Thorn in the Garden of Life

[losthunter]

Hunter paced his apartment, his phone in one hand, and a list of phone numbers in his other hand. He just got off the phone with Marcus, one of the six other people who had been given a gift by Kendra. And had learned that Marcus had been attacked by Austin.

Luckily, Marcus was able to get away, without any major side effects.

But Hunter was now worried about the others. And so he was making calls to everyone else who he had talked to, and warned them about Austin so they could stay safe.

And he knew it was time to face Austin again. But even though he felt like it was an emergency, Hunter knew that it would be better to make sure someone else came with him. He also knew exactly who he wanted to have by his side.

Jim. Austin attacked another person. I feel like I need to deal with this. Are you available to come with me?

Comments

[losthunter]

Hunter nods slightly. He reaches out to gently touch Jim's face. "Whenever you feel ready, we will eat something. And then get you ready to take the potion."

[boldygoing]

Jim involuntarily shivers, automatically reaching up to pat at the pocket containing the ration bars he's taken out of his stash, reassuring himself that it's still there. He doesn't go into a flashback just yet, though. He'd never thought he'd be grateful for a moment where the only thing he's experiencing is his typical brand of anxieties.

"An hour before, she said?"

[losthunter]

"Yes. And I think we should have a small meal." And not have to use those ration bars.

[boldygoing]

Jim isn't sure why, but he can't really object. There's plenty of food in the apartment, and he has his emergency stash, just in case. That's exactly what it's for. He just never really expected to use it.

"Something stupidly unhealthy," he suggests. The rescue team had to feed the survivors of Tarsus slowly, carefully, only a little at a time. Nothing too extravagant or unhealthy, needing to supplement the IV nutrition and avoid shocking their systems. He doesn't want to bring up those memories if he can avoid it.

[losthunter]

"Hmmmm... pizza? Deep fried chicken? Steak?" Hunter can think of a few options that would be considered unhealthy. "Followed by ice cream and strawberries."

[boldygoing]

"Fried chicken sounds good." Pizza seems like too much of a wild card, and while Jim appreciates a good steak, he's not sure that's the best choice if they want something light. Greasy chicken is exactly the sort of thing he hadn't been allowed to have, and he can't think of any bad memories tied to the flavor.

[losthunter]

"Perfect. I will get my deep fryer out. Would you prefer fries? or wedges?" Hunter enjoys getting to cook for guests.

[boldygoing]

"No preference. Whatever you want to do." He wants to offer to help, but that seems like a terrible idea. There's a reason that Hermione had to lock up all the obvious weapons. Letting him hang around a burn hazard in his current condition is the worst idea.

He's not very good at just sitting idle, though, and he glances over towards the art studio part of the apartment. There's a bit of a mess, the paints and brushes abandoned when Jim began reliving the attack on Daystrom. It's a good thing Hunter has dropcloths put down, because otherwise there'd be a decent amount of paint spatter on the floor. "You want me to clean up?"

[losthunter]

"That would be great, if you could do that." Hunter doesn't want Jim to feel like he can't help, just because of what is going on.

"And then, we could maybe have a living room picnic?" They are going to end up eating with their hands tonight. And might as make it nice, even though it is a necessity to avoid cutlery.

[boldygoing]

"Sure. That'd be fine."

Jim sets to work, locating all the paintbrushes - including the one he threw, which he finds near the balcony - and sets to cleaning the bristles of paint, figuring that's one of the higher priority things to do, before the paint dries. The canvases themselves aren't quite finished, but this kind of paint seems like it's okay to come back to it later, so he leaves them alone to dry. Hunter's looks way better than his own, but he supposes it isn't that bad for a first try, and at least he got one good memory out of the ordeal. Not enough to make up for the awful shit he's already experienced, and what's surely going to come in the next day or two, but it's still something, at least.

[losthunter]

Hunter takes out his deep fryer, preparing the chicken and cutting up some potatoes into wedges. While the oil heats up, he mixes up a batter for both the chicken and the wedges.

He keeps track of what Jim is doing, by just checking on him every now and then. Just to make sure that he is okay, and that he is not being affected by another flashback. They don't know how many more Jim will have to face, before he is able to take the Sleeping Draught.

He just hopes that they can make through the next day-and-a-half.

[boldygoing]

This doesn't remind Jim of anything other than visiting with Hunter, so he has little problem cleaning up the art mess. He's aware that Hunter keeps checking on him, and under ordinary circumstances that might bother him, as if he can't be trusted to handle the art supplies or something. Now it just bothers him because he really can't.

It also frustrates him that it was the conversation that triggered his last flashback. The painting had been going fine, for the most part. But not being able to talk to anybody... that's not going to happen. And it feels like he's stepping on eggshells in his own damn brain.

It'd be annoying if it wasn't kind of terrifying.

By the time he has all the paint tubes capped and everything put away - more or less where it's supposed to go - the apartment has begun to smell pretty good, which helps with his mood a little.

[losthunter]

Hunter places the deep-fried chicken in the fryer first. And he finds a blanket, while it is cooking, to lay it out in the living room.

He knows that this is not an ideal situation for either of them.

Looking up at Jim, he smiles slightly. "My art room looks great. Thanks for cleaning everything up."

[boldygoing]

"No problem." Jim matches his slight smile with one of his own. It's enough to at least pretend like everything's normal, at least for the moment. "How's dinner coming along?"

[losthunter]

"Getting nice and deep fried..." Hunter slowly moves across to where Jim is standing. He places a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Want to help me set the blanket?"

[boldygoing]

"Sure. Just let me wash my hands first." A lot of the paint on him has already dried, but he might as well get as much off as he can.

[losthunter]

"I have a special sink for that. It has some cleaning agents, that will help get the paint off your skin." Hunter leads him to the sink in question.

[boldygoing]

"I guess this shouldn't surprise me. You're a well-prepared guy." Jim smiles slightly at him, and with Hunter's help, soon his hands are scrubbed clean.

[losthunter]

"Not prepared enough. Despite all our plans..." Hunter leans into Jim, nuzzling close to his neck. "You still got hurt."

[boldygoing]

Jim puts his arms around Hunter, not sure which one of them he's trying to reassure right now. "You can't plan for everything."

[losthunter]

Hunter wraps his arms around Jim in return. He just needs to know it is okay to hold Jim. That perhaps by holding him, they can make through this without another flashback.

"And some of those unplanned moments are great life experiences, like when we met." Hunter smiled.

[boldygoing]

"That was one of the good ones," Jim agrees quietly. He's had a lot of unpleasant surprises in his life, but Hunter isn't one of them.

[losthunter]

"Just focus on me for a little bit." Hunter hopes that it will help keep away any further bad memories.

[boldygoing]

Jim can tell what Hunter is trying to do. It's a nice gesture, though he's not sure if it's going to work in the long run. His mind is always wandering, and he can't always help where it goes.

Worth a shot, though.

He smiles a little at Hunter. "All right, you've got my attention."

[losthunter]

Hunter gently runs his fingers through Jim's hair. And smiles. He is not certain that he can be enough to keep Jim's focus. But he hopes that maybe, he can be a little bit of a distraction.

"I remember the excitement in your eyes, when you were in the Nexus market."

"And it was nothing to compare to the excitement in your eyes, when you received the news that your were going to be on a five-year mission."