Hey remember this? Here's part 2. Sorry it took so long, seasonal depression apparently catches from one season to the next lol.
“Last stall,” he heard from the back of the bathroom, “my belly feels sick.”
Hayes’ heart dropped as he made his way down the bathroom hallway, passing the other stalls slowly. He pushed open the last door to see Austyn on the floor across from the toilet, sitting with his legs crossed and leaning against the stall wall. He was far enough from the toilet that Hayes didn’t think throwing up was an imminent threat, but he couldn’t be for sure.
“Explain to me what you feel, sweet boy,” Hayes asked, “are you going to be sick? Still just a belly ache?”
“A little queasy," he whined through tears, “but I almost wish I was really nauseous. My belly hurts so bad, it’s so upset.”
“Oh, love,” Hayes cooed, bringing the back of his hand to Austyn’s forehead, “you don’t feel warm, it must have been something you ate. Maybe a little bit of the alcohol?”
“Can’t even think about that stuff,” he cried, “My belly hurts so much, Hayzee, and I want to go home.”
Hayes nodded as he brushed the back of his hand over the side of his boyfriend’s face. He brainstormed ways to get Austyn out of the building without causing a scene, or bringing the attention away from Zora. Austyn picked his head up and rested it on Hayes’ shoulder, closing his eyes and taking in his boyfriend’s cologne.
“Alright, how about this,” Hayes suggested, “I will go through the bar and grab the car. There’s an emergency exit on the back of the building that doesn’t have an alarm attached, so we can sneak out of it without people seeing you. I can say goodbye to everyone while you make your way to the back of the building, and I’ll come pick you up on the other side.”
“Okay,” Austyn nodded, “I don’t know how long I can stand up before my belly sends me back to the floor, H, can you help me out there?”
“Absolutely,” he agreed, “whenever you’re ready, we can move towards that door and get you outside.”
The boys waited a few minutes before deciding to stand up. It was incredibly difficult for Austyn to stand up straight, and Hayes worried about Austyn’s ability to walk towards the back door. Quickly, Hayes rested Austyn’s body down on top of the toilet, and made a change to their plans.
“Alright, how about this,” he began, “you stay here, and I’ll go say goodbye to everyone and get the car. When I get the car to the back, I’ll come back in here and help you to the car. You’re in no condition to be walking by yourself or staying out back by yourself either.”
Austyn nodded in defeat. His elbows were perched on his knees, one hand holding his head up, and the other wrapped tightly around his belly. Hayes planted a kiss on his forehead and asked if he would be okay alone for a couple of minutes. Austyn produced a hesitant nod and Hayes jumped into action. He left the bathroom to find Zora, just to let her know they were leaving. She’d seen him head towards the bathroom to collect Austyn, but seemed to get distracted by others wanting to buy her birthday drinks.
“Z!” Hayes called through the bar, and she turned around in the crowd, “hey, we’re finally going home. Gotta get the sicky into bed.”
“I thought you guys left!” she hollered drunkenly, “Where’s Austyn, I want to give him a kiss goodbye!”
“You don’t want to kiss him now, love,” Hayes laughed, “you’ve got to stay healthy so you can keep partying on all night!”
“You’re so right,” she agreed seriously, “get Austyn home for me. Keep me updated on him, yeah?”
“Of course, love. We’ll see you as soon as he feels better to celebrate your day!”
She nodded and yelled to the blaring music, and Hayes made a beeline for the door. The car wasn’t far from the door, as he’d tried to make it an easy walk for Austyn when they arrived, but the panic in Hayes’ chest made the car feel a million miles away. He sprinted towards the grey Bronco, quickly unlocked the doors and pulled out of his parking space.
With cars scattered all over the parking lot, Hayes had a bit of trouble finding where he could access the back door of the building, but after a few minutes of careful searching he pulled the car as close as he could. Luckily the door was open from the outside, and he slipped in and down the hallway towards the men’s bathroom.
“Aust?” Hayes called, “I’m back, love, can I come in?”
“Hmm,” he heard from the other side of the door, “mhm”.
He pushed open the door to see Austyn’s head in his knees, pants pulled down to his ankles and on the toilet. A cramp wracked through Austyn’s body and he expelled the contents of his lower belly slowly.Hayes took no time to kneel down in front of his love, sliding his hands under his shirt and lightly massaging Austyn’s seizing belly muscles. The slight pressure sent a gag rolling up Austyn’s throat, but he managed to keep everything down. Hayes continued rubbing the younger boy’s tummy gently, each cramp pushing another spurt of sick belly contents.
“You’re doing so good, my love,” Hayes reassured softly, “get it all out. Your poor tummy is going to feel so much better once the yucky stuff is out.”
“Fuck,” Austyn gasped in between cramps, “my tummy baby, mmm.”
“I know, honey,” Hayes sighed, “it’ll feel better soon, you’re doing so good.”
Austyn’s body attempted to fight another cramp, but yet again lost the fight to his lower belly. He moaned and let out a pained breath, and Hayes dug his fingers a bit deeper into his lower belly. Austyn gasped and loudly moaned, but quickly silenced himself after hearing people walk into the restroom.
“Dude, I told Josh he needed to try that bourbon from Indiana and he hasn’t drank another bourbon since. I’m telling you, man, you need to try it!” one voice pushed, seemingly using the urinal.
“What’s it called again? Penelope something?” the other man stated.
Austyn and Hayes remained as quiet as possible as to not draw attention to themselves, but could tell the other men had smelled the sickness that had taken place. Austyn leaned back slowly and deeply massaged the lowest part of his belly, and let out a slightly relieved sigh.
“Penelope Founders Reserve,” he said, “aged for 13 years. I’ve had like three since I got here. Easiest to get down, I’ll order you one!”
The boys remained silent in the large stall, hoping the men would leave sooner rather than later. The men stuck around to fix their hair and mustaches before going back out into the club, but left after a little while. It was beginning to become difficult for Austyn to keep his volume down, and knew he still had something left in his belly that he needed to expel. The second the bathroom door closed Austyn let out a strained moan before his body cleaned itself out for the final time- for now.
“I want to go home,” Austyn whined through quick breaths, “I don’t feel good.”
“I know baby,” Hayes reassured, “do you think you are going to be okay for the drive? There’s only that one CVS that we stopped at between here and home that has a bathroom- can you make it the 10 minutes to the CVS?”
Austyn nodded as tears streamed down his cheeks, collecting in a puddle on his bare legs. Together the boys cleaned everything up, and Hayes helped the sick boy put his dress pants back on. His belly had become so round and hard that his pants wouldn’t button, so Hayes wrapped his jacket around him to cover him from others’ eyes. Quickly and quietly, Hayes swept Austyn into a bridal-style hold and carried him gently towards the back door.
The second he was placed into the Bronco, Austyn laid the seat back as far as it would go. He cradled his churning belly in his arms and curled the rest of his body around him in a horizontal fetal-position. Hayes quickly hopped into the driver’s seat and made sure Austyn was alright before gently pulling out of the parking lot. He tried his best to avoid potholes and speed bumps, but in their city it was pretty hard to miss every single one. Austyn groaned off and on but remained stuck in the same position for the entire drive. He didn’t speak, even when Hayes asked him how he was feeling, just answered with a slew of whines and moans. When the finally got home, Austyn didn’t move a muscle.
“My love,” Hayes spoke softly, “can I carry you inside? I think getting you into bed would help you get a little more comfortable.”
“Not yet,” Austyn whimpered, “I finally feel like I can breathe, and I don’t want it to stop yet.”
“Is your belly feeling a little better?” Hayes questioned hopefully.
“Eh,” he sighed, “something shifted just enough for me to get some deep breaths in. I still really don’t feel good.”
“I’m so sorry, honey,” Hayes frowned, “I wish I could trade places with you so you could get relief and some rest. You look and sound miserable.”
Austyn nodded briefly, moving as little as he could. He didn’t want the pain below his lungs to return, but Hayes was right, the car seat was getting uncomfortable. He soaked in a few more minutes of deep breathing before turning his head slightly towards Hayes and letting him know it was time.
“I’m going to put my left hand under your neck and on your back, and I’ll get your legs with my right. Is it okay if I do it all in one motion, or should I go slow?”
“Slow, please,” Austyn begged, “just try to be as gentle as possible.”
“Ready?” Hayes questioned, and Austyn nodded.
The older boy slid his arms into position and slowly lifted his love from the car. Using his foot he slammed the door shut behind them, and began towards the lobby of their building. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, the two swooped into the back hallway quickly to find the south elevator. Austyn softly moaned and strongly protected his upset belly with his arms as they walked through the bottom floor of the building.
Austyn felt he could vocalize his pain for the first time since entering the building once in the elevator; the short six-floor ride felt obnoxiously long and he wasn’t sure how much more pain he could bear while in Hayes’ arms. He felt terrible.
“I just have to tap the key card and put in my code, okay love?” Hayes asked, “it’ll only take a second.”
Austyn groaned back in response, and Hayes began his battle with the front door. The card wouldn't reach the reader if he held Austyn in the same position he had been, and he absent-mindedly tossed Austyn up to shift the height of his hands. Austyn gasped and yelped, scaring Hayes into flinching again. His heart pounded as he had realized what he had done to his love, and he felt the color drain from his body. He quickly tapped the card and entered the passcode while apologizing profusely over Austyn’s cries.
“Baby, I am so sorry! I didn’t even think about it, I had to shift my hand to unlock the door and I didn’t have time to think about it!” he teared up, “I am so sorry, we’re home, honey. Let’s get you to bed.”
“Mmm,” Austyn groaned, “I don’t feel gooooood.”
Hayes gently placed him into the bed and pulled the blankets over his legs. He helped strip his sweat-drenched shirt from his clammy skin and wriggled his pants off softly and slowly. Even the band of his underwear was bothering his belly. At first he thought maybe the egg in his breakfast sandwich had caused his belly to freak, as his IBS can rarely be triggered by eggs. He thought back to the previous night’s consumption, and although he hadn’t had much, he definitely could have eaten better quality and nutritious food. His sub-par meal from the night before mixed with a processed egg was becoming the number one suspects for his IBS flare.
“Alright, I got the heating pad, some of the good tummy medicine, and a glass of water with electrolytes to keep you hydrated. How’s your belly feeling, baby?”
“Sore,” he admitted, “still crampy but I don’t think there’s anything left in there.”
“Do you think you would be able to nap? Maybe you can sleep some of it off,” he suggested, “here, these are the meds from Dr. Varelli. I think this definitely counts as an IBS flare.”
“Yeah,” Austyn sighed softly, “thank you. Could I lie on my side to take it? Sitting up isn’t an option.”
Hayes nodded and guided the straw of the glass towards Austyn’s mouth, quickly popping the pill into his mouth before he took a sip. He swallowed thickly before lying his head back onto the pillow. Hayes worked quickly to plug in the heating pad and drape it over his boyfriend’s aching tummy.
“Would you like to watch Schitt’s Creek? Or is this a Friends kind of day?” Hayes partially smiled, and Austyn’s breathing slowed slightly. He could see the heating pad work magic on his boyfriend’s belly, and Austyn’s overall demeanor was beginning to shift.
“Mmm,” he hummed, “laughing hurts, can it be like true crime or something?”
“Criminal Minds is not true crime,” Hayes laughed, “it’s fake true crime.”
“Pleeeeeeeease,” Austyn begged, “my belly hurts!”
“Oh, we’re ALREADY playing the bellyache card!” Hayes announced dramatically, “you little goober. I love you.”
Austyn pursed his lips in Hayes’ direction, sending him a pitiful air kiss. Hayes followed the sick boy’s requests and found the tv show for him to watch. Austyn shifted slowly into Hayes’ arms and rested his head on his chest, feeling the older boy’s toned pecs under his cold cheek.
“Baby?” Austyn spoke quietly, “could you do me a favor?”
“Anything, love,” Hayes smiled, “what can I do?”
“Can you rub my tummy until I fall asleep?” he asked sheepishly, “just don’t take the heat off, maybe like put your hands under it?”
Hayes smiled and nuzzled his nose into the younger boy’s hair. He planted a kiss on his forehead before allowing his hands to slip under the pad. He began with small circles in the lowest part of his belly before graduating to more intentional clockwise movements across the entirety of the bloated mass. Austyn melted into his touch, and he shut his eyes gently. It was a little while until he fell asleep, but Hayes didn’t move a muscle. He continued to massage the younger boy’s poor tummy long after he’d fallen asleep, hoping it would help his tummy feel better in the morning.
