The Wrath Of The Ice King

41

The only thing left was the big question.

Now that Romeo knew about Chris' situation, feeling horrible about it to the point where he would lay awake at night, his eyes searching for the smallest hint of a curve in his body, tracing over his spine soft as Chris slept peacefully. Not a moment of peaceful slumber had been granted. Romeo hadn't slept in over three days.

Three days ago, he had noticed the uneven shoulders, the uneven ribcages, the feelings of a curve underneath Chris' skin, so noticeable yet hidden away from plain view for months. The two had been together for months yet two distinct ideas had been haunting Romeo ever since he found out the truth. For one, Chris had not trusted him enough to let him now under any circumstance at any given point during the coarse of their relationship. Secondly, he himself hadn't noticed. How hadn't he noticed?

At this point, Romeo didn't know how to bring it up. He wanted to have Chris go through a checkup with a physiologist to determine whether he could possible fix the curve through physical exercise without having to undergo surgery. Fuck, the older boy hadn't even thought to ask Chris, let alone mention the possibilty of him undergoing spinal fusion surgery. He had no idea how quickly the curve had escalated, what degree it was standing at, whether his rotations had gotten worse. He had been doing nothing but research as Chris slept next to him, his eyes searching for answers, knowledge, and help.

He needed to talk to Chris. But he had no idea how to approach the subject, how to spark up a conversation regarding this matter. No way would he be able to look at Chris square in the face and tell him he needed to have his back cut open to have his spine fixed. However, he needed to do so if he was sure that this was what the boy needed.

A final thought had been casting a shadow over his being for days as well. What if. What if he had worsened the curve when he had whipped the boy as punishment. He wasn't even sure if that was possible, but the muscles and skin having to put up with so much force and tension probably wasn't good for the spine. Everytime this thought popped up into his head, he wanted to break his own skull and put himself through the same process over and over again until he wa stripped of his own skin and dignity. If he was the cause of the situation worsening, especially for the reason he had whipped him, a moment of misommunication, rage, blindness, and misunderstanding, he wouldn't be able to live with that.

Chris stirred next to him, his eyes blinking open slowly, instantly meeting Romeo's gaze. It was barely ten in the morning but Romeo had been up since five, not being able to sleep as usual. He had his laptop on his lap as he furiously read over articles, trying to pinpoint an instant cure for his boy's condition. However, he had understood that this wasn't a disease that could be fixed with some soup and rest. This was bone structure, the failure of the spine to stand straight, messing up the entire anatomy of the body, misplacing organs if the curve escalated too much and causing aches.

Chris stretched slowly, letting out a loud moan as he welcomed the new day with open arms, assuming that Romeo had only just woken up. He turned to his side, placing his arm underneath his head, smiling at the boy.

"Good morning" he said cutely, looking at Romeo with eyes laced with sleep, his cheeks red and his face well rested. He had gone to bed early as well, exhausted at having spent the day with Ari. Romeo had been extra lenient towards him lately, letting him have extra sweet, extra time with friends, letting him off easy, not establishing rules or enforcing them. Right now, as much as he was his dominant, he also had been acting more as his boyfriend without worrying about the power dynamic part of the relationship. Currently, he needed to act as a boyfriend to his lover, and that was exactly what he was doing.

"Good morning, baby," Romeo said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes as he let himself take the scenery in before turning back to his laptop screen. He needed to read and research. In reality, this was only his own way of delaying the part where he needed to sit down and have a talk with Chris. By convincing himself that he was helping more by collecting information, he was pushing the crucial part away, with ate away at him but also assured him enough to want him to keep going.