A medical emergency

[fadingworld]

A deep navy cloak hides his features and the more ornate tunic the courtesan usually wears to greet his clients. Mal hunches his shoulders and slides through the crowds hoping to avoid notice. He keeps his head down until he reaches the home of the doctor and wraps smartly on the door. "Open up," he calls in a voice that expects to be listened to.

How much time did he have? He could not have a client bleeding out. Not this one. Not one who had come to him for help, to be treated privately.

Comments

[fadingworld]

"I had no one I trusted to tell me thoughts to," Mal points out. "I am an open book," he takes a long sip of the drink, "Ask me any question you like because I don't know which part of my story you might find interesting."

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis ponders this. He has revealed much today, many deeply personal things. So he decides to go tit for tat with that free question.

"What is the most guarded thing you dream about?" He asks, leaning over to top up their glasses again.

[fadingworld]

Mal takes three long sips before he even attempts to answer that. "The darkest, most guarded is watching the Madame and her trainers fall." He looks down. "Or give them clients for two weeks." He smiles wryly, "Thankfully, I don't dream it that often. I don't like feeling that blood thirsty."

[mandragoraspiritus]

"Everyone has some darkness in them. There must be balance after all." HE smiles a bit more grimly, a hint of teeth. "Shall I admit to entertaining a thought of ruining that woman and tearing the whole house down earlier today?"

[fadingworld]

Mal grins back. He can't help it, Regis' protective side makes him smile. "And if I had agreed to it, how exactly would you have done it?" But a part of Mal knows....if anything happened to her and to the others he would mourn them a little as his only taste of family.

[mandragoraspiritus]

"Truthfully, even if you had wished me to I am not so sure I would have done a thing. I have spent many years going against such impulses." He strives to help rather than to harm. "But it is still oddly satisfying to entertain such fantasies sometimes."

[fadingworld]

"It is, it is very calming." Mal laughs and finishes the glass off. "My other guarded dream? Well it isn't so guarded, it seems to be on its way to becoming true. Wishing to heal people, rather than lead a life of luxury was a very taboo idea."

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis smiles an honest smile at that. "Selflessness in the face of greed," he murmurs, raising his glass in a toast. "To dreams coming true, then."

[fadingworld]

Mal blushes it at that. He doesn't see it quite that way. He raises his glass and accepts the toast. "And to happiness found on good company," he says softly. "I think I am twice blessed in a job and a friend."

[mandragoraspiritus]

Glasses clink and then down the hatch the drink goes, Regis tipping his head back to swallow it down, enjoying the burn as it goes down.

He shouldn't encourage Mal to drink, but the man had asked for a night to forget the woes from the Rose Thorn. Regis simply indulges him. As the night wears on Mal eventually goes from tipsy to drunk and eventually Regis pulls his glass away from him rather than filling it up again.

"This is enough for tonight," he declares. "We should get you to bed."

[fadingworld]

"Bed," Mal is inclined to be gigglely. He stands swaying slightly. "Oh okay, there is a room and it is spinning a little." He takes a step. "Hm. Maybe, you could see me safely to my bed? Or I might just stay where I am."

[mandragoraspiritus]

"You could do either," Regis replies, standing as well and laying a steadying around around Mal's shoulders. Mal has napped on that couch before after all. "But for your first night here as a resident rather than a patient, perhaps you would prefer your own room?"

Not unlike when Mal had been unsteady from fever rather than drink, Regis leads him through the rooms, only now to enter that room that has become Mal's. "Here we go," he murmurs to him, helping him down on his nest of pillows and blankets. "It is only a shame the bed hasn't arrived yet."

[fadingworld]

“It is no shame, perhaps it is better not to have a bed tonight. It makes this more real.” Mal curls a hand protectively on the red blanket and the other finds Regis’ hand. “One more request, would you stay with me till I sleep? Please? I like the company.”

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis looks from Mal to the hand holding his. He doesn't pull away from it. This is a brand new situation for him, that someone is putting themselves to depend on him for comfort.

But them, all of this is new to Mal, too. All new. From the circumstance to the place, to even the drink in his system. More likely than not, he could use the comfort and Regis had promised himself to be there for Mal.

"Alright, then." He moves to sit, leaning his back against the wall up by Mal's head. "Until you fall asleep."

[fadingworld]

Mal immediately transfers his head into Regis lap, without thinking and shuts his eyes. “This is nice,” he says with a contented sigh, “No expectations, clothes on, just being close to someone. “ He yawns. I like it a lot. Good night.”

[mandragoraspiritus]

Regis hadn't expected that his lap would be serving as Mal's pillow but he just doesn't have teh heart to refuse when the young man settles in like that. Especially not with what Mal said. No expectations, just being close to someone. This man has known frighteningly little care and gentleness in his life, hasn't he?

After just a slight moment of hesitation, Regis lets a hand settle on Mal's shoulder. "Good night, Mal. Sleep well."

[fadingworld]

“Goodnight,” Mal murmurs. HE would never have dared ask for this sober. But he curls his body in, feeling warm and content, tired from the day and the recovery.

He doesn’t snore and would quite happily shift his head if Regis wanted to move.

[mandragoraspiritus]

The night hours pass and Regis is still there, still leaning back against the wall and has barely moved an inch. In the early hours of morning he starts to doze off, drifting easily and pleasantly somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, just gone enough that he isn't aware that by the time the sun has begun to rise he's started to gently comb his fingers through Mal's hair.

[fadingworld]

Mal wakes up to those fingers in his hair. Opening his eyes he finds himself looking up into Regis face. It takes him a moment to process where he is and what is going.

It was lovely he decides, apart from the headache, to wake up pain free, warm and content. “Good morning,” he says sweetly smiling up.

[mandragoraspiritus]

The sound of Mal's voice rouses Regis from his light slumber. His hand lifts away from Mal's hair and goes up to rub the sleep from his eyes as he blinks awake.

"Good morning." His yawn puts those sharp teeth of his on full display for a moment. "Did you sleep well?"

[fadingworld]

“I don’t remember falling asleep,” Mal says, having a momentary blink at the teeth. “So I must have slept well. I can’t believe you stayed all night with me! Weren’t you uncomfortable?”

[mandragoraspiritus]

"Not so much. I have slept in worse places." But now he does nudge Mal to remove his head from his lap. "Though I do believe that you are, or at least ought to be. Headache? Nausea?"

[fadingworld]

“There are drums beating in my head,” Mal says as he sits up. “But it was worth it.” For a night nothing had mattered. He leans back against the wall.

“I’d like to give those drummers the rest of the day off, if you’ve got a good headache cure handy.”

[mandragoraspiritus]

"I shall see what I can come up with." Of course he was cures for hangovers. A tea of willow bark, ginger and peppermint plenty sweetened with honey should help quite a bit. As would food and water.

"But you must come to the breakfast table to get it." He flashes something of a smirk and gets up, leaving the room. He won't allow Mal to lounge in his nest all morning.

[fadingworld]

The first day of his new life had begun. Mal curls his knees up and rests his chin on them. It's a thrill that it is already starting differently. Generally he had not started his day until the sun was high in the sky.

He gets up moments later but he doesn't make his way straight to the table. He goes to clean and brush his hair through before he dares show his face.

So he looks a lot fresh than he actually feels as he joins Regis.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Not that he could cook but he might be able to carry things to the table without breaking any plates.