FIC: King of Pain (Thunderheart, Ray/Walter, PG)
Title: King of Pain
Rating/Genre: PG, hurt/comfort (kind of)
Word count: 300
Warnings: Off screen brutality
Summary: Crow Horse has a problem with Ray going undercover.
Author’s Notes: Written for slashthedrabble Round 344: Police song lyrics. The song in question is King of Pain.
Crow Horse pretended to sleep, peeking up through his eyelashes in the dark room. He watched Ray's silhouette stripping in the corner of the room, backlit by the harvest moon coming through the window blinds. The muscles of Ray's shoulders rolled beneath his skin, beneath the thick padded bandage that smelled, Crow Horse knew, like copper and anesthetic.
Ray padded barefoot across the worn wood floors to the bed. The mattress dipped with Ray's weight, shifting Crow Horse a few inches into the center of the bed, a few inches toward Ray.
“Faker,” Ray said.
Crow Horse forced a loud snore. Ray rolled his eyes.
“I know you're awake,” he said.
“You do not,” Crow Horse said.
Ray shook his head. He started laying himself down, flinching when his bad shoulder hit the pillow. Crow Horse ran his fingers lightly over Ray's bicep.
“Happy you're home,” Crow Horse said.
Ray smiled. “Me too.”
This close, Crow Horse could see the freckles on the bridge of Ray's nose. And the way the deep purple bruise beneath his eye was darker on the bone line.
“I'm gonna give that handler of yours a call,” Crow Horse said, “tell him to keep a better eye on my boy.”
“It's not his fault,” Ray said. “Sometimes you get hurt working undercover. It's part of the job.”
“It's some bullshit is what it is,” Crow Horse said.
Ray closed his eyes, nuzzling his pillow. Crow Horse sighed, and tried to urge his own weary bones to sleep. It was hard going. Ray's breath began to deepen and slow; Crow Horse's mind played on loop. The way Ray's eye got like that. What had happened to his shoulder.
Crow Horse would have sworn, but that would have woken Ray.