-No. Nonono.

Nova flinches backwards, and his back hits the wall, and he slides down it, curling into a miserable ball.

"Sorry sorry sorry. M'sorry. Just please. Don't- I- you- you Can- hit me. If you need to? Just please don't-"

"...hit you? Hit you?" Zev feels like he might be sick again. 

"Never. I could never. I'd rather die."

Nova tucks his head into his knees, hopinghopinghoping that's true. (Because he doesn't know what he'll do if Zev thinks he should be hit.)

But still...

"But- you were hurting yourself. Y'shouldn't. Please."

“I-” hadn’t meant to? That wasn’t my intention? Nothing he thinks of is particularly encouraging or reassuring. And nothing is the truth. 

“I’m sorry,” he manages. “I said I’d protect you. I didn’t know that meant from me too.”

He tightens his hand into a fist, gasping a little as something gives way.

"-I- what? Why would you-? You don't-"

"I wouldn't!" 

Zev stares at his hand. "...I wouldn't."

"You wouldn't," Nova repeats, certain. "See?"

Nova doesn't know why Zev feels that way, so it's hard to take his reassurance. 

But he sounds so certain-

"I don't want anything else from you. I don't. The way we are now - it's enough. I don't need anything else." 

-Nova's confusion is palpable.

"I- know?" (He does, he thinks, because Zev's never, even when they offered Nova to him, no, when they did that Zev had- Zev had protected him, and hadn't-)

(He's shaking harder.)

Zev holds his broken hand to his body, and reaches out to Nova with the other. 

(Part of him is worried this is still the dream, that if Nova were to touch him, he would- NO. He wouldn't)

-Nova shuffles closer a little cautiously, managing to unwrap one of his hands from around his knees, but not quite managing to reach out for Zev, as much as he wants to.

Zev leans across, bridging the space between them, to take Nova's hand.

Nothing more happens than just a near-overwhelming feeling of rightness. 

Zev's breath leaves him on a shudder.

Some of the tension seeps out of Nova's shoulders.

There's a gentle tap on the door into their room. "You guys okay?" 'Chelle's voice is soft, but in the quiet of the rest of the house it carries.

He almost tells 'Chelle everything is fine, so she doesn't worry. Send her back to bed.

But he looks at Nova. If right now things were reversed, Zev would want Nova bandaged up, feeling safe again. If it was Zev who found Nova, he wouldn't hesitate. 

"No?" He calls out.

"Alright," 'Chelle says. "M'coming in."

She slides into the room, and pads over to the bathroom, she looks from one of them, to the other, and then to the shattered tiles. "Yeah, Dad's choice of tiles in here made me want to break them as well. Want me to fix your knuckles up, Zev?"

A laugh escapes, just the one, and it sounds terribly painful, but it was there. 

He carefully shifts around so he's not curled into the corner, and props up a knee to rest his hand on it. "I just need a moment. I can fix it."

"Let me," she says. "I have two working hands," she wiggles her fingers. "And something tells me Nova would rather not let go of your hand, huh?"

-Yeah, Nova has gone a bit more tense at the suggestion of Zev taking his hand away.

Zev tightens his hand in response. He's not too fond of the idea of letting go either.

He nods after a moment, feeling guilty for bringing 'Chelle into this. "I'm sorry. About the tile," he says instead.

"We've got a saying in this family," 'Chelle says, pulling a a first aid kit out of the cabinet above the sink, and sitting down to one side of Zev. "Things are replaceable, people aren't. God knows, Dad saw enough people go through Aunt Ange's who wouldn't have stopped at a wall tile to hold that against you. Hell, Ira broke two beds before Uncle Steve and her compromised." As she speaks, she's taken Zev's hands, is checking there's no ceramic lodged into his skin, a set of tweezers in one hand ready to pluck any shards free.

"She sounds interesting. Can't wait to meet her," Zev says, lips twitching in an attempted smile.

There doesn't seem to be anything lodged in the wound, but two of his knuckles are definitely broken. 

"'Interesting' is a good word for her and Ant," 'Chelle agrees, fetching an antiseptic wipe. "This'll sting," she warns, before starting to clean his knuckles. "I don't have the full story, but I know that Uncle Steve got them off the streets, Ira was half feral at that point, they both were really, but Ira was...further gone, didn't want to let anyone near Ant. Took a lot of patience before Ira trusted Uncle Steve to help them. Still not entirely sure she fully trusts him, but she trusts him enough."

It does sting, but Zev doesn't mind the pain. He barely felt it when his knuckles broke. 

"I can understand that." He looks over at Nova. "She was protecting someone."

"-Yeah. I expect you can..." 'Chelle pauses, before reaching for strapping tape. "I'm gonna text Drex, because I get the feeling you're gonna be bad at not using your hand," she says as she straps the fingers with the broken knuckles. "I know that when I hurt myself I'm dreadful at remembering to not use what I've hurt."