Homeward Bound [Closed]

[Horus Richmond]

Horus was so happy when he got told he could be discharged that he practically kicked his sleeping brother in the face. Anubis had, as promised, stayed with him to look after him while he recovered, and had helped him cope with having extremely limited use of his hands. He'd been cuddled when he was told he needed a lot of physio once the muscle tissue in his hands was healed, and privately he was panicking that he'd never get movement in his hands ever again.

Still, he'd been given an information sheet with painkillers and anti-depressants (something he looked at with scorn). Horus had every intention of binning the anti-depressants when he got home, there was no way he was taking crazy pills. Anubis had helped him pack up his little set of goodies and home comforts, and even helped him fix his piercings back in, and the blonde stood, a little weakly, ready to be picked up.

He'd pleaded with Sak to let him continue staying in the attic as long as Anubis stayed with him, and he was looking forward to going out with the dogs again, and cuddling Nomnom, and not smelling hospital everywhere. He felt a lot more human with his piercings in, and his normal clothes back on, even if he looked oddly flushed - a weird side effect of the blood transfusion.

He just wanted things to go back to how they were. He wanted to hang with Evan and punch Sammy in the shoulder when he was being a noobasaurus, and laugh at Vincent's epic fail. He wanted his siblings not to know how bad things were, he wanted his hands to be normal again, not heavily dressed and stitched.

Horus took a deep shuddering sigh as he waited for Sett and Sak to arrive, and glanced at Anubis.

"Fuck I jus' wanna go home."

[Anubis Richmond]

Despite his hatred for the hospital, Anubis stayed diligently at Horus' side. He tried not to think about what was going on outside of their four little walls, instead choosing to focus on his brother and his brother's doctors, bombarding them with questions every time they came in to check on him or change his dressings. One of the nurses had brought him a cot to sleep on, but Anubis abandoned it in favor of sleeping next to his brother, one arm around him as his way of monitoring that Horus was still there and still breathing.

Suicide watch, they had called it. The words chilled Anu right to his bones. Even though Anubis wouldn't let Horus out of his sight, there was always someone stepping into the room, making sure everything was alright. Horus always had some biting comment to spew whenever they left the room, but to Nub it was just reinforcement that his brother really was sick.

But he didn't talk about it. No, he couldn't bring himself to. Instead, he joked with Horus to cheer him up. He would lay with him, watching stupid movies or making fun of the people that walked through the halls. He did everything he could think of to take Horus' mind off whatever might upset him, didn't push the issue of why he felt so low about himself.

The three days had dragged on forever, but regular visits from Sett and Sakhmet and all the meetings with the doctors to discuss Horus' continuing treatment had made the time go a little faster. They had all cheered when they learned he was going to be discharged and they had been warned that Horus would likely need constant supervision. Anubis volunteered without hesitating. Horus wouldn't be hurting himself again on his watch.

And so they stood, arms locked, and Anubis holding the bags of their stuff, waiting for the car to pull up. “It's okay. They'll be here any minute.” Anu's voice was soft and he gently rubbed his brother's arm. “And then we'll never come back here again, deal?” He was probably just as excited as Horus to get out of the hospital and he was in no hurry whatsoever to go back.

[Sett Richmond]

The past week had been filled with arguments about logistics, tears, laughter and hugs; it was a rough week for the Richmonds but right now, driving over to the hospital, hopefully for the last time, Sett was in good spirits.

He finally got to take his baby brother home.

Sakhmet had opted to cook up a storm for the youngest Richmond's homecoming so Sett drove up alone.

Moving through the ironically familiar halls of the hospital, he made his way to Horus' room to find his two younger siblings in a tight huddle. "Sup, tykes. Ready to "blow this popsicle joint"?" Sett tried on his best American accent with an obnoxious grin to both his brothers.

[Horus Richmond]

Horus was grateful for Anubis, really, he was. He didn't think he could have taken the days in the hospital without his older brother snuggling up on him and making him laugh. Even when there was a psycho-analysis who asked a lot of weird questions, Nub had sat on the bed next to him with his arms around his middle and made him feel better. There was only one person on earth who could have made this passing of time even easier, and Horus felt pangs of guilt because he hadn't messaged his boyfriend once since the incident.

Still, he heard Sett's footsteps down the hall and gave Nub's arm an eager squeeze with his own. "Deal, seriously. This place 's a bunch'a balls." He agreed, nodding his head and trying to ignore his hands. The more he looked at them, the more he wanted to get upset again, and he couldn't afford to do that, not when he was still in the hospital.

Sett's cocky words made the shortest of the three make a horrible face. "I ain't blowin' anythin'." He said with a snort, before running over and practically glomping the brunette. "I got m'piercin's back in! Nub helped an' everythin'!" He gestured with the tips of his fingers at the metal work back in his skin, then stayed attached. "Sett I jus' wanna go home. I got a shit load of paperwork t'give t'Doc Neville an' stuff..." He rubbed his face with a bandaged hand.

As the motley crew went past the main reception desk and gave notice of the discharge, Horus paused. "Did... didja..." He began, suddenly feeling nauseous and shaky. "Didja call Elliot? 'Cause I hope y'didn't. I wanna... I think h'should know bu'... bu' not 'fore 'm home. He'd jus' be all..." Worried. Frustrated. Upset. Much like his siblings. He cleared his throat. "How did mum take 't? She ain't flusterin', righ'?"

[Anubis Richmond]

Anubis didn't think he'd ever been so glad to see Sett in all his life. When the older Richmond appeared in the doorway, Nub felt like a thousand tons of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Not only did it mean being able to sleep in his own home again, but it also meant no more creepy doctors, no more being in the same building as dying people, and no more icky hospital smell.

Of course, Sett's fake accent was not what the alchemist was expecting. He stared blankly at his brother for a moment before spouting “What was that? You sounded like... I don't even know.” But he didn't waste much time wondering about Sett's choice of words before dragging Horus over to him and throwing his arms around him. “We are so ready to get out of here.”

And Horus seemed to be in good spirits as they started to walk out, but the the inevitable happened sooner than Nub had expected. Annie stroked Horus' arm in what he hoped was a comforting manner. “Don't worry. Everything will be okay.” He didn't know if that was true, but he hoped so strongly that it was. In his eyes, Horus was the perfect little brother and he just wanted to put this whole situation behind him.

Carrying the bags to Sett's car, Anubis loaded them in the trunk while Horus asked about Elliot. He had purposely avoided that subject while they were in the hospital, knowing it would probably be too difficult for Horus to handle. He'd let Sett deal with this one, and he pretended to be busy rearranging things in the car.

[Sett Richmond]

Sett immediately wrapped his arms around his two brothers when he was tackled. He wriggled his eyebrows at Anubis before smiling down at Horus when he spoke about his piercings, not paying attention to the boy's bandaged hands. "Yeah, we're going home. And we're staying there."

Horus' questions as he filled out the discharge was sort of inevitable but it didn't stop the shapeshifter from shifting his weight around uncomfortably. He did, however, avoid the subject of Elliot. That was really Horus' business and not his. "Mum's fine, don't worry about her. Right now, let's just go home. Sakhy's got a feast waiting for you. She expects you to finish it, you know."

As Nub loaded the car, Sett opened the door for Horus and waited for the boy to be seated before he went to the driver's seat, starting the car. He kept the conversation light, not at all mentioning anything about meds or their parents or the incident and he was glad when their estate came into view.

"Sakh we're home!" He announced before ushering the two younger boys up to the attic. He had bolted the attic door down to the second-floor board. Upstairs, they would see a new double bed, a new wall mirror and a new wardrobe for Anubis' things in the corner. Not a spot of blood could be seen as both Sett and Sakhmet had sterilised the whole place throughout the week, leaving no floorboard unturned.

"Crimson's out back with Huggles. I'll bring him up soon as you guys are settled. Then I'll get you once Sakhmet announces the food's ready. Welcome home, bubba."

[A/N: Sorry for totes godmodding both yous characters. And also ducking out for part of the thread so they can settle into their newly refurbished room ]

[Horus Richmond]

On the way home in the car, Horus felt himself relax. There was no longer this horrible feeling of being wrong, just a kind of joy that he was finally going to be where he wanted to be. "I dunno 'f I can eat a whole feast." He admitted quietly in the back seat with his arms wrapped around himself. A wave of fear crashed over the relaxation and his eyes widened. No. He couldn't get thinner if he was going to eat. He balled his hands up, only to yelp at the discomfort.

"I... um." He began, taking deep breaths and never feeling more grateful when the car stopped, and he practically ran out of it, resisting the urge to make himself sick in preparation for a large intake of food. He glanced at Anubis, then Sett and tried to grin easily, hustling upstairs and wrinkling his nose at the nailed back door. "What 'f I wanna wank?" He said, sounding outraged, then climbing up on the bed and bouncing on it.

"Nub. 'f Elliot comes, y'wont stay up here, righ'?" He asked, investigating the room. He froze in front of the mirror, and looked almost horrified at his own reflection for a long moment, before hiding behind Anubis and blinking back an overwhelming need to cry. He decided to fixate on unpacking his things, fumbling with his tightly bound and bandaged hands and the weakness in the muscle. He ignored it though, because he couldn't cope properly.

Eventually, when he'd dropped his t-shirt for the fifteenth time, he looked up at Nub and let out a low sob. "Th'fuck is fuckin' wrong with me?" He shouted, unable to keep happy for the sake of it. "'m sorry. W'should b'happy. W'should b'happy." He forced a smile on his face, though it looked more like a grimace, and he lay face down on the bed.

"I am glad t'be home. Really. Can y'get Sett t'let Crim upstairs? I missed him."