Ben Dubay (painlingers) wrote in destructionisle, @ 2019-06-26 13:19:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, !june event, !thread, ben dubay, fitz killian |
Who: Ben and Fitz
What: An Unexpected Turn of Events
When: June 25th, evening
Where: Josie's and then Ben's place.
Rating: Medium - Mentions of violence
Status: Complete
Things were pretty much back to normal after the ‘excitement’ earlier in the month, Kyrie and Fitz were settling back to their normal routine and Ben was now spending more nights at his own apartment, it was quiet and lonely but the two friends needed some time for just the two of them. A few days beforehand Ben had organized that Thursday evening would be ‘date night’, just him and Fitz spending a few hours together and doing whatever they wanted, they had decided for a quiet one in with a few beers and some playing cards. The cards were no problem, he had a pack of those, he had also bought a packet of pretzels to nibble on and use as chips if they wanted to play poker, he didn’t have any beer but could pick some up after he finished work.
That was when it happened. He dropped into Josie’s, his plan was to buy a six pack to take home with him, something that wasn’t all that uncommon, some people preferred to drink in private. He was standing at the bar, waiting for the bartender to finish serving other customers, he had told them to take their time, he wasn’t in a rush when the man beside him said something to him, Ben turned. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Go back to your own country you fucking Frenchie.”
Ben blinked, he had never met this man before and was wondering why this stranger was taking a sudden dislike to him? “I’m Canadian.”
“Just as bad. Coming down here, taking our jobs.”
They were stuck on an island and didn’t really have a choice, “Believe me, if I could be anywhere but here I would be.”
The man then started mumbling and ranting, Ben couldn’t really understand between all the slurring and finger pointing at him. He turned away, wanting to ignore the man and hoped that the bartender wouldn’t be too much longer. Then there was the sound of glass breaking and a pain spread across the back of his head, it took a moment to realize what had just happened.
He had just gotten glassed. Commotion started around him as he brought his hand to his head, he was bleeding and it wasn’t just a little bit either. “Merde!” His cursed, as a few people came up to him to see if he was alright, while others had pulled the man who attacked him outside to wait for guards.
“We better get you to the hospital!” Someone said, handing him some kind of cloth which he pressed over the wound. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.” Ben replied, letting this kind person lead him out of the building and towards the small hospital that was on the island. So much for the beers and a quiet night in Fitz.
About an hour or so later they let him go, having cleaned and stitched up the cut that now stood obvious on the back of his head thanks to the small section of hair shaved around it. They had told him that if he started to get headaches or anything to come back, to make sure he didn’t have any kind of concussion.
He was late and didn’t have the beers. God, what was Fitz going to say?
--
He’d been waiting. He wanted to say ‘it wasn’t like Ben’, but they’d not known each other incredibly long. Maybe it was like Ben to be late and not call- or something. But he hadn’t before so that left him concerned. Fitz shifted from human to cat, going out the open window. Maybe Ben got stuck at work. Or maybe-
That was when Fitz saw the man walking up, not quite in a straight line. The orange tabby bounded to the man. You’re okay! It meowed, rubbing against the man’s leg. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or not. Especially after Kyrie. You smell like… a hospital. Fitz walked with him at a quick pace. Why do you smell like a hospital? The trained soldier was able to keep the panic at bay- but between Key and Daryn, he couldn’t let another person in his life get hurt.
--
Ben was slowly walking down the street towards his apartment, the street lights were on and it must've been later than he realized because he was sure it was still sunlight when he was taken into the hospital. They had put a local anaesthetic into the area where they had stitched him up but the area around it was now starting to throb, he hoped that this was normal after getting a beer bottle to the head but time would tell, they had given him some pretty strong painkillers and he had a feeling they were starting to kick in because he never walked this slow before.
He saw the cat up ahead and it took a moment for him to realize it was Fitz, well Oliver in this form. He missed the first comment but heard the rest, as much as he wanted to bend down and pick the ginger cat up Ben was more worried about getting a bout of vertigo or something. I smell like a hospital because that's where I've spent the past hour? Two? how long had it really been?
Getting his keys out of his backpack he managed to get the key in the lock first go and pushed the door open, letting Fitz go in first. Once inside he locked the door behind him and let the bag fall to the floor with a thud before walking over to the couch and flopping down on it.
--
Why were you in the hospital? What happened? Fitz followed, little legs moving quick to keep up as they entered the apartment. The man had a big distrust recently of the government due to their treatment of Daryn.
Once the door was closed and it was safe, Fitz changed back into his human form and slid onto the couch next to Ben, eyes looking over him with concern.
--
Ben preferred to talk about this with human Fitz, rather than have a mental conversation with his feline form. "I went to Josie's to get us some beers for tonight." He started, leaning closer, he had sat on this side of the couch so the 'good side' of his head was towards Fitz and it wouldn't hurt too much as he rested his head on the other man's shoulder.
"I upset some drunk somehow and he attacked me, hit me with a bottle." He tilted his head a bit so Fitz could see the little shaved patch at the back of his head that was half covered by his loose curls. "They found a shard and had to stitch me up. I'm sorry I didn't get the beer."
--
“Oh B.” He frowned at the small bit of gauze over the wound. Fitz kissed the top of the other man’s head and slid his arm around him, holding him supportively. “Don’t worry about that. Are you okay? Does it hurt? Do you need ice or something?”
He had field training from his time in the service, but he was rusty. His mind tried to race back to the concussion protocols. This was the second time that month he was having to call upon old skills- maybe he should be refreshing himself.
--
There was something comforting about having Fitz’s arm wrap around him and just holding him, he had offered the other man support since Kyrie had disappeared those few weeks ago and now to be on the receiving end instead of giving it was kind of nice but he told himself not to get use to it.
“I’m okay. They gave me some painkillers and they’re working, I don’t feel anything.” He had never had such strong painkillers before, he just hoped that the floaty feeling he was starting to feel was just the medication and not some kind of bad side effect. “I was looking forward to staying in and playing cards tonight.”
--
“Hey, we can still play cards. Keep your mind working. Make sure you’re actually okay. We can do something simple if the pain killers are making you feel a bit drugged… like go fish.” He’d been hoping to add a stripping element to their game, but that would have to wait for another time. Fitz rested his lips on Ben’s head as he closed his eyes a moment, gathering his own strength.
Ben needed him. He could be there for him. It was who he was- a protector. And caring for Ben kept him from finding out who’d hurt him and cracking their head open.
--
If he wasn’t feeling so out of it Ben might agree to the strip element of a card game, but at the moment he didn’t really feel like anything but curling up against Fitz and waiting for the drugs to wear off. “They said I was okay, that I have a bump but no signs of concussion.” Well he hoped that the doctor was right there, he had never suffered a concussion before so didn’t know what he should be looking for, but he had Fitz here for now to keep an eye on him.
Shifting a bit he curled against Fitz’s side more, really cuddling up as his arms looped around the other man’s waist and head rested against that firm chest. “Can we stay like this for a while? I don’t feel like playing at the moment.”
--
“I am always okay with this.” Fitz said softly as he adjusted his position so the corner of the couch supported him which allowed Ben to really get a good snuggle in.
After a few moments Fitz asked a question carefully. “Who was it? Who hurt you?”
--
His eyes closed as he rested against Fitz, he was making sure that the sore part of his head remained in the air and away from anything that might bump it, he was told all about how to care for it and planned to stick to those guidelines, hoping it would stay dry if he showered later.
“I’ve never seen him before. I just asked the bartender for a six pack and when they were getting it he started calling me ‘frenchie’ and telling me to go back to my own country… I turned away to ignore him and then he hit me.” He was still asking himself why but knew he’d never get an answer, and he had seen the guards marching the man off to places unknown as the other stranger took him to the hospital.
--
“What did he look like?” Fitz asked, keeping his voice calm but feeling anger over someone who was so cruel and- just an ignorant jerk.
--
Ben didn’t lift his head from where it was resting on Fitz’s chest, trying to think what the man looked like, he hadn’t really taken that much notice. “Fifties… maybe. Unkept. He looked like a real clochard.” Not realizing he had slipped into French again.
--
There weren’t that many older men on the island. Shouldn’t be too hard to nail down. “Not sure what a clo-hard is… but… whoever it was…” he sighed softly. “They picked the nicest man I know to hurt. I’m sure karma will find him.”
--
A slight blink at that word and Ben turned his head to look up at Fitz. “It means a tramp or hobo.” He really needed to watch what he said and give translations if needed. And then an eyebrow raised as Fitz said that he was the nicest man he knew, that made him feel fuzzy inside, or was that the pain killers? “I just wanted a quiet night in with my boyfriend.”
--
Fitz smirked, trying not to grin wildly like he wanted. “Boyfriend, huh?”
--
Ben had closed his eyes since talking and was kind of resting his head on Fitz's chest. "Mmhmm, we were going to play cards and maybe fool around." It had to be the drugs talking, the brain to mouth filter seemed to have disappeared and he forgot who he was talking to.
--
Fitz chuckled, rubbing his hand slowly over Ben’s back. “Oh, there was no maybe about it.” He mused. He liked it. It had been a long time, and didn’t think he’d ever be in a situation where ‘labels’ were needed again. But he liked the idea.
Again, the thought fluttered through his head. Was he just ‘using’ the man? Being one of the handful of people who knew who he really was, did he really feel anything toward him? Or was it all just to get laid? Just to have a connection with someone? Honestly, he wasn’t positive he could ever know for sure. He didn’t think his feelings were false. He did like Ben. But could he even tell if he was fooling himself?
Fitz decided not to think about it. Instead, focus on Ben. “I like it.”
--
It was a thought that had swirled around in Ben's brain for a while, he wasn't one for labels either but in the back of his mind where he could fantasize about things it was there, layered with the friendship that they were building. He knew it was a secret, that no one except Kyrie could know about Fitz, but he wasn't about to go cheating just because of that.
"Maybe next time we can fool around." He said, snuggled up against Fitz's chest and almost at the point of falling asleep. "I like it when we go slow and draw it out, no cares, no rush, just intimacy."
--
“I do too. But we can talk about that later… get some rest.” Fitz said softly. “I’m not going anywhere.” Not that he could with Ben against him, but he’d told Kyrie he’d most likely be out for the night. If something serious happened- she knew how to get ahold of him. For that moment, he was all Ben’s.