The Hospital Wing

[Astin Descartes]

Astin grinned widely. He loved making Das laugh. It was such an adorably awkward noise; even mixed with the pain, he felt a sense of accomplishment and sheer childlike joy surge through him. If Dastan smiling was a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, then his laughter was an atomic bomb in the dead of night, mind-blowing and breath-taking and all sorts of other hyphenated words. Just hearing Das laugh always made a smile spread across his own face.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and Dastan calmed down and said, "Besides, you haven't seen bad until you've seen my hair first thing in the morning after a long sleep."

Astin's grin didn't fade. "I doubt it can look any worse than it does now, Das. I think you've got, like, a kitten trapped up in there," he joked. In all actuality, Dastan's hair was only a little bit tangled, and it was rather cute. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. Confessing that he liked his hair when they were up in the Astronomy Tower had been a special circumstance.

[Dastan Cross]

"I doubt it can look any worse than it does now, Das. I think you've got, like, a kitten trapped up in there."

Dastan reached up and groped at his hair almost comically with the hand on his uninjured arm. "It is not that bad!" Dastan protested, trying to brush through it despite how distinctly uncomfortable that made him feel around the chest. Finally giving in and letting his hand stray back to its previous place on his chest, Dastan looked over at the blonde. "Besides, your hair isn't exactly the epitome of beauty right now either. "

That wasn't exactly true, but Dastan wouldn't be saying that. In reality, Astin's hair looked quite adorable sticking up in the back the way it was...wait, since when did Dastan use words such as adorable to describe anything except tiny kneazle kittens and babies? And even that was rare. "In fact, " he continued, trying to ignore thoughts like that, "I think we're both pretty much a mess, in more ways than just the hair. Hell, we're lucky we aren't falling apart completely."

Dastan almost wished he were falling apart. He wouldn't mind ripping off his legs right at that moment, at least. Whatever pain-dampening spell Pomfrey had used on him seemed to be fading a bit and his right knee felt particularly horrible, sharp pains shooting out in sync with his pulse. It had been shattered, he remembered, and so there was a lot of healing that needed to be done there. He'd probably walk with a limp for weeks, even after he got out of this place. The prospect was not a cheerful one.

Wincing, Dastan looked over at Astin. "This is going to be a long recovery, isn't it?" he said fatalistically. He was not looking forward to it.

[Astin Descartes]

"Besides, your hair isn't exactly the epitome of beauty right now either."

Astin snorted, but his hand itched to brush through it just to be sure. "My hair's always beautiful," he said, despite the fact that he was sure right now was an exception. He could practically feel it sticking up, being annoying and messy, and he really wanted to fix it, but his arms weren't cooperating. Apparently even his brief sit-up had taken a toll on him.

"This is going to be a long recovery, isn't it?"

Astin raised an eyebrow. At least that was something he could move without causing him to wince. "This is going to take ages. Do you remember how long a couple broken ribs took me? You broke, what, the entire lower half of your body? I'll probably have to cart you around in a wheelchair," he muttered. He would not enjoy that. Being stuck with Dastan getting all pissy about having to rely on someone? But then again, he doubted it would come to wheelchairs; this was the magic world, after all. And although a small part of him thought it would be rather rewarding for himself, he also didn't want Dastan to be helpless like that. He didn't like Dastan helpless; he liked seeing Das run around and flip off things and scare him have to death, because he'd always fucking glow. Astin loved that stupid glow, too.

Astin shifted in the bed, trying to get into a more comfortable position. It wasn't working. Every time he moved, pain flared up in his stomach and shoulder; eventually, he gave up and lie there, irritated that now he could feel his arm. Sure, when he didn't feel it, it was useless, but at least it didn't hurt so much. He frowned, again causing unnecessary pain in the lower half of his face, and looked back toward Dastan.

"This sucks. I miss not being able to feel my arm."

[Dastan Cross]

"This is going to take ages. Do you remember how long a couple broken ribs took me? You broke, what, the entire lower half of your body? I'll probably have to cart you around in a wheelchair."

Dastan's brows knitted, a look of fierce determination on his face. He would not make Astin cart him around in a wheelchair or anything even remotely similar. He'd crawl first. If there was one thing he hated, it was being helpless and in need of assistance. The mere thought of having to be a burden on Astin was one that he refused to fathom. Not a chance. It was one thing to receive comfort and medicine from somebody. But to be carted around? No way.

"This sucks. I miss not being able to feel my arm."

"I miss being able to fucking move," Dastan moaned unhappily, shifting painfully. "I hate being cramped up. But I can't leave. For once, I can't even fight the nurse on that."

[Astin Descartes]

"I miss being able to fucking move. I hate being cramped up. But I can't leave. For once, I can't even fight the nurse on that."

Astin sighed. "I know. At least last time I could get out of bed." He looked down at the fabric covering his stomach. "I can't even sit up with this stupid thing." It hit him that they hadn't had the chance to discuss their time apart. Did Dastan get attacked by his reflection? He had seemed a out of it by the time the minotaur had stormed in, so he obviously hadn't had a fantastic time on his own.

"Did you have to fight yourself? I did. Man, I was an ass," he said with a half-hearted smile. In the back of his mind, he figured that Dastan's must have been rather pleasant; Astin's reflection had seemed to be his exact opposite, at least. Inwardly, he snorted. Dastan's reflection probably would have invited him in for a cup of tea.

But then an odd emotion gripped him, and he looked back toward Das, the real one, the one who enjoyed napping by the lake. He wouldn't give up his best friend for the world.

[Dastan Cross]

"Did you have to fight yourself? I did. Man, I was an ass."

"Yeah, I did have to fight myself. But all I had to do was crash the mirror and it shattered, too. Simple, really. But the first few minutes? It was terrifying. He was really powerful, and nothing seemed to hurt him. He didn't even have to say his curses. He just flung them at me."

He'd looked damn cool doing it, too, with that calm face and careless gestures. He'd probably looked pathetic in comparison, flipping around to avoid the curses and such. He'd been quite winded. It had probably been one of the harder battles he'd ever been in. Next to that god-awful minotaur. "Still, he was easier to beat than our friend the minotaur. Probably because I at least had my wand when fighting my doppelganger. I named him Fakhir."

[Astin Descartes]

"Still, he was easier to beat than our friend the minotaur. Probably because I at least had my wand when fighting my doppelganger. I named him Fakhir."

Astin giggle-snorted, but he'd deny it later. It actually would have progressed into all-out laughter if just the tiny movement hadn't sent him reeling with pain. His stomach was not having any of the slightest strain on it, apparently. Still, his shoulders shook with barely contained laughter, and his stomach practically screamed in protest.

After a moment, he stopped, but a humored smile remained on his face. "Much more creative than my idea," Astin remarked, "I called mine Greg."

His brain was still working at what Dastan had said, about breaking the mirror. His reflection had shattered rather suddenly, hadn't it? Had that been Dastan's doing? Then that meant Dastan had saved his life once more still. He tried to roll over a little more, but it didn't work, as expected; instead, he settled for turning his head as much as he could.

"Thanks, by the way, for saving my life again," he said, "I must owe you my life like five times over by now."

[Dastan Cross]

"I must owe you my life like five times over by now."

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure we're even. You saved my life, too, you know. And not just once." Dastan still remembered their Forbidden Forest adventure, and their foray into the Ice Cavern. He and Astin got into so many life-threatening situations that it was hard to keep track of who had saved who more times and whatnot. Dastan decided not to bother with counting things. "In more ways than you even know."

Dastan wasn't sure what had prompted that, but it was true. Without Astin, Dastan didn't think he'd have had a very enjoyable life. Even with all of the adventures, and misadventures, they had, Dastan just couldn't imagine any different life. Or a better one.

[Astin Descartes]

"In more ways than you even know."

Astin rolled his eyes. There Das was, being over-dramatic and exaggerating about everything again. But something felt like there was more than just the literal life-saving here. He had to admit that Dastan had saved his life figuratively speaking, too; Das had opened up to a lot of new things, things he liked and things he didn't, and had let him be someone he couldn't be around everyone else. If that wasn't saving his life, Astin didn't know what was.

"I could say the same to you," Astin replied. He sincerely doubted Dastan was aware just how grateful he was to have him in his life. Astin sometimes took him for granted, but he couldn't live without him.

[Dastan Cross]

"I could say the same to you."

Dastan felt the silence stretch out between them as his thoughts began running a different course. He didn't see how he'd done anything to make Astin like him as much as he did. Astin had told him on that Astronomy Tower that he thought Dastan was amazing and a bunch of other good words. But he still couldn't figure out why. The way Astin explained it made it seem like it just was. But didn't there have to be some kind of reason for him to feel that way?

"Why? I haven't done anything to save you in any way except in the physical sense." Dastan turned and faced Astin, ignoring any pain from the shifting.

"Why do you try so hard to help me anyway?" Dastan asked, "If I were in your condition, I don't know if I'd have been pushing any minotaurs off of anybody. I'd probably just close my eyes and give in. But you didn't. And it's not just that, either. Even when I push you away, you always fought to remain by my side. But I can't for the life of me figure out what makes you want to do those things for me. I try and I try, but I just can't figure you out."

Dastan stared up at the ceiling, wondering why he kept on bringing up things that made him emotional. Probably the recent near-death experiences were messing with him. Trauma always did do that. "I know why I care for you, and why I save you, but you didn't have any reason to want to befriend me in the beginning, and you did anyways, and after all that we've been through, after all I've done, you still save me and help me. I don't understand."

[Astin Descartes]

I love you, you idiot! Astin's brain screamed. He closed his eyes, trying to suppress that sort of thought desperately. Dastan was his best friend. Best friend. That was it. The stupid, unrequited crush had to end sometime soon, before it drove him nuts. He wasn't going to let this come between the two of them.

"Initially? I think I hung around just to spite you, honestly. You always wanted me to leave, so I didn't. But... I don't know. Somewhere along the line, that changed. I don't know where or how or when, but after I learned you weren't the stuck-up, over-privileged Pureblood you pretend to be, things got easier. Then, out of nowhere, you had turned into my best friend. And I do care about you, though gods only know why," Astin joked, half-smiling at Dastan, "But I think it's because you make me feel like someone else, someone who's stronger and better than I am. And I kinda like feeling that way. A lot," he admitted.

He hated that he was so honest with Dastan sometimes. He rather wished that that was something that Dastan had managed to change, but it wasn't; he'd always been honest, for the most part, and apparently he was going to continue to be. Annoying, yes, but so far it hadn't entirely condemned him.

"I don't know how you do it, but being around you changes me, Das. And it has made me need you in my life, somehow, and I just... I save you because I have to. If something ever happened to you, it would kill me. Even I don't know why sometimes, but you matter to me."

That wasn't the entire truth. Astin was aware of some of the things that made him love Das: his smile, his laugh, his eyes, his hair, his hands, his voice, his odd sense of humor, the way he confused him beyond belief... Everything about Dastan, even the irritating things, made him happy. That was enough, wasn't it?

[Dastan Cross]

"I don't know how you do it, but being around you changes me, Das. And it has made me need you in my life, somehow, and I just... I save you because I have to. If something ever happened to you, it would kill me. Even I don't know why sometimes, but you matter to me."

Dastan didn't know what to say. Astin had explained it to him quite plainly, but how do you respond to something like that? Dastan never had been good at these things. It was a fact that wasn't likely to change, either. Honestly, it was a miracle he'd come as far as he had. And it was all thanks to the blonde in the hospital bed next to his that he had come this far. Swallowing and feeling the silence weighing heavily on them, Dastan said the only thing he could think to say.

"I...thank you. I don't say it often enough, I don't think." Wishing he could figure out a better way to say thank you, Dastan sighed and then said, "Why don't we get some rest? We're trapped in here for a while anyways. May as well get sleep so that we can get better sooner right?"

With that, he tried to pull up his blanket and get some rest, but his mind, and his heart were all over the place. He didn't know what to say, think, or do anymore. He seemed to fail Astin more often than not, and yet, Astin still said that he mattered to him. It was still strange to think of anyone caring for him at all.

[Astin Descartes]

"Why don't we get some rest? We're trapped in here for a while anyways. May as well get sleep so that we can get better sooner right?"

Grudgingly, Astin agreed; sleep sounded like a good idea, and he did enjoy sleeping. At the same time, however, he didn't want to lie around uselessly in bed all day. He usually didn't mind being lazy for once, but lacking the privilege of running about was making him feel restless. They had things to do, like studying for OWLs and creating spells and going to class, however much Astin hated all three of those ideas when he had the opportunity to actually do them.

Now, however, he wouldn't have minded lounging about and procrastinating on everything, because at least then he would be able to move. But apparently that wasn't working out so well, and so he was left with three options: bothering Dastan, staring at the ceiling, and sleeping. Sleeping sounded the least likely to drive someone mad, which is why he had to go with it. He tugged uselessly at the sheets for a while before giving up. Closing his eyes, he tried to think of something calm and peaceful, but his thoughts were all focused on Dastan's thanks.

Eventually, however, he did manage to fall into a fitful sleep.

--yayforsleepingwoooo--

Astin woke, wincing at the bright lights around him. The pain had finally subsided to a dull ache throughout his entire body, but his head had begun pounding along with it. All of his limbs felt heavy and unwieldy; he tried to roll over, make himself more comfortable, but the best he could do was toss his useless arm onto his chest. Wonderful.

Astin hated feeling useless. These injuries were the worst, he decided.

[Dastan Cross]

Dastan, in his sleep, had managed to forget all about the injuries. He'd dreamed of flipping into Alamut and taking a pair of daggers to all of the guards posted there, taking over and re-instating himself as the new leader and was hailed as a hero throughout the land.

But, as always, dreams have to end eventually, and he felt himself coming around to consciousness. Still, the pain took a minute to materialize. In fact, he was pulling his knees up to get more comfortable when it hit him like a speeding Hogwarts Express. He let out a short cry of pain and reached down one of his arms to grab at his knee. Well, good news was he could move. Bad news? It hurt like hell.

Now fully awake, Dastan rolled over with a groan and stared forlornly up at the ceiling, cursing profusely. Why him? He hated waking up and forgetting that he wasn't invincible. It was always a real buzz-kill.

And, Merlin, his knee hurt! They hadn't been kidding when they'd said it was shattered. He felt that very distinctly now. Swallowing back a little bit more pain, he called, "Astin?" wondering if the other was awake, too. He hadn't meant to wake the other up, but between his cry of pain and the cussing afterwards, there was no telling.

[Astin Descartes]

"Astin?" His name was preceded by an extremely long line of colorful curses. Apparently Dastan was awake, and his pain hadn't faded much; it seemed to have gotten worse, rather.

"Yeah?" Astin asked around a yawn that made his whole jaw ache. Even though he was awake now, his body seemed sure that it needed even more rest. Like he hadn't just slept the whole day away or something. He groaned, trying to move, muscle fatigue be damned. His back was getting sore from being in the same position too long.

After much struggling against his uncooperative limbs and his own string of curses aimed at them, Astin maneuvered onto his side, facing Dastan. His efforts resulted in a throbbing shoulder, a pulsing headache, and a stinging stomach, but he felt accomplished for having stuck through it at all. He wasn't particularly a wimp when it came to pain; even so, that didn't mean he sought it out unnecessarily. When able to, he did avoid it, because he wasn't an idiot... which made him wonder the slightest why he stuck with Dastan all this time. But then, looking at Das, he remembered; leaving just wasn't an option anymore.

"Are you feeling any better?" Astin asked. His voice betrayed how sleepy he was despite his best efforts. Still, he wasn't in a hurry to get back to sleep, either. And Dastan was obviously awake, so why not keep him a little company?