Upside Down (COMPLETE) Inside Out, Book 2 [BoyxBoy]

Keith

In the corner of his vision were flames bewildering in darkness. He remembered flying. He recalled defeat, and the ridiculous terror of it. Everything about the sensation almost seemed like a dream, but the pain started from his lower backbone up to his whole system was too intense to be one.

Keith smelled something medicinal, and the atmosphere felt oddly calming. This was a weird transition, he thought, as he remembered the commotion of the night before. He heard people talking in faint whispers. When the pain started again in his head, he made himself listen to the sound he sensed nearby.

Slowly, there was warmth in his hands placed right on top of his abdomen, a warmth of a touch engulfing his skin so soft and comforting it felt like home.

He knew whose hands were closing on his at that time.

Keith gave a grip before opening his eyes, and found himself in a hospital room. Nathan sat by the bed, holding Keith still, with his head drooping down in an uncomfortable slumber.

Keith gripped a little stronger, and Nathan sat up in his chair straighter in a sudden, quick movement. There were dark circles under his eyes; he looked a little paler than usual.

"Hey, you're awake," he said, pulling his chair closer to the bed. Keith frowned and sighed; he didn't need Nathan to do this.

"Yeah." But the feel of Nathan's hands on top of his was something he wanted for a little bit longer.

"How are you feeling?" Nathan asked. He later made the first move to pull his hands off Keith's, only to place them on his forehead. "Your body's cooling down ... the fever was worse yesterday."

"You stayed here the whole night?" Keith asked, and regretted the second he mentioned it. He didn't want to know.

"Yeah, everybody else's worn out from yesterday," Nathan said. "I didn't do much, so I volunteered to clock in."

Then they locked eyes at each other; Keith watched as color started to fill Nathan's face again. He didn't say anything as he watched Nathan smile and get flustered to the silence, and suddenly Keith felt like looking away. Nathan was beautiful, and this was bad.

Keith closed his eyes as Nathan ran three fingers on his forehead down to his cheek. Keith let Nathan loose as he caressed his hair, combing it with his fingers gently it almost felt like a good massage. Tears welled in his eyes; Keith hated the rushes of emotion coming back again.

"Nathan ... don't," he started.

But Nathan refused to listen. He asked, "Why?"

"You know why." Keith took Nathan's hand away and push it aside.

"I actually don't know why, Keith," Nathan said. "I don't see anything wrong with this."

"I do," Keith replied. "And I don't think I need to spell it out to you."

"You can spell it out all you want because I'm not going anywhere, okay?"

Keith sighed. He was too tired to be angry at Nathan. Keith didn't know how many nights had passed and how many hours Nathan had stayed there to nurse him, and he didn't need the same guilt again.

Nathan pulled his hands immediately when Dan rushed into the room with a female nurse accompanying him to his side. Dan bent to caress Keith's head next, looking restless and pale. He should be the one lying down here on the bed, Keith thought. The nurse later inserted a thermometer into his ear, checking his body temperature.

"Looking good," the nurse said. "These boys, as expected, are healing just fine."

"Thank you, Natasha," Dan said. He turned to Nathan. "Hey, Nate, thank you for taking care of Keith here. Your dad thinks you should go home and rest now."