Rafael appreciated that Arien was letting him feel like he was almost doing it on his own. After a few minutes of silence, they made it to Rafael’s room. He’d begun counting the steps just to see how far it really was.
It was a total of fifteen steps, from the counter to the doorway. Arien guided Rafael in to the bed, helping him sit down. By now, Rafael had the lead, and Arien was just making sure he was okay.
"Do you still want me to stay with you?"
He shrugged. “If you want to stay then I wouldn’t mind. But I’m probably going to be boring as hell.”
"I don't mind." Arien sat down next to Rafael, keeping close so the other man could tell he was there without touching him yet. He closed his eyes, then opened them to examine the man he was laying with.
Rafael had lay down on his side, humming softly to himself. At the very least, he wasn’t as panicked now as he’d originally been. Having accepted his temporary situation, he just seemed..sad.
Arien held back a sigh. He hated this, he hated seeing Rafael so sad.
"We're probably going to have to have to get a doctor or someone to examine you," he said softly.
“How are we going to explain how I got the injury in the first place?” He asked after a moment of silence.
Arien bit his lip a bit.
"We could go to a supernatural healer," Arien said. "They could set up a plan for how to help you heal, and they wouldn't be fazed by how you got to be like this…" If Rafael was able to be healed. There was only so much healers could do, after all.
He nodded slightly. “Okay…I’m fine with that. Would I need to like…pay you back or anything?” He asked.
"No," Arien said quickly. "No, not at all. I'll cover it." Arien smiled slightly, even if Areal couldn't see it.
He nodded, letting out a small sigh of relief. “Thank you. I-I really appreciate it.”
"You're welcome." Arien lightly took Rafael's hand in his own, smiling softly still.
"When do you think you'll be able to go?"
He shrugged. “Depends on where it is and how we’d get there.” He said, gently squeezing Arien’s hand.
"Well, it's a couple hours away," Arien said. He squeezed back, keeping close. "And I don't really have a car… I could carry you, though, and go fast like that one time."
“Okay then I can really go whenever I guess.” He smiled faintly when Arien squeezed his hand back.
Arien let out a soft hum.
"Is it alright if we go tonight? I don't do well running in the day." He chuckled weakly.
He nodded. “Yeah that should be fine.” He said softly, his smile vanishing. He was already getting nervous about it.
Arien lightly placed his hand on Rafael's shoulder.
"It'll be okay," he said softly. "They'll be able to help you."
“But what if they can’t?” He shrugged Arien’s hand off his shoulder, attempting to look in his general direction. “What if it’s permanent?” He looked like he was on the verge of another breakdown. “I-I won’t be able to work, or play violin. I’ll just become a burden on everyone..especially my family.”
Arien, when his hand was shrugged off, took both of Rafael's hands in his, holding them close to his chest.
"If… If it really is permanent, then… then I'll help you. You'll be able to play your violin again, some day, you'll be able to work. You wouldn't be a burden, not to me, and damn well not to anyone else. But that won't happen. There… there has to be a way to help with this."
He didn’t say anything at first, just leaning forward and resting his head in Arien’s chest. “I just feel like it’ll take too long for me to get better…and something bad will happen and I won’t be able to do anything.”
Arien wrapped his arms around Rafael when he rested his head on Arien's chest, keeping close.
"I'm going to make sure nothing does," Arien said quietly. "I'm going to keep us both safe, now.'
“There are some things that are actually out of your control, you know that right?” He asked, only half joking.
"And there are plently of things that I can. And you can bet I'll do my best to make sure nothing more happens to you." Arien rested his forehead on Rafael's a moment. He looked into Rafael's eyes, studying their milky white, unfocused depths.
“Maybe it’s not me I’m worried about.” He said, pulling away from Arien.
Arien too his arms from Rafael when he moved away, averting his eyes.
"Then who are you worried for?" He asked softly.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” He said stiffly, making it clear that it wasn’t something up for discussion.
"I– I'm sorry for pushing," Arien said. He pulled back a bit, looking away again.
“It’s fine just-“ he sighed and his tone softened, “I just really can’t talk about it right now..” he whispered, his voice sounding like it might break at any second.
"I… I understand." Arien felt a bit like a scolded puppy- he just wanted to help… And he had no idea how. He stayed at the same distance from Rafael, not touching him again.