ACE ATTORNEY AU

[enigmaster]

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[enigmaster]

Yeah. It... It shouldn't happen again anyway, I promise, but... this way you can be sure.

[agoodname]

....thank you. [quietly, and there's something strung very tight about him that relaxes marginally. It's small, but it's something.]

[enigmaster]

I'm really alright, Oswald... Just... a lapse in judgement. It won't happen again. [And Butch will be there. Just to be safe.]

[agoodname]

[That should be comforting. It is, a little. But a lapse in judgement is being unable to judge a situation properly. Edward judged this situation properly...he just chose a completely illogical path of action.] And you'll take Butch with you?

[enigmaster]

Yeah. I will.

[agoodname]

...okay.[it's not perfect...but it's a start. It's something, at least. ...which is about the time that Butch is going to uhhhhhh step back into the room] "Hey, uh...I got that first-aid kit." [And Oswald's turning his head to look at him then] Oh. Thank you. [and he's releasing Edward so he can take that from Butch as he comes over] "No problem."

[enigmaster]

[Edward blinks a bit and just... lets out a breath, as Oswald releases him. On the one hand, he kind of... wishes Oswald had never let go. On the other, the reason for it just makes him feel awful. On top of all the other ways he feels awful, so that's not fun. He's doing his best to act unaffected, but other than his general demeanor, the fact that he's a little pale and shaky is definitely giving him away. ...He's just. Quiet, for a bit.]

[agoodname]

[Oswald accepts the first-aid kit and sets it out, starting to retrieve wipes, bandages, etc--when Butch pipes up] "Hey, uh....I don't know how much my two cents is worth but, in my experience, people going into dangerous situations knowing exactly how dangerous they are do so either for reasons they're aware of, or unaware of. The people aware of those reasons are the thrill-seekers. And that doesn't really seem like you, Eddie. So it's gotta be somethin' else. What that somethin' is, you're gonna have to do some thinking about but...I'd start with look back on the past couple weeks. There's always some kinda reason somewhere." [Butch shrugs a bit] "Anyway I got another job I gotta get to but...let me know how you're doin', okay?"

[enigmaster]

[Edward... keeps his head angled firmly down and looks away a little. Nervously. These aren't things he wants to think about. So he's... quiet, for that. And it takes him a bit to respond at all, but. Well.] ...Sure. [Hey, there's... something.]

[agoodname]

"See ya later." [and Butch just...lifts a hand, before leaving. Oswald waits until he's gone, before starting to gently dab at that cut on Edward's face. There's a frown between his brows; he's thinking]

[enigmaster]

[Edward winces a little. Not that there's much to be done, here... the cut does have to be cleaned. ...It doesn't seem as if he's going to speak up again for now.]

[agoodname]

[ then they'll just...work in silence for now. Oswald trying to be as gentle as he can while cleaning that cut, putting anti-bacterial and some butterfly bandages on it to help it heal correctly, before moving on to any other cuts he has and following the same procedure.]

[enigmaster]

[There's a few, but not too many. And that takes care of most of the obvious damage, aside from Edward's eye.]

[agoodname]

[.....] I'm going to go get you some ice for that eye. Just a moment, okay? [and he's going to set down the supplies, reaching for his cane to move to the kitchen and retrieve that ice and place it in a bag with a kitchen towel to blunt some of the cold. It just....doesn't add up. Or, it didn't before. But with Butch's parting words and the addition of his own knowledge...Oswald is having a bit of an idea of what might be happening. Or at least what a possible cause might be. So he'll bring that ice bag back, and hold it out to him] Here--this should help your eye, at least.

[enigmaster]

[It's a second before Edward looks up, but he accepts the ice bag. Taking off his glasses so he can just hold that against his eye.] Thank you...

[agoodname]

Of course. [he swallows, hard] ...are you hungry?

[enigmaster]

Ah... Not really. Um, I feel a little sick, to be honest... [Yeah, getting hit hard in the gut will do that. Funny how that works.]

[agoodname]

[Oswald's lips purse together, concerned, but...] You should probably just rest, then.

[enigmaster]

I guess, yeah... I'll... I'll do that. [...] ...I really am sorry, about all this...

[agoodname]

[and Oswald's throat goes a bit tight at that. He reaches out to just gently brush some hair away from his face, hesitating slightly] ...we'll figure it out, Edward.

[enigmaster]

[There's nothing to figure out. He did something stupid and it just blew up in his face, but it's not... It's not a thing. Right? ...Right. Just a one time thing. He'll take Butch along, for Oswald's sake, but this wasn't... anything.] ...Mhm. Okay. [Yeah, you know what, rest sounds good... right about now. He's just gonna uhhhh go get some of that. He'll just... head off to bed.]

[agoodname]

[and Oswald just...watches him go. Before he presses the heels of his palms to his eyes, drawing in a shaky, watery breath. He needs--he'll just take a shower. He can take a shower and close and lock the bathroom door and between that and the water and the additional closed door, it'll be quiet enough. He wants to scream, or break something. He wants to quit being a lawyer and just help Edward from here on out; surely if he's with him all the time, there's no way he can lose him. He'll never have to worry about a phone call-- ...if he'd even get a phone call. Which makes it, somehow, incredibly worse. Oswald's throat tightens, pressing his palms harder into his eyes until he sees stars to take out the sting. He can't--he needs a shower. Oswald fumbles a bit as he grabs for his cane, using it to propel him into the bathroom, closing the door behind him]

[enigmaster]

[Edward's far too out of it to notice anything. He makes it to the bedroom and just kind of... collapses onto the bed. He's very tired. Even if he's used to getting hurt, that doesn't make his body any more suited for it. He's gonna be out real soon.]

[agoodname]

[hopefully he is by the time Oswald gets out of the shower. It's a long shower. The water's gone cold by the time he steps out, which is a feat for a place like the one he's living in. But at least he's stoped being visibly, openly upset. Now he's just exhausted.

So he'll change into pajamas and...spend another hour tossing and turning. His mind won't stop racing; like he can't, somehow, stop imagining scenarios in which this all could have gone even worse than it has. Eventually, he gives up. At least he doesn't have work tomorrow. He extracts himself from the tangled covers, moving to creep down the hall to Edward's room...where he pushes the door open slowly, checking to see if he's asleep]

[enigmaster]

[Oh, yeah, Edward is very much out. It... kind of looks like he just fell onto the bed rather than get in properly, because the covers aren't even over him. They're pulled away for him to get in and it seems he just... didn't have the energy to pull them over himself. He looks pale, still, which just makes his eye stand out even more. It's not great.]