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When Mav opened his eyes to blinding light, he let out a gruff, “Ah fuck,” and then promptly smacked himself in the face with what turned out to be a splinted arm. The ensuing additional pain that seared through his arm had tears pooling in his eyes and his stomach violently turned.
A rustle came from the corner before a hand gently took the splinted arm and directed it back down to the bed. “Let’s not do that.”
“Tom?”
“Yeah, Mav. You with me this time?” Groggily Maverick tried to work his way towards an answer but none came forward through the pain that he could feel through a fog of what had to be some very nice pain meds. “I don’t think you’re quite with it, sweetheart. Just close your eyes. I’ll still be here when you wake up.” Though in another situation Maverick was sure he’d be working to fight against the meds to understand what was going on, Tom was here. If Tom was here, he could give in to the siren song of sleep that pulled his eyes back shut and he faded into the black.
It was hours later, the sun casting shadows through the blinds instead of piercing his eyes, that Maverick woke up with more clarity. With a groan he cast a look around the room the best he could without moving his head, but even that slight movement had Tom moving in to grasp the uninjured hand.
“Hey. You awake?” Swallowing against the dryness in his throat, Maverick croaked out a yes, and with that Tom stood to pour a cup of water from a pitcher set on a table beside the bed. Once he dropped a straw in it he turned back to the bed and lifted the cup to Maverick’s lips. “Here, take a couple sips. The doctors said you were cleared to drink. Do you remember what happened?”
Maverick tried to think but could not pull up anything that landed him in the hospital. He shook his head, regretting that when the world spun around him. After some heavy breaths through his nose though, his head and stomach settled and he sipped from the straw, thankful that Tom’s hold on the cup was steady.
“First, you’re going to be okay. You were driving your bike, and a guy ran a stoplight and hit you. You have some road rash, a bunch of bruises, a concussion and you broke your arm. The break was pretty bad though, so you had to have surgery. They put in a plate, and for now your arm is in a splint. Docs said after some more swelling goes down and the risk of infection has passed, you’ll probably get put into a cast.”
Maverick nodded along, his eyes drifting shut before adrenaline roared through his veins.
“Shit! I need to get out of here.” Trying to sit up, Maverick groaned, feeling the protest of his abused body cry out.
“You’re not going anywhere. You had surgery last night. They’re still watching to make sure that you’re not going to develop an infection. When I said it was a bad break, I meant it. Your bone was saying hello to the world.”
“Tom, I don’t have insurance. This is easily going to cost more than I can cover. I am not waiting around here and getting charged just to breathe when I can do that just as well at home for free.”
“Maverick, don’t be crazy. You’re not so much as putting a toe out of bed until the doctors give you the all clear.”
Narrowing his eyes at Tom, Maverick managed to sit up and turned towards the edge of the bed, though even that small motion had pain singing through his body. “I know this probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, but it is.” Looking around through slitted eyes he hissed, “this is even a private room. I don’t even want to think about what damage that is going to do.”
“You’re right, I don’t understand that kind of stress. I’ve never been in this situation. But I am telling you that it is okay. I already spoke to the finance team, and I’m covering the cost. I specifically asked for a private room. Hospitals are hard enough to rest in, never mind with a roommate with their own aches and visitors and doctors.”
The color that had risen to Maverick’s cheeks with the anger at being dismissed drained so quickly he was almost dizzy with it. “Tom, you can’t do that.”
“I can and I did. I don’t know what it is like to be in a position where an accident is enough to bankrupt me. But I sure as hell am in a position where I can make sure that doesn’t happen to you. My money is mine to use. I think you know by now that I am more than happy to use it on you. And using it to make sure that you’re healthy and comfortable is the easiest choice I’ve had to make today.”
“Are you trying to convince me that I should let you spend your money on me as a favor to you?”
“If that is what makes you accept it, then yes.”
The pain of sitting up was getting to him, and Maverick leaned back into the pillows. “We are definitely going to have to talk about the bounds of you spending your money on me later. But honestly, I am too tired and in too much pain to argue with you right now.”
With a fond smile, Tom took his hand and swept his thumb across the top. “You never argue this much when I buy you pants. Or give you your allowance.”
“Ugh, I’ve told you not to call it that. I’m not your child.”
“Even so.”
“The cost of this stay might have you singing a different tune.”
“Do you remember what I said when you asked me why I chose you?”
Far too quickly for his dignity, Maverick replied, “You said I looked dangerous.” The phrase had rung in his ears long after he’d left Tom’s that first time.
Tom took his uninjured hand back in his own, turning it over to trace over Maverick’s palm. “I said that you looked dangerous, and I thought that danger was to yourself. This is what I was talking about. You don’t care about yourself. I know you’d give a stranger the shirt off your back, but the second someone tries to help you out, you shut them out. I’m not going to let you do that to me, especially here, where I can do something and the consequences of not acting are high.”
Maverick’s defenses felt shot through between the pain meds and the pain. Tears gathered in his eyes and spilled over slowly. “I don’t understand why you want to waste your money that way.”
“To me it’s not a waste. I like taking care of you. It brings me pleasure and makes me happy. I'm so thankful that I can do something to make it better. And I hope that if I keep it up long enough, I’ll get you to understand that you matter. You doing well matters. You being happy matters. You being healthy matters. And if the only way that you can start to feel that way about yourself is by seeing how it matters to me, I’m more than willing to keep showing you.”
Throughout his speech, Tom never took his eyes from Maverick’s, and Maverick had to fight the urge to drop his own gaze.
“If it were me sitting there, wouldn’t you want to sit here and make it all better?”
“Of course!”
“That’s how I feel right now. It just happens that making it better looks like giving you a safe space to rest, where you can be looked after by professionals who are doing their utmost to keep you healthy.”
Maveric’s eyes traced the slight wrinkle running its way over Tom’s forehead, the dusting of dark around his eyes, and the way his bottom lip was red and slightly swollen as if he’d been worrying it.
“Guess I kind of worried you when I didn’t show.”
“Kind of is an understatement.” Keeping his hold on Maverick’s hand, Tom turned his body towards the television in the corner, bolted to the ceiling. “Now I sprung extra for the cable package so-”
Scrunching his eyes shut Maverick groaned, “Please tell me that you didn’t.”
Without looking he could see the smile playing at the edge of Tom’s mouth, “Kidding, kidding. Though I still say, only the best for you.”