Everything was a haze as Alex was taken away. When he realized the man was still with him, he cling tightly to the man's hand. Everything was too bright, too loud. He whimpered as the plaster was pulled from him, but eventually he was laying in a hospital bed, his raw inflamed skin slowly returning to how it used to be. He eventually opened his eyes again, looking around.
"H- hello..?" He called out softly. His throat was dry, voice cracking a bit.
Sev, who had been asleep in a chair nearby, immediately opened his eyes. He looked around wildly for a moment, as if trying to remember where he was, and then relaxed. "Oh, you're awake," he said, smiling at the man in front of him gently. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"
"I…" Alex trailed off a bit. He did his best to sit up, looking around a bit. Everything was so foreign, and bright still. It wasn't just his eyes- there were just so many lights… In the ceiling? Everything was too clean, and he had no idea what most of the things in the room were.
"I'm feeling better, but… I don't know where I am. I…" He bit his lip a bit, so confused. He curled up a bit, bringing his knees to his chest.
"You're in the Rosevelt Hospital," Sev said gently. "You might not have heard of it, though. It's pretty new."
He reached for the glass of water that was resting nearby and handed it to the man, being careful to avoid skin contact. The doctor said that he was in terrible condition, both physical and mental, and he didn't want to hurt this guy.
Alex hesitantly reached out, taking the water from the man. He took a small sip, eyes closing for a moment. Oh god, that was so good. Soon, before he realized it, Alex was chugging the water, a little bit falling down his chin. It felt so good on his throat…
"I… No, I haven't." Alex rubbed at his chin a bit, looking meekly at the man who had handed him the water.
Sev took the glass back once it was empty, refilling it from a nearby pitcher. He handed the glass back to the guy, who seemed very thirsty. Not that he could blame him…
There were so many things he wanted to ask, but Sev held back. This guy seemed to be very traumatized, and he didn't want to make things worse… "I'm Sev," he said with a gentle smile. "What's your name?"
Alex gladly accepted the glass once it was refilled. He stayed curled up, eyes closing as he drunk.
"I… I'm Alexander," Alex said timidly, holding the half drank glass in his hands. His hand went over himself a bit, remembering what used to be on his chest.
Sev smiled slightly, although Alexander couldn't see it. "That's a cool name," he said. Then he hesitated, unsure how he was going to ask this, if it would be too traumatizing to ask.
"Um… Alex-Alexander… do you know how you got into that statue?" He asked softly, his voice gentle, the voice he used when he was talking to frightened animals.
Alex had a faint smile at what Sev says about his name. His eyes widened a bit at the second question. He nodded a bit, curling up a bit more.
"I-I… I saw something I want supposed to, a-and then they-" Alex shivered, drawing closer to himself.
"Hey. Hey. It's okay, you don't have to tell me," Sev said, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
He regretted asking the question. Alexander was clearly in no state to say anything about it. It must have been traumatizing.
Alex leaned into Sev's hand a bit, trembling a bit.
"O-okay…." Alex closed his eyes again, letting out a shaky breath. He leaned his head towards Sev a bit, glad for some small comfort in this strange new place.
"I… How long was I i-in there..?"
"I-I'm not sure," Sev said hesitantly. "But at least 50 years. The sculptures were discovered then. It's the year _____, if that helps."
Alex let out a shocked gasp, curling up a bit more.
"No, no no no nonononono…" He let out a choked sob. He'd been trapped in that statue for that long?! No, no, he- he shouldn't even be alive!
"What's wrong?" Sev asked, concerned. He bent over Alexander, trying to calm him down. "Hey. It's okay. Calm down. You're okay."
"I-I-I shouldn't be alive!! I- I've been in that statue for h-hundreds of years…" Alex lifted his hands up to his face, sobbing and leaning into Sev.
"Hundreds of years-" Sev was shocked by these words, but he didn't have much to think about it, as Alex leaned against him and started sobbing.
He didn't say anything. What were you supposed to say in times like this? So he just patted Alex's back, making soothing noises.
Alex eventually took Sev's shirt in his fists, sobbing into Sev's shirt. He'd managed to keep himself together, but this… This was too much. He ended up curling right up next to Sev, shaking with the force of his sobs. Eventually he stopped crying, shaking a bit and curled up with Sev.
Alex was panicking. Not that Sev could blame him. The guy had been stuck in a plaster statue for hundreds of years, and everyone he loved was dead. Sev would be traumatized if that happened to him, too.
Alex had calmed down slightly, curling next to him. It put Sev in mind of a cat, although he wouldn't tell anyone that. It was kind of cute, if very heart-wrenching.
Alex wiped at his eyes a bit.
"I… I'm sorry," he eventually said, trying to pull away weakly. Still, he didn't really want to. "I… I don't even know you, I'm sorry for doing that…"
"It's okay," Sev said, rubbing Alex's back slightly. "I understand. I can't imagine what you're going through right now. Waking up centuries later… that's got to be awful." He smiled gently, his eyes sad. "I like helping people in need. It's what I do."
Alex rubbed at his eyes a bit.
"Y-you too?" He asked, managing a weak smile. "That's how I m-met H-Henry…" Alex's breath hitched a bit. Oh, oh god, Henry was… he was…
"Who is Henry?" Sev asked gently. He wasn't sure if he should ask this, but Alex seemed to have liked this Henry guy, so maybe talking about him would be a distraction…
Alex looked down at his hands.
"He is… I-I mean, he was…" Alex took a deep breath, trying not to break down again. " My lover…"
"Oh…" So no. That hadn't been a good topic. Sev was at a loss for words. What exactly do you say to a person whose been trapped in a statue for hundreds of years? "Well, what was he like?"
Alex rubbed at his eyes, doing his best not to freak out.
"He… he's probably the nicest man I ever met," Alex said. "He can a-always make me laugh, and he always make sure to get m-my favorite breads for me when I have a bad day." He couldn't handle talking about him in the past tense, not yet.