☆ All the Stars ☆ (rarl)

Vol. 20 | For Love Is Lord Of All

Carl woke up tangled together with Ron. He wasn't sure what arms and legs were his at that point, but he was beyond happy.
He removed himself from Ron, covered in sweat that wasn't his. He sighed, sad with how sick Ron was.

On the nightstand was Ron's gun and knife, and his bag was in the floor.

Carl sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the gun, inspecting it.
There was a carving of Lucille on the side and a "J" on the bottom. This hadn't always been Ron's gun, obviously.
Carl thought for a moment about who "J" might be, and if they were still alive. Probably not. He sat the gun down and picked up the knife.

He had given Ron this knife years ago, and he was a bit surprised he still has it. Ron's name followed by a heart Carl had carved into it were still there, and the knife was obviously well cared for.Carl smiled, as Ron obviously treasured the knife.

He sat it back where he had gotten it, then looked over his shoulder at Ron as he slept.
He picked up a towel, using it to wipe some of the sweat off his husbands face.
"I love you." Carl whispered, kissing Ron's cheek lightly.

"Ron? Are you there?" Negans voice said, coming from Ron's bag on the floor.
Carl quickly picked it up, taking the back out to the hallway and shutting the door. He didn't want Negan to wake Ron.

"What do you want?" Carl said into the radio.
"Carl? So he did go to Alexandria. Where is he? I need to talk to him." Negan said calmly.
"He's busy." Carl claimed.
"He is? What's he doing?" Negan said.
"He's sleeping. He's not doing very well." Carl explained.

"Yeah. I know. Get him some chicken noodle soup and a cup of ice. That made him feel a little better last time." Negan said, giving Carl some advice.
"Ok. I will. Hey, um.. how long is this going to last?" Carl said, afraid of the answer.
"I don't know. He was a hundred percent for a long time. Probably about a month for the worst of it." Negan said as Carl walked down the stairs to get the soup and ice.

"He said it was for you. The bite." Carl said, getting a bowl for the soup.
"It was. He saved my life. More than once." Negan claimed.
"I think we need to talk." Carl stated, pouring the can of soup into the bowl.
"Me too. But I can't trust your dad won't kill me." Negan said, hoping Carl could convince Rick.

"That's what Ron said. I'll talk to him." Carl said with a sigh.
"Thanks kid. You know, ron told me you two are dating." Negan said, still wondering how he missed it.

"We were. We're married now." Carl explained with a huge smile Negan couldn't see.
"Married? Since when?" Negan said, wondering why ron hadn't mentioned that.
"Um, a few hours." Carl clarified.
"Oh. Well that's great. Congratulations. Tell Ron I said that too." Negan said, a bit surprised.

"I will. I think I'm going to try to get him to eat some. I'll talk to dad later." Carl said, finishing up Ron's food.
"Ok. One more thing, when Ron was sick, like really sick, he'd pass out sometimes. I just wanted to let you know. He'll be ok." Negan said, not wanting Carl to freak out.
"Oh, thanks. I'll remember." Carl said, ending the conversation.

-

Carl walked back into his room with the soup and ice, seeing that Ron was still sound asleep.
He smiled slightly, but only from how utterly adorable he found Ron to be.
He set the dishes on the nightstand by Ron's weapons, and sat on the bed by him.
Carl ran his hands through Ron's hair, gently kissing his cheek.

"Sweetie? You need to eat." He whispered in an attempt to wake his husband.
Ron groaned, putting his hands over his face.
"I got you some food." Carl said softly, putting his hand on top of Ron's.
Ron removed his hands from his face, looking at Carl.

"Hm?" He said, just now awake enough to comprehend what Carl was saying.
"I got you food sweetheart. You need to eat." Carl reiterated, smiling a bit again at Ron's preciousness.
"Ok." Ron said in a tired tone, sitting up to eat the food.

"Soup and ice. That's all I could eat last time I was sick. Did I tell you that?" Ron said, puzzled as to how Carl knew.
"No. Negan did. He tried to talk to you on the radio but you were asleep. He told me some about how to help you, and said congratulations on be married now." Carl explained, pushing Ron's hair back.

"Oh. What did he want?" Ron asked, eating the soup.
"He just wanted to be sure you were here." Carl said, leaving out that Negan had said he needed to talk with Ron.

"Ok." Ron said, leaning back and already running low on energy.
"Here. I'll hold it." Carl said talking the bowl and giving Ron a kiss.
"Thanks." Ron said sincerely, a tired smile on his face.
"Of course." Carl said, feeding him the soup.

After he had eaten, Ron looked down at the bed.
"Sorry." He whispered, seeing the sweat covered sheets.
"It's ok. Do you want a shower?" Carl said, knowing he would. He himself was covered in Ron's sweat as well.
"Yeah. I don't know if I can though." Ron stated, reaching to hold Carls hand.
"How about a bath?" Carl suggested.
"I think that will work." Ron agreed.

Carl prepared the bath and changed the sheets while Ron sat in the chair at his desk.

Once in the bathroom, Carl unbuttoned Ron's shirt, helping him get undressed.
"Thanks." Ron said again, beyond grateful for Carl.
"Baby, you don't have to say that. You would do this for me too." Carl said, unbuttoning Ron's pants now.
"I would. But that doesn't mean I can't say thank you." Ron claimed, running his hand through carls hair.
Carl sighed. He would probably be doing the same things if the roles were reversed.

Carl helped Ron into the bath, pouring some water on his hair to get it wet.
"You know what I was thinking about?" Ron said as Carl washed his hair.
"What?" Carl said.
"I was thinking about mom and dad. Like, how they were before everything." Ron said softly.

"Yeah? Were they different?" Carl asked. He and Ron didn't discuss his parents much even when they were alive.
"Yeah. Once dad went and got help, and he didn't hit us for a long time. Then everything happened and he was right back to it." Ron said, remembering that period of peace as a great time in his life.

"I'm sorry honey. You didn't deserve that. Jessie or Sam either. Nobody does." Carl said, kissing Ron's wet cheek.

"I know. But I was thinking, and it just doesn't make any sense. After he started getting help, he said he was so sorry and he had been a terrible person. It seemed so genuine. I don't know if he was lying and never changed, or if he had like a mental breakdown when the walkers came." Ron said, contemplating his father's actions.

"He was sick sweetheart. He had a mental illness. No one does things like he did if they don't. You can't make sense of someone's actions when they're sick." Carl said, not wanting Ron to dwell on it.

"I guess. Sometimes.. sometimes I wonder what was wrong with him. Sometimes, when I'm angry, I'm afraid it might be hereditary." Ron said, never having said that to anyone before.
"You're not like him. Not at all. Don't ever doubt that, ok?" Carl said, putting some soap on a washcloth.

"Ok. Ok." Ron whispered, looking at nothing.

Carl finished helping Ron wash off, neither saying anything else.

The two went back to the bed, Ron being quite tired now. He had forgotten to bring his toothbrush, and ended up using Carls.
"I love you." Carl said, tucking Ron back into bed.
"I love you too." Ron said tiredly as Carl kissed his forehead.
Carl smiled, about to say something else to him, but seeing he seemed to already be asleep.
He got up, going to take a shower of his own now, and, of course, brush his teeth.

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