"I was in a really nasty accident as a kid. Needed some pretty significant surgeries after just to live. They kind of left their mark," to emphasise the point, he pulled the neck of his t-shirt down to show the top of the ugly marks near his heart. "A few years of that and I'm left with pain every now and then. not bad enough to stop me functioning but," shrugging he, didn't really need to finish.

Smiling at her, he was already prepared for it anyway, and it's not like he could kick the poor woman out. "Don't worry about it, but if you think I'm not taking the couch with you being injured, you must be joking. You take the bed, I'll be fine out here and you need it more than I do." He wasn't the type to proclaim chivalry and insist on paying for things if a woman offered, but some things he wasn't going to budge on. She was hurt, she got the bed.

"And don't try to argue, I'll not have any of it." Giving her a grin he added, "Doctors orders." Truthfully, he was probably more tired than she was and was ready to drop at any moment. Getting up off the couch might not be an option.

"Are you sure?" She asked in some surprise. Xavia gave a sigh and stood up to put the glass in the sink, it was easy enough to find the kitchen. She would have been okay sleeping on the couch. The couch was not causing her pain, damn it. But he was insistent.

She squared her shoulders and then when she was back in his living room, she asked him, *Where is t'e bedroom?" Her eyes were concerned as they regarded him still. The fact he had been in an accident and him helping her caused her pain caused the guilt to eat at her.

Xavia waited quietly for him to tell her which way to go. She pressed her lips together, and assuming he pointed her in the direction she went to his bedroom and closed the door. She had to gain some comfort somehow, gingerly pulled off the skirt and then climbed into the bed.

Unfortunately for her, sleep was... Elusive... From then on.

"Go, seriously. It's just through there," gesturing towards his room, "Get some sleep Xavia, you need it." Him too, but he wasn't the one with burns on his legs. Plus it was his flat, so he got to make the rules. He'd be fine for one night and if the pain got too bad, he was pretty sure he knew where the hospital was.

Sleep came pretty quick, he basically passed out the moment his head touch the arm rest. He didn't even get a chance to pull the blanket over himself. His rest was fitful. He was hot and in pain, his dreams flitted from one nonsense scene to another with nothing to connect any of them together. Apparently though, his brain wasn't finished tormenting him.

He was back on the boat, on that day. Everything was in slow motion, the rain splashing down, his father shouting across the deck at him, the boat up heaving under his feet and the world turning upside down. Rocks rushing up to meet him, Artair came awake screaming.

She had just dozed off when the sound of screaming startled her awake. She stumbled to her feet and padded to the door of the bedroom. "Artair?" She asked quite sleepily, now in the livibg room. She had been so caught up in the screaming that she had not put the skirt back on. Hell, she did not even notice.

"You okay?" She did not come far into the living room, just enough to be able to see him and that he was okay. She looked pretty tired, herself, and her hair was mussed and had lost the straightening to go back to natural curl.

A look of confusion was upon her face as sher patiently waited for him to reply. It was as if she was checking on family with the way she did not pay heed to her state of half undress.

Panting, his heart hammering in his chest, he didn't really register Xavia calling out to him. It had felt so real, like he was back there again. It had been years since he'd even had a nightmare, why the hell had this one been so life like? And why had it been that particular one.

Taking a few deep, shaky breaths and forcing his hands to stop trembling he looked up at the woman in the door way. "S--- sorry, bad dream. Well, bad nightmare more like it, just gave me a wee shock." Maybe bringing up those memories by talking to her had done this, put the idea in the back of his head which had been more than happy to torment him with it.

Clutching the front of his shirt, the dull throbbing was starting to fade again, leaving a familiar dull ache. "After that, I don't think I'm sleeping," Checking the time, it was maybe another hour before sunrise. "You can get some more sleep if you want, I'll be OK. Just need to distract myself." Although speaking of distractions, his shouting must have startled her enough to not put her skirt back on. Taking a more joking tone, "Not that I'm complaining about the pretty, half dressed lass in my front room but you look like you need it."

"Can't sleep," she said and rubbed at tired eyes. "Oh... My skirt..." She belatedly realized he was seeing more than she had intended. But if he had wanted to hurt her, he probably would have done so long before now.

Sighing, more with tired than anything, she gestured for him. "I already know you are not a jerk. And I am not offering anyt'ing beyond friendship, but I haven't slept a full night in several mont's and you seem like you could use t'e same t'ing. Come... Lay wit' me." The first part where she hadn't slept in a long time might shed light on some things.

The part where she told him to join her would probably shock him, but she just left it on the table, and turned back to the bedroom without waiting for an answer, the door kept ajar to indicate she was serious. She curled up on one side of the bed, leaving plenty of room. Her cheek rested on her arm and she lay there without falling asleep.

Her comment made him burst out laughing, it was just so out of left field. "Tempting offer lass, but no, I'm not sleeping again tonight and I wouldn't want to destroy the little you might be able to get. I'll just putter about for a few hours and wake you up at a decent time." He always had a few little tasks that needed doing for nights like this, and he could always sit and try to refine his power while he was at it.

"But thank you for the offer, really. I appreciate you keeping my own issues in mind but I can deal with it, have done for more than 11 years." It had been a long time since he was hurt, but was it really that long? Had he really dealt with the side effects for so long. "I'll have some food ready for whenever you wake up, don't worry." Might not be the best breakfast she'd ever had, but he could do alright in the kitchen.

Making sure she was firmly sleeping, he pulled out a knife from his mind, shaped and reshaped it in the air, trying to find new shapes that fit his mind. Maybe it was time to try that idea he'd been having for a while. Holding the same amount of power in the construct, he tried to make it smaller and sharper. Make it his for once.

When he turned her offer down, she kinda had no choice but to lay there. He had laughed... She was not sure if it was meant as a laugh in your face situation or just because he didn't know how to respond. She couldn't sleep, still. Xavia sighed and pulled on her skirt, then moved out of the bedroom, clearly exhausted and possibly not thinking straight. She kind of looked wilted now. "T'ank you for your help... I will just walk home." She didn't look at him now.

Xavia made a beeline for the door, walking stiffly, clearly still in pain but not wanting to bother him anymore. I.e. she had felt like she had just... Possibly mortified herself. And it was magnified by the exhaustion etching her features.

Damn, but her mind wouldn't shut the eff up for her. He was just trying to be nice, not hurt her feelings! But her mind continued to yap at her, berate her, and yell at her!

Had he upset her? "Woah lass, you anit walking anywhere. If you really want to get home I'm getting you a pre paid cab which will get you home on me." Christ he must have really annoyed her with the laugh, he really hadn't meant to. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you, if that's what you're worried about, the laugh was more with how daft the situation seemed. It wasn't at your expense. Promise."

God he'd made an a--- of himself, probably made her really uncomfortable in the process. Again. He was getting pretty good at that lately, putting his foot in his mouth and saying things that could really annoy or upset others. It was a pretty bad trend and it apparently had no thoughts of stopping any time soon.

The cab didn't take long to arrive and soon he was saying goodbye to the strange woman who's night he'd ruined. "Bye lass, can't say it hasn't been interesting at least and if you need a hand with injuries again, I'm happy to help." It had been, fun, which was weird to him, and it wasn't like it had been all bad. He smiled as he tried to sleep again, accompanied by the soft smell of roses.