Chapter Text
“There’s really nothing to worry about… I know you don’t have the best experiences with doctors Sei, but I promise you the doctors here are good people. I’ll be with you the entire time alright?”
Sei just whimpered in response. He hated doctors. After being rescued from Oval Tower he never wanted to see another doctor again, but of course Mink wouldn’t allow that. As much as Sei hated it, he knew Mink was just trying to keep him healthy. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t complain though.
Aoba gently squeezed his brother’s hand, “It’ll be alright, I’ll hold your hand the whole time.”
Sei squeezed his hand back, giving Aoba a half smile despite his anxiety.
“I don’t want to lie to you or have anything sprung on you suddenly, so I’m telling you now that you both need vaccinations today. I know it sucks, but it’ll be quick. And I’m getting them too okay?” Mink explained gently, not looking up from the dirt road he was driving on.
The nearest clinic was over an hour drive away, but they made the trip every year for regular checkups. Mink insisted on it, especially with Sei’s history of health issues.
“Just them or…?” Koujaku asked anxiously.
“Everyone.” Mink corrected.
Koujaku Grumbled. He would never admit it outright, but he was scared of needles as well. He never clung to Mink like Sei and Aoba did, but it always made him feel a bit nauseous. He was honestly incredibly jealous of Noiz and how easily he dealt with them.
“Wait Mink-san! Even though I’m not human, do I get to have a doctor's appointment?” Clear questioned.
Mink let out a tired sigh, “I’m not really sure, I don’t know how you work… I’ll leave that up to the doctors. You can go with Noiz and keep him company even if you don’t need a checkup though okay?”
“Okay!”
Clear was the only one that seemed really excited about the whole thing. For humans, doctor’s appointments could be scary or even painful, but for Clear it just seemed like another fun errand to run with his partners.
“Alright everyone out” Mink huffed, parking the car outside the clinic.
Sei let out a soft nervous whine and Aoba squeezed his hand, gently helping his brother out of the car. Sei's legs wobbled as he stepped out, clearly a side effect of his overwhelming nerves.
“I’ll take Sei and Aoba first while you all wait in the waiting room, you can decide what order you go in, I don’t care,” Mink said, glancing back at the group, “Noiz isn’t allowed to go with Koujaku though,” he added.
Sei and Aoba sat together on a bench in the waiting room holding hands as Mink checked everyone in. Sei’s grip was so tight that Aoba’s hand felt like it might break, but he didn’t dare say anything. He knew how hard these things were for Sei, so if Sei needed to squeeze his hand to feel better, he would let him.
“You two, come on.” Mink said, calling both the brothers over and directing them into an exam room.
Aoba had to practically pull Sei up from the bench, and he could feel his heart sink as Sei shivered. He was clearly terrified, and Aoba couldn’t do anything to help.
“It’s alright… I’ll be with you the whole time… I’m scared too, but it won’t be so bad I promise” Aoba whispered, squeezing Sei’s hand.
Sei nodded in response, too nervous to use his voice, and squeezed Aoba’s hand back.
The group walked into the exam room and Mink quickly took a seat in a chair off to the side.
“So who’s first?” The doctor asked warmly.
Sei hid behind Aoba, pushing him forward a bit.
“You go first.” He whispered softly.
Aoba let out a soft laugh. Sei really did act childish when he was scared. Aoba didn’t really like doctors either, but he would try to be brave if that’s what Sei needed.
“Aoba first then.” The doctor chucked, directing Aoba over to a scale and writing down his weight.
After getting his height and weight, Aoba sat down on the exam table as Sei watched anxiously. Aoba gave him a reassuring smile as Mink wrapped an arm around the trembling boy.
Mink would never admit it, but Aoba knew how anxious these trips made Mink. The older man was always very fond of Sei, and seeing him upset always seemed to cause him distress, even if he hid it well.
Aoba tried to steady his heart, taking deep slow breaths as the doctor wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his arm.
He knew he had no reason to be, but being in a doctor’s office still made him horribly anxious.
He closed his eyes and continued to focus on his breathing as the doctor took his blood pressure and listened to his heart with a stethoscope.
“I’m just gonna take a look in your ears really quick alright?” The doctor said softly, shining a light into Aoba’s ears.
“Now open wide for me please.”
Aoba complied and opened his mouth as the doctor looked around inside for a few seconds.
“All done. It’s Sei's turn now!” She chirped, almost as if talking to a small child.
Truth be told, with Sei she might as well have been.
Mink gently guided Sei over so the doctor could take his height and weight before picking him up and setting him on the exam table next to Aoba.
The doctor raised her eyebrows a bit when Mink picked the younger boy up, but didn’t say anything.
“Hold my hand?” Sei asked softly, looking over at Aoba with a desperate expression.
Aoba gently took Sei's hand and gave it a little squeeze.
Sei was a bit calmer after seeing Aoba go first, but all the tools still made him a bit nervous.
The doctor quickly repeated the steps with Sei, listening to his quick heart beat and taking his blood pressure with a gentle smile before looking in his mouth and ears.
“There we go! Now I’ll be right back with the immunizations.”
Sei quickly turned to Mink in fear, gripping Aoba’s hand as the doctor exited the room.
“I don’t want to!” He whimpered.
Mink sighed softly, seeing Sei afraid always hurt his heart. He walked over and gently wrapped his arms around the smaller boy.
“It’s scary I know, but it’ll be over quickly I promise, and we can get a nice treat after alright? Aoba can hold your hand the whole time.”
Sei continued to whine, burying his face in Mink’s sturdy chest and inhaling his scent in an attempt to comfort himself.
Mink softly began to stroke his hair, “I’m sorry this scares you so much… I’m proud of you for trying to be brave.”
Aoba could feel his own heart rate start to rise as they waited, but he didn’t want to accidentally scare Sei more by showing fear, instead just resting his head on Mink’s shoulder for comfort.
Mink sensed his discomfort immediately, as he always did, and opened his arm up to Aoba as well, pulling him close to his chest along with Sei.
Aoba quickly melted into the gentle touch, and his breathing settled as he inhaled his partner’s warm comforting cinnamon scent.
The twins both jumped as the door opened and the doctor stepped back inside with a small metal tray containing a few syringes and alcohol wipes.
“Alright, who’s first?” She asked warmly.
Sei roughly pushed Aoba, clearly holding back tears, and Aoba sighed softly, “I guess I’m going first.” His voice shook a bit, but he was trying his hardest to be brave.
“Can you roll up your sleeve for me?”
Mink loosened his hold on Aoba so he could sit up, and Aoba began rolling up his sleeve, letting out a shaky sigh. He reached for Mink’s hand and squeezed it as the doctor began to wipe off his arm.
The doctor uncapped the first syringe and gently pinched Aoba’s arm “Alright little poke.”
Aoba squeezed Mink’s hand tightly as the needle pierced his skin with a small sting. It really wasn’t so bad, but Aoba let out a small whine anyway as the doctor pulled the needle out and placed a small bandaid on his arm.
“And one more…” she said gently.
Aoba felt another small sting as the second needle pierced him, and he squeezed Mink’s hand in an attempt to keep calm in front of Sei.
“All done then. Now it’s Sei’s” turn, the doctor said warmly, applying the second bandaid to Aoba’s arm.
His arm ached a bit, but it wasn’t horrible. Just a bit uncomfortable. If he didn’t use it much for the rest of the day he would probably feel just fine. What he was worried about however was Sei…
Sei remained hidden in Mink’s chest, not daring to even look at the doctor. “I don’t want to…” he whimpered, a few tears falling against Mink’s chest.
“Shhh it’s alright… it’s just a little pinch, you’ll be okay, I’ll hold you right here the whole time,” Mink whispered, squeezing Sei tightly in his arms and giving him a kiss on the head, “but we have to do this okay? It’ll be quick.”
“Okay but I get ice cream after.” He whined.
Mink huffed in agreement. That was always their deal, if Sei didn’t try to scrap the doctors, he could have ice cream after. It was practically a tradition at this point.
“Alright, I’m going to start now, please try not to tense up.”
Mink tightened his hold around Sei, keeping him comfortably but firmly pinned to his chest to prevent him from squirming.
Sei let out a small yelp of fear as the doctor began to wipe down his arm, and his body began to tremble again.
Aoba whispered, giving Sei a gentle pat on the back, “It’s okay… you’re being so good…”
Sei whimpered in response to Aoba’s praise, and yelped again as he felt the first needle pierce his skin. He couldn’t help but tense up, making the pain far worse as the syringe's contents were pushed into his body.
“Ow..” he complained, rubbing his tears off on Mink’s chest.
Mink began to rub Sei’s back to comfort the smaller boy, “Just one more, then we’re done.”
Sei began to cry openly into Mink’s chest as the second needle pierced his skin. It didn’t even hurt that badly, but they scared him so much. He didn’t even know why… it felt so pathetic but he couldn’t help it. He was just glad Mink and Aoba were there to comfort him.
“There. All done,” the doctor said, putting two bandaids over the barely visible injection sites on Sei’s arm, “I’m going to go check in with the rest of your group and give you guys a chance to calm down a bit, come out whenever you’re ready.”
Mink nodded, “thank you, we’ll just be a minute.”
“I’m really proud of you both, I know that’s not easy for you, but you did well,” He said, kissing them both on the forehead, “now let’s go see how the others are doing.”