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Snakes & Snails & Puppy-Dog Tails
by Nancy
Mac frowned on hearing a moan from the bathroom. He walked over and tapped lightly on the door. "Danny? You okay in there?"
"I'm dying," Danny groaned in response.
Alarmed, Mac opened the door and found his lover on the floor, head over the toilet, pants around his ankles. There was a distinctly funky smell in the small room, so Mac turned on the fan. Danny looked as utterly miserable as Mac had ever seen him, which was saying something. "Jesus, Danny, what's wrong?"
"I'm dying," Danny repeated, then vomited into the toilet.
Crouching beside him, Mac rubbed his hand helplessly up and down the younger man's back in what he hoped was a soothing movement. He flushed the toilet whenever Danny stopped retching in order to gasp for air and murmured useless words aimed to comfort. It seemed an eternity before Danny sagged in quasi-relaxation against the bowl, forehead on the porcelain as he struggled to breathe normally.
Mac stood and poured a cup of water, then handed it to Danny, helping him hold the cup and making sure he didn't drink too much. At first, all Danny did with the water was swish and spit it back out, but he did finally take a few sips. "Better?"
Danny slowly shook his head, resting it against the porcelain again.
Chuckling softly, Mac kissed the back of his head and observed, "See, this is why humans aren't really meant to eat insects, Danny."
"No lecture, please, Mac," Danny begged.
Mac pressed another kiss to the sweaty hair. "No lectures. Come on, let's get you into the shower and then tucked into bed."
"I don't think I can stand."
"Then stay put and I'll get the water ready."
Mac reached over to turn on the faucet and then stripped while it warmed up. He helped Danny to his feet, supporting him while he stepped out of his pants and unbuttoning his shirt. Assisting his lover into the shower, he held Danny close as the water sluiced over them. Danny rested on him almost completely, cheek lying against Mac's shoulder and his arms draped over Mac's hips.
Rocking them gently back and forth, Mac hummed softly and let Danny just recuperate from the upset stomach and nausea at his own pace. It wasn't like they had anywhere to be and he enjoyed taking care of the fiercely independent man in his arms. He so rarely got the opportunity to do so.
Danny sighed a good while later and muttered, "Feels good, Mac."
Mac kissed his temple, replying, "I'm glad. You want to wash up now?"
"Li'l longer," Danny yawned.
Smiling, Mac nodded and went back to humming.
Danny's arms tightened around him a little and he nuzzled at Mac's throat before sighing again and resting on his shoulder. It wasn't all that much longer before Danny pulled back with another yawn and said, "I'm good now, thanks, Mac."
Nodding, Mac stepped out of the shower and dried off while Danny lathered up. It was a very pleasant image and he looked his fill before heading to the bedroom to make short work of changing the sheets. By the time Danny climbed naked into bed, Mac had not only changed the sheets, he had a glass of Alka-seltzer ready to go on the nightstand table. He grimaced when Mac held it out, but drank it down without complaint.
Moments later, they were under the covers with the lights off and Danny was curled up along Mac's side. Feeling unusually content with his life, Mac rubbed his hand slowly over Danny's stomach and sighed deeply before asking, "Back to normal?"
"Well, as normal as I'll ever be, yeah," Danny agreed, huffing in amusement.
Mac chuckled and questioned, "What on earth possessed you to eat a Peruvian millipede?"
"The worm was fine," Danny protested.
"All evidence in our bathroom to the contrary?"
Danny sighed. "It wasn't the worm, it was the wasp burrito."
Mac blinked and did his best not to shudder in revulsion. "You ate a wasp burrito? What were you thinking?"
"That if Montana could eat it, so could I," Danny admitted sheepishly. "You weren't there, Mac! I mean, she was chompin' away at the damn tarantula on a stick thing and then down went the burrito, easy peasy! I couldn't not eat one, too."
Shaking his head, Mac asked, "Did you brush your teeth and gargle?"
"Twice, why?"
In answer, Mac tilted his lover's face towards him, the moonlight casting him partially in shadow, giving him a distinctly devilish appearance with the stubble growing in. He leaned forward a bit and kissed Danny softly, enjoying the almost pliant way his lover opened to it. The kiss didn't last long, as it wasn't meant to enflame, just to comfort and connect. He settled back against the pillows and smiled warmly when Danny snuggled as close as he could, warm breath ghosting against Mac's throat.
Danny yawned and mumbled, "Night, Mac."
"Night, Danny," Mac replied.
Even though he wasn't in the least bit tired, it was nice to just drift and listen to Danny as his lover's breathing evened-out in to sleep. Their schedules were so insane that sometimes they could go a whole week without seeing one another. Lying in bed holding Danny while he slept was a bonus, in Mac's opinion, and he smiled as he mentally reviewed the status of his current open case.
Life was good.
end