Before: Coping

[sliceitwithwind]

Ansem's new apprentice has been part of the team for three weeks, two days, six hours, and fourteen minutes.

In that time he has managed to screw up four experiments, three desks, five computers, and Dilan's filing system.

Dilan is in the labs several hours before he's expecting anyone else to even be awake (the sun isn't due for another hour),

Comments

[thinkitwithguns]

When Dilan didn't go home with him the previous night... Well, that happens all the time, and sometimes he's the one who stays late, so it's no big fucking deal.

When he woke up in the middle of the night for a piss and a snack... Still no big deal, 'cause it wasn't that late, and who the fuck knew? Maybe Dilan went to one of the girlfriends.

When he woke up again, and Dilan still wasn't home, and none of the girlfriends had seen him (Braig checked)... Then it was time to get his ass out of bed and go back to work, and turns out it's a good thing he did, too.

"Dude. You never came home last night," he says from just inside the door, leaning back against the frame.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Huh?" Dilan turns his head to look at Braig, cleaning items still in his hands. He'd have dark circles under his eyes if his skin was pale enough to show them, and they are bloodshot. "Oh. No. I haven't left yet."

[thinkitwithguns]

Braig frowns at him.

"Dude. Not. Fucking. Cool. Come on," he says. "Before I have to go in there and like, drag your ass out."

[sliceitwithwind]

"He trashed it again, Braig." Dilan says helplessly, "Moved all the tables around, fussed with my things, paged through reports he has no need to see and left them scattered - I need to fix it."

[thinkitwithguns]

"Dilan, dude, look around. Things aren't just 'fixed,' man, they're fucking crystallized. And I meant what I said before, you know. I can totally kick the shit out of that self-centered jerkoff, and he'd never know it was me."

Braig shifts, slouching in a slightly different direction, one that Dilan might recognize as approaching his 'pissed off' posture.

[sliceitwithwind]

"It doesn't feel clean." Dilan mutters, scrubbing at his face with one hand. The hand contains a rag full of cleaning chemicals, and his hands are red and raw from the amount of them he's used all night. "I know. But it's still."

He sighs deeply, shuddering.

[thinkitwithguns]

Braig's frown deepens, and he crosses the room to take the rag away.

"Dude, you're putting it in your face."

The again goes unstated.

"If you're gonna do this shit, wear fucking gloves. You know it's like, a hazard right? And I'm so not letting you near the biochem labs with your hands like that, right? Right?"

[sliceitwithwind]

He glances at his hands as though he honestly hadn't seen them before this and frowns, "I have work to do, Braig. We all have work to do."

[thinkitwithguns]

"Which you won't get done if you keep tearing yourself up. Now come on," he says, taking Dilan's hand, and starting back out of the room. "You're gonna get something to eat. I'm taking you to that place, you know, the one with like, the super-fruity waffles. And then you're gonna take a shower, and scrub those chemicals off, man, because seriously, they smell rank. And then? You are going. To. Bed. And you're gonna sleep, if I have to get all the girlfriends to help me sit on you."

[sliceitwithwind]

He winches a little bit at the hand around his hand, but wraps his fingers around the smaller man's and nods, "Okay. Although sugaring me up probably won't help me sleep, dude."

[thinkitwithguns]

"I'm counting on the crash afterwards," Braig says with a grin.

[sliceitwithwind]

"I think I'm running on the caffeine." Dilan mutters softly, running a hand over his dreads and then grimacing at the contact with the raw patches.

[thinkitwithguns]

"That's why I'm gonna feed you first," Braig points out, as he continues to lead Dilan out of the labs, and towards the place with the fruity waffles.

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan wraps his arm around Braig's shoulders, as much for the support as for the contact, and says, "What would I do without you?"

[thinkitwithguns]

"Drive yourself crazier," Braig replies promptly.

[sliceitwithwind]

That gets a softly huffed laugh and a nod, "Okay, point taken. Are you going to go in after I go to sleep?" it's slightly wistful.