WCRPS - Wish You Were Here (Bookstore)
Title: Wish You Were Here
Author: angelita26
Rating: PG-13
Characters and/or Pairing: As fictional characters: Matt/Tim, Willie
Warning: Permanent injury of a main character. Violence.
Word Count: ~3300
Summary: Bookstore AU. Matt's mugged While Tim's out of town, so Willie steps in to take care of him.
Notes: Title from the Pink Floyd song. Banner by the amazing kanarek13 and icon by the awesome aragarna.
Matt rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was after eleven, so he should think about heading home soon. Tim had been out of town for the last few days overseeing the development of an art museum in Los Angeles and spending his free time with Alex. Matt missed him horribly, especially at night when their bed felt nothing but cold and empty, so he'd taken to working late at the bookstore.
He shut down the computer and locked up on his way outside. He turned toward home, wishing that Willie's bistro wasn't in the other direction or he'd stop and get something for dinner since he'd technically skipped the meal, but he had some chili in the fridge that he could heat up if he felt like it.
Less than a block from the bookstore, two teenagers stepped out of an alley and blocked the sidewalk. "I don't want any trouble," Matt said and tried to go around them.
One of them stuck a leg out and hooked it around one of Matt's crutches. Matt had already shifted his weight so that he didn't fall. In a smooth motion, he swung his other crutch up as hard as he could and hit the second boy in the crotch, causing the kid to cry out and fall to his knees.
Matt worked hard to keep his balance while the first boy swung both fists at him. He had to let a couple of blows connect and felt something give in his nose, but he pushed the pain away and swung the crutch again, connecting hard with the boy's chest. Matt stumbled but swung again, getting the kid in the head this time. He swung a third time but the boy got a hold of the crutch and tugged hard enough that Matt lost his precarious equilibrium and hit the concrete hard on all fours.
The boy kicked him in the chest and Matt fell to his side, gasping for breath. The other kid was on his feet again and mad as hell. He lashed out, catching Matt hard in the back with what felt like a steel-tipped boot. Matt screamed. While he was dazed and in too much pain to move, the kids took his wallet and cell phone and then they took off across the street, limping but more mobile than Matt.
It took several minutes for Matt to catch his breath. Eventually, he rolled onto his knees and took stock of his body - ribs were bruised at the very least, nose was streaming blood down his chin and onto his shirt, and back was sore but everything was working as well as it did. He crawled across the gritty sidewalk to collect his crutches and used the wall of a building to get himself to his feet.
While he wanted to go home and lick his wounds in private, he made himself go the other direction to Willie's. His friend would be there, even this late at night, and Matt knew when he needed help. This was definitely one of those times.
~~!!~~
Willie took one look at him, handed him a cloth napkin for the blood, eased him into a chair, and went to bring his car around to the curb. Thankfully, the trip to the hospital was short, and Matt was taken back pretty quickly when it was obvious that the bleeding wasn't likely to stop without prompt attention.
Dr. Lapira, a petite woman with surprisingly strong hands set his nose, packed it with gauze to control the bleeding, and sent him off to radiology for x-rays. She had checked him for a concussion as well, but he assured her that he wasn't seeing double nor had a headache. The teen had gotten in a couple of punches, but Matt had had much worse.
When he got back to his ER cubicle, there was a cop waiting with an open notepad to take his statement. Matt bristled at the questions he was asked but gave the officer as much information as he could. He hated that he hadn't been able to really fight back, that he hadn't been able to stop the mugging. There was a time when he wouldn’t have been a victim, and now, thirteen years later, he was still bitter about his limitations when it came to something like this.
Willie was allowed back after the cop left, but Matt was still on edge.
"How are you doing?" Willie asked carefully. He'd winced when he'd first seen Matt's battered face.
"I'm fine. Ready to get out of here."
"I'll take you home whenever that is."
Willie's phone buzzed from his pocket, and he shifted nervously from one foot to the other while avoiding Matt's eyes.
"Willie?" He tried to raise an eyebrow but his face hurt too much. "You didn't tell Tim did you?"
"Tell him? No. Left him a voicemail? That's a little more complicated."
"Willie! There was no reason to tell him. I'm fine, and he's spending time with Alex and working in LA."
"Call me crazy, but if I were your boyfriend, I'd want to know that you were mugged and in the ER."
"You're crazy."
"Ha, ha."' Willie rolled his eyes. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it out to Matt. "Do you want to talk to him or should I?"
Matt snatched the phone out of his hand and swiped his thumb across the screen to return the missed call from Tim. It only rang once before his boyfriend answered, sounding anxious and breathless.
"Willie? Is Matt okay?"
"It's me. I'm fine."
Willie scoffed, and Matt glared at him.
"What happened? The voicemail was kind of scarce on the details."
Matt sighed and looked down at the blanket covering his legs. He hated to do this. Tim would come back to New York on the first flight out, but if he downplayed what happened, Willie would just call him later and tell him. If that happened, Tim would be pissed off when he eventually made it home.
"I worked late on the books, and I was walking home when these two kids came out of an alley. They jumped me and took my wallet and phone."
Tim didn't say anything for a minute, and Matt imagined him pacing back and forth in his hotel room, trying not to explode at him about working late and walking home alone. Finally, in a strained voice, he asked, "Are you okay? Willie's voicemail said you were in the ER."
"I'm waiting for the doctor to release me." It wasn't a lie. She would release him eventually. "My nose is broken, and I have some bruised ribs. No concussion or anything like that. I'll be sore for a while, but I'm fine otherwise."
"I'm coming home."
"No. Please don't do that. You're only going to be there a couple more days, and I don't want you to cut short your time with Alex. I promise you that I'm fine. I'll even let you talk to the doctor, if you want."
Tim sighed. "I don't like this, Matt. I want to be there."
"You will be. Just a couple of days from now. It's not that big of a deal."
Tim was quiet for a moment. "Can I talk to Willie?"
"Okay."
"I love you, Matt. Call me if anything changes."
"I will. Love you too." He closed his eyes when he handed the phone back to Willie. Tim's voice had been soothing, and he now abruptly felt the distance between them. On the one hand, he wished Tim could be here to hold him and talk to the doctor and do all the things he didn't want to do. On the other, he refused to be an obstacle to Tim and Alex spending time together, especially since they saw so little of each other.
He tuned out Willie's half of the phone conversation and worked on reining in his emotions. He was a grown man, and he had no reason to feel scared or upset that his boyfriend wasn't here to hold his hand. No reason at all.
~~!!~~
By the time the doctor released him, with orders to rest and ice his ribs and nose, it was after midnight and Matt was hurting. The drive home was short, but it took both Matt and Willie to get him into the apartment and into the recliner where he would be able to sleep better with his injured ribs. It helped that the recliner smelled like Tim.
Willie got Matt squared away with his medications and a glass of water and then grabbed a blanket and stretched out on the sofa.
"You don't have to stay," Matt said, looking over at his friend.
"No, but I want to. Plus, you're only going to be stiffer and even more sore by the time you need to get up."
Matt conceded that with a wince and a nod. "Thanks, Willie."
"Not necessary, you know that."
A change of subject was in order. "So, what did Tim say? Please tell me he's not on a flight home right now."
"No, but he wants to be. He's understandably upset, and frankly so am I."
"Willie-"
"Why on earth were you walking home by yourself that late at night? We were just talking last week about the rash of robberies and muggings in the area."
"For one thing, I can take care of myself."
Willie scoffed.
"What? You don't think so? Tell me, then, what do you think?"
"I think that you're hurt, and it could have been prevented. That's what I think."
If looks could kill, Matt's glare would have gotten him in so much felony trouble. "How would you have prevented it?"
"You could have called me or Joe or any number of your friends to walk home with you. You could have left the bookstore at eight when it closed, instead of waiting until the riff raff was on the streets. There are other options here, Matt."
Matt tried to sit up straight but fell back with a wince and moan of pain. "I've done the same thing a hundred times before. This was a coincidence. There's no reason to think that it will happen again."
"Don't be naïve."
"Don't be an ass. If you're not going to be quiet, then you can go home and leave me the hell alone."
Willie wasn't going to be thrown out so easily, and Matt didn't really expect him to go. He just wanted to end the conversation.
"Calm down and go to sleep. We can talk about this tomorrow."
"Whatever," Matt muttered. He closed his eyes and willed himself to fall asleep quickly.
He slept poorly, constantly tugged back to conscious by nightmares of the mugging going much worse or by the pain of his injuries. It was a very rough night.
~~!!~~
Matt was barely able to move when he had to get up the next day. He gritted his teeth and let Willie help him out of the recliner and into his wheelchair. After a hot shower, he was feeling a bit more like himself, but his back was aching, which he hadn't realized the night before when his nose and his ribs were warring for attention.
He asked Willie to make a hot compress before his friend started on breakfast.
"Do you want two or three eggs in your omelet?" Willie asked, handing Matt the hot pack wrapped in a dishtowel. Matt situated it where the pain was the worst and settled into his chair in the dining room to watch Willie cook.
"Maybe just one."
Willie narrowed his eyes, shook his head and returned to the kitchen. "So," he said, after a few minutes of silence, "you never told me how your vacation to Vermont went."
"It was good. The B&B was really nice, and the town had a lot of great little shops."
"How was the food?"
Matt smiled despite his physical discomfort. "Not as good as yours, of course, but it wasn't bad. The B&B did an herb roasted turkey dinner that was pretty amazing."
"But did they stuff it with homemade cornbread dressing?"
"They did not."
"They should have."
"I'll leave a note on their comment page."
"Probably a good idea."
Matt was quiet for a few minutes as he listened to bacon sizzling in the pan. "I ran into Taylor."
Willie spun around and stared at him, slack jawed. "How'd that go?"
"Could have been worse. Could have been better. He's a physical therapist for some of the sports teams in the city. He offered to work with me."
"Ah." Willie turned back to the stove.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Matt narrowed his eyes at one of his oldest friends. Willie had never pulled his punches when it came to his opinion, and Matt doubted he would start now. Willie seemed to be taking the time to choose his words.
"I think we should talk about it later, when you're feeling better."
"No, I think we should talk about it now."
"Matt, you're running on about four hours of crappy sleep, and you've got to be in a lot of pain. You've been arguing with me since the hospital yesterday, and I honestly don't want to upset you any more than I seem to have already. Let's talk about it in a week or two."
Matt opened his mouth to respond but snapped it shut abruptly. Willie had a point. He'd been on edge since those teenagers jumped him outside the bookstore, and he wasn't sure when the feeling would go away. Right now, he was frustrated and hurting…and scared.
Neither one of them said anything for a long time. Eventually, Willie set two plates on the table that each held a veggie omelet, a couple of pieces of bacon, and a slice of wheat toast. Then, he poured them both glasses of orange juice and took the seat opposite Matt.
They were halfway through the meal when Matt spoke. "I'm sorry for being such an ass."
Willie waved off the apology. "It's okay. I've seen you far more surly."
Matt cracked a smile and then finished his breakfast. "I think I'm going to try to get some more sleep. Do you need help with the dishes?"
"No, I've got it. Are you going to be okay getting into the recliner?"
"I'm good." Matt stood and shuffled slowly toward the living room, abandoning his wheelchair by the table. It really wasn't that far, and he was feeling a little better now that his meds were kicking in and he'd eaten something.
He was almost to the recliner when the apartment door opened unexpectedly. Matt startled and tried to spin around to face whoever was coming inside, but he lost his footing and fell. The hardwood was unforgiving, and he cried out when the impact reverberated through his body, especially across his ribs and through his back.
"Matt!" Tim's voice barely penetrated the pained fog of his brain, but the hands on his body did.
"No! Stop!" He kicked out, trying to create distance between them. His back seized up, and he cried out again, " Ahhh!"
"Matty, please!"
"Calm down, Matt!" Willie's voice added to the mix, but Matt had to squeeze his eyes shut and breathe through the pain until it started to abate.
When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Tim and Willie crouched down on the floor a few feet away, staring at him with open concern. Both had their hands up in calming gestures.
"What're you doing here?" were the first words out of Matt's mouth. They were directed toward Tim, who wasn't supposed to be home yet.
"Alex talked me into changing my flight. She said that you needed me more than she did but that you owe her big time."
Matt nodded and tried to roll onto his side so that he could get up, but pain flared in his back, burning a line of agony up and down his spine. "Oh, shit," he murmured, stilling all movement.
"Matt? What's wrong?" Willie had moved closer. His hand hovered in the air over Matt's body, frozen while he waited for more information.
"My back hurts."
Willie's eyes widened. "Where?"
Matt carefully gestured to his lower back while he tested the ability to wiggle his fingers and toes. Everything seemed to be working all right. Moving very slowly, he got his hands underneath himself and started to push up onto his knees.
"Whoa!" Tim's hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder. "Stay still for a minute. Get your bearings."
"Let me up," Matt said, pushing Tim's hand away. He couldn't explain it in words; he just needed to get to his feet and prove to himself that everything was okay. The pain was slowly fading to discomfort, so he'd probably strained a muscle or maybe some ligaments.
Realizing that he wasn't in a position to get up by himself, he let Willie and Tim each take a hand and pull him to his feet. He wavered for a moment and then took a few halting steps to the recliner.
"Are you okay?" Tim asked.
"I think so. Everything hurts, so it's kind of hard to tell right now."
"Can we get you anything?" Willie was already handing over a blanket and the pillow Matt had slept with the night before. "Do you want another hot compress?"
"That's probably a good idea. Thanks."
While Willie disappeared back into the kitchen, Tim leaned over to give Matt a kiss, being careful not to touch Matt's bruised nose. "I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't call because I didn't want to disturb you if you were sleeping."
"It's okay." Matt threaded their fingers together to keep Tim close by. His boyfriend kneeled beside the chair and smiled softly at him. "I'm a little jumpy, I guess."
Tim nodded. "How are you doing? Do you need some pain meds?"
"I took some a little while ago."
"Matty, how did this happen? Just looking at you is making my whole body hurt."
Matt shrugged and winced when the motion jarred about a dozen pains. "I've never had any trouble in the neighborhood before, but these two kids were just waiting for someone to walk by that they could take advantage of. It was just my bad luck that it was me."
Tim shook his head and reached out to gently brush Matt's hair away from his eyes. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."
"It was an accident, Tim. Happenstance."
"Matt-"
"No!" Matt grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. He didn't want Tim's mind to wander into guilt territory while he was saying his piece. "This was just a random act of violence. The cops will catch those two kids and everything will be okay. It has to be."
His boyfriend was quiet for a long moment, but they held eye contact. Matt did his best to look as strong and healthy as he could look with the bruises and swelling marring his features.
Finally, Tim took a breath and leaned closer to kiss Matt gently again. "Okay. You should get some rest. We'll talk more later."
Matt nodded and whispered, "Will you sit with me for a little while?"
"Of course." Tim pulled an ottoman over and started to show Matt pictures on his cell from his trip to LA, including his and Alex's trips to the zoo and Universal Studios.
Willie brought Matt the warm compress and said his goodbyes. He promised to check up on Matt in a couple of days and left them to their evening. Tim stayed where he was and told Matt stories about LA until he fell asleep.
~End
Thank you for reading!
Also posted wc-rps and AO3
Author: angelita26
Rating: PG-13
Characters and/or Pairing: As fictional characters: Matt/Tim, Willie
Warning: Permanent injury of a main character. Violence.
Word Count: ~3300
Summary: Bookstore AU. Matt's mugged While Tim's out of town, so Willie steps in to take care of him.
Notes: Title from the Pink Floyd song. Banner by the amazing kanarek13 and icon by the awesome aragarna.
Matt rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was after eleven, so he should think about heading home soon. Tim had been out of town for the last few days overseeing the development of an art museum in Los Angeles and spending his free time with Alex. Matt missed him horribly, especially at night when their bed felt nothing but cold and empty, so he'd taken to working late at the bookstore.
He shut down the computer and locked up on his way outside. He turned toward home, wishing that Willie's bistro wasn't in the other direction or he'd stop and get something for dinner since he'd technically skipped the meal, but he had some chili in the fridge that he could heat up if he felt like it.
Less than a block from the bookstore, two teenagers stepped out of an alley and blocked the sidewalk. "I don't want any trouble," Matt said and tried to go around them.
One of them stuck a leg out and hooked it around one of Matt's crutches. Matt had already shifted his weight so that he didn't fall. In a smooth motion, he swung his other crutch up as hard as he could and hit the second boy in the crotch, causing the kid to cry out and fall to his knees.
Matt worked hard to keep his balance while the first boy swung both fists at him. He had to let a couple of blows connect and felt something give in his nose, but he pushed the pain away and swung the crutch again, connecting hard with the boy's chest. Matt stumbled but swung again, getting the kid in the head this time. He swung a third time but the boy got a hold of the crutch and tugged hard enough that Matt lost his precarious equilibrium and hit the concrete hard on all fours.
The boy kicked him in the chest and Matt fell to his side, gasping for breath. The other kid was on his feet again and mad as hell. He lashed out, catching Matt hard in the back with what felt like a steel-tipped boot. Matt screamed. While he was dazed and in too much pain to move, the kids took his wallet and cell phone and then they took off across the street, limping but more mobile than Matt.
It took several minutes for Matt to catch his breath. Eventually, he rolled onto his knees and took stock of his body - ribs were bruised at the very least, nose was streaming blood down his chin and onto his shirt, and back was sore but everything was working as well as it did. He crawled across the gritty sidewalk to collect his crutches and used the wall of a building to get himself to his feet.
While he wanted to go home and lick his wounds in private, he made himself go the other direction to Willie's. His friend would be there, even this late at night, and Matt knew when he needed help. This was definitely one of those times.
~~!!~~
Willie took one look at him, handed him a cloth napkin for the blood, eased him into a chair, and went to bring his car around to the curb. Thankfully, the trip to the hospital was short, and Matt was taken back pretty quickly when it was obvious that the bleeding wasn't likely to stop without prompt attention.
Dr. Lapira, a petite woman with surprisingly strong hands set his nose, packed it with gauze to control the bleeding, and sent him off to radiology for x-rays. She had checked him for a concussion as well, but he assured her that he wasn't seeing double nor had a headache. The teen had gotten in a couple of punches, but Matt had had much worse.
When he got back to his ER cubicle, there was a cop waiting with an open notepad to take his statement. Matt bristled at the questions he was asked but gave the officer as much information as he could. He hated that he hadn't been able to really fight back, that he hadn't been able to stop the mugging. There was a time when he wouldn’t have been a victim, and now, thirteen years later, he was still bitter about his limitations when it came to something like this.
Willie was allowed back after the cop left, but Matt was still on edge.
"How are you doing?" Willie asked carefully. He'd winced when he'd first seen Matt's battered face.
"I'm fine. Ready to get out of here."
"I'll take you home whenever that is."
Willie's phone buzzed from his pocket, and he shifted nervously from one foot to the other while avoiding Matt's eyes.
"Willie?" He tried to raise an eyebrow but his face hurt too much. "You didn't tell Tim did you?"
"Tell him? No. Left him a voicemail? That's a little more complicated."
"Willie! There was no reason to tell him. I'm fine, and he's spending time with Alex and working in LA."
"Call me crazy, but if I were your boyfriend, I'd want to know that you were mugged and in the ER."
"You're crazy."
"Ha, ha."' Willie rolled his eyes. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it out to Matt. "Do you want to talk to him or should I?"
Matt snatched the phone out of his hand and swiped his thumb across the screen to return the missed call from Tim. It only rang once before his boyfriend answered, sounding anxious and breathless.
"Willie? Is Matt okay?"
"It's me. I'm fine."
Willie scoffed, and Matt glared at him.
"What happened? The voicemail was kind of scarce on the details."
Matt sighed and looked down at the blanket covering his legs. He hated to do this. Tim would come back to New York on the first flight out, but if he downplayed what happened, Willie would just call him later and tell him. If that happened, Tim would be pissed off when he eventually made it home.
"I worked late on the books, and I was walking home when these two kids came out of an alley. They jumped me and took my wallet and phone."
Tim didn't say anything for a minute, and Matt imagined him pacing back and forth in his hotel room, trying not to explode at him about working late and walking home alone. Finally, in a strained voice, he asked, "Are you okay? Willie's voicemail said you were in the ER."
"I'm waiting for the doctor to release me." It wasn't a lie. She would release him eventually. "My nose is broken, and I have some bruised ribs. No concussion or anything like that. I'll be sore for a while, but I'm fine otherwise."
"I'm coming home."
"No. Please don't do that. You're only going to be there a couple more days, and I don't want you to cut short your time with Alex. I promise you that I'm fine. I'll even let you talk to the doctor, if you want."
Tim sighed. "I don't like this, Matt. I want to be there."
"You will be. Just a couple of days from now. It's not that big of a deal."
Tim was quiet for a moment. "Can I talk to Willie?"
"Okay."
"I love you, Matt. Call me if anything changes."
"I will. Love you too." He closed his eyes when he handed the phone back to Willie. Tim's voice had been soothing, and he now abruptly felt the distance between them. On the one hand, he wished Tim could be here to hold him and talk to the doctor and do all the things he didn't want to do. On the other, he refused to be an obstacle to Tim and Alex spending time together, especially since they saw so little of each other.
He tuned out Willie's half of the phone conversation and worked on reining in his emotions. He was a grown man, and he had no reason to feel scared or upset that his boyfriend wasn't here to hold his hand. No reason at all.
~~!!~~
By the time the doctor released him, with orders to rest and ice his ribs and nose, it was after midnight and Matt was hurting. The drive home was short, but it took both Matt and Willie to get him into the apartment and into the recliner where he would be able to sleep better with his injured ribs. It helped that the recliner smelled like Tim.
Willie got Matt squared away with his medications and a glass of water and then grabbed a blanket and stretched out on the sofa.
"You don't have to stay," Matt said, looking over at his friend.
"No, but I want to. Plus, you're only going to be stiffer and even more sore by the time you need to get up."
Matt conceded that with a wince and a nod. "Thanks, Willie."
"Not necessary, you know that."
A change of subject was in order. "So, what did Tim say? Please tell me he's not on a flight home right now."
"No, but he wants to be. He's understandably upset, and frankly so am I."
"Willie-"
"Why on earth were you walking home by yourself that late at night? We were just talking last week about the rash of robberies and muggings in the area."
"For one thing, I can take care of myself."
Willie scoffed.
"What? You don't think so? Tell me, then, what do you think?"
"I think that you're hurt, and it could have been prevented. That's what I think."
If looks could kill, Matt's glare would have gotten him in so much felony trouble. "How would you have prevented it?"
"You could have called me or Joe or any number of your friends to walk home with you. You could have left the bookstore at eight when it closed, instead of waiting until the riff raff was on the streets. There are other options here, Matt."
Matt tried to sit up straight but fell back with a wince and moan of pain. "I've done the same thing a hundred times before. This was a coincidence. There's no reason to think that it will happen again."
"Don't be naïve."
"Don't be an ass. If you're not going to be quiet, then you can go home and leave me the hell alone."
Willie wasn't going to be thrown out so easily, and Matt didn't really expect him to go. He just wanted to end the conversation.
"Calm down and go to sleep. We can talk about this tomorrow."
"Whatever," Matt muttered. He closed his eyes and willed himself to fall asleep quickly.
He slept poorly, constantly tugged back to conscious by nightmares of the mugging going much worse or by the pain of his injuries. It was a very rough night.
~~!!~~
Matt was barely able to move when he had to get up the next day. He gritted his teeth and let Willie help him out of the recliner and into his wheelchair. After a hot shower, he was feeling a bit more like himself, but his back was aching, which he hadn't realized the night before when his nose and his ribs were warring for attention.
He asked Willie to make a hot compress before his friend started on breakfast.
"Do you want two or three eggs in your omelet?" Willie asked, handing Matt the hot pack wrapped in a dishtowel. Matt situated it where the pain was the worst and settled into his chair in the dining room to watch Willie cook.
"Maybe just one."
Willie narrowed his eyes, shook his head and returned to the kitchen. "So," he said, after a few minutes of silence, "you never told me how your vacation to Vermont went."
"It was good. The B&B was really nice, and the town had a lot of great little shops."
"How was the food?"
Matt smiled despite his physical discomfort. "Not as good as yours, of course, but it wasn't bad. The B&B did an herb roasted turkey dinner that was pretty amazing."
"But did they stuff it with homemade cornbread dressing?"
"They did not."
"They should have."
"I'll leave a note on their comment page."
"Probably a good idea."
Matt was quiet for a few minutes as he listened to bacon sizzling in the pan. "I ran into Taylor."
Willie spun around and stared at him, slack jawed. "How'd that go?"
"Could have been worse. Could have been better. He's a physical therapist for some of the sports teams in the city. He offered to work with me."
"Ah." Willie turned back to the stove.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Matt narrowed his eyes at one of his oldest friends. Willie had never pulled his punches when it came to his opinion, and Matt doubted he would start now. Willie seemed to be taking the time to choose his words.
"I think we should talk about it later, when you're feeling better."
"No, I think we should talk about it now."
"Matt, you're running on about four hours of crappy sleep, and you've got to be in a lot of pain. You've been arguing with me since the hospital yesterday, and I honestly don't want to upset you any more than I seem to have already. Let's talk about it in a week or two."
Matt opened his mouth to respond but snapped it shut abruptly. Willie had a point. He'd been on edge since those teenagers jumped him outside the bookstore, and he wasn't sure when the feeling would go away. Right now, he was frustrated and hurting…and scared.
Neither one of them said anything for a long time. Eventually, Willie set two plates on the table that each held a veggie omelet, a couple of pieces of bacon, and a slice of wheat toast. Then, he poured them both glasses of orange juice and took the seat opposite Matt.
They were halfway through the meal when Matt spoke. "I'm sorry for being such an ass."
Willie waved off the apology. "It's okay. I've seen you far more surly."
Matt cracked a smile and then finished his breakfast. "I think I'm going to try to get some more sleep. Do you need help with the dishes?"
"No, I've got it. Are you going to be okay getting into the recliner?"
"I'm good." Matt stood and shuffled slowly toward the living room, abandoning his wheelchair by the table. It really wasn't that far, and he was feeling a little better now that his meds were kicking in and he'd eaten something.
He was almost to the recliner when the apartment door opened unexpectedly. Matt startled and tried to spin around to face whoever was coming inside, but he lost his footing and fell. The hardwood was unforgiving, and he cried out when the impact reverberated through his body, especially across his ribs and through his back.
"Matt!" Tim's voice barely penetrated the pained fog of his brain, but the hands on his body did.
"No! Stop!" He kicked out, trying to create distance between them. His back seized up, and he cried out again, " Ahhh!"
"Matty, please!"
"Calm down, Matt!" Willie's voice added to the mix, but Matt had to squeeze his eyes shut and breathe through the pain until it started to abate.
When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Tim and Willie crouched down on the floor a few feet away, staring at him with open concern. Both had their hands up in calming gestures.
"What're you doing here?" were the first words out of Matt's mouth. They were directed toward Tim, who wasn't supposed to be home yet.
"Alex talked me into changing my flight. She said that you needed me more than she did but that you owe her big time."
Matt nodded and tried to roll onto his side so that he could get up, but pain flared in his back, burning a line of agony up and down his spine. "Oh, shit," he murmured, stilling all movement.
"Matt? What's wrong?" Willie had moved closer. His hand hovered in the air over Matt's body, frozen while he waited for more information.
"My back hurts."
Willie's eyes widened. "Where?"
Matt carefully gestured to his lower back while he tested the ability to wiggle his fingers and toes. Everything seemed to be working all right. Moving very slowly, he got his hands underneath himself and started to push up onto his knees.
"Whoa!" Tim's hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder. "Stay still for a minute. Get your bearings."
"Let me up," Matt said, pushing Tim's hand away. He couldn't explain it in words; he just needed to get to his feet and prove to himself that everything was okay. The pain was slowly fading to discomfort, so he'd probably strained a muscle or maybe some ligaments.
Realizing that he wasn't in a position to get up by himself, he let Willie and Tim each take a hand and pull him to his feet. He wavered for a moment and then took a few halting steps to the recliner.
"Are you okay?" Tim asked.
"I think so. Everything hurts, so it's kind of hard to tell right now."
"Can we get you anything?" Willie was already handing over a blanket and the pillow Matt had slept with the night before. "Do you want another hot compress?"
"That's probably a good idea. Thanks."
While Willie disappeared back into the kitchen, Tim leaned over to give Matt a kiss, being careful not to touch Matt's bruised nose. "I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't call because I didn't want to disturb you if you were sleeping."
"It's okay." Matt threaded their fingers together to keep Tim close by. His boyfriend kneeled beside the chair and smiled softly at him. "I'm a little jumpy, I guess."
Tim nodded. "How are you doing? Do you need some pain meds?"
"I took some a little while ago."
"Matty, how did this happen? Just looking at you is making my whole body hurt."
Matt shrugged and winced when the motion jarred about a dozen pains. "I've never had any trouble in the neighborhood before, but these two kids were just waiting for someone to walk by that they could take advantage of. It was just my bad luck that it was me."
Tim shook his head and reached out to gently brush Matt's hair away from his eyes. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."
"It was an accident, Tim. Happenstance."
"Matt-"
"No!" Matt grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. He didn't want Tim's mind to wander into guilt territory while he was saying his piece. "This was just a random act of violence. The cops will catch those two kids and everything will be okay. It has to be."
His boyfriend was quiet for a long moment, but they held eye contact. Matt did his best to look as strong and healthy as he could look with the bruises and swelling marring his features.
Finally, Tim took a breath and leaned closer to kiss Matt gently again. "Okay. You should get some rest. We'll talk more later."
Matt nodded and whispered, "Will you sit with me for a little while?"
"Of course." Tim pulled an ottoman over and started to show Matt pictures on his cell from his trip to LA, including his and Alex's trips to the zoo and Universal Studios.
Willie brought Matt the warm compress and said his goodbyes. He promised to check up on Matt in a couple of days and left them to their evening. Tim stayed where he was and told Matt stories about LA until he fell asleep.
~End
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