The next day, Elio wakes to hearing a crash downstairs. He looks over to see Alec no longer in the bed next to him. He quickly heads downstairs, his heart racing. When he reaches the kitchen, he spots Alec standing over a spilled carton of milk and eggs on the ground. A whisk being held awkwardly in his hand.
"What happened?"
"I um, tried making us some breakfast," Alec awkwardly tells him, "Turns out it is a lot harder than expected when you use your weak hand."
"Why not wake me and ask? I would help if need be," Elio sighs, pinching his lips. He grabs a ra and starts wiping it up.
Alec's ears droop in disappointment, "I just wanted to help. I just don't want to be completely useless."
"You're not useless, Alec," Elio pets Alec on the head calmly, "You're healing and I don't want to see you be hurt more. There isn't any harm in asking for help once in a while. I will handle breakfast for the time being."
Alec disappointedly walks to the table and observes Elio making the both of them breakfast.
"You make it look so easy," Alec says, leaning against the table.
Later, Alec is trying to get dressed and is having to button up his shirt to head out to the market with Elio and is visibly struggling. Elio notices Alec's struggle, "Do you need any help?"
"No, I got it," Alec responds, trying to smile. He tries to continue buttoning up but keeps struggling. Elio starts walking over to him and starts trying to button up his shirt.
"Hold on, let me help."
Alec blocks him, "I got it, El. I can do it." He starts struggling again, but gives up and looks to Elio in defeat. Elio chuckles a bit and buttons Alec's shirt up.
"Thanks, El. For helping," Alec says, smiling in defeat.
Now at the farmers market, Alec and Elio are walking around. Alec has an arm sling to keep his cast lifted while Elio holds the basket of fruits and veggies to prevent Alec from hurting his arm. Alec stops at a butcher shop, looking at some of the meat the butcher is selling. Elio stops to see what Alec is focusing on. He notices Alec is looking at a medium sized piece of pork. Alec salivates at the sight of it.
"Want to buy it?" Elio asks him, causing Alec to snap out of it.
Alec notices Elio right next to him, "Huh, what did you say?"
"I asked if you wanted to buy some pork."
"S-Sure."
"Okay." Elio calls the butcher over and asks for a pound and a half of the pork.
He pays for it and the two of them head off to buy the rest of their groceries. They continue talking for a while and start heading back to Elio's cottage. As the days go on, Alec reluctantly accepts Elio's help when he is unable to do a task. Alec grows increasingly frustrated with an inability to do all the things he is used to.
Alec stands at a counter trying to open a jar of almond butter. His hand red from trying to open it.
Elio walks into the room, "Need any help?"
"Nope." Alec continues trying to open it, but fails to. His tail flicks in frustration.
Elio gently takes the jar from Alec's grip and opens it, "You're going to hurt yourself again if you keep this up."
"I could've done that," Alec stubbornly tells him, grabbing the jar from Elio.
He reluctantly accepts it, his pride warring with his gratitude for Elio, "Thanks…"
Elio smiles, "You're welcome." He kisses Alec on the forehead with Alec looking at him, still frustrated, "You're welcome. You don't have to do everything on your own, you know. That's what I'm here for."
Alec and Elio head out to meet Alec's friends. Ona and Casey are seeing Alec's cast in person for the first time. They head to Reno's Bar and both Casey and Ona notice Alec's cast.
"How does it feel?" Casey asks, referring to the cast.
"Eh," Alec dismisses. "It's okay."
"How are you handling it?" Ona asks him.
"Pretty good actually. I've been adjusting pretty well."
Elio muffles a laugh and everyone then turns to him. Alec kicks him from under the table.
"What?" Elio asks him, "You haven't been though. You always fight me on receiving any amount of help."
Alec blushes in shame, "We-Well they don't need to know that."
Alec's friends laugh, causing him to blush some more. The rest of the night goes well with Alec and them talking. They all order some food with Alec ordering some wings to avoid having to get help from Elio. Alec asks Ona and Casey to sign their names on his cast. They oblige.
When the night is over, Elio drives him and Alec home and Alec sits on the couch, he slowly starts to doze off. His ears drooping and head moving to the side. Elio moves over to him and picks Alec up. Alec smiles a bit and hugs him. When they reach the bed he carefully drops Alec onto the bed, taking the sling off Alec's cast.
As the weeks passed, Elio finds ways to help Alec without suffocating him, despite Alec's resistance to it. Elio helps him when his hoodie's strings get tangled, when he needs help cutting his food and having to tie his shoes, even when Alec's patience wears thin.
During this time, Alec's lease gets close to ending. He and Elio clean out the apartment while selling some of the furniture they do not need. Alec manages light tasks while Elio takes on the heavier ones. They finish up and Alec moves in with Elio, making their relationship more solidified.
While they sit together, Elio is reading a book and notices Alec struggling to flip a page of his manga, he without looking helps Alec flip the page.
"You're really good at this, you know?" Alec tells him, now adjusted to Elio's help, his ears droop, "Thanks… for everything tho."
"You're welcome. I will always help if need be," Elio tells him, smiling, slightly bringing Alec's mood back up. His ears and tail perk up as a result.
"I'd probably be losing my mind if it wasn't for you. I really don't know what I'd be doing without you," Alec tells him.
Elio chuckles, "Well someone needs to balance you out."
Alec laughs in response, "Yeah… You know, when my arm heals, maybe you can meet my parents at some point."
Elio smiles, "Yeah. That'd be nice, but you know we don't have to wait, we can go while your arm is healing."
"No. I want to after it heals," Alec tells him, looking at his cast with discomfort, "I just don't want them to see me with my broken bone."
Elio smiles at him, "Ok. When you're ready we'll meet them."
"Yeah, we will," Alec responds, smiling at Elio.
Alec and Elio head to the doctor's office where Alec is finally getting his cast off. Alec decides to dress in a tank top and shorts with Elio having dressed up a bit more than him with athletic pants and a t-shirt.
The doctor looks to Alec holding a cast saw, "Okay, I'm going to use this to get your cast off, are you ready?"
Alec nods excitedly, with his tail wagging, "Yep. I'm ready."
Alec places his arm on the table and the doctor cuts it off and moves the cast away from him. He unwraps the cast. Alec notices a smell on his arm where the cast used to be.
Alec moves his arm up, rubbing it, "It smells. Also it's stiff."
"Both of those are normal. Just wash it and it'll be gone soon and take some Tylenol and avoid using it for a few days until your arm feels better," the doctor recommends.
"Okay. Can I keep the cast?" Alec asks him.
Elio turns to Alec, giving him a weird look, "Why would you want it?"
Alec looks towards him, "As a reminder of course." His tail wags.
"It's a disgusting request, but I don't care." The doctor hands Alec his cast and Alec takes it home.
"I still can't believe you want to bring your cast home with you," Elio tells him, still confused.
"It'll look cool, I promise," Alec tells him.
Elio glances at him unamused, "Whatever floats your boat, I guess."