"Tell me; whoever is so cruel to do this to such a beautiful soul?"
It was a cold Sunday night. Narcis was curled up in Heike's arms. He had been suffering a terrible gastric flu that weekend, and by Friday evening, he had made sure everyone heard about it.
"Oh, darling, it's not permanent." Heike nuzzled his boyfriend tightly, cooing and whispering soft things to him.
On the other couch, Aran and Disco Kid were sitting together, watching some Sassy Sisters. Aran had kept out of Narcis's way while he was sick, and he was truly missing that embrace. Of course, he didn't mind having Heike fuss over him, but still…
When bedtime approached, Narcis looked over and gazed at Aran longingly. He so desperately wanted him to catch the hint and pick him up. Aran got up to put the TV off, and Narcis caught his eye. He sighed and went over to him. "Come on, I know you want it." He scooped him up into his arms. Narcis sighed peacefully as Aran carried him upstairs to his quarters. Aran held him until he fell asleep, and then tucked him into bed.
Ow.
Very early in the morning - 4 o'clock, to be exact, Narcis woke up to a very sharp pain.
Ow.
He whimpered. Why was this happening? He thought he would have been feeling better by now.
Ow!
"Oh, what now?" Aran grumbled when he heard a cry. He hid his face under the pillow, trying to ignore Narcis's fussing. But Narcis wouldn't calm down. If anything, he just got more distressed. Aran sat up. Maybe he wasn't overreacting for once. He got out of bed and went to his side. "Oi. What's wrong?"
Narcis looked up at him and tried to answer, but he was barely coherent through his sobs.
Ouch, ouch, ouch!
"I don't understand ya, use yer words," said Aran. "Why are ya crying?"
The door opened. "What the hell is going on?" Mr. Sandman asked.
"I don't feckin' know," said Aran, "but dolly boy won't stop crying and won't tell me why."
Mr. Sandman paused for a second. This was the fourth day that Narcis had been sick, and he had been complaining about abdominal pains…
Uh oh.
Mr. Sandman went to Narcis's side. "Where does it hurt?" He felt his heart surge when Narcis gestured to his lower right belly. He plucked him right out of bed, blanket and all. "Yup; hospital."
"Wha's wrong?" Aran was confused.
"It's his appendix," said Mr. Sandman. "Come on, get in the car."
The three of them went to the car. Mr. Sandman laid Narcis down in the backseat, while he and Aran took the front seats. Aran leaned behind him for Narcis to squeeze his hand.
Several hours later, after getting everything settled with the hospital, Aran and Mr. Sandman returned home. "Hey, I heard you banging around last night," said Super Macho Man when they came in, "what were you guys doing?"
"Taking James to the hospital," said Mr. Sandman. "He needed his appendix out."
Super Macho Man pursed his lips for a moment before responding. "Hopefully getting it out means we'll have some peace." They all went into the kitchen.
Aran felt strange all day. He didn't want to say that going to the hospital rattled him, but still, seeing Narcis be taken away and disappearing into another room, still crying…it was disturbing. Yeah, that was a good word for it.
"Aran?"
He jumped a bit hearing someone call his name. He looked around, and realized that it was now five o'clock. Geez, had he been out of it for that long? He looked up and saw Mr. Sandman standing in the living room doorway. "I just got a call from the hospital. Narcis is out of surgery, and he's doing okay."
"Aye…" Aran mumbled.
"We'll be able to bring him home tomorrow morning."
Aran nodded and leaned back into the couch to process everything he'd just taken in, and came to a realization.
He missed Narcis!
How am I missin' that feckin' priss?!
Aran shook his head. This had been a stressful day, and he needed to take some time to unwind and look at some memes.
The next morning, around ten o'clock, Mr. Sandman brought Narcis home, with Heike and Lacey by his side. He was feeling tired, and just wanted to lie down.
When he got to the living room, Aran was sitting on the pullout couch with his phone. When Aran looked up, he smirked and raised an arm. "Bring it in, dolly boy."
Narcis didn't know what to say. Was Aran actually offering to hold him? He smiled, and eased himself into Aran's lap. "Did you miss me?"
"A li'l bit," said Aran, continuing to look at memes.
Good enough for me, thought Narcis. He yawned and laid his head down on Aran's shoulder, happy to be home and for the pain to have gone away.