Claude wished they had more bags of frozen peas. He cursed and shut the freezer, shuffling back into the living room. He plopped himself down on the couch next to Sebastian. Sebastian had four bags of frozen peas, pressed on various places of his body. He looked awful, really.
"Thanks for coming tonight, Claude," Sebastian said, through his swollen and numb lips. Claude smiled, though he immediately regretted it when the biting pain in his lip acted up.
"I didn't really have much of a choice in the matter," he said, "But I suppose you're welcome."
"We should do it again," Sebastian said giddily, still clearly not coherent.
"I don't think so," Claude laughed. "You can't take another beating like that anytime soon." Sebastian shrugged, but he knew Claude was right. Claude absentmindedly raised his fingers to his own swollen lips, lightly pressing down. His fingers were cold enough to squelch some of the painful heat radiating from them, though the relief only lasted briefly.
"Here," Sebastian said, tossing a bag of frozen peas at Claude. Claude shook his head, offering the bag back to Sebastian.
"You need it more than I do," he said.
"Just take it," Sebastian said. "My lips are so cold I can't freaking feel them anyway." He pressed the bag of frozen peas to Claude's lips, finalizing his answer. Claude grabbed Sebastian's wrist, pulling away slightly, causing the pressure on his lips to lessen to a more comfortable pain.
Sebastian licked his lips, obviously trying to bring back some sort feeling. He smiled a little bit.
"Does it look like the swelling's gone down?" he asked Claude, leaning in a little.
"No," Claude laughed, his voice muffled against the bag of peas Sebastian held to his lips. Sebastian's hopeful expression fell slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Sebastian asked. Claude was a little bit shocked that Sebastian was still worrying about his welfare.
"How am I?" he asked. "I'm giddy compared to how you should be feeling. I just got punched once."
"You didn't have to get punched at all," Sebastian said, speaking to Claude as though he were a little child. "You could have just found me."
"I'm sorry, it didn't occur to me that the drunkest person in attendance was going to protect me," Claude said laughing darkly.
"I resent that," Sebastian said weakly. "I was not the most drunk. That was Bard, I think." Sebastian sighed. "Besides, I've had your back for how many years now?" he asked. "I don't think a little alcohol is going to stop me." He grinned, though his grin was smaller than normal to avoid pain.
Sebastian was right. He'd had Claude's back for many years. From the first day they'd met.
"If I ever see you look at me like that again, I swear I'll murder you," the tall boy growled. He was too close to Claude's face for comfort. Claude wanted to hit him, but he knew better. His mom would be mad if he got in another fight. She was always telling him to be the "better man."
"I'm sorry," Claude muttered, looking at the ground. The boy released Claude's shirt, still glaring evilly. "I didn't mean anything by it. I don't have a thing for girls," he said, smirking. Screw what his mom said. She didn't know how much crap he got at school. Besides, if he didn't technically instigate the fight, she couldn't get mad, could she?
The boy, clearly angered, jabbed Claude in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain. The boy kicked Claude over. If looks could kill, Claude was certain he'd be dead. He couldn't see much of anything though; his glasses had flown off his face when he fell to the floor.
"You have the guts to call me a girl?" the boy glowered. He dug the toe of his shoe into Claude's ribs. Claude struggled to stand, even sit, but it was useless. If he tried to move, he only increased his pain.
"What got shoved up your ass?" a new voice inquired. The boy stepped off Claude and turned his attention to the newcomer. Sebastian was shorter then, but he still towered over most people his age. His black hair was just as unkempt as ever and his eyes glinted as he smirked at the boy.
"Stay out of this," the boy muttered to Sebastian. "You'd do the same thing, if you knew what had happened."
"Well, I've got time," Sebastian said, folding his arms. "Why don't you fill me in?" The boy glowered at him.
"I don't like to be hit on by other boys," the boy spat. Sebastian laughed, throwing the other boy off guard. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"I don't think you should flatter yourself so much," Sebastian said. He picked up Claude's glasses and offered his hand to Claude. "This kid is way out of your league." Claude stood with the help of Sebastian, radiating gratitude. He accepted his glasses from Sebastian, finally granted his vision. He blushed heavily at the sight of his rescuer.
"Yeah," the other boy scoffed. "You two are probably in the same league, so I'll just leave you to it." The boy turned to leave, but Sebastian tapped him on the shoulder. When the boy turned around, he was greeted by Sebastian's fist. Stunned, the boy fell back several steps.
"Come on," Sebastian said, grabbing Claude's arm. Claude blushed furiously at their contact, but followed the boy out of the school. When they had placed a safe distance between themselves and the school, they stopped. They were both grinning and out of breath.
"Sebastian Michaelis," Sebastian said, offering Claude his hand."I'm new here." Claude shook it hesitantly.
"Claude Faustus," he said softly. "Thanks for that." Sebastian laughed.
"No problem," he assured. Claude was a bit unnerved. No boy was ever comfortable around him. Most boys avoided him like the plague. Such was the curse of growing up in a small town. There were only a few boys who picked on him, but the others were still obviously on edge around him. Sebastian was the first boy who'd ever been comfortable around him.
"Don't let those idiots get to you," he said. His smile faltered when he sensed Claude's edginess. "What's eating you?" he asked.
"You don't mind?" he asked, his though incredibly broken and making hardly any sense. Sebastian laughed again, the sound becoming beautiful to Claude.
"Nah," Sebastian said shrugging. "I don't mind if you bat for the other team," he winked at Claude, intuitively picking up on what he was hinting at. That was something else Claude loved about Sebastian. He was never really one to beat around the bush. "More girls for me," Sebastian said, stretching lazily. "Now, if there's anything fun to do in this hell hole, you'll have to show me, 'cause I don't trust anyone else."
"Well, yeah, after school we could-" Claude started. He had been excited to be Sebastian's tour guide. He felt he owed the boy, and to be perfectly honest, he wouldn't mind spending an afternoon alone with him.
"-After?" Sebastian whined.
"Yes. I'm not about to let you get in trouble on your first day," Claude said, crossing his arms. Sebastian sighed.
"You're too kind," he said, sarcastically, but grinned all the same.
"Hey," Claude shrugged. "You've got my back, I've got yours."
It was late. Claude was finishing cleaning up the mess they'd left in the kitchen prior to their club escapade. He grabbed his pack of peas from the freezer again, intending to return it to Sebastian. When he walked back into the living room, the first think he laid eyes on was a sleeping Sebastian. Despite all of the pain he was in, Sebastian was lazily sprawled out over the couch, his limbs in awkward positions. Claude smiled to himself as he picked Sebastian's discarded pea packages up from off the floor. They were no longer frozen, so Claude returned them to the freezer. He grabbed a blanket from Sebastian's bed and walked back into the living room, gently placing it over his friend's body.
Claude noted that the swelling in Sebastian's lips had gone down ever so slightly. He gently ran his fingers across them, wondering for a moment what they would taste like. He quickly shrugged off the thought. Sebastian was the best friend Claude had ever asked for. They weren't about to become anything more than friends. Claude had just started to get good at pretending that was okay with him. Now that he thought about it, it really was okay with him. He would rather have Sebastian as a friend than not at all.
He settled on the floor next to the couch with a blanket of his own. If Sebastian needed ice or medicine, Claude would be there to get it for him. He didn't trust that Sebastian could do those things on his own, anyway. Pain and hangovers were a bad combination for Sebastian's judgment. Besides, Claude didn't mind taking care of him. He kind of owed Sebastian anyway.
As he settled in, he heard Sebastian mumble in his sleep. Claude may have been overly tired, causing him to incorrectly interpret what he heard, but he smiled all the same.
The fact that Sebastian had just muttered Claude's name in his sleep pretty much made up for the whole night.
