secretasshole | 018 웃 VIDEO

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018 웃 VIDEO

[David has been in the infirmary since the door opened. As an inmate - both here and on the other Barge - he hasn't had access to any of the dangerous supplies, but he's done his best to keep things tidy and organized, ready for the (inevitable) flood of people who will be filing in with the injured and the dead.

When the Barge rights itself, he blinks and takes a moment to take stock of the situation before clicking on his communicator.]

The infirmary is open, and back to normal, if anyone is in need of medical attention. The death toll also appears to be functional once more.

Dr. Banner, I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

[Private to Erik]

[And now he clicks on a filter, and is providing you with a view of a cleaned up, clearly alive if unconscious Charles, tucked into a bed in the infirmary.]

I hope you're well.

[ooc: David is available for spam, but since he is not officially on infirmary duty, he doesn't have access to things like painkillers. Still, he will happily(ish...) bring you other things if you ask nicely. c:]

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[He feels...strange. Good. Confused, but good, at least until he sees this message, sees Charles. That much, he remembers. He remembers it vividly.]

I'll be there.

[And he runs. From his cabin to the infirmary, he bolts and flies down stairs, floating instead of falling this time. He isn't running to intercept, he's running to - from - he reaches along the ling he has with Charles, finds it real and solid instead of just - gone. And it's enough.]

[David is keeping himself busy, organizing beds and blankets and bandages, lending whatever assistance he can provide to anyone else who arrives, but he always circles back around to check on Charles.

He promised that he'd look after him, back when he'd been more willing to receive and follow orders, and now that things were back to normal, he had no real reason to continue following Erik's instructions. But he's stayed, and he's washed off the blood on his face and skin, changed him into a clean pair of hospital scrubs, and kept him as comfortable and secure as being tucked into a hospital bed on the Barge could be. And what's strange is that he doesn't necessarily want to leave until Erik shows up. He wants to help, and it's something he's going to have to examine when he has time to mull over the issue thoroughly.

And when Erik arrives, he actually looks... a little alarmed. Because that is a lot of blood. :|]

Erik.

[He was upset, okay. Now, he hardly notices it. Hardly notices David, at least at first. His eyes are eagle sharp on Charles, on his chest, watching its rise and fall for a long moment. Only then does he turn to David, letting out a slow, satisfied breath. He's alive again. He's alive.]

You cleaned him up. You didn't have to do that. [Thank you, he means.]

[David doesn't mind. He just stands by, watching, understanding if not really knowing that Erik would need to take a moment to reassure himself that his friend was really alive. When Erik does turn to him, the alarm has faded to just subtle concern, and he doesn't hesitate to give him the honest answer to the question he hadn't asked.]

You told me to take care of him. [Which, honestly, was a request he probably could have willfully misinterpreted. He could have just moved him out of the way of the action on deck, or thrown him over the side, or just left him dumped on a cot in the infirmary. "Take care of" sometimes had other meanings, after all.

But the other David wouldn't have done that, and this David... hadn't wanted to. He didn't know Charles well, and he didn't really know the pain of losing someone you loved, but he does like Erik, and Erik loves Charles. Logically, watching someone you loved die would be indescribably painful - and he thinks of Elizabeth and Holloway with some small regret, for her sake if not for his, even if he knows the relationships aren't entirely similar - and if he could make this easier on Erik, he actually wanted to do it.

So, long story short, you're welcome.]

Would you like me to get you a change of clothes? [So he could stay in the infirmary with Charles instead of heading down to his room. It was unlikely that Dr. Xavier would wake up in the time it took for him to go to his room and change, but he understood that logic rarely took precedence over emotion and emotional attachment in situations like this.

He also assumes that Dr. Xavier's reaction to seeing his friend still covered in his blood will probably be more extreme than his was.]

[Glancing down at himself with the offer, Erik stares, blinks, almost uncomprehending. He almost doesn't remember, but then he can smell the blood again, and remember bowing over Charles' body, holding him, a white light--

He nods, running both his hands through his hair as he looks up at David again.]

Yes. Yes, thank you. [He needs - he needs to sit, to gather his thoughts. He needs to remind himself that Charles is alive, that it was only a day, that just because it wasn't immediate doesn't mean anything, that he'll be fine - and then maybe he'll find the room to think about anything else, about the fact that David could have left the second he was himself again, and didn't.]

[David nods again, and points to a chair he's left at the beside for exactly this purpose. He's actually pretty proud of himself. He feels like he's thought of everything.]

I will be back shortly. Do you require anything else at this moment?

[Erik just shakes his head, grateful for David's forethought. Because he can't quite think for himself right now. He just sits, leaning forward to cup his jaw in his hands.]

[Once he's certain he's settled, he heads to Erik's room and lets himself in, heading immediately for the wardrobe and dresser instead of ferreting around. He's back in the infirmary maybe a little more than five minutes later (he even locked the door!), and hands over a black turtleneck, a clean pair of jeans, socks, even underwear, and his brown jacket.

Look, it can be kind of drafty in here.]

I hope these are satisfactory.

[They're his favorite outfit, and that registers in the periphery as Erik stands, taking the pile. There's a moment where he's distracted, almost confused by David's return: his thoughts have wandered firmly back to the other Barge. He's been giving himself a terrible headache trying to sort it out.]

They're fine. Thank you. [He takes a step toward the bathrooms, then pauses, glancing at Charles. He wants to ask David to stay with him, but that feels like too much.]

[He doesn't have to ask: that look makes it perfectly clear that he's reluctant to leave his friend, and it isn't as if David has anywhere else he needs to be.]

I'll stay with Dr. Xavier until you return. I can also clean your old clothes, if you'd like. [Or destroy them, if they turn out to be unsalvageable. Or maybe just an unpleasant reminder of something he'd rather move on from.]

No, that's fine. [His mouth twists just a little, a wry hint.] I asked you to take care of him, not me. [A nod of thanks, one more glance at Charles, and he turns to head for the washroom. He changes quickly, dropping his bloody clothes in the waste basket when he's done. He shrugs the jacket on, too, though he can't decide if the chill he feels is psychosomatic or not.

He returns after he's splashed water on his face and fixed his hair as best he can. He looks better, though he didn't look particularly bad when he arrived.]

Why did you stay?

[The question is out almost before he thinks it, but he doesn't try to take it back despite the lack of lead up. He stands behind the chair he'd claimed as his own, hands on its back as he looks from Charles to his metallic twin.]

[For a moment, he's tempted to just repeat what he'd said before: Erik had asked him to, so he had, but he knows that's not the answer the man is looking for, so he reaches for something else.]

You have been consistently tolerant and understanding of both myself and my beliefs, when very few others have done the same. I sincerely appreciate that. And as it's readily apparent to anyone that Dr. Xavier is extremely important to you, and you to him, seemingly regardless of which reality the Barge is forcing you to experience, I wanted to do what I could to help you.

[Erik isn't one for expressions of gratitude: he's bad at it. It's uncomfortable, recognizing that moment where you needed someone else's help. His whole life has taught him not to accept assistance from others: they will betray you, they will serve their own interests, so you must serve your own.

That has been changing, slowly and steadily, and it would feel a touch alarming to look back on - so he doesn't. He offers his hand to his blond twin.]

Thank you, David.

[David regards the hand for a moment with something like confusion, because it's just such an unexpected gesture. It's something people do for a colleague, an equal, not something you view as an appliance.

But then again, maybe it isn't, coming from Erik, and he accepts it with a small, genuine smile.

It's good to know that he can help someone, and still be treated like a person, not a thing.]

You're welcome.

[He clasps tight, maybe too tight, but that doesn't matter. He's grateful, and he only has so many ways to express himself.

Besides, David can handle a tight hand shake.

Slowly, the smile is returned. It's been a long time since he thought of David as some hideous representation of Aryan success: he's his own man, however he wants to define man.]

You don't have to stay, [he says when he finally lets go. It's not a dismissal: it's an acceptance of whatever David wants to do.]

[It's a good feeling, and it reinforces that he made the right choice. Not that he had thought it would backfire on him, but it's still good to realize.]

I've offered to assist Dr. Banner until things have calmed down. [Or until Bruce pisses him off enough to quit, whichever comes first.]

So if you're in need of anything else, I won't be too far.

[Erik nods; he doesn't say thank you again, doesn't give him more than a small smile. But he's made the gesture that needed to be made, and though he doubts he'll need anything, he trusts that David will be uncomfortably attentive.

He settles down in a chair by Charles' bedside, and waits.]

["Uncomfortably" is probably the wrong word. Erik's an adult who's more than capable of looking after himself, even if he's recovering from pretty intense personal tragedy, so he'll keep an eye out without hovering.

That said, he might drop off food at some point.]

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018 웃 VIDEO

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