"i've seen uglier." he said simply. juniper knew it was probably a bruise, but what if it was a cut? he'd have to bring damian to dad, then…
Damian sighed and turned fully, tugging down on the sleeves of his hoodie. His face was a mottled purple-black and his lip was swollen from where it had been split yesterday. There were marks on his throat and below his shirt, suggesting that the injuries stretched across his whole body. He frowned at Juniper. "Happy?"
"no, mostly because you're hurt." he gave a small frown and ghosted his fingers over the injury, deciding what to do.
"come with me." he grabbed damian's hand, standing quickly. "dad should be able to help. it's our off day, so both of us are free all day."
Damian flinched instinctively when Juniper tried to touch his face, frow growing exasperated as he did. He was 18. He shouldn't be scared of someone who was just trying to help him, even if it was unnecessary. He didn't get up when Juniper did. "I'm fine, I don't need any help."
"uh huh. that split lip says otherwise. as someone who's had many injuries, i can say that facial injuries hurt like hell. nobody's gonna be touching you excessively, anything we do for you will mostly be handing you supplies and instructions."
he paused for a moment, contemplating.
"i'm not going to try and force you to go. i just want you to know that you're always welcome in my house if you're hurt or hungry. do i need to sit back down?"
Damian took a couple minutes to consider- the offer was much more tempting now that he knew he wouldn't be touched very much- before he finally stood. He'd woken up with blood on his pillow, his lip had reopened twice this morning, and his back stung like hell. "No, no, I'll… um… I'll go to your place." He took Jupiter's hand and used it to pull himself up. He didn't let go once they were both standing. "Lead the way."
"there you go."
~~
they pulled up at the diner, juniper turning down a dirt path near the restaurant. he stopped the car right before the garage, turning it off and getting out to open damian's door for him.
"welcome to my humble abode."
it was a small log house with a tiny porch and a pond in front of it, as well as a decently sized patch of sunflowers surrounding the pond.
Damian smiled over at the sunflowers, ignoring the twinge of pain it sent through his face. They were vibrant and gold in the morning light, Juniper must've been taking good care of them. He stepped out of the car gingerly, his ankle had been clicking funny for a while and he didn't want to make it worse, and took Jupiter's hand. "Nice place you've got here."
((the spanish is google translated, beware.))
"thanks, love."
he held the door open for damian, and turned into the kitchen once it was closed.
"¡papá! estoy en casa, ¿estás aquí?"
there was a muffled answer from the other room, and juniper gave a small smile and called out again.
"tengo al chico lindo del restaurante conmigo. alguien lo golpeó, ven aquí!"
shuffling noises were heard, and a slightly disgruntled man emerged from a room off of the kitchen.
"jesús, niño. adviérteme antes de traer gente a nuestra casa."
juniper crossed the kitchen to him, giving him a quick hug, and filling him in on the situation. they talked quietly for a while, and magik leaned over to get a better look at damian.
Damian didn't know a lick of Spanish, but he caught a few words that were similar in Italian. Cute.. hit.. warn me… Juniper was probably just getting the point across. Damian hoovered awkwardly in the living room, arms crossed and expression slightly storm to cover the fear that bloomed like a flower in his chest when Juniper's dad approached.
"chico gruñón que tienes aquí, hijo"
"shut up, dad. what does he need?"
magik pressed his lips together, scrutinizing damian's purple cheek and bloody lips.
"ice, rest, chapstick, painkiller, water. sound good?"
"aye aye, captain."
juniper turned back to damian, tilting his head slightly. "you heard the man. sit down, i'll grab you some stuff."
Damian managed to pick out the word 'grumpy' and frowned a little harder. He walked over to Juniper, wanting to be close to someone familiar. "Can I stay with you?" His voice came out a tad too vulnerable, and he winced.
"sure. sit down at the counter, dad's going back into his room."
magik squinted slightly, and murmured something to juniper before disappearing back into his room.
juniper opened a few cabinets, gathering supplies.
Damian nodded and did as he was told, settling carefully on the counter. He watched Juniper gather things carefully, paying special attention to the ones he didn't know how to use. "Could you… um… Could you help me get my back? I can't reach it and my dad's… thorough."
"ah, no problem. i have a new tube of carmex in my room that i need to get, you can come with if you want?" juniper schooled himself into a friendly neutral, but his mind was racing.
so it's his dad who beats him. interesting. wonder if i can romance my way into finding out where they live. could call the guys, or just take the hit myself. it'd be my first solo. might get me a bit more known.
"Yeah." Damian hopped off the counter, following him into the bedroom. He hovered in the doorway, watching Juniper pick up what he wanted to get and wondering if this was such a bad idea. Pops would kill him if he knew. Or, worse, he might kill mom. His sweet mother with her curly flyaway hair and her hydrangeas. He couldn't let that happen. "You… you won't tell anyone, right?"
"to be completely honest with you, i won't tell anyone unless i know for sure your father is put down permanently,"
he shrugged as he came back out, passing the carmex off to damian.
Damian, who'd never really had much more than some kind of generic antibiotic, painkillers, gauze, and bandages, looked at it skeptically. "You won't be allowed to. He knows the big man, they're friends."
"uh huh. the general rule around here is that while we condone murder, money laundering, and many other things, human trafficking and abuse are off limits. he'd be pissed. prolly wouldn't let me kill your dad, but y'know. child abuse doesn't fly around here."
he observed damian's look at the carmex, smiling slightly.
"it's medicated chapstick. it'll heal your lip faster, and it's a lot softer than normal chapstick so it won't hurt to apply. give it a go, love."
"The big man's not exactly lenient, but pops? Pops is a special case. He'll get off with a slap on the wrist, and then he'll come home and slap momma and I around to make up for it." Damian opened the chapstick and eyed it warily before he applied it. It did feel nice on his lip. "But… anyways, it's fine. This stuff is really nice, thanks."
"no problem on the chapstick, love. well, if you ever need anywhere to hide, you can hide here. consider yourself protected by the mafia. i'll fight the guy personally, he can't do shit if he's bedridden. he's probably so old that he just relies on a gun nowadays."
juniper laughed quietly, a rare occurence.
"i don't mean to come on strong, i really don't, but guys who have the nerve to beat up their family are. the scum of the earth."
Damian laughed too, slightly reassured by Juniper's passion despite not really believing his promises. He had a place to hide, at least. It was more than he had an hour ago. "No… I kind of like it. You're cute when you get all defensive." Was it the right time to flirt? He didn't really care. Juniper looked nice when he laughed and Damian was desperate for a distraction.
"am i? i had been led to believe i'm cute all the time, but who knows." he gestured for damian to follow him back into the living room, jerking an elbow towards a glass of water on the coffee table and picking up an ice pack he had set down.
"the water's for you, where do you want to ice first?"
"Sorry, my bad. You're even cuter when you get protective. Especially if it's me your getting protective over." Damian smirked, ignoring the pain and the way it pulled on his lip. He didn't particularly want either of the items, but it would probably be good to ice his bruises. He grabbed the pack and held it to his swollen cheek. "I can do it, it's no problem. Can… um… can you grab some disinfectant? We ran out of it at my house and my back's a little… messy."
juniper looked at damian, face deadpan.
"don't smile, you'll open your lip again. i'll get the disinfectant, dad is going to stay in his room. he won't come out unless i say it's okay to."
he walked into the kitchen, knocking firmly on magik's door and waiting for the muffle okay before going in. the disinfectant usually stayed in the master bathroom, which wasn't problem until now. maybe they should get an extra bottle for damian.
Damian licked his lip thoughtfully once Juniper was gone, testing it. The wound was still tender, but he could smile without re-tearing the skin and that was what was really important. His back twinged and he realized he should probably take off his hoodie and undershirt so Juniper could tend to it. He bunched the fabric thoughtfully beneath his hands, counting his breaths as he slowly peeled it off. Blood had started to soak through his undershirt. The air stung, even though the remaining layer of fabric.
juniper returned, holding a bottle of disinfectant, a washcloth, and a pack of cotton rounds.
"someone's taken the initiative."
he went to sit next to damian, opening the bottle and silently observing damian's back for a moment.
Damian frowned, setting the hoodie down on the arm of the chair. He held himself rigidly, too tense to do much but nod and start to peel up the undershirt. His back was covered in scratches, mostly groups of four or five, and a few still had slivers of broken glass glimmering in them. Dad broke a bottle and went to town on his back as he curled up in the corner to try and escape. His face burt with shame. He could feel fresh blood oozing over his skin.
"looks like i need tweezers, first off. maybe magik should deal with this, damian. i'm still learning, and i'd probably hurt you while i tried to help."
he slowly rested a hand on damain's shoulder.
"i'll watch him the whole time, if it makes you feel better. he's got a lot more experience with this."
Damian's soldiers sagged, stretching the wounds that tore through his back open even wider. He hissed, disguising it as concern about what Juniper was talking about instead of pain. "I… Could you do it? Please? I don't care if it hurts, I'm used to that, I just… I can't. Not if someone else is there."