Displaced

Mumbling as she wallowed up from sleep, Revelle smiled dreamily, and snuggled a little closer - one leg draped over his, an arm curled upon his chest with her head nestled on his shoulder. Her dark hued eyes fluttered open, inanely comfortable and warm with skin on skin, and she blinked uncomprehendingly at Horatio's sleeping face breathing deeply inches from her own. Horror at herself widened her eyes past the blear of sleep, and she chewed her lower lip as she carefully, slowly, unwound her limbs and slid from the bed. Cheeks burning as she darted into the hall, she was silently grateful he hadn't been awake and wondered if she'd been doing that all night. It slipped her mind that he, in turn, had his arm curled around her.
As the bathroom door clicked shut Horatio opened his pale blue eyes, the corners crinkled in mirth. He had in fact awoken a few hours before, used to rising with the sun, only to find himself enjoyably restrained by long limbs. He didn't know when she had lifted her head for his arm to slide underneath, nor that he had consciously done it, but he had to admit to himself that he hadn't quite minded her curled up against him. Except for the deep throb of pain in his side, and the stiff cry of aching muscles, that was, from being sore and unmoving all night. Blue eyes slid to the doorway as the girl left the bathroom, and met with her own darker orbs of the same hue as she glanced in at him. A slow smile touched his lips to match the shy one lingering on hers, and she leaned one hip on the jamb, crossing her arms over her midriff. She'd rolled the sleeves of his old shirt up to her elbows, and undone the top two buttons, while hiking up the long hem and tying it at her waist. Twisting one hand in her hair to pull it back from her face, she grinned sleepily at him.
'Morning...'
'Good morning, Rev. How did you sleep?' He asked her solemnly, as she squirmed internally trying to decide if that had been a dig or not.
'Mm.. Fine. I could sleep anywhere, though. Once I lay my head down, I'm out like a light. I hope I didn't bully you too much in my sleep...' She cast him a bit of a sheepish look, and stepped forward to help him as he struggled to sit up, but he lifted a broad hand to still her, with a wheeze and a wince.
'I'm okay. I just... need to get up and moving around... to loosen up.'
Revelle gazed at him critically, then moved forward and took his elbow anyway, ignoring his protests as she helped haul him upright. He had retained his boxers from undressing the night before, but she noted with a smug look at his pinkened cheeks that he felt it was not enough covering. 'You need a hot shower, or a soak in the tub to loosen up, not rambling around to tear everything open again. Don't be silly. Oh.. look,' she broke off, and slid a warm hand down his side to touch the edges of the bandage, small rosettas of blood seeping through. 'I would think a bath would sting at the open wound less than a shower, because I need to take the dressing off and redo it... but a bath would also be hard to get down into and up from... by yourself.'
Her grin widened, and she took her hand away as her gaze met his again, questioningly. 'Well?'
'Those are my options? Worse or worser?' He matched, with a slow grin of his own. She made him feel like a young man again, full of banter and easy cheer. He was beginning to like her immensely.
Raven curls bobbed rampantly as she gave a pert nod and a teasing little smile. 'Yep.' She took his hand and stood up with it, tugging gently to induce him to follow. He did, carefully, and with a small grunt, following her stiffly, indulgently, as she led him to his own bathroom. Releasing him, she slid her butt up onto the counter between the sinks, and crossed her legs prettily, waiting for him to make a decision. 'Did you say they gave you drugs for the pain? Where are they? I'm sure you're not feeling too spry right now...'
'In the pocket of my pants from last night, but I can get them, Revelle. You don't need to nurse-maid me...' He broke off as she hopped off the counter top, the legs of the boxers rucking up to bare even more of her long legs and narrowed her dark eyes at him, one finger extended to wag at him as she strode slowly past.
'There better be water running when I get back, or you're going to be in trouble. I will hand bathe you if need be!' She replied with mock severity as she stepped into the hall. Horatio turned from the door to his own reflection, a bemused expression on his face. Blue eyes searched themselves, then studied his lean frame standing in only his underwear. A small snort of derivation slipped from him, but a smile couldn't stay away for long.
'Well, an order is an order.' He whispered thoughtfully to himself, admittedly entertaining the thought of a sponge bath, while his features dared not betray him. With a furtive glance over his shoulder, he pulled open the shower door and cranked on the water. Letting it warm up, Horatio turned so his wounded side was in view of the mirror and began to pick at the sticky tape holding the bandages on as slender legs reappeared in the doorway. She rattled the brown bottle at him, then stepped in, reading the label as she popped the cap off then shook two of the oblong white pills into her palm and set the bottle aside. A smug look passed from the steaming shower to him, and she held the pills out with a bottle of water.
'Let me help you take that off. Do you have anything we can use to rebandage it?' She'd twisted her unruly curls back into an inky knot at her nape, and questioned him as she knelt by his side to nudge down the waistband of his shorts and gingerly peel the adhesive back. The wound was red and raw, but not as ragged as she'd expected. Where she thought the bullet had gone all the way through his side, it had, more simply, grazed a weal just above his hipbone. She bit her lip and traced her fingers lightly below the long blemish, thinking of how closely it had missed and pondering what options remained for her to do to atone for it. An audible breathe from his lips jerked her from her thoughts, and she glanced up to find him looking calmly down at her. The cold heat in his eyes shot through her like an unexpected dart, and her belly quivered anxiously. Wetting her lips, she gave him an unsure smile and pulled the rest of the bandage away as she rocked up from her kneeling position.
'Alrighty, you're set.' Revelle said lightly as she wadded up the old dressing and dropped it into the trash bin. Her back to him, she glanced up into the mirror and met his gaze after taking in her own mottled skin. He was still watching her with a look that she found slightly unsettling but not altogether unlikable, and wordlessly at that. 'Horatio? Are you okay?' Her heart was beating quicker for some reason, as she held his gaze through the glass, and she found herself reluctant to turn around, even though she felt strongly compelled. His melancholy, endearing eyes gripped her, but she was hard pressed to discover what emotions or thoughts drifted behind that slightly sad, but knowing gaze. Finally, he shook his coppery head slightly, as if coming out of a daze and placed a chagrined smile on his lips.
'I'm fine, Revelle. Thank you. Why don't you see if you can find something you could wear out, and we'll go shopping for some real clothes for you when I get done?' He looked so sad and concerned for her well-being that she couldn't even protest. As the mirror began to fog up, she turned to face him, struck by how strong and willful he was, even standing wounded in only his underwear. Her heart skipped a few beats, and she simply gave him a half smile and left to bathroom, pulling the door closed behind her.
As Horatio was stepping carefully under the hot stream of water with thoughts full of a certain raven haired distraction, said distraction padded down the hallway to pause in the bare living room accented with stacks of boxes, before wandering into the equally empty kitchen to lean against the table with a sigh. What she really needed was to go back to that alley and look for what she'd lost. Once she found it, she wouldn't need to go shopping for new clothing, worry about how to get home, and she'd be able to repay Horatio for what he'd done for her.
She gave a small sigh. He wasn't supposed to be doing anything strenuous today, and she knew going out to shop was too much. And until he was well enough to drive, there would be no searching for what she'd dropped. So, her options seemed limited for the time being. In the meantime, she scoured the kitchen for something to quell the dull ache in her belly and came up with some bread to toast. Sitting quietly at the table, she looked up and swallowed the dry contents of her mouth as Horatio came slowly down the hall. He had a robe on, she was amused to note, and tipped the bread in her hand in a silent salutation.
'I see you found something to munch on. You're not dressed? We could go and eat some real food, if you wanted.' He gave her an easy smile, the lines on either side of his mouth deepened amiably as he settled himself carefully opposite her as she cleared her throat softly, dipping her chin as she swallowed a lump of toast.
'Ack... Toast is fine. There's more bread if you want some too. I didn't get dressed because you're not supposed to go anywhere today. I don't mind lounging around, anyway. It's a nice break from school.' Revelle paused to take another bite from her toast, and held the other piece out to him. After a moment's consideration, he took it and asked while she was chewing.
'School. So you're a student, then? Where do you study?' He asked, genuinely curious. For the moment he wasn't going to pursue the logic of his staying put today. She ruminated a moment, then set aside the remaining bit of crust and leaned back in the high-backed kitchen chair. Her twisted knot of hair had begun to work loose, and tangled tendrils had slipped forward to brush her brow and cheeks. With an impatient hand, she pushed them back and nodded to him.
'Fourth year... or a senior here. I study in the UK,' she explained, a strange expression crossing her features. Dark blue eyes studied his face as she continued, 'A private school in Scotland, actually. It's small, but I love it. Three more years to get my degree.'
He was watching her with an unreadable expression, and nodded with seeming interest. 'Scotland, huh? How did you end up going to school there? You don't have an accent, so I'm assuming you're not a native. What's your course?'
A fleeting grin slid over her lips as she stretched and rose from the chair. 'My ass is starting to hurt... can we move somewhere a little softer?' He looked like she'd reprimanded him, or that he'd suddenly been reminded of his manners, and touched her arm apologetically as he too stood up.
'I'm sorry, certainly! But there's only these and the bed...' He trailed off as if embarrassed by the implication, but she just shrugged and patted the hand on her arm.
'Fine by me. I'm not scared of you...' She grinned and pinched his upper arm gently, then threaded her own arm good-naturedly through the crook of his. He looked over at her in mild surprise, observing how tall she was, and was met with an relaxed smile from her lips. 'I'm from Oregon, actually. It was a lucky chance I got offered a spot at the University and it came at a time when I just wanted to get away from it all. My major... is a variation on veterinary practices. It's a bit weird for me to be back in the states, around Americans again.'
He chuckled as they turned into his bedroom, and she pulled loose to flop onto the bed, on her belly like a child. As she got comfortable Horatio couldn't help but admire the smooth length of her bare legs, and a small smile touched his lips as he sat beside her. She passed him a pillow, and he reclined on it stiffly. Stuffing another pillow under her chin, she folded her arms over it and looked up at him. 'So what about you? I mean... do you get shot often?' She poked his leg lightly with her forefinger, then added, 'What were you doing there, anyway?'
Horatio smiled indulgently at the raven haired beauty, and began to tell her about himself.