Title;; Injured.

Number;; One.

Universe;; Pre-SBURB.

Characters;; Jade Harley, Becquerel.

Pairings;; None.

Summary;; After slipping up and letting Jade get hurt, Bec refuses to leave her side. Obviously, this creates some problems of its own.

Words;; Two thousand four hundred.

Disclaimer;; I do not own Homestuck, it's characters, the prompts, or anything else that does not belong to me in the following story. Any original characters, however, and the ideas built around said prompts do belong to me and anyone who may have assisted in coming up with story ideas for certain one-shots. Thank you for your time.

...

It didn't really hurt all that much. Not in the beginning, anyway. Perhaps this was from the initial shock of the fall, her mind still reeling as it scrambled to process everything that had just happened. Not that there was much to process; just a trip through the forests on the island, slipping and falling on dirt loosened from a recent rain shower, and a sudden jolt of pain that dissipated almost as soon as it made itself known. Even after the confusion decided its job was done and departed, the injury didn't hurt that bad. An annoying throb was present, but it wasn't like she'd taken a knife to the ankle. And yet that– that tiny little slip up with some not-so-desirable outcomes that could still be considered tolerable – was the beginning of an equally annoying fiasco.

And all because Jade tripped, fell, and sprained her ankle.

There were few to no times when Becquerel failed to protect her from pains like the one she had just been introduced to. It's rather difficult, after all, escaping the sight of a seemingly omnipotent and omnipresent canine. However, even with his strange powers, he was only one dog and there was only so much he could protect her from. He'd been lucky she had gotten passed all of those years after her grandfather's saddening departure from the world of the living with little to no damage. But it was bound to happen eventually. It was for that reason that she wasn't going to hold it against him. Anyway, it really didn't hurt that much. She couldn't possibly fathom how it could really affect- okay, ouch, trying to stand up was not a good idea.

And so it was in that position – sprawled out helplessly on the forest floor and wincing in pain – that the snow-white beast found his owner. His arrival was alerted of by sparks of green electricity and, before she could shift into a more comfortable position, Bec was standing before her. One would imagine it hard to dissect emotion from a face with no eyes, but the raven-haired girl had known him long enough and well enough to be able to interpret every subtle movement of his face, his ears, his tail, and his paws. And, at that very moment, all she was interpreting was slight panic and an overwhelming sense of guilt, ears bent down more than usual and head rested on top of her leg as if an unspoken apology. Before a single word could escape her gaping lips, the world shifted and the next thing she knew was she was laid out in a heap on her duel-colored bed, ankle throbbing as she landed and a yelp echoing throughout the room in response to the pain.

In moments, the canine had teleported a variety of medical equipment – some Jade isn't even quite sure are necessary for caring for the sprain – and was doing all he could to treat it. But, again, he was only one dog and there's only so much he could do. Patting him on the head and taking the wrap from out of his mouth, she picked up where he had left off and tried to imitate what she once saw her grandfather doing to a similar injury back when he was alive. After somewhere between five and ten minutes of awkward fumbling, she laid back and examined her work. Sloppy, obviously. Far from the work of a professional. But it would be better than leaving it limp and hanging there, at least, and she couldn't help but feel a tiny burst of pride for herself at the makeshift cast of sorts.

By that point in time, Bec was pushing against her hip, white fur dusting against the white fabric of her dirtied shirt and various whines of what she assumed were repeated apologies escaping his mouth. However, she isn't upset with him. If it was anyone's fault, it was her own for being stupid enough to go running around in the the afternoon and get herself hurt. So, instead, she let the palm of her hand run from the top of his head and down his neck slowly, gently, reassuringly. "Good dog," she cooed, closing her eyes and letting her head fall on her pillow. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have even been there, she remembered idly. She would have had to jump across the island, up multiple flights of stairs, to a transportilizer, and back to her bed all on her own if he hadn't teleported her to their current location. So why was guilt still pulsing off his pelt? "Best friend."

Aw, well, she thought to herself as a rush of exhaustion took over and her eyes drooped shut. Everything will be fine in the morning.

…

Unfortunately, everything was not fine in the morning. Jade awoke to a dull throb just above her foot and, even with the slightest ounce of pressure, she was yelping in agony. Bec – supposedly having never left her side through the night-time hours – jolted awake to the sound and, within moments was up on her bed, sniffing and licking and trying to make sure nothing was wrong. Irritated from poor sleep, she shoved him off lightly and propped herself into a sitting position in order to gather her bearings.

The previous day's events came tumbling back to her, explaining the pain and the strange over-clinginess her pet is expressing. However, even despite the sprain, she refuses to let herself be bed ridden any longer than need be and tries to push herself off the mattress. Setting her right foot on the ground at all sent pulses of agony running through her nervous system and to her brain, so she prepared herself to hop over to her portable refrigerator using only her left. Even that plan, though, was brought to an abrupt halt as Bec nudged her back and, using his mysterious powers, brought said refrigerator over for her.

The girl eyed him carefully, confusion dancing in the depths of her green eyes for a split moment before she hesitantly accepted the offering, retrieving her breakfast from the device and allowing him to teleport it back to its typical spot for her. She ate slowly, overly alert to the fact that her dog had not moved an inch since she started to dig into a granny smith apple and a carton of milk. It was almost as though he were just waiting for her to choke so he could preform his own strange interpretation of the Heimlich Maneuver on her. In a way, it was a bit sweet that he was staring her down – well, hypothetically, anyway, due to a lack of eyes to stare with – to make sure she wasn't put into harm's way on his watch. Emphasis on the "bit". Mostly, it was unsettling and almost a bother. Couldn't a woman eat in peace without her god dog watching each and every one of her movements?

"I'll be fine, boy," Jade tried to reassure him. However, all he did was let out the smallest bit of a growl and continue manning his post. It took all of her strength to not roll her eyes as she finished up. However, she allowed herself to wonder how long this would last before he come to his senses and realized that she wasn't going to be stupid and get hurt by something like a toothbrush or something equally as frivolous.

Whenever he did, it wouldn't be soon enough.

For the next two weeks, the snow-colored animal never left her side, a stark contrast to how she rarely knew where he was unless it was feeding time or something even more important was going on. For the first week, he refused to let her leave her bed, pushing her back or flat out teleporting her should she get far enough. However, late on the ninth day, he finally gave in and allowed her up, but only when she allowed him to assist in her stumbling across the room. If anything, he made walking more difficult than it have been without him. It took him a day or so to realize this himself before he finally backed away, but even then he refused to let her leave the room unless for bathroom breaks.

By day fifteen, she was getting rather aggravated. After asking one of her new online friends Rose for advice – the girl was such a fountain of knowledge, it was almost frightening – she found out that sprained ankles usually only took around two to three weeks to heal. This meant that she, herself, would be more or less fine within the next five or six days. However, Becquerel was not letting up his over-protective charge one bit. For all she knew, the whole fiasco would continue until the day one of them died. And, oh boy – she was not going to look forward to that. By day sixteen, it didn't even hurt at all unless she stepped on it with more force than usually. Perhaps it was a little tender, but that wouldn't hurt anyone. Yet her dog insisted on aiding her in every little thing and she was honestly getting pretty sick of it.

Once the canine finally left her in peace long enough to irradiate a slab of steak – always his favorite – she decided to slip in a little concoction she'd managed to conjure in her spare time that she hoped, prayed would put him to sleep long enough to allow for a few hours' reprieve. Once finished, she tossed it at him expertly, eying him as closely as he always did her to check for signs of drowsiness. At first, the green-eyed female was concerned that it hadn't worked. However, within the hour, the no-eyed devil beat collapsed in a heap to the floor, chest raising and falling slowly as an obvious indication of slumber. Jackpot. Waiting a moment to make sure her little creation had done its job, she made an almost-mad dash – remembering to play it cool after a painful reminder from her ankle that she wasn't at one hundred percent health – toward her elevator of sorts, down three flights of stairs, out the door, and into the arms of the wild.

Freedom at last.

Spotting the temple out over the water, a common play place for her when she was bored and had little to do online or in her room, she decided she would spend the day in there. Bec would be furious, no doubt, but it would be worth it to have some time alone for once after half a month of remaining under her hypothetical eyes. Starting at a slow and steady pace, not quite speed walking but a bit too fast to be her normal walk, she made her way through the trees and bracket, hardly registering in her mind how much more dense the flora became as she went. However, excitement was slowly winning out over reason and her legs began to move much faster than her dog would have allowed had he been there.

By the time she was halfway there, the raven-haired girl was practically running at full force, not even caring with the twigs on low hanging branches or bushes clawed at her exposed flesh and the various small cuts she received because of them. However, before the forest could disappear and she could see the ocean in full view – as well as her destination – she landed a bit too hard on her right leg and found herself tumbling to the ground. Perhaps she wasn't quite ready for a full out run in her condition. However, another little tumble was not the worst of her feels. Suddenly, before she could really even take in everything that was going on, the ground was giving way bellow her, thick leaves moving apart to reveal something she hadn't noticed before.

A cliff.

She was tumbling down a cliff, albeit a rather small one. From the quick glance she'd caught before she went tumbling down, she assumed that the fall would not be fatal, but she'd do a lot more than sprain her ankle upon landing. Not being able to help herself, Jade let out a horrendous shriek, part of her honestly wishing that was enough to arouse her devil beast from within. But that was preposterous, right? There was no possible way that he would be able to hear her all the way out here, especially if her little "magic" had really done its job. Foolish enough to take his protection for granted, she was now going to have to pay the price on her own and hope that he didn't chain her to her bed side when he found out about her little slip up.

So she closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable splat that came with falling from tall heights. The feeling of all the air clawing our of her throat and into the air, leaving her winded. The feeling of at least one broken bone from her clumsy mistake. The impact that, well... never came. Even through eyes squeezed so closed part of her wondered if she'd ever be able to open them again, the bright green flash that split the air was unmistakable and, before she knew it, she landed not on the hard, unforgiving ground but onto her colorful comforter once more. Within a heartbeat, Becquerel was all over her, green tongue running over her face, arms, and anywhere else he could possibly reach. She hadn't landed. He'd woken up. She was safe.

And suddenly, the young girl was laughing and crying all at the same time, wrapping her twig-like arms around the canine and holding him as close as humanly possible. Neither of them cared how the liquids streaming from her eyes made his fur clump together awkwardly. "Oh, Bec, oh, Bec, oh, Bec," she repeated, scratching him in his favorite spot just under his chin. "I'm so, so, so stupid, aren't I?" But, even despite her words, he never once paused his bout of affection. And, this time, there wasn't an ounce of guilt that she could feel or see. Just wave after wave of pride so obvious, she hardly had to look at him to know that's how he felt.

And, this time, she really knew that everything was going to be okay.

…

My first Homestuck fanfiction! 8D How exciting, right? Anywho, you're probably wondering what's up with... well, everything. Originally, this was going to be the start of a 100 One-shot Challenge hosted by Prin Pardus, an amazing Warriors fanfiction writer. However, upon getting stumped on the next four prompts, I gave up, didn't look at this for about a year, and finally decided to post it if only for the sake of posting something on the site. I've been rather bad about that for, like. The past year or so. Sorry. ^^;

So, about the individual one-shot. I'm really sorry about poor characterization, any mistakes about location, objects, et cetera, et cetera. It feels like an eternity since we were embarking on a journey with the Betas. Also, again, I've never written for any of them before and Jade's personality has always been the most difficult for me to wrap my mind around when it comes to the first four protagonists. Hopefully, it'll get better as I go. I'm not quite used to writing with characters I don't know like the back of my hands. X'D So, um... Not much to say beside that. So... Enjoy~! CX