sam's world keeps turning. things start to pass him by. and knox sleeps on, as though his body knows it's not going to get rest like this for a long, long time. but finally he blinks to wakefulness, bleary-eyed as he is. he rubs his tongue along the roof of his mouth and grimaces. 

and then he sighs into sam while the rest of his brain wakes up. more flashes of last night come back to him and he tenses, breath hitching. 

it's daylight, knox. no more hiding in the shadows. 

he reaches a hand up to cover sam's, splays and laces their fingers together. they're not as tangled as when they'd gone to sleep, but the duvet is hanging off the side of the bed. the lights are still on. 

their dirty, bloody clothes are still laying on the floor in the shower. 

knox looks up, finally, into sam's eyes. his expression softens. he offers a wan half-smile. one day at a time.

samuel carter

☉

sam kisses one side of that smile, then the other, before wincing and sitting up, groaning deeply as he does so.

”my body hates meeeee….” it’s an honest thought he decides to voice as he looks toward the shower. ”but there’s work to be done… do you,”

turning to look at knox, there’s a softness to everything he does now. the golden and happy boy he hides is the same beast that took the underground by storm just hours ago.

”want to order food? i can have eos or aether pick it up… more eos than aether.”

knox prescott

he's still not sure what to do with the sam who's voicing his every thought. he's so taken aback by sam's droll that he doesn't have a response. he just stares at him. like did sam get bodysnatched on top of everything else? but no, that can't be it. because that's crazy. 

work to be done. right. sam has things to tend to. graveyard sexton orgies and all that. the joke doesn't leave knox's lips. because he's thinking of course one of them will go get the food. because knox is in exile. 

except - hey, dumb dumb, no you're not!

"or," he starts, props himself up on his elbow and looks up at sam, "i could go get it for us."

samuel carter

☉

”oh,” click! ”you can.”

the gears turn and sam turns to look at knox, smiling as he does so. he doesn’t stand yet, instead leaning on the bed with his good arm, letting his weight rest on the palm of his hand as it sinks into the sheets that will need washed.

”well, you know me. oatmeal and coffee.” he’s not against it. as a matter of fact, the smile on his face encourages it.

knox prescott

sam's smile is killer. like, crazy killer and it makes knox remember why the hell he'd fallen for him in the first place. it used to be he had to work real damn hard to get that smile. and right now, looking at him, things don't seem so bad. 

he finds himself smiling too. dumb smiling. "yeah?" he slides off the bed, throws his arms up and stretches. his shoulder twinges, but not as bad as last night. it bothers him so little, in fact, that he uses that same arm to tug sam closer. 

now he is aware of how bare they are. 

his arms come around sam's neck, drawing him close. like this. it has to stay like this and we'll be okay. we keep running. we put this behind us. and it'll stay okay.

"oatmeal and coffee." he touches his nose to sam's, smiles wide. don't think about the clothes in the bathroom. ollie's blood on your hands. the grave in your backyard. "that all you want?"

samuel carter

☉

knox seems to have come alive. he stands, stretches, and sam lets himself watch. with most, he wouldn’t be interested. but with knox, he finds himself wanting to memorize every curve— one particular one stands out. namely as he’s pulled up and close.

he can’t help the small near yelp that comes out of him, but he clears his throat to try and cover it. he’s against knox and their noses are brushing. it’s sappy but sam doesn’t care because to him, it feels like home.

he is wrapped up in knox. he is tangled in his enchanting touches and the way that he is so damn happy. because he is free.

he does resist the urge to say, i told you so, because thinking it is enough and ruining the mood wouldn’t be fair.

”i can think of something,” there’s a rotation of his hips before he pushes his nose past the one rubbing his to give knox a gentle kiss. ”but i know you’ll tell me no.”

because he’s sore and tired.

knox prescott

sam's enthusiasm still manages to surprise him sometimes. he wants to laugh at that night of the pool party - when he told sam they'd figure it out if he simply didn't share his feelings of physical attraction. funny, really, that the tables have turned here and now, because knox is usually the one begging for bad decisions. 

but something is in the way. he doesn't really understand it. and it makes him nervous, the way his body doesn't want to react like it normally does. 

but he kisses sam all the same and holds him tight, careful not to put too much pressure near his bad shoulder. 

"we wait and i'll just be all the more tantalizing later," he says with a grin. and then he kisses sam's cheek, his forehead. "promise me you won't push yourself today."

samuel carter

☉

it’s curious to sam that knox seems to think he’s working. truthfully, it’s a miracle he’s still standing. but he doesn’t voice that. instead, he returns the kisses and gently pushes knox away. because the gentle way in which knox kissed him was an indicator that knox wasn’t in the mood.

red flag, much? but this time, sam doesn’t pry. they have just been through a trauma, after all.

”i took the day off, actually.” sam admits as he sighs and looks toward the bathroom. ”i’m going to clean up and then i planned on relaxing all day while changing the gauze and what not… i should go to the hospital. it’s not as if i can’t claim a wild attack. i’ve been seen for less.”

knox prescott

oh, duh. he's not upset. he's not...anything, really, at the news. which is also odd. but he doesn't think about that. thinks oatmeal and coffee. sam motions to the bathroom and he thinks yeah, we should probably clean up that mess, but in a way one might think about cleaning up spilled milk. 

"okay, well, that sounds out of order. hospital first? or, better yet, i clean up. you go get stitched up. i get food. or i go to the hospital with you and get food while you're waiting." he purses his lips. 

"i clean up," he decides. "while you go. then you relax at home and i'll go get food."

samuel carter

☉

and there it is. in the way knox runs around what to do, several times, sam can see it.

knox wants to go but he feels guilty going and doing because sam’s not able to go and do with him. so guilt eats away at him and he furrows his brows.

”you don’t have to stick around while i recover, if you don’t want to. i know i stuck around with you while you recovered, but i’ll probably just sleep the whole time anyway.”

with a brave and long inhale, he decides,

”you’ve wanted off of this mountain since the day you stepped foot on it and viewed it as a cage. now you finally have your freedom. i want you here, obviously, but i also would rather you go an dhave fun because now, you can. even if it’s just, to go see summer, or go get food and sit and eat, and then bring me something back.”

knox prescott

sam went to war for him. sam went through hell and back for him. sam did ---------- for him. what now? he blinks a couple times and then shakes his head, looking at sam with a raised brow. "if you fall asleep, i'll go do something. but only if you fall asleep." which is a next to zero chance. 

i'm afraid to go out there, sam. i'm afraid and i don't even know it. because what if i just go back to it all? do all the things that hurt you and hurt me and you don't let me come back.

"so you take eos and get yourself fixed up. and i'll clean. maybe i'll just order the food and have hypatia get it so it's here by the time you come back," he muses aloud. 

samuel carter

☉

sam’s head tilts, curious. why wouldn’t knox want to leap out of a nearby window with the chance of freedom?

it took so fucking much to keep him ‘locked up’ before. now he can barely get the courage to go get food?

oh… because he would be alone, maybe?

it hits sam and he feels dumb for not realizing it sooner. so he stands, takes knox’ hand and rubs his knuckles.

”would it be better if whatever we do today, we do together? i … honestly thought you’d want the space. not because you’re tired of me, just to, reflect and process.”

knox prescott

he scrunches up his nose and ruffles his white locks. thinks of the scathing exchange from last night. the off-kilter, dissonant dance. he can't blame it on exhaustion now. but it's just him, yeah? because sam's saying everything on his mind now and it's not clicking. but that's okay. 

knox would rather it doesn't. 

"nah," he says. smiles. "if i didn't know any better, i'd say you're just trying to kick me out." his eyes tighten just a little. he hadn't really considered that. but maybe sam wants space. knox did fuck everything up again. 

hmm.

he cups sam's cheek in his palm, fingers curved around the back of his jaw. "go on. i really want you to get that bite looked at. i'll be here when you get back."

samuel carter

☉