Pandemonium [original]

Chapter Twenty: Blood in good Face (Faith)

Avoiding detection was the hardest part of the journey home for the three. Caspian's face was still bleeding slightly, despite Sephiram's insistence on wrapping the entire top of his head in long strips of his undershirt. Seph looked like he had gone through Hell and back, and Zaria was covered in an assortment of bruises and cuts.

Once they had finally reached the apartment Caspian threw open the door.

"What in Hell happened to you guys?" Huey demanded, who had leapt to his feet at the sight of the battered trio. They had been playing cards, with the exception of Demi, who looked rather uninterested in the whole affair. Zaria's gaze feel to the floor. She brushed past Huey, and disappeared into the kitchen. Malachi followed close behind, and soon the sound of a running tap could be heard, drowning out their hushed conversation.

Rhys looked quite alarmed, but when Caspian merely shook his head, the prince resolved to hear the story later. Sephiram stalked into the bathroom, and dug around in the cabinet for a first aid supplies. Caspian grabbed a towel and wetted it with warm water. He slumped onto the toilet seat, the only place to sit in the small bathroom. After attempting to wipe the blood from his own forehead, he offered a towel to Sephiram who was rummaging through a kit.

The blond man pressed the towel to his neck, and set a few items on the counter as he stood to attend to Capsian first. Rhys found his way to the doorway. "What happened?" he asked, leaning leisurely against the frame. Sephiram motioned for Cas to move closer, and began dabbing at the blood surrounding the redhead's cut.

"We were kidnapped," Caspian began.

"You might need stitches," Seph said gently touching Caspian's cheek. He tilted the redhead's face towards the light so he could inspect the damage further.

"Kidnapped by who?" Rhys pressed for further information.

"Men and women in uniform. Definitely not Majin." Sephiram stated simply.

"So the humans know we're here," running a hand through his black hair, Rhys looked concerned.

"They know we're here," Sephiram affirmed. "Somehow, Cas got us out of there. Speaking of which: how did you escape?"

Caspian shrugged. "I..." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "My restraints were loose. I broke them and killed the guard."

Seph pulled the stained cotton ball away from Caspian's face and frowned at the slight flow of blood. "My cuffs were metal..." He trailed off.

"Mine were too. I guess the guards were a bit rushed." Caspian laughed shortly, "I gave them plenty of trouble." His hands went up to cradle Sephiram's neck. Luckily the taller man's wounds were shallow. "Looks painful."

"I'm fine. You, however, are not. And you didn't answer my question," he pointed out. Rhys was still in the doorway. His lips drawn in a tight line.

"I just broke them, Seph," Caspian almost pleaded, he didn't know how else to explain to his lover. His hands didn't move from the blonde man's neck.

Rhys still wasn't satisfied. He spoke up, "You didn't have any trouble after that?" The prince's concern was well concealed beneath his stern tone.

"No," Caspian shook his head. "The other guards had already left."

Sephiram was running out of patience.  He sounded irritated, "Where did they go?" And why? Something wasn't adding up in his mind.

"How am I supposed to know?" Caspian frowned, voice cracking in frustration. This earned him a harsh glare.

"When you're all patched up come talk to us, okay? I want to know what happened," Rhys said simply, not wanting to get involved in their quarrel. He pushed off the doorway and headed back into the living room.

"There's something you didn't tell me," The gray-eyed man insisted.

"No there isn't," Cas hissed, "Do you want all details? How it felt to be kicked in the gut? To have someone threaten me with a knife?" With each question, his voice had been getting louder and louder. Forcing himself to stop, Capsian took a shuttering breath, Sephiram was being impossible. "Do I need stitches or not?" He changed the subject, not wanting to start a fight.

To Caspian's relief, Sephiram let it go. "I think you're fine. But you need to cover it. Where are your adhesives?" The ones in the first aid kit were missing.

"Under the sink," Caspian directed. The silvery-haired man crouched down and procured a green box of the sticky bandages. Sephiram removed the backing and started sticking them along the worst part of the cut. Wincing occasionally, Cas silently allowed Sephiram to continue.

"What did you really do?" Sephiram questioned once more in a low voice.

"I told you already," Cas said, his annoyance showing once again. Once Sephiram had finished bandaging him up, Caspian attempted to slide from beneath the larger man's hands, but was held firmly in place.

"Don't lie," The blonde told him. "Not to me."

"I'm not lying, Sephiram," Cas insisted. For a long moment Sephiram held his gaze. He seemed to be searching for something in Caspian's green eyes.

"Fine," The man conceded.

"Fine," Cas echoed. Their gazes still held. It was harsh and Caspian needed it not to be, for his sake. Seeming to cave, Caspian pulled Sephiram close and his arms around the other man's torso.

"Are you sure your cuts are okay?" Caspian asked, gently now. The blond man sighed and finally returned the redhead's embrace.

"I'll survive," he said. Caspian nodded, his green eyes still full of worry. Sephiram lightly ran a hand across Cas's cheekbone, then without a word pulled out of his grasp and walked away.