asdfalhjkgfas i hate myself its been so long and then i write this? welcome to hell
"I'm telling you, Edward, this is a bad idea."
Downing another cup in one gulp and slamming it onto the table, Hyde let out a nasty burp. He filled it again and grumbled "Entire time I've been here, my whole damn existence, and you've never drank coffee. I can't believe it. Why'd you do this to us? To me?"
Jekyll's image in a nearby mirror rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Because I know what it does to our body, and it is horrendously unpleasant afterwards," he said. "Please, if you value your life or your reason, stop drinking that coffee."
"Good thing I-hurp-value neither, 'cause I ain't stopping until I've reached this mythical 'caffeine high' you're so worried about." Hyde tapped his fingers erratically, already feeling the effects on his system. His heart was pounding, and everything was starting to seem brighter.
Jekyll sighed again and disappeared from the mirror. Just please take care of our body, he whispered in their mind. I want it back in one piece when we switch back.
"No promises. Hey, how much trouble do you think I can get into like this?"
"Too much."
Hyde snorted, laughing into his cup. Everything just seemed so funny. He felt bees buzzing under his skin, his foot jiggling nervously to the tune of a tuneless song running through his head. He needed to stand, to stretch, to run. He did just that, throwing back his last cup of coffee and shooting to his feet. Dashing out of their shared quarters, he slammed the door and strolled quickly down the hallways to the main rooms of the Society.
Lanyon found him hanging out over the edge of Doctor Bryson's hot-air balloon, the balloon thankfully still tethered, but the aeronaut nowhere to be found. He feared the worst, but figured the good doctor could fend for himself against a raging Hyde.
As he approached, he began to hear maniacal laughter. That didn't sound good. Getting closer, he managed to grab the man's attention.
"Edward, are you quite alright?" Lanyon asked. He yelped as the man hopped off the balloon, landing in front of him and throwing an arm around his shoulders. Hyde grinned crazily, way too close for comfort.
"I'm great! Everything's just fine!" he shouted. Lanyon flinched, rubbing his ringing ear. He happened to look into Hyde's eyes and gasped; they were dilated, almost completely black, and kept darting around wildly. Something was wrong, and as Hyde giggled again and sprinted down the hallway towards the chemistry labs, Lanyon struggled to follow him and stop him from doing any damage.
Rachel screamed as a body slammed into her, sending both her and her assailer sprawling onto the ground. She picked herself up quickly, going into a fighting stance in case they meant her harm. It turned out it was just Hyde, laughing and lying on the ground where he'd fallen, but she didn't lose her stance. Something seemed off about him.
"Little lady, little lady, don't look at me like that~" he sang off-key, tilting his head this way and that. He shot to his feet and leaned in close, conspiratorially, whispering. "Lanyon is after me, he thinks he can catch me, hee hee!"
The man of question huffed and puffed his way towards them, panting and feebly shouting "Wait!"
Hyde laughed aloud and went to run off again, but Rachel grabbed his arm before he could. "You stop right there, mister!"
"Oh, come on," Hyde complained, flopping to the ground and dragging Rachel with him. He folded his arms and pouted. "Yer ruining all my fun!"
"You're going to cause a lot of trouble if you keep this up," Rachel stated very matter-of-factly.
Lanyon finally caught up to them, hearing the conversation and adding on. "Yeah," he heaved. "You can't- gasp -do this in your current- huff -state. Rachel he's- pant -on a caffeine high, we need to- puff -restrain him or something."
She giggled at how laughably out of breath he was, to which Hyde responded by following suit. She knocked him in the head to shut him up, glaring. He glared back. Lanyon's hand on her arm stopped the budding staring competition.
Lanyon seemed more in control of himself now as he said "I've been chasing him the better part of an hour, the effects should be wearing off soon. We just need to keep him running for a little while longer, hopefully without any damage being done to the Society in the meantime. I need your help for this."
Rachel nodded, determined. She turned to Hyde, who'd been subtly trying to sneak away, and grinned. "Run!"
She chased him down the hallway, hands curled into claws and maniacal laughter trailing after her from the both of them.
Some hours later found Rachel collapsed on a couch, snoring, and Hyde dragging himself to his and Jekyll's quarters. His head felt stuffy, full of cotton, and his mouth was dry as a goddamn desert.
He slammed the door shut and fell onto a chair, covering his eyes with his wrist. "This fucking sucks," he mumbled into the air.
Jekyll's image appeared in a nearby mirror. He had a carefully guarded expression on his face that roughly translated to: 'I feel sorry for you but also I told you so'.
"You can wipe that look off yer face," Hyde growled, not even having to look to know.
Jekyll laughed softly. "You need to take better care of our body," he said. "No more caffeine for you."
"Nope, I'm good. Thanks."
Jekyll shook his head. "Take some medicine and you'll feel better in no time. In the meantime, you should retreat for a bit. The body is going to need to rest before either of us can use it again, thanks to you."
Hyde sneered, which quickly turned into a grimace. He nodded silently, struggling to his feet and plodding over to the medicine cabinet. He looked at all the different chemicals with distaste.
Jekyll appeared in the mirror next to the cabinet and reached out, trailing a ghostly hand along until he was pointing at the right mixture for headache relief. Hyde grunted, grabbing it and sloppily measuring out a spoonful. He downed it, making a face at the taste, and put the medicine back in the cabinet.
It began to work its effects immediately, making him sleepy. He collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering to take his coat and shoes off, his hat having fallen and gotten lost at some point during the chase earlier.
His eyes slipped closed, and he fell into the inner world he and his counterpart had created.
In a darkened study in the recesses of their shared mind, Jekyll had swaddled his other half in blankets, and was curled next to him as they read their different books by the fireside. Hyde had protested to the treatment, but gave in, as the headache had transferred itself to the both of them and Jekyll was clearly feeling at least part of the effects of Hyde's foolishness. This was as much for the both of them as it was for him.
"So what have we learned about coffee and our body?" Jekyll murmured as he turned a page.
Hyde groaned, but answered. "That you're boring as hell?"
"Yes, but what else?"
Hyde grinned, covering it up quickly as he looked away from his counterpart. "That they don't mix well."
Jekyll hummed and closed his book. "Good. Now rest, and we'll clean up the damage in the morning.
They fell asleep like that, by the fireside, curled up in shared blankets, with the knowledge that tomorrow was going to be interesting.