closed: dropping in on sebastian. again.
It had been a weird, frustrating sort of week for Reid. Muggles on fire, Witch Weekly break ins, having to actually survive in an environment that didn't come with someone to clean up after him or remind him to eat something that wasn't sodium-packed or liquid and alcoholic/caffeinated
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Sort of.
When there was a knock on his door, he groaned and grumbled, stumbling as he found his feet. He really needed to keep staff on hand at all times to deal with things like doors and chasing visitors away.
It took longer than it should have to cross from the sitting room where he'd set up shop on the sofa through the entrance hall and to the door.
His entire body ached, muscles knotted and sore, a bone deep exhaustion making him lean against the door before pulling it open. He stumbled under the weight of the door, struggling not to groan at the pain pulling it open caused.
When he saw Reid, he let out a breath and leaned against the edge of the door
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He had just turned away when the creak of the door had him spinning back around, a totally uncalled for sort of relief rushing through him - until he actually saw and acknowledged Sebastian's appearance.
"Oh- hi- what the fuck-" Always with the manners and priorities, of course.
He crossed the distance to the door's threshhold, instinctively reaching out, hesitating for just a moment before settling a steadying hand on Sebastian's side.
His eyebrows knitted together as he properly took in the sight of him - uncharacteristically slumped, drawn, and pained-looking, the man looked as if he was properly dying, for fuck's sake.
"Merlin- what the hell happened to you," he muttered, inching in past the door before waiting for an invitation.
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Coughing, he found out about the same time Reid moved closer, just made everything hurt worse.
It took a lot of effort not to wince when Reid touched him, light as it was. Hell, air hurt at this point. Sebastian settled a hand on Reid's shoulder, mostly to make sure he kept his feet when he pushed the door closed behind Reid.
"It was ... kind of a long night." That was properly vague, at least.
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Then he was back on the couch and that was awesome because it meant he didn't have to have any sort of strain on his legs but was also awful because it did nothing for his back.
Again, he wanted to protest that Reid didn't need to be so worried. Honestly. It wasn't a big deal. Sebastian sometimes had bad nights and Reid might want to get used to that, but he was too busy trying to think of a way not to say I turned into a giant wolf last night, it takes some healing time with a headache pounding in his temples and shooting toward his eyes.
Reid's hand was right there, anyway. He tilted his head just a little, nudging against Reid's fingers without even having the energy to complain about that nickname catching.
"This happens sometimes. Really. I'll be fine by tomorrow. Don't get all - " He motioned vaguely at Reid's face. "Crease-y."
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His hand shakily met the nudged approval of Sebastian's head, fingers lightly trailing across his stubbled cheek, thumb brushing against his temple before gently combing through his discheveled hair.
He sat himself down on the floor next to the couch, his face nearly level with Sebastian's.
"'This happens sometimes'? Seriously?" he asked disbelievingly, half-heartedly.
Bloody hell, the guy looked like he was about to croak, and it was supposed to be typical? Reid could hardly even keep up with the questions and speculations stacking up in his head.
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It was kind of nice. Really nice, actually. Even just hearing the concern in Reid's voice made Sebastian's head pound a little less, like something mattered for a change.
"Sometimes, yeah. This isn't even so bad." He cleared his throat again when he caught on the lie of the last line. "Before you ask again, you really don't want the details."
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Most definitely. Yes.
He shook his head slightly, a fond smile managing to work its way past the frown his face has pointedly settled into. "I have no idea what's going on, but you're a damned idiot," he said, his tone more than obviously countering the implied harshness of his words.
Still, he was definitely any idiot if he didn't think Reid would go poking around for the details he clearly wasn't willing to share.
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"Though it wasn't really my fault. If that helps any." It didn't help Sebastian any, but he didn't want Reid to worry about something Sebastian couldn't explain. Not yet. Possibly not ever.
Telling Jemma had been terrifying enough, but that was Jemma. She had the weird inside scoop on basically everything. Reid might be too clever from what Sebastian had seen, but he didn't see how he'd have figured this out. Sebastian wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.
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"Oh, of course. Not really your fault. Clears it all right up, then. Everything must be fine."
Sarcasm was Reid's first line of defense, his automatic guard in whatever situation might call for an emotional barrier of any kind. And it had always served him well.
But even as he spoke, he could feel the warmth of Sebastian's skin as he brushed the pad of his thumb over the sandpaper of his cheek again, could feel those creeping tendrils of something sneaking past his defenses, and that vague feeling of being in some kind of terrible helpless trouble, which he had been dealing from the very first moment of seeing him standing across the room ( ... )
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It seemed to fit, actually. He'd seen Reid get fierce when he'd turned up as Sebastian tried to leave. He imagined keeping something that Reid seemed legitimately concerned about secret wouldn't be easy. Luckily, Sebastian had more practice in that than anything else. Hopefully, Reid wouldn't worm his way in and change that the way he'd managed to change so much else.
He hooked a couple fingers around Reid's when he moved them and would have rolled his eyes if it wouldn't make his head hurt so much.
"But maybe leave this one to the professionals. Don't fall that far down the rabbit hole, right?"
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For now, though, he was more concerned with the sickly tint of Sebastian's skin and the way every small movement he made, however slow and deliberate, still showed up as a twitch of pain on his face.
"Is- is there anything I can do to help? Anything I can get you?" he asked somewhat sheepishly, aware of how both helpless and cheesy he sounded.
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No, i don't need anything. Just sleep and quiet. Considering the tone of his voice and the look on his face, Sebastian was pretty sure Reid would trip over himself to make that happen.
Sebastian didn't want him to leave, though. Reid turning up had been the best kind of distraction and not even in the same way as the rest of their interactions.
"You could come up here, instead of sitting in the floor," he suggested. He was a little touch starved, maybe. That didn't necessarily make sense, but Reid playing with his hair was helping. Sebastian was willing to admit he wanted Reid closer.
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Reid dragged his thumb across Sebastian's cheekbone again, eyebrows scrunching slightly. "You sure?"
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