“Epi?” Nick questioned and glanced over Epi’s shoulder. “What are you doing up here? The steps are wood, they’re slippery…”

“What the hell was that?” He finally snapped out.

“Ah…I’m sorry?”

“I don’t need your sympathy or your pity! I don’t care how hot you are or how desperate you think I am.”

“You think I’m hot?” Nick grinned.

“This isn’t a joke! I’m serious! I don’t need a mercy fuck and don’t you dare toy with me! Do you hear me?”

“Epi…”

“I get what I am now I do, trust me I do and you just leave it be! I don’t need your sympathy, Nick Kern! I don’t need anyone’s!” He was starting to feel even more stupid with Nick just standing there looking like some flannel wearing cowboy looking for his horse and not being angry back at him. “It doesn’t matter, just don’t do it again!” He snapped out and turned around on the small porch to start the long slow process down the steps.

“Epi…wait…” Nick moved out onto the porch but the other man was being stubborn and not stopping. “Stubborn…” Nick shook his head. “Let me help you.”

“I’m fine!”

“Epi…”

“I’m fine, Nick, go away!” He tried to hurry a little more needing to get away from Nick as fast as he could.

For once it wasn’t his bad knee, his fake leg or his wrist and weak arm that failed him. It was his own stupid, stubborn rushing and carelessness that did him in. The wood was a little slippery and uneven in spots. He’d been so careful going up but going back down in his rush he wasn’t. One of the ends to one crutch caught on an uneven spot, slipped and before Epi knew it, flew out to the side.  His weight swung out of balance and quick as a blink of an eye Epi was down.

He landed hard on the steps on the side of his hip, his head cracked back and caught on the edge of a step. It lit up pain above the scar his tried to hide behind his hair and he saw stars. One crutch broke loose and clattered down the last steps but he didn’t have to worry about how he was going to retrieve it because his body quickly tumbled after it. He didn’t quite go head over heels but his body skidded down the stepper steps, thumping and bumping as he went.

The only reason he didn’t tumble to the very bottom was that the crutch that didn’t go clattering away got tangled into the railing. Eventually he slipped far enough that there was no slack left and his body stopped, one arm twisted painfully up and around behind him. Worse, it was his right arm and healed injuries lit up in pain at being strained again. That made getting enough slack to get his arm out of the crutch his first worry and he struggled to right himself enough to slip up a step to get free. He didn’t have to struggle. Strong hands caught his shoulders and physically pulled him up the space he needed to get untangled before setting him down again.

“Are you hurt?” Nick asked as he tried to step over where Epi was sprawled to get down the steps and help him.

“I’m fine.” He groaned.

“Liar. Your heads bleeding, stay still, I’ll call an ambulance.”

Epi snatched out with a hand and caught at Nick’s pant’s leg. “Don’t! I’m fine, I just fell, it happens.”

“You really clunked your head.”

“I’m fine.”

“But…”

He reached up and felt the growing lump on the side of his head and his fingers came away wet but just barely. “It’s not hardly bleeding at all.”

“Your brain could be bleeding.”

“Gee, thanks.” Epi moaned as he started to pull himself together enough to continue his escape. The shock of falling had him shaking but he wasn’t going to fall apart in front of Nick.

“I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

“If I went to the doctors every time I hit my head I’d live there. I’m fine.” He used the crutch that had gotten caught in the railing to lift the one that had fallen high enough to snag but his body felt weak and rubbery as he tried to stand.

“Stubborn.” Nick muttered but instead of fighting further he just moved to help Epi to his feet. Once standing, he pried the crutch out of Epi’s left hand and instead draped that arm over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Epi almost screeched like a frightened girl when Nick’s arm slipped around his waist.

“Do you really want me carrying you like some blushing bride back inside?”

“No.”

“Than shut up.” He held most of Epi’s weight against his own body and slowly got them moving toward the house. “You twisted your knee?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Would it kill you to admit you need help?”

“It might, it just might if you must know!”

Nick didn’t take them to the ramp but instead to the faster steps. He physically half lifted Epi up them and tried to pretend he didn’t see the slender man wincing.

“You’re barefoot.”

“Didn’t expect I’d be going out tonight.”  Nick reached behind him and got the door open. It took a little effort but he soon got them both into the warmer house and Epi placed into a waiting chair.

“I got my suit all dirty…” Epi whined and started brushing at the damp stains on the dark fabric.

“It can be cleaned.” The last worry on his mind was the suit and Nick quickly made a paper towel wet and came and knelt by where Epi sat. He dapped at the small trickle of blood mixed in the dark hair and where it had bled down toward the healed scar. Only it wasn’t blood alone that came away but something more flesh toned, Nick saw it and stared at the paper towel.

“Yes, I’m the quintessential fag, I put foundation on the scar to hide it.” Epi confessed unhappily.

“Hm.” Nick grunted but he found as he went back to dabbing at the wound that he also was washing away the make up. “Shouldn’t, it’s not bad.”

“Yeah, not bad.”

“Gives you character.”

“I’ve enough character.” He stretched his leg out and winced. His flesh side was sore and his fake leg was knocked a little out of place and rubbing. “I’m fine.” He ducked his head away from where Nick was still fussing. “Just, there’s ice packs in the freezer, if you could snag them for me I’ll be okay and you can go.” He was now officially as physically miserable as he felt emotionally and he wanted to be alone to sulk.

Nick sat back a little on his heels. “I don’t pity you. Just for the record.” He waited and finally Epi glanced at him suspiciously. “I didn’t kiss you because I felt sorry for you.” It wasn’t a conversation Nick wanted to linger on. He stood up and fetched the requested gel packs from the freezer. “Want to put a movie in?”

“I…”

“I’m not leaving you alone in case you are bleeding into your brain.”

“Thanks, that’s…sweet, I think, but I’d rather be alone.”

“Not going to happen, so movie?”

“Nick…I have to change and…”

“So?”

“I have to take my leg off.”

“So you watch a movie with your leg?” He offered a hand. “Come on, let’s get you upstairs so we can relax.”

“It doesn’t…”

“Haven’t we had this conversation? No, it doesn’t bother me.” 

Epi winced as he stood up and moaned a little. “I’m so sick of hurting all the time. Oh that was whiny, I’m sorry, I’m no company tonight, just…”

“You shut up and lets get you upstairs.”

Epi was, for once, grateful for the help. His knee was throbbing and his other leg was hurting almost more. Falling on Nick’s stairs had made him a little uneasy about attempting his own, even if he wasn’t going to admit it. It felt safer with Nick’s steadying hand on his back or arm as he made his slow way up. He had never been more grateful to see his wheelchair than he was at that moment.

“I hate this thing but I’m glad to have it tonight.” Epi quickly maneuvered the chair into his bedroom and over to gather his own casual, comfortable clothing up.

“Want me to go get you a pain pill?” Nick tried not to stare around the room. It wasn’t what he had expected and could almost be called Spartan.

“I’ll deal. Give me a second to get changed.”

“Want me to…”

“Naw, I’ll go over to the bathroom.”

It was almost an invitation to snoop about. Nick wanted to peek into drawers and look into boxes. Instead he sat down on the edge of the bed and took up petting the cat curled up asleep there. It wasn’t nearly the wait he’d expected and was glad he hadn’t gone snooping.

“I…I know I shouldn’t ask but do you think you could get some of this on the bruise on my back?” Epi was in the wheelchair, the suit crumpled in his lap and a tube ointment resting on top. He’d changed into an old pair of sweatpants and a baggy red sweatshirt, covering himself up quite a bit more than Nick had.

“Sure.” He stood and took the crumpled fabric and tube from Epi. It was a shame to get the suit more ruined so he shook it out and draped it over the back of a plain chair sitting by the wall. When he turned back around Epi was easing himself from wheelchair to the side of the bed.

“Sounds like a bad pick up line from a porno but it really hurts.” He mumbled as he hiked up the side of his shirt and turned a little.

Nick caught a flash of pale skin and red scars along too skinny ribs before Epi had turned and then all he saw was the growing bruise. “Ow.”

“You should see the one on my hip…or not cause that would really turn into a bad porno.” He winced as Nick carefully rubbed the first touches of the cold lotion onto the painful bruise. “I’ll be so glad to get off the blood thinners. I had a nose bleed the other day, must have bled for ten minutes.” He glanced over his shoulder and up to where Nick looked very serious. “You’re sure about this? Because if I take all this crap off, well, I’m pretty much done for the night.”

“I’m sure. I’ll make sure you get back up here safe too, I bet you’re going to stiffen up something awful before too long.” It wasn’t until the words had left his mouth that he heard the double meaning and blushed at it. “There, all done.” He finished quickly, wanting to get his hands as far from Epi’s bare skin as he could.

“Thanks.” He tugged at the Velcro on the wrist brace and with sharp, well practice motions stripped it away. “Put this on the nightstand for me? And can you snag that thing of wipes?”

“Huh, sure.” Nick moved because he didn’t like being caught staring but there was an intimate feel to being allowed to watch Epi strip away the medical devices. It wasn’t something sexual but obviously something private that he was being trusted to be part of.

“You get used to having a pattern.” Epi explained as he pushed up the loose pant’s leg to work on getting the larger knee brace off. “You take things off in the opposite order you put them on.” He winced as the brace came free. His knee was a collection of scars and now red and angry from the growing bruise from the fall. He handed the brace to Nick and took up the lotion from the bed to rub some of it where the brace covered. “Sad that I’m used to this, I’ve fallen so often. Anyway, patterns, you get a pattern so it’s always waiting in the right order and in the right place. I have nightmares of like house fires and not being able to find my leg so I can’t get out. It starts to feel like a stupid security blanket you had as a kid, can’t see you having one of those but you know what I mean.”

“Mine was a stuffed horse.”

“Well I didn’t expect that.”

“Still have it.”

“Really?” Epi raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You’ll have to introduce me sometime.” He moved to get the leg off without pause or shyness. Part of him wanted to be matter of fact and let Nick see the ugliness. That would end all thought of kisses that weren’t offered for pity or sympathies sake. With quick movements he went about the process of removing it, the socks, the liner and wiping everything down that needed cleaned. “Isn’t that a gross sight.” He sighed as he handed leg, liners and socks over to Nick to be placed by the bed table. “Can you grab my glasses off the table?”

“They aren’t here.” Nick answered as he carefully placed the surprisingly light replacement leg down within easy reach of the bed. “Are they in here?” He asked as he opened the bedside table.

“Huh?” Epi glanced up from where he was rubbing at the red, still new feeling skin of his stump. When he saw which draw Nick was opening his face went red. “Wait!”

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