An Exception to the Rule [Gary Smith / Jimmy Hopkins]
So I've been having the time of my life over the past couple days and wrote a bit of self-indulgent fanfic to help me cope.
TW: Blood Ship: Smopkins Rating: Gen. Wordcount: 981 Summary: Gary isn't the sort to care for other people, but when Jimmy wakes up lightheaded with a heavy period he does what he can to make his boyfriend comfortable.
Caring for others had never been Gary's forte.
For Jimmy? He could make an exception.
Jimmy hadn't asked for help, but Gary didn't have to be a genius to realise something was wrong. Gary had burst into Jimmy's room to see what was holding him up. Jimmy barely moved in his bed. If he didn't get up they'd be late for their train, but he hardly reacted, even to Gary's less-than-platonic teasing. "You alright, moron?" Gary pulled off Jimmy's cover, and Jimmy tried to hold them close to his body, but he wasn't strong enough to stop Gary. "You can sleep later—"
Gary didn't mean to scream, but he had never seen that much blood in his life.
"What's wrong?" Jimmy may not have seemed particularly lucid, but his voice was clear. He hoisted himself up onto his arms and looked down. "Oh." Jimmy got out of his bed with a stumble. "You ok?" He approached Gary, who was gaping at the blood-soaked boy. Jimmy kept his distance, well aware he was likely to stain in his current state. "I—how are you alive? Do I need to take you to a doctor?" Gary fired off what seemed like thousands of questions a minute. He then realised he was still holding the blanket, and dropped it unceremoniously on the floor. "Huh? Oh, it's just a period." Jimmy winced and dug through one of the drawers in his bedside table. Gary noticed the blood had soaked through his underwear to make a horrific red Rorschach test. Jimmy took out a little white pot with the word IRON emblazoned on the side and unscrewed the lid. Jimmy swallowed the little orange pill dry. He returned the pot to his bedside table and continued his search. Jimmy left the room with a fresh pair of underwear, a towel, and a plastic pouch in hand. Gary took in the damage. The bedsheets Jimmy used were sodden with blood, he didn't want to imagine how the mattress looked. Did Jimmy and his bed go through this bloodbath every month? Gary didn't think it was possible, because he would have noticed by now.
He opened the windows to let some fresh air in and thought about what to do with the blood-soaked fabrics. The easiest thing would be to leave them, but Gary thought about Jimmy's state and knew he couldn't do nothing, even if it was easier. He went to his bedroom and got a bin bag, which he used to carry the bedsheets to the basement laundry room. At 11AM on a Saturday there was little chance of bumping into anyone in here, and—despite his eagerness to stare down any jerk using the room when he wanted it—Gary relished the sight of the room devoid of life. If only he had any clue on how to get blood out of fabric—it was more his thing to stain fabric with blood than take the bloodstains away.
A cursory internet search indicated he needed to soak the stains in water. There was a surprising amount of blood. He opted for throwing them in the tub in the corner and turning on the cold tap. He hesitated before plunging his arms into the reddening water, unaccustomed to touching other peoples blood when it wasn't necessary. All the same, he got to work rinsing and turning the fabric to get as much blood out as possible.
"Gary, are you in here?" Jimmy's familiar voice called from the top of the stairs. He made his way down and Gary took a step back from the washing and dried his hands on an abandoned towel. "How are you feeling?" Gary closed the distance between them and put the back of his hand to Jimmy's head. He looked pale, and felt close to warm. But the warmth could be thanks to the oversized hoodie he was wearing. Did he know it was almost summer? "Yeah, I'm ok," he looked past Gary to the laundry tub filled with his bedding. "What are you doing? We have enough time to catch the next train." "Don't worry about that, we're gonna stay in. Do a movie night or something." "I was looking forward to going to the new bike park, though." Jimmy pouted.
Gary couldn't stop Jimmy if he fought to go, but he could see how he swayed from side to side and the way his glazed eyes were hooded by eyelids. Jimmy probably wouldn't make it to the train station, let alone to the bike park. "We can go next week." Gary hummed and kissed Jimmy's forehead. "How long will my bedding take?" Jimmy mumbled as his head drooped onto Gary’s shoulder. "Not too long, I hope. Then there's also your mattress—" "What about my mattress?" Jimmy lifted his head for the purpose of raising an eyebrow. "It's also soaked in blood, not as bad as the sheets, though." "There was hardly any blood on the sheets in the first place, it'll be an easy job." Jimmy yawned as he spoke, all his limbs looked like they were dragging him down. "Don't feel like you have to deal with that, either." Gary formulated a plan as he spoke, "I've got my air mattress and some spare blankets and pillows. You're staying in my room tonight." "Nono, you hate my snoring—" "I'm not asking, James, you're sleeping in my room. we'll stay up watching films and then when you're less tired we can fix your bed. Ok?" Jimmy nodded in response.
Gary finished Jimmy's laundry to the best of his ability, then he went to town and got Jimmy's favourite snacks. They watched movies together until Jimmy fell asleep curled up against Gary. Gary turned off the TV and pulled the covers over himself and his boyfriend. Gary was not one to care for other people, but to him Jimmy would always be the exception.
