[ At the edge of camp, not much later, Quentin looks...not bad, if you don't count that it looks like he's wearing someone else's nose. The bridge is crushed in and a little to the side, scrunched nostrils messing pulling or pushing at his lip line in places. He raises his eyebrows instead of smiling when David comes into sight, flicking one hand out to wave. ] Yo.Â
[ jesus christ. david's not sure anything short of surgery could fix that mess, but he'll break it and see. since apparently that's what they do now. ]
Yeah. [ he raises an eyebrow ] Fell in the woods, huh?
Those trees are just...really aggressive. [ His short laugh would probably sound less scornful if he could close his mouth and still breath. His gentle rocks up onto his toes betray his nerves as David comes closer. Quentin's hands shove deep in his pockets, shoulders up around his ears. He has his bag, supplied for the adventure. ] Heads up, I will probably cry about this.
I'm not gonna judge you, it's gonna hurt like a bitch.
[ he makes a note to ask what actually happened to quentin's face, but in the meantime david closes the space between them and tilts his head to look at that nose with a frown. ]
Don't suppose you've got anythin' to shove up your nostrils do you?
[ He softens noticeably in the joints as David eases closer, willfully to keep from flinching away. The "tree" has left him a little gun shy about people reaching for his face. David won't miss the effort Quentin expends to stay relaxed. ]
Mmhmm. Gauze. Popsicle sticks. Syringe tubes, depending on, uh--on how crazy we wanna get. That much of a mess, you think?Â
[ it's something david's particularly sensitive to, the way people are about being touched, people who flinch or shy away or whose eyes glaze over just to fight the panic. david's careful not to do anything sudden because of it, taking quentin's chin so he can tilt his head up and see that mess from a different angle. fucking hell. ]
Mostly thinking about making sure they stay open. [ he gives quentin a slight shrug, mostly with his face ] Ain't gonna look great, but should be able to force it to stay functional.
[ One corner of his mouth jitters up. That's funny. ] Ah. Probably shoulda done that the first time. I love functioning.
You can do it, right? I mean, if you can't or if it makes you nervous or something, I'll just wait. I know it won't be perfect, I just wanna--ha. Just wanna be able to breathe before I get called into my next trial.
Yeah, it's no problem. [ he's still looking at quentin's nose with a frown, but it's not exactly gonna be hard to break. ] Just gimme the stuff and I'll do it.
Here's fine. [ what are they worried about, hygiene? privacy? here? david glances around and shrugs a shoulder. ] Unless you wanna sit down or something?
[ Here, David says, and Quentin sticks on hand in his bag, feeling for the ripped up fabric that counts for gauze in there. Here, apparently. Nodding, sucking in a breath, grinning clumsily: ] Nah. I can stand. I mean, you're a big guy, you'll catch me if I wobble, right? Haha.Â
Yeah, I've got you. [ he takes one of quentin's hands to direct it to his arm as he speaks, basically telling him to hold on for a little extra stability. he takes a grip of his chin again, firmer this time to hold quentin in place, and lifts his other to grip his nose tight. adjusting a couple of times to make sure he's got it and his hand won't slip, and then nods at quentin. ]
On three, yeah?
[ david... does not count to three. he opens his mouth to say one, eyes on quentin's to make sure he's with him, and before the word even makes it out of his mouth david abruptly cracks quentin's nose to the side like a faulty glow stick. ]
[ His hand on David's arm is barely in place, but pain wires it there violently--even while the other slams against David's chest involuntarily. He barely bites down on a scream, but his lips stitched crookedly together at the very last minute to keep it down to an agonized whimper. He'll care about looking like a badass when he can see something other than white again. ]
Fuck--ha--oh fuck I'm gonna-- [ His fingers pulse around David's wrist. ] --pass--
[ It's just a little swoon. Even if he actually passed out, David would catch him. Probably? Right? Whatever, point is that Quentin only wobbles a little before straightening up. ]
[ honestly? a better reaction than he was expecting. ]
[ his hand drops quick from quentin's face to slip under his arm and hold him up, strong and steady and unmoving. his nose is bleeding but they can wait until quentin's something approaching functional again to pack it. ]
You're alright lad. [ david knows how much having your nose broken hurts, so he's patient for those few moments, waiting for him to straighten up. ] Let me know when you can see straight again, yeah?
[ David holds onto him, and Quentin takes the support happily. The ache remains, but the fists in David's shirt at either of his shoulders are only holding, not shoving or punching or leaking strength by the second. It takes him a long few seconds of breathing through pursed lips to open his eyes again, another few seconds of blinking the teary bleariness away before he can gasp: ]
Fuck. Okay. Okay. Um--gauze?
[ Right hand unclenches, fumbling for the flap on his bag. It's wild how easy the blood rushes over his mouth. ]
[ carefully, gently, with his free hand he coaxes quentin's head forward, just a little so the blood doesn't run down his throat, and then he reaches for the bag too. clearly done this enough times by the way he takes a couple of those little gauze patches and rolls them up into a little cylinder, presses it and twists it between his fingers to make sure the tip is tapered, and murmurs a soft apology. this part's gonna hurt too. ]
[ both hands on quentin's face now, david pinches the bridge of his nose between a thumb and a forefinger — not hard, but firm enough to keep it in place — and he ducks his head so he can watch what he's doing as he slowly pushes that little gauze bullet up into quentin's nostril. winces a little when he hits some resistance in the form of whatever the fuck happened to his nose before, and twists it slowly to help push it through. just keep going until it's seated good and snug up there. ]
[ Soft apology from David, soft cursing from Quentin--just a flick of his lip against his teeth, breath held like it'll stop the pain. It doesn't. ] S-smooth. You're a real--a real professional. What, uh--what next
[ He can talk through it, but he can't think past it. ]
[ genuine enquiry, head tilted to the side a little to keep an eye on how quentin's holding up. it's been some time for david, but he remembers packing a broken nose is fucking painful, uncomfortable as hell, and you can't even breathe right. if he wanted to leave it with the one nostril, david wouldn't blame him. ]
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So whats your going rate for a break and a fix?
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I'll do it for free, just tell me what the fuck happened.
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Where are you at?
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[ At the edge of camp, not much later, Quentin looks...not bad, if you don't count that it looks like he's wearing someone else's nose. The bridge is crushed in and a little to the side, scrunched nostrils messing pulling or pushing at his lip line in places. He raises his eyebrows instead of smiling when David comes into sight, flicking one hand out to wave. ] Yo.Â
Hanging out with Haddie, huh?Â
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Yeah. [ he raises an eyebrow ] Fell in the woods, huh?
[ he can make insinuations too, quentin!! ]
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[ he makes a note to ask what actually happened to quentin's face, but in the meantime david closes the space between them and tilts his head to look at that nose with a frown. ]
Don't suppose you've got anythin' to shove up your nostrils do you?
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Mmhmm. Gauze. Popsicle sticks. Syringe tubes, depending on, uh--on how crazy we wanna get. That much of a mess, you think?Â
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Mostly thinking about making sure they stay open. [ he gives quentin a slight shrug, mostly with his face ] Ain't gonna look great, but should be able to force it to stay functional.
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You can do it, right? I mean, if you can't or if it makes you nervous or something, I'll just wait. I know it won't be perfect, I just wanna--ha. Just wanna be able to breathe before I get called into my next trial.
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Let's go. Gimme a countdown or something.
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On three, yeah?
[ david... does not count to three. he opens his mouth to say one, eyes on quentin's to make sure he's with him, and before the word even makes it out of his mouth david abruptly cracks quentin's nose to the side like a faulty glow stick. ]
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Fuck--ha--oh fuck I'm gonna-- [ His fingers pulse around David's wrist. ] --pass--
[ It's just a little swoon. Even if he actually passed out, David would catch him. Probably? Right? Whatever, point is that Quentin only wobbles a little before straightening up. ]
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[ his hand drops quick from quentin's face to slip under his arm and hold him up, strong and steady and unmoving. his nose is bleeding but they can wait until quentin's something approaching functional again to pack it. ]
You're alright lad. [ david knows how much having your nose broken hurts, so he's patient for those few moments, waiting for him to straighten up. ] Let me know when you can see straight again, yeah?
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Fuck. Okay. Okay. Um--gauze?
[ Right hand unclenches, fumbling for the flap on his bag. It's wild how easy the blood rushes over his mouth. ]
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[ carefully, gently, with his free hand he coaxes quentin's head forward, just a little so the blood doesn't run down his throat, and then he reaches for the bag too. clearly done this enough times by the way he takes a couple of those little gauze patches and rolls them up into a little cylinder, presses it and twists it between his fingers to make sure the tip is tapered, and murmurs a soft apology. this part's gonna hurt too. ]
[ both hands on quentin's face now, david pinches the bridge of his nose between a thumb and a forefinger — not hard, but firm enough to keep it in place — and he ducks his head so he can watch what he's doing as he slowly pushes that little gauze bullet up into quentin's nostril. winces a little when he hits some resistance in the form of whatever the fuck happened to his nose before, and twists it slowly to help push it through. just keep going until it's seated good and snug up there. ]
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[ He can talk through it, but he can't think past it. ]
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[ genuine enquiry, head tilted to the side a little to keep an eye on how quentin's holding up. it's been some time for david, but he remembers packing a broken nose is fucking painful, uncomfortable as hell, and you can't even breathe right. if he wanted to leave it with the one nostril, david wouldn't blame him. ]
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Yeah. Yeah, okay.
[ It's a learning experience, he assures himself as he fiddles for another wad of gauze. ] Thanks. For. Yeah. Thanks.