I hear the jealousy in his voice, and for some damn reason, it brings me great joy.
“Short-lived,” I admit. “Apparently, my dick wasn’t interested. As a matter of fact, the bastard’s only been interested in one person lately.”
“Lucky woman,” he mutters.
“Not a woman,” I laugh, giving his hand a squeeze. “Just some pretty boy who keeps falling into my arms every chance he gets.”
His eyes widen, and I lift his hand, pressing a soft kiss to his inner wrist.
“Now… tell me.”
“It’s embarrassing,” he mutters, closing his eyes.
“Have we been working you too hard at the garage?” I ask.
“What? No,” he says, opening his eyes and looking up at me. “You guys have been nothing but great. Even Knuckles has been nice to me the past few days. It’s not that at all.”
“Alright,” I nod. “The doctor said this happens when you’re overly exhausted.”
“Among other things,” he adds quietly. “But… yeah. I’m so tired.”
“Tell me why, baby?” I ask, practically begging.
“It’s—”
“Embarrassing,” I finish for him. “I know. But tell me anyway.”
He looks honestly confused. “Why do you even care?”
“Because I find that I want to take care of you, pretty boy,” I admit. “And I can’t do that if I don’t know what you need protecting from.”
“The only thing I need protecting from is my own body,” he says.
My heart twists at how defeated he sounds.
Alright. Looks like I’m gonna have to dig the answers out of him myself.
“If your body gives you signs,” I ask carefully, “then why didn’t you notice you were overdoing it?”
“I did notice,” he whispers, eyes already sliding shut again. He sounds wrecked. Bone-deep tired. “I just… couldn’t do anything about it. My spells have been happening more often, but I always had a warning. I always got myself down before it happened.”
Something in my gut goes cold.
“I’ve seen you pass out five times this week,” I say, voice low and tight. “Has it been happening more than that?”
He doesn’t even try to pretend.
“Yeah,” he breathes. “More than double that. Sometimes, five times a day.”
My chest tightens so hard it hurts.
He keeps going, voice barely above a whisper. “But I always knew. I always felt it coming. I don’t even… I don’t even remember this one, Skip. I was getting ready for a shower, and the next thing I know, I’m here. That hasn’t happened since I was a teenager.”
His eyelids flutter like he’s fighting to stay awake, and something inside me snaps under the weight of how damn exhausted he is.
I curl my hand around his, holding him steady, grounding myself as much as him.
“Sweetheart,” I murmur, my thumb brushing across his knuckles. “Let me help you. Why did you overdo it?”
