Bloody Texas

Purple Opia

Lance cried out through intense pain and clutched his hands together. Sharp, almost unbearable stinging tore through his hands and joints. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he writhed on the blankets of his bed. He took a few quick breaths and sucked air through his teeth. He let out a pitiful whine, "Papi."

"Let me take you to the hospital, m'ijo," he sat in a chair next to Lance's bed, placing a hand on his arm. His face was calm, but his hands shook.

Lance shook his head with tightly closed eyes, "No, I can take it."

Lance's stomach churned and he was sure that he would vomit at any time. His pounding head and aching neck added to the dizziness he felt. A wave of needles attacked his knees, causing him to pull them up and yelp. The feeling seeped into his back, adding to his torture. His father had given him pain meds, but they only did the bare minimum for him. It was painful, so painful, but the pain made Lance feel more alive. It also reminded him that he was dying.

His father stood with a sigh and leaned down to pick up his son with gentle arms, "Let's go, m'ijo. That's enough."

Lance had resisted his father for too long, and the agony took away his voice. He clung to his father as he was carried to the car and rushed to the hospital. Dr. Shirogane was immediately called in and provided Lance with the care he needed. Whether it was on his bed or in the hospital room, he was still in pain. The morphine took a good portion of it away, but not all of it. The crisis lasted for hours, leaking into the early morning. He pitifully cried into the stiff pillow the entire time, squeezing his father's hand. Lance begged his body to just pass out over and over, but it never did.

Sickle cell was already immensely painful; combining it with AIDS made it excruciating. The doctors gave him five more years. They said he wouldn't live past twenty-five. After receiving the various methods of pain management and a blood transfusion, Lance finally fell asleep around six a.m.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light as he hesitantly opened them. The lights were off, but the window casted a yellow and red glow into the space. He figured that it was evening already. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he adjusted his sore body with a series of pitiful wincing. He was still alive, much to his dismay. Lance yawned and slowly sat up.

"Oh, you're awake."

Lance turned his aching head toward the small leather couch next to him. Keith sat back, leaning his head on his elbow. Lance scanned the room, "Where's my father?"

Keith sat up with a tired grunt, "He went to get coffee."

Lance squinted at him in suspicion, "How did you get in here?"

"Your dad let me in." He stood with his hands in his jean pockets and stepped toward the bed, "I insisted that he should get some rest."

Lance looked up through his eyelashes, "How did you know I was here?"

He shrugged with pursed lips, "My brother is your doctor."

"He told you?"

"No, but the only reason he ever rushed out of the house like that was for a 'special patient,'" he motioned the air quotes with his fingers. "I finally realized who he was taking care of."

Lance let his gaze fall and he took a deep breath. He wanted to protest, but company wasn't a bad thing at the time. Lance was lonely, but he still didn't know what he thought about Keith. Well, he thought he was weird, but he was different than everyone else. Tempting, but dangerous.

Keith bent down and placed a hand on Lance's cheek, pulling him into a soft kiss. When Lance realized what happened, he jumped back. "Why did you- why would you do that?!"

Keith shot him a cocky smile, "You looked cute."

Lance tilted his head and pursed his lips together, "Dr. Shirogane would kill you if he saw."

He leaned back up and stroked Lance's cheek with a light finger, "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do, I-" he slapped Keith's hand away, "I know the look."

"The look?" He raised an eyebrow as he stuck his hand back in his pocket.

"You know-" he motioned with a nod, "The look. The one where people think that you're just a piece of garbage. That you're dirty. The look people give me when they're trying to be nice, but totally hate my very being with all th-"

Keith sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Lance into another kiss. His warm hands held his cheeks with care. He was gentle and caring. Scary. Lance was stiff at first, but gradually gave in and wrapped his arms around Keith's neck to deepen the kiss. Keith adjusted himself to sit on the bed and pulled Lance into his lap. His strong arms supported Lance's weak posture, bracing his spine and lower back. The wires attached to Lance got in the way a little, tugging on his arm and nose.

Keith pulled back and looked up at Lance's flushed cheeks. The corners of his mouth tugged into a smile, "I don't think you're disgusting." He used his fingertips to brush a few strands out of his face. "Lance, you know that I like you, right?"

"I figured, but...why?" Lance had stayed at Keith's house that night he found him wandering around town. They talked for a long time about life and school and just each other in general. Even though it was his house, Keith let Lance sleep in his bed when he passed out, choosing to take his floor. After that night, they continued to text each other. Lance's family even started to point out how much he was on his phone lately.

Keith gave him a cheeky smirk and shrugged, "You're my type."

Lance raised an eyebrow, "Weak and dying?"

With a gentle smile and a nudge to his shoulder, Keith corrected him. "Sweet and unique."

Lance stifled his giggle, "Femboy?"

Keith laughed, "Femboy." He hugged his waist a little tighter, "Come on, give me a chance."

"I barely know you," Lance challenged.

Keith shook his head, "False. We know a lot about each other. Plus you've known me for almost a month now."

"Is that even enough time?"

"You'd be surprised." Keith leaned toward him, but kept their lips separated. "Come on. We're both adults here." Lance tried to accept a kiss, but Keith pulled back. He looked up at him with heavenly eyes. "Give in. Let me love you."