8 - True friend(s)?

Carleen nodded and hugged Horknath a little tighter. At least she could feel safe around him, she thought.
Her mother couldn't hold back a soft smile when she came back into the kitchen briefly. "I didn't ask Carleen earlier, but did you both bring pajamas? You could stay here for the night. Roberto would be delighted to learn he could cook breakfast for more tomorrow morning." And it might do her daughter a lot of good, to be home with her boyfriend, even for one night.

"I hope for them that they won't," Theseus spat moodily, before he sighed again. "I'm sorry Asterius, today was supposed to be so carefree, and now I can't help but think about the offense that worthless worm has done to my sister and me!" But knowing him, he'd probably manage to forget a bit about it thanks to Asterius' presence, and by doing a bit of sports.

Horknath lifted his head to look at Ashanti, feeling a little embarrassed all of a sudden about how close he and Carleen were - but he couldn't bring himself to let go of her. He smiled apologetically. "I didn't", he answered honestly. "But I could make a quick trip back home to get a pair. That way I'll be able to fetch something for Spike too", he added, remembering his dog - who was quietly napping close to where he had been sitting before with Ashanti. He too thought it would do Carleen good to be around her house for a little, with her mother too.

Asterius hummed comfortingly, gently petting his head. "It's alright. I understand. But, since you are right and he is a worthless worm", he added then, echoing his words with a little smile, "let's get back to our day. Where did you want to take me for that climb you mentioned before?" He figured talking about something that generally made Theseus so excited would have helped ease the atmosphere up a little bit.

Carleen let out a small smile, and looked at Horknath with fondness. "He could sleep in our room. If he doesn't come across dad, he should be alright-"
"Oh, as soon as your father hears about this the dog will be sitting by his feet at the table and he'll slip him some meat whenever he's not wheezing," Ashanti replied with a chuckle. "I'll go back in the veranda. Join me when you feel better, and don't forget the water, alright?" She smiled at her daughter, and then left them some privacy.

Theseus indeed relaxed, and smiled at his boyfriend. It didn't take him long to get started on the place where he wanted to bring him later on that day - it was less than an hour away from their apartments, but it had an amazing scenery, and they should be able to make the climb in two hours. All in all, he was still very excited about the prospect of going with Asterius. "Then we could come back here, dine out, and maybe... go for that 'round 2' we've been talking about," he added on a playful tone.

Horknath chuckled. Sakrish did seem like the type of person who would go off and pet a dog even if he was super allergic. He thanked Ashanti, observing her as he left the kitchen, and he hugged Carleen a little more. "Do you want some help with that tea?", he asked after a little while, smiling down at her. "I can bring all the cups in the veranda in one go. My giant hands are great for that kind of multitasking", he joked lightly in an attempt to make her smile more.

Asterius listened intently at Theseus ramble on about the place where they were supposed to go after sitting back at the counter with him, while eating his own breakfast. He couldn't hold back a little smile. "Sounds like a program I'm going to enjoy", he answered with a little smirk. "I know I shouldn't be enabling you, but I do think you decking someone in the face looked very attractive." Must have been the little orc in him talking, probably.

Carleen definitely chuckled kindly. She was still a little shaken, but thankfully, she'd be better in a few thanks to Horknath's presence, and his jokes. "Alright, I'll trust you with the cups, and their plates. But I'll take the teapot- you might have big hands, but you don't have three." She smiled at him, and raised on her tiptoes to peck his lips, before she would wipe her eyes and go take said fuming teapot.

Theseus openly laughed, and grinned at Asterius. "Oh, so you found that attractive? Maybe I should enroll into some kickboxing again and have you watch me fight someone else. Maybe that'll make our nights together even more interesting." He winked at his boyfriend, and finally took a bite of his late-breakfast.

Horknath smiled back at her, nodding as he got the three cups in his hands and waited for Carleen to take the teapot before they'd walk together back to the veranda.
Spike had probably grown tired of his exploration of the garden and was now wagging his tail at Ashanti in hope for some pets.

Asterius laughed. "You don't need to go to such lengths", he observed gently, leaning back on his seat. "You are plenty attractive enough just on your own." And smiling. He couldn't stress enough just how much he loved it when Theseus smiled at him brightly. It made him feel special.

Ashantie had smiled to herself and started petting Spike. She too liked dogs, after all. Were it not for Sakrish's allergies, she'd have agreed to Carleen getting one a long time ago.
As soon as they were done discussing the unpleasant topic - Piritoo -, she would try to get the conversation a little more light-hearted, so that she would be sure her daughter would be feeling much better by the time she'd have to make a quick trip back near university for Horknath to retrieve some stuff for the night.

"I know," Theseus replied with a grin. "But if there are any ways I can convince you that I'm irreplaceable, please do let me know."
He kept on flirting with his boyfriend for a long while, until it was time to get dressed, and get going.

--

Theseus prided himself in being good at any sports, under any circumstances. Him being a little sore should have never been an issue to begin with - Hell, he had been sore at the beginning of his 'preparations' too, and he had been doing fine!
But there was two major differences he had failed to consider. One: the real deal and the soreness it left behind (ha, behind) definitely felt differentthis time. And two: football practice and mountain climbing didn't require the same stretch of his legs. He had winced a few times and managed to keep it to himself for a while. As long as he didn't bend one knee too much, he'd be fine! All he had to do was to change the way he was climbing. He assured Asterius that he was fine, and assessed a secure point a little more on his right, that would allow him to get up without bending his legs too much. All he had to do was to balance himself a little bit and spread his legs-
The sharp, dull ache he felt in that moment was sudden enough for him to try and cancel his move halfway, lose his balance, and wiggle his feet in the air, while his body was still rocking around. Inevitably, one of his feet got angled the wrong way between the cliff and his body, just when he slammed into it with full force.
There was a crack.
And two seconds later he let out a cry of pain through clenched teeth.

Luckily enough for both Asterius and Theseus - but especially Theseus - they had barely started the ascent yet. Asterius was still on the ground, watching with a worried little frown as his boyfriend climbed several feet from the ground to start attaching the equipment to the rock, and as soon as he saw him lose his balance, he was ready to immediately start lowering him back on the ground. What he hadn't expected despite already having observed that Theseus was not in the right shape for such a demanding sport was for that deafening crack and the subsequent cry of pain.
He felt himself pale and lowered him down even quicker, making sure to catch him properly. He yelled for some nearby people to please call a doctor before worriedly tending to his boyfriend. Damn it, he knew he should have been firmer and force him to stay home!
"Theseus - Theseus, the doctor's coming. Do you think you've broken your foot?", he asked, observing worriedly as said foot dangled in a weird angle.

"Do I think it's broken?" Theseus replied a little dramatically at first. A little. Especially considering how he exploded in drama afterwards. "The hornets of Hades have descended upon me, Asterius! A gigantic chimera has chewed on my foot, before it breathed its unholy fire upon my poor limb, only to then cast it in the coldest pit of Hell!" He inhaled sharply, and clenched his teeth again. "Tis but a scratch-" was the pain wrecking him both physically and mentally? Probably. He knew one thing for sure: he wouldn't let anyone touch said foot.

Asterius stared at Theseus as he went on a spiel about some hornets and a chimera and hell. Well. At least he still had his sense of drama well intact. That was somewhat a relief. He sighed. Just as he startled babbling about some Bartholomew person, the people he had asked for help waved at him from afar, yelling that the ambulance had been called. Asterius thanked them, and, with his boyfriend still in his arms, proceeded to walk closer to the road to wait for the doctors to come. "You'll be alright", he murmured, resisting the temptation to roll his eyes a little. "I know it hurts really bad, but it will be okay. I'm here with you." He leaned in to kiss him on the forehead.

(Bartholomew was Theseus' hamster from when he was barely 10 years old, and that had died tragically after one of his mistakes. Thankfully, it was not the kind of story his sister had passed around)

Theseus was actually still shaken until Asterius soothed him with such a quiet voice, and kissed his forehead. He took in a deep breath, calming down just a bit. "Asterius- I've ruined our week-end together, haven't I," he complained dramatically, feeling just as wrecked by that idea than by the physical pain itself.

(sdgfsjgfs oh no)


Asterius scoffed. "Don't say that like it's your fault that you broke your foot", he gently chastised him, kissing his forehead again. "Of course I'm not happy that you ended up hurting yourself like this - but as long as we're together, nothing would be ruined to me." He believed in what he said, truly. He was mostly worried about Theseus' foot right now, but he didn't want his boyfriend to think he had ruined anything.

Theseus forced a smile, thankful for Asterius' answer, and he caressed his boyfriend's cheek. "You're too good to me, my love- Ah, but I shall make it up to you." He hissed when he shifted just slightly, but then the emergency team thankfully showed up to assess the damage of his foot, and declare that he should be brought to an hospital to get an X-ray of said foot. Thankfully, Theseus had calmed down enough thanks to Asterius, and was able to ask to be brought to his family's clinic.
He yelled as soon as they had to take the shoe off, however, since there was no more support binding his broken bones together. And he probably clung to Asterius' hand for as long as he could.

From that moment on, Asterius probably was the one who would need to warn his family about his injury. And I'll let you decide who he would decide to call UvU

Asterius had to unfortunately leave Theseus alone for his ambulance ride - he needed to take the car, leaving it at the climbing spot would have been a real hassle for afterwards - but did his best to soothe him, and reassure him that he would be following the ambulance as closely as he could, and would definitely be there for him at the clinic.
After getting his hand properly maltreated by his boyfriend's strong grasp and after looking as Theseus was brought away for his X-ray, he sat down in the waiting room and fished his phone out.
He reflected carefully. Who should he be calling? He remembered Theseus talking to his mother when they were at his apartment, so maybe she would still be busy with Carleen and Horknath over there. He resolved in calling Sakrish, hoping he'd be free by that time.

Sakrish was in fact really busy on that week-end - but thankfully for Asterius, he didn't give his personal number around, so whoever was calling him on this phone must be doing so for something important.
Theseus had also given him Asterius' number to register, so he saw exactly who was calling him. And it only meant one thing: his son might be in trouble. He quickly excused himself and walked out of the room he was currently in, to take the call.
"Hello, Asterius. Is everything alright?" Oh, his tone just gave away how nervous he suddenly was.

Asterius felt suddenly a little bad whe he heard Sakrish's anxious voice. He had probably already guessed that he was calling about Theseus, and that it was probably nothing good. He pinched the space between his eyes and took a deep breath. "Hello, Mr. Mishra. I'm sorry to bother you, but I wasn't sure who to call." He sighed. "Me and Theseus were out for a climb and... he. Broke his foot." He shuffled uneasily on his seat. "We're at the clinic now, he's getting an X-ray. But I am quite sure it's definitely broken. I'm sorry."

Sakrish took a deep breath in, and pinched the bridge of his nose for a few seconds as he sighed. "I'll come and visit him, then- How is he doing? He's cracked bones before, but never broke any aside from his nose." Well, he knew Theseus tended to overreact, but he was still hoping that his son wasn't devastated or wrecked by it. Hell, he had broken his leg once, he knew it was far from pleasant.

Asterius sighed. "He's... he's holding up", he answered in the end. "He still had the presence of mind to crank out a shakesperian monologue about just how terrible it felt. I took it as a sign that he was not completely numbed by pain. This said- he was not faring well when they got him in the ambulance, and worse when they got his shoe off. He's in the X-ray room now, but the doctors told me they'd probably sedate him a bit." He hesitated. "He was being brave about it, though."

Sakrish held back a fond smile when he heard about the Shakespearian monologue. That definitely sounded like something his son would do, but he couldn't help and worry a bit when Asterius confirmed to him that indeed, his son was in dire pain. "I see. Thank you for warning me, I should be there in a few. I'll call my wife and let her know as well."

Speaking of shakespearian soliloquies, one door in the corridor briefly opened, allowing Theseus' voice to echo around. "GET THAT NEEDLE AWAY FROM ME, YOU HEARTLESS EXECUTIONER-"
"Mister Mishra, please stay still, I promise you this shot won't sting," a woman's voice cut him.
"JUST AS THE WHIP OF THE FURIES IN TARTARUS DOESN'T STING THE POOR SOULS THEY WATCH OVER-"
"Alright, that's it, someone PLEASE HOLD HIM."

"You're welcome. I'll see you later then-" Asterius was briefly cut by Theseus' booming voice resonating through the corridors.
Ah. He was giving a hard time to the clinic's personnel then. Alright. "... I'll see you later", he concluded with resignment in his voice, cutting the call as short as possible before pocketing his phone away and getting up from his seat. He walked up to the open door and peeked inside, only to be met with mayhem. Theseus shouting about how they'd never take him alive and thrashing as much as he physically could away from a needle as two doctors tried invane to keep him still and the poor nurse tried her best to locate a spot where she could safely inject him with anesthesia. "I know I shouldn't be allowed in here, but. In case you need help-", Asterius finally said loud enough to be heard, after clearing his throat.

"Oh thank god, please hold him," One of the doctors yelled out to Asterius as soon as he saw just how tall and strong he seemed to be.

"Asterius- These brutes have been manhandling me ever since I've got there! All they're after is my SUFFERING," Theseus protested. He was still very much in pain, and was obviously panicking a bit.
"Mister Mishra, this was an accident, and we've agreed together that you need to get operated as soon as possible," the second doctor intervened.
"OH, SPARE ME YOUR LIES!" Theseus shouted, before he yelled with his mouth shut when all of his wriggling around had him bump his foot against something.

Asterius briefly ran his hand over his face. Oh my God. "Theseus - they're doctors. They're trying to help you- which they can't do if you keep moving that much", he said, as patient as he could ever be, walking towards his boyfriend to hold him in place of the two men that had been trying to restrain him. "Look. You can either make this more difficult and time-consuming than it needs to be, and hurt yourself more in the process, or you can let them do their job and we can be out of here sooner and in way less pain than the one you're feeling right now. That you provoked yourself." He stared down at him, brows raised. "Do we have an agreement? I promise I'll be here with you throughout this."

Thankfully, as usual, Asterius' presence, his touch and his gentle voice managed to have Theseus to calm down. He eyed the shot warily, but thankfully the medical staff was wise enough not to seize that opportunity right away, and break the trust that had been set with their (problematic) patient.

"You'll stay there? You'll be here when I wake up?" He asked Asterius, one of his hands closing around his wrist. He seemed hopeful and, well. Much more encline to do whatever was necessary to get him healed.

"I'm not going anywhere without you", Asterius answered, sounding every bit as serious as he could. Alright, and maybe a little dramatic, but if that helped in getting Theseus the treatment he needed, he'd get out of his own comfort zone a little bit. "When you'll wake up, you'll find me sitting next to your bed. I promise."

Theseus finally relaxed fully, and caressed Asterius' cheek as well as he could, before he sighed. "Alright. I'm ready. Be gentle with that needle," he warned the nurse, who rolled her eyes.
"You haven't changed," she sighed, before she took his arm, and looked for the vein. "You made just as much of a fuss when I had to put you to sleep for your appendectomy, back when you were in highschool." Since it was a private clinic, the Mishras were well-known. And one simply didn't forget a patient like Theseus.
She smiled to herself, however, as she did the shot and Theseus hissed through his teeth. "You're doing much better with your friend by your side, however. Sir, don't forget to drop your contact information at the front desk, we might need to contact you one of these days," she told Asterius with a fond smile.
"Just get your shot do..." Theseus began to reply moodily, a little bit jealous, before he fell asleep promptly, much to everyone's relief.