A/N: A Hemoglobin A1c, or A1c measures the amount of residual sugar retained on red blood cells during their three month lifetime. It's widely used a measurement of blood sugar over a period of time. For someone without diabetes, an A1c of 4 – 6 is normal. Most diabetics are encouraged to keep their A1cs at or below 7 to avoid complications.
The examination room feels cold and sterile. The walls are white. The only decoration is a small black rack magazines and pamphlets with titles like, "DIABETIC RETANOPHATY AND YOU", "CARING FOR YOUR FEET" and "HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT SKYDIVING".
His father sits in the only hard plastic chair, facing him.
He feels as empty and cold as the room.
"Drug or alcohol use?" The chipper nurse asks.
John Smythe doesn't give his son the chance to answer. "No."
He thinks of the number of bottles of "water" he has smuggled onto campus in the past month. He things of the few times he has been reckless enough to slip brandy into his coffee at the Lima Bean. He doesn't say anything.
"Tobacco use?"
Again, his father does not give him a chance to answer. "No."
This, at least, is strictly true.
"Are you sexually active?" The nurse looks at him.
"No." His father says forcefully. The vehemence behind his words challenges his son to contradict him. His father had explained his position multiple times. It is fine for his son to be gay as long as he never acts on the fact.
He thinks of the men he's been with, but says nothing.
The nurse leaves the room. He and his father sit in stony silence.
He wishes, not for the first time, that he could come to these appointments alone. He does not need a parent here. But, he's not strong enough to say no to his father. Ever since he was eight and diagnosed, this has been his father's show. Other parents micromanage their children's sports or their homework.
His father micromanaged his health.
There is a knock on the door, and the doctor enters. "Nice to see you again, John, Sebastian." The greeting is pleasant enough, but it is a lie.
The doctor wastes no time in making the meeting unpleasant. "Have you been taking insulin, Sebastian? Your A1c is 10.8."
Sebastian gives up on the appointment. Now its simply a question keeping his temper in control.