Pain and Love

Eleanor grinned down at the fabric in her hands. "Almost done," she whispered excitedly to herself. She went to pick up her needles, only to be startled by a knock at the door. In a panic, she shoved all her work under her bed and stood up real quick to brush herself down and straighten her clothes. Eleanor checked the time on her wristwatch and confirmed that none of her questions had been answered by doing that--anyone could've been at her door at this hour, so who was it?

She looked through the peephole and nearly jumped out of her skin. It was her boyfriend! And he was looking...awfully strange. Maybe it was just the peephole, she told herself just before opening the door. "Kurt! Hello; if I knew you were coming over, I would've prepared a pot of tea--come in and I'll get some cocoa started, alright?"

Eleanor stepped back and motioned her boyfriend in, closing the door behind him and hurrying over to the kitchen area. She spoke as she rummaged around the cabinets and cupboards, pots rattling and cups clinking, "Are you alright? Your expression...looks kind of strange. You know you can talk to me if you need to."

Eleanor's eyes glanced down at Kurt's tail wrapping about his waist. She remembered having noted that he seemed to do that when he was nervous or something of the sort, which made her feel just that much more concerned. "Kurt," she sighed softly as she put a pot on the stove. "I really hope you're telling me the truth...But you're my boyfriend, so I have to believe you."

She reached for a jar at the back of one of her counters and popped off the lid. With a measuring cup, she reached inside and came out with a pile of homemade cocoa mix, not even properly measured despite putting it in a measuring cup. She dumped the unmeasured cocoa mix into the pan and went to grab some water. "You don't have to lie to me...I'm here for you, I promise. I'll help you in any way I can."

Dumping the water into the pan with the mix, she turned on the stove and went to lean her rear against the counter, giving Kurt a long, level look. Her expression was somewhat sympathetic and worried, but she tried to keep calm and listen to him. After a moment, she sighed and let herself relax. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I guess...I'm sorry for pressuring you. I don't know what came over me this time. Are you cold, hungry?"

Eleanor smiled back, but it fell when she saw him wincing when he stood. "Kurt--" she started, taking a step away from the counter and towards him, but she stopped in her tracks and just looked at him, feeling upset and conflicted. She returned the hug very gently--as gently as she could--and shook her head. "No, no--you're...you're hurt. I'm not going to let you make any dinner; you need to go lay down."

"You don't need to do anything in return for staying here, Kurt. You're my boyfriend, and I care about you." Eleanor went to gently steer Kurt over towards her bed, not bothering to break out the Korean Yo like she usually did when he was over. "Just let me take care of you, okay? You can just relax. And if you want, you can tell me all about it."

She didn't know what was going on with Kurt, but it left a sour taste in her mouth just thinking of it. "Did you get hurt?" she asked quietly, even though the walls were soundproof and they were alone. "I can get you some ice packs and bandages if you need them--I have some pain medication, too, if it's really bad."

Eleanor let Kurt pull her down despite how antsy she felt to start running around her dorm doing things. She took a deep breath to calm herself down for him and kissed him back, running her thumb over the back of his hand. "Only if you're feeling better, okay? If your bruises are still bad, I'm taking over cooking duty again."

She hugged him back very gently still, lightly rubbing his back to comfort him. "Anything for you, Kurt. I'm so happy to help." Of course she felt a little sad and hurt that he didn't want to confide in her what happened, but she didn't want to pressure him if he didn't want to talk, either. She kissed his cheek and gently pulled away to stand up and head over to the kitchen to check on things. "Are you fine with ibuprofen and ginger tea? Ginger is great for pain relief and getting rid of inflammation."

Eleanor set aside an ibuprofen tablet and went to pour a cup of the hot cocoa from the stove. She returned to Kurt's side and offered him the mug and ibuprofen. "I can also help apply some witch hazel and ice packs to the bruises, if you're willing to remove your shirt. I won't ask for more than that to go, just to make sure you're comfortable."

"Witch hazel's actually a liquid," she said, pausing for a moment to try and remember its properties. "It's used as an astringent and a cleanser, and it's anti-inflammatory as well. Very good for bruises if applied directly to the skin."

Eleanor blinked as he offered to sleep on the futon and quickly shook her head. "No, no, no! You're going to sleep on the bed tonight, alright? You're injured. I'm completely okay with sleeping on the Yo; I did it the entire time I was growing up. I want you to be as comfortable as you can be so you can heal up quick."

She tilted her head, wondering what he was trying to say before he started to tear up. "Kurt..." Gently, she took him into her arms and smoothed down his hair in an attempt to comfort him. "Take all the time you need," she whispered, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." It must've been difficult for him, she thought, to make him like this. It broke her heart to see him this way, and she felt a little guilty for wanting to know so bad if it upset him this much--but she wanted to help him so badly, so that he wouldn't have to feel this way anymore.

She gently kissed Kurt's cheek and pet the back of his head, patiently waiting for him and wiping his eyes.