It wasn't so much a minimalist attitude as it was just Damon, ignoring the pain and letting his mind wander as it always did. He winced as he felt the needle, but the drug took effect quickly in the area. His teeth clenched, but the pain was somehow soothing. He was a broken thing, battered and bruised, but breathing. His head turned to the side, arms underneath to make somewhat of a pillow.
"Was Marijane your girlfriend?" he asked. "Fuck." Alex had gotten to the deepest part and Damon felt that. He closed his eyes for a minute. "With all the dreams, I've nearly forgotten what my life was like before them." Or maybe he didn't want to. That was a topic of debate. "Four years of dreams, and they twist and turn like a mother fucker." They bleed into your life, redirect you. Those were things he didn't need to say. On the better side, they had brought people to his life that wouldn't have been there before. Alex was one of them. Were they connected yet? Maybe.
"Tell me more." The area had numbed sufficiently, and he could think of more than the poking. He wanted to get to know Alex. Might as well start right here, on his stomach, directing attention away from injuries.