Cold Touch

Chapter Six

Ashkii's eyes fluttered open on Monday morning to be greeted by the smell of something good—it smelled like toast and eggs... and was that coffee? He was drowsy, and a bit fainted-headed. He noticed his blanket was draped over him and dramatically kicked it off. He frowned, trying to gather the bits and pieces from what he remembered from last night.

He'd invited Giovanni over, and they had watched a movie, and then Giovanni had gone to the bathroom, and then... then what? He couldn't really remember anything after that, and any attempt to, just made a sharp pain run through his skull. He groaned, turning to his size. He was in the living room, lying down on the couch. That he could tell since he was now staring straight at the television.

All Ashkii could remember after Giovanni went to the bathroom was feeling very cold, then warm, and then soothed. He wasn't sure what happened last night, but he did know he'd passed out and had a very nice sleep if he did say so himself. He wondered if Giovanni got home safe.

Ashkii's eyes moved in the direction of the kitchen when he heard the sound of the fridge opening. He frowned a bit, a bit puzzled when he saw someone moving in the distance before his eyes widened at the realization of who it was.

"Oh, you're awake now," Giovanni said when he closed the fridge door. He smiled at Ashkii, throwing the younger man off guard. "I made breakfast," Giovanni added, holding up the tin of butter he'd gotten from the fridge before walking over to the kitchen counter that had a plate of toast, another plate with scrambled eggs, and two mugs of coffee.

"You didn't go home last night?" Ashkii asked, even though the answer was obvious.

"I didn't," Giovanni said, picking up a piece of toast to butter. "You seemed sick. I wasn't sure if it was okay to leave you by yourself."

"Oh." That was the only appropriate word Ashkii could think of. He sat up on the sofa, staring at Giovanni who was no longer in the jeans, vest, or sweater he remembered from yesterday. He was in a black shirt that seemed to swallow him, and hopefully in some shorts underneath because all Ashkii could see were his long slender legs.

Ashkii took in a deep breath before letting it out. "Is that my shirt?" he asked, as Giovanni dropped the piece of toast to pick up another one.

"Yes. I couldn't really sleep in jeans. I had to look for something..." the man trailed, nibbling his lower lip. "I sort of helped myself to your things if you haven't figured that out."

Ashkii squinted at Giovanni also noticing the man's hair was a bit wet. Did he was it?

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want to leave to grab my things, and I didn't want to leave you by yourself—"

"It's okay," Ashkii said, cutting him off. "I help myself to your things a lot when I'm over at yours," he reminded the older man. He wasn't mad at Giovanni in the slightest. He didn't want the man to think that, but he also didn't want to explain why he was staring so much at him either. There was something about Giovanni swimming in his shirt with the guesswork of if he was wearing anything underneath or not that was making his stomach do backflips.

Giovanni stared at him for a bit before smiling and nodding. "So, do you want some breakfast?"

"Yes please," Ashkii said, feeling his stomach rumble at that exact moment. He felt like he was about to throw up whenever he moved too fast, and then he remembered all he'd had last night was wine and chocolate.

Giovanni brought over the plates and dropped them on the coffee table, before heading to grab the mugs. When he got back he sat beside Ashkii on the sofa and handed the younger man one of the cups.