Page 26 of Offensive Edge
“You can sleep in your bed.” Rowan wasn’t so sick that he needed a 24/7 nurse.
“Just holler,” Theo repeated. He left Rowan’s door open just a crack, and Rowan could hear him padding around the house in his socks, flipping off lights and locking doors. He was asleep before he could hear Theo get settled on the couch.
Rowan woke a few hours later, the red numbers of his alarm clock telling him it was three a.m. His stomach had rejected his soup. The garbage can had been in the perfect place, but now he had to get up and deal with it. Before he could pull his exhausted body out of his bed, Theo was pushing his door open.
“Alright?”
Rowan could only manage the kind of moan a dying animal makes.
“Stay put,” he said, and brought back a glass of water. Rowan rinsed his mouth out, then Theo got him a shitty disposable toothbrush and a little bit of toothpaste to brush the bad taste out of his mouth. He spat in the garbage can Theo was holding up for him.
“I’m going to take care of this,” he said, holding the garbage can. “You need to drink some water. A few sips, at least. More is better.”
Rowan was sick enough that the idea of Theo dealing with his puke bucket was only slightly embarrassing, instead of being completely mortifying. He was sure he would reach mortification when he was feeling better.
Theo came back and put the clean garbage next to him again.
“Need anything else?” Rowan must have been hallucinating, because he could have sworn that Theo smoothed his hair off his forehead.
“I’m good. Thank you.”
“Yeah, bud. Day off tomorrow. Try to sleep in, alright?”
“Mmm,” Rowan agreed. Theo pulled his covers back up over his shoulders so tenderly.
He was living in an alternate universe.
* * *
Somehow, Rowan slept in. At least until 9 a.m. He got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but having a night of sleep did a lot for him. His energy was still incredibly low, and he was thankful he got to be sick on an off day.
Theo was at the breakfast bar when Rowan made it to the kitchen.
“Hey, morning,” Theo said. He was watching Rowan with concern instead of disdain. His recent jumpiness around Rowan and desire to get away from him as quickly as possible must be on pause.
Maybe Rowan needed to get a stomach bug more often.
He made his way to the breakfast bar to sit next to Theo. He’d had the idea of trying to figure out something to eat, but once he’d made it out there, he realized how tired he was. All he could do was fold his arms on the counter and rest his head on them. Theo rubbed his back.
“Let me make you some food,” he said, not giving Rowan the chance to decline. He kept his head on his arms as Theo tried to cook as quietly as he could. The plate he placed in front of Rowan ten minutes later had a couple of scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast.
“Should be pretty inoffensive,” he said, and Rowan took a bite.
“It’s good. Thanks, T.” Theo hovered as Rowan ate, and when he was done, Theo hustled him into the bathroom and made him take a shower. He even started the water. It wasn’t the most comprehensive shower Rowan had ever taken, and he had to sit on the toilet lid to dry himself off, but he did it, and Theo was right. It made him feel a little better. When he came out of the bathroom wearing the sleep pants and t-shirt Theo had picked out for him, Theo was pulling the corner of a fresh set of sheets over the mattress.
“You didn’t have to—”
“But you weren’t going to. It’s okay. I wanted to.”
Rowan let him finish, then climbed back into bed. He was tired, but he didn’t want to go to sleep yet.
“Do you have shit you need to get done today?”
“No,” Theo said. “What shit do I ever need to get done?”
“Good point. Do you wanna play video games?”
“Sure,” Theo said. It was a hesitant agreement, but it was agreement. Rowan’s room had a TV mounted over a dresser, where he had his Xbox and Switch set up. Theo headed over to grab controllers for them.
