Marcus blinked around the room, taking it all in as he gently folded the blankets and comforter. He paused at the weighted blanket, biting his lip. He took that too, but opted to keep it blood free so Cyrus could use it more in the future.
He took one last look around the room before he left, shutting the door quietly behind him. On his way back he sent Xio the address to the house a few houses down the road, just to keep Cyrus's identity more of a secret if anything rose up in the house they were in now.
He smiled happily when he returned to the bathroom and saw his lover there.
"She's on her way, lets get you up, I grabbed a few blankets for you, some to use now and your weighted one for tonight to help with healing and stress." Marcus seemed proud of his decision, releived to have Cyrus with him.
Cyrus nodded.
"Thanks, babe," he whispered, "I really appreciate it."
He started to get up, using the counter as a support, but he stumbled a bit as the blood rushed from his head, and he had to get back down to keep from passing out.
"Gimme a minute," he muttered.
“Careful Cy, let me help you.” He bent down next to Cyrus and offered himself as a support.
“I’m here to help you, okay? Let’s take it slow.”
"Yeah, thanks," Cyrus said, grabbing onto Marcus carefully.
He let out a sharp exhale as the edges of his vision went black. Cyrus squeezed his eyes shut.
Marcus bit his lip, pausing immediately. “Are you alright?” His eyes were wide as he studied Cyrus, making sure he didn’t look like he’d pass out.
To be honest, Cyrus was pale enough Marcus was a little afraid, but he wouldn’t say it out loud. Not yet at least.
"I'm really unsteady," he admitted, "I feel faint…"
He had one hand still on the counter, and the other on Marcus. He took a few deep breaths, trying to keep himself from passing out.
"We can wait, it's okay." Marcus promised, his eyes wide. "You lost a lot of blood and went through something traumatic, baby, feeling faint makes sense. It'll be okay, when we get home I'll get you something high in iron to eat and wash you off. Then you can sleep, rest, and I'll fix up the apartment for us. We should come back and move your things into our place."
"That sounds nice…" Cyrus agreed, his eyes fluttering open again.
He rode out the dizziness for a minute until it had mostly faded.
"Okay, I think we can do this now."
Once Cyrus had given the okay, Marcus took a few testing steps forwards. "Tell me if you need a break at any time. It'll be a bit of a walk." He threw the blankets back over his shoulder when they started to slip, giving most of his balance to Cyrus to give him a firm crutch.
"I will," Cyrus promised, "It's not like I want to pass out. That could just hurt me worse."
He limped forwards with Marcus as he made sure he had the important things: his phone, keys, wallet…
He was really struggling, but he acknowledged it could've been much, much worse.
"It will hurt you worse. I don't want that, Cy. I mean it'd give me more a reason to nurture you but I'd rather you be healthy." Marcus flashed a small smile at his boyfriend, sighing sadly.
"Either way I'm going to doctor you back to health. Expect me to be around so much you'll get annoyed."
"I don't think I could get annoyed with you if I tried," Cyrus laughed, pushing onward.
He didn't feel as bad as they continued walking- at least not compared to when they first got up.
"I think I'll make it to the car alright," he reassured his boyfriend.
"Mm, I'm going to test that then. Expect the most clingiest boyfriend in the world." He joked, his smile cracked into a wider grin, something playful in his worried eyes.
"If you're sure. You've been doing really good so far, Cy. I'm proud of you." He praised, going at Cyrus's speed to make sure he didn't push him too much.
Cyrus gave a kind of pained smile.
"God, I'm so lucky you were here for me."
He kept limping forwards, carefully paying attention to the state of his body. A few times, he had to stop and catch his breath, or fight off a wave of dizziness, but otherwise he was able to make it.
Marcus could only beam at the words, blushing lightly as he mulled them over. It felt good to be someone’s support, to be loving and kind and caring to them. Marcus could really get used to it.
Even with the few stops they soon reached the street. Marcus let Cyrus down the road, grinning when he recognized Xio’s car.
She hopped out the second she saw them, her eyes wide.
“Oh! Marcus you weren’t kidding! Good hell you look awful.” She blurted out, looking Cyrus up and down. “Let’s get you home, get in, get in.” She opened the backseat and helped Marcus get Cyrus seated on top of a blanket.
“Fucking gangs… you two really should find a way out already.” She chided, shaking her head.
Cyrus sat himself up in the backseat, and he felt like he was fading again.
"Nice to meet you," Cyrus murmured to Xio, "Sorry it had to be like this…"
He leaned up against the headrest, his breaths coming in short gasps again as he felt like his head was spinning.
Marcus climbed into the backseat as quickly as he could, wrapping Cyrus up in the blankets and setting the weighted one in the front to keep it from getting dirty.
Xio smiled at Cyrus’s words, shaking her head.
“It’s nice to meet you too, even if it is like this.” She replied as she climbed into the front seat. She watched Marcus fuss over Cyrus for a bit, something sad in her eyes. She was happy Marcus found someone for himself but she hated to see her friend in the same awful situation he had been in when she had first met him. He was still being abused by the gang…
“Alright, lets go.”
A slight tingling set into Cyrus' hands and feet. He was starting to struggle to slow down his breathing.
He tried to tell Marcus what was happening, but it just came as a soft whimper.
Cyrus clenched his fists in frustration. He wasn't sure what was going on- whether the anxiety of the situation had caught up with him, or something worse was happening.
Marcus took one of Cyrus’s hands, giving it a soft squeeze when he heard the whimper.
“It’s going to be okay, Cy!” Immediately he moved the blankets to give Cyrus space, not wanting the other to feel trapped.
“Breath with me, breath with me…”
Cyrus tried to keep in time with Marcus, but everything was so blurry. He barely felt in control of his own body. He did not squeeze Marcus' hand back.
He kept trying to speak, but his voice wouldn't go.
Cyrus closed his eyes, still breathing heavily. When he opened them again, it was like there was a haze over everything.
Marcus was starting to panic when he realized something was way wrong.
He was trying everything he could to bring Cyrus back into control of his body. Or at least back into a state of mind where he could talk.
“Cyrus?! Stay with me, baby, try and focus on me.”
Cyrus gave the slightest nod in acknowledgement, feeling so horribly tired that he could barely lift his head.
He closed his eyes again, as he was bothered by the haze, the blazing streetlights, the passing cars.
He was still breathing in short gasps.
“It’s going to be okay.” Marcus reassured; however, it was more to himself than anyone else.
Xio glanced back nervously, taking turns slowly and driving as carefully as she could.
Marcus gently pushed Cyrus’s head closer, stroking his hair. He felt like he was going to cry again but he didn’t let himself, instead shielding Cyrus’s eyes from the passing views. Maybe that would help his dizzy spell and the haze.
Cyrus felt Marcus' warmth, but he was already overheated and sweating. It was a bit much for him, but he was so weak he couldn't do anything about it.
He let out a soft exhale into Marcus' shoulder. The panicked gasping had subsided, but he was still breathing pretty fast.
Marcus pressed a soft kiss to Cyrus’s head, worrying over the fever the other felt like he had.
“Is this okay Cy? Am I too close?” He asked quietly, hoping the other had regained at least some part of his voice.
Cyrus pressed his hand into Marcus' lap, still unable to say anything. He could feel his consciousness wavering as Marcus held him.
Marcus took the press as a sign to pull away, so he did, making sure to stay as close as he could without invading the other’s space.
“It’s going to be okay… it’s okay…” he murmured over and over again.
Xio could tell Marcus was panicking but she couldn’t help him in any way. She didn’t know what had happened, or what was wrong…
Cyrus fought off unconsciousness for a while, but eventually, he couldn't stay awake any longer, and slumped over against Marcus' shoulder. It wasn't sudden or necessarily unexpected, and in fact, for an outsider, it might be nearly impossible to determine whether he had passed out or simply fallen asleep.
Marcus propped Cyrus up as best he could, feeling his forehead. He was growing increasingly alarmed by the other’s condition and the passing out didn’t help one bit.
He hardly noticed when the car pulled to a stop, Xio being the one to alert him to it.
“I’ll help you get him into the apartment.” She murmured, offering a sad smile. It wasn’t returned.
From there, Cyrus was in and out of consciousness. Occasionally, he would catch a bit of what was happening, but for the most part, he was helpless and had no strength left. Everything was fuzzy.
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