bumps, bruised and big surprises | dusti

[Deleted]

@dusti

well that hadn't gone the way they'd planned it. it had been a straight forward objective, get in, find the person and get out. he couldn't remeber what had gone wrong. he'd been standing in the doorway about to burst through the door afte rthe required signal when he'd been hit by a powerful force from behind and blown into the middle of the room. that was the last thing he remembered, he didn't even remember hitting the ground. everything had gone black and he'd woken up in a white room, laying on a bed staring at a ceiling that certainly didn't belong to the building he'd been in.

everything hurt. it hurt to breath, it hurt to blink and now they expected him to talk. to answer questions. he did, to some extent before he'd had to fall back to sleep, a side effect of the spells they'd given him to kill his pain. it was a fitful sleep he'd fallen into, the scene kept playing over and over in his head though his fall kept getting longer and longer. he could feel himself shifting, even through sleep he could feel the fabric of the sheet scratching against his back as his body tried to recover from what it had been through.

[Deleted]

@elliot
October 2025

Dusti was working today. Just minding her out business, running some tests in the lab. It was satisfying work. She got paid for basically being a loner. It was a great situation. Though, there were times when she had to leave the lab. Mostly when one of the nurses was having a hard time getting a vein or something else to run a test. So, when the nurses couldn't manage to get the sample themselves, it was her job too. Because she obviously had a lot more practice at it. Today in particular they needed her help up in Spell damage. A few Interpol agents had been injured and brought to St. Mungos for her. Interpol. That was a tough one to swallow. She wasn't much a fan of Interpol due to.... obvious reasons. She was pretty resentful of them, though it wasn't necessarily Interpols fault.

Dusti sighed and stepped away from her microscope. This was the worst part of the job. Having to periodically deal with people. She headed up to Spell Damage and started her rounds, checking the chart of each agent to double check what tests to run, then went into the room to draw the blood. She sealed each sample as she went, so they wouldn't break or get contaminated, then moved to the next room. Eventually she reached the last one. She set the tray of samples down as the flipped through the chart, but stopped cold.

Elliot Porter.

The name of her ex immediately made her scowl. Things had ended on a very sour note. He was offered the chance to travel and work on recapturing the escaped prisoners. She didn't want to go. They couldn't come to a compromise and things had gotten heated. Words were flung, feelings were hurt, and it's been months since. Months of unresolved feelings from a nasty breakup.

"I can't do this one," she snapped and handed the chart back to the nurse. Who, unfortunately, didn't seem to like that answer. "Sorry, we're stretched too thin. No one is available." Dusti practically snarled. "Get one of the healers to do it then." The nurse rolled their eyes. "The only ones available are trainees." Who probably hadn't done this test before. Stupid piece of shits.

Dusti huffed angrily. She had half a mind to just go back to the lab and skip it, but she knew that wasn't exactly an option and would potentially get her fired or reprimanded. So, still huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf, she picked up her tray, glaring at the nurse and headed into the hospital room.

Elliot was asleep. Course he was. She practically slammed the tray down on one of the carts used by the nurses, the bang loud enough that it would wake a hibernating bear and push cart to the bed. If she had to do this, she wanted it over with. Now.

"Oi, wake up," she ordered. Not touching him. Stabbing someone with a needle when they were asleep seemed like a bad idea, so might as well see if he'd rouse first.

[Deleted]

@dusti

crash

eli woke with a start as something banged close to his head. the movement jarred his body and caused him to grimace in pain, his hand gripping his side where it felt like someone was poking him with a red hot poker. it took him a few seconds to come around to the fact someone was standing there, that that someone had blonde hair and that someone had a very familiar ...

shit.

dusti. dusti was standing next to his bed looking like someone had pulled her in by her teeth and was holding a wand against her back in order to force her to be standing in such close proximity to him. he wanted to sink through the bed, sink into the floor and then sink down through them till he was in the basement. he knew he'd hurt her when he'd left, he knew it had been his fault that things had broken down because he wasn't willing to stay and even though she hadn't been willing to leave, he could have stayed.

he shifted a little in the bed, almost squirming under her gaze as he pulled the blankets up slightly, well aware of the fact that there was very thin clothing between himself and the blankets. "i'm up." he said, his voice slightly hoarse from sleep and he turned his head against the white pillow to look at her face. she hadn't changed in the six months he'd been gone, though there was a hardness in her eyes that hadn't been there. he'd caused that. he swallows almost innoticably as he looked at her and he did his best to relax his face into his usual glance. "time for a sponge bath?"

[Deleted]

@elliot
October 2025

Dusti narrowed her eyes at Elliot as he lay there and practically squirmed. She knew she was glaring, but she didn't try to stop the intense look. This was her asshole exboyfriend. He didn't deserve pleasantries. She was overall just angry at him, but was also thoroughly pissed that he'd gotten himself blown up. Then she was pissed that she was mad at him for getting blown up in general. Overall, everything made her angry. Freaking life made her angry. But Elliot just made it ten times worse. Ugh.

At least he'd woken up, that was a plus. Didn't want Calder scolding her again for poor bedside manners. Though... This was pretty poor bedside manners. But hey, at least she didn't stab him. Without warning. She was still going to stab him, obviously.

And then he was trying to joke, talking about a sponge bath and trying to be "funny". Dusti's eyes narrowed even more and she scowled. She turned to the cart, rearranging her instruments. "Just give me your f**king arm," she snapped. She hadn't bothered to explain why she wanted his arm to begin with. With her foot she pulled one of the rolling stools over, sat down and scooted a touch closer. She didn't want to get closer than she had to, but you couldn't exactly draw blood at arm's length. She took the rubber band of the tray and waited. She needed to find a vein to do this.

[Deleted]

@dusti

so maybe the smart ass straight shot hadn't been the way to go but at least now he was certain she was still pissed at him. he didn't blame her really, he'd left her to go fight a battle that had never really been his in the first place and while he'd been doing his job, it had hurt her. he could tell that, the look in her eyes, the way her mouth was set and the small but noticable to him wrinkle in her forehead that she got when she was mad.

he watched her turn away to mess with the instriments on the tray and he watched her, because there was nothing else to look at and because he'd missed her. but he wasn't going to come out and say it, he couldn't. there was still too many things unsaid, too many things that had been said and to many months between them for him to even think of saying anything like that to her. he held out his arm without complaint, glancing at the pattern of dark bruises and scratches all over it, making it known that whatever had happened had left it's mark on him. he should have asked what she was doing, should have asked why she needed his arm but he trusted her, even after everything he did trust her.

[Deleted]

@elliot
October 2025

Elliot didn't say anything, and that pissed off Dusti too. Basically everything about him was just pissing her off. Whether he spoke or not, whether he was nice or not. Whether he'd gotten himself brown up or not. Just him. His very existence pissed her off. There just wasn't any winning in this situation. No matter what he did, she'd be angry. But hey, at least he was offering his arm without a fuss.

Dusti scooted a bit closer, taking his wrist in one of her hands and turning it over, so she could see the inside of his elbow. The contact, though obviously intended, and planned, still made Dusti hesitate. She hadn't touched Elliot since that fight. Since the break up. Dusti pursed her lips tightly. The break up had left a lot of unresolved feelings, at least for Dusti. She couldn't say how Elliot felt though. Things had just gone from good to bad so fast...

Okay, focus. Stay angry and just get her job done. Dusti let go of his wrist for a moment to tie the rubber band on his forearm. She'd try the inside of his elbow first. There were usually easy to get veins there. Once tied, she took his wrist in one hand again, making sure his arm stayed straight as she started to feel the inside of his elbow with her other hand, searching for the vein she wanted. The silence was a bit.... heavy though. Extremely awkward. Should she say something? No, that was stupid. Just stab him and get the blood. Then they could go their separate ways again. She'd never have to see his stupid (but handsome) face again. But god, her anger was making it hard to find this blasted vein! ".... Your family know you're here?" Why did she ask that? Ugh, stupid self control.

[Deleted]

@dusti

he couldn't help but feel that her touch was familiar. that while there was anger behind it it felt just as nice as it had through time together. it was a touch that had comforted him when he'd been able to show her that he'd needed it, it had made him laugh while they'd been messing around and it had been romantic when they'd shared what most people never find. then it had gone from what seemed like forever to tatters in only a matter of weeks because neither of them could bend. neither of them were flexible and it had been their downfall. one of the very things he'd loved most about her had been one of the things that had helped tear them apart, her stubbornness.

he tried his best to relax but there was some uncertainty around whether he should trust her with the sharp instrument but he couldn't very well argue. if she didn't do it there was the chance of someone worse and he didn't think the risk was worth it. he rested his head back against the pillow, feeling a sense of weariness while he waited for her to find the vein. when he didn't feel the prick on his skin he risked a glance in her direction, seeing the sharpness of her jaw, the way her hair framed her face and brushed against her cheek softly as she moved. he blinked and steeled his face. "i haven't told them. i don't want them to worry." he could only imagine their reactions to that news. his mother had been worried about him joining the agency and this would no doubt give her plenty of ammunition to try and convince him to change jobs.

[Deleted]

@elliot
October 2025

Dusti tried to ignore who it was she was examining. To focus just on the procedure. Find the find, stab him with a needle, draw the blood, leave. Five minutes, max. That's all she had to survive. Five minutes.

Elliot answered that his family didn't, know. Dusti didn't look up at him, keeping her eyes trained on his arm and her own hands. She'd finally found a vein she felt she could use. Though, it wasn't the best one. It was a bit deeper than she preferred, so she'd have to use a longer needle then usual and hope the vein didn't move on her. Veins could be tricky. Some people had great veins that you could just blindly stab and you'd hit it. Others, their veins rolled, so it could make it trick to catch the sucker. That was why they'd called her in. While the nurses and healers knew how to draw blood, they didn't specialize in it like she did. It meant she could usually get veins others couldn't. "Good luck with that," she muttered. No doubt the news would get wind of the explosion.

She slid the stool back so she could reach the tray, and prepared the needle. "Don't move or it'll hurt." Well, hurt more. There were techniques to try and ease someone's discomfort when drawing blood, but Dusti wasn't really interested in any of those right now. While she wouldn't intentionally harm him... She wouldn't intentionally make it less painful either. Karma, was a bitch right? Especially when you ex girlfriend had a sharp needle.

Her equipment ready, she rolled on the chair back to his bed side, needle in one hand. She felt his arm again to make sure the vein was still there. Once found she quite aggressively, though efficiently, "stabbed" him. Well, stabbed was a strong word, more like jabbed. Either way, it wasn't at all gentle, but she got the vein. Using her left, while her right held the needle still, she pulled the rubber tourniquet off, tossing it onto the tray and out of the way. The small vial slowly started to fill with blood. Dusti didn't say anything, just watched the process.

After a few, very awkward, silent moments, she withdrew the needle, and tossed it into the needle disposal box she carried on her tray. She pulled out her wand next, and silently healed the small puncture wound she'd created. Why use gauze and a cotton ball when you could just heal it? "Do you need anything else?" Dusti didn't want to ask that, but she had to. Because, that was hospital courtesy.

[Deleted]

@dusti

the fact that she didn't want to look at him didn't escape him. he didn't want to let it hurt him but it did. he knew they'd left things on horrible terms but the fact that things were so broken between them physically made him hurt in places he hadn't been injured in. the big problem in the room was them. the two of them, what had drawn them together had ultimatley driven them both apart. that drive to dig their heels in, to not admit they are wrong and to internalize everything, their downfall. he stared at his blanket covered feet as se felt around to find a vein she could use to draw blood, though there was a slight worry in the back of his mind that she might not stop at a vial and drain him completley and call it an accident.

"been told that before." he mumbled as he braced himself for the sharp sting he knew was coming. it was the biggest lie in history, that something wouldn't hurt. that pain got better, that it stopped hurting. that never helped in the moment, in the moment all you could think about was the pain and in his experience, pain just got worse, it didn't lessen. it's was just physical pain that stopped after a while, emotional just lingered. he flinched slightly as he felt it pierce his skin but he for the most part stayed still, to what he hoped was his credit.

it was over almost as quickly as it began and when he heard the vial drop onto the tray next to her he took his gaze off his feet and across to the vial of red that she'd just taken from him. the silence was deafening. anyone who said silence couldn't be loud hadn't ever been in the same room as their ex. "i'm guessing a hello, how are you? is out of the question?" he asked as he looked at her, careful not to settle his gaze on one part of her for too long lest he loose the ability to look away from her.

[Deleted]

@elliot
October 2025

Focusing on her work... helped. Telling herself over, and over, and over again that this was just another patient and not her ex boyfriend. An ex boyfriend that she still had intensely strong feelings for but didn't want to admit. That was her stubbornness talking. Refusing to budge an inch, no matter what. Whether it was healthy or not. In this case, her stubbornness (and his) had been a pretty disrupting factor in both their lives. After all, the break up had happened because of both refusing to waver. Dusti knew, somewhere deep down, that going with him wouldn't have hurt. She could have still worked. Or lived off her inheritance. They could have made it work. Had she not been so stubborn....

Dusti pushed the stool back a foot, slowly getting to her feet and setting the vial on the tray. She was working on labeling it, when he spoke. Dusti froze. Then, her eyes narrowed and she glanced down at him as he lay in the bed. "I think it's pretty clear how you're doing," she answered slowly, eyeing the bandages.

[Deleted]

@dusti

had he struck somewhat of a nerve? he thought he might have. part of him wasn't sure that hadn't been the reaction he'd wanted when he's said what he'd said but it was out there now. he didn't want to make her more angry with him but he'd missed the fire, missed the butting of heads and arguments they'd had and he'd certainly missed the making up for any fight they'd had. it was a pity that wouldn't fix what was wrong between them now. too much had been said, too much had been done and too much time had passed for it to work like that. there was almost a sense of dread that she'd walk out of the room and it would be the last time he'd get to see her face.

he followed her glance to the bandages and had it not hurt to, he'd have shrugged. "this? it's nothing." he said with as much cassuality as he could muster because he did know that she wasn't an idiot and she'd read his chart, she'd known in advance how bad or fine he was. maybe it wasn't the best thing to try and downplay when he was sure that he couldn't move without being able to avoid wincing but well, here he was. not that he was sure it would make any difference to dusti, if he angered her too much he could see her punching him where it hurt and walking out without thinking too much about it.

[Deleted]

@elliot
October 2025

Dusti's gaze left the bandages and finally, finally, met his own. She'd intentionally been avoiding full eye contact, as if she might crack if she did see those familiar eyes. That she'd admit how much she hated the break up, and sleeping alone at night, and not waking up with him next to her. She missed his sarcasm. God, she missed everything about him. But he'd chosen to leave. He'd made the decision to run off and play hero. He'd chosen a bunch of criminals over her.

"Clearly," she answered, her voice short and practically oozing hostility. "Because getting blown up is "nothing"." Of course she knew what had happened. She'd drawn blood from the other Interpol agents first. She'd read their and Elliot's charts before coming in. She looked away from him, focusing on her tray. She knew his injuries weren't... totally serious. Nothing magic couldn't handle. He'd be right as rain in a few days.

[Deleted]

@dusti

after what felt like eternity, their eyes met. he didn't think anything was harder than that. looking into her eyes and knowing that this time, he was responsible for the anger that was there. he'd seen her angry before, he'd seen her hurt before and he'd seen her in pain before but it had never been his fault. he'd always been the one trying to make it better, this time he was the culprit and he knew the sting of that would never leave him. he'd never wanted to hurt her, but he'd needed to take the chance and go and he had, losing the one thing he'd never wanted to lose in the process.

if the anger in her eyes wasn't enough to give anything watching the impression she was angry, her voice was sure to do the trick. he had to admit, he almost smiled at it. but self preservation was at the heart of every slytherin so he refrained. "see, you agree." he said as he did his best to settle back comfortably against the pillows behind him. why couldn't he just cut the crap and ask her how she was? there was a part of his brain that was screaming for him to reach out to her, to tell her how much he'd missed her and how much he'd thought about her and how much he'd wanted to come home to her, but he couldn't.

there was something in him that tied his tongue every time he tried to muster any words that might resemble an apology. he'd spent the last few months telling himself that he'd had nothing to apologise for, that she'd been the one to call it the end. it didn't matter how true that was or wasn't, it was how he'd coped. had it been healthy? of course not. but was that what he'd done? yes.

[Deleted]

@elliot
October 2025

Dusti scowled. She wanted to slap him upside the head and tell him to cut the bullshit. He'd be in a literal explosion. Like the sort of explosion that could kill people. Like the one that had happened at the quidditch match (though that one had been a firework malfunction. People had still died). Dusti, despite her anger and resentment towards him, couldn't deny her feelings. And that momentary panic at the thought that he'd been hurt. Thankfully, she was very good at bottling up what she was feeling and hiding it so deep inside that you'd never know it ever existed. That's where she kept most her feelings for Elliot. Far enough away that they couldn't hurt.

"If it's really nothing, then you obviously don't need medical attention." She paused, smiling. It wasn't a good smile though. It was a well trained masking smile. The sort you put on to hide all your real feelings. In Dusti's case, it usually meant "I'm trying really hard not to hit you". Because god knew, someone needed to knock some sense into Elliot."And clearly, you're wasting my time."

[Deleted]

@dusti

yep, he'd struck many nerves. the scowl that showed on her face told him just how true that was. though the scowl didn't last long and it was quickly replaced with a smile. and truth be told, he'd want the scowl back if he was certain she wouldn't hit him. the smile was more an insight to how she was feeling than the scowl was. his parents had told him what he said would bite him sometimes and this was oen of those times. but it was just an instinct that he couldn't kick. fill uncomfortable situations with sarcasm and they'll either go away or lighten up. his brain hadn't made adjustments for this sort of situation for the simple fact he'd never been in it before.

"you're right. i am" he conceeded. maybe he was wasting her time but it was better than not having her there at all. it was a conundrum. watching her hurt, knowing she was hurting hurt, not being able to touch her hurt and knowing she probably wanted nothing to do with him hurt. but her leaving? well that would hurt twice as much. he knew it was his comeupance. while they'd both played their part in their break up, eli had been the one to walk away. he'd been the one to turn his back and walk away from her and nothing she'd said to him in that moment would allow him to really justify why to himself. this time, this time he'd be the one watching her leave and every part of him didn't want to see it, to feel even slightly how she might have felt that night. there were about a hundred things he could say to her in that moment but only the words "you have other patients." were able to leave his lips.