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[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[Holding nose, fingers streaked in blood.]

Comments

[heytherered.livejournal.com]

Whoa, what happened to your nose?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[Leo looks up, and takes his hand away from his dripping nose to wipe his fingers against the side of his grey t-shirt. As he pinches the bridge, though, he streaks more blood over his skin. It's been a good few minutes, and the bleeding shows no signs of slowing or stopping. His nose doesn't look to be injured, however.]

Nothing happened. It just started bleeding.

[heytherered.livejournal.com]

[She pales a little, seeing the blood, and she digs out a handful of napkins from her purse. She holds them out, frowning at the sight of the blood.]

Do you get them often? That seems like a lot of blood.

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[Reaching for them with his unbloodied hand, Leo gives a slight nod of thanks and uses the napkins under his nose to catch the blood. He keeps his head tipped forward and continues to pinch the bridge of his nose.]

No. First time it's happened. It must... uh... I think it's the altitude or something.

[heytherered.livejournal.com]

[The frown stays put and she shakes her head.]

Altitude? Probably not...maybe you should call someone or see someone?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

No, it'll stop here in a minute or so. I'm sure.

[That's a thought he isn't even willing to entertain the idea of. There's not a chance in the world he's going to a doctor over something as simple as a bloody nose. This isn't going to break his resolve. Leo shifts his hands again, left arm coming up and revealing a large spot of bruising across his forearm.]

[heytherered.livejournal.com]

[Catching sight of the bruising, she frowns and shakes her head, her eyes widening a little. He might be a stranger, but she's instantly worried.]

What happened to your arm?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

My arm? [Leo glances down.] That's been there. I don't know; I must've hit it against something.

[She would be forgiven for thinking he was trying to hide something, except that he seemed so genuine. But between bruises and a bloody nose, it looked as though he had come out on the losing end of some skirmish. Except that it had been years since Leo had fought anyone.]

[heytherered.livejournal.com]

[She's still not comfortable with this whole thing. She doesn't know him, but something seems off. It's not that he's lying, but that something might be seriously wrong with him.]

How long has it been bleeding?

[bigdumbgenius.livejournal.com]

Jesus Christ.

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

It's nothing. [Leo pinches the bridge of his nose, streaking blood over his skin in the process. Like hell is he going to tell Jan that it's been going like this for over two minutes now. Denial seems to be as strong as ever.]

[bigdumbgenius.livejournal.com]

[Jan clucks his tongue and hands him a slightly crumpled Starbucks napkin] You have trouble keeping your liquids inside you, don't you?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[He reaches for it with his unbloodied hand and crumples it a bit further before bringing it under his nose to catch what is a fairly steady stream of blood.]

Sharing is caring. [Leo mutters sarcastically under his breath. It barely makes sense, but it's all that he's got. This is all beginning to make him just the slightest bit lightheaded.]

[bigdumbgenius.livejournal.com]

[If this guy has Ebola, Jan's going to be so pissed off.] Sit down. You look pale.

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[The last thing he wants is to take advice from this man, when it could indicate submitting to the idea that there might truly be something wrong. But on the other hand, it would be rather nice to sit. So without much thought, Leo lowers himself to the ground right where he's standing.]

Wow, you're right, that helped a lot. [He continues in a less-than pleasant tone.]

[bigdumbgenius.livejournal.com]

Hey, next time I'll just let you faint. Or do you not believe in the concept of blood pressure?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[Leo's eyes seek to close once, but he forces them back open again. Almost immediately, the lashes start their incremental descent downwards until his eyes close altogether. He stays that way for a good few moments before opening them again and sighing.]

This is ridiculous.

[popsawheelie.livejournal.com]

[Hang on, she has a napkin somewhere.]

Hold your nose down, okay?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[This he knows. Leo might not have ever had a bloodied nose before, to his recollection; but, he's tended to them in his time. He's not looking to tip his head back and swallow blood.]

Check.

[popsawheelie.livejournal.com]

And... sit. [Says the girl at seat's height anyway.]

How long has this been going on?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[He doesn't even look around for a place to park himself. Leo just lowers himself to the ground and folds his legs in a practiced meditative pose. His fingers are streaked in blood, so when she finds the napkin, he takes it with his other arm. His left arm, the one with the large purple bruise across it.]

Just about three minutes.

[popsawheelie.livejournal.com]

Okay, just so you know, I'm a doctor- not just pulling your leg, alright?

[Well this is a preferable situation, she brings herself up closer to him to start giving him a once over. She has a pair of spare gloves in her backpack on her chair- she digs them out and tugs them on.]

Did you get this bruise at the same time?

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

[It isn't that Leo doesn't believe the woman, it's just that her statement does absolutely nothing to reassure him. Doctors aren't at all a preferable situation as far as he's concerned. He lets her snap on those damn white gloves though and start to look him over. Fever, sweating, swollen lymph nodes... God, he must look worse than he knows he actually is.]

No, the bruise is from a few days ago. I don't know how I got it.

[Something about being in the presence of a doctor seems to demand honesty, even when he doesn't really want to give it.] I have a couple more on my legs.

[popsawheelie.livejournal.com]

And do you know how you got those?

[She puts a hand to his forehead before gingerly touching his neck- trying to ascertain what all was going on.]

[olderthanwords.livejournal.com]

I have no idea how I got any of them. They just showed up.

[He pauses, not sure whether to give any more information or not. This is insufferable, but at least she isn't forcing needles into him or shoving pills down his throat. She couldn't get him to the hospital by force if she tried. That's good.]

My joints hurt a bit too.