�Fuck off!�
�Just let me get you some wa-� Rob tried, but was immediately cut off.
�Fuck off, Rob!�
�Sabu, it�s just ��
�Get out of the room!�
�For fuck�s sake, Sabu, you know ��
�Shut the fuck up and get out! I don�t want you near me!�
Rob sighed, absently rubbing his forehead as he tried to figure out what to do. Sabu had turned away and even though he�d been yelled at for the last five minutes Rob couldn�t help but smile. Grouchy bastard.
�You�re such an ass when you have a cold,� Rob muttered. Sabu just grunted.
~
2.
�Want me to distract you?�
Sabu tried concentrating on the state of his foot � already swollen and looking fittingly awful � instead of Rob�s voice talking to him. Rob was pretending to support Sabu and had even been thanked by the medic for it. Probably because the man feared that Sabu would swing at him. In reality Rob had been busy whispering all sorts of suggestions into Sabu�s ear.
�Fuck,� he breathed.
Right now all Sabu wanted was to rush outside and fuck Rob senseless. The needle in his foot, numbing it, told him that that wasn�t going to happen. Damn.
~
3.
Rob ignored the annoyed grunts, the arm swinging for him. He sat down next to Sabu, the disgusting looking stones on the floor rough and uncomfortable. He expertly blocked another one of Sabu�s attempt to hit him in the head.
�You�d think a concussion shouldn�t stop you. Not after so many years.�
It looked like Sabu wanted to retort, but instead he frowned and sighed at another wave of dizziness. Rob had to chuckle, causing Sabu to bring another elbow back, right into Rob�s face.
Holding his nose and making pained noises, Rob glared at Sabu in the mirror.
�Asshole.�
~
4.
�You okay?�
He didn�t reply to the referee, instead trying to stretch his aching limb. It hurt like hell. Damnit. He could see Sabu shimmy over to him, his expression not betraying anything.
�Rob, get up.�
So much for concerned words. He put some weight on his leg, hobbling over to Sabu and leaning on him slightly as both of their opponents charged at them. They were thrown over the top rope, and Rob felt Sabu move on top of him.
�Rob?�
�I�m fucked,� was all Rob said, glad to be hidden from view.
�I�ve got it.�
Rob smiled, grateful.
~
5.
Sabu absent-mindedly dabbed at the fresh cut on his arm. It wasn�t a big one, and he hardly felt the pain, but the blood had stained the sash he�d worn around his waist. It bothered him. That must also mean it had happened before they�d entered the ring, and he could vaguely recall walking into a fan�s cardboard sign.
�What happened?�
�I don�t give a fuck.�
�Oh, come on; let me act motherly.�
Sabu shuddered, watching as Rob walked over to give the cut a reproving glare.
�Don�t say that.�
�What?�
�That. I don�t fuck my mother.�
Rob just chuckled.
~
6.
�Rob.�
�What?�
It was strange to hear that annoyed edge to Rob�s voice. Sabu looked down at him, noticed the bags under his eyes. He looked so very tired, very ill. They�d been watching some of Rob�s old matches - though neither really wanted to - for hours. Rob couldn�t do anything else.
Sabu sighed, aware that he couldn�t explain. Rob was sick; Sabu could hardly admit that Kane tying up Rob like that, seeing the struggling, had made him want to jump Rob then and there. So Sabu waved it away, sitting down, still bored out of his mind.
~
7.
Sabu just sat there, hands on his knees, eyes strained on Rob�s face. He was way too pale, Sabu decided, the stubble of a day or two not shaving stark against the light skin. Calmly Sabu watched Rob�s chest rise and fall, though emotions were racing, eyes eventually returning to the face he knew so well. Damn him, why wouldn�t he wake?
Every time Rob�s eyes moved � though they never opened � Sabu felt his breath hitch.
�Damn it, Rob! When I told you to fuck off and die I didn�t mean it this literally,� he rasped, suddenly feeling very alone.
~
8.
Usually Sabu would have griped about Rob leaning into him, the way he held on tight. He let it slip, because he�d never seen Rob this pale before, yet the heat of him burned as Rob�s cheek rested against his neck.
Sabu pulled back the covers, wondering when he�d started caring about Rob�s health this much. Rob slowly crawled into bed. Sabu looked at his partner, into his eyes, and realised that Rob would have jumped in bed with him, had the tables been turned. He would.
�I�ll get you some aspirin.�
Sabu walked out. Caring this much scared him.