surranndie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
surranndie) wrote2009-08-31 12:40 pm
surranndie) wrote2009-08-31 12:40 pm
Fic: Trigger
Title: Trigger
Rating: PG
Characters: Glitch/Cain
Summary: Glitch has a run-in with a local.
Following the soft hush of running water, Cain made his way through the dark suite, flicking on the bedside light as he passed.
He leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom, watching for several moments as Glitch gingerly cleaned the blood from his split lip. It was swollen, as was the bridge of Glitch’s nose. Cain made a mental note to fetch a towel full of ice in a while. “I told you to go see Raw.”
Glitch shot him a dark look through the mirror. “It’s nearly two in the morning,” he replied, adjusting the cloth in his hand and putting it under the clean water again. “Besides, I don’t deserve a quick fix.”
“Might be right about that,” Cain sighed, slipping past Glitch’s hunched form and over to take a seat on the closed toilet lid.
“You should have seen the other guy,” Glitch quirked a half-smile then grimaced as it pulled in his torn skin.
Cain rested his elbows on his knees, studying Glitch from the side. “I did,” he responded after a long moment. “They had to put him in an empty cell because he was still unconscious. It’s only because of your connections that you’re not in the next cell over.”
“Well, he brought it on himself,” Glitch mumbled menacingly, glaring at his own reflection. He turned his glare on Cain, pointing at him with the soiled cloth. “If you expect me to feel bad for what happened, then you’re out of luck. That...that idiot of a bouncer had the nerve to deny me entrance. Me, the very person in charge of escorting D.G. into that club. I couldn’t very well stand by while she went in ahead of me!”
“I understand that,” Cain said calmly. “So she didn’t notice you got stopped at the door?”
Glitch shook his head carefully, wetting the cloth one more time before turning off the tap. He leaned heavily on the counter with one hand. “No,” he answered. “I think because none of the other places she dragged me around to had said anything, she assumed this one would let us both in without question.”
“So what? You just decided to kick your way in past the guard?”
Flinching, Glitch sagged and turned, sliding down the narrow patch of wall between the sink and the doorway until he was sitting on the floor. His jacket had been discarded in the entry hall, so he was left in his dark, plum-colored shirt. The sleeves were rolled up and Cain caught sight of a bruise forming on one wrist. “It didn’t happen that way,” Glitch finally said. Resting his head back against the wall, Cain got a better view of the damage to Glitch’s face from the fight. There was another bruise forming near his temple, half-hidden by his hair.
“So tell me,” Cain implored, refusing to move until he heard the whole story, though every nerve in his body wanted to go to Glitch, to hold him and fix him and make him stop shaking.
“He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back,” Glitch started, his eyes distant as he recalled the incident. “Said my kind wasn’t welcome there.” He snorted derisively. “Like I haven’t heard that before. So I shook him off, explaining that the young lady I was escorting had already entered and I needed to catch up. He didn’t believe me, naturally. I’m just a zipperhead, what would I be doing with a woman.”
Cain sat up, leaning an elbow on the counter and resting his head on it. “So then you hit him?”
“No,” Glitch snapped. “I may only have half a brain, but I know enough not to resort to violence at the first sign of an insult.”
“What happened next?”
Glitch fiddled with the wet, bloodstained cloth in his hands, bringing it up to check that his lip wasn’t bleeding again. “I reached for my pocket to find my identification and he grabbed me.”
“So then you hit him,” Cain cut in again.
“No!” Glitch fumed, throwing the cloth up onto the counter heatedly. “I told him to take his hand off my arm.”
“And?”
Glitch shifted, gazing at the floor. “He did,” Glitch replied softly. “He moved it off my arm and took hold of my zipper instead.” He touched the back of his zipper self-consciously.
Cain straightened, all the rage he had been holding back threatened to boil over the surface. The urge to drive back down to the city jail and continue what Glitch had started was nearly overwhelming. “Son of a bitch.”
Looking up with a touch of pride in his eyes, Glitch finished. “So then I hit him.”
“I can imagine,” Cain said through a clenched jaw. He slipped down to the floor and settled down next to Glitch’s bent knees. Resting one hand on Glitch’s forearm, he spoke softly. “You didn’t know you’d attacked him until they pulled you off him, did you?”
Glitch looked up, startled. “No, I didn’t,” he admitted. “How’d you know?”
“Because I know you,” Cain answered. “You’re a good man, Glitch. The only time you’d lose it like that is if something set you off – the need to protect yourself, or someone close to you. Your unconscious mind saw him as a threat and you acted accordingly. No one can blame you for that.”
“I’m pretty sure that guy will blame me for that,” Glitch winced. “What’s going to happen now?”
Cain scooted closer, drawing Glitch to him until he felt long arms slide around his waist. He tucked Glitch’s head against his shoulder, stroking his back until the trembling faded. “The bouncer will be charged with assault and obstruction of royal affairs. You were acting in self-defense and in the best interests of the safety of your charge. I’m sure D.G. will back you up.”
Glitch relaxed with a heavy sigh. “You should have seen her face when she came out with everyone else to see what the commotion was about. I was sure she was going to set fire to the guys holding me back.”
With a short huff of a laugh, Cain pulled back and pressed a light kiss to the bruise forming on Glitch’s temple. “Come on,” he coaxed, standing up and offering Glitch a hand. “Get changed and into bed. I’m going down to the kitchen to get some ice for your face.”
“That bad?” Glitch pulled himself up with a groan, glancing in the mirror one last time before being led away.
Cain ran his thumb down the pale skin of Glitch’s cheek, meeting his eyes. “Nah,” he smiled, then gave Glitch a tiny brush of a kiss on the lips. “You should see the other guy.”
~*~
End
Rating: PG
Characters: Glitch/Cain
Summary: Glitch has a run-in with a local.
Following the soft hush of running water, Cain made his way through the dark suite, flicking on the bedside light as he passed.
He leaned against the doorframe of the bathroom, watching for several moments as Glitch gingerly cleaned the blood from his split lip. It was swollen, as was the bridge of Glitch’s nose. Cain made a mental note to fetch a towel full of ice in a while. “I told you to go see Raw.”
Glitch shot him a dark look through the mirror. “It’s nearly two in the morning,” he replied, adjusting the cloth in his hand and putting it under the clean water again. “Besides, I don’t deserve a quick fix.”
“Might be right about that,” Cain sighed, slipping past Glitch’s hunched form and over to take a seat on the closed toilet lid.
“You should have seen the other guy,” Glitch quirked a half-smile then grimaced as it pulled in his torn skin.
Cain rested his elbows on his knees, studying Glitch from the side. “I did,” he responded after a long moment. “They had to put him in an empty cell because he was still unconscious. It’s only because of your connections that you’re not in the next cell over.”
“Well, he brought it on himself,” Glitch mumbled menacingly, glaring at his own reflection. He turned his glare on Cain, pointing at him with the soiled cloth. “If you expect me to feel bad for what happened, then you’re out of luck. That...that idiot of a bouncer had the nerve to deny me entrance. Me, the very person in charge of escorting D.G. into that club. I couldn’t very well stand by while she went in ahead of me!”
“I understand that,” Cain said calmly. “So she didn’t notice you got stopped at the door?”
Glitch shook his head carefully, wetting the cloth one more time before turning off the tap. He leaned heavily on the counter with one hand. “No,” he answered. “I think because none of the other places she dragged me around to had said anything, she assumed this one would let us both in without question.”
“So what? You just decided to kick your way in past the guard?”
Flinching, Glitch sagged and turned, sliding down the narrow patch of wall between the sink and the doorway until he was sitting on the floor. His jacket had been discarded in the entry hall, so he was left in his dark, plum-colored shirt. The sleeves were rolled up and Cain caught sight of a bruise forming on one wrist. “It didn’t happen that way,” Glitch finally said. Resting his head back against the wall, Cain got a better view of the damage to Glitch’s face from the fight. There was another bruise forming near his temple, half-hidden by his hair.
“So tell me,” Cain implored, refusing to move until he heard the whole story, though every nerve in his body wanted to go to Glitch, to hold him and fix him and make him stop shaking.
“He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back,” Glitch started, his eyes distant as he recalled the incident. “Said my kind wasn’t welcome there.” He snorted derisively. “Like I haven’t heard that before. So I shook him off, explaining that the young lady I was escorting had already entered and I needed to catch up. He didn’t believe me, naturally. I’m just a zipperhead, what would I be doing with a woman.”
Cain sat up, leaning an elbow on the counter and resting his head on it. “So then you hit him?”
“No,” Glitch snapped. “I may only have half a brain, but I know enough not to resort to violence at the first sign of an insult.”
“What happened next?”
Glitch fiddled with the wet, bloodstained cloth in his hands, bringing it up to check that his lip wasn’t bleeding again. “I reached for my pocket to find my identification and he grabbed me.”
“So then you hit him,” Cain cut in again.
“No!” Glitch fumed, throwing the cloth up onto the counter heatedly. “I told him to take his hand off my arm.”
“And?”
Glitch shifted, gazing at the floor. “He did,” Glitch replied softly. “He moved it off my arm and took hold of my zipper instead.” He touched the back of his zipper self-consciously.
Cain straightened, all the rage he had been holding back threatened to boil over the surface. The urge to drive back down to the city jail and continue what Glitch had started was nearly overwhelming. “Son of a bitch.”
Looking up with a touch of pride in his eyes, Glitch finished. “So then I hit him.”
“I can imagine,” Cain said through a clenched jaw. He slipped down to the floor and settled down next to Glitch’s bent knees. Resting one hand on Glitch’s forearm, he spoke softly. “You didn’t know you’d attacked him until they pulled you off him, did you?”
Glitch looked up, startled. “No, I didn’t,” he admitted. “How’d you know?”
“Because I know you,” Cain answered. “You’re a good man, Glitch. The only time you’d lose it like that is if something set you off – the need to protect yourself, or someone close to you. Your unconscious mind saw him as a threat and you acted accordingly. No one can blame you for that.”
“I’m pretty sure that guy will blame me for that,” Glitch winced. “What’s going to happen now?”
Cain scooted closer, drawing Glitch to him until he felt long arms slide around his waist. He tucked Glitch’s head against his shoulder, stroking his back until the trembling faded. “The bouncer will be charged with assault and obstruction of royal affairs. You were acting in self-defense and in the best interests of the safety of your charge. I’m sure D.G. will back you up.”
Glitch relaxed with a heavy sigh. “You should have seen her face when she came out with everyone else to see what the commotion was about. I was sure she was going to set fire to the guys holding me back.”
With a short huff of a laugh, Cain pulled back and pressed a light kiss to the bruise forming on Glitch’s temple. “Come on,” he coaxed, standing up and offering Glitch a hand. “Get changed and into bed. I’m going down to the kitchen to get some ice for your face.”
“That bad?” Glitch pulled himself up with a groan, glancing in the mirror one last time before being led away.
Cain ran his thumb down the pale skin of Glitch’s cheek, meeting his eyes. “Nah,” he smiled, then gave Glitch a tiny brush of a kiss on the lips. “You should see the other guy.”
~*~
End