DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING
Hey, I'm back!
Before this starts, I'm just gonna say I can't believe I'm here, chapter 23. It's amazing.
No warnings.
Enjoy!
.o.O.o.
The next morning, Oz was allowed to go home. He was obviously excited, but it also sucked because he had to get all the tubes removed. He hated them, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling having a needle slid out of his arm.
Because he still had a slight UTI, he was sent home with a round of antibiotics to clear it up. For his stitches, he was simply restricted from doing anything strenuous so they wouldn't rip. They warned them that Oz might have a bit of trouble going longer periods of time without using the bathroom because he'd had a catheter in so long. Other than that, they had no concerns.
At first, Gil assumed Oz would be able to go at least one to two hours without using the bathroom. He was proven horribly wrong when the boy nearly pissed himself on the half hour drive home. It was probably also from his UTI, which must have made it worse, but it was still a shockingly short time.
When the two got home, they ate a small lunch and both of them took a shower; Gil making sure to be much quicker than usual, as he normally took up to an hour. Once they got situated they laid down on the couch together.
They never turned the TV on or even really talked. They just cuddled together, enjoying being home after a month and a half. Unfortunately, they couldn't get as comfortable as Gil wanted because Oz had to keep getting up to use the bathroom. He never told Gil he needed to use the bathroom though, he just climbed off the couch every time wordlessly.
While Gil understood he didn't want to voice it and it quite frankly was so obvious he didn't need to, but he still wished the boy would say it every once and awhile. What was he going to do if they were out somewhere and he refused to tell him? While before he probably could've lasted a few hours, he'd be lucky to hold it a few minutes now. He knew it bothered Oz a lot to have to go so much but Gil saw it as a way to help him not be so shy about it.
The boy tried to not drink anything, hoping it would lengthen the time between trips. Gil wouldn't let him though and kept telling him to drink something every few hours. Despite not liking it, Oz didn't know the definition of the word 'disobedient' and as such obeyed his guardian.
Around 5 at night Gil got up to cook dinner, allowing Oz to watch but not help. It wasn't that he was worried the boy's stitches would rip, but he knew Oz was so weak from not eating for nearly a month and being bedridden for another week that he could barely stand on his own. It would be near impossible for him to pick up something as light as a pot.
Oz attempted to sit on the counter and watch Gil like he used to, but he couldn't pull himself up. After several tries he let Gil boost him up, a little upset he couldn't do it by himself. Only a few minutes later he had to have Gil help him off because he had to pee. Gil didn't let him get away without actually telling him he needed to use the bathroom, refusing to help him down until he said it. Oz gave him an upset but non threatening glare, crossing his arms and legs and waiting until he couldn't hold it to spill.
By the time he was back Gil had finished cooking. He made rice with cut up chicken a bunch of different vegetables in it, something that kind of resembled Chinese food. It was something that could easily be reheated, since he knew Oz wasn't going to eat much and might get hungry later on.
Oz ate fairly slow and only managed to finish half of what Gil had given him. It was actually a lot more than Gil expected; he'd given him what he normally ate so he could figure out his much less he could finish. He'd expected maybe a third of the portion and was fairly content with the blond.
Soon after dinner, Oz was falling asleep. After sleeping so much at the hospital he wasn't used to being awake for very long. That being said, Gil sent him to bed early and relaxed downstairs for about two hours until he got tired as well.
Before he went to bed he checked on Oz, making sure he didn't need anything. He also looked to see if the bed was wet; if the boy couldn't even hold it for an hour while he was awake, he didn't expect him to do any better asleep. Thankfully, it was dry, but he still woke Oz up to go to the bathroom. It turned out that he did need to pee when Gil woke him up, so Gil was happy he'd woken him.
After he was sure Oz was fine Gil laid down in his own bed and fell asleep.
.o.O.o.
Gil was the first to wake up the next morning. Before he did anything else he woke Oz up as well, finding to his dismay that waking Oz up in the middle of the night didn't keep him from wetting the bed. Luckily Oz didn't stress about it for long and took a quick shower while Gil cleaned his bed.
Afterwards, while Gil was making breakfast he asked, "Do you want to do anything today?"
Oz swung his legs from the counter while he thought. "We can go over to Reim's house." He suggested. He had grown to like the adult after the camping trip, and he wanted to see Alice again.
Gil smiled a bit, happy to know he hadn't become antisocial over the last month. "That sounds like fun." He said. To be honest, he was a little worried what would happen with his bathroom issue. The first time he had been over Reim's, he wouldn't have used the bathroom even if he needed to; now it was a question of how he would react when he needed to. He just hoped he'd be able to use the bathroom without any problems. If that was the case, maybe he'd let his reluctance to say when he had to pee slide.
Reim was happy to have them over. Since Elliot and Leo had gone home for the time being in Tenesee, the house was a lot more quite. Alice was less aggressive now that she didn't have anyone to bicker with, something Oz was happy for. Gil and Reim talked to each other while they sat in a pair of recliners; Reim asking how the whole situation with Oz was going and Gil inquiring about how work was going without him.
"It must be a lot less boring at home now that Oz is back." Reim stated, knowing his friend frequented at his house before he'd adopted Oz because he hated being alone at his. He'd stopped coming as much when Oz first came home with him, mostly because of all the issues he needed to work out with him before he could begin to socialize. Gil had come over almost every day, though, the month Oz was gone, saying he couldn't stand the empty building.
Gil smiled. "Yeah. We haven't done much yet but definitely no longer boring." He said.
"What about his bathroom issue?" Reim asked, having been told about it privately when the boy first visited his house. He made sure to keep a hand over his mouth so neither of the teens could decipher his speech if they looked over, keeping his voice low.
Gil shrugged. "I think it's better than it used to be, he was the one that suggested we come over. But after the hospital visit he can't really hold it anymore." He explained, mimicking his friend's posture.
Reim nodded in understanding. "That's understandable." He glanced over at Oz and Alice, seeing them carrying on their own conversation idly. "He seems to get along so well with Alice." He said with a smile. She was normally a little too ambitious for most people. Who would have thought a shy boy like Oz would befriend her so easily.
Gil smiled as well. "Yeah, I can't believe it." Alice was fairly nice to him compared to how she was with himself. They could bicker for hours, but the most she would give him was a punch in the arm. Even then her touch was gentler than normal, as if she thought he was fragile.
"Alice kept asking about him while he was gone. She wanted to visit you guys." Reim paused. "I think she likes him."
Gil watched the two talk, noticing how brightly Oz smiled when he was around her. It neared the smiles he gave him when they were home alone. "I think he might like her too." He admitted. Alice could be a major prick, but if she was nice to Oz he could come to terms with them having feelings for each other.
The adults proceeding to gossip like teenage girls, facial expressions and hand movements included. They were easily caught up in their own little world and started to fly. While Gil never forgot that Oz had a significantly smaller bladder now, he stopped continuously checking to see if he needed to pee. He still occasionally glanced over at him, but it wasn't often enough for him to catch on when Oz started to squirm slightly in his seat.
Alice didn't pay it any mind either, having no reason to suspect what was wrong. She did notice, however, that Oz had started looking over his shoulder every few minutes at Gil, hoping he'd eventually meet his eyes. While she took no offense to it, every few times he turned around she would give him a light punch or shove to get his attention. She also noticed that Oz tended to smile when she did that, acting like someone who was given a hug or a kiss. It was odd to her, but she wasn't complaining.
After a minute Oz shifted so his legs were crossed and his arms rested over the back of the couch, cocking his head in Alice's direction. This was the first sign Gil noticed that Oz needed to use the bathroom; it was interesting that while he looked completely comfortable to Alice or Reim, he could tell he was fairly distressed. They weren't around him enough to know that he never sat with one leg above the other comfortably, making the simple change in posture a screaming sign to anyone who knew how to see it.
He chose to wait for a few minutes before he brought the boy to the bathroom. Reim was going to be his go to babysitter for Oz when he was busy, and it gave him a chance to show his friend exactly what it looked like when Oz needed something. Teaching him the simple changes in Oz's body language was one of the things he knew would save everyone some grief in the long run.
When Oz shot Gil a desperate look he knew it was smart to bring him to the bathroom. He leaned on the door while the boy used the bathroom, finding to his delight he didn't have any trouble. Oz started to walk back to the living room but was stopped when Gil held onto his shirt.
"Oz, next time you need to pee, can you please try and say something?" Gilbert asked kindly. "I know it's hard for you, but can you try?"
Oz stood still and looked Gil in the eyes, his gaze indecisive. He thought for a minute, deciding whether or not he should commit to what his guardian asked. Eventually he gave a small nod of agreement.
Gil smiled and pulled Oz into a hug. "Thank you." A promise was a good place to start.
Done! I wanted to take this in another direction, but it didn't work out all that much :( I still like this idea though.
Poor Oz, I think it's so sad he can't even lift a cooking pot. He's such a little cutie XD I'm sorry if this didn't have as many internal thoughts as usual, I didn't see many places to add them and not seem excessive.
Until next time!