A Bit too Much
Eli was pacing about the apartment,
staring intently at his phone. It was almost 8:00, and he hadn't
heard from Soren at all. Why was he this late when he got off early
today? He had sent him a text at 5:30 saying he was about to leave,
but now... was he over thinking this? Eli jumped as he felt his phone
vibrate. He picked it up on reflex before it could begin to play
Minnie by ESC. He glanced at the number before he put the phone to
his ear. It wasn't a number he knew, but it was local. "Hello?" "Eli, it's me," said Soren's voice.
But Eli was far from calmed by hearing the mellow tones of his
partner. Soren sounded exhausted, and his speech was ragged and
slightly dragging, as if each word cost him effort. "Soren, where are you," asked Eli,
concern layering his higher, more melodic voice."Good Samaritan's. I-"Eli gasped and began to say, "Oh, no!
What happened?!" but Soren layered his speech with placating tones
as he raised his voice a bit, cutting Eli off before he could get
worked up. "I'm all right. It's nothing too
serious. I got in a wreck on the way home." Soren paused to let Eli
speak. "What happened? When did it happen,"
asked Eli as he held the phone between his shoulders and ear in order
to tie up his shoes. "I got hit pretty bad, but I'm not
too hurt. I got knocked out for a bit though. I'm in room 117 at the
ER right now." Eli stopped listening there. He dashed
out the door, forgetting to lock it behind him. Good Samaritan's
Hospital wasn't far away, and Eli was sprinting full pelt through the
April rain. He got to the ER in barely more than ten minutes.
Completely ignoring the front desk, he dashed through the hallways to
room 117. He crossed the threshold, panting heavily. Eli gave a small gasp. Soren was laying
upon a hospital bed. His light gray work shirt was in tatters on the
side of the bed, and it seemed that his whole body was covered in
cuts, bruises, or bandages. A thick purple bruise ran down the front
of his chest like a sash and the left side of his face looked
particularly bad. The fact that the bruises were even visible through
the fur was a bad sign. Eli walked up to Soren and gingerly put a
hand on his shoulder. "Oh God... you look terrible." Soren slowly grabbed Eli and lowered
him into a kiss. It looked like even that simple action caused him a
lot of pain, but Eli heard Soren give a small sigh of relief as they
broke apart. Eli wasn't sure, but he thought he tasted blood in that
kiss. Soren smiled a bit. "Thanks, love. It looks much worse than
it is." Eli pulled up room's only chair and sat
down. "What happened? You look so torn up."Soren actually smiled. "I got really
lucky. That's what. I got rear ended at a red light. I was forced
into traffic and got T-boned at thirty five miles an hour. I got hit
in the back driver's side. If the guy who rear ended me hit me any
lighter I would've taken the hit myself." Eli gripped Soren's right hand, which
was mostly unscathed. "Did you get hit by a lot of glass? You look
like you've been shredded."Soren nodded. "my windows shattered.
My eyes got spared because I was wearing my sunglasses. Sorry I
couldn't call you earlier. My phone got busted up." Eli stroked the side of Soren's face
that wasn't covered in bandages or cuts. "How long have you been
here?" "A good long while," said Soren,
wincing even at the softest of Eli's touches but still growling a
tiny bit in appreciation. "I was knocked out until they had
finished picking glass out of my face. Probably all for the best.
They took some x-rays a while back, too." A young and kind looking Ivysaur nurse
stepped in with a clipboard. She put some paperwork on the table by
Soren. "The doctor will be here soon with the x-rays." She then
pointed at Eli, slightly imperiously but still smiling. "I saw you
dash in here, hon. You're free to stay, but you need to sign in." Eli scratched the back of his head and
went up to go to the front desk. By the time he returned, an old
looking Alakazam was hanging up some x-rays for Soren to see. "You're
incredibly lucky, Mr. Saul. There's some heavy bruising and a lot of
lacerations, but none of them will have lasting effects. You have a
concussion, but that won't do any lasting damage either. That big
bruise on your chest is from your seat belt, and we got all the glass
out of your cuts. I'd watch your left leg for a while, as putting any
weight on it will be painful right now. You're likely to be free to
go if you stay here a night or two. It looks like the only things
that were broken was your car and your phone." Soren nodded. "Good to hear doctor.
When can I be moved out of the ER?" The doctor was scanning the x-rays one
last time, checking to see if there was a detail that he missed. At
least to Eli, all the bones looked in perfect condition. He hoped
they were. "About half past soon," said the doctor as he checked
his watch. "We want to open this room up and there's an free room
one floor up." The doctor walked out. Soren groaned. "Fuck. Everything is
sore. Did you eat, Eli?" Eli shook his head. "Could you do me a
favor and run to the cafeteria? Can you get me something easy? You
know, a soup or something?"Eli kissed Soren on the cheek. "Sure
thing. I'll be back soon. Should I just make a b-line for your new
room?" That question was answered as the
Ivysaur nurse returned to the room with a gurney. "We're going to
take you upstairs. We don't want you walking just yet, dear." She
turned to Eli. "If you want to visit him, he'll be in 226."Eli smiled and walked up a flight of
stairs and towards the cafeteria. He got himself a pre-wrapped
sandwich and got Soren some jello and a rather mysterious looking
tomato soup. He walked the tray back to 226, which luckily wasn't too
far away. As he walked in, Soren sat up with effort and gratefully
accepted the terrible food. Eli really wished he could cook now.
"Feeling better?" Soren swallowed a mouthful of bland,
red liquid. "A bit. Moving hurts. Hell, sitting here hurts. But I'm
glad you're here." Soren attempted to lean over to kiss Eli, but it
was a bit much for him right now. Eli gently pushed him back down. Eli sat down in a moderately
comfortable chair and grasped Soren's right hand. "I wish that bed
was a bit bigger. You look like you need a good cuddle." Soren shook his head. "I'm glad it's
not. Even lying with you would hurt right now." He finished the
last of the green jello and nodded his head to the door. "You don't
need to stick around, dear. I'm going to be out cold soon enough."Eli took the tray from Soren and
scooted the chair right next to the bed. Soren laid his uninjured
right arm on the armrest, giving space for Eli to lay his head on top
of it. "I'm staying right here, sweetie.""Thanks," said Soren, groggily.
"Love you, Eli."Eli kissed the fur on Soren's arm. "Me
too." Soren was out cold soon enough. Eli sat there for a while,
listening to Soren breathe. He sounded normal, even if he looked like
he was just sent through a glass tornado. Eli got up and walked out.
He decided to make a quick trip back home for a sketchpad and a book.
He also decided to bring some music. It would make for a shitty
weekend, but Eli wanted Soren to stay at least all of Saturday unless
the doctors said otherwise. Saturday was long and uneventful, but
Soren seemed to be healing fast. The bruises were fading, the cuts
scabbing over, and Soren was able to put weight on his leg without
feeling intense agony. Soren ended up spending much of his time on
Eli's phone with his car insurance agency. As he hung up the for the
fourth time, he sighed.Eli looked up from his book. "What's
the verdict?" Soren passed the phone backed to Eli.
"Insurance is covering my stay here as well as my phone and car.
Also, because I was rear ended, none of the collision is legally my
fault."Eli smiled. "Well, that's good. In
fact, I'd say this whole thing turned out great if it weren't for the
fact that you look like you just got sent through a blender."Soren chuckled but shook his head. "I
should've said that by covering my car they are giving me about
$2000." Eli raised an eyebrow. "Only that
much? That little car was working fine, and it was pretty old too.""That's the point," said Soren.
"Because it was so old, its resale value was negligible. I guess
for now I'll have to save for a better car. I think a bus route
runs by the lab. Eli booted up the browser on his phone.
"I'll check. I can lend you my bus pass." Eli spent a few minutes
flicking through the bus routes. He frowned. "Damn. It looks like
you'll need to leave early. You'll need to take a bus to the train
station and then take a different bus to the lab. And the timing is
awful. You'll be sitting at the station for at least fifteen minutes
before you can get on the bus that will actually take you where you
need to go."Soren looked at the schedule on the
screen and groaned. "Well, I can deal for a bit."Soren ended up being released Sunday
afternoon, and was able to walk home unaided, despite having a bit of
a limp. He was still looking a little beat up, but most of the cuts
were almost healed now, and he was able to take the bandages off the
side of his face. After packing himself a lunch, Soren and Eli went
to bed early. Both were tired from the whole ordeal, even though they
really only sat around for the whole weekend. Also, Soren was clearly
not looking forward to having to wake up so early tomorrow. He'd have
to be out the door by 6:30. Eli got up with Soren. Despite the
speed of his recovery, Soren was still pretty worse for wear. Eli
hoped that today wouldn't get the better of Soren. For the most part
he was alright, and his sluggishness seemed more due to how early it
was rather than any lasting effects of the injury. Still, Eli felt
Soren wince a bit when he hugged him goodbye. Eli quietly poked his
head out the door to watch Soren walk to the elevator. Eli frowned as
Soren's limp became more pronounced now that he thought he wasn't
looking.Eli decided to start a new piece. He
had an auction coming, but he only had one piece to finish, and right
now he had to step away from it anyway. Eli took his ink and pen and
began to create an abrupt and harsh spiderweb pattern in varying
shades of dark blue. He worked on it for most of the day, pausing
only for a haphazardly made sandwich and a thirty minutes of titanite
farming in Dark Souls. Soren limped in a few minutes past
eight. Eli frowned as he took Soren's wet jacket and backpack. He
hadn't seen Soren this tired since the break in, not to mention that
limp was much more pronounced this morning, even when Soren wasn't
hiding it. He was clearly exhausted, but Soren's desire for food was
stronger than his desire for rest, and he began to chop a quick
stir-fry. It was ready in fifteen minutes, and Soren flopped into his
chair and began to eat. Eli chewed his food guiltily. He felt
terrible that he couldn't get something hot and ready for the table
so Soren wouldn't have to cook all the time, especially now that
Soren was coming home so late and leaving so early. But Eli was
fairly sure that Soren would probably prefer to cook and eat late
rather than have Eli wreck the kitchen, even if it was a nice
gesture. Eli looked up from his food. "Was work any good today?" Soren actually smiled. "We tested a
new generation of subjects. It appears that the drug doesn't seem to
have any correlation to motion tics. The mice in question were just
sort of spazzes."Eli laughed a bit. "Was the bus ok?"Soren shook his head. "On the way
home I had to stand, and my leg didn't like that. It's a really long
ride. I'd almost say it would be faster to bike, but there are some
major roads in the way and no good way to get around them."Eli nodded with a frown. "You're not
in a state to bike anyway. Can I pack you lunch, sweetie?" "That'd be nice. I think I might make
us something we can heat up. Can I trust you to put lemon chicken in
the oven without making too big of a mess?" Eli playfully punched Soren in the
shoulder, but regretted it immediately as Soren gave a slight yelp.
"I'm sorry. I forgot." "It's no big deal. I'm still just a
little sore. That's all." said Soren as he automatically prepared
the chicken. "Today wasn't too bad. I can deal with this for a
couple weeks." The two went to bed not long after.
Soren was tired and Eli just felt like cuddling anyway. Eli wrapped
the sheets around them and gingerly felt for a spot where he could
hold Soren without aggravating his bruises. Soren was three weeks into this
ridiculous commute now. Work was picking up too, and now he was
arriving closer to 8:30 or even 9:00. Soren would try and make
something they could heat up on the night before, but some days he
was just too tired to even attempt to cook. Eli ended up just
ordering take out at least two or three times a week. Normally Soren
would have protested, but having hot food on the table when he got
home made life so much easier. Soren was still sore from the accident
too. His cuts had healed but the bruises on his chest and leg were
still there. His neck was also killing him from the whiplash, and he
was getting killer headaches from the aftermath of the concussion.
Eli did his best to massage Soren's back and neck in an attempt to
mitigate even some of the pain, but it wasn't enough. Eli gave Soren a quick hug goodbye on
Thursday. As Soren walked out the door, Eli just remembered that
today was the first of May. Soren's birthday was the Saturday after
next. Eli sat down on the couch and pulled up his computer. He had an
auction last week and saw three of his paintings go into four way
bidding wars, and even the paintings that people could buy without
bidding were going for a good price. The next one wasn't coming for
a long time, and Eli had worked ahead on planning the theme of the
pieces he would release. He even had a few finished already. Eli sat
and thought about what might make a good present, but nothing came to
mind. Soren had all the instruments he
wanted, but he did need new recording equipment. The problem was Eli
wasn't really educated on what made quality recording gear. He'd have
to do some research so he wouldn't get Soren useless crap...Eli was hit with a bolt of inspiration.
Of course. Why not?Eli spent a fairly long amount of time
browsing his options. Soren had loved his little blue car, but both
of them knew it was one break down away from being scrapyard fodder.
Eli decided on something new, powerful, and fun. Why not? He pasted a
few links and sent them to Soren. He even finished before Soren's
lunch break, so Soren would even be able to check them out before
going back to work. Eli closed his computer and pulled out
his sketchpad. He was hit by an idea for a pen and ink piece, so he
experimented with pencil to see if the idea would work at all. He
even forgot about lunch as he worked. At 8:00 Eli ordered Chinese and
waited for Soren to get home.The food arrived a few minutes before
Soren. Eli put his orange chicken in a bowl with rice and did the
same for Soren's sesame chicken. He also threw the pot stickers on a
plate for them to share. Soren came through the door dripping wet as
Eli poured them green tea. Hanging his jacket on the hook, Soren
flopped into his chair. Eli was thankful he had the foresight to
order food tonight. Soren looked terrible.Soren drank the first cup of tea in one
gulp and poured himself a second. "Thanks for ordering," said
Soren, wiping his wet hair from his eyes. He had a frown on his face
as he spoke. "I really didn't feel up to cooking today." "Did your leg or chest give you
trouble?"Soren shook his head. "Not really,"
The words were spoken in short, clipped tones.Eli didn't give this poor mood a second
thought. Given the circumstances, it was completely understandable,
and Soren always lightened up after he got some food in him. "Did
work give you trouble today? Yesterday you said that the subjects
weren't reacting well to the new drug."Soren shook his head. "There was only
one thing that was bugging me. It's not too big of a deal. Today was
just long. I hope I can catch a break soon."The two finished dinner, Soren putting
the remains of his chicken and the pot stickers in a container for
his lunch tomorrow. Eli didn't complain. He got the pot stickers for
Soren anyway. "You want to play a game of Scrabble?""No thanks," said Soren, still a
little curt. Eli checked the clock. It was almost 9:30. Eli hadn't
realized how late Soren was at dinner. Soren sat down on the couch, an old
Game Boy Advanced in his hands. He was playing through old Fire
Emblem games, mostly just for nostalgia. Eli sat next to him and
began to work on Soren's shoulders. He saw Soren's eyes close in
contentment for a few seconds, but they opened again and he continued
to play. After a few minutes, Eli broke the silence. "Did you get
my email today?" Soren nodded. There was a silence that lasted long
enough to begin to feel a little tense. "Did you like what I sent
you?" There was another tense silence, longer
this time. Soren turned off the game and looked up at Eli. "No. I
didn't." Eli raised an eyebrow quizzically but paused, hoping that
Soren would explain a bit more. After a moment. Soren continued. "All
of those cars... they were all really flashy. And really expensive. I
couldn't afford something like that." Eli put his hand on Soren's arm.
"You're not supposed to be the one buying it. It's a-"Soren cut Eli off, his voice slightly
raised. "I know that. But it's a huge gift. It's too much. It's an
impulse buy. That's what it is. It's way too much.""I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you
mad. It was just an idea," said Eli in a calm voice. "I'm not mad," said Soren, his
voice controlled but still a little loud. "I'm just... frustrated.
That's all." Eli frowned. "Is it because of the
bus?""No," said Soren. "The whole
thing is just irresponsible. Those cars were all overpriced. It's way
too expensive, no matter who is buying it. You're letting your money
get away from you." Eli was a little peeved by this. "You
know I wasn't born rolling in dough. I know how much those cars
cost." Soren shook his head. "That''s my
point. You can't blow money on stuff like this. The cars, none of
them were sustainable either. You can't squander your money like
this, no matter how successful your art is." "Didn't we wait until I had two more
shows," asked Eli, a little snappishly. "We both knew that my
first auction could have been a fluke. We only moved here till we
thought my painting was sustainable and had lots of extra money in
the bank. Tell me what's really bugging you." Soren shook his head. "No. It's
just... just... well..." Soren paused for a minute, collecting his
thoughts again. He spoke again, his voice meek now compared to the
hardness it held a few moments ago. "You just pay for everything.
Your paintings bring in so much money. I just buy us groceries. And
then you send me this email, and you want to give me this huge gift
completely out of the blue. I can't give you anything like that back.
I feel like a leech." Eli hugged Soren, holding him tight but
avoiding all the bruising that he knew was still there. "I'm not
asking for anything in return, dear. I want to give you a gift. There
aren't any strings attached."Soren sighed, half in contentment as
Eli wrapped his tails and arms around him, and half in frustration.
"You do so much for me. Too much. You pay for our place, and you
pay our bills, and you pay for almost everything else. I just cook
for you, really. The car... it's just too much." Eli laid his head on Soren's uninjured
right shoulder. "Soren I love you. I love you. I can't put a
price on that. You do so much more for me than cook. You're half the
reason I'm such a good painter. " Soren started to protest, but
this time Eli cut him off. "Who bounces ideas around with me? You
do. Who suggests new ideas with an objective perspective? You do. Who
breaks me out of my obsessive perfectionism? You do. Who advised me
to put out highly praised pieces that I thought were terrible? You
did. Just being around you makes me paint better. And when you play
me music..." Soren shifted on the couch and held Eli
in return. "Really? I've done that much?" "Yes," said Eli. "You do those
things for me every day. You're worth so much to me than a car."
Soren was struck dumb. After a long pause that felt much different
from the previous two, Eli spoke again. "And before you moved in, I
really was a starving artist. I was living off of my microwave. When
you moved in I was eating real food again. It made a huge difference.
Cooking was always enough for me."Soren held Eli a little tighter.
"Thanks... I never realized." Eli sighed, slightly in exasperation.
"You know now. So, can I please get the car for you." There was another pause. After a
minute, Soren spoke, his voice quiet. "Maybe not those cars.
Can we get something less flashy? Something with more milage?"Eli
smiled. "That's fine. Can we at least get it in a cool color? Red
or something?" "Sure," said Soren. The two
extracted themselves from each other and pulled out Eli's computer
and began to browse, together.