#atenolol my beloved

[neon-kazoo]

Limits (Don’t Forget to Take Your Meds)

Hero and Villain were fighting on top of a building, and—admittedly—Hero wasn’t doing so hot.

Their heart was beating too fast, and they wanted nothing more than to sink to their knees right there on the rooftop. They were breathing hard but it wasn’t enough, their heart kept picking up speed and the oxygen didn’t seem to be reaching their head.

They blocked clumsily and Villain stepped back, flicking his wrist in a circular motion in an attempt to show off.

The display was lost on Hero, however, because Villain’s sword was no longer the only thing on the roof that was spinning. Hastily, they caught themselves before almost stumbling.

They tried to keep it from showing on their face, but somewhere in the past few seconds they must have failed because Villain stopped and let his weapon arm fall to his side.

“Hero?” He questioned.

Hero pressed their lips together, too scared to open their mouth in fear of the nausea that was swimming over them. They blinked, and he was closer, hand coming up to press against the pulse point of their wrist.

He shook his head at the rapid pounding he felt beneath their skin.

“Did you take your meds today?”

If Hero didn’t know better, his question would almost seem to hold the same condescension of a parent scolding a child who obviously hadn’t taken the time to think through their actions before getting upset.

“Of course I- oh.”

Hero visibly deflated.

“You really need to set an alarm or something,” Villain scolded.

“I have one!” Hero spoke defensively, “It’s just…I woke up and my cat was yelling and I had to get up and feed her but I just felt so bad-”

“Go home, Hero.”

Hero fumbled, “Seriously? I can’t just-”

“Yes, you can,” Villain interrupted. “In fact, I won’t allow you to do anything else.”

“No, no it’s fine,” Hero tried to argue, “I can-“

Push through, they didn’t get to finish.

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Surely you know this isn’t safe,” he leveled them with a look the hero wasn’t clear-headed enough to feel the full effect of.

His next statement was threatening, and Hero found themselves taken aback.

“Do you really want to flare?”

They couldn’t stop their lips from parting in surprise.

No one had ever understood like that, never told them they needed and were allowed to rest, aggressively or otherwise.

He made it sound so…simple.

Hero thought of the consequences of trying to fight Villain right now. There simply wasn’t enough ibuprofen in the world to make up for the symptoms that would follow. They really didn’t want to end up stuck in bed for days, not when there were plenty of less courteous villains that could decide to destroy the city at any time.

Their shoulders sagged in defeat. They knew what they needed to do but…

But it hurt, accepting their limits. They supposed that was their heroic pride talking, but part of them knew it was more than that.

It was shame, and it was anger. Anger that they were trapped in a body that couldn’t keep up with them. Shame because resting felt like giving up.

They followed the villain’s lead, laying down their weapon with shaking hands.

They were, as many people were, always told, “a real hero never gives up.”

A real hero, they thought now, knows how to pick their battles.

And they knew a fight with their body would never be one they could win.