Who: Kieran Alenko & Ash Anson What: Kieran finds Ash waiting for him after the 'incident' When: Saturday, 10 August, 2019 around 2AM Where: Medical, then Kieran's house Warnings: Some light feels
He was fairly certain that his entire body was on fire, or broken. Both? Probably both. Every inch of him hurt. His skin felt tender, and his head was pounding. What the actual fuck had happened? And why was he naked? slowly, as he started to become more and more alert, things started to fall back into place - shifting in the middle of the day, nowhere near the full moon. That groundskeeper - Dante - refusing to budge, even though he knew what was coming.
Groaning, Kieran ran a hand over his face as he attempted to sit up. Jesus, his head was pounding. How long had he been out? There were no windows in the medical room he found himself in - which he assumed was heavily warded. He could only assume they'd kept him heavily sedated, seeing as the room was still intact. Someone had the foresight to leave him a set of clothes to change into, considering his were shreds somewhere on the grounds.
It just didn't make any sense. He'd heard reports of wonky magic on the reserve, and in Snowcap, but that was only people actively using spells. He hadn't been. What the hell had caused this?
He carefully dressed, his muscles and joints protesting the movements. When he was done, he knocked lightly on the door, hoping there was someone nearby who could let him out of the wards.
Clean up had been a bitch, especially when Ash wanted to be in medical with Kieran. But her job came first. Afterward, however, the woman dragged her ass to medical and found a place to sit and wait. Tired was an understatement with everything that had been happening lately, but she wasn't just going to abandon Kieran after he'd had some kind of... attack.
Ash didn't know the details. Not really. She'd gotten a few bits and pieces, enough to know that he'd changed during the day for some reason, but that was it. Which made her even more determined to stick around. He was going to be disoriented when he came out of whatever kind of sedation they'd put him in.
Of course, staying didn't mean she'd managed to stay awake. On the contrary, most people who passed her left her alone because she was seated Indian-style in one of the chairs, arms crossed, head tilted back against the wall. Asleep. Sort of.
She'd dozed off about an hour ago and the sleep was light. Most of the people walking by had her semi-conscious of their movements. She was just waiting for one in particular.
And if she was right, someone was letting him out now...
Before they would even let him out of the room, he was being poked and prodded by the healers. Brightstar, in particular, seemed overly interested, much to Kieran's annoyance. He just wanted to go home and curl up in bed, but he didn't argue with the healers. He knew it was a weird case, and they wanted to know what had caused it.
As soon as he was able, though, Kieran was walking the hell out of medical. He paused when he got to the front waiting room, and his eyes fell on Ash. She appeared to be asleep, though Kieran imagined she couldn't be comfortable in that chair.
He was surprised to see her there. Yes, they were friends, the type with benefits, but he hadn't thought that they were at a point where she would be sleeping in the waiting room, waiting for him. Unless she wasn't there for him. Had something happened to Malik? The healers told him that the only person who had been hurt was Dante, who had taken him head-on and stopped him from going after a tour group.
Moving over to where Ash was, he sat down in the chair next to her. "Hey," he said, nudging her shoulder gently with his.
"I see they finally let you out of your cage," she quipped, eyes remaining closed as she took in the sound of his voice and the feel of the slight nudge. "About time, too. I was getting tired of waiting." It took another moment, but the woman opened her dark eyes and turned her head to finally take in his image.
It was weird. Sitting before her was a man who made her body sing whenever they were alone together. He amused her. Entertained her even when he didn't mean to. He got along with her brother and he didn't try to push things along to where he thought they should go. He just let things be as they were. Let her be as she was.
And yet, as shown yesterday, he had the ability to become the beast of her nightmares. Maybe not the same one, but something that was part of the origin of her fears when it came to what he was. He was an anomaly to Ash. She'd never met something she wanted and feared to the same degree at the same time.
"How are you feeling?" She broke the silence when she realized she was staring, looking him over as if to study him for a second. He didn't need anyone else studying him and she wasn't going to be that bitch. No. She was going to be his friend. She was going to be the woman he slept with. And for right now, she hoped that was all he needed.
He glanced up at the clock on the wall, which showed the time to be a little after 2AM. How long had he actually been in medical? He quirked a brow when she admitted that she had been waiting for him. "You didn't have to wait, you know." He was glad she had, though.
The way she was staring at him had Kieran wondering what was going on in her head. Was she beginning to rethink their current little arrangement? He wouldn't blame her, considering what he was, and how deeply she feared werewolves after what had happened all those years ago. This had just served as a reminder that he could be just as dangerous as the wolf who had attacked her.
"Like I got hit by a train, and also lit on fire." From what the healers had told him, the latter wasn't too far off from what had happened. "So, not too far off from how I normally feel after a change."
"Sounds like you need some hot tea and a warm meal. And some actual rest instead of the sedation they put you under. That shit gives people headaches." Or at least, the last time she'd had to be put under, she woke up with one killer one. She wasn't sure if other people had the same after-effects.
Standing, the security guard linked her fingers together and bowed her back, stretching her arms over her head to loosen herself up. The chair hadn't been comfortable, but that didn't matter. The chair wasn't important. The fact that he'd told her she didn't have to wait—something she already knew, thanks—was completely disregarded. She waited because he was hers, in whatever way that meant. For now, anyway.
"Let's get you home. I'll work on the tea and get you settled in. Sent a message to Malik telling him I wouldn't be home tonight, anyway, so he's not expecting me." She figured it would be a long wait. Waits in waiting rooms usually were.
"I can get behind that, for sure." He mostly just wanted to sleep, knowing he would feel infinitely better after some rest. Food, he knew, would also help.
That quirked brow raised even higher. She'd waited, and she was offering to take care of him? Kieran didn't know what to say to that. he definitely wasn't used to it - having someone who wanted to help like she did. She'd kept him company after the last couple of moons, ever since the gala, and she'd taken care of him, then. Even still, it was a foreign feeling.
"Home it is, then. And Ash?" That was really all he wanted, but there was now the added bonus of having her with him. Reaching out, he took her by the hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you. For waiting, and for offering to help." It really did mean the world to him.
"Pretty sure we all can," she agreed, running a hand through her hair and brushing off her pants. She was definitely sleeping in tomorrow. Or, well... today. It was two in the morning, after all.
When he took her hand and held it, thanking her for waiting and taking care of him, she blinked. First, it was at the way he held her hand. That was certainly intimate, though she supposed they were way past that stage already. But then, her eyes moved up to his and she saw that he was serious. She got the feeling there really wasn't much in the way of care in his life.
So, instead of giving him some snarky remark like she originally would—likely, something along the lines of 'haven't you ever had friends before?—Ash simply gave him a reassuring smile and a return squeeze. "Come on. Let's get you to your place. It's gonna take a minute for the tea and food to get made."
Since the attack, Kieran had pretty much been on his own. His family all but refused to acknowledge it, and no one else that he'd met since had been willing to get that close to him. There was a reason he'd gone to work for a reserve so far from home.
Nodding, he let out a soft sigh. "You might have to get us there. I'm not sure I have it in me." He was far too exhausted to even attempt apparating on his own, though he could probably side-along. Walking was out of the question, considering how banged up he felt.
Ash gave a nod as she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a wink. She knew she didn't have to be so close, knew she didn't have to hold him the way she did, but he seemed to need it and far be it from her to keep him from what he needed right now.
With a pop!, the two of them were standing in his living room. Ash had been there enough times now that it was nothing to apparate there. "Alright, you. On the couch or in the chair to start with. Just long enough to drink a cup and eat something. Then we'll get you into bed."
The contact was very much welcome. His arms went around her in turn, and he pulled her a little closer than was probably necessary. He liked the way she felt in his arms, though, and that closeness was a comfort to him.
He was a little dizzy as they popped into his living room, and he didn't even try and argue her ordering him around. He actually found it kinda hot. "Yes ma'am," he said with a mock salute, before making himself comfortable on the couch.
Once he was settled, Ash got to work. She might not cook a lot, but that wasn't because she didn't know how. It was because she really just didn't like to. It had been just her for so long that she'd gotten used to just grabbing something and going.
Now, she supposed, things were different. Kieran needed actual food at least three times a month after a turning. Malik needed actual food all the time, even if he didn't bitch that she didn't cook. She supposed she'd have to get into the habit.
He leaned his head back, closing his eyes and just letting himself try and relax. The sound of Ash moving about the kitchen made him smile, and a thought crossed his mind that he would never voice aloud - for the first time since moving to Snowcap, it actually felt a little bit like home. It was a feeling he got often when Ash was there, though he hadn’t been able to identify it until now.