[ kind of as a weird nuance, as he's not sure he has the time or inclination to explain, especially since the flow of blood doesn't seem to want to stop anytime soon. his fingers in the dark fold in and then fan out. there's a funny bloom of warmth in matt's side, a trace of magic to slow down the free spill of blood in his side, but his ability to heal the wound altogether isn't instantaneous. ]
Come on. I'm right around the corner.
[ he isn't, technically: the sanctum is still a block and a half down bleecker. but he can reorient reality a little to make it so, and that's just as good. ]
[ Matt seems to always run into a medical professional exactly when he needs one. Normally he'd argue but he can feel how lightheaded he is, and he's not really sure he could figure out how to argue anyway. ]
You're not gonna .... Take my picture and plaster it on social media, are you?
[ He makes it sound like a joke, but it's obvious that he's serious. It's the only thing that makes him hesitate before he follows. ]
I don't really have an online presence right now, if that helps.
[ and then he curves his arm around matt's back to help him walk. as they turn the corner and pass an apartment building there's another alleyway where there normally isn't, and the path leads to a place that it shouldn't necessarily, but it's indistinguishable in the dark until a streetlight crackles ahead: the way out spits them on a sidewalk like any other sidewalk, just across from the sanctum sanctorum. even if matt could see the path they took doesn't seem like magic so much as it just seems like they took a back way. ]
[ Luckily, Matt's none the wiser. He stumbles along, grateful to have the devil's luck on his side. All he can do is vaguely nod that he understands, his breathing getting shallower as he tries to push his body to hold on just a bit longer.
Once they're through the door of the home - Matt notices it echoes a bit more, that they don't walk any stairs or get into any elevators, but it's not a townhouse. Too big. Too different sounding. His brain is too foggy to sort it out. ]
[ and then, a little ways to the side of the massive foyer, there's a bench. to most it will have seemed as though the bench was always there.
he eases matt down on top of it and hunkers down beside him. ]
I need a look at your injuries. I understand your type doesn't like getting undressed in front of others, but you also shouldn't be dripping blood, so ...
[ He huffs out something that is probably supposed to be a laugh. Matt knows he can't really weigh his options here. The mask comes off first, and he drops it carelessly to the floor by his feet before he starts fumbling around for the buckles that keeps everything in place. It's definitely harder than usual with the pain spreading through his abdomen. ]
[ stephen looks, because of course he can look. the man is handsome, easily, all cheekbones and a ready smile. there's plenty to like there, but there are more pressing matters at hand. ]
Well. Since you showed me yours.
[ he puts his hands out, turns them in air, and the various straps and buckles that hold together matt's armor start to unravel themselves. there's odd atmospheric pressure shifts near his hands, ebbs and flows in some kind of energy he pulls from thin air.
and then it's easy work, manual work, to help push off his clothes. a first aid kit pops up too, out of nowhere. ]
[ Were he in his right headspace, Matt would let out an incredulous laugh. Instead, he settles for: ]
Of course.
[ Leave it to him to find the super powered doctor living in Lower Manhattan. He can't quite feel it the way Stephen does, the way the magic moves, but Matt's hair stands up on his arms as if there's something in the air. ]
[ but his voice is extremely dry, in a way that suggests empty threat. ]
I'm going to close this up. I don't suppose you have a ...
[ needle phobia, he's about to say, but then he gets his first good look at the man's eyes: unfocused, unseeing. stephen blanches, fixates for a second, just to see if he can tell whether it's temporary, but. huh.
he shakes himself. there it's all manual, the way he pops open the kit, starts to staunch and clean up that unusual bloodflow. he's quick about it, the way only a medical professional can be, and that's even well before he pulls the suture kit out next. ]
[ Over the years, Matt's gotten very good at pointing out the moment when someone realizes he's blind. He exhales, then inhales sharply at the sting of antiseptic. ]
It's permanent. The blindness. Don't worry.
[ It's easier to talk through this part. Keep his mind on something else other than the inevitable but familiar discomfort. He and his dad used to talk, too, when Matt would clean him up after a fight. ]
I think ordinarily that would raise more questions than it answers.
[ his voice lackadaisical as he stoops down to start on those stitches. for precision work there's a matrix of light that climbs over his hands, thin and angled threads that hover over his skin at a distance, detectable mostly as fluctuations in the air. it helps with the tremors. ]
You're not planning on running out the door as soon as I'm done here, are you. I would advise against it.
Something tells me a guy who makes the news beating the tar out of criminals isn't an especially skilled listener.
[ it's good to keep him distracted from the pain and also from passing out on the lounge outright. with the aid of the spell stephen's work is quick, efficient - it's almost no time at all before the last stitch is snipped off. he dabs up the rest of the blood with the wet cloth and lifts his eyes to matt again. ]
I'm going to move us to a place you can lie down. For most people it's disorienting, so I'm going to take your hand. Okay?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ kind of as a weird nuance, as he's not sure he has the time or inclination to explain, especially since the flow of blood doesn't seem to want to stop anytime soon. his fingers in the dark fold in and then fan out. there's a funny bloom of warmth in matt's side, a trace of magic to slow down the free spill of blood in his side, but his ability to heal the wound altogether isn't instantaneous. ]
Come on. I'm right around the corner.
[ he isn't, technically: the sanctum is still a block and a half down bleecker. but he can reorient reality a little to make it so, and that's just as good. ]
no subject
You're not gonna .... Take my picture and plaster it on social media, are you?
[ He makes it sound like a joke, but it's obvious that he's serious. It's the only thing that makes him hesitate before he follows. ]
no subject
I don't really have an online presence right now, if that helps.
[ and then he curves his arm around matt's back to help him walk. as they turn the corner and pass an apartment building there's another alleyway where there normally isn't, and the path leads to a place that it shouldn't necessarily, but it's indistinguishable in the dark until a streetlight crackles ahead: the way out spits them on a sidewalk like any other sidewalk, just across from the sanctum sanctorum. even if matt could see the path they took doesn't seem like magic so much as it just seems like they took a back way. ]
That's my place. Slowly, now.
no subject
Once they're through the door of the home - Matt notices it echoes a bit more, that they don't walk any stairs or get into any elevators, but it's not a townhouse. Too big. Too different sounding. His brain is too foggy to sort it out. ]
Need to sit down -
no subject
[ and then, a little ways to the side of the massive foyer, there's a bench. to most it will have seemed as though the bench was always there.
he eases matt down on top of it and hunkers down beside him. ]
I need a look at your injuries. I understand your type doesn't like getting undressed in front of others, but you also shouldn't be dripping blood, so ...
no subject
Might need some help here.
no subject
Well. Since you showed me yours.
[ he puts his hands out, turns them in air, and the various straps and buckles that hold together matt's armor start to unravel themselves. there's odd atmospheric pressure shifts near his hands, ebbs and flows in some kind of energy he pulls from thin air.
and then it's easy work, manual work, to help push off his clothes. a first aid kit pops up too, out of nowhere. ]
Hold still.
no subject
Of course.
[ Leave it to him to find the super powered doctor living in Lower Manhattan. He can't quite feel it the way Stephen does, the way the magic moves, but Matt's hair stands up on his arms as if there's something in the air. ]
no subject
[ but his voice is extremely dry, in a way that suggests empty threat. ]
I'm going to close this up. I don't suppose you have a ...
[ needle phobia, he's about to say, but then he gets his first good look at the man's eyes: unfocused, unseeing. stephen blanches, fixates for a second, just to see if he can tell whether it's temporary, but. huh.
he shakes himself. there it's all manual, the way he pops open the kit, starts to staunch and clean up that unusual bloodflow. he's quick about it, the way only a medical professional can be, and that's even well before he pulls the suture kit out next. ]
no subject
It's permanent. The blindness. Don't worry.
[ It's easier to talk through this part. Keep his mind on something else other than the inevitable but familiar discomfort. He and his dad used to talk, too, when Matt would clean him up after a fight. ]
no subject
[ his voice lackadaisical as he stoops down to start on those stitches. for precision work there's a matrix of light that climbs over his hands, thin and angled threads that hover over his skin at a distance, detectable mostly as fluctuations in the air. it helps with the tremors. ]
You're not planning on running out the door as soon as I'm done here, are you. I would advise against it.
no subject
[ If he can still be a smartass, he must be more or less okay. ]
Mm. People advise me against things all the time.
[ He doesn’t look like he’ll be running, though. Even while he’s being stitched up, Matt looks ready to pass out. ]
no subject
Something tells me a guy who makes the news beating the tar out of criminals isn't an especially skilled listener.
[ it's good to keep him distracted from the pain and also from passing out on the lounge outright. with the aid of the spell stephen's work is quick, efficient - it's almost no time at all before the last stitch is snipped off. he dabs up the rest of the blood with the wet cloth and lifts his eyes to matt again. ]
I'm going to move us to a place you can lie down. For most people it's disorienting, so I'm going to take your hand. Okay?
no subject
Thanks.
[ He reaches vaguely for Stephen's hand, gripping it as hard as he can. Which isn't a lot right now. ]
I'm Matt.
[ That seems important to say. ]