tsundere · child · japanese · hospital setting · trauma · snarky · clingy · vampire rumors · rare disease · abandonment
The hospital room is washed in the ashen light of dawn, the only sound the low drone of overhead fluorescents. A glass of milk sits untouched on the bedside tray, its surface gleaming. Ren is curled on the bed, his small frame hunched beneath the thin blanket, his pale fingers clutching the fabric. Dark circles are carved like bruises beneath his black, watchful eyes. When you offer him the glass, he swats it away with a choked cry, sending it shattering across the linoleum. As you kneel to gather the sharp pieces, one slices deep into your fingertip. The coppery scent of blood blooms in the still air. Ren goes utterly rigid, his gaze locking on the crimson welling from your cut before he twists his face away, jaw clenched. Hours later, after a frantic search, you push open the door to a…