modern prometheus.

          charles wrapped one sturdy arm around victor’s waist , pulling him in closer & pressing a kiss to his temple. he was basking in the calm , peering at the lovely man resting on him with a look of pure devotion. he paused , dimpled smile raising his cheeks , and then sighed , contented. “ these are the big plans , lucky you. ” another kiss for his forehead , one for his cheek , another for his hair. “ you’re daft if you think I plan to move. or get up and dress myself , for that matter. ”

          it really was nice , having all medical students as one’s friends. if one gathered enough doctors together , perhaps they would never be injured –– or never die , charles thought. he certainly wasn’t in the most responsible state of mind –– eyeing the liquor with desire before surrendering and taking it to the handkerchief ( somewhat messily , spilling a bit and proceeding to lick it off his finger unceremoniously , which was met with a cough & another pained groan ) and eventually dabbing the cloth to his lip. his brow furrowed at the blood , with a dizzy realization that the cut must have bled more than he’d presumed. that was confirmed when he dabbed at his chin & wiped up even more. 

          “ still a bit blotto , ” he confessed. he started to turn to address victor , but pain resisted his attempt , & he crumpled back , dropping the handkerchief onto his chest. “ my rib–––– definitely the rib. that may be–– might be the worst. the worst. you’re sweet. I am a doctor , though ––––definitely broken rib ––––––––– probably. doctors aren’t really built for fights , you think ? ”

“yes, I can see that.“ he ghosted his fingers down charles’s side, not applying any real pressure, in an attempt to make sure there weren’t any extra wounds his friend hadn’t noticed. “you might want to take another swig or two anyway, my poor darling dr. montgomery. we’re walking back to my place.“ 

          “ I am making afternoon plans , and they’re vital. ” he assured , ever - smiling , looking as though he was plotting something. and he was. the something was gazing at victor rather wistfully and shimmying to the right so he was no longer occupying the middle of the bed. then , he patted the empty space , wordless. he hoped that was sufficiently inviting. he didn’t care to get up and start running about yet , he didn’t have the energy.

          a small , fond smile crept onto the old doctor’s lips , prompting dimples. “ ghost powers , ” he repeated , eyeing the shirt where it was tossed. the smile only deepened. “ give up , did you ? are you in a hurry somewhere , love ? ”

“it’s alright, charles. I’ve got you. hold still for me.“ 

really, victor had only stepped out for some fresh air - he hadn’t even seen charles and roosevelt at the bar, let alone noticed the fight or the things leading up to it. being a bit of an introvert, victor had just come to the point in his night where he needed a break from the crowd, so he’d grabbed the nearest bottle and walked himself out into the ally behind the bar, where he found his injured friend.

@prometheusdoc· || continued from here

           charles blushed heavily – lucky victor couldn’t see it. he hadn’t put his shirt back on yet , he’d just meant to lay there and bask. now he was embarrassed. and reappearing , albeit noncommittally , rendering him lazily translucent. “ ahh. you know–– you know when your foot falls asleep , but you don’t know until you stand ?? ” he didn’t have a way to finish his analogy. just a vague hand gesture and a short hum.

@frankencomplex

@prometheusdoc

         ‘  what  i  would  or  wouldn’t  have  done  doesn’t  matter ,  victor .   you’re  being  unfair !   i  screwed  up .   i  know  i  screwed  up ,  and  maybe  that  means  you  can’t  trust  me  anymore ,  maybe  that  means  i  can’t  regain  whatever  favor  i’ve  lost ,  but  can  you  at  least  believe  that  i’ve  gotten  BETTER ?  that  i  don’t  want  to  hurt  anymore ,  and  that  if  someone  —  ’    styrk ,  though  she  doesn’t  say  his  name ;  victor  knows  full  well  who  she  means   ‘  —  was  bad  for  me ,  i’d  leave ?  i’m  tired  of  being  a  victim ,  victor .  i  wouldn’t  let  him  make  one  of  me .  ’    not  that  he  is ,  or  WOULD ;  he’s  good ,  much  better  than  her  in  any  case .  he  helps  people ,  saves  them ,  and  what  does  she  do ?   get  her  best  friend  killed  because  of  her  own  selfishness  (  even  if  he  came  back .  it  still  hurt  him .  she  hurt  him ,  and  charles ,  and  josh ,  and  EVERYONE  because  she’s  an  inconsiderate  fool ) .

        ‘  and  he  didn’t  mean  to  be  hostile .  ’    she’s  said  this  before ,  feels  like  a  broken  record  as  she  tries  desperately  to  get  her  friend  to  understand .   her  voice  is  tight ,  and  she  can  feel  tears  backing  up  in  her  eyes  as  she  continues .   do  not  cry .   ‘  i  told  you ,  victor ,  he  was  just  worried  about  me .  and  he  doesn’t  know  you ,  he  misread  your  response  and  that’s  all .  he  got  mad  because  he  was  afraid  i  wouldn’t  be  okay ,  and  can  you  blame  him ?  it’s  a  miracle  i  made  it  to  nineteen  at  all .  ’   even  if  she’s  gotten  better ,  she  still  has  her  dark  days .   ‘  and   —  and  don’t  think  i’m  being  unfair  to  you ,  because  i’ve  defended  you  to  him !   but  you’re  both  stubborn ,  and  you’ve  both  made  it  quite  clear  that  you  expect  the  other  to  apologize ,  so  i  don’t  know  what  you  want  me  to  do .  ’

for a second, victor just paused, pressing his lips together in a vague smirk, and then he raised his hands in a shrug that was somehow both lazy and dramatic. “I don’t care. I really, honestly just don’t care at all.” and, to an extent, he didn’t. or, more accurately, he’d given up on trying to be friendly. 

“look at you - you’re here, telling me how GOOD he is and how WELL he treats you, and you’re crying over how he’s too stubborn to listen to you and too aggressive to refrain from verbally attacking your friends over perceived offenses. he’s already made you a victim! and now he’s made ME one too, and I don’t care for it.“ he gestured through his monologue, finally voicing all of the concerns he’d had for a long while and fully expecting to be finished with all of it as soon as he stopped talking. “I CAN blame him, actually, and I do! is it my fault that he misread my messages? is that what you’re saying? that, because he refuses to apologize for being rude to me, I should apologize for being the target of his rudeness? it IS unfair to me, percy, and it’s ridiculous that neither of you can see that.“ 

          charles was using everything in his being not to open his mouth and yell , or even let his mouth fall agape , at all , as his classmate’s slim torso was very much encroaching on his personal space and he found that he was not opposed to it , whatsoever. his nerve was certainly falling away. “ good. ” he mumbled awkwardly , FORCING himself to look at victor’s face rather than anything else. ( god , this was a confusing interaction. acknowledging this , however , made him wish he was fairly dead. ) he did note , rather vainly , perhaps , that he’d been taken down from dr. montgomery to mr. montgomery. he noted , as well , that he far preferred to be called doctor , which rather pleasantly affirmed his chosen career path.

          “ over coffee ? ” he repeated , as though that was the most fascinating thing victor had said. “ you do know it’s the middle of the night , don’t you ? I ––– christ. never mind , I suppose. yes , right , lead the way. ” he stepped back from his place , where he realized he had been blocking victor’s leave –– not intentionally , of course , but he was embarrassed enough that he jumped back a bit. he wasn’t sure if he was expecting the ramblings of a madman , or the genius that man had yet to unlock , but he was sure that all the strange , brilliant things in life happened at 2am on college campuses.

“it’s a bit of a long story, and I’ll be embarrassed and offended if you fall asleep halfway through. so - COFFEE.“ 

with a graceful swing of his long legs, victor dismounted from the table and dusted off the back of his trousers. he was going to smell like the morgue now, and as much as he didn’t mind it, he wasn’t entirely certain any visitors he’d have in the next few days would be quite so CHARMED. but charles didn’t seem to mind it, judging by his presence in the morgue after hours, and charles was turning out to be the most important guest he’d had in a century and a half, so that was just going to have to be a problem for later victor.

bloodied knuckles  ･ tear stained cheeks  ･  rust  ･ a busted lip ･  claws  ･  fangs  ･  a bloody nose ･  chattering teeth  ･  a dark space underneath the bed ･ scratching noises on a wall ･  creaking metal  ･  fog ･ dancing under moonlight ･ blood dripping lips ･  heavy breathing in the dark  ･ a feeling of unexplained dread ･ a figure in a dark corner ･   dirty peeling wallpaper  ･ a bloody handprint on the wall ･  sobbing in the dark ･  bite marks on the skin ･ eerie whispers ･ a hood covering a stranger’s eyes ･  the growl of a hidden animal  ･ the sound of a blade being sharpened ･ a deep, dark forest ･  walking on the streets alone at night ･  a cobweb-filled, abandoned building ･eyes darting in paranoia ･  a heavy beating pulse ･ the feeling of being trapped ･  struggling to get out a scream ･  boards covering broken windows  ･  a quiet graveyard ･  a gas station in the middle of nowhere ･ a road that never ends ･ heavy fog rolling in ･ the scent of blood in the air ･ eerie old photographs ･ walking along traintracks at night  ･ a chill going up the spine ･  gathering crows ･ a dusty, dimly lit study ･  mist over a deserted cobblestone street ･  ghost towns ･  shadows around a campfire  ･ the sound of chanting ･ church bells tolling ･  an orange harvest moon  ･  a broken down carnival  ･  a dirty stuffed animal abandoned  ･ wiping bloody hands on fabric ･ nightmares ･ waking up in a panic ･  a power outage  ･ heavy lightning storms ･  a secret trap door ･ the feeling of being watched ･  fear from trauma  ･  a ouija board set out on a table  ･  an eerie doll  ･ a scream of anguish & pain ･ withered plants ･  a room that’s been forgotten & gathered dust ･  owl eyes in the dark ･  curled, dead tree branches ･  a ritual altar ･   flickering candles ･ a lantern held up in the dark ･  fear of being followed ･  creaking floorboards ･ repressed, horrible memories ･ clenched teeth ･  soft, echoing piano keys ･ an old book covered in dust ･  many pairs of glaring eyes  ･ stumbling in pitch black darkness ･ being stranded in the middle of nowhere ･  tarot cards on a table  ･ a trail of blood

tagged by : @frankencomplex