A/N: Inspired by the amazing works of proper-nice-that on Archivesofourown, mostly 'Unfair Dismissal' and it's sequel. Each chapters will have their own sets of warnings as there are many of them. Sorry for my absolutly not perfect English…

Warnings: Depiction of severe wounds and abuse, Magic, Undressing, Healing spells, Vomiting, Broken!Soldier, Gentle!Merasmus, Hurt/Comfort

...

Merasmus watched as blood trickled down Jane's arms and dripped onto the cold stone floor beneath him. The Soldier was floating limply in front of him, a green mist enveloping him carefully. The wizard pushed his glowing hands forwards, moving his unconscious roommate in the air and guiding him into his own room. He lowered him down onto the double bed in the center before taking a chair and sitting next to him.

In a way, he was glad. Glad he'd found Jane before the police, wild animals or even the people of Teufort. Who knows what they would've done to him? Those foolish villagers were more scared of a group of brainless mercenaries than they were of an evil magician who'd been around for six thousand years already. Truly, they weren't the smartest. This was probably what led Merasmus to believe they weren't the ones who had assaulted Jane. He had indeed found him unconscious and bathing in his own blood in an area close to Teufort, however he'd been cut up and beaten in such a methodical way it could hardly be the doing of one of those low-IQ villagers. It was someone vile and cruel; even more than the wizard maybe.
Merasmus sighed heavily and reached for the zipper on Jane's coat. He would have to ponder that later. The emergency for now was The Soldier. He opened the red jacket and carefully pulled it off his roommate's shoulders, revealing large bruises and deep lacerations all over his forearms. His shoulders had severe rope-burns which had peeled off the skin in places. Merasmus gently took hold of Jane's hands and inspected them closely. The bones in them had all been shattered and half of his fingers had been removed- No, ripped off. The cut wasn't clean; nerves and strips of skin had been left hanging along with chunks of flesh.

"Hey Merry did you- Wha-?! What happened to him this time?!"

Merasmus turned towards the familiar yet highly irritating Mexican voice he knew so well. The Bombinomicon was floating in the doorway, its red eyes observing Soldier's broken and mangled body. It floated over the bed and propped itself on the bedside table opposite from Merasmus.

"Looks like they got him real bad, uh?"

The wizard didn't respond, instead gently removing Jane's helmet to set it aside. The Soldier's left eye was purple and swollen, his nose broken, his lower lip slashed in different places and bruises decorated his pale face. Blood had also poured out from between his lips in an alarming amount. Merasmus placed slender fingers on his roommate's chin and carefully opened his mouth. The Bombinomicon made a concerned hissing sound as it realized how bad the injuries actually were.

"Nasty…"

Jane's teeth were for half of them either missing or broken. His tongue had been sliced in half to the root, giving it a somewhat similar appearance to Merasmus' own in a bloodier version. His gums had been severely cut and mutilated. The wizard closed his roommate's mouth and wiped off a small trail of blood with his thumb gently.

Jane was like any other human in that he was a civilian; a former mercenary who had been dismissed weeks ago. He had his limits and his motivations; his breaking point and his own beliefs. He was mortal. He was dumb. He was friendly. He could feel pain. He was alive. He had a short-tempered roommate.

Jane was unlike any human in that he had befriended Merasmus. The wizard had always terrified every mortal crossing his path. Soldier, however… Maybe it was his stupidity. It probably was. But he had never feared Merasmus. Despite his powers, despite the cursed talking book he carried around, his spells and ghastly invocations, the fact he was hundreds of years old, despite all this he had never feared him. They were like old friends.

This was why Merasmus trusted him and –as much as he hated to say it- cared for him. Whoever had hurt his human friend was going to regret it dearly.

"Hello? Heeeey! You still there?"

The wizard blinked a few times, realizing he had been a little lost in his thoughts. The Bombinomicon was floating next to Jane's head.

"-He's breathing slow. You better hurry up.

-You are not helping much." Merasmus groaned in response.

The book shrugged its non-existent shoulders.

"I'm a book. I don't have hands."

The wizard didn't answer and slid a hand under Soldier's cotton undershirt to take it off. He frowned. Something didn't feel right under his touch.

"Broken ribs…" he mumbled, his fingers brushing over bruised, slightly swollen areas on his roommate's chest and abdomen.

Merasmus peeled the shirt off as carefully as possible, trying his best not to rub the fabric on the fresh wounds. Jane's upper-body was covered in dark purple and yellows bruises showing the location of several broken ribs.

Jane moaned and shifted weakly. Blood could be heard bubbling in his throat and lungs and spurted out of his mouth and onto the bed sheets. Merasmus frowned once more.

"-Bombinomicon, get me a bucket please. We may need one.

-With what? I don't have hands remem-

-You are a cursed, magic, talking and flying book. You do not need arms or hands, nor any kind of limbs to push a bucket."

The book sighed in resignation and floated off angrily into the corridor. Merasmus watched it for a moment before shifting his attention back to Jane. He unbuckled The Soldier's pants and slid them down, first revealing the American-flag printed boxers the man insisted so much on wearing at all times. He continued pulling the trousers past his thighs, knees, ankles and off his legs. The sight suddenly exposed to him was worse than he'd expected. A lot worse. Jane's thighs had been deeply lacerated from the pelvis down to the knee. His tendons had been mercilessly slashed, his shins broken and the nails ripped from his toes. Both of his ankles had severe rope burns while his knees had been stabbed repeatedly. Merasmus pulled Jane's boxers down and gave a quick check, quite worried about the red stains on the underwear. He gladly realized said stains were from other injuries and pulled the boxers back into place. At least his assailants hadn't gotten so low as to use genital mutilations against him.

A loud metallic bang caught the wizard's attention, followed by a rolling sound. He heard a grunt from the Bombinomicon, another loud bang and a bucket suddenly flew into the room, bouncing once on the ground before rolling to Merasmus' feet.

"-There, a bucket. Whaddaya say?

-Thank you." The wizard answered with a small, slightly forced smile.

He propped the bucket next to the bed, close to Jane's head. The man shifted again and moaned in pain. Merasmus placed three fingers on his roommate's mouth and set his other hand down on his chest. He began murmuring in Latin and a soft glow enveloped his hands. There was blood in Jane's mouth, throat, lungs and internal bleeding in his ribcage and he had to get the excess out. The Bombinomicon watched over Merasmus' shoulder with curiosity as the wizard slowly moved his hand upwards and his fingers backwards. Blood began oozing out of Jane's mouth, contained in a thin layer of magic giving it the appearance of a thick tentacle snaking its way out between his lips. The wizard carefully lowered the blood into the bucket little by little until he had managed to take all of the excess out of The Soldier's body. The layer of magic popped and the red liquid splashed inside the bucket.

Jane's breathing immediately softened and became clearer as he shifted again. Merasmus put a hand over his roommate's mouth once more and opened it, placing his finger tips against the broken teeth. He murmured softly and soon white began filling the empty slots in the other man's gums. The two parts of his tongue slowly fused back together leaving only a thin, light pink line on the organ and an ever so slightly forked tip. When the wizard was finally done Soldier's mouth was clean from blood and injuries. The man groaned and turned his head, pulling his mouth away from his roommate's slender fingers. The wizard sighed and placed his hands above Jane's thighs making slow, circular motions. The lacerate flesh seemed to melt back together for a moment until the wounds were no more. He continued over his knees and tendons reconstructing his legs as best as he could. Merasmus then moved his hands to Soldier's own, whispering a slightly more complicated spell. The bones in his mutilated fingers immediately began to grow back followed by muscle, fat, flesh, skin and nails until the restored digits weakly twitched against the wizard's palm. Merasmus couldn't help but smile softly. He wasn't a natural born healer; black magic had always been more of his thing and he never would have thought he'd ever find a use to the healing spells he'd been forced to learn as a student. But now, truth be told, he was glad to have learned and remembered them.

Jane groaned loudly and shook his head right and left while trying to move his arms. Merasmus leaned closer and hovered his hands above Soldier's chest. A clear glow emanated from Jane's body accompanied by cracking and ripping sounds. The bones in his entire body could be seen 'crawling' under the skin, melting together back into place. Soldier's face scrunched and he moaned at the unfamiliar and painful sensation, trying to roll over but being kept down by his roommate's magic. The glow disappeared after a few more minutes, leaving Jane's skeleton as good as new. Merasmus slumped back into his chair with a tired sigh.

"-… He gonna be okay?, the Bombinomicon asked as it leaned closer.

-He will need to rest, but he should be alright." Merasmus calmly responded.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled slowly. Why was this happening? Why now? Soldier was already pretty unstable before; he'd been deemed a burden by his own teammates; unceremoniously fired from RED; he'd spent a full week sleeping on the street before Merasmus agreed to take him back into the castle and even then, he wasn't adapted to a life off the battlefield. He was already having all the troubles in the world accepting his new life, and now this? Even the cruel wizard couldn't help but feel pity for the poor man. He knew that if it wasn't for him, the Bombinomicon and the pack of raccoons infesting his castle Jane wouldn't have anyone. He was away from his home in the American Midwest, his family and the friends he may have had back then. Even if he had never complained about the loneliness, Merasmus knew just how much it affected him and how much he hated it. He had experienced it himself after all. The only difference was that he had learned to accommodate solitude. Soldier had never.

"… Nh… N-o… Nnh…"

Merasmus raised his head just in time to see Jane's eyes shoot open. He grabbed his arm but the stronger man shoved him away with a cry. Unaware of where he was, he began screaming hysterically as panic took over.

"-Jane, you are home you-

-N-NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME! DON'T- PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I'M JUST A CIVILIAN!"

He thrashed and screamed and cried louder and louder; waves of pain rippling through him unforgiving and unstoppable. A thick neon green mist pulled at his ankles and wrists to keep him pinned against the large mattress as Merasmus approached him. He was crying uncontrollably, snot bubbling out of his nose, his eyes red and his breath ragged.

"N-NO! N-

-JANE DOE; ENOUGH!"

The ghostly voice boomed out of the wizard's chest with great power. It shook the entire castle, rumbling the walls and rolling through Jane's body. The man froze with wide eyes, the shock more than enough for him to empty his bladder. Urine pooled between his thighs as Soldier sobbed and swallowed thickly. His back suddenly arched and he broke into a violent coughing fit forcing Merasmus to release him and hand him the bucket already containing some of his blood. Jane's throat clenched and his entire frame shook as he gagged and threw up. The sound of small hard objects –that were definitely not supposed to be there- hitting the bottom of the bucket could be heard, hardly covered by the sound of thick bile splashing in blood. Soldier tried to breathe through his nose as acid burned his throat but the stench only made him more nauseous. He became light-headed and almost slumped forwards before slender hands grabbed his shoulders to hold him in place. Merasmus was sitting next to him, gently holding him to keep him from falling. Tears; big and round began rolling over Soldier's bruised cheeks and square jaw. He felt unexplainably cold and began shivering and sobbing helplessly. Merasmus retrieved the foul bucket and placed it back on the floor. Jane sobbed and looked up at him through watery eyes which suddenly widened when he came to his senses and recognized the familiar old face. He collapsed against Merasmus, burying his face into the wizard's slim chest to muffle his terrified cries. A gentle hand ran through his short hair, words sweet and warm spoken in a caring tone reached and filled his ears.

"Do not fear, Jane... The castle is safe for you to stay. Nobody can harm you here, especially if I am by your side…"

Soldier sobbed and hiccupped as he clung to Merasmus, shaking in terror. The wizard rubbed his back in a slow, circular motion, looking up to see the Bombinomicon searching through the potions on his desk. It seemed greatly interested in one particular square-shaped phial containing a dark blue liquid. It looked back at the wizard and nudged the bottle carefully.

"-You think this one…?

-Ah, yes." Merasmus responded, reaching out his hand.

The book pushed the potion into his reach until pale fingers closed around it. Jane was still sobbing and shaking when the phial was popped open. The wizard gently pushed him back, tilting his chin up and holding the potion to his lips.

"Here, drink this. It will help."

Soldier tried to read the label on the bottle but he found himself unable to focus on the letters. The liquid had a sweet and pleasant aroma similar to honey that reassured him. He opened his lips and let Merasmus pour the dark blue potion into his mouth, blissfully feeling it wash down the acidic taste of his saliva. The phial was emptied in a few quick gulps and Jane immediately felt a surge of warmth roll from his head down to the very tip of his toes. His body felt numb and he suddenly found it quite hard to keep his eyes open. His arm weakly reached for Merasmus as the wizard laid him on his back gently. He tried to speak but the words only came out as a messy slur.

"Rest, Jane, it will do you good." Merasmus half-assured, half-ordered him.

And for once, Soldier listened. He let his body relax as tears dried on his face, allowing his roommate to wrap him in a thick blanket and place his head on a soft pillow. The pain and nausea were slowly numbed away. His breathe slowed and his limbs became heavy. He weakly squeezed Merasmus' hand, a small sob escaping him as he felt himself slip into unconsciousness. The wizard gently stroked his hand to reassure him and kept murmuring gentle words of encouragement until he was finally asleep. The bruises on Soldier's face slowly began fading and the cuts closing as the second effect of the Sleep&Heal potion kicked in. Merasmus scratched behind his roommate's ear affectionately as the stronger man snored softly.

"Oh, Jane… What have they done to you?"

He sighed and covered Soldier's eyes with his open palm.

"I must know… Deos quaeso, ut videa-

-Wow wow uh- Wait a second wizard you sure this a good idea?, the Bombinomicon suddenly interrupted, You really wanna do th-

-Do not interrupt me, the wizard suddenly snapped; eyes glowing and baring his teeth, I know the dangers of this spell but this must be done!"

The Bombinomicon fell silent and lowered itself down onto the wizard's desk. He'd seen him in this state before and for what he knew, it was better for him to leave the old man to his business.

"Deos quaeso, ut videam quo damnato per oculos."

As he ended his sentence Merasmus felt his head starting to swim. White was eating away the edges of his blurred vision as pain blossomed in his temples. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut with a small whimper. The sensation of falling overtook his body before a sudden burst of energy filled his chest leaving him gasping for air. He coughed and wheezed, slowly coming back to his senses. The atmosphere suddenly felt a lot colder.

Merasmus shivered and slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was his legs and he realized he was sitting on the floor. His legs… A lot thicker, a lot stronger, bare and covered in dark hair and old battle scars.

The spell had worked. He was in Jane's mind.

He was in Jane's mind; in his body; seeing through his eyes; moving with him and feeling everything he felt. This memory in particular was still vivid and fresh. Every detail was clear; from the feeling of cold air to the sensation of being tied up to the sound of… Breathing? Other people? Merasmus felt Soldier shift and raise his head slowly, his breathe quickening in distress.

The entire BLU team surrounded him.