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 Kurt glanced at where Marius' hand was resting. "Is... is there something there you might like to have wiped away? I know a little of rituals, and my sister might be able to help with that." Acid bile rose in his throat. "No!" Marius snapped, jerking back in the chair before he caught himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and composed himself before continuing, "Thank you, but I don't . . . I don't want to be touched, merci. I still don't know if my body's even settled yet. Just . . . no one put hands on me, for a while. Please." "It was an offer only", Kurt said calmly, unoffended. "No one is going to force anything on you ever again, if we have any say in it." "Right. Right, I know." It didn't do much to quell the spike in his blood pressure, but he had to remember where he was now. These people had stopped him. They were people Marius could trust. But he'd trusted his doctor, too. "A . . . anyway," said the younger man, smoothing a gloved hand down his shirt, "I don't plan on doing anything drastic until it's sure I'm stabilised. We don't yet know if my marrow deficiency will return. The extras Akkaba put in me have gone, but I fed during the fight. It'd be two weeks at least til anything would show for the other." "Understood", he said quietly. "You need to take some time to heal in your own ways, before even considering anything else." "Right. Anything . . . else." Marius' eyes skated away. This was the part he'd tried to avoid thinking about. What else could there be, after this? Go back to Brisbane and carry on as if the last year of his life had never happened? "You know that you are welcome to stay for as long as you need to?" Kurt asked, reading his expression. "And I do mean as long. You are among friends in this house." Marius was silent. Unbidden, his mind went back to another conversation he'd had with Kurt all those years ago. The first time people had been hurt as a result of his own pride and desperation. The first time the other man had stepped in to stop him from doing further harm. He'd asked Kurt a question, then. It was the same question that had followed him ever since. "How many people you let a rabid dog bite before you put it down?" The Australian shook his head. "I know I would be," Marius said quietly. "Just . . . if I do, not sure I can return the favour." "Favours are not given with expectation of return, Marius. Or... they should not be, in any case, and I can promise this one is not." Marius laughed without humour. "No worries. I only want to honour the social contract of not making you regret the invitation." The Australian extricated himself from the chair and stood to face Kurt. "Regardless," he said, "I'm here a few weeks more at least. I'll think on it." "All right." He stood in turn, a hand half-offered with no pressure. "My door is open to you at any time." Automatically, Marius began to reciprocate only to be jarred back to awareness by the instinctual flex of teeth against the leather of his glove. His body was reacting to Kurt's proximity, trying to engage the latching reflex. Slowly, the younger man closed his hand. "Thank you," he said, and meant it. |
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