There were dozens of bruises and scars on Lucas's chest, some of them fresh. "No wonder he wears that hoodie all the time… this bruise is really dark. Do you think there's something up with his ribs?" Marco pointed out a particularly deep bruise near the bottom of Lucas's ribcage.
Skye frowned, gently, ever so carefully running his fingers over the bruise.
Lucas flinched again before relaxing a bit, still sleeping. "Yeah, that's not normal. Honestly, he probably needs medical attention, but we couldn't get him there safely. Not to mention we're completely broke. Got any idea how to fix this?"
Skye shook his head, "Unfortunately I don……." he trailed off for a moment, "Hey don't you remember that old man on Marlin street? The one with the weird shop?" he asked.
(Said guy sells herbs, medications, and tends to help street kids in return for errands, and other minor jobs.)
"Oh, yeah! He might have something to help. We might as well go now." Marco stood up and dusted himself off. "You carry Lucas and I'll make sure we don't get seen." He walked out the door and made sure there was no one there before gesturing for Skye to follow.
Skye nodded, scooping the other up gently, before following Marco's lead.
"Alright, he's just over this way." They ducked through a few alleys until they found the man's door and went inside. (Do you want to play old man 'lemme give you drugs'?)
(He won't give them drugs. He refuses to harm kids, the reason Skye suggested him is cause he's known to help them as long as they're willing to show respect, and a will to end up better than a homeless street thief.)
Skye held his soulmate gently, careful not to harm him further.
A voice sounded from further in the old man's shop, which held everything from cacti to a kazoo.
(Yeah I know lol)
Lucas stirred a bit, but didn't really wake up. "Hey, we need some help here, sir!"
An old, bone thin man in gray overalls came out of the many shelves. "Whaddya need?" he grunted.
Skye watched him carefully, recognizing the crotchtey old geezer.
"This kid's in a bad situation and we need to figure out the extent of his injuries." Marco helped Skye lay Lucas down on a table. "Abusive father and shit. We think there might be something wrong with his ribs."
Skye watched as the man looked him over, "He unconscious?" he asked.
"No sir… just asleep… apparently he hadn't slept in awhile either.."
Lucas opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar place with a strange man and panicked. He fell off the table and retreated into a corner, trying to control his breathing. "Hey, hey, Lucas… calm down… he's here to help." Marco knelt beside Lucas, doing his best to get him to stop hyperventilating and failing miserably.
Skye was imediately at his side, "Calm down.. it's okay.." he held out his arms, offering another hug, to try and be the other's shield.
Lucas hugged Skye, but he couldn't help but look up at the old man. He reminded him of his father a bit and he shivered, hiding his face in Skye's shoulder. Marco quietly explained his understanding of the situation to the old man.
Skye cuddled him quietly, trying to calm the other. "We think something might be up with your ribs… we would've brought you to the hospital but we an't afford that…"
"Oh… w-well, I could've told you that… my ribs are at least bruised, a-and one or two might b-be cracked…" Lucas said quietly into Skye's shoulder.
Skye nodded, "We didn't wanna wake you, and the last thing we need is you having further injury." he said gently, "This guy can help…. he's not an official, I will give you that, but he's the best we got…"
Lucas hesitated for a moment. "…a-alright." He stood up shakily with the help of Skye, who led him back over to the table. The old man examined Lucas before going off to fetch something. Lucas flinched every time he was touched, and he didn't seem to get any less nervous.
Skye held his hand reassuringly, "Trust me, this guy has saved lives…"
Lucas nodded slightly, avoiding eye contact. The man soon came back with some bandages and pain meds (legal ones) and began wrapping the bandages around Lucas's chest. Lucas tightened his hold on Skye's hand while this was happening, closing his eyes and biting his quivering lip.
Skye stayed where he was, moving only to stay out of the man's way as Marco watched from the side.
After the man finished all the things he needed to do and made Lucas take some pain meds, he sent them on their way. Marco went ahead again to make sure the coast was clear, and Lucas held tightly to Skye's hand the whole way back.
Skye held him close, careful of the other's ribs as the went back to the condemned rathole he called home.
They soon made it back to Skye's place and Lucas sat down on the ground. The meds made everything hurt less, but they also made him drowsy again.
Skye sat down next to him, pulling the other into his lap.
Even Lucas was surprised that he felt comfortable with Skye. He supposed he trusted him because he knew he wouldn't hurt him. If Skye hurt him, he'd hurt himself as well. Lucas held his arms over his chest protectively and closed his eyes. "I should probably get going now, Skye. See ya." Marco waved and left.
Skye nodded, watching as the other left, before turning his full attention to the other, hugging him gently, yet tightly, never wanting to let him get hurt again.
This is… almost nice. I never knew physical interaction could be good… Lucas buried his face in Skye's chest, still keeping his arms over his own chest. Soon enough, he managed to fall asleep again, his breathing soft and much more relaxed than usual.
Skye smiled, moving to lie back on the matress, cuddling the other on top of him.