Help is Never too Far Away

It had felt like forever before Morty was released from the hospital.  To Eusine, it felt as if he had spent centuries sitting by his bed, trying to help him.

“I’ll walk you home, okay?” Eusine offered as he stepped out of the hospital entrance, his friend behind him.  “Do you want to stop and get some food first?”

Morty didn’t acknowledge these words; he only continued staring at the sky with a dull look in his eyes. 

“Morty?” Eusine stopped walking and turned around, reaching out to grab his friend’s arm.  He wasn’t surprised when the blond yelped and jerked away, instead remaining patiently by his friend’s side.  “Morty, it’s okay.  It was just me.”

Morty’s body tensed, his arms clamped tightly by his side.  He started to shake, his eyes fixed on the ground.  Eusine knew better than to try and touch him again, instead trying to calm him down with words.

“Morty, it’s okay.” The brunet had gotten so used to keeping his cool over the past few weeks, it was almost second nature to keep his voice calm around Morty.  “Morty.  Morty, look at me.  Morty.”

The blond trembled as he raised his head, a fearful look in his eyes.  He was biting at his lip hard enough to draw blood, the red liquid slipping down his chin in small streams.  He slowly inched away from his friend as if he believed the other was going to hit him and, when Eusine reached out to stop this behaviour, he gasped and cried.

Eusine was surprised by how well he was able to keep his temper around the younger male; he was always so quick to explode.  “Morty.  We need to go back to your Gym.  Can you walk back there?”

The blond didn’t make eye contact as he nodded.  His steps were slow, almost calculated to the point Eusine was certain he was wary of the people around them.

~~XX~~

When they finally arrived back at Morty’s Gym after what felt like forever, the first thing the blond did was go to his room.  Eusine followed him, unable to trust the younger to stay out of trouble.

The blond didn’t seem to pay attention to anything around him; he just dropped himself onto his bed, looking up at the roof with a blank expression. 

Eusine just stood in the doorway, wondering if there was anything he could do to help. 

“Morty?” The brunet called, noticing the way his friend just twitched.  “Morty, is there anything I can get for you?”

Addressed male just shook his head, his eyes closing.  Eusine didn’t know if that was a sign for him to leave or not, but he couldn’t bring himself to exit the Gym, afraid of what he would find when he came back next. 

Instead, the Suicune-hunter just left the bedroom, going to make himself comfortable out in the living room.