Justin Grant (nurseboi) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-07-22 20:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-09 |
Who: Tayne and Justin
Where: Around the pond
When: Afternoon
Tayne smelled the dogs coming before he saw them-- or even heard them, since seeing them wasn't going to be an issue, considering he had his eyes closed and sunglasses over them. He was laid out on his back in the sun, arms behind his head and bitten leg propped up on the opposite knee, on the grass around the pond up by North and North Western. It had been easier to get to than the park, with less crowded city streets to drive through, and quieter by far than his own house with all the humming electricity.
Besides, the sun felt good.
But there were dogs coming, and this time he actually could recognize the scent. He'd smelled dogs before, and while the scent was much stronger and more detailed now, he still recognized the general "dog-ness" of it. Which made him open his eyes, squinting even through his sunglasses, and turn his head a little to see how far off they were, what kind they were, and whether he was going to freak out. Now that he was apparently a cat.
The dogs were easy to hear for anybody, really. The chocolate lab, the beagle, and the corgi were all unleashed and running, the lab with a large chew toy in his mouth and leading the charge, Samwise bringing up the rear. The dogs charged for the water, then noticed the new person and promptly changed direction, charging over to the man instead and surrounding him quickly, sniffing panting and prancing about him in their excitement to see somebody new.
"O-Oi! Oi!" a frantic voice heralded Justin rushing up, panting for air. He wasn't really dressed or conditioned for running, in sneakers but also heave jeans and a jacket, the backpack with all his art supplies thudding against his back. He looked at the dogs in dismay, grabbing Otto's collar and pulling the giant lab puppy away. "S-Samwise, D-D-Donald, heel!! B-bugger, I'm s-s-so s-sorry, I d-d-didn't th-think th-there w-was a-anybody h-h-here." There wasn't, usually, and as he wrestled the over eager giant away he grabbed for his other dogs, humiliated that he was so out of control of his animals. Especially in front of such a handsome man.
Though Tayne sat up immediately as the dogs charged over, it was with a relieved laugh rather than in any kind of panic. Whatever kind of cat he was now, it had no aversion to dogs. He swatted playfully for the chew toy in the lab's mouth. "Gimme that, mutt," he said, giving the corgi a ruffle between the ears before making another attempt-- only to find the owner hurrying up to call them off.
Oh, god, another stutterer, this one someone who hadn't managed to get himself out of it. The poor fellow. The stuttering, to someone accustomed to it, was actually kind of cute, especially when it was that earnest and nervous.
"Hey, man, it's all good." Flashing the stutterer a smile, he caught the beagle's collar in an attempt to help out. "They're just being friendly. Huh, you guys?" He vigorously ruffled the corgi's fur.
"Th-they r-r-really a-are. W-wouldn't h-hurt a f-fly... j-just b-big and... y-you kn-know... rowdy," he winced and blushed. Dang that was a nice smile. He looked down, easing when the dogs settled and just stayed friendly. "Uh... h-hi. M-m-my n-name's J-J-Just..." he paused and closed his eyes, wincing and taking a deep breath. "Justin," he finished, blinking owlishly and then glancing at him before looking away again as the dogs crowded around the other once more for pets and, if they could, cheek licking.
"Nice to meetcha Justin-- whoah, watch it, fellas." After taking a good licking, literally, Tayne laughed, pushing the big lab away just long enough to get to his feet and grab the forgotten chew toy, tossing it a few yards off. "I'm Tayne. I'd offer to shake, only now I've got dog slobber on my hands." He bent, carefully putting his weight only on his good leg, to scratch the corgi, the only one of the three who hadn't shot off after the toy.
Justin watched them all take off, then looked over, noting the way the man was keeping himself on one leg. He paused, then bit his lip and patted Samwise as well. "N-n-nice t-to m-m-meet you, T-Tayne," he said, offering his hand anyway. He was the dogs owner, after all. "S-s-sorry f-for a-asking b-b-but... i-is y-your l-l-leg alright?" He was a nurse and a white witch, after all, it was his duty to check into things like that, to see if he could help.
Samwise, enjoying the attention, rolled over in a loglike fashion, all four legs stuck up in the air as he enjoyed his pets.
Looking up quickly, Tayne blinked blankly and with a little nervousness. "Uh. Well, it's been... better, I suppose." He crouched carefully, still largely on one leg rather than the bitten one, to rub the corgi's belly. "I'm a'ight, though." He smiled, a bit sheepishly. "Am I that obvious 'bout favoring it?" Because not many people would have noticed if he wasn't obviously limping. Was the guy... what, a were, too?
Justin blinked curiously, then shrugged. "I-I'm a n-n-nurse, a-and I w-w-work w-with a-animals, t-t-too. I'm k-k-kinda t-trained t-t-to n-notice th-things l-like th-that. If y-you w-want, I c-c-could t-take a l-l-look? I... h-have a kn-knack f-f-for healing," he said, a little guardedly, though he did want to help if he could.
"Oh... it's... it's been a few d-days," Tayne said, guardedly his own self. It sure did look like it'd been longer than two days. And hell, now he was doing it, too. Goddamn stutter. He slowed down a little and continued, "But... if you really wanna." He slid from the crouch to a sit, wincing a little as he did, and pushed the corgi over onto his paws again, gently, before rolling up his jeans leg. "Siddown, then, if you wanna look."
"S-Samwise, b-back," Justin ordered, and the corgi moved away and sat, looking from one man to the other as Justin slid his backpack off and knelt down next to Tayne, rolling up his own sleeves. He was surprised by the stutter, but it seemed that the man didn't normally do that, so maybe he was just extra nervous. He looked at him in concern, then focused on the pant leg, waiting to see. "Wh-what h-h-happened th-that y-you h-h-hurt it?" he asked.
"Dog bite," Tayne lied with a wry smile, hoping it didn't sound too much like a lie. Johan hadn't noticed, so... maybe it wasn't so bad. "And yet I still love dogs." He unwound the bandage, which he didn't really need anymore, and prodded the scabbed, torn punctures. "There, see? It looks like it's healin' okay, to me. I looked after it pretty well on my own."
Justin was expecting scratches, maybe a torn muscle or something, but this... he stared, wide eyed, then instantly snapped to nurse mode and opened his bag, grabbing a small med kit that he kept on hand out of pure habit and took out a pair of gloves, pulling them on and then gently moving the bandages and Tayne's own hands aside, staring at the injury and then glancing up at him. "Wh-why w-would you n-not g-go to th-th-the h-hospital a-after th-this?" he exclaimed. "Y-y-you l-look l-like you've b-b-been m-mauled b-by a m-mountain l-lion!" He was upset, not just because it looked horrible, but he knew it must have been excruciating for the man to take care of himself. The dogs suddenly started bounding over, and Justin's head snapped up. "B-back!" he snapped, so forcefully that they actually skidded to a halt, tilting their heads at him before turning and going to go swimming instead.
"I'm-- I'm okay. Really. It was a while ag-g-g-g-- fuck." Tayne ran a hand through his hair, took a breath, and forced himself to slow down. "Really, it's okay... I've had worse...." Though he usually had his mother fix those, so he didn't have as many scars as he should have. He didn't stop Justin from getting out the med stuff, though, torn between wanting to let the guy do what he could, and wanting to yell at him to mind his own damn business. The fact that he knew Justin was just trying to help kept him from the yelling part, which left... the letting him look at it part.
Justin frowned deeply and examined it, then shook his head. "Wh-what d-d-did the a-animal l-l-look l-like?" he asked, glancing up. "W-was it... n-native?" The question was an odd one, but if it was an exotic animal then they had a real problem, because it was probably a were. And this gorgeous beast of a man would... well, become a beast of a man next month.
"D'pends entirely on what you mean by 'native'," Tayne said slowly, carefully, and warily. Because he knew lynxes were native... ish. He also know that probably didn't look a thing like a lynx bite, since lynxes were fairly small cats. He also knew if he wasn't careful, he'd give himself away, and he really didn't want to be out in public with this until he'd figured out what he was going to do.
Justin closed his eyes. The most difficult patients were always the ones who were scare about something, and now he had a pretty good idea what had happened. "T-Tayne..." he said softly, glancing up at him, then gimacing. "P-please... if y-you w-w-would. I... I'd l-like t-to h-help y-y-you, if I-I c-c-can. I..." he stopped, realizing what he was saying and sitting back, taking a deep breath as his face went red with embarrassment. So unprofessional. But still, he couldn't help himself, not really. "In a-any c-case... I c-could h-heal y-you. If... if y-you w-w-wanted," he murmured. Maybe if Tayne realized he wasn't the only one with secrets to hide he'd be more open to receiving help. Or Justin could just make things easier on him.
Heal him. Tayne's brows went up. "White witch?" he asked, voice low. Well, hell. That'd make things... easier, he supposed. He wouldn't have to hide anything tonight-- well, not an injury-- and he could enjoy his third day off that he'd begged for that morning without limping around. As much as one could enjoy anything while getting a headache from too much sound, scent, and light. "Yeah... yeah, sure, if you're one of those, g-go ahead." He smirked just a bit. "Means I won't have to tell my mother yet."
Justin bit his lip and nodded slightly at the guess, then blinked, wincing. So he knew he would change. And it was too late to do anything to help him, really. "O..ok... this... th-this is h-h-harder t-to h-h-heal th-than n-normal c-cuts. Um. M-m-my h-house is n-nearby, w-with m-m-my s-supplies. I-if y-you w-w-want t-to h-h-head o-over?" he trailed off, unsure about how the invitation would be received.
Yeah, Justin knew exactly what this meant, now, Tayne had guessed right. He wanted to throw something, but he shoved that urge down, since all he had to throw was a corgi or a backpack, and neither of those seemed like good things to throw. He sighed, scrubbed a hand through his hair again, and said with a sigh, "Sure. Didn't mean to cut your romp with the kids short." He nodded in the direction of the dogs. "My truck's that-a-way, if you wanna drive it. We can pile 'em all in the back."
"W-we l-l-live h-half a m-mile a-away. Th-th-this isn't a-anything s-special," he got up and put the backpack on, face sympathetic at look Tayne had. He considered telling him it would be ok, but he didn't know that, and neither did Tayne. So instead he held out his hands to him, offering to help him up. "B-besides. Th-they l-l-like y-you."
Though he normally wouldn't go for getting help up, Tayne gave in and took it this time. Damn leg, plus Justin just seemed so earnest and cute it seemed like a bad thing to deny him. "Well, and I like them, right back," he said with a little grin, taking the offered hands and climbing to his feet. "I'm a fan of dogs. Would've had one if I'd had time, I think. C'mon, we'll take my truck, then I don't hafta limp the whole way to your place." Because then Justin would want to let him lean on him, and that... that would probably be a bad idea.
Especially since there was Johan, who he probably ought to be thinking about right now.
Justin smirked and nodded, helping him over. "N-n-never t-t-too l-late, y-y'know," he offered, enjoying the topic and idea that he was going to get to help this guy out a bit. The result was a strengthening of his speech, mostly detectable by the return of his english accent. "Th-th-there are t-t-tons of g-great d-dogs at th-the sh-shelter l-looking f-for h-h-homes."
"You don't think right now is p-probably the worst time?" Tayne asked with a little laugh, and he stopped at the truck parked on the side of the road-- light blue Chevy, a monster of a truck, with a camper on the back-- to turn and whistle over his shoulder for the dogs. "Gimme a month or two to settle into this, then I'll th-think about a p-p-p-pet. Goddamn it." This time his laugh was more rueful and amiable as he held open the door to the camper part for the dogs. "You got me talkin' like that again."
Justin winced and nodded quickly about the waiting, not meaning to push that sort of thing with him. He watched as his dogs ran over, parking, Otto and Donald hopping in. Justin bent down, picking Samwise up to help him, then backed up, blinking at the worsening stutter. "Y...you s-s-stutter?" he marveled. The man had a perfect voice most of the time. "W-w-wow. D-d-didn't h-hear it t-till... b-but... n-n-not th-that it's a b-b-bad th-thing, f-f-for y-you. I j-just... imp-pressed," he blushed profusely and turned away. "I m-m-mean... j-just... s-s-sorry."
"Don't ap-pologize, man, it's okay. Not like I mind or anything." Tayne shut the door behind the dogs, latching it, and motioned for Justin to follow him around to the cab. He unlocked the passenger side for him and held the door open. "I used to. All through school, until the last year or two of high school I finally g-got it under control. Now it's mostly just when I'm stressed out or got a word that's hard to say." His smile grew a bit and he added, "And, ap-p-parently around other people who do the same damn thing."
Justin grinned weakly and then got in, sitting and then buckling himself in, hugging his backpack to his chest and looking out the window as he waited for Tayne to get in. When he did he turned and smiled at him slightly. "Th-that... th-that's r-really c-c-cool," he said quietly. "I n-n-never... c-could s-s-stop. H-h-harder I t-try, w-worse it g-gets, y-y'know?"
"Yeah, I get that," Tayne said as he swung in, settling down and closing the door behind him-- quietly, just as he'd closed Justin's door for him. "Not everybody can get it under c-c-control. Most folks don't notice so much with me anymore, since I j-just avoid saying hard words." His had never been quite as bad as Justin's seemed to be, though, either. He winced as he turned the engine on and the country music station blared loud. "Sorry." He turned it down. "Music helps drown out... y'know, everything else." If Justin had guessed he was were now, he'd probably guess what that meant-- the senses that went with the condition.
Justin looked at him and then smiled, looking at his feet. It was comforting to be around somebody who knew what he was going through. It was something he'd never had before. "D-don't w-w-worry a-about it. M-maybe th-there's a-another c-couple th-things I kn-know... c-c-could h-help w-with th-that. If y-you like."
"Yeah?" Tayne asked curiously, pulling the truck away from the curb gently. "Believe me, if you have anythin' that c-could help me get used to this shit, I will jump on it." He wasn't going to hold his breath, though, and he wasn't sure he wanted to make it go away, either... maybe temporarily... he'd see what Justin had to offer. "Which way to your house?"
"Th-the h-headaches... s-super s-sensitivity, y-y-yeah," he nodded and then pointed. "J-just d-down the e-end street. S-second t-to last h-house on th-the l-l-left," he said, looking up as they drove and then pointing to a small but more or less pleasant small, shingled household. The walk and garden were all neat and reasonably taken care of, and on the dark green front door a silver luck charm hung, though Justin was reasonably sure that the actual magic of it had worn off a long time ago. "Y-you can p-p-park in th-the d-drive."
That would be interesting, if he could help with that.... The house was a lot nicer than his own, which tended to run towards shabby, since he didn't keep up the lawn as well as he should and the inside was a bit cluttered. Tayne pulled the truck up into the driveway and killed the engine, enjoying for a moment the blessed silence. At least until a dog barked in the camper, and he laughed a little. "Okay, okay, I'm coming...." He climbed out and headed around back, this time letting Justin let himself out while he handled "rescuing" the dogs.
The dogs jumped and scrabbled excitedly when he approached, rooring and then bolting out at light speed as soon as they were freed. All except Samwise, who sat on the edge of the camper, looking down before he looked up at Tayne.
Getting out Justin shut the door carefully, watching as the bigger and more agile dogs ran into the house, their collar chips opening the dog door for them. Coming around the truck the young man smiled shyly, wondering if his house was really clean enough to entertain. Of course, it was picked up and organized, but he hadn't dusted or vacumed or washed the windows in a while. "H-h-how's y-your l-leg feeing n-n-now?" he asked. Oddly enough, even though Tayne's stutter seemed to worsen around Justin, Justin's own was easing around Tayne.
Given the state of Tayne's own, even after Johan visiting that day, anything was probably good enough for *him*, in terms of Justin's house. He picked up the corgi and lifted him down, giving his fur a ruffle before letting him take off after his fellows. "Cute little guy," Tayne commented, then let Justin lead the way up the walk. "Same as it was. It's been healin' *awful* fast, but I read that, that's normal for... you kn-know, the situation. I probably coulda had my mother handle this-- she's like you. Only minus the stuttering and great dogs." He flashed the guy a smile to show he didn't mind said stuttering, again. "But then she'd f-freak out and I just ain't ready to d-deal with her freakout yet...."
He smiled and nodded gently. "V-very n-n-normal," he said, going to the front door and opening it, entering and holding the door open for the other. Inside was a small and simple set up. There was a living room, comfortably furnished with a large flatscreen television, though there was also an art table dominating the corner with inks, pencils, and half finished comic pages in it, nearby a bunch of filing cabinets with alphabetized labels. Ottoe was already on the armchair, Donald eating in the small kitchen while Samwise waited knowingly at the door next to the stairs, knowing where his master was going.
Setting his backpack down by the art table he blushed, quickly pulling blank paper down over his works in progress to hide them. Then he hung up his coat and went back to see if he could help Justin at all. "P-p-please... m-make y-yourself at h-home. It w-will t-take m-m-me a m-moment t-to g-get the m-magic r-ready... c-can I g-get y-y-you a-anything t-to e-eat or d-drink in th-the m-meantime?"
God the place was spotless. And expensive-ish. Tayne felt positively like white trash, in here, and couldn't help but compare the artistic shit and organized filing cabinets with his... what, his workout equipment and his tiny, generally-unsophisticated television set, and his kitchen sorely in need of a good scrub-down after his ziti-baking that morning? Yeah, he felt like he'd dirty things up just by sitting on something.
"Naw, I'm good, thanks... had lunch not too long ago." Maybe the chair at the art table would be the least likely to get dirtied up, or he could go sit in the kitchen, or something.
Justin blinked when he hesitated to take a seat, and bit his lip, wondering if the place really was so bad. He ran a hand through his hair. "The uh... th-the c-couch is c-comfortable, b-b-but r-really, s-sit wh-wherever y-y-you l-like b-b-best," he mumbled. "Y-you're w-w-welcome t-to the t-telly. I'll..." he paused and gestured towards the closed door, taking a backwards step and then stumbling slightly before catching himself, scrambling to the door as his face went red. Entering the small room with the greenhouse window he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling like an idiot, though a little better as he entered his magical workroom. Here was everything he owned to do with his craft, the plants he was growing and the cabinets and fridges of supplies, shelves of trinkets and bottles, and his worktable. His cheeks flamed as he went around, looking over and then taking a book, thumbing through it as he gathered the supplies he'd need, pausing when he finished and then sank onto his chair and leaned against the table, groaning.
Looking down he blinking, noting Samwise sitting and staring up at him, and his face creased. "D-d-don't l-look at m-m-me l-like th-that. H-he n-n-needs h-h-help. I-I d-d-do n-not d-d-do th-things l-l-like... w-well... j-j-just m-m-mind y-your o-own b-b-business. Th-the m-m-mess is y-y-your f-f-fault, anw-way. Y-yours and O-Otto's." Now confident he'd told the corgi off Justin turned and started to prepare his ingredients, becoming absorbed in his work as quickly and intently as he did when writing and drawing his comic books.
Out in the living room Otto pulling himself up, digging the remote out of the dog bed and walking over to Tayne with it in his mouth, grunting at him and trying to push the remote into his hand.
The telly. Okay, that was freaking adorable, he'd never actually heard a Brit-- he was guessing that was the accent, it sounded like that on tv itself-- say that in person before, and it was really damn cute. Not that he was planning on watching tv, or anything, since that felt like a huge imposition. He doubted Justin would take that long, and besides, tv tended to be annoying to the new senses.
By the time Otto got to him, Tayne had limped his way over to the art table, peeking at the comic pages there curiously. Justin was a nurse, a Brit, and a comic book artist? Tayne didn't really follow any comic books anymore, but he had been a fan of a few, like Priest and Hellsing, before he went off to college-- after all, they had hunter-types in them. He glanced down at the dog with the remote, and stared a little in surprise before chuckling and taking the remote, scratching the dog behind the ears. "Aren't you a smart fella. We'll pass on the tv for now, though, kiddo."
He did suppose he might as well sit, though, so he covered up the comic book pages again and limped back to the offered couch, sitting down gingerly and patting the cusion next to him in invitation to the dog. "Might as well keep me company, though, right?"
The dog made a disgruntled noise, but then put the remote down and got up onto the couch, curling up and putting his head on Tayne's lap, tail whacking the arm rest. It was only a short while before Justin came out again, blinking and then going over, setting up on the coffee table. He'd gotten rid of his over shirt and was now simply in a T shirt. He took a glass full of a yellowish liquid, smelling vaguely like butter and peppermint, and offered it to him. "F-for your h-h-headache, it w-w-will h-help w-with a-any aches a-and n-nerves, t-too," he said, then put a bowl with a scentless paste down. "Then l-l-let m-me s-see your l-leg."
Samwise exited the workshop as well, sitting on the floor by Otto and then laying down on the floor, yawning and rolling over.
Tayne had very nearly dozed off in the largely-quiet house-- maybe he was finally getting used to the sounds of refridgerator hums and lights in different parts of the house, and the clinking and shuffling of ingredients and instruments upstairs was soothing rather than distracting-- and he opened his eyes with a blink, lifting his hand from where it'd been absently petting Otto's head and neck to take the glass. It smelled more than vaguely like those things, to his nose, but also like a multitude of other things he couldn't even begin to name. "Want me to p-prop it up for you, or...?" He took a tentative sip.
"W-well, if y-you d-don't mind..." he offered shyly, waiting for the nod before he knelt next to the leg, putting a cushion on the table and gently reaching down. Picking up the leg and carefully putting it up he kept the grip with both hands, making sure that he wasn't pulling it any ways he hadn't already seen Tayne moved it. "S-sorry if th-this h-h-hurts," he said, then started to tenderly roll the pantlegs up, fighting not to blush and look ridiculous. It was much harder to take on a professional attitude when it was in his home. When he got the bandages revealed he took them off, glancing up at Tayne and breaking out into a full on blush anyway, ducking his head and taking the paste before starting to spread it over the cuts. The paste was cool and thick, staying where it was spread over. "D-d-drink u-up b-before it c-cools," he mumbled, eyes focused on the task at hand.
It tasted really, really interesting-- weird, since as a cook, Tayne would *never* put some of these spices together-- but not at all bad. He pushed the greedy dog away and drank more of it down. It felt thicker going down than it actually looked.
Lucky for Justin, at least at first, Tayne was too busy helping him as he could with propping up the leg and trying to work out the complex flavors and only slightly less immediate effects to notice the blush. "This is f-f-fantastic," he said finally as Justin started working with his paste, giving the big lab another push away from the now-empty glass. "What's in this? Hell of a lot better than my mother's recipe."
Justin smiled slightly. "M-my m-m-mother's," he said. "H-Harold... m-m-my g-grandf-father's b-butler, t-taught it t-to m-me wh-when I g-g-graduated to l-level th-three m-magic. I-I c-can g-get you th-the recipe, i-if y-you like. O-or m-make y-you m-more f-for l-l-later." Setting the bowl down he started to massage the paste into the skin gently, waiting till half of it was rubbed in before he stopped and laid his hands over the bite wound and closed his eyes, concentrating and casting the spell, which made the paste glow slightly, a warm feeling replacing the coolness of the paste. The wounds began to heal faster, the scabs turning to flesh, raw at first, but then strengthened until there was no difference between it's strength and the natural skin near it, other than the temporary hairlessness and with a bit of scarring. Taking a cloth he began to wipe the conducting paste from Tayne's leg, running his fingertips over the first revealed patch of formerly broken skin before glancing up. "F-feel b-better?" he asked, continuing to clean him before waiting to recieve the answer. The paste wasn't required for soreness spells, and he imagined Tayne would want to try out his new leg.
While the potion didn't really dampen his new senses much, it did put him in a much better mood, so he didn't really care as much. He watched Justin with interest and a little sliver of envy. The healing didn't hurt, it was clean, and there was, as Justin wiped his whatever-it-was away, only a simple scar, as if it'd been months or years rather than only days. "Wow," he said. "That was p-pretty awesome, actually." He held still, letting Justin clean up-- and touch him for a while longer-- and trying to ignore the urge to ask him to join him on the couch to repay him for being kind. And cute and stuttery and generally a good person.
Because even if there *wasn't* Johan, he was firmly closeted and Justin would probably not be interested. And even if he was, Tayne was pretty sure it would be inappropriate. Hell, one day of sex that he never thought he'd have, and his brain was already jumping at every little thing. Ugh.
So he just grinned at the guy and said, "Thanks, Justin. This was above and beyond the call of duty, seriously."
Justin looked down, smiling and putting the rag away, rolling the pantleg down for him and then standing and shuffling backwards. "N-n-not at a-all. I... I l-like h-helping p-p-people. I-if y-you e-ever n-n-need a-anything... p-please d-don't hesit-tate t-to ask. I.. I even h-have s-some ch-charms th-that w-would h-help w-with l-l-light a-and s-sound. Sh-sheilds, s-sort of, i-in c-case y-you need q-quiet."
Tayne was about to get up when he gave Justin a mildly surprised look. "You can do that? Help with th-the senses?" God, if just to get a proper night's sleep or walk through a crowd without wanting to hold his breath or his hands over his ears.... Then he shook his head and finished standing up, gingerly putting his weight on his leg and finding no twinge at all. He shot Justin a grateful and slightly sheepish smile. "Hell. I shouldn't ask that of you, man, you've done *more* than enough already. I feel like I oughta be doin' something for *you*, not th-the other way 'round."
Justin looked at him, slightly wide-eyed then shook his head quickly. "N-no t-trouble at all!" he protested. "It's wh-who I a-am; a wh-white w-w-witch a-and a n-n-nurse. I-it's all I d-do," he grinned and grabbed his supplies, turning and ducking his head out of embarrassment and then going back to his workroom, keeping the door open in case Tayne wanted to follow him, going to look through his charm cabinet after setting the magic supplies in the special sink. You couldn't just dump magical elements down a regular old sink, after all.
After picking up the empty glass from his potion-- he really did need to get the ingredients and procedure for that, for his mother or
Torshael or something-- Tayne did follow, bringing the glass in to join the other stuff in the sink. "That can't be *all* you do," he said, half-smiling. "I saw the artwork, and you've g-got some awesome dogs. Don't you ever, like, go out?"
Justin jumped slightly at the mention of artwork, a look of mild horror crossing his face. "Y-y-you.... y-y-you s-s-saw m-m-m-my..." he stopped and then looked down. Of all the pieces he'd had to look at, it would be the comic about his alter ego. The Bowman was one of Justin's oldest characters, and the first that he'd used as a child to cast a better light on himself, imagining how wonderful it would be to be confident, strong, and good looking. A real hero that was nothing like the kid writing it. Though Justin knew cognitively that Tayne could only guess at who the purple and black clad super-hero was supposed to be an improvement off of, Justin was emotionally sure he did and felt humiliated for it. He buried himself in the cabinet, hands shaking as he pushed through the types of chains and strings and tried to remember what was the best for the spell he was going to work.
Considering Tayne was an incredibly straight-forward and non-metaphorical person, Justin's emotional reaction wass definitely way off base. He hadn't had any inkling that the art he'd seen was related to Justin himself except as the artist. But even he could tell he'd upset the guy, and he could only guess why, but he definitely didn't need to guess that he probably ought to say something. " ... I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't've done that, I know... it's really good, though. I mean, I haven't been into c-c-comics in a while, but they're really p-professional stuff."
Justin just shook his head, knowing he couldn't speak at the moment, then stopped and turned, going to the next cabinet and reaching up. He always had calming mixtures at the ready, needing them frequently for situations just like this. He took one, knocking it back, then leaned against the counter and closed his eyes till it took affect, slowing his pounding heartbeat and letting his hands stop shaking so much. "I-I'm s-s-sorry... i-it's j-j-just... n-n-nobody's e-ever s-s-seen th-them b-b-before. Th-they... they're r-r-rubbish, r-really," he said softly, closing the cabinet and going back, finding a small, rectangular stone that was thin with rounded edges, a small symbol carved into it's face. Taking it and a cord made from horse hair he went over to the table, looping the charm so that it was securely in place on the cord. Taking out a pair of plied to attach the clasps on the end he paused. "N-n-necklace o-o-or b-b-bracelet?" he asked. Most men preferred necklaces or rings, but Justin could only do those when smiths made the proper type of metal and symboled rings, which were expensive and took a long time to get.
Tayne watched, half-afraid he'd done something *really* bad if it was making Justin shake like that. And his heart go a mile a minute, he could hear it. It made him want to go over there and hold him and reassure him and--
Fuck. No. He really *was* fucked up. Was it a cat thing? A were thing? Or was he really happily inclined to forget about the guy he'd slept with and made lunch for? He hung back by the doorway instead, feeling guilty and awkward and helpless. If he protested that the artwork was most definitely not rubbish, he didn't think it'd go over well. So he didn't, he just said, "Whatever's easiest. Bracelet maybe, I guess?"
Justin nodded, taking it over wordlessly and picking up Tayne's hand, measuring around and cutting the cord so it would be loose, but not too loose. Then he went back, attaching the clasp and winding up the jewelry in his hand, whispering a strong protection and then a dampening spell that should help him in a variety of situations. Finished he came over, then carefully glanced at him, putting the charm around his wrist and clasping it for him. "H-h-how's it w-w-work?" he asked softly.
"Ho. Ly. Shit." Tayne just about went limp with relief when the smells of dog and cleaning solution and herbs and man and fear and *everything* were suddenly *gone*-- or not quite gone, but very much muted, down to something familiar. Something bearable. He could no longer hear Justin's heartbeat or the hum of the fridge or the panting of the dogs downstairs. It was all just-- normal. Blessedly quiet and empty and just overall wonderful. "You are a fucking *angel*, Justin," he said emphatically. "Thank you."
Justin watched his face as the spell took hold, shoulders slumping in relief. Tayne really looked happier. He smiled and awkwardly patted his arm, then blushed and pulled back, smiling, feeling better to see how well it worked for him. It was always the biggest high he got; relieving pain or suffering. Even better than getting an ultra-rare comic book. "I-I'm g-glad. I-I c-can m-m-make l-less powerful d-damnpeners, t-t-too. S-s-so y-you can adj-just t-to h-heightened s-senses a-a-as y-y-you l-like. Th-though y-you're w-welcome t-to k-k-keep th-that o-one. O-or g-get anther i-if s-something h-happens to i-it."
"This is definitely an ac- ac-- hell, I can't even say it. I definitely wanna keep up seeing you." Tayne's grin was all but giddy. He'd not even realized how bad it all was until it was gone. He felt, for the first time, like a human being again. Instead of, you know, a were. "And I am taking you out for drinks, or something." He had to do something. Make him dinner. Hell, anything.
Except he had the family dinner thing, which abruptly killed the euphoria. He made a face. "Except not tonight. When're you free next?"
Justin flushed again, but then thought. Tomorrow was The Day, but hey. "Th-the n-n-night a-after n-next? T-t-tomorrow I h-h-have... w-well..." he paused and looked at his feet sheepishly, the excitement bubbling up again. "F-f-fixing s-some st-stuff up. B-b-but I'm f-free th-thursday?"
"Thursday would be great," Tayne said, and clapped the guy on the shoulder with a return of a smile. "Thank you. So, so much." Because yeah, this was better than anything he'd have hoped for when he went out to take a nap by the pond. He might have to do that more often.
He smiled and shuffled his feet. "It's n-n-no p-problem. I-if I c-can e-ever d-do anything... j-just s-stop b-by. I-I'll d-d-do wh-whatever I c-can," he promised, then grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down his number, offering it to him. "F-for wh-when y-y-you kn-know a g-good t-time?" he offered meekly.
Tayne took it, read it over, folded it gently, and tucked it into a pocket. "I'll call Thursday when I get off work." He definitely wasn't going to take advantage of the guy's talents-- oh, god, not the way to phrase that, even in his own head-- without some kind of compensation. Even if it was dinner, drinks, even just someone to walk his damn dogs. He started into the living room again, pausing to crouch-- crouch! Without even a twinge!-- and scratch the beagle's ears before finishing the path to the door, figuring Justin would follow him.
Justin did, opening at the front door and looking at him, smiling slightly. "I-it w-was... n-n-nice, m-meeting y-you, I m-m-mean," he said. "I l-l-look f-forward t-to s-s-seeing y-you th-thursday."
"I d-do, too," Tayne said, and rolled his eyes at himself for catching the stutter again, but he did it with a smile. It was a little nice not worrying about it, for once. The other guy understood. "Thanks again, Justin," he said, resisting the stupid urge to hug him or kiss his cheek or his mouth or--
--yeah, time to go. "See ya soon," he finished, and walked out. Because it was definitely time to go.