Miles From Home

“Are you seriously not gonna eat, Lex?” Alex just shrugged at him,

“I’m not that hungry right now.” He smiled at Jack in a reassuring way and then went back to shifting the food on his plate.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence, but not a bad silence. Alex paid and held Jack’s hand again as they walked out of the restaurant.

“Can we take a walk down by the water?” Jack asked while smiling sweetly. Alex nodded with a somewhat forced smile as they headed toward the water.
Jack chatted on about the tour and how funny Vinny had been last night after he got wasted, not really noticing that Alex wasn’t paying much attention.

Jack felt a tug on his hand and turned around to see Alex bent over with his free hand on his stomach.

“Jack, can we, like, sit down for a minute?”

Jack was quick to wrap his arms around Alex’s waist and move him over toward a bench.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“Just a cramp.” Jack raised his eyebrows.

“You barely ate anything and it’s not like we were power walking.” Alex just shook his head and took a deep breath laying his head on Jack’s shoulder. They sat like that for a few minutes before Alex’s stomach made a loud noise.

“Dude, if you’re hungry why didn’t you eat at the restaurant?” Alex shook his head and rubbed his stomach through his shirt.

“I’m not hungry; do you think we could just go back to the hotel now?” Alex asked quietly. Jack nodded and went to wrap his arm around Alex’s waist again but Alex pushed his hand away. Jack pouted and instead tangled his fingers with Alex’s.

It was a quiet walk back to the hotel and up to the room. Alex went to curl up on the bed as soon as the door opened; Jack silently sat down beside him.

“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

Alex didn’t say anything but his stomach let out another gurgling noise. Alex turned over onto his back and made a face.

“Ugh.” Jack laughed a little and reached over to mess with Alex’s hair. Alex swatted at it before resting his own hand back on his stomach and sticking out his tongue.

“My stomach feels so gross.”

Jack’s lower lip jutted out and he smooshed his face into Alex’s neck.

“You feel sick?” he mumbled. Jack felt Alex nod and he sat up again.

“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“I didn’t want to ruin the night.” Typical Alex, wanting to make Jack happy even if it meant making himself a bit miserable.

“You should have told me you weren’t feeling good. I like just cuddling in bed with you.”

Alex smiled softly.

“I know, sorry, I just wanted to be able to go out for once.”

“It’s ok, I still love you.” Jack wrapped his arms around Alex and squeezed. Alex groaned, pushing Jack off of him before stumbling into the bathroom.

“Shit, I’m so sorry, Lex!” Jack stood in the doorway as Alex kneeled in front of the toilet and gagged before he vomited.

“Fuck, can I do anything or get you something…” Jack trailed off as Alex threw up into the bowl again. Alex shook his head letting his forehead rest against the rim of the toilet.

“Fuck, Lex, I’m so sorry.” Jack sat down behind him, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

“Stop apologizing. It’s not your fault.” Alex sighed and leaned back into Jack’s hand.

“Do you want to go lay down now or…” Alex shook his head.

“I think I’m gonna be sick again.” As the words left his mouth, Alex leaned forward and threw up once more.

“Poor, baby.” Jack sighed. He sat quietly as Alex fell back into his chest and closed his eyes. It was maybe fifteen minutes before Alex finally spoke.

“I think I’m ok now.” He said in a hoarse whisper. Jack slipped out from behind Alex and gently pulled him to his feet, wrapping his arms around Alex’s waist and walking him to the hotel bed. Jack grabbed a blanket and tossed it over Alex.

“I’m sorry I’m sick and ended our night early” Alex said looking up at Jack as he pulled the blanket around his shoulders. Jack stared open-mouthed for a minute.

“Seriously, Lex? You’re apologizing for being ill? This is not your fault.” Alex just shrugged.

“Alex, listen to me. Tonight was great. I love you so much. You’ve been sick all night haven’t you? And you didn’t say a word because you wanted me to have a good night.”

Alex shifted under the blanket.

“You make my night great. I don’t care what we do as long as I’m with you. It doesn’t matter if we eat out at a nice restaurant, fly to the fucking moon, or spend the night lying in bed. I just want to be with you, and I will sit in a bathroom with you all night if I have to because I fucking love you and I want to take care of you.”

Alex sniffed “I fucking love you too.”

He held out his arms for Jack to come lay with him. Jack obliged, crawling up behind Alex and snuggling him from behind. Alex rolled over and groaned pushing his face into Jack’s chest.

“My stomach really fucking hurts.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” Jack slipped his hand under Alex’s shirt and traced patterns on his hip. Jack felt Alex’s breathing start to even out and he smiled to himself. It didn’t matter to him that the night wasn’t perfect, he still had Alex at the end of the day.