8 - True friend(s)?

Asterius shot a little smile at the nurse - who indeed seemed to know Theseus well enough to not be overly impressed by his temper tantrums. "For the next time he hurts himself?", he asked distractedly, still holding Theseus until he was sure that he had properly fallen asleep under the sedative's effect. Then he let go of him to allow the doctors to fix his posture on the bed and prepare him for the surgery. "I'll be in the waiting room. Mr. Mishra told me he'd be here shortly as well- we'll wait for your call."

The nurse laughed first, and told Asterius that if there was someone there that wished for his safety more than anyone, it was probably her. Getting to see Theseus several times per year was kind of worrying, after all.

The doctors thanked Asterius, and assured him both he and Sakrish would be warned in due time!
An hour later, Sakrish finally entered the clinic, got to the front desk, and finally walked towards Asterius in the waiting room. "I have an odd feeling of déjà-vu," He let out with a nervous smile. "How long have you been there already?"

Asterius lifted his head from his phone and let out a little laugh as well. "I hope not all our meetings will involve a hospital's waiting room", he answered, folding his hands on his lap. "Theseus' been put asleep an hour ago. He needed surgery, but I don't know how much they'll keep him", he added with a thoughtful frown. He sighed. "I can't shake that it's partially my fault if he ended up getting hurt. He wasn't in top shape this morning, but he insisted that he was fine and I didn't insist back."

Sakrish shook his head, and patted Asterius' arm sympathetically. "Don't worry, Asterius - once Theseus gets an idea in mind, it's almost impossible to talk him out of it. Don't blame yourself. You haven't known him for as long as his mother and I do, so you couldn't have guessed he was overestimating his capacities." He sighed. "How did that happen, exactly?"

He stayed to chat with Asterius for a while, as time flew by. And actually took a look at his watch two hours later, when they were told that Theseus was finally out of the block, that his cast was done and that he'd wake up any moment now. Sakrish told Asterius that he'd speak with the doctors, so he could go ahead and sit by his son's side if he wished to.

Asterius nodded at Sakrish and got up from his seat, walking off to the room where Theseus had been brought after surgery. He couldn't help a little smile from forming on his lips, relieved to see his boyfriend again - even if seeing him laying completely was definitely not a sight he enjoyed. He sighed and sat down by his side, scooting up close with the chair.
He had promised he'd be there. He wanted to make sure Theseus would see him right away.

Theseus stirred in his sleep after a few minutes, and frowned immediately. He was hooked to massive painkillers being distilled in his veins, and it definitely didn't make waking up any easier. Still, he managed to crack his eyes open, and looked around until he found Asterius. His frown softened a bit as he looked at his boyfriend. He didn't say anything yet - but if Asterius reached for his hand, he would definitely try to squeeze it back.

Asterius' own worried frown softened considerably when he saw Theseus' eyes flutter open - it seemed like it had taken a considerable amount of effort. He looked back at him, and smiled as he reached to hold his hand in his own. He carefully lifted it to kiss its back, without saying anything, and kept on holding it even once he stopped kissing it. "See?", he finally said in a low voice. "I'm still here."

Theseus nodded slowly. "Yes. You are." His voice was still a bit croaked, but his gaze was fond.

Sakrish came into the room shortly after, felt his heart tighten at the sight of Theseus lying yet again on a hospital bed, but he couldn't hold back a smile when he assessed the cast around his foot. "Well hello, Theseus. Glad to see you're holding up!" He laid his hand on Asterius' shoulder. "I just had my wife on the phone, and she said Carleen and your brother are staying home for the rest of the weekend. They apparently just left to go retrieve some spare clothes - how would you feel about coming to our place as well for tonight? I'm sure Thee would appreciate it."

Asterius raised his head to look at Sakrish and nodded. "I'd be happy to. Besides, I've promised to him that I wouldn't go anywhere without him, and I think he'll definitely hold me onto this promise for the days to come", he added with a little chuckle, turning to glance fondly at Theseus. He seemed to realize something and looked at Sakrish again, apologetically this time. "Oh- my brother will probably bring his dog though, if we're both staying over", he said, not knowing that Spike was already happily rolling himself all over the veranda. "I'm sorry. I know you are allergic."

Sakrish had smiled through Asterius' first answer - he still almost couldn't believe that his son had finally found someone who loved him so much, and that he loved back! Oh, he was worth much more than all of the pretty girls Theseus had brought home, combined.

He chuckled though, when Asterius mentioned their dog. "Oh please, I'll be alright! It's not like your dog is going to sleep in my room, is it?" He winked at him. "I love dogs. But I'll try to refrain from petting it, don't worry too much about me."
Said the main whose eyes would be swollen at dinner time and would spend most of his time blowing his nose.

Asterius smiled, still a little apologetically. "We'll try to make sure Spike doesn't bother you too much then", he answered. "He's... a very friendly boy. But Horknath and I can get him to obey well enough." He mindlessly ran his thumb over the back of Theseus' hand, soothingly, to make him feel that he was close to him still.

"That's perfect! You'll both show it to me tonight." Sakrish looked fondly at his son who was still stirring awkwardly in bed. "We'll drive by your apartment so that you may retrieve your things for the night. I doubt Theseus will let go of you anyway... And, well. He might be sleepy for the whole evening."
"'M fine," Theseus protested a little grumpily, before he tried to move his leg - the one stuck in a cast.
"No you're not," Sakrish countered with a wide grin. "Alright, we should go now if we want to catch dinner with everyone else. I'll go fetch a chair for him, and his clutches. Will you be alright pushing him around, Asterius?"

Asterius held back a smile. "Sure, no problem." He threw yet another fond glance to his very grumpy-looking boyfriend.
As soon as Sakrish would leave the room, he'd lean in to give Theseus a tender, small kiss on the mouth - as a payback for the patience he was demonstrating. And as a prize for the future patience he'd have to demonstrate yet.

Theseus hummed softly into the kiss, and finally grinned - although a bit tiredly - at his boyfriend. "That's a big improvement from the last time I had to get surgery," he kindly teased Asterius. "The thought that I'll be able to go back to our canoodling tonight makes me feel better already." He caressed the back of Asterius' hand with his thumb, giving him a fond gaze. "Perhaps we could even- you know. Follow our initial plans."

Asterius snorted. "Theseus", he lightly reproached him. "You're wearing off anesthesia and you've got a broken foot. I really don't think sex would be doable in your conditions", he observed, gazing gently at their entwined hands. "If you want us to cuddle, though. I'll be more than happy to provide."

Theseus sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright. I'll settle with cuddling only for tonight." He made a slight pout, that he was probably still wearing on his face when Sakrish came back with a wheelchair and a pair of clutches.
And the nurse from before.
"So! Mister Mishra told me you're the boyfriend," the nurse said, looking at Asterius in the eye. "Well- make sure he doesn't do anything rash for the next couple of weeks, alright? No running around or jumping with his clutches, no standing on it either. You'll have to keep him sat for as much as you can, and put a pillow under his leg for the night if you two sleep together."
Theseus' pout didn't get any better.

Asterius listened very carefully to all the instruction the nurse listed to him, nodding along. "I'll do my best." He threw a glance to Theseus. "You will listen to me, right?", he asked with a serious expression. He didn't want for Theseus to suffer through too much stillness, so he would be adamant on him obeying each and every rule that the doctors would give to them. His gaze softened, taking in the pout of his boyfriend. "I just want you to feel better as fast as possible."

Theseus sighed, when he looked at Asterius. "Alright- I'll listen to you, Asterius."

"My, you should bring the boyfriend along more often," the nurse stage-whispered at Sakrish, who merely chuckled. She then showed Asterius how to fold and unfold the simple wheelchair they were given, and offered to help him settle Theseus in it.

Asterius huffed through his nose, hiding a smile when the nurse told Sakrish he shoudl bring him more often - and smiling more openly when she offered help to get Theseus on the chair. "It's alright. I can do it myself", he answered kindly. After making sure that he had been showed the proper way to do so, he would gently lift his boyfriend from the bed as if he were a prince, to then sit him in the chair.

Theseus didn't protest, and actually felt quite happy about being pampered by his boyfriend. He was still quite tired, however, and felt quite high because of his painkillers.

So when they made a stop by Asterius' apartment and he had to wait in the car with his father, he suddenly remembered that he had to thank Dean for his good advice! He left him a series of quite cryptic messages, all in capslocks - that I can't resist writing down.
"HELLO FRIEND! FIRST OF ALL THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ADVICE, I WILL MAKE SURE TO MAKE UP FOR YOUR TROUBLES."
"IF ONLY I HAD NOT BEEN BETRAYED BY MY OTHER BEST FRIEND THIS MORNING, I MIGHT HAVE HAD BEEN MORE RESPONSIBLE"
"NOW I AM BOTH WOUNDED INSIDE AND OUTSIDE"
"SHOULD I NOT SURVIVE THIS I WANT YOU TO INHERIT MY CAR. I'LL LET CARLEEN KNOW."

Dean was having a very nice weekend so far, and was busy observing lovingly as Castiel put together an apple pie (alright, he was staring at his forearms, and periodically at his butt. Sue him), propped on an elbow with his cheek resting against his palm.
Until his phone vibrated insistently on the table, and he decided to check it briefly. After seeing that Theseus was bombarding him with messages, he rolled his eyes, but still decided to open the app.
Only to blankly stare at the words in front of his eyes for a solid minute, before finally answering. "... dude what the hell are you talking about."

Theseus frowned slightly, and tried to get his two brain cells to connect, but there was a strong dose of morphine pushing them apart. "WHAT CONFUSES YOU, IS IT THE PART ABOUT PIRITOO HARRASSING MY SISTER OR THE FACT THAT I WON'T BE ABLE TO WALK FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS?"
He added a series of interrogation points afterwards, to emphacize his own confusion. Just how clearer Dean needed him to be? His speech was transparent.

Dean blinked more. His first instinct was to honestly yell right back at Theseus that Piritoo being an enormous asshole to Carleen was really nothing new and that it was about time that he would see it - but the confusion was just too great for him to formulate a coherent thought.
"What do those two facts even have to DO with one another??? And why the HELL wouldn't you be able to walk for three weeks what the fuck did you do!" As soon as he had pressed sent, he paled.
Oh, no.
Was this about him having sex? It had to be with him having sex. "Please tell me this has nothing to do with you having sex with Asterius".

"ASTERIUS WAS VERY GENTLE, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT", Theseus clarified right away. He had priorities.
"I AM AFRAID HOWEVER THAT MY RECENT INJURY INVOLVES BOTH A DESIRE TO FREE MY MIND FROM THE MEMORY OF THAT FIEND'S DEEDS, AND A SLIGHT OVERESTIMATION OF MY HEALING CAPABILITIES."
"I GOT DISTRACTED THIS AFTERNOON, BUT WORRY NOT, I AM ON PAINKILLERS."
He then sent a picture of the cast around his foot to Dean, convinced that his best friend would understand whatever he meant!!
But a Theseus high on painkillers was making much less sense than a regular Theseus, and that was quite a feat in itself.

Dean was the very picture of confusion. His frown eased a bit when he read the word 'painkillers'. Ah. Theseus was as high as a kite. That explained how he was managing to make even less sense than usual.
Indeed, as said. A real feat.
"How did you break your foot you madman", he asked first, ignoring any and every detail about whatever had transpired between Theseus and his boyfriend. "Besides I'm really sorry to break it to you, but Piritoo's always been kind of a dickhole. So I'm not very surprised that he's managed to tick you off. I've even heard around campus that he got punched like a sack of potatoes recently."