Parallel to You

"Parallel to You" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
As darkness began to set in on the Jaw, Dario found himself once again stumbling into the makeshift infirmary that he spent an unfortunate amount of time in. Between those who just needed a helping hand to reach it, or assisting other Rebels in bringing the more critically injured, his body and mind were bordering on exhausting he hadn’t experienced in some time. He shuffled over to the closest cot he could find, throwing himself onto it and laying on his back to stare at the top of the tent.
Did I do enough?
He replayed each instance of healing in his head; the distorted faces of pain and fear flashed one after another. Various wounded grabbing his arm and nearly shattering it from the unbearable pain they were in, others pleading with him to help with injuries he could not place, and therefore, could do nothing about. It was etched deep into his psyche at this point, and any attempts to quell the visions of distress and horror were met with stronger visualizations. He shut his eyes as tight as he could, pressing his hands against his face.
Please stop. Please.
foresight-botgd
There was a knock against the front of the tent, and Yun quickly returned his hand to the handle of the warm, covered iron pot he had hanging by his trembling arms, in front of his knees. His shoulders were hoisted up as high as they would go to keep it from dragging on the ground. “Hey, Dario? You in there?” he called out, half-worried he was going to wake the deer from some well-needed rest.
dario-the-deer
The well-timed jolt back to current events caused the deer to spasm as he recognized the already familiar voice from outside the tent. Dario shot up onto the edge of the cot, feeling lighter than usual, but chalked it up to moving too fast… probably.
He greeted Yun as quickly as he could, taking note of the pot causing a fair amount of grief in the young man. The sight was comical; something desperately needed.
“Oh, Yun, please let me take that.” He knelt down to meet Yun’s eyeline, smiling as he took the pot into his own hands. “This smells… remarkable.”
foresight-botgd
“Yeah, they finally made a fresh batch instead of using the stuff that was about to go uhhhhh–” Yun’s eyes jumped to the top of Dario’s head and he immediately lost the train of his current sentence. He flipped rapidly between panic at seeing fresh blood staining his chestnut hair and panic at not wanting to offend what could be a seasonal half-breed ritual. Unfortunately, he didn’t choose fast enough before his mouth finished with, “–uhhhhhohmygod your head.”
dario-the-deer
“M-my what?”
He instinctually looked up before realizing how his own eyes worked, taking a hand and reaching to lightly graze the top of his head. The sudden, unexpected dampness pushed his heart to beat quicker.
Don’t look don’t look don’t look don’t look
Curiosity took over, and as he lowered his hand to observe the very familiar red that had been prevalent in the days before, clarity struck.
Oh Gods, please, any time but now.
“Wh- how, wait-” He spun around, eyes immediately locking with the now separated set of antlers that were nearly perfectly positioned where his head had been just moments before. Dario, in a stunned silence, didn’t feel his hands release the pot of food - the realization only came when a loud bang caused the pair to both jump where they stood in a feeble attempt to avoid the splashing food from covering them. “Gods, shit, Yun, I am so-“ 
His face burned the brightest red he had ever felt; a combination of everything that could have gone wrong in that moment all coalescing into a disaster that only he could be capable of. The stag simply stood in a shocked silence, waiting for anything else to happen that could add to his embarrassment.
foresight-botgd
Yun briefly considered following the Conclave to the bottom of the ocean.
He cleared his throat, and looked down at his half-soaked pants, thankful that the stew hadn’t been any hotter. “I–it’s okay, are you…is that supposed to happen?” Of course it is he’s a deer–! “The blood, I mean? Do I need to go get someone!?”
dario-the-deer
Yun’s words sounded muffled; Dario couldn’t focus on anything other than the absolute mess he had caused. 
“I- no, I’m… I’m good, it’s…” He franticly wiped the blood from his hand onto the shirt that was already a dark crimson from the events of the day. “I didn’t think- I didn’t… expect to shed this soon.” 
He desperately looked around the vicinity for anything that could be used to absorb the liquid, but without disturbing the other occupants of the tent, the options were incredibly scarce. Even if he had the courage to impose, he didn’t want his bloodied head to be on display. With an immediate forgetfulness of the company he shared, he took advantage of the missing antlers to remove his shirt and began mopping the stew as best he could with the clothing. It was still warm as it dampened his shirt, and it filled the deer with guilt.
“I’m so sorry, Yun… I should have been more careful. I didn’t mean to frighten you at all.”
foresight-botgd
“Oh, no, no, þú hlýtur að vera að grínast með mig, don’t do that, just–” Yun pushed the pot upright and stilled Dario’s hands, helping him wad up his absurdly soiled shirt. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it, we’ll find a guard dog who’d like it.” He tried to diffuse the atmosphere with a big grin. “I can make sure this get washed…you need a new one?”
dario-the-deer
The steadying of his hands gave Dario temporary pause, and the unfortunate enlightenment of what he had just done. The redness returned to his face in full force, and he quickly grabbed the shirt from Yun.
“Ah, ah, I- uh, I mean, I’m sure… yeah, no, yeah, that’s fine, that’s fine.” He couldn’t stop stumbling over his words as he held the shirt against his chest; the damp stew was now cold against his skin, but he was certain that the heat of his genuine terror would warm him up plenty. He took a breath, allowing himself to calm enough to form a coherent thought that wouldn’t contribute to the proverbial hole he had dug himself. He looked up from the mess at his feet, still kneeling in front of Yun.
“Hey, I… I want to apologize.”
foresight-botgd
Yun looked at Dario over his glasses, raising his eyebrows with a sympathetic half-smile. “What? For shedding?” he said, knowing full well that wasn’t it, but trying to let Dario move past his embarrassment. “You don’t have to say sorry for that.” He stood up and gestured insistently for the shirt, scooping up the handle of the pot as well. “You wait here and I’ll get some more, okay?” He really, genuinely wanted to relieve Dario of his troubles for as long of a break as the half-breed would allow.
dario-the-deer
“No, no- I…”
He didn’t give Yun a chance to move. Dario lunged forward, in a nearly subconscious fashion, and pulled the young man in to embrace him. The deer couldn’t place what in that moment motivated the instinctual hug, but he wasn’t going to fight it. He remained kneeled as his arms stayed wrapped gently around Yun’s small frame.
“You tried to hug me when we met… and I couldn’t stop thinking about it after you left.” He spoke with much more clarity than before; his voice hushed to just above a whisper. “I kept thinking about what you might have left behind, in your own timeline, and I thought about all of the times that Milae encountered versions of me in other timelines and may have wanted the same. It hasn’t left my mind for days, and I’m… I’m sorry I didn’t give you this.”
foresight-botgd
The pot plunked right back to the ground. “Oh! Oh…”
Yun was shocked, but he wouldn’t refuse a hug from the real Dario if his life depended on it…well, Yun’s life, at least. Refraining from affection for the sake of others was his trial, right now, after all. But with no supernatural boundaries, he curled right into Dario, just barely able to wrap his arms all the way around him with their size difference. He was immediately light-headed with contentment. “Thank you,” he said in a muffled voice, piercing with sincerity. “It’s okay, you didn’t really know me at first.” 
Dario took just a few more seconds after Yun’s words to hold him before returning to his feet. He took note of how small his new friend was by comparison to his now towering stance.
“I thought about that too… I mean, in a way, we already know each other.” He reached down and picked up the visibly worn pot once again, not breaking eye contact with Yun as he did so. “If what Milae has taught me stuck at all, then that means there’s someone like me where you’re from. I just wanted to make things feel a little bit more comfortable while you’re here.”
He instinctively ran his fingers through his hair, providing a quick reminder of the initial problem at hand.
“But I am sorry that you had to see… all of this. I’m thankful Milae wasn’t around to watch me make a fool of myself.”
foresight-botgd
“It’s fine, really.” Yun peered at the misplaced antlers on the cot, and then looked back up at the half-breed, his neck craned at a familiar angle. “Are you gonna be okay? I keep meaning to come by and go with you when you make your rounds, I really want to help, there’s just been…a lot going on.”
dario-the-deer
The deer couldn’t do much more than laugh at the timing of it all. ‘A lot going on’ didn’t even begin to scrape the bottom of their collective experiences over the past few days.
“I hear that. Uh, that’s up to you, bud.” He thought back to Yun’s training with Milae, and though it was quite a beautiful spectacle for him to witness, he knew there was more to that than just entertainment value. “I think you should focus on what you’re doing with Milae. That being said, if you find yourself with time to spare, I would certainly enjoy your company.”
Dario walked himself over to where his antlers rested, picking them up in an almost grieving fashion.
“I’ll be fine. Just going to look a bit rough until I can manage a new set of these.”
foresight-botgd
“Oh, you know neither of us think that’s true.” He tailed Dario like a duckling, looking at them more closely. “They’re still really cool! What do you do with them?”
dario-the-deer
“I’ll be honest, I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.” Dario laughed softly as he gazed upon them; a sight that still felt strange, regardless of how many times it would happen over his lifetime. “Usually, someone will ask for them when they notice that my head is… a little barren. Doesn’t take long for most folks to figure out.”
He would have been more fixated on their separation if not for the fact that he was still without a shirt, which was at the forefront of his mind. Why did I do that?
“I suppose I just wait and see who claims them.”
foresight-botgd
Yun gently ran a finger along one of the tines, marveling at their size. They were incredibly handsome, even with his inexperience with things like hunting. “Mhm, yeah…uh…” He blinked. “Right, um, soup. Do you still want soup?”
dario-the-deer
Between the toil of healing and the disastrously embarrassing sequence of events, Dario hadn’t realized how hungry he was. The reprieve from his intrusive thoughts that Yun provided gave him a small window to not feel sick to his stomach.
“I would like that… very much.” He took a seat on the cot, rubbing the temples of his head. “A little normalcy in my day sounds pretty nice right about now.”
foresight-botgd
“Okay! I can go do that.”
Yun took a step to leave, eager to help, and then he paused, turning on his heel and his shoulders rose closer to his ears as he shyly lifted his arms up for another hug. 
dario-the-deer
There was zero chance that the stag could say no; Yun’s outreached arms caused his heartstrings to tug and an overwhelming smile to take over his face. He tousled Yun’s hair before putting his arms under his new friend’s own, pulling Yun off of his feet and tightly holding him, allowing the young man’s arms to wrap around his neck.
He struggled to find anything of value to say, but determined that it wasn’t necessary. The moment spoke for itself.
foresight-botgd
Yun gently kicked his feet in the air for several seconds, humming happily into Dario before pulling back and hopping back to the ground, bouncing once before blurting, “Okay, soup!” and darting through the entrance, making the tent flaps wave wildly.