100 Themes Challenge: #42: Mother

Poets would describe the morning sunlight as some welcome, peaceful bringer of warmth and life, soft and gentle as it caressed each of the wooden floorboards in its sensual dance throughout the house.

To the man who had spent the majority of the evening losing nearly every article of his clothing and inhaling enough alcohol to open a mini bar, the morning sunlight was the total opposite.

He let out a groan, turning over to lie facefirst in the-

Pillow? When-

He didn't think that he made it home last night.

"Are you awake?"

Despite the pounding in his head, he forced himself to turn towards the speaker, unfamiliar with the soft voice greeting him. Mussy (h/c) hair, concerned expression and-

Is that for me?

The figure approached, not at all seeming affected by the damnable sunlight coming in through the blinds behind him. There was a small, gentle smile and they held out the contents of their hands:

"I figured you could use this: aspirin~ And an ice water."

He wanted to give them a thank you, but talking would kill him and a nod would probably make him explode in absolute agony. The most he managed was a very small twitch of the lips, but ne seemed to understand, beaming as he took the medicine, then attacked the water.

"I was just about to make breakfast. Just to make sure: are you allergic to eggs and/or apricots?"

He frowned, squinting slightly. Testing his voice, he tried not to wince at the fresh agony. "Deal with a lot of hangovers?"

Ne made a face and rolled their eyes, glancing upstairs. "My housemates. Lovino isn't exactly the most chipper in the morning, especially when he has a migraine."

There was a knowing sigh and Abel leaned back into the pillow, closing his eyes. "So I'm at his place."

"Yeah," ne replied, and Abel mentally thanked them for continuing to speak in a hushed tone. "He texted me for a ride at like 4 asking if he could bring one of his friends back. Said he was worried that you wouldn't make it home safe." There was a small tease in their voice, but also a small hint of concern. "Sorry if it was uncomfortable. Alfred doesn't exactly help by sitting in the same spot all the time for Netflix."

Abel fought a small smirk at the thought, and took another small sip of water.

"Creatures of habit, we are."

"Sometimes it's not so bad." The voice was a little more distant, and he opened an eye to see them working in the small kitchenette, preparing some toast and scrambled eggs. As expected, there was a plate with dried apricots waiting next to the stove, and internally he thanked gods that Lovino had decent housemates.

"Take it you're the single bedroom then?"

"Yeah. Still think it's nuts that I got stuck living with these idiots but-" There was a shrug, and a fond grin tugging at his server's lips.

He couldn't help a small smile of his own, regretting it immediately at the small action brought him back from his daze-like state into agony again.

Fucking hangovers.

Grouchy once more, his eyes traced over the small living room, noting the large flatscreen, the large bookshelf, two leather chairs and the mahogany coffee table littered with two laptops, a Wii U game controller and a wide selection of magazines, from Time to Discover to Grazia. Posters boasting everything from "Star Wars" to "Cinema Paradiso" aligned the walls, with a few random head-shots of Einstein and Bill Nye staring judgmentally down at him. He frowned to himself as he continued to survey the room, growing more disgruntled at the heavy presence of squirrel themed knick-knacks and J-rock CDs.

What an odd collection of roommates.

He then turned his attention to his temporary bed, surprised to see a homemade quilt as his primary source of heat and protection. It was clearly old and weathered, and he was momentarily flattered that someone shared it with him.

He immediately ruled out Lovino, as the idiot had been too drunk to even sit upright properly last night.

Alfred maybe- He did have a thing for old collectables and antiques. But this didn't quite fit the American's profile.

So-

"Hey, I never got your name."

The cook turned to him with a small smirk, the sunlight making it almost seem innocent. "Do I need one?"

"Well, it'd be nice to know the name of the angel who nursed me back to health this morning," he teased, earning an eyeroll in response.

"Good luck; I live with Lovino, remember?"

He snorted, despite his slowly numbing pain. "True, true."

There was another small chuckle that echoed in the kitchenette, and then the housemate was turning off the stove, dipping the eggs onto the same plate as the apricots, pulling out the now-ready toast and placing it onto the same plate. Abel was confused for a moment, as he assumed ne would make themselves breakfast as well.

"I had Ramen at like... 5:00 this morning," was offered at his confusion with bemusement, clearing off a space on the coffee table to set down the plate.

"That's not good enough."

There was a short scoff. "I didn't even sleep last night, so it was more of my midnight snack. I have a product report due in three hours, so-"

He winced.

Joys of adulthood.

"Sorry if I was a hindrance."

And then there was a very sincere smile. "It was no trouble at all; I'm just glad we were able to keep you safe. And I hope your headache's let up a little."

"Yes; thank you."

Ne nodded in contentment, then drifted towards the stairwell.

"Bathroom's upstairs, first door to the left. There's a spare toothbrush and a towel in case you want a shower. If you need anything else, Lovino's in the first door on the right." Seemingly decided that they had done all they could, ne began to walk upstairs.

"Hey," Abel found himself calling out, hissing as it re-triggered the smallest hint of pain.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, again. And since Lovino is a terrible host- I'm Abel."

"I know."

There was a playful smirk at Abel's look of exasperation, and then his host let out a small smile.

"(Y/). It was nice to meet you."