What Happens in Vegas?

Chapter 11

"Ed. Come on. Wake up."

Everything hurt. Ed's head was pounding, his knees were burning, his back was in knots. And as he slipped further into wakefulness, a bone-rattling chill set in. He felt cold from the inside out.

Stede's pawed at his face gently. Then he gripped Ed's wrists and tugged. "Come on. Up you get."

Ed opened his eyes. The bathroom lights were still out, but the light in the hallway was on, spilling just enough illumination to see Stede's silhouette.

Slowly, Ed peeled himself out of the bathtub and got shakily to his feet. A wave of nausea hit him. He surged to the toilet, bent over it, and heaved the last dregs of his gut into the bowl.

"Oh, darling..." Stede whispered as he gathered up the knot of Ed's hair. He retrieved a hair elastic and looped it through the tangled mess.

Ed retched until every last trace of anything in his stomach was gone. He hugged the toilet seat. "I'm so sorry. M'sorry," he muttered, his voice echoing off the porcelain bowl.

"Shhh, shh. We'll talk about it after you've had some rest. Can you stand or do you need a minute?"

"Minute," Ed grunted.

While Ed waited for his stomach to stop spasming. Stede made slow circles against his back.

Shame kept Ed crumpled more than the contractions of his stomach. But the chill and the aches in his body forced him up after a few minutes.

"Easy, now," Stede whispered as he supported Ed. "Come on. Rinse your mouth out a bit. Then we'll get you to bed."

Ed braced himself on the bathroom counter. His eyes had adjusted enough to catch sight of his reflection in the semidarkness. He looked like absolute shit. Even with his hair tied back, it was a rat's nest of silver. He was pale, with deep shadows under his eyes. His gaze flicked up to Stede, who also didn't look great. He had his own set of dark circles under his eyes and his hair was sticking up in six different directions.

"Here..." Stede pressed a small bottle of mouthwash into his hand. "Try and at least give your mouth a rinse."

Ed did as instructed. He was worried that the mouthwash would make him sick again, but the mint actually soothed things a little. He managed a few swishes before he spat it out.

"Try to drink some water and take these..." Stede tipped a pair of painkillers into his hand, and handed him an open bottle of water.

It took Ed a few tries to get both down without vomiting again, but eventually he managed to drain the bottle.

Then, Stede hooked an arm around his side and carefully guided him out to the bed. Once Ed was sitting on the edge of it, Stede reached out to undo his shorts and push his button-up off his shoulders.

In another situation, it would have been sexy. But all Ed could do was watch Stede take care of him as the pit of shame in his gut grew deeper.

He's taking care of you again.

You left him and he's still taking care of you.

How could he not resent this?

Stede had almost straightened Ed away by the time the shivers set in in earnest. He found himself gently guided back onto the bed which felt impossibly plush. He curled up into a fetal position and hugged the comforter up around his chin.

Then, Ed felt arms around him from behind as Stede shifted to spoon him, arms looping around his torso. He tangled their legs together and kissed the back of his neck. "Rest, now. You'll be all right. I'm right here."