More gagging and vomiting sounds followed, only subsiding a few minutes later, right before Dylan flushed the toilet.
As he opened the door, sweaty and clearly sick, he went straight to the sink to rinse his mouth. “I think I’m a little indisposed.”
“You think?” Jared quipped as he approached, itching to check Dylan’s temperature but afraid of his reaction if he got that close. Although he knew that his next question was dumb as fuck, he blurted it out anyway, needing verbal confirmation from his friend. “Tell me you didn’t ride to work feeling like this.”
“Don’t go all mum on me.” Dylan lowered his head, knuckles turning white as he clung to the edge of the sink.
“Someone has to. Especially if you’re not taking care of yourself.”
“I take care of myself just fine.”
Jared dragged a palm down his face, debating between smacking the stupid out of Dylan or wrapping him in a blanket.
“Maybe you should go home. I don’t know why you came in today when you’re clearly not well.”
“Maybe…” Dylan rasped, glancing at Jared in the mirror. “I just wanted—” He clenched his jaw and shook his head. “Never mind. You’re right. I’d be much better off in my sweats and a hoodie, working from the couch.”
“Or just sleeping it off in bed. You need some rest. Probably have a fever.”
Dylan chuckled, sounding tired.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He smiled. “I’m the one taking care of everything and everyone all the time. Don’t remember the last time someone worried about me like this.”
Jared was speechless. It wasn’t just the sweet yet sad confession, but the way Dylan’s eyes glowed with utter gratitude. He wanted to hug him.
“Let me drive you home?” That was all he managed to say as he rubbed Dylan’s back.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You think?” Jared couldn’t resist the touch of snark.
“Who’s gonna take my bike home then?”
Jared thought for a second, then his mind lit up. “Ian can do it. He drove with me today. He can ride to your house after work and I’ll drive him back afterward.”
“Wait, you’re planning on staying with me?”
“I can work from there and watch to make sure you don’t die in terrible pain at the same time.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I know. But what are friends for?”
Knowing how protective this man was of his bike, Jared said nothing while he waited for an answer. He knew that no matter how good of a rider Ian was, Dylan wouldn’t let just anyone touch his baby.
“Okay.” He sighed, finally understanding he had people to rely on when he wasn’t at his best.
Clumsy step after clumsy step, they finally made it to Dylan’s apartment—fuck the broken lift.
It was just a thirty-minute drive, but that had been enough for him to go downhill. The soft shade of red colouring his otherwise deadly pale and sweaty face ratted him out.
“Where do you keep the thermometer?” Jared asked as Dylan dropped onto the couch, arms folded over his eyes.
“I’m fine. You can leave.”
Huffing, Jared gently knocked Dylan’s knee with his. “Stop fighting it. Unless you tell me there’s someone else who can look after you, I’m not leaving. And just so you know, I’m a pain in the ass of a nurse.”
