Solo held his breath, letting out a short whimper as his shoulder popped back into place. Although it was more of a sharp yelp than anything else, his jaw still locked in place. He leaned back involuntarily, breathing heavy.
God, that hurt.
“Y-Yeah I’m ready for the second,” he gulped, breaths much heavier. He clenched his fists, trying not to irritate his hands more than they already had.
When was the last time he felt this beat-up? It seemed like it had been so long. Of course, the last time had been self-induced on purpose, to slip his chisel into his chest, but other than that, nothing.
The popping noise bugged him more than the actual pain. He had never been able to handle that well, his stomach churning as he heard it.
Still, he just braced himself for the second one, nodding. His head throbbed, aching profusely. Most of all, he was tired. Tired and confused. It wasn’t a great combination.
The thing that got him most was that he was in no condition to leave if Phantom actually called the cops. He had no outs, and he had no way of escaping by normal means. For now…
Well, for now he just had to trust the guy.
Val trailed his fingers over it gently, hoping the cold would sooth a bit of the ache before they could get something from the freezer and ice it for real. "You're so tough, just… try not to clench too hard, yeah?"
Figuring everything out was faster this time and like before he did his best to distract Padlock with some babbling before the sickly pop of his bone sliding back into the joint disturbed him. "There!" His fingers trailed over Padlock's shoulder, tracing small circles into his skin. "All done, and just look at you! You'll be back on your feet in no time, I'm sure of it."
It was a bit of a lie, Padlock looked like he was three seconds away from collapsing, but Val figured the encouragement would do him some good. He pushed the villain down until he was lying on the couch, getting him tucked in all cozy with a pillow under his head and a blanket around his body.
Smoothing down his hair may have been a tad too much, he'd admit it, but Padlock just looked so miserable. It was the least he could do to bring the guy a little comfort. "Hey, Pads, stay with me for just a second, okay? You can sleep as soon as we've got you taken care of, but that might take a little while 'cause I need to find the good pain meds so your arms won't bug you." He fiddled with Padlock's hair as he spoke, grimacing as the dried blood flaked off onto his fingers.
Padlock gave his best attempt at nodding, his mind going fuzzy from all the pain. His vision sort of followed suit, his eyes only able to make out a fraction of Phantom’s face.
Now, the only thing his head was filled with was how bad he wanted his arms off. Just— simply off of his body. Perhaps to come and pick back up later, but he wanted to ignore them for now. They ached like hell, the knotting pain reaching down to the depths of his chest even. He didn’t even know how he got to laying down on the couch, his eyes fluttering closed for a minute before he manually had to open them once more. The adrenaline was wearing off, and with that went his toughness, too.
He glanced up to Phantom, his eyes not seeming to lock on to anything well.
“If I were to go back in time and tell myself I’d end up here somehow, I would have killed future me right then and there, on accusation that he was an imposter,” he muttered, voice relatively raspy. He took a long while, calming his breathing before speaking again. “And now look where I’m at. Funny, huh.”
Padlock sort of leaned back into Phantom’s touch, squinting shut his eyes as he did so. He was so very tired, but knew he had to stay awake. He didn’t want to fall asleep and end up stuck in a cell. It would be much harder to get out of with his newly achieved handicaps.
Val managed a weak laugh, still smoothing his hair. "Hilarious. Just… Just stay awake for me, please." His voice was sharp with worry as he straightened up. "Please, I think I'm gonna panic if you just konk out on me. I'm gonna be right back." He took a step away. Two.
"I just… I need you to stay awake for a couple minutes, and I know that's a lot to ask but you've always been such an overachiever." His voice got louder as he made his way to the kitchen, thanking god that his apartment was open concept and he could still see glimpses of Padlock on the couch. "So just… just overachieve this for me, won't you? And when you wake up you can be as sleepy and surly as you need because… 'cause then I'll know you're okay and it won't be half as scary."
There were two bags of peas in his hands when he returned, swaddled in towels to keep them from getting too cold or too uncomfortable to lie on. "You can close your eyes, I'm gonna get these under your shoulders, okay?" He wrapped them halfway around Padlock's shoulders, carding through his hair soothingly as he finished. "Those should feel better in just a second. You're… you're not looking too good, I'm gonna be honest.
“Yeah, yeah,” Solo called casually to Phantom as the man walked away, as if this was just another walk in the park. “I’m awake, I’m awake. I’m fine, I’m fine. Yadda yadda..”
He crinkled his nose, looking down to the blanket covering him then back up to Phantom as he showed again with the bags. He tried the best he could to help himself up, just so it would be easier.
“You know for a fact I’m too stubborn to let myself fall asleep,” he said, words slurring, but only slightly— to the point where it wasn’t very noticeable. He let out a sigh, gritting his teeth as he felt the action sting his shoulders again. But, it would be fine. He’d grow used to it soon.
At the last comment, Paddy almost laughed, only stopped by the fact that it would probably hurt him.
“Phan, I’ve never looked good,” he said, a mocking smile on his face. “I have bones in my body that are probably still broken. This is nothing. I’ll be completely fine.”
Despite his almost closed-off words, it was sort of enjoyable to have someone there to care for you, or care about you, rather. Padlock had faced the majority of these alone, and it was actually nice to have someone there by his side. Even if that someone was the man who had been trying to keep you from achieving your goal, but Paddy decided to cease thinking about that now.
Even with the man’s words, Padlock kept his eyes open, flitting around the ceiling until they lowered, finally resting on Phantom. His vision was still sort of fuzzy, but it seemed the conversation was helping him cope. Maybe just slightly, but that was better than nothing.
Valentine rolled his eyes and couldn't help the smile the familiar teasing brought to his lips. Getting this worked up over someone else was new, but he found that he didn't mind it. It was like when his sisters got sick and he had to take care of them, always heating broth on the stove or jugging fever medications or changing ice packs until they managed to perk up again.
Padlock was nothing like his sisters, except for the fact that he was exceptionally tough. "Yeah, you've always been a stubborn ass." His hands ran through Padlock's hair over and over, slow and soothing. As much for Val as it was for Padlock because it was easier to focus when he kept his hands busy. Padlock needed his focus right now. Needed to be taken care of.
"Who're you even kidding, Pads? You're gorgeous. Even like this." A hand slid down, knuckles brushing gently over one of his cheeks. "Just look at that bone structure, huh? And those eyes." Fingers brushed across the circles beneath his eyes, gentle. Maybe it was good that Padlock was getting some sleep. It was supposed to help the healing process, right? Give your body time to patch itself up and all that junk. "You could be on a magazine cover or something. One of those broody bad boys, you've got the leather jacket and everything. I should introduce you to my agent some day, I bet he'd love you."
With that, Padlock let his eyes flutter closed, his contented smile still resting on his face. He blamed it on being half-delirious, but for now, he would just… let himself go a little bit. Relax. Calm down in just the slightest. He rolled his head over into Phantom’s hand, pressing into his touch.
“Thank you, but I’d rather not have my face plastered around town,” he said, mocking smile growing wider, even though it was all truth. There was no way in hell he would ever be famous, unless he seriously changed his style— maybe got a haircut and some eye color-changing contacts— and changed his name. There probably wasn’t a way he could ever be on a magazine cover without someone finding out who he really was. He was happy with everyone thinking he was dead. That was enough for him.
“No offense, of course. I’ll just leave all the fame and fortune to you, pretty boy. How does that sound?”
Even with his teasing words, his voice sounded tired. Though it did seem lighter than before, perhaps because now he was laying down and everything was patched up and he was finally feeling more… in one piece.
"Well I'd tend to agree with you, but unfortunately it turns out that selling your face to a company means you don't get much choice in the matter." He scooted closer to Padlock, rubbing his temples gently once his hair wasn't all matted with blood. There was something nice about comforting Padlock, and it wasn't just the way his compliments seemed to get more sincere. He seemed different somehow, less… well less Padlock, more whatever his real name was.
His hands slid down, pressing into Padlock's neck gently and kneading the muscles. He was all locked up back there, Val was surprised he didn't have a headache all the time. "Sounds good to me, but that's mostly 'cause I know you think I'm pretty now. For what it's worth, I think you're fantastically pretty too. And… well, don't get all grouchy on me for saying it, but I think you're pretty damn cute on top of that. Especially now that I actually know what you look like."
He really couldn't keep his eyes off Padlock's face. It was fun to watch all the little expressions flicker past, tired and then teasing and then something that looked suspiciously close to content. His fingers dug into a particularly tough knot, easing all the tension out of the overworked muscle. "You know, you should come over sometimes. It's so empty in here, it'd be nice to have a friend around. And I pinkie promise that I'll keep work stuff out of it, it'll be all Valentine, no Phantom."
Padlock kept his smile on his face, much more genuine now than sarcastic or the like. He liked it here. The couch was exceedingly comfier than his cot, and he was finally warm for once. Even with Phantom’s cooler hands running along his skin, it was… nice, to say the least.
He adjusted slightly, crossing his legs over the other and trying his best not to move his shoulders. He kept his eyes closed, but still kept his body tense, as if awaiting something. But wasn’t that how it always had been? Padlock had never stopped watching his back.
At the man’s words, Pad’s smile faltered, and he gave a fake frown.
“I don’t know,” he began, stretching out one of his legs. “I like Phantom. I’d have to meet this ‘Valentine’ guy for the first time. Frankly, I’m not much of a fan of first-impressions.”
He blinked his eyes back open slowly, just dully noticing Phantom’s eyes on him before he closed them again, taking another deep breath. He couldn’t stop his smile from coming back, the scars across the bridge of his face lifting with it. All of Phantom’s sweet-talk was funny to him. He had 1. Never been called anything remotely related to pretty and 2. Never been considered handsome by any stretch, probably due to the variety of scars.
Valentine laughed, stifled by worry but still bright and cheerful, and got his hands in Padlock's hair again. It needed a good wash, what with all the little flakes of blood still clinging to his scalp, but he didn't look bad anymore. Didn't look like a stiff wind would knock him unconcious. "Well I have been told that Phantom is reliably less of a bimbo, I can see why you'd prefer him, but I think you'll find that Valentine has his advantages too."
He cupped Padlock's face in his hands, smoothing across his cheekbones. "He's got a weakness for pretty boys, for one thing, so I don't think it'll be all that hard to have him bending over backwards for you." It was a lie, kind of. He was infamous for doing stupid things to get a date, but he didn't want that to be what he had with Padlock. He wanted something deeper, something real.
Because as pretty as he was, that wasn't what drew Val in. It couldn't be, because he'd been daydreaming about his "nemesis" before he was anything more than an asshole in a shaded helmet. "And anyways, it's pretty hard to get Phantom's attention these days, he's all broken up about some dipshit in a biker helmet." His thumb pressed against one of the scars and he traced the line of it down Padlock's face. "Where did you even get that helmet anyways? Since I'm buying you a new one and all."
“Oh, Phantom’s all occupied with a biker guy? Such a shame,” he mumbled, laughing slightly. The laugh then turned into more of a wince as he gritted his teeth, trying to move his shoulders as little as possible. “As for where I got the helmet? No clue. Found it on the side of the road one day, all beat up with scratches on the sides and whatnot. It used to be a neon blue, if you can believe it. I painted over it as a seal, and was gonna add some stickers before I realized that it was probably childish, and that I couldn’t really afford it. Then, it just stayed like that ever since.”
That had been about… seven years ago. Just before he started planning his fake death, and about two years after he had started his whole ‘government’ charade. Of course, it had gotten increasingly more dramatic since he was fourteen. He couldn’t even dream that one day he’d be one of those guys that seemed like he was from a comic book, let alone on the ‘evil’ side of things. In reality, Solo didn’t even think what he was doing was evil. In his eyes, it was actually the right thing to do. But he had seen enough movies to know that that wasn’t where his story ended up going. So, he had just accepted it.
“And Valentine? He seems like a nice guy,” he continued, his skin tingling and leaving a trace wherever Phantom trailed his fingers. “Maybe… maybe I will try to get to know him.”
His eyes opened for a moment, looking more taunting and playful than they had before.
“You think he’d like someone like me? Besides the… ‘pretty’ part.”
Valentine snickering was cut off by a sympathetic wince and he reached forward, rubbing Padlock's chest comfortingly. "No way, stickers are the coolest! I'll lend you some of mine some time, I've got a whole bunch. You'll… um… you'll probably see if we ever get you to the actual bed."
His room was kind of plastered with stickers. They were all over everything: the door frame, the bookshelf, the back of his desk chair. All of them had been put up in a fit of ecstatic decoration because he had a house, one he'd bought with his money from his job that he could do whatever he wanted with. It all seemed a bit stupid now, but he was used to feeling stupid. That was just what happened when you did stupid things on a near constant basis. For instance, falling for a villain. Definitely top five dumbest moments, if not the dumbest.
Not that he could really bring himself to regret it. He ran his hands up and down Padlock's chest for a few seconds, enjoying the warmth of him. The whole hero/villain thing wasn't something he put a lot of stock in. It was all so hokey, so cartoonish, and even he had managed to figure out that the division wasn't between good and evil, it was between pro and anti government. The only reason he went along with it was that the pay was good and it filled the time.
He laughed quietly at the question, torn away from his thoughts for the moment. "Oh yeah, he's gonna love you." His smile went a little soft and his face went a little flushed. For the first time his eyes flicked away from Padlock, dancing across the room. "I mean… who wouldn't? You're such a charmer, you'll have him wrapped around your little finger in no time, don't you worry about that. Now! Um! I said I'd get you some painkillers, didn't I?"
Solo laughed again, although this one seemed less pained, as if he finally figured out how to do it without impacting his arms at all. He closed his eyes again. Rolling his head back over and taking in a deep breath. His heart beat harder with every passing moment, his nerves locked on the tickling feeling across his chest.
“You just can’t keep your hands off me, can you?” he whispered with a smirk, words close to inaudible.
Not that he minded at all, really. If anything, Padlock enjoyed it… not like he’d ever say so, but he did.
“And yes, painkillers would be very nice. Either that or you let me sleep. It’s whichever comes first, for now,” he continued, arching his back to reposition himself. He tried to keep the majority of his weight across the top of his back, trying to steer clear of the shoulder blades, to little avail. The aching was more annoying than unbearable, and more uncomfortable than downright painful. He just wanted it… away. And preferably sooner rather than later.
But, with pain, he guessed that was always implied.
“You will let me sleep, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not like I lost a ton of blood, and it’s not like I have a concussion or anything. Now, I’m no doctor, but I should be able to do that at least, right?”
Padlock wasn’t sure why he was asking for permission. It seemed terribly unlike him to do. Though, as he saw it now, Phantom was the one in charge here, clearly knowing what was better for Solo than he did himself.
As for the whole ‘dreading to wake up in a jail cell, so I won’t sleep’ notion, Solo found himself not really caring anymore. If the situation presented itself, he’d deal with it then. After all, like they both had stated many times, it wasn’t hard for him to smart his way out of those situations. Two crippled arms would just make it all the more… ‘fun.’
They were close enough that Val could practically hear his heartbeat, so he caught the quiet question with a flush that left him rather pink in the cheeks. He didn't stop though. His hands still ran up and down Padlock's chest, mindful of the scars. "Just taking advantage of the situation. When else am I gonna get to be all over you? You're the one who pins me nine times out of ten anyways." Not that he minded.
It took him a few minutes to straighten up, reluctant to stop touching Padlock. Even once he was standing he leaned down, carding through his hair gently before he remembered what he was supposed to be doing and bustled off to the bathroom. Like before there were some shuffling sounds, and unlike before he emerged without dropping or knocking over anything. The little bottle of pills was pressed into Padlock's hand with much pride. "There! You can sleep as soon as you've got these down, just make sure you don't take too many. I'll go get you some water!"
He rushed off to the kitchen, returned with a glass, and then settled at the top of the couch where he'd been before. "After you wake up… you should stay for a little while. So I can keep an eye on you." Whatever Padlock did when he wasn't causing trouble in public was a mystery to Val, but the possibility that it might be dangerous had him nervous. Desperate to keep Padlock around for a little while longer. "I can cook and stuff! And… well, I won't be in most of the day anyways, so I won't be smothering you or anything. I just want to make sure you can be safe for a little while, 'cause I don't think you're gonna do your best villaining with two messed up arms."
“Yeah, I don’t have much faith in that either,” he replied, his head lolling to the side for a moment as he sighed. He then tried his best to prop himself up, just using his core to keep all of the strain off his shoulders. It didn’t work very well, considering he didn’t have a trained lower-body at all.
He then opened his eyes, the dark circles beneath them relatively prominent. He reached a hand up to grab the glass of water, then remembered literally everything about his arms. He gently took the pills from the bottle, popping them in his mouth before taking the glass of water in a very peculiar grip. He took a sip, waiting a moment before gulping them down and letting out another deep breath.
“Yeah, sure, okay, I’ll stay,” he said, probably too affirmatively than he had wanted. “If you’re that desperate to keep me around.”
He flicked another crooked smile to Phantom, handing him back the water in a sort of odd way, just bending his arms at the elbows so it wouldn’t bother him as much.
In reality, he figured he needed to stay. Maybe he would have a different view after the painkillers, but right now, he needed help. So he’d get it… just from an unlikely person.
Val set the glass down on the coffee table with a smile that was probably too bright. "Of course I'm desperate to keep you around, what would I do without my favorite villain here to nag me?" His hands were a flury of motion while he talked, smoothing the blanket and running through Padlock's hair and then groping around to find something so he could prop himself up.
"Y'know, last time I took those they conked me right out, so I figure you're pretty tired right now, yeah?" He glanced down at Padlock, trying to get a read on how tired he was. "So why don't you hit the hay and let me get the house guest friendly? There's a lot of tidying up to do, especially in my room, and I'll probably need to get some groceries too so that's gonna take a little while and… is there anything you want? I'm not the best cook in the world but I can probably whip something up if it's not too hard."
He gave Padlock an expectant look, a little manic as he realized he was having a guest over and he'd really never done that before and god, he really really wanted to impress Padlock, what if he fucked up? He didn't know how to entertain people, he hadn't even had his family over yet!
Padlock couldn’t help but smile as he layed back down, squinting closed his eyes again and letting out a faint murmur.
“Yeah, I’m pretty loopy,” he admitted, in total agreement with the statement.
He looked to the side at the next question, still smiling at the way Phantom rambled. It was sort of charming, especially because Padlock really enjoyed making people flustered— especially Val— and confused.
“To eat?” he asked, voice raspier before he cleared it, wrinkling his nose in doing so. “I really have no preferance. I’m sure anything would be better than what I’m used to.”
He took another deep breath, held it for a moment, before letting it out once more. Either the pain was subsiding or he was slowly drifting to sleep, he didn’t know.
Though he knew soon enough, as his whole body began to relax and his face lost its pained grimace. Seemingly asleep, he let his head fall to the side, lips parted only slightly as his chest rose and fell rhythmically.
It had been an extremely long amount of time since he last had a good rest.
It should've been easier now that Padlock was asleep but it really wasn't. Val had the most absurd urge to just… plop down by the side of the sofa and watch him until he woke up again which was a) creepy and b) a very bad plan becuase his room was a mess and he hadn't been kidding when he had he had no groceries and god, there was just so much to do.
He let himself ran his hand through Padlock's hair once and then he was off, flitting around the house in a haze of manic energy and flustered confusion. Every now and then he's pop back into the living room to make sure Padlock hadn't spontaneously died or jumped out another window and every time it felt stupider and stupider because it was clear that he really was just asleep. And you couldn't even die from a dislocated shoulder anyways.
Still, he could barely drag himself out the door for groceries and when he got back his knees went all wobbly with relief because Padlock was still there, dead to the world on his couch but not actually dead. Worrying so much was unusual to him and he felt all flustered and off balance anyways because he had Padlock in his house which was something he'd never expected to happen. Ever. And like always, he started rambling to get rid of his nerves, which filled the house up with chatter and took the edge off as he started cooking up dinner.
(Should we time skip? I feel like Padlock would probably wake up later that night, if not like.. 9 or 10 pm? I can have him up earlier if you want, though)
(Have him wake up late if that's what feels right for the character. Val's probably gonna be sat on the couch watching TV)
Solomon’s eyes flicked open after a while, a wave of confusion washing over him as he pushed himself up, looking around with eyes wide.
Where was he? Why was he there? What day was it?
But as the pain seeped back into his shoulders, a low soreness and terrible ache, he collapsed back down, but not before catching a glimpse of Phantom. The previous night came rushing back in waves, and he let out a small groan, muttering inaudibly as he stretched out his legs.
“Well hello,” he cooed, arching his back as he tensed his arms. The pain was much less sharp— sort of a dulled over feeling than before. A certain soreness that seemed to tug at his joints, even his elbows.
Though it was much more bearable than before. The pain meds must have worked wonders, he assumed, because no way would it heal that fast.
“What time is it?” he asked, noting the newly risen moon out the window, casting a pale glow on the floor beneath it.
Valentine grinned, reaching over to pat him on the cheek as he woke up. "Hello yourself, sleepyhead." His hand slid up to card through Padlock's hair a bit and then down to rest on his chest. He hadn't been worried, exactly, but this little niggling of anxiety had been growing with every hours Padlock slept. "You look a lot better, I'm guessing it's been a while since you've had a solid nap. And it's a little past nine, so your dinner's all cold."
He nodded towards the kitchen where a single grilled cheese sandwich sat. The one thing he knew he could make without fucking up. "I can microwave it for you if you want, but it's not gonna be as good so I can just make a new one too. I've got enough food for a small army 'cause I kind of panicked in the grocery store and I ended up getting a little bit of everything." He was talking fast, excited that Padlock was awake again. "Um! Are you feeling any better? Cause it's pretty close to bedtime for me and I was thinking that you might like an actual bed while you stay here so… I… I was gonna get you moved into my room, but you're heavier than I thought you'd be and I had to leave you on the couch.
Solo let out a laugh, shaking his head.
“Phan, slow down,” he mumbled, attempting to Sid up. He gripped the couch with one hand, letting out a small ‘mmph’ as he helped himself up, until he was sitting, He let the blanket fall from him, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. They stung, but certainly not as bad as they previously had. The bandages had held well, not much blood present on them.
“The sandwich is totally fine, I’m positive it will be loads better than my normal dinner. And, the couch is okay with me. Unles you don’t want me sleeping here, and would rather have me somewhere else.”
With the last sentence, his words held a sort of lightness, signifying he was finally waking up and becoming much less groggy. The meds and the nap worked wonders.
He tried to stretch out his shoulders, only pushing them until they were tight, then letting them back down. It was difficult, but he’d be good as new the next few days. His hands were the main concern. He relied on them greatly, and looking down at the handicapped appendages, he sighed. Why did he have to be so stupid. So stubborn. It kind of sucked, in the long run.
He got to his feat, stretching out his back and smiling.
Val hoovered at his side for a few seconds as Padlock pushed himself into a sitting position and then up to his feet. Once it was clear that he was okay he plopped down, face pink with embarrassment and fingers tapping rapidly against his thighs. "Sorry! Just…. excited that you're awake, and you know what happens the second I get worked up over something. " He forced himself to stop there. Rule one of hosting: don't annoy the guests. Especially when said guests were people you really wanted to impress.
"I really don't mind where you sleep, if you're that set on the couch, but I wanted you to have somewhere nice and spacious if you needed. It seemed like you were having trouble getting settled on the couch, I… I thought my bed might be a little better." This time his words came out as less of a ramble. He looked up at Padlock earnestly, a hesitant smile on his face. Was it stupid, the offer he was making? "And… I mean, you really don't have to, but I want you to be comfortable Pads. Your house is cool 'n all but it doesn't seem like a very cozy place to sleep and I know my bed's pretty nice so… it just feels right to offer."
He shrugged, pushing himself up off the couch. "But that's enough rambling out of me! What's bouncing around that big brain of yours? Anything you wanna share?"
