Mickey glared over at his phone, the ringing sound loud this early in the morning, he squinted at the alarm clock, 5:47 am. Reaching out, he grabbed his phone and looked at the caller ID, CHICAGO HOSPITAL.
"Yeah?" Mickey whispered, rubbing his eye.
"Hello, is this Mikhailo Milkovich?"
"Shh!" Ian shushed quietly, still mostly asleep as he nuzzled against his pillow tiredly, unaware of what was happening around him.
"Mickey, yeah one sec," Mickey told, silently sliding out of bed and into the lounge room. "I'm Mickey, who wants to know?"
"Mr. Milkovich, my name is Nurse Tina White from The Loretto Hospital, I'm calling on behalf of Mr. Lockhart, we have you listed as his Next of Kin," the nurse explained.
"What's wrong with Cole?" Mickey demanded.
"Mr. Lockhart was brought in early this morning, without going into much detail, he was found badly beaten, is there any possibility you would be able to come in?"
"Who did it?" Mickey commanded.
"I'm sorry sir, I don't know and wouldn't be able to disclose that with you if I did, unfortunately, police are coming in soon to file a report."
"Pigs won't do shit," Mickey sniped.
"Sir- "
"Fine whatever, I'm on my way."
Breathing heavily, Mickey walked with determination to the bedroom, changing into some clothes before sitting on the bed and putting on his shoes. Shaken from his thoughts, Ian crawled over from his side of the bed, plastering himself over his husband's back and pressing kisses along his neck.
"Come back to bed," Ian said sleepily, nuzzling along Mickey's jawline.
"Can't," Mickey told, tying up his laces.
"Bet you can," Ian purred, hands exploring over his husband's chest, "I'll make it worth your while."
"Can't," Mickey repeated, a faraway look in his eyes, "Cole's in hospital, I have to go."
"Wait what?" Ian asked as he pulled back to look Mickey in the eye, much more awake now.
"Fucking listen, Ian, Cole's in hospital, someone fucking jumped him, now he's in hospital," Mickey snapped.
"Oh shit, give me a minute, I'll just get some clothes- "
"No, you're staying," Mickey told.
"Mick,"
"Ian, don't fight me on this," Mickey said with weariness.
"Hey," Ian cooed, cupping Mickey's jaw so he could look him in the eye, "Cole's gonna be ok."
"Whatever," Mickey said, standing up.
"Cole is going to be ok," Ian reiterated, grasping Mickey's hand and pulling him back. "Just… keep me posted ok? You sure you don't want me to drive you?"
"No, it's fine," Mickey softened, rubbing his eyebrow, "stay, I can't worry about you being out there too."
"Alright," Ian relented, "I love you."
"I love you too," Mickey told, expressing all the love he had for his husband in one long kiss before grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys then heading out the door.
Mickey stalked through the corridors of the hospital, looking for Cole's room as he passed. He looked in each room before finally finding his friend, bracing himself for what was to come. When he arrived, the nurse had informed Mickey that he had recently been transferred from ICU to the ward, which she assured him was a positive sign.
Mickey traipsed into the darkroom, his heart clenching at the scene before him. Cole looked… well he didn't look anything like himself. He was swollen, his body covered in bruises, gashes, and scrapes on his arms, his face marred with a busted lip and split brow, a nose cannula helping him breathe. Mickey took a seat on the chair next to the bed, rubbing his brow as he sighed deeply. Mickey then turned to Cole's hands, taking one in his own, looking at the marks on his knuckles, a little sense of pride enveloping him at the thought of Cole fighting back.
"Mickey?" Cole asked sleepily, his bleary eyes searching in the dim-lit room.
"Hey," Mickey cooed, gently squeezing his hand, "I'm here. How are you feeling? How's your head?"
"No complaints yet," Cole laughed before groaning in pain.
"Really?" Mickey asked deadpan.
"You love it… bitch," Cole breathed heavily, smirking at the brunette before he started to cough, "Water."
"What am I, your bitch maid?" Mickey asked, moving to the tray table, grabbing the bottle of water and straw before helping Cole take a sip. "You know, with all the swelling, your puffer lips now match your face."
"Fuck you," Cole said, trying to flip him the bird before finding it futile. They stayed in silence for a few moments, the weight of the situation catching up with them.
"What the fuck happened, Cole?" Mickey asked in disbelief.
"I was home," Cole began through his labored breathing. "bored, lonely, went on Tinder, got my ho outfit on, went to meet the guy."
"I hate when you do this shit," Mickey told, "why didn't you tell me? You always message me to check-in, to make sure shit like this doesn't happen."
"It was late," Cole said lamely, "I had dick on my mind, I was walking to his apartment then it goes black, I can remember something hit my head but then I was out cold."
"Where?" Mickey demanded, "I need the name of the Tinder dude, I need a street name. Imma get my Ruger, empty the clip into this guy's stupid fat fucking face, then I'm gonna dump him in the river. First, I'll cut his hands off and pull his teeth, won't be able to identify him- "
"Mick," Cole interrupted.
"No, no, no, don't even try and stop me. I'll call up my cousins, Jamie can get his hands on some good shit. Yeah, yeah, I see it now, its gonna work out great- "
"Mick… you're spiraling," Cole interrupted, a tinge of worry colouring his tone.
"Oh, and the AK's. Iggy has some pretty lethal shit too, we'll set a meet, stab that fucker in the neck with some tranquillizers. Then- "
"Stop!" Cole told, looking at the other like he was crazy. "I don't want this."
"Why?" Mickey asked incredulously, "some dude gets the jump on you and you're happy to let him wander free? That might fly for you but I'm Southside, we protect each other."
"Southside? Cringe," Cole said with a roll of his eyes. Cole patted the space next to him on the bed, Mickey begrudgingly obliged and sat down. "I don't want your protection. I'm not some damsel that needs their knight to come and save them."
"Have you taken a long fucking look in the mirror? It's usually glued to your hand," Mickey laughed humorously. "You don't need saving? You're in the hospital after being beaten close to death, doctors need to check your fucking head."
"This is an isolated incident," Cole said tersely. "I know you think I'm one of those 'meh' and 'bleh' gays which with your internalized homophobia, you think it makes me 'weaker' than you."
"Oh, fuck off."
"I'm just as strong as you," Cole told adamantly.
"Fine," Mickey said, thumbing at his nose uncomfortably, "but what the fuck were you doing out so late? You're asking for trouble walking around that time of night."
"Tinder," Cole explained.
"Nah, that's not it," Mickey shook his head.
"You don't leave the house for less than a 6'5" dude with a ten-inch dick, there's no way you'd willingly go out in this Chicago winter without a good reason," Mickey snapped. Cole bit his lip uncomfortably, turning away as he felt a tear slip from his eye.
"I'm lonely, Mick," Cole whispered wiping away the tear. "You're an amazing friend but you can't be there the way I need a partner to be. Ian and you are perfect together, it's what I want. I just… I just want someone to love me, is that so wrong?"
"Come here you soft bitch," Mickey murmured, leaning against the hospital bed and pulling his friend close. "Look, I'm not good at these chick flick moments but you'll find someone, you may not have the looks or personality but you have money and a lot of guys are interested in that."
"If my hand wasn't so fucked up, I'd punch you in the dick," Cole laughed wetly, leaning back into Mickey's embrace.
"Like I'd let you anywhere near my dick," Mickey joked, gently stroked Cole's hair, mindful of the bumps and bruises there.
"You'd be so lucky."
"Look," Mickey started seriously, "you will find someone who will love you. You just have to stop throwing yourself around, respect yourself, attract the right kind of people… I was so scared when I got that phone call this morning, I couldn't imagine losing you because of some punk who beats off to beating up other people, you're my best friend Cole."
"I'm your best friend?" Cole said slyly.
"Well Ian is my best friend," Mickey joked, uncomfortable with his feelings, "you're like a close second but just barely."
"You're my best friend too Mickey."
"Alright, enough of this," Mickey said as he cleared his throat. He leant them back further against the pillow and pulled the blanket up higher over Cole, "you need to rest, get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."
Cole gave Mickey a sly smile before turning to sink further against him, the night and medication catching up with him, the blonde quickly drifted off.
"Mr. Lockhart?" The pair grunted awake, Mickey rubbed his eyes, not realizing he had drifted off too. "Hi, sorry for waking you, I'm Dr. Teo. How are you feeling?"
"Better now that you're here," Cole said, a flirtatious tone to his voice. Mickey rolled his eyes and moved to sit at the end of the bed.
"Your face is caved in and you're wearing a hospital gown that opens in the back, you have no chance," Mickey reminded.
"Right," Dr. Teo said, clearing his throat, "so last night when you arrived, you had some pretty extensive injuries. How is your chest? When we x-rayed, we found you had three broken ribs, are you having any trouble breathing?"
"It hurts to breathe," Cole informed.
"That's normal," Dr Teo assured, "try to take more shallow breaths as deeper breaths can exacerbate the pain. We would like to keep you for a few more hours, with the bruising to your stomach, there is a concern for internal bleeding. We will monitor you, perform an ultrasound before you are released. Is there someone you can stay with?"
"Yeah, you can stay at mine and Ian's," Mickey quickly told, Cole, smiled gratefully.
"Perfect," Dr Teo smiled, "I need to perform a quick exam, the nurse will be in shortly to take your obs and then we will let you rest."
"Thank you."
Dr Teo began his exam, checking over the wounds on Cole's arms and legs, palpating his stomach to check for any internal damage, did an eye assessment to check for any undiagnosed condition. After the doctor left, the nurse changed Cole's dressings and gave him some medication to help prevent infection and reduce his pain.
"I should have asked if there is going to be any scarring," Cole sighed, resting back against the pillows as the pain medication started to take effect.
"Why? You'll just see your plastic surgeon if there is," Mickey snorted.
"True," Cole chuckled, lightly grabbing his ribs at the pain. "So where are you going to sleep when we get back to your place? I assume you and Ian will give up the bed for me?"
"The doc must have you on some pretty good meds if you think that's going to happen," Mickey said fondly before standing up, "I'll go back to your place and get you some clothes, stuff you'll need for the next few days. Get some rest."
"Thanks, Mick," Cole said, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep as Mickey left the room.
The next few days were quiet, Ian did deliveries by himself while Mickey stayed at the apartment to take care of Cole. Cole was slowly recovering, taking up residence on the couple's couch as he healed, bruises started to fade, cuts and scrapes slowly started to disappear.
There was a sadness to Cole that Mickey had never seen before, a sadness Cole hadn't allowed him to see. The way he would look at Mickey and Ian when he noticed them indulging in mundane couple behaviour, from them cuddling on the couch, smiling at each other when they would catch each other eye, to Mickey bitching at Ian for stealing his coffee in the morning. Mickey was at a loss on how to help his friend, he couldn't think of a single person that he could set Cole up with, no one was good enough and he didn't have many other friends that would be Cole's type.
A week later, Cole returned home. He was far from recovered but felt well enough to look after himself, the couple disagreed but they convinced the blonde to reach out to them if he needed anything.
As he healed, Cole returned to his exuberant behaviour, his personality returning and a light in his eye that Mickey hadn't seen before. The blonde had been quiet and a little secretive lately, declining invitations to hang out and being vague when the couple would call him out on it.
Out on a delivery, Mickey received a call from Cole, his eyebrow raising in suspicion.
"Hey, bitch!" Cole greeted excitedly.
"Since when do you use your phone to actually call people and not just use it to send nudes to Grindr guys?" Mickey questioned.
"Shut up," Cole said, Mickey could hear him rolling his eyes. "You and Ian busy tonight?"
"Dunno why?" Mickey asked, Ian, looking over at him curiously as he drove through the city.
"Well, I'm cooking tonight-"
"Ha, yeah right."
"I'm ordering food and putting it on plates," Cole huffed, "there's someone I want you to meet."
"Wait what?" Mickey laughed in surprise.
"Ah yeah, so 7 o'clock be there."
"Who is it?" Mickey asked.
"You'll find out."
Mickey was surprised and also not surprised when they arrived at Cole's to discover the person, he wanted them to meet was Dr Teo. Cole explained that a week after the incident, his GP had wanted a follow-up x-ray to confirm that his ribs were healing correctly. While at the hospital, the blonde had spotted the doctor and started talking.
It started casually, a coffee date on the doctor's breaks at the hospital cafeteria, Zoom calls when they couldn't meet in person before it started to become more serious. Soon there were dinner dates, cooking together before they started staying the night at each other's place. Cole had changed his usual behaviour, normally he would sleep with the guy on the first date but with the doctor's busy schedule, they often didn't have the time to meet up. So, Cole got to know the doctor on a personal level, his interests, likes and dislikes, his aspirations and dreams, something the blonde had never done before.
Mickey was oddly proud of his friend, knowing how much he craved love and Mickey was very optimistic for the couple's future together.
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