tampered | Log; Complete

Log; Complete

When; Feb. 2 (night)
Rating; PG-13 (language and bloods)
Characters; Boy Blue

playstheblues, the Corinthian

bitingnightmare
Summary; The bluebird gets stood up by a nightmare who's down for the count.
Log;

That was the Corinthian's mistake. He'd managed to stumble back to the studio, where he wouldn't be found by anyone save for a single individual, but that golden boy had a gig tonight. He was sure that Blue was none the wiser about his injuries, and he was sure he could fix it before Lux's opening. The nightmare had been dead wrong. Not long after he'd promised to meet Blue at the piano bar he'd taken to lying down on the (immaculately clean) floor. It wasn't a matter of strength, Cori had a lot of that, Cori had a lot of will, but his corporeal form was rebelling against him. The burn to his side, the patch of glass covering his ribs, had reached his liver, damaging it beyond medical repair. He couldn't die from it, hardly, but he couldn't function with it either.

The Corinthian cursed Tony Foster's name, not for the powershot or the patches of glass on his hand and face, or even for the reaction to October. He cursed his name for delaying his date with Blue, then closed his eyes.

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Blue didn't pause. He finished on the major wounds, then leaned down to cup his face. "It'll be okay," he said softly, putting his dagger away and taking out his silver hand knife, barely longer than the palm of his hand but sharp.

He took his belt off and sliced it, putting wedges of leather between Cori's teeth - all three sets - and starting carefully on the glassed cheek, cutting delicately against the edge of the glass, refilling it with sand, still singing.

He wouldn't stop unless Cori asked him to. It helped him focus - music always did.

He needed that so badly. He could hide his pain, keep it tied up inside himself because monsters, phantoms, and nightmares didn't show pain. It meant weakness. Psychologically Cori still considered himself a phantasm first, a sentient being second. His teeth clenched on the leather, stifling the growl he uttered when Blue cut the glass out of his cheek. The burn as the sand settled felt just as strong as the fire that caused his wounds in the first place. There was a sting at the corners of his teeth eyes and the first signs of actual tears, purely reactionary. Steam rose from the sealed patches, like warm raw flesh exposed to the cold, and then each grain became skin.

It wouldn't matter - Blue wouldn't notice, not once, not ever. He had seen nightmares die in the Homelands, he knew that Cori's pride afforded him more than he could understand.

He sat back on his heels, Cori's head still in his lap as he look the wedges out of his mouths. "There."

He watched as the nightmare healed, sat there in silence a long time, not caring how long it took. He waited.

The Corinthian stayed that way for a long time, curled against Boy Blue, his head in his lap, all his mouths shut. His expression was tired and frustrated, displeased by the events of the day without knowing how to even approach an explanation. The golden boy had come to his aid, even after Cori had broken his promise to attend his performance. All over one fucking night in October.

He curled up tighter, eyes remaining closed.

"I screwed up."

Blue would never abandon the nightmare - broken promise or not. Sometimes people couldn't follow through with their promises, and the trumpeteer understood that lying prone on the floor wasn't a reason to be angry.

"How?" he asked, knowing that the story of what had happened would come out.

His arms circled around Blue's waist so his nose could brush against the younger man's stomach. Still his eyes remained shut.

"I got into a fight with Foster," Cori admitted coolly. Blue didn't like lying and the nightmare didn't like lying to him beyond a good natured joke.

He touched the nightmare softly, petting his hair. He hated being lied to, and he believed the nightmare now. There was no reason to lie about something like that.

"Why?" he asked softly, genuinely wondering. He didn't let any judgment slip into his voice.

"... I wanted to help," his eyes opened slightly, brow furrowed.

It was true, that had been his intention, even if executed in his characteristically caustic manner. The nightmare in all honesty had wanted to encourage truth between a friend and one that friend held close to him. Lee helped him to realize what he felt for Blue, after all. Cori's attempt at reciprocation was shit, and his timing even shittier.

"It was a job well fucked," he muttered into Blue's clothes. The fact of the matter was... he had wanted that confrontation so badly, back in October.

Blue wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he didn't like that Tony had hurt Cori, not when he never felt violence was the first step in resolving anything. But Cori's vagueness was bothering him.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss against the nightmare's whole skin, over one eye.

"Tell me what happened, Cori. Please."

Cori held Blue to him, encouraged by the kiss and also humbled by it. He was a good musician, a good soldier, and his golden boy. He turned his face downward, to partially hide his expression, so he wouldn't have to see Blue's.

"I fucked Lee, Blue, back in October. He wasn't doing too well with Tony, so I took advantage of it. I wanted it."

Blue did the math in his head, added the dates. John left. Cori had been alone. Did that make it okay? Probably not. The young-seeming fable's moral compass has always been head on direct. But it took two people to fuck, to sleep together, unless rape was involved, and from the sound of it, there wasn't.

Besides, it wasn't Blue's place to judge, or to be jealous, and he wasn't. He had been on the Farm back then, not even remotely aware of this place.

"How did he find out?" Blue asked, his fingers still on the nightmare's cheek, stroking slightly.

"Lee told him. It was my idea," the idiot. It took two to make a retarded decision like that one too, even if Cori still felt the truth was better than nothing at all. But he was above taking Lee down with him, it seemed like the actor had already hit rock bottom anyway. The nightmare had it coming, but the confrontation he had craved from the very beginning came a few months too late. He didn't protest the touch to his cheek.

Blue nodded, even though Cori couldn't see him.

"You're right. He probably shouldn't have done it, but he should have told him earlier. After it happened." He touched the nightmare again, his fingers cold and dry. "Cori."

He said the other man's name, and then whispered, "Will you look at me? Please?"

"I wanted Tony to blow a fucking gasket," he muttered, admitting to his old intentions. They were gone now, but Cori had initiated that night, he enabled it out of carelessness for himself and others, and the Corinthian never forgot. "He finally did it," he added with a slight hint of bitter humor.

The nightmare shifted, to look at the blond in his vibrant blue eyes.

Blue had never been afraid of Cori's eyes, and he certainly wasn't going to start shying away from looking at them tonight. He kept his gaze on them and smiled. "You're an idiot."

He leaned down and gave him a kiss. "A huge idiot. Do you want me to talk to Tony?"

He recalled Tony's words: If I fuck Blue, are you gonna shrug that off?

All that really came to mind now was his assured thought that he could shrug it off if Blue was on top. Even in tougher times the Corinthian's humor was in bad taste. It simply proved the musician's statement. He pursed his lips when theirs met.

"Thanks," Cori huffed, "I don't know."

Blue wouldn't ever have sex with anyone else as long as he was in a relationship - that was a given. He didn't want anyone else. Although if questioned he could admit who he thought was cute.

He pressed his fingers against Cori's hair. "Do you want to go home, or stay here?"

Cori was always interested in hearing who Blue thought was cute... just to prove he could pull it off twice as good. The same applied to sex, even if Blue was one to refuse it. Cori always felt a need to prove himself the better man, better for Blue. The nightmare shook his head under the blond's fingers.

"I don't know," he admitted, but not out of some sense of loss or confusion, "Custer and Cassidy might be there."

Two yahoos for which he didn't have the energy to hold up a front. There was the studio though, complete with the stain of bile and a little bit of blood he'd left on the floor. He still had copper drying on his skin from Blue's blades, and would need a shower to get it off unless he wanted to look like he'd committed a crime.

Blue watched Cori and smiled, petting his hair fondly. "I'll take you to my place. If you're willing to squeeze into my tight bed," he remarked with a grin.

He didn't want to admit how scared he was, and he hoped it didn't show. He was terrified, with Cori in pain the way he was, with him hurt, of leaving the nightmare alone.

"I can do that... Can I shower there," he asked, knowing that apartment was shared even though each room had its respective resident. It reminded the nightmare why he considered finding a new place for Blue, just for Blue and himself.

After another silent moment he kissed the musician's stomach. "I'm sorry."

Blue nodded, helping him sit up a bit. "Yeah, that's fine. You can see the nursery that Fly and I built." He paused. "No. We can't deflower it."

He snickered a bit, then gave the nightmare another kiss. "You can hear me play another time. I promise." He flicked a stray hair away. "You want to walk or take the cloak?"

"I wasn't thinking that at all," he shook his head with a faint smirk, honestly. He was a deviant, a loverat, and a bit of a pervert, but the Corinthian wasn't that depraved.

"All right," Cori nodded then tipped his chin up thoughtfully. Walking would take work, work he felt he couldn't handle right now without pushing it and making an ass of himself by telling Blue he was okay. That damn cloak would have to do. "One ticket, magic cape," he said, feigning defeat.

"You got it."

He gave a slight smile, and then they were home, in his bathroom. He looked around and turned the water on, letting the water heat up, then handed Cori a towel from the towel rack.

"I have to go check on things."

He was lucky enough they arrived in one piece. Cori always did think teleportation by an independent magical device was iffy. Still, he appreciated the quick ride and slowly stripped out of his clothes, sore. The nightmare nodded to the fable, accepting the towel.

"Thanks," Cori said as he climbed into the warm shower, letting the water wash his blood away.

He came back after putting his best friend in the sink and stripped, getting in the shower with Cori. "Hi." he said unceremoniously, pressing a kiss to the nightmare's healed chest.

"Are you feeling better? Less pain?"

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