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Techno knew something was up when Tommy stumbled over to him, talking frantically in a slurred tone.
“I put—I swear I wasn’t trying I put it down for a second while I went to the bathroom—“ He sobbed out, face flushed. Blinking, he looked up. Stumbled to the side slightly. Quickly, Techno grabbed onto his arms and helped support him. “Someone put something into my drink and—I’m sorry I’m sorry I promise I didn’t want to—“
“Hey, hey. What happened?” Techno asked. Carefully, he pulled Tommy over to the couch and helped him settle down. They were at a party. It seemed chill enough. Sure, there might have been a couple of places where people were drinking, but Techno knew that they were at least asking people politely if they wanted to drink. In the corner of his eye, he saw some college students cackling and looking over at Tommy. There they are. He scowled at them. Then, he turned to Tommy. Took the drink from him, sniffed it. There was the distinct smell of vodka amongst the soda.
Wrinkling his nose, he looked over at Tommy. “They put vodka in your drink. It’s okay, it’s alright. You shouldn’t have a bad reaction to it, okay? Want me to take you home?”
Frantic, Tommy shook his head. “Please—my parents—they might get mad—I didn’t know there would be alcohol—“
“Hey, hey.” Setting the drink down, Techno put his hands on either side of Tommy’s face, turned the kid’s head gently so their gazes were holding. Smoothing out his hair, Techno said, “It’s not your fault. You had no way of knowing. It’s not your fault. Do you want to go back to my house instead?” Tommy nodded, sniffed. Tears ran down his face, he was panicking. “Okay, okay. Let’s get you up.” He turned, grabbed the cup and a Sharpie and scribbled ‘DO NOT DRINK’ in big letters. Then, keeping it, he lifted Tommy with an arm around his waist. “Come on, Big Man, let’s get you out of here.”
They carefully made it down the lawn to Techno’s car. Settling the cup in a cupholder, Techno got the blond in the seat. Buckled him in. Then, he made sure to close the door carefully, made sure Tommy wasn’t sticking any limbs out. Then, he dropped down in the driver’s seat and started driving. Rain pattered down on the roof of the car and the windshield. They stopped and Techno glanced over. In the icy white, ruby red, and emerald green of the lights, Tommy’s face was painted in multiple shades of color. He’d gone pale, though. Worryingly pale, and Techno hoped it was just from panicking.
Reaching over, he gently touched Tommy’s arm. Blue eyes, colored a pale gray in the multi-toned lights, darted to his. As best as he could, Techno smiled softly at him. “You’ll be alright. My parents are really understanding. I’m sure they’ll get that you weren’t trying to get drunk, and my parents can explain it to yours, too.” Sniffing, Tommy nodded. Shivered. Reaching over, Techno turned on the heat. “It’s a bit of a drive. Why don’t you try to sleep?”
Tommy nodded. Then, he tipped his head back and closed his eyes. Techno turned back to driving when their light turned green. He paused for a second. Waited just in case someone decided to try and run the light. Thankfully, no one did, so he drove through. Turned onto the highway and started driving. Tommy settled onto his side, hummed softly. His eyes were knit together and Techno frowned.
Eventually, they got into his city. It was only about fifteen minutes away. When he did, Tommy stirred a little bit. Blinking, he raised his head, yawned slightly. “Want to stop at McDonald’s or something? This one is actually decent. It’s more like a Mc…Donner’s? I don’t know, but the old manager was from In N Out and has their food near that quality and cheap.” Tommy shrugged. Rubbed at his nose.
“Sure.”
“We’re going to get out, okay?” Tommy nodded. When they stopped, Techno gently pulled Tommy up and helped him into the restaurant. It was late, but not too late. They would be fine in the dining room. After dropping Tommy off at a table and making sure he would be alright and that he had an actual order, Techno hurriedly ordered their food. Then, he went back to Tommy’s side, sat with him. Tommy had his head on his arms, sleeping on the table. Or at least, he was apparently trying to. Every so often, he would shift uncomfortably. Then, he raised his head. Blinked blearily.
And then he turned green, tried to get up, and Techno knew they were going to have an issue.
+++
“I can’t believe that you threw up on the McDonald’s floor.”
Groaning, Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. His eyes were scrunched closed. “ I can’t believe I threw up on the McDonald’s floor.” He swallowed.
“Come on, just drink your water. Eat the yogurt. You lost some stomach bacteria and the yogurt will help.” Techno urged, passing him the yogurt from Tommy’s Happy Meal. Nodding, Tommy sniffed. “On the bright side, you probably got some of the alcohol out of your system. You might have a bit of a hangover tomorrow, so I’ll take care of you.”
“Did the employees have to clean it up?” Techno paused. Clearly, that was enough for a reply. Groaning, Tommy sighed. “I’m such an idiot.”
“You couldn’t have helped it, Tommy. Not your fault this made you sick. Some stupid college students gave you alcohol as a joke and they thought it was funny. They were idiots. We’ll get you set up at my house with some stuff for tomorrow. Keep you hydrated, get you some good food in you. It might help a little bit.” Tommy nodded and sniffed again, stuck the yogurt thing in his mouth and started eating.
When they pulled up to the house, Techno helped Tommy inside onto the couch. Then, he quickly made his way back out to the car to grab Tommy’s alcohol-laced drink. He brought it back in. Already, his mother was sitting beside Tommy, talking to him softly and brushing his hair back with a hand. Tommy was curled up with his head in her lap.
“Hey, Tech.” She smiled at him. “Your dad is talking to his parents. Is he going to be staying the night?” Techno nodded. Held up the cup.
“Some twats at the party decided it would be funny to slip vodka into his Coke.” Techno shook his head, then set the cup down on the counter. Glancing down, he looked at Tommy, then sat back at the side of the couch. Leaning on his mom’s knees, he held Tommy’s gaze. “You doing alright, bud?” Tommy nodded, exhaled. Reaching up, Techno checked his temperature.
“I don’t think you’re actually drunk, Toms. I think you’re just a little bit tipsy.” His mom explained. “But you might have a minor hangover, still.” Nodding, Tommy settled a little bit into the couch and Techno’s mom’s lap.
“Okay. Let’s get you some water. Might help a bit in the future.” Techno said. With a sigh, Tommy nodded.
+++
Thankfully, Tommy’s parents understood.
The next morning, though, it was clear his body was not as understanding of the fact it wasn’t his fault he got drunk. Which is why Techno was sitting beside Tommy, in the bathroom, as his unofficial little brother puked into the toilet. At four in the morning.
Finally, Tommy stopped and laid his head to the side. Blinking, he looked over. “I’m never drinking. Ever.” He mumbled to himself. Then, he sniffed, rubbed at his face, and then turned pale again. Techno sat there with a sigh, patted his back between his shoulders as Tommy gagged again.
“You sound like Eddie Brock from Venom .”
“Excuse you, I didn’t eat—“ Tommy cut himself off. Then, he groaned loudly. Honestly, Techno didn’t blame him. He probably wasn’t even being dramatic. “My stomach hurts.”
“Yeah, you’re going to have a sore stomach. Mostly because you’re doing the opposite of what your body wants to do.” Reaching over, Techno touched Tommy’s neck and checked for a pulse. His heart was pounding, obviously.
“The room is spinning.”
“Also normal.”
“My head hurts.”
“That’s normal, too.” Gently, Techno started rubbing at Tommy’s shoulder. There was a nasty-feeling knot there. Slumping against the toilet, Tommy groaned again.
“I don’t know if I want to throw up or eat.”
“We’ll take care of that in a couple of hours.”