.

.

.

Scaramouche

"Yeah, find yourself a partner to kiss if you make it out of here alive."

You

"Booobies..."

...

"Scaraboobies!"

Scaramouche

"I hate it here."

You laughed hysterically as he used a towel to dry your hair, and putting you back into new clothing was even more difficult. Scaramouche attempted to put the garments on you while looking away to the side, which was a bad idea because they generally wound up on you the wrong way. 

Then comes the most unpleasant part: cleansing your wounds.

Scaramouche

"I know, I know, it's painful..."

You

"No more!... Y/N has had... Enough."

Scaramouche

"Y/N, I still have to clean the ones on your face."

You

"Nooot my face!"

Scaramouche

"Yes, your face. Now, come closer."

You

"Nuh-uh..."

You shook your head no and hid behind one of Scaramouche's pillows.

Scaramouche

"Y/N..."

You

"No."

You said, muffled.

Scaramouche

"If I don't clean those wounds on your face, they'll get infected... And then, we'll have to chop off your head."

You

"Good! I would... Have my head cut off than... Clean the wounds."

Scaramouche

*Sigh* "What the fuck am I doing, talking to you as if you're some... Toddler."

...

"Listen, Y/N. How about, if you let me clean those nasty soon-to-be infected wounds on your face, I'll um... I'll get you something to eat."

You

"Food?!"

Scaramouche

"Yes, food."

You pushed his pillow aside and crawled back to him almost immediately. Scaramouche could tell you didn't like having your wounds cleansed as it was written all over your face.

Scaramouche

"So that's the key... I just have to bribe you with food and water that I most likely don't even have access to anymore. Childe got pretty mad at me for wasting that whole bag of frozen pretzels, apparently, it was for him."

Your head was facing Scaramouche, but your eyes were drawn away from the hydrogen peroxide-soaked cotton pad. You hated it when you saw it approaching your face since it caused a dreadful build-up of anxiousness. 

You clenched your hands, rolled them up into fists and strained your eyes the moment it made contact with the wounds.

.

.

.

Scaramouche

"And... See? All done."

You

"Phew!..."

When he finally bandaged the final one, you collapsed back into his bed. Scaramouche braced your twisted arm, which was, fortunately, healing swiftly. He walked out the door and returned with the same brand of instant noodles you had when he first fed you.

Scaramouche

"Nostalgic isn't it?... Even though it's only been a bit over two weeks..."

You

"Nostalgiaaa... Hmmm..."

You sat up again, and Scaramouche fed you exactly like the last time. He wasn't as annoyed as he was back then. The drugs slowly began to wear off. It was taking longer than ever.

You'd move your head closer to the chopsticks every time they got close to your mouth as you were desperate to fill your stomach with food. It had been aching for several days.

You crawled onto Scaramouche's lap after eating and wrapped your legs around him, your arms dropping over his shoulders. You took a deep breath in and out, relaxing every muscle in your body.

Scaramouche

"Y/N?"

You

"Yeeeah..."

Scaramouche

"What are you doing?"

You

"Hugging you."

With your eyes closed and your chin resting on his shoulder, you said.

Scaramouche

"We have to go back downstairs, Y/N."

You

"No, no... No- Let's... Stay... It's cold downstairs, I hate it."

You shook your head no again, holding on somewhat tighter around Scaramouche.

Scaramouche

"We'll get murdered if they catch you sleeping somewhere else that isn't your cell. I also got word that your room is getting an upgrade, you'll get an actual bed instead of a rolling table. Doesn't that sound nice?"

You

"I like Scaramouche's bed better."

Scaramouche

"Pfft, but you haven't even seen what your new bed looks like..."

...

"But you are right, cell beds are never going to be better than the one we're hugging on right now. The only reason why you have a new cell is that the victim who used to use it was executed last night. The room's free now."

You

"Yeah, so... Whyyy... Can't we stay here?..."

Scaramouche

"I already said, the harbingers will find you here, and both of us will be in trouble."

You

"Nooo... They can't find us, we're invisible..."

Scaramouche laughed softly.

Scaramouche

"The harbingers are pretty good. They'll know we're here, even if we were invisible."

You

"..."

Scaramouche

"... Y/N?"

As you were still sitting on his lap, your arms dropped and your head rested on his shoulder.

Scaramouche

"Are you sleeping?..."

You

"..."

Your gentle, finally ordinary breaths were felt on his neck. He was relieved to see that your respiratory patterns were no longer abnormal after you had been wheezing like crazy.

He carefully drew his body away from you and allowed you to lay on his bed.

Scaramouche

"Most of the harbingers are off duty tonight anyway... It should be okay."

He sat down next you, his head on his palm and his elbow on the pillow. The blanket was then spread out to cover both of you. He gazed at you while sleeping, then started to fall asleep himself. 

He was trying not to sleep so that he could be on the look out for when Dottore comes for you again. He developed this ongoing hatred since, after the insults you threw at him and your stubbornness, how could he not?

You were finally able to relax normally after drinking many glasses of water, eating a decent "dinner" of a single cup of instant noodles, and cleaning your body. If Dottore was still around, you'd be getting trodden on while sleeping, shrouded in a bloody blanket while you would've curled yourself up into a ball on the hard, cold ground.

.

.

.

Scaramouche awoke a little after midnight.

Scaramouche

"Shit... I fell asleep."

He sat up and turned to face his side. 

.

.

.

.

.

You were gone. 

He leaped out of bed, searching around his room, after being jolted awake by a surge of adrenaline. He then dashed out into the hallways, past every single dorm, making sure not to wake any harbinger who could have stayed at headquarters instead of going on missions. 

The fatui headquarters was a big place, you could be anywhere.

Scaramouche

I knew this was a bad idea! They could be far away from here now, I'll be dead!

He was distraught when he returned to his room after racing through the snow, looking for you everywhere. As a result, he began to hate you once more. He assumed you were gone for good, and he imagined what you'd be looking forward to now. 

He remembers you telling him that you were only staying with no intention of escaping because your life in Inazuma was dull and repetitive.

Scaramouche collapsed on his knees on the floor, taking heavy and fast breaths, believing that it was all over for him. Until he saw that his bathroom door was barely open and that he could hear grave coughs coming from it. 

Coughs from a voice that sounded oddly familiar.