Take-Two [ Tragictrees & Annyeong Bunny ]

"Other than almost dying? Not really. I went to go check on something with...uh....with my fan, I think, and next thing I know I hear someone knocking, someone else climbing out my window, and I'm blacking out." Austin said, keeping his voice low, matching Lee "And then I'm here. After being out for apparently 4 whole days. So I guess we know now that this guy has no qualms killing me. That's cool. I'm never sleeping again." He sat up straight, rubbing his neck with one hand. He would have to dig up his makeup to cover it up, if he wanted to avoid being a spectacle.
 
Lee slowly nodded and turned to look ahead, mulling the facts over in his head. Any other investigator would have probably tossed Austin's testimony to the side, but Lee trusted what his partner saw. There was no way that he wasn't in his right mind before being put in that predicament. With his right hand, the male began to tap at his knee, flicking his gaze to the tile ceiling. What Austin was saying was a big deal and he knew he had to keep it in mind.

"Alright. Let's keep this between us. You can tell Evelyn if you really need to, so she doesn't think you tried killing yourself." Lee finally spoke once more, looking at Austin. His gaze was serious as he lowered his voice more, almost to a whisper. "If anyone finds out about this, neither of us can pursue what happened." being sure to emphasize his point, the detective pressed his lips together and didn't falter in his stare. Then, exhaling, he stood from the bed and rolled his head slowly. "Do you want anything? I'm sure you must be starving." Lee spoke in a normal volume and gave the smallest of smiles. "Are you okay with walking?"
 
Austin sighed. He realized telling anyone else would end badly, and he wasn't entirely sure Evelyn would believe him anyway. "Well....few problems with that. One, the world is a blurred mess, and I almost guarantee I'll trip and fall. Two, pretty sure the nurses gotta check me out before I'm permitted to leave, and three..." He held up 3 fingers to emphasize his point "Did they mention a psych ward? Not going to lie, I'm not really keen on going back there. But, anyway, I'm probably banned from leaving the room, though I am starving, you're not wrong."
 
"Ah... you have a point. I didn't think about that. I can bring you something from the hospital cafeteria, so I'll bring some to you when you get the 'okay' from the nurses. Any requests?" Lee offered, this time giving a genuine smirk to Austin. When it came to hospital stuff, he was completely thrown for a loop, but he figured if he followed the regulations he'd be able to adapt to it just enough until his partner was released. With that in mind however, he figured that it would take a bit of time before Austin could be released. "The only thing I'm sure I can't get for you, or rather, won't get for you, is a twinkie. So, mark that from the list." Lee warned, holding up a finger.
 
Austin laughed, shifting so that he could lounge on the bed once more; while it wasn't all that comfortable, it was better than a couch, and so he wasn't about to be picky. "If I was really on your list of loved ones, you'd get me a twinkie to ease my suffering. Shame on you." He lamented dramatically, placing the back of his hand onto his forehead "Close second is Jell-O, I guess, since you refuse to get my favorite snack. Besides, thats easier on my throat."
 
That moment in the hospital room was stuck in Lee's head as he stood in his flat. Alone. Like he had expected, Austin was kept in the hospital for almost a week, and that day was the day he was supposed to be released. Scattered along his floor were bags and bags of groceries. He had this grand idea to cook a homecoming dinner and dessert for Austin, but as he stood there, he was stuck standing there, just thinking. Lee had been sure to visit Austin during visitation hours, but for the last two days, he had been told to wait at home by the doctors. Something about Austin having to do some finishing mental tests. Things Lee didn't really understand or need to bother about.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, he admitted to himself that he was nervous. Oddly nervous. It felt like ages that he hadn't seen Austin and from what the other had told him almost a week ago, he was sure the nerves were from that. Focusing on making the food, Lee exhaled sharply and pulled his bangs back, pinning them with a few hair pins he kept around. For the meal, he wanted to make a pasta meal, specifically pasta primavera. As he was cutting the vegetables and throwing them in a deep pan, he hummed a bit to keep his mind occupied. In about two hours, the pasta was finished, a lid on top of the pan, and decide to take up the challenge of making an orange dreamsicle icebox cake. As he was making the different layers of the cake, he kept an eye on the door while using a finger to taste the orange cream filling. Soon enough, Austin would show up. There wouldn't be any problems, right? God, he was extremely paranoid.
 
Austin was relieved to be out of the hospital for the first time in a week. He supposed anyone would be; it was suffocating. Sure, Evelyn and Lee both visited, but the last 2 days he had had absolutely no outside interaction. For someone who hadn't even gotten themself into the hospital, it was a lot. It reminded him why he would rather be a doctor than a patient, and why he planned to avoid the hospital at all costs until, maybe, he ended up getting a job there. As unlikely as it was, he wasn't ruling out the possibility.

He walked up to the door, punching in the code, before walking in. He had bags under his eyes, but had decided not to stop by the office, due to his recently revived paranoia regarding the location. "Hey, I'm alive." He announced into the house, looking around. His glasses, which were the round, dorky ones instead of the sunglasses, slipped down his nose, and he pushed them up, before spotting Lee. After taking off his shoes and jacket, he walked over, looking around the kitchen curiously. "You've been busy." He said after a moment of taking it in, directly his attention towards his partner once more "Also, love the hair, and that's an honest comment."
 
Finally, Lee heard the code being punched in outside and felt himself exhale in relief as he shoved the cake into the freezer. He watched as Austin made his way into the kitchen, commenting on the area and his appearance. Making a face, Lee took in the other's appearance as well, taking note of the bags under his round glasses. On a side note, he was becoming pretty fond of those glasses.

"Sorry, but I wasn't dressing up for you. Dinner's ready if you are." Lee spoke finally, turning to the stove nonchalantly. He pulled a few plates down and pressed his lips into a thin line. It had been a few days, probably hard ones for Austin, but Lee wasn't quite sure what to say in this situation. He wanted to be encouraging, but he had no idea what the other had done in the hospital. So, instead, the detective cleared his throat and began to ladle a good helping of pasta onto Austin's plate. Giving himself a slightly smaller portion, he turned and placed his partner's in front of him.

"I would say welcome home, but I don't think we really need to be that cliche about it." Lee smirked poking his fork at his pasta. Although he spent most of his time that day cooking, he had a small appetite. But, to hopefully encourage the other to eat, he took a large forkful and ate it, keeping his eyes on his plate. "How was it?" Lee finally decided to ask after a few moments, keeping his gaze on his food as he ate another bite.
 
"You don't need to be dressing up for me for it to look good, dude." Austin said, having a seat, taking a look at the meal in front of him. After a whole lot of hospital food, this might as well have been gourmet dining. He started eating almost instantly after Lee had gotten settled, wasting no time. Lee was great at cooking, to boot, so Austin felt it would be a travesty if he didn't eat what was placed in front of him.

Once he swallowed, he shrugged, pushing up his glasses once more "First of all, we don't need to be cliche, but as the person holding the honorary place as your phone background as well as a named loved one, I think I deserve some cliche, so I'll ignore the rest of that statement other than 'welcome home'. In reply: Thanks." He grinned, propping his chin up with one hand "For how it was...well, I haven't slept in a week, which is funny considering I was out for four days, I survived off of hospital food and spite, and I'm pretty sure all the nurses hate me. Bright side, I'm now free and get to enjoy your food- which is amazing, by the way -so it's all good."
 
Lee couldn't help but smirk at Austin's hospital experience. It seemed likely that most of the staff would be done with the other at some point. With a small nod, the detective felt as a bit of his appetite returned. He took another bite and lifted an eyebrow at the food comment. Leaning against an elbow on the counter, he eyed Austin and pointed his fork at the male's plate.

"Funny you said that, since now you have to eat all of that. Wouldn't want 'good cooking' to go to waste, right?" Lee teased a bit as he went to get a few drinks. He had managed to whip up some lemonade before Austin showed up as well, so he filled two cups and brought them back. With a long drink, Lee felt oddly normal. His anxiety and nerves had declined quite a bit. "Yeah, the past two days have been rough. It's easy to be paranoid after all that happened, you know?" the conversation turned a bit more serious as Lee looked into his glass of half-empty lemonade. He himself hadn't been able to sleep either except for a few hours throughout the day. Small naps if anything. Then, as if remembering Austin's comment about him being a 'loved one' from earlier, the detective narrowed his eyes lightly at Austin and pointed his fork at him.

"And who said that you were a loved one to me? I was just making a comment that day at the hospital." Lee retorted lightly with an eye roll before stabbing at pieces of pasta, gathering some into a bite.
 
"Oh, no, you're not getting rid of the loved one comment. I'm a loved one. You love me." Austin stated matter-of-factly, pointing his fork right back at Lee with a grin, before going back to eating his food "And don't worry, I intend to eat all of this. You really don't need to tell me twice." He glanced towards a nearby window, before adding "Anyway....Yea. I think that anywhere I go I'm gonna have, like, a fear of death. Which is so fun. I'm quitting detective work as soon as this is all over and moving to Ohio or something, I swear."
 
Lee grimaced as Austin retorted with the love comment. He turned to follow the other's gaze to the window feeling the second-hand paranoia before he tried focusing back on his drink. "Ohio. That's pretty specific. If I could choose anywhere to go, I'd probably choose Alaska or something. Take a few months vacation just to get away from people." Lee chimed in as he finished his last few bites of food, moving a few steps to the sink to wash his dishes. "Unfortunately, I'm more or less stuck in detective work until I retire. I'll probably learn to love it again when I'm not a possible target anymore."

Drying his hands, the detective then pulled his bangs free and quickly ran a hand through them. When his hair fell flat once more, Lee yawned behind a hand as he started to put the leftovers into a container, stashing it into the fridge. "We might have to eat the dessert tomorrow. I don't think it's even done setting yet. You've probably had a long day, so we should probably head to bed." Lee spoke around another yawn, finally feeling the drowsiness slapping him in the face. "Let me know if you need anything. I'll probably be up for a bit longer anyway."
 
Austin blinked owlishly. He'd honestly forgotten that yes, he probably should try and sleep, at least a little. "Uhh...yea. Sleep. That's probably a good idea." He agreed hesitantly. On one hand, sleeping was good, and Lee WAS in the apartment. On the other, Lee was in another room, out of his sight, meaning that either of them could die easily without the other knowing. He got up, forcing a small grin "Alright, yea, I'll bother you if anything comes up. Night." With that, he went to his room.

It didn't last long.

A few hours later, he stood at Lee's door. He waited a moment or two, contemplating whether or not he wanted to knocking, before finally deciding to bite the bullet. He lifted his hand, knocking 3 times on the door, soft enough that he hoped that he wouldn't wake Lee if he was already asleep.
 
Lee watched as Austin walked to his room. With a small smile, he grabbed the rest of the dishes and cleaned them before heading to his room. It was very quiet, and he didn't like that. As usual routine, Lee checked, double checked his window. Then he looked through his closet and the hall one more time. Finally, he shut the door and flicked on the lamp on the other side of his room, switching the main lights off. After taking a few moments to change into sweats and a loose black long-sleeve, Lee tied his bangs up once more with a hair tie. Walking past his growing bookshelf, he didn't bother to look as he lazily grabbed the first book he touched.

Falling onto the mattress, Lee then pushed himself to a sitting position and began to read the book he grabbed: Chronic and Physical Disease. A few hours must have passed, and Lee was getting to the point where his eyes started to itch. Then, he heard three knocks on his door. Knowing that it could only be Austin, the detective took a breath to calm himself. He wouldn't be lying if he said the knocks scared the shit out of him.

"Come in." Lee called, adjusting his legs into a more comfortable sitting position, lifting his eyes from the pages of the book. A slight look of confusion washed over his features as he waited for Austin to come in. He honestly didn't expect the other male to actually need anything so late.
 
Austin, once given permission, slipped into the room, shutting the door behind him. He kept his eyes adverted to the floor, seeming rather awkward. To be fair, he was feeling rather awkward. It was late, and it wasn't as if he wanted to be bothering Lee. Well, that was wrong; he was fine bothering Lee, because he usually did, but he had qualms about doing it at a time and in a place that might actually be annoying. But, he tried to act casual about it, because he was embarrassed.

"Uh, hey. Couldn't sleep, so....figured you're awake, I'm awake, might as well see if you were up for a late night hang out." He said, finally looking up at Lee with a hesitant grin "Because, y'know. Yea." That probably explained nothing, but he hoped Lee just wouldn't ask.
 
Lee blinked as Austin walked in, keeping his eyes low. When there was finally an explanation, he slowly nodded and lifted an eyebrow, reading the situation. Noting the hesitant grin, Lee gave a more confident nod and sat up, closing his book and putting it to the side. The detective looked back to Austin and offered the other half of his bed with his hand. Nobody had ever slept in his own personal bed with him before, so it was a bit of a first. He understood deep down why Austin was knocking on his door so late though... he figured it must have been because of his injury.

"I mean, you already know that I'm a paranoid insomniac, so welcome to the club." Lee spoke in a bored tone, but had a smirk that began to pull at his lips from the joke. The dark-haired male moved to the side a bit in order to make a bit more room for Austin, pulling at his cuffs a bit before pulling them down to his wrists. "Aren't we a bit too old for sleepovers, though? I guess I can appreciate you calling it a 'late night hangout'." Lee continued to tease, having a feeling that they both would most likely end up falling asleep at the end of their 'hangout'.
 
Austin relaxed a bit, relieved that he wasn't being totally called out on his nonsense. He fell back on the vacant side of the bed dramatically, rolling his eyes, grin less hesitant now that he had confirmation this was alright. "Alright, fuck you, no one's too old for sleep overs." He said, tugging the sleeves of his slightly too large sweater so they didn't cover his hands "But sleepovers require gossip and nail painting, so this is a late night hang out. You're not QUALIFIED to engage in sleep overs, Lee. Don't slander them!"
 
At the attacks that were being sent his way, Lee's eyes widened a bit as he scoffed, a grin pulling at his mouth. "I would've expected you to be the type for nail painting and gossip, Gallagher." he retorted, rolling his eyes at the dramatic display. "I feel honored to not be qualified, if that's the case." Lee added as he tossed an extra pillow on top of Austin's head, slapping it as he did so.

The detective was glad to see the change in atmosphere. It seemed like Austin was worried about something, which of course he understood. Pulling his bangs free from the hair tie, Lee groaned a bit as he stretched his arms upward, feeling his lower muscles in his back stretch. "What did you want to do? You initiated this hangout, so it's your priority."
 
"First of all, my nails look great in purple. Blue, too. Actually, they look great in a cascade of colors, all of which should be applied while gossiping, so, again, fuck you." Austin replied, fixing his glasses, which had been nearly knocked off in the assault, grinning "Don't attack me just because you're sad you'll never be sleepover material. Its not my fault you're cursed to be a late night hangout sort of person."

When asked about the plans, he shrugged, slumping against the backboard of the bed "Since when do I plan stuff before I do it? Here I thought you knew me." He said, beating around why he'd actually come into the room out of embarrassment. "Uh, I have no idea. Honestly, I didn't think I'd get this far. This is a surprise."
 
"Well, it's not my fault that I'm not feminine enough for sleepovers. Plus, nail polish stinks anyway." Lee made a face at the thought and turned to look at Austin, who was fixing his glasses. When the other male revealed his lack of a plan, the detective eyed him and clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Mr. Party Guy, you've disappointed me. Let's see..." Lee turned to glance at his bookshelf, noting only books. Nothing exciting about that, unless it was just Lee. Not really seeing anything that could be of interest, he looked back to Austin and sighed.

"Well, I guess you could tell me how Evelyn's doing. I haven't talked to her since the day you were admitted."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back