Trapped In Another Time (Yandere Alastor x Reader) (Hazbin Hotel)

Mistakes and Communication

You wanted to scream in frustration as the bursitis on your leg began to throb so badly it began to buckle. It felt like someone was trying to pull it out of its socket, and then twist. You were limping so badly that even from a distance it would be impossible not to see it.
You couldn't even put pressure on the blasted thing without whimpering and tensing your hand that was resting on the issue.
Pain medicine was called for the second you got home... after you collapse on the sofa, that is if you don't pass out from the pain first.

Ben hadn't turned on the radio once after Foxglove had left, he needed the silence and one of the books to help keep him distracted from that, dream? Nightmare? That he had.
It was a cookbook, and he figured reading some of them would both help him remember how to use a cooker properly (he was honestly surprised he was able to cook the meat and eggs in the first place), as well as trigger a memory, whether it be from the recipe itself or just items of food.
So far he came up empty, but he couldn't deny that some of the foods did sound good. Except for the sweet-looking ones, interesting to read sure, but the thought of cooking it didn't sit well with him.
He figured this could still be classed as a success. Memory or not, if something felt wrong then it must be for good reason. Something to consider telling Foxglove when they got back.
His finger twitched at the thought of them, a feeling of uneasiness swam in his stomach, he knew he had been rather, distant to them this morning. It was all because of that stupid dream he had.
The voices he heard saying those, things, hurt him as if someone had thrown rocks at his face, all landing on contact. And that smile, whose smile did it belong to? It was obviously someone who knew him. But were they a friend, or foe?
He didn't have time to think more as he heard the sound of a door opening, followed by, was that crying? And whimpering?
He turned his head towards the sound, and almost dropped his jaw as he watched h- Foxglove literally hopping into the room, crying with their breathing hitching every time they had to hop. He was even more worried when they practically fell onto the sofa, breathing heavily as they tried to curl up on their left side with their right leg stretched out.
His first reaction was to stand up and walk towards them and ask "did someone attack you?"
Foxglove didn't reply for a bit, they were too busy doing a weird breathing that he thought was, odd, they would breathe through their nose and slowly breathe out with their mouth. Why was that needed?
"I-is the, g-g-green bag, s-s-s-still on the t-t-t-table?" they asked through bad stuttering that Ben almost didn't hear it correctly.
"Yes" he hadn't touched it since he didn't know where they got it from.
"C-c-could you, p-p-please g-g-give to m-m-me?" their breathing began to pick up and then they started doing the odd breathing move.
"I can do that" he was thankful he hadn't knelt down as he practically bolted to the table to yank the bag from it resting place and run back to Foxglove "what do you need me to grab?"
"J-j-just open it, it's h-hard to d-discribe l-like this"
Ben could only assume they were referring to their stuttering issue, which he thought was understandable, he was still having difficulty trying to make out the words. The hard part was trying to figure out how to open the cursed thing.
Only closer inspection, he noticed two dangling things that were hanging from an odd-looking line, so he grabbed one and began to follow it, it shocked him when it moved without issue. First try too.
He does the same thing for the other one and the lid opened up with no resistance, he lifted it up and showed the contents to Foxglove and silently hoped that they knew what they wanted, especially when the tears wouldn't stop falling.
It turned out he had no need to worry as they went straight for the item they wanted, a strange plastic with silver paper stuck onto it. There were shapes too in the form of circles but he had no idea what it was for.
He watches on in silence as his helper pushes something through the silver paper, grabs it and places it inside their mouth. Then swallow it dry. What in the blazes?
They make a face like a child who had just swallowed something gross.
"I forgot what it felt like to take them dry" they mutter through hitched breathing.
Take dry? Was it some kind of medicine?
"I'm s-sorry, b-but we'll need to w-wait for the medicane to k-kick in b-before we can go out" they continue, they sounded exhausted.
A pain medicine? He had never heard of it "how long will it take?"
"A few minutes at most, might be slightly longer since I didn't eat or drink anything"
Well, it must be working now since they were no longer stuttering "what does the medicine do exactly?"
"Helps make the pain more bearable" they sounded tired "I only ever take them when I absolutely need to though"
"Why's that?"
"They can be addictive if your not careful"
Addictive, cooking, alchohol.
He sees a cut on your finger with dry blood on it.
Red wine dripping from a white shirt.
Ben took a deep, shuddering breath "I see why you wouldn't always use them" they reply with a weak, dry chuckle "what about your finger?"
"Someone dropped a glass object, I wasn't careful enough and caught my finger on it, don't worry it's been disinfected and just needs to heal"
As if to prove their point, they began bending their finger with no resistance. Ben stayed silent as he knelt down on the floor to make himself comfortable. He needed a moment to think. And to apoligise.
"I'm sorry"
In your drowsy state, you almost didn't hear what he said "sorry? For what?"
"For how I treated you this morning" he admitted quietly "I don't mean to sound ungrateful because I am after everything you've offered to me but-"
"Al"
Ben stopped the second those two letters came out of their mouth, it sounded, good, hearing that word. Was it because they came from Foxglove? Or because they were part of his real name?
"You don't have to explain anything to me" they hold their hand out limply like an olive branch "your confused, scared, and most likely feel alone with what your experiencing, I would have to be a heartless jerk to leave you to fend for yourself, yes, I do feel some pity for you, but I'm not helping you because of that, I'm helping you, because it's the right thing to do, for anyone" they give him a weak smile "no one deserves to suffer alone"
Ben stayed silent as they explained, and continued to do so once he absorbed the information.
"To be completely honest with you, I've been worried that I've been overwhelming you with my constant badgering, despite being quiet for most of it" they chuckle weakly "I'm not trying to baby you, far from it, I want to you to gain more independence with your life despite your, situation, I genuinely do want to help you get your memories back, but the truth is I'm not good with social interactions and can't read people properly, so when I do or say something, whether its wrong or not, I keep thinking I'm the one they're mad at"
Ben slowly blinks as he looks at their face flinch as they shift their legs a little "you haven't overwhelmed me in the slightest my dear, I'm simply, still processing everything, I think"
He wasn't lying, but he wasn't being entirely truthful either.
"And that's okay, I don't expect you to be all sunshine and rainbows with your memory loss, I don't expect you to- well, I don't expect much from you because I know processing things can be challenging, especially when it's something foreign if that makes any sense"
He thinks so, but he nods anyway.
"The point I'm trying to make here Ben, is that if you want to vent your frustration out on me, or need help with something your not familiar with, don't hesitate to ask because I really do want you to get better, but I also need you to understand that I may ask randomly if you need help or need a refresh from something because I am just as confused as you are with this because I'm a momma bear who cares too much when I see someone hurt, all I ask is for you to be patient with me as I will for you"
Ben looked away from them as he absorbed everything they explained to him.
Logically they were right, both of them were not used to this and it could easily backfire some time down the line, patience was the only thing they could do for now while trying to understand each other's boundaries. He could work with this, he would try.
Not just because it was the logical thing to do, but because he didn't want to risk getting kicked out should he push too far. They have been very patient with them for the first night, but what's to say that wouldn't change down the line?
"And, if its alright with you, I would like to suggest some things, let you get an input on them to see if it will work on helping you cope better"
He grabs their arm and shake it once "it's a deal then"
Their smile may have been small, but Ben hoped he would see it again when everything had calmed down.
"I'm hazarding a guess that you had a suggestion already? Since you added it at the last second" Ben raises an eyebrow at you questingly.
"Nothing too hard for you, merely a precaution to be safe" you reply calmly "it's basically a tapping system, if you're willing to, I would like us to link arms when we go out" you make a gesture with your index fingers linking together as an example.
Ben hums in thought as he continues to listen.
"I do not wish to insult your mental strength, but sometimes people with amnesia can get a little overwhelmed with the outside world, and considering how you reacted to the TV, I didn't want to take the chance of something like that happening to you"
They shift again so that they could use both arms properly.
"I'm rambling again, what I mean is, during our outing, I want you to use the tapping system to let me know how your feeling should you find yourself unable to speak" you gesture to your arm and give him an example "one tap means you're good, two taps means that your feeling overwhelmed and seek someplace quiet before we continue, and finally three taps, which basically means get me the heck out of here before I break the windows with my scream"
He didn't know why it happened, but the way Foxglove said it, made him burst into laughter at the thought of him breaking windows from his voice alone, that would be the day.
"You never know, it could happen" you chuckled as you push yourself up into a sitting position "I've seen stranger things"
"You'll have to tell me sometime" Ben replied after his laughter died down and goes back to observing Foxglove.
They were panting too and were now lying on their back as if to get more air.
"Right" they mutter as push themselves up into a sitting position "I think that's enough resting now, let's get you some clean clothing and decent nightwear for the next few days, then we can have a full day of shopping for your wardrobe"
"You don't sound enthusiastic about it" he says as he gets up.
"I understand the importance of replacing clothing, I'm just not the kind of person who likes to go for the latest fashion" they shrug "if it fits and I like then I'll take it, and cheap, bargain bins are the best way to go in my opinion"
"What's wrong with expensive ones?"
"Sometimes they don't live up to the price and get destroyed after a few washes, plus not many people have the money required for them, it's why I always go for the cheap stuff, slightly more reliable and well within my budget"
By this point, Foxglove had stood up from the sofa and was shifting their weight to each leg as if warming up, then began to stretch them by lifting them up one by one, they hissed a few times but seemed to be in less pain than they had previously.
"Stiff movements, most likely from the previous walk" they mutter to themselves "but more manageable now, okay, get your shoes on sunflower because we're heading out now"
Sunflower? Where had that come from?
They seemed to notice what they had said too because they immediately stopped in their tracks looking uncomfortable.
"Uh..."
"Do you always call people you just met names like that?" he joked to ease the tension.
They make a weird sound as they laugh "not really, I normally do it with those I consider a friend or trust completely, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable"
"What's a sunflower?" he asks as he puts his shoes on "I know what a flower is but I don't think I've ever heard of a sunflower before, even without the memory loss"
He wasn't completely sure about that, but he thought it was the best way to distract them from their embarrassment.
It seemed to work, because after Foxglove got their own shoes on, they began to describe what a sunflower looked like and how tall they could grow.
Ben should have found it annoying, but he was honestly enjoying listening to them yatter on about the flower.
Because it was the only thing keeping him grounded when he heard the sound of a loud 'HONK' the second he stepped outside the house. Followed by the sound of loud vehicles rushing past him.
He felt the ground slip under him as his breathing began to pick up.
You had completely forgotten that it was the time people were returning home.