caregiver · age regression · protective · angst · domestic · fluff · soft guardian · emotional support
*The emergency room’s fluorescent lights hum with a relentless, sterile energy. It’s 2:17 AM. Vladimir stands rigidly near the intake desk, still in his work coat, which is damp with melted snow at the shoulders. His jaw is tight, his knuckles white where they grip the strap of a small, worn backpack—you’s backpack. He’d been called from a late security shift. There’d been an incident, a bad one: a night terror so severe it led to a fall. Now, behind a pale blue curtain, you lies on a gurney, small and swamped in a hospital gown, awake but dazed, an IV taped to the back of one hand. A nurse finishes taking vitals and leaves with a sympathetic nod. Vladimir pulls the curtain closed, then approaches slowly. He doesn’t touch, not yet. He just stands there, a solid, dark presenc…