I'm not gonna bleed out halfway down the road or something.
[ Kojiro has the painkillers swallowed a second later. This isn't his first rodeo; he knows they're not gonna work right away (if they work at all), and everything in between is gonna be an endurance test of the highest caliber. But hospitals suck worse than the pain, so endurance test it is. He just has to get to Kaoru's bike, and the hard part's done. ]
Don't let me fall off your bike, though. That's officially your job.
Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Of course you won't fall off.
[He may be having the smallest of second thoughts about this whole thing. Mainly because Kojiro is more or less fine right now, and he might be slightly less fine after trying to force his massive frame through a window and into some bushes.
But then, what good is anyone here doing for him? Kaoru doesn't trust hospitals as far as he could throw one. If he thinks long term here, it'll be much better if he can get Kojiro somewhere Kaoru can attend to him himself. He'll certainly be more attentive than the good-for-nothing staff here who still haven't shown up, damn it. It's like they're begging to have their patients go missing.
So he gets in the most solid stance he can, and offers his arms.]
Okay, come on. Up. Might as well get the hard part over with.
[ Kojiro wouldn't normally need to lean so hard into physical assistance. Or pull so hard, as it were. Then again, it's not normally a challenge just to get himself out of bed, so maybe that entire notion is comparative. He doesn't leave it all up to Kaoru, though; he pushes on the mattress with one hand while he levers himself up with Kaoru's arms. That's a bitch of a step, grumbling and huffing the entire way, but it's successful. He's on his feet. Unsteady, hunched, but there.
That was great; felt like getting stabbed all over again. In fact, it was so much fun, Kojiro's taken to warily eyeing the open window. That -- not just getting out of bed -- is gonna be the hard part. Son of a-- ]
Shit. Fuck. Okay. Let's go.
[ Kojiro's still gripping Kaoru's arm while he shuffles over to the window. ]
[He does what little he can with his posture to try to coax Kojiro to lean on him a little more. None of this feels like enough. He can’t take the pain away, can’t go running after vengeance. Not now, anyway. Time is moving entirely too slow.
At the window, he swallows so hard that his throat aches, and wills himself to hold everything together.]
Me first. This’ll go easier if you have something to hold onto on the other side.
[Something, meaning himself. It’s easy enough for Kaoru to haul himself up and out the open window—he’s certainly done this plenty of times over the years. It’s not his most graceful performance, given the tension that won’t leave his muscles, but he finds himself on his feet all the same. He digs his heels hard into the ground for leverage, and extends his arms. The fear is probably all too apparent in his eyes, and he curses himself for it. Pathetic. He’s always reminded of his own weakness the most at the times when he needs so desperately to be strong.]
[ Kojiro is too damn big. Kaoru's told him as much since they were teenagers, but it's more evident when they need to make quick escapes through tight spaces like this. Turns out, it's about 100 times more difficult while severely injured. Because he's never been a graceful man, but that window is narrow as hell for someone of his stature. Not an issue for Kaoru, thankfully. It's gonna be a problem for Kojiro though.
Case in point, Kojiro sticks his head out the window, and he winces just from the effort of bending to look down. Fuck. Any way he tries this, it's gonna involve stretching or bumping his flank. He's gonna rip his stitches. There's no avoiding it. Might as well just get it over with.
The option that'll cause the least damage does involve taking Kaoru up on his offer to help. At least, in theory. Better than trying to monkey his way down like the ape Kaoru always accuses him of being. Kojiro sidles up onto the sill and scoots himself until his legs hang out, and then comes the hard part. Namely, bending himself nearly double to tuck the rest of himself out the window so that only his ass remains inside on the sill. It's tricky. It's painful. But by bending to his right side, he thinks he avoided popping any more than one or two stitches. His brow is dotted with sweat, and he's sure he's gonna puke as soon as his feet are on the ground but-- ]
Okay. Brace your elbows and knees.
[ Kaoru's not delicate, but he's not used to lifting the equivalent of Kojiro's weight either. Gotta be mindful of his limitations here too. Kojiro reaches out to brace his palms against Kaoru's, and leans in just enough to take the edge off the impact when he drops.
Drops, and whites out against the flash of excruciating pain when he lands. The impact rips through him like lightning, and Kaoru can feel him shake when he buckles from his landing stance and collapses to his knees at Kaoru's feet. ]
FUCK. [ There's a grinding edge Kaoru's rarely heard in his tone before. ] Fuck. No. It's fine. I'm fine. Just--
[ Even the breath he takes to center himself hurts. But one choked inhale, the long hiss of an exhale through his teeth, and Kojiro stumbles to his feet again. ]
[There's just about nothing Kaoru hates more than seeing Kojiro hurt. Really hurt, not just scraped up from a fall or something. No, Kojiro is built from fortified, military-grade stuff. So to see him in such bad shape that it shows like this, bypassing all of his bravado... it makes Kaoru feel sick.
If their positions were reversed, Kojiro could just pick him up and carry him like a ragdoll. The thought has Kaoru's stomach turning for reasons that have nothing to do with his competitive spirit.
He can, at least, break Kojiro's fall a little--even if that just means that before he knows it, Kaoru is on his knees with Kojiro only halfway braced against him, strained and sweating like crazy.
Damn it. Kaoru grits his teeth. He won't ask if Kojiro is okay, just to get a lie in response. He won't, as much as he wants to.]
You said you wouldn't bleed out. You promised me.
[The reminder won't actually fix anything, but it might at least make things feel a little more normal for a moment or too.
He darts under Kojiro's arm and gives him the most stubborn look possible to insist that Kojiro let him support his weight at least a little. At least it isn't far to his bike. One stable thing in the middle of this mess. All he has to do is climb on, and his back will be to Kojiro for a few miles. Even if he cries, then, Kojiro won't be able to tell.]
Will you stop it? I'm not gonna fucking bleed out. Okay?
[ At least, he doesn't think so. Doc said they didn't hit any major veins or arteries, so as far as Kojiro's concerned, that means he's clear from the possibility of exsanguination. Doesn't make any of this comfortable though, and Kaoru's worry is grating on his last fucking nerve, because--
Hell, he shouldn't be worrying Kaoru like this. He shouldn't be worrying anyone like this, but especially not Kaoru. The notion of being a burden on anyone is Kojiro's worst fucking nightmare. He's the provider, he's the one that offers help, not the other way around. It's borderline neuroticism. Probably would've been better if he just stayed in the hospital and told no one, grit his teeth through the treatment and the follow-up police questioning. But Kaoru would've been angrier if he'd landed himself in the ER without saying a thing about it, so what else was he supposed to do? ]
Just get me home, please. I need a bath. I feel like hospital.
[ Like hospital; like he's been marinating in his own blood (he has, it's all over his S pants), like the dirt he rolled in when he hit the ground earlier. Definitely needs a damn bath, first thing after he gets in the door. So he does lean onto Kaoru's shoulders, at least a little. Enough that the short walk to Kaoru's bike isn't unnecessarily arduous for either of them.
And, at least compared to the process of getting out that window, swinging his leg over Kaoru's bike and settling into the pillion is relatively painless. ]
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beefyspaghetti) wrote2021-05-08 06:09 pm
no subject
[ Kojiro has the painkillers swallowed a second later. This isn't his first rodeo; he knows they're not gonna work right away (if they work at all), and everything in between is gonna be an endurance test of the highest caliber. But hospitals suck worse than the pain, so endurance test it is. He just has to get to Kaoru's bike, and the hard part's done. ]
Don't let me fall off your bike, though. That's officially your job.
no subject
[He may be having the smallest of second thoughts about this whole thing. Mainly because Kojiro is more or less fine right now, and he might be slightly less fine after trying to force his massive frame through a window and into some bushes.
But then, what good is anyone here doing for him? Kaoru doesn't trust hospitals as far as he could throw one. If he thinks long term here, it'll be much better if he can get Kojiro somewhere Kaoru can attend to him himself. He'll certainly be more attentive than the good-for-nothing staff here who still haven't shown up, damn it. It's like they're begging to have their patients go missing.
So he gets in the most solid stance he can, and offers his arms.]
Okay, come on. Up. Might as well get the hard part over with.
no subject
That was great; felt like getting stabbed all over again. In fact, it was so much fun, Kojiro's taken to warily eyeing the open window. That -- not just getting out of bed -- is gonna be the hard part. Son of a-- ]
Shit. Fuck. Okay. Let's go.
[ Kojiro's still gripping Kaoru's arm while he shuffles over to the window. ]
no subject
At the window, he swallows so hard that his throat aches, and wills himself to hold everything together.]
Me first. This’ll go easier if you have something to hold onto on the other side.
[Something, meaning himself. It’s easy enough for Kaoru to haul himself up and out the open window—he’s certainly done this plenty of times over the years. It’s not his most graceful performance, given the tension that won’t leave his muscles, but he finds himself on his feet all the same. He digs his heels hard into the ground for leverage, and extends his arms. The fear is probably all too apparent in his eyes, and he curses himself for it. Pathetic. He’s always reminded of his own weakness the most at the times when he needs so desperately to be strong.]
Please just… be careful. Let me help you.
no subject
[ Kojiro is too damn big. Kaoru's told him as much since they were teenagers, but it's more evident when they need to make quick escapes through tight spaces like this. Turns out, it's about 100 times more difficult while severely injured. Because he's never been a graceful man, but that window is narrow as hell for someone of his stature. Not an issue for Kaoru, thankfully. It's gonna be a problem for Kojiro though.
Case in point, Kojiro sticks his head out the window, and he winces just from the effort of bending to look down. Fuck. Any way he tries this, it's gonna involve stretching or bumping his flank. He's gonna rip his stitches. There's no avoiding it. Might as well just get it over with.
The option that'll cause the least damage does involve taking Kaoru up on his offer to help. At least, in theory. Better than trying to monkey his way down like the ape Kaoru always accuses him of being. Kojiro sidles up onto the sill and scoots himself until his legs hang out, and then comes the hard part. Namely, bending himself nearly double to tuck the rest of himself out the window so that only his ass remains inside on the sill. It's tricky. It's painful. But by bending to his right side, he thinks he avoided popping any more than one or two stitches. His brow is dotted with sweat, and he's sure he's gonna puke as soon as his feet are on the ground but-- ]
Okay. Brace your elbows and knees.
[ Kaoru's not delicate, but he's not used to lifting the equivalent of Kojiro's weight either. Gotta be mindful of his limitations here too. Kojiro reaches out to brace his palms against Kaoru's, and leans in just enough to take the edge off the impact when he drops.
Drops, and whites out against the flash of excruciating pain when he lands. The impact rips through him like lightning, and Kaoru can feel him shake when he buckles from his landing stance and collapses to his knees at Kaoru's feet. ]
FUCK. [ There's a grinding edge Kaoru's rarely heard in his tone before. ] Fuck. No. It's fine. I'm fine. Just--
[ Even the breath he takes to center himself hurts. But one choked inhale, the long hiss of an exhale through his teeth, and Kojiro stumbles to his feet again. ]
Let's go.
no subject
If their positions were reversed, Kojiro could just pick him up and carry him like a ragdoll. The thought has Kaoru's stomach turning for reasons that have nothing to do with his competitive spirit.
He can, at least, break Kojiro's fall a little--even if that just means that before he knows it, Kaoru is on his knees with Kojiro only halfway braced against him, strained and sweating like crazy.
Damn it. Kaoru grits his teeth. He won't ask if Kojiro is okay, just to get a lie in response. He won't, as much as he wants to.]
You said you wouldn't bleed out. You promised me.
[The reminder won't actually fix anything, but it might at least make things feel a little more normal for a moment or too.
He darts under Kojiro's arm and gives him the most stubborn look possible to insist that Kojiro let him support his weight at least a little. At least it isn't far to his bike. One stable thing in the middle of this mess. All he has to do is climb on, and his back will be to Kojiro for a few miles. Even if he cries, then, Kojiro won't be able to tell.]
no subject
[ At least, he doesn't think so. Doc said they didn't hit any major veins or arteries, so as far as Kojiro's concerned, that means he's clear from the possibility of exsanguination. Doesn't make any of this comfortable though, and Kaoru's worry is grating on his last fucking nerve, because--
Hell, he shouldn't be worrying Kaoru like this. He shouldn't be worrying anyone like this, but especially not Kaoru. The notion of being a burden on anyone is Kojiro's worst fucking nightmare. He's the provider, he's the one that offers help, not the other way around. It's borderline neuroticism. Probably would've been better if he just stayed in the hospital and told no one, grit his teeth through the treatment and the follow-up police questioning. But Kaoru would've been angrier if he'd landed himself in the ER without saying a thing about it, so what else was he supposed to do? ]
Just get me home, please. I need a bath. I feel like hospital.
[ Like hospital; like he's been marinating in his own blood (he has, it's all over his S pants), like the dirt he rolled in when he hit the ground earlier. Definitely needs a damn bath, first thing after he gets in the door. So he does lean onto Kaoru's shoulders, at least a little. Enough that the short walk to Kaoru's bike isn't unnecessarily arduous for either of them.
And, at least compared to the process of getting out that window, swinging his leg over Kaoru's bike and settling into the pillion is relatively painless. ]