Author's note: Well, this is a first for me. A multi-chapter family fic. Sorry if it disappoints.
Peter could always tell when he was being lied to. No matter how hard people tried to hide it from him, he could always tell. Always.
So, of course, Berwald's attempts to convince him that Bo's hospital appointment was nothing to worry about fell flat. Peter knew it was something to worry about because Bo never got ill enough to need a hospital, no matter how much he acted like a simple cold was the end of the world.
Besides, Peter had seen the bruises that appeared too easily; he'd been there when Bo had nosebleeds that took too long to stem. He'd even commented that it wasn't fair that Bo got so much time off of school because of illness and he wasn't even allowed one afternoon at home.
He wouldn't have believed that Bo going to hospital wasn't anything serious for even a second.
Hanatamago lay curled up on Peter's lap, sleeping and completely unaware to Peter's frustration over only being given half-truths.
He would bet money that Tino had been telling the dog more than he'd been telling Peter anything.
He looked up at the clock and sighed; Tino and Berwald had been at the hospital with Bo for over three hours now.
"What's taking so long?" he muttered, setting Hana down on the cushion beside him before going to pick up the phone. He dialled Tino's number and huffed impatiently while he waited for the Finnish man to pick up.
"Peter? What's the matter?" Tino sounded tired, his voice crackling over static.
"Where are you?" Peter's tone came out too whiny and he flinched at the sound of his voice.
"Don't you worry," Tino replied, "We're not far from home now."
Peter nodded, despite knowing that Tino couldn't see him. He clenched the phone tighter in his hand and swallowed.
"How's Bo?"
"He's…" Tino hesitated, "Tired. Very tired."
He didn't like that hesitation. Then again, he didn't like very much that had been going on in his family lately.
"We're just pulling into the street now," Peter heard the brush of Tino's clothes against the seat, presumably turning to get Bo's attention, "We'll see you in a bit."
Peter nodded as Tino hung up and set the phone back into its cradle. Bo was tired. Well, that was nothing new. He was always tired lately which just made him more and more snappish with Peter, especially over silly little things.
Considering that Bo had to be taken to hospital , Peter had to wonder whether Bo's exhaustion was more serious than his adopted brother simply not getting enough sleep.
Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Bo kept shifting uncomfortably in his seat, his eyebrows drawn together in a frown. He pushed his food around his plate with his fork and clearly wasn't interested in finishing it.
"Don't play with yer food," Berwald's tone wasn't as sharp as it normally would be, "Bad manners."
Bo simply shrugged and stared down at his plate.
"You don't need to finish it if you don't feel up to it," Tino gently mussed Bo's hair, "I know you must be tired."
Peter just stared across the table at Bo, taking note of how he looked even paler than usual. He looked washed out. He ducked his head, avoiding Peter's eyes, coughing. There was sweat beading on his forehead and he looked as if he was shaking all over.
Berwald stood up and pulled Bo's chair away from the table, picking him up. Bo clung to his father and buried his face in the man's neck. Blood from his nosebleed smeared onto Berwald's shirt collar.
"I'm sorry, Peter," Tino offered Peter an apologetic smile as Berwald took the fevered Bo upstairs, "Today just…hasn't been your day, has it?"
Peter shrugged, "Guess not."
He stood up, suddenly unable to finish the rest of his dinner. Tino gathered up the plates and took them into the kitchen, Peter following behind him. Both of them ignored the drops of blood on the table and place mat.
"What's wrong with Bo?" Peter left his plate on the side and turned to look Tino in the eye, "Is he going to get better soon?"
Tino didn't answer for a long moment. He stared down at the sink as it filled with hot water, clearly thinking about how to answer the question. He didn't want to give Peter an answer he wasn't sure of and he didn't want to sugar coat the situation.
"I don't know," he finally said, "I hope he will but we won't know until his test results come back."
He turned the tap off and ran a hand through Peter's hair. He couldn't leave his boy in the dark, like he'd been doing for a while now. Especially when Bo's illness was up in the air and potentially far worse than they'd first thought.
He leant down and kissed Peter on the top of his head before turning back to the washing up, ignoring the burn of the hot water against his bare arms. Peter left his plate on the kitchen counter and left the kitchen, thundering up the stairs to join Berwald and Bo.
Tino let out a shuddering breath and ran a wet hand through his hair. He hoped that Peter hadn't seen how tired he looked; from the day that the doctor had referred Bo to hospital for his bone marrow tests, he hadn't had a full night sleep. He knew Berwald had been faring even worse.
"Tino?" Berwald called down to him from the top of the stairs, "Can yer get the icepack."
Tino dried off his hands and took the icepack out of the freezer, wrapping it in a tea towel. He turned it over in his hands as he walked up the stairs, a heavy feeling settling in his stomach. He rapped on the bathroom door, arranging his features into as neutral an expression as possible.
"Thanks," Berwald smiled at him as he pressed the icepack against Bo's cheek, "This one isn't as bad as the others."
Bo sniffed and allowed Peter to press another tissue against his nose. Tino looked up at Berwald, taking note of the tired lines around the Swede's eyes. He'd have to talk to Berwald about how much sleep he was getting.
Peter discarded the bloody tissue and replaced it with a clean one. Tino moved the icepack to Bo's other cheek and couldn't help but wonder if it was possible for a child to get any paler. The nosebleed definitely didn't seem to be slowing down.
Tino heard Berwald sigh behind him and leave the bathroom. He was almost tempted to join him but knew that Berwald just needed some time on his own.
What on Earth were they going to do?