prompt- "do you want me to leave?"

~.~

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Breathe in breathe out.

Breathe in breathe out!

Breathe in breathe out breathe in breathe out breathe in breathe out breathe in breathe out-

She can't.

She can't, no matter how much she repeats it in her head, no matter how much she hates it, no matter how much she wants it all to just stop. Anxiety creeps up her back like an ugly, ferocious snake, ruthlessly biting at her brain. Her whole mind is dim and hazy, an outline of pitch black sucking in all of her thoughts and spitting them back out as a nasty unintelligible goop. Her mind keeps filling, more and more with the sticky horror until she can hardly think anymore.

Dragging her down into the abyss; she doesn't stop them. No use, no hope in stopping them. What can she do? She can't move, can't think, can't breathe. Deeper and deeper into the dark. She hears whispers, countless voices, all mumbling sick nothings, all incomprehensible to her. And somehow she can still hear them.

It's endless. An endless fall, an endless spiral into the pitch black, save her, please somebody save me-

"Suitcase?"

The world comes crashing down onto her in the blink of an eye, blinding her, scrambling her mind. All at the simple utter of her name, her senses slowly return and she can just about breathe. Not for long, she assumes.

She looks in all different directions, for her eyes to finally land on Balloon- standing beside her, an unsettled look engraved on his face. His concerned, sky blue eyes twinkle in the sunset, and she feels her body go numb.

"Ah… B-Balloon… Balloon, you-" Is she talking? She can hardly hear herself. Her mind is filling up just as quickly as it had cleared. She's hyperventilating. She's spiraling again. She can't-

"Suitcase… What's happening? Are you ok?" His voice is muffled.

"Oh, god, Balloon, I-I…" She stops trying. She can feel her eyes fill up with tears, but not much else. She can just see Balloon stepping closer; her first instinct is jump back, her whole body is screaming at her, but she doesn't. She can't.

Balloon hesitates, for very long while he hesitates. Slowly, carefully, as if she were a fragile house of cards that could fall at the slightest wrong move, he places a hand down onto her.

Her mind jumps, goes haywire for a fleeting moment, the darkness consuming every part of her conscious mind in a panic until it just stops. She feels Balloon's weight upon her and it stops. Her mind still dims at the corners. But everything else is disappearing, retracting back into the deepest recesses of her mind. Because he's here and he somehow makes everything ok again. And yet, she's sobbing.

They sit in silence. For what very well could be hours, they've both lost track of time by this point.

"...Are you ok?" Balloon tries, quietly. He doesn't want to send her again.

She doesn't answer. She squeezes her eyes shut, breathing shakily. Tears are still falling. She's still trying to pull herself together.

Despite himself, he tries again: "Can you… Can you talk to me?"

Again, no response. Words aren't coming to her, and he doesn't really blame her. He doesn't know what's happening, can't really comprehend it, but he knows enough to understand that it's a terrifying experience. He can't imagine how long she's gone through this…

He doesn't exactly know what's best for her right now, but maybe...

"Do…" Balloon started, pulling his comforting hand away from her surface, "Do you want me to leave…?"

"No! " A scream that shook Balloon's earth. A desperate protest, tears pouring from her eyes tenfold, her voice scratchy with exhaustion. "No… No, please don't- I don't, I don't want you to…" She stumbled over her words, trembling as she tried to piece together a proper sentence in her mind, clouded with the familiar darkness. She managed, "Don't leave. Please, don't leave."

His heart tore itself apart at the sight. He didn't need any more convincing. He hugged her, and again she jumped, her mind and body screeching, but she didn't listen. She knew she needed this. "Ok… Ok, I'll stay…"

And he stays, he stays as long as she wants. He stays when she passes out from the strain and he stays, hours later, when she wakes up crying. And she thanks him. And she couldn't be any more grateful.

~.~

rushed ending cause uhh me no write good

i was proud of this for a while!! but the more i read the more im like / so uhh

anyway. suitloon am i right? it makes me all UWUWUWUWUWU