What the Hell is Going on Here? We Got to Keep Going....

[oprorsk_sode]

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[willoftheblackbird]

"... thank you." Dee meant that for everything.

Jay would be more than happy to have that conversation, both with the Danes and with the doctors.

In fact, just around that time, they got a text from Jay. He was on his way back.

[oprorsk_sode]

Mikkel kissed Dee's cheek. "You're welcome." He'd snuggle the American if he wanted it.

Ansgar texted back to say Dee was doing better and Mikkel was looking after him. He didn't wand Jay rushing when it wasn't needed at this point.

[willoftheblackbird]

A message came back from Jay:
That's good. Had me worried there for a bit.
Do you want me to pick you up anything in return for the house call? It's no trouble at all, really.

[lynoprorer]

Ansgar watched his brother snuggling with Dee. He was such a sweet young man under all the brat.

If there is something Dee with eat when his stomach is upset, it might help.

The Danes almost always thought about others before themselves, in part because they were used to getting nothing.

[willoftheblackbird]

Dee returned the hug, but now that the nausea had passed, also went back to his mug of tea. Chancing a little bit more.

I doubt he's going to want more than a few crackers. And I've got some in the pantry.
What do you two want?

[lynoprorer]

Mikkel would sit there and drink tea and huddle with Dee. He was so used to this from taking care of Rik for years.

My brother likes cake and strawberries.

[willoftheblackbird]

Okay. I can do that. What about you?

Sorry, Ansgar, you're not getting away from answering your bandmate.

[oprorsk_sode]

I don't need anything.

Mikkel saw his brother texting and crawled down to the end of the bed to peer over his shoulder. Mikkel snatched the phone.

"Give that back!' Ansgar demanded but he didn't get it before Mikkel texted "chocolates" and "Rye bread".

[willoftheblackbird]

He was about to text back, 'I said want, not need' but then the other messages came through.

Okay. There's actually some rye in the breadbox if you want to make yourself a sandwich. I'll pick up something sweet.

When Jay did get home, he brought in a box of strawberries and some chocolate sauce for dipping. A sweet treat for these amazing substitute nurses.

[oprorsk_sode]

I didn't need anything. Mikkel is being a brat.

By the time Jay got there, if Dee didn't shoo him away, Mikkel may well have fallen asleep curled up by the singer. Mikkel was always high strung and wary, so when he was in a space where he felt safe and comfortable his first instinct is to rest. Ansgar stayed awake though to watch over everyone.

[willoftheblackbird]

If you want to make a sandwich, you can. Really.
Trust me, you can't possibly make a bigger mess of my kitchen than Dee.

Dee didn't shoo Mikkel away. Though he did slip out to use the bathroom, fortunately with no further retching. The tea had gone a long way in helping his nausea, but the rest of it would still have to work its way out of his system the normal direction.

He was just coming out of the bathroom again, albeit on shaky legs, when Jay got home.

Jay set his bags down on the island in the kitchen. He pulled out the strawberries and tossed the dipping sauce in the microwave to warm up just a bit.

"Sorry that took so long." he announced, hurrying back into their master bedroom.

[lynoprorer]

Ansgar wouldn't make a sandwich, not until Jay was there to watch over the two in the bed. He would help Dee to the restroom and back if he wanted it, even if it was a just in case situation. Mikkel did let Dee get up but as soon as he returned the young Dane was back to snuggling against him.

"Welcome back." Ansgar spoke quietly and grinned. "Your fiancé made a friend."

It was sweet to see his little brother starting to trust people. It meant some parts of Mikkel were starting to heal.

[willoftheblackbird]

Jay literally watched Ansgar help Dee sit down on the bed and Mikkel, without wasting a precious second, curl up next to him. Quite possibly while asleep, given how quiet Ansgar was talking.

It was kind of cute. Though Jay wished the adorableness was under somewhat better circumstances.

He came over to the bed and kissed Dee gently on the forehead. "I hear you've had quite a day. You could have called me."

"... Didn't think it was that bad..."

"And when it was?"

Dee looked away. It turned very quickly into a rhetorical question. Dee would rather die than seek medical attention, obviously. Jay sighed, but he didn't hold it against his fiance. He never could.

"Feeling a little better now, at least?" he asked.

"Mmhm..." Dee nodded, and Jay could tell he was actually being honest about it. "They made tea... It helped."

[lynoprorer]

It was cute but to Ansgar this meant so much more. He didn't interrupt but he'd be there for Dee and now probably his brother would too.

"My brother wants to talk to you about the teas." Ansgar mentioned. "When he's awake."

Ansgar was so happy to see his brother calm and relaxed around newer people. He did wonder if Dee's weaker, thinner body reminded Mikkel of Rik and the years he'd taken care of their cousin. He didn't know and wasn't going to ask.

[willoftheblackbird]

In time, Jay would learn the significance.

"Of course." Jay smiled softly. "It looks like I'm going to need the recipe."

And speaking of food... since Dee was at least feeling a little better, he didn't feel so bad mentioning it in front of him.

"Do you want me to bring you anything? There's strawberries sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Not sure if you're feeling up to that, though." he glanced up at Ansgar. "I got some chocolate sauce for you, should be warmed up. If you want to dip them in it."

Dee shook his head. "I don't think I want to jinx it... Still surprised that the tea stayed down..."

"Okay..." he leaned in to kiss him again. "You try and get a little rest. I'm going to grab a bite."

Jay was hungry, and it might be the only way he was going to get Ansgar to accept the offered dessert. Or anything, really. Hopefully, the Kuro drummer wouldn't feel self-conscious about it if multiple people were enjoying it.

[lynoprorer]

"Mikkel wanted you to talk to the doctor and make sure nothing was going to interfere with Dee"s infusions." Ansgar mentioned. They were basically giving medicine after all, even if it was just medicine to relieve symptoms so he could rest and get better.

"You can snuggle with this one." Ansgar ruffled Mikkel's hair and the younger Dane grouched in his sleep. "It's like having a boney teddy bear." The drummer grinned because Mikkel was a similar, though more muscled, version of Dee's build.

Ansgar did get up to follow Jay. Mikkel was a light sleeper so if Dee got up or anything it would probably rouse him.

[willoftheblackbird]

“That’s always good thinking.” Jay agreed with Ansgar and Mikkel’s line of thinking. Too often, people forgot that even the most natural things could react with medications. Grapefruits were worse than a lot of drugs in that regard.

He couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the brothers.

“I snuggle with mine every night. 11 stars out of 10, highly recommend.”

[lynoprorer]

Ansgar giggled quietly as they left the room. "My brother must have good ratings too."

Of course, Ansgar was very similar in that respect sometimes but he wasn't as outgoing as his younger brother.

"He'll be good for Dee, I think." Ansgar mentioned. If Mikkel took to Dee like he appeared to be then Dee might find more comfort and someone who would encourage him to rest.

[willoftheblackbird]

There was a slight twinge if jealousy in seeing someone else snuggle up against his fiancé. Jay wanted to be in that spot right now, and someone else was. But he also knew that Mikkel wasn’t making any kind of advance. This was entirely platonic and simply about comfort.

That, and Dee actually trusted them with something akin to medicine. Navigating medical decisions was like ballet dancing on a tightrope over a volcano during an earthquake. The magnitude of this act alone could simply not be ignored.

“You both are. He willingly took something to ease his symptoms, instead of just toughing it out.” Jay was impressed, but he was still protective of Dee. “He obviously doesn’t consider herbal remedies on the same level as drugs. Which might be good or bad, depending on what they are or what they’re for. I’m definitely not an expert in alternative medicine.”

Either they were, or they knew someone who was.

[lynoprorer]

With time, Jay and Dee would learn how the Danes were, especially the youngest of them. Physical contact with trusted people was important to them.

Ansgar grinned. "Mikkel has a way with people."

Ansgar nodded. "Vars is teaching Mikkel to think of it as medicine. He'll watch out for Dee." The Dane was confident in that because his brother cared very deeply for those people he trusted.

[willoftheblackbird]

“That’s the understatement of the century.” He scoffed as he opened the dipping sauce for the strawberries. “He sold more merch after our first show than I thought we’d sell in a month. AND he got Dee to take something? I should hire him on the spot before someone beats me to it.”

Jay plucked one of the strawberries out of the package and dipped it right into the chocolate.

“But yeah, I’ll ask Dee’s doctor about the tea, and about any other herbal supplements he might recommend or avoid.”

The new generation of biologics were almost like miracle drugs, custom-tailored to avoid allergic reactions, not immunosuppressive, remarkably few side effects. Drug interactions had been relatively rare too, but they could still happen, and the last thing Jay wanted was for Dee to be the one who discovered one.

[lynoprorer]

"That in there is quite a thing." Ansgar replied. "Mikkel doesn't trust men."

Perhaps it was a a miracle on both sides of the equation. Once Jay started eating then the Dane took one of the strawberries.

"Maybe go to Vars and get a list of what he keeps in his apothecary? He's the one teaching Mikkel." Ansgar figured Jay might as well go with a full list so that they could know what was safe and what wasn't all at once. "I know Mikkel was already avoiding things that effect muscles."

[willoftheblackbird]

For not being very trusting of men, Mikkel was curled up against one like a cat. But Dee wasn’t really your stereotypical man.

“Well, the theory that Dee’s secretly a siren has yet to be disproven.” He laughed as he slid the dipping sauce over.

Apothecary sounded as anachronistic as siren did fantastical. But the former was at least true. And getting a full list would definitely be the best option.

“That’s good.” Jay nodded. His voice softened. “Dee came a lot closer to a point of no return there than I think either of us want to admit. Enough to impact his bones, his heart… Not to a degree that anything else needs to be treated right now, thank God. I don’t even want to think about how Dee would have reacted to that. But those are things we definitely don’t want to exacerbate.”

[lynoprorer]

"It's not a siren." Ansgar looked down at the half eaten strawberry. "My brother was 8 when he started looking after Rik when he was injured. He used to sleep like that next to Rik when he was sick."

It would have been nice if it was something as fun as a siren song but Ansgar didn't go into the reasons or the whys. It was enough that Mikkel cared for the sick.

"Mikkel cares for people. He won't want anything to happen to Dee." Ansgar trusted his brother. He might be a brat, rebellious, annoying, but he cared. It was amazing to Ansgar that after everything his baby brother still had that sweet heart inside even if he had a fortress around it sometimes.

[willoftheblackbird]

It would have been nice were sirens to blame. Jay could hear the way the drummer’s tone shifted.

“That happened more than it should have, didn’t it…”

He knew the Soeren boys, like Dee, had escaped some pretty horrific things at home. Different horrors (and likely over a much longer period and from a much younger age), but horrors nonetheless. He didn’t know many of the details, nor did he want to pry. Like with Dee, he wanted only to create a safe and supportive space.

“You don’t ever have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” He encouraged. “But if you need to, you’re safe here.”