[CLOSED]

[sweetlies]

who: Ciel, Jason Todd, Undertaker, Beverly Crusher
what: Ciel has an asthma attack
when: 9/17
where: Book store, hospital
warnings: None?

He'd had time during the day, business was slow and if he stayed, he might have fallen asleep in his office. So he'd sent a message to Jason, inviting him to join the teen at a local bookstore to pass the time. And with the intent of picking at his brain a bit for more reading material, things he could read to keep himself up at night until he was too tired to dream.

If he couldn't dream, he couldn't disturb anyone.

He got himself a cup of tea while he waited, resisting a cough. What an inconvenient time to get sick. Hopefully it wouldn't spread to Jason- maybe he should have thought this meeting over more carefully.

Comments

AFTERMATH

[sweetlies]

[hititwithacrowbar]

When Jason arrived he had waited out in the waiting room of course, he was not a relative and really didn't have a way to explain who he was. He had never been the best with these kinds of thing. So, he waited, he didn't mind that much. He had his phone to keep him busy and flipping through the copy of the Outsiders he had bought for the boy.

Each time some one came through the doors he would look up from where he sat. He knew hospitals could take a long time, but it wasn't until he saw Undertaker coming through those doors he felt a bit of tension in his shoulders ease that he had not realized was there ease. Pushing himself up, he cleared his throat a bit, to bring attention to himself. "How is he doing?" He asked, curious and worried enough to cut past the pleasantries.

After talking to the other man a few minutes, and feeling more like this man and Nico must be some kind of relation or something alike in their respective worlds. He finally made his way back. He hated hospitals so much, but this was important. He stepped quietly into the space where he had been told he could find the young noblemen. The book in his hands still, and his leather jacket on unlike it had been at the store he offered a slight smile Ciel's way.

"Hey."

[sweetlies]

In that, they could agree, a mutual hatred of hospitals. Ciel was accustomed to his aunt coming to the manor to tend him or his mother when an asthmatic fit became too much for Vincent or Tanaka to handle with their normal methods.

Right then he'd prefer to be in his own home, or apartment, rather than a sterile smelling room. Wrapped in warm blankets, with tea and something sweet. Or warm milk and honey like his brother would sneak for him in the night so he'd sleep better.

"Jason." He managed a smile of his own, glad his hair was no longer sticking too his face, that he could breathe better again. "I apologize for worrying you."

[hititwithacrowbar]

Leslie or Alfred were the only doctors Jason ever let near him. Usually he'd dig the bullets out of his own skin and stitch himself up if he had a choice. Last time he had gone to a hospital it was because of Roy. Sitting at his former best friends beside praying he made it through the night. Ciel wasn't burned and on death's doorstep, but Jason still felt the same anxiety, he didn't know the kid well enough to go over and old his hand but he did offer a weak smile and finally making his way over sitting The Outsiders book down beside him.

"Don't apologize, Ciel." He spoke as he stood and crossed his arms, trying to not let the worry show but it did. "Your alright and that's all that matters. How do you feel?"

[sweetlies]

He could definitely see the worry and, for the moment, Jason has more of his attention that the book. It does get a glance though, and a little more of a smile. That was a gesture he hadn't been expecting. Gifts, he'd gotten some before. Usually Elizabeth insisting on getting him something for his birthday

"Better. Doctor Crusher took good care of me. I am tired though." He was always tired afterward.

[hititwithacrowbar]

Jason liked giving gifts when he could, growing up as poor as he had it was never a choice, and when his fortunes changed, he had had no real friends to speak of. Now, in adulthood he took any chance he could to try even if he wasn't the best at gift giving, he enjoyed trying.

Jason looked away a second to reach back and pull a chair over, taking a seat next to the bed so he wouldn't hover around. Nodding as Ciel explained. "I figured you might be. Hospital visits always tire me out even when I'm not the one being admitted. I'm glad to hear the doctor took care of you. Did she get you an inhaler in case this happens again?" he asked, making sure to mask the worry but not as well as he'd like.

[sweetlies]

"I've actually never been. Except to visit my aunt, she worked in the Royal London Hospital before she was killed. She treated my fathers butler."

Tanaka had been in good hands. He would have been too, if he'd ever been there as a patient and Angelina had found out. She would have too, the Phantomhive's were never unnoticed in places like that.

"Mm, a prescription for one. And a nebulizer." He hoped they wouldn't be anything he would need again. Not for awhile. It would get cold before long though, and he tended to get sick more often then. Of course, he probably wouldn't be allowed to go out and about unprepared after this.

[hititwithacrowbar]

"I've been more times than I care to count. Luckily, people in my line of work learn to patch themselves up. So, not to much in recent years." The image of Roy's burned arm played in his mind but, he just offered a soft look to Ciel. "She sounds like Leslie, she's one of the people who raised the man who took me in when my parents died. She was the finest doctor I ever knew. You trusted her, I'm guessing?" He asked, always curious to learn a little more about the young Earl.

It was like a Wayne going into a hospital, not only would the whole staff be on alert, but so would the media. Sometimes, Jason was glad they never fixed his legal status from dead. That was a pain in the ass he got to avoid.

"Good, good, those will help. There's no shame in it at all. Lot's of people have asthma, namely in the big cities."

[sweetlies]

Had he trusted Madam Red? Oh yes, absolutely. She was his aunt, the doctor who had delivered him and his brother, who had treated himself and his mother when either got too sick. She'd also been a part of his group of Aristocrats, one of his trusted few and informants.

"I did. I knew Madam Red my entire life, it was impossible not to."

Maybe if he hadn't trusted her so completely, he might have seen that something inside her had snapped. Or maybe if he hadn't become the Watchdog, he might have cared enough to see.

"I suppose not." He wasn't so sure. "Mother had asthma and she managed fine."

[hititwithacrowbar]

Jason really liked that name, but he was partial to the color red. It seemed alien to him to know someone your whole life, but, Jason knew his situation was far from normal. Namely when comparing to a noblemen.

"It makes sense. In a way." Bruce trusted Alfred like that. So, it seemed normal enough.

Sometimes busy men didn't notice things they didn't have time to. Which, was one of Jason's problems with Bruce. Ciel was a child though, even so adult in every other way but age and body.

"Not at all. You will find this modern era that we are much more accepting of such things. It's no shame at all. So, when you get home after maybe a day of rest you can be up to full speed with no more worries of it. And if you do feel bad you just come back and see Doctor Crusher... god her name is cool." He let the last part slip out.

[sweetlies]

His aunt had been as well. With her hair such a vibrant red, like spider lilies, her spirit as passionate as the color. It was a shame, the path she'd gone down, the end she'd suffered.

"The Watchdog can't be seen as having any weaknesses though, so perhaps most of the modern society would accept it, but the crown needs a strong and reliable servant to manage the underworld." His brows do go up at the comment about Beverly's name being 'cool.'

"Cool?"

[hititwithacrowbar]

Those that loved Red so much, tended to go a darker path and lead to their own doom.

"This is true, but while your here you should relax, maybe look into modern medical texts that could help you manage it when or if you return home?" he offered before he shrugged.

"It's a cool name. Crusher, like something being crushed. I have a weird sense of what I like."

[sweetlies]

"I've certainly got the time now. I doubt very much Undertaker will let me out of his sight over the next few days." When he wasn't working anyway. Ciel probably wouldn't be, and hopefully a few days away wouldn't do any harm to Funtom.

He couldn't help a soft chuckle at Jason's admission, shaking his head.

"You may enjoy my family name then. We're named, quite literally, a hive of phantoms."

[somakemelaugh]

One step was all he needed and there they were, in the middle of their apartment again. He hadn't been there to turn on the lights, but it wasn't necessary for him to navigate the room he knew so well by now and get them into their shared bedroom. Without a word, he crossed to Ciel's bed and settled the boy over it, placing him down on the sheets with a gentleness that wouldn't seem like something he could manage.

Once the boy was on the mattress and sheets and curled comfortably, he sat down on the edge of the bed himself and set about tucking Ciel in, a gesture that wasn't necessary but he felt it was needed anyway. "You've had quite a rough time of it this past day."

[sweetlies]

He was tired, admittedly, arms wrapped around Undertaker's neck as he took them back to the apartment. When he'd found Ciel in the bookstore, he's been coughing so much that he couldn't recognize or appreciate his ability to just teleport. Now, it was a little strange, being so far and so quickly.

The teen curled easily and comfortably when set on his bed, muscles relaxing instantly with the familiar comfort. It felt strange that this place was already comfortable compared to his own bed in England.

"I'm exhausted. I didn't think I'd have a fit." He watched Undertaker quietly, not quite ready to sleep but neither was he willing to get up. "I wasn't sure you would get Jason's message."

[somakemelaugh]

While Ciel made himself more comfortable, Undertaker sat silent, just watching, listening to his breathing for any signs of a relapse. He trusted the doctor's methods, but he needed to see it working for himself and see it continue to work before he would relax completely, even if it was better already. More than better.

"I happened to have my phone with me. Turns out when I receive some manner of message that he sent me, it makes a strange sound." One hand raised in a dismissive gesture. "You could have died, milord. This world has its ways and its advancements, but how long would it have taken that boy Jason to get you to someone who could help you breathe again?"

Here he was, chiding the Earl, when before he wouldn't have shown as much concern. When he caught himself in it, he turned away and looked toward his own bed, suddenly realizing his own need for rest.

[sweetlies]

It was much easier for him to breathe now, a few lingering wheezes still escaping him as he exhaled but nothing that was dangerous. He was sick though, it would likely linger until he was over whatever he'd caught. And he didn't want to face the idea that he'd put himself in this situation.

It was a little surprising still to see Undertaker's concern so plainly. Yes, he'd noticed the care. No one moved in with someone so suddenly unless they cared at least a bit.

"I know." The words came slowly, voice going a little softer. He could have died, and it brought to mind all of his warnings about his soul and keeping it safe. "It's part of why I asked him to contact you. I knew you'd be able to help."

He'd always been a comfort to him when he'd been smaller. Now that he was older and had learned just what Undertaker was capable of, that he was truly worried for him at times, he became even more of a welcome comfort.

[somakemelaugh]

Oh yes, he needed to rest after this episode, but it would wait. He could hold out a little longer, and if he was honest with himself he wasn't sure that sleep right now would be so wonderful an idea if he thought he would wake a time or two during to check that Ciel was still breathing.

It occurred to him that he really had been afraid for the boy back then, and not without good reason. All was well that ended well though, and he could lean on that for now. The doctor had given them instructions and ways to work with it, with medicines that this world carried in abundance that made asthma all but irrelevant. What an amazing thing. He wondered how far their advancements had gone for other illnesses. "It worked. To think, you didn't need a contract for it either."

[sweetlies]

Oh. Ouch.

The reminder of his contract made him slip an arm out from under the covers to touch his eyepatch. It made him glad no one in the hospital had removed it, that was something neither of them wanted to explain, he was sure. How cross would he butler be if he ever followed his master to Riverview? Finding Ciel settling, running a new business, even making friends-

Soft, like he'd been the day they'd met. Or softer than he'd been in England. For both their reasons, being soft hadn't been an option then. Here, it had become hard not to be. People liked him too easily, he thought.

"That's not fair." His hand clenched and grasped at the blanket. "I had no one else to help me then. I didn't even know where I was."

[somakemelaugh]

Even he doesn't understand what about that brings the smile back to his face, but there it is, light and not at all unhinged as it can be. He'd been a little mean and had a want to back off of it for the time being. "You were young, milord. I understand that well. But I'll not mention it again, not for a while at least."

He reached for the blanket's edge again and brought it up near to the Earl's chin, tucking him one more time to help him calm. "Just rest now. That was then and this is now, and you look like you might do well with a bit of tea in you. That food they gave you looked like the precooked means you used to live on and I don't think I'm wrong in thinking the tea tasted just as well."

[sweetlies]

At the assurance that it wouldn't be mentioned again, and the blanket being tucked up close, he couldn't help but bury his face a little. Unsure how to deal with that. This was a blatantly tender gesture, appreciated but unexpected.

"I had some tea in the bookstore." He hadn't been able to drink much of it though, between a discussion about authors and then his asthma attack. And something now would be welcome, Ciel felt bad about Undertaker having to take care of him again.

"And the food was... bland."

[somakemelaugh]

Blanket tucked in, he sat back to watch the boy nestle into his warm spot and took the response as a want for something to drink. It hadn't been that long since Ciel's last meal, but it was food and drink and better than nothing, whatever it had been. And in truth, it hadn't smelled half bad, but it was a hospital after all. He thought they might take better care of their patients than to feed them junk.

"Then just a cup of something, I suppose. I could use one myself." He shifted and stood, watching Ciel as he did, then turned away, toward the door. "We're not in the coffee shop and I'm not at work, but I'll let you pick what I make and make one myself. What will it be?"

[sweetlies]

It almost made Ciel want to fall asleep but it felt too early still to sleep, he wasn't quite ready to succumb. Even if that had been part of why he was here now, but this time at least, he wouldn't fight too hard when it felt a good time to sleep.

He remained nestled in the blanket for a moment peeking his head back out, looking young, trying not to seem so vulnerable as he had felt, as he had been, in the hospital. And then he shifted to sit up, taking a deep breath.

"Black tea? With honey?" In part he was unsure, a little guilty. "I don't mind helping."

[somakemelaugh]

Black tea, was it? No wonder the boy stayed up at all hours, with the caffeine content in that one. But if it was black tea, it would help his own weariness as well, so he nodded and agreed.

Then he found himself surprised to see Ciel offering assistance. Immediately, he wanted to decline. The boy needed rest, even if he wasn't sleeping through it, but another part of him reasoned that Ciel could now breathe and the bedroom and the kitchen weren't but a few feet apart, as the boy moved, and the hospital was closer the way he himself moved. Though he waffled on it for a minute, ultimately Undertaker released a sigh and nodded. "Not much doing for tea anyway. If you want, you can pick out the bags to use and get the honey out."

[sweetlies]

It would at least keep Ciel up a bit longer, let him form a regular sleep schedule again since he'd already ruined it. And with the agreement, he let himself slip out from under the covers, wishing he'd invested in a housecoat but brushing it aside.

"It's... still less for you to have to do." The teen commented softly, moving to walk behind Undertaker and then moving off in the kitchen to pick out the tea and pull down a jar of honey. Staring at the jar, very quietly, finally:

"I'm sorry if I worried you."