Again (closed)

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare didn't know what to say when they were alone again. He felt weak and ashamed, guilty for what he'd done, how he'd reacted, and Michael--Michael, who he was supposed to be taking care of--having to drag him out of it. "You should lie down," Dare said at last, the words soft and unsure. Would Michael want him with him after this? Resting alone would be far better than having to take care of someone else while he was trying to recover.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's chest hurt in an entirely different way at the way Dare sounded. He tugged the cloak off and dropped it to the floor, then dropped his wand on the table before taking Dare's hand again and pulling him to the bed. "What happened?" he asked as he sat on the bed and motioned for Dare to sit by him. He was feeling worse than he had when he had woken up, but he pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with Dare.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare hesitated, then took a spot beside Michael, wanting the nearness desperately. "I don't know," he said softly, trying to think back. "He left to get money exchanged and Markise..." Now he remembered. His eyes lifted to the door, as though it would let him see across the hall and watch Markise to be sure he was all right.

"They went to Popstarz last night. Apparently Markise got drunk, but he's never had more than a sip of wine or something. It's bizarre. Then he started telling me how Ariel told him he'd passed out and some random guy at the club--some guy Markise had kissed, according to Ariel--had taken them back to his apartment to sleep it off. Markise doesn't remember anything until the next morning.

"Ariel was apparently in a big hurry to get out, and he had a lot of money with him, Markise said. He knows Muggle money really well. Ariel said the guy had given him the money to get home, but why wouldn't he just have done that in the first place? Markise kept going on about how nice Ariel had been to him that morning. This morning," he corrected himself, though he wasn't entirely sure that it was this morning anymore. Dare shook that thought off to go on. "I confronted him when he got back." He dropped his gaze then and didn't go on.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael, who had been begging distance before, couldn't pull himself away from Dare. "What did you think happened?" he asked, linking their fingers. Apparently it had bothered Dare quite a bit, for him to want to go after Ariel for it. Michael wanted to know what had happened, and he wasn't going to refuse to ask just because his chest was hurting. He could sleep after he found out.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's heart ached again at the curl of Michael's fingers, and he closed his eyes, silent for a moment as he let himself soak the feeling in, deserved or not. Then he shook his head lightly. "I don't know," Dare admitted. "I asked if he'd stolen it, but I don't think he did." His mind wouldn't make the correct leap, and so he could only wonder. "He said it didn't matter, since Markise is safe now." That hadn't been enough, though. Could Markise every really be safe with someone like that? Dare opened his eyes and looked up at the door again. Part of him felt bad for not taking Markise with them, pulling him out of the situation, but the rest of him was greedy, and just wanted to be with Michael.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael thought for a moment, but had no idea how Ariel could have gotten his hands on the money, or why the man would have given it to him. "So..." he started, then stopped himself to debate how smart it would be to ask. Then he took a breath and raised an eyebrow and asked, "So why did you give him...rabbit ears?" He couldn't think of why Dare had done it, or why he had chosen rabbit ears.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare glanced aside at Michael, then back down at nothing, any humor in the situation completely lost to him. "I don't know," he said again, softer. "He wouldn't tell me, and... rabbit ears are easy. It's the first thing I thought of." Dare hoped that the cement shoes didn't need explained. Dare would have far preferred to have zapped the guy or given him boils in the worst possible places, but unfortunately, he didn't know how to perform those spells, and he couldn't imagine how he ever would.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael switched out hands, taking the hand from Dare's and wrapping that arm around him, then linking the fingers of his opposite hand with Dare's. "I'll have to teach you some better ones than rabbit ears," he said, sliding to sit against Dare. "Give him a horse's tail or something," he suggested, raising his eyebrow again at the sad attempt at humor.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare gave a watery smile that didn't do much good. He appreciated the attempt though. "He's already a horse's ass," he said under his breath, for all the good it did when Michael was close enough to hear. "I'm sorry I left," he said softly. He was sorry for so much more, but that was the easiest to talk about. He didn't know if he'd be able to talk about the rest. He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to close his eyes and open them to find that this was all a nightmare and he was home in bed with Michael.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked down and shrugged lightly, wincing when he realized how bad an idea that was. "It's okay, I knew you were going to be gone...but Markise was here and he said that you had been there when he had gone to sleep..." That had been what had scared Michael. It hadn't made any sense, but he supposed it did now that he knew what Dare had done, he had just been looking out for his friend.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

That reminded Dare. "You should lie down," he said, for the third time now. He actually shifted to look at Michael better and concern washed over his face, lightening the sky blue eyes he'd forgotten he had. "I want you to get better." I want to go home. Dare squeezed Michael's hand, and as much as it pained him, released it to stand. He tried to set his mind toward action again and crossed to the table to get another bottle of blood-replenishing potion. He could make it up to Michael if he could help him get better.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael opened his lips to argue, then closed them again when a particularly painful wave moved through him. "Will you go and get that potion?" he asked hopefully. He wanted Dare to sleep, wanted Dare to sleep with him, even if it wasn't a natural sleep. It would still help and he knew that it was needed, however fine Dare claimed to be.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare paused, his head hanging a moment as he thought about it. He didn't want to sleep, but the idea of laying there with Michael, even if he wasn't awake to feel it, sounded too good to pass up, deserved or not. "I will," he said softly. It was so dangerous, but he didn't have much choice. They couldn't hide in this room forever. He couldn't stay awake forever, no matter how much he wanted to. Dare lifted his head and turned back to Michael with the blood-replenishing potion. "Take this and lie down, and I'll go."

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Promise?" Michael asked, taking the vial, "And you'll hurry back and take it and come straight to bed?" He opened the vial and held it up, though he didn't drink it yet. He would drink it when Dare promised. There was no way he was going to take the chance of waking up to see Dare sitting in the chair awake with bloodshot eyes because he hadn't gone to sleep again.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's eyes softened at that. "Promise," he said softly. He'd just keep his blond hair and sleep with his back to the room so anyone coming in wouldn't recognize him. It should be easy enough to do, considering it would mean facing Michael. That thought brought a flash of memory to Dare's mind, that sneer on Soren Hardt's lips as he'd looked at him. His hair. His lip ring. Dare blinked. "I should take this out," he said, reaching hesitantly up for it. He didn't want to, it had become such a part of him the past month he'd had it, but he refused to take a chance at being recognized.