Aaron

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot was already a few drinks past "pleasant buzz" and on his way to "terrible decisions." He'd come to this bar in particular because the drinks were cheap, and he definitely looked out of place as he swirled amber liquid in a glass he didn't remember ordering.

He wasn't here because he was lonely exactly, more that being alone with his thoughts tonight felt like being handed a loaded gun. It was just one of those kinds of nights.

So when the guy next to him bumped his elbow -- tall, dark haired, the kind of jawline that gets you modeling gigs -- Eliot turned to him with a slow smile.

"Sorry," the man muttered.

"It's all right," Eliot purred, leaning in. "I don't mind because felt up a bit."

The guy stiffened. "Not interested."

Eliot hummed, tilting his head with polite disbelief. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," the man said firmly. "I'm not into guys. Maybe you should be at a different bar."

Eliot gave him a slow once-over, like he was examining a painting he was considering buying. "Shame," he said, "you've got the bone structure for poor decisions."

"I said I'm straight," the guy snapped.

"Mmmmm." Eliot swirled his drink. "So do you did."

"You always stare at people like that?" The man was clearly pissed now, his face turning slightly red.

"Only when they're lying," Eliot said.

"What did you say to me?" The man got off of his seat and towered over him.

"Oh sweetheart please, you're practically vibrating out of your shirt trying to convince yourself you don't like the attention." Eliot got off of his seat, too. He should back off. He didn't.

The man's face was now very red, and he pulled a wallet out of his pocket and tossed bills onto the bar. "Come with me," he growled.

Eliot smirked. "Finally."

When they rounded the corner outside the bar into the alley, Eliot fully expected the man to shove him against a wall to kiss him, or possibly shove him to his knees. He'd played this game before.

But instead the man grabbed his wrist hard and snapped, "You think you can talk to me like that, you fucking faggot?"

Eliot felt a sharp stab of 'oh shit' but forced himself to ignore it. "Darling, I talk to everyone like that."

"I am not gay, and you don't fucking know me."

"No, but you wanted me to."

The man shoved Eliot hard against the brick wall, and pain bloomed through his shoulder, sharp and bright.

He laughed. "Thought so."

But the man didn't kiss him. Or shove him to his knees. Instead, the punch came fast, knuckles cracking against his cheekbone. His head snapped to the side, vision blurring.

Another shove. Another hit.

Eliot slid down the wall, knees giving out beneath him. He tasted blood.

The man grabbed his collar. "Say it again."

The blood in his mouth felt like some kind of anchor. Real enough to drown out everything else. The moths in his nightmares, Hannibal Lecter's gentle, probing questions, Quentin's face popping into his mind at inopportune moments, Aaron's hurt expression.

Eliot spat blood and smiled with feral defiance. "You want to kiss me now?"

The guy hit him again, and Eliot's head hit the wall. Then he heard the man spit, and felt it hit his cheek before he heard quiet swearing and then footsteps moving quickly away.

Good job, Eliot, he thought to himself as he tried to unblur his vision. Gold star.

It was only then that he realized just how blurry. And just how faint. Like he was about to pass out. Fuck.

He fumbled in his jeans for his phone. He sent a text with only a pin of his location, before leaning his head back against the wall and trying to stay conscious.

Comments

[quitollis]

Aaron had taken the hint from Eliot and hadn't reached out to him any more. He needed space, maybe. He didn't want to involve himself with a priest, probably. The reasons didn't matter. Aaron would respect whatever Eliot wanted.

It was unfortunate that he couldn't quite shed him from his mind, though. Perhaps he needed more time.

The text came as a surprise. Eliot. He hadn't heard from him since their date. He quickly checked the message. Only a location?

That instantly made him worry. (Though... could he be over-reacting? Could it just be an accidental text?)

He decided he didn't care if he was over-reacting. He took his bike and rushed over.

There he found Eliot, in an alley, slumped against the wall and... "Eliot?" he said as he got closer. "My God, what happened? I'll call an ambulance."

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot grabbed his arm. "That seems unnecessary..." He was mumbling slightly though that was probably because his face was starting to swell. "If I haven't passed out yet I'm probably not going to, and I'm like ninety percent sure I don't have any broken bones. I just need... help getting home."

[quitollis]

Aaron nodded, though he wasn't sure that was wise. "Can you walk?" he asked, holding his arm in support.

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Yep, yep no problem," Eliot said as he got shakily to his feet.

This whole time, he wasn't meeting Aaron's eyes. He could make how light headed he was, but in reality, he was feeling deeply embarrassed. Ashamed, really.

[quitollis]

Aaron was only concerned. "Okay, let's go. Carefully. Here, lean on me," he suggested as they walked slowly to the bike.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot winced as they made their way.

"Thank you," he said quietly as Aaron helped him into the helmet. "For coming. I didn't know who else to ask."

[quitollis]

"I'm glad you did," Aaron said, genuinely. He got on the bike and offered a hand. "Come, can you get on it?"

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot nodded and took his hand as he climbed onto the bike.

He honestly just kind of wanted to crawl into bed and hide under the covers. Maybe not leave for days.

[quitollis]

Aaron would want to know what happened, but the priority was to get Eliot home, safely.

He made haste, but rode carefully, making sure to avoid bumps and sharp corners.

They got to Eliot's flat soon enough.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot groaned a little when he climbed off of the bike. He really was confident that he didn't have any broken ribs or anything, but he definitely had some bruising from a knee to the chest.

[quitollis]

Aaron quickly got off, and offered support again. "God, Eliot..." He said, seeing him struggle. "Come. Where are your keys? I'll open the door."

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot fished them out of his pocket and slapped them into Aaron's hand.

Once inside, he immediately looked in the mirror in the living room -- and then really groaned. "Jesus fucking christ. I am such an idiot." He was going to have a fuck of a black eye.

[quitollis]

First things first. "Sit. I'll get some ice," Aaron suggested and rushed to the kitchen to get something to cool the bruising. Hopefully that would still help.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot sank down onto the couch. “Wet cloth, too…” he was pretty sure there was still blood on his face.

[quitollis]

Aaron was pretty good at patching people up. No formal training, but experience. He came back with a wet cloth and some ice wrapped in a kitchen towel. Without asking, he cleaned Eliot's face with the wet cloth, carefully, gently. When his face was clean, he gave him the ice. "Can you put this on your face?" He asked. He didn't know what happened and he didn't know what parts of Eliot could move without hurting.

"Where do you hurt?" he asked. "Do you need me to check if anything's broken?"

[eliot_thespectacular]

“Face is the worst of it, if my nose isn’t broken I’m probably fine,” Eliot mumbled, looking down as he put the ice to his cheek and eye. “Got a good knee to the chest too but I think it’s just bruised.”

Well this was familiar, one of them bleeding on his living room. Aaron was probably wondering why Eliot hadn’t used magic go defend himself… but Eliot also hadn’t used anything to defend himself.

[quitollis]

Aaron was wondering many things, but finding out if Eliot needed a hospital was a priority. "Do you mind if I check?" he asked. He rubbed his hands togehter to make sure they were warm and lifted Eliot's shirt so he could carefully check and watch for reacions.

"Only bruised," he concluded when Eliot didn't scream out in pain.

He regarded him then, carefully. ".... What happened?" he finally asked, carefully, compassionately.

[eliot_thespectacular]

Eliot did wince, but just nodded at the assessment.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I got drunk and picked a fight," he said flatly.

He still wasn't completely sober to be honest, but it was amazing how a few hits to the head could kill your buzz.

[quitollis]

Aaron regarded him carefully. This didn't look like a fight. This looked like a beating. "Okay," he said, gently. "Do you want some tea? I know you think it's a stupid English custom, but some chamomile might do you good."

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Unless you carry some around in your pocket that's going to be hard," Eliot said. "I think there's some green tea in the cabinet."

Aaron should really not be being this nice to him. He was probably making an incorrect assumption that Eliot didn't deserve this.

[quitollis]

Aaron was very English; tea set one up and fixed everything. He went into the kitchen to get some water boiling and returned to Eliot. Despite the ice, there was a bruise blooming on his face. "Can you... use your magic to diminish the bruising?" he asked.

[eliot_thespectacular]

It wasn't exactly the same as a stitching spell like what he'd used on Aaron. He wouldn't have even known where to start. He shook his head. "It's fine," he finally said. "I'm good with makeup."

[quitollis]

Aaron nodded. "Okay." He really wanted to comfort him in some way, but he wasn't sure that would be appreciated. Last time they met, Eliot had made it quite clear that he didn't want them to get too close.

"Do you... want to tell me what happened?"

[eliot_thespectacular]

"Not really, no," Eliot said. And it really was clear from his voice and his expression that what he felt was shame.

[quitollis]

Aaron put a hand on Eliot's knee. "It's okay, you can tell me anything."

What was clear on Aaron's face was concern. "We've all done things we're not proud of."