tarotgal

Part 9

“Before we head over there, I have a few requests,” David began, even before the door fell shut behind Lucas. “First, take off your sweatshirt.”

Troy grinned slyly, “Why, David, that was very bludt of you. Whatever would your husbad say?”

David reached forward and tugged on one of the strings that tightened or loosened the hood. He wrapped it around his finger a few times, drawing them just a little closer together. “He’d probably agree with me that it needs to be washed. You’ve been sneezing into it since you came down with this cold. He’d also say that you’re going to look good in his navy blue running club sweatshirt.” David released the drawstring so it sprang back a little toward Troy.

As Troy pulled his hoodie off, David continued. “Second, you need a shower. Get the room as hot and steamy as you can stand it; that’ll help with the congestion. And while you do that, I’ll gather up the supplies we’ll need to take over to the other room. But you call if you need me, okay? I’ll be right out here the whole time.”

David still wasn’t sure Troy was ready for him at a level ten, but he was definitely finding it easier to climb toward that level now that everything was out in the open. He wanted to maintain respect and be aware of any boundaries the man had, but knowing that he didn’t have to hold back quite as much was liberating. If this had been Lucas, he would have joined the man in the shower, of course. But he didn’t want to be the one to suggest that, no matter how much he might want to.

Troy grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom, leaving David to gather up various things and put them back into the plastic grocery bags. He was in the process of debating how many of the pillows they should take to the other room when he heard Troy’s voice call out, muffled by the door. “David?”

Certain he must be breaking some sort of land speed record, David dashed to the bathroom. His first thought was that Troy might have fallen and injured himself, though he hadn’t heard any sounds apart from the running water and occasional coughs and sneezes. His second thought was that Troy was feeling worse somehow—sick to his stomach or dizzy or something else entirely. He hadn’t had time to come up with a third thought before he was inside the bathroom, assaulted by steam, and staring at David.

The man stood on a bathmat, dripping wet, but displaying himself in all his glory. The sight took David’s breath away instantly, and he found himself leaning back against the closed bathroom door for support. The man was stunning, every inch of him perfect, right down to his long, uncut cock. It was just David’s good fortune that he had a thing that made guys with flushed cheeks and red noses look even sexier to him. Troy lifted his arm and ran his hand through his wet hair, droplets going everywhere. “I thought you could… helb dry be off add warb be ub. Sniff! You dow, if you wadted to.”

Long beyond the ability to speak, David grabbed a clean, folded towel off the rack, let it fall open, and tackled the man’s hair first, toweling it dry. When done, he wrapped that towel around the man’s waist. He got a second one and wrapped it around his shoulders. Then he wrapped his own arms right around Troy’s middle. His hands rubbed up and down Troy’s back, and he felt Troy’s cheek meet his shoulder.

Troy sighed deeply, leaning into David. “Thadg you. Ohh, this feels so good.” When David could not suppress the involuntary whimper that escaped him, he hugged tighter, hoping the man might not have heard it. Troy lifted his head, pressing his lips to David’s ear. “I’b goig to get you to level ted today if it’s the last thig I do,” he whispered.

David went weak all over. If not for the important task of needing to hug Troy to warm him after the shower, he might have passed out entirely at the sound of those words. Troy sniffled a few times and laid his head back on David’s shoulder. “Have—” David broke off, his voice embarrassingly high-pitched. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and tried again. This time, his voice was a little closer to normal. “Have you used the nasal spray we bought you yet?”

He wasn’t entirely sure, but the way Troy’s head moved felt more like a shake ‘no’ than a nod ‘yes.’

“I could… I could help you with that. It’ll keep you from sniffling quite so much, and less post-nasal drip means less coughing.”

“Brilliadt,” he murmured into David’s neck, giving a soft, seductive kiss. “I’d love that, yeah.” And then, almost in the same breath, he sneezed. “HEPTshhhhhhh!” It was so sudden it startled them both. And though Troy flushed with embarrassment, it was David’s neck that bore the brunt. “Oh fuck!” His hand snapped up, cupping his nose and mouth. “Sniff! I’b so sorry. Sniff!”

If this was how embarrassed he got, David wasn’t about to tell him that he’d caught David’s face in a couple sneezes last night as well. It didn’t matter anyway. He was perfectly capable of washing. “It’s okay, baby. God bless you. Here, let me…” It wasn’t so hard to pull away from Troy, who seemed to want to pull back and hide behind the shower curtain. But David didn’t want him to feel badly about this or anything else for that matter. He knelt down and spun the toilet paper roll, wrapping toilet paper around his hand. He held the wad out as Troy continued to sniffle. “Lower your hand. Let me take care of you.”

Hesitantly, Troy did so. David swooped in, wiping and rubbing and feeling his whole body hum as he did so. “That’s it,” David murmured. “Your head’s all stuffed-up. Must feel good after a big, wet sneeze like that, hmmm?”

Troy nodded reluctantly and sniffed again.

“How about giving me a little blow?”

Troy did, eyes closed, and received a soft kiss on his cheek in appreciation when he was done.

“That’s excellent.”

Having taken the little trash can out of the room earlier, David dropped the toilet paper into the toilet and flushed.

He saw a blur of white out of the corner of his eye, and he turned back around to find David had dropped the towel that had been around his middle. “Sorry. It’s so hard to hold odto that.”

Only mildly amused, David bent down for it. While there, he used the towel to dry off Troy’s legs, running it around and then up, but stopping well before mid-thigh. He stood up with the towel and tucked it back around Troy’s waist. “While I genuinely appreciate the stunning visual, drying you off is closer to my ten than that would be. I really do just want to get you comfortable and warm right now.” He reached up and cupped Troy’s cheek, not to move in to kiss him, just to stroke his thumb against the man’s cheek “And when I say warm, I don’t mean hot. No fooling around until you’re feeling better. That’s a personal rule, and I won’t budge on it. ”

“But I do feel… feel… bet-ter-huhhEEHshooo! ehhHKKshoo!” he sneezed freely over his shoulder, not catching David at all this time. It seemed the steam from the shower had loosened his stuffed-up nose, because he hadn’t been this sneezy earlier that morning.

“Mmhm. But, not better enough yet.” He put a hand on Troy’s back, rubbing in a circle. “God bless you, baby.”

This was a strange game they were playing. Troy was trying so hard—too hard—to be suave and look sexy. He was trying to pull David in using whatever typical tactics he was used to, flirting with that smile and that body and all sexual innuendo. He didn’t understand that only pushed David away, that the only thing he needed to do to turn David on was to be needy and vulnerable and let David take care of him.

“Let’s get you into your clothes and try that nasal spray, all right?”

Troy sniffed and nodded, letting his potential future lover help him into his clothes instead of out of them. David knew his world must be turning upside-down just now, but he trusted Troy would adapt to it. An athlete like him must find himself upside-down from time to time on a weight bench or in a yoga pose or whatever it was Troy was into. And, besides, he did want to feel better. That was the whole reason he’d texted them in the middle of the night.

David headed out, leaving the bathroom door open just a crack so that the temperate inside could slowly drop down to normal. He returned with the box of tissues and the bottle of nasal spray. He picked the plastic wrap off the cap and turned the top until it snapped up into place. “Have you ever used one before?”

Troy shook his head. “I dod’t catch colds easily.”

For a second, David wondered how all of this would have played out if Troy hadn’t caught this one. Certainly they wouldn’t be in a bathroom together. But maybe they wouldn’t have met at all. Maybe Lucas wouldn’t have bothered introducing them. Maybe they would have met but there wouldn’t be any chemistry or lust. Or maybe David would have forgotten all about him by now. He would never admit he wanted anyone to feel ill, but he had to admit this time it had opened a lot of doors and subjected him to a whole lot of feelings.

“Teach be everythidg you dow.”

And so David did. “The first step it to take the cap off. You wouldn’t believe the number of people who call or come into my pharmacy complaining that their nasal spray won’t work, and it’s because they forgot to take the cap off.” Troy laughed a little and pulled the small, clear cap off the top. “Perfect. Next, remember not to snort. Small little sniffs to keep the medicine inside your nose are actually best. I know your nose is all stuffy, but you’re going to blow it a few times before we start. Just remember no snorting, just controlled breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.”

“Oh, like a cool down after a workout?” Troy suggested.

David looked at him blankly. “Um, I guess, if that’s what you do then.”

“It is. You dod’t work out with Lucas?”

David shook his head. “Not often.”

“You cobe by your hot body daturally?”

David blushed a little. “I have a job where I’m on my feet a lot, constantly moving to fill prescriptions, man cash registers, fix the dang blood pressure machine, that sort of thing.” He shrugged. “I’m not nearly as well built as you or Lucas.”

“I thidg you’re built just right.” He slid an arm around David’s waist and pulled him closer. David snuggled up and gave him a soft peck on the cheek to thank him for saying something so sweet. “Okay, so I’ve got the breathidg dowd. How does that factor id?”

Positioning his hand on the bottle, index and ring finger on either side of the nozzle, David kept it mostly upright but aimed it away from them, toward the sink. He pressed down on the nozzle. The first squirt was mostly just air, and the second one was a bit of a mixed bag. But the third one produced a fine mist in the air. “Now it’s primed. What I’ll do is insert it into your nose and press down on this. Your job is to breathe the way I told you to. It’s going to feel weird and wonderful all at once. Just keep sniffing little sniffs. Want to try?”

Troy nodded and pulled a couple tissues from the box David had brought in. He blew his nose hard, finding it easier to do now after the shower.

“Gentle, baby,” David advised, rubbing his hand up and down Troy’s back.

Troy gave another blow, gentler but longer. His nose was far from clear, but it was better than it had been in days, David could tell.

“Just a couple more times. Then come sit over here.” He patted the closed lid of the toilet seat.

Troy did as instructed tossing the tissues into the toilet then sitting down on the closed lid as it flushed.

“Now remember what I said: small sniffs in through the nose, not one big snort.” Before Troy’s cold-filled nose had a chance to start running in earnest again, David slid the nozzle of the nasal spray bottle up it. He used his free hand to apply just enough pressure to a spot on Troy’s cheek almost below his eye and pull back toward his ear to help the sinus passages open. And he angled the bottle so that the squirt wouldn’t hit Troy’s septum and cause irritation or damage. “One… two… three.” A beat after three, he pushed down on the nozzle, pumping a fine spray into Troy’s nose.

Troy pulled back, startled by the sensation, blinking. But then he remembered about the sniffing and went to it. They sounded far wetter now than they had from just his runny nose, but that was a good sign. Relieving some of the pressure and thickness of congestion in his head after being stationary as he slept was the whole point of this.

“Little sniffs. That’s right. Perfect.” David stroked his head. “Give it another few seconds, and then if you really feel the need to blow your nose, do it as gently as you can.”

“Sniff! I thidk sniff sniff! I thidk I’b sniff good.”

David inserted the nozzle into Troy’s other nostril and used his other hand to pull his cheek back with just enough pressure. He angled carefully and did another countdown for warning. “One…” He could see Troy’s left nostril start to run, but he only had two hands, not three. It would have to wait a moment. “Two...” Troy shifted uncomfortably, obviously feeling his nose running as well. “Relax, baby.” David knew soothing him wasn’t going to help much. “One… two… three.” He pushed down and the hiss of a puff of medicine went up into his nose.

Troy sniffed a little harder than he should have, but not a detrimental amount.

“Gentle. Little sniffs.” The reminder was hard for Troy to follow, but he did his best. David pressed a tissue to his nose to catch the wayward drips. And the sniffing helped as well. He put down the nasal spray bottle and rubbed circles on Troy’s chest. David tried to calm him, but he could tell Troy was getting a little agitated.

“Gotta…” He coughed, and David felt Troy’s heartbeat quicken. “Gotta blow…”

David folded the tissue over his nose for him. “Whenever you’re ready, just—”

Troy took a deep breath through his mouth and out through his nose.

David winced at the strength behind it. “Gently,” he finished pointlessly.

“Sor-sniff-sorry.”

“It’s all right, baby. Just be kind to your body, the way you do when you exercise, right? You don’t want to overexert and pull a muscle. Same principle here. It takes practice, and this was an excellent first attempt. How does your nose feel?” He pulled another tissue from the box and wiped Troy’s nostrils dry with as much care as he could. The poor guy’s nose was getting pretty red there.

With an experimental breath in and out again, Troy’s eye widened a little. “So much clearer!”

David beamed. “Glad to hear it.”

“I can breathe again!” He took another good breath in and let it out slowly, controlling and evaluating all at once. “I don’t even feel stuffed-up anymore. Hell, I don’t sound stuffed-up anymore either!”

“You will,” David said. “This is only temporary, I’m afraid. But we can do it again in a few hours, if you want.”

Troy nodded his head enthusiastically. “Definitely!”

Nasal spray and tissue box in hand, David led the way out of the bathroom. He put them into one of the bags they’d be taking to the other room. He put Troy’s sweatshirt into the hotel laundry bag and checked the cold wash instructions on the bag’s tag.

Then he pulled out his wallet, which he always kept in his jeans pocket so luckily had had with him during the late night scramble to get to Troy’s room. He pulled out twenty-five dollars and placed it on the nightstand. On the little hotel memo pad, he scribbled a note apologizing and asking for another box of tissues and an extra pillow if possible.

“All right, let’s go. The room’s up on the twenty-third floor, and we’re not taking the stairs. Not with all this to carry.” The shopping bags weren’t heavy, but he still had no intention of carrying them up two flights of stairs with someone who had only just mastered the ability to breathe again.

Troy looked at him questioningly.

“Someone I love dearly is insane and decided to walk up all the way up yesterday. I’m fairly certain Lucas isn’t actually human. The truth is I’m an undercover alien investigator who only married him to find out his secrets.”

Troy laughed. “I don’t even know how he had the energy to work out this morning, let alone go to conference sessions.”

“The day he doesn’t choose to work out in the morning is the day I call 911. Even when he’s sick, he seems to sneak in a few stretches or push-ups when he thinks I’m not looking.”

They got into the elevator and David pressed the button for floor 23. The doors slid shut, and they stood there in silence for a moment. An image flashed through David’s mind of Troy having his way with him and pinning him into the corner, kissing him and grinding against him, the image duplicated to infinity on the elevator’s mirrored walls. But, for once, Troy made no pass at him, no reference to elevator sex at all. Instead, in a soft voice, he asked, “David… which bag are the tissues in? I ehhh I think I’m going to sn-sneeze again.”

With only a minimum amount of searching, David located the tissues. He supposed he should have seen this coming. All good things must come to an end, as they say. “Here you go.” David handed over a couple tissues. The level in the box was getting low, but there was another box just waiting for them in the other hotel room. And now that it wasn’t the middle of the night, they could place another order for delivery.

“hehhh… ehh-yeh…. Hehhhhh heh-EHHshooo! HEPTchooo!”

“God bless you, baby.” The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened for them. David ushered Troy out, pressing an elbow to one of the doors to make sure it didn’t try to close on them prematurely.

“Feelig sdeezy add sdiffly agaid. Dabbit!”

David’s heart went out to him. He couldn’t blame the man for being frustrated; breathing was kind of an important thing. “Sorry it’s bothering you. After breakfast, you can curl up in bed with me and watch TV, and I’ll take good care of your nose for you, I promise.”

From the look of Troy’s smile, it was safe to assume he accepted David’s offer.

When they got to David’s and Lucas’ hotel room, Lucas had already started eating breakfast. There were plates piled with various foods spread across the small table, and Lucas was currently devouring eggs and sausages. David went right over and kissed the top of his head, knowing better than to slow down his chewing and swallowing. Eating was serious business. He had managed to change for the day, though, and he now wore a loose tank top and tight workout shorts. David wondered how in the world he had the energy to even go to the convention. At this point, David was looking forward to a morning cuddling and napping with Troy. “I’m going to change into something more comfortable. Make sure Troy gets something nutritious to eat, all right? Not just carbs and bacon?”

Still chewing, Lucas smiled and nodded. After finishing his bite, he headed over to where Troy stood, just inside the door. All of a sudden, he looked a little hesitant to be invading their space. Lucas ran his hand over Troy’s short, wet hair, messing it up a little playfully. “I had a feeling David was going to make you take a shower. I bet the steam helped clear out some of that congestion.”

Troy nodded, sniffling more since being in that steamy bathroom.

“Did David at least join you in the shower?”

David piped up from across the room, where he was rooting around in his suitcase. “No he did not!”

The familiar banter seemed to relax Troy a little. “It wasd’t for lack of tryig,” he confessed to Lucas, who laughed.

“One thing you should know about him is that it might be a fetish, but he takes his role of caregiver seriously. He won’t make a move unless he’s absolutely sure his man is well enough for it.”

David felt himself blushing, and was glad to have a task to busy himself with. He changed into flannel pants and a super soft t-shirt, perfect for lounging around in bed all day in. He rooted around in Lucas’ suitcase as well, pulling out one of the two sweatshirts Lucas had packed. “Hey, Lucas, do you mind if Troy wears this while his is being washed?”

Lucas considered this, looking over at Troy. “I dunno, man. Are you gonna sneeze all over it?”

Troy shrugged, not meeting his gaze this time. “Brobably.”

“Then no,” Lucas said, a grin crossing his face even as David narrowed his eyes at his husband. “I don’t mind at all.” He held his hand up, ready to catch it. David threw it, but it landed a couple feet short. Sweatshirts weren’t exactly known for their aerodynamic properties, but it was still a pretty pathetic toss. Lucas picked it up and gathered the sides into his grip. “Hands over your head, Troy.” He pulled it onto the man, who wriggled into it, arms sliding through the sleeves. Lucas’ sweatshirt fit over his broad chest and muscular arms perfectly.

When David got to the table, Troy and Lucas were taking the seats and Troy pulling a plate of fruit close. The hotel room only came with a small table and two chairs, but David really didn’t mind sitting elsewhere; the armchair looked plenty comfortable.

“Oh, no, take my seat,” Lucas insisted. “I’m just about done and need to get going anyway before I miss the first conference session I wanted to attend.” He rubbed Troy’s upper back and then patted it. “See you later.” Then he went over to David and bent over to kiss him. “Call me if you need me.”

“We’ll be fine,” David insisted.

Lucas smiled. “I’m sure you will. But call me if that one starts feeling better and you both get horny. I don’t want to miss out on all the fun.”

David laughed. “We wouldn’t dream of starting without you, baby.” He motioned for Lucas to move in for another kiss, and this one wasn’t just a quick peck goodbye. It was long and intense and reassuring. No matter what else happened, he wanted to make sure Lucas understood that he would always come first—perhaps quite literally later on. And, besides that, David craved this familiar kiss. Lucas’ lips were warm and wet, and he tasted faintly of sausage just now.

Troy raised a hand in the air. “Well, I’b hordy already.”

David laughed again, but he kept his loving gaze fixed on his husband. “Have a good day.”

After pausing to make sure he had his phone, charger, wallet, and hotel key card, Lucas then gave them a wave, arm straight over his head, and headed out.

Any awkwardness at Troy being here was gone now. The magic the three of them had felt the night before made the here and now feel so right and so comfortable. Not to mention that Lucas had brought more from the breakfast buffet than they had asked for. Fruit, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, bagels, pastries, eggs—David was far more tired than he was hungry, but he still managed to eat his fill. And when they were done, David set the untouched danishes and bananas aside for a mid-morning snack while setting the rest of the breakfast dishes outside the hotel room door. He hung the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door’s handle and let the door fall closed behind him.

“hehh… heh-EHKtshhhhh!”

“God bless you, baby.” David walked back over and ran his hand from Troy’s shoulder to elbow, feeling the strong curve of muscles there. “I think you could do with some more rest.” He stifled a yawn of his own. The mere suggestion of more sleep made him feel twice as tired. “I think we both could.”

Troy glanced over his shoulder at the queen-sized beds. One was disheveled from last night, even though Lucas had clearly tried to make the bed and make it look more inviting. The other was entirely untouched.  “You sure you dod’t bide by gettig idto your bed? I bead, I’b all sdeezy add gerby add ill.”

David took his hand, holding it between both of his and giving just a little tug. “All the more reason for you to get into bed. I guarantee you wouldn’t be here if we didn’t want you here.” He tugged again. “I’ll even let you pick the television channel.”

This was a decision David almost instantly regretted. He was happy to lounge back on a big stack of pillows, Troy’s head resting on his chest, one of his arms wrapped around Troy. He was happy to be warm with the man nestled against him and the covers pulled up to his waist. He was happy to have two boxes of tissues on the bed beside him he could use to wipe Troy’s nose for him and catch any sneezes that came, though both the medicine and the nasal spray seemed to have made those fewer and further between this morning. What soured the mood for him was having to watch sports on television. Granted, it wasn’t trashy talk shows, but it still wasn’t his cup of tea.

Troy, on the other hand, seemed utterly thrilled to have found a soccer match to watch. The moment he hit that channel, he dropped the remote and raised his hands in triumph.

David prepared himself to endure hours of watching a ball being kicked from one end of a field to another. Maybe he should call Lucas back? Lucas would probably enjoy watching this with Troy, appreciating clever plays and moves and whatever else this sport was known for. His best hope was that Troy might fall asleep quickly, allowing David to doze off as well.

One of the players kicked the ball into a net so large David couldn’t imagine how anyone could possibly miss. The goalie stretched out his arms and dove but was still feet short of stopping it. To David, that didn’t seem like much of an accomplishment, but the men on the screen were jumping around in excitement at this small victory. And Troy drove his fist into the air with a cheer of his own, followed by a raspy cough.

Calmly, David passed him a bottle of water.

Troy drank and looked back over his shoulder. “Dot idto football?”

David shook his head. “Sports are more Lucas’ thing.” Though, in truth, Lucas didn’t watch it all that much at home. More often, he went out to sports bars with friends to watch games. “But whatever makes you happy is fine with me.” Though this was something David was prepared to endure, he didn’t want Troy feeling bad about his choice. “I don’t want you to—“

He broke off at the sight of one of players grabbing another, hands on the side of his face, and kissing him right on the lips.

David blinked. “Wait, what was that?”

“They’re Eurobead,” Troy said, as if that explained it all.

“Yeah, but, did you see that kiss?”

Troy nodded. “They do that sobetibes. Oh, yeah, there’s also…” The camera zoomed in as players went back into some sort of formation and a player got ready to kick. He was a handsome man, with dreadlocks and sweat-shined skin and…

“Oh my God, look at that buldge!”

Troy chuckled. “Brofessiodal athletes cad get bretty excited whed they do well. It’s all the ebotiods add adredalide.”

“Isn’t wearing a cup mandatory?”

“A true footballer dever wears a cub.”

The man’s flimsy shorts seemed to hide nothing. The bulge in his crotch was enormous. Men kissing. Dicks on display. Suddenly David understood a little of what drew Lucas to professional sports. “This is almost like watching porn!”

“Without the horrible, cheesy dialogue add with a lot bore draba, yeah.”

David wasn’t going to say no to drama. He patted the man’s chest. “Well then. Nice choice.”

“Got lucky.” And that dimple-filled smile showed that he meant it in more ways than one.

He settled back against David only to snap forward almost immediately. “hihhh ehIHHShphhhhh! HehUHchphhhh!” David had caught the sneezes in a tissue Troy probably hadn’t even seen him get into place.

“God bless you, baby.” He nuzzled the back of Troy’s head and hugged him from behind.

“Thadks. Sniff!”

“Need to blow?”

“Dot… hehhh dot just yet. Still tih.. tih-tickles hehh hehhh ehhHIHchmphhhh! YEHtchphhhh!” He coughed and sniffled and reached back, patting David’s thigh. “Dow I do.”

David pulled the current tissue away and got a fresh one, holding it to Troy’s nose with just the right amount of pressure. “Go ahead.” Troy blew his nose several times, and each time David held and wiped and used the utmost tenderness possible to keep from making Troy’s sore nose any worse.

After a while, Troy’s yawns became more frequent, and more than once his head bobbed down and up quickly, as if he were nodding off for a second before waking back up. David stroked his arm, silently reminding him that he could relax, that he didn’t have to fight this. So Troy rolled onto his side, rubbing his cheek against the soft fabric of David’s shirt and slinging his arm around David’s middle, hugging him. He bent his leg, resting that on top of David’s thighs, and he closed his eyes.

David didn’t even have to ask if the man was comfortable enough like that, because the deep, contented sigh spoke volumes. David listened to his breathing slow and waited for the snores to start. He marveled at how easy it was to communicate without even needing words with this man he’d really only known a day now. And it was just as easy to snuggle up with him to sleep. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier. David saw one of the teams make another goal, and he thought he should try to remember to tell Troy about that when they woke. But then he closed his eyes and gave into sleep himself.

It was a fitful sleep, as David kept waking to check on Troy. And the man’s snores were sometimes loud enough to snap him out of whatever doze he found himself in. At some point, the soccer match ended and a new one began. David left the channel on; it was preferable to waking up to a quiet room. Besides, it was starting to grow on him. He wondered what Lucas would say if he came home one day to find David watching soccer on TV. David decided he’d have to try it some time to find out, though he didn’t want this sport to be a gateway drug to being made to watch all others.

It was just before lunchtime when Troy finally woke up. Groggy and disoriented, the very first thing he did was to sneeze into David’s chest. “heyyyIHptchhhh!”

David hadn’t been able to get tissues to his nose in time, but his soft t-shirt apparently felt nice to Troy’s nose, because he continued to snuffle into the fabric as David were wearing a handkerchief rather than a shirt. Reaching down, David stroked his head. “Still tired, baby?”

Troy nodded and then shook his head. “I ab… but I also deed the bathroob.”

“Of course.” David helped him sit up, roll out of bed, and then get up onto his feet. Sniffling into the sleeve of Lucas’ sweatshirt, apparently already having forgotten it wasn’t his own hoodie or maybe just not caring because his nose was feeling so runny. David probably should have forced some tissues into his hand when he left the bed, but it was too late now.

Alone in bed, David stretched. He was still tired, though drowsy was probably a more accurate term for it. He felt like he could drift off to sleep again, but he had no hope of making it quality sleep, not with Troy sick and needy like this. And when it came right down to it, there wasn’t all that much time before they would all be heading home. The conference was over tomorrow, and their flight was in the afternoon. David could sleep as soon as he got settled on the plane. Until then, he had a man to take care of. And that was the best feeling in the world to him. He would gladly go without sleep for a chance at that.

On his way back to bed, Troy grabbed two of the pastries leftover from breakfast. He climbed back into bed and handed David one, even though David was frowning. “This isn’t exactly the healthy lunch I had in mind.”

“Do you wadt to leave this roob add go get food subwhere? Or do you wadt to stay with be and helb be with adother dose of dasal spray?”

The man had a point. David didn’t want anything to get in the way of the trust and intimacy building between them. And he would have chosen to help Troy feel better over going out to find some meal that was neither overpriced hotel fare nor fast food.

“Also, I was hobig that if you could get be feeling a little better by three, I could go to this weight liftidg sessiod of the codferedce with Lucas.”  Troy’s gaze didn’t meet his eyes as he said this, as if he were nervous about how David might shoot down the idea.

David cupped Troy’s cheek, guiding and angling his face so that Troy had no choice but to look at him. “If you genuinely feel up to it and Lucas will be there just in case, I really don’t see why not.” He stroked the tips of his fingers against Troy’s stubble-rough cheek. “Your next dose of Mucinex is at 2, so it should be kicking in right around the time the class starts. It’s actually pretty great timing.”

Troy let out a deep breath like a sigh. “I felt sure you would’t allow it.”

“If going to a session will make you happy, that’s what I want. I’m not here to tell you what to do, just to take care of you however I can.”

“I—“ Troy started to say something then stopped. He rubbed at his nose and looked down at his pastry sitting in his lap.

“What is it, baby?”

He licked his lips and shook his head. “Dothidg.”

“Come on. Out with it. What do you want to say?”

With a quick glance at the door as if he expected someone to walk in at that very moment and find him out, he said in a soft voice, “I would’t bide if you told be what to do.”

David’s chest felt full of flutters. It wasn’t exactly his dynamic, but it wasn’t all that far removed either. And the idea of telling this big, strong man what to do had an undeniable appeal to it. “Then get back under the covers with me,” David said. “And don’t you dare get crumbs on my sheets.” He knew it would be impossible not to. But he also marveled at how quickly Troy scampered into bed and snuggled up to him.

“How’d we get so lucky?” David marveled at the hand fate had dealt them. “There are over fourteen thousand people attending this conference. How’d we get so lucky as to meet you?”

“I could… I could say the the the sabe-hehhh sabe… Ehhh… uhh-HUHShphhhhh!” He sneezed into the tissue David held to his nose.

“God bless you, baby. Still feeling a little sneezy? Should I hold this here like this or do you want to blow your nose for me?”

Troy opened his eyes, looking up and over the tissue at him with a needy, helpless sort of look, like he wanted to reply to the question but couldn’t even do that much. That was all the answer David needed. Troy’s eyes squinted shut and his head pulled back just a little. “ehhhTTTshhphhh! hehEHXXshphhhh! HEPTchphhhhh!” Troy gasped, as if about to sneeze again, only nothing happened. After a few seconds, he let the breath out slowly, carefully, and he opened his eyes again. “How lodg sniff! udtil sniff! I cad use that sniff! sniff! that nasal spray?”

With a tissue in each hand, David made a stealth move and switched from the wet one to a dry one. “You can use it again just as soon as you clear your nose out a little. Give me some of your best, gentle blows, baby.”

It took longer this time for Troy to feel like he’d blown his nose enough. David knew that it was never going to feel completely clear from the tickling and running this cold had brought, but getting as close as they could would only mean the nasal spray would work better. And David wanted it to bring him whatever relief it could right now.

“That’s good,” he said, stroking the back of Troy’s head as Troy blew into the twenty-somethingth tissue. “Let’s go for another try with the nasal spray now. Remember what I said before about little sniffs?” Troy remembered. Apparently, he also remembered how it felt to lean into David and snuggle against him. Even as Troy sat on the closed lid of the toilet in an identical hotel bathroom, he nuzzled his face into David’s shirt and placed his hands squarely on David’s butt cheeks to hold him close as if he were worried David might leave him alone here to deal with this himself. “It’s okay,” David murmured. His hand cupped the man’s shoulder and squeezed, affection surging within him as he did so. He really would have been happy to stay like this forever, or at least until Lucas got back from his day at the conference. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. And I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good,” Troy murmured. Then he sniffed again. “But we’d better hurry before by dose gets all full of cold agaid.”

Things were easier this time, now that Troy knew what to expect, but David still walked him through the steps with a calm, reassuring voice. He pointed the nozzle up and outward, pulling back on Troy’s upper cheek at the same time. And before Troy had a chance to react to the squirt in one side, he squirted up the other side as well. Troy sniffed and sniffed and sniffed. He started to tilt his head back, but David instructed him not to. David knew fighting his instincts was probably extremely difficult for Troy.

“You’re doing so well. I’m proud of you, baby. Give it just a few more seconds to help, and then you can blow your nose again if you really have to.”

Sniffling, Troy tried to make it a little longer. But his nostrils flared and face twitched, and he ended up pinching his nose between his thumb and forefinger to keep from sneezing and to keep it from running. His breath came in a rapid series of tiny gasps, and the corners of his mouth turned down.

As David pulled tissue after tissue out of the box, getting a good handful ready for Troy to sneeze into, he decided it would be his mission for the rest of the afternoon to see how many times he could turn that back into a smile. He longed to see the man’s dimples and know he was all right, all suffering temporary on hold. But, first, he had some sneezes to catch. He nudged Troy’s hand away from his face and positioned the tissues in place instead, just as a sharp intake of breath indicating that Troy’s will of course hadn’t been powerful enough alone to stop the sneezes. “ehhh ehhh hehhhh hihEHPtchphhhh! hihhhhERSHhhphhhh! HEPTshhphhhh! Ehhh ihh hihhHIPTshhphhhh!”

“God bless you, baby!” Acting entirely on instinct, David leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to Troy’s forehead. Then he tossed the tissues in the waste basket and took Troy’s hand in his. Without needing to say another word, he led the man back to bed, where there was still plenty of sneezes and maybe a few pastry crumbs, but David pretended he didn’t see the latter. There was still more than an hour until it would be time for another dose of Mucinex. With the alarm on his cell phone set, David decided that was more than enough time for another nap.