A Star for Baby (boyxboy)

Monoceros

Thank you guys so much for all the support! I promise I read every comment and cherish every vote x

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Two weeks later

Oliver hunched over the front counter, biting his lips as he scrolled through the banking app on his phone. He'd just gone negative by a couple hundred dollars in his account in order to pay the landlord for the previous month. Shit. His credit score had already taken a huge bite; he didn't need this now.

"Oliver? Is everything alright?" Katie asked from her position behind Register Two.

"Yeah, I'm just worrying about money shit."

"Oh, that's rough," Katie came over, leaning on the counter next to him. "Like what, bills?"

Oliver almost laughed. Bills. He'd kill to be in high school again.

"Yeah, bills," he said, keeping a straight face. "Electricity, water, heat. Rent, which I'm still a month behind on. Gotta pay for car insurance, my phone, school. And the fucking hospital, Jesus. Can't forget that."

"Fuck," Katie whispered. "What are the hospital bills for?"

Oliver looked at her, and her face immediately turned red.

"I'm sorry! That was way out of line, crap."

"No it's okay," Oliver said. "They're for my..."

His... what, exactly? Saying husband felt weird, like they were some old married couple. And they were obviously more than boyfriends. Oliver twisted the ring on his finger, grounded by the feeling of it. Baby was more than a lover, more than anything, really. What he felt for Baby was insurmountable.

"My husband," he eventually just said, figuring it was the truth and he might as well say it. "He has cancer."

"Holy shit what?" Katie asked. "You have a husband?"

Oliver just nodded.

"Whoa, okay," Katie's eyes flicked him up and down. "I didn't even know you were gay, much less married."

"It's kind of a recent development."

"Being gay or the marriage?"

"Marriage," Oliver gave her a blunt look.

"Well congratulations," Katie said. "I can't believe you didn't tell me."

"We're acquaintances, work acquaintances at that."

"But it's a big deal! Getting married is a big deal."

Oliver looked down at his phone screen, which had gone black so he could see all the scratches in it. His own reflection stared back, tired and sad. He didn't want to tell Katie that with everything going on, getting married felt like the least big deal out of a laundry list of deals.

Fuck, laundry. He had to do a load when he got home.

"You... said he has cancer?" Katie asked quietly.

Oliver picked at a spot on the wooden counter, swallowed, then nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Oliver."

"It's alright," Oliver choked out. "He's going to be fine. It's just the getting there that sucks."

"Well, how are you going to pay the bills?" Katie asked. "If you don't mind me intruding like this."

"No I don't mind," Oliver shook his head in defeat. "Everyone I know knows I'm bankrupt. It's practically public knowledge at this point. I don't know what I'm going to do."