Catching up | RP with drcampbell

[pullmysteth]

Riley pulled the bathroom door slammed closed behind him and felt his way gingerly back back the hall of his apartment. When he reached the livingroom, he sat down just as stiffly in the recliner chair, clutching his stomach. "I'm sorry if you need an urgent pee, but you do not want to go in there," he warned his friend, his voice strained from

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[drcampbell]

Lachlan waved his hand from where he'd been sprawled on the sofa, comfortably relaxed. "Dinnae worry, buddy. I understand that better than anyone. Some of the meds they've had me on made me as sick as a dog. The trots are the worst. Even worse is burning the candle at both ends in the middle of the night. I'm lucky Tara loves me. Nay anything sacred between us anymore," he laughed. "Have you got Immodium?"

He rubbed his eyes a little. "Aye, I am. Cannae shake it these last few days. I sleep more than I'm awake, but I wanted to come see you now they let you out. I'm sorry about the whole not coming back to the hospital. It just sends me into a spin. The sound of the heart monitor is like nails down a blackboard for me. Where's your entourage?"

[pullmysteth]

"Less and less is becoming sacred between Beth and me," Riley admitted. He curled up a little in the chair. "I'm getting myself into all sorts of disgusting situations Beth and Tab are helping me with. I feel fucking guilty saddling them with it but my doctor told me I'm not allowed to be left on my own for too long for at least another week. I got off the bloody toilet last night and passed out. No warning whatsoever, just a bit of dizziness before I stood up."

He threw another cushion carefully in Lachlan's direction. "Make yourself at home. If you fall asleep, I'll call Tara and let her know. They're shopping. Beth offered I think to give me and Tab some time alone, but neither Tab or I realised this and Tab wanted to go along to make sure Beth bought the right brands I liked. When they knew you were coming, I told them to go. Gets them away from being stuck in here with me."

[drcampbell]

Lachlan gratefully accepted the extra pillow and shoved it under his head to stretch out a little further. He shifted the one he already had braced against his stomach a bit more under his arm so he could turn to see Riley better during their conversation. This wasn't the first time they'd commiserated over illnesses together. About six months after Riley first arrived in Scotland, they both came down with a flu that swept through the university like wildfire. Riley was off classes and Lachlan was off work, so they camped out at Lachlan's parents' place while they recovered and got waited on hand and foot by Nana Campbell. It hadn't been pretty.

"The dizziness is a bitch. It doesnae happen so much to me anymore, but a couple of months ago, I could be fine one minute and down the next. Tara learned to read the signs, but I know I scared her a few times. She makes sure to get me back now and again when her BSL drops rapidly. We're a match made in heaven," he joked wryly. "Are you glad to have Tab back with you?" he asked.

[pullmysteth]

Riley looked over at Lachlan and nodded. "Yeah, of course. I feel kind of cheated that it took me catching an infectious disease to spend time with her. From the minute I got back I've been working because..." he sighed. "Money's tight. The trip back here just about cleared me out. I've been trying to get my savings back."

[drcampbell]

"You havenae got it yet, buddy," Lachlan reminded him quietly. "Dinnae fall into the trap of already writing yourself off. Hold on to the odds, aye? It's what Tara had to do when it looked like I wasnae going to make it."

He looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, a companionable silence passing between them. "You know you just have to ask if you need anything. Tara and I move into our new home soon. If things get too tough with cash, you can get rid of this place and come stay with us. We'll have the room." He looked back at Riley. "Do you still feel like you're imposing on her? Interferring in her life?"

[pullmysteth]

Riley winced. It wasn't the first time he'd been picked up on that, but he somehow felt more ashamed being caught at it by Lachlan. Not that it was surprising. Someone it seemed his mate could read his mind. He wasn't entirely convinced Lachlan was some sort of magical creature. It would explain how he kept dodging death. Unfortunately, he knew his friend was completely human, which is what made it all the more sobering to talk to him and listen to his advice. He merely nodded at gentle coaxing.

"Yeah, but I don't know if that's going to stop any time soon. I guess part of me expected to just come back after the three years and things to be the same as when I left. Idiotic, I know. She has a whole life without me. I know she says she wants me part of it, but shit, man... I'm her nerdy brother who would rather have his nose in a textbook or sleep after a long shift than spend all night on the booze in a pub or dancing the night away in a club. I don't fit in. I'm nothing like her musician friends. I don't have the same stamina."

[drcampbell]

Lachlan smirked at him. "Oh bullshit, buddy. What am I? What was I when we first me? A musician... part of a band... a band you came and watched play every single week until we disbanded. You fit right in with everyone from day one. It's what you're like, Ri. You're an approachable and friendly guy. Are you sure there is not something deeper underlying here?"

[pullmysteth]

"There are lots of things deeper underlying," Riley mumbled and rubbed his eyes slowly. "I'm just realising for the first time ever how different Tab and I are. And I don't like how it feels because it hurts. It hurts in a sense that I think that even though were closer in distance than we have been in three years... I think we're going to start drifting apart. Especially if things work out between her and Walker."

[drcampbell]

"You're worried you're going to be shoved aside in favour of a boyfriend?" Lachlan asked, trying to following Riley's train of thought.

[pullmysteth]

Riley gave his head a small shake. "No. Please don't think that. That's not what I mean at all. If she wants a boyfriend, it makes no difference to me. I've been trying to tell her for years that dating is nice. I'd love to see her have something like you and Tara have, with the right guy. It's a completely independant worry to either of us having relationships. It's our relationship. I'm just worried we're not as close as we used to be. I mean... I know she had to go back to New York last week. It's just, when she did, I realised it wasn't just me and her anymore. It's me, her and our two very different lives. I just wanted her here with me when I was sick and she had to go back. I know she had to go back to her life... it just... felt lonely."

[drcampbell]

"Ri, she's your twin sister. Sure, your lives are different. You have very different wants and capabilities. But she's always going to be part of you. The biggest part of you. Anyone you choose to share your life with you has to understand that Tab comes with the package and they share your life with her too. And vice versa for anyone and anything in her life. You're a part of it no matter how different your lives are. And I think she didnae stay because she didnae realise just how sick you were or how deep it was cutting you because... well, you didnae tell her, buddy. You didnae tell her this was breaking you," Lachlan told him softly.

[pullmysteth]

"I didn't want to hurt her," Riley said in a rough whisper, as he put his head down on his arm. "I just didn't.... don't..." he corrected in a small voice.

[drcampbell]

Lachlan pressed his lips together wryly. "Well, buddy, that's what happens when someone is part of you... you break, they break. And you cannae stop it. You can just put it off, but if you do, it makes it all the more painful when it finally does hit. And I dinnae think you're drifting apart. From what I can see, it's the opposite. You're just as close as you ever have been... you're just trying to notch your different lives in around that without actually knowing how to pull it off yet."

[pullmysteth]

Riley met Lachlan's eyes with a small smirk. "You know Beth calls you Yodalan," he revealed.

[drcampbell]

Lachlan snorted. "Beth also called me a pain in the arse wanker on my twentieth birthday and tipped a perfectly good Tennants in my lap," he laughed. "But if I start playing with long colourful gleaming rods and growing pointy ears, you'll be the first I call.

[pullmysteth]

"Don't all blokes have a penchant for playing with their glowing rods?" Riley sniggered.