Firebug: Chapter 15 - MVP

"See? Told you those blackguards didn't stand a chance."

Roman nearly came out of his sweaty, grass-stained football togs when Theo had spoken. He'd been so focused on the game that he'd apparently forgotten Theo was still there, warming the bench alongside him. The moment their eyes met, his lips stretched into that signature grin of his. Although it made Theo's heart flutter, the Brit couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about it.

"Yep; you were right," Roman nudged his arm playfully, "Somehow, we pulled it out. Don't know why I ever doubted a smart guy like you."

Theo was set all a-twitter by the compliment and playful gesture, but he was also taken aback by the tone in Roman's voice. No matter how well the star quarterback tried to hide it, Theo heard it all the same: a deep, resonant sadness. There seemed to be no reason for it, given the numbers on the scoreboard. Perhaps Theo was wrong. Perhaps Roman was simply exhausted, or feeling unwell. Whatever the cause, his boyfriend's malaise caused Theo's own guts to twist with worry.

"Forgive me for saying so, but you don't seem very happy about winning," Theo murmured. "You're not in any pain, are you? How's your head?"

"Still firmly attached to my neck," Roman joked.

He tried - and failed - to hide a wince as he scratched the back of his head, his fingers cupping the base of his skull with a deep groan. Clearly it was aching again, driving Theo to his feet in an instant.

"This is no time for cheekiness," Theo insisted, "Stay here; I'm going to find you a doctor, or a medic or... s-someone!"

"Bello, please," Roman's cool hand was around Theo's wrist in an instant, keeping the shorter bloke rooted to the spot, "I'm okay. I promise. A little sore, maybe, but it's nothing an ice bath and some Bengay can't fix."

Against Theo's better judgement, he allowed Roman to pull him back down onto the bench. It was all he could do not to slide into the Student Body President's lap, and smother him with kisses until all his aches and pains were healed. Unfortunately, such behavior was not ideal on the sidelines of a football field with hundreds of witnesses milling around. Not until Roman broke things off with Luna, and they could come out together as a proper couple.

"Ro-Ro!"

She raced over with an idiotic squeal the second Theo thought of her, making him wish he hadn't. As usual, she treated him as if he didn't exist, throwing her pom-poms at him carelessly. By the time Theo pried them out of his face, Luna and Roman were snogging again.

"We won!" she giggled in-between kisses, hugging Roman with both her arms and legs, "I knew we could do it, didn't you?!"

The sight was as nauseating and infuriating as ever, but Theo tried not to show how much it bothered him. Just like before the game, however, he found it exponentially more difficult to hide his displeasure the longer their snogging continued. When he could bear it no more, he coughed loudly into his fist, forcing Luna to tear her lips from Roman's and smile woodenly at him.

"Oh... hey, Teddy," she greeted, her tone saccharine sweet through her clenched teeth. "What are you doing here? I thought only athletes were allowed on the field." Instead of giving Theo time to answer, however, she hopped off Roman's lap with another simpering giggle. "C'mon, Mr. MVP; let's go celebrate!"

Roman rolled his eyes, shooting Theo an apologetic look as he let Luna drag him to his feet. "MVP? Sorry, Lu, but I think you've got the wrong guy. Besides, I... I'm not... r-really up for... F-For..."

Theo saw what was happening before either Luna or Roman seemed aware of it. The moment Roman was upright, his face slackened and his eyes glazed over. When his balance suddenly faltered, Theo quickly caught him around the waist, narrowly preventing him from dropping to the grass on the spot.

"Romeo! A-Are you alright?! Roman!!"

Until it was too late, Theo hadn't realized just how heavy Roman was. Especially with all the extra padding on under his uniform. With considerable effort - and no help at all from Luna - Theo managed to wrestle Roman back onto the bench. by the time he did, the handsome, olive-skinned teen was blinking puzzledly at him.

"Fine... I-I'm fine," he mumbled, shaking his head with a frown, "Sorry... Wh-What was I saying?"

"Uh, you were saying you wanna go celebrate," Luna lied, jutting her hip out and folding her arms across her chest with an almost comical pout, "Come on, Babe; Jessica's already got the victory party set up at her house, and she'll kill us if we're late!"

"The only place he's going tonight is hospital," Theo snapped, "Just look at him, Luna! How can you even think about a stupid party when he's in such a state?!"

In a blink, Luna's face was two centimeters from Theo's. They were roughly the same height, but her fury made him wither on the spot like an ant under a magnifying glass.

"Nobody. Asked. You," she hissed, "Roman, get your lazy ass up. We're going to that victory party. Oh, and by the way, Teddy, you're not invited. But if we ever need anybody to torch the place, I know who to call."

There were a thousand things Theo would've loved to say to that insufferable, entitled cow. If he had the courage, he might've done so. That last comment she'd made sucked all the wind out of his sails, however, replacing his ire with debilitating fear. Surely, she didn't know about the Curse. There was no way she could. Not unless Roman had told her, and he'd never do that.

While Theo was still gathering his wits, a human wall appeared between him and Luna. Without conscious thought, Theo reached out to the broad back shielding him, gripping a handful of the navy and gold jersey covering it. At roughly the same time Roman's arm reached back, wrapping protectively around Theo.

"Luna, enough," he insisted calmly, "I'm not going to that party. My head is killing me right now, and I'm dog tired. We'll have plenty of time to celebrate tomorrow night at the dance. You have my word."

For an uncomfortably long while, Luna was speechless. He wholeheartedly expected her to protest, or even force Roman to go to the party against his will. To Theo's relief, she eventually exhaled a loud noise of disgust.

"Fine," she sniffed, "I didn't really wanna go anyway. Tiffany, Madison, and I planned to do a sleepover tonight to prep for the dance, which is infinitely more fun than some dumb kegger!"

Roman stumbled backward suddenly, causing Theo to hug him instinctively from behind. He'd assumed Roman had lost his balance again, until he heard a wet, sucking noise. Theo's stomach turned over violently, his jaw locking painfully tight to hold in a disgusted noise of his own, when he realized she was kissing Roman again.

"Get plenty of rest, okay?" she said, "I want you in tip-top shape for tomorrow night. Don't forget you're picking me up at seven. Not six-thirty, not seven-ten. Seven p.m. straight up. And you'd better have a limo and a corsage. Not saying your life depends on it, but it most definitely does."

"Love you, too," Roman muttered, "...and I'll be there. 'Night, Lu. Enjoy your sleepover."

Theo kept his cheek pressed tight to Roman's back, studying the tiny, diamond-shaped holes in his jersey. He could've stood there all night, listening to his boyfriend's heartbeat and basking in the heavy, intoxicating musk of his sweat. His trance was broken, however, when the strong arm holding him against Roman's back suddenly relaxed.

"She's gone. You okay?"

Theo nodded, shaking too much to speak for a moment. "You're not," he realized, "Romeo, you need a doctor. Please, let me take you to one."

For a moment, it looked like Roman was going to argue. Instead, he exhaled deeply and wrapped a cool, strong hand around Theo's cheek. "Okay," he sighed.

Having lived with socialized medicine for the bulk of his life, Theo had no patience whatsoever for the American healthcare system. He was fit to explode in the waiting room of the urgent care facility Roman's coach brought them to. Overworked nurses; a front desk clerk who clearly couldn't be arsed to do anything; doctors who seemingly didn't care about the dozens of injured and infirm patients around him desperately in need of care. It was almost more than he could handle. After sitting there for over two hours, it was finally Roman's turn to be seen. The doctor's examination was frustratingly short, and his diagnosis did little to soothe Theo's anxiety.

"Yep; he's definitely got a mild concussion," the doctor said, shrugging as he looped his stethoscope around his neck, "nothing to worry about, though. A few days' rest, and he'll be fine. That means no driving, no sports, and very little screen time. Take a Tylenol for your headache if you need to. If it doesn't go away or gets worse, or if you experience severe dizziness and/or vomiting, head straight to the ER. For now, go home and get some sleep."

"Th-That's it?!" Theo blurted, "We've sat here for hours, just for you to pat him on the head and say 'get some rest'?! What sort of a doctor-?!"

"Thanks, Doc," Roman interrupted, squeezing Theo's hand gently to silence him, "I'll do that."

Awash with anger and embarrassment, Theo was silent the entire ride back to Hill Academy. Coach Guff offered to take him home as well once Roman was safely on the steps of Cedar Hall. The moment he saw Roman standing there, staring up at the dormitory in a haze of deep gloom, Theo's mind was made up.

"I-If it's alright, I'd like to stay with Roman tonight," he said, "I'm sure my father would understand, given his injury. Erm... please?"

"Knock yourself out, kid," the coach shrugged, "Make sure he gets right to sleep, yeah? No yakking all night or any other funny business!"

Thanking Coach Guff profusely, Theo sprang from the car in an instant. Roman turned around immediately at the sound, blinking in abject shock when Theo's arms wrapped around him.

"Bello, what-?!"

"Come on," Theo sniffed, leading Roman into the building by the hand, "You need to rest, and I shan't do so until you're comfortably in bed."

Theo only paused once on the way up the stairs to Roman's dorm. On the third floor landing, he thought he saw a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. It was only there for a second, so ultimately he dismissed it, not stopping again until they were in Roman's room.

This time, Theo took the sleeping bag on the floor, yielding the bed to Roman. Once they were both settled, Theo released his tension with a sigh.

"Suppose we'll have to cancel that date," he mused, "I'm sure dancing is considered a strenuous activity."

"Nah," Roman muttered, letting his hand fall over the edge of the bed toward Theo, "not if it's a slow one."

Theo couldn't help but smile, unable to resist taking that hand in his. "You're absolutely incorrigible," he murmured.