Honey and Blood Don't Mix

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando sighed internally, sometimes he hated having a smart girlfriend. She always knew he was up to something. Even though she didn’t always say it. “I’m fine.” He told her and looked across at rosemary. Orlando flinched when she tugged his shirt sleeve up. “Jeez you think I’m injured and you start playing rough with me?” He teased with a grin, trying to hide the pain. This wound hurt a hell of a lot more now that his adrenaline from the fight had worn off.

Orlando reached up with his good arm, cupping her face gently. “Calm down baby. I’m fine.” He reassured. Orlando knew she wouldn’t let this go. But he also knew emotions were running high and that if he didn’t calm Them down she was going to be doing something drastic that he didn’t want. “I just got hurt at work. It’s fine.” He reassured again. Orlando’s pain had gone down momentarily, nothing was touching his arm or pushing on it so there was no trigger. He smiled gently at her, leaning in slightly to kiss the tip of her nice. “Maybe I’m getting sick?” He suggested, though he frowned as he realized he had lost more blood than he realized.

Orlando sighed slightly. He was so lucky to have such a caring girlfriend. But damn did he feel bad for lying now. And damn did he wish he could hide all of this. “I’m a big boy, rosemary. I can take care of myself. Don’t worry. I’m fine. Just gotta sleep it off.” He said and gave her another smile, hoping to get his girlfriend to drop the subject. “My brother is a doctor, if you want me to call him I will.” Dalton would cover for him, and maybe if he told her a doctor would check it out she would drop the touchy subject.

@ BadStreetBoys

"You're clearly not fine, Orlando." Rosemary responded, a deep frown moving back across her face. It was clear to her that something wasn't right here. Why would he try to hide an injury? And from the way the man acted, it seemed like it hurt a lot. "Really? Sick and injured on the same day?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him. That seemed unlikely. He probably looked unwell because of whatever had happened. "What happened at work, Orlando?"

The woman was about to push the subject more. It didn't matter that he was a 'big boy'. Men still messed up. Orlando could still be wrong. Though she quick to switch gears when he mentioned calling his brother. "Yes, I want you to call him." Rosemary responded. His brother would be able to figure out what to do with Orlando. In the least, the man would be able to heal up any injury that Orlando had and she wouldn't have to press the man to take care of himself. "You should call him now."

Rosemary shifted back into the couch, providing Orlando with plenty of space to get up, move around and call the doctor.

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando looked up at Rosemary and sighed softly, but a smile found its way to his lips as he watched her. She was so cute, even when she seemed upset with him. “Roooooose.” He groaned playfully and grinned up at her. “You gotta stop worrying about me.” He reached up and gently touched her face. “I adore you, but don’t worry so much I’m okay.” He told her gently.

“Okay okay.” He said and laughed. “I’ll go cal Dalton and have him come over. Are you ready to meet my family?” He teased. Orlando was slightly relieved that Dalton would be coming over. It helped him avoid telling her what happened, and have his brother say that he would be fine to cover for him.

Orlando got up and moved into the kitchen. He picked up his regular cellphone and called his brother. He just explained that he got hurt at work, his girlfriend was worried, and would he come over. Dalton was surprised by the girlfriend note but agreed. Dalton was used to dealing with Orlando and his injuries from the gang. That was part of the reason he had become a doctor, to take care of family.

Orlando left his red cell phone on the counter again and walked back to the living room. He stood in the doorway and looked down at Rosemary. “He will be here in a few minutes.” He told her and smiled. “Come give your big lug a kiss. I missed you a lot today.” He said with soft eyes and a gentle tone. It was so easy to let down his walls with rosemary, even if he had to build temporary ones in their place. It was easy to be with her and around her. She made him so happy.

@ BadStreetBoys

The young woman's eyes softened for a moment as he playfully groaned out her name. "I can't help but worry about you," Rosemary told him gently. Though her eyes harden back up with worry. "Especially when you're trying to hide an injury, you're acting very suspicious, Orlando." She pointed out to him. It was odd. That he was hurt and seemed to not want to deal with it. Though Rosemary was ready to chalk it up to Orlando not wanting to worry her after an already difficult day or just men being dumb about their injuries in general.

"Yes, Bear." Rosemary said softly as he mentioned meeting his family. This was not how she imagined that she would meet his brother, but she certainly wanted Orlando to get checked out. And it just so happened that Orlando's doctor was his brother. She watched as he headed off towards the phone on the table, once again thinking that it was odd that Orlando had two phones. A work phone and a personal phone, it seemed. Though it was odd that the man would keep his work phone and not his personal one on him after hours. Rosemary closed her eyes and sunk into the couch, pushing her thoughts away. It had been a long day.

Once Orlando came back into the living room and said that his brother would be there soon, Rosemary started to really relax again. She opened her eyes up and looked at him, smiling a bit. "Good." She mumbled softly. He would get checked by the doctor and that issue would be resolved... Though Rosemary wasn't sure what she should do about the stalker. She was okay for now but, should she call the police? Part of her wanted to bring it up again to Orlando but he seemed so against it when she first mentioned it.

Hearing Orlando telling her to come over, Rosemary shifted off of the couch and made her way over to him. She wrapped her arms loosely around his midsection before leaning up and pressing a light kiss against his lips. "I missed you too," She whispered to him before laying her head on his chest. Though she relaxed on the side of him that wasn't injured, trying to keep plenty of distance from his 'fucked up' arm.

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando couldn’t help but smile at Rosemary. She was so damn cute. “Come on, babe. What man wants to admit their hurt to their girlfriend.” He told her and laughed softly. That was part of it. He didn’t like admitting he was hurt to anyone, let alone the one person in his life who didn’t know he ran a gang. He wondered if she was going to want to be there when Dalton was fixing him up. He bit his lip at the thought. She would definitely know that wasn’t an injury you got in a car shop.

Orlando wrapped one arm around rosemary as she approached him. He kissed back, the smiling growing into their kiss. This was it. This was all he needed for the rest of his life. The calming energy she brought to him countered all the chaotic energy he had in the rest of his life. “I missed you more.” He teased softly. Orlando rested his head atop hers and closed his eyes. He hummed contently.

Orlando heard the knock on the door and looked down at Rosemary. “That’s him.” He said and walked to the front door. He opened the door and in walked another man. He looked nearly identical to Orlando, just a bit shorter. The man wore nice dress clothes and carried a bag. He looked at Orlando with a look that seemingly said “again?” Orlando walked down the hall and waved to Rosemary to come over. “Rose, this is my brother Dalton. Dalton this is my girlfriend Rosemary.” He said with a grin.

Dalton held his hand out. “Nice to meet you, Rosemary.” He turned his at emption to Orlando. “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend, O.” He said and raised an eyebrow. Orlando waved his hand dismissively. “Just look at my arm, Dalt.” Orlando told him before he stepped into the kitchen.

Orlando hopped up on his kitchen table and sat down, he pulled off his shirt. The gauze much more apparent on his bicep. He had a few bruises along his chest and body as well. Dalton unwrapped the gauze on his brothers arm, then opened his bag and took a few things out.

@ BadStreetBoys

"Sure you did," Rosemary said with a light laugh before burying her face into his chest. Though it was short-lived as a knock came from the door and Orlando had to go answer it. She didn't follow him, instead, staying in the living room but the young woman did stay onto her feet, waiting to be introduced to Orlando's brother. She wished that they were meeting under better circumstances. Maybe on a day that she didn't look like a bit of a mess. Though it was certainly better than Orlando was getting treated.

Once they were walking down the hall and Orlando was beckoning her to come to say hello, Rosemary headed over with a friendly smile on her face. "Nice to meet you as well," She said as she shook his hand. Rosemary then looked over at Orlando as Dalont mentioned that he hadn't told others that they were dating yet. It had only been a little over a week so Rosemary wasn't too surprised by it. After all, she hadn't told her family yet. Though that was more so to avoid her brother's reaction... Seemed she was going to have to do that soon.

Rosemary followed them towards the kitchen but she stayed towards the entrance of it, not wanting to get in the way. Dalton needed to do his work and she didn't want him to have to move around her. Besides, she felt like she could see enough from where she was standing. She wasn't super interested in getting up close and personal with anyone's wounds. Though when the gauze was pulled off, her eyes did drift down to see what it looked like. It just looked like a deep cut.

"Well I am assuming you didn't get hit by a car at work," Rosemary said as she met Orlando's eyes. "What happened?"

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando looked over at Rosemary as Dalton finished taking the gauze off. Dalton poured some hydrogen peroxide down Orlando’s arm to clean it of blood. He lifted Orlando’s arm up and looked at the other side, Dalton was just happy that it didn’t go all the way through. Orlando kept a brave face on, grinning over at Rosemary as she watched. He wanted to be brave for her. Dalton took out a needle and thread to stitch Orlando up.

Orlando smiled at rosemary. “Dalton is a surgeon in the ER.” He said proudly. “My brother is so smart and I’m just a big lug. I got the looks he got the brains.” He told her and laughed. Dalton rolled his eyes. “Hey don’t be talking shut about the guy with a needle near your.” Orlando laughed.

Orlando sighed as she asked what happened again. He had been hoping rosemary would drop it after he got Dalton to take care of it. “Nothing, babe. Just an accident at work. I’m clumsy.” He told her. Dalton looked at Orlando and raised an eyebrow. Orlando gave his brother a look and seemed to mouth something and Dalton nodded. The man couldn’t believe that Orlando didn’t tell his girlfriend about his life.

Dalton finished stitching up Orlando’s arm and wrapped it in gauze again. “Stop being an idiot, O.” He said as he looked down at his brother. Orlando rolled his eyes. “No promises.” He said with a heart laugh. Orlando loved his brother to the ends of the world. He was so grateful for him always taking care of Orlando and the gang when they couldn’t go to the hospital.

@ BadStreetBoys

"Definitely seems risky teasing your brother like that," Rosemary said with a warm laugh. "You never know what he might end up stitching onto you." She leaned into the wall a bit more, laying her head against it as she relaxed a bit more. At this point, Rosemary was just happy to see that the injury was being taken care of - that Orlando was being taken care of. Though as Orlando just gave her another generic answer about work, she let out a small hum in response. "Okay, sweetie," Rosemary said softly.

At this point, Rosemary did not actually believe that the injury came from work or, in the least, was work-related. It seemed more likely that Orlando was doing something that he shouldn't. Probably another fight? She could understand why he didn't want to tell her about that after how she reacted to the last fight he got into. Though Rosemary decided not to worry about it much. Orlando was stitched up and would be fine. However, she would give him an earful the next time he tried to hide an injury. "Well, next time say something. No reason to hide when your hurt."

As Dalton started to wrap up Orlando's arm, Rosemary looked at him with a gentle smile. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I am sure Orlando won't admit it but it seemed like he was really hurting."

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando stretched out his arm slightly once Dalton was done, seeing just how far his limit was with the movement in his arm. Dalton began to pack up his stuff, pausing as he looked at Orlando. “You should call me tomorrow, I need to talk to you about the family business.” He said. Dalton just wanted to figure out what was going on inside Orlando’s head with this girl. As well as ask him why the hell he was hiding his gang affiliation. Orlando nodded and laughed. “Okay Dalton.” He said with a grin. Orlando looked over at rosemary and gave her a gentle smile. “Okay I won’t hide them from you.” He told her. Dalton watched his brother and finished.

“Don’t worry. I’m used to taking care of him.” Dalton said as he playfully glared at Orlando. Orlando smiled awkwardly and laughed. “It was nice to meet you, Rosemary. Hopefully we can meet again under better circumstances.” The man told her. Dalton headed towards the door. Orlando hopped down from the table and walked over to Rosemary. He grinned happily down at her, wrapping his good arm around her. He kissed her gently, the biggest goofiest smile on his face. She made him so happy.

Dalton glanced over his shoulder back at Rosemary and Orlando. He was happy for his brother but still concerned about the situation. Dalton headed out the door. Orlando waved as his brother left, before turning his attention back to Rosemary. He smiled down at her. He was in a much better mood now, partially from the pain meds, but mostly from her. “Are you happy?” He asked and giggled.

@ BadStreetBoys

"It was nice to meet you as well," Rosemary said warmly, smiling at Dalton. "And I would like that," The man seemed nice enough, not that she really got an opportunity to get to know the man. Though that was okay for now. Perhaps another time. A time that was a little better for all of them.

Her attention shifted to Orlando as he came over to her. She smiled back up at him as she felt his arm wrap around him and she was quick to happily lean into the man. Rosemary leaned up and kissed the man back happily before slowly pulling away and laying her head against his shoulder with a pleasant little hum.

"I am very happy," Rosemary purred into him softly. This is what she had wanted. She was safe and happily tucked away at his house. Orlando was fixed up and clearly in a better place now that his arm wasn't bothering him. Her eyes lifted up, looking to the man softly, figuring she should ask the question now before the man passed out from the medication. "Is it okay if I stay with you today?"

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando grinned down at Rosemary. Her being happy is what made him happy. “Happy wife happy life.” He teased, sticking his tongue out at her. Orlando rested his head on top of hers for a moment, humming as she asked him a question. “Rose, you don’t have to ask, the answer is always yes.” He told her abs lifted his head. He looked down at her again and smiled. “Always yes.” He repeated.

Orlando looked into the living room, Hades fast asleep on the couch. “We could go watch tv in my bedroom and cuddle?” He offered. Orlando moved away from Rosemary. He grabbed two water bottles, one for each of them. He put his personal phone into his pocket and stepped back to her. “Come on.” He murmured, though his eyes were filled with delight.

Orlando walked into the hall, pausing at the entryway of the living room. “Come on, Hades.” He said and the dog quickly got up and followed after Orlando as he went up towards his bedroom. Once in the room, Orlando set a water down on Rosemary’s side of the bed and climbed into his side. He opened the drawer of his side table and frowned. He quickly grabbed the remote out and shut the drawer, hoping Rosemary didn’t notice or ask questions. He had forgotten he brought home some of his own drug product because one of his men had gotten hurt selling and he still needed to make money. Orlando turned the TV and began to look for something to watch, avoiding the news channels.

@ BadStreetBoys

Rosemary let out a giggle. "That is right, you better remember it." She shifted up onto the toes of her feet and kissed him on the forehead before shifting back down and laying her head against him. Soon after, she felt Orlando rest his head against hers, which caused her heart to beat a little faster. This was what Rosemary loved, being enveloped by Orlando. Feeling him begin to pull away, her eyes shifted up to meet his. "Always?" Rosemary said as the smile on her face grew huge. "I'll have to remember that then."

"I love that idea." Rosemary responded, stepping back once he pulled away. Once he started to walk towards the bedroom, Rosemary followed Orlando up. And she more than happily crawled right into the bed and got settled in to what she was starting to consider 'her' side. Taking one of the pillows, she wrapped her arms around it and laid her head down. By the time she had gotten settled, Orlando was flipping through the channels.

In truth, she didn't care much about what he decided to put on. Rosemary was exhausted and she was sure she would be fast asleep before they even got into the bulk of the movie. She shifted up to look over at her boyfriend. Rosemary's eyes softened immensely as she just watched the man, a little smile on her lips. He was so wonderful.

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando smiled at Rosemary as she crawled into bed and got comfortable. She looked like this was exactly where she belonged. He smiled to himself as he thought about her moving in, his eyes widened slightly at the thought know it was way too soon to think about that. As he skipped through the channels, Orlando reached over snd took one of her hands in his, intertwining their fingers.

Eventually he settled on some cartoon movie, Orlando knew neither of them would really be paying attention to the movie. They were too far entranced bu one another. He set the remote down and his eyes moved back to Rosemary, he caught her staring at him and he blushed, smiling down at her. “What’re you staring at?” He teased. This woman really had him hooked. He didn’t understand it, but he believed this was how soulmates must have felt, that instant connection.
Orlando laid down and shimmied closer to Rosemary. He let go of her hand so that he was able to wrap his one good arm around her shoulder, gently pulling her closer to his chest. “You know, you never told me about your game.” He said with a teasing grin. “I really do wanna hear about it.” Orlando told her as he yawned.

@ BadStreetBoys

Feeling his hand slide into hers, Rosemary hummed happily. She held onto his hand, lightly rubbing her thumb against the back of his. Rosemary liked being connected and close to Orlando. Even if it was just for little moments like this. Just being able to hold his hand was sometimes satisfying enough. Though she definitely did prefer his bear hugs.

"Me? Staring?" Rosemary purred to him. "I was just admiring. It's hard not too when your boyfriend is so perfect." She let out another little satisfied hum as Orlando started to shift down until he too was laying against the bed. And she easily followed him as he wrapped his one good arm around her and pulled her in. Rosemary was extra careful as she settled into him, ensuring not to lay against Orlando in a way that would put pressure on his shoulder. Though, soon enough, Rosemary was happily cuddled into him.

"Yes, my game," Rosemary whispered to him, the tiredness seeping into her voice. "It went really well. We won against the rival school so the audience went berserk at the end." She let out a little laugh at the thought. "I didn't score a lot of points myself but set up quite of few of them to Courtney. We were really on fire as a duo."

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando rolled his eyes and laughed softly. “You’re so full of it.” He teased. “I’m nowhere near perfect, Rose. I’m just big. I think that’s why girls like me I’m tall.” He said and laughed again. Orlando relaxed as they cuddled and got closer. He could sleep just like this. Though he usually moved around snd ended up away from Rosemary by the time morning came, he liked falling asleep close.

Orlando looked down at her and smiled as she spoke about her game. He liked when Rosemary did the talking, he could listen to her for hours. He liked learning about her and what she liked, but it also meant he didn’t have to disclose any information. Orlando was always nervous when he was with her that he would accidentally slip up and reveal his secret to her. “Well I’ll definitely be there this week. I can’t wait to watch you.” He said and kissed her temple. “Gonna take me to dinner after and introduce me to your teammates?”

Orlando yawned again, closing his eyes for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go to sleep quite yet, but he was exhausted. The combination of the fight, the long work day, and the stress with Rosemary was enough to knock this big man on his ass. “Goodnight.” He mumbled tiredly as Orlando drifted off into sleep.

@ BadStreetBoys

"Of course," Rosemary mumbled to him. "Dinner and come meet everyone. It'll be fun." She pressed in closer to Orlando as she felt herself beginning to drift off. It had been such a long day and now all she wanted to do was rest. And it was not long before she was falling fast asleep.

---

When the morning came, Rosemary turned in the bed slowly, accidentally bringing the blanket with her as she did so. Her and Orlando had separated throughout the night but that was pretty normal. It seemed that Orlando tended to toss and turn. Though it was probably be for the best cause otherwise they would both be quite sweaty in the morning.

Though she was comfortable, all wrapped up in the blanket with her head buried in the pillow. And the re-adjustment had done wonders to find a new cool spot to sleep against. So she started to bury in again, starting to drift off back to sleep although she had just only woken up.

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando slept well through the night from the medication and his own exhaustion. He woke up when the pain killers finally wore off and his arm felt like it was being stabbed again. He sat up fairly quickly and groaned. His eyes still burry from the sleepiness, he reached his hand around the nightstand until he found the baggy of pain killers. Orlando tossed them into his mouth and drank quickly from the water bottle to get them down. He rubbed his eyes to clear his sight, yawning as he looked down at Rosemary who seemed to still be asleep.

Orlando smiled as he watched Rosemary for a few moments as she rested. Though he stopped staring once he realized he was actually staring. He got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself. After a bit Orlando came back out. He grabbed his black phone and stepped out of the room as he responding to the numerous messages he had. He listened to his voicemails and sighed.

Orlando came back in and out his phone away before he climbed back into bed with Rosemary. He curled up alongside her and closed his eyes. He was content to relax like this until she woke up

@ BadStreetBoys

It wasn't long after Orlando had settled in against her that Rosemary started to wake up. She let out a little tired groan before turning over in the bed so that she could press her face into his chest. The young woman stayed like that for a couple of minutes before taking in a deep breath. "Good Morning, Orlando."

She stretched herself out on the bed a bit, opening her eyes to look up at him, a little smile on her face as she did so. "You look better this morning." As she said that, Rosemary reached her hand up and slowly ran it through his hair. With that, she leaned up and pressed a kiss against his cheek.

"What do you want for breakfast this morning?" Rosemary asked as her hand shifted back down and ran along his chest gently.

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando shifted slightly as he noticed Rosemary waking up, he moved back a bit so she could stretch and wake up. He smiled down at her. “I just took more pain meds.” He said and laughed softly. He wouldn’t look this okay if he felt the pain in his arm right now. He wrapped his around around her again and held Rosemary close. He rested his head against hers and smiled as he felt Rosemary touching him. It was so relaxing, her touch was the world to him. “I’d love to have you for breakfast. But sadly I have work so we will need something quick.” He told her with a smile frown.

Orlando stretched out slightly, shaking his head and the tiredness from his eyes. “I gotta let Hades outside, if you wanna meet me in the kitchen you can.” He murmured. Orlando kissed her forehead before he got up, looking to the dog who laid in the corner of the room. “Come on Hades.” He said before he disappeared out of the room and headed downstairs. He went to his back door and let Hades out. Orlando stepped outside to make a few phone calls while waiting for Rosemary.

Orlando finished his phone call and headed inside. Hades followed after him as they both walked into the kitchen. Orlando put his black phone in his back pocket, then his red phone on the counter. He sat down at the table and grabbed the paper off the table, it was yesterday’s newspaper, but he hadn’t gotten a. Chance to read it yet. He opened it up and began to look through it.

@ BadStreetBoys

It took some time for Rosemary to convince herself that it was time to get up for the day. Though the loss of Orlando and the promise of breakfast finally caused the woman to slide out of the bed and make her way down to the kitchen. A little smile crossed her face as she saw Orlando sitting at the table with a newspaper. She came up from behind him, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck as her head dropped down to rest against his good side.

"Looking like a man with a plan reading that newspapers," Rosemary murmured before she kissed his cheek. "Probably a good thing one of us is keeping up with the news." Her head lifted slightly to glance at what he was ready before dropping back down. The woman really couldn't get herself to listen or read too much. It was all so depressing.

Slowly she pulled away from him. One of her arms reached up, slowly running her fingers along his head and messing up his hair. She glanced over at the time for a moment before letting out a small sigh. "I should probably get going," Rosemary murmured.