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 Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:32 pm
Ever sat and downed the aspirin and the water, grimacing at the blood and the mess, his ruined shirt and pants. Really, he didn't have enough clothing to be able to afford this kind of disaster. He shifted just a little where he sat, trying not to put any pressure on the dull ache that was his body.
"..um. No health care, Tony." He rubbed his cheek against his shoulder, uncomfortable, eyes flicking up around the library to make sure no one was watching them, and then drew in a shaky breath. "Can you check? Maybe it doesn't need setting."
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Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:14 pm
Tony frowned.
"Well... I could pay for..." he tilted his head. "Uh... I don't know much about... noses." He really didn't want to make it worse, but he also didn't want to leave Ever in pain and with a broken, unset nose. He moved a bit closer, to take a look at the younger man's nose. But he didn't bring his hands up.
He wasn't confident enough yet to try and touch him, lest just getting his clumsy hands too close would make Ever's nose fall off completely.
"Well... it doesn't look out of alignment, but... I don't know, I'm no doctor." He was trying to think of the name of a doctor he could call in a favor from, maybe someone who liked the library and was friendly enough with Tony to help him out.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:51 am
Having Tony even that close made Ever flinch despite himself, leaning back just a little. No, probably not wise to have a skittish librarian looking at a possibly-broken nose. Thinking about it, Ever closed his eyes and counted to ten, then worked his way back up to stand, nudging Tony back out of the way.
"...don't worry about it, okay? I'll go to the clinic..." And, judging from the desolate edge behind his tone of voice, Ever really would retreat away to the clinic and wait for a few hours to get looked at.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:48 am
Tony frowned at him, but nodded.
"That's better than not getting it looked at. Do you need a ride, or company?" He would take off from work, even if that would result in a scolding from 'higher ups' that only ever existed when it was most inconvenient for him. But he was sure he could get his staff to cover for him, considering this case as an emergency.
They were used to those around here, right?
He stood close by, just in case Ever wobbled or looked like he needed the help standing. He would have offered the younger man his cane, if he thought it was necessary. For now, though, he just kept a careful eye on him, still not sure what had happened, and not getting any real answers from Ever. It made him nervous, and he didn't want to let Ever go out to the street alone again, if he was in some kind of trouble.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:10 am
"If you come with me, they might assume you did it." That was careful, slow, Ever clearing his throat and trying not to dwell too much on that one. He started to lift fingers to his nose and then decided against it: the best thing that would happen was it'd hurt. That didn't really sound that great to him.
"It'll be okay. I've been there before, a few times." And not dwell on what that meant about Ever, either. If he hadn't felt quite so awful, it might have left him blushing. "I just...can you get me a towel or something?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:18 am
Tony looked surprised and mortified with the very idea. He wanted to argue that they wouldn't think it was him, but he didn't know the clinic very well, or the people they had to deal with regularly. Maybe they would think he had done it... and that was fairly saddening.
"Oh, of course, here," he moved to a cupboard to get a clean towel, offering it to him once he crossed the short distance back to him.
He offered a thin smile.
"Well, at least you don't have to worry about your boss not understanding you not coming in for work. You know. If you wanted to, uh, take some time off to... recoup a bit."
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 9:50 am
"I might." At least to save himself the embarrassment. Ever took the towel and closed his eyes, dipping his face gingerly into it, patting away as much blood and dirt as he could. Not much, there, but delicately he wiped away the mess on his arms and his palms, leaned down slowly to swipe at the tear in his pants to clean off his knee, moving -- well, like he was an old man, as opposed to a young twenty-something.
He cleared his throat, drawing in a couple deep breaths, but definitely, definitely not crying. "I don't know how anyone could believe for a second that they're saints."
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:25 am
Tony watched him, trying to help him, but not really able to do much now. He sighed, finding himself wondering what would have happened if he hadn't gone out, or if he had noticed the sounds sooner. How long had Ever been out there, getting beaten up? He hadn't been far from the library, so it must have happened right after he left.
Tony felt guilty for not noticing sooner, but was glad, at least, that the fight had ended once he did get out there. He didn't know why Ever was attacked, but he also didn't know how much worse it might have gotten. He was just relieved that the young man was still in one piece.
And alive.
"Who are saints?" he asked, his interest piqued, his head slightly tilted. His gut instincts were reacting, but he tried not to think anything, make any assumptions. He would be wrong, anyway, he told himself.
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 11:47 am
"Senshi. The vigilantes. And they're not." Ever almost spat it, patting at his mouth: lower lip was definitely split, and even the light touch of water left it stinging painfully. He hissed, staring down at the mess of ruined towel in his hands, and then folded it up anyway. That sort of thing wasn't supposed to go into the trash anyway, was it?
Still looking a wreck, he tucked the fabric into his pocket and looked up at Tony, his mouth twitching unhappily. "This isn't even the first time. I don't know what their problem is..."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:39 am
Tony looked a bit stung, but tried to shake it off.
Ever couldn't be right. It couldn't have been a senshi that attacked him: they didn't do that. They saved lives, and he knew it. He believed in them more than anything else. He knew they were good: whatever had attacked Ever, it could not have been a senshi.
"I... I've never heard of them... attacking anyone..." At least, not out of the blue. They had their reasons, for the greater good, and he had faith that whatever had happened, it wasn't what it seemed. But he couldn't say that to Ever, and trivialize him getting beaten up. He didn't want to piss him off, defending what he believed to be his attacker.
"You should get to the clinic. Those bruises are started to look bad, and there's probably going to be a lot of swelling..."
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Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:30 pm
Another time, Ever might have noticed the hesitation, the worry, the shocked look on Tony's face. In that moment, he probably would have pushed his luck, leaning on Tony to make him accept that no, all wasn't as it seemed, and it was naive to pick sides without all the information.
Now, though, he hurt. His face throbbed, mostly, and there was a piercing stitch in his side that left him curled around it. Tony was right: bad bruising, swelling, he was a wreck, and the words probably would have come out garbled right about now anyway. So instead of protesting, he nodded and mutely obeyed, heading toward the door.
He could manage to get there on his own, almost certainly. The bus driver probably wouldn't even give him a second look.
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