"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Giovanni whispered to himself as he frowned at his reflection in the bathroom's mirror.

     He was flirting with Ashkii. He didn't mean to, but teasing people came so naturally to him that he couldn't help poking Ashkii a bit because of how flustered he was getting. The younger man seemed so naïve. A little confused, but seemingly interested. There was a high chance Giovanni was reading too much into his behavior, but he was able to tell when people were interested in him—or at least curious.

     He sighed, shaking his head before brushing his hair behind his ears. He wasn't going to cross that line with Ashkii. The younger man would get hurt, and it would ruin their friendship. It had happened before with Leslie. Where the man had loved him with everything, he had but refused to be seen in public with him, refused to come out, and refused to admit to his sexuality. Of course, Giovanni wouldn't fall in love with Ashkii, but even if they just fooled around, the man might develop similar confusing feelings of resentment and attachment to Giovanni, and the bartender couldn't handle the mere thought of that repeating itself.

     Giovanni dealt with open, confident men who had gone through all the confusing bits when they were much younger—no exceptions.

     Giovanni gave himself one last look again before leaving the bathroom and heading towards the living room. Ashkii was still sitting on the couch, but now he was chewing and hand his hand hurried in a bag of chocolate with his eyes fixed on the screen. He didn't seem to be all that bothered about the past few minutes—at most he looked a bit drowsy, but that was expected from the drinking.

     Giovanni figured he had probably had a mini panic attack in the bathroom for nothing.

     He chuckled. Fuck Nate for putting this shit in my head. He said to himself in his head, before wandering over to the couch and taking a sit. He poured himself another glass of wine, taking a sip as he started to watch the screen of the T.V. He wasn't a lightweight. Years of working at the bar had hardened his stomach. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd been drunk beyond a slight buzz and a headache as the end result in the form of a hangover.

     "Aren't you working tomorrow?"

     Giovanni turned towards Ashkii's voice, noticing the man was staring at his glass of wine.

     "I am," Giovanni said, taking another sip. "But it won't matter. My shift's in the evening and I'm not bad at handling alcohol."

     "I wish that were me," Ashkii said with a sigh, sliding down a bit on the couch. Giovanni laughed, remembering the first time the man had set foot in his bar. Ashkii, with all due respect, couldn't handle alcohol to save his life. Now that Giovanni thought about it, he gave the younger man's face a good look. Although he had a beige, brown skin tone from being an Inuk from Alaska, one could clearly see the redness in his face from all the drinking. His eyes would also flutter sometimes as if he was having a hard time keeping them open. Goodness, the man had only had a glass of wine.

     "Being a lightweight must-have sucked when you went to all those college parties, I'm guessing," Giovanni said, swirling his wine before taking another sip

     "I didn't go to most of them. I tried to study," Ashkii replied, and there was a brief silence. "Even now that I'm in trade school, I don't really do much but study or work. I can't afford to flunk out again," he added, sighing before reaching for the remote and pausing the movie. "The noise is giving me a headache," he explained when Giovanni looked over at the television in confusion.

     Ashkii didn't say anything after that. He quietly chewed chocolate bits until the bag was empty. After that he sat in silence, resting his head on an odd angle as he struggled not to pass out.

     He really shouldn't have had so much wine.

     "Are you okay?" Giovanni asked, after finishing his glass of wine. The movie was still paused. "Do you want to keep watching the movie?"

     "Yes—Wait, no. I mean, not yet. I don't feel too good," Ashkii said, frowning before letting out a sigh. The younger man hugged himself, and his long hair, often hiding in a neat bun behind his hair was loose and sticking to his face like tape. He seemed to be struggling to stay awake. Giovanni looked away from the younger man, glancing at the clock hanging over the front door. It was almost seven-thirty. He hadn't really made any plans for when he would head back, but if Giovanni was going to fall asleep at any minute, he concluded that he should probably start heading out.

     "Are you okay? I'm thinking I should start heading out," Giovanni said, edging forward to have a better look at the younger man's face. The only light on was a dim orange, and as it got darker outside, the less detail one could pick out in the warm orange.

     "I should be fine. This happens sometimes," Ashkii said quickly, not bothering to open his eyes. He seemed to be breathing alright, but Giovanni was still worried. He thought about staying for a bit but abandoned the idea. Ashkii didn't look that bad. He would probably sleep off and wake up some random time tomorrow morning. He might be late for whatever class he had on Monday, but it wouldn't be the end of the world.

     Giovanni got up. "I'm heading out. I'll just grab the bag I brought things in and head off." He spotted Ashkii nodding, but the man didn't make a sound. Giovanni grabbed his bag from the kitchen counter before heading for the front door. He slipped on his shoes and put on his vest before opening the front door. At that moment, there was a cough from Ashkii that made Giovanni look over at the younger man in alarm. It didn't last very long, but Ashkii was left breathing deeply as he held his chest.

     "Acid reflux?" Giovanni asked. He didn't quite get an answer from Ashkii asides from another series of coughing and hiccups.

     "It must have been all that chocolate. Gosh, maybe I shouldn't have brought those," the older man said, closing the front door and taking off his shoes again before wandering over to the kitchen. He dropped his bag on the counter again and immediately searched for a cup to get some water before wandering over the Ashkii with it. He sat beside the man, shaking him awake long enough for him to have some water, before dropping the cup on the coffee table. He then felt for the man's pulse and temperature.

     There was a fever.

     That didn't look good.

     He got up and went over to the younger man's bedroom to grab the first blanket he could find. He brought it back to the couch before covering Ashkii in it. He stared at the younger man who had stopped shivering and was now breathing more evenly.

     "I should get a warm rag..." he trailed, heading over to the kitchen. He didn't find a kettle, so he settled with running a stray hand towel he found in the bathroom under some warm water before strolling back to the couch. He took a seat beside Ashkii, before maneuvering the man's head until it was resting on his lap. Giovanni brushed the hair out of the younger face, before patting his forehead with the warm towel. His fever quickly went down. The younger man's eyes were still closed, and he muttered inaudible words every once in a while, but Giovanni figured that would get better with time. He rubbed the younger man's back, a bit disappointed that there was no way he was going to be able to hurl him to bed where he was sure he'd be safe if he left this evening.

     "I guess I'm saying over," Giovanni said, sighing, as he rested his head back on the couch. He had a lot of experience with drunks. Especially in his line of work. Ashkii didn't say anything in response. The man was long gone. He did, however, grip Giovanni's thigh as he adjusted his head on the bartender's lap. There was a slight shiver that ran over the bartender. He hadn't been expecting that, and Ashkii probably didn't do it on purpose—he was asleep and was simply trying to get comfortable.

     "You're proving to be a handful, you know?" the older man said, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes before opening them back up. Ashkii seemed to mumble something under his breath again, before gripping Giovanni's thigh again.

     Giovanni winced, blinking in shock at the rush of a tingle climbing his back again. He dismissed the feeling again and instead made to adjust the thin blanket he'd brought from the younger man's room over his back and lower body. He cursed himself for not thinking to bring a pillow as he brushed more hair away from Ashkii's face. The younger man's head must be in pain, lying on the skin and bones that were passing off Giovanni's thighs.

     "I'm sure you wished I was a plum woman right now, don't you?" Giovanni said, laughing a bit as he stared down at the younger man's face. It was the first time he was having a good look at him. Ashkii had high cheekbones and thick, nicely arched brows. His hair was dark, and he had the faintest scare just above his upper lip that was thinner than his lower one.

     He was—should Giovanni dare to say—conventionally good-looking.

     His thoughts were halted when the younger man curled up some more and gripped his thigh again. Giovanni winced, letting out a sigh before bringing his arm to his forehead. He could tell it was going to be a long night.