In the Blood [ON HOLD]

"Cruel, Beautiful Creature"

Remi's eyes tried to drag themselves shut as she cleaned the blood from his face and neck, the cloth damp with warm water, the heat from her body so close to his chasing the chill of mortality away from him.

But he forced them to stay open, watching her expectantly, ignoring the softness of her touch on his face. Ignoring just as mightily the burning pain that was starting to scratch at his side, clawing around the careful stitches Charlie had so painstakingly sewn.

"What happened?" she finally murmured quietly, one hand still cupping his face. The bloody washcloth was still against his collarbone.

Shadows seemed to dance behind the sea-blue of her irises, making the small golden flecks wink and disappear like stars. He wondered if those shadows had always been there, or if he'd put them there. 

She snapped her fingers, making him blink as he realized she had asked him a question. He tilted his head slightly, pressing just a little harder into her hand. Her thumb twitched, grazing along the corner of his jaw.

"What happened to no less, no more," he asked softly.

Even with tonight's bloody ending, her words from earlier were what bothered him the most about today. That cold indifference he'd found awaiting him. A temper tightly leashed. Soft cruelty when she'd turned his words against him. All of it likely rehearsed and designed to shake him.

And damn the fact that he couldn't just let it go.

Charlie's lush mouth pressed down into an angry slash, the lines of her graceful throat becoming more pronounced as she clenched her teeth. But she didn't retract the question. Her eyes stayed full of that curious, dark flame.

Remi sighed and grabbed her hand, pressing her warm fingers over the neat bandaging job she had done. "People have tried to kill me before. A few came much closer than the prick who did this."

Her expression softened slightly, but she pulled her hand away and stepped back. Cold rushed in to take her place, regardless of the balmy night air. He felt strangely vulnerable, and it had nothing to do with the fact that someone had just tried to gut him. It had everything to do with the distant glaze in her eyes as she looked at him.

Softly, she said, "I think I meant what I said earlier today, Remi. If you don't want to tell me, I won't ask."

"Which part?" he rasped, wanting to reach for her, but the burning in his side told him that would be unwise.

"The part about how you'll get what you paid for. Nothing else," she said, addressing the wall, arms folded tightly.

"A doctor," he said, voice cooling by half a degree.

"Yes. A doctor." She passed another blank look over him, then looked down at her arms, which were still flecked with ruby droplets. "I... need a shower," she said, half to herself. Then she met his gaze. "You get what you pay for, Remi. I'll try not to cost you any more than I'm worth."

The grim, bitter words echoed around him as she left. He listened as she went downstairs, most likely to turn the lights off, then as she came back up.

He sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, not liking the small flicker of disappointment trying to ignite in his chest. Eventually, he had to surrender to his body and lay back on the bed, wincing and cursing under his breath. A small sigh escaped him as he relaxed into the blankets that smelled like her.

Blood loss pulled at his eyelids, and he gave in to the drowsiness that had wanted to claim him halfway to Charlie's.

The sound of running water floated across the hall, lulling him into a quick doze. He was soon lost in a strange, fuzzy world of half-sleep, time flowing weirdly around him until a light step nearby had his eyes flying open.