Astrid was correct in that Remus just needed to know that he was okay, or that he would be at least. He was relieved but only briefly, he still needed to see Romulus with his own eyes.
“Can I see him?” Remus asked, brows scrunched with concern still. He knew that Romulus wouldn’t be able to speak to him, he may not even wake up right now. But Remus would still wait by his side, watch over him and be his advocate.
"I can take you back once he's settled into his room if you'd like." Peter nodded. "He will most likely be disoriented, so it will be good to have a familiar face there when he wakes up." He added with a little smile, trying to offer further reassurances.
"Peter, you haven't reported this to the Society yet, right?" Astrid asked then.
Peter's brows shot up.
"I mean...no, not yet." He said.
"Could you wait? Just for a bit? We want to see him first and maybe give Remedy the chance to see him since...well no one's seen him in so long." Astrid looked pleadingly up at Peter. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
“It’s not because of anything bad, we promise.” Remus added with furrowed brows, pleading their case with Astrid. He didn’t want to bore Peter with the details involving Remedy, the boys. He supposed that Peter may not care regardless of the details. But this was his best attempt at assuring Peter that Remus didn’t have bad intentions. “I just want some time with him first.” He added in explanation, which was still true.
"Well, I mean...I could definitely hold off on it. I mean, it's not like I recognized Romulus when he was brought in or anything. I'm not even on the clock right now." Peter shrugged lightly.
Astrid let out a little sigh of relief and reached out to pat Remus's shoulder.
"Why don't you wait here until you can go back while I go try and find you something clean to wear?" She suggested to her husband. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Remus offered a nervous smile, he was hesitantly grateful.
“Peter, thank you.” He said with a little nod before issuing one to Astrid as well. “I will wait here.” He agreed, finally feeling some kind of relief after the whirlwind of trauma. He hoped things would be easy going enough whenever he called Remedy.
Remus didn’t think Remedy would decline to come or see Romulus. In fact, Remus was worried about it. He wanted it to go well, not only for the boys but for Romulus too. He hoped this would be the path away from their parents, but he recognized it would be complicated because of Remedy.
She broke Romulus.
Not only his heart, but his spirit. If the boys were a reason to stay, Remedy was a reason to leave and that worried Remus deeply.
Astrid returned shortly after she'd left, a shirt for Remus to change into (a 'Welcome Baby!' shirt with blank spaces to pen the baby's stats) and a drowsy Lucita for him to hold in hopes of soothing some of his anxieties while they waited, which they didn't have to do too much of as Peter returned to fetch Remus just a while later. Astrid took Lucita from Remus so he could go check on his brother with Peter without having to measure his emotions for the sake of her or their toddler. She assured him she would be waiting for him, for comfort or otherwise. While she waited, she would think about how to speak with Remedy and her father as those were the next phases of the plan.
Peter stopped by a nurse's station with Remus to grab him a visitor's badge before ushering him back towards the room where Romulus had been put.
"Just remember, he looks much worse than he is. He is going to be alright, he just needs time to recover." Peter warned again as they approached the room. "They gave him some sedatives when they first took him back and I'm sure they have him on something for the pain, so he may not be awake just yet." He placed his hand on the doorhandle and looked back to Remus as if to ask "do you understand?". _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Remus nodded with acknowledgment, but he kept his gaze forward as they walked. His hands wrung nervously at the hem of the shirt Astrid bought for him. He would feel better once he sees Romulus.
“I understand.” Remus finally answered aloud, doing his best to brace himself for the worst.
With all of his warnings, it was of no surprise that when Peter opened the door to the hospital room and found Romulus not only awake but out of bed he was shocked.
Romulus was standing, his good hand braced on the hospital bed while the other remained tucked into his chest in a cast and sling. Peter had warned Remus about Romulus's appearance, that it looked worse than it actually was, but arguably it simply looked as bad as it actually was.
There was more bruised skin on his face than there was not, the space beneath his eyes and on the freshly crooked ridge marked a dark shade of purple bordering on black. A jagged line of stitches started near his temple and jumped through his brow and part of his cheek along with a handful of other cuts and scrapes that weren't deep enough to merit stitching. On his roughly shaved scalp there was a large scrape and bruise, as if someone had gone to struck him and caught him just enough to wound but not be fatal. There were glimpses of bandages on his shoulders from under his hospital gown, as well as a bulging patch job on the inside of one of his thighs.
Romulus immediately turned his gaze on his brother. He smiled tiredly.
"Re-" He croaked out. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Remus brushed past Peter and rushed to Romulus. He took the arm that was holding onto the hospital bed rail and put it around his shoulder to support him. Remus didn’t like people, he didn’t really like touching or being touched because of the context of it from his past. But when it came to Romulus, they were more than familiar. They shared a womb, they endured things together and were no strangers to tending to the other’s wounds.
“Romulus! You shouldn’t be out of bed.” Remus was quick to scold with furrowed brows. He wanted to be relieved that Romulus was well enough to stand (sort of), but he couldn’t be relieved because Romulus seemed like he was making a break for it. Which Remus absolutely could not allow.
There were many things Romulus missed about his life before like shitty street vendor hot dogs, being allowed enough freedom to walk around the city from time to time, the feeling of Remedy tucked against his side…but above all else, Romulus had missed his brother, his twin. They had been each others sole comfort for their whole lives, so to be apart for the past few years had caused an ache so deep Romulus didn’t know where it ended. To say that he was relieved, overjoyed even, did not do his feelings justice.
He was the older twin, though only by mere minutes, but he had always just been a bit slighter than his twin. This difference between them seemed exaggerated now with Romulus having lost a great deal of weight under his parents’ “care”. Even if he wasn’t as busted up as he was, surely he wouldn’t have looked well anyways.
He allowed Remus to grab him, forcing him to lean on the younger twin. He couldn’t help still maintaining his achingly tired smile as he reached up to lightly pat at Remus’s hair.
“Go- t- see -ou.” He scratched out. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Remus tried to urge his brother back into the hospital bed carefully. Remus was never especially gentle because of how his parents utilized his strength. In a different time, Remus would’ve (lovingly of course) shoved Romulus back into bed. But Astrid, and Lucita, even Romulus’s boys, made him considerate and gentle. He didn’t want to hurt Romulus more than he was already hurt.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” Remus said, which he didn’t really know what that meant. If it was meant to be a joke or affectionate, Remus supposed he meant it both ways. “You need to lay down.” Remus encouraged.
Remus’s brows remained pinched as he held onto Romulus.
“Go where? There’s nowhere for you to go.” Remus began before looking back to Peter, shooting him a look. He didn’t mean to be rude or dismissive, but he wasn’t needed for this part. “Armand dropped you nearly dead at my feet, he doesn’t want you, Natas does not want you. I want you, stay here with me, you may not make it back to me again.” Remus pleased with Romulus.
Without needing further queues, Peter left the room, leaning the brothers to themselves.
Romulus’s expression turned into something sadder, guiltier, as he downcast his gaze. His fingers continued to muss at Remus’s hair, as if unconsciously soothing himself or at the very least distracting himself. He wanted to tell his brother that he wished he could stay, but that he did not deserve the same peaceful life his twin did. They had both done monstrous things at their parents command, but Romulus felt like he had broken something holy when he betrayed Remedy’s trust and her love for them.
“Sh-dn’t st-.” He croaked, his voice a scratchy whisper. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Remus frowned, he knew of course who Romulus was referring to by she. Remedy actually asked Remus about Romulus often, granted he didn’t make it a habit of talking to Remedy. But whenever he looked in on the boys or called her to inquire about them, even knowing where he was, Remedy still asked. She would ask if Remus had heard from him, saw him, knew anything new about what was going on with him. Remus always said no, and Remedy always looked disappointed but would say, “I guess no news is good news.” Something she must’ve been saying as a comfort to herself.
“You should know something about Remedy.” Remus began then, trying to consider his next words carefully, all while still urging Romulus back into the bed. He may want to be seated for this anyways.
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