The Handyman 5

"Gabe... wake up for a minute to prove you're alive," I heard Quinn murmur tiredly as he shook my shoulder. I reached out, grabbing him and pulling him down onto the pulled out bed.

"Dun... wanna..." I groaned, not releasing him from my grip.

"Well, I guess that proves you're alive..." he murmured. "But you need to tell me some things. Do you remember your name, sleepy head?"

"Gabriel... Michael... Wright..." I mumbled, trying to remain asleep even as he was trying to make me think. "Sleep now..."

"No, no, not yet, Gabe. You have to tell me when you were born now," he said, pulling my earlobe just hard enough to gain my attention. I turned my head towards him, cracking my eyes open a bit.

"June.. eleventh... nineteen... ninety..." I mumbled, shifting some so that I was lying on my side, the one without the bandages. "Almost... twenty-three..."

"Okay, good. Now just one more question and you can sleep. Who's the president?" he asked, rubbing my shoulder gently.

"Dun care..." I mumbled, just wanting to go back to sleep. It was nice there with no memories and no dreams, good or  bad. He sighed a bit.

"You have to give me a real answer, Gabe," he said firmly. "Then you can sleep, I promise." I let my eyes open a bit more, flicking up to his tired face.

"Kiss me first..." I mumbled. "Then I'll answer..." He hesitated for a moment before leaning forward and pressing his lips to mine in a gentle kiss.

"There. One kiss for one answer," he murmured. I hummed a little, my lips still tingling a bit from the feel of his.

"Then... you owe me two more..." I mumbled back, the corner of my mouth twitching up. "For the first two questions..." I added so he wouldn't ask. He smiled a little.

"You drive a hard bargain," he murmured before he closed the distance between us and kissed me again, letting it last longer than the first had. My eyes fell closed, all of my focus being on the feel of his lips against mine. It was better than I had imagined and I didn't want it to end, but I was so focused, I had forgotten to breathe. He pulled away some.

"Hey now, you've got to take a breath sometime, Gabe," he murmured, rubbing my shoulder a bit. I gasped slightly, my body finally kicking in to its natural rhythms again and opened my eyes to look at him.

"Sorry..." I mumbled, feeling my face heat up some. "Was just... my first real... kiss..." He smiled some.

"Well, now you've had it," he murmured. "Ready for another one?" he asked, brushing my hair back from my face. "I do owe you another still, after all." I smiled at him as I nodded a little, happy and surprised he actually wanted to do it again.

"Yeah... feels good..." I whispered, blushing again. He nodded then ducked his head to kiss me again, letting it linger like the last one but he deepened it a little. I tried my best to keep up with it, not wanting it to end too soon just because I was such a novice. But I had told him I was new to this. So hopefully he would take some pity on me. Slowly he broke away from the kiss and while I was disappointed it ended, I didn't think it'd been because I was bad.

"There, now we're all caught up," he said, brushing my cheek a little. "Now you owe me an answer so that you can get back to sleep." I hummed a bit, ducking my head a little to rest it against his chest.

"I forgot the question..." I mumbled, starting to slide my hand over his side, but a tug at the IV needle in my hand stopped me short. He smiled a bit.

"Who's the president?" he asked again.

"Obama..." I muttered. "And you better not move..." If he moved, then this would have all been a dream and I didn't want it to be just that.

"Alright then. I won't. Go back to sleep, Gabe," he murmured, pushing my hair back again. I nodded a little, pressing just a bit closer. I wasn't sure if it was the drugs or if I was just that desperate for human companionship, but I let go of my inhibitions to fall asleep so close to him. I hadn't been this close to another person in a good way since I was a little boy. I liked it. I really did.