[ It's— horrible. Each passing second worse than the last as he grips Tony firm, works to oppose his bids to get clear, his urging pleas. One tube pulls free of his body and Stephen pays no mind to the way its contents spill over bedsheets, trail a line down the leg of his pants as he lets it drop to the floor, focus on stemming the bleed that itself seems only halfheartedly interested in spreading through the cloth packed against the wound.
And then the fight goes out of Tony entirely. And that's almost worse. Stephen's focus raises to his face as he speaks in a voice that sounds so helpless, so lost, that he almost yearns to force the tube back in beneath his skin to let him find some peace.
But the itching is coming back. And it's a symptom of something neither one of them understands yet. He can't let himself get caught up in the delusion - he can't. A fresh red band moves to replace his hand clamping down over the cloth, and with a brief snatch of clarity Stephen clamps the remaining tubes with the same method. Stops the flow.
Then his freed hand is a cradle for Tony's head, fingers through damp hair and palm a cushion for his skull, thumb hooked around an ear with its pad pressed to his cheekbone. ]
I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you, Tony. It's always worse before it's better. You have to let me help.
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Date: 2024-07-15 10:56 pm (UTC)And then the fight goes out of Tony entirely. And that's almost worse. Stephen's focus raises to his face as he speaks in a voice that sounds so helpless, so lost, that he almost yearns to force the tube back in beneath his skin to let him find some peace.
But the itching is coming back. And it's a symptom of something neither one of them understands yet. He can't let himself get caught up in the delusion - he can't. A fresh red band moves to replace his hand clamping down over the cloth, and with a brief snatch of clarity Stephen clamps the remaining tubes with the same method. Stops the flow.
Then his freed hand is a cradle for Tony's head, fingers through damp hair and palm a cushion for his skull, thumb hooked around an ear with its pad pressed to his cheekbone. ]
I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you, Tony. It's always worse before it's better. You have to let me help.