Closed to [90minutesofsleep]

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

He's not sure how he knows this is Eliot's apartment. But he knows. He doesn't know how long he's been... there, but he's hungry, and he's cold, and his arms are scratched and scraped from struggling, feet bruised and cut to the point where even standing hurts so much.

Slowly, he reaches out. It takes him two tries to knock, rapping two knuckles a couple of times only before his hand falls again.

It's the middle of the night. It's dark, he's exhausted, and he's not sure what he's going to do if Eliot isn't home. He'd told Eliot he was going to wait. He'd promised. But that place wasn't a home. It wasn't a place he wanted to be without Eliot. Eliot would take him in, still, right? Would he be upset?

Briar sighed and sagged as the door remained shut. He brought a hand to his head and when it came away, there was a little green shoot of some sort of plant tangled around his fingers, delicate leaves growing larger in front of his eyes. He stares at the little plant, then finally lowers his hand completely. All he can do is wait, and if Eliot doesn't open the door soon, he'll just sit down and wait. He wasn't going back to the orphanage - even if he knew the way, he couldn't walk all that way.

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[90minutesofsleep]

Eliot was home, though he was asleep, and it was the cat more than the knock that woke him. The cat had come with the apartment, and was almost as run-down, but the cat gave him someone to talk to when he needed it, and gave him quiet support on the days when he didn't want to talk.

It also pitched a fit whenever there was anyone at the door, even if it was just the mailman.

So midnight or not, the cat squalling like someone was trying to kill it was enough to wake Eliot up, rolling out of bed and picking up the Louisville slugger he kept propped by the bedroom door in almost the same movement, moving light-footed across the apartment, around the parts of the floor that creaked, making sure he wasn't casting a shadow under the door as he checked through the peephole.

He didn't quite believe his eyes, but at the same time he had no reason not to, and so the bat was propped up against the wall even as he threw the deadbolt and opened the door, "Briar?"

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar started as the door opened, but looked up, shoulders sagging in relief. It was Eliot. Without saying anything, he limped forward, pressing his face into whatever part of Eliot he ran into first. He shuddered as he pressed into the warm of Eliot: he himself was cold, shivering, hungry and injured and exhausted. He was too tired to even lift his arms, and his feet still hurt, but it was Eliot. He was safe. Eliot would take care of him.

So instead he just stood there, shivering and shaking. He was smudged all over with dirt, seeds sprouting in his hair, roots of plants tangling with the roots of his hair.

[90minutesofsleep]

Briar had clearly taken the long way around, and while Eliot had always had his suspicions as to where Briar ran off to when he went missing for days at a time, he hadn't ever had proof before, this was... well it really wasn't as surprising as it should have been, and so he stooped just far enough to sweep Briar up with an arm under his knees, noting that he was definitely taller than he should have been for the not-quite a year since Eliot had last seen him.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He knew an out and out bath was a bad idea, that Briar had always fought tooth and nail against baths and only barely tolerated short showers, but sitting him down on the wide edge of the empty tub was easy enough, the same as getting a washcloth wet down with warm water from the sink before sitting on the floor himself and gently catching one of Briar's feet, "Going to get the dirt off, see if there's anything else that needs doing, okay?" He couldn't be sure if there was injury that needed treating until he was clean.

The cat had apparently decided that Briar wasn't a threat, hopping up onto the lid of the closed toilet to watch the goings-on.

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

He wanted to cling to Eliot as he was picked up. Eliot was as big and warm as Briar remembered, his grip strong. He curled a hand into Eliot's t-shirt as he was carried, but his head rested on a broad shoulder.

It wasn't all that hard to balance himself on the edge of the tub, though, and Eliot's touch was gentle even as he picked up one of Briar's feet. The cuts were scabby and raw, but under the fresh ones were scars - scars that hadn't been there the last time Eliot had seen him. There was a burn mark near the heel on the foot Eliot was working on cleaning, and more scratches and scars further up his foot and ankle.

Briar was more interested in the cat than Eliot's gentle work - just getting off of his feet helped with the pain, even if the touch of the cloth to his skin did hurt. Absently, he nodded, a good few seconds after Eliot spoke, though he did mean it as an 'alright' to seeing what else needed to be done.

[90minutesofsleep]

The cat seemed plenty fascinated by Briar, finally stretching and hopping over to sit beside him, sniffing along his arm curiously, tail swaying back and forth into a curious little curl each time.

Eliot didn't mention the damage, the scars, but he definitely took stock of them, identifying the ones he could. He winced just a little at the burn, lifting the cloth away once he realized what it was, dabbing at it with a clean corner instead of wiping like he had been, "Sorry, probably stung. How'd you get this, do you remember?" Depending on where he'd been at the time he might not, and that was fine, Eliot would work with whatever information he could get.

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar reached out to start petting the cat, absently. It, like Eliot, was warm, and didn't seem too afraid of him.

Still, Eliot speaking again did draw his attention back. He was carefully dabbing at a painful spot on his heel, looking up at Briar. The burn was new. Maybe the newest of the injuries - aside from the scratches he'd gotten when he fell after getting the burn.

He opened his mouth, but wasn't sure how to describe what he'd hurt himself on. Or rather, the word was on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he gestured with his hands a rather large circle, maybe even the size of a manhole cover, and said, "It was hot..." He frowned a little, then looked away from Eliot's bright eyes and back to the cat, who was back to sniffing him.

[90minutesofsleep]

The cat was happy to have the attention, purring already, a deep bass rumble, and butting its head up into Briar's hand, reaching out to tap at his leg with a paw when he got distracted by talking to Eliot.

Eliot, for his part, had no idea what that could be, so he just nodded, unfolding to rinse the washcloth out before setting to work on the other foot in turn, "I'm going to get some ointment and some clean socks. You hungry? You're probably hungry, you were always hungry." He shook his head then, blinking up at Briar again, "I said I was going to come back for you."

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar nodded slowly, attention mostly turned to the cat now - he was scratching behind its ears, thumbs rubbing small circles above its eyes. It was warm and obviously pretty happy to see him.

But he went quiet again at the question, and then the second statement. He was starving. How long had it been since he'd last eaten? He didn't know. Going hungry was nothing new for him, but he hadn't been this hungry in... since before Eliot had arrived at the orphanage, at least. As for the second thing... "I know..." he said, glancing up at Eliot, then back to the cat.

He didn't know how long he'd been gone, but he hadn't thought it was long enough to worry Eliot... A few days, maybe? "I wasn't gone that long..."

[90minutesofsleep]

Well that definitely got his attention, and he didn't grind his teeth, though his jaw tightened just a little, getting the other foot cleaned up before pulling the first aid kit out from under the sink, "How long do you think you were gone?"

The fact that there were leaves in his hair, not just in his hair but growing in his hair gave Eliot a fairly good idea of just where Briar had been, and if he had to guess, he'd guess it was probably since the first time he'd called the orphanage and been told that Briar was off on one of his trips. He just kept working while he waited for an answer, figuring it would be a minute. He found the knee-and-elbow sized bandaids, big enough to cover the burn without sticking to it, and he shifted himself over to prop Briar's foot up where he could actually see the burn to get ointment on it first.

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar counted back, trying to gauge how long he'd been away from the orphanage by how hungry he was. His hand went still on the cat's head as he focused. "Three days?" He finally came up with, attention shifting to Eliot nervously. One hand fell off of the cat and back into his lap, curling into a ball with his worn-out jeans.

[90minutesofsleep]

Eliot tried not to choke on spit even as he carefully placed the bandaid, "Little longer than that. Actually a lot longer than that. It's been about nine months since I left, and about seven since the last time I talked to you."

He shook his head, dabbing ointment on the worst of the scratches, though aside from the burn it didn't look like any of the injuries were too bad, "I'm guessing you had an adventure getting here." He patted Briar's knee gently, "Sit tight, I'm gonna go get you a pair of socks, just, some clean clothes, then we'll go to the kitchen and I'll get you something to eat."

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar was left sitting on the edge of the tub, even as Eliot got up. It wasn't until he was alone in the bathroom with the cat that he even moved. Seven months since he'd last heard his foster brother's voice? Nine since he'd last seen Eliot? He shifted, unsure, the cat almost all but forgotten - except it was still meowing at him for attention, butting its head into his elbow again. "Eliot?" he asked, quietly, then again, a bit louder. He'd been missing for seven months? He'd gone out that night after he'd last talked to Eliot, he didn't have any memory at all of that time?

What if it happened again? He got up to go on a walk and didn't come back for months afterwards, with no memory of it?

[90minutesofsleep]

He only realized once he'd left the room after dropping that information that leaving Briar alone -even if he was just across the hall and could still see into the bathroom- was probably a bad idea.

Which was why he answered immediately with: "I'm right here, don't know if I actually have anything small enough for you." He returned to the bathroom carrying a pair of drawstring sweatpants and a t-shirt that would probably still be too big for Briar even though it was almost too small for Eliot. He also had a clean pair of socks, because even with a bandaid over the burn, he wanted to make sure there wouldn't be anything else getting into the smaller cuts.

"You want me to wait outside so you can change?"

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

"No," he said immediately, taking the clean clothes. He didn't want to be alone. What if he got up and walked out the door and didn't come back for months? What if he didn't remember doing it?

He dragged his shirt off over his head to pull on the clean one of Eliot's, exposing his chest for the first time - even if he didn't look down at himself, it was clear he'd been much hungrier than usual for a long time, and starving for more than just three days. He was bony, ribs sticking out, collarbones standing out in stark relief against the smudged dirt on his golden skin.

He pulled the shirt on almost immediately, though. It was indeed way too big for him, hanging off of his shoulders, but he didn't care. The pants could be a problem, though... He had to get up, and his feet still hurt... He glanced up at Eliot, then down at the socks and drawstring pants still being offered out to him.

[90minutesofsleep]

Even just that momentary glimpse had Eliot's jaw tightening again, but he managed to smooth his expression out again by the time Briar was looking at him again.

"Okay, here's how we're going to do this, take those pants off, socks go on first, then new pants." That would at least give him a little bit of cushion as far as his feet, and Eliot had every intention of carrying him to the kitchen once he was in clean clothes again.

His brow creased a little before he added: "And don't worry about getting lost, okay? I'm here, and Parker won't let you go too far." He nodded to the cat who was still trying to get Briar to continue petting.

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar nodded slowly, but wasn't sure if he believed that he wasn't going to get lost again, even with Eliot right there. Oddly, it was the cat's actions that were more reassuring.

Awkwardly, he worked his jeans off without managing to put too much weight on his feet as he did so, then sat there trying not to shiver as he reached for the socks. He got them carefully on his feet, and then the pants. Even though he was still streaked with dirt, it felt better to be in clean clothes.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, meaning being missing, meaning not waiting for Eliot to come for him, meaning causing so much trouble for the only person who had ever cared about him in his life.

[90minutesofsleep]

"S'okay. You're here, that's what matters, okay?" There was a little twitch of a smile that followed, "Gonna pick you up again, want to keep you off your feet as much as possible until they heal up."

He laced Briar's fingers easily, dropping the loop of Briar's arms over his head so that Eliot could scoop him up again, elbowing the light in the bathroom off and the light in the kitchen on before setting Briar down in a rickety kitchen chair, "Don't have a whole lot of options right now, payday's tomorrow, usually pick up groceries after that. But I can make you a grilled cheese, probably have some soup, too."

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar held on to Eliot as he was picked up, both hands curling into the back of his shirt. He felt much younger than he was. Eliot didn't seem to have any trouble picking him up - but then, he never had.

The kitchen chair creaked under his weight, but it was sturdy enough. The table was an old card table, the fake leather on top cracked. But he didn't care. He was here, with Eliot, and that was all that he really cared about. He nodded. "Okay." The cat - Parker - followed them out into the kitchen and jumped into Briar's lap, continuing to purr loudly even as she bumped her head against his chin, rubbing her face all over his.

[90minutesofsleep]

Eliot had put on some muscle since the last time they'd seen each other, so even with Briar being bigger than he remembered -and definitely bigger than he ought to have been- it was still easy for Eliot to cart him around like he didn't weigh anything.

He smiled, rubbing the cat behind the ears just briefly before he went to go wash his hands and start on the food, "She definitely likes you better than me. The apartment's hers, she was here when I moved in, just hanging around. Figure somebody dumped her."

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar stroked his hand down her back, scratching near the base of her tail, turning to watch Eliot. "Why don't I remember being gone for seven months?" If anybody could guess or would know why, it would be Eliot. Eliot knew so much about so many things, why wouldn't he know? How could he not know?

[90minutesofsleep]

"Have you, uh, looked at your hair? Whatever those are they're still alive, they're growing. I'll help you figure out how to get them out later. But it's like the story of Rip Van Winkle, you remember that one? How he got lost on the wrong side of the woods and slept for a hundred years? Only you didn't sleep, you kept walking."

Once the sandwich was in the pan and the soup was heating, he went about starting the coffee maker, he knew he was going to need it. He'd made it through on less sleep before, but not in a while.

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar put his hand to his head again, and again a seedling came away from his hair to curl around his fingers. They were growing. He hadn't thought it was weird before, but.. that was pretty weird, right? "Where was I?" He looked up at Eliot again, then lifted his hand before Parker could try to bite at the baby plant curling around his fingers. They were miles and miles from any sort of woods or forest. There was a park a few blocks from the orphanage, but that was tiny. How could a person get lost in there for months and nobody noticed?

[90minutesofsleep]

"The thing with forests is that they've got a right side and a wrong side." He said, scratching the back of his neck, "It's not 'good' and 'bad' really, it's just..." His brow furrowed, trying to work out how to explain without worrying Briar further, "Here and somewhere else. Most people call it Faerie, and they're not wrong to do so. But most people can't get there, usually, and when they do it takes them a long time to come back again. And I think, I think that's what happened with you."

It was the best explanation he had for the state Briar was in and the amount of time he'd been gone versus the apparent amount of time that had passed for each of them.

[briarbriarpantsonfire]

Briar nodded slowly, but still wasn't sure he was following, exactly. "I won't end up there again, will I?" He curled his arms around the squirming cat in his lap, dragging her close to his chest and resting his head on top of hers. She settled after a few moments and huffed a sigh, setting to work licking his arm.

[90minutesofsleep]

There was a small smile as Parker set in to bathe Briar, though what he said was: "No, probably not. It was just a lucky chance that you got there the first time. But safest way to make sure it doesn't happen again is to stay inside for a while. That's probably a good idea anyway, actually. I've got to go to work in about an hour, but you can stay here, you should stay here. I'll make sure there's food you can get to and I'll come back tonight with groceries."