Chapter Text
There were very few things that could drive Emmet away from the subway, and only death could really keep him away, but he had always said that he'd come back to haunt the station if he died. So really, nothing could deter him, except for one thing…
Flu season.
Emmet had extremely severe emetophobia, it was so severe in fact, that the mere mention of it caused him to panic. The subway being a very popular and public place, there are many people, and many sick people. Emmet hated sick people. He had been worrying about it since the weather started to get colder, and more people were sniffling and coughing, but luckily there was no stomach flu yet. Emmet went to great lengths to avoid becoming sick himself, so he was at least safe in that respect. Unfortunately he could not avoid other sick people, as much as he wanted to. He had a job to do, and he would do it.
It was another day, and Emmet had gotten up early to get ready. Ingo was awake much earlier, as usual, and he was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Emmet emerged from his room and sat on the couch, waiting for ingo to be ready to leave.
“You should eat.” Ingo said.
“I am Emmet! I am not hungry, I will eat later.” Emmet responded. He often did not eat in the morning, as much as Ingo wanted him to.
Ingo nodded and stuffed a bagel in his mouth, and some snacks in his bag, and started towards the door. Emmet shot up and followed him, grabbing his own bag on the way. It was still dark outside, like it always was when the twins first went out to go to work. To be early is to be on time afterall! Neither remembered where the saying came from, but they always followed it as if it were a rule.
Ingo continued to eat his bagel as they made their way to the station, periodically looking over to Emmet, who was becoming more obviously nervous by the minute. “Emmet.”
“Yes?”
“There is no need to be so worried, there are rarely very sick people at the station. Most people know not to travel when they are ill.” Ingo said, in an attempt to comfort his brother.
“Yep! You are right! but…” Emmet trailed off, “I cannot help but be scared.”
Ingo placed a hand on Emmets shoulder, “If anything happens, I promise I will be there. Taking care of you is my job as your big brother.” He said proudly.
“You are only older by three minutes!” Emmet laughed, pushing Ingos hand away.
“Yes, but I am still older!”
“Well I am taller!”
“We are the same height, you just don't slouch.” Ingo straightened his back to demonstrate that they were, infact, the same height.
“Just wait till my platforms arrive! Then I will tower over everyone!” Emmet raised his fists in excitement.
“You are already tall. You don't need platforms.”
“Yep! They are verrrrry fun though!”
With the lighthearted argument pushing away his anxieties, Emmet nearly forgot what he was so scared about in the first place. That was, until they finally got to the station. No one was there yet, but there was a feeling hanging in the air that Emmet did not like. He didn't want Ingo to worry, so he marched forward with a fake confidence. Ingo could see the fear though.
They waited for the station to open. An hour passed, and then a few minutes, and then the people started flooding in. Just as Ingo said, not many people were sick, and those that were had masks on, and seemed to just have simple colds. Emmet was comfortable enough to not show he was nervous, so most of the day went by like it usually did. The trains went back and forth between stations, there were battles, and only one somewhat annoying passenger.
It was near the end of the day, and the train was heading back to Gears station. It was just a few minutes from entering the station when a nearby passenger started to look queasy. Emmet noticed immediately. He wanted to move away, just in case, but it was crowded and there was no space to move. The station became visible, and the train started to stop. It was just a few moments before the doors opened, when the sick looking passenger hunched over and spewed the contents of their stomach onto the floor.
Emmet lurched away, bumping into a few other passengers in his attempt to flee. time seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time. Everything was happening too fast, and yet the doors seemed to be taking years to open. the sound of the sick passenger rang through his ears, and the smell of the disgusting fluid stung his nose. He was tearing up. The room was spinning. He had to get out. He had to. He had to. He-
The doors opened and he tumbled out. Emmet was running on autopilot now. His legs were taking him somewhere, but he wasn't paying attention, he just had to get away. He opened a door and slammed it behind him, still not entirely sure where he had ended up. He had to breathe, he had to calm down, but he couldn't. He flapped his hands and whined. He had to distract himself.
He reached down to his pokeballs, because surely they would make him feel better, but he caught a glimpse of something on his coat.
There was some on him.
In a panic, he tore off his coat and flung it across the room, and quickly made it to the opposite side. Any progress he had made in calming down was gone, and now all he could do was curl up on the floor, whimpering as he tried to remove himself from reality. He hated this. He hated how sensitive he was. It was only stomach fluid. Why did it scare him so much?
The door opened and someone entered. They called out Emmet's name, but he couldn't answer, he could barely even tell where he was. They called his name again, this time closer. He raised his head, there were tears streaming down his face, and he was breathing heavily. If not for the voice guiding him back to his senses, he wouldn't be able to tell who it was through his blurry eyes.
“Emmet,” Ingo said softly, “It’s okay, I promise. you're safe here, it's just us.”
Emmet looked up. Ingo was kneeling in front of him, obviously worried. They were in his office. Emmet must have run in there on instinct.
“Emmet…?” Ingo said again.
Emmet was still shaking, but the sound of his brother's voice had calmed him down significantly. Emmet threw his arms around Ingo, still desperate for any kind of comfort he could get. Ingo gladly hugged him back, squeezing him tightly, as he knew soft touches very much bothered Emmet.
They stayed like that for a while. Both on the floor, Emmet almost on Ingos lap and arms around each other. Emmet was no longer just hugging Ingo to calm down, he was just happy being held, and Ingo was happy to hold him.
“Are you alright Emmet? Some passengers told me what happened.”
Emmet nodded, still not ready to speak.
“I’m sorry I was not there.”
Emmet headbutted Ingos chest, his own non-verbal way of saying “don't blame yourself.”
Ingo chuckled and ran a hand through Emmet's hair, “Alright, alright. The day is basically over, how about we go home?”
Emmet nodded again, and Ingo helped him to his feet. He would get Emmets coat cleaned later, for now he just wanted to get his little brother home safe.