Mmmk. Hsk falls back into the bed the pillows puffing with an airy sound that feels like his own huffing breath. He's covered in sweat and his legs feel numb and shaky still, and he'd rather be anywhere else than here. A body collapses next to him a he immediately feels

the urge to curl away from the already reaching arms if his body would cooperate. He resolves to shutting his eyes tight as his body is pulled into the curled spot of another. If feels wrong. The sweat slick chest against his back, the breathing thats harsh pants

against his neck tingling his hairs. They meaty hands on his waist. The praise telling him how good he is. This was a mistake. No. He should've never even gone to the bar in the first place. He wiggles his way out of the grip to a half groaned voice that sounds wrong. Makes

him want to press his hands over them to hear the static silence. Legs still shaking he ignores the calls and whistles of allure calling him back to bed. Instead he offers a mere excuse of going back home to feed his dog not meeting the man's eye. Hsk doesn't have a dog.

He's out the door in minutes wrestling with his coat in frustration. His hot pants are buttoned wrong, and he's fighting the new shake in his hands, and the tears that cloud his vision as he finally gets his arm through the hole to hit the button of the elevator. He stands there

while his body quakes for whatever reason hearing the ping as the elevator travels up. One. Two. Three. He glances at the door he came out of tapping his foot. It makes his calf burn. Four. Five. Six. The door again. 1251. Hsk feels queazy. Moments later he's bursting

through the stairs door with a loud crash. It rings in his head still as he flies down the steps as quickly as he manage. Round and round the winding flights until he's dizzy with it and panting unusually hard. He feels awful. Heart, body, even his soul feels bad. /Tainted./

A sob escapes him and his vision blurs. His half tied shoes send him careening down the fifth floor flight landing on the large flat space with a sickening crack. His exposed knee radiates fiery pain with the injury. He cries out before slapping a hand across his mouth.

It echoes though the stairway and his eyes dart up at the hole where the stairs part where he assumes the floor he came from is. Watching, waiting. He doesn't hear a sound. Nobody is coming after him and it's a momentary relief. Hsk grips the railing above him pulling himself

up best he can. Tears are falling now freely. He can't straighten his knee properly lest he feel the shift inside where it feels shattered. Relying on the railing heavily he hobbles down the steps on a single leg. If he weren't horrified and miserable he'd probably be

concerned about how terrible he must look. Run through and disorganized on top of that injured. He feels a buzz in his pocket that almost sends him tilting down the last steps in shock. He miraculously catches himself picking up the pace with hisses of paint before settling on

the large flat of the stair once again. Four. He fumbles in his jacket for the source of noise and takes out his phone from the pocket. Small bills fall to the floor with it and he almost drops his phone in a panic to pick them up.

Secured in his pocket once again he looks at the phone. One missed call. It's his boss. His heartbeat picks up. /Shit shit shit!/ He thinks swiping quickly though the pin almost locking himself out when his hands shake too much to mimic his pattern.

He redials. Three rings. He closes his eyes tight. Hands clenching on the rail and on his phone. Click. "Hsk." His boss's lazed voice sounds through the speaker. Hsk nearly let's put a sigh of relief. He answered. "Sir?" His voice is winded and shaky in his own ears.

He'd cringe if he felt his body could take it. He sounds pathetic. "Did you get the job done?" It's a question with only one answer. One that if he doesn't get right will end with him in the back part of a van pleading for his life. Again. He shudders.

"Yes sir. It's all taken care of." His voice cracks. He freezes hoping his boss doesn't think he's lying. He hears a hum. It's a noncommittal sounds that has him on straightening his back immediately. He stands in silence for a few. He can hear everything in that moment.

The creak of the stairway, his suppressed breathing, his grip on the old metal even the breeze moving through the space. Emptiness. "Mm. I'll have a car for you in thirty. You're off for the rest of the day." Click. Hsk waits a few seconds before removing the phone from his

ear. He looks at the "call ended" on the screen making sure it's real before he heaves a sigh. A sigh that turns into a sob. His head pounds, his knee throbs, and his body feels like one big bruise. He has the rest of the day off. He sniffs wiping the back of his hand across

his eyes and under his nose. It leaves it sticky but he smiles. A real smile. A thing he hasn't done since– he doesn't know how long. He has the rest of the day off.

(I think this one is gonna be darker. I'm in that kinda mood today but it's definitely one that's gonna be longer and posted to ao3. My circle gets to vote on an important decision that effects the story so look forward to that. Like this to be apart of the fun)