped to the side. He could feel thorns and flowers sitting in his lungs and slowly suffocating him.

"We're going to get you help, don't worry," the taller brunette promised as he let the shorter brunette lean against him. He took Bdubs' hand, squeezing it. The sick hermit sighed, the warmth of Doc's body calming him.

Unfortunately, the small, calm moment was swept away as bitter thoughts crept into his mind. Doc only sees you as a pitiful friend. What makes you think he'd ever like you?

"I'll always be here for you DoubleO, you're my best friend," Doc murmured. Bdubs sat up as his friend's words clawed at his heart.

"Can you stop that?" he snapped, his anger boiling over. The taller hermit was taken aback and felt a little hurt.

"What do you mean? Stop what?"

"Making me feel like you actually care!"

"Bdubs, I do care-"

"You keep feeding my illusion that maybe, just maybe you like me! Stop messing with me! My emotions aren't a joke!" he spat, tears dripping from his eyes.

"What do you mean? Bdubs, I'm sorry" Doc blinked back tears, leaning forward to comfort his friend. In response, the freckled brunette pushed him away, standing up. "I-I'm confused but still, I never meant to hurt you," he got to his feet, taking a step towards him.

"You never mean anything," Bdubs muttered.

"What? I-" feeling frustrated that he still didn't understand, the shorter hermit grabbed his lab coat collar, yanking him down. He pulled him into a kiss, startling the hybrid.

"I love you, Doc. I have for a while," he whispered, letting go.

Doc's heart was going a million miles an hour. He was speechless and confused.

For Bdubs, it only took a couple of seconds for it to sink in on what he just did. "I-I'm sorry," he wiped his eyes with his arm before flying away, feeling like a coward and an awful friend.

The hybrid wanted to chase after him again, but he was too shocked to move. His face growing warm, the hermit gently touched his lips. He didn't hate it, so what does that mean?

Bdubs didn't know where he was going, as long as it was away from Doc. He felt like a terrible person.

"I never should've kissed him. I really suck," he grumbled. However the more he flew, the harder it felt to breathe. He had just passed the mansion where he and Doc used to live when he really needed to land. Touching down behind his half of the mansion, he leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. I can't breathe! He freaked out.

Time was running out for Bdubs.

Dropping to his hands and knees, he leaned over, coughing. As he suffocated, he could feel thorns climbing and scraping his throat. Tears blurred Bdubs' vision.

Even though he was admittedly still confused, Doc snapped out of it, realizing Bdubs needed his help. He quickly took off in the direction his friend went. Thankfully, it didn't take him long to find the freckled builder.

Shaking, Bdubs looked up at Doc, who knelt in front of him.

"Help," the short builder gasped, his voice hoarse.

Seeing Bdubs essentially struggling to fight death in front of him, made Doc realize something. At that moment, he knew that he wanted to always be there for Bdubs, to be by his side no matter what. The G.O.A.T father wanted nothing more in that moment but to see the freckled hermit's cute smile again.

However, he didn't know what he could do. Seeing him suffer, all Doc could do was cry, and hold him close.

"It's going to be okay," he tried to reassure Bdubs with a shaky voice. He kissed his forehead as he racked his brain for possible solutions. "I'm here, Bdubs," the dying hermit held onto Doc's arm, as the hybrid gently propped him up on his lap.

"I'm never going to leave your side," Doc tried to steady his breathing, but his heart continued to ache as he watched, helpless.

"I think I love you," he softly admitted.

Bdubs managed to let out a bitter laugh. There couldn't have been a worse time for a confession. He could feel himself choking on more flowers and leaned forward. Flowers once again poured from his mouth, and Doc squeezed his hand for support. Crying out in pain, Bdubs could feel the vines and thorns that had grown in his lungs climbing their way up to his throat, leaving behind a trail of scratches and blood. He gripped Doc's hand as they fell out of his mouth, slicing the insides of his cheeks.

He finally felt like he could breathe again. However, it wasn't over, for he continued to cough up blood, with the occasional petal soaked in blood falling out.

"I-I think I'm okay now," he whispered.

"Here," Doc said softly, handing him a water bottle.

Taking a deep breath, Bdubs placed the empty glass bottle down. Facing Doc, he wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his neck. The dark brunette hermit squeezed him as Bdubs cried once more. Pulling back, Doc cupped the short builder's face in his hands. He kissed the hermit's tears, gently rubbing his face with his thumb.

Wrapping his arms around his neck, Bdubs laughed softly. The taller hermit kissed him, and the two fell over. Doc kept kissing him as the two laid there, neither one of them wanting to get back up.

Meanwhile, a certain wizard was sitting in his tower, flipping through a book about rare and unusual diseases. The more Scar read, the crazier the diseases got. Like this one, where flowers fill a person's lungs, suffocating them. It can't even be healed with a potion or crystal, which just seemed too brutal to the wizard.