22. Skye

The ibuprofen did not help, and neither did the Excedrin, or the Aleve, or alternating between Tylenol and ibuprofen, or drinking more water, and River's migraine had lasted days now. He'd made it through the end of the work week, but was in bed all weekend, absolutely miserable. He'd tried going to Urgent Care just to see if there was any sort of infection that might be causing it, but they couldn't find anything and didn't have any answers for him other than to follow up with his primary care doctor. So that's what he did the following Monday. Skye drove him because his head was still pounding and his eyes were still burning and he could barely see straight half of the time.

They suggested doing lab work, and an MRI and MRA just to make sure it was nothing serious. So, once again they were back, doing tests, waiting on results, scared and nervous, not knowing what was going on, or why.

Why River? Skye thought. Why him? Why the man I love? Why does he have to be the one in pain? Why do we have to be the ones going through this, over and over again? Is this going to be our lives? Doctors and questions and endless struggles? He found himself sitting in the waiting room where River was currently having his MRI done on a Saturday morning, and he let his head fall into his hands, letting out a deep breath. Every time they caught a break, it seemed, something else happened. Every time they took a step forward they would take two steps back. And he was sick of seeing his boyfriend hurting. Especially when he felt like there was nothing he could do to help. He's twenty-eight, for Christ's sake, but health issues, and chronic pain, and trauma, Skye was realizing more and more, didn't care how old you were. They didn't discriminate. And the person who looked the healthiest on the outside, could be the one suffering the most on the inside.

He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not when the results of the MRI and MRA both came back normal, and so did the blood work. Sure that meant there was nothing serious, which was great, but then why was River still in so much pain? It had been two weeks now, and his migraine only ever let up when he was asleep. So if he wasn't at work, that's what he was doing. Skye didn't blame him a bit, but he missed him terribly. He just wanted his boyfriend to find some relief. They did get a referral for a neurologist that the doctor recommended they see, so River scheduled an appointment with them, but it would be another month before he could get in to see them.

River

Finally, after another week straight of endless migraines, River woke up and found himself migraine free. He was confused more than anything, because he hadn't done anything differently, but he wasn't going to complain, because the pain was gone, and it felt like he could breathe again.

He rolled over to see that Skye was already out of bed, and climbed out of bed himself. He brushed his teeth and made his way into the kitchen, taking the cup of coffee out of Skye's hand and setting it aside, then placed both hands on his boyfriend"s cheeks and kissed him tenderly.

"Wow," Skye said, when River pulled away. He slid his arms around his waist and smiled. "What was that for? You feeling better?"

"Yeah, I have no idea how, or why, but I am," River said, beaming. "And it's Saturday, so let's do something. I've missed you." He started to place sweet kisses all over Skye's neck and jawline.

Skye smiled and squirmed a little, sliding his hands up River's back. "I've missed you too," he said. He nudged the side of River's face with his nose, causing River to look at his boyfriend and give him another kiss. "I have an idea." River rested his hands on Skye's chest as Skye held him close.

"What?" he said, staring into those gorgeous green eyes. He knew he probably looked like a lovesick puppy the way he was gazing at his boyfriend with so much fondness, but he couldn't help it.

"I found a movie theater with reclining seats, so maybe that means you could sit without it hurting your tailbone," Skye said, hopefully.

River's face lit up at the idea. "Really?"

"But, it's a twenty-five minute drive to get there," Skye said, grimacing slightly. "Can you handle that?"

"I think so. I'd like to try."

"Or we could try to do something that doesn't require sitting, but if your heart acts up…" Skye said.

"I like the movie idea, Skye," River interrupted, smiling. "If it doesn't pan out we can just go for a walk somewhere and get some lunch. Also, my heart's doing okay. I haven't had an episode in a while."

"Okay," Skye said, smiling. They kissed once more and then pulled apart to shower and get ready.

"Have we ever actually been on a date?" Skye said as they drove to the movie theater.

River was holding Skye's hand and beaming, despite the discomfort to his tailbone. It was tolerable, and he was just happy to be migraine free and out of the house with Skye, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. "No," he said. "I don't think we have. Unless you call our Valentine's dinner a date."

"Not technically, since we weren't out, but still probably the best memory ever," Skye said, and they both smiled and blushed. "Have you had an erection since then?"

River shook his head, frowning slightly. "No, I haven't. But we haven't exactly had the opportunity, either, my migraines were so bad."

"I'm happy to try again." Skye grinned. "Practice makes perfect, you know."

River blushed. He raised Skye's hand to his lips and kissed it, then brushed it along the stubble of his jawline, closing his eyes.

"Okay, stop it," Skye said, "‘Cause now I've got one, and I can't walk into the theater like that." He shifted in his seat.

River smiled. He kissed Skye's hand once more and then let go.

His hand was back in Skye's as they walked inside. Neither one of them really remembered much about the movie because they spent most of it with their faces angled towards each other and their lips pressed together. When they weren't kissing, River was resting his head on Skye's shoulder, sighing contentedly, because this did seem to work, this reclining seat thing, which meant they could keep doing this, having dates here, and because once again, he was hard, and it was because of Skye.