tarotgal

I've been wanting to write this story for a couple years now. Parts of the opening scene have been bouncing around in my head since I finished A Hundred Different Troys, and this takes place a day or two after that story. I spent November getting to know Troy, Mick, and Johnny much more intimately, and my urge to write this has been intensifying. So I finally just sat down and did.

Here's a kind of close approximation to my mental image of them, though I don't imagine Mick to have tats:

Morning Has Broken

It was the coughing that drew Johnny out of bed that morning. He’d heard it ever since Troy returned from his conference over in California, though a combination of Lemsip, tea, and cough drops usually did the trick quick enough. The problem was, this coughing sounded different, and there was no warm body in bed next to him. So he hauled himself up, turned off his phone alarm before it could even go off, and headed over to the bathroom where the door was open and the bright strip of lights over the mirror made him wince and blink rapidly.

Mick stood at the sink, one fist to his mouth, the other hand flat on the counter as he leaned forward to get closer to the mirror. The way the strong coughs shook his massive body filled Johnny with concern. He reached out and ran the tap then rubbed his hand up and down Mick’s back. “Take a drink,” he suggested.

Dropping the first in favor of cupping his hand under the running water, Mick bent over and lapped up a little water. That seemed to do the trick in calming his coughs, at least for now.

“You okay, Mickito?” Mick definitely wasn’t okay. It was a silly question, but Johnny had to ask it.

“Throat feels like it’s on fire,” he rasped. Opening his mouth wide, he tried to get a look at the back of his throat in the mirror. “And my nose won’t stop running.” He swiped at it with the back of his hand. “Troy definitely gave me his cold.”

Johnny rubbed his back some more. Mick was tense, anxious, frustrated, and sick. A touch from Johnny wasn’t going to fix any of that, but as Johnny had no cure for the common cold available, it was the best he could do for now. “Better get back to bed, then.”

Mick’s nod was automatic. He splashed water on his face, washed his hands, dried them, and then let Johnny lead him right back to bed. “Gonna have to call in,” he murmured as Johnny tucked him back under the covers. Mick was a big guy, but he looked small curled in their enormous bed that was big enough for all three of them to fit comfortably. “Can’t work at the diner if I’m contagious. Fuck my life, the rent’s due next week, too.” He scrubbed a hand over his forehead. Either the head cold or the stress or both seemed to be triggering a headache.

“It’s all right. We’ll cover it.”

But Mick coughed and shook his head. “Troy hasn’t seen his clients in weeks. Our financials already took a hit from that. If we lose my income, too—”

“Troy and I are salaried, remember? We’ll manage.” He had supported Mick for almost eight months back when Mick had been fresh out of rehab and working on the steps. Granted that apartment had been a lot smaller and cheaper, but they had made ends meet when it had just been the two of them. Surely they could dip into their savings, cut back, or stretch things a bit to make it work now for a few more days. “Besides, this head cold’s temporary and it isn’t one of those things you can control.”

That subtle reference to the serenity prayer, more than anything else, finally calmed him. Mick relaxed into the pillows and blankets and coughed a little more. “I’m going to get you some Lemsip. Be right back. You stay put, my love.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Mick’s forehead, sneakily gauging how warm it was. It didn’t seem like he had a fever, but then Troy didn’t have one either and this had been a pretty rotten cold for him even without one. Lemsip couldn’t cure him either, but it should lessen the symptoms.

Johnny glanced into the living room as he made his way to the kitchen to fill and start the electric kettle. Troy was still fast asleep, lying on his chest in a sprawl with his muscular arms and legs spanning the length and width of the couch. Johnny resisted the urge to give him a kiss as well.

With one mug for his instant coffee and one mug for the cold and flu hot drink, Johnny left third mug by the kettle for when Troy woke up. Mick had baked muffins for them yesterday, packed with protein the way Troy liked them, and there were loads leftover. So he grabbed one of those before heading back to the bedroom.

The bed was empty again, and Johnny felt a bit of a blow to his commanding nature at that. It was true that Troy was the real sub in their relationship, but usually Johnny could keep both men in line with no trouble at all.

The sound of sniffling announced Mick’s presence this time, and Johnny turned around to see his lover emerging from the bathroom. “I thought I told you to stay in bed?”

Holding up the tissue box from the bathroom, Mick shuffled back to bed yet again. He was already blowing his nose one-handed as he climbed back under the covers. “Sorry. Runny… sniff! Runny nose. And I sort of feel like I have to sneeze.”

“I’m not surprised. Troy’s been doing a whole lot of th—“

“HAH-ERRCHOO!” Even though they’d just been discussing it, Mick pitched forward so suddenly it surprised Johnny. As did the volume. He’d heard Mick sneeze before, but those hadn’t seemed quite as loud. Maybe it was just because Johnny hadn’t been so close to him those other times.

“Whoa. Bless you!”

He wiped at his nose and nodded his appreciation, too busy sniffling and coughing lightly to say thanks. Johnny sat down on the bed on his usual side and handed over the mug. Mick’s hands were big enough for both the handle and a balled-up tissue. He wrapped his other hand around the mug for the warmth, and Johnny pulled the blankets up to his chest. He could see Mick’s goateed face twitching again, wet nostrils widening, eyes closing, and Johnny knew enough to snatch up the mug then step back to give him some room this time. “Hah-HAH-URHHSHHOO!” The strong sneeze snapped him forward, and he rocked back again against the pillows and headboard.

“Bless.” Johnny offered the mug back, but held up a finger to signal for him to wait and Mick blew his nose a few times before finally taking it.

As Mick nursed the medicinal drink, Johnny showered, shaved, and got dressed for work. An experimental swallow and sniff before he left the bathroom reassured him that he wasn’t sick yet. It would probably be only a matter of a time, given how intimate he and Mick had been last night and how he’d been cuddling Troy protectively almost every chance he’d had since the man’s return. But he was short on leave hours for the year already, and Mick was right to be a little worried about their finances. Skipping work today simply wasn’t an option for him.

“Sure you can’t stay home today?” It was almost as if Mick could read his mind.

“I’m sure. Besides, it would be pretty boring if I did. After you take that, you’re going to be sleeping most of the day. I’ll be home before you know it.” Mick looked down at the drink, his expression full of doubt. “Drink it before it gets cold,” Johnny advised. “It works best when it’s hot. Besides, if you sneeze again, you don’t want to spill a full cup and burn yourself.”

Seeing the reasoning behind this, Mick took a few sips, then a couple larger gulps.

Resisting the urge to call him a good boy, because he knew Mick wouldn’t appreciate that, Johnny leaned in and put a hand to the back of Mick’s head instead. He stroked the short brown hair. Then he strained, raising himself up on his toes to lunge far enough forward for a quick kiss that tasted of lemon and honey. “Feel better.”

Mick nodded again. “Cheers, luv.”

It had been years, yet those words still filled Johnny with a giddy sort of delight, even said by someone who really needed to blow his nose again. Johnny nudged the tissue box closer to him and then headed out.

When Johnny reached the living room, Troy was awake this time, flipped over onto his back and looking at his phone. He put it down immediately when Johnny came over. “Just scrolling,” he said, before Johnny kissed him and he couldn’t say anything else for a few lovely moments.

“Good morning.” Sitting down on the edge of the couch, Johnny touched the side of Troy’s face and slid his hand down to cup his chin. “You’re looking and sounding a lot better.”

“I feel a lot better!” Troy insisted, though Johnny couldn’t miss the way his eyes cut to the box of tissues on the coffee table.

“Yeah?”

“Y-yeah.” His breath hitched and he glanced at the box again.

Johnny sighed and picked it up for him, moving it close just as Troy made a grab for a tissue.

“HUHshoo! Hheptchoo!”

“Bless you.”

Troy had this funny way of smiling now every time Johnny blessed him. He didn’t know what was up with that, but it was kind of hot. Of course, any time Troy smiled he looked hot. Those dimples, and that twinkle in his eye, and that slight cock of his head to the side… they all worked on Johnny. They had from the very beginning.

“So… Mick’s caught your cold.”

The smile faded immediately. “What?”

“Mick—” Jonny started to repeat the statement, but he didn’t get the chance.

From the direction of the bedroom came a booming “HARRCHOO!”

Troy looked convinced but rattled now. “Shite. Mick’s gonna kill me for giving this to him!” Instinctively, he looked around, as if he were actually considering the option of fleeing from his own home.

“He won’t.”

“He will.” Troy swept his arm out, gesturing to the couch. “He made me sleep out here on the couch, made me clean his kitchen with disinfectant twice a day.”

“Which you did, because you’re a good boy.”

Troy nodded, flushing slightly.

“Then he can’t get mad at you. It’s not your fault. You did what you could. And you didn’t catch this cold on purpose, did you?”

This time, Troy shook his head.

Smiling knowingly, Johnny called out toward the bedroom, “Mickito?”

“Yeah?” The shout was followed by a bout of coughing that made Johnny feel a little bad. He probably shouldn’t have encouraged Mick to raise his voice when his throat was irritated, but Johnny needed to make a point quickly, before he was late for work. “Troy’s awake. Do you want me to send him in to keep you comp—”

“Yes please!” The answer had come before Johnny had even finished the question.

He raised his eyebrows at Troy as if to say ‘See?’

Troy relaxed a little. “All right.” When Johnny held a hand out to help him up, he accepted it.

And when Troy was on his feet, Johnny gave him a kiss to reward him. “That’s my good boy.”

Beaming with pride but ducking his head in a submissive way at the same time, Troy bent to gather up his blankets. Johnny set the tissue box on top of the armful of blankets. He was going to need that. “I’ll order the two of you lunch to be delivered around twelve-thirty,” he said. “I’ll be home at the usual time, but call me at the office if you or Mick need me for anything.”

Troy mumbled something with three syllables into the mass of blankets in front of him that sounded suspiciously close to “Service top.”

Johnny’s hand swung back and gave Troy’s left asscheek a gentle smack. Troy straightened obediently. “I’m sorry, what was that you said?”

Troy lifted his head and leaned to the side, peering around the blankets. “I said: I love you.”

Another kiss between them had Johnny feeling soft in his chest and hard down below. “Mmmm. That’s what I thought. I love you, too.” He took a deep breath. ¡Dios mío! If he didn’t leave for work right away, Troy would drag him back to the bedroom, and Johnny would go with him. “Go keep him warm for me, okay? I’ll be home soon,” he said, though he had a feeling that his eight-hour workday was going to feel like an eternity.