[Potironette]

Luck stared as Rune went red before him. Luck's hand reached over to his head. Huh, so it was like that. An odd feeling wormed its way into his chest. Luck controlled his face carefully, making a languid and impassive face.

Luck ripped a piece of brown paper towel from the dispenser. He crumpled it in his hands before swiping the towel under the sink for a moment. He remembered his younger days, when he'd gotten bullied in the playgrounds and ran into the bathroom to hide away his tears. Obviously, he'd hardened since.

He turned to Rune and dabbed at the tears with the softened towel. He briefly contemplated if he could take Rune under his wings as he did with Blitzel and Cork and Fran, but rejected that idea immediately. Those guys had cracked and toughened. On the other hand, Rune leaned the other way.

[Kitarun]

Rune stood there awkwardly, glad there was no one else in the bathroom at the moment. He flinched slightly when Luck first lifted the towel to his face, slowly relaxing, having to remind himself that Luck wasn't going to hurt him this time. He set his books down on the counter behind him, resting his palms on the edge, leaning against it lightly as Luck cleaned him up.

His tears, though, weren't the only thing being wiped away. Few knew that Rune wore makeup, but now Luck was among them. Revealed were pale scars, both from the accident that killed his mum, and from his father's beatings, among numerous bruises, both fresh and fading, some from Luck and his goons, a few from other bullies in the school. Most were his father's handiwork, though...

[Potironette]

Though shocked, Luck continued until he was sure Rune lost that just-cried look. That was the worst look to have, Luck knew. It only made people look like more viable targets. If not for the day-of, certainly sometime in the future. When Luck finished, he threw the colored towel into the trash and stared at Rune's face. He reached for Rune's chin, and with gentleness he thought he'd lost long ago, tilted just slightly upwards.

"You hide all this." He remarked, his blonde brows tilting upwards. He dropped Rune's chin, "You've got any more of that makeup on you?" He was dying to ask why Rune hid them all, what happened, why. But he wasn't that tactless. Or at least, he was trying to not be tactless.

[Kitarun]

Rune slowly reopened his eyes, not quite sure what he expected to see in Luck's face, though it sure wasn't the look of curiosity and amazement that he was met with. He flushed a little and nodded, turning away and setting his messenger bag on the counter as well, digging through until he found a little bottle of concealer. Facing the mirror, and ignoring the blond hovering behind him, Rune made quick work of reapplying his makeup. When he finished, his face once more looked near flawless, except for the black eye, and the little cut on his jaw.

"Better?" He asked when he finished, thrning back to Luck, though he didnt know why exactly he was looking for the older biy's approval.

[Potironette]

Luck watched Rune's reflection the mirror, admiring the concentration with which the other boy applied his makeup. As if magic, the scars and bruises vanished under the rug of a funny looking liquid, though Luck noticed that a cut and a black eye was meticulously avoided, and brushed around to look natural.

When Rune turned to face him, a small grin eased its way onto Luck's face. It was cute, he thought, not knowing exactly why. "Yeah." He paused, "Why do you leave out the eye and that cut?"

[Kitarun]

Rune shrugged slightly. "Well the cut's still pretty fresh, and the black eye is still too tender for me to handle touching." He replied. "Besides, it'd look weird if I'd come to school with it, then it disappeared halfway through the day, wouldn't it?

[Potironette]

Luck gave a light, "Yeah," in acquiescence. He looked darkly at the cut on Rune's face. "Where did that cut come from?" He asked.

As a rule, Luck knew, no sane bully would draw blood like that. Not with a cut. Maybe a kid might get a busted lip or something, but a cut made him bristle. Who did that?

[Kitarun]

Rune looked away, blushing slightly, and bit his lip nervously. Should he really tell Luck who it was? "Erm... My father... He said softly, not looking at the blond next to him as he admitted who'd hit him bad enough to leave a cut like that on his jaw. It wasn't like Luck didn't already know everything his father did to him, anyways... "He was wearing his old class ring..." Rune added in way of explanation.

[Potironette]

His father. Of course. It was that father.
"That's not how a father should be," Luck muttered darkly. His own father neglected him and he never talked to his mother, but neither of them beat him up.

"I want to see him." Said Luck, his voice growing deep and ominous.


(I get the feeling that Luck would want to, uh do something to the father because he's probably rash. Problem is, I don't know if a high school bully does that :/)

[Kitarun]

Rune frowned, looking back to Luck when his tone darkened. "I don't think that's a good idea... If he ever found out someone knew..." He shuddered slightly, fearing the consequences if his father should learn that Rune had not only written everything down, but that someone else had read what happened, knew what he'd been doing to his son for years, now. "Definitely not a good idea."

[Potironette]

Hearing Rune say that it wasn't a good idea, Luck pulled himself out of his sudden impulse. "You know," he said, "You could press charges against your father. You've got all the evidence for it. Why do endure all this?"

[Kitarun]

"Who would take me in, if he was convicted? More than likely, they'd throw me in some foster home for a year til I aged out of the system, then I'd have to find my own place, and learn to support myself immediately, while still going to school- because I will still be in school when I turn 18..." He replied. He'd thought about- and panicked over- that scenario many times. If he just reported his father... What then? "And what if the courts are more likely to believe him? He'd probably pin everything on you and the other bullies here... And destroy the evidence..."

[Potironette]

Luck placed his hands on Rune's shoulders, staring at him in the eye and leaned in close. "If you don't want to report to anyone you don't have to. If you do, then you should do what you want. What do you want?"

Foster homes weren't particularly nice places. But then again, how much worse could a foster home be? Luck wondered. As for the other bullies, Luck was resolved not to let anyone bruise Rune again. He'd protect Rune, more than he had Cork and Fran and Blitzel. He grimaced inwardly at how he took those guys in. He'd let them crack on their own.

He wondered what Rune meant by his father destroying the evidence. After all, so long as the father didn't get his hands on the journal, the cuts on Rune would explain it all.

[Kitarun]

Rune's breath hitchhed slightly when he looked up, only to realize Luck's face was inches from his own. He got lost briefly in the other's gaze, before snapping himself out of it and pulling away. What did he want? "I don't know..." He said softly, arms wrapping around himself out of instinct, as he thought about Luck's question. "I want to be free from him... But I don't want to deal with the process. I don't want to be dragged in front of a court and have to relive everything he's done, and tell it to strangers who sit there and judge every little thing I say and do, watching me, their gazes full of either pity or disgust, or simply not believing me." He said, turning away slightly, shutting his eyes, trying his hardest not to cry.

"I don't..." He shook his head. "I just can't, Luck..." Tears slipped down his cheeks, despite his best efforts to contain them. And damn it all, he'd just cleaned himself up and redone his makeup, too...

[Potironette]

"Hey, it s'alright," Luck started, slipping into an odd accent, lifting his hands up, palms curled slightly. Uncertain what to do, Luck dropped his palms.

"Believe it or not, no one's gonna just not believe you." Luck said. He drew a hand up to his hair, uncertain how to reassure Rune.

Dropping his hand, he brushed a tear away, "Sorry."
He'd brought Rune into the bathroom to clean him up so Rune would be able to get to his next class, not to get him to cry again. Why couldn't he stop his irresponsible mouth?

[Kitarun]

He shook his head slightly, using his sleeve to dab away the tears before they could destroy his makeup again. "S-s'not yiur fault..." He said weakly, leaning his head against Luck's hand briefly, taking comfort in the fact he cared enough to apologize.

"An' how d'you know they won't just disbelieve me?" He asked, glancing up at Luck, before turning to the mirror, smudging his makeup a little to make it look more natural since he'd been crying again.