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TK discreetly wrapped an arm around his stomach, as another sharp cramp shot through his abdomen for what felt like the hundredth time in just the last five minutes. He bit the inside of his cheek to prevent a pained groan from escaping him, forcing his features to stay neutral. The nausea that accompanied the pain and that originally started out as a mild annoyance, had since escalated to barely manageable degrees.
TK's stomach had been feeling upset for the last couple of hours. He felt perfectly fine earlier in the day. It wasn't until about an hour before dinner that his stomach started to act up, so clearly it couldn't have been anything he'd eaten. Well, at least nothing he'd eaten during dinner.
Earlier that afternoon, Carlos showed up and took him out for lunch at a new cafe that opened in town recently. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary with the place, though. The seating was neat and tidy, the glasses and silverware appeared clean, and the food itself hadn't tasted or looked wrong. Then again, food poisoning could be a sneaky bitch until it revealed finally revealed itself. Then it was just a straight up bitch.
As much as TK hated to admit it, he more than likely contracted some type of food poisoning from that place. He just hoped Carlos wasn't suffering the same fate.
He felt guilty for not texting the other man to ask how he was doing, but he couldn't risk Owen finding out he wasn't feeling well. His dad and boyfriend had gotten a lot closer over the past year, and now with Carlos being in the know of TK's regression, there was no way he wouldn't not tell Owen about his current condition. TK knew that if Owen found out, he would no doubt mother hen TK into headspace.
It's not that TK didn't enjoy spending time in his little headspace and being doted on by his dad, it's just that this was the first time in weeks that the two of them had the same days off, and TK wanted to spend at least one of those days with the other man in his adult headspace. Other than leaving to have lunch with Carlos, he still got to spend a majority of the day just relaxing at home with his dad. It had been a really good day. Up until his stomach decided to go haywire, at least.
TK tried with all his might to pay attention to the battle sequence playing out on the screen in front of him, yet despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep his focus for very long. Just when he finally got the opportunity to sit down and watch something with his dad that wasn't anthropomorphic creatures or Disney princesses, and he couldn't even enjoy it.
A particularly nasty cramp tore through his stomach, triggering an almost overwhelming wave of nausea that had bile rushing up his throat. Even with his mouth clamped shut, this time he wasn't able to stop a whine from escaping him. He doubled over, his other arm going around his middle and pressing down hard against his stomach.
Owen immediately straightened up in his seat and moved closer to the younger man, setting a gentle hand on his lower back.
"TK, hey, what's wrong?"
Before TK could even attempt to respond to the man, though, his stomach simultaneously cramped and roiled. Keeping one arm around his belly, the other shot up to slap his hand over his mouth; stifling the gag that forced its way out of him. Adrenaline rushed through his veins in an instant, panic driving him to his feet and taking him in direction of the bathroom.
He heard his dad call after him, but all he could focus on was getting to the toilet before both ends of him decorated the floor with the contents of his stomach and bowels. With the pain that was still raging on inside of him, TK more stumbled than ran to the bathroom. Mercifully, though, the man managed to make it before all hell broke loose.
TK just barely had the capability to close the door behind him, cringing when the sound of it slamming shut echoed through the room. Panicked tears stung his eyes as he fumbled with getting his pants and briefs down. If it hadn't been for the vomit steadily rising in his throat, TK would have sobbed in relief when he finally yanked them down. The second they fell to his ankles he practically threw himself onto the toilet, snatching up the (thankfully empty) trashcan as he did. Like a bomb had been set off, chunky vomit and watery diarrhea shot out of him in a horrific, disgusting explosion.
Over the embarrassingly loud noises coming out of him, TK caught the sound of a knock at the door accompanied by the worried voice of his dad. Guilt and humiliation instantly filled him. Guilt for ruining the first movie night he and his dad have had in weeks, and humiliation for the current state he found himself in.
"Don't... don't come i–arugh!"
Another hot rush of vomit shot out of both his mouth and nose, making it feel as if fire was shooting out of his nostrils.
TK whimpered in-between heaves, feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of sensations going on in his body, and leaving him with the feeling of helplessness. He could feel his headspace creeping along the edges of his mind; making him crave the comfort that only his dad could provide. The part of him that was still trying desperately to cling on to his adulthood, however, would rather him be anywhere but here, where his dad could hear and see his grown son puking and shitting his guts out.
All Owen could think on the other hand was assessing just how sick his son was, and whether his condition was bad enough to require a trip to the hospital or not.
"TK, bud, I'm coming in!" He called out, before turning the doorknob and pushing the door in.
The sight that greeted him broke his heart in two. TK was sitting hunched over the bathroom's trashcan on the toilet, body trembling and skin as pale as a sheet. A combination of sweat and tears glistened on his face, making his overall sickly appearance that much more apparent.
Owen caught him mid retch, wincing in sympathy as he watched vomit shoot out of his nose. The older man moved to stand beside the younger, carefully lowering a hand to rest between his shoulder blades.
TK flinched at the sudden touch, turning his head and looking up once he was done spewing his guts out. Seeing that it was only his dad (whose presence he hadn't even noticed enter the room), the tension bled out of him. The man gazed down at him with worried eyes and a small smile, hand gently gliding up and down between his shoulders. TK bit his lip in attempt to stop it from quivering, eyes filling with fresh tears. His headspace suddenly felt even closer than it had before.
"How long have you been feeling sick, kiddo?"
TK swallowed around the nausea that still swirled low in his belly, willing his insides to stay where they were long enough for him to speak.
"A... a little wh-while b'fore d-dinner." TK whimpered as his lower belly was viciously attacked once again by cramps that felt like they were twisting his intestines into knots, causing yet another stream of diarrhea to flow out of him like lava. Instead of feeling the white hot embarrassment and humiliation like he expected to feel at losing control of his bowels in front of his dad, all TK felt was miserable and exhausted.
"Think I... think I picked s-something up fr-from... that new c-cafe Carlos an' I ate at t-today."
"Oh, buddy." Owen sighed in sympathy, with just a hint of exasperation hidden beneath the surface. "Why didn't you tell me when you started feeling sick?"
TK adverted his gaze and quietly sniffled, grimacing in disgust when the leftover puke in his nose shot into the back of his throat, threatening to trigger his gag reflex and force his head back in the trashcan.
"I didn't wanna r-ruin our night. An' I knew that if I t-told you, then I would... I would p-probably end up regressing." TK breathed out a shaky sigh, a lone tear slipping down his cheek unbidden. "Just wanted to spend one day off with you as an a-adult. But I guess it didn't really matter. I ruined our night, anyway. P-please don't be mad."
"Ty, look at me, please." Owen's voice was firm but not unkind.
Slowly, TK timidly peered back up at him with his big, watery green eyes.
"You didn't ruin anything, baby. I'm not mad, I could never be mad at you for getting sick. I just wish you would have told me instead of suffering all alone." Owen moved his hand to his head, where he began to comb his fingers through the younger man's slick hair. "I know you still sometimes struggle with accepting your little self, but hear me when I tell you that I love getting to take care of you when you're small. It's not something I see as a chore or a burden. Whether it's taking care of you on our days off or after a bad shift, it doesn't make a difference to me. Big or small, sick or not, I will always be your dad."
A steady stream of tears began to trail down TK's cheeks as Owen spoke, overcome with emotion by the love and sincerity his dad's words held. TK could practically feel his adult headspace melting away like ice.
"M'sorry, dada."
"It's alright, buddy. Just promise me that from now on you'll tell daddy when you start to feel sick next time, okay?"
"I p'omise, dada."
Owen smiled down at him. "Thank you, bud."
"How's your tummy feeling, honey? Do you still feel like you need to go?"
"S'ill hur'ds, bu'... bu' don' f'ink I gotsa go no more."
"Then let's get you all cleaned up and into some new jammies, bun-bun."