darker_london | Life goes on (Flynn, Stuart) (Reply)

Thomas was better, meaning Flynn didn't have to worry about him anymore. It was a weight off his shoulders, which was a relief in itself. He hadn't let himself feel the worry for his friend, but now that it wasn't there anymore, he noticed the absence of it. It had been there all along, buried deeply under layers of protective walls and anguish.

Flynn had spent the entirety of the last few days learning how to care for Quinn. There was so much he had to do. Check monitors and tubes and straps and once Quinn had healed more he would have to learn how to transfer him to the wheelchair (which meant installing a chair lift on the stairs, which he also had to learn to operate) and there was so much to learn, it was lucky Flynn was learning for Quinn's sake or his mind would have shut off halfway through. He stayed attentive though. He realised, in a fit of terror, that if he got this wrong, it meant Quinn was dead. Quinn couldn't tell Flynn if he was in pain or hungry or cold anymore, like he used to. Flynn just had to know. Luckily for Quinn, Flynn had been with him throughout so much that he'd gotten quite good at that.

Throughout all of it, whenever Quinn was awake, he watched Flynn quite closely. There were no signs of recognition behind Quinn's remaining eye, but it did touch Flynn that Quinn watched him and not Katia the nurse who was taking Flynn through everything. There was something in that, or so Flynn believed. So he needed to believe. If Quinn was watching him, then Quinn still loved him and Flynn hadn't lost everything.

After Katia left for the day, Flynn sat with Quinn on his bed, stroking Quinn's hair. "I love you, Ardal. Tomorrow I'm going to leave you for an hour so I can go buy you new books. Katia will be here so you'll be safe, I promise. I won't be gone long. I would never be gone long. You deserve new books. Even if you do tend to read the old ones over and over again so many times you wear them out. I think you're the only person I've ever met who needs to replace books because you used them too much. I think the point of books is that they're supposed to last, but not with you. You're a rabid literary type." Flynn smiled, though the expression was bittersweet. "I love you, Bub. You should sleep now. Katia says sleep is good for you. I want to be able to take you out of the bed and down to the park but you have to heal first." Flynn leaned over and he kissed Quinn's head lightly. "I'll stay with you until you sleep."

And Flynn kept his promise, even though Quinn took several hours to fall asleep. By the time he made his way down into the kitchen, it was well after dark. He spotted Stuart in there and he waved at the other man.

"Flynn!" Stuart said, happy to see Flynn outside of his room. "Can I interest you in a kebab?!"

Flynn raised his eyebrows. "You...you're making kebabs?" For some reason, the thought of Stuart making kebabs was deeply funny. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Why does everyone keep saying that!?" Stuart looked terribly confused. "Would you like one?" He really wanted Flynn to eat. He was still picking at things and eating like a bird and he was already looking slightly skeletal and it freaked Stuart out. "I can make it any way you want."

Flynn considered that and then his stomach gave what sounded like a frightened little growl, as if it was afraid it would get lectured for being insistent and greedy. Flynn put his hand on his stomach and he nodded. "Guess it's probably a good idea." He admitted. "Thanks, Stuart."

Stuart smiled gently back at Flynn. "Of course, Flynn. You can go sit on the sofa if you like. I'll bring you something to drink as well. Just relax, I'll take care of you."

Flynn was about to protest, but he thought better of it and he didn't. This is what friends did and just because he'd spent so long without them didn't mean he shouldn't accept this now. He offered Stuart a small smile and he nodded. "Thank you, Stuart."

As Flynn made his way to the sofa, he marvelled at the simple fact that he had people who would do this for him now. He had people who loved him, even if Quinn wasn't around. He would be taken care of. And while it was going to be a long time before he could truly open himself up to that again, at least now he knew that he could. He really could.