(no subject)

[nicotinized]

The first thing Toshi was aware of, in a vague, almost-still-asleep sort of way, was that he was uncomfortable. He shifted, hoping it would be more comfortable and he could slip back into the embrace of sleep. Instead, it sent a spike of pain through him and he was far more decidedly awake, much to his misfortune. He still hurt, and he could actually remember why. Some inconsiderate asshole had shot him. And even if he'd missed the most important bits - heart, lungs, major arteries - getting shot still hurt like hell.

He tried to shift again, and gave up with a hiss of pain. "Fuck."

Comments

[nicotinized]

There was something about the way Souji said that that reminded Toshi of the fine scars he knew crisscrossed Souji's body under his clothing - ones that were neat and deliberate, in contrast to Toshi's own ragged ones. They had an implicit understanding that Toshi did not ask about them, didn't ask what he had condoned with his silence - but it did make him reconsider how much of a grouch he was being.

He was silent for a moment, analyzing how he felt other than the pain. "Food," he finally said. "And maybe a shower."

[inexecution]

"I can make something... do you want soup or oatmeal?" Those seemed easy enough to eat and digest, and more importantly, were in the range of his cooking skills, which largely amounted to 'add hot water.' The shower he was a little more skeptical on, but they could work out the logistics of all that once Hijikata had eaten something.

[nicotinized]

Toshi considered the two options for a moment. "Mm. Oatmeal - with a little bit of brown sugar if we still have some." That would be more filling than soup, probably. "And... some coffee?" The request came out a little more pleadingly hopeful than he'd intended, but he was pretty sure that was on the list of things someone who'd just ruptured several internal organs wasn't supposed to have.

[inexecution]

"Some coffee." Because while it was probably not totally advisable, he couldn't completely deny him. If he started asking for cigarettes, on the other hand... "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Thankfully 'oatmeal and coffee' was a pretty fool-proof order, and it wasn't long at all before he came back bearing both, which he set aside on the nightstand for the moment. "Do you need any help sitting up?" Knowing Hijikata, the answer to that would be 'no' even if it should be 'yes,' but at least he'd done his job in asking.

[nicotinized]

While Souji had been gone, Toshi had made another attempt to pull himself upright. He'd gained a few inches of altitude on his pillow, messed up his hair even more than it had been already, and felt like he'd just run up two flights of stairs, possibly while being punched repeatedly in the kidneys. So Souji's question was met with a long suffering sigh before he finally answered. "...Yeah, probably."

[inexecution]

He was a little surprised at how easily Hijikata admitted it, but he was grateful as well. It let them skip through the petty little arguments he usually enjoyed, but wouldn't be terribly helpful at the moment, and meant Hijikata wouldn't hurt himself trying to prove he was fine when that clearly wasn't the case.

"All right." He reached across and snagged extra pillows from the other side of the bed, depositing them on Hijikata's knees for the moment, before he moved around to Hijikata's side. "Just lift your shoulders." He was plenty strong enough to do this, even without Hijikata's help, but he didn't want him to feel completely useless.

[nicotinized]

That much Toshi could do, along with with pushing himself up on his left arm - it could support his full weight easily, he just couldn't use it to shift himself much. He knew Souji could probably lift him by himself - he could vaguely recall being half-carried into the apartment, one arm around Souji's shoulders - but that would have been a little embarassing, particularly now that he was mostly lucid. And weight aside, the difference in size made it a little awkward

[inexecution]

"Okay." He slid one arm behind Hijikata's upper back and rested the other on the shoulder nearest him to help steady. "Don't worry about trying to lift yourself." That would involve abdominal muscles, which was a bad plan when someone had gone and violently punched a hole through them. "And let me know if I should stop." All things considered, he wasn't that heavy, though, and it wasn't that hard to start getting him upright. Whether he'd really want to stay that way remained to be seen. This was, he supposed, the whole reason hospital beds could move.

[nicotinized]

It was one thing to know Souji was strong, and another to actually feel that strength pulling him up without any real effort or struggle. Once Souji had him up, he made an attempt at holding himself there, but he could feel the sharp stab of pain in both his stomach and his back, this time. As best as he could, he pushed himself backwards towards the head of the bed, where he could lean against the wall.

[inexecution]

"Here." He reached over and grabbed the pillows he'd stolen from the other side of the bed, sliding them between Hijikata and the wall to help cushion his back. It might not be very comfortable in the long run, but it was better than nothing. "How's that?"

[nicotinized]

Toshi let himself fall back against the the pillows - there was a sort of sore ache in the muscles of his back, around where he presumed the exit wound was, but now that he wasn't trying to hold himself upright, the sharper pain had stopped.

"Much better." Being able to to see something other than his ceiling and Souji definitely counted.

[inexecution]

"Good." It was nice to see Hijikata both up and coherent, as the two of those things hadn't happened much in tandem, of late. He reached over and retrieved the bowl of oatmeal, handing it to him so he wouldn't have to twist at all to reach it. "Here you go."

[nicotinized]

Tohi took the bowl from Souji, and stirred it a little to make sure all the sugar was mixed in. It frankly smelled amazing - as did the coffee - which was probably testament to a lack of solid food in the last two weeks than anything else. Particularly given that hospital food was nutritious, but decidedly lacking in the taste department.

"Thanks." He ate it carefully, mindful both of how hot it was and the fact that he couldn't stuff himself when parts of his guts were being held together by surgical staples. And that he'd probably make himself sick if he ate too fast after not having much at all.

[inexecution]

"Not a problem." It was almost nice, having something to do. Not that he was glad Hijikata had gotten injured, but in a way, it was letting him feel useful, instead of just reliant on the other man to take care of everything.

[nicotinized]

Toshi finished the oatmeal and pointedly ignored his stomach's sudden insistence that it wanted more, because he knew he'd probably regret it. He reached over to set it on the nightstand again, doing his best to only shift his shoulders and not the muscles that were still healing, though it was impossible to avoid entirely. Now that he actually had something in his stomach, he could have his coffee without having to worry too much that he'd end up regretting it in short order. The smell already made him feel more human.

[inexecution]

Souji took a seat on the bottom corner of the bed in the meantime, since there wasn't a better place to settle down, and he didn't want to feel like he was hovering. Hijikata was fine now, even if it'd take awhile for him to recover completely, and Souji knew he didn't really need to worry anymore, although it was hard not to, given he'd been doing it for weeks now.

[nicotinized]

Toshi wrapped his right hand around the mug, savouring the warmth as well as the smell. He took a careful sip - hot, but thankfully not scalding - and then a bigger one. Thankfully, it didn't seem to make anything else worse.

He gave Souji a quick smile. "Thanks for the coffee." Which was more or less an unspoken admission that he knew he shouldn't be having it.

[inexecution]

"You looked like you needed it." Which was... sort of an understatement, but it wouldn't have been nice to point out just how bad Hijikata really looked at the moment.

[nicotinized]

Toshi gave him a tired, wry smile. "You mean I look like hell. I don't need a mirror to tell me that." It was probably better than after his last serious injury, because at least this time he didn't have burn marks and cuts from shrapnel on his face. Those had healed pretty well, all things considered - enough that people didn't notice at all, usually. The scars on his shoulder and arm were a little more prominent, and he suspected this newest one would be to.

[inexecution]

"You've looked worse." And recently, too. He might look beyond tired, and his hair was a mess, but it was still a marked improvement to how he'd looked in the hospital, or even when Souji had helped him home.

[nicotinized]

"I like to think I usually look better, though." It was a weak joke, but he was trying. He finished his coffee in far too few sips, and put the mug down on the nightstand with a sigh. He'd have liked to have more, but he knew better than to try to push it.

"I'd like to get my hair clean at least, though." That had turned out to be one of the dangers of long hair - he couldn't just leave it for days on end and still look vaguely presentable.

[inexecution]

"Usually." Other than when Souji woke him up far too early after a late night, and he looked like some sort of demon grump monster, anyway.

"Hm. We can probably do that..." Although how, he wasn't quite sure. The logistics were a bit complicated. Of course, he could probably carry Hijikata to the bathroom if needed, but that would no doubt cause some awkwardness.

[nicotinized]

Toshi knew this was probably going to be a pain - literally and figuratively - but but he could feel the grime on his skin from days of not bathing, and he wanted it off, along with getting his hair clean.

"The plastic step-stool in the kitchen - it should be sturdy enough to sit on." He knew he wasn't going to be able to stand long enough to shower properly, given how much trouble sitting up had been. And he'd done something similar after the bombing, when he'd still been too weak to stand up in the heat long enough for a decent shower.

[inexecution]

"That's a good idea." And it would let Hijikata have a bit of autonomy in the whole affair, because Souji was pretty sure showering wasn't something Hjikata wanted his assistance with. "I'll go set things up. It shouldn't take long." And then he was off, moving things around and making sure everything Hijikata was going to need would be within reach.

[nicotinized]

While Souji left to find the step-stool, Toshi ran a hand through his hair and confirmed it was, in fact, gross. Now he was completely certain he needed to shower. Though that brought with it other concerns - namely, how much he'd healed up. He carefully pulled the hem of his shirt up - which hurt a little, but not nearly as much as trying to sit up had - and peeled back on of the strips of adhesive on the gauze. It was... well, not pretty, but it didn't look like ground meat either, so that was something. Just puckered and red - but mostly closed, at least. He'd probably have to still be careful to not open it up again, but it should be okay to be cleaned. For the moment, though, he pressed the dressing back down and relaxed back against the pillows.