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 Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 12:07 pm
Priam sighed heavily; he didn't want this moment of peace to be shattered by some doctor bustling in to tell him 'You've broken this and that and you'll never work here again, you're too much of a liability, and...'
The thoughts all droned out.
He thought of Sterling's gentle hand on his forehead, of what was undoubtedly Yu's hand on his arm. For all the pain he felt, those things felt nice. For a few seconds, he forgot about the rest of it.
"...Oh, that's so much money," he sighed, but it wasn't clear who he was even talking to. A security system. Lawyers. "...You two should save your money. I'll take care of it. If this doesn't bankrupt me."
...He didn't want to see the bills. He hoped, prayed, the hospital would cover this to avoid some sort of lawsuit. He didn't want to press it. They'd find some way to blame him, it was how hospitals worked. He just hoped he was worth enough for them to at least try to sweep this under the rug and let him off the hook.
He drew in a few more calming breaths, braced himself, and then tried to nod before he was struck with the distinct thought that his head might fall off. "Okay. I'll talk to the doctor," he said, with obvious disappointment. He needed to. He needed to know. He also didn't want to know, and if he closed his eyes he could just pretend like he was sore after a long shift and was taking a nap in an empty room.
...But he needed answers.
"...Maybe if I ask nicely enough, he'll let you take me home," he said, so wistfully, so wantonly, that his voice almost cracked. Almost.
Just give him the bad news already, just tell him he'd be here forever, that he was fired, that he was so broken he wasn't ever going to get to go home. Just break his heart now so he could stop dreaming of an extended sleepover, where he could know that Sterling and Yu were okay, where he could remember what it was like to like the people you were living with, to feel safe and wanted and welcome.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 12:08 pm
“Hospitals…” The word hissed out through clenched teeth at the idea of this place bankrupting Priam. They ate people up, in so many ways. “If they are a jerk to you, I’m going full Feral, then they’ll be too distracted by that to keep being jerks.” He huffed, leaning into the touch from Sterling. The thought about the name that had been given to Priam still a terrible itch under his skin. To tie his… vigilante name to an attack on Priam? It was just, wrong. Those to pieces of his life should never have gotten that close together. The wistful tone in Priam’s voice though. “Do you think they would?” He asked Sterling earnestly. He knew it was a foolish question, a sliver of naivety that his life experiences hadn’t had a chance to grind away. Priam would be safer if he was at their house…right? The fact that this had happened -at- the hospital made this already awful place seem more dangerous. “The second we get you home, you -are- going to tell me your favorite dinner, I’ll even make the sea cockroach and no one will say anything if you toss it places ok?” He persisted. He’d also be finding means of defense that he was sure Priam could handle, even if it was something awful like a can of wasp spray. He was going to take NO chances that this fake ‘Parisite’, or Parasite, whatever they were actually calling themselves, would get another chance to attack Priam if he could help it.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 12:08 pm
Sterling stayed calm and nodded. “They won’t. I’ll make sure of it, don’t worry, Priam. Yu. I know a very good law firm and I will contact them if it comes to it, money doesn’t matter to me. You were on the hospital’s time, and this won’t be an issue.” He stroked Priam’s forehead once more and then hesitated, leaning over and placing a gentle kiss on the male’s lips, before turning and kissing Yu’s lips without a second thought. “I’ll be back with the doctor, and I’ll let Jarvis know that you’re awake, Priam.”
Once again his voice was soothing, gentle. He flashed both of them a smile and walked out of the room. It was only when he was in the hallway and halfway through the text to Jarvis that he realized what he had done and for a moment, he froze, mouth dropping open slightly.
He raised his hand and touched his lips, wondering if...if perhaps…
….Maybe they hadn’t noticed.
Oops.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 12:08 pm
Priam stared blankly into the room after Sterling moved away.
He had been thinking he should tell Yu that he wasn't even sure he'd be allowed to eat anything, much less any favorite meal, when Sterling had--what?
What was that?
He could have sworn he felt something on his lips. But, then again, he could also swear he felt a vice grip on his wrist, and he looked down at his hand to find a blur of white and nothing more. No spectre, no shadow, no dark figure with sharp teeth and a sharp smile.
He swallowed, blinking away the image.
His body felt heavy, and he wondered if he could fall asleep quickly enough that he could avoid talking to a doctor. Avoid the damage for just a little bit longer.
But then, he was already losing his mind. These drugs were making him dizzy, making him confused, making him hallucinate.
Sterling wouldn't do that--why would he do that? Yu was in the room. Had it been a mistake? ...Were those his lips?
...No?
What? Why would they be?
Yu was right there.
He grimaced, another little wave of pain rolling through him.
The doctor needed to get there soon; his cheeks were burning up and the dizziness had gotten worse. He wanted to go back to sleep. He wanted to stop feeling crazy.
He wanted to be home.
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Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2020 12:09 pm
Sterling’s lips brushing Priam’s… It was at least a momentary distraction that dragged him briefly to attend on the action, the heat rising briefly in his cheeks. He remembered vividly the jealous and mournful assumption that Priam was who Sterling had loved all along. But he found now that he couldn’t feel the same way, he wasn’t sure how he felt now, but maybe… it wasn’t unlike defending your patch of territory, the safe and sheltered place you had found, except it was a bit bigger than before. He wanted to have something clever to say, but he never did, he knew that. Instead he gently brushed his fingers on over the free spaces of Priam’s arm again. “Next time I come in… I’ll figure out how to show you pictures of your goofy horse dogs….” He promised. “I know you can’t see s**t without your glasses, but I’ll figure it out.” He promised. “And you’re gonna have to see the stupid ones I have now too… so… you’d better feel better soon ok? You’re not… not allowed to be worse than this. Sterling couldn’t take that….we couldn’t take that.” His voice nearly cracked saying Sterling couldn’t take that, but he couldn’t quite admit the word ‘I’ just then, easier to lay it at the feet of the one between them bold enough to lay a kiss on those poor lips. He’d get to the bottom of this, and he’d make it right… somehow.
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