[closed/complete] Characters: Helen [immaterialed] & Menelaus [avaliantman] Date/Time: 10th June Location: Bellevue Hospital. Rating: PG Warnings: They're both nuts. Summary: Menelaus wakes up, Helen has a lot of shoes, and there is drinks involved.
There was no drama and minimal fuss in the way Menelaus returned a conscious state. The lights were too damn bright, there was far too much white in the room with a wretched sterile smell flooding his nose and forcing him to feel nauseous but he was awake. Awake and with a dry throat and mouth.
Menelaus wished he had stayed asleep, not knowing that it had been nearly two weeks. A sigh turned into a cough and he looked over to see if he could call in a nurse somehow.
And that was when he saw her.
Helen wasn't awake, in fact she was kind of napping after a long day of walking around and shopping with Gwynevere. Her side of the room had a large pile of shoe boxes, tissue paper and heels everywhere. Clearly Menelaus had a big enough room for himself and since Helen was set to stay...well, she had to make it more comfortable.
She had a lovely pair of red heels on that were resting on a stool while she kinda curled up on the chair. If he wanted her attention he was going to have be a bit louder or...ring for a nurse.
He took that sight of her into death and he woke to be among the living to see her again. How could he ever ask for more? ...well, he could and very easily but that didn't sound very romantic. And he was, sad to say, not all that romantic at heart.
The heels he noticed fast and he thought of them, then her. Finally the heels, her and nothing else and a groan was had. Dangerous territory and he did not want a nurse to see him in any state that needed explanation. Fumbling around a bit, he found the call button because speaking was too much trouble and he didn't want to stir her just yet. He could see how tired she was. Menelaus wished he could get up and kiss her. Scoop her up and put her in bed, see her tucked in and cozy.
The nurse didn't take long to come in but he pressed a finger to his lips and pointed to Helen. The woman smiled fondly and went about checking him over.
To the sane part of humanity, Menelaus was being sweet; in Helen world however, as soon as she woke up, noticed him awake and not having had anyone woken her up... Yes. She was going to get testy, but that was Helen's nature, she was a testy thing, especially when she had been hurt. It was not his fault for dying (but when had she ever cared about where true fault was?).
It didn't take long for Helen to stirr, another presence in the room was jarring enough and she wasn't really so deeply asleep. One hand rubbed her eyes trying to remove the grimy feeling before she sat up fully. "You're awake." The nurse was ignored as Helen got to her feet, "And no one woke me up?" Yes, what a warm welcome.
"She's a lot sweeter after she's been up a while," Menelaus said in way of apology to the nurse who apparently didn't mind all that much (she'd had worse). A hand was lifted in gesture for her to come to his side. "But she's always a sight, even in a rumpled dress. Isabel, have you eaten?"
Worrying about her over himself. He had died on her so of course he was putting her ahead of all else. Even if she had gone shopping it didn't mean she was fine.
Of course Helen wasn't fine, she had a thick skin and handled a lot of things. Just not losing him. That was perhaps, her Achilles' heel. Ironic. The blond frowned at her husband and moved over to his side. Not because he made a gesture but because she wanted to. "Yes." She lied, it wasn't the first lie. "You've been asleep for two weeks." Now that he was alive and awake, it was easier for her to straighten up and glare. To hide the raw hurt and tears and pure despair that had grasped her.
"And you look very unattractive." She pointed out, as she moved to sit by him. The movements were slow, tentative in a subtle way.
Two weeks? Christ Almighty (and he could say that, despite being Greek because he came from Texas). And he didn't doubt he looked bad. He could feel he needed a shave and definitely a wash. He doubted he could get anything better than a sponge bath at the moment but even that sounded pretty damn good.
With her nearby and the nurse certainly not interrupting, he turned his head to face her. "You should kiss me. I'm sure my breath is even worse."
Oh Helen had no doubts that his breath was worse. There were no complaints from her part because she did lean down to kiss him lightly without any further goading. Yeah, he needed a shave. "Scratchy." She complained pulling up and giving him an unhappy, disgusted look (which came out fonder than she intended).
His nose wrinkled at her despite his appreciation and sacrifice for kissing him in his terrible state of his. "Yeah, I think you are, too. We should get shaved together. What do you say?"
"I say that you really don't want me to give you a sponge bath." And Helen wouldn't want to let anyone else do it, but she also wouldn't want to do it herself. It felt too weird for someone like her. Still, it was totally fair to taunt him about it. A lot.
Puppy face time but he couldn't quit the teasing, not when he had her so close and loved her so much. "Aw, darling, don't be like that. You know I love your little blonde mustache." Puckering his lips, he crooked a finger at her. "Gimme another kiss."
Helen didn't care if he had been sleeping for two weeks, she pinched his arm. "You actively don't want any kisses." Not at all offended by his teasing, but just reacting in her usual way- as if she was offended. "I'm playing good wife and all I get is abuse, this is why I don't play wife."
Ow. "I actively want a drink." The water the nurse had brought had helped but something sweeter would have been nicer. "You're always a good wife. Except when you don't want to be and then I want to throw you over my shoulder and throw you in a pool."
A little scoff, "Then you ruin my hair, my dress and my shoes. I just bought some, and any damage to them will have to be repaid in your blood." Still, (and Helen hated herself for this) she got to her feet in order to get him a drink from downstairs. She ... knew him well enough to know what he would or would not enjoy. Maybe she ought to buy both, just to be obnoxious and try to get him to drink the one he hated first.
"I'd glad offer it all," he replied just before she stepped out, keeping his eyes on her. "But only for you."
The point needed no further pushing at the time. He meant it and he didn't want her to walk away from him for even a moment right then without thinking that she wasn't the first and last thing on his mind constantly.
Helen stopped at his words, her fingers grasping the doorway and digging in for a moment, she didn't want to look at him. "You left me." Her tone was accusing and a little more vulnerable that she'd like, "You can't offer me anything if you leave me." But this was another topic - not the time for that, she'd actually just...wanted to be in denial about the whole thing.
He waited for the nurse to leave after shooting her a look that said 'you're done here'. And when they had that privacy, he spoke in a low voice.
"I wouldn't leave you if I had a choice. If I have a choice, I would take you with me." He was that selfish, that addicted to her that he wouldn't let her go ever. No one was allowed to have her after him. "Helen of Sparta, wife of mine, look at me right now and hear me. I kill the one who tore us apart as I did before. And I will not leave you alone to be any other man's. I wouldn't even leave you to be alone."
Helen hadn't even care that the nurse was around. She had things to say and nothing would stop her from that. Despite her misgivings, Helen did turn to look at him briefly. Though she didn't know what to say- well, no that was wrong, she knew what to say. "I love you." She always said the words with such ease, because she could. She'd wrapped herself around Paris and whispered the same thing. She'd meant it back then.
"Get some rest and shower. Or sponge bath, or whatever."
She loved him. That was what he wanted to hear.
A slow, long exhale was had as he leaned back against the pillows. "After my drink. After I have you sit beside me and tell me about everything you bought." A half-smile crossed his features. "I need a good story to put me to sleep."
With an exaggerated sigh and eye-roll, Helen replied, "We'll see about all that when I get back. I'm going to get myself something and then maybe I'll remember your drink." She was not going to admit to going down just to get him a drink.
"I knew you didn't eat," he muttered to himself as he settled and closed his eyes. Whether he got his drink or not wasn't an issue. As long as she took care of herself now did.