It's My Birthday, I Can Throw Up If I Want To (Sean)

[Joshua Bernstein]

Tuesday. April 12th, 2016

Today he as fifty-six years old. The fact that he had yet to turn grey made him the envy of his peers, although when he looked in the mirror he saw more wrinkles than he had ten years ago.

Regardless, he still looked closer to fifty than to sixty, and he didn't have the same problems with his joints or his back that so many of even his younger friends had.

But he couldn't focus on that good fortune today.

No, on his fifty-sixth birthday Joshua Bernstein awoke earlier than he ever did because his stomach felt horrid. He had rolled out of bed and run to the bathroom to vomit in the toilet.

He hadn't even found the energy to drag himself back to bed, although a small part of him thought that perhaps if he was ever able to leave the bathroom he should go to one of the guest bedrooms so that he didn't disturb Sean.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Last year, Sean and Josh had taken a trip to New York City both as a way to celebrate Josh’s fifty-fifth birthday, and because the telepath had been in desperate need of a few days away from Hammel. It had been a delightful, relaxing weekend filled with museum hopping, shopping, quality cuisine, a Broadway show, and a Casablanca-themed hotel. This year, Josh’s birthday fell on a Tuesday, rather than a weekend, which meant that they had to settle for more low-key plans.

Despite that, Sean had put more effort into planning Josh’s gift this year, in part because they hadn’t planned a vacation on the fly with only two weeks’ notice, and in part because one of the presents required time to take effect.

Specifically, the telepath had stopped shaving a month ago, because he knew that his partner found facial hair attractive. In that month, he had managed to grow a beard – nothing as blatant as would befit Grizzly Adams, but one that was healthy and neatly trimmed, albeit also containing a fair amount of gray hairs interspersed with his brown ones. This was why he had shaved it off in the first place, more than a decade ago

He had also bought several presents for the other man, although due to the...theme he had put together, he didn’t think his partner could tell anyone about them, apart from the cake that Sean had bought the night before at their favorite bakery.

However, he was roused from his slumber earlier than usual by the bed shifting; always a light sleeper, he groggily rolled over and heard footsteps, the sound of Josh disappearing into the bathroom.

He waited for his partner to return to the bed, but as five and then ten minutes passed, he remained alone.

Frowning, Sean carefully rolled to his feet and crossed to the bathroom, knocking gently on the door. “Josh? Are you all right?”

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh intended to answer Sean's question with words, but all that came out was a moan of misery before he felt himself retch once again.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean did not find the moan encouraging, and then he heard the telltale sign of vomiting. Although Josh hadn’t replied verbally, his partner had managed to answer his question nonetheless; obviously, the other man wasn’t all right.

Carefully, the telepath opened the door to the bathroom, unsurprised to find Josh hunched over the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach into the bowl. He stepped around his partner to the sink, grabbing one of the glasses they kept there before he filled it with cold water. Then he picked up one of the towels and slung it over his shoulder, before taking the thermometer and the bottle of mouthwash, and crossing back to where Josh currently knelt.

The telepath carefully sat beside him, setting down the bottle, the glass, and the thermometer. He removed the towel from his shoulder, unfurled it, and then tenderly wrapped it around his partner’s back.

Through that simple touch, he could feel the heat radiating off Josh’s body; he felt as though he were burning.

This was more than simply waking up nauseated or eating too much the night before.

Lovingly, he patted Josh’s back through the towel, encouraging him to take his time over the toilet. “This brings back memories,” he remarked, intending to add a bit of levity, because he could see how miserable his partner felt.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh couldn't bring himself to appreciate Sean's attempt at levity; he felt too dreadful to really think of much else. His joints ached, his head hurt, his esophagus burned from the vomit, his teeth and tongue felt disgusting, and his stomach wanted to come up through his throat.

Eventually, after what felt an interminably long time, he finished throwing up. He didn't even feel like he might throw up again, although he doubted that feeling was going to last. Still, he sat up slowly, shivering, glad to release the frigid sides of the toilet bowl. He leaned back against Sean, closing his eyes against the harsh light that filtered through the bathroom window.

"Y-y-you should g-g-go back to b-b-bed," He chattered.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

While Josh continued to empty the contents of his stomach, Sean rubbed his back gently, trying to soothe him through the worst of it. Unfortunately, in between heaves, the telepath could feel his partner’s body tremble, and the other man remained so warm to the touch.

Poor Josh. He was obviously sick, rather than a mere upset stomach, and that was a miserable way to begin one’s birthday.

When the other man finally finished and leaned against the telepath, Sean wrapped his arms around his partner gently, holding him tenderly and preventing him from falling to the floor.

“I’m not going back to bed alone,” he informed his partner gently. This wasn’t stubbornness on Sean’s part as much as it was concern for the other man. Josh was in no condition to remain alone in the bathroom, and he certainly couldn’t make it back to the bedroom on his own. The telepath wouldn’t make him crawl there, not when Sean could easily support him, or, with far greater difficultly, drag or carry him to the bedroom.

“I can draw you a bath?” He offered, turning to glance behind them at the bathtub. Josh was too warm to benefit from the hot tub, and he wouldn’t want to risk his partner losing consciousness and drowning. But they could keep the bathtub shallow.

[Joshua Bernstein]

A bath might soothe his aches and pains, or, at the very least, it would help him to feel less gross.

"Th-that m-m-might be n-nice," He conceded, making no move to change position.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean didn’t kiss Josh as he would under a different set of circumstances: if they were going to share a bath as a prelude to intimacy, or because it might be fun to pamper his partner on his birthday. Instead, Josh was ill, he had spent the past few minutes emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet, and the telepath wouldn’t get himself sick through being careless.

He held Josh for a moment longer before carefully, so carefully, extricating himself in a way that wouldn’t cause Josh to tumble over when he lost the telepath’s body as support.

Then he turned to the bathtub, turning on the faucet. He stuck his wrist under the water as he would do with a baby, to make sure that it would be hot but not scalding, and then he waited for the tub to fill.

Turning back towards Josh, he reached out and began unbuttoning his pajama top. “I know that, with you feeling so sick, this will lose something in translation, but I’ll bathe you anyway.”

It wouldn’t be the type of erotic bath he had planned for later today, but he could adapt as necessary. Josh’s birthday celebration took a back seat to Josh’s health.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I...I can do it," Josh mumbled, but he made no effort to stop the other man. "I d-d-don't want you t-to get s-s-sick, too."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean didn’t heed the other man’s protest, just as his partner made no attempt to take over the task of undressing. Instead, the telepath focused on unbuttoning the first button, then the next, and then the next, until the shirt fell open and he could push it over the other man’s shoulders, taking care to do so as gently as he could, since he didn’t want to hurt his partner in the process.

“I kiss you every night before we go to bed, and we spoon half the time,” the telepath replied, while he gently tugged the shirt over one of Josh’s arms. “I’m either going to get sick or I won’t.”

Admittedly, he would avoid doing anything to increase those chances beyond strictly necessary, which meant no sharing bodily fluids until Josh felt better (although, of course, if Josh leaked on himself through any of his orifices, Sean would clean him up). However, he wasn’t going to treat his partner like a hospital patient, which meant he wouldn’t shy away from touching him or helping him as necessary.

Behind them, the tub continued to fill with hot water.

Once Josh’s top was off, the telepath went to work on his pajama bottoms. “I’m sorry that this is how I have to undress you today.”

It was a poor excuse for a birthday surprise.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I'm s-sorry for y-you," Josh wheezed. This was surely not how Sean wanted to spend the morning, even if he knew that his lover was more than willing to perform tasks such as this.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean shook his head, quickly denying that his partner should feel sorry for him. After all, the telepath wasn’t sick, and it wasn’t his birthday; Josh was the one suffering and was the one who had to spend his own birthday this way. That was two reasons for the attorney to feel bad.

“Don’t be,” he assured the other man with a gentle smile. Sean took just as much care with the pajama bottoms as he had with the top, and, as soon as his partner was undressed, he shifted to kneel on one knee. “Let’s get you up and into the tub,” he announced.

Carefully, he took Josh’s weight onto himself, so that he could move his partner without tugging too hard, and without making Josh have to carry too much of his own weight. Finally, he managed to get the other man into a crouching position, before he maneuvered one of the other man’s legs over the side of the tub, followed by the other. Bit by bit, he manage to get his partner inside, and the tub continued to fill with warm water all the while.

“How does that feel? He asked, testing the water again with his hand. It remained hot but not burning.

[Joshua Bernstein]

As the warmth of the water washed over him the shivering slowly calmed.

"Better," He whispered, leaning his head back against the shower wall. The porcelain was chilled to the touch, but he felt the need for some manner of support.

"Thank you."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“Good.” Sean smiled at his partner, heartened to hear that the warmth of the bath helped with his chills.

The telepath watched as Josh leaned against the hard, tiled wall, and he made a mental note that they should buy a bath pillow. Once upon a time, he might have considered it an unnecessary indulgence, but they were both in their later-fifties now that Josh had turned fifty-six, and it was better to have the additional comfort.

He would order one later, although that would do nothing for his partner right now.

Once the tub was as full as it could get with a person inside, the telepath turned off the faucet. Then he reached for Josh’s washcloth and the bar of avocado soap, so he could lather up the cloth.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, and his expression turned gentle and teasing. “What is family for?”

They were a family, and, when family wasn’t estranged (so this didn’t include Sean’s relationship with his sister), they took care of one another and picked up one another’s slack.

How could he not care for his partner when the other man was sick? So sick that Josh couldn’t even pretend that he was fine?

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Mmmm," Josh murmured in agreement. Now that his stomach was more settled and he wasn't shivering, he could feel exhaustion catching up to him.

"Need to wash out my mouth..." He whispered, running his tongue along his top teeth with a grimace. He couldn't go back to sleep when his mouth was still grimy from vomit.