Damian turned, a half-smile pulling weakly at his lips. "Better now that I've seen you," he said honestly, taking the bag and giving it an eager look through. It felt light, but there was enough food in here to keep everyone going for weeks. Maybe he wouldn't need to have a chat with the big man's cronies this week. "This is too much, I can't accept it."
"you flatter me, dear." juni took a seat next to damian, looking out across the sunrise.
Damian frowned at 'dear', scooting over to give Juniper some room to sit. He left the bag behind him, gently resting his hand on top of Juniper's. "I don't like that one, lovely was better."
"i see. well, love. you usually get up this early?" he didn't pull his hand away, tucking one leg under him and turning slightly to face damian a little more.
"It depends," Damian replied, the polite way of saying 'I get the fuck out of the house when I start to hear my dad waking up because the last thing I need to do is get my ribs broken again.' He kept the left side of his face turned away from Juniper. "Do you?"
"usually, 'cause i have to water the sunflowers before work. the fuckers are pretty high maintenance." he said lightly, no actual salt in his tone. he loved the little patch of sunflowers they kept, even if they needed to be watered every say.
"Most flowers are," Damian said with a quiet laugh. "My mom complains about her hydrangeas all the time, they're such finicky bitches. They're too pretty to not take care of though. I bet yours are the same way."
"they really are."
juniper quieted, enjoying the comfortable silence of dawn. the sun slowly rises, bringing the clear blue of day with it.
Damian smiled down at the water, watching the black sea brighten as pale peach, bright gold, and purple scattered across its surface. The pier was beautiful today, he thought, scooting closer and closer to Juniper as time went on until their arms were pressed together and he could rest his head lightly on Juniper's shoulder.
juni noticed damian shuffling closer, and let him. when they had gotten close enough, juniper slowly put an arm around damian's waist.
we're going quite fast, really. it's alright. i can handle myself.
Damian froze, eyes skimming across Juniper's face nervously, before he slowly relaxed into the touch. It was nice to be held like this, he wished it could happen more often. "Thank you, by the way. You really didn't have to do all this just for me."
"it's no problem. hit me up whenever you need food, we're sure to have something."
((im gonna go to bed gn friend))
(gn!!)
Damian shook his head, resting on Juniper's shoulder again. "I couldn't, we'd rob you blind."
"is that really so bad, to support someone if they're having trouble? show me your face, mi amor." juniper removed his arm and turned to fully face damian, one leg tucked under and one hanging off the pier.
he knew damian was hiding his face, and touched his shoulder gently to go along with the request.
Damian's mouth pressed into a tense little line despite the gentle touch and he pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his left cheek- a weak attempt to cover the bruising. "You don't want to see it, sweetheart. It's ugly."
"i've seen uglier." he said simply. juniper knew it was probably a bruise, but what if it was a cut? he'd have to bring damian to dad, then…
Damian sighed and turned fully, tugging down on the sleeves of his hoodie. His face was a mottled purple-black and his lip was swollen from where it had been split yesterday. There were marks on his throat and below his shirt, suggesting that the injuries stretched across his whole body. He frowned at Juniper. "Happy?"
"no, mostly because you're hurt." he gave a small frown and ghosted his fingers over the injury, deciding what to do.
"come with me." he grabbed damian's hand, standing quickly. "dad should be able to help. it's our off day, so both of us are free all day."
Damian flinched instinctively when Juniper tried to touch his face, frow growing exasperated as he did. He was 18. He shouldn't be scared of someone who was just trying to help him, even if it was unnecessary. He didn't get up when Juniper did. "I'm fine, I don't need any help."
"uh huh. that split lip says otherwise. as someone who's had many injuries, i can say that facial injuries hurt like hell. nobody's gonna be touching you excessively, anything we do for you will mostly be handing you supplies and instructions."
he paused for a moment, contemplating.
"i'm not going to try and force you to go. i just want you to know that you're always welcome in my house if you're hurt or hungry. do i need to sit back down?"
Damian took a couple minutes to consider- the offer was much more tempting now that he knew he wouldn't be touched very much- before he finally stood. He'd woken up with blood on his pillow, his lip had reopened twice this morning, and his back stung like hell. "No, no, I'll… um… I'll go to your place." He took Jupiter's hand and used it to pull himself up. He didn't let go once they were both standing. "Lead the way."
"there you go."
~~
they pulled up at the diner, juniper turning down a dirt path near the restaurant. he stopped the car right before the garage, turning it off and getting out to open damian's door for him.
"welcome to my humble abode."
it was a small log house with a tiny porch and a pond in front of it, as well as a decently sized patch of sunflowers surrounding the pond.
Damian smiled over at the sunflowers, ignoring the twinge of pain it sent through his face. They were vibrant and gold in the morning light, Juniper must've been taking good care of them. He stepped out of the car gingerly, his ankle had been clicking funny for a while and he didn't want to make it worse, and took Jupiter's hand. "Nice place you've got here."
((the spanish is google translated, beware.))
"thanks, love."
he held the door open for damian, and turned into the kitchen once it was closed.
"¡papá! estoy en casa, ¿estás aquí?"
there was a muffled answer from the other room, and juniper gave a small smile and called out again.
"tengo al chico lindo del restaurante conmigo. alguien lo golpeó, ven aquí!"
shuffling noises were heard, and a slightly disgruntled man emerged from a room off of the kitchen.
"jesús, niño. adviérteme antes de traer gente a nuestra casa."
juniper crossed the kitchen to him, giving him a quick hug, and filling him in on the situation. they talked quietly for a while, and magik leaned over to get a better look at damian.
Damian didn't know a lick of Spanish, but he caught a few words that were similar in Italian. Cute.. hit.. warn me… Juniper was probably just getting the point across. Damian hoovered awkwardly in the living room, arms crossed and expression slightly storm to cover the fear that bloomed like a flower in his chest when Juniper's dad approached.
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