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[ because he'd been as low to the ground as he was, his head doesn't bounce off the floor when alhaitham pounces on him. his shoulders slam against the linoleum though, and that's definitely gonna bruise, but not nearly as much as what it looks like alhaitham's thinking of doing next.

badou's hands, wrapped instinctively around those wrists that pin him down, tighten in a futile attempt to get the other man's wits back about him. there's enough of a weight disparity between them that badou knows trying to shove him off is laughable, at best. ]

Al — buddy — is this about Kaveh? [ is it a dirty move to use the architect's name like he is? probably. does badou are? not at all. ] You don't gotta take it out on me, pal, I get it!

[Badou keeps talking. It's in the space that he does that Alhaitham is already bearing down, Badou with his teeth bared.

It's the right side of the neck he descends upon, latching firmly with his teeth and steadily increasing the pressure in an effort to puncture skin in the kind of way that would be much easier if he had a vampire's fangs and not his ordinary human incisors.

But he's still got to try. There's a pulse underneath that promises to satiate him.]

[ so, despite it all, badou didn't actually think they'd get here. alhaitham, locked in whatever kind of craze this city has put on him this time (because it has to be the city, it's always the city) and gnawing on his neck like he's some piece of cheap jerky (offensive tbh). whatever he'd been in the middle of saying (even he doesn't remember at this point) it cuts off with a warbled sort of shout. it — hurts, to be honest. like a bitch and a half, to the point he thinks actual fangs would have actually been kinder. instead he's got blunt enamel digging into his flesh like it's got something to prove, and it's not even the more giving part of his skin either! it's his fucking neck, corded because he's tense, because he's being bitten, and suddenly the grip he has on alhaitham's hands go from insistent to get-the-fuck-off-me.

he's not the strongest, but he's scrappy. he claws, he kicks, he grabs at skin and hair and ears, that stupid lock of hair on his one side that's longer than all the others and isn't symmetric at all. he can feel his skin tearing, and it's actually kind of hilarious that it might partly be his own fault for thrashing about like he is, and suddenly it's wet at his shoulder and he thinks fuck fuck fuck heine's gonna be so mad.

he flings an arm out, bruises his knuckles against the stapler that'd given him away just moments earlier, thinks, it'll do, and slams the blunt end of it as hard as he can on the back of alhaitham's head. ]

[One would hope that Alhaitham, a man who exhibits self control as if he's seeking an olympic medal in it, would have managed to avoid it getting to this point. But he is only human, and unfortunately not more powerful than multiple layers of bullshit the city has put him through for his obstinance.

His teeth grind to maintain their hold and the opposing fiction from Badou's thrashing saws the edges of his teeth into skin until it finally breaks. His jaw eases just enough that he can press his tongue to the trickle of blood that leaks--

And then something smashes into the back of his head. Alhaitham startles, not quite to attention yet but at least having released his bite on Badou's neck as he tries to sort out the sudden assault.]

Edited 2023-11-02 19:49 (UTC)

[ it's enough. as soon as he feels alhaitham's jaw unlock badou shoots out from under him like a rocket. maybe even gives the man a swift kick in the face for good measure, just to further rattle his brainmeats enough that he could gain himself a little more time to reorient himself.

he gets himself a good three desk lengths away, but he's still on the floor, back backed up to the opposite wall and knees drawn up like some kind of security measure. in reality, the real security measure is the stapler he still holds tight in his hand, knuckles white.

his neck hurts like a motherfucker, and this shirt is probably ruined for good now with all that he's already bled on it, but he isn't too worried about either of that just yet. ]

You with me yet, buddy?

[Alhaitham's head jerks back as he's kicked in the face, one hand reaching to cover it as the pain momentarily stuns him. The sharpness of it shakes his fragmented alertness. After the sting, there's the metallic taste. There's carpet under his knees. There's Badou's voice, and when he looks up Badou backed against the wall with a bite wound on his neck.

He opens his mouth to speak, and then instead only thumbs some of the blood from his lip and stares, bewildered, between it and Badou.] Uh.

[He sure did bite him didn't he.]

Uh, he says.

[ fucking uh. the sound badou makes is halfway between a groan and a sigh, exasperated all around. tipping his head back into the wall behind him, he allows some of the tension to ease out of his body. he feels twenty pounds heavier.

beside him, he sets the stapler down — close enough to still make an easy grab for it if he needs to. but for the time being he digs into a pocket to fish out his phone...

but pauses just before doing anything with it. ]

I'm gonna call someone. Your choice of yours or mine. [ kaveh or heine. ] Gonna warn you now mine's probably gonna be pissed.

[Uh, he says, with dawning realization and irritation through his bewilderment. It's this fucking city. There's no other explanation why he would lose all sense of where and when he was and bite Badou in the process.]

You should call whoever will best help you with--[He gestures to the wound.] That. It isn't profuse?

[He's pretty sure Badou would be a lot more urgent if it was potentially fatal.]

I can take care of this just fine.

[ funnily enough, it's the fact he's so calm about it that should be more worrying, but that's neither here nor there. for anyone that knows badou, the level of seriousness is directly correlated to how dramatic he's being about it, in that the more minor the whinier he becomes about it. ]

Right now, it's better to make sure you don't go chomping on anybody else.

[ he starts dialing. ]

Kaveh it is.

Edited 2023-11-05 12:29 (UTC)

Wait. [Wait wait wait.] I can get back to my apartment without running into anyone else.

[Because Kaveh escorting him means that a) there's a risk of biting Kaveh and b) he'll have to tolerate Kaveh's fussing the whole way and he is in no mood for that. He can also take care of that just fine!

In fact, he's already pushing himself to his feet.]

[ don't get up while he's dailing?? rude af??? ]

Yeah, sure, and who's gonna keep you there, huh?

[ not that badou thinks alhaitham would be able to manage that much anyway... sorry buddy, the trust has been momentarily shattered. he puts the phone on speaker so the ringing can be heard clearly as he levels that stapler towards the other man. ]

Sit down. [ there's a sharpness to his tone that suggests he isn't playing. ] You owe me now, huh? Consider this payin' me back.

I didn't bite you of my own will. [He is not sitting down.] You want someone to watch me, but that puts them at risk of being bit as well if I lose control again. Rather than asking me for favors, you should expect to owe them.

[Not that Kaveh would ever expect an exchange here.] My apartment isn't far and I can keep myself there.

You couldn't keep yourself there the first time. And I'm pretty sure the person I'm calling has more than enough experience dealing with your stubborn ass to know how to handle you if you lose it again. You don't wanna owe me? Fine. Fuck if I care. But letting you go like you are now is a brand of stupid I don't wanna live with, even if you're more than happy to.

Tell me something — what exactly do you get outta being this thick-headed? You think you're stronger than the shit this place throws at us? You can only say you didn't know any better the first time, y'know.

[Alhaitham exhales.] You're right, since I know now the extent of its influence. But Kaveh is not going to be able to stop me if I do lose control.

[And it isn't even because he isn't physically capable, although in terms of a wrestle Alhaitham has the advantage. It's because Kaveh will remembers his hands around Alhaitham's throat. He'll remember the potential.

And Alhaitham would only need him to hesitate once.] I fully intend to take precautions so that this isn't an issue again. You should focus on tending to your wound.

[He takes a step back, then turns on his heels.]

[ badou is not kaveh. he doesn't have experience dealing with alhaitham's stubbornness, a flavor so starkly different from heine's own that it throws him more than it should not to be listened to. not to be heard. in all honesty, alhaitham is far more like dave in that way, but it's been so long since badou had had to deal with his brother that he finds himself floundering all the same. too many "don't worry about it lil' bro" that sound too much like "you don't know what you're talking about."

he watches alhaitham's retreating back, and hates that the slump of those shoulders can look so familiar. he works to fish his cigarette pack out of his pocket. ]

Yeah, yeah, [ he says to the empty office. ] Fuck me, I guess.

Edited 2023-11-05 18:12 (UTC)

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