He wasn't, really. He ate plenty of things and he was more than a decent cook, he knew how to use spices and tried different dishes regularly... Except certain things were just icky.
Like fucking snails and slugs that Jonah ate. To this day just thinking about the fact he had eaten that once made him nauseated and sometimes even made Leo genuinely gag at the memory. He couldn't understand how Jon could possibly eat that.
On his day to day, though, this was not an issue. They meal prepped for the week — Leo did most of the cooking, Jonah bought the ingredients and cleaned the mess — in order to avoid the constant stream of junk food and deliveries. Leo did it partially because of the sheer amount of money that got drained away through deliveries, but Jon only was a part of it because of the health benefits. Either way, it was a win.
Today he was in the office, with his packed lunch. Nothing fancy, a poke bowl he had made twins with Jon's, with shredded chicken as well as all sorts of summery ingredients, such as cherry tomatoes, kiwi, mangoes, bell peppers and a generous scoop of cream cheese and gohan. It was a colorful, beautiful plate and he had been salivating over it the whole morning, his stomach was growling loudly as he went to the break room by lunch hour and fished out the bowl from their shared fridge.
"What are you doing tomorrow night, Leo?" Chuck asked, leaning on the opposite wall to him, as he waited for his meal to microwave. Another good thing about Leo's option was that he didn't need to heat it up.
"Nothing," Leo shrugged, "stay in, why?"
"It's a Friday, wanna grab a beer and watch the baseball game?"
Leo opened a pleased smile. While Lucas and Vin both played baseball and had joined the community team with Leo and his coworkers, only Chuck cared enough to actively watch the games, like Leo did.
"Sure! Absolutely!"
The microwave beeped and Leo waited for Chuck to retrieve his food container, as they moved to the lounge area to eat together. They were talking about teams and Leo was excitedly gesturing with his fork, when Dean skipped into the room and plopped on the chair next to Leo, with a pleased smile on.
"What are we talking about?" He asked, not one bit embarrassed or shy and Leo blushed on his behalf, wondering what life must be like for such extroverted people such as Dean or Lucas or Bell, who could just butt into conversations without feeling self conscious...
Granted, he wouldn't say Bella was extroverted, but she was certainly forward and immune to feeling embarrassed. It was a skill.
As he mused over this, Leo munched on the food absently minded, stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork and the biting it- Only for his teeth to slide as he got a chewy piece that was just fat.
Immediately his appetite was out of the window and his body got covered in goosebumps. He gagged before his brain could fully compute what was happening, dropping his fork in a haste as he cupped a hand over his mouth and shot up from the table, running towards the toilets.
Vaguely, he heard Dean yelling after him, but his stomach had flipped with revulsion and Leo skipped inside the staff bathroom, pushing a stall open and dropping to his knees just as he coughed the half chewed piece and retched with enough force to bring up a mouthful of something chunky and vile.
His mind kept hiccupping over what he had just felt in his mouth, stuck in the sensation, and Leo gagged out of disgust, planting his elbows on the toilet seat as his whole body lurched forward.
There was a thump on his back and he coughed up another stream of vomit, blindly reaching over his head to reach the flush, but the toilet flushed before he could find it. He coughed, trying to clear his throat of the slimy feeling, stomach still bubbling and threatening to send up the rest of his chick- Uuurgh, the rest of his lunch.
"Jesus," Chuck breathed out, voice spooked, "what the hell happened?"
Leo collapsed onto his ass, groaning and hanging his head as he tried to catch his breath. His stomach was aching from the violent heaving, still churning with vestigial nausea, "uhm-" he gulped down, then muffled a wet belch in his hand, frothy enough that he leaned to the side to spit the ropey saliva in the bowl, "chick- HIC-" he jerked with a hiccup and squeezed his eyes closed, trying to shut up his mind, "lunch- Gross-"
"Your lunch was gross?" Chuck snorted and Leo sat back down, tilting his head up to look at the guy. Chuck had tan, reddish skin and extremely dark, straight hair that was always brushed back. He was stocky, clearly frequenting the gym, but not particularly tall like Leo or Dean.
"Yeah..."
"You're like a child, Wagner," Chuck laughed, stepping back, now sufficiently calmed down over Leo's wellbeing, "maybe you should go home and nurse that stomachache."
"It's fine," Leo rolled his eyes, grabbing on the stall wall to pull himself up. His stomach gurgled, unhappily, and he froze in a hunched over position, taking slow breaths in order to avoid lurch right back to the bowl, "just... Just grossed out..."
"Go home," Chuck shooed him with a hand gesture, "work from home, we have those home office days for this exact reason. No one wants your pukey ass in the office in case you have a bug."
"I don't have a bug," Leo groaned, but he would be lying if the idea of going home wasn't enticing, not because he was sick, but because he felt exposed and raw. Besides, Jon was probably home, he wasn't scheduled for today... Hopefully?
"Go home, Leo," Chuck was now serious, "that's the most ridiculous way anyone has ever gotten sick in this office."
Leo flipped him off as he stumbled back to the sinks, washing his mouth and face. Just swishing water around in his mouth was enough to make him gag and he shuddered with revulsion, "yeah okay, I'll go home," he wiped his chin with his hand, feeling too weak to reach for the paper towels less than two feet away. Chuck grabbed a handful of them with a little huff.
"Thank you," the older guy said in an amused tone, walking out of the bathroom.
Leo gathered his stuff back in his office, then went back to the garage, passing by Sandy, who cooed over him, all "Oh, you poor thing, feel better," rubbing his arm in a reassuring manner and that made Leo turn a deep crimson shade. Damn office gossip, she hadn't even been there when he threw up!
On the drive over, he gagged twice more at a red light, as his brain insisted on recalling the damn chicken, but Leo valiantly swallowed it back down.
He was pouty and cranky by the time he made it inside their apartment, not even JD meowing at his presence seeming to cheer him up.
"What is it, baby?" Jon cooed, following the cat out of the room, and then paused, eyebrows raised, "shouldn't you be at the office?"
He was leaning against the wall that marked the end of their hallway, wearing sweatpants with a compression wifebeater on top, but over all of it he sported a silk mustard yellow robe, with matching slippers. Leo snorted at the sight.
"Clearly, I am not," he answered, dropping his suitcase by the door and crossing the room in order to topple in Jonah's arms, sending his husband stumbling back and chuckling.
"Oh, hi, hello," his voice came muffled by Leo's hair in his mouth and he sputtered, squirming to pull him into a correct hug, "what's wrong, angel?"
"Don't steal my petname," Leo grumbled, turning his head to inhale Jonah's perfume and feeling the previous disgust start to melt away. Jonah always smelt like a damn dream, like the most squeaky clean person in the world, no matter how many hours after a shower it was.
"What. Is. Wrong?" Jon punctuated each word with a kiss to Leo's temple and the blonde grinned, turning his head so he could catch the last one in his mouth and then pulled back just a smidge.
"I threw up, Chuck sent me home."
"And you just kissed me?" Jonah raised an unimpressed eyebrow, glaring at him, causing Leo to snort.
"I'm not sick, the chicken in the lunch was-" instead of saying what it was, Leo gagged and shuddered, making Jonah laugh.
"Oh, you diva," he grabbed Leo's face, pressing a kiss to his pout, "chicken was icky in your tummy, yeah?"
"You're soooo mean to me," Leo whined, squinting at him, and biting down a smile as Jonah tugged him closer and he promptly went, happily being squished into a hug.
Jonah didn't make a move to get them to the couch or the bedroom, instead they stayed standing in the middle of the living room, not that either one seemed to mind. His husband rubbed a hand up his back, fingers running through his hair as Leo melted into a puddle.
"Jon?"
"Yeah?" His breath tickled Leo's ear and he smiled, pressed himself even closer, if possible.
Max was floating on his feet, as he walked inside the store. It was bright out, a nice day, not the type of day he'd pick to go shopping, but he had had little to no say on this, simply following Leo's directions.
It was a local Goodwill and he had been to the one in Doveport enough times to know how to navigate. Welton's was more well packed, though. Less religious cheap trinkets and a whole lot more wood.
Leo was standing on the far left aisle, inspecting a twin set of pots, crouching slightly so he could glare at them.
"Found you," Max said, sneaking on him, and causing Leo to jump just a little.
His, normally sunny, friend squinted at him, scoffing, "hi, Max."
Oh?
Max immediately perked up at the change of attitude and sour tone to Leo's voice. Not that the guy couldn't be a major bitch, but generally Leo kept that part of him private and normally he was annoying, but not sour. This was new.
"Hi," Max smiled, staring at him intently as he tried to piece together what was different about the guy, "did you wait too long?"
"No, just got here," Leo shrugged, planted the pots back on the shelf with a dejected sigh, "I drafted you a list," he rubbed his face, fishing out his phone and Max stepped closer so he could inspect him a little better.
"A list?"
"Yeah, of all the shit we gotta find for your place," Leo drummed his fingers on his phone screen, where he had written down a couple words on the notes app, "lamps, at least three. Curtains, one gotta be black out-"
"I can order all of that online..."
"It's not the same as thrift shopping and you told me, and I quote, you didn't wanna spend money on this decorating bullshit," he mimicked a deeper tone, which was meant to be Max's voice and the guy scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"I don't sound like that, you gave me an accent."
"You sound like you chain-smoke, oh, which you do," the little shit insisted, leading the way. Max did not chain smoke, "how was the date with Vin?"
"It wasn't a date," Max groaned, although his stomach filled up with butterflies at the memory of their little intimate dinner, "he just cooked me dinner because he says I can't live on a beige diet."
"Honestly," Leo agreed, gloomily, "all you eat is rice, potatoes and the occasional avocado. That cannot be healthy."
"I have steak sometimes!" Max cried out, speeding up to keep up with Leo, "and I'm perfectly healthy."
Leo looked pointedly at his stomach, "yeah, except for the Curse," he snorted, then let out a weird choking noise and braced against the shelves as he started coughing.
Max jumped back, raised his hand to smack his friend on the back in case he was choking, but those were deep. chesty coughs. Leo whimpered at the tail end, clutching his throat.
"Urgh, fuck."
"Are you sick?" Max guessed, squinting at Leo. The other guy had a bright pink splotch in the middle of his cheeks, but other than that he was pale as a ghost.
"Probably," Leo groaned, walking ahead as if leading the way, "it's just a cold, don't worry about it."
"Why the hell are you thrift shopping when you have a cold?" Max rushed to keep up, just as Leo beamed as he found a big lava lamp.
"This is cool-"
"Leo," Max scoffed, "why are we shopping if you're sick? Shouldn't you be in bed? Did McDreamy even allow you to leave home if you're sick?"
Leo huffed out a chuckle, which quickly morphed into a cough and he had to shove the lamp into Max's arms in order to turn around and fold in the middle. It sounded painful.
"Sh-she-et," Leo whined, grabbing onto a shelf to straighten up, and pretending Max wasn't seeing it, "I'm fine. I wanna shop, I'm excited. Besides, I don't need Jon's permission to leave home, he's not the boss of me."
"He doesn't know, uh?" Max grinned, rolling his eyes, "sneaky little shit."
Leo blushed, but shrugged, "leave me alone," he mumbled and kept walking, "help me pick a rug."
Max sighed, rubbing his forehead in a frustrated manner and following the guy around, "do you have siblings?" He asked, as Leo continued to pile random items on his arms, unbothered.
He froze on his tracks, eyebrows up and looking around as if Max had been talking with anyone else, "Uh- me?"
"Yes, you," Max rolled his eyes impatiently, procuring a basket to dump all the trinkets he was carrying.
"No," Leo snickered, cheeks turning pink slightly, "none that I know of, anyway."
Max narrowed his eyes at the cryptic answer, "your parents aren't together anymore?" He guessed, already imagining Leo as the child of a nasty divorce. It would explain why they got along so well, damage recognized damage.
"You could say that," Leo mumbled to himself, not as an answer to Max, rubbing his chest and then holding up a finger, as he turned around to cough mercilessly. They were turning really nasty, wet and deep, obviously painful.
Max finally managed to find a basket and got rid of the items — a lava lamp, a welcome mat, a bathroom rug, a black and white biker poster and an assortment of containers for shit like dish soap — and moved so he could pat Leo's back. His hand hung in the air for a split second before he made up his mind and planted it on the guy's back, putting force into the pats and rubs.
Leo spluttered for air, face pink and eyes teary, bracing against a wall as he took difficult breaths, "fuck," he whined, pitifully, clutching his throat. Max pursed his lips, now he was close enough to be able to tell Leo had a fever.
"Yeah, that's enough, I'm driving you home," Max decided and Leo raised a hand in the air and shooed him away as if he was an inconvenient dog.
"Not yet," he said, or rather, whispered, his voice shot. Leo groaned, a hand clutching his throat, a grimace on his face, "the quicker you help me, the quicker we leave."
Max rolled his eyes dramatically, Leo was such a prick. Dying, but still being stubborn, "fiiiine, what do you need me to look for?"
"Uhm-" Leo squinted at his phone screen, the glare of it bothering him enough he reduced the brightness to nearly dark. He tapped on the screen for Max to see and he had to step closer in order to see what was written.
"Curtains, okay- Uh, why the fuck is there cat written here?" Max chuckled, taking the phone from Leo's hand in order to make sure he hadn't read it wrong. Sure enough, the word "cat" was written under curtain and above "lava lamp", "I don't think Goodwill has those, buddy."
"You need a kitten," Leo said, defensively, stretching and snatching his phone back with a bit of a pout, "cute and cudd-Aw," he hissed, hand curling around his throat. He gulped down, then gestured as if locking his mouth, meaning he wasn't planning on speaking further.
Max groaned, dramatically, "I'm gonna end up killing it! I'm not fit for a pet!"
"Jon said the same," Leo grinned, his eyes sparkling with fever, "c'mon, curtains."
It took them fifteen more minutes before they finished Leo's list and a whole lot more bitching from Max as he paid for all of it, then they were off.
Leo was sneezing now, the tip of his nose red, as well as his cheeks and he looked miserable. On his way out he had grabbed a box of tissues and he sniffled as he walked side by side with Max.
"Are you finally gonna go home?"
"Nuh-huh," Leo gulped down, shuddering. His voice had grown really hoarse, "pet store."
"Dude!" Max cried out, finishing shoving his bags on Leo's backseat. Now he regretted not having driven there, because he felt like he was in a hostage situation, but on the other hand there was no way Leo could drive himself back. So whatever, "I cannot keep a pet alive, I can barely keep myself alive-"
"Exactly the reason you need one," Leo jiggled the car keys and Max considered manhandling him for it. He wasn't as tall, nor did he frequent a gym half as often, he definitely couldn't win in a fight on a good day, but Leo looked sick enough he might just get lucky.
Or he could call Jonah, Max thought smugly, but gave up on the idea immediately. Him and Jonah weren't friends, it felt awkward calling him about anything that wasn't an emergency.
"Lessgo, Max!" Leo jumped ahead of him, way too much energy for someone who was sick, entering the driver's side and slamming his door. Max sighed, heavily.
"You're like a toddler," he declared, entering the passenger side and glaring at his friend. The car started before he even managed to put his seat belt on, "such a pain in the ass."
"You're just sooo much fun to rage bait," Leo beamed at him, then ducked his head to sneeze loudly, rubbing at his nose, "aww'sfycks," he reached blindly for the tissue box and Max handed it to him with a judgemental glare, watching as he blew his nose and it triggered a coughing fit.
"You're in no state to drive," Max scoffed, as soon as they stopped on a red light and Leo lowered his forehead to the steering wheel, coughs harsh enough Max was half convinced he was gonna bring up his lunch, "pull over."
"Nuh," Leo shook his head, grabbing three different tissues and pressing it to his mouth as he shuddered, spitting into it. Gross, Max thought with a grimace.
"I'm serious, pull over, you're gonna end up crashing," Max gestured for him that the light had turned green, "I'll drive."
"To the-" Leo sniffled, his nose starting to run, so he pressed a tissue under it, voice coming out muffled, "pe'sfore?"
"Leoo-"
A stubborn, feverish glare answered him and Max sighed, loudly, "Fine! To the fucking pet store so I can pick the animal that will end up killing!"
Leo squinted at him, from the corner of his eye, the car going so slow that they received a honk and a swear. His shoulders dropped, "M'kay..."
Max had half a mind to just ignore his promise and take Leo straight home, but he decided against it because he was about 50% sure this might cause Leo to cry and he really wouldn't know how to fix that.
There was a pet store near the Wagner-Banks building anyway, one where Leo was apparently a regular, because the guy behind the counter perked up at seeing him and said, "Leo! Where's JD?"
Max shifted uncomfortably, looking around the place. Rows and rows of canned pet food, all sorts of trinkets... There were birds in the back and Max abandoned Leo with his acquaintance, in order to go inspect it.
He thought birds were cute, but too noisy and, honestly, too fragile. The chances of him killing it were exponentially higher than a cat, and they were already pretty high for the cat.
On the opposite wall there were three large tanks, with fishes and Max grinned. He should get one of those, they seemed easy enough-
"You're not getting a fish," Leo spawned next to him, as if reading his mind, "they're boring."
Max rolled his eyes, "they're fine-"
Leo grabbed him by the elbow, guiding him further inside, grumbling like an old man. Max ignored his bitching in favor of trying to gauge just how high was his fever. Seemed higher than it had been in Goodwill and he seemed more pale now, sweaty.
"Are you nauseous?"
Leo did not dignify him with a response. Max groaned, dragged his feet.
They passed by a tank with snakes and he perked up, "those are cool-"
"You need something you can cuddle," Leo shook his head and then nearly walked straight into a shelf as the movement made him dizzy. He braced a hand against the nearest wall, taking measured breaths through his mouth.
"Sorta looks like you're gonna hurl," Max egged him on, deciding if Leo did puke in the store, maybe he could walk away pet-free. Though the snakes had looked truly really fun.
"M'not," Leo gulped down, coughing in the crook of his elbow and finally managing to get Max where he wanted him, in front of a playpen with four little cats inside of it, for donation.
Two of them were tabbys, with blue eyes and stripes all over. One seemed to be wearing a tuxedo and the other one was a very fluffy ginger.
"Pick'em up," Leo shoved his arm in a friendly way, then collapsed against the fire exit, glaring at the floor as he very clearly was fighting nausea. Max rolled his eyes, bossy motherfucker.
They were wriggly and yeah, adorable... Just not enough, Max decided, inspecting a kitten that tried to swat at his face. Meowing pitifully.
"Eh, they're fine," he shrugged, "I don't know, Leo..."
"Are you more of a dog person? You don't seem like one," Leo seemed genuinely puzzled by not knowing Max inside out. Which was crazy, because as this day had made clear, Max didn't even know if he had siblings. How did Leo decide he just knew him so well, uh?
"No, I'm not a dog person..." He put the cats back down, crossing his arms... Then glanced back to the enclosure with the repetiles, leaving Leo behind as his friend hacked up a lung. Stubborn idiot.
There were three snakes inside of the tank, all skinny and tiny, like freaking zip ties. Max immediately lowered himself to get a better look, unable to stop himself from smiling when he got a clear view of their derpy faces and long, darting tongues.
"Oh, they are cute," he sighed, dreamily.
"Wanna pick 'em up?" The store clerk asked and Max nodded, eagerly.
One of them was red, with orange markings all over its body, the other one was plain brown and the third one was yellow. He had never held a snake in his life, so he was surprised by how friendly they were and stiff, holding themselves up in his hands.
"This one is really cute," Max decided, bringing the red snake up to his face, to the point they were almost nose to nose. They were babies, he could tell by how skinny and tiny they were, "how big does it get?"
"Eh, no bigger than 4 feet," the clerk shrugged, "they're corn snakes, they're not large."
"How much is he?" Max carefully petted the head of the snake who was watching him curiously. It's whole head was about the size of his thumb, a little bigger.
The pet was only 60 bucks, but he needed a bunch of extra crap, so Max ended up spending more in the pet store than he had in the previous one... Not that he minded, feeling like a kid as he cradled the snake in his palm and wondered what the hell to name him.
Leo had, at some point, slipped outside the store and Max met with him as he loaded up the trunk of his car with his new pet's enclosure and a box of frozen pinkies.
"I can't believe you're getting a snake," Leo groaned, glaring in the direction of the animal, as he pressed his overheated forehead to the cool metal of Max's car.
"Aw, c'mon, he's super cute!" Max cried out, circling the vehicle so he could hold it up to Leo, "look at him!"
Leo squinted, eyes rimmed red and nose too, looking about ready to collapse. Max lowered the snake, "okay, you're done for today," he said, strongly, "c'mon, get in the car, Leo."
"What- What are you gonna name him?" Leo collapsed on the passenger's seat, flinching as Max put the snake inside of a styrofoam carriage he had been given and planted it on his lap.
"I don't know," Max shrugged, "Snake?"
"What the fuck, you can't name your snake snake," Leo glared at him, flabbergasted.
"How about Serpent?"
"Absolutely not," Leo waved him off.
Several minutes passed and they were in a comfortable silence when Leo groaned, "I'm getting carsick."
Said point blank and deadpan like that, Max took a minute to process it, "you- What?"
"Speed up," Leo bossed, wrapping an arm around his stomach, "don't feel well..."
"Goddammit, Leo," Max scoffed, pressing on the gas pedal, "do I have to pull over? I think I gotta-"
"Urrk-UURK-" Leo heaved, grabbing the snake box at the last second as he leaned forward, to avoid puking on its head.
"LET ME PULLOVER!" Max squealed, blindly reaching to grab his pet while his eyes scanned the street for a spot to park. Leo's back convulsed with another empty retch.
There was a parking spot a meter away-
"Max-" Leo warned him, voice clipped, pressing a hand to his mouth as his whole body shook. Max ignored him, driving a little manically in order to stop the car and then clicking the release button of Leo's seatbelt, shoving the passenger door open, just as Leo leaned to the side and brought up a stream of his lunch.
"Aw, dude..." Mx cooed, heart racing from the little adrenaline spike, planting a hand on Leo's trembling back as the guy coughed and ended up vomiting even more.
"Did I..." Leo groaned, then sneezed loudly, body lurching. He gasped for air for a couple minutes, not seeming to realize he was making a breathless, whining sound, before he tried again, "did I puke on him?"
Max took a second too long to realize Leo meant the snake, who was still in the styrofoam box clutched in his other hand. He snorted, looking at it. Sure enough, there was a disgusting dot of orangey saliva on top of the white box and he wrinkled his nose, using the hem of Leo's sweater to clean it, because fuck this kid.
"Almost," he grimaced, opening the box and beaming when the snake immediately poked his head out, clearly curious about what all that jostling around had been, "I think you just startled him."
"Should..." Leo spat and straightened up, falling against the seat's back with a laborious breath, clutching his chest, "name him Barfy."
"Absolutely not," Max glared at the side of his head, closing the lid of the snake's enclosure again, "how are you holding up, Leo?"
"Awful," he wheezed, voice all croaky, "think I got a fever..."
Without hesitating, this time around, Max pressed his hand to Leo's forehead and groaned out loud, "yeah, you're burning up... Are you done? We're about a block away from your place..."
Leo gulped down, seeming to think it over, then ducked his head quickly as three rapid sneezes overcame him. He let out a loud, long groan, "fuuuuck- Yeah, led'sjustgo..." his words slurred together and he sniffled, pitifully.
Max smiled, "If I put him back on your lap you promise not to puke on him again?" he said, already planting the little box on Leo's lap. The other guy let out a huff, a smile breaking in his pained face.
That's a wrap everyone, my last fic of the year! Thank you so much to everyone who's followed along these weirdos getting sick in the exact same way for a whole year. You guys made my year ❤️
TW: mentions of Leo's past abusive childhood.
----------------------------
"I got Bella something," Jonah announced, as soon as he entered the car.
Leo was picking him up from work, not trusting Jon behind the wheel when he had had two major vertigo episodes in one month, but he had been told to go to the open gallery mall, two streets away from the hospital.
"Hi," Leo leaned over the handbrake to steal a peck, then looked at the several bags Jon was carrying.
He shoved his work bag in the backseat of Leo's SUV, then lowered the two bags down to the floor of the car, next to his foot, "that's just cheese and wine," he explained when Leo threw the bags a questioning look, "but this-"
He took a shoe box out of one of the bags, holding it up to Leo with a pleased smile, "look at it."
The box was significantly smaller and skinnier than Leo expected, but it made sense when he opened it. Two teeny tiny spiked black shoes were inside, even with a little silver skull dangling from it, "oh that's adorable," Leo cooed, picking them up. He could fit one in each thumb, that's how they small they were, "that's so fucking cute, she's gonna love it..."
"Right!?" Jonah was beaming and Leo felt his heart all but double in size. Not only it was great to see his husband back on his feet after the past two days down for the count, but that sweet, ridiculous smile.... Leo wasn't sure he had seen it yet.
And he was reserved most of Jon's smiles, so that was a feat.
"Can we stop by now to drop it off?"
"Oh, you're excited excited," Leo teased him, leaning over the handbrake to steal another kiss, "text her, see if she's home," even though he said that, he already started the car, because when wasn't Bella home?
"Stop by a grocery store, I wanna pick something up to take there," Jonah tapped his thigh as Leo continued to drive and he nodded, muffling a yawn in his hand.
It wasn't super late, but Leo was tired. His body was aching, which he blamed on helping Jonah up and down so many times. Who needed gym?
"You go," Leo gestured for Jon to get out of the car, "pick whatever, I'll stay in the car."
Jonah frowned at him, "you're okay?"
"Yeah, just-" Leo muffled another yawn, "just sleepy, don't worry."
"We can go to Bella's tomorrow-"
"No, it's just Bella and Luke, I can nap on their couch if I'm too tired. Don't worry about it," Leo rolled his eyes, "go on."
"Okay," Jonah shut the door behind him, "I'll be quick."
While he was gone, Jon's phone dinged with a notification and Leo squinted at the screen, rubbing his stomach slightly to try and work up a gas bubble he could feel sitting there.
Bella: sure, but that's out of nowhere
Bella: Luke said he'll bring pizza
Uhm, pizza sounded nice.
Leo unlocked Jon's phone, clicking on the conversation and typed back:
Jon: We're on our way.
And then after a pause:
Jon: Vin's there?
If Vince was there, then they probably needed to pick up more from the grocery store than whatever Jonah was buying.
Bella: He's at Wendy's picking up his stuff.
Oh shit.
Leo bit down his lip, concerned.
Jon: It's Leo here. Luke didn't go with him??
The thought of Vince all alone picking up his things was heart breaking...
Bella: He said he wanted to do it alone 😐
Shit. Leo mentally made a note to check on Vin if he didn't show face at the Atwoods sooner rather than later.
Bella: Gtg. See you soon.
"Here," Jonah shut the car door after him, holding out an M&Ms bag for Leo, "to cheer you up."
"Cheer me up?" Leo snorted, but immediately opened it, eyeing the rest of the groceries Jon had picked up. A loaf of some fancy bread, some gourmet jam and pie, "I'm not sad, Jon."
"Then give it back."
"Fuckyou-" Leo rolled his eyes, shoving the hand not on the steering wheel back into the bag and eating a mouthful of the chocolate little treats, "Bell texted."
"Uhm," Jonah mumbled as he read over the texts, "this whole mess with Vince and Wendy is gonna drag, mark my words."
"Well, they broke up, baby," Leo shrugged, "I think there's no way it can drag now..."
"They- They broke up?!" Jonah sounded shocked, "what? When?"
"Yesterday," Leo's cheeks caught on fire, "that's why Max was at our place, so he wouldn't be in the way-" Vaguely, he wondered why Wendy hadn't said a thing to Jonah. They were best friends, just as close as Vince and Luke, she should have told Jon, right?
"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?" Jonah scoffed, glaring at him, but Leo could tell it was just minor annoyance, he wasn't really mad.
"Vin told Max and Max didn't tell me I could share," Leo needled, poking Jonah in the stomach and grinning when he managed to get a delighted, ticklish squeal out of his husband, "oh that was cute-"
"Stop this!" Jon slapped his hand away, forcing his face to be serious, "don't touch me."
"Prick," Leo breathed out, smiling and continuing to munch on his M&Ms as they got out of the city and entered the road to the suburbs.
"I'm so worried about Wendy," Jon said after a moment, "I don't know what's going on, but this feels more than just her being petty. She's nuking her own life, I don't understand what's going on..."
"Self sabotaging at its finest," Leo pointed out, then rushed a hand up to muffle a thick burp, the gas bubble that had been sitting in his belly, "phew, I needed that," he mumbled, his cheeks heating up.
"Gross," Jonah rolled down the window, "smells sticky."
"Ew, Jonah, who's being gross now?" Leo grimaced, swallowing the chocolatey after taste and reaching between them to grab his water bottle, "Wendy needs therapy and a reality shock that she cannot call her friend a cunt and her boyfriend a spineless snake and still think she'll come out on top."
"Wendy needs help," his husband countered, "and yeah, she's absolutely in the wrong, but I know who she is at her heart and when she comes to her senses it won't be pretty. She needs someone who'll pick up the pieces."
And of course Jon was volunteering as tribute. Leo felt a weird stab of guilt, not over his ill thoughts of Wendy, but because hadn't Bella accused Jonah of not caring, the incident that had started it all?
The blonde shrugged off the thoughts. Jon and Bell were in good terms, she had apologized multiple times. Leo had no business remembering that, "just be careful you don't get your heart broken in the process, angel."
"Probably too little too late for that," Jonah said in a quiet voice, leaning over his seat in order to run his fingers through Leo's hair, "God, I'm starving."
Leo wasn't, but then again he had eaten half of an M&Ms bag. He parked the car in front of the Atwood's place, jumping out and letting out an amuse chuckle when Jonah promptly shoved the grocery bags in his arms, but insisted on carrying the one with the little baby shoes.
"Hey!" Luke flung the door open before they could ring the doorbell, blinding smile on, "you guys almost crossed paths with me, I just got here- Oh thanks," he took the bags, shooing them inside, "what did you bring- This looks tasty..."
"I only saw you ordered pizza after," Jonah explained, while Luke shrugged, shutting the door with his back.
"I'll eat both, don't worry," he ushered them further inside, calling out Bella's name.
Leo let out a little groan as Bella squeezed him into a tight hug, his stomach pressing against her and aching. He swallowed down another burp, opening an uneasy smile, "congratulations, Bell..."
She frowned at him, but was then pulled into a hug by Jonah.
In no amount of time they were all sitting around the dining table, a bottle of wine open, making small talk. Leo hadn't been kidding when he had said he was tired, because he felt a little drowsy, resting his cheek on Jon's shoulder and waving off the concerned look that Luke threw at him.
"I'm fine, just tired," he said before Lucas could ask, chuckling as he heard Jon complain about the pizza flavor.
He really wasn't hungry, now that Leo thought about it. His stomach felt heavy, churning sluggishly and he regretted the previous sweet indulgence.
His belly felt bloated, straining against his trousers and Leo shifted on his seat in order to try and relieve the pressure on it. It wasn't any help and he twitched again, causing Jonah to shoot him a confused and annoyed look, since with all the moving around he was jostling his husband too.
Leo ignored his look, muffling a burp in his fist. Airy and with no power behind it, it brought no relief either.
"So," Jonah sounded smug and Leo immediately knew why. He opened a small amused smile, trying to ignore the sweat starting to dampen his shirt, "we got you something, Bell."
"Me?" Bella frowned, exchanging a look from where she was draped on Luke. Leo envied how casual and laid back she could always be, as if she never got embarrassed. She had turned her chair slightly sideways to the table and had both her feet resting on Luke's lap while eating, perfectly comfortable, "it's not my birthday or anything..."
"It's not exactly for you," Leo cleared up, then gulped down. His mouth felt sticky and he pushed his plate closer to Jonah's, not wanting to look at the cheesy pizza still sitting there half untouched, safe for the two bites he had tried.
The cheese wasn't sitting well at all, mixing with all the chocolate in one nauseating mess. He wondered if it'd be too rude to ask for pepto, probably not, it was just Luke and Bell after all, right?
"What is it?" Lucas sounded more curious than Bella was, pushing her feet off his lap in order to lean forward.
"Here," Jonah took the bag he had left by his foot and slid the box across the table, straight into Bella's hands, "consider this our application as godfathers."
"What-" Bella mumbled, confused, then let out a gasp as she removed the lid of the box, her whole face turning red, "oh this is adorable..."
"That's super cute," Luke beamed, picking up the tiny shoes and wearing them on the tip of his fingers, "look at the size of this!"
"How far along are you? It has a 5 month exchange period, so depending on the baby's size you can get a bigger or smaller pair-"
"WHat?!" Bella's face turned pale and Leo frowned, confused, exchanging a look with Jonah.
"What, what?" Leo asked, then got up from his seat, in order to stand behind Jonah's chair. The new position stopped his belly from cramping so much, easing the vice grip around it, but he still felt sticky and queasy. He wanted to take his shirt off, the sensation of it clinging to his back was giving him the creeps.
"You guys think- I'm not pregnant!" Bella exclaimed, eyes wide and then exchanging an equally shocked look with Lucas, "did you tell them I was?!"
"No??" Luke frowned at her, "I have no idea where they got this idea."
Leo's stomach let out a whine gurgle, so loud he was surprised it apparently didn't interrupt the current mayhem at hand. Bella was flushed all over again, while Jonah was stammering in a flustered manner, "but you said- You said you'd be moving for the baby?"
"Who's moving?" Vin's voice was raw and when Leo whirled around to look at him, standing in the doorway of the dining room, he was still holding a big box of what Leo assumed was clothing or books, his face pale and eyes red rimmed.
Shit.
"No one," Jonah, Luke and Bell all said in one go and Vince scoffed, dropping the box.
"You guys are moving?"
Leo's belly flipped, in no small amounts due to the second hand mortification, and he pressed the back of his hand to his mouth, muffling a gag, "uh- Scuseme-"
"Leo?" Jonah pushed his chair back in order to get up, but the woodden part of it hit Leo's already extra tender belly and he gagged again, gulping down the mouthful of burning liquid that flooded his mouth and rushing to the downstairs bathroom.
"Where are you-" Leo didn't hear the rest of the questioning, because there was blood drumming in his ears and he was skipping past the living room, to the half bathroom.
He stumbled in just in time to cough up a watery chocolatey stream of puke, still standing up, bent at the middle. His head felt woozy and Leo retched at the awful sensation of the hot liquid leaving his mouth, falling to his knees and fumbling with the seat in order to lift it-
"I got you," Jonah whispered, lifting it up for him, "shh, baby, I got you-" a soft palm pressed to his forehead, keeping Leo from taking a dive into the soiled toilet water.
"Don'-URrop-don'feel'eell..." Leo whined, then choked as a much larger wave come, projectile vomit hitting the water with such violence he ran out of oxygen.
The hand on his forehead vanished for a second, but the one on his back stayed, and Leo tried to focus on that as his body turned inside out. The two bites of pizza, chunky and hurting like hell to come up, were next. His hands slid on the porcelain, too sweaty for a good grip and he rocked forward, coughing up a mouthful of something solid.
"Fu-Ugh-HUck-" Leo wrapped an arm around his crampy stomach, squeezing and aching beyond just the nausea. It was the wrong thing to do, because his balance was already pretty fragile and he nearly split his head against the toilet, Jonah grabbing him by the back of his shirt.
"Hey, stay with me," Jon scoffed, wrapping a hand around his bicep, "are you done?"
"No-ooo-" Leo's jaw felt heavy and he leaned forward, unable to keep from drooling. He sniffled, nose burning with acid, then gagged again, loudly and violently, but didn't bring anything up. His stomach jerked, squeezing with even more force and he coughed up a mouthful of some orange and bitter. Lunch?
"Take a deep breath, baby," Jonah's arm moved above him and then Leo saw the toilet water swirling, taking away the mess. Just staring at the little vortex of water and puke was enough to make him gag again.
"Shhh," Jon rubbed his nape, "you're okay, get it up..."
A singular not chewed M&Ms fell in the now clear water, followed by more bright orange mess. Bits and pieces of food- Leo hacked, trying to get rid of the slimy feeling in his throat, wanting to cry. He wanted his house. His bed. His cat.
The blonde let out a little whimper, curling up as another cramp hit him, right below his belly button, like an iron hand squeezing him. He pressed his forehead to the porcelain and shivered, trying to open the buttons of his pants, since they were cutting him.
"I got you," Jon repeated softly, undoing his pants easily, "do you need the toilet?"
Probably soon, Leo groaned at the thought, feeling the sloshing sensation deep in his belly. Not yet, though, "nuh-hurtsss..."
"There," his husband pushed his fly down, shimming the trousers slightly down, "better?"
Leo shook his head. It should feel better, but all he felt was nauseous and achy, whole body hurting, "my'stmach..." he cradled it with a wince, the pressure pushing up a burp, then another and he was forced to lean over the toilet again when they turned productive. A surprising amount of vomit erupted from his mouth, watery and boiling, "m'throat-" Leo whimpered.
"I'll get something for your throat," Jon promised, working on the buttons of his shirt. He felt wet, but Leo was vaguely aware it was just sweat, "you're burning up."
"Here," Leo's eyes snapped open — he hadn't realized he closed them — in time to see Bella handing Jonah an ice pack, as well as a bucket, "I'm gonna set up the guest room for him, okay?"
"Wha'bout-Vin...?" Leo groaned, realizing he was kicking out the dude who was already kicked out. Yikes, he was such an asshole. He didn't even want to crash their guest room, he wanted to go home...
"Vin and Luke left," Bella sighed, crouching down next to him, as Jonah pressed the ice pack to the back of Leo's neck, causing him to wince and try to inch away from it. It was so cold, it burned.
"Left...?" Leo blinked blearily, then frowned as he felt a pair of strange, too cold hands on his stomach. Bony fingers, instead of Jon's gentle ones. Pressing around in soothing circles, "Be-Erurpgh-" a burp came up, a little sliver of relief with it.
Leo's cheeks caught on fire, "Scuse'me-" his mouth was watering all over again, sticky and gross, and he leaned over the bowl in order to spit it.
"Don't stress about me," Bella was combing his hair back, nails scratching his scalp, "just focus on feeling better," then she pulled away and Leo let out a whine at the lack of contact.
He hung his head over the bowl, panting. In, out, don't think about the rebellion happening in his belly, in, out, out, fuck.
He dry heaved twice, then brough up another timid mouthful of liquid and started to hyperventilate as his stomach, now presumably empty, continued to spasm.
"Hey, angel," Jonah whispered softly, brushing his face, "breathe. Hold it in-" his hand was cupping Leo's belly and he felt exposed and vulnerable. Freezing too.
It was, however, seeming to calm down the spasms and Leo whimpered again, crumbling down on the bathroom floor. He felt like he had just started puking, but there was no way. Not with how weak and dizzy he felt.
Instead of his face meeting the cold bathroom tiles, it met Jonah's lap, cheek resting on his thigh, "...u'recomfy..."
"I know," Jon teased him lightly, brushing his hair back, "ready to go lie down in bed?"
"Want'home..."
"I know, baby, but I don't think you're in any shape to get in the car," Jon continued to stroke his hair and Leo felt exhaustion starting to swallow him. Fuzzy voices. His head spinning. His brain was melting and he was so so hot.
He wanted to find Jon, find his friends.
"The little fairy found its way home?" His father sneering at him, beady blue eyes so alike Leo's, staring at him with hatred, "had to suck off every guy before you got here? You're late."
A shoe thrown in his general direction, followed by a glass bottle of beer. Hands balling into fists and stars. So many fucking stars.
Leo curled up inside the bathtub, the bathroom door trembling under blows, dad shouting how it was his house and his rules and he'd break down that fucking door if he wanted to-
But oh so many tearful apology. Reeking of alcoholic vomit, sticky hands grabbing his shirt and red bloated face, snotty nose, "I'm a bad man, I hurt you, I'm a shitty dad- I don't mean to- I don't mean-"
"HEY!"
Leo rushed up, barely managing to sit up before vomit was rushing up his throat, choking him. He couldn't breathe. He was crying in the bathroom floor, fingers down his father's throat and trembling with barely concealed rage, because he had finals tomorrow and all the money he had managed to save with his shitty part time factory work had been spent in what was now whisky-vomit.
He had been meaning to buy a new bicycle-
"Shhh, baby, you're choking," a thump in his back and Leo retched again, vomit rushing up and hitting... Plastic?
He was no longer in the bathroom floor, but in bed. Jonah was sitting behind him in the bed, holding the bucket between Leo's legs. A dark bedroom, except for the hallway light turned on.
Not Oklahoma, but Maine. No yellow tiles with black mold in the grout, but a double bed and his husband pressed to his back, combing his hair back and away from his sweaty forehead, in their best friend's house.
"Fuck," Leo's stomach flipped with just humiliation and panic, and he heaved again and again, only stopping when something acidic came up, "m'srry..."
"Don't be ridiculous, what are you apologizing for?" Jonah cooed, pressing a kiss to his temple. He was gonna get sick, he shouldn't be so close...
"M'sick," Leo whined, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand and heard Jonah let out a huff. A cloth cleaning his now sticky hand, then his mouth again for good measure and his chin.
"You're very sick, yeah," Jon agreed, kissing the top of his head again, "no need to apologize."
There was no way this was his life. Often Leo wondered when the second shoe would drop. The day he'd wake up back home and all of this would be an elaborate dream. A concussion while playing in the high school field.
"Angel?" Jon whispered, stroking his cheek, "you're with me?"
It felt real, though. So damn real.
Leo sniffled, throat hurting with a knot firmly pressed there. Later, he'd blame the fever for the onslaught of tears that followed.
"Oh Leo," Jonah pushed the bucket back on the floor, wrapping him up in a hug, "I got you, love. I'm right here."
Leo hiccupped, sobbing and clutching Jonah's shirt. Five things he could see. The light leaking from the hallway, Jonah's chin when Leo tilted his head up, he was wearing a bright orange hoodie that was too big on him, history books belonging to Vince on top of the desk across the room, a gatorade bottle half filled sitting on the bedside table. 4 things he could touch, the sheets under them, the hoodie humid with sweat, a washcloth pressed to his forehead, Jonah's shirt. 3 things he could hear, Jon whispering "you're right here, you're safe" over and over, rain pelting down the closed window, a faint television in the far distance. 2 things he could smell, Jonah's green apple perfume and sweat. 1 thing he could taste... Vomit.
"Ew," Leo pushed back, "can I- Water?"
"Here," Jonah jumped to the task, passing him the Gatorade bottle instead, "small sip."
Leo nodded, took the smallest sip he could and when it didn't immediately come back up, he took a slightly larger one and swished the liquid around his mouth, trying to rid himself of the horrible taste.
"What time-" his body was exhausted, even though he had just been sleeping. Leo yawned, "what time'sit?"
"A little past midnight," Jonah was holding him to his chest, one leg on either side of Leo, almost like a baby, "how's your stomach?"
Hurting. Nauseous. Empty.
"Gross," Leo sniffled, pressing himself even more to his husband. He could feel a steady thump-thump under his ear.
"You think you can keep down a pill? I don't like this fever of yours."
Leo hesitated, then nodded. He didn't feel like he was gonna throw up again right away. He felt sore all over, inside too.
"Okay, hold on," Jonah shuffled around, unwrapping himself from him in order to grab the meds on the bedside table, out of his reach, "just one tiny pill, okay? You want to drink?"
"Nuh-huh," Leo shook his head and took the pill dry, then made grabby hands to Jonah, hating the small space this had created between them. There was no way Jon was gonna escape this plague now, they might as well cuddle, "come back."
"Pfff, clingy much?" Jon whispered, but crawled back into the bed and took Leo with a happy sigh as he wrapped himself around the guy like an octopus, "do you... Do you wanna talk about it?"
Leo froze. He knew, rationally, that fevers made him blab. It was no less mortifying.
"Nope," he snuggled even more, pressing his nose to Jonah's neck, "want to forget."
There was a pause, Jon's hands rubbing up and down his back and Leo slowly relaxing into his arms. His head was pounding, drumming as if he had actually hit it.
"So... Uh, Bell is not pregnant," Jonah said after a second, in a clear try to distract Leo and get him out of his head. It worked, the blonde muffling a little tired chuckle against his shoulder.
"You told me the gossip all wrong," Leo accused, then yawned again, "was she offended?"
"More like confused," Jonah drew imaginary patterns between his shoulder blades, "you and Vin kinda stole her thunder, she didn't have any time to get pissed at me for telling you wrong."
Jon's chest felt so soft and he was so warm, "Vin- Vin's okay?"
He had to tell Jonah this... Or Luke, or Bell or maybe Max... Keep an eye on Vince. He's vulnerable, he's hurt. Hurt people are dangerous.
"Luke has him," Jonah sounded distant, coming from under the water, "don't worry."
"I do worry," Leo mumbled, unable to keep his eyes open and then the lights from the hallway seemed to vanish and he fell into a dreamless, healing sleep.
"Chuck invited us out tomorrow night," Leo said in lieu of hello, as soon as he walked through the door, "I think we should go."
"Mmmh," Jonah grunted grumpily, which cause the blonde to open a pleased grin, dropping his suitcase near the kitchen door and walking to the fridge. It was so soothing to see Jonah back on his usual nonchalant, grumpy mood. No more of the crazed fretting behavior, although Leo could feel his husband's eyes on his back, still a little paranoid.
"I'm going to the gym, you wanna tag along?" he asked, walking towards the bedroom to grab his gym bag and returning, while still drinking the large glass of protein shake.
"It's-" Jonah lowered his cellphone, using JD's asleep form to prop it on his lap, in order to check his watch, as if he didn't have the hours on the device already, "seven o'clock, Leo. I thought you liked going in the morning?"
"I do," Leo shrugged, finishing his drink. It tasted artificially sweet and caused him to grimace and smack his lips, "but Luke texted saying he's going because he missed his regular days because he was sick and I haven't seen him in forever so..."
He watched Jonah roll his eyes, "lucky you, I saw more of him and his insides than I wanted to," then look back at his phone, "go on then."
"You'll miss me so much," Leo teased, circling the couch in order to steal a kiss upside down, grabbing Jon's chin and kissing his face all over even when the other man tried to pull away from him, "say it."
"Go away, Leo," Jonah chuckled instead, the previous frown melting, "don't be long and I'll wait for you to have dinner."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm not that hungry," Jonah shrugged, then dismissed him, going back to watching a livestream of something on his phone.
Leo planted a kiss on top of his curls, "okay, love you. Be right back."
Luke was already inside, finishing up his cardio routine when Leo joined after changing. He was covered in sweat, a little pale still and Leo rolled his eyes, "you still look sick."
"Hi, how are you, Luke?" Lucas teased him, in a strained voice, "I'm fine, thank you for asking, how are you, Leo?"
Leo snorted, "concerned about you, Luke. Jonah said it wasn't pretty."
"Eh," Lucas shrugged, "I didn't die," he got down on his mat, getting into side plank position, cheeks turning pink from the effort, "I'm not sick, relax, it's been three days."
"Barely three days," Leo corrected him, starting to stretch. It was a part of his plan with his therapist to include more exercises back on his routine, an effort to keep his mental health balanced after the previous stint... And maybe Leo also wanted to shed off the couple pounds he had gained in Greece, flash rock hard abs at Jonah and see his eyes darken.
It was probably just because it was summer.
"How's work?"
Luke's exercise routine was difficult to follow without talking, let alone while chatting, and Leo struggled to breathe as he finished up cardio, his tanktop clinging to him. His friend seemed unbothered, counting Leo's reps as he spoke non stop about the shelter's next event, how his schedule was packed full and about the football game-
"Spot me?"
"Fuck, gimme- hold on," Leo wiped at his forehead, cheeks burning from the movement, planting his hands on his knees and staring at the ground. He hadn't been in the gym in how long if he was already feeling woozy?
He tried to take a breath, but Lucas chose that moment to pat him on the back and a wet, gross burp surged up, causing Leo's eyes to widen and him to straighten up immediately, "oh shit, excuse me-"
Lucas was giggling at him, like a 13 year old boy, full on bent at his middle and cackling, "you were so spooked, like when a dog farts!"
"Oh my god, Luke, shut up!" Leo cried out, shoving his friend's shoulder and nearly causing him to fall, "aren't you supposed to be an adult?"
Luke snorted, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, "well, I am, I'm not the one burping at the gym like a teenager."
"You're an asshole," Leo whined, but dismissed their little spat easily, walking towards the bench press, "didn't you need me to spot you?"
Now that Luke was lifting, he was a little preoccupied to run his mouth, which Leo was thankful for. His stomach was gurgling uncomfortably and he kept having to swallow down little burps, tugging on the elastic of his shorts and wincing.
In one hand, it was great not to talk when he felt like another belch might come up instead of words, but in the other, it was horrible not to have anything to focus on but his body.
"Wait," Leo paused, "why are you lifting 400lbs? What the fuck? Do you want to kill yourself?"
Luke frowned at him, seeming puzzled by Leo's questioning even though his face was all pink from effort, "I lifted more...than this in...college..." he gasped out.
"Yeah, and now you're no longer a high performance athlete, Luke, you have a pencil pushing job," Leo scolded him, not liking this one bit, "remove one plate."
"I'm...fine," Luke scoffed, raising the bar once more, arms shaking slightly from the force, muscles pulsing, "relax."
"This is why I don't go to the gym with you-ORoprh," Leo's cheeks ballooned with another belch and he hurried to cover his mouth, blushing furiously. Luke let out a little breathless laugh, grasp on the bar slipping slightly, "ugh-'scuse me..." Leo rubbed at his chest, not liking the bubbling in his belly, "you stress me."
"You," Lucas planted the bar back on the support, sitting up with a struggle, "stress me," he poked Leo's tummy, with enough force to push up another burp, "did you drink your protein shake right before heading here? Did I teach you nothing in college?"
"You? Teach me something?" Leo snorted, squirming away from Luke's reach. He couldn't deny it, though, Luke had been essentially their coach and a hardcore one at that. He'd never allow Leo to chug a protein shake and then go the gym, so the blonde had no idea why he had done it.
It simply had been so long since he had been to the gym, since way before the wedding. Hell, probably since Jonah had proposed.
"You're not bench pressing shit," Luke decided, all arrogance, "you're gonna hurl if you do."
"I'm fine," Leo rolled his eyes, taking Luke's spot on the bench, "just shed some plates, I'm fine."
"Nope," Luke stubbornly crossed his arms, reaching in and poking Leo again, grinning in a triumphant way when it caused the blonde to squirm away from him, "let's stick with the easy stuff."
"You're so bossy," Leo glared at him, but he couldn't help feeling a smidge of relief. His stomach was really souring up, lunch and the protein shake fist fighting, gas insisting on bubbling up his throat.
"I just don't want you to puke in the gym, I know you'd hate that, kid," Luke said softly, whole body language easing up and causing Leo to sigh, walls melting down. He couldn't help it, he loved that idiot.
"Fine," Leo let out a long suffering sigh, "what now, Captain?"
"Yeah, you don't get to call me that anymore, Bell stole it," Luke raised his eyebrows in a pervy way, "unless you want me to get hard."
"Oh my god, LUCAS!"
Luke insisted on them just doing easy stuff and although Leo was acting annoyed, he couldn't be more glad. He had been an imbecile chugging a protein shake before heading straight to the gym, he should've known better.
His stomach was going from upset to straight up angry and by the time they were stretching to cool down, Leo was past swallowing down burp and instead keeping his mouth tightly shut, as acidic mouthfuls kept coming back up.
He felt gross and cranky, a cramp making him wince and cold sweat running down his back... He wanted Jon.
"Hold on a minute," Luke groaned, interrupting Leo's swirling thoughts as he stretched to touch his toes and counted to thirty. He didn't move from the position, but raised his head in time to see Luke sit up straight and muffle a burp of his own in his fist.
"Now- Who'ssick?" Leo asked, gulping down the sticky, sweet saliva collecting in his mouth, "pushed'yourself... too hard," his stomach had a sense of humor, clenching just as he said that to Luke.
"Not sick," Lucas glared at him, thumping his chest, "just give me a minute."
"Sure," Leo snickered, shuddering as yet another warm, slimy mouthful went up his throat. He ducked his head in order to conceal a gag, "I gotta-" Leo used the ground to push himself up from where he was sitting down on a mat, "gotta head home. Jon'ssswaiting- Dinner," he wanted to spit, his mouth was watering like crazy.
If he could get rid of this horrible, sweet taste...
"Kay..." it was a testimony to how lousy Luke was probably feeling, that he didn't argue Leo leaving right away. Instead, they walked outside together, not exchanging a word, two losers, Leo thought with a snort.
"See you- Uuurp," Lucas leaned to the side, spitting in the curb. He was so unabashed, Leo envied that, "fuck, uhm- See you."
"Yeah," Leo said through his teeth, gulping down, "go home so Bell can yell at you for making yourself sick on top of a flu."
"Not sick," Lucas flipped him off, walking to his car, "wait an hour, at least, before coming to the gym next time, Leo."
"I knoooow," Leo sighed, walking away from him. As soon as he was inside his own car, he grabbed his large stanley cup resting in the cup holder and spat the slimy saliva inside of it, immediately shuddering with revulsion.
He wiped his mouth, leaning back on the seat and trying to find strength to drive back home. It wasn't far, Lucas was the one who had driven far out from the suburbs, the gym was actually near the Wagner-Banks' building, but still... He felt so gross...
Leo was debating just puking out of his door when his phone buzzed.
Jonah: aren't you coming home?
Ah fuck, his husband whom he had left waiting for him to have dinner. Leo whined, thumping his forehead to the steering wheel and wrapping an arm around his belly, taking a deep breath.
The whole drive back home, he couldn't keep a hand off his stomach. It was burbling uncomfortably and Leo was trying, to no avail, to burp up enough to get rid of the nausea. Twice more he had to spit in the cup and Leo was already decided he'd throw the entire thing away, there was no way he was gonna wash a cup filled with slimy vomit saliva-
Leo jerked with a gag at the thought, nearly hitting a column inside the parking lot of the building. He pushed the door open, then drooled onto the ground, trying to breathe through the nausea.
All he needed was to get upstairs, maybe — for sure — throw up, take an antiacid and curl up with Jon...
Leo was trembling the whole elevator ride. He hadn't had the stomach, pun intended, to bring up the cup to keep spitting, sure that if the picked it up, then he'd hurl, but now he regretted it. He bounced his leg nervously, counting the damn floors and muffling a watery, frothy belch in his hand. A cramp squeezed his lower belly...
"Hi, took you fore-"
"Move," Leo pushed past Jon as soon as he bolted inside the apartment. He wanted his own bathroom, but there was no way he was gonna make it there, so kitchen sink it was.
With barely a heave, the blonde leaned over the empty inox sink and coughed up a mouthful of liquid, beige vomit. It tasted a hundred times worse coming up, so fucking sweet-
"Heearkgh," Leo heaved, bringing up a much thicker wave, now mixed in with the rest of his stomach contents. Ew, was that a little corn- "Oh,fuckrup-" Leo groaned, gagging at just the thought, squeezing his eyes shut.
His belly contracted again, acid tickling his nose and Leo blindly reached for the tap, taking a couple large gulps and immediately bringing it back up. It was both gross and incredibly satisfying, like he was getting washed up from that disgusting curdled mess inside his belly-
The hand that had been resting on his back disappeared and Leo's head snapped as he heard a muffled heave.
He wiped at his mouth, sniffling and finally turning around.
Jonah's face was grey. Corpse grey, eyes squeezed and the back of his hand pressed to his mouth as he struggled not to gag.
"I'm sorry," Leo sniffled, his voice raspy. He winced at the mess inside the sink, washing it away, "didn't mean to make you si-"
Jonah pitched forward and then his lunch was on the floor, into a splattered puddle that splashed back onto their fridge. Leo froze, too shocked to even shout.
"Oh-uh... The sink was right here, baby..."
He expected Jonah to bite off his head or glare at him, say something about it being occupied, or be annoyed at his sympathy sickness. Instead a hiccup followed, then another chunky mouthful and Leo was the one who had to fight down a gag.
"Jesus, Jon..." he winced, putting a hand on his husband's back, "you're making a mess, turn around-"
"Sor-HIC-don'- don't feel good..." Jonah mumbled and Leo squinted at him.
He was far too pliable and soft... Leo moved his hand, still humid from washing the sink, and planted it on Jonah's forehead, confirming his suspicion.
"Ah, angel," Leo sighed, just as Jonah convulsed once more, dry heaving over the growing puddle and not even bothering to turn around, "you got Luke's plague."
"Kill- Kill'im," Jonah slurred, drool hanging from his bottom lip,"frme..."
"I gotta tell you something," Leo blurted out, as Jonah climbed into bed with him, a whole day after they had left the Atwood's residence.
His whole body was still achy from the fever, throat and abdomen still sore from the violent heaving, belly still upset. It was not the best time to go telling Jonah anything, but Leo couldn't help it, keeping the secret was driving him crazy.
"What?" Jon frowned, sitting on his heels on the bed, hands lathered with lotion he was rubbing on his forearms and elbows, "what is it?"
"UHm- Okay, just know no one told me, I just found out by chance and it wasn't my secret to tell... Oh, that's nice," Leo interrupted himself as Jon squirted another dollop of lotion on his palm and hiked Leo's shirt up, spreading it on his still bloated belly. His thoughts vanished, whole body melting under the slippery belly rub-
"Leo," Jonah chuckled, "you were telling me something?"
Uh?
"Oh! Yeah, uhm-" Leo's cheeks caught on fire, embarrassed over having zoned out immediately under the gentle touch, "okay, so- I guess its inconsequential now, since they broke up, but Wendy and Vince were dating Max. Are. I don't know, actually," he watched Jon's face curiously, trying to read his expression. He seemed confused, then shocked, then a pout formed.
"Wendy didn't tell me that either," Jonah sighed, sounding defeated, "fuck. How long has this been going on?"
"Uh- I've known for about a week. I guessed it that day Max asked for my help with Vin when he was drunk, right after his birthday... And I got him to confess to it about a week ago, when I went check out his new place..."
"No, not how long you have known," Jon glared at him, hands frozen now, "how long this has been going on?"
"I guess, uhm- A month? I'm not entirely sure on the timeline, but I think they got together right after Max got the job here or something like that," Leo chewed on his bottom lip, "...are you mad at me?"
Part of him couldn't even blame Jonah if he was angry. Leo for sure would've been upset over being kept in the dark about something of this magnitude.
"No," Jon sighed, moving so he was down on his stomach on the bed, moving a hand around Leo's belly to spread the lotion, "just- I wish Wendy had told me."
Suddenly Leo wished Jonah was angry. It would've been one hell of a lot easier to hear than this despondent, hurt tone, "angel, you know Wendy's going through something... You said it yourself yesterday..."
"Yeah, I know," Jon sighed, "she relapsed when Vin moved back to town, so maybe- I don't know, I'm just guessing, maybe this whole mess with Max is part of it?"
Leo frowned at the thought, a stab of protective anger swelling in his chest.
"Wendy's outlandish behavior is not Max's fault," he said in a defensive manner and Jonah shrugged.
"I'm not saying it's his fault, I'm guessing he's just part of the reason behind this madness," he wiped the lotion off his on Leo's arm in and rolled on the bed, staring at the ceiling, "I miss my best friend."
Leo rolled onto his side, throwing himself over Jonah and eliciting a groan from the other man as his head hit Jon's chest smack in the middle, "Wendy's gonna get her shit together, Jon," he reassured him, "I'm so sorry, angel..."
There was a sad huff, then Jonah lowered his hand to the middle of Leo's back, rubbing it in soothing circles, that were probably more for his own benefit than the blonde's. It was doing on hell of a good job lulling him to sleep, though, after the previous rough 24 hours.
"Leo," Jon whispered, after what felt like ages later, but Leo knew was probably just a minute or two. A handful more and he'd have been fast asleep.
"Humm?"
Jonah's arms flexed around him, ushering him up and Leo let out a groan, but let himself be moved, so they were eye to eye. Jon's eyes were particularly green tonight, slightly hooded with sleepiness.
Leo's breath hitched slightly, exhaustion slipping his mind for a second as he quietly admired his husband, giddiness replacing it. No matter how many times he stared at the straight line of Jon's nose, the sharp jaw or the hazel in his eyes, it simply wasn't enough-
"I want a baby."
Oh.
Leo's brows met and he frowned, then let out a chuckle, smacking his mouth over Jon's, "I can't get you pregnant, but we can try," he said in a lazy, teasing manner, "like those seahorses-"
"What- LEO," Jonah chuckled, pulling back and shaking his head. Even with his dark, rich skin tone, Leo would tell he was blushing and he felt a smug. It was so rare he managed to make Jon blush like a schoolgirl, he wanted to do it again right away, "I didn't mean that."
"What did you mean?" Leo kissed him again, body complaining over the jostling around, but mind wide awake now, "uhm?"
"I meant," Jon planted his hand on Leo's forehead, pushing him off with an amused huff, "since we aren't getting pregnant-"
"Not with that attitude, we're not," Leo teased, grinning widely at Jon's frustrated scoff.
"-we should start talking actual logistics, because it'll probably take us a year or maybe more and like I said, I don't want to be a geriatric father."
"You're twenty six," Leo snorted, pulling away and falling on his back. It was a little too much movement on his already unsettled stomach and he had to press the back of his hand to his mouth, muffling a watery, gross burp, "ew- Reflux."
"Here," Jon passed him his water bottle, sitting back against the pillows, "yeah, we're twenty six, but like I said, we're not Luke and Bell, a baby won't magically fall from the sky, Leo. It'll take us a couple of years, so I'd rather we started the process now... And we have to actually talk about it first."
Leo gulped down a mouthful of water, then greedily chugged a little more. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was. He nodded to show he was listening to Jon, gesturing with his hand for him to keep going.
Jonah rolled his eyes at his mannerisms, "I gotta do everything around here," he whispered darkly, then said in a matter of fact tone, "adoption or surrogate?"
Leo choked on the water, pulling back the bottle and glaring at it as if it had offended him. Okay, so they were doing this. He didn't feel like he was remotely adult enough for this conversation.
"Uh-"
"Surrogate we'd talk with an agency and pick someone to carry our babies, we could do multiple tries with mine and yours sperm and use an egg bank-"
"Hold-hold on," Leo held up his hand, shutting Jonah up, "let me- I don't want my genes involved in any of this."
Jonah looked flabbergasted, eyebrows jumping up, mouth agape, "what...? Why?! What the hell, Leo-" his brows met, offended, English accent coming out, "why not?"
"Because my genes are fucked," Leo scoffed, rolling his eyes. That was quite an easy conclusion for him, specially after the fever dreams from the previous night, "does chronic depression ring any bells? Does alcoholism? My dad killed himself, I don't want our child to have any of this fucking mess in them."
Jon looked appalled, offended still, "you realize you can not be the donor, but we still might have a kid with depression, right? Children are a fucking lottery-"
"Yeah, I realize that, but my genetic lottery is more like a Russian roulette, Jonah," Leo glared at him, trying to convey just how dead serious he was, "I wanna give this kid a fighting chance, don't you?"
His husband let out a scoff, as if the thought was oh-so-silly, but Leo knew he made perfect sense.
"I want- I wanted your babies," Jonah pouted, sounding defeated, "looking like a Botticelli's painting, your eyes-"
"I look like any other blonde, Jonah," Leo rolled his eyes, "this is a deal breaker, I don't want my genes in this pool. It's my one demand."
There was a beat, then Jonah let out a sigh, nodding, "I guess... I guess we're going with adoption then...?"
"We could do a surrogate," Leo shrugged, "with your genes," a smile tugged on the corner of his lip at the mental image of a baby girl with extremely curly hair and hazel eyes.
"I don't know," Jon hesitated, "doesn't feel fair."
"Don't be silly, what does it matter if I won't contribute with genetic material, Jon?" Leo rolled his eyes, "it'll be our baby regardless..."
Jonah looked conflicted and young, twenty-six, which he rarely did. Normally his severe expression aged him up a good five or six years, people often thought there was an age gap between them and no one guessed that Leo was actually the older one of the couple.
"We don't have to decide it tonight, angel," Leo toyed with Jon's fingers, "think about it."
A nod, "I do know I want a baby, not a child," Jonah's cheeks were all dark again, much to Leo's amusement, "don't judge."
"Why would I?" Leo leaned in, stealing a sweet kiss, "why are you embarrassed? I don't understand..."
"You were in the system... At seventeen-"
"Just for a couple months," Leo shrugged, "adopting an older kid when that's not what you want won't fix what happened to me, Jon," he pressed his lips over his husband's, "you want a baby... I want a baby," he admitted, quietly, "a little tiny thing with your eyes-"
"So you understand why I'm bummed you don't wanna share yours?" Jonah scoffed, but grabbed Leo's chin, pulling him into a deeper kiss.
"Mine are just blue," Leo pulled back, pressing their foreheads together, "yours are a rarity."
"Agree to disagree," Jonah chuckled into his mouth, deepening the kiss and flipping them on the bed so he could be on top.
Hi soup. Can we do a leo fic. Like his tummy is very bloated for whatever reason you choose and he’s very uncomfortable and jonah is rubbing his belly and helping him burp. You can choose if it house emeto or not but I just want him to have a very bloated belly that makes him very gassy from both ends. Thank youuu. 🎀
Jonah moved around the apartment, picking up JD by the scruff and chuckling when she let out an indignant meow. He pressed a kiss between her ears, keeping her up as he continued to wipe down every surface that was visible.
Leo was out with Max, they were apparently working on some decor project on Daniel's apartment, and Leo was very excited about it. Jonah had planned on lazing around, then he had dinner plans with Wendy. A dinner and a movie, four hours spent together where he could get a good look at her. He was on suspension from work, so truly a mini vacations.
Somehow, his impromptu cleaning of the kitchen had turned into the whole place and he was quite fine with it. Music was playing, JD had climbed up his arm and was now getting comfortable balancing herself on his shoulder, the little minx that she was...
The front door opened and in walked Leo, slamming it shut.
"Oh- Hi?" Jon jumped, surprised, causing JD to sink her nails on his back and jump down.
"Hi."
"Uhh... I thought you were going to be out until later?" Jonah circled the television rack he had been cleaning, walking closer.
Leo was in his full fratboy glory, something Jonah rarely saw these days. He loved it, reminded him of when they had met. The blonde's hair was held back by a snapback and he was wearing jeans covered in dried paint splashes, as well as a black wifebeater with dust marks on it. His cheeks were pink.
"I was," Leo crossed his arms, staring ahead, "Max kicked me out."
"Daniels kicked you out?" Jonah wrinkled his nose, disliking the sentence, "why would he do that? Aren't you doing free labor for him?"
"Yeah!" Leo scoffed, clearly offended, "but he said he was done with the painting today and kicked me out. I think I got on his nerves."
"You?" Jonah rolled his eyes, as if he didn't know damn well Leo could be annoying when he wanted to be. But fuck Max Daniels, why the hell was he making Leo feel like he was a burden?
Jon mentally put a tally under Max's name, one he was sure Luke would appreciate.
"He said my voice was giving him a headache," Leo grumbled, "dude has no manners at all."
"You like'em rough around the edges," Jonah teased, lowering himself between Leo's knees, mind filling with ways to cheer his husband up, "his loss, baby. Can I cheer you up?"
"No, go away," Leo pushed him by the forehead, just as his stomach emitted a loud whine. Jonah's eyebrows jumped.
"What the hell...?" He frowned, "was that hunger? Are you hungry? I thought you were gonna have lunch with Dan-"
"We did, we had Burger King," Leo grimaced, "greasy as hell."
"Oh," Jonah sat on his heels, resting his elbows on Leo's knee, "you've got an upset stomach."
Now it was all coming together more clearly. Leo could be quite cranky when he didn't feel well and if he hadn't come clean to Max — which he probably wouldn't have, far too embarrassed — it made sense why the other guy had gotten sick of his grumpy attitude and kicked Leo out.
"I think I just overdid it," Leo gulped down, "Max couldn't handle half of his stuff, I didn't want him to feel bad about it, because I said it was my treat and he picked the restaurant..."
"So you ate twice as much of junk food than you normally would?" Jonah smiled, then lunged forward, pressing a kiss to Leo's tummy. It was so fucking adorable-
"UOrup!" Leo jerked with a burp, not even bothering to cover his mouth until it was halfway through. He whined, fist pressed to his lips, "don't touch me."
"Because you're a gas bomb?" Jonah teased him, but did obey, pulling back and searching for the electrostatic duster he had been holding, "do you want tums? Or just peppermint tea?"
"No," Leo groaned dramatically, leaning back on the couch and kicking off his shoes, "it's too upset to put anything in it right now."
Jonah tsk-ed under his breath and got back to his task of cleaning. JD climbed the couch in order to nibble Leo's ear, meowing as he lowered a hand to her back and started petting her.
They stayed quiet for a minute, interrupted just by Leo burping or JD meowing, soft music still playing. Jonah was quite comfortable and he had just finished off the living room and was planning to go take a shower, so he could be ready for his dinner with Wen, when Leo let out a groan and hunched forward, planting an elbow on his knee and a hand holding his forehead.
"Leo?" Jonah called, stepping closer, and the blonde only grunted in response, his face pale and his eyes closed, "baby?"
He crouched down next to Leo's knee and his husband swallowed thickly, "don't feel good..."
"I can see that," Jonah pushed the golden strands of hair away from Leo's clammy face, "nauseous?"
He nodded, gulping down, "gotta burp, but-" his cheeks puffed with a weak, airy burp to illustrate his point, "not-"
"Okay, okay, I got you," Jonah stood up, moving so he could sit next to him on the couch and starting to pat Leo's back as if he was a baby. Normally this helped, but today Leo only groaned, curling up even more.
Jon pressed his lips into a frustrated line, upset on Leo's behalf, "not helping," he voiced what his husband was probably thinking, then spread out slightly, patting Leo's thigh, "get between my legs-"
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Leo's words were getting sticky, clearly queasy, but he did obey with sluggish movements. Now settled behind Leo, Jonah slid his hands under the other man's arm and planted them on Leo's stomach.
He was puffed out, belly tight and sensitive to the touch, warm too. Leo groaned, "Jon, I don't think this is such a good idea..."
"I know what I'm doing," Jonah snapped, pressing his mouth to Leo's shoulder, pressing around gently. Leo was tense, stiff as a board as he fought the mounting nausea, seeming more annoyed by Jon's helping hands than not.
Jonah moved his palm around, slowly, so he could feel when he hit a particularly sore spot, judging solely by Leo's breathing. He dug his thumb there, gently, rolling it in deeper-
"OWUORRP-" Leo jumped as the thick belch surged up, slamming a hand to his mouth because he thought he was going to vomit. Jonah snorted.
"Told ya, I know what I'm doing," he said smugly, pecking Leo's cheek with a kiss, loving how pink he had turned, "feel a bit better?"
"Do it again," Leo answered instead, face still burning with embarrassment.
He moved his hand, chasing a burbling he could feel near Leo's ribs, three fingers pushing in over the top of his belly, causing Leo to gag and fold with a nasty, wet belch.
"Fuck," he wiped at his lips, then rubbed his whole face, as it stopped being sickly pale or embarrassed-crimson, "yeah, alri-UFRORP!" Leo's eyes widened at the sudden burp, spooked by the suddenness of it, "wow- Sorr'HIC!" He jerked with a hiccup and Jonah snorted at his antics.
"Oh no," he chuckled, patting Leo's back as the blonde jumped with yet another hiccup, this one ending with a burp.
He sounded like a squeak toy, jumping with serial HIC-Urp, over and over.
Leo clutched his chest, thumping it to dislodge yet another belch and Jonah took pity on him, fingers pressing on his tummy, this time sliding right where his belly met his undone paint stained jean, under the elastic of his boxer briefs. Today his husband's belly was rounded enough he was able to slot his fingers on the curve it made. Jonah squeezed and Leo covered his mouth frantically, muffling a disgusting burp.
"Shit," his voice was muffled by the hands still there, "can't-OUrp-can'-Hic!"
"That's a lot," Jonah teased him, moving his palm so it was over Leo's navel and pushing in. A nasty, wet gurgle erupted and while Leo burped again, Jon was way more concerned by how sloshy that sounded. This couldn't be good, "are you still feeling sick...?"
"HIC-I-Urp-" Leo tried to answer, then shook his head and used Jonah's shoulder to push himself up from the couch, wrapping an arm around his upset belly and speeding down the hallway as fast as he could — which wasn't a lot.
Jonah cringed as the door of their guest bathroom slammed closed. He didn't dare move for a second, then stepped closer, grimacing as he could hear a string of disgusting noises coming from inside, "Leo?"
"G'uor-G'AWAY!"
"I am... I'm gonna go shower, okay? Uhm- Yell if you need-"
"LEAVE."
"Okay," Jonah winced, moving away from the door in an effort to offer him some privacy.
Leo stumbled into their bedroom right around the time Jonah stepped out of the bathroom, only pants on as he searched through their wardrobe for a shirt.
"I feel like shit," he groaned, falling face first on the bed, one arm wrapping around his stomach, the other around his pillow. Jonah's fingers brushed a deep red Henley he was considering wearing, but he didn't pick it off the hanger.
"How can I help?"
"Uhm," Leo's face scrunched up, pained lines around his eyes and lips turned down, "cuddle?"
Jonah's hand, hanging in the air, fell limply next to him, "okay, just give me a minute. Do you wanna change into something more comfortable?"
"Yeah, can you get me my pjs?"
"Maybe shower first?"
"Don't wanna move," Leo's cheeks puffed with an airy burp, no heat behind it, "please?"
"Fine," Jonah sighed, turning around and combing through their clothes. He fished out Leo's most ratty pjs, a set he had been meaning to replace for forever when his husband wasn't looking, and then stripped down his pants as well, switching them for a fresh set of sweatpants and bringing the clothes back to Leo.
His movements were sluggish and the blonde didn't even complain as Jonah sat on the edge of the bed and helped him strip the sweaty tanktop for the oversized shirt, his face all clammy and even his hair falling limply over his forehead, sticking to it. He had ditched the snapback on the bathroom.
"You look like hell," Jonah commented, causing Leo to pout, blue eyes meeting his with surprisingly amount of hurt. Jon snorted, rolling his eyes, "don't give me that face, you know you do."
"Kick me while I'm down, why don't you?" Leo said bitterly, falling onto his back and shimming out of his jeans, making no move to put on the pants Jonah still held.
"Put these on," Jon dropped the pants on top of Leo's bloated stomach, it was marking his shirt, a bump even when he lied flat on his back, "I'll make you some tea."
"Don't want tea," Leo grumbled, holding the pants with annoyance, seeming like he wished to never move again.
"I didn't ask," Jonah rolled his eyes, giving his husband's tummy a pat as he got up and left the room.
On his way to the kitchen he found his phone, abandoned in the living room, and quickly shot Wendy a text, rescheduling their dinner to tomorrow. Then he put the kettle on and rested against the fridge, waiting for her to answer.
She didn't.
He finished the tea, filling up two mugs and walking back to their bedroom.
Leo had put on the pjs pants and curled onto his side, in fetal position. He had a hand resting on his bloated belly and was breathing carefully, which caused Jonah to grimace, a spike of concern going through him, but he brushed it off. It was a bellyache, he didn't need to freak out.
"Here, baby," he planted Leo's mug on his bedside table, then circled the bed to put his own down, climbing onto the mattress, "take a sip."
"You're not the boss of me," Leo grumbled, but did unfold and took a small sip, planting the mug back down and scooting on the bed so he could press his cheek to Jonah's bicep, "it's so crampy."
"Gas?" Jon guessed, then snorted, because Leo's cheeks turned angry red, "don't be embarrassed, I've seen and heard worse."
"Shudup," Leo mumbled, just as Jonah turned on the bed in order to wrap himself around him, slotting his chin on Leo's shoulder and sliding his hands to his husband's upset stomach.
"You're being silly."
"You're killing the romance," Leo scoffed, then melted as Jonah started stroking his belly, palm sliding against the smooth skin. His stomach was stretched, it couldn't be feeling good, "...That feels great, though."
"Put the snapback on and we can start the romance right back up," Jonah grinned, intertwining their legs and burying his nose on Leo's neck, inhaling him.
The blonde shook with a chuckle, that quickly morphed into a groan as the shaking of his frame did not help his bellyache. He snuggled closer, "keep rubbing."
"So demanding," Jonah smiled, wrapping himself around Leo even tighter, "get some rest, you'll feel better in a bit."
Can I get a little indulgent fic with either Max or Leo (and their respective caregivers)? Just a straight up belly ache, not necessarily emeto or the other way, but just a plain old upset belly ache.
-🫖
Dishwasher
Leo yawned, putting the rest of the cake away in the fridge and moving to the sink in order to wash up the dishes that didn't fit in the dishwasher, while Jonah collected the mess around their apartment.
He was pleasantly sleepy and stuffed with food, stomach sluggishly churning the rich food. Jon crouched down next to the dishwasher in order to load it up with the glasses and Leo turned on the faucet, starting to wash.
"So," he interrupted himself with another yawn, "Wendy used us."
"What?" Jonah chuckled, sounding confused. He finished playing Tetris with the various sized glasses — wine glasses, champagne flutes, round soda ones, square whiskey ones — and started to put the plates in their correct places, "whatever do you mean?"
"Luke and Bell weren't invited to the party," Leo pouted, scrubbing away at the ridiculously large cake plate, "and apparently the whole surprise party was actually Luke's idea ages ago... And then I told Luke about it, even though he wasn't invited, so she used me to hurt my best friend. Real fucking nice."
Jonah had stopped moving around the plates and was staring at him with wide eyes, "Luke had to work," he mumbled and Leo paused, hands covered in suds, turning to glare at his husband.
"You think Luke wouldn't get away from work for Vin? That Bella wouldn't?"
"Bell and Wendy are in a fight, I thought she wasn't coming to begin with..." Jonah frowned, while Leo let out a long suffering sigh, turning towards the dishes once more. He washed the plate, putting it on the dish drying rack and starting to work on the big chips bowl.
"Not the case, it seems," Leo grumbled. He wasn't pissed, but he was annoyed. The fact Wendy had used him was burning in his stomach and leaving a bad taste in his mouth, the way Vince had been distraught kept playing in his head.
If he was honest, upon hearing Jonah's first play through of how Bella had disclosed Wendy's ED to him, Leo had sided with Wendy. Part of him, still did. Having a vulnerability like an eating disorder or depression was similar, in the sense that people were all too quickly to snatch away their agency and think they could disclose it to other people for The Greater Good. He had sympathized with her pain and yes, a vicious part of him had happily watched Wendy cut connections with Bell and give her a hard time, after the ginger had been so nasty to Jonah.
Jonah seemed to share this opinion. He wasn't pissed at Bella himself, even though he probably had reason enough to be, but he silently sided with Wendy.
Except there were certain lines that one didn't cross. There was angry and needing time away and then there was driving a wedge in the middle of their friend group. Pulling Luke into the mix was a low blow, when Leo could easily tell Bella had been doing everything in order to not tangle up Vin. Using Vince's birthday party in order to make a petty slight, how was that any different from telling Jonah because he had been slightly rude to Bell herself? Hypocrisy at its best.
"I mean," Jonah stood up, closing the washing machine, "she's got a right to be pissed."
"She had a right to be pissed. Vince was damn nearly crying and, honestly, Jon? How's Vince's birthday to hurt Bella any different from Bell using her ED to hurt you?" Leo glared at him, then let out a huff as Jonah opened his mouth to defend his best friend, "don't bother defending her, Wen's in the wrong here."
Jonah pressed his lips into an annoyed line, moving around the kitchen to start to put away the many bottles that were out on display, "I feel like comparing a birthday party to an eating disorder is insane of you."
Why couldn't his husband ever just fucking agree with him? Yes, you're right baby. Was that so hard to do?
Leo put away the bowl, grabbing the dishcloth and starting to dry his hands, glaring holes into the kitchen floor. His stomach was hurting and he wasn't entirely sure if it was from nerves or from having eaten too much, mixed way too many things. He had gotten slightly tipsy at a point, but it had faded as concern caused him to sober up and go take care of Vince. Now the alcohol wasn't giving him any warm fuzzies, just swirling in his belly uncomfortably.
"They're not the same," Leo relented, then grimaced when a cramp hit his middle. He cupped a hand right under his belly button, trying to massage it away, "but now what? Bella and Wendy will never talk again? She made a mistake, she apologized a bunch of times-"
"And an apology doesn't warrant you forgiveness!" Jonah scoffed, "you don't say I'm sorry because you want a hug and to feel good about yourself, you apologize because you understand what you did wrong! Forgiveness is not, cannot be an obligation, it's not now it works."
Leo frowned. Score for Jon. It wasn't a bad argument, except that it was covering a different issue than what Leo was actually pissed about.
"Okay, so she doesn't ever forgive Bella. What then? Vince was a mess today, he'll keep being shoved between the rock and the hard place? You cannot be so blind to pretend she didn't use his birthday to hurt Bella, you think he liked that? Vince adores Bella! And, she used US. She used me," Leo raised his voice slightly, pacing around, "I don't fucking appreciate that. I love Bella. Yes, she made a fucking mistake and yeah she needed to be dogged on, but it's been enough in my book. Wendy didn't care what I wanted though, she totally used me wanting to do something nice for Vin's birthday to create this party and then she didn't disclose any information and let me be the one to break the news to Luke. Lucas, Jonah. You think I wanna hurt him? After everything Luke has done for us- Hell, just last month?"
"Luke will live, it's just one party," Jonah pouted, "you're acting as if not being invited to Vin's birthday is going to kill the Atwoods," he rolled his eyes as if to communicate Leo was being dramatic, which only made the blonde more annoyed.
He was not being dramatic. Just because Leo understood why Wendy was pissed and why she needed time and distance from Bell, it didn't mean Leo wanted to hurt Bella. His mind drifted back to all the times Bell had been the one holding him, keeping him from falling apart. When she had stayed in his apartment after the whole shitshow with his mother, how Lucas had brought him to their house and Bell had promptly welcomed him with open arms as Leo freaked about the possibility of children. How she had been the one to talk him out off the edge.
He never wanted to hurt them and Leo wasn't gonna pretend, like Jon clearly was, that the party thing was a childish slight that everyone was going to get over within the week.
"You should know better," Leo scoffed, now fully annoyed, "hell, I've known Luke for seven years, you've known him for nearly three decades. You should know better than to think he'll get over it."
He wasn't sure if Bella would, because sometimes she managed to brush off things Leo couldn't even dream of doing, but sometimes she was all heart and big teary blue eyes and Leo didn't know what to expect there. However he did know what to expect from Luke and Jonah was out of his mind pretending this wasn't gonna cause issues, that Wendy had done just a small, no harm insult.
"I'm not gonna side against my best friend after she got her trust betrayed," Jonah raised his chin firmly and Leo rolled his eyes at him.
"Even when she crosses the line?" Leo's stomach let an unhappy whine and he moves his hand from it, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling clammy. Yeah, what a nasty mix of food and booze, "because tonight she did, Jonah."
"I don't think she did, I think you're overreacting," Jon insisted, stubbornly, and Leo gave him a long, uncomfortable stare.
"Whatever you say, Jon," he shrugged, deciding that if Jonah wanted to stick his head in the sand and get caught in the crossfire, then so be it, "I'm going to take a shower."
Jon didn't follow, although Leo didn't expect him to either. He was stubborn, fiercely loyal, so it made sense he was blindsided and sticking his fingers in his ears.
He took a quick shower, letting out a groan as he dragged the soap bar across his stomach, putting some pressure as his hand glided much easier now. Leo had been hitting the gym way more often and he had shredded the extra weight gained during the honeymoon, abs back and ripped. Tonight they were gone, a little curve where they should've been, his belly feeling tender to touch and a crampy, annoying sensation right under his belly button. He felt a gurgle go over his sides and up- But it got stuck in his chest, causing him to gasp.
"Gross," Leo groaned, turning off the shower and toweling off as quick as possible, moving back to their bedroom. He didn't want any other pressure on his middle, but given their fight he also felt too exposed sleeping naked, so Leo dug through his boxers drawer, finding one with a flimsy elastic that Jonah probably hadn't seen, since his husband was enough of a neat freak to throw away or donate any type of ratty clothing without ever asking Leo about it.
He slid into bed, curling up under the covers and opening a small smile as JD climbed the mattress with a meow, walking over to him and hitting his face with her tail as she curled up by his side.
"Was tonight too much noise, baby?" Leo cooed, smoothing over her fur, "I bet you're tired."
"I'm tired too," Jonah sounded whiny from the doorway, "I don't get cuddles?"
"No, because you're being a dickhead," Leo scoffed, kissing the top of her head. Jonah let out a little offended huff.
"I am not," Jonah rolled his eyes, walking ahead to the bathroom to take a shower and Leo scrunched up his nose in distaste, curling up even more. His stomach wasn't feeling well at all, he felt like he needed to burp, but nothing was coming up. It hurt, like little shocks going through his middle.
JD flopped on her side, with a tired huff of her own and Leo opened a smile, "what's wrong, my little freeloader?" he teased, snuggling as much as possible, "is your unemployed, no taxes paying life upsetting you?"
"Are you bullying our cat?" Jonah chuckled, walking back into the room, silk pajamas pants hanging low on his hips combing cream through his now wet curls. Leo ignored him, far too conflicted between annoyance at his voice and desire at the fact he looked amazing.
Clearly Jon was adamantly ignoring the fact that Leo was upset with him, because he rolled on his side, so they could sandwich JD and started to pet her too, fingers brushing over Leo's far too many times to be accidental.
Leo scowled at the comforter, only for his attention to be pulled away by his stomach. The sluggish churning from before seemed to have stopped, but not in a good way. All digestion seemed to have ceased and he felt heavy and was starting to get queasy.
He squirmed on the bed, pulling his hand back from petting JD in order to slide it under the sheets and cradle his upset belly.
Jonah let out a whine, "c'mon, Leo," he sighed, "I can't even touch you? Quit that."
Leo scrunched up his face, rolling slightly in order to press it to the pillow, the hand clutching his belly squeezing tighter, "itsnotthat," he mumbled, voice muffled.
"What did you say?" Jonah pushed his shoulder so he wasn't so pressed to the pillow.
"It's not that," Leo sighed, giving up staying mad at him. He wanted the comfort, they could argue tomorrow, "I have a stomachache."
Jon raised his eyebrows, surprised, then carefully picked up JD, moving her to the foot of the bed so he could move closer. The cat let out an indignant meow and Leo pouted.
"She was warm and comfy..."
"She'll crawl back in here in a minute," Jon rolled his eyes, tugging on the blankets to reveal Leo's bloated middle section. He let out a whistle, "did you eat too much?"
"Too much, too many different things, mixed a bunch of drinks..." Leo thumped on his chest, trying to work up a burp, "nothing is digesting, I'm getting queasy."
"I could've been taking care of you, instead of arguing, you prick," Jonah scolded him, carefully planting a hand on Leo's stomach and making a displeased face, "it's super tight."
"Yeah, I know," Leo bit out, sitting up against the headboard, then winced as he felt Jonah's hand dig in, pushing around the upset organ. He licked his lips, making a face at the awful sensation, "uhm, be gentle, Jon."
He could taste his dinner, even though he had brushed his teeth twice in the shower. Jonah was gently pushing around his belly, fingers drumming against his sides, pushing under his navel and the heel of his hand trying to usher a gurgle up-
Leo muffled a thick burp in his hand.
It was brassy and hurt coming up, burning his throat a little, causing Leo to whine at the tail end of it. Some of the pressure in his belly eased up, momentary relief, but that vanished quickly as his tummy filled up with gas again, "Ooh, fuck," he swallowed the after taste with a shudder, "ew."
"Did it help?"
"A little," Leo admitted, his cheeks turning pink. It was really hard to stay annoyed at Jon when he was being this sweet, "still super upset."
"Yeah, I can tell," his husband moved his hands around, pressing with a little more force and opening a triumphant smile when he manage to make Leo's belly gurgle. Digestion, at last?
The blonde curled up his legs, "Jon, hold on," he planted a hand over Jonah's, stopping him, then gulped down for air, forcing up a shallow, airy burp, "hold on."
"What is it?"
"Just-" Leo leaned forward, staring at the blankets, and then the horrible pressure in his middle increased, hurt, going up his chest, "URORUP!" He jumped at the loudness of the belch, turning to stare wide eyed at Jonah, even if he wasn't even done. It was long, disgusting, warm.
Jon wrinkled his nose, "you had to burp on my face?" he teased, moving a hand to rest on Leo's back, "now did it help?"
"Ooh," Leo collapsed back against the pillows, "pheew, yeah, yeah it hel-" his tummy interrupted him with a nasty, watery gurgle. Digestion kicking back in, unhappily so, "ugh, yeah it helped."
"Come here," Jonah grabbed his arm, pushing Leo on his side, then slid behind him, big spooning the blonde, "good?"
"Uhh..."
Jon's pulled the blankets over them, a hand snaking around Leo's middle, fingers continuing to diddle away at his tummy in a soothing motion, "this alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course, angel," Leo breathed out, shoulders slumping. He still felt gross, queasy and uncomfortable, but Jon was a grounding warmth pressed to his back, legs tangled together, hand rubbing his tummy in circles.
"Get some rest," Jon shuffled, pressing a kiss to his cheek, then to his neck, "I got you."
He wasn't even sleepy, but Leo obeyed without questioning it, opening a pleased smile as Jon hugged him with the other arm as well, trapping Leo to his chest, and yawned against his shoulder.
"Can you come pick me up? I wanna go home," it was Leo's voice travelling through the phone, but Jonah pulled it away from his face in order to read his husband's name. It was.
Leo calling to be picked up from anywhere was already something that would hardly happen, because he had his own car, but what was weirder was the reasoning. I wanna go home. No hinting to him being sick and needing a ride, or the car not working, just... Come pick me up from work in the middle of the day because I want to go home.
"Uhm- Yeah, baby, of course..." Jonah moved around the apartment, searching for his shoes. He had just gotten in from a night shift, he was dead on his feet, but if Leo needed him, then he was going over, "you're still at work?"
"Yes, I- I don't know how to get out, I'm not sick, I just- I need to go home," okay, weird and getting weirder. Jonah was straight up running out of the front door now.
"That's alright, uh- I'll lie at the front desk and say there's a family emergency with my father. Pretend you didn't call me and that you're surprised, okay?"
"Okay," Leo sounded deeply relieved, "yeah, okay, just- Can you come quick?"
"I'm getting to the car now, I'll be there as soon as I can... Leo, I-" don't do anything stupid, Jonah thought, his stomach freezing, but he bit the sentence down, "I love you. Can you tell me what's going on?"
"I don't know what's going on," Leo sounded frustrated, angry even, "just- I just- Want to go home."
"Okay, baby, you'll be home in no time," Jonah bolted as soon as the elevator hit the garage floor, "I have to hang up now, alright? Promise to call me if- If you feel worse," from whatever that was.
"Promise," Leo mumbled and then the call disconnected.
Jonah didn't remember a single thing from driving over. He was pretty sure he had run over a red light.
The front desk girl of Leo's building was named Nicole, and her eyes got the size of saucers when Jonah mumbled some frantic story about needing to contact Leo about a family emergency and that he hadn't been picking up his phone. The panic in his voice didn't need to be faked.
She phoned his office's landline and waited, whispering in a rushed voice that Mr. Wagner-Banks was there and there was an emergency.
Not five minutes later, Leo was walking out of the elevator, holding his suitcase and clad in a suit, perfectly healthy, except from the flush on his cheeks.
"Jon? What's going on?" The damn theater kid he had married asked and Jonah knew he had been the one to propose this stupid plan, but right now he just wanted to shake Leo like a rattle toy and force him to use his words.
"My sister called, said something is wrong with my father," Jonah lied through his teeth, sending the universe a quiet don't you dare, "she said he's sick, we gotta go over to DC right now."
Dramatic much? But at the very least this would grant Leo the whole day off, if not the week. Jasper would happily corroborate whatever bullshit they needed him to, the man lived for the drama.
"Oh my god," Leo clutched his imaginary pearls, a little too into his role for Jonah's liking. He was starting to get annoyed, was this all some joke...?
They quickly moved out of Nicole's curious gaze, Leo telling her to pass the message along to his boss, but that he'd be in contact as soon as possible to explain the situation and give them a timeframe of how quickly he could be back.
Then they were out of the building and Jonah was fighting every molecule in his body not to interrogate his husband right there and then. Instead he waited until they entered his car and he had driven out of Leo's street, just to make sure, before asking, "what the fuck, Leo?! What's wrong? You scared the shit out of me, start explaining yourself-"
Leo was leaning back on the passenger seat, breathing in and out slowly, face milky pale, "I think I'm having a heart attack."
"What?" Jon came to a screeching halt so sudden, the car behind them pressed the honk and sent him a string of insults, barely avoiding rear ending them.
"I'm-" Leo licked his lips, "a sense of- Of impending doom, right? Chest tightness?" Was he sounding breathless or was Jonah tripping? "Queasy..."
"Okay," Jonah's voice was alien to his own ears, "okay, baby, we're going to the fucking hospital, alright? Can you-" he took a hand from the steering wheel, clammy with sweat, "squeeze my hand? Really hard."
Leo obeyed, Jonah wasn't sure what his tight squeeze meant, because he was too busy panicking to be an actual doctor about it. Tight squeeze, probably- Probably not a heart attack, right? Normally it came with limbs heaviness and lack of strength... Right?
Sense of impending doom.
Jonah could write off everything, but that. He had way too much experience with patients feeling in their bones when something was grotesquely wrong. He pressed the gas pedal a little harder.
Leo's fingers curled around his and Jonah squeezed his hand right back, clutching on it like a toddler.
Once they pulled over at the hospital, Jon was immediately running out of the car to grab him a wheelchair, only for Leo to scoff and walk alongside him. He was most definitely wheezing.
"Jon?" Wendy was in the ER, wearing scrubs today, confused on why he was there when he had just left the hospital an hour ago, let alone with Leo hot on his heels, looking panicked, "what's going on-"
"Leo, sit down," Jonah ignored her, forcing Leo to sit on a plastic chair on the waiting room, queue be damned. Hospital queues weren't organized around arrival time, like most people thought, but seriousness of an issue. A heart attack most definitely put Leo on top of the list. He should be- "I think he's having a heart attack."
Wendy's eyes went huge, but unlike Jonah she didn't panic. She turned around, rushing to the front desk and exchanging rushed whispers with the nurse in charge, who immediately nodded and picked up the phone, her voice echoing on the floor through the speakers as she said, "Dr. Lavin, emergency room, please," three times in a row. A second nurse, Marjorie, briskly walked away and returned five minutes later with a disposable cup housing aspirins, walking over to them.
"Hi Leo," she smiled and Jonah's hand flexed on his husband's shoulder, hating the way Leo was clutching his chest and staring at the floor, "can you chew these for me? It's gonna help while we get you ready for the exams, okay?"
"He needs-"
"An ECG," Marjorie agreed before he could finish, "we're gonna get him one, let's sit in Dr. Lavin's room, alright? He was doing rounds upstairs, but we've paged him, he'll be down in a minute."
Who the fuck even was Dr. Lavin?
It didn't matter. They entered the special treatment room and Leo climbed onto the mattress, leaning heavily against Jonah's side and wheezing, sounding like a whistle.
"Shhh, just a second more, baby," Jon cooed, trying to fight the sheer panic clawing at him. Wendy came back inside, Marjorie hot on her heels.
"Hi Leo," she smiled, "rough morning, uh?" whilst talking, she was moving around the office as it was hers, turning on the ECG machine, the image of calm. Jon would've bought it wasn't it for her fingers drumming on the machine.
The office's door opened and in came Chris. Jonah's brows met, then eased. Right, Chris Lavin, their cardiologist. Why the hell hadn't he remembered that, he would've taken Leo to a different hospital-
No, he wouldn't have. There was no hospital in town more prepared than this and they didn't have time to drive to Portland-
"Mr. Wagner," Chris seemed puzzle on why there were three people, instead of solely his patient in the office, "how are you today? Can you tell me what's going on?"
"Chest-" Leo rubbed it, gulping down, "hurts. Uhm- I feel like I'm dying. I-" another gulp, Chris squinted at him.
"Nauseous too?"
Leo nodded, swallowing again.
"Here, sweetheart," Wendy moved, grabbed a cardboard emesis tray, pushing it on his lap.
"How long ago did the symptoms start, Mr. Wagner?"
"Leo," he mumbled, gagging at the tail end, "my name is Leo."
Jonah shifted his weight, impatiently glaring at Chris. Couldn't he save the fucking interrogation for another time? Get him on the ECG already, do something?
"Alright, Leo," Chris circled them, looking put off by having to side step Jon and Wendy to reach the machine, "can you take your shirt off for me? We're gonna get a read at your heart."
Finally!
Jon immediately turned to grab Leo's clothing, helping him strip, only for Chris to scoff, "Banks, I asked Leo to take his shirt off. Not you to do it for him."
Leo's eyes widened, shocked, while Jon bristled, "I'm helping, you know, bedside manners. Something you d-"
"I need to check if he can raise his arms," Chris glared daggers at him, "step out of my way and stop intruding. Leo, please remove the shirt?"
Seemingly shocked enough that the wheezing had stopped, Leo obeyed, fingers fumbling with the buttons, but managing. He already didn't have a tie on, the jacket of his suit had been ditched in the car.
"Good," Chris grabbed several different cords, with sticker electrodes to the end of them, "this will feel a little weird," he warned, before sticking them to Leo's chest, eyes glued to the screen of the machine, "how long ago did the symptoms start, Leo?"
"Uh- Two hours," Leo's fingers flinched, clearly wanting to rub his chest again, but settling for curling on the thin sheet of the bed. Jonah took his hand in his, squeezing it in a supportive manner. Leo gulped down again, paler than before.
"How much longer?" Jon asked, "he's gonna be sick."
"Just a minute more," Chris was looking at the machine, as it printed out the results of the exam in a long, skinny sheet of paper, waves drawn on them. Jonah had never been any good at reading those, but Chris hardly even looked, eyes flickering to it and then back up, starting to remove the electrodes from Leo.
"Good, you can put your shirt back on- Marshall, you can go," he said, dismissively, and Wendy's cheeks turned pink, brows connecting, but she didn't argue. Only huffed and stepped out of the room.
Leo gave up buttoning his shirt on the third bottom button, grabbing the cardboard tray and gulping down convulsively, "guh- Gon'besick..." he slurred, drooling over it.
"That's alright," Chris circled his desk, sitting on the big chair, leaving Jonah to fuss over the blonde. He ground his teeth, yelling at Chris right now wasn't gonna help.
"I'm here," he said, instead, stepping closer and planting a hand on the cardboard tray to support it, the other arm wrapping around Leo, who was trembling like a puppy, "shh, I got you-"
Leo jerked with an empty heave, knuckles turning white as he panted over the small bowl. Another gag and a thick line of drool fell inside of it, cloudy, but nothing more.
"Is he allergic to any medication?" Chris asked from where he was typing on his computer.
"You have his chart," Jonah hissed, teeth gritted, while rubbing Leo's back, "shh, baby, ignore him. Focus on yourself."
Leo gagged once more, and then a little dribble of vomit fell in the tray, as he panted as if he had just run a marathon. There were microtears clumping his lashes and he clutched his chest, wheezing. Jonah's heart squeezed so much, he wondered if he was the one having a heart attack.
"I'm going to order a blood test," Chris told them, unbothered, "to rule out heart attack. For now we're gonna put you in a cot in the ER and check back again in an hour, Leo."
Leo's brows twitched, he spat in the tray, "wha- What?"
"You're not having a heart attack," Chris had gotten up, grabbing a couple tissues from the box that stayed next to the cot, handing them to Leo in exchange for the sick tray, "it's a panic attack."
"Nuh-huh," Leo shook his hand, hands shaking as if he had Parkinson's as he wiped his chin and clutched the tissues, "I know- I know what a panic attack feelssslike..."
Chris' lip twitched, "I know you do," a hint of amusement, Jonah considered punching him, "that's why we're not gonna medicate you just yet, okay? We're gonna do the blood exam to rule it out and then check back in one hour, do the whole ordeal again. Then I'm gonna medicate you."
Leo's cheeks turned crimson, Jon squeezed his shoulder, "Christopher, if he says he's having a heart attack-"
"He is the patient, Banks," Chris glared at him, "not the doctor. His ECG came back clean, you're welcome to look at it. His wheezing doesn't match of a heart attack, his impending doom broke when I snapped at you. It's not a heart attack, it's anxiety, but you're welcome to do a cardiology residency if you wanna argue with me."
Jonah's whole face was burning and yeah, he was gonna punch this guy. He let go of Leo's shoulder, stepping into Chris' personal space, "what happens when my husband collapses because you are too arrogant to see what's in front of you? Leo knows what a panic attack feels like, he's dealt with them his whole life, you. Are. Not. LIS-" he jammed his finger on Chris' chest at each word, only to be cut short by a giggle.
Leo's giggling.
The blonde looked embarrassed, but amused, "sorry, sorry! I- Okay, doctor, uhm- Lavin? Dr. Lavin," Jonah looked at him, confused and nearly offended. What the hell was he doing? "blood exam, then check back, then meds?"
"Yes," Chris' voice was a note deeper, pissed off, but not directed at Leo, "I'll have nurse Marjorie shadow you, she's the best one and she's been here the longest. You're in good hands."
Leo nodded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, although it was clean already, "okay," he whispered, tugging on Jon's sweater to bring him back, "Okay..."
Jonah wanted to argue this. It didn't feel right, Leo knew what a panic attack felt like, he wouldn't have confused the two. Hell, Jonah knew what Leo having a panic attack looked like and-
And it looked horribly similar to this, yeah.
Wendy was in the ER and the second she saw them — Leo now forced to be on a wheelchair, hospital rules — she jogged closer, looking concerned.
"So? What's going on? How are you?" She asked quickly, as Jonah followed Marjorie to the cot she was guiding them to. A bed with privacy curtains surrounding it.
"Panic attack," Leo answered her, breathless, clutching Jon's hand for support as he pushed himself out of the chair and into the cot, Marjorie saying she'd be right back to collect the blood sample.
"Really?" Wendy's eyebrows jumped up, "I thought you knew- how are you feeling?" She changed her phrase mid sentence, shaking her head.
Leo shrugged, looking away, "embarrassed," he rubbed his chest, uneasy expression on, "queasy. Still don't feel right, it's like- Pressure," he took a deep breath, "someone sitting on my chest."
Wendy didn't look convinced, she exchanged a nervous glance with Jonah, who had posted himself right next to Leo's bed and was petting his hair, trying not to let it show just how deeply concerned he was.
Chris was asking for a lot. What if he was wrong? What if Leo was having a fucking heart attack and they were wasting crucial time with this bullshit? Had Chris glanced at Leo's medical history and seen his antidepressants listed and dismissed everything as just stress?
"Here we go," nurse Marjorie came up, holding the blood drawing kit, "it's going to be just a little prickle."
"I know," Leo leaned his head back, eyes shut, breathing heavily, "fuck..." he breathed out, refusing to elaborate.
Marjorie drew the blood and Leo kept his eyes closed, taking slow measured breaths. Wendy had to get back to work, sending Jonah a worried look before she left. Jonah started biting on his thumb, a leg bouncing nervously as he stood next to his bed and waited. He felt so fucking helpless, he should be doing something-
"Hey," Leo tugged on his wrist, since his other hand was still in his hair, supposedly petting it, although Jon had stopped, "I think he's right, Jon."
"You- It doesn't seem right, Leo," Jonah's voice wavered just a little and he gulped down the knot in his throat, "you know what- Did something happen? Something triggered this?"
"No," Leo seemed exhausted, eyes sunken in, but he opened a little smile, "we went out to grab coffee together, Dean, Chuck and I... The place was packed, started feeling uneasy there, chalked it up to being overwhelmed, then when we got back to the office it just got worse and I felt like something was so wrong, with- Me, with you, I don't know, I just needed to go home... That's when I called you," he paused, breathing in and out slowly, "then after we hung up it changed from I need to go home to I'm dying. That's it."
It did sound like anxiety. Jonah squinted, not sufficiently calmed down, "and the chest pain? The nausea? The wheezing?"
"After," Leo dismissed, sighing, "worked myself into it, I think."
"Hmmm," Jon pursed his lips, not liking this one bit and Leo's fingers around his wrist twitched, he guided his hand to his chest, pressing Jon's hand over his heart.
"It's not a heart attack, Jonah," Leo breathed out, his cheeks turning pink, "although I might die from embarrassment alone."
"Don't be embarrassed," he said strongly, "I'd rather you freaked out and we came over to the hospital a thousand times than ignoring it and it ending up being something serious. I mean it, Leo. I'm glad you called me."
If this had been at the start of their relationship, or hell, even when Leo was going through a rough patch, he'd have tried dealing with it on his own. Jonah felt a wash of fondness and relieved, giddy happiness that was out of place and fueled by adrenaline, that Leo had trusted him so entirely.
"You're turning into a sap," Leo teased him, curling slightly on the cot, "so that's Chris, uh?"
"Yeah," Jonah scoffed, good mood popping like a soap bubble, "fucking asshole."
"I don't think I ever saw someone talk to you like that... Well, Luke sometimes, but you and Luke are different. You don't mean it."
"Sometimes I mean it," Jonah grumbled, moving his hand to cup Leo's neck, refusing to let go of him, "Luke can be a dick."
Leo snorted, rolled his eyes, "I imagined Chris different."
"Oh yeah? How so?" Jonah looked around, found a chair and pulled it closer with his foot, collapsing on it.
"Uglier," Leo whispered, "he's kind of handsome."
"Oh, disgusting," Jonah pulled back, his whole face scrunching up, "you have a fetish for mean doctors? Is that it? Ew, Leo, ew-"
Leo giggled, color returning to his cheeks and the tight knot in Jonah's chest loosened.
"Gross."
"I just have eyes," Leo huffed, "Wendy seems..."
"Apologetic? Concerned?"
"That too," Leo conceded, biting on his lip, "she doesn't look well, though."
"Yeah, I know," Jonah clasped their hands together, running his thumb over Leo's wedding band in a soothing manner, "I don't think she's ready for me to intervene just yet. She wants to apologize to Vince and Bell..."
"That's a start," Leo nodded, squeezing his hand right back, "you think things are gonna be okay?"
"I think if you can gossip then you can't possibly be having a heart attack," Jonah teased him, shoulders starting to drop. Leo let out a snort.
