doctormicah (doctormicah) wrote in cotic, @ 2017-01-11 16:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | micah, sage |
Follow Up Visit
Who: Micah and Sage
Setting: the hospital, getting Sage's cast off
Sage swung his uncasted leg back and forth as he sat waiting for the doctor to arrive, trying his best to sit still. It had been long enough that he was hoping to get the cast off, tired of limping around New Eden on crutches. He’d never considered himself athletic, but he was also the sort to keep moving and being stuck in one place for too long didn’t appeal to him. At all. The only downside to getting the cast off was that he had no other reason to visit the doctor. If he was left to deal with only the nurses, he’d be sorely disappointed.
Micah let himself into the room after a knock, smiling at Sage and setting the chart aside and grabbing the new x-rays. “Welcome back,” he said, putting the new x-rays on the box and flicking on the light so he could see them. “So,” he said, looking at the bones. “Everything looks good so far, how’s it feel?”
Sage smiled back, glad it was Micah that walked into the room. Anyone else and he’d have just cut the cast off himself and chanced it. If it still hurt, then he wouldn’t have walked on it, but this was so much better. “Thanks,” he smiled, watching Micah as he looked at the x-rays. “It doesn’t hurt, but I haven’t been walking on it either. Which, you know, is a pain in the ass. I didn’t realize how much I walked places. Especially here.”
Micah finally really looked at Sage and blinked twice. “Your hair’s a different color.” A bold one. He shook his head out of the confusion then back to his work. That was distracting. “Good, good for you,” he said, then looked back at the bones in the x-ray. “I think we can take it off, but you should take it easy, build back up to a serious about of walking.”
“It is,” Sage grinned, leaning back on the bench, his hands braced behind him. “I thought it was time for something different. Do you like it?” He’d thought about adding purple into the mix, but Annie had been helping him and he didn’t want to be too difficult. “So no tree climbing for a while,” he smiled. “I can take it easy. Like, anything’s better than this. And I just really want to take a shower without wrapping it all up. Or a bath. I would kill for a bath.”
“I’m not sure my opinion matters,” Micah said, moving to get his supplies to take the cast off. He nodded as Sage said he wouldn’t climb any more trees. “Good call,” he added looking over at him. “Put your leg up on the bed.” He rolled the tray with the saw on it over and smiled. “You don’t seem like a bath guy.”
“Well, I’m not going to change it if you don’t, but I did ask,” Sage said with a little shrug. There were some people that didn’t like all the colors, but Sage no longer let that bother him. He was just curious if Micah was one of those people or not. “What kind of guy doesn’t like a bath?” he asked with a little laugh as he put his leg up for Micah to take the cast off. “It’s not something I do every day, but I’m comfortable enough with my sexuality to pamper myself occasionally.”
Micah looked at Sage’s hair, really looked at it and nodded. “I like it. Goes nice with your eyes,” he said honestly, feeling like that couldn’t hurt. He looked at the cast, then picked up the saw, clicking it on to get the blade running. “Just stay as still as you can okay? This’ll go quick. Anything specific to your pampering or just a fan of a long soak?”
Sage could feel Micah’s eyes on him, a little smile on his lips as Micah made an assessment. With as careful as Micah seemed not to let things get personal, Sage was surprised to receive a compliment. “Thanks,” he smiled softly. As the saw clicked on, his hands tightened on the sides of the bench, body freezing in place. “I’m a fan of a cold beer and bubbles. Or those salts that work on sore muscles. I’ve done that after a concert before.”
“Just think about that and not this. I swear, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a professional.” He grinned then pressed the edge of the saw against the cast, breaking through the material. He didn’t have to go deep, just enough to break the top layer. The rest could be cut away. “I always preferred champagne.”
“I know. It’s just… a saw,” Sage said, forcing his eyes away from the power tool and onto Micah. He could sit perfectly still when he really needed to, and knew that Micah knew what he was doing, but it still made him nervous. “Champagne’s good if you have someone to share it with. I don’t usually open a bottle for just me. I don’t know enough about it.”
Micah nodded. “I don’t usually drink that much, unless I’m with someone. It’s not a great habit,” he said, eyes on his work, but focus on what he was doing. He didn’t budge it, not one to slip up, always focused. “Then again, I think I’m a little boring.” He worked the blade down Sage’s leg before turning the corner for his ankle.
“It’s not the worst, though,” Sage said. He was pretty sure Micah would disapprove of a number of his bad habits, though he’d not partaken in as many of them since arriving in New Eden. Taking away his party people put a damper on the partying. “You save people’s lives, and you could literally cut my foot off. I don’t think that’s boring,” he said, eyes ticking down to the saw, then back up.
“The impressive part would be sewing it back on again.” Micah said, finishing with the saw and powering it down. He grabbed a pair of utility scissors to cut away at the rest. “But no, it’s not the worst habit. I’m sure you’ve seen worst in your line of work.”
“This is impressive enough for me,” Sage smiled, breathing easier when the saw was set aside. He didn’t like to say it scared him, but the noise alone made him uncomfortable. “I’ve… yeah,” he nodded, teeth scraping across his bottom lip. “You have to draw a line for yourself, otherwise it’ll get out of control real fast. It’s a little easier here. Less temptation.”
“That’s good to hear. While I’m a touch bored, I’d rather be bored than treating a list of issues,” Micah admitted. He smiled at Sage as he cut through the last of the cast. “We have counseling available, if you feel you need it. I think the doctor is a bit wooden, but it’s not really my place to judge.”
“You don’t have to live an outlandish life to be happy. Boring is fine if it works for you. I’m pretty boring when I’m not performing,” Sage said. Lately, all he’d done was hang out, dye his hair, and write music. Things only got exciting when there was a tour, and there would be no touring till he left New Eden. He didn’t even have anyone to perform for there. “I think I’m good, but thanks. I stay away from anything addictive.”
It took a bit of brute strength, but Micah managed to break the rest of the cast away and smiled at the result. He put it away and then focused back on Sage. He pushed at the bones, feeling up and down his leg. “Move your foot for me.” He held Sage’s leg off the bed, ready to watch the movement. “I think boring works for me.”
It felt weird to have hands on his skin where he hadn’t been able to touch for over a month and goosebumps spread up Sage’s skin. He slowly rolled his ankle as Micah instructed, watching his foot, then the doctor’s response. It didn’t hurt, which he considered a plus, but he also hadn’t put any weight on it yet. “Nothing wrong with that. But what makes someone interesting?”
Everything seemed to be moving the way it should, which was a good sign. “I’m not sure, but I think that there are far more interesting people in the world. I’m not one of those guys who does things. I’ve always been like that.” He moved, holding out his hand. “Let’s see if you can put some weight on it.”
“It’s all relative,” Sage said, taking Micah’s hand as he slid off the bench. “You do things, you know. Things I couldn’t dream of doing,” he said, carefully putting his weight on his injured foot. He was expecting sharp pain and was relieved to find there was none. It ached a little, but that was it. “Not too bad.”
“And the reason I can do them is because I can’t do the things you do.” He let go of Sage and waved towards the room. “Walk around a little, tell me how it feels.”
Sage gave Micah a little smile as he walked around the room. He’d never thought the thing he did were all that impressive, but recognized they were a talent. For him, they were all he was really good at, other than playing video games and goofing off. “Feels okay. More like I rolled my ankle, kind of a throbbing, but not bad. Like I could take an Advil and it’d go away.”
“Good,” Micah said, patting the bed for Sage to come sit again. “Go easy on it, remember it’s still healing, but you should be good to go. If it gets sore, stop and rest it. And if it starts to swell or anything weird, come back and I’ll take a look at it.” He grabbed Sage’s chart and made a few notes in it before looking back up at the younger man. “Anything else I can help you with?”
Swelling or anything weird. Why were those the only reasons to come back? Micah’s question was probably the only opening he’d get and Sage scrambled to think of something clever in response. “Have a drink we me sometime?” It wasn’t clever, but it was something. When he’d told Olivia and Thea that he was bad at this, he hadn’t been lying.
Micah blinked twice, staring at Sage. “Excuse me?” He’d heard that wrong. He had to have.
“I know you said you don’t drink a lot, but one drink’s not a big deal, right?” Sage asked, raising a brow, a little smile on his face. He’d apparently caught the good doctor off guard. “Course, if all you drink is champagne, we might as well finish the bottle. I don’t think those hold up well after opening.”
Nope, Micah hadn’t heard that wrong. Not at all. “Um, I… I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m seeing someone.” Had this guy really just asked him out? Micah was still baffled by the idea, the concept. There didn’t seem to be anything they had in common. Micah, for the life of him, couldn’t figure out why Sage would bother.
Well, damn. Sage knew he should have figured that, but there’d been no hurt in asking. “Of course you are,” he smiled, trying not to let his disappointment show. “But I had to ask, just in case. Couldn’t keep breaking things till I figured it out.” Micah would think there was something wrong with him if that was the case.
Micah flushed a little and nodded. “I, um, appreciate the offer,” he said, not sure why he was saying it. This wasn’t the first patient to flirt with him. Maybe it was just the first patient he was flattered by.
“Well, if anything ever changes,” Sage smiled, enjoying the color that spread across Micah’s face. At least he seemed to want to accept. That was something. “Thank you for taking care of me. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” This place wasn’t that big. He was sure to run into Micah again.
“I hope so,” Micah blurted before he could stop himself. He hadn’t planned on saying that. “Take care of yourself, Sage.”
“You too, Micah,” Sage grinned. He didn’t know where the doctor hung out, but maybe he could show up there sometime. There was no harm in that, was there?