"chico gruñón que tienes aquí, hijo"
"shut up, dad. what does he need?"
magik pressed his lips together, scrutinizing damian's purple cheek and bloody lips.
"ice, rest, chapstick, painkiller, water. sound good?"
"aye aye, captain."
juniper turned back to damian, tilting his head slightly. "you heard the man. sit down, i'll grab you some stuff."
Damian managed to pick out the word 'grumpy' and frowned a little harder. He walked over to Juniper, wanting to be close to someone familiar. "Can I stay with you?" His voice came out a tad too vulnerable, and he winced.
"sure. sit down at the counter, dad's going back into his room."
magik squinted slightly, and murmured something to juniper before disappearing back into his room.
juniper opened a few cabinets, gathering supplies.
Damian nodded and did as he was told, settling carefully on the counter. He watched Juniper gather things carefully, paying special attention to the ones he didn't know how to use. "Could you… um… Could you help me get my back? I can't reach it and my dad's… thorough."
"ah, no problem. i have a new tube of carmex in my room that i need to get, you can come with if you want?" juniper schooled himself into a friendly neutral, but his mind was racing.
so it's his dad who beats him. interesting. wonder if i can romance my way into finding out where they live. could call the guys, or just take the hit myself. it'd be my first solo. might get me a bit more known.
"Yeah." Damian hopped off the counter, following him into the bedroom. He hovered in the doorway, watching Juniper pick up what he wanted to get and wondering if this was such a bad idea. Pops would kill him if he knew. Or, worse, he might kill mom. His sweet mother with her curly flyaway hair and her hydrangeas. He couldn't let that happen. "You… you won't tell anyone, right?"
"to be completely honest with you, i won't tell anyone unless i know for sure your father is put down permanently,"
he shrugged as he came back out, passing the carmex off to damian.
Damian, who'd never really had much more than some kind of generic antibiotic, painkillers, gauze, and bandages, looked at it skeptically. "You won't be allowed to. He knows the big man, they're friends."
"uh huh. the general rule around here is that while we condone murder, money laundering, and many other things, human trafficking and abuse are off limits. he'd be pissed. prolly wouldn't let me kill your dad, but y'know. child abuse doesn't fly around here."
he observed damian's look at the carmex, smiling slightly.
"it's medicated chapstick. it'll heal your lip faster, and it's a lot softer than normal chapstick so it won't hurt to apply. give it a go, love."
"The big man's not exactly lenient, but pops? Pops is a special case. He'll get off with a slap on the wrist, and then he'll come home and slap momma and I around to make up for it." Damian opened the chapstick and eyed it warily before he applied it. It did feel nice on his lip. "But… anyways, it's fine. This stuff is really nice, thanks."
"no problem on the chapstick, love. well, if you ever need anywhere to hide, you can hide here. consider yourself protected by the mafia. i'll fight the guy personally, he can't do shit if he's bedridden. he's probably so old that he just relies on a gun nowadays."
juniper laughed quietly, a rare occurence.
"i don't mean to come on strong, i really don't, but guys who have the nerve to beat up their family are. the scum of the earth."
Damian laughed too, slightly reassured by Juniper's passion despite not really believing his promises. He had a place to hide, at least. It was more than he had an hour ago. "No… I kind of like it. You're cute when you get all defensive." Was it the right time to flirt? He didn't really care. Juniper looked nice when he laughed and Damian was desperate for a distraction.
"am i? i had been led to believe i'm cute all the time, but who knows." he gestured for damian to follow him back into the living room, jerking an elbow towards a glass of water on the coffee table and picking up an ice pack he had set down.
"the water's for you, where do you want to ice first?"
"Sorry, my bad. You're even cuter when you get protective. Especially if it's me your getting protective over." Damian smirked, ignoring the pain and the way it pulled on his lip. He didn't particularly want either of the items, but it would probably be good to ice his bruises. He grabbed the pack and held it to his swollen cheek. "I can do it, it's no problem. Can… um… can you grab some disinfectant? We ran out of it at my house and my back's a little… messy."
juniper looked at damian, face deadpan.
"don't smile, you'll open your lip again. i'll get the disinfectant, dad is going to stay in his room. he won't come out unless i say it's okay to."
he walked into the kitchen, knocking firmly on magik's door and waiting for the muffle okay before going in. the disinfectant usually stayed in the master bathroom, which wasn't problem until now. maybe they should get an extra bottle for damian.
Damian licked his lip thoughtfully once Juniper was gone, testing it. The wound was still tender, but he could smile without re-tearing the skin and that was what was really important. His back twinged and he realized he should probably take off his hoodie and undershirt so Juniper could tend to it. He bunched the fabric thoughtfully beneath his hands, counting his breaths as he slowly peeled it off. Blood had started to soak through his undershirt. The air stung, even though the remaining layer of fabric.
juniper returned, holding a bottle of disinfectant, a washcloth, and a pack of cotton rounds.
"someone's taken the initiative."
he went to sit next to damian, opening the bottle and silently observing damian's back for a moment.
Damian frowned, setting the hoodie down on the arm of the chair. He held himself rigidly, too tense to do much but nod and start to peel up the undershirt. His back was covered in scratches, mostly groups of four or five, and a few still had slivers of broken glass glimmering in them. Dad broke a bottle and went to town on his back as he curled up in the corner to try and escape. His face burt with shame. He could feel fresh blood oozing over his skin.
"looks like i need tweezers, first off. maybe magik should deal with this, damian. i'm still learning, and i'd probably hurt you while i tried to help."
he slowly rested a hand on damain's shoulder.
"i'll watch him the whole time, if it makes you feel better. he's got a lot more experience with this."
Damian's soldiers sagged, stretching the wounds that tore through his back open even wider. He hissed, disguising it as concern about what Juniper was talking about instead of pain. "I… Could you do it? Please? I don't care if it hurts, I'm used to that, I just… I can't. Not if someone else is there."
"damian, it's not about it hurting, it's the fact i could cause permanent damage to your skin. i've never removed glass before. i'm not a medic yet, i'm a weapon. i don't know shit."
he sighed softly, removing his hand and thinking for a few seconds.
"at least let him stand relatively close and tell me what to do. i'm at a complete loss, love."
Damian winced but he eventually nodded. He couldn't reach the glass at all, and at least he'd be able to get it out instead of letting it fester inside his skin forever. He remembered last year when dad broke a bottle over his shoulder and the glass kept cutting him back open. Just the thought sent a shiver through him. "… Fine. Fine, just don't let him touch me. And… Juniper?" His voice was surprisingly vulnerable.
juniper was about to get up and go get his dad, but paused when damian asked for him.
"yes?"
"Thank you." The words were completely earnest, almost painful in their honesty. His hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists on the arms of the chair. "It's… It's a lot for you to put up with, so thank you."
"you're welcome." he said simply, smiling slightly before going to retrieve his dad.
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