(March '18) Prompt #2 - "Say my name, say my name." [Archive]

ArtisticVicu

07-17-2018, 04:12 AM

The walk was equally short and excruciatingly long. He could feel the distance in his body with the way it ached, legs trembling as he came to a halt before his door.

Somewhere along the trek he had realized that he had left Lucifer's dressed in cloths that were not his, meaning if he had his keys, they weren't on him now. A dull thought questioning what he would do with the door locked passed through his tired brain as he tried the handle.

The door opened, revealing an apartment well lit in the dead of night filled with several people.

He was certain his name was shouted as he was pulled into the apartment, jostled about by hands and arms familiar but unwanted. He flinched from the pain in his back and the cacophony of sound around him.

"Give him space!" came a sharp order and there was suddenly space around him. He sucked in air greedily as Gruff Boss became his focal point before him. Ever in charge, the burly man was the only one to step closer now.

Michael wish he hadn't let the man. From one instance to the next, Michael was forced to turn around, jacket pulled off and shirt shoved over his head. He hissed as cold air hit raw wounds agitated by the sudden removal of his shirt. He struggled to replace the shirt but his boss's grip was strong regardless of how gentle it was.

"Penelope, go get what counts as a first aid kit this moron owns." He heard movement towards the bathroom as Gruff Boss directed him somewhere. Another set of hands were on him as equally careful as his boss's as he heard the muffled scrap of a kitchen chair. He was forced to straddle the chair and rest his front against the backrest with his arms still pinned near his head by his shirt. "Ryan, Nate."

"Name it and we're on it, Boss," the baker spoke from somewhere to his left. There was sound of another chair being moved.

"Help him out of that shirt and keep him seated. And do try to be careful."

"Always, boss," the other responded as the pair started working the shirt off of Michael. He did his best not to fight the unwanted touch despite their purpose.

"Here, Roderick." Penelope - his other boss - had returned as his head came free. He squinted against the sudden harsh light. He gave both men a flat look as Gruff Boss responded from behind him, "Thanks."

There was a brief moment of silence filled only by the sound of the shirt leaving his body completely and of Gruff Boss fiddling with whatever his sister had handed him.

He felt far more exposed than he was comfortable.

"What happened to your back, Michael."

Penelope's question was hard, more of an order for him to explain than any actual option for him to dodge the words. Despite knowing there was compassion there, he wasn't about to tell any of them the specifics. He shrugged, flinching from the pain it caused. Ryan and Nate each shot a hand to his shoulder, pinning him down. Rage curled in his gut at the trapped sensation that settled over him. "I scraped up my back doing something stupid," he ground out. daring them to press the issue.

A chuckle rolled from behind him, the sound coming across dangerous and humorless as it was quickly followed by Roderick commenting, "Walking home instead of heading to the hospital was stupid."

Ryan's hand squeezed his shoulder, concern on his face as he asked, "Any other injuries we need to know about?"

"How are your hands?" Nate suddenly inquired, reaching for one such appendage with his free hand.

There was a stutter in his brain as he was forced to adjust his focus from his anger to his person. His gaze moved to his hands as Nate's enclosed one.

They were completely healed. There wasn't even any sign of scrapping from pavement or any sort of injury and that was probably all thanks to Lucifer having healed him after the Fallen had first found him A part of him wished he hadn't. "Surprisingly fine. Seems Theo's quick actions yesterday had done the work."

The sudden silence was deafening and his head came up so fast, the grips on his shoulders became painful as they attempted to keep him still. He brought his head around, defensive and unsure. He opened his mouth to say something - anything - but the only thing that seemed to come out was one measly word. "What?"

Roderick's hand was heavy and he turned, looking at his gruff boss. "Michael." He felt his stomach drop. Roderick never called him by his first name. "You've been missing for three days."

There seemed to be no air in the room as what air had been in his lungs was taken away. "What?" he released in a strangled, breathy voice.

Nate spoke up, drawing his attention. "When we sent you home, Boss asked me to check on you the next morning. You normally answer any text I send ya, even if it takes a few hours. But when you didn't respond before your shift was supposed to start the next day..."

"We got worried something had happened," Ryan took over, his words sure where Nate's had failed. "We thought maybe you had been in an accident or something but the Bosses said to give you time, that injured hands could be making things a bit difficult and to not worry too terribly much about it."

"When you didn't come to work this afternoon without calling in again, Roderick sent Nate to your apartment," Penelope spoke up. "We hadn't expected the panic phone call from Nate. It had taken a few words from Roderick before he was able to understand why Nate was in such a frenzy. Your phone and your keys were on the table and the front door was unlocked but you were nowhere to be found. Roderick and I came here after we left Theodore in charge of the cafe, what with Ryan being so adamant about coming with. We were about to call the cops when you walked in."

Michael stared at the floor in disbelief. There was no way he had been gone three days. Two, maybe, but three? Had he been with Lucifer for that entire time? When had Jesus taken him to Heaven? Had it been night? He couldn't remember and trying to was making his head throb in pain.

Pain seared his back and he hissed as he tried to recoil from it but Nate and Ryan were there, hands keeping him from moving too far as Roderick informed him rather dispassionately, "Disinfectant. I want to get these clean before we take you to the hospital."

Michael shook his head as he gripped at a fistful of blonde curls. "No. Just clean them and wrap it. I'll be fine."

"Michael." It was Nate but he didn't look up. "Those look nasty, like something ripped your skin. You need stitches."

Michael shook his head again but was interrupted by pain as Roderick pressed against the injuries. "I'll be fine," he ground out.

"To hell you'll be," Ryan snapped, his hand on Michael's shoulder suddenly becoming painfully tight. Michael forewent gripping his curls to gripping Ryan's wrist, glaring at the blue haired man. "As soon as Roderick gives the go ahead, I am dragging you to the nearest hospital, even if I have to throw you over my shoulder, kicking and screaming."

Michael's expression darkened. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Ryan snarled in return, the threat of him actually doing so very real. If not Ryan, he knew that Roderick would.

He gave in, letting go of Ryan's wrist. "Fine."

Roderick's touch against his injuries became gentle and Michael rested his forehead on his crossed arms. Nate started combing his fingers through Michael's curls and Michael found himself relaxing.

"Just a bit longer and we'll get you some good drugs," Nate offered, voice quaking at the edges as he attempted to ease the mood.

Michael didn't respond but he did press into the touch. While it wasn't as sure as Lucifer's, he knew that Nate was just trying to help and it was honestly a comforting gesture regardless.

Soft chatter filled the air over his head, numbing his thoughts as the air numbed his skin. By the time they had pressed a temporary bandage over his injuries, he was shivering. Nate quickly slipped out of his sweater and wrapped it around him. It smelled of some soap and the faint scent of coffee. Ryan then draped his heavy leather coat around Michael's shoulders and Michael was enveloped by the scent of leather and cigarette smoke.

The trip to the hospital was rather uneventful and surprisingly quick. He wasn't about to point fingers but he was certain that someone had called ahead to get an appointment or something because they took him right in and gave him a local anesthesia before doing a thorough cleaning despite Roderick's attempts. Apparently he hadn't realized just how big the wounds were until he felt them working from his shoulder to the base of his ribs. In fact, there was quite a bit of fuss and talk of possible skin grafting but Michael only paid so much attention what with the others there to listen and comment.

He fell asleep somewhere near the beginning of the whole thing because he didn't remember feeling the stitches when Ryan and Nate left his sides to climb out of the car. He blinked blearily around, confused. It must have shown as Ryan gently grabbed his arm as Nate unbuckled him. "Come on. You're bed's calling your name. Docs want to do a follow-up due to how severe the injuries were and had not been ok with letting you leave but you were adamant even in the half asleep state you were in."

"Fairly certain I was asleep," he countered, leaning on Ryan as Nate opened the door. Up a few flights of stairs and he found himself back in his own living space. Nate hurried on ahead turning on lights and opening doors while Ryan guided him through the rooms, their bosses bring up the rear.

"You gonna be ok without us?" Nate asked as Ryan helped him into a sleep shirt.

Michael hummed an affirmation. "My phone's on the nightstand-" he wasn't sure who stuck it there but he was glad to see it, "and I don't have work tomorrow."

"You're on a week's leave," Roderick commented loudly from the bathroom. Michael heard the clatter of pills and figured that the burly man was putting the pills away.

"And I don't have work for a week."

Ryan touched his shoulder. "Do you want me and Cynthia to come by in a few days to keep ya company?"

"Alex and I have the day off tomorrow. We could come by and check on you," Nate even offered.

Michael smiled weakly at all off them, exhausted but touched despite the annoyance that curled in his gut. "I'll let you know. I'm fairly certain I'm just going to sleep for the next few days."

Roderick walked over and pressed something into his hand. When Roderick's hand pulled away, Michael found himself staring at a few pills as a glass of water was pushed into his other hand. Penelope was setting the pill bottles down next to his phone with a bottle of water. He popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed a mouth full of water. He shuddered at the nasty taste left behind by one of the pills.

Penelope's gentle hand found his hair. "We'll drop by with food tomorrow morning. We've set alarms on your phone for when you need to take pills and I'll have Nate and Alex meet us here and they can make sure you eat tomorrow evening as well."

Nate nodded. "Alex can bring their game system. We'll just bum on your couch like we would be doing at our place anyways."

Michael nodded in turn, yawning. Roderick puffed up, gesturing to everyone, "Alright, time to leave. Let's let the poor sap get some sleep."

Everyone filed out, Roderick being the last. As the gruff man grabbed the door, he looked to Michael. "You let us know if you need anything, alright?"

Michael nodded, serious. "Of course. Thank you, Roderick."

"Sleep well," the man responded before closing the door.

Michael was shrouded in mostly darkness, the only light being the lamp on the nightstand by his bed and what light bled from the window. Situating himself on his front, he turned the light off and tried to sleep.

He couldn't get comfortable. His back itched and his skin crawled. It was like he was being watched or something else was in the room with him. He tried to move, to look, but his body was too heavy with exhaustion that even his eyes refused to open and focus.

Suddenly there was a weight on his back, a hand burying itself in his hair as fingers dug into one wound, a voice equal parts Jesus's and Lucifer's gleefully demanding, "Say my name." And then it shouted, "Say my name!"

He shot upright and to the side, his entire back flaring in pain but he ignored it as he gasped for breath. There was nothing in the room and he grabbed at his phone, finding it to be hours after he had been put to bed. He rubbed at his face, hand trembling at the memory of the dream.

His phone chirped in his hand and he was rather surprised when the sudden sound didn't startle him. A text notification illuminated the screen and he swiped at it.

It was a text from Penelope informing him that he would be having company in two hours. Turning the screen off, he placed the phone back on the nightstand and hunkered down to try and get a nap in before he had to deal with company.

He was relieved when he found himself waking up to the sound of someone knocking on his door.