Work Text:
Alan was sleeping now, the combination of the strong painkillers Virgil had given him and the extreme circumstances his body had been through enough to allow him to drift off immediately. He was curled on his side to avoid aggravating the injuries on his back, and Scott could see the edges of the bandages peeking over the blanket draped over his baby brother’s sleeping form. He didn’t need to look to know how bad the injuries were. He could see them every time he closed his eyes. He would see them for the rest of his life.
Tears began to drip from his face, and he struggled to muffle his sobs, not wanting to risk awakening Alan. He had been through enough already today. Scott wasn’t in the best shape himself, his eye rapidly blackening and swollen, and his shoulders and arms were littered with bruises and cuts where they had held him down. Virgil had tried to coax him to bed, but Scott had refused. Nothing would be able to pull him away from Alan right now.
He closed his eyes to wipe away the tears, arms screaming in protest as he moved, and the awful scene filled his vision again.
Held down on his knees, just feet away from his baby brother, unable to stop them.
He snapped his eyes open, not wanting to watch the horrific scene again. But even with his eyes open, he could still hear it.
The whistle of the whip.
The crack as it landed.
The sharp hisses of pain and short cries that Alan bravely tried to hide.
He had been crying then too, tears of frustration at their position, and seeing his little brother in pain. He would have given anything to have switched places with his brother. He still would.
Alan would bear the scars from this for months, if not for the rest of his life. He would be in pain for a long time. Scott would too, but that didn’t matter. Alan was what was important right now, and Scott had failed him.
“I’m so sorry.” He whispered thickly, tears still dripping onto the mattress. “It’s all my fault. You should never have been in that position. It should have been me.”
Alan stirred, his hand reaching out and grasping his brother’s. “Scotty?”
“Hey.” Scott forced a smile through tear-filled eyes. “Go back to sleep.”
“No crying.” Alan slurred, clearly still out of it. “-s not your fault.” He drifted back to sleep, still clutching Scott’s hand.
Scott found his eyes drifting shut. Things still weren’t okay, and there would be lots to deal with in the morning, but for tonight, he could rest in the knowledge that Alan still loved him, and for now, that was enough.