( and let it be known that even without his Spine, heine's still fast as shit. without even shoving his hoodie on, hair still sticking up in all fucking directions and still wearing the clothes he had slept in { smells like a dog, goddamn} but he makes it to 1470 not long after he'd sent the last text, doesn't go in not because badou told him not to but fuck carol, and he doesn't even watch where he puts his feet, doesn't pay attention to anything else except getting there.
when he does get into the backyard, heine's exhausted and breathing hard but he's in one piece--even if he does look shaken. give him a second to catch his breath. )
[the redhead's waiting out back, on the back stoop, similarly unprepared for the cool September night's chill in a thin t-shirt and boxers; his skinny limbs are shivering lightly, and his eyepatch is crooked and disheveled from sleep]
[and when heine shows up, he's raking a nail down inside his cast, still painstakingly scraping dried bits of muck out of it from the swamp]
[the other boy's panted breath gives him pause, so the customary yo doesn't come, instead an inquisitive]
( clearly there just isn't any time to explain; heine's quick to take the remaining steps towards badou, turns his back towards him and tilts his head down--leaves the back of his neck in plain view. a hand raises, presses to the scar just below the collar, fingers spreading across it and gesturing to a specific area.
he can't see there himself. he can't ask lily or giovanni. he doesn't want to ask nill or carol or anyone he's met here at all, doesn't like the position it puts him in but--he can kick badou to the ground easy enough. ) Is there a hole? From a large needle it should--be about here. ( he remembers it like it was seconds ago but he was here not there why does he remember it now but there's nothing there, only old scar tissue. as it should be. )
( but he was right there before he'd gotten here and it doesn't feel like it was a dream but he hopes it was. badou's right; he'll bolt one way or another, lily and giovanni left to themselves but he's stuck here, standing in one spot, waiting, because this asshole's slow as shit. )
( fingers touch metal and heine's tempted to turn around, bite them off, rip with his teeth until badou understands that you don't fucking touch it, ever. it's not that the collar itself is extremely sensitive--it's the plate under it, drilled down into his Spine. but it is sensitive enough, and he hates it, numbers 66 carved neatly into the back of the metal and it's an area he's never seen before, but he's seen enough necks of his companions to know what the scars should look like, how the numbers are printed, what causes the ache and pains.
but fuck badou. he flinches in response to the touch, doesn't move away. he came here for answers and heine intends to hear it. kicks and punches and words can come after. ) Compatibility testing that has absolutely nothing to do with you. ( it's not a lie. )
[Badou was careful before he lost his eye; it hadn't made a difference (he plans on getting deeper into this than even his brother, make all the same mistakes on purpose -- and he doesn't much care if it ends poorly)]
I'll tell you if it's there or not, if you tell me what you were bein' tested for compatibility for. I swear.
( what would badou know about the spines, anyway. he knows what heine's capable of to an extent--sure. so it doesn't matter. he turns himself back around, faces badou. )
[but he stops, because he'd said he'd tell him; it's frustrating, being maybe one question short of answers]
...Ain't no needle mark. Just that big scar.
[the metal had been cold against his fingers -- he wonders where it bolts into, if that scar he'd seen at the top of his neck runs all the way down the other boy's back]
( shoulders sag in relief; it must have been a dream, he's been here a month already, he couldn't have just forgotten and then remembered and if there's no mark, it couldn't have happened here, where his body's broken and normal. )
[the obvious relief isn't unnoticed. it's not observed without a raw, irritable kind of sympathy; Badou knows what it's like, to feel so tightly wired that reality and delusion blur. he knows what it's like to wake up at six in the morning in a sudden panic (a sound outside that sounds like junkie-rapists but is only a tree against the window's glass). he knows what it's like to see shadows from the corner of your eye and think horrifying things (tall men black hoods shining masks shining knives shining blood). he knows what it's like to be so tired from the daily grind you lose track of time and somehow end up in the past instead of the present (waking up with a groggy start and instantly wondering if they had enough eggs and milk and bread for two)]
-- Yo.
[Badou might not dream, but he knows when sleep (when dark solitude) is fucking useless]
( he shouldn’t. knows one of them is going to wake with a start, mouth opened to scream and eyes wide like they always do, they’ll look for him and he won’t be there, they’ll panic. but they do have phones, they can call or text and he’ll be there as fast as he can and it’s okay, nothing’s attacked them yet, lily’s stronger than him, anyway. could easily protect herself and giovanni if she needed to--especially without that dog in her head to lose to. )
Okay. ( he’d say thanks for the offer, for a goddamn distraction, but he doesn’t. he moves back towards the backdoor, waits for badou to open it because he was told not to go inside just a bit before. ) Don’t touch it again. I’m adding two punches onto your tab, for that.
[a heavy, startled snort at that, while the redhead turns, opening the backdoor for them]
How many m'I up to? I gotta feelin' you're gonna overdo it.
[nill's been worried, he's not a caretaker, and she's right; the cracks are beginning to show. he wonders if they're all so obvious, if he and nill and heine all look so openly fractured to people who lived under the sun, and smile a lot more]
Four. One for Giovanni, one for being an ass. ( and heine follows after, quietly. badou isn’t bitching at him--there’s no reason to open his mouth and be an ass to him without that. and after running all the way here and panicking--he’s exhausted himself all over again. )
Okay. ( not that he know what kung fu is, but he’ll watch it anyway. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: text;
[and then sits up from where he'd passed out on the floor, head dropped on a pillow in front of the TV]
meet u in the back
dont come in
text → action
( and let it be known that even without his Spine, heine's still fast as shit. without even shoving his hoodie on, hair still sticking up in all fucking directions and still wearing the clothes he had slept in { smells like a dog, goddamn} but he makes it to 1470 not long after he'd sent the last text, doesn't go in not because badou told him not to but fuck carol, and he doesn't even watch where he puts his feet, doesn't pay attention to anything else except getting there.
when he does get into the backyard, heine's exhausted and breathing hard but he's in one piece--even if he does look shaken. give him a second to catch his breath. )
Re: text → action
[and when heine shows up, he's raking a nail down inside his cast, still painstakingly scraping dried bits of muck out of it from the swamp]
[the other boy's panted breath gives him pause, so the customary yo doesn't come, instead an inquisitive]
-- What's up?
action;
he can't see there himself. he can't ask lily or giovanni. he doesn't want to ask nill or carol or anyone he's met here at all, doesn't like the position it puts him in but--he can kick badou to the ground easy enough. ) Is there a hole? From a large needle it should--be about here. ( he remembers it like it was seconds ago but he was here not there why does he remember it now but there's nothing there, only old scar tissue. as it should be. )
Re: action;
Why would there be? Is there s'posed to be?
Re: action;
( but he was right there before he'd gotten here and it doesn't feel like it was a dream but he hopes it was. badou's right; he'll bolt one way or another, lily and giovanni left to themselves but he's stuck here, standing in one spot, waiting, because this asshole's slow as shit. )
Re: action;
[it might be the only chance he has to do it; curiosity clamps down on his brain, and his fingers are slow but intent, moving to touch the collar]
Re: action;
but fuck badou. he flinches in response to the touch, doesn't move away. he came here for answers and heine intends to hear it. kicks and punches and words can come after. ) Compatibility testing that has absolutely nothing to do with you. ( it's not a lie. )
Re: action;
Compatible with what?
Re: action;
( because if he keeps touching it and not answering, badou's going to meet his end. )
Re: action;
I'll tell you if it's there or not, if you tell me what you were bein' tested for compatibility for. I swear.
Re: action;
A Spine. It doesn't matter. Tell me.
Re: action;
[but he stops, because he'd said he'd tell him; it's frustrating, being maybe one question short of answers]
...Ain't no needle mark. Just that big scar.
[the metal had been cold against his fingers -- he wonders where it bolts into, if that scar he'd seen at the top of his neck runs all the way down the other boy's back]
Re: action;
Okay. Thanks.
( --and he turns to leave, just like that. )
Re: action;
-- Yo.
[Badou might not dream, but he knows when sleep (when dark solitude) is fucking useless]
[his voice is flat, even]
They're asleep, right? Ya wanna watch a movie?
Re: action;
Okay. ( he’d say thanks for the offer, for a goddamn distraction, but he doesn’t. he moves back towards the backdoor, waits for badou to open it because he was told not to go inside just a bit before. ) Don’t touch it again. I’m adding two punches onto your tab, for that.
Re: action;
How many m'I up to? I gotta feelin' you're gonna overdo it.
[nill's been worried, he's not a caretaker, and she's right; the cracks are beginning to show. he wonders if they're all so obvious, if he and nill and heine all look so openly fractured to people who lived under the sun, and smile a lot more]
Re: action;
I'm in the mood for kung fu, I think.
Re: action;
Okay. ( not that he know what kung fu is, but he’ll watch it anyway. )
Re: action;