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Post by Markise Sterling on May 17, 2009 21:32:24 GMT -5
Markise nodded. I'll go... change, then," he said. "I'll be close when you wake up." Maybe he'd try for another nap in the waiting room. Or the tea room, since it should be open by now. Markise paused, considered crossing over to Ariel and pressing one last, soft kiss against his cheek, but he only left. He could save the rest of his polyjuice for another emergency.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 17, 2009 21:39:48 GMT -5
Ariel sighed more heavily when Markise left. Everything hit him notably harder without the distraction of planning out the next few months there. After a few minutes he curled up underneath the thin blanket and tried to sleep, but it was long coming and when he finally did fall asleep, his hair was damp with sweat again and he was curled into himself once more.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 17, 2009 21:52:54 GMT -5
Markise had gone to the tearoom when he'd gotten back, but even with the purposefully soothing atmosphere, he hadn't been able to relax enough to nod off. He went to the gift shop next, trying to give Ariel time to sleep. He bought a couple magazines, then left and gave up. He wasn't going to be able to sleep. He just wasn't. An hour later he was asleep after all, in the chair he'd pulled up next to Ariel's bed. The magazines lay just in Ariel's reach on the nearest flat surface.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 18, 2009 10:31:15 GMT -5
Ariel didn't sleep for too much longer, and was woken up by a cold sweat and a bad case of the shakes. He closed his eyes tightly against it all, but he could do nothing now but wait it out. At least he wasn't having the body-wrenching pain anymore, though he had a feeling that it was just hiding and waiting for a chance to come back out at any time. Finally, he opened his eyes only to see Markise there asleep in the chair. He wanted to reach out for a hand, but this was actually Markise, so he kept his shaking hands to himself. He tucked his arms close to his stomach and settled to trying to focus on Markise enough to stop the shaking.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 18, 2009 11:31:25 GMT -5
Somehow in sleep Markise felt Ariel's eyes on him, and his own fluttered open. There was a moment of disorientation before he remembered being in the hospital and another before he remembered being in Ariel's room. He lifted his head to see how Ariel was doing, and his brows knitted together. "I'll go get someone," he said, trying to be reassuring. He reached up as he stood, pushing Ariel's damp hair back again. "I'll hurry."
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 18, 2009 11:38:00 GMT -5
"It doesn't hurt right now," Ariel said, "Not as bad." Were they really going to be going to New York? It seemed so hard to imagine. He blinked and pushed those thoughts away, right now he needed to concentrate on getting better. Logically, he knew that he would still have symptoms even when he was released and they said he was okay. He still hoped that it would all go away quickly.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 18, 2009 11:49:52 GMT -5
Markise stood in a moment's indecision, then turned to the attached bathroom. When he came back, he had a damp washcloth in one hand and hoped it would be enough. If it got any worse, then he could get a nurse. He sat down next to Ariel again and pressed the washcloth gently to Ariel's forehead, then to his cheek, hoping to make him at least a little comfortable. He couldn't think what else to do. Just try to make Ariel comfortable and maybe talk to distract him from the pain. "You'll be out of here soon," he promised. How long did it take to get over something like this?
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 18, 2009 11:58:34 GMT -5
Ariel sighed and dropped his eyes. "I know," he said softly. He would be out soon enough, he knew that, but what he didn't know was how long it would take for him to be completely over it, if ever. He could imagine still wanting a smoke after a rough day, wanting to sneak out after a bad week and find something to do. "Thank you for taking care of me."
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 18, 2009 12:05:54 GMT -5
Markise's eyes rose from the washcloth at Ariel's neck, looking for honey-brown eyes that weren't looking back. "You're welcome." He wouldn't think about why he was doing any of this, but he felt an overpowering need too. He couldn't walk away when Ariel was finally accepting being taken care of. He couldn't tell himself he'd do it for anyone, though. A stranger he would have seen into the hospital and left to pay his own bill. He'd have come back to check on them, but he wouldn't have stayed.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 18, 2009 12:13:54 GMT -5
Ariel looked up at Markise and met his eyes for just a few seconds. A few seconds where many, many images flashed through his mind and a hundred thoughts rushed through. Then he looked away again. Whatever kind of relationship was between the two of them was another thing that he didn't need to concentrate on right now.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 18, 2009 13:32:30 GMT -5
Markise's gaze had been caught by Ariel's, and those few seconds had been enough to knock him breathless. He dropped his eyes with Ariel, pulling a quick breath, and tried to sort his thoughts. Before he could pick one out from the others, he realized he was afraid to. He didn't want to know what that look had been, or why he'd reacted to it so immediately. This was so dangerous. Never stopped you before. Markise returned his attention to silently blotting Ariel's face and neck.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 18, 2009 18:23:58 GMT -5
Ariel closed his eyes and let himself imagine they were alone and that he hadn't messed up so very badly. "This summer will be interesting," he said, anything to break the silence. There was a measure of comfort in the silence, but he also felt awkwardness that seemed constantly under the surface itching to come out.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 18, 2009 19:39:42 GMT -5
"Mhm," Markise agreed. Even the idea of it was nearly unimaginable. He was going to live in a small space with Ariel for months trying to keep him out of trouble. And in less than a year they had so much history. But did they even know each other? Should they? "I'll owl my mom later. She might be able to find us an apartment." He hoped so. Otherwise he'd be begging couch space for him and a friend from Rand. Valentino would definitely say yes, but he was a last resort, and only marginally better than camping in a subway station.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on May 18, 2009 19:46:03 GMT -5
Ariel nodded and looked up at Markise again. "What if she can't?" It would not be fun to get to New York to find they didn't have somewhere to live. It was going to be hard enough even if they did have somewhere to stay. He looked away from Markise and held one hand in front of his eyes, where it shook uncontrollably. He tucked it away again quickly.
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Post by Markise Sterling on May 18, 2009 19:59:35 GMT -5
"I have friends," Markise said softly. And he'd try every one if he needed to. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more the subway seemed better than Valentino. Something about the likelihood of Valentino and Ariel... Markise shuddered. "I'm going to cool this off in the sink," he said, then stood up and headed back to the bathroom.
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