Bad Luck: Coitus Interruptus (Sean)

[Vincent Meian]

This was... not exactly the way he'd been planning on spending his evening.

The night had actually started off in fairly good order for once; both Nakia and Vincent's schedules lined up where they could walk home together, the family of five had eaten the same meal at the same time, and both daughters had fallen asleep watching a movie, leading the two men of the household to put them into their rooms and tuck them in at a relatively early hour. Then, after a few evening drinks and some good conversation, all three adults went off to bed.

One thing to note was that by the time the married couple of the house had finished their evening routines, there was definitely a different mood in the air. One that was not conducive to sleeping. Well... not immediately.

Such activities, spontaneous as they were, were what led to this very moment. Seething in the surprisingly intense pain of pulled muscles, the trainer settled himself on a stool in the kitchen, trying his hardest to keep his right leg as straight as possible while his wife plucked an ice pack from the freezer and wrapped it in a towel. The entire inside of his thigh felt as if it'd been tightened to the point of snapping, with the sharpest pain deep in the inside of his hip, and he'd had to be almost carried out of their bedroom by a woman ten inches shorter than him. Granted, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but being unable to walk the twenty steps down the hall even while supported had not improved his mood.

["You should go to the hospital,"] she had told him, considering that the Japanese man had refused letting her treat the injury completely. Or, really, at all.

["We don't have a way to get there with me in this state,"] he'd argued back, taking the pack and pressing it to the sharp aches with a hiss. He'd had enough sense to put some clothes back on, thankfully - he didn't want to suddenly startle his girls if they woke for one reason or another.

["You could call someone with a car."] The very idea grated on the older adult, and the expression he gave the albino woman was flat and unamused. Yes, he should go to the hospital - Nik would know, being a doctor herself. However, needing to call someone for such a trip would lead to... rather uncomfortable questions. Questions he really didn't want to answer. Still, there may have been one person he could trust to help him. There would still be questions, but at least the answers wouldn't be floating around town by the next day, if he were lucky.

["...Fine. I'll call Sean."]

Nakia came back a few moments later, holding Vincent's cell phone and a long sleeved shirt. The trainer took them both with a nod of thanks, slipped the latter on over his bare torso, then ran through the contacts list on the old device and pressed the 'Call' button while watching the white-haired woman walk off again. Probably to retrieve his wallet from his actual pants, since the tall man was sitting here in his gi bottoms for comfort's sake.

Listening to the electronic ring, he sighed and held the ice pack to his leg a little more firmly. This was not how he planned on spending a Wednesday night.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean Neville had spent his Wednesday engaged in the sort of wholesome activities that would make Norman Rockewell roll his eyes. That morning, he had cooked breakfast for Josh and Bailey, as he did every morning, and he and his partner had read the newspaper together while sharing coffee and a bite to eat. He had driven their foster daughter to Hammel with him, and then he had tended to all of his therapy sessions and meetings with other staff members. He had stayed late, because of the Student Activities Council, and, by the time that meeting was over, Josh was leaving work. He and Bailey had stopped off at the younger man’s office to spare him the ride home in the brisk, November air.

Then, he and Bailey had cooked supper, and Josh had baked, and the three of them had shared a pleasant supper together, followed by delicious cupcakes. Bailey did her homework, and the two men washed dishes and did calisthenics, and there had been time to watch an episode of Nova before putting Bailey to bed. Then it had been tea and decompression massages shared with his partner. All before Josh went to read on his laptop and Sean did the New York Times crossword puzzle, as he did every evening.

His cell phone rang when he was three clues from being finished.

The telepath quickly went to pick it up, noticing with a swift glance that it was Vincent Meian calling. Pressing the talk button, he put the phone to his ear. “This is Sean,” he answered.

[Vincent Meian]

The other man's voice on the line seemed both calm and slightly curious, though the combination didn't really help the trainer with his own calm. Granted, that was likely because of the pain more than anything, but at least it felt like the cold was helping. Sort of. This was not a spot where ice was meant to be placed.

"Good evening, Sean," he replied, trying to keep his voice relaxed. "I apologize for the lateness of the hour."

Glancing up to Nik, who'd come back into the room not only holding his wallet but his keys and a pair of flats he rarely wore, the tall man nodded in thanks to her as she placed the objects on the island countertop next to him. She smiled, patted his uninjured leg and started the coffeepot with only water so she could brew a single cup of tea for herself as she waited for the conversation to conclude.

"I would normally not impose, however I have a favor to ask of you." Shifting the ice pack down his leg, Vincent winced at the twinging muscles. "Would you be available to drive me to the hospital this evening? It is nothing serious, however I am under advice to be treated as soon as possible."

The rueful glance the two Japanese adults shared across the kitchen from each other was nearly identical on both faces, save that the paler of them had an edge of humor whereas the other did not.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“It’s quite all right,” Sean quickly assured the other man. He had worked with Vincent for a year and a half, and he had counted the younger man as his friend for the same period of time. He knew that Vincent was not one to call to chat at a late hour of the night, and so he assumed that there was an emergency or other concern where time was critical. Which meant that he was already poised to do whatever was necessary.

The request for a ride to the hospital confirmed his theory about it being an emergency, and he cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder as he rose from the bed. He had to change out of his pajamas and into street clothing, so that he could go out of the house without being indecent. “Of course I’d be available,” he promised his friend. “I’m getting dressed now, and I can be there in ten minutes.”

At this hour of the night on Wednesday, there would be little to no traffic, and so he didn’t anticipate any difficulties getting to the other man’s home quickly. “Will you need help getting to the door? I can come in to help you to the car if you will.”

[Vincent Meian]

"Thank you," Vincent answered, a breath of relief on the edge of his voice. The sooner he was treated, the less likely it was that he would have to come up with an explanation for why he was limping tomorrow. Granted, he'd probably be told to stay home, but that wasn't the issue here. "I am very grateful to you."

Looking over at his wife (who simply quirked an eyebrow at him), the Japanese man shifted his leg and almost immediately understood that there was certainly no way he'd be walking on it. "Unfortunately, that seems to be the situation," he replied moodily. If there had been any humor at all, it might have been considered a wry statement, but this was definitely not amusing. (Well, not to him, at least; Nik seemed to think it was rather entertaining.) "I do not believe I will be able to walk on my own."

Considering his own rather impetuous independent streak, it took a pretty hefty reason for the trainer to admit this. At the moment, a combination of factors did it; Sean was a respected colleague and friend, there was quite a lot of pain that Vincent simply could not deal with long enough to move anywhere, and... well, it was the truth. He didn't lie, so at this point even trying to feign mobility would be an outright untruth.

"Nakia is awake as well, and the front door is unlocked. Please come in directly, as Appoline and Cassiopeia are asleep." Waking the girls would be... uncomfortably awkward. Especially when the younger seemed to have inherited her father's straightforward way of speaking. And questioning.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“You’re welcome.” Sean had divested himself of his pajama bottoms and had pulled on his trousers.

The explanation narrowed down the list of possibilities, particularly with the attendant assurance that the situation was not an emergency, even if it was one that should be treated this evening. He was making a mental list of things to check as soon as he arrived at the Meian residence. “I’ll be sure to let myself in both quickly and carefully.” He was capable of that, and he would leave his car in the driveway in the interim.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, and then I can get you out the front door and into the car.” It would take a bit of balancing, but he was capable of slinging Josh over his shoulder with difficulty, after all. Vincent was taller and heavier than Josh was, but with help, the two of them could get Vincent over to the car. Particularly if he had any ability to assist in his balance at all.

“Is there anything else you need?” He didn’t want to hang up on Vincent until he had confirmation that nothing else was necessary before the driving favor. If there was anything else that he had to in anticipation, he wanted to have it done before leaving the house.

[Vincent Meian]

Sean, being more of Vincent's height than Nik, would have a much easier time getting the tall man mobile. It was terribly obtrusive, but... well, there really wasn't another way. At least the psychiatrist was still fit enough to handle it when offered. It helped that there was still some range of motion in his other leg, and that it was the dominant of the two anyway. "I would be very grateful."

Thinking about the options on that, the trainer shook his head despite the other man not being able to see it. "No, I do not believe so," he replied. "Though I would not oppose a bit of company while waiting."

Emergency rooms being the only clinics open this time of night, that was likely what he'd be doing for some time. Even in a town as small as Pilot Ridge, the Emergency Room tended to run slowly unless there was a major injury pushed through. And while this was certainly... embarrassing... it wasn't urgent. He'd be waiting a while.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“Of course.” Sean had no intention of leaving the other man alone at the Emergency Room. For whatever this was, Vincent surely wouldn’t want to be alone, and it was better from all angles for the younger man to have company. “I’ll see you shortly.”

With that, the telepath ended the call, and set down his cell phone. He apologized to his partner for needing to leave so abruptly, and he explained the situation. With that, he quickly took off his pajama top, pulled on shirt, and then his NYU sweatshirt over that. He then put on his watch grabbed his cell phone, his wallet, and his keys. He picked up the newspaper and his pen and then quietly left the bedroom.

He took the time to put his shoes on at the door, and then he slipped into the garage.

True to his estimation, there was very little traffic on the road at this hour. Within the promised ten minutes, he rolled into the Meian driveway. Quickly, the telepath exited the car and walked up to the front door, opened it, and quietly crossed the threshold. He sensed both Vincent and Nakia in the kitchen and made his way in that direction.

“I’m here,” he announced, more for the purpose of reassurance, since he was hardly invisible. He crossed to Vincent’s side. “Let’s get you out to the car.”

[Vincent Meian]

Passing along the farewell, Vincent turned off his phone and sighed, adjusting the ice pack on his leg again and trying to stretch the sore limb. Nope, it still hurt; that muscle needed to stay relaxed. Turning aside to catch his wife's eye, he gave a weak smile. ["He's on his way."]

["Good,"] she replied, blowing a bit on her hot tea. ["Then you can stop being such a brat about all of this."]

The glare he gave her was both indignant and annoyed, but touched with amusement. Not that she reacted as if he'd even responded anyway; Nakia was even more composed than he was sometimes. ["Forgive me for being a bit embarrassed about this,"] he answered dryly. ["I haven't had a strain like this since I finished basic training; I forgot how much it hurt."]

["Lesson for you, then. Stretch more before vigorous exercise."] He didn't bother to bring up that he hadn't even been doing most of the work this time, nor that such a mood had come on suddenly enough to forgo the idea of stretching beforehand. From the look the pale woman gave him (and his currently covered wrists), she already knew and was teasing him.

["Can you just get my jacket, please? I don't want to freeze on the way over."]

["Sourpuss."]

A few minutes later (almost ten exactly), the front door opened, and the Japanese man straightened up, hip twinging as he did so. The ice pack had already been set aside for a moment, and he nodded in greeting to his friend as the psychiatrist crossed the kitchen. "Thank you again," he answered, allowing Sean bear the weight that his right leg normally would, one arm draped over the other man's shoulders. Even letting it hang hurt - this might be a worse sprain that he'd thought while resting (his initial thought was... well, nevermind that).

Nik grabbed up the keys, wallet, ice pack and phone, then deposited all but the third into her husband's jacket pockets before moving along ahead of the two to make sure the doorway was clear. Then that the passenger door of Sean's car was open and the seat moved all the way back. Satisfied, she hurried back and helped where she could, but that was mostly with stability rather than any weight.

Having done these sort of drills before (a long time ago, it seemed) Vincent still knew how to move most efficiently with a game leg, especially with someone close to equal his size supporting him. Even still, by the time he reached the vehicle, he felt like he'd decided to run five kilometers right after putting a parachute harness to good use. Getting his legs inside the car made him wince outright, the expression of pain flashing openly across his features before subsiding. Taking the ice pack from his wife, the tall man kissed her cool hand gently, then gave a weak smile. "I will be back before the morning."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Even as she chided him, there was a smile on her face. Looking up to Sean, she added, "I have my cell on me, so don't let him forget to call on your way back."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean put one arm around Vincent’s back, before encouraging the younger man to lean heavily on him. While no longer in the prime of his life, he had sufficient strength, and body mass, to shoulder the younger man through the house and out to his vehicle. He walked with a shorter stride than usual, not because Vincent’s legs were any shorter (they were not), but because he had to be mindful of the other man’s injury.

Slowly but surely, and with Nakia clearing the way ahead of them, and then with her further assistance, they made their way out to Sean’s car. He held Vincent step into the passenger seat, and he made sure that the younger man was both comfortable and safely strapped in.

With that, he turned to Nakia and offered her a reassuring smile. “I promise we’ll contact you before we return here.” If not by telephone, then Sean could send a quick telepathic message en route. He made no such promises about a time table, because he knew better. Even in the small towns surrounding and including Pilot Ridge, Emergency Room care could take a while.

He then slid into the driver’s seat, locked the door, buckled himself in, and proceeded to slowly and carefully back out of the driveway. Once they were on the street, he asked his friend, “Do you want to talk about it?”

[Vincent Meian]

As the pair exited the drive, Nakia waved to them with a not-so-secret smile on her face. Yes, Sean was the best person to call in this situation, as any question he asked was merely for the comfort of the people around him. He didn't spread rumors, he didn't tell stories about people without their permission, and he respected privacy.

Still, there was something amusingly satisfying about the fact that Vincent had picked a telepath to take him to the hospital.

In the car, the ice pack went back on his thigh, and the trainer was trying rather diligently not to think about this. The more he thought about how uncomfortable the situation was (both physically and socially), the more he thought about the pain, which brought back exasperated memories on how the event had occurred. He couldn't block even Sean's most involuntary skims of his thoughts unless he thought very hard on it, but his mental blocks weren't that great; his powers were dimensional, not mental, and he didn't have the proper training to block someone half as powerful at the psychiatrist. Besides, the man next to him was a friend; he wouldn't have called him otherwise.

The question that came was expected, but it made the taller man sigh slightly anyway, shaking his head. He could say 'no' and Sean would respect that. And fairly, he didn't want to talk about it. But either way, the other man deserved a bit of an explanation. Most non-serious injuries didn't call for a trip to the emergency room in the middle of the night.

"No," came his usual honest answer, but the trainer added a slightly defeated laugh and continued, "however, you would know regardless. I simply ask that this is not spoken of outside our conversation."

Not that he could stop Nik from saying anything (she likely wouldn't, but she'd be amused for months), nor Hatsuharu or either of his children. But privacy and trust were things the trainer valued highly, and promises were of grave importance. It was not a lack of trust that inspired him to make the request; merely wanting to convey that the topic would be treated respectfully.

Which Sean, he had seen, could do as easily as breathing.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The only positive aspect of this situation, if one could consider any aspect positive, was that it was late enough in the evening on a weeknight. Pilot Ridge, a small town to begin with had only a marginal bar scene, all of which were in the opposite direction of the hospital, and thus, at this hour, there was little traffic on the road. They would reach the hospital in the next town soon enough, and then they would only have to cope with whatever wait there was in the Emergency Room at this hour.

Sean was hardly surprised to hear that Vincent didn’t want to discuss the circumstances under which he had received his injury. The moment that the telepath had entered the Meian residence, he had become privy to the underlying cause, and, in a way related to virility and masculinity, it was somewhat embarrassing. However, it was nothing of which to be ashamed.

Sean didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he offered the younger man a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Who would I tell?”

He had Josh, but, as much as he loved his partner, he kept so many secrets from him because those secrets did not belong to Sean. They belonged to other people, and they weren’t for him to divulge. He wouldn’t have made it very far in life if he believed in sharing idle gossip, particularly that which he learned through telepathy than through more conventional means.

“Besides,” he added, as he changed into the left lane. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

[Vincent Meian]

There had never been any doubt in his mind that Sean would keep this incident between them. It was merely a comfort for the trainer (who was not telepathic) to hear the verbal agreement to his privacy as much as he was able. A habit, he supposed. Besides, if it had been almost anyone else, the likelihood of this evening's small disaster being all over the school and town by tomorrow would have been a promise rather than merely a concern. And Vincent did not want to discuss his sex life with anyone, let alone his students and coworkers.

The add-on that it was nothing to ashamed of did something that very rarely happened to the Japanese man; his cheeks colored slightly as they warmed, and he looked out the window to hide the embarrassed expression. Fortunately, it was dark and the psychiatrist's eyes were focused on the road. Unfortunately, the man was a telepath and could hear his thoughts even if he couldn't see them written on his face.

He would also believe it more if the situation had been more... active on his end. As it was, his present situation seemed all the more ridiculous simply he'd been otherwise occupied.

Force of habit and a slight need for comfort pulled the sleeves of his jacket and shirt further down his wrists, covering the marks that were still there (and would be for hours yet).

"I would agree that the presence of intimacy in a relationship such as mine is to be expected," Vincent replied, still trying to keep his mind off the events of tonight. He was fairly certain that his friend would not appreciate having images to go along with knowledge on this subject. "I am not ashamed of that, nor do we hide our relationship. I merely prefer privacy. That said, I feel that you can understand my... reluctance."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had earned his reputation through a lifetime of maturity, good deeds, and maintaining secrets for other people. He had no intention of veering from that reputation at all, but certainly not with a friend over this occurrence.

“Of course I understand your reluctance.” Both his telepathy and his psychiatric profession aside, it would be patently absurd for Sean, or any person his age (or half that) not to understand Vincent’s reluctance to discuss what had led to his injury. Or his reluctance to even think about the events that had led to his injury. Vincent’s blush was as noticeable as it was uncharacteristic, although Sean knew that many people, particularly men (due to gender roles) would find embarrassment in this situation. For being injured at all, which was a sign of weakness. For the type of injury, which, in men, was coupled with associations of impotence and being less than. For the circumstances under which he had gained in e injury, which in their culture, and in others, like Vincent’s, was viewed as private in the best of circumstances and shameful in the worst.

The older man paused only briefly before he remarked, “On the other hand, one could view it as a badge of pride.”

Not that he necessarily believed that Vincent would do so. He certainly wouldn’t force that interpretation of events on the younger man, but he offered it as food for thought.

[Vincent Meian]

The idea of viewing this whole concept in any sort of good light made the younger man chuckle unexpectedly, shaking his head at the sheer ridiculousness of it. It was an embarrassing injury in the best of situations, and had been incurred in the most private of moments. Making light of it in his own mind was more than enough of a challenge, let alone trying to ponder the idea of telling anyone else.

At least the thought had put him in a slightly better mood.

"It was an accident," he began softly, thinking strictly on his words as much as possible. "I stretched too far in the wrong... position. Apparently, I need to take more care after my training sessions so that this will not happen again." Considering that his sessions for the day had indeed been fairly active, this wasn't too much of a (pardon the pun) stretch in his mind. That, and Nik's 'advice' of perhaps loosening his muscles properly before 'vigorous exercise' was still hanging around in his thoughts.

Despite his blunt nature in most things, his sex life had never really been one of the things the Japanese man spoke extensively on. First of all, if people asked, he simply stated that he was married and left their imaginations to do the rest. His culture demanded discretion on the subject in the best of times, and even though he'd been a much more brash youth than he was as an adult, there had still been a level of modesty present whenever he spoke of his intimate relationships. He could easily answer a question towards his sexuality as a point of insight, but answering the same question when asked with a connotation of interested inquiry made him guarded and wary. Translation difficulties didn't help much with this, either.