Camp Half-Blood: Salty Shorts

Will & Damian

Despite being sheltered inside the prison walls, Will could still feel the stinging bite of winter. The concrete absorbed the cold, and the small electric heater in his room only did so much to fight it off. At the moment, the tall boy was trying to coax a seed into growing in his lab, but the cold atmosphere made the sprouts wither and die as soon as he withdrew his hands.

A soft knock sounded at the door, but Will refused to look away from the small plants he was tending to. "Come in!" He called out, his gaze focused on the steadily growing stem in front of him. He wasn't even sure the other person had heard until the door creaked open and shut with a click.

"Hey, Will." Damian crossed the room, his light footsteps hardly making a sound. He plopped down on a stool just out of Will's field of vision, releasing a quiet sigh and resting his head on the counter. "What're you growing today?" His voice sounded strained, which nagged at Will's attention.

"Lavender." He murmured, waiting for the plant to flower before he turned to Damian. The teen was slumped over on a stool, leaning on the counter for support to keep himself upright. Will's jaw dropped. "This is the third time this week! Gods, how are you awake?" He frantically ran his hands through his hair, pulling out gauze from a drawer.

"Couldn't tell you." Damian responded quietly. He was using his blood soaked shirt as a makeshift pillow. His back, arms, and chest were covered in lacerations. None of them were extremely deep, but the amount of blood on him certainly made it look like they were. "Olthen says he's prepping me for something." He continued, staring blankly at the wall.

"Just stay still." Will's voice was muffled by the roll of medical tape held in his teeth. Damian flinched as Will began to clean the wounds with wet paper towels, sending freezing water running down his back. "Gods, I'm sorry. I know this hurts." Will started rambling nervously, starting up some of the same conversations Damian had heard the last time he was in here. "... and he reopened some of old wounds too. I'll get you out of training tomorrow, but I'm not sure how long I can get you besides that."

Damian listened silently, more or less just trying to refrain from using his shaky voice or risk a pained whimper. He concentrated on Will's voice, managing a half smile when he heard it crack several times in a row. It was something, he noted, that tended to happen when Will was passionate about a topic.

"Sorry, stay still, sorry!" Damian grimaced as a burning sensation raced up his spine, causing him to squirm a bit. One of Will's hands gripped onto his shoulder, holding him steady. "I need to make sure you don't have nerve damage." Will murmured, applying some kind of cream to the cuts on his back. Damian tried to control his breathing and block out the pain. He squeezed his eyes shut, accidentally letting a few tears slip down his cheeks.

"Gods, Damian, please just hang in there." Damian froze up as he felt Will's hands on his face, wiping the tears away in broad strokes. "It's almost over, I promise." He sat rigidly still as Will finished putting the cream on his back. The stool was abruptly spun around.

"Slow it down, Will." Damian stammered, almost falling off. He was rewarded with a weak smile from the lanky teen. Will examined his chest before getting to work again, using the freezing cold, water soaked paper towels to clean away the blood. Being forced to face Will gave Damian more to focus on. Right now he was eye level with Will's curly hair, which he sort of wanted to run his hands through, but the pain from his bloodied arms said otherwise. He analyzed the concentrated look on Will's face, and the way he wrinkled his nose almost imperceptibly every time he was forced to touch a wound.

"Damian! Stay with me!" Will had started snapping his fingers in front of Damian's face, startling the boy. "I need you to stay conscious." He continued, starting to apply the cream again. This time placing a steady hand on Damian's stomach. Damian bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from making any kind of noise in response to this.