damned_institute | Day 32: Intercom, Evening

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Day 32: Intercom, Evening

The intercom clicked on and the Head Doctor spoke with his usual fervor.

"Good evening, patients and staff! I am pleased to announce that the arrival of nearly all of our new patients will conclude this shift. In addition, we have a very delicious dinner in store for you: carved Turkey with a side of mashed potatoes and steamed, seasoned vegetables. For drinks, we have our usual assortment available, and as a dessert included with your dinner, we will be serving a slice of warm apple pie with each meal.

"I trust that those of you enjoying the company of new roommates will give them a warm Landel's welcome, and I also hope that those of you who participated in therapy today were able to find a productive time with their doctors.

"That's all for now! Enjoy dinner, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off again.

[ Please respond to this post with all dinner shift threads between roommate, putting your character's respective room in the subject line. While we have none scheduled for this shift at this time: all introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post; the introduction may then continue on to be a regular roommate thread. ]

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"No!" Artemis said immediately. "That's not it, not at all, Haku!

"What is terrifying me is..." He paused, unsure of what to say. How to go about this? "What is terrifying me is how... how much I like you. Yes, I've changed, but this change is one that was no doubt a blessing from whatever powers that be." Artemis took Haku's sleeve again, tugging it lightly. "You have no idea. The thoughts that I think. I would be struck dead on the spot should such things become public.

"But the other things... following orders obediently, not formulating plans of my own, turning to the Captain for every little thing. I'm no longer the person I used to be--this place has changed me into something so far from what I am, I may as well be a girl by now.

"And I don't know how to go back. I'm lost, and I feel as though the only thing I can hang onto... is you. And I'm scared that I'll scare you, and you'll run."

Haku smiled and the expression chased away some of the worry that had settled into his eyes.

"Artemis, for all that you know, all that you've seen and done and been before this place... You are still young and still human. You're going to change as you settle into something that feels right to you, and you'll find that you've made choices that fit and ones that don't. This place changes everyone," he went on. "It's changed you, Zabuza-san, the people I knew from before, and even myself. In a place like this, to go back to how you were before... couldbe fatal."

He tugged Artemis closer, mindful of his still sore injuries, and smiled again.

"Something that you can count on here though, is no matter what you do, or say, I will be here with you as long as I breathe."

Artemis listened to what Haku had to say, and slowly came to accept that what Haku was saying was true. Human beings change--especially when placed in situations of extreme discomfort. What had Renji said? The only thing he could count on was change, and he could fight the change as much as he liked, but it was still there.

And the truth was, aside from the good-little-soldier role, he liked who he was becoming. He had friends, he had people he'd stick his neck out for, he had people he respected. He was still a force to be reckoned with, and his tongue hadn't lost any of its bite. Maybe... just maybe... being warm was okay.

Artemis seized hold of his insides and drummed up his courage. Mimicking what he'd seen Schuldig do, Artemis gently nuzzled Haku's ear affectionately.

"I can, and will, make the same promise to you."

Laughing softly, Haku turned towards the hesitant affection. "Thank you," he said. "Just keep both promises in mind when you start to feel adrift and you should be at least a bit better off."

He wondered where Artemis, shy and stumbling in a sweet way, had picked up some of the things he did, like the nuzzling, but he also wondered if it would be impolite to ask. He liked the shows of affection very much, he was simply curious.

"I will, I promise. If I have you to keep reminding me of those two things, I should be better off. I feel better off, at least."

In normal circumstances, for example, Artemis wouldn't have dared to bear his soul to any person he hadn't known for very long. He knew he was open and vulnerable, but part of him pushed the rational side of him down and urged him to keep going.

...he just didn't know where to go from here. Schuldig had spoke in Yohji's ear, and the other man had seemed to like it. Maybe he could try that and see what happened?

He leaned in to Haku's ear and whispered, "The same goes for you, of course. If you need me, I'm always right here. Always."

This felt rather awkward...

Haku laughed and turned his head away. "Ah, that tickled." Reaching up he tapped on Artemis' nose lightly and smiled.

"You know, not very many people get that close to me and get off with anything less than a broken nose." A reminder that for all his kindness and the gentle smile he wore, Haku was still a trained killer. "Where on earth are you picking this stuff up?"

He liked the closeness, but this didn't really seem like Artemis... and if the boy was under some strange impression about him or had been reading one too many of those sorts of books.... well, He'd have to set the other boy straight.

Well, that had an instant cooling effect on Artemis' actions. The boy pulled away slightly, looking a little confused.

"It's just... well, my friend Schuldig did these sorts of things to his partner--" And quite a bit more, at that... "--and I thought that was what one normally did to express affection." He looked uneasy. "Are you going to break my nose now? Did I do something wrong? Did it not feel nice?"

Haku shook his head. "Oh, no. I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled.

"There are plenty of different ways of showing affection," Haku said. "That's one of them, but ... something like that is usually reserved mostly for lovers or people with a more intimate relationship. There are exceptions of course..." He was remembering what he'd seen as a small boy, and while growing up in the Land of Water.

"I like it when you're close though, so no. You didn't do anything wrong. Just ... unexpected."

"Oh..." Artemis' face went very red. Well, this was an embarrassing situation. Why in the name of Frond did he take relationship advice from Schuldig of all people? That was like a one-way ticket to A World of Pain.

"I just... thought that since we've kissed that we had a relationship like theirs. I'm still getting used to this, so you'll have to forgive me." Artemis laid his head on Haku's shoulder again, gently of course, and with a bit more restraint.

"Once the night comes, I can heal you. I'd like to, if you'd let me."

"We're close," he said, wanting to reassure his friend. "Very close."

Thinking for a moment as Artemis rested against him, Haku ran over what he knew. Artemis was getting information from people he didn't know, but that were in a relationship of some sort; Artemis had abilities he hadn't known about until now; and finally, Artemis was most likly interested in a deeper relationship, but his age and lack of experiance made him awkward.

Shifting slightly in his bed, a cool hand on his cheek, Haku moved Artemis' head up and lightly kissed him. Pulling back and smiling warmly, he shook his head. "I know that the use of power here can hurt the one using it. I will be fine, but thank you. Really."

This was completely and totally unfair. Artemis' mind went completely to mush whenever Haku did that. He nearly didn't have the will to argue with him.

Nearly.

"It doesn't hurt me. It's just difficult to get going sometimes." He conveniently left out the part about it being drained every time he used it. Artemis figured that would only make Haku refuse again. "Please. I don't like seeing you in pain when I can help..."

Stubborn. Haku smiled again and bowed his head.

"I'm not in pain," he said after a long pause. "Not physical pain at least." He looked up, and though he was still smiling, his expression was slightly sad. "Having the physical marks though, distract me from the things I saw and felt while ... they were being given to me." He reached up and ghosted fingers over the bruise at his neck. Strange... the closer nightfall got, the more sore the marks became. He wondered if they were getting darker and easier to see as well.

"But, really. I'm very grateful for your offer." He smiled again. "I would rather you save your skills for something more important."

"Like what?" His sharp tone of voice indicated that this was not a question. "What could be more important to me? What could possibly be more important than relieving your pain? Both forms of it..."

He paused, watching Haku examine his wounds. "What's hurting you, Haku? If not the wounds, what?"

"Someone that is dying, that you could save, is much more important than older wounds." Haku's voice was gentle.

He looked down at his wrists, weighing the wisdom of telling Artemis. He should. The boy ... was his best friend, and at the moment, the only thing keeping him alive. "Fear. Fear is hurting me Artemis. It's not my fear, but at the same time, it is. I was ... forced to see and experience things I have yet to understand. Having a physical reminder let's me know I didn't imagine what happened."

Artemis nearly disagreed with that point, but he kept his mouth shut. A stranger was a stranger, and while he would gladly help someone who asked for it, Haku was... much more important.

"But in that case, wouldn't it be best to just forget?" Artemis asked, gently raising his hand to Haku's neck. "Out of sight, out of mind. You won't have to be frightened anymore, if you forget. You've always helped me, I want to help you. But I can only do it if you let me."

He looked Haku in the eyes, obviously still not understanding why Haku would want to do something as silly as keeping his wounds. He could help, Artemis just wasn't sure how exactly to go about it.

Haku smiled again. "I can't forget. That's the point. Everytime I close my eyes, I can see the ritual. Over and over again. Without a physical reminder, I would feel as though I was going insane. Without something to look at, I would think I was a coward. It's pathetic to be so frightened of something as small as that, but even the dull ache is welcome."

This time, he drew Artemis closer to himself and took his turn lightly nuzzling the other boy's ear. "I am fine, but your concern makes me very happy."

Artemis looked slightly repulsed at the idea of Haku constantly seeing something that caused him emotional trauma. Of course, in this situation, he couldn't do anything except let Haku recover in the best way he knew how. If that meant that Artemis had to sit there and watch... then he would have to sit there and watch. It was as simple as that.

"I-I don't think you're a coward," Artemis stammered, trying to get his point across through the fresh wave of affection. He had been right--it was rather nice. "It's natural to... to withdraw from what will hurt you. It's a human reaction. Of course you've been instructed to perform tasks outside the range of 'normal', but..." He was rambling now. His face was red and he was rambling. Blast his hormones. Blast them.

Haku laughed softly, bringing his arms up to gently hug Artemis, being careful of the broken arm.

"Thank you," he said. "And, no. By your standards I'm not 'normal'." He pulled back slightly. "I hope that doesn't bother you too much?" Time to steer the conversation away from himself.

Artemis shook his head lightly, "No, of course not. If 'outside normal' bothered me, I'd be a very different person and I wouldn't associate with the people I do."

He paused and looked sideways at Haku, "You're changing the subject, and doing it in a rather dastardly manner, I'll have you know."

Haku laughed again at that. "You're catching on. I can see I'll have to work a bit harder now."

Haku wasn't overly fond of dwelling on himself. He never really had, and the only other person he really talked to about himself had been Naruto-kun... and look where that had gotten him.

"Well I'm not one for making things easy on anyone," Artemis said with a hint of cruel pleasure. It was what he did, after all: make other people's lives uncomfortable. At least, the ones he didn't like.

"So I've noticed," Haku said, a smile on his face. "But while you may be good at that, I've known people that are much harder on people than you." And the subject was already turning to other things.

"Oh is that right?" Artemis said, feigning being indignant. "I'd like to meet the person who can give me a run for my money in that department."

He was silent for a moment, thinking. He spoke a great deal concerning his own life and outlook, but on further insight, realized that he didn't know a great deal about Haku. Friends were supposed to know these kinds of things, weren't they?

"Haku?" Artemis asked, "If you could have one thing right now, what would it be?" He smiled.

"I'd introduce you, but most of them are dead." His voice was still light and teasing.

The question surprised him and he blinked. "I... I don't know." Nobody had ever asked him that. He wanted a lot of things, but he didn't think he had the right to actually talk about any of them. He wanted to know if Zabuza-san was alright. He wanted to have Zabuza-san, Artemis and, on a selfish note, himself, safe and away from here. But if he had no idea how to express something like that.

"Oh," Artemis' smile turned a bit strange. "I'm... sorry." The issue of death seemed to loom quite often when around Haku, didn't it?

The boy looked thoughtful for a moment, not at all surprised that Haku didn't know what he wanted at that particular moment. "Well, as for me, I'd really love some tea right now. Tea and a warm bed sounds absolutely lovely," he sighed happily.

Day 32: Intercom, Evening

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