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+---- Thread: don't threaten me with a good time (/showthread.php?tid=6304)
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Mateo - 10-25-2021
And so it goes, and what follows is one of the worst hangovers Mateo has had the pleasure of contending with, and also a few days of melancholy. Mateo brings home lilies and refuses to go to the store unless it's in a veil and pays Carnations a visit at the Palliser while wearing a lot of smoky eye and Doc Martins. But all things must pass, and so does this, and as Mateo closes the store that evening, it's with a spring to his step and a song stuck in his head.
He's just locking up and preparing to head upstairs and change when he sees all the sirens go racing past, raising his eyebrows and turning to watch as they screech around a corner and are gone. It's a lot of ambulances, which suggests that there's either a big traffic accident or something else going on, and he ignores the itch at the back of his mind when he sees shit like that. The itch that says maybe some mad bastard's got a gun.
Ever's either on shift or just finished, so he's unlikely to answer his phone, and yet Mateo is dialling the number all the same as he climbs the stairs to the apartment.
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Everest - 10-25-2021
The phone rings and rings, and once it goes to Ever's voicemail (You have reached Everest Hart. Please only leave a message if it's necessary.), Mateo's phone will beep in his ear indicating he has a text. [say]I'm fine. It's kids swatting again, I'll tell you about it when I get home.[/say]
Only he doesn't tell Mateo about it, because he doesn't come home.
And he doesn't send or respond to any more text messages.
It's on the news, though Mateo will most likely see about it on his social feed first. PARAMEDIC STABBED IN SWATTING CALL GONE SOUTH. The various articles detail what swatting is (
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Mateo - 10-25-2021
So yeah, that's pretty much how Mateo ends up paying an Uber driver for her mint green bicycle (with tassels and a basket and a bell) and ignoring every rule of the road there is in order to get to the hospital. Maybe he caused an accident. Maybe he gives a fuck, ask him later. It won't be Ever (he tells himself, over and over again) because the man is anal as all fuck and he'd have been called as the emergency contact. Duh. Unless he's lost his phone, a little voice whispers in the back of Mateo's mind, and he shivers that off.
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, wearing a knitted cardigan that does nothing for the cold and a pair of floral yoga pants with his sneakers, Mateo looks as eclectic as ever as he abandons the bike and rushes into the reception, giving Ever's full name and asking if he's the paramedic that got stabbed, please.
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Everest - 10-25-2021
Mateo, bedraggled and gorgeous, is received by a nurse with a flat stare who is apparently immune to his charms. [say]"Are you family?"[/say] He asks in a dry voice, looking both exhausted and wired at the same time. Though the man in front of him doesn't look like a reporter, that might be exactly the point, and he'll be fucked if he ends up inadvertently giving out information about one of their own paramedics just because some asshole wandered in looking a hot mess.
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Mateo - 10-25-2021
[say]"Yes,"[/say] Mateo insists, even though he's shaking his head at the same time. [say]"I mean, I'm his roommate and we have a cat together and he didn't come home and I'm his emergency fucking contact, perché non mi hai chiamato, pezzo di merda americano?"[/say] Quite when he has slipped into Italian is beyond him, but he slaps the reception with both palms and steps back to stop himself from shaking the annoyingly deadpan nurse.
Raking his hands through windswept curls and inhaling a slow, deep breath through his nose, he at least manages to compose himself before turning back to the receptionist. [say]"Everest Hart. I just need to know if he's the one who got hurt. You don't need to let me go and see him or anything, I just need to know, okay?"[/say]
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Everest - 10-25-2021
The nurse endures Mateo's rant with glazed-over eyes. [say]"Sir, if you don't—"[/say] The florist's final request is what convinces the nurse that yes, this is actually a reporter, and it's without hesitation that he lifts a phone to his ear and presses a button. [say]"Security? Yes. Main desk, south entrance. Thank you."[/say] The nurse isn't so tired that he doesn't also look smug.
The word security has caught the attention of an energetic blonde who turns toward the front door. Only recognizing Mateo because of the Italian that her mind latently replays for her, she hands her clipboard to an orderly and makes her way toward the desk. It was hard to forget the man wearing a stag's head who had shouted at Remi from across the room, and it was because of how garish he was that she remembered him being with Ever. They were a rather odd combination, she had thought at the time. [say]'Come with me.'[/say] She says calmly, nodding to the nurse with a smile. [say]"I'll take care of this. Thanks Keith."[/say]
So saying, Isla's heels click smartly on the freshly polished floor as she leads Mateo toward an elevator. [say]"He's on floor three, room 302. He's out of surgery and with a bit of luck should make a full recovery."[/say]
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Mateo - 10-25-2021
The reception was a lot harder than Mateo gave it credit, and his hands are stinging as he hears the nurse call for security. [say]"Scommetto che hai un cazzo minuscolo,"[/say] he hisses, unaware that he's getting the attention of a very pretty blonde doctor. [say]"Minuscolo. E hai un brutto taglio di capelli. Non combatto, ma ti prenderei a calci negli stinchi--"[/say]
At this point, thank goodness, he's being ushered away, and so busy is he threatening the nurse that he doesn't realise that Isla isn't security until she tells him all the information he wants to know. At this point, flushed and frowning, he has to try and backtrack before he ends up telling Isla he hates her shoes. (Her sensible doctor's shoes which are not a reflection on her fashion sense, thank you).
[say]"Surgery?"[/say] Mateo blurts. [say]"So he got hurt? What happened? I... floor 3? Okay, okay. He's awake?"[/say] If he jams his finger in the button for the elevator any harder he'll probably break it.
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Everest - 10-25-2021
Isla watches Mateo repeatedly press the elevator button with polite but distracted understanding. She's seen this sort of thing before, but also, she has a floor to run. [say]"He sustained an injury to his acromioclavicular joint. Surgery was able to stop the bleeding though there was damage to his coracoclavicular ligaments."[/say] Pausing and seeing the look on Mateo's face, Isla adds, [say]"He was stabbed in the shoulder."[/say] The elevator dings, and somewhere down the hall someone calls out for Dr. Lockwood. [say]"I'm not sure if he's awake yet. You'll have to go up and find out."[/say] She says patiently.
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Mateo - 10-25-2021
Mateo stares blankly at Isla as she spews off a lot of medical jargon which, despite having heard Everest a bunch of times now, still makes zero sense to him. Finally, though, she speaks words he does understand, the florist puffing out his cheeks with the force of his sigh and nodding to her - why the heck would she know, after all? The elevator doors ping open and he nods gratefully to her a few times. [say]"Thank you for your help,"[/say] he spills out, jamming at Floor 3 until the doors close once more.
It takes a second to remember what room Ever is actually supposed to be in (was it 203 or 302? Mateo, come on), but he eventually manages to locate the paramedic. Caring not a stitch if there are nurses, fellow paramedics or anyone else in the room with Ever, Mateo opens the door and sweeps straight inside.
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Everest - 10-25-2021
With shades of purple dotting his eyelids and jawline, the bruising on Ever's face is not nearly as complimentary as the makeup Mateo had put there just a week or so before. He looks small in the hospital bed, with his ill-fitting gown and various IV lines. Some art show is playing on mute, and there's an unopened plastic container of jello next to Ever's bed.
Groggily the paramedic opens his eyes (one more than the other), and stares blankly up at Mateo. It takes a few painful blinks for the florist to come into focus, and a few more for Ever to claw through the thick fog of sedation to be able to speak. [say]"—m fine."[/say] He croaks, and though he very much isn't, reassuring Mateo is top of mind.
[say]"so—ry I...d—nt come home."[/say]
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Mateo - 10-25-2021
Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves, and then there's Mateo, whose heart walks one step ahead of his brain most of the time (even when it's to his and everyone else's detriment). So it's no surprise that he's already blinking quickly to see Ever looking so terrible, sniffling and plopping into the seat beside the bed. [say]"Ever, we hate art shows,"[/say] he whispers, as if that's the thing that cuts through the bullshit and tells him that the other man is not fine.
[say]"And you didn't even eat your jello,"[/say] he continues, even as tears streak his cheeks and he presses his hands into the blankets of Ever's hospital bed. [say]"They said you hurt your cordlucocalvico ligament. Do you want me to feed you?"[/say] From threatening (badly) the receptionist to being on the verge of bawling, Mateo swipes at his eyes. [say]"I have a bicycle now."[/say]
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Everest - 10-25-2021
Moving his eyes in an attempt to keep his head in the same place, he narrows them at the screen. [say]"It was on ancient aliens when I was brought in."[/say] He mumbles apologetically, before the muscles of his eyes begin to throb and his gaze resets back toward the florist.
[say]"The jello is just for patients who won't take their medication."[/say] Ever says with a sigh. He considers trying to sit himself up, knows it will be futile, and so instead wiggles his little finger under the blankets toward Mateo, which is about the most movement he's capable of. [say]"Cora-cock-lavicular."[/say] Ever corrects, shaking his head, before giving Mateo a very stern stare. [say]"Do you have a bicycle? Or is someone else missing a bicycle?"[/say] Tired as the paramedic feels, there's no denying the sense of relief Mateo's presence has brought. Like a parent worried about their child rather than themselves, that he knows where his roommate is and that he's alright will make sleeping that evening come much easier.
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Mateo - 10-25-2021
[say]"Ancient aliens is better,"[/say] Mateo says with a sniff, pulling up his feet so he can sit cross legged on his chair, somehow making it look comfortable. Ever's little finger wiggles at him beneath the blankets and it's enough, at least, the florist giving a wobbly smile and gently pinching his friend's fingertip through the fabric. [say]"So your reward for taking your medication is that you don't have to eat jello?"[/say] he wonders.
Even as his shoulder raises to wipe away more tears, Mateo scoffs out a laugh. [say]"You said cock,"[/say] he mumbles weakly, letting out a shivery sigh and meeting Ever's stern stare with a warm and dimpled smile. [say]"I paid an Uber eats girl for her bike,"[/say] he explains. [say]"So now I have one, I guess."[/say] He stares down at the pattern on the blankets for a few moments before daring to ask the question that hovers between them.
[say]"What happened? Are you okay?"[/say]
RE: don't threaten me with a good time - Everest - 10-25-2021
Ever considers this logic, and then nods. [say]"I hate the green flavour."[/say] He says with a slight curl of his lip.
Dryly, the paramedic looks at the florist. [say]"I did say cock."[/say] Ever agrees, and then smiles ever so slightly. It's a bit one-sided given that the left side of his face is a bruised mess, and whether it's the drugs in his system that are to blame, he does find himself boyishly amused.
[say]"Oh. Well that's alright, I suppose."[/say] As for what happened? Swallowing thickly, Ever closes his eyes and regards the ceiling behind his darkened eyelids. [say]"A swatting call, like I said. We were called in because there were threats of teenagers overdosing in the home, alongside the distribution of narcotics and weapons."[/say] If he could have scrubbed his hands over his eyes, he would have. Instead, he just opened them and lets his gaze slide back toward Mateo. [say]"I was taking the blood pressure of a young kid when he thought it would be a good idea to try and stab me. They told me after surgery that he had thought he'd be able to blame the stabbing on the one who made the swatting call. Sort of a look-what-you-made-me-do, situation."[/say] Maybe it would even work, Ever had no idea.
[say]"My medical advice? If you can choose between getting shot or getting stabbed? Choose getting shot."[/say] Bullets normally want through cleanly, unlike blades that normally had to be stabbed in and then wiggled back out again.