Hell Above

Jack looks up from his phone when the blonde begins to stir beside him, thumbs pausing against the device’s screen halfway through the sentence he’d been typing. He shifts his gaze over to Alex’s sleeping frame momentarily, watching as the muscles in his hands tense and relax against the mattress.

His eyes travel over the elder’s body, regarding the bruises displayed across Alex’s exposed skin warily, the discolorations make Jack’s stomach upset each time he looks at them. It’s early afternoon now, and the light from the window on the other side of the bed from Jack does nothing to hide the marks. It’s hard not to see them when they’re emphasized and displayed so well, and it’s even harder not to think about how many more the other man’s clothes are concealing that Jack can’t see.

After a moment Alex stirs again, a tiny groan falling from his lips that lets the younger know he’s waking up. Jack finishes his reply to Vinny, sending the text and locking his phone. He leans up to slide it onto the nightstand, settling back down on the mattress just as the blonde rolls over to face him. Tired honey eyes open to meet soft dark ones, and nothing is said between them for a few moments because neither is sure of what to say first.

Jack decides to take the initial jump, breaking eye contact with the elder as he breathes out a simple “Hey.” The word comes out much quieter than he’d thought it would, despite how he’d been rehearsing what to say when Alex woke up since he’d found him unconscious on the bathroom floor nearly thirteen hours ago.

The relief is clear as day in the younger’s voice though, and it doesn't help to ease the guilt the blonde is currently swimming in. Alex shifts again, trying to dull the aching in his ribs as best he can in order to fully focus. He turns over onto his side, face scrunching up in discomfort at the pull of the sheets against his ribs. Jack is quick to reach out for one of the extra pillows on his side of the bed when Alex motions for it, handing it over and helping the blonde to stuff it under his injured side.

Alex flashes the younger a grateful look, using his free hand to keep the pillow pressed against his body as he settles into a more comfortable position. Once he’s finished, chest and head propped up along the length of the pillow, free arm thrown over it to keep it in place, he meets Jack’s eyes again. “Hi.” He responds, voice coming out slightly hoarse and wrecked.

Jack settles back down, legs crossed haphazardly in front of him over the sheets. There are so many questions buzzing in his mind that he wants to ask, but he can already tell that Alex isn't going to answer most of them willingly. He breathes out a quiet sigh, resigning himself to ask, “How do you feel?” as he fidgets with his hands in his lap.

The blonde provides a noncommittal shrug in response, the mattress and pillow disrupting most of the motion. Jack throws an unimpressed look his way, earning a proper answer in turn. “I feel okay.” Alex decides, but it doesn't sound very convincing to either of them.

Following a few careful attempts on Jack’s part to get some sort of information out of the blonde, all of which Alex deflected with loose shrugs or short, vague replies, the younger settles for, “Do you want me to get you anything?”

Alex shakes his head, a few strands of blonde hair falling limply across his face from the movement. After a second, he seems to think better of it, and then is moving to sit up. “I wanna take a bath.” He announces, shoving the blanket that Jack had placed over him when he’d carried him to bed off with annoyance.

The younger raises a questioning eyebrow, unsure of how to react to Alex’s sudden request. Jack remains seated, watching the blonde slip off of the mattress to stand to his feet. Although Alex’s back is to him, Jack still manages to catch the slight shrinking of his body as he winces, an almost inaudible gasp following the movement.

Jack slides off the end of the mattress, making his way around to the side of the bed where Alex is standing, arm crossed over his chest to grip his side and eyes shut. He opens them when Jack comes to stand beside him, and the younger can see something in them that makes him drop the hand he’d had raised to reach out for the blonde back to his side.

Jack wants to call bullshit about Alex ‘feeling okay,’ but he chooses not to. Instead he asks, “Can you walk?”

The blonde just nods in reply, remaining still for another moment before dropping his arm back to his side and moving around Jack. The younger follows Alex across the bedroom into the bathroom, moving around him when he stops short in front of the doorway just over the threshold.

Jack steps over to the bathtub, bending down to turn on the faucet and adjust the water’s temperature before straightening back up. He turns to see Alex stood in front of the sink, hand raised as he slides his fingers across his bruised jaw.

Jack clears his throat, gaining the blonde’s attention. He gestures to the filling tub when Alex turns to face him. After a moment, when the elder doesn't move to undress like Jack had intended, he says, “I’m gonna get you a towel –” pausing until the blonde meets his eyes, “okay?”

Alex nods, despite being well aware that they keep all of the towels in the cabinet next to the sink directly beside him. He waits until Jack leaves the bathroom, watching the younger pull the door almost entirely closed behind him, before beginning to undress.

By the time Jack returns, Alex is in the bathtub, legs pulled against his chest and head resting against his knees. He has his eyes closed and doesn't open them when the younger asks from the other side of the door, “Do you want to be alone?”

It’s a minute before Jack gets a reply, the blonde’s eyes remaining shut as he answers. “No.”

Jack pushes the door open then, spotting Alex’s hunched form in the tub. He heads over to the cabinet and gets a fresh towel out, placing it on the counter before stepping over to the bathtub.

Alex lifts his head and meets Jack’s eyes when the younger bends down over him to turn off the water. He watches the darker haired man sit down on the tile next to the tub, folding his legs underneath him and leaning back against the wall.

They’re both quiet for a few minutes, both unsure of where they stand with the other. Jack isn't sure how he’s supposed to be acting, considering he’s still in the dark over the entire situation. Alex is sore and uncomfortable, unwilling to explain to Jack the bruises and injuries clearly displayed on his bare skin or why he’s acting this way, despite understanding that Jack deserves to know.

“Will you wash my hair?” Alex asks, causing Jack to look up from where he’d been staring at the floor.

The younger nods, standing to get the shampoo bottle from the shower. He returns with the bottle, motioning for the blonde to turn around before sitting down on the edge of the tub. He rolls up his sweatpants so that he can put his legs in the water on either side of the other man, and then realizes that he’ll need something to rinse the blonde’s hair.

“Hold on.” He assures, standing again and exiting the room. He returns with a cup, setting it down on the tub’s edge before settling back down where he’d been before.

Alex remains still, eyes cast down to where his hands are under the water. There’s still those bruises wrapping around his wrists from the client a few nights prior, although they've faded into a pale yellow instead of the deep brown and purple of the fresh ones now lining his sides and arms.

From Jack’s spot behind the elder, he can clearly see the bruises along the man’s sides and the backs of his arms. He looks like an abuse victim, and the sight makes Jack’s hands shake as he reaches for the cup beside him. He fills it with water from the tub, placing a hand lightly against the blonde’s forehead, silently instructing him to tip his head back.

Alex does, allowing the younger to wet his hair and then keeping still as Jack massages in the shampoo. The man’s hands through his hair feel good, but as they rub in the soap, smoothing against his scalp, they also bring back the guilt he’d felt when he’d first woken up to find Jack there. Everything feels so intimate now.

He doesn't want Jack to know what happened, and that makes him feel awful, because after everything that they've been through together the younger certainly deserves to know. Alex understands this, and yet he chooses to remain stubborn, because in all honesty he’s terrified of what Jack will think.

“Tip your head back again.” Jack instructs, voice soft and hands gentle against the blonde’s forehead. He rinses out the soap from the elder’s hair and then places the cup back down on the edge of the tub before standing to his feet. Alex twists around in the tub to look up at him, nodding when Jack states, “I’ll get you some clothes. Just let me know when you’re ready to get out.”

The younger leaves again, closing the door fully this time. Alex takes his time washing, trying his best to scrub at his skin with the washcloth without hurting himself even more. When he finishes, he remains sitting in the water for a few more minutes, working up the nerve to call for Jack to help him stand up to get out. He would try to do it on his own if he thought he actually could.

When he finally does call for the younger, the bath water has lost most of its heat and his muscles are aching. Jack gets the towel he’d set out on the countertop, unfolding it as he walks over to the tub. He gets Alex to stand as best as he can without hurting him, and then wraps the towel around the man carefully before helping him step over the edge of the tub and onto the tile.

It takes Alex by surprise, even though it really shouldn't, when Jack wraps his arms around him, pulling the blonde against him softly. He forces himself to relax in the younger’s hold, leaning forward against him slightly as they stand there.