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Diego suddenly rounded the corner, completely taken by surprise when something came out of nowhere and collided harshly with his face with a sickening crunch. He saw stars and felt something hot and moist dripping down his face as he stumbled against the wall, slowly slipping down so that he was sitting on the floor, both hands brought over his nose, feeling the source of the agony concentrated there.
“Ouch! What the fuck,” Diego snarled.
Out of the darkness, a broad shouldered man stepped out, horror showing on his face when he realized what he had done. “Diego?”
Fury shown in Diego’s eyes to mask the pain that he felt. “What the hell, Luther?!”
“I thought you were an intruder. Who sneaks in here at 3 in the morning?”
“Me! I do so almost every morning. Is your ape DNA finally attacking your brain or some shit?” Diego pulled one hand from his nose and found his fingers slick with blood.
Luther shuffled his feet awkwardly, unsure what to say or do. “I just heard a noise and—“
“And your first response instead of completely checking in on it was stepping out from the corner and knocking them to the ground?” Diego’s nose continued to spurt blood, staining the front of his shirt when it dripped down. “Because I’m not an expert but I’m guessing just checking in or actually looking would’ve solved this issue.”
“In hindsight that does sound like a better plan,” Luther began, voice low and gravely.
Diego grumbled to himself and slowly rose to his feet, momentarily feeling a wave of lightheadedness rush over him. He managed to compose himself, head shaking slightly to chase the feeling away. Beads of blood dripped onto the ground when his head turned, leaving a trail on the ground as he walked.
Diego didn’t expect Luther to follow him, and he was unsure what to do. “Why are you following me,” he called over his shoulder, not caring how loud he was or if he woke up anyone else.
“Your nose looks like it’s broken. I’ve had one before and I can help set it.”
It took all of Diego’s strength not to immediately turn around and clock Luther across the face. It would bring him so much joy to see Luther practically on the ground, dazed and confused as to what just happened. He managed to refrain himself as he headed into the kitchen, head tipped back, blood continuing to flow heavily. He struggled to look around without pushing his head forward, sliding over to the edge of the counter and the cabinet above it.
Diego was forced to turn his head to the side to grab what he needed and he muttered under his breath when blood began to stream down his face.
“Shit!” Diego rushed over to the sink and let out a deep breath through his nose, watching the beads of blood splatter on the stainless steel sink, pooling together and sliding toward the drain. “Fuck.”
“You need to pinch your nose but keep your head inclined forward. That way blood won’t drip back into your stomach.”
Agitation burned under Diego’s skin. He shot a glare back over his shoulder, forced to turn back to the sink when his nose started to leak again.
“You act like I didn’t have the exact same field training that you had,” Diego flashed. He raised his hand timidly, and the moment that he touched the bridge of his nose, pure agony surged through him. It was so painful that Diego staggered, clutching at the edge of the sink to keep himself upright so that he didn’t pass out. He barely felt the blood running freely down his nose and upper lip anymore; he was too focused on not passing out.
Luther saw the fleeting look in Diego’s eyes and he staggered, knowing that feeling and look only too well. He had broken his nose so many times; one time it had actually been at Diego’s hand during training.
“Damnit,” Luther muttered. He closed the distance between himself and Diego and pulled him away from the sink and set him at one of the chairs at the table. Diego went to stand, but Luther thrust a hand on his chest to force him down. “Sit down before you fall down.”
Despite his predicament a challenge still showed in Diego’s confused gaze. “Still kick your ass.”
Luther struggled not to let out a barking laugh. “Yeah, well if you try I won’t help you.” Luther reached over and began to press two fingers against Diego’s nose, watching for a reaction such as a wince or when he bucked his head backwards. It was a relatively simple break from what Luther could tell, although it was a painful one. Diego tried not to react, even when Luther traced his finger down from his brow to the initial break, though he couldn’t stop tears from leaping into his eyes.
“Alright, I can snap it back pretty easily,” Luther announced after he had done his best to assess the damage.
Diego recoiled at the mention of it. “Uh....I-I don’t think so.”
“Do you have a better option? You can’t just leave it broken and bleeding.”
Diego closed his eyes tightly, controlling his breathing to help with the pain. It did little if anything to touch the hot flashes of discomfort that radiated from the center of his nose, spreading through his face. Luther touching his face had only made things worse, though he knew what his brother was attempting to do. He didn’t have the energy to push him off, especially when he knew that his brother felt guilty about what he did and was trying to make it right.
Reluctantly, Diego closed his eyes, groaning. “Alright.”
“I’m sorry, did you just say that you needed my help,” Luther clarified in shock.
Diego grimaced. “I didn’t say that. It’s the least that you can do considering this is your fault.” He motioned to his face that was smeared in dried blood with fresh blood still adding to it. He had forgotten just how much a broken nose could bleed.
That was the answer that Luther had expected to hear.
Luther sighed and reached over to the napkin dispenser and handed them over to Diego. “Clean yourself up a little first.”
Diego rolled a napkin before stuffing it up on nostril before doing the same with another. He could only imagine quite how he looked and was glad that Luther didn’t bust out laughing or even comment on it. This was one of the most awkward situations he had found himself in with his brother and the less that either of them talked about it the better.
“Okay,” Luther began, fingers beginning to brace on either side of Diego’s cheeks as well at the sides of his nose with his thumbs. He tried to remind himself of exactly how Grace had showed them to do it per Reginald’s insistence they knew how to mend a broken nose. The last thing that he wanted was to make it worse.
Luther tried to meet Diego’s gaze. However, Diego was looking anywhere but at Luther, breathing heavily though his open mouth.
“Ready,” Luther asked.
Diego closed his eyes tightly. “As ready as I’m going to be.”
Luther let out a deep breath, attempting not to show how nervous he was. He doubted that he could make it worse, but then again, he didn’t want to take that chance. Diego would never let him live it down if he ended up causing him more pain than he had already caused him.
“Okay, on three. One. Two. Three!”
Diego tensed a second too late as Luther pushed one way on the top of his nose and the other on the base to force the cartilage back together. The movement let out a sickening crunch and Diego snarled in pain, head immediately recoiling, glaring at Luther through watery eyes.
“Did that work,” Luther asked.
“Did that work? Did you think that it wouldn’t,” Diego flashed, looking less than intimidating with two bloody napkins poking out of either side of his nose.
Luther rubbed a hand against the tight muscles stretched behind his neck. “Uh, it’s been a while since I’ve attempted something like,” he confessed.
“Attempted? That’s what you’re going to call it?” Diego threw his head to the side, not able to look in Luther’s direction. He then pulled each rolled up napkin from his nose, wincing at the slight burn. His nose was still leaking blood, but it had died down now that Luther had snapped his nose back.
Luther leaned over, eyeing his work with curiosity. “Does it feel any better?”
Diego momentarily paused to debate what Luther had just asked. His eyes turned misty as he took in a personal inventory. It was highly difficult when the pain was still very much there. It wasn’t quite the same pain as it was when his nose had been hung off the side of his face at an awkward angel, but it was still far from feeling normal.
“Different kind of pain, so that’s tolerable.” He closed his eyes tightly and brought up some more rough napkins to swipe it under his nose to peel away some of the dried and fresh blood.
Luther tucked ins hands into his pants pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. “I really didn’t know that it was you around the corner or I wouldn’t have done anything.”
It was the closest thing that Diego was going to receive to an apology. He didn’t blame his brother considering he was certain he would’ve said along the same lines to him.
“Don’t worry,” Diego reassured, moping up more of the blood and discarding the napkins on the table. “I’ll get your back for it when you least expect it.”
Luther wasn’t sure wether or not Diego was kidding or not and honestly didn’t want to think about it. Trying to understand what Diego was thinking at any given time was more of a challenge than Luther wanted to tangle at the moment. Instead, he nodded slowly and took a seat across from his brother.
“So, where were you coming back from?”
Diego grinned, reaching down and pulling a knife from his harness. He slammed it down hard on the table, blade coated in dried blood all the way to the hilt. “Unfinished business.”
“Do I even want to know,” Luther asked dryly.
Diego shrugged. “Probably not considering you haven’t taken that stick out of your ass.”
Luther ignored the biting comment, for it was one he heard often from most of his siblings. It was almost like background noise at this point.
“Was it at least someone that deserved it? I don’t think I could handle two of my brothers taking people out regardless if they’re good or bad,” Luther confessed darkly.
Diego guessed now wasn’t the time to talk about the complete scum he took pleasure in fighting and making their lives a living hell, if he left them alive in the first place. Luther didn’t need to know the details.
“Yeah, they definitely deserved it.” Diego rolled one of the napkins into a tight ball, fingers tearing at the edges. “Fucking assholes.”
Luther didn’t comment on it, deciding that it would be best if he didn’t. Instead, he nodded toward the fridge. “Want a frozen pizza?”
Diego looked at the time that read 3:47. He couldn’t help but smile. “It’s almost four in the morning. Is the stoic Number One actually suggesting we do something against the rules of the house?”
“Dad isn’t here,” Luther responded quickly and sharply. “We can make our own choices.”
Diego dipped his head, the radiating pain starting to fade into a timid burn. “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said in days.” He moved on immediately so Luther couldn’t comment. “So long as you don’t break another body part I have, sure, we can have a pizza.”
Luther gave a curt nod and rose to his feet and headed toward the freezer. Although they were used to Grace cooking for them, recently they had branched out into some frozen foods and things that they could cook on their own quickly. Sometimes it was nice to have something quick and processed every now and again.
Diego sat back at the table, eyes flickering closed in exhaustion. Although this was not where he expected to be, he honestly couldn’t complain all that much. The pain in his nose was fading, and for once he didn’t feel the overwhelming urge to insult his brother. Perhaps this could open to the door to more understanding between them. Or, there was always a chance it would have the opposite effect. They would have to wait to find out.