They entered Kiralle's house without turning on the lights.
"Take off your shirt. Lucifer." "What!"
"Gee tough boy, I could see you wincing and fiddling with the seat-belt all the way here, don't try and hide it."
"Oh."
"Ow bruises as well as a gash. What did you say to Damien?"
Lucifer let Mienne clean the gash and apply anaesthetic. "Your fingers are cold," he said.
She looked shocked for a second so he quickly added, "but I don't mind."
"I was about to ask if you wanted an ice-pack for the bruises... until you said that."
They looked at each other and laughed. The pain had been clouding Lucifer's head, but the laugh? It seemed to make the shitty night a little bit better. It felt good, actually. In the moment he almost said so to Mienne, but he was glad he didn't because she probably would have said something bitchy and ruined the moment.
She left the room and came back with blankets and a pillow. "Hope you don't mind sleeping on the couch."
"It's cool."
She turned to go to her room.
"Mienne?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Oh," she didn't know what to say for a few seconds, "Good night."
She was just out of the room, when a head and a large grin appeared around the door frame of the other room. "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Uh... I mean that in the friendliest way possible. Cat's are lovely, sometimes. I had one who brought me a rose once. I mean it was whimpering in pain because it feel in the rose bush, but it was a nice gesture all the same... you know. I'm Kiralle, call me Kirry, Mienne's brother, it's a pleasure to meet you. You are?"
"...Lucifer."
"Now, as Mienne's older brother I feel it is my duty to say this: you hurt her and I will find you. And it may get ugly. I mean that in the nicest way possible. Oh gosh! I think I get more nervous about new boyfriends than she does."
"I'm not Mienne's boyfriend."
"What? Oh. Dear. That was embarrassing, then."
Lucifer stared at Kirry across the darkness. His expression shifted from embarrassed to more relaxed. He walked around the couch and sat on the coffee table and leaned in to look Lucifer in the eye.
"You like her though, don't you?"
Lucifer reeled back. "What? No!"
"Ah. That explains everything. You're in denial."
"No I'm not."
"Denial."
"I... She hates me!"
"But you like her."
He thought about it. "No. She's a bitch to me. Who are you to decide anyway?"
"Hey don't you talk about my sister like that! Even if you're just being in denial. And many things can be revealed by eavesdropping on three minutes of conversation."
"You..."
"Would you like a glass of water?" Kiralle stood, filled a glass with water, put it on the coffee table and disappeared into his room.
Lucifer wrapped the blankets around himself, his angry mood back again. What was the guy's problem? First assuming he was Mienne's boyfriend and then telling him he was in denial. He should have just told the guy that he already had a girlfriend and left it at that. Why hadn't he thought of that?
Lucifer woke to the slam of a door. The room quivered in silence for a moment. Cautiously he sat up, wincing as he moved his wounded chest. He picked up his shirt, but it was torn, dirty and bloody. Hesitantly he knocked on Kiralle's door.
"It's Lucifer."
"This is not a good time," he was told through the door.
"I just wanted to borrow a shirt," he mumbled.
Not sure what to do, he approached Mienne's door. Was that sobbing he could hear? He put his ear to the door. She was indeed crying. What was happening? He looked at his shirt, grimaced, but put it on.
He quietly crept into the room. She was huddled on the inflatable mattress with her face in a pillow. Between sobs she was swearing into it. "Mienne? Are you okay?"
"Kirry, I said I just need to... oh," she stopped when she saw that it was not her brother.
He crouched down beside the mattress with a puzzled look on his face. She put her face back into the pillow and was silent. He didn't know what else, so he did what he always did for his mother: sat down beside her and put his arm around her.
She looked up and stared him in the eyes before shrugging his arm off. "This sucks! This fucking sucks, you know!"
"My god do I know about things that suck."
"Things like this aren't supposed to happen. They happen in fucking films! They called from the hospital, so it has to be true, I know that. But part of me still thinks that if I go home I'll still see her there. She was a bitch sometimes. God she was a bitch... sometimes. But... fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."
Lucifer stared at her open eyed. "Did something happen to your mother?"
"No." Mienne choked on a sob. "Sarsafine... My sister. She was in a car crash. She's... dead."
"Fuck." He put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. This time he meant it. She didn't shrug it off.
"God I hate her. Why did she have to go out and be such an idiot. I hate you, Sarsafine! I fucking hate you, you know! I hate her for making such idiot friends. I hate her for not knowing better. I hate her for... I hate..." her words disintegrated into sobs and she buried her face in his shoulder. He could feel the hot tears seeping through the fabric of his shirt.
The door opened. "Mienne, I'm going to mum's did you..." Kiralle stopped. He gave Lucifer a strained smile and the still crying Mienne a worried look. His eyes looked worn. "On second thoughts, maybe you should stay here." Mienne nodded, her face still in Lucifer's shoulder. "Lucifer, can you..."
"Yeah."
"Thanks."
"Mienne," he whispered after Kiralle had left.
"Fuck you," she mumbled into his shoulder.
He clenched his fist and took a deep breath. Experience told him what he needed to do. "You need some food." He manoeuvred her into the next room and onto the couch. Found some tea and not finding a toaster, fried several slices of bread in butter and slathered them in jam. He made sure she started eating before going back to her room and making the bed so she wouldn't be tempted to go back and spend the day there.
His heart stopped for a moment when he returned and she wasn't on the couch. He wasn't sure what he thought had happened to her, but he sighed with relief when she appeared out of her brother's room.
"Here. Put this on." She threw a shirt at him.
They both looked at his torn, blood stained and damp shirt and, even though there were still tears on Mienne's cheeks they both laughed.
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