Chapter Text
Chapter One - Business Meeting
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David carefully took a sip of his very specific, almost overflowing, caramel macchiato and only just managed to hold back the moan that wanted to escape at how perfectly correct it was. Twyla did her best, but it might just be worth it to drive to Upper Elmdale a few times a week for this version. The cute twenty-something barista behind the counter practically beamed at him as she passed him his receipt. “Have a great day, thanks for coming to JJ Bean!”
Okay, that may have been a bit cheesy, but at least she didn't call him David after reading it on his credit card to add a 'personal touch' to their interaction. He was convinced people who do that were sociopaths - according to the book he'd been reading recently, one in five people were, so it wasn't even much of a stretch.
With his inner critic rambling away as per usual, he gave her a small pursed-lip smile and grabbed a lid for his cup. “You too, thanks so much.”
Despite the huffy, grumbling man waiting behind him, he took an extra minute to make sure he pressed the lid down firmly on all sides - he'd experienced far too many incidents of a too full cup resulting in hot coffee dribbling down his chin. It was one of the many seemingly insignificant things in life that made him want to scream .
The barista gave him a happy little wave as he turned to leave and he found himself reflexively giving her a friendly, albeit slightly awkward, one back. New York!David would barely recognize him anymore. Back then, he would've been glued to his phone through their entire interaction and barely looked at her once. He keeps changing, slowly but surely, and he’s not sure he really minds anymore.
Well, he’s at least a lot less resistant to change than he was when they first arrived. Whatever. Baby steps.
Leaving the shop, he put his earbuds back in and headed down the sidewalk, humming along to his favourite Tina album. Adjusting his bag in the crook of his elbow, he checked the maps app on his phone; thankfully his destination was within reasonable walking distance. He was already a bit late, but he'd walk for a surprisingly long time if it meant he could avoid the muggle transit vehicle Stevie was always sarcastically suggesting to him.
His mind started to wander as he hurried along, doom scrolling through insta while simultaneously fantasizing about a lavender body milk he'd recently discovered at a nearby goat farm. Twyla has surprisingly good taste when it comes to wellness products, I wonder if -
“Fuck. Fuck!”
David hadn’t been paying the least bit of attention to the ground ahead of him and abruptly found himself yelping like a hyena as his high tops went sliding on a patch of icy concrete. He flapped his arms about, swearing emphatically as he tried to get a grip on the pavement but it was no use - apparently the universe had decided his ass would look lovely covered in black and blue for the next couple weeks, and not in a good way. Stumbling to his right, there was a sudden, sickening crack that he pretended not to hear as he rolled his ankle and landed hard on the frozen ground in an awkward pile of flailing limbs. His beautiful, perfect coffee sadly flew out of his hand as he went down, dramatically exploding all over the place as it hit the concrete.
The wind knocked out of him, he gasped and spluttered trying to catch his breath as he felt a deep throb of pain from his ankle. Wriggling around, trying not to think about what damage he may be inflicting on his jeans, he managed to get himself into an awkward, semi cross-legged position. After loosening the laces on his right shoe, he carefully brushed his fingertips over his ankle bone to assess the damage and regretted it instantly. The skin felt hot and swollen already and the sharp angry pain made him shudder with his whole body. A wave of nausea came over him as he realized he’d felt this specific pain before, along with the disgustingly familiar snapping sound he'd heard as he fell. He’d really been hoping he’d imagined it, but apparently not.
Fuck. Holy fucking FUCK he was alone in the middle of nowhere with no transport and a broken bone.
“Dude, are you okay? That was gnarly.”
Wonderful. People were starting to notice him and he’d never wanted attention less than he did in this moment. Even if he did desperately need help.
"Ew, it's so broken. Do you want us to call you a cab?"
“Oh god, that looked rough, man.”
“Should I call an ambulance, do you think? He's not saying anything, maybe he hit his head too.”
“OMG Becky. He’s hot, this could totally be your like, hurt/comfort romcom meet-cute. Let's drive him to the ER! Oh, unless he’s going to barf all over my car, he looks kinda green.”
Seriously? Did these gawking strangers think he couldn't hear them? He groaned in exasperation as even more nosey people started to crowd around him, offering their supposed 'help', and just focused on fighting off the nausea, ignoring them completely.
“Hey, give the poor guy some room, come on.”
A friendly, but firm voice cut through the din of ramblings as yet another pair of legs appeared in his line of vision. Hideous shoes. But a nice voice. Actually managing to take a full breath, David looked up and scanned the gathered crowd, searching for the owner of that oddly calming voice.
“Hey, are you okay?” Dumb question.
Squinting against the rare November sun - that was doing a very poor job of melting the leftover ice from the weekend's storm - he found his hopefully soon to be saviour.
Oh. Okay wow, maybe he had hit his head when he fell, because the face belonging to that soothing voice was far too beautiful and genuinely concerned looking to be a random stranger taking an interest. His big doe eyes were round and soft with worry as he squatted down, forearms resting on his thick thighs as he surveyed the scene. Glancing at David’s ankle and back up to his face, his smile was warm and kind as he spoke. “Sorry, dumb question. That looks pretty bad, do you want some help getting to the hospital?”
Mhm, that was the exactly correct thing to say, thanks so much. Everyone else had a lot to learn.
David had to clear his throat before managing to speak, still feeling a little breathless with the pain and sudden shock to his system. And okay, maybe the fact that a gorgeous man had seemingly come to his rescue was already starting to affect him a little. Apparently not even a throbbing broken bone could stop a Rose from seeing potential when it came to hot men behaving like heroes.
Croaking out a reply, he fumbled his words. “Okay, that would be, um, nice?” Instantly rolling his eyes at himself he didn’t even blame the man for his small, teasing smile as he lost his overly concerned look.
“Oh are you sure? I mean I can totally just call an ambulance for you - or do you think you might be able to drive?”
David huffed, scowling a little at that pretty, cheeky smile and sarcastic playful tone. Was this snarky man actually making fun of him when he was wounded? And David was kind of into it despite the pain and ridiculousness of the situation? Yes and yes.
It didn’t stop him being cranky from the pain though. “Mmkay fuck off, I definitely can’t drive on it. I’m like 98% sure it's broken? It's not exactly the first time.”
Maybe he could be a little more polite to someone offering him help, but fuck - the second he focused back on his ankle it throbbed horribly. To his horror, he felt his eyes start to well up, his throat tightened, and he realized that he kind of really wanted to cry. He was hurt and vulnerable, not to mention he was still sprawled on the ground and missing his perfect coffee, with a group of nosy onlookers gawking at him.
The man was starting to frown a little, looking concerned again and now a little hesitant, his mouth opening and closing like he was trying to find the right words to say. “Sorry, I - “
David waved him off, knowing he might actually cry if this guy started being all sweet and apologetic. “No, I do need, um…” God, the pain was making his brain go fuzzy, and he really needed to say something before the offer was rescinded and one of these carnies forced him onto the bus. He let out a quiet, involuntary whine as he stupidly stroked his ankle again, noticing a thin, bluish bruise starting to form along the bone. He almost jumped when the man's hand suddenly came to wrap around his fingers, gently moving them away from his ankle.
He didn't let go of David's hand as he smiled down at him apologetically. "Sorry, teasing is kind of my go to, but you're obviously in pain and I was being a bit of a dick. Can I help you get up?"
David raised his eyebrows at him in surprise. His warm, angelic face looked genuinely contrite and it almost made him want to laugh. This guy didn't know what being a dick was. Still, he felt temporarily soothed by his apology and soft expression, so he nodded and managed to give him a small, grateful smile through the discomfort. The guy gave him a little grin of his own, his cheeks a bit pink as he picked up David's bag (after asking if he could, the sweet human), then held out his other arm for David to grab onto. He tentatively reached for him, trying to get up using only his left leg, but he felt far too shaky and didn't get far. He huffed in frustration and the man moved to grip his waist instead, letting out a soft little grunt as he basically lifted David up off the ground. Which he may have enjoyed just a little.
As David swayed in the strangers arms, he squeezed his waist and tucked him into his side as he looked over his shoulder to tell all the onlookers to fuck off. Okay, that’s not exactly what he said and he did it in a much nicer way than David would have, but he was still grateful to him for getting rid of people. Not to mention, he wasn’t exactly hating being held like this.
His rescuer turned back to him as David gripped his shoulder, bending his right knee so his sad ankle was hovering precariously over the still slippery ground and he smiled up at David calmly—god, David was like five inches from his face and just staring; thank god he’d been extra thorough with his flossing this morning. He cleared his throat as he squirmed in the guy's arms. “Um, hi.”
He grinned at him then, fuck he had a gorgeous smile, and his eyes were soft, a little fond even. “Hey. I’m Patrick by the way. I figured you might want to know that before you got in a car with me.”
Patrick. That was a nice, classic sort of name. Very non-threatening. Although David hadn't thought for a second that he could be dodgy in any way, which was weird for him. His usual assumption was that most people are untrustworthy. Schitt’s Creek’s influence strikes again. Patrick was just smiling at him patiently like a fricken saint and he realized he hadn’t responded with anything at all, let alone his name. He couldn't help himself, Patrick’s general everything was distracting and - oh god, had he really just been staring at his mouth? He had such pretty pink lips. Would it be totally inappropriate to kiss him right now? Aaaand Patrick was starting to give him a bit of a funny look, so okay, yes, yes it would be. Maybe he was getting a little lightheaded from the shock. Good excuse anyway.
“Sorry, I’m feeling a bit woozy. I’m David. Um, are you sure you don't have somewhere to be, or…?” Now why the fuck would I say that?! He trailed off awkwardly as he cursed himself for even mentioning it. He gave Patrick an out, how could he not take it? Now he’d be forced to either take transit or pay for an outrageously expensive cab to the hospital. If only Stevie had just lent him her car rather than dropping him off.
In an unbelievable stroke of luck, in David’s experience anyway, the kind stranger simply smiled and shook his head. “Nah, this is just what I do. I like to drive around looking for cute guys to rescue.” He gave a casual shrug as he said it but, to David’s delight, he noticed the slight blush of pink on Patrick’s cheeks. Forget his ankle for a sec, the day was looking up. He would definitely need to revisit the whole kissing idea when he wasn’t precariously balanced on his one good leg.
Priorities, he supposed.
Secretly thrilled at Patrick’s casual flirting, he couldn't help but smirk a little as he replied, squeezing his shoulder. “Well, that doesn’t make you sound creepy at all. I'm very grateful you were on your pervert rounds in Elmdale today, though, either way.”
Patrick shrugged somewhat self-deprecatingly, his face lighting up as his shoulders shook with laughter and David couldn’t help but cling to him tighter in fear of falling over. And yes, okay, he felt nice. And he smelled good. Shut up.
Unfortunately, he’d jostled his ankle with the movement and felt a bit sick again at the thought of it snapping further. They really needed to get moving. “Fucking, ow .”
With his smile disappearing, Patrick tightened his hold on him and thankfully moved into action. “Oh shit, I'm sorry David. Here, let's get going, yeah just put most of your weight on me. My car’s right there..." He pointed in the direction of a Jetta and helped him start to hobble along across the street, holding him carefully. "... the blue one? Yeah, good, David, I’ve got you. Almost there.” He kept his voice light, the little furrow of his brow making him look genuinely concerned for David’s safety, which seemed to be a thing for him. He’d had friends who wouldn’t have cared for him like this. At that rather pathetic thought, David didn't exactly trust his voice to reply in any way (and he didn’t really want to think too hard about why someone simply caring about him was making him want to cry again) so he just held on tight and nodded his way through Patrick’s gentle coaching.
The short stumble across the street felt like an hour pain-wise, but they made it. Patrick maneuvered him out of his arms to lean him against the car (that perfectly matched his sweater!) and he mentally noted Patrick's potential favourite colour like he was a little kid with a crush. He told himself he was just distracting his mind from the pain with such ridiculous thoughts, and he was sticking with it.
As Patrick went to open the passenger door and bent down to slide the seat as far back as it would go, David decidedly did not look at his perfectly round bubble butt. Nope…okay he probably deserved this broken bone. Patrick stood up unawares and reached for him with his kind smile. “All right David, c'mere. You’ve got long legs so I hope this is enough room for you to stretch out.”
“It’s great, thanks.” David smiled a little, internally rolling his eyes at himself for the millionth time as he realised hearing Patrick say his name and “c'mere” made him feel all soft. It was stupid. He just kinda wished he got to hear that all the time.
Patrick shuffled into his space and reached for his right hand, slinging David's arm over his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around his waist again. He was surprisingly at ease putting his hands all over him and David was definitely enjoying all the manhandling more than he should be. He hadn’t realized how touch-starved he was.
Holding onto each other, they shimmied and wiggled until Patrick somehow managed to maneuver him into the front seat without jostling his ankle too much, then put David's bag in the back seat. He looked up at his now beaming hero and almost laughed at how proud he looked, but really it had been sort of impressive how smoothly he'd done it. Looking all happy with himself, he leaned against the door frame with a hand on the roof of the car. “So, David. Looks like there’s no line right now - if you’re okay to wait a minute, tell me your coffee order, I'll go get you a new one and grab my tea. Oh do you want a muffin? The chocolate zucchini is really good.”
David's heart honestly skipped a beat as he felt his body flush with warmth at Patrick's kindness and generosity, as if he hadn't done enough. His ankle was still hurting but that perfect macchiato was worth waiting through the pain. He pulled at the tips of his fingers anxiously, hoping he wasn't blushing like an idiot at Patrick’s sweet attention. “Um, that is my favourite muffin from here actually, so yes please. As for the coffee order, it's a bit, um complicated? The overly cheery brunette woman with the glasses will know it. Thanks so much, I’ll give you cash, could you just get my wallet from my bag?”
Patrick chuckled fondly, at what David wasn't exactly sure, and just waved away his offer. “My treat, David. You deserve it today.” As he moved back to gently shut the door David had to hide away his smile into his cheek, knowing it would likely make it very obvious how much he liked this guy already. He really might have a fucking crush. God, he had to chill.
Patrick didn't seem to have the same worries, he grinned happily at him before he turned to casually jog back to the shop. He so easily shared his smiles and yet every one seemed genuine, like they were just for him, like he really meant them. David squeezed his eyes shut, leaning back into the cozy seat and sighing heavily, then cringing as his ankle gave a particularly painful throb. “Fuck my life.”
He must've nodded off - what felt like ten seconds later, Patrick was getting in the car and handing David his freshly made coffee along with the warm muffin, with a soft look on his face. Oh God, he hoped he hadn't been snoring. “Thank you…” He mumbled against his coffee lid, glancing sideways at Patrick. “...um, I think I have some Advil in my bag but I can't really reach it like this, could you grab it? Front pocket I think.”
“Sure…” Patrick nodded and leaned over between the chairs to unzip David’s bag, rummaging around for a second before he laughed. “...uh, David? All I can see here is what looks like a change of clothes, a huge box of 'luxury' condoms, multiple types of lube, leather-scented moisturizer and something that looks like, fancy face wipes? Wow, were you on your way to an orgy or something?” He gave him an amused, non-judgey smile, raising his eyebrows curiously with his cheeks flushed pink again.
“Um…” David wasn't ashamed for having any of that in his bag - and he had been to a few orgies in his lifetime - but he still spluttered hearing it come out of Patrick's innocent looking mouth. He'd honestly completely forgotten about his scheduled meetup. And apparently he didn't have any painkillers. Ugh. He fondly rolled his eyes at Patrick as he replied. “...orgies can be great, but no. I was going to a business meeting, actually.”
Patrick's eyes lit up at that as he started the car, for some reason looking genuinely intrigued. ”Oh really, what for?”
David sighed, remembering how he definitely wouldn't be getting in his papers today thanks to this incident. He still had some time, but he was anxious to get that part over with and get started on the fun stuff. “I needed help applying for a business license. But I guess I'm fucked for now.”
Patrick’s eyes widened a little before taking a sip of his tea, then placing it in the cupholder. “I actually - wait, sorry. You brought all of uh, this stuff, to a business meeting?”
David rolled his eyes but felt rather fond, it was obvious that Patrick wasn't judging him for any of it, he looked intrigued more than anything. The blush on his cheeks was adorable, and he had that sudden urge to kiss him again that he really needed to tap down. As much fun as that would be (and a bit of a painkiller probably), they needed to get to the hospital. Making out with a broken bone just sitting there unprotected sounded like a terrible idea. He gave his head a little shake to stop his dirty little brain from taking that image to a super inappropriate place, but then he ended up saying something stupid anyway. “Well maybe he was an accountant who I met on Grindr Patrick, it gets lonely at night in these small towns.”
Patrick laughed loudly, looking ridiculously beautiful as his shoulders shook. "Well good for you David, for multi-tasking. Speaking of, I should really start driving while we talk, sorry. Gotta focus. I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see any of that. Or the empty butt plug box.”
David snorted and covered his face with one hand, unable to stop his brain from going to a certain place after hearing Patrick say butt plug. And that he apparently considered David choosing to fuck an accountant who'd help with his business license, to be multi-tasking. Oh my god, he wasn't going to get through this day without saying something extremely inappropriate, he just knew it. To stop himself from saying any more stupid things, he pretended he was offended, even though he was pretty sure his smile was giving him away. “I like to be prepared, Patrick, don’t shame me.”
His eyes widened again as he looked at David, shaking his head and letting out a little chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, no shame David, honestly. I promise, I wasn't doing that. No shame at all. Now let's hook up your phone and get some directions going because I have no idea where we are. ”
Patrick's blush drifted down to his neck and beneath his sweater, even the tips of his ears pinking up and David couldn’t help but think, maybe his mind was just as misbehaving as his own. Now that was a pleasant thought that he could easily get carried away with, so he forced it away and tapped around his phone for a moment before the navigation system chirpily announced, “DavidRose iPhone now connected to PBrewJetta!” Patrick grinned into his tea and David had a ridiculously juvenile thought that maybe he liked the sound of their names together. Maybe it was just him. Mr. Patrick Rose did sound kind of amazing though. Seriously, he was like sixteen today.
Checking out the mapped out route on his dashboard, Patrick nodded, checked his mirrors and pulled out of his parking space. “That's lucky, it's basically just around the corner - ” David's playlist blasted out of the radio at full volume and drowned him out before he could finish. "...the best! Better than all the rest!"
Patrick chuckled as he got on to the main road towards the hospital. “Was this the soundtrack to your fall? That's kind of awesome, this is such a great song.”
David felt his smile getting away from him as he glanced over at Patrick to see him bopping his head a little, mouthing the words and tapping his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat. Oh fuck, he really liked this guy didn't he. "Um, you just won major points. I - oh ow, fuck! Mhm that still really fucking hurts."
Patrick's eyes went wide and apologetic as he swore. “Oh fuck, David. I'm so sorry, I didn’t see that speedbump. Shit. I'll be more careful. Are you okay?” He'd driven over it just a bit too fast and the car had bounced a little, jarring David's ankle.
He winced at the sharp pain that shot up his leg and Patrick looked horrified with himself. It was kind of cute honestly, but would've been cuter if his ankle didn't hurt so fucking much. “It's fine, I'm fine, I just need some of the good fucking painkillers.” He may have been reaching whining levels - usually he'd avoid whining on a first date, but really, this was a pretty good excuse. Wait no, this was not a date for fucks sake, they were going to the ER. He groaned quietly, for a couple reasons.
Patrick chewed on his lips for a minute before his eyes widened and he pointed at the glovebox. "Oh! There's some THC oil in there if you want?”
Ooh that could work for now. “How many milligrams per - ?" Really? Just take it and say thank you. " - I mean, um yes thank you.”
Patrick was giving him that overly fond look again as he chuckled. “Alright, here. Have as much as you like.” When he pulled up to a red light, he reached over to open the glove box and retrieved the small blue bottle, passing it to David. “It's great, I used to use it for when I had to give big presentations. Just a little bit obviously in that case, but I hate public speaking when it's work-related."
David nodded emphatically, fully in agreement. “Mhm, I get that. I hate people. Just in general.”
Patrick laughed while David dripped a full dropper of the oil under his tongue. “Yeah, you didn't seem to be a fan of any of those people that came over when you fell.” Letting the oil sink in, he felt a simple eyebrow raise and offended look could convey his reply. Patrick shrugged apologetically as he took a left turn, still smiling away. He was either the happiest guy alive or just found David really entertaining, he couldn’t be sure. "In your defense though, they were being completely useless. And rude. You know what, they were all just a bunch of assholes actually."
Patrick was basically arguing with himself in David’s defense at this point and David could help but laugh - or the stupid giddy flutter in his belly as he watched him. It was easily one of the best sounds he’d ever heard.
A few more minutes of surprisingly easy conversation later, they pulled into the hospital parking lot and found a spot near the ER entrance. Patrick immediately paid for their space with an app on his phone, despite David’s feeble protests. “My treat today, remember? Lucky you, coffee and a muffin and parking.” David huffed a little, but he tried to be gracious and accept his generosity, even if his thank you came out sounding slightly humiliated and mumbly.
Patrick just smiled in return and was up out of the car in the blink of an eye before leaning down a bit to speak to him with his hand on the roof. His sweater had ridden up a little on one side and David couldn't stop his eyes from taking a lingering glance at the porcelain skin of his stomach - as well as, surprise surprise, the deep blue waistband of his underwear peeking out from his jeans. Fuck, why was that always so hot?! It was like the least scandalous thing to see, but still.
Patrick nodded his head in the direction of the ER doors. “Okay wait here, I’m just gonna grab a wheelchair. I don't want you hopping around anymore.”
David started to protest even though he knew better. “Oh no, it’s fine, I’m fine …” Wait, what? I am not fine, what the fuck.
He was relieved - and not surprised in the least - when Patrick just shook his head at him with an amused look before he shut the door and took off. Patrick was already treating David better than his fucking family would in this situation and it was oddly unsettling. Or just, new? In all honestly he kind of loved it. He never thought he’d enjoy breaking a bone so much but here we are. Despite the pain, it was nice to be taken care of. Not that he’d admit that to anyone.
Two minutes later, he spotted Patrick speedily walking back out the sliding doors, pushing the wheelchair and chatting to the peppy looking nurse by his side. David groaned quietly. Oh god, why are we involving more attractive people in this disaster?
Opening the door for him, Patrick gestured at the smiling woman in turquoise scrubs with an unusually high ponytail. “Okay David, I've got Sarah here and she’s going to help get you inside to a bed.”
Oh. David glanced between her smiling face and Patrick's, feeling his stomach stupidly plummet in disappointment. Patrick must've brought a nurse out so he didn't have to come in with him. Which he didn't blame him for obviously, who voluntarily hung out in an ER waiting room - for what was most likely going to be hours - just to keep a stranger company? Patrick had obviously done his part, and it really should not have been that upsetting to see him go.
He tried to arrange his face into a neutral expression, but he wasn’t sure he quite pulled it off. Controlling his face was an art form and he was in too much pain right now to do his best work. “Hi Sarah, thanks. So you, you're going home, Patrick?” Oh god, his voice had gone a bit whiny on the ‘rick.
Patrick’s eyes widened a little as he crossed his arms tight and shook his head, looking a bit confused. “What? No, why would I go home? I said I'd help you.”
David’s heart panged hopefully and he tried desperately to shut it down. He tried to wave him off as he looked up at Patrick's sweet face, simultaneously wondering why he was protesting when he wanted nothing more - except painkillers- than for him to stay. Classic self-sabotage. “You don't need to do that, it’ll probably be a long time I'll just -"
“Hey.” Patrick cut him off gently with the most adorable smile, shy in a way, like he was worried he was about to be rejected. “David, I’d like to.”
My god, there wasn't a person alive who could have denied that face anything.
Sarah the nurse cleared her throat and spoke up cheerily from beside Patrick, both of them jerking a little like they'd forgotten she was there. “And I’d like to get some x-rays of that ankle!”
David rolled his eyes to try to disguise how happy he was that Patrick wanted to stay, but by the soft look on Patrick’s face he knew he’d failed miserably. He lifted his arms to make grabby hands at Patrick. ”Mmkay, help. Please.”
Patrick beamed at him like he'd just given him some kind of gift.
After some very graceful maneuvering, he was in the chair being pushed through the sliding doors while Sarah pointed them in the right direction. They went through a rather lengthy check-in procedure before Patrick was wheeling through some more sliding doors to wait in another giant room full of beds. “Well that's good hey, slow day so we can wait in here and you can get on the bed so your ankle is elevated. Sarah said she'd bring you something for the pain.”
He quietly groaned to himself as Patrick wheeled over to the first empty bed, closing his eyes momentarily and trying to will the drugs to arrive. “Fuck. Thank you.”
Despite the pain, he felt a momentary reprieve as he luxuriated in the experience of Patrick being all sweet and caretaking. Handling him oh so carefully, he helped David into bed, fluffed his pillows and very gently unlaced his hightops for him, placing them on the floor next to his bag. He adjusted the hospital bed so he could sit up comfortably, leaning against the much too firm mattress. He stealthily swiped an extra pillow from the next bed over, making David chuckle when he looked around warily like he was checking that no one had noticed. That he'd ‘stolen’ a pillow. Every little thing he did was somehow endearing. David was starting to feel a nice warm glow throughout his body, the pain in his ankle fading slightly into the background as he soaked up the feeling of being cared for.
Patrick was good at this. He was so gentle with him when he slowly lifted his swollen, throbbing ankle onto the pillow and fussed over the blankets when he noticed David shiver. He was so focused on his little tasks, sucking on his bottom lip as he went, so steady and patient. He made him feel safe and protected, just like when he’d held him up outside the coffee shop. He obviously had no obligation; it was such a nice feeling to know that he actually wanted to be here doing this.
David had never experienced anything like it. Or anyone like him .
Patrick fit right in with the doctors and nurses and paramedics, all competent and careful. It was so sweet and yet ridiculously hot, too. There’s a million steamy medical dramas on tv for a reason. Now if he could just get him into scrubs.
God, he bet Patrick was a really good kisser, his lips looked so soft and he could just imagine one of his big hands cradling his jaw as he - wait where did that come from, what the fuck did that have to do with anything. He noted that he was suddenly feeling pleasantly floaty. Oh right, the weed oil! He’d forgotten how it could get him kind of…riled up. Okay horny as fuck. In front of Patrick. Fuck.
Speaking of Patrick, he suddenly started snickering above him. “Glad the oil is working for you, David. I don't know if the ER waiting rooms are the best place to get ‘riled up’, but what are you gonna do."
David squeezed his eyes shut, whining and laying his head back against the pillows. "Oh God, did I say that out loud? That actually happens?"
Patrick snorted and David opened his eyes to see him shrugging apologetically with a huge smile and pink cheeks. "Apparently."
“Mmkay, that's great. I'm glad my pain and suffering is so entertaining for you.”
“Aw, David, just you being you has been entertaining for me.”
“Wow.”
He did his best to glare at him, huffing and crossing his arms, but Patrick simply grinned like he absolutely knew he enjoyed his teasing. Which…obviously he was right. Teasing had never felt warm and playful like this for David, and he liked it a little too much.
“You'd get in that chair and wheel away from me if you could, wouldn't you?”
“That is correct.”
Patrick chuckled warmly, while somehow still looking concerned. It makes him feel all fizzy. “Seriously though, how are you feeling?”
“Um, utterly humiliated by some handsome troll I met this morning?”
“Sorry, David. You just bring it out of me.”
Patrick was still chuckling, seemingly enjoying himself. He looked at David expectantly with those big fond eyes likely expecting continued banter, but David lost track of it completely as a thought popped into his head. He just couldn't stop his high, babbling mouth. “You're very beautiful, Patrick.”
Apparently Patrick could turn more pink. He laughed in a sort of self-deprecating way like he didn't believe him, smiling down at his shifting feet. “I’ve uh, definitely never been called beautiful before so thank you, David.”
David gasped rather loudly. “Ohmigod what!?” He was extra dramatic when he was high; in a fun way in his opinion and fuck everyone else’s. “That is absolutely not okay. People need to shamelessly compliment each other more.”
“Oh yeah?” Patrick raised his eyebrows, a cheeky smile on his face as he tilted his head to the side like a fricken puppy. “Well in that case, I think you, David, are the most stunning man I've ever seen.” He gave a little shrug and just went right on smiling at him like it was an irrefutable truth or something, like he'd never been more sure of anything.
“Mmkay, if I could actually reach your mouth right now I’d kiss the fuck out of you.” David's current filterless mouth spoke with a mind of its own and he was feeling too calm to even be a little bit embarrassed.
Patrick let out a soft, surprised laugh and rubbed a hand over his mouth, blushing adorably. “Do you think you’ll still wanna kiss me when you're not high, though?”
Despite his amused demeanour, David could hear the doubt in his tone and that just wouldn’t do. He wanted Patrick to be one hundred percent sure how much he was into him. He nodded eagerly as his gaze flickered all over Patrick's beautiful face and landed on his slightly parted, smiling lips. He simply told the truth. “Mhm. I’d want to kiss you all the time.”
Patrick looked like he'd been lit up from the inside, even with the somewhat bashful grin. "Well..." He moved to sit down on the bed, carefully avoiding bumping into David’s ankle and reached for his hand. He brought it up to his lips for a quick kiss, making David want to swoon like a fucking Disney princess. “...once they've got you in a cast I could take you for dinner? You know, if your ankle's feeling okay. We could turn this into a slightly unusual date, if you want?”
He was looking at David with a frankly adorable mix of shyness and earnest excitement that made David feel like he was about to melt into a puddle of warm goo any minute. The weed let him grin freely at Patrick, squeezing his hand and leaning into him to kiss his cheek now that he was close enough. He winced at the resulting pain in his ankle as it lightly rubbed against the pillow, but it was worth it to feel Patrick's flushed, warm cheeks against his lips.
Patrick’s hesitant smile turned into a more eager grin. "Is that a yes?"
David nodded earnestly, having been forced to give up any pretense since the oil kicked in. “Mhm, absolutely yes, I definitely want that.”
High!David wasn’t subtle, but Beaming!Patrick was seemingly into it.