I know where beauty lives

[Julio de la Rosa]

Good. He was okay. Something seemed a little off about him, though. Like he was in pain. Was it one of the wounds that Julio couldn't see? He wished Angel wasn't afraid of him, that he would have let him inspect him better. He might not be an expert but at least he could tell if a bruise was too nasty to just ignore. What if there was internal bleeding?

But he said he was okay. What else could Julio do? Force him to explain himself? He watched in amusement as Angel followed his movements, with okay. Okay was pretty self explanatory, wasn't it? Basically a fast finger-spell using the letters O and K. But then what followed was a thank you sign. Julio blinked, surprised. Then smiled as he realized that Angel had just signed to him. Did he pick that up from Julio earlier?

You're learning? he signed, smile growing.

[Angel Miguel Albares]

That smile though. Angel had a hard time looking at him when he smiled and he seemed so pleased that Angel managed to sign something as basic as thank you. Picking at a stray thread on his pant leg, he nodded. "I looked up a few things just now." He shrugged—no big deal. It wasn't anything so impressive that it warranted any attention or praise.

Besides, he couldn't expect Julio to type everything out all the time! That seemed so tedious for him, when it was just easier for Angel to learn a few basic things, so they could converse. Finally he looked up, then at the things Julio brought him.

"Ah. You didn't have to..." That was really thoughtful of him. Angel pulled the pillow over and shook out the blanket, making a cozy bed for himself on the couch. He was quite thin so he didn't think he'd roll over so much that he would fall off in the night.

After a brief pause, he hazarded a good night, following Julio's motions earlier with a small smile. "Good night," he said... just in case.

[Julio de la Rosa]

Julio signed goodnight back to Angel, soft amusement in his gaze. Angel seemed embarrassed by the fact that he'd learned a few signs but... nobody ever really learned it for him before. It was Julio's mother who taught him to sign as a baby, when she learned he would not have words for some time. And there was a surgery that could possibly help the injury done to him in childbirth but it was too expensive and too risky. Now it was too late but Julio didn't mind. It was hard to miss what he never had.

Family knew signs. At least basic ones. His boss knew basic signs as well. But when it came down to his personal life, people just preferred to speak to him rather than to sign to him. Which was fine. It was. As long as they could read some signs, there was a way to communicate.

With one last look back at Angel, Julio went down the hall and into his bedroom. He showered and dressed in his makeshift pajamas before sliding under the covers. But he laid there for a long while, unable to get any proper sleep. He kept thinking about Angel. If he was okay. If he was covering for pain he didn't want Julio to worry about. Julio was accustomed to this. His mother did it, too.

Eventually sleep found him. He was tired from the nights work and a full belly and a little bit of alcohol and a warm shower. All the thoughts in the world couldn't keep him up under such conditions.

[Angel Miguel Albares]

For a long while after Julio left, Angel kept seeing his soft dark eyes and his smile. He wished he could shut his brain off but if it wasn't thinking about Julio, it was thinking about the weird ringing and the itching at his shoulderblades. He much preferred the former, for obvious reasons. Eventually he changed out of his torn clothes and into the clean ones Julio brought, then slid his legs under the blanket.

He heard water running—Julio was taking a shower. Angel gingerly touched his own face; the split lip throbbed, the cut under his eye throbbed, his head throbbed. But the pain was much, much less than it had been just an hour ago. It receded enough for him to be able to lay his head down. Maybe... kind of creepily he turned his face into the pillow. It smelled good. Clean. Did Julio smell like this too? Clean and fresh? He might after his shower...

Angel laughed softly into the pillow at himself. Look at him. A guy treated him nicely and he got all starry-eyed. His phone buzzed beside him and he picked it up to a message from one of his uncles, asking if he was okay. Angel said yes, then flicked back to the sign language tutorial he'd been looking at. He tried to learn a few more things—good morning, hello, sorry, thank you, etc.—until his eyes got too heavy to prop open and he fell asleep.

He thought he'd sleep well but... not really. Weird dreams kept running through his head, nonsense that he usually saw when he closed his eyes. They were just more vivid because the drugs wore off, letting his brain have free reign. Surprisingly none of it was violent though. They sometimes were. But Angel still kept tossing and turning and he woke up even before the sun had risen, groggily looking around at his new surroundings.

Slowly Angel got up. He changed back into his clothes, folded the blanket and put everything in a neat stack by one end of the couch. Maybe he should have waited for Julio to wake up but he felt guilty for imposing already and... he had Julio's number. They could maybe text sometime. That wouldn't be weird.

So he slipped silently out of the apartment and eased the door closed behind him. Gently he touched the door, smiled briefly to himself and headed back out. He could get a cab out to Portland and... maybe start on that painting he promised Julio.