theboywhodied | A quick and dirty hurt/comfort meme

Cedric's always been a fairly positive person. He prefers to look at the fixes they can make, the ways they can improve, and the things they have. The glass is always half-full, there is always hope.

Not this time.

He opens the door to their little flat slowly, as if afraid to enter. One might think the reason's obvious. Somehow, someway, he's gotten himself beaten up. Bruises line his arms, and there are probably a fair few cuts in there somewhere. Cedric doesn't like coming home injured, so on a normal day he'd fix it himself.

The problem? He can't. Not anymore. He's carrying a little bag of splinters that was once his last link to home.

Howard's watching Mystery Medical Diagnosis, his go-to program for 'it's educational but I don't have to use my brain'. Between the odd jobs and making up for four years of high school and a year of middle school, spoonfed learning is all he can handle in his free time. Without looking at Cedric, he says, "hey, how was your day?"

It's the cats that give away something is wrong. As if they can tell how upset Cedric is, they rush to his ankles and rub up against him. And that gets Howard's attention.

"Did you bring catnip or- oh my god." He jumps up off the couch and rushes over to Cedric. "What happened? Are you okay? Hold still, I need to check if your pupils are dilating right."

So sudden is his panic that it doesn't connect that Cedric should have already healed himself.

Oh, cats. Normally Cedric would need all the catnip in the world to get them to leave Howard's side for him. At any other time, this would be adorable. Not now.

"I'll live. I don't even need a hospital. Nothing's broken, and there's no blood gushing out." It almost sounds like he's trying to be happy about this. It is something to celebrate---no hospital means no hospital bills.

But there's no hospital in this world that can fix what he's lost. That knowledge weighs heavily on his mind, too heavily for him to be able to bear acknowledging.

"It was a random attack." There. He can start there.

"Sit down." Howard practically drags him over to the couch. "Let me take a look at it."

By now it's setting in that it's more than just the random attack that's gotten Cedric down. It's not fear in Cedric's eyes - it's loss. Sorrow. And Howard doesn't know what to do about that. His first impulse is to offer to get Cedric drunk, and a second thought is what makes Howard realize what incredibly terrible, messed-up reaction that would be.

"Tell me what happened." He gets his kit from off the shelf and sits on the coffeetable, across from Cedric.

"I was jumped," Cedric starts, obediently taking his seat. One of his hands holds the other wrist---it's bruised, but nothing worse. The gashes are further up. "I guess I look too friendly. I tried to fight them off, but it didn't go too well. I only escaped when I got desperate, and that was when..."

He dropped the bag of broken wood on the table between them. If he looks closely, Howard might see the shiny unicorn hair that had been the core of Cedric's power.

"You do look awful friendly and naive. This'll sting a bit." Howard gets rubbing alcohol out and starts to swab the gashes with a level of tenderness that's usually completely foreign to him. The skill, however, isn't. He's very good at this.

"Oh." Howard looks over at the baggie and it all clicks into place. "Well, they make duct tape for that."

Whether Howard's trying to joke and cheer Cedric up or actually, legitimately considering using duct tape is up for debate (answer: he is legitimately considering duct tape).

Cedric is grateful for the gentleness. He doesn't know how he'd handle anything rougher right now, not after...that. All he can think to do is reach down and pet one of the cats, as if that will calm him down.

"I don't think it'll work. If the magical core is damaged, no amount of tape can fix that," he says miserably, looking away from the bag. He can't stand it.

So many options, gone. It makes him shiver, thinking about how vulnerable he now feels.

"Won't stop me from trying. I can probably worm that hair thingy into a radio antenna. Can't be too hard." For anyone else he'd just be blunt and realistic, but he knows that wand means a lot to Cedric. It's his sense of security and his tie to home, and unlike Howard he actually misses home.

"Do you need to cry it out?"

"A radio antenna?" Normally, Cedric would laugh at that joke. Tonight, the most he can manage is something that might be a smile in another universe.

"I probably will soon." He starts by pulling his knees up. Something warm to hold onto, a reminder of the home he'll never see again. Maybe it's been silly to hold onto hope all this time, he thinks. He's had so many unrealistic dreams.

"I'm not joking." He thinks it might work. It's a better shot than just putting it on the bag and staring at it.

Howard watches Cedric pull his knees up, the same sort of body language Howard uses, and it starts to sink in how much Cedric lost. Howard moves over from the table to the couch to sit next to Cedric and put band-aids on. "I'm just glad you're not hurt."

"Just watch. If we try it, I'll end up blasting music every time I try to cast a spell," he says forlornly. The attempts at jokes still aren't working.

He closes his eyes and leans back, trying to be grateful for what he knows he has. Howard, the cats (when they look from Howard to notice him), and a home. He'll have to fight to keep all of that.

"You have me. I'm definitely grounded here," he says, trying not to sound bitter. It's always been one of his secret dreams to find a way to create a portal to visit home. He wouldn't leave Howard, not ever, but seeing those faces again was always a wish.

Not anymore.

"Could be like ringtones. Your magical ringtone." He wraps his arm around Cedric's waist and sings quietly into his ear. "Oh oh, it's magic...you know..."

It shouldn't relieve him, but it does, knowing that Cedric's not going to leave him for his homeworld, given the opportunity. It's not the first time the thought has occurred to Howard.

Sushi jumps into Cedric's lap and starts licking at Cedric's lower lip.

"I honestly don't think it's totally broken. We just have to find out how to fix it without blowing ourselves up."

Cedric can't help it. He smiles a little, leaning against Howard for support. That would be funny, wouldn't it. "You'd get sick of it, though."

He reaches up to pet Sushi, trying his best not to shake. When did Cedric get to be so ticklish? Silly cat.

"I'll try it. I just don't know what I'll do if it is."

"Not if you switched it up. There are plenty of songs about magic." He holds Cedric close. "Or you can use it to get the news when you make the coffee every morning."

The other cat hops up onto the couch with them. Seeing that Cedric's occupied, she rests on Howard's lap.

"You do the same thing everyone has to do when they lose something important: you deal with it. We've lost worse."

"I wish I'd saved a recording of the Weird Sisters. You would've found them delightfully terrible, I'm sure," Cedric almost laughs, reaching over to pet Spot too. Her name will always be Spot to Cedric.

But there's no turning away from that possibility now. He slumps against Howard, trying not to sound too pathetic. "I know more about these technology things now. I know...the way I live in public won't change much. But I just..."

His hand comes back to Sushi. "I can't go home. I can't make spectacular things. I can't surprise you like I wanted to." And that hurts the most. His magic's mostly become a gift now, something Cedric uses to make their lives easier and add a little more fun. But it was always a part of him.

"Is that like Twisted Sister? Because I think we might have some of that lying around." Howard reaches over and pokes the corner of Cedric's mouth, trying to force a smile as he addresses the second half of that.

"You can surprise me with other things. You learn, man. You learn to work with the limitations you have." It's something Howard holds pretty close to his chest because he feels as if he's always had to take the long way around to do things, being short and weak and baseline as he is. "And hey. I still think we can fix it."

Cedric complies with a little smile. "Let's turn that on tonight. I want to hear the horror for myself."

He settles on Howard's shoulder, about as comfortable as those silly cats.

"I know. I had to learn how to use matches and work remotes and drive cars. All those basic things I never knew---now there'll be more." He sighs. "You'll teach me some of it, right?"

"Oh, if you think Twisted Sister's horror, then I need to bust out my 3Oh!3 music. It's terrible. Your ears may never recover."

He nods. "Of course I'll teach you. I'd teach you anything."

"I might need some time with the earphones afterward." The noise-cancelling ones. He's rather fond of them.

He tries his best to reach a level of calm. It's a sadder level than his usual by far, more resigned, but at least he's not about to cry. "Okay. But before we try anything else...I think I just need a night off. I'll get dinner first, though."

That attack had shaken him. He'd be happy to rest here and cool down.

"I'll give you an ear massage afterwards." Howard licks his fingertip and sticks it in Cedric's ear to tease.

"Okay. I can, you know. Order takeout if you want." He leans back, not sure if that means Cedric wants time alone or just time to decompress. "Whatever you want to do, man."

Cedric swats the hand away, making a little yelp. "You said a massage, not a cleaning!" Honestly, he'll be satisfied with whatever.

"I'll eat anything. Then make even better tomorrow," he promises, settling into Howard's side once more. "Just stay with me? Er...but if you want, go get something. Book, movie."

Howard laughs and rests his head on Cedric's shoulder. "I vote Chinese food and kung fu movies. And don't worry, man, I'm right here." He wraps his arms around Cedric's waist and gives a little squeeze. "You can't get rid of me if you try."

"I'd never want to," Cedric says into Howard's shoulder. It's not all right, he's not entirely smiling, but this he doesn't mind. He's being kept afloat, they'll work it out later.

Sounds like a good enough night for him. He settles in for the ride of the night, as content as can be. Really, that means he's hanging onto one of Howard's hands without trying to crush it.

"Thanks."

Howard reaches over and gets the blanket from the back of the couch and the phone from the coffee table. Before he calls up the Chinese place, he gives Cedric a little peck on the cheek. "No problem."

A quick and dirty hurt/comfort meme

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