Re: [in-person: holly & noah.]
[The problem with shared pain was nothing Noah did could touch it. He could've crushed a Vicodin and snorted it and it wouldn't matter. As long as Holly was feeling it, so would Noah. So, he was glad for the meds. As much as it then worried tf out of him that Holly, who was def sad and gloomy (understandably), might take too much of a liking to them. After all, the dude's dad was an alcoholic. (Also, his mom in some worlds. (This one.)) Which was probably all, like, mad misplaced worry, but it was there all the same. ...Anyway, Noah didn't mind being depended upon. He liked it, actually. But, he was feeling sorry for himself, which was stupid, given the circumstances.
Noah smiled when Holly paused to inhale what was probably mostly sweat from the collar of the coat. And he was ready af to help Holly strip down. But, the dude shook his head and Noah didn't want to make the dude more helpless or anything by insisting. He took the crutch as it was passed to him, then exchanged it, etc. When Holly was 2/3 of the way out of the shirt and took his pause, Noah left his lip when it was pointed out. He also let himself look at exposed belly and chest. He tugged on the bill of his backwards cap, so he could throw it to the bed, but he was distracted part way through by Holly touching him.] Hm? [Still distant, yeah. Well, or weird. Noah just felt weird. Like, bad. Bad weird. Like he couldn't trust himself. Like he didn't know where this left him. Like no one liked him. Like he needed to not be so selfish. And so on. But, Holly's hands helped ground him, and he looked down at the hand pulling on his hoodie.
I wouldn't go so far as to say Noah was always obedient to Holly's bossy demands, but, maybe 'usually' was an okay word. He didn't think to do anything differently now. He reached to over his shoulder, grabbed a fistful of heavy fabric, and tugged. His hat was knocked off as the hoodie drew over his head. Whatever. He discarded the entire mess on the floor and leaned toward Holly, wanting to feel the dude's skin against his. Ah. But, then he remembered the leg and the crutch, and he swayed a little, landing back on the heels of his feet. Instead, he reached down between them. He hooked his fingers into the warm waistband of Holly's sweats. The dude's pants couldn't be, like, taken off yet, but Noah wanted some kind of tether. He pressed his knuckles into the soft pallor of Holly's belly. He resisted the urge to kiss the dude, so they could maybe actually make it to the shower. Noah glanced up through the mess of his curls.] I'm... [He shook his head and chewed his lip again. God, he needed to stop being sad. He sighed.] Okay, how can I help you, like, with your leg?