Changing [Eduard von Bock & Heracles Karpusi][Complete]

Heracles looked over his list of patients, trying to see who he was going to next. He raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side. Eduard von Bock was a new one. Poor guy was so close to 18 that he really should have been in the adult's ward anyway but oh well. Would just have to remember to treat Eduard like an adult.

As he walked to Eduard's room he read over the information on him, his frown deepening with everystep. An alcoholic hemophiliac? Heracles sighed, shaking his head as he stopped outside Eduard's door.

He knocked on Eduard's door twice before pausing a moment and going inside, putting a smile on his face. "Hello Mr. Von Bock. How are you feeling today? I'm Nurse Karpusi and I'll be changing your bandages." He said, shutting the door behind him.

The teenager had spent the afternoon with his nose shoved in a book, trying to ignore the itching from his bandages. The way that his glasses wouldn't settle down on his cheeks correctly either kept bothering him, but there was nothing else to do but huddle under his thick white hospital sheets and sigh.

When there was a knock at his door, he tensed up. Closing his book and setting it beside him on the bed, he quietly observed the nurse who walked in his room. He hadn't seen the other man before, so he politely extended his hand out towards him. His palms were wrapped around with light white bandages, just the same as the right side of his face.

"I'm feeling wonderful." He commented sarcastically, a wry smile on his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure." Trying to fight back the shivers and clamminess, he stared quietly at the nurse.

Heracles stepped further into the room and set his clipboard down on the bedside table, on top of the book Eduard had just put down. He gently grasped the teen's fingers and shook his hand as best he could, feeling a bit sorry for him. Couldn't be easy going around like that but then, according to the information compiled on him it had been the teen's fault he was now injured.

His lips quirked into a small smirk at the sarcastic tone from the teen, amused by his attitude. Most of the teens who came through here had sarcasm as their sharpest weapon, but most didn't use it for their first words with someone new.

"Well that's good to hear." He responded, a little bit of sarcasm finding it's way into his words. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well." He reached into the bedside table's draw and pulled out a roll of bandages, setting them to the side. Carefully, he began peeling the dirtied bandages off of Eduard's hand, trying not to make the teen bleed.

Most of the wounds were at the bottom of his palm, preventing him from a good and proper handshake, but he still tried the best he could. At least Heracles hadn't shyed away from it entirely and refused to shake his hand, that meant a lot to the teen. When he pulled his hand back away, he wrapped the sheets tighter around his body.

"Yeah." Figuring it'd make his job a bit easier, he tried to stay perfectly still even though he still flinched. The feeling of someone's hands against his palm made him mildly antsy, never having really liked people this close to him. His hands were mere scratches though compared to his head, and he looked on at the wounds with a morbid interest.

"So how long have you been a nurse?" It unsettled him a bit the way the brunette didn't really look all that old.

Heracles tossed the hold bandages away and went about disinfecting the wounds. He had to to be more careful with Eduard than most of his other patients, given his condition. He didn't mind it, he just worried that he would do something wrong and hurt the boy.

He wrapped some of the bandages around the woundm noticing the boy's interest in what he was doing. Or, most likely, in Eduard's own wounds. He would never understand why anyone would want to see there old wounds; it creeped him out to see beneath his skin.

"Hm? How long have I been a nurse here, or how long have I been a nurse in general?" He tied off the bandages on Eduard's hand and looked up at him with a smile. "I'm going to need you to lean a little closer so I can get at the bandages on your head."

The disinfectant stung a bit, it always did. Trying hard to stay perfectly still was difficult when his hand felt like spasming from the medicine, but he exhaled deeply. Nodding slightly at the question, he tried to flex his fingers to make sure he could move them still before giving a small chuckle.

"Both, I guess..." He reached up to remove his glasses, figuring it'd make the nurse's job a bit easier if he didn't have to try and fight around them to handle the bandages. Staring at him blankly, having to squint to see him, he set them off by the side of the bed.

"Y-yeah." Huddling with the blanket even closer to him, Eduard drew his knees up to his chest as he leaned in closer. Why did hospitals always have to be so cold? How in their right mind could they call shivering a symptom when they were the ones who seemed opposed to the smallest bit of heat? Getting slightly agitated, he frowned, trembling a bit as he stared at Heracles.

"Well? Can you g-get it over with?"

"I've been a nurse here for about six months now." He started, gently peeling the bandages off of Eduard's face. "In total I've been a nurse for seven years so far." He threw out the old bandages and began dabbing the disinfectant on the head wounds.

He pulled back and raised an eyebrow at Eduard, shaking his head. "If I'm not careful with this Mr. Von Bock you'll start bleeding again, and we wouldn't want that now would we?" He frowned slightly, notcing that Eduard was shivering every so slightly. "Are you cold?" He wondered, looking around for the thermostat. He wasn't feeling cold, but...oh. This was part of the withdrawals thing wasn't it?

"Seven years? But you don't look that old." Squinting again at the man, he shivered a bit at the disinfectant being dabbed on the wounds. It only seemed to make him colder, and he gripped onto the blankets. At least it meant that Heracles was old, and hopefully very capable of his job.

Biting down on his bottom lip, he was careful to try not to agitate the crack from his busted lip as he muttered. "I-it's just a bandage. I'm n-not.... ..not.. fuck..." Cursing under his breath, he shut his eyes tightly for a moment. Taking a moment to try and recompose himself, he took a deep breath. The stitches on the side of his face itched something terrible, but he knew better than to agitate them. "..not... going to bleed."

Letting out the breath he'd been holding, Eduard opened his eyes again.

"...ice. I... ...mean freezing... I'm freezing, yes." Why was English such a difficult language? Nodding, he looked at Heracles with a hint of desperation, although it wasn't so much about the temperature as it was about something else. "Can I get another blanket, maybe?..."

Heracles laughed, nodding his head. "I suppose that's a good thing then, huh?" He began to gently place the bandages on Eduard's face, raising an eyebrow. "Can never be too careful though." He ignored the teen's curse, understanding that he had to be feeling frustrated with the situation.

He also ignored the slip from English, nodding. "Sure. Hold on one second." He said, melting a little inside from Eduard's look. He couldn't really do anything to fix it though. He walked over to the cabinet that held the spare blankets for this room, eying the thermostat as he walked by.

It was just as he thought; this room was the same temperature as the rest of the hospital, not any colder or any warmer. So Eduard being cold was a product of his withdrawals then. There was only so much he do to help him with that.

He grabbed two blankets, one of which he wrapped around Eduard and there other he put at the end of the bed "In case you need it."

Giving a small awkward shrug at the Grecian, Eduard pursed his lips as he waited for the other man to finish putting the bandages on. He really hated them something fierce, even if it was more or less his own fault he ended up here. In a way, the Estonian could care less about being taken care of, wanting to just curl into a corner and give up.

"T-thank you." The blonde murmured, glancing up at Heracles as he wrapped the blanket around him. His fingers soon clutched onto that blanket as well, and all sarcasm beside he was rather thankful it'd been placed around him. Learning the hard and unfortunate way that moving too much or too quickly either made him nauseous or dizzy, he was more than content to just stay in a huddled mass on the bed for now.

"I... probably will... maybe..." Taking his glasses again and sliding them back onto his face, he still peered above the light-colored rims up at Heracles. "...don't suppose you know when I can go home, do you?" Like any other teenager or any other patient period, he just wanted out and to go home. Only expecting a vague response like along the lines of 'when you're better' like usual, he frowned up at the brunette.

He nodded, running his hands through his hair. "You're welcome." He resisted the urge to pet Eduard's hair. The teen was seventeen, nearly an adult; he wouldn't take it the same way Jun would.

He frowned as he thought about Eduard's question, taking in his expectent look. He didn't want to disappoint the kid, but he also didn't know exactly when he would go home. He picked up his clipboard and looked over the information, biting his lip slightly. "Well, it could be days or weeks before you go home Eduard; I'm sorry I can't be more of a help." He answered, shrugging a bit helplessly.

Shuffling around on the bed a bit, the teenager switched to resting back against the back. After grabbing his pillow, the Estonian pulled it closer to within the warm confines of the blanket to nuzzle it for just more warmth and comfort as Heracles thought the question over.

"Days or weeks?... But I want to go home. There's.. ..things I need to do... what are you even supposed to do in here?" He'd spent time in hospitals before because of his condition, but after recovering from the blood transfusions he'd been allowed to go. Unable to stop from shuddering suddenly, he sighed. "...well. Thank you anyways, I guess..."

"Hm? Well, right now you can read and talk to the doctors and nurses attending you. When you get a bit stronger, you'll be able to go to the patient lounge and even the courtyard. Don't know how long you're going to have to wait for that but.." Heracles shrugged, tucking his clipboard under his arm and smiling at Eduard.

He bite his lip, wishing he could do more to help the teen. "Is there anything else you need?" He asked, trying one last time.

"When I'm a bit stronger?" The words seemed sort of strange to him. He'd never really been all that strong in the first place, but the weakened state of his ankle and lack of a regular blood level still certainly exaggerated those points. Still rubbing the side of his face against the pillow, he carefully looked the Grecian nurse up and down.

"...yeah." Holding his hand out again, he beckoned for Heracles to come closer to him. "There kind of is..."

"Yes." He nodded, discretely looking over Eduard's body. He would make sure that Eduard reached that day as soon as possible.

"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow, sitting down on the edge of the teen's bed and leaning in closer. "What it is?"

"Well..."

He wondered briefly for a moment if he could trust the other, before chuckling lightly. Of course he couldn't. He didn't even know this man, even as kindhearted as he seemed to be. Maybe it'd be best to start him off with a much easier task.

"Would you mind maybe... next time you visit... to bring me some bread? Rye bread... Or would that be against hospital rules or something?" With that, he feigned a small pout, resting lightly against Heracles.

He raised an eyebrow, chuckling lightly and rolling his eyes. Quickly thinking over the request, he decided that he could do that. Eduard wasn't allergic to bread, and it wasn't as if it was going to harm anyone else. He nodded, smiling at him. "Sure, I can do that." He said, patting Eduard's head.

"Really?"

The corners of his lips twitched into a small smile, even if the look in his eyes stayed the same dull and almost lifeless one. "I would very much appreciate that... See, issi and samm-emme haven't had any time to visit me... They sent flowers," he nodded over to a small vase with bright blue flowers resting inside on his bedside table before continuing, "but they're very busy people and forgot I can't live without bread. Haven't you ever had something you can't live without before?"

When the hand settled down on his head to pat, the Estonian nearly jumped out of his skin. Pulling away and acting like he was just nuzzling deeper into the pillow, he gave a dry chuckle. "Thank you, I guess..."


_{(ooc: issi and samm-emme are basically really childish ways in Estonian to say something akin to papa and step-mama. he's trying to act innocent, shh)}

"Yes, really."

He watched Eduard carefully, coming to the conclusion that the teen was trying to trick him. This innocent act didn't fit the boy, especially with the look in his eyes and the way he had acted when Heracles had first come into the room. He nodded, looking over at the flowers Eduard's...parents...had sent him. He didn't understand Estonian but he guessed that he was talking about his parents there. "Well I'm sorry to hear that." He said, wondering what parents wouldn't visit they're children when they were in the hospital.

He thought over Eduard's question, tilting his head to the side a little. Something he couldn't live without...he was going to assume he wasn't talking about a person here. His eyes widened and his thoughts went to the small picture in his desk, one of the few he had of his mother. "Yes, I've had something like that." He said, smiling a little. His smile had a bit of a sad tinge to it.

He raised an eyebrow when the Estonian pulled away to nuzzle his pillow, and nodded. "You're welcome Eduard." He wondered why the teen tacked on 'I guess' to the end of his thanks but decided that it wasn't that big of a deal.

"..Thank you." Eduard mumbled it again, quietly and with a bit more sincerity this time. Tilting his head, he looked back over at the flower vase as Heracles spoke. The cornflowers really were his favorite, and they were plenty pretty enough, but he still felt a bit melancholic over the small splash of brightness in the otherwise dingy room.

The trembling and shivers were subsiding quickly with the added heat of the extra blanket, and he looked back up as the other agreed about having something he couldn't live without. Everyone had something like that of course, but he was just hoping he could pull and wear the nice nurse's defenses down.

"I really would appreciate it a lot. So... that and the bandages... Thank you. Is that all?.."