Whumptober Day 4 - Hidden Injury
A/N: Set a few weeks after āExplorers on the Moonā
āAre you sure youāre not coming, Captain?ā Tintin finished tying his shoelaces, gazing up at his friend. āIt really is a great market! Some of the stall food is to die for-ā
āNo thank you! Iāve had enough of traipsing around for a while,ā Haddock flipped over the page in his newspaper, his gaze firmly focused on the words in front of him.
Tintin let out an exasperated sigh. āCaptain, itās been four weeks since we came back from the moon. You canāt stay at Marlinspike forever-ā
āAre you sure about that?! I think going to the moon made me realise why I hate travelling - because we somehow almost always get killed! So, no thank you, lad!ā The Captain ruffled his newspaper for emphasis. āIām going to stay on my couch and enjoy my country air.ā
āThere is air at the market as well, Captain, and plenty of it,ā Tintin smirked. āBut if youāre sure-ā
āBelieve me, Tintin, I am sure! I am not budging from this seat! And nothing is going to make me change my mind!ā
Throwing his hands up in mock surrender, Tintin nodded and opened the front door. āJust make sure to look after Snowy while Iām gone, okay?ā
āOf course, Tintin!ā Haddock lowered his newspaper to look at the young man. āBut why isnāt he going with you?ā
āAs I told you yesterday, Captain,ā Tintin buttoned up the front of his coat, āitās a pet-free market. Besides, I think heās rather comfortable where he is, wouldnāt you agree?ā
The Captain scowled as he looked below his newspaper. Snowy had taken up residence on his lap almost as soon as heād sat down for his morning coffee, and was now currently engaged in licking his tail clean. āErā¦yes, well, t-thatās another reason Iām not going-ā
āGoodbye, Captain! Iāll be back for dinner!ā Tintin pulled the front door closed, his laughter muffled through the glass.
Haddock shook his head fondly as he gave Snowy a brief scratch behind the ears. āIād rather you were a cat, but at least youāre clean.ā
Leaning back into the couch, the Captain resumed his examination of the newspaper, enjoying the faint sounds of morning birdsong. Why Tintin had decided to make a trip to Brussels this early in the morning for a market, of all things, was beyond him. Regardless, he was glad the younger man still maintained a thirst for travelling, even if was only a local day trip.
Haddock glanced over at the clock. It was just after eight AM, and the sunlight streaming through the front windows was already quite bright. He lowered his gaze to Snowy, who had progressed to licking his unmentionables, and Haddock instantly regretted looking. āYou, my friend, have nine hours to get off my lap and do yer business elsewhere.ā
Snowy grunted in reply, and continued his morning hygiene.
Luckily, for Haddockās sanity, Snowy had indeed removed himself from his lap. Granted, he wouldāve let the faithful dog stay longer if were not for the protests of his bladder.
And besides, he needed that lunchtime whiskey.
While the Captain was aware that Tintin did occasionally get distracted while he was out, heād come to admire the young manās sense of punctuality. On the other hand, however, the lad also had an unfortunate habit of being kidnapped while running his daily errands. The last time it had happened, Tintin hadnāt returned until well after midnight, and had in fact fainted outside the front door.
So when the clock struck nine that evening and there had been no phone calls from Tintin, the gnawing pit of worry in his stomach continued to fester. Haddock perched himself in the front living room, sipping a bottle of whiskey in the hopes it would calm his nerves. Snowy had seemed to sense his distress, for the pup had taken up residence on a cushion next to Haddock.
Despite being incredibly worried, the dull patter of the rain on the windowpanes was enough to send Haddock into a light doze. Snowy, however, remained vigilantly fixated on the front door, his tail wagging with impatience.
The clock ticked over to ten thirty, the faint chime ringing through the empty hall.
As if on cue, the front door squeaked as it slowly opened, causing Snowy to let out a bark as he jumped off the couch and ran to greet his master.
Haddock shot up, pretending as if heād never fallen asleep. āBlistering barnacles, Tintin, you know how to give an old man a fright!ā
But when he finished rubbing his eyes and saw the state of the young man who collapsed through the doorway, his mouth quickly fell open. Haddock threw himself off the couch and sprinted to his friend, his concern mounting every second.
Snowy was barking furiously at a semi-conscious Tintin, who was struggling to lift his head off the ground. The young man was absolutely drenched, his thick brown coat having turned several shades darker as it was plastered to his skin. A giant bruise was forming on his left cheek, and Haddock noticed he was sporting an impressive, albeit very swollen black eye. His upper lip seemed to be split, a trail of blood creeping down his mouth and onto his sweater.
What worried the Captain the most, however, was the suspicious stain on Tintinās sweater that he was wrapping his arms around.
It took Haddock a few attempts to force his mouth to work. āTintin! Blistering barnacles, what the hell happened?!ā
āā¦Captain, I-ā Tintin grimaced. āā¦Iām s-sorry Iām lateā¦ā
If Tintin hadnāt looked like a walking corpse, Haddock thought he wouldāve laughed. He grabbed the young man by the shoulders and held him upright, quickly realising that despite the multiple layers of clothing, Tintin was shivering. āThundering typhoons, lad, I couldnāt care what time you walk through the door! But what on Earth happened?!ā
āā¦I-Itās nothing, Captainā¦ā Tintin gasped, seemingly unable to focus.. āā¦J-Just a disagreement, o-only a couple of punchesāā
āA disagreement?! Lad, you look as though you got thrown off a roof!ā Haddock placed his palm against Tintinās forehead, biting his lip in worry. āAnd yer developinā a fever already! Lad, you were only gone for a few hours!ā
The fact that Tintin didnāt laugh was immediately a cause for concern. The reporter weakly went to wipe his mouth on his sleeve, only for his arm to fall limply at his side.
Haddock watched in horror as Tintinās eyes rolled backwards, his battered body falling through Haddockās arms onto the carpet.
āNESTOR!ā The Captain bellowed, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. āNestor, call a doctor!ā
The faithful butler came flying down the grand staircase, still carrying his feather duster from the evening chores. His eyes widened at the sight of a bloodied and beaten Tintin lying in his masterās arms, and instantly sprinted towards the nearest telephone.
Haddock wrapped one of Tintinās arms around his shoulders, ignoring the searing pain that appeared in his spine as he tried to hoist the young man off the ground. Snowy continued to bark at his masterās feet, which made navigating the unconscious man to the couch without stepping on the loyal animal a challenge.
The Captain groaned as he lowered Tintin onto the couch, placing a pillow behind his head. In the light of the living room he could better see the young manās injuries, and his stomach churned as he realised there was much more blood on Tintinās face than he first realised. He felt along the side of the younger manās neck, wincing at the lump his fingers danced across. Donāt tell me heās going to have another concussionā¦
Tintin suddenly stirred, a small groan escaping his lips. He began to squirm on the couch until Haddock gently pinned his arms down, shushing him. āYouāre alright, lad, youāre at Marlinspike.ā
āā¦Cap..tain?ā Tintinās voice was small, and it made the Captain remember how young the lad actually was. āā¦Hurtsā¦ā
āI know, lad, it looks sore. But Nestorās just called a doctor, so youāre going to be alright,ā Haddock kept his voice calm as he grasped Tintinās hand tightly. His eyes were once again drawn to a suspicious patch on Tintinās sweater, which seemed to be growing at an alarming rate. āTintin, lad, you need to let me take a look at this-ā
āNoā¦hurts!ā¦ā Tintin croaked as a fresh wave of pain wracked his body. He weakly went to cross his arms across his stomach, only to let out a strangled cry as he passed out again.
Sighing deeply, the Captain gingerly raised the younger manās sweater. He nearly retched at the sight of Tintinās flesh, which was decorated with various shades of blue and brown bruising; Haddock had seen enough injuries in his time to know Tintin almost certainly had internal bleeding. A deep gash ran from the base of the young manās sternum to his navel, exposing the layers of skin that Haddock couldnāt pronounce.
āOh, ladā¦ā Haddock muttered. He sprung up and dashed to the kitchen, snatching the first clean tea towel he could find. Tintin stirred as he pressed forcefully to slow the bleeding, weakly pulling himself away from Haddock.
āShush, lad,ā Haddock felt sick as he heard the tea towel squeak as it absorbed the young manās blood. āItāll be alright, Tintin, weāve just got to keep on top of this, ay?ā
As a mercy to both of them, Tintin passed out for the third and seemingly final time, his shivering body growing still. Haddock had sat there with his finger firmly pressed against Tintinās neck until the doctor charged through the front door, desperately willing the boyās weak pulse to keep going. Come on, lad, donāt you die on my couchā¦
Haddock startled awake, dropping the magazine heād stolen from the hospital waiting room. He blinked furiously, his vision clearing to reveal a groggy, bloodied but alive Tintin in the bed in front of him. Bags of fluid and antibiotics hung above his bed, connecting to an intravenous port in his hand. A thick bandage was wrapped around the young manās head, and Haddock was pleased to see that the swelling in Tintinās left eye had gone down significantly. āOh, ladā¦God be praisedā¦ā
āCaptain?ā Tintinās voice was hoarse. āWhatā¦happened?ā
āYou donāt remember?ā Haddock sighed. Heād forgotten the doctors had said Tintin did indeed have yet another concussion. Itās a wonder this boy doesnāt have brain damage. āNot surprising, lad, given what youāve been through. Let me put it this way: next time you come home after beinā beaten half to death, lad, make sure you give me a list of yer injuries before we go to the hospital, alright?ā
Despite the pain it caused him, Tintin let out a soft chuckle. āIāll do my best, Captain.ā
āAnd for Godās sake, stop coming home with gashes spurtinā everywhere! Nestor spent ages cleaning the front doorstep!ā
Haddock had intended it to be humorous, but was disturbed to find a dark expression settling on Tintinās face. āā¦You alright, lad?ā
āThe knife,ā Tintin spoke quietly, his hands resting to his stomach āā¦I remember the knife. He-ā
āYouāre lucky he didnāt do more damage to you, lad,ā Haddock interrupted. āYouāre also damn lucky I noticed it bleedinā through your clothes! The doctors said they had to do lots of internal-ā
āHe was aiming for my heart,ā Tintin whispered. He took in a shaky breath and stared at the ceiling. āā¦H-He was aiming for my heart, Captainā¦H-he didnāt have very good aimā¦ā
Tintin trailed off and the two men fell into silence, each unsure how to respond to the other.
They knew this wouldnāt be the last time this happened, but for the moment, they were glad it hadnāt ended differently.