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beananacake · 3 years ago

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Family Matters

A Savior one-shot

Ikaris x fem!guardian angel!reader

Summary: Ikaris has felt a hum for millennia and he's never questioned it, until he found the source.

One-shot Summary: You didn’t want to see her like this—never wanted to see any of them in any sort of pain—and you knew you would do everything you could to make her feel better.

Word Count: ~6k words

Warnings: whump! Parent!Ikaris, mentions of diseases and medical procedures (nothing too explicit), some profanity, medical jargon (is that a warning?)

A/N: Hello, hello! A few weeks back, I mentioned missing Angel and Ikaris and I also did say we have a certain mind controller who's coming to guest-star in a one-shot. Druig would have to wait, because it's Sprite's time to shine. So this takes place about a year after the Emergence and I made Sprite age 12 here, just in case there is any confusion. Like always, this isn't beta'd so all mistakes are mine and mine alone. Reviews, comments, suggestions, requests (and reblogs) are super welcome! Please enjoy Family Matters!

Catch Ikaris and Angel's origin story here! (SAVIOR)

Main Masterlist

There was something wrong with Sprite, you knew.

Usually, she would tell you and Ikaris of how frustrating it was to deal with children—which was ironic because she was the same physical age as they were and everyone else considered her a child—and she would vent out how much she wanted to just go out and do all the things she wasn’t able to do when she was still stuck in the Eternally young body Arishem chose to put her in. Instead, when she got home, she looked a lot sicklier than before. You had half a mind to not to send her to school earlier today, worried about how she changed from bad to worse in less than twelve hours. At breakfast, she was already complaining of a mild tummy ache but now, you watched as she doubled over her dinnerplate and knew it was nothing mild anymore.

Yep. There was definitely something wrong with Sprite.

“Sprite?” you called softly as you approached her. You touched her shoulder and recoiled at the heat that emanated from her. It was far too hot to be her normal body temperature. “Sprite, why didn’t you tell me you’re feverish?”

She only groaned in response, still hunched over her dinner. “Didn’t-didn’t want to w-worry you,” she told you slowly before groaning again.

You frowned, knowing that it was impossible to not worry for any of the other Eternals and her, and crouched to meet her face. “How long have you been feverish? You weren’t this warm when you left for school today.”

She scrunched her face again as another wave of pain took over her. “It only got worse at school.”

“With the stomach ache too?”

She nodded.

“What’s wrong with Sprite?”

You looked up to see your boyfriend as he entered the kitchen. Ikaris was frowning in concern as he watched his former-fellow-Eternal-now-turned-foster-kid. Even when he wasn’t showy of it, you knew he cared for her too.

“She’s feverish,” you told him, placing your hand on her back and rubbing soothing circles at it. You turned your attention back to her. “Do you think you can finish your dinner before you go to bed?”

She shook her head. “C-can’t. I don’t have the appetite for it.”

Something’s wrong-wrong, you thought to yourself worriedly. You cooked her favorite food tonight and even when she was full from having an after-school snack, she always made room to eat it. She never had no appetite for it. Except now, when she looked really, really sick.

But you kept your worry to yourself, not wanting to alarm the both of them.

“Do you want soup?” you asked instead.

“No.”

“Well, you need to eat anything. Do you think you can down a bottle of Gatorade?”

“Maybe. I j-just wanna lie down.”

“Okay. I’ll bring you some upstairs.”

You watched worriedly as she slowly made her way back to her room, arm still around her middle and hunched in pain as she ascended the stairs. Ikaris watched her the same way you did.

“I don’t know much about humans and diseases, Angel,” Ikaris told you, tone hopeless. “Is there any way I can help Sprite?”

“I don’t know, my love. The best I can do is bring her fever down.” You told him with a helpless shrug. You took her plate from the table and started to throw her uneaten food if it wasn’t for Ikaris taking it from your hands and doing it himself. “Can you bring a basin of water and a hand towel to her room?”

“Okay. Do you need anything else?”

“No. Just that.” You took the bottle of energy drink from the fridge and made your way to Sprite’s room.

You knocked gently, pushing the door open. Sprite was on her bed, lying in a fetal position on her side, covers up to her ears. There was still that pained strain about her face and your heart went out to her. You let some of your calming powers to your fingertips and you touched the side of her face. The relief was instant on her and her breathing became deeper and even.

“Hey.” You said quietly. “I have your drink. I just need you to take a couple of sips.”

She rose from her bed slowly. You handed her the uncapped energy drink and watched as she took tentative sips before passing it back to you.

“You need to drink some more,” you urged.

“No—” She lurched forward, a loud heaving noise coming from her before she groaned. “I’m so nauseous. I don’t want to eat or drink anything.”

Your brows knitted together in concern as you help her upright. She grabbed her abdomen again, and tears now sprung at the corner of her eyes.

“It hurts, Y/N.” she whimpered.

Your heart ached at the pain in her voice. Sprite was never one to complain about any body ailments and this was the first time you heard her whimper.

“What hurts, honey?” you asked, holding her face gently and suffusing your calming powers over her. “Where does it hurt?”

“My right side. It hurts really bad.”

The door to her room opened and you turned to see Ikaris bring over the basin to you. He set it down and watched from the foot of Sprite’s bed, not knowing what to do. You didn’t even want to tell him that Sprite refused to drink more of the Gatorade. Ikaris would just worry and then you would worry and you would have done nothing because you would be busy worrying.

“Ikaris, can you try calling Phastos? My phone is on the dresser in our bedroom.” You were hugging Sprite now, rubbing her back, trying your best to soothe her as you waited for Ikaris to get hold of Phastos.

“I d-don’t even know what happened, Y/N.” Sprite told you. “I thought it was the-the flu but it didn’t g-go away after today.”

“Shh. It’s okay, Sprite. We’ll know once we ask Phastos.” You wiped the sweat from her forehead, pitying your friend for the pain she was going through. You didn’t want to see her like this—never wanted to see any of them in any sort of pain—and you knew you would do everything you could to make her feel better.

Sprite was human now and that meant she was more fragile than both you and Ikaris. And she was a little girl, not a grown adult like your late husband Jack had been. When he was sick, you only nursed him back to health by wiping his brow with cool water and feeding him a bowl of chicken soup. But what he had was different; he had only been feverish and it went away after a day and it was nothing close to what Sprite had, who was heaving and nauseous and obviously in more pain than he had been.

Ikaris entered the room, your phone ringing in his hand. “Didn’t he say they’re going on a vacation?” he asked you.

Oh, right. “Well, we’ll try, okay? Maybe he’ll pick it up when he sees it’s from me.”

Only, Phastos didn’t and you were still left with an in-obvious-pain tween, whose complaints were increasing by the minute.

“I think we should get you to the hospital, Sprite.” You told her gently, wiping the sweat that dotted her forehead.

She shook her head vehemently at that, groaning. “No. No. I don’t want them to stick me with needles.”

“We don’t know what’s wrong with you,” you said. “You’re human now, Sprite, and I think other humans would know what’s going on inside you.”

“B-but…”

“Please? You didn’t even eat dinner and you couldn’t even down half of the Gatorade. I’m starting to worry. At least in the hospital, they’ll take a look at you and know what’s wrong." You took her hand in yours and infused it with your power, knowing it was the only thing you could do for her for now.

"Y/N has a point, Sprite.” Ikaris said from behind you. “Maybe all they’ll do is give you painkillers when we get there.”

Sprite’s nod was small and feeble. You turned to Ikaris and nodded at him. “Get the car ready, my love. We’ll be downstairs.”

You pushed her covers aside and helped her rise slowly. She took one step but she doubled over and clutched her right side again, tears now falling from her eyes.

“It hurts so much,” you cried. “I can’t walk, Y/N.”

“I can carry you down if you’d let me.”

When she nodded, you swung her gently into your arms and brought her down to the car. You deposited her on the back seat and secured the seatbelt across her body. You took the front seat beside Ikaris and inputted the address to the hospital on the GPS. Taking a look at Sprite through the rear-view mirror, you only hoped that what she was experiencing was a nasty stomach bug that should go away in a day or two.

“Sprite, tell me everything that’s happened since you got this sick so I can tell it to the doctor.” You said to her.

She recounted everything: from the first moment she started feeling sick to the moment she couldn’t even stomach the smell of food because it made her nauseous. She told you of how difficult it was for her to go up the stairs and how the pain was always on her right and that it radiated outward with every jostle and step and even jump during her P.E. classes. You memorized every single thing she said just in time for you to arrive at the hospital.

You took her in your arms again and rushed to the E.R. when her groans and cries were growing concerning. The nurse took one look at Sprite and immediately asked for a stretcher. Once she was laid across it, the nurse whisked you away for the paperwork while a porter brought her to one of the observation cubicles.

“May I know what’s wrong with the patient?” the nurse asked as she handed you a clipboard with paperwork.

You told her everything Sprite had told you in the car while you answered the paperwork. Ikaris arrived a few minutes after, looking everywhere for any sign of Sprite.

“Where is she, Angel?” he asked you.

“Can someone get my mom?” you heard Sprite in one of the makeshift rooms of the E.R. “Please.”

You passed the pen to Ikaris, shooting an apologetic glance at the nurse. “My boyfriend will fill in the other details, ma’am. I need to get to my daughter.” To Ikaris, you said: “Can you finish this for me? Put in Phastos’s number for the other emergency contact. I just need to get to Sprite.”

You found Sprite in one of the curtain cubicles, hugging herself in a fetal position in bed, with an IV line stuck on her hand. Your heart called out to her as you sat beside her and took her hand in yours, softly brushing the hair on her forehead.

“Hey. I see they already got the needle in. Do you know if they took any blood samples?” you asked gently. You let your power to your fingertips and let them out with every stroke of her hair.

Sprite nodded and huddled closer to you. You let your head rest against the bed, forehead touching hers.

“You’ll be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promised all of you, didn’t I?” you murmured. “Maybe I’ll let something happen to Ikaris once in a while because he deserves it.” You saw the impish smile on her face despite the pain she was in. “But I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“If this is what it takes to be human, I don’t want it.” she whispered.

“Getting sick is part of it, Sprite. My Jack went through something like this too and I panicked so hard because the hospitals weren’t as sophisticated as they are today. He lived through it without the medical intervention. We’re at the hospital now and you’re in a far better position than he had been. I’m sure you would get through this, too. You have the heart of a fighter.” You tucked her titian hair behind her ear.

“That’s you,” she said before hunching again. You tightened your hold on her hand.

“As my fake daughter,” you whispered, “I can say I passed on my fighter heart to you, too.”

She smiled again at that.

“Now, don’t worry about anything else. Right now, just rest and relax. Ikaris and I will talk to the doctors before they’ll talk to you. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” she replied meekly.

“Are you hungry now? Do you want me to ask if I could get you something to eat?”

She shook her head. “I’m still nauseous.”

“Okay. Just rest and relax. I’m here. Ikaris is here.”

The night went by agonizingly slow. Ikaris finished the paperwork and found the two of you huddled close together. He sat opposite from you, patting Sprite’s shoulder from time to time to soothe her. Your fingertips had started to heat up from your constant usage of your powers but you didn’t complain, even happily letting more of your calm out to help your friend. Sprite, however, had calmed considerably but she still groaned and whined from time to time. Despite whatever it was in the IV that they put for pain relief, the pain in her abdomen didn’t let. You only grew more worried after every complaint.

The curtains parted. “Sprite?”

You looked up at the sound of Sprite’s name, to the doctor who held a chart in his hand and was looking at the three of you expectantly. “Sprite?”

You let go of Sprite’s hand and stood. “Yes, that’s my daughter’s name. I’m Y/N, her mother.”

“I’m Dr. Samuels. Her blood test results came back and—”

“Can we speak of this out of her earshot? I don’t want her to worry.” You asked.

“Of course. This way, please.” He parted the curtains for you.

“Do you mind if her dad would come along?”

“Not at all. Please, come this way.”

You nodded at Ikaris to follow the doctor and returned to Sprite, touching her face gently. “We’re just going to talk with the doctor and we’ll get back to you. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Okay.”

You joined the two men outside of Sprite’s curtain cubicle. Dr. Samuels was showing Ikaris something on the clipboard when you stepped up to them.

“Her blood results all came back normal. So far, there is nothing wrong with Sprite.” The doctor told you. He pointed at some tests and told you that they were all within normal levels and that there shouldn’t be anything wrong with her.

“No. That’s not possible. She wouldn’t be in this amount of pain if everything else is showing up as normal.” You told them, frowning at the doctor.

“Unfortunately, the labs don’t lie. If I ask them to rerun the tests, it would show up the same thing.” He closed the chart with a click. “Have you maybe considered that she is just doing this to get out of school? Children sometimes tend to feign an illness to get out of going to school.”

You shook your head at him, offended he would even suggest something like that when she was undoubtedly in pain. “No. My daughter won’t do that. She’s not a crier but the way she cried in pain today told me something’s wrong with her.”

“The lab tests say otherwise.”

“Maybe there’s something you’ve overlooked?” Ikaris said. He had stood beside you and pulled you to him and was rubbing your arm in an attempt to relax you. Nothing could relax you, especially since this doctor was insistent nothing’s wrong with Sprite when there obviously was. “Did you run all the necessary tests for someone her age and the way she’s in pain?”

“Yes, I have but—”

“Doctor. I know my daughter. I know she’s in an inordinate amount of pain right now and every second I’m trying to convince you of that is another second of her in agony. She’s been in pain for nearly the whole day now. She can’t even sit up straight without clutching her right side. She can’t even take a step because her abdomen’s in too much pain. I’m pretty sure she’s not faking it.”

Dr. Samuels frowned at you and opened the chart once more. “Would you mind if I have a look at your daughter again, ma’am?”

“Please.” You parted the curtains yourself and stepped aside. “Be my guest.”

“Sprite, my name is Dr. Samuels.” The doctor said as he donned his examination gloves.

You and Ikaris stood the side opposite of the doctor and Sprite was looking at the both of you with fearful eyes. You only shook your head at her, assuring her by holding her hand.

“I’m going to do a bit of a physical exam on you. I’m going to be pressing on your abdomen. It shouldn’t hurt but if it does, you have to tell me when and where.”

At Sprite’s nod, the doctor began his exam. He pushed and prodded around her abdomen, checking for something you had no idea about but nodding his head when she didn’t react to any of it. Only when it came to her right side and he pressed down, she yelped and told them that that was where it hurt the most and had been hurting for the last few hours. Dr. Samuels excused himself and left in a hurry.

“Is something wrong, Y/N?” Sprite asked and you noted the fear in her voice.

You only shook your head at her, gripping her hand in yours tightly. “I’m sure that’s nothing. How are you feeling now?”

“It still hurts.” She groaned again and curled in on herself.

Dr. Samuels returned and introduced his companion—an ultrasound technician—to the three of you. The distressed look on Sprite’s face was almost funny if it weren’t for the circumstances.

“We’re going to take a look on the inside of your right side, okay, Sprite? You’ll feel a bit of pressure when she presses down on you but it should be over quick.” Dr. Samuels said.

You all kept your eyes on the grainy gray screen the doctor was looking, knowing that the three of you had no idea of whatever it was showing. The doctor and the technician spoke in hushed voices, pointing at the blurry figure on the screen. You fished out a couple of words like ‘swollen’ and ‘acute’ and ‘ready’ but that was the extent of what you heard. They were too quiet and they only spoke to each other in a language only they understood.

“Can I please talk to you outside while the tech finishes up the scan?” the doctor asked you and Ikaris.

You three stepped out once more but this time, there was an urgency to the doctor’s face. You swallowed the fear that came up to you and stood close to Ikaris.

“You’re right that there is something wrong with Sprite. Unfortunately, what she has is acute appendicitis. What happens is that her appendix is inflamed and that is what’s causing her pain. Unfortunately also, we cannot just diagnose appendicitis with blood work. When you told me she’s been having pain on her right side, that was what urged me to go check on her.”

You nodded dazedly. Acute appendicitis didn’t sound good to your ears. It didn’t sound nice to Ikaris too.

“What happens now? Will she just be given a bit of medication and she’ll be fine in the morning?” Ikaris asked the question you wanted to ask.

“No. We need to take her appendix out before it could burst. We wouldn’t want her to get peritonitis, which is far more serious than the appendicitis she has now. It could be life threatening.”

You looked at Ikaris, who in turn looked back at you with intense worry. You had never seen him like this before, but then again, he and his family were Eternals and none of them ever get sick. Ever.

“Appendectomy requires generalized anesthesia so she would be asleep for the whole procedure. She won’t feel a thing while it’s happening but she would feel the stitches when she wakes. Of course, as with any other invasive procedure, there are risks but with appendectomy, they’re only the usual possible risk of infection. It happens rarely but we’ll make sure it won’t happen to her. The operation is relatively safe with a 99% success rate, and frankly, it is the best option for her case.

“While normally we would want you to think about the operation, I don’t think we have the luxury of time now. Sprite’s appendix is close to bursting. The good thing is there is an emergency surgeon present who can operate on her at this moment. We can take it out now before any other complications could arise.”

“Of course,” you told him as you nodded. “Yes. Yes, of course.”

“I’ll go tell the surgeon now. We would need to keep her under observation after the operation so I suggest you have her admitted.” With that, Dr. Samuels left.

“Angel,” Ikaris said as he turned to you. You heard the hesitation in his voice and you understood perfectly. None of the Eternals had the need to undergo any medical procedure because none of them ever got sick. Sprite was the first in the family to be sick and of course, Ikaris worrying was perfectly normal. But you refused to be sucked in the worry-spiral, even if you were worrying so much for her.

You swallowed and gave him a wan smile, putting on a brave face. “We’ll worry later, okay? Sprite is our priority. We have to make her comfortable first.”

“Is this really the best thing to do? Do they have to operate on her? She’s just a kid.”

You touched the side of his face, watching as his tense shoulders relax at the contact of your power against his cheek. “Yes, my love. They studied these for years. Sprite’s in capable hands.”

“I don’t like it.”

“We don’t have to like it but it’s the best option.”

He sighed, relenting, knowing you were right. “Okay, Angel.”

“Thank you, my love. Do you think you can start her admission? Or you can stay with her while I do that?”

“You stay with her. I’ll take care of the other things.”

You brushed your lips lightly against his and pulled away to watch him leave. You took a deep breath, clearing your throat and practiced a smile before you entered Sprite’s makeshift mini room.

“Is it bad?” she asked you, still teary eyed.

You shook your head. “No. It’s nothing bad but what they’ll do is put you to sleep and when you wake up, you’ll be back to your normal self.”

“Y/N…”

“I promise.”

“I may look like a kid but you can speak to me as an adult, you know,” she reminded you.

Sometimes, you did forget you and Sprite were the same age.

You gave an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry.”

She groaned. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be surly. I’m just in so much pain.”

“The doctors will take care of it. They know what to do. You’ll be good as new tomorrow.”

She was quiet for a while and reached for your hand. “I’m scared.”

You didn’t want to admit to her that you were, too, so you only smiled an assuring smile at her and squeezed her hand. A porter came a few minutes after, explaining to the both of you that the operating theater was ready for her.

“Can my mom come?” Sprite asked the man.

“I’m sorry, Sprite, but she and your dad would have to stay out of the O.R.” he told her, readying to wheel her bed. “They can wait for you outside or in the room they’ll get you.”

You gave her a small smile, nodding encouragingly. “Remember, heart of a fighter.”

“Heart of a fighter,” she said back and let herself be wheeled away.

Ikaris secured a room for her but you both waited outside of the operating room where they put her in. You took it upon yourself to inform the rest of the family about what happened to Sprite and the procedure they’d do on her, giving them updates whenever you received some. You only watched as Ikaris paced the length of the waiting room, looking angry and anxious and, frankly, exhausted.

“My love,” you called to him. “If you keep pacing like that, you’ll make a hole on the floor. You’ve already worn out the carpet.”

Ikaris looked down on his feet, frowning to see if he did indeed do that before leaning against the wall, crossing his arms tightly against his chest. “I failed Sprite. I should’ve asked her if she was feeling okay when I picked her up from school.”

“Hey, hey, don’t blame yourself.” You went to him and pried his arms apart, holding on to his hands and looking up his eyes. “She’s Sprite; she hides things from us. It’s her schtick, much like you being a pain in my ass is.” You attempted to joke but it fell flat to the both of you. And it didn’t assuage whatever it was he was feeling.

“You’re right, it’s Sprite. That’s why I thought she was playing a prank on me.”

“Ikaris.”

“I should have been more attentive. We promised everyone you and I would look out after her and now she has whatever she has and I just think I didn’t do enough for her.”

“Don’t think that.”

“They’re cutting her open, Angel.”

“I know.”

“All because I didn’t ask her if she was okay.”

“They’d cut her open either way because that’s the only thing to do with acute appendicitis.”

“Angel,” he grumbled.

“What? You know I’m saying the truth. If you asked her earlier, it still won’t change the fact that she has acute appendicitis, which, by the way, isn’t any of our fault.”

“But—”

“No buts. No ifs. Stop blaming yourself for something you can’t control.”

He sighed, resigned. “I’m not good at this protector thing, am I?” he asked suddenly and a surprised chuckle bubbled out of you.

“No, you’re not,” you agreed, “And that’s fine because if you were, you’d put me out of business.”

He pulled you into his embrace and placed his chin on top of your head. You wrapped your arms around his waist and snaked your hands up and down his back.

“I was kidding when I agreed you’re not a good protector, my love,” you told him, voice muffled against his sweater. “You’re the best one there is. Just a few nights ago, you went and investigated the loud noise and the thing that’s been ransacking our garbage. I don’t think I’d be able to face that big and scary coyote by myself.”

He snorted and you were sure he was smiling.

“And the other week, you jumped in front of me when that golden retriever started sniffing me too much.”

“Angel…”

“Or that time when—”

“I get it, I get it.”

“The point is,” you said as you looked up at him, resting your chin against his chest. “Your instinct is to protect and that’s what you’ve been doing with me and Sprite. You’re protecting us. And you’ve protected her from more harm when you brought her to the hospital.”

“It was your idea.”

“I don’t want to take all the credit,” you teased.

Both sides of his lips lifted a little.

“But you get my point, right? You’ve always been this protector—this savior—and just because you didn’t see the danger the first time doesn’t make you a failure at it. It’s what you are deep inside.”

“Y/N.” he said with a sigh, not fully convinced at your words.

“Now shut it and relax. I remember seeing a vending machine a few hallways back. Get yourself a Snickers bar. You’re not you when you’re hungry.”

He chuckled at that and lightly kissed your forehead. “No. I think I’ll stay here and wait.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

You remained in his arms for a while, just reveling the feel of them around you. You refused to give in to your worry, knowing full well it won’t do anything to the problem. And besides, you had said it yourself, Sprite was in capable hands. The doctors would make sure she would be fine by the end of the operation. You trusted them fully because they knew what they were doing.

You rested your cheek against your boyfriend’s chest, waiting quietly for the doctor to emerge from the O.R. to tell you how Sprite was doing. Ikaris seemed to have calmed down; his fingers now traced the outline of where your wings were once connected to you, engrossed in the mindless activity. It was better this way, after all. You didn’t want him panicking and doubting himself, especially when the memory of the Emergence was still fresh in everyone’s mind.

A nurse came out from the double doors and to you, taking off her mask as she approached. “Mr. and Mrs. Harris? Sprite’s operation is a success. We’ll be wheeling her to the PACU to monitor her recovery and once she’s awake, we’ll be bringing her to her room.”

“Thank you,” Ikaris replied stiffly but you saw how his throat worked and you knew he was holding back tears.

You pulled from your boyfriend and smiled gratefully at the woman. You did not correct her when she called you Ikaris’s wife, knowing it was unimportant compared to the good news she just shared. You took her hands in yours and thanked her profusely. “Thank you so much. Thank you for everything you and your team did.”

“You’re very welcome, Mrs. Harris.” She smiled at the both of you before returning to the O.R.

You sagged against Ikaris, finally allowing the tears that you were holding in to come out and come flowing down your face. You’ve never known such fear in your whole seven-thousand-year existence, never thought you would be this shaken just because someone in your family was close to dying. Never again, you told yourself. If Sprite would ever think of you as a helicopter mom as soon as she leaves the hospital, so be it. You vowed to keep her safe and you would do so, whatever it took.

Ikaris brought down the newspaper he was reading when he heard movement coming from Sprite’s general direction. It had been hours since they wheeled her in; the nurses assured him and you that Sprite had woken up since her operation and that she had some… choice words about it. He only told them that she was a somniloquist like her mother and to not mind what was said.

He stayed behind while you went and talked to the nurses about Sprite’s dietary restrictions post-operation, as well as a handful of other things that you had researched when you recovered from your small breakdown. Ikaris could only watch in awe at how you managed to do everything like it was second nature to you, even going as far as researching for a new bed so she would be comfortable in her bedrest at home. He stopped you there, knowing what you were doing was an overreaction but he knew he would have done the same.

“Whoever said sleeping was the same thing as resting was one real asshole,” Sprite said with a groan.

His mouth quirked to one side, amused and relieved that she was fine and certainly back to normal. “It wasn’t a restful sleep?” he asked, setting the paper aside.

“Not one bit.” She turned to him, squinting her eyes at the bright light that shone on her. He stood and turned down the lights. “I think they took all my intestines and scrambled the rest of my insides.”

“Not all,” he told her and she gave him a flat look. He smiled slightly. “Just the small useless part of it that’s been causing you pain.”

“Glad that’s over. Now I’m in a different kind of pain.”

“Is it as painful as before?”

“No but it still hurts like a bitch.” She looked around, clearly searching for something. “Where’s Y/N?”

Ikaris saw the change in demeanor in her. Gone was the impish Sprite and in its place was a kind of fear that he knew well. He saw the apprehension in her eyes, at the uncertainty of wanting to know the answer to her question. Sprite had abandonment issues that he and you actively worked on. You both showered her with enough attention when she called for it and left her on her own when she wanted it but you both never ever abandoned her. And with you gone when she awoke, Ikaris knew Sprite feared for the worst.

“She’s just talking to the doctor about the antibiotics you would need when they’ll discharge you.” He watched her closely. “You know she won’t leave us.”

She snorted, even though he knew she was relieved with his reply. “I’m not worried she’ll do that—”

“You don’t have to lie to me, Sprite.” he said. “I know she didn’t show it to you but she was afraid. She was trying not to show everyone she was panicking but I felt it. If you think she’d still leave, you’re mistaken. No one would be this worried then just leave when they want to, especially not Angel.”

She sighed. “I just thought she’d run at the first sign of trouble. That’s what Kingo did when he left me in Macedonia.”

“She’s not Kingo.” he said flatly.

“Clearly,” she said sarcastically. “But you know what I mean.”

Unfortunately, he did. He sat on the chair beside her bed, looking down his hands, not knowing how to put it carefully. Mincing words was never his forte, it was yours… sometimes.

“Sprite, I promise you, Y/N and I are never going to abandon you. We didn’t let you deal with this on your own. We three did it together and we plan on keeping it that way. We’re a family and families stick together.”

“Yeah, the last thousand years are a testament to that,” she grumbled sardonically but he knew he made his point across.

“It was our mistake to break apart but we’re making amends for it now.” He sighed. “I know I may not be the most stellar of father figures out there but I am trying, for Angel, for you. Y/N made me promise we all will stay together and we will. I’ll make sure of it.”

She sighed. “You’re right about you being a pretty shit father figure. You definitely need to work on that. Though I have to admit, Y/N makes a good mom.”

He smiled, nodding, agreeing, ignoring her jibe at him. “I know.”

Just then, you entered holding a small paper bag with the pharmacy’s name emblazoned on the front. When your eyes clapped on Sprite, you beamed widely and rushed to her.

“You’re awake! Do you want anything to eat? The doctors said you can eat whatever you want, just in moderation. I also have your meds here. They gave you a lot to ward off infection and some stuff for the pain—are you in pain right now? I’m sure I have something here for you…”

Amidst all of your ramblings and Sprite’s overwhelmed reaction at it, he locked eyes with his former-fellow-Eternal-now-turned-foster-kid and smiled. She did as well, knowing there was only one thing going on in their minds.

You, him, and Sprite were a family.

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