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The doctor left after assuring him that an overnight stay and medication would have him back on track, and Percy filled the room with bright chatter about being fine and eating pudding until he couldn’t keep up the act anymore. Nick sat miserably at his side, staring at Percy’s chest with a distraught expression.
“... So you sussed it out, then?” Percy asked with a sigh, his candor leaving him fully. Nick nodded slowly.
“It’s the same condition as your sister, isn’t it?”
“That it is. I’m a late bloomer, compared to her. It seems it runs in the family. She had it, now me,” Percy confirmed in his most nonchalant tone. Nick’s eyes snapped to his face.
“And the treatments? The ones you came to America to get for Stella…?” he asked, voice betraying his tiny amount of hope. Percy hated to dash it, but shook his head just the same.
“I’ve tried them, but… I’m just as unresponsive as she was. I’m sorry love, but that’s just the way it is,” he said as gently as he could. Nick’s lower lip trembled a moment and he swallowed the lump in his throat. Percy gave him the moment to prepare to ask what he knew he would.
“How… how long?” he croaked, and Percy felt his chest clench in a way entirely unrelated to his physical heart. The Funplex crew all knew about his sister, but only Francine knew the truth of the matter. He hadn’t wanted any of the others to know and worry. It could be Hell to know a loved one had a finite amount of time. But the way Nick was searching him, begging for a better answer, made him reluctant to be vague.
“At last check… about two years,” he finally admitted. He closed his eyes to avoid seeing NIck’s crestfallen expression, but heard the sharp intake of breath just the same. “I suppose you understand why I’ve been so determined to beat Moopy sooner or later, now. There may not be a later.”
Nick went silent, looking back down at his hands on his knees, and Percy did his best to cheer him up. It was tough knowledge, to know a dear friend would pass sooner than later, but he rather thought he had come up with a good speech to make the knowledge easier to bear. He smiled softly as he finished.
“I’ll have another chance to beat the score. I’ve you to thank for that, really.”
“... Bullshit,” Nick muttered. Percy’s eyes widened.
“Pardon me?”
“I nearly killed you for my dream! Percy, I was so wrapped up in the Funplex event that I nearly put you in the morgue! I feel… I feel like complete shit. You deserve better than that, than a friend so focused on dragging themselves out of a depression that they ignore the needs of their friends,” Nick continued, clenching his jeans with tight fists. Percy’s expression softened.
“Come now, love. It’s not like that. I agreed to help the Funplex. It was my choice. I knew the pressure could do this, and I did it anyway. For you, and for me. You know why it’s important to me, why I would ignore doctor’s orders and carry on. So if you insist on considering yourself a fool, well… I’m just as foolish. So we can be two fools together. Is that acceptable?” he countered, watching as Nick rubbed the fresh tears from his eyes and hid a miserable smile before nodding.
“Then, we have an accord,” Percy said with a grin, and Nick looked back up at him. His head was tilted slightly to the side, the way he did when he was thinking heavily.
“... Do the others know? That it’s two years?” he asked quietly. Percy always thought he was too sharp when he put his mind to something.
“.... No, but I will tell them,” Percy said, wincing. One friend grieving this early was quite enough. Nick nodded slowly, looking back down before letting out a sigh and turning back to him with a half grin.
“Would you like a bit of leverage?” he asked, voice less wobbly. Percy’s eyebrow raised. He wasn’t sure at all what Nick could be getting at, and stayed silent as he waited for him to explain.
“You’ve trusted me with something very personal to you, and I appreciate that trust. I… I would like to trust you as well. So, I’ll tell you something about me that very few people know, so you can be extra sure I’ll keep the secret,” he went on. Percy shook his head.
“It doesn’t need to work like that, you know. You can tell me anything simply because you want to, love. It doesn’t need to be a deal,” he chuckled, but Nick looked utterly serious.
“I… I want to. I would feel better, if you knew,” he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before opening them with a nervous smile.
“I’m transgender. Only Juniper knows-- she helped me get out of our small town, start HRT, figure things out. I’ve been, uh, ‘stealth’ since we moved out here. Legally speaking, everything is male, so I haven’t had to tell anyone at the Funplex. They didn’t require a background check. None of them know,” Nick admitted in a rush of words. His cheeks were flushed, and his gaze was intense as he waited for Percy’s reaction.
Well, that was a surprise, but there was only one way to respond. He smiled brightly, and wished he weren’t so hooked up that he couldn’t reach out and embrace his friend.
“Oh, Nick… I appreciate you telling me. Your secret is safe with me, love. These lips are mum. And if ever you need help with any of it, you let me know. I’ve grown quite adapt with the American medical system,” he promised, and Nick released a breath and grinned wide. He impulsively leaned over and embraced Percy, careful to avoid the wires and IV and buried his face in his neck. Percy’s beard tickled his ear. The Brit wrapped his free arm around him in return, squeezing tight.
“Thank you,” he breathed, and the door burst open as soon as he did. QueenBee burst in, concern etched on her normally confident features.
“Holy shit, Per-Per, what the fuck?!” she yelled as she entered and crossed the room, steps slowing as she took in the scene.
“Oh, uh, hey kid,” she said with a blink, and Nick quickly but safely backed up. His face was flushed and he wore and odd smile that made Percy’s heart leap and the monitor beep faster.
“Oh, hello QueenBee. How was the tournament? Afraid I was a little occupied at the moment, couldn’t quite catch the finals,” Percy quipped, winking at Nick who stared at him incredulously. The moment shared between them was over, proven mostly by QueenBee as she continued to yell because that was what she did when she was nervous or happy, but the memory would warm both of them for the rest of their lives.