Hi again,

Short and sweet... Thanks for tagging me back in, we hope you're ready for some hurt/comfort.

And Some T and Carlos...

Enjoy

-Dark


The Next Day...

"I'm good man," Carlos grins at T standing outside Hell Hall, "but not that good."

T tilts his head to the side? "Good on what?"

"Not here for the camera?" Carlos furrows his brow as he steps aside to let the other boy in.

"Oh." T shakes his head. "Nah. Figured that would take more than a day to do anything with." He steps into the house. "Your mom-"

"-is at the spa." Carlos shrugs, "She ran out of booze today and declared she needed a vacation."

T frowns as he looks over Carlos in concern, noting the dark circles under his eyes, before he looks around the house. There were furs all laid out in the process of being groomed. The normally spotless home had broken glass and cigarette butts everywhere. Tables and chairs knocked over. Even the couch was on its side.

"Yeah…" Carlos shifts awkwardly as he watches T, "I uh… I fell behind on some things around the house in my… attention on the swords…"

"Dude, you are talking to the king of accidents over here." T sighs as he runs a hand over his hair and lets out a heavy sigh before looking back to Carlos. "Here." He digs out a brown paper bag, the bottom covered in grease stains, and hands it to him. "It's probably a bit cold, sorry." He apologizes before he continues to the living room, and without a word starts cleaning it.

Carlos tilts his head to the side as he looks the sack over. "No problem, I can heat it up in the oven." He grins as he heads to the kitchen.

"You do you, kid," T calls back, as he starts moving the furniture back to where he remembered it.

"It shouldn't take long-" Carlos stops as he walks in on T cleaning, "Oh, you don't have to-

"I know." T shakes his head. "But I wanted to chill with you- Might as well do something productive while we do it…"

"But it's my job-"

"I know that C." T shrugs, "But it'll get done quicker if we both do it. Then we can do something else."

Carlos blushes, but nods. "If you're sure…"

"When am I not?" T teases back, not bothering to look up as he continues moving the furniture.

"You know, by your own admission you're never sure about anything."

T waves his hand dismissively, "Okay- Fair," He chuckled lowly, "For once then."

"As long as we're on the same page." Carlos grins as he turns back to the kitchen. He comes back with trash bags, broom, dustpan, and a bucket of cleaning supplies. "Gloves?"

T shrugs, before he walks over and takes the offered gloves, and takes the broom and dustpan. "I got the glass." He offers as he takes the supplies and gets to work.

Carlos nods as he turns to start cleaning surfaces.

T frowns as he notices the reddish-brown color on some of the shards as if they'd broken skin on their way to the floor. His gut twists, as he continues cleaning. Was it always like this here? He'd heard mention of the howls that came from Hell Hall… But he'd never seen the aftermath of one of Cruella's fits. His jaw clenches. He fucking hated the OVs so much at that moment. He lets out a sigh as he continues cleaning. His eyes constantly flicker to Carlos. Noting the way he favored his right side. The sluggishness of his actions. The way he was slow to pick anything up. It hurt his fucking heart so much his eyes burned.

Carlos goes to the kitchen when the timer dings.

T hears him banging around in there until he comes back out with two plates.

"This smells amazing. Where did you get it?" Carlos asks as he sets the plates down on the coffee table.

"Better you don't ask." T can't help his grin before he notices both plates. "Fuck, thanks man, but I already ate with E."

Carlos blinks and looks down at the plates, "Oh… I thought… So why'd you bring me food if we're not sharing?"

T shrugs, "I was already in the area and wanted to see if we could chill… Just seemed easier to bring you food so we could chill longer-" He holds up a hand before Carlos can argue, "But honestly, I don't mind doing this."

"So you brought me food, and you don't mind helping me clean…" Carlos looks down at his plate, but T can see the tops of his ears turn bright red.

T bites his lip, "Would you feel better about it if I sat down with you instead of continuing to clean?"

Carlos doesn't look up, but his head slowly nods.

"Heard." T smiles. He had never been so glad to hear one of Hyades' revelations. Her guess that Carlos was in the same position as Evie had been spot on. How much were the rest of them revealing to their little demi-goddess? The thought left him uncomfortable, but no more uncomfortable than the sight of the pup feeling less than in front of him. He wanted to see where the fuck Carlos had been shredded over the glass. What if he still had shards in his back?

When Carlos sits, T walks over and sits down with him. The two sit in silence while Carlos eats; awkwardly at first, but after the first few bites, he's eating more like his normal self.

T leans back in the chair. How was he supposed to bring up glass in wounds without making Carlos feel more uncomfortable than he already did? He knew he'd hate it if- He sighs. His eyes drop to his arms where he knew the bruises under his sleeves were her father had chained them. He holds back a shudder before he shakes his head.

"Dude, that was as tasty as it smelled." Carlos grins as he slowly gathers both empty plates.

"Glad you liked it." T grins at him, "Best food on the fucking isle-Not made by a princess."

"Yeah, I like that." Carlos nods and takes the plates back to the kitchen, "E makes amazing food, and D's apple tarts are the best, but man, that was great fish and fries."

T nods his head in agreement. "Right?" He smiles before he shifts in discomfort. "Want to finish up cleaning? You can focus on furs and I'll get the rest?"

Carlos slowly nods as he walks back into the living room, "Sure. The furs can take me ages though…"

"It needs to get done. I get that." T assures him.

"Cool, let me get the brushes and stuff." Carlos walks over to the door he'd always warned T not to go through.

"Heard." T's smile falls at the sight of Carlos' back as he disappears. The sight of red makes his eye twitch. He takes a deep breath before he turns and starts cleaning again. It was fucking eating at him to know he couldn't do anything to fucking help either. He fucking hated how untouchable the fucking OV's were. "Fuck." He curses. He might not be able to stop it, but he could help… If he approached this right. He knew how humiliating it could be to be bested by an adult. He bites his cheek hard enough to bleed. This was going to be fun to navigate.

"So, I was thinking about the idea you had for making a sword more durable for Gil and D's." Carlos starts talking again the moment the door shut behind him, "I'm thinking of taking some sketches to Yensid to get his opinion on them, but I wanted to know what you thought first."

"That sounds awesome." T agrees. "Any input on their weapons would be super helpful at this point." He adds as he picks up the last dustbin full of glass.

"I was thinking Jay and Harry might also need stronger blades, and you. I mean you three are the real fighters and Gil." Carlos grins, "Now that I know him it's so hard to picture him fighting- not because he can't or anything, he's just a really nice guy, ya know."

T snorts, "That's fucking Gil for ya man… Full of surprises. Told ya you'd like him. He's very chill until you fuck with what is his."

Carlos smiles before he turns to the first fur on a line. He pulls a brush out of a bag and slowly raises his arms over his head to start fluffing and cleaning.

The two work in silence for a good hour before Carlos whimpers.

T freezes at the sound, at Carlos' side before he can even think about the consequences.

Carlos blinks, "Sorry, just a cough or-"

"Just let me take it out." T frowns.

"Huh…" Carlos backs away a step, "I don't-"

T frowns as he leans his hip against the table. "Look. I can not ask questions and we can get the glass out of your back- Or you can argue, and makeup whatever story you want to tell me- But either way the glass is getting out of your back."

Carlos blinks wide, terrified eyes at T. But then, he nods, "When you put it that way," He grimaces as he grabs the hem of his shirt to pull above his head, "I vote no questions."

T lets out a breath of relief as he plops his messenger bag on the table. "Same." He agrees.

"What do you want me to do?" He winces as he slides the shirt off.

T's eyes water as he looks at Carlos, their skin matched with the myriad of scars that existed under their clothes. He blinks them away before the younger boy can notice. "Where are you gonna be the most comfortable?" He states monotonously.

Carlos sighs before he lays face down on the table, hiding his face in his shirt.

"Fair enough." T nods as he steps closer to the table, and starts pulling out the tools and supplies he'd need to remove the shards he could see from Carlos' back. "I- uh- This is gonna suck." He sighs. He wanted to douse the other boys back in his ointments but was afraid of pushing the glass in deeper. He picks up the pliers from the table, silent as he begins his work. His jaw tensing with every whimper and squirm.

"We could be twins." T finally mumbles.

"I'm nowhere near as tall as you," Carlos says, his voice muffled by his shirt.

"I'll show you when we're done." T clicks his tongue. "It has nothing to do with height." He continues in an even voice. He opens a jar, ignoring Carlos' groan at the smell. "Trust me, you'll thank me later…" He murmurs as he starts applying the ointment to the boys back. Before applying a second over that one.

Once he's finished applying the ointments he frowns. "Bandages or wrap?"

"Bandages…" Carlos mumbles, "I don't stay in wraps well."

T nods, as he starts opening the bandage packages. "I get that- they take a while to get used too."

When T finishes applying bandages to the cuts needing to be covered he steps back, "Done."

Carlos slowly sits up, still hiding his face, "Thanks." He nods before he starts struggling with his shirt.

"Any time man." T picks up the contents he'd spilled from his bag in his haste to bandage the pup up.

Carlos sighs as he finally pulls his shirt on, feeling better once the scars and his back was covered again. Everyone had seen him fucked up now. Though he appreciated T's approach best. No questions. Jay was similar, but Mal always ended up finding out everything Jay knew… Which was fair, he's her second after all… But it was still humiliating. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he'd completely looked over the fact that he'd put his shirt on with no pain whatsoever. "Huh… Yeah, thanks." T had said he'd thank him later. And not feeling his back right now was certainly something he was grateful for.

T shrugs, "No problem." He shifts in discomfort. "Sorry."

Carlos shrugs, again happy to be able to do so pain-free. "You didn't do anything."

"Yet…" T sighs before he sets his jaw. He twists and with some effort pulls up the back of his layers, exposing a myriad of wounds and scars on the lower half of his own back.

"Oh, that's what you meant." Carlos couldn't stop the shock, couldn't get his face to be neutral. T's back was just as bad if not worse than his own. He wanted to ask, but T had agreed to his no questions so it felt rude. He looks away. It didn't stop him from wondering. If T was an orphan, a street urchin, then why did he look like him? And if he had a parent, why lie about it?

T drops his layers before he turns back around, nearly as red as Carlos' had been. "I get accidents…" He kicks an invisible rock. "I mean if you ever have another one…" He shrugs, not looking Carlos in the eyes.

Carlos nods, "You know… Same right?"

T shifts in discomfort. "Fair." He nods.

"Um, thanks." Carlos lets out a sigh.

"No problem." T shrugs, "Why don't you finish the furs and I'll finish the rooms… Maybe then we can fuck with the camera…"

"I'd like that." Carlos grins. T really was a great guy. It was hard to trust anyone here, but T… T had more than earned his trust. It was funny to think a couple of years ago he'd been afraid of T and what the bully hunter would want for services rendered.

"Cool. We can figure out the food situation then too." T turns around to head back to the other room.

"Food situation?" Carlos furrows his brow as he turns back to the furs. Maybe T was talking about what they'd do for dinner later, but his more reasonable side knew T was probably going to start making food deliveries more often. He wasn't completely sure, but he suspected that T might already be doing the same thing for Evie. He'd always known the Evil Queen starved E, he's just never known what to do about it other than share what food he had when he could. He sighs. He wasn't sure how T had found out about his occasional hunger, but he also didn't care. He was grateful. And he felt better, in a strange way he didn't want to explore, knowing that T understood his scars and didn't ask questions.


Question time :)

Are you glad Hyades had that conversation with T about Carlos needing help? What do you think of the two independents taking it on themselves to make sure that food is never in short supply for the people they care about? T with his access to the Chip Shop, and Deez with her access to crab apples and minions that will get her whatever she needs to make tarts.

How did it feel to see the home life Carlos tries to hide? Are you glad T was there to help? Were you surprised that T ended up sharing something so personal with Carlos?

Did anyone pick up on that reference about T having to get used to wraps? Too vague or just the right amount of reminder to you, the reader, while the characters are slowly gathering the bread crumbs of T's life.

Was there anything about this chapter you wish we'd flushed out more? Anything we should have added?

Thanks for continuing to follow us and for letting us know you're out there. We can't improve without you, and we can't entertain if we don't know what you're looking for. We have our main plot and subplots mapped out, but I'm sure you guys can tell we love fluff too. Let us know if there's something you want to see, or something you're looking forward to so we can give it extra lovings before we post it.

All the love!

Dark