SATURDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (The World)

[gluttoning]

[FOOTBALL NOISES

aka this for IRL football watching or any communications outside Fragment. Yay football. :)]

Comments

MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY 9/18 - 9/21 CRMC Hospital, Fresno

[gluttoning]

[For the remainder of the hospital week. Provide a day and I'll give you a Barrett in various stages of not knowing how to handle himself.]

monday

[tylorific]

[ Tylor is back, similar to the way he had on Sunday. Whether Bear remembers or not. Only this time, Morgan is in his arms bridal style as he makes it inside the room. A nurse opens the door for him today and in he trots, letting Morgan's legs down once they are at the bed.

Much like Sunday, he's smiling over Morgan's head. ]

Hey there, Bear. Are you feeling a little better today?

[ And with that, he rests his head on Morgan's and keeps a loose but stable hold about his waist. ]

[tablescraps]

( Mithrun's quiet as Tylor sets him down, his gaze downward as he finds his footing before it quickly sweeps up to settle on Barrett. As is his wont, he doesn't seem to react too much as Tylor settles on him. He doesn't mind it.

He doesn't speak yet, since Tylor's asked the most pertinent question; he just studies Barrett, and his expression. He did say he'd rather talk to Barrett alone this time if he could, but - he isn't exactly of a desire to rush Tylor out, especially since Tylor's cheer is probably better for Barrett than Mithrun's gravity. It sure seemed to do better for Barrett yesterday, anyway. )

[gluttoning]

[Barrett's actually sitting up a little more when they enter the room, tracing a spoon in a cup of applesauce like it might look appetizing eventually if he just looks at it different.

The door opens, and his attention still turns in delay, though with a much more focused and alert look. There's a redness to his eyes and face, someone that's been crying recently but has had time to calm down.]

...Hey. [His smile is a little tired.] I didn't know you'd be here today.

[Painkillers are still very obviously at play here, for how the words still slur against some syllables. But his eyes still stay sharper, focused on Tylor and Morgan in turn.]

The nurses said you left the bag yesterday... right? Thank you.

[A beat, and he looks down at his cast, where the picture of several animals still sits.]

You left me a lot of presents.

[tylorific]

Surprise!

[ There's no sign that Tylor notices the redness to Bear's face with the smile he has on his face, but he does. That and the way he was yesterday soften his voice. ]

Why, of course we did. We care about you an awful lot, you know. And I think if we could've, we would've stayed with you all night too. Right, Morgan?

[ Tylor looks to Morgan as he asks, a long glance that tilts with a question of whether he still wants him to stay. Only for a moment longer. As many as Morgan wants. His arms loosen a fraction too, in case the question isn't clear. Alone time had been the plan, but he doesn't want to leave them in awkward silence either. ]

[tablescraps]

( At least Mithrun can tell what red eyes mean. He doesn't visibly react to it, though - or even react to how Barrett seems much more coherent today, more oriented. )

... The nurses made me leave.

( :/. But he basically stuck around until he Had to go.

Mithrun glances at Tylor in turn - it's a "whatever you want" type of look. He understands he has this concept of preference here, weird as it feels, in that he thinks it's maybe better if he talks to Barrett alone, but he isn't so fully defined as to have specific desires as to when that happens. When Tylor leaves is up to Tylor's judgment. Mithrun has nothing urgently pressing to communicate to Barrett, exactly; it's just that - he knows so long as another person is here, he will let them define the interaction, and he will probably not say that much to Barrett, a little like yesterday.

He glances back to Barrett. )

... Most were from Cael. He said he hopes you like something in there.

( Pretend I didn't forget this... but Mithrun, too, probably has a small book with him - seems to be paperback in size, wrapped in a bookstore's brown paper. Nothing very special or fancy. Cael had probably used present shopping as an excuse to get Mithrun out and about for his own good. )

[gluttoning]

[His eyes widen slightly at the frankness of it, from both of them.]

...Oh. [A beat, and his applesauce is placed to the side, where several other food items currently sit untouched.]

You both tried to stay that late? Weren't you tired?

[They'd upped his pain meds so he could sleep through the night, so the blur that was yesterday is even more of a blur when it comes to the evening.

He'll give a shallow nod to the confirmation of who provided the gifts, looking towards the small stack of books within arms reach.]

...That was nice of him. I don't usually read much, but... tell him I said thanks, when you can. Damian was saying that a couple of these are supposed to be really good.

Booker liked your guys' drawings, too... I couldn't remember who did them, but I knew it was one of you.

[His eyes travel back to his company, then to Morgan's lap where the package sits, a question in how his brow furrows slightly.]

Did you find something?

[tylorific]

Yep. Not as tired as you, sleepyhead. But we really did want to be here when you woke up.

I'm just glad you got some rest. And you seem way more awake now, too.

[ Tylor can't help but beam at him when he mentions the drawings, after he register's Morgan's look for what it is. He gives Morgan's hand a gentle squeeze over its hold on the package. It drifts away as Tylor steps and leans to look at the cast. ]

Guilty! I figured this way, you'd know we were here, even if your memory was a little messed up. See? It's all of us, here for you.

[ Tylor points to the different animals as he talks. They all have expressions fitting for each of them, cute in their simplicity. A happy wolf, a one eyed bunny, a stoic lion, and an amused bird. Two of the animals have small smiles on their otherwise stoic little faces. It's not hard to guess which ones. The perched bird is endeared by it all from where it nests on the lion's back, content as air is to flowing. They're all happy together. As he takes a step back, Tylor pats the cast gently.

But when Bear asks about the package in Morgan's hands, Tylor reacts like he suddenly remembered something. ]

Oh! That's right. There's something I need to find. So, you two have a good time together, okay?

[ Casually, Tylor leans to plop an audible goodbye kiss to Morgan's hair. Naturally on instinct, he leans to almost do the same to Bear. But he pauses halfway there with a blink. Smiling warmly, he reaches to brush some hair out of Bear's face briefly instead. And with a parting pat aimed for the spot on Bear's chest from Sunday, he retreats from the bed with backwards steps.

Halfway to the door, he salutes Morgan-- ]

Don't forget to text me when you need me~!

[ Tylor nearly falls into the door because he isn't looking in time--but he makes it out alright. ]

[tablescraps]

( He lets Tylor do the talking, since he's better at not only answering the question, but spinning it into conversation. There is affirmative regard from Mithrun - in his expression, mostly - when Barrett says to forward his thanks to Cael.

His eyes trace the drawing on Barrett's cast when Barrett and Tylor seem to address it - he didn't totally get the gift at the time, the way he doesn't get the lion plush at Barrett's bedside, because he's not great with sentimentality, but he supposed Tylor had a way of making things work out, and he did. Barrett seemed to like them.

He didn't really correct Cael on Barrett's reading frequency when Cael settled on buying books. He didn't really have the desire to correct him, and the gifts seemed practical enough, since Barrett would be having a good chunk of downtime. He'd gotten Barrett a book, too, since he couldn't really think of a better, practical gift for someone whose life just radically changed. But as he remains here now, he wonders if his choice wasn't a very good gift at all, and had been purchased short on proper thought.

He's borrowed from his conundrum when Tylor speaks up again, and he tunes in almost a little belatedly - he doesn't realize Tylor's going until he feels the kiss to his hair, and he looks up, a little perplexed (you know, as if Tylor hadn't just shown he was conscious of whether Mithrun wanted a minute to himself or not - Mithrun is tragically dense and cannot connect dot one to dot two, often), but tilting his head with a gaze that follows Tylor as a means of saying Good-bye, and, Okay, I will.

Ah, there he goes into the door— No, he's got it. There he go (real). Mithrun waits to see if he's not returning for anything before he turns his gaze back to Barrett. )

... This is for you.

( Since that was the topic Barrett introduced just before Tylor's exit, it's what he'll start with. He offers the brown-wrapped book to Barrett. It's modestly-sized, and not particularly thick. Opening it, Barrett will find a cliffnotes to a short selection of Faulkner's short stories - none of which are the source of that quote about the past Mithrun offered once, but this is arguably a little more readable. On the each left page is the text, and each right page is a blurb of summary and analysis, a little like a Shakespeare book that presents the original text to the left and a modernized version of the dialogue to the right. Given Faulker's piecewise writing style, this is probably a decently comprehensible way of experiencing him for people who aren't turbo nerds. )

The subject matter's sometimes heavy, though. So you can read it when you want.

( When Mithrun thought back to the short list of things Barrett had expressed were his interests (food, family, and football), he didn't see anything that would be directly useful to him while recovering from his injury (this is how Cael convinced Mithrun a seven-person bike would not be a very useful gift for Barrett right now, even if it fulfilled the "family" and "athletics" criteria - to Mithrun). This seemed an acceptable runner-up; though maybe as only banter, Barrett had referenced Faulkner a couple times since Mithrun mentioned him.

At least, that's what had made sense to him at the store. )

wednesday!

[tinged]

[ on wednesday, hani does as promised and visits while bear is awake, as assured by one of the nurses. they look like they’ve had as much rest as bear has, the edges of them fuzzy and travel-worn. which is as expected as they’ve just stepped off a long international flight and straight to bear’s hospital room.

knock knock on the door frame, before peeking in. ]

Good morning. Or is it good night?

[ what is time ]

[gluttoning]

Hani...?

[It's a worn question, poked up through his seat on his hospital bed, a small pile of books and graphic novels next to him along with a little lion plushie with an anime bandana around its neck. His left leg has had some attention, all the animals Tylor had drawn on Sunday now colored in. He stops flipping through the cooking manga he's reading, turning it over upside down in his lap.]

Mn... I think it's afternoon now. They already served lunch. [A great way 2 tell time, though given that he still has some items sitting untouched on a nearby table, his appetite isn't having a great time.]

It's good to see you. Did Tylor come back with you?

[tinged]

Then good afternoon.

[ hani makes their way into the room, casting a glance at the dishes leftover, the reading material, the animals plush and drawn keeping bear company. they stop by the side of the bed, reaching out to touch his hand briefly - a greeting. in their other hand is a simple gift bag. ]

No, I just got back. I haven’t seen him yet. Did he already visit this week?

[gluttoning]

Yeah. He and Morgan have come to visit a couple times. I thought I remembered you being here, too, but...

[His expression goes tight with concentration, an unspoken apology in his eyes. But he'll hold out his own hand to meet their touch, a far more intentional action than he had managed over the weekend.]

...Where did you come back from? Did you go somewhere?

[tinged]

I was here with you on Sunday. We talked about umbrellas.

[ said as their fingers curl around his, like something of a hug. enough so he can feel their affection before they withdraw their hand to replace it with the bag.

the gift bag, a simple department black with no logos, contains little treats: chocolate delights, some bananas, assorted wishes, and a splash of milk. nothing fancy, but hani did pick some of their favorites. ]

Japan. I wanted to talk to CC Corp directly. What happened to you - I… couldn’t just sit here. Even if it meant leaving. [ they shake their head slightly. ] I knew Morgan-kun and Justy-kun would take care of you. And your family, too.

[gluttoning]

[He nods a little... that explains why he doesn't remember, then. Still, the apology lingers as he takes the bag, eyes softening as he sifts through the contents among the tissue paper. Snacks...

Time to put this on the snack table for when he knows he will enjoy it... excepts he pauses midway through the action, Hani earning his complete attention at what they say next.]

...You went all the way to Japan??? [Because of him? Why??????]

I-- Did they talk to you? Did they let you in the building at all?

[tinged]

I don’t like… [ slowly, firmly ] … that the people I care about are getting hurt because of their negligence. It has become a pattern at this point.

[ they huff, letting slip a bit of frustration, but not too much. this is a visit, not to vent but to keep a promise. ]

They let me in, but the lobby was all I saw and the receptionist all I spoke to.

[gluttoning]

[Mmm.... that's right, between himself and Morgan... and hadn't Hani been close with the player that had been unconscious for a day? He remembers them being together at the dinner...]

...Hani.

...

Mn. It's making me really mad. I don't like how they've treated anyone. Between Morgan and Shoka... I've wanted to give them a piece of my mind.

[But he's a little indisposed now, both physically and, at least in part, mentally. Damn painkillers.]

Did they let you do anything? Submit a complaint or somethin'?

monday (later)

[tylorific]

[ Tylor is here again, late. Long after the morning hours when he'd left Morgan and Bear to their own devices. And long after he'd eventually returned to help him back to the hotel too. When Tylor returns this time, he is alone and the sun is down. Somehow, this draws him quieter.

He waves in greeting as he approaches the bed, pulling himself up to rest on the edge of it like he's getting way too used to visiting people in hospitals. From his coat, he brandishes a big pack of multicolored sharpies and holds it up between them. The cute doodles of animals call for their vibrancy. ]

Hey there, again. Mind if I color us all in?

[gluttoning]

[He's not expecting any more visitors, given that the staff tend to start asking people to leave once the night staff start to arrive. But Tylor slips in between shifts, catching Barrett flipping a little aimlessly through one of the books Cael had provided.

At the sound of the door, he turns, genuinely surprised after a moment to register that it's not a nurse.]

Tylor?

[A beat, letting Tylor settle against the bed as Barrett looks back towards the door. No Hani, no Morgan, no nurses yelling at Tylor to get out--

He nods.]

Yeah, if you want. The nurses might kick you out soon, but you can stay if you're quiet.

[tylorific]

Oh, is visiting over already? [ He doesn't seem worried about it. ]

Well, I can be quiet.

[ Tylor grins like he means it, kicking off his shoes as he pulls a leg up and settles comfortably at Bear's side. The position turns his back to him, but Tylor is delicate about where his weight goes. As if he already knows what positions work from Sunday.

A promise of quiet is not a promise of complete silence, so Tylor hums softly as he shuffles a few color choices out of the package.

A glance to Bear, then the book in his hands-- ]

How's the book?

[gluttoning]

[So long as Tylor minds the Very Large leg cast taking up most of the bed, his seating arrangements aren't fussed about by Barrett.]

Dunno. They usually start telling people to leave when the sun goes down. I won't tell on you if you wanna stay for a bit, though.

[It's not like he really has much else to do other than stare at the ceiling and stare at the walls and stare at the window and hope he falls asleep when the meds kick in hard for the evening.

He glances at the book in his hand, giving it a moment of pause before shrugging.]

It's okay. I'm kind of having a hard time focusing on it.

I don't usually read a lot.

[tylorific]

Really? That's pretty lame. But thanks!

[ Tylor says his thanks too loud, but repeats it quieter, softer. Like a kid staying up too late at a slumber party. He starts on the lion first, holding up a light gold sharpie for Bear to see as he goes on talking. Or maybe he's trying to decide if it's a fitting color-- ]

Oh, me neither. Being read to is way more fun if you ask me. But, how about coloring?

[gluttoning]

[He jumps a bit at the volume, but chuckles a little as he shushes Tylor. Lol. He reminds him a little of Matt like this... probably a lot less scummy, thank god.]

I don't think I've done that since I was a kid. We play Pictionary sometimes at home, but nobody really likes being on my team because I'm not all that good at drawing.

I tried to draw Levi's favorite character once and nobody really recognized it... Levi still kept it, though.

[tylorific]

Well, I'd be on your team!

[ Tylor says it with full warmth as he shifts a bit, reaching this way and that into his coat until he pulls out a coloring book and tries to straighten it out. It's only a little bent. ]

Besides, what's important is the person you drew it for likes it. Who cares what anyone else thinks?

[ Tylor forgets the gold sharpie for now, turning to offer up the book instead.
He's still careful of the cast. ]

Try this. It's more fun than reading. And you don't even have to worry about any of the lines. You can color it however you want!

[gluttoning]

[Barrett gives a nod of agreement, though he stays quiet as Tylor just keeps Mary Poppins pulling stuff out of his coat. How much stuff you got in there, buddy, and also how did you get it past security...]

Oh. A coloring book?

[Huh.

He flips through the pages carefully. Man, when's the last time he even touched one of these... but it does sound a lot more appealing right this second than trying to read some more.]

I've never colored with Sharpies before.