4 - Comfort zone

The nurse eventually sighed once she was done, and since Asterius seemed so nervous, she assumed he had either nothing to do with Theseus' broken nose, or that it was an accident. She reassured him that he would probably wake up soon, and that aside from a crooked nose - more than it had already been - his friend would be fine.

Carleen stopped breathing for a few seconds, because this definitely wasn't what she had expected at all from her call with Aria. A lot of things were rushing to her mind right now - Theseus' shoots for a partner brand two weeks from now, quickly replaced by the fact that Aria was panicking because her own brother had hit Theseus...
And then epiphany - as well as a grim feeling of déjà-vu - hit her.
"What has he said or done to you, Aria? I mean- why did your brother hit him? What happened? Where are you?"

Asterius let go of a breath he didn'tknow he was holding, feeling relief washing over him when he heard that he'd wake up soon enough - followed swiftly by a pang of guilt at the news about a crooked nose. Theseus modeled as a side job - and he cared a lot about his appearance. How would he feel about his nose being ruined like that? He thanked the nurse in a low voice and settled down on the chair a little more comfortably, crossing his arms and waiting for his friend to wake up again.

"In the university's main courtyard. I'm- debating whether or not to call my mom or my dad to tell them about it." Aria bit her lip, running a hand over her hair again, and then over her face. "Listen, I'm... going to wait for you here, alright? Asterius brought Theseus to the infirmary. I think it's all a huge misunderstanding of some kind, I really didn't catch it." She didn't want to tell Carleen her brother had called her a slut out of nowhere, not without having him around so that he could justify himself.

Theseus eventually woke up and let out a groan when he felt so much pain on his face. There was an ugly bruise running from one of his cheekbones to the other, clearly visible under the bandaging done by the nurse. Why was he hurt again, this time-
Asterius.
Theseus turned around and his eyes widened when he saw his friend. His jaw dropped for a good two seconds before he exclaimed suddenly, "She was your sister?!"
He had his priorities straight.

"Breathe, Aria," Carleen told her friend in what she hoped to be a soothing voice. "We'll sort things out. Knowing Theseus and his history with you and your brother, something probably happened, and I doubt he is completely innocent in that matter. Don't alarm your parents just yet, alright? I'm coming."

She kept her friend on the phone until she manage to reach her, and offered her a tight hug first, to help her calm down a bit. She smiled to Aria, and patted her shoulder. "Alright, let's go to the infirmary to find out which ear needs to be pulled."

Asterius straightened up on his chair when he saw Theseus stir from his pain-induced sleep. He opened his mouth and then closed it again, thinking it best to wait for is friend to be fully awake before trying to apologize properly.
But, once again. Theseus was faster than him.
He blinked and scoffed, soundly snorting from his nose. "Yes. My sister. You've already met her - gods, I've suplexed you back in highschool because you broke her heart once", he repeated, honestly looking baffled as he shook his head. He couldn't understand how that little detail had escaped him. "What were you even thinking? It's so unlike you to behave like this, to say words like that!"

Aria - who had followed Carleen's suggestion not to call her parents, and felt kind of relieved about it because she really didn't want to explain what had happened via phone, especially to her mother - looked a little calmer after hugging Carleen tight for a little bit, and took a deep breath. She smiled a little smile at her friend and nodded. "Yes, alright. I'm- guessing both will need to get their ears pulled anyway." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

Theseus was left blinking dumbly for a while. He'd have remembered it if Asterius spoke the truth- come to think of it he had gone out on a date with a girl not unlike Aria with shorter hair and horns back in highschool- oh. Oh. And then he had been supplexed by a guy whose face he didn't even have time to see, resulting in the sole scar he had on his skull. Uh.
But Asterius had kept on talking, and now he felt wounded. "And how was I supposed to react if I thought that a girl was flirting with you after that kiss we shared on Friday night-"

Carleen smiled to Aria, and started walking towards the infirmary with her. "So... Asterius was there, then. I hope your brother didn't get punched back- he and Theseus seem quite close." Yep, she sometimes was just as oblivious as her brother. The fact that Aria and Asterius shared cow-like attributes didn't mean anything, right? Besides, their last names-
...
Were the exact same?!

Asterius stuttered, feeling blood rushing to his face. "You remember it?", he exclaimed then, sounding just as wounded. "You didn't even mention it in your message, the following day- I- I thought you were either too drunk to recall it, or that you had simply decided not to mention it because you didn't want-" He bit his lip. "Because you had never meant to kiss me to begin with."

Aria blinked at Carleen. What a strange way to word things. She almost talked like Asterius and her brother were two different people! "Well- of course Asterius was there. We were talking together, I told you", he provided helpfully. "And it would have been difficult for Asterius to get punched back. Theseus was already on the ground by then." She grimaced. The scene hadn't been pleasant to witness, and it was even less pleasant to recall it.

Theseus was blinking stupidly by now, but he let out a smile - that turned into a slight wince when the movement pulled on his bruised tissues. "Asterius- of course I do remember. How could I have forgotten the moment when I realized my feelings for you! I intended on talking to you about them today, when we would finally be able to meet face to face!"

Carleen's jaw dropped. Asterius. Asterius was Aria's brother, which made Aria Horknath's sister-
Oh, a lot of things suddenly made sense now, but that revelation only brought more questions. "Wait. Wait, you mean Asterius punched Thee hard enough to break his nose? Aria, what happened?" She paused and held her hands. She knew Asterius enough by now to know he was patience incarnate. He wouldn't lose it and hit Theseus over nothing now, would he?

It was Aserius' turn to blink stupidly now. "... the moment you realized-" He took a deep breath. Calm, Asterius. Stay calm. Keep calm- "Theseus", he started, talking slowly, gently, almost as if he was talking to a little child. "You realized you had feelings for me. While you were drunk. And you remember it clearly?" He didn't know whether to laugh or scream. This was the same man who couldn't for the sake of himself remember a single paragraph he had just read from their sociology's textbook.
He felt his insides twist pleasantly at his words, though, and his heart stirred awake with hope, even though he was still trying hard to reason himself that maybe he had just punched Theseus too hard and had rendered him delirious.
"Well- talk to me, then. Tell me about them." He needed to know.

Aria bit her lip. She hung her head low and looked down insistently, staring at her own feet - not bearing to look up and face Carleen directly.
There, now she was definitely resembling Horknath.
"... I'm sure there was a mistake", she insisted weakly. "I mean- I still think your brother's a little bit of a douche, and I don't exactly like him, but- he's generally well-meaning, you told that to me many times, and not the kind of person who'd walk up to a girl and call her a slut-"

Theseus was a bit unsettled to see Asterius so bewildered - why, he always remembered what was truly important! - but he soon smiled at him, shooting him a loving smile.
"Not only are you the best friend I've ever had- you are positively gorgeous, my dear Asterius, and to my liking. When I realized that I longed to touch you, to hold you and to kiss you, I gave in right away. And if I remember well, you didn't seem put off by our kiss, am I wrong?" Oh he looked smug, now. As smug as he could with this huge band-aid across his face.

"He called you a what?" Carleen's eyes had widened from the shock, and she took a deep, sharp breath in to calm herself down. "We'll hear him, alright. But if you want my opinion, he rightfully deserved that broken nose." She stomped her way towards the infirmary that was just a few meters away, only to yell the instant she spotted Theseus smiling, of all things.
"HARSHAD."

Theseus' flirtatious attitude vanished in an instant, his face livid upon hearing Carleen using his Indian name. That was a thing only his mother did, usually, to let him know he had messed up big.

Asterius' heart soared victoriously. Oh he had longed to hear this kind of words from Theseus' mouth, but for him to call him to his liking and gorgeous again, with such a loving grin on his poor battered face, and to tell him that he wanted to hold and kiss him so unabashedly-
Once again. Thankfully, no one could see him blush.
He turned his gaze away from his friend (boyfriend? Were they boyfriends now?? Oh my god-), embarrassed. "I wasn't put off", he muttered. "I wanted to kiss you. And I didn't wish to stop. I feel-" The same, he was supposed to say, but he was suddenly interrupted by Carleen's sudden entrance - which made him immediately sit up from his chair.

Carleen, closely followed by Aria - who was trying in vain to avoid another episode of violence.

"Uh-" was all Theseus managed to eloquently say before Carleen was at his side, slappling his shoulder.

"That one is for calling my friend a slut to her face. You apologize to her right now"

Theseus eyed his sister cautiously, and then cleared his throat and turned to look at Aria. "Carleen is right- I'm sorry. I was confused for a moment, and that word was harsh and uncalled for. I didn't mean it, nor did you deserve it."

Aria looked a little embarrassed - it almost felt like being back in kindergarten, with a parent scolding their child for pushing another one. But, well. She did feel like she was owed some apology anyway. "Yes. Uhm... it's alright. I forgive you, I guess", she muttered. She threw a wide-eyed glance in Asterius' direction, though, and elbowed his side, as if to encourage him.

Asterius sighed. "I apologize too. My reaction was exaggerated, and I should know better than to physically antagonize someone out of anger like I did with you." He felt Aria elbowing him again. He inwardly rolled his eyes. "And I'm very sorry that I ended up breaking your nose."

Theseus blinked a few times, and smiled at Asterius. "Oh, no, don't you worry. I'd have done the same had you insulted my sister as I did yours! I deserved it. Besides, this is some good news-"

Carleen gave her brother a bewildered glare. "Oh, really? I'm not sure your shoot with Calvin Klein in two weeks will be maintained. And you might still have bruises in a month, when dad needs you for the Stockholm show."

Theseus paused, and shrugged. "But I could get advantage of it and finally get my nose fixed.

Carleen's expression softened, and she sighed. "Alright. I'll call dad." She looked at Asterius, and slapped his shoulder - way less hard than she had done with Theseus. "That's the second time you damage my brother's bones, you know. I know three's a charm but try not to get there, alright?" She finally let out a smile.

Asterius had the courtesy of looking at least a little affected by Carleen's slap - and of looking embarrassed, and maybe a bit ashamed, as he massaged it. "There won't be a third time. I promise", he said softly, throwing a glance at Theseus. "I'm sorry that you'll miss an important photoshoot because of me." He paused. "... had I broken your nose back then too?" He honestly didn't remember. He hadn't seen any blood that time, he was sure-

Aria sighed and shook her head. "When mom will know about this she will flip", she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. And of course she would end up knowing - after all, born out of a misunderstanding or not, Theseus had ended up seriously wounded because of Asterius. Again. 

Asterius seized up. Right. He'd have to tell his parents about this... accident. "Oh, I'll be in serious trouble", he muttered, pinching the skin in between his eyes in a similar fashion Aria did.

Carleen's expressiob softened. Those two were definitely from the same family, weren't they? Her brows furrowed slightly in confusion, however. "Hey- don't fret about this too much, okay? We're not going to press charges, and Thee had indeed planned on getting his nose fixed one day, so we'll just do it now. I mean, our dad is going to panic a bit but he'll have plenty of time to find a replacement to model in Thee's place."

Aria threw an apologetic smile at Carleen. "But, won't your parents want to know what happened?", she insisted. "I mean - when they learn about it they'll probably want to have a word with ours, no? Even if they wouldn't want to press charges, a broken nose's still a broken nose..."

Asterius sat back down on the chair, looking at Theseus with his head tilted. He was still curious, even with the now-present pang of worry about his parents' reaction. "Who broke your nose the first time?", he asked, sounding... actually a bit softer than he did before when talking to him.

Carleen smiled reassuringly at Aria. "Don't worry. If my parents hear about it, and about what Theseus said, he's the one they're going to have a word with. Especially my mother."

Theseus grinned at Asterius when he came to talk to him, but his expression grew grim upon the memory he asked him about. "Ah. That was the poorest excuse of a man I've ever seen. One that prided himself to have been Carleen's boyfriend for a few months, and turned out to be the filthiest piece of trash the word has ever seen. He raised his voice in the locker rooms. We fought. He broke my nose, I broke his teeth. And his arm."

Aria let out a little chuckle. "Yes, I guess so. Maybe we should... make up different circumstances, for your brother's broken nose." She scratched her chin. "Maybe a door to the face. Or an elbow to the face during a run."

"I see that indeed, we have the same instinct towards those who badmouth our sisters." Asterius' lips twitched into a little smile. "Teeth and arm, hm", he mused. "I'm impressed. But I see then - I'm glad it wasn't due to me, at least the first time."

Carleen sighed, and looked at her friend carefully. "Would that make you feel better? If yes, I'll make up something. If not - don't worry, I'll talk to my father right now and tell him to not try to contact your parents about it. He'll understand. We've been on your side more than once before."

Theseus scoffed, and shook his head. "Well I don't recall running into you back in high school, but- I looked quite different back then, so perhaps did you too. I remembered having been suplexed once out of the blue, and I fell on my head." He took his hair out of the way to reveal a tiny scar there. "Twas but a scratch."

Aria seemed to think about it. Then she shrugged. "No, you're right. It would just make things more difficult - and if it gets found out, we're going to only get gratuitous troubles." She shot a sorry smile at Carleen, before beaming like a piece of sunshine. "Oh!", she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "That's right! I meant to talk to you about me and Dio- but, well. Now's not really the right time", she mused, biting the inside of her cheek. "I know! What about we go get some coffee, after you get to call your dad?"

Asterius snorted. "Well - I didn't suplex you with the intent to seriously injure you", he scoffed. "It was mostly meant as a little lesson about not going around breaking a poor girl's heart." He tilted his head, squinting his eyes a little as if he was trying to remember something. "... you had long hair", he recalled. Huh. Maybe that was why he hadn't recognized him.

Carleen chuckled. "You know what? Let's do that, yes. Try to see in the meantime if Asterius could drive Theseus to the clinic using his car, otherwise I'll have to go as well." She winked at her and took out her phone as she walked out of the infirmary to call her father.

Theseus nodded with a grin, momentarily forgetting about the fact that he had broken poor Aria's heart. "I did!" He dug up his phone and browsed through his social media until he found a picture of him wit his long hair falling free on his shoulders. He was particularly tanned in this one, and seemed to be abroad. "That was shortly before I had it cut," he explained. "My naanee wanted to see my long hair one last time before I cut it."

Asterius leaned in to carefully look at the picture. He threw a little smile at Theseus. "You looked very handsome, even with your hair long", he commented in a lower voice, a little shy about having any of their sister hear him. "Not that you don't with your hair styled short - but, why did you cut it?"

Aria chuckled and winked back at Carleen. She quickly turned towards her brother, leaning in to tap his shoulder. "'terius - could you drive Theseus to the clinic where he needs to be visited, please?"
Asterius got distracted for a second to answer to her that yes, of course he'd drive him - and to tell carleen not to worry about anything, he'd stay around until he was needed. Aria smiled gratefully at him - she waved at both, and then exited the infirmary.

Theseus smile to himself when Asterius openly agreed to drive him to the clinic, and he waved awkwardly at Aria when she got out, before he looked at his 'friend-slash-boyfriend?' again. "I had to cut my hair because I chose football as my main sports and, well. It was getting annoying with the helmet I had to wear on the field. I still do get to wear wigs occasionally for some photo shoots, but it never feels the same as when it was my real hair." He smirked. "It did get much easier to style though, so I'm not complaining. Either way, I'm glad you find my looks to your liking."

Asterius grunted. "I've never really made it a secret, did I", he answered. "That I found your looks to my liking." Well, he had surprised himself openly cheking Theseus out more than once - and he had definitely wallowed in guilt each time. He shook his head. "I'm mostly glad I've got many glimpses of what's underneath, though." His gaze softened. "That's what is most to my liking."

Theseus blinked a few times, before he understood what Asterius meant. His smile was smug once more, and he tried to reach for his friend's face. "Oh, Asterius- I'll have you know that you're to my liking too-"

His hand dropped when Carleen broke their moment once more by returning into the infirmary. "Hey. Just got dad on the phone. He's calling the clinic right now, they'll take you in to work on your nose right now, before it heals. You're lucky dad was very persuasive." She sighed and looked over at Asterius. "I'll send you the address, alright? Thank you for driving him."