Chapter Text
The next time Rooster woke up, it was with a yawn that didn’t aggravate his throat. He rolled onto his side and stretched his arms over his head, back arching against the back of the couch. It was with a hint of satisfaction that he realized that the oxygen mask had been taken from his face and the IV was out as well. He faintly remembered someone taking the IV out, but he couldn’t recall the oxygen mask. It didn’t matter all that much, considering that he was just relieved that it was no longer strapped onto his face and making that whistling sound when he breathed.
He gave his head a slight shake as he looked around the dark room to realize that he was alone, or at least there was no one in the room, but he was certain there was still someone in the house.
A small creak from the floorboards above his head peeked Rooster’s interest as he threw the blanket from his legs and promptly forced himself into a sitting position, relieved that he didn’t immediately feel lightheaded with the sudden movement. That was an improvement from the days before when he could hardly remember the events that took place. He was certain that someone would fill him in on what happened, though he wasn’t sure he entirely wanted to know.
When the echoing of the ceiling above him continued to move and shift, Rooster made the executive decision to see what was going on.
Arms braced on either side of himself, he stood with a start, knees trembling as he reached out to latch onto the couch, nails snagging the cloth fabric. He managed to keep himself upright he collected his bearings before starting forward, remaining conscious as he continued forward, toes curling to regain his balance. Weakness spread through every muscle as he tried to hurry himself along, his mind mentally cursing himself for allowing himself to struggle this much with something that was second nature to him.
Stairs were an even bigger struggle. Both hands were braced on either side of the rails tightly until his knuckles turned white. Rooster’s eyes didn’t leave the stairs as he took one step with his left leg, arms rippling as he hauled his right leg up to match. The journey to the second floor took almost five minutes, which Rooster ordinarily could’ve climbed in a matter of seconds at two stairs at a time.
When he finally reached the top, he slumped against the wall as his chest ached with each fluttering breath. It didn’t quite feel like a vice was cranking itself tighter and tighter anymore, more like an uncomfortable pressure as though he had squeezed himself into a tight corner that he couldn’t quite pull himself out of. The feeling didn’t linger for too long, fading the more that he stood still. He was certain it wouldn’t last long once he started moving again, though, which wasn’t something that he could avoid.
He continued down the hallway into his room where he heard faint humming, alongside the snap of a fresh fitted sheet being draped over the mattress. He was half expecting it to be Maverick when he stepped in, but he was even more surprised to see Savant standing there, tending to the bed.
“Savant,” Rooster croaked.
“Rooster, your voice sounds a whole lot better,” Savant exclaimed as he dropped what he was doing and headed over, eying the younger man quizzically. “And you’re walking.” His hand raised to palm at Rooster’s forehead, relieved when the younger man didn’t shy away under his touches. His lips pressed together in a sort of hum when he dropped his hands back at his sides. “You still have a fever I’m guessing but it’s not nearly as high as it was, thank God. Are you feeling any better?”
Rooster took a brief mental inventory, the soreness of his throat still very much there without being and overwhelming pain like it had been earlier. Each breath no longer brought a fierce urge to cough, nor a tight burn that spread from the very depths to his lungs and left him sputtering and weak. No, he did feel better, if only slightly.
“I feel better.” He gave a brief pause as he realized what Savant was doing, a blush rising in his cheeks. “You don’t need to change my sheets. I-I can do that. You’ve done so much already. I can change my own sweaty and gross sheets.”
Savant waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s no trouble. I prefer to keep myself busy.”
“Sounds like Maverick.” Rooster tucked his hands into his pockets as he continued over to the bed, muffling a soft cough against his chest. “At least let me help, please.”
Savant eyed Rooster warily. There were so many reasons he could think of for why Rooster needed to be resting, preferably in a bed with a glass of water and another dose of antibiotics. However, he could sympathize with Rooster’s need to release at least some of the pent up energy that he was experiencing at the moment, which was probably just adrenaline and would dissipate soon whether or not he did something with that energy or not. Then again, making a bed wasn’t exactly rigorous, unlike flying a jet or doing PT.
With a sigh of resignation, Savant grabbed the corner of the fitted sheet and gave a curt nod in Rooster’s direction. Rooster beamed as he came along the other side of the bed and gripped the other edge of the sheet, the elastic tugged around the corner of the mattress as he tucked it under while Savant did the same on the opposite side. Rooster shifted sideways up the length of the bed and tucked in the final corner with Savant smoothing the covers until they laid flat.
The regular sheet was next, which was expertly tucked around the entire edge of the mattress by Savant almost robotically. Rooster took a step back to watch Savant delicately make sure both sides were even, head ducking back around each side to check to his work before completing the bed with a comforter. It was the neatest that Rooster had ever seen his bed in Maverick’s house, as most of the time he didn’t even bother making his bed at all. He didn’t see the point considering he was just going to crawl back into the same bed later that night; why bother to go through the hassle of making it up again if you were just going to lay in it once again?
“Thanks,” Rooster rasped when Savant turned down the comforter and top sheet, hand waving to invite Rooster to lay down. “But I’ve had enough sleeping for a lifetime.”
Savant raised his eyebrows, a retort clearly on the tip of his tongue. Patience won out as he took in a deep breath and regarded Rooster kindly. “Sleep is the best thing for you right now even if you don’t feel like it.”
Still mildly reluctant, Rooster finally sat on the edge of the bed without laying back. His feet lifted off of the floor and began to sway back and forth, the aches that he could remember from times he was lucid enough to feel were slowly creeping back, seeped deep into his flesh to brush the bone beneath. Maybe Savant was right about resting.
The bed dipped beside him as a weight shifted close, a stiff shoulder colliding with his own. Rooster rolled his head around and glanced at Savant, unable to hide his smile.
“How about you just humor me,” Savant requested. “Just so that I can tell Maverick I at least tried to keep you in line.”
“I’m not a little kid anymore, Savant. I think that I can tell what’s best for myself.”
Savant scoffed. “Oh really? And I’m guessing pneumonia and strep at the same time probably due to stress is just a coincidence not because of your refusal to rest and take care of yourself?”
“Maybe that was a fluke?”
Savant nudged him harder with a roll of his eyes. There was no way that he could be too cross nor exasperated with Rooster, not when he had been young once too and invincible himself. Those days were certainly over, now a harsh twist in the wrong direction could leave him on the couch for a day or more. Rooster hadn’t reached that stage in his life yet, and wouldn’t for quite sometime, though Savant could hardly fault him for how he was acting. Hell, Maverick was still in that stage, using a jet to go Mach 10 without any consideration of what might happen. That had been reckless with a capital R.
Like father like son.
“Fluke or not you need rest.” Savant rose to his feet stiffly and pulled the covers even further down, this time giving a sharp clearing of his throat to signal Rooster to listen to him.
Rooster took the edge of the covers in his hand and scooted himself under, the covers then thrown back around him up to his waist. His hands folded delicately on his chest as he stared up at the ceiling, the fan whirling above him so slowly that he could count each blade as it went around.
“Something on your mind?”
Rooster blinked his eyes in surprise and looked to Savant. “Just thinking how lucky I am to have you and Maverick here to look after me.”
“This was more Maverick than me. He loves you so much, Rooster. He may not always know how to show it, and I know you two have had your past disagreements, but he does care. Don’t forget that.” Savant started toward the door only for him to hear a sound between a cough and a grunt from behind him. His head turned to find Rooster with a fist up to his mouth as his chest heaved, free hand pressed on his chest as though that would abate the pressure. When Rooster was finally able to compose himself, he regarded Savant hopefully. “Can you stay for just a little longer?”
Affection for the young man in front of him spread through Savant like a wildfire. This wasn’t the first time Rooster had requested that of him, and certainly not the first time in this illness either. Though, he knew that the aviator probably didn’t remember, which was for the best. The last thing that Savant wanted to do was embarrass him, especially when there was absolutely no need to do so.
Savant closed the door and made his way back, taking up his familiar space beside Rooster on top of the covers. His legs stretched out in front of him as he twisted his ankles inwards in turn, the small strain familiar and comfortable. His arms crossed over his chest as he rested his head against the headboard, calmness wrapped around him like a blanket.
“This alright?”
Rooster nodded, eyes already fluttering closed under heavy lids. His breath began to stall in his throat until he started to snore, a sign that Savant took as that he was finally in a deep and peaceful sleep, or at least as peaceful as could be expected in his current condition.
Savant continued to keep a silent vigil over him, the memory of doing the same for Thunder numerous times before replaying over and over again in his mind. No matter how he tried to separate the two, he found himself unable to. It wasn’t the worst memory that he had of his lover, no that was reserved for when Savant could no longer fight the nightmares that encroached around him. There would be a time when he could no longer fight, no longer wanted to fight the grief that would one day drown him.
The past can’t dictate your future.
The past can’t dictate your future.
The past can’t dictate your future.
It was a simple mantra they had instilled in him from medical school. It wasn’t something that he had thought about in ages, as he had never been too impressed by it when he first heard it. He had recited it with the rest of his class without complaint, though it had taken him years and years before he had finally understood the meaning and what he could actually take away from it.
He would never be able to let Thunder go, that much he knew. There was too much there, and he just didn’t want to. That man had been the best part of his life, and now he was gone, which was something that he had to live with every day. However, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t choose to spend time with another family that would accept and welcome him.
Times had changed, and perhaps it was time to start a new chapter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maverick scrubbed a hand over his face as he climbed the stairs, feeling refreshed after a short nap and a shower. He wasn’t quite ready to face the outside world, though he thought that he could handle checking in on Savant and Rooster. He hadn’t heard anything from them in a while, which he expected could’ve been a good thing overall.
He was about to knock before he thought better of it, instead easing the door open a fraction. Darkness spilled from the room, and it took Maverick a moment for his eyes to adjust to it and take a step in. Once he did, he saw Rooster curled protectively under the covers with his back to Savant, who was sitting propped up against the headboard. His arms were still crossed over his chest while his breathing was slow and deep. It offset Rooster’s occasional snoring that foretold a blocked nose and post nasal drip that he was still fighting.
“Sav? Roo?”
Maverick’s whisper went unnoticed by both of them, the overall quietness around the room visceral and yet familiar. It wasn’t uncommon for his house to be a source of quiet, considering it was just him and when Rooster was there, he hardly added anything to the noise. Still, there was something different about sharing the space with two people that he cared about, and being in the calmness that they hadn’t experienced since Rooster had been ill.
Rooster began to stir in his sleep, rolling onto his back before crashing harshly against Savant, face tucked protectively against Savant’s side while his arm stretched out, wrapping the doctor in a hug. Savant hardly appeared to notice, a light hum the only sign that he was even aware before he settled back to a peaceful slumber.
Oh how Maverick wished that he had his phone to take a picture of this. He had plenty of embarrassing pictures of Rooster over the years, but none of Savant. It was only his desire not to wake them by risking a trek down the creaking floorboards in the hallway that halted him, instead his mind took a mental picture, from the way that Savant’s breath puffed against the top of Rooster’s hair to the way that Rooster’s mouth hung open while his nose remained pressed into Savant’s hip.
Watching them stirred Maverick’s own feelings of affection for the two of them. He found himself coming over to the bed and crawling onto the foot of the bed with his legs curled behind him so that he fit, albeit barely. He untucked the sheets and comforter from the end of the mattress and pulled it over himself as he wriggled into a more comfortable position until his head was almost touching Savant’s knee and his arms crossed over his own chest.
It wasn’t the most comfortable position that he had ever been in to sleep, but it also was far from the most uncomfortable. The feeling of having Rooster and Savant within arms reach quelled any of those frantic thoughts that often raced through Maverick’s brain when he was alone, bringing with them wave after unrelenting wave of grief and heartache. He could keep them at bay so long as he surrounded himself with those that brought him comfort. It may not be something he could do all the time, but this very moment he could frame in his mind forever, to keep him grounded when he was fighting for stability.
“Thank you.....for everything,” Maverick whispered to the silence as his eyes finally fluttered shut, peace the only thing he had in his mind as he finally fell asleep with his family surrounding him.
The End