Notes:
Finally decided to make a Falsettos fanfiction. I never knew what to write for it though.
Not until now.
Here we go, I guess.
(See the end of the work for more notes.)
Marvin knew he loved Whizzer, and despite the vehement denials, Marvin figured Whizzer cared for him too. Why else would he always return to Marvin after sleeping around?
Marvin was lost in thoughts of Whizzer as he washed his few dishes. An empty pizza box was crushed into the overflowing garbage can. With a sigh, Marvin dried his hands and wandered into the living room to plop down on the loveseat.
He didn't turn on the television. He was too tired to watch anything, and he knew the constant babbling and flickering lights would just irritate him at this point. He looked around his empty apartment before resting his head on the back of the sofa.
He decided to close his dry eyes to let them rest… for just a moment.
The phone ringing in the kitchen startled him awake.
With a grunt, Marvin pulled himself up from the couch and stumbled into the living room on uncooperative legs.
"Hello?" He slurred, Marvin grimaced when he heard how hoarse his voice was from sleep, not to mention the pungent garlic lingering in his mouth from the pizza earlier.
"Were you sleeping?" Asked a voice Marvin knew all too well.
"Yeah, but it's fine. What do you want, Whizzer?" Marvin was glad his voice was too tired to sound excited, because his heart was already doing hopeful flips in his chest.
"I don't feel good." The voice on the other line whimpered.
Marvin felt his mind focus a little more at the tone. "What do you want me to do?"
"You should come take care of me."
"In some stranger you let fuck you's house? No, thanks." Marvin grouched.
There was a pause as Marvin heard fabric sliding against something before Whizzer sighed on the other line. "Yeah, that sounds like a terrible idea…you should come pick me up."
Marvin smiled. Whizzer was coming back. Coming home. "Give me the address and I'll be right over."
Whizzer shuffled along behind Marvin as the older man lugged the measly belongings Whizzer had inside. His body wouldn't stop shivering, his head was pounding, and his entire body felt like it was a bruised banana.
He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this sick before. The doctor had assured him it was probably just a flu. He'd been told to rest and drink plenty of fluids.
His last one-night stand hadn't been too thrilled to hear Whizzer complain about not feeling well enough for sex the night before. Whizzer figured it was only fair. The guy had picked him up with the promise of sex, it was pretty shitty to back out once he'd already brought him home.
"You want your stuff in my room this time? Or just set it in the living room?"
Whizzer looked up miserably before he forced his brain to work so he could answer. He pointed a weak hand towards the bedroom before letting it flop back down to his side weakly.
Marvin smiled before he pulled Whizzer close to him and planted a kiss on the taller man's forehead. It wasn't difficult to do since Whizzer was slouched over, looking pitiful.
"I'll just go set this down then. You can rest on the sofa, TV's yours."
Whizzer grunted as he waddled over to the loveseat and reclined against the arm. He stared at the blank screen for a bit before he seemed to realize nothing was playing.
Marvin felt a swell of pity before he set the other man's things in their room. He put away the few items where he remembered Whizzer always did before joining the sick man on the couch.
"You want anything? Water? A blanket?"
"Can I not feel like this?" Whizzer whined.
Marvin placed a soothing hand on the other's shoulder before he rubbed his back gently. Whizzer seemed to relax into the touch, so Marvin continued.
"So?" Marvin prompted.
Whizzer smirked shakily. "A needle pulling thread."
The older man's brow furrowed in confusion before he smiled and shook his head. "I see you're not too sick for jokes. That's sew. S-e-w, by the way. Not the one I used."
Whizzer smiled back dopily, "As usual, you don't appreciate my jokes."
"Oh, I appreciate it alright. Way better than anything my furniture or I could come up with." Marvin answered as he stood and went into the kitchen for some water. In case Whizzer wanted some later.
"I can't tell if that was a compliment or an insult." Marvin heard Whizzer mumble in the living room.
"It was a compliment…just not a very good one. I never considered myself a funny man. That was more your schtick."
Whizzer hummed in acknowledgement as Marvin made his way back to the couch and set the water down. It was after he'd sat down that the sick man finally requested a blanket.
Marvin sighed as he stood once more to grab a blanket off the bed to give to Whizzer.
"Is that everything, your highness?"
Whizzer closed his eyes as he leaned back with a sigh and wrapped the blanket tighter around his shoulders. He opened brown eyes and looked up at Marvin's tired face. "Not that I can think of."
Marvin deemed it safe to finally sit and relax next to the other man. The television played in the background, but Marvin couldn't tell what was happening. His mind was too busy focusing on the heat radiating off the man beside him.
It was so much more full of life in his apartment with the other man present. It almost felt like the other man belonged here. Perhaps the next time they had a falling out, Marvin would leave and let Whizzer stay here. It was far more preferable than watching him throw himself at any and every man who would have him for a place to sleep at night.
It used to infuriate him just thinking about it. Now, looking at Whizzer's shivering form and glazed eyes, Marvin only felt sorrow and remorse for pushing him away.
Before he could look away, Whizzer turned his head to face Marvin. "What're you looking at?"
"You."
"You know I'm going to have to charge you for that, right? Art like this isn't free to view, ya know." Whizzer answered tonelessly before he returned to looking at the television screen, if his cheeks were a little more red than normal, it was 100% the fever's fault.
Despite his snark, Whizzer didn't protest the eyes staring at him contemplatively.
It wasn't long before Marvin felt Whizzer shift until he was pressed along Marvin's side. The older man lifted an arm and wrapped it around Whizzer's shoulders before moving so that they both would be more comfortable.
They both let out a sigh before smiling to themselves at the shared action. Neither man was aware of the sudden swell of fondness that bloomed in the other's chest.
A week had passed, and Whizzer was starting to feel better. It was at this point that Marvin's role shifted from caretaker to personal servant.
Something he was rapidly growing tired of, but he kept his emotions in check. Whizzer wasn't completely recovered, and he didn't want to make him run off and get sicker than he was before…or worse.
It was odd to be in bed with the other man without having had sex beforehand, but Marvin would admit it was nice to just snuggle next to someone for a bit.
Waking up next to anyone was pleasant in general after many nights spent alone, able to hear the traffic below and the neighbors going about their lives next door.
He found it hard to sleep in his silent apartment.
Marvin poked his head out of the kitchen to look at Whizzer sprawled out on the couch, watching the television.
"I have enough stuff to make some soup for dinner tonight, you want any?"
"Soup? No. I'm tired of soup."
"I don't have anything else though." Marvin argued petulantly.
"Looks like you need to go to the store then." Whizzer answered with a bored tone.
"I wouldn't have to go to the store if someone wasn't snacking on all the food while I'm away at work."
Whizzer feigned surprise as he turned to Marvin with wide eyes. "You've been taking all your food to work?"
Marvin's brow twitched, and he felt his face heat as his blood pressure rose, but he took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm himself. "What do you want from the store?" He asked as he snatched up his keys.
There was silence before Marvin heard Whizzer scramble up from the couch and into the kitchen, a blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. "That's it? You're just going to the store?"
"Yep." Marvin answered as he opened the fridge and cabinets to take stock of what he needed to replenish.
"You're not…are you mad at me?" Whizzer asked quietly.
"No…not really. I'm glad you found your appetite, actually."
Whizzer stood in the middle of the small kitchen, his face twisted with confusion. Marvin pressed a kiss to Whizzer's cheek before he was heading to the door.
"Be back in a bit."
Marvin made sure not to slam the door on his way out.
It had been a month since Whizzer had started living with Marvin. It was nice to see him back and fully functional. They would even go down to the local gym and work out together.
Playing racquetball was one of their favorite sports together. Marvin would often just let Whizzer win; his gloating was far more preferable than his pouting. Though, sometimes he would win even when Marvin was giving it his all…those were the only times Marvin couldn't stand Whizzer's derogatory remarks about Marvin's skill, or lack thereof.
"Getting old must be hard." Whizzer huffed as he smacked the ball against the wall.
Marvin returned the hit before answering. "I'm not too much older than you."
"Please." Whizzer answered as he hit the ball back. "I'll never get old. I'll just be beautiful and then die."
Marvin smiled as he smacked the ball once more. "Is that the plan?"
"Yes." Whizzer answered simply before he hit the ball with enough force that Marvin wasn't able to knock it back against the wall.
It bounced along the ground as Whizzer turned to Marvin triumphantly. "I win again, old man."
"Yeah, yeah. You're the best and I'm terrible at everything." Marvin replied as he plucked the ball from the ground. When he stood he found Whizzer standing close behind him.
The taller man placed his hands on Marvin's hips and tugged the older man to his chest before leaning down to whisper into Marvin's ear. "Not… everything."
Whizzer had set his lovely rose on the ground by the front door, mostly because it was easier to pick up the flower pot and set it outside for the morning sun's rays. Which the clerk had assured him was the best time for plants to get sun.
It was a pretty, orange rose.
Whizzer loved taking care of it, and after a few hours, he always made sure to bring it inside and shower it with water. He'd even tried to draw it a few times. Key word "tried". Marvin would never see the many scrapped pieces of paper that had been ripped and shoved into the garbage can before being taken out to the dumpster. Marvin only thought Whizzer was being unusually helpful with the garbage and assumed the younger man had appointed that as his one chore.
There was only one rule in their shared living space: don't knock over the flower pot.
Other than that, the two men were free to coexist peacefully.
Whizzer was surprised, they hadn't had a major fight yet. Usually they would be constantly at each other's throats. It made the sex exciting, sure, but Whizzer would appreciate the domestic life for as long as it lasted.
There was a shattering sound outside and Whizzer rushed to the door to see what had caused it. His stomach sank as he found Marvin's pale face looking at the shattered ceramic pieces, scattered dirt, and uprooted flower crushed beneath it all.
"Whizzer...I'm…"
The taller man straightened as he looked down his nose at the older man. "One rule. It was one rule, Marvin."
"I know. I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"
Whizzer held up a hand to stop the other's explanation. "I don't want to hear it. Just go."
"This is my apartment!" Marvin argued.
"And that was my flower. Guess we both lost something important to each other."
With that, Whizzer scooped up his dying flower and stepped back inside so he could slam the door shut in Marvin's face.
This was why Whizzer didn't try to have nice things. They only ever ended up ruined, and he felt worse than he did before he had them.
His hands shook as he tried to find a vase to put the flower in. He settled for a wine glass filled with water. He watched as it slowly wilted further, and petals continued to fall.
It was dark by the time he heard a knock on the door. He picked up the wine glass and carried his dying rose to the door. Peeking through the glass, he found Marvin waiting outside with a large bag in his hands.
Whizzer scowled as he opened the door. "If you think you can just replace Dennis you're wrong."
The orange rose had been dubbed Dennis the moment Whizzer had first laid eyes on it.
"No. I just…I didn't bring you another orange rose. I brought you something that doesn't need to be in the sun as much and, more importantly, is tougher than a rose."
"You know how much I love roses." Whizzer pointed out. "It's going to be hard to measure up to that standard."
"Which is why I'm nervous to show this to you."
"It better not be a cactus, Marvin. Or you'll be the one sleeping on a park bench for a change."
"Uhhh….maybe I should just take it back, this was a stupid idea." Marvin turned to leave but Whizzer grabbed the bag and checked its contents before he could escape.
Inside, was a mass of elegant, green leaves inside of a basket. "What is this?" He used the hand not holding Dennis to reach inside and pull the plant out.
"It's called 'Queen of the Night'. The lady I bought this from gave me a picture of it in bloom…if you want to see it."
"Queen of the Night?" Whizzer looked at the plant before he noticed a hook nestled in the center of it. "What's that?"
"What's what?" Whizzer motioned to the plant with his chin and Marvin's eyes brightened with understanding. "Oh! I decided a hanging pot would be safer than another pot sitting on the ground all the time."
Whizzer didn't want to admit that Marvin was making it unusually hard to stay mad at him. "Fine. Show me the flower. If it's ugly, she's going back from where she came from."
Marvin dug through the bag until he pulled out a photograph. He looked at it before turning it the right way and showing it to Whizzer. "There it is…I thought it looked pretty."
Whizzer glared at the picture before really seeing it. It certainly wasn't as pretty as a rose, but it certainly had an ethereal beauty all its own.
The picture was in color, so Whizzer was able to see the stark white against the vibrant green of the leaves. It reminded him of a blossom or water lily.
"A Queen of the Night, you say." Whizzer mused before looking up at Marvin and opening the door wider in invitation. "I'm still angry you killed Dennis…but I think I'll grow to like Camomilla soon enough."
Whizzer set the dying rose on the table so he could hang Camomilla outside properly. "When will she bloom?"
"The lady said that those plants bloom every two years or so."
"Two years!" Whizzer nearly choked. "That's so far away!"
He felt Marvin sidle next to him before planting a kiss on the back of his neck. "Guess you'll have to stick around so you won't miss it." The older man whispered.
Whizzer felt his cheeks pink. When did Marvin get to be such a charmer? He didn't miss the unspoken invitation to stay.
"Yeah, well…just because I'm not leaving before I see this plant bloom doesn't mean you have to be here the whole time."
Marvin chuckled next to his ear. "Of course. I'll try to stay on my best behavior."
Whizzer hummed before turning into Marvin's space before they retreated to their bedroom.
Whizzer knew he cared for Marvin, and despite his frequent denials, Whizzer knew Marvin knew it too.
Notes:
Just saying, Dennis was inspired by my sister trampling my orange rose...which was the one thing I asked her not to do. orz
This won't be the last time we see Camomilla.