Trying on a New Life (RP for splice-of-life)

[teleparkman]

Matt sat on the edge of the bed, nudging one of his unpacked boxes with his foot. He'd never planned to take over Mohinder's room, and he wasn't going to make anything permanent. Not yet. But the man was right; healing gunshot wounds would have been even less pleasant if he'd been sleeping on the couch

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[splice_of_life]

Mohinder was silent for a moment and, just for a moment, it seemed as if he had fallen asleep. Of course, nothing could ever be so simple for the man laying beside him. "You really are not my usual type." And how to take that?

[teleparkman]

He tensed again, staring up at the ceiling in, if not horror, then something suspiciously like it. This couldn't be happening. Maybe if he just ignored it, it would all go away. Mohinder was out of his mind on pain meds. That had to be it. "Go to sleep, buddy."

[splice_of_life]

"I don't want to go to sleep." Mohinder's usually soft as velvet, purring voice was anything but. It was not that he was being playfully childish, or raising his voice, or pouting. No, nothing as simple. He sounded, if anything, more serious than usual. "I appreciate you. I am trying to inform you of something... Oooh..." He broke off into a string of Hindi, groaning in pain. So much for that one!

[teleparkman]

Matt winced slightly. "Seriously, Mohinder, tell me in the morning."

[splice_of_life]

"Ji ji," Mohinder whispered and the meaning was perfectly clear in his head for Matt to pick up. Yes, yes. Rather than roll over to octopus hug Matt as he had been doing, the Indian moved onto his back, murmuring something that sounded painful before he pulled up the covers and went silent. His mind, however, was anything but. The haze was a mix of languages he knew but the subject seemed the same no matter what. He was thinking about Matt.

[teleparkman]

It was going to be a long night. There was no doubt about that. He felt restless, maybe even sick. And he couldn't block the Indian's thoughts. They were too strong, too emotional. It wasn't what he wanted to hear. He couldn't deal with this shit. When he was pretty sure his friend was asleep, he eased himself out of bed and walked out to the main room to pace.

[splice_of_life]

Mohinder woke only three hours later, the swelling and pain in his face and his back were too much for him to keep still. He rolled over gingerly and frowned when he realized that he was alone. "Matt?" It was just a whisper.

He didn't want to wake Molly after all!

Sliding out of bed, Mohinder paused in the doorway, shadowed, as he watch Matt flick through the channels. He didn't need to read minds to know something was wrong. He just had no idea he was the cause. And his presence, suddenly, next to Matt on the couch didn't help.

[teleparkman]

He'd been so wrapped up in his own problems he hadn't heard Mohinder coming. He flinched away from his sudden presence, eyes widening.

[splice_of_life]

The jostling made Mohinder wince, not that he made any effort to move away. They were hip to hip. While in bed Mohinder might snuggle against his bedmate, usually while out of it, he did not sit so close. "Apologies. Why are you out here?"

[teleparkman]

"I couldn't sleep," he muttered, there being no way in hell he wanted Mohinder to know what he was thinking. He didn't like himself, sometimes, when he reacted like this. But he couldn't help it.

[splice_of_life]

Mohinder was silent for a moment, aware of the tension but unsure of why it was happening. Had he said something? Oh God. Had he thought something? Had he dreamed... The other man got up abruptly, trying to play it off. "If you'd like the bed, I can return to the couch."

[teleparkman]

"Mohinder..." Matt closed his eyes. "Honestly. I just couldn't sleep. I'll come back to be in a few minutes."

[splice_of_life]

Come back to bed.

Mohinder paused and nodded very slowly. That meant that he hadn't done something wrong after all. Matt was not going to shun him. "All right." He went to the bathroom first and spent a long time staring at himself and his face in the mirror. Mohinder was not a narcissistic man at any stretch, though he had never actually felt ugly before in his life.

The bruising. The swelling. The mop of hair. It was depressing. And his thoughts were loud on the subject as he trudged to an annoyingly empty bed.

[teleparkman]

Matt had no trouble hearing them, even from the couch. He knew he couldn't stay there much longer; Mohinder needed him. Needed the comfort of a friend, needed to know someone was there for him. He dragged himself to his feet and went to the bedroom, pausing in the doorway. "The bruises will heal soon, you know."

[splice_of_life]

Right. Mind reader. Mohinder is halfway to bed, crawling into the sheets, when he hears the soft voice of his friend at his back. "I know," he said simply. "They're just quite ugly. Molly will ask questions..." Lies. You're lying Mohinder. The man smiled, which made him wince as he settled back into bed.

[teleparkman]

"You're still petty," he said before he could stop himself. Mohinder was a guy. Guys weren't pretty. And he didn't look at them like that.