(Just some fluff. A light trigger warning.)

You knew something was wrong the moment he showed up on your front doorstep. There was blood running down from his nose, something he had evidently given up on trying to stop, as his entire chest and neck were lathered in the stuff. The rain poured outside, thunder crackling every so often, and the lightning! It was a hell of a storm, really.

"Oh my god," was all you could really manage to say as you opened the door to the sight of him. You ushered him inside, hurrying him to the kitchen as you ran back towards the bathroom to fetch a towel.

"Don't bother," he croaked, holding up a hand to stop you as you attempted to offer said towel. "It's already stopped."

"Seán, you're bathing in your own blood," you protested, trying to get him to take the damp towel. "At least clean yourself up."

Those baby blue eyes bored into yours. His were narrowed. "It's not the first time," he spoke at long last. His voice was hoarse, as though he had just done an awful lot of screaming. Or crying. His body language told you something was up.

But you didn't relent, still holding out the towel. "Either you clean your face and neck as best as you can, or I do it for you. And I won't promise to be gentle."

Seán snatched the towel from you then, glaring as he wiped his face and neck. Despite his bloodied shirt, he looked considerably better.

Cupping your elbows with your hands you squirmed a little. "What happened?"

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," he replied quietly, handing you the towel back. He turned away from you then, staring out of the nearby window as though there were something of interest. But it was pitch black out, what with the storm still raging on.

His words were thoroughly confusing. "Seán, come on. If you're hurt, we should probably take you to the hospital or something."

His next response made you stop in your tracks: "Anti."

"What?" you asked after about a minute had passed. Even then, the word didn't fully process in your brain. Anti?

"Anti." When you looked even more confused he brushed past you. "Told you you wouldn't believe me."

"Seán, you cannot tell me that and expect me to immediately understand you! What do you mean by "Anti"?"

"Anti-fucking-septiceye!" Seán screamed, running his hands through his hair in an exasperated manner. "It sounds fucking ridiculous out loud, but it's true. It's his fault I was bleeding. He..." The male broke off his own sentence, looking away and biting at his lower lip. He looked as though he were about to burst into tears.

"Seán, start from the beginning," you replied softly, reaching out and rubbing his arm a little. He flinched away from your touch and your body welled up with regret. "Tell me what happened," you pressed.

"No. I can't... I shouldn't be here..." he mumbled, turning and heading for the door. But you grabbed his wrist before he could reach the doorknob. "Let me go."

"Not until you talk to me. Seán, we've been friends forever, come on. Don't just shut me out like this. Please."

"You're so fucking stubborn," was his muttered reply. But his free hand fell away from the doorknob, so that was a plus. "... if I tell you, promise me you won't judge me."

"I'd never."

He whipped around and took hold of your shoulders. His frown was struggling against an emotion you couldn't quite decipher. Was it fear? Or something more? "I'm serious. It's gonna sound stupid as sweet fuck all, but I'm serious."

"I promise!" you urged him. "I won't judge you, Seán."

He heaved a sigh then, wandering away and towards the couch, where he sank into the cushions. As you settled down beside him, he took a long, long time before finally opening his mouth to speak.

"It was about... about this time last year. When I made that Anti video for Halloween. Something... something about it just seemed so off when it was being edited, and I rewatched it. And I realized that I had no fucking memory of actually making that video." He glanced at you, to make sure you were listening. And you were, intently. "Do you understand how scary it is to not have any memory of making a video like that? One minute I was carving a pumpkin and the next..." he trailed off.

"Seán, I'm sorry, but I don't understand how your horrible nosebleed earlier has anything to do with your alter-ego character. Unless you were trying to make another video earlier?"

Seán's hands clenched into fists as his eyes closed. "He hurts me. When I'm weak and I'm bleeding, that's when he tries to take control. I'm not fucking making this up, he's real."

"Of course he's real," you reasoned. This made his blue eyes shoot open wide. "Seán. He's your character. You're a living, breathing human being. Of course he's gonna be real when you're playing him."

"No, you don't fucking understand!" he cried out, standing back on his feet. You feared he would head for the door again but he only paced around the living room. "He's real. He's like some demon inside of me that tries to take over when I'm not careful!" His voice had been growing louder with every word, but it dropped an octave when he looked at you. "You don't believe me."

Did you? You sighed and closed your eyes. Whatever was going on was really bothering him. "Seán, I don't know what to believe. It all seems too weird for that to happen."

"I'm not making this up," he urged, his voice still lowered. "He's real. And I think he's trying to slowly drive me mad." Running hands through his hair again, Seán frowned. "I don't eat. I can't sleep. Making videos is the only thing that seems to keep him at bay, or... at least that's what I thought until today..." he trailed off. His voice broke at the very end, and in that moment you realized just how very exhausted he looked. His arms flopped down to his sides as he bit at his lower lip, trying to get it to stop shaking. "I can't live like this anymore. I don't know what to do. I'll go mad at this rate."

You shot up from the sofa and pulled the Irishman into a hug, one that he did not return. "Seán, I... I don't know if I believe you, but... god, you look so worn out," you admitted.

"I know." He buried his face into his hands and suddenly burst into tears, right then and there. Startled, you squeezed him into the hug, which he finally accepted, arms wrapped around you tightly. "I can hear him," Seán murmured, weak. "He's laughing at me. He's always laughing. I see him everywhere I go. He's just toying with me..."

You were at a total and complete loss as to what to do. If this really were real, how could you combat something that was inside of him? "Seán... if... if this has really been happening for a year, you... you're stronger than this. You know you are. You can fight it off."

He pulled away, tears running thick down his cheeks. It was a painful sight. "I can't. Not anymore. I'm tired of hurting. But I'm terrified of what the fuck he'd do if he took over my body."

Was that what kept him going, day in and day out? The thought of a glitchy being taking over his body and wreaking havoc? You reached up and wiped his tears away; he looked terribly pale, probably from the blood loss. Or his own exhaustion. "You need to sleep."

"I can't. I haven't slept proper in three days." He sniffed a little bit and rubbed his face. "Anti likes to terrorize me."

"Not sleeping will eventually kill you, though," you reasoned truthfully.

"Is that a promise?"

You didn't like this. This wasn't Seán. Seán would never have spoken so freely about wanting to die so badly. The glitchy being really did a number on him, it seemed. But you knew he needed sleep. "Seán. I want you to try. Please." Reaching down you took his hands into your own, squeezing them gently. "For me."

Maybe it was selfish. But he sighed through his nose, looking down at his gory shirt before stripping out of it. "I ain't sleeping in this thing." You took his shirt and went to throw it into your washer, returning to find the male right where you had left him. Leaning over you pressed a kiss to the space between his eyes, something you had never done before. Despite his blood loss he still found enough to tint his face a light pink. "What was that for?"

"I don't know. It... just felt right."

"Well, you missed."

"... huh?"

You were so caught up in knowing that he needed to sleep that his kiss caught you off guard. He had tilted your head back with a hand sweeping beneath your chin, his eyes closed as he kissed your lips gently. For the first time that night, he pulled away with a smile. It was a small one, but it was a smile nonetheless. "That's better."

"S-Seán..."

"You're cute when you blush." That wasn't helping the matter, and your face felt fiery. But he furrowed his brows in concentration for a moment before suddenly kissing you again, a little bit more fervently this time. As though he needed a second one.

This wasn't helping your blushing situation, so you didn't quite hear him when he spoke. "Wh-what?"

"I said he... he went quiet."

"Who? Anti?"

"Yeah. There's no laughter, no taunting, no anything. I can't... why?" Seán rubbed the back of his neck in thought before he gazed at you for a long time.

"I think... the kisses made you feel better, so you're able to block him out easier," you suggested.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He gnawed at his lower lip before grinning. "Would you mind?"

"Mind what?"

~♡~

You spent the next half hour basically making out with him. Seán had pulled you to the sofa and into his lap. Each kiss was gently given, and he did not take it any further, but your heart was damn near floating inside of you.

At long last he planted a kiss to your cheek and sat back, gazing at you sitting in his lap. He was smiling gently, though he still looked pale and worn out to pieces. "It seems to be working," he spoke, breaking you out of your reverie. You had never been kissed like that before, and you'd fallen into a bit of a stupor. "You... you kiss really good," he added, clearing his throat.

Heart hammering in your chest you found the strength to laugh a little. "Thanks, I think."

"You know what? I think i could fall asleep now." Seán was grinning wider now, and you slid from his lap so he could shift and lie down on the sofa more comfortably. You fetched him an extra pillow and a blanket, turning away to walk into your bedroom, but he grabbed your wrist in much the same way you had grabbed his own before. "What? No goodnight kiss?"

Your face burned again but you leaned down and kissed him for the final time. He smiled and laid back, clearly pleased with himself as he settled in.

All you could do was wander into your bedroom in disbelief. He had come here as a dear friend, but the kisses seemed to be changing things. Or were they? You still considered him a friend, of course, but... friends didn't typically kiss, did they? At least not on the lips...

~♡~

It was his scream that woke you. You bolted out of the bedroom and into the living room, dropping to your knees beside the couch to find Seán a shaking, sobbing mess. "Seán, what the fuck happened?"

"He... he..." was all he could manage before another sob wracked his body. He curled up into the fetal position on the couch, hands covering his face as he cried. "I'm so tired..." he wailed softly. "I can't do this anymore..."

Your own tears welled up in your eyes. How long did he say this sort of thing had been going on for now, almost a year?

He sat up abruptly, sniffling slightly. "I should go home..."

"Seán, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

His eyes glared fiercely at you. "Why the fuck not?"

"Because I'm scared you'll try to do something!" You heaved a sigh and wiped at your face. "I don't want to lose you. I know this is so tough on you but I'm scared of losing you. But I know you can get through this."

Seán sat in silence for a long while. Did you make your point, had it sunk in? Did he understand what it was you feared so badly that night? Slowly reaching out for you, he pulled you into a hug. "I won't leave tonight," he murmured softly. "But... you gotta understand, I'm so tired of this."

"I know. I know you are." You ran your fingers through his messy brunet hair, gently scratching his scalp in a soothing manner.

"It's quieter when you're around," he replied softly, melting under your touch. The need to sleep was so overwhelming he could have dropped off right then and there, sitting up and clinging to you. But he fought against it, shifting to move out of your hold. "Come on."

"What?"

Seán stood up and offered a hand. "I'm sleeping in your bed. Things are quieter around you, and I think that's exactly what I need."

Your poor heart was really racing around this time but you took his hand, allowing him to pull you up and onto your feet. He led you back into your bedroom before glancing back with a tear-stained smile. "Don't worry. I won't try anything. No funny business."

That sort of put you at ease, but as the two of you laid down, your pulse only quickened further. Nevermoreso than when he pulled you closer. "I thought you said no funny business," you protested gently. Still, you didn't try to worm your way out of his hands.

"I just want to hold you," he explained. Seán visibly relaxed when you settled down against his chest. "I told you... he's quiet right now. I think... I think you have a lot to do with it." Pressing a kiss to your forehead, he added, "I think I can sleep like this. Maybe I won't get nightmares." He could only hope.

"It's worth a shot, right?" you asked quietly, but you were already drifting off to sleep before you could hear or even comprehend his response.

"With you? Always."