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“It’s not okay.” Ozzy frowned at him, shaking his head, before he let out a sigh when Tate echoed his sentiment. He brushed his lips against the other boy’s forehead, humming softly, before they left their dorm. It wasn’t until they had been in the car and were driving for a few moments that Ozzy had tried to speak again. He had noticed that Tate was oddly quiet during the whole drive to his brother’s house, and he was curious as to what was going through his mind, but before he could say anything, his boyfriend was talking. “Sorry? You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no reason for you to be sorry or anything. You’re entitled to having a shit day, I mean I have plenty of them, don’t I?” He snorted, shaking his head as he reached a hand over to touch Tate’s hand gently. “I love you, Tate. There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”

Tate couldn’t help the way his lips curled into a small smile and he laced his and Ozzy’s fingers together gently. He knew he was probably worrying Ozzy with how quiet he was being so he knew he needed to start acting like himself again."I love you too, Ozzy. Honestly, you’re the best boyfriend I could ever have.” He said, bringing Ozzy’s hand up to his mouth and pressing a quick kiss to the top of his hand. Tate tightened his hold on his boyfriend’s hand slightly when they got to his brother’s house and he turned in his seat to look Ozzy. “Do you want to stay here and I’ll just grab my inhaler real quick?” Tate knew how his brother was even more overprotective than was Ozzy, so as a result, Ethan didn’t exactly ‘approve’ of his and Ozzy’s relationship. On some level Tate understood why his brother didn’t like his relationship, since Tate hasn’t told Ozzy everything, but he still hated the way his brother acted towards Ozzy. 

"No, I’m not," Ozzy shook his head, reaching up his hands to wipe his thumbs underneath Tate’s eyes, getting rid of the tears overflowing. "I’m a shit boyfriend, I’m making you cry.." He bit his lip, frowning. "I’m sorry." The darker skinned boy mumbled, squeezing his hand, before he let him pull away to text his brother. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair quickly, pulling it back and securing it with his headband, before fixing his shoestrings. By the time he had finished, Tate was putting on his shoes and his coat. "Good, good." He said, reaching for his car keys and slipping them in his back pocket, before reaching over to wrap an arm around Tate’s shoulders, pulling him into his chest. "I love you," he whispered, kissing the side of his head, before leading him over to the door so they could leave.

"It's okay, Ozzy. You didn't mean to," Tate said, smiling slightly as Ozzy wiped away his tears. He leaned into Ozzy almost automatically, as the other's arm wrapped around him, "I know, I love you too," He said softly, as he was lead out the door. He shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked, hoping he didn't look as nervous as felt. His brother had helped him get out of situations like this before, but he couldn't help but get nervous. Tate stayed relatively quiet on the walk to the car, getting lost in his own thoughts; barely registering that they had gotten to the car before he was sitting in the passenger seat. It was like he was on autopilot. Before Tate could let himself sink further into his thoughts, he glanced over at Ozzy, "I'm sorry I raised my voice at you earlier, Ozzy.. I know you were just worried about me. Sorry for just being shitty in general today." 

Ozzy could practically hear the tears in Tate’s voice, and he frowned slightly, immediately feeling like shit. He sighed, and sat down, shaking his head. “No, I can’t do that. I can’t stop being protective of you. I love you, and I don’t want anything to happen to you. You’re my responsibility. You’re my boyfriend, and I’m supposed to make sure that you’re safe and loved and healthy and not in any kind of pain or discomfort.” He reached for the other boy’s hand, squeezing it in his own gently. “Please, Tate.. It’ll make me feel a lot better if we went to the doctor. Or to your brother’s house to get your inhaler. Please..” He pouted at him, brushing his nose against the other boy’s gently. “Pleeeeeaaase.” He dragged out, pressing a kiss against his chin.

Tate quickly wiped his eyes with his free hand, biting his lip lightly as he listened to Ozzy. “You’re too good to me..” He mumbled, giving Ozzy’s hand a tiny squeeze. He smiled slightly at the kiss, before he sighed and nodded. “.. Alright, we’ll go to my brother’s house to get my inhaler.” He said, before he kissed Ozzy softly, pulling away after a minute, “Just let me text him to tell him that we’re coming over.” Tate grabbed his phone off of the night stand and quickly sent a text to his brother about his current situation, that lead to back and forth bickering for a few minutes over text. It finally ended when his brother said he’d somehow find an inhaler for him. Tate sighed heavily, and ran his fingers through his hair. “Alright, he said it’s fine if we drop by.” He said, before he grabbed his shoes and slipped them on, along with his coat.

"You left it at your brother’s house? How could you do something so stupid, Tate?" Ozzy asked, narrowing his eyes at the other boy. The darker skinned boy loved his boyfriend, and was very protective of him, overprotective most might say. "If you’re not an idiot, then why do you keep acting like one?" Feroz said, his voice raising even louder, then he frowned when he heard the other boy cough. "We’re gonna get your inhaler." He said, shoving his feet into a random pair of boots, the first he found, before digging around in his closet for his coat. He grabbed Tate’s while he was at it, before tossing it at him. "Here, put this on. We’re leaving, now."

Tate couldn't help the way his eyes got a little misty and he looked down at the ground quickly so Ozzy wouldn't see. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of his boyfriend. "I'm not stupid and I'm not an idiot. Stop telling me that I am." He said, not sure if Ozzy would hear him since the other boy was already moving around the room to find his coat. He lifted his head up as Ozzy tossed him his coat and he shook his head. "No we're not. We're not going to just barge into my brother's house uninvited. Ethan's busy and he won't appreciate the unexpected visit from us." He said, tossing his coat onto the bed. "Stop being so overprotective of me, Ozzy. I know you love me and I love you but you need to stop being so protective."

"Trouble breathing? That’s not fine. That’s bad. What if you’re having some kind of lung defect? Do you have Asthma? Are you having an attack?" He asked, slipping out of the bed the two of them shared. "We need to take you to a doctor. Why are you acting so calm about this? This is really serious. You’re not supposed to have breathing problems. Did you know that without air you could, I don’t know, die?" He asked sarcastically, narrowing his eyes at the other male. "Why didn’t you tell me earlier? We could have gotten you something to help with your breathing."

Tate felt his face start to turn red as he was questioned by Ozzy, and he opened and closed his mouth to trying to find a way to explain. "Yeah, yeah I have Asthma. I just, uh left my inhaler at my brother's house yesterday when I went and saw him. I'm not having an attack I swear." Tate said, rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn't a totally lie. He did go see his brother yesterday, but everything else was a lie. Although he felt guilty for lying about him having Asthma, it was easiest thing to lie about. He quickly shook his head and stood up. "No. No. I don't need to go to the doctor. I'm fine, Ozzy." He said, before he frowned at the sarcasm. "Yes I know that. I'm not an idiot." Tate crossed his arms, and looked down at the ground, "If I told you earlier you would have gotten like this. I said I'm fine, Ozzy. Now drop it." He said raising his voice a little, before he covered his mouth with his hand to try to stifle a cough. 

"You’re the one acting like a little kid now." Ozzy accused, scoffing at his boyfriend’s words. "You’re teasing me. That’s very childlike if you ask me, sir." He grinned when the other male finally agreed to cuddling with him, and kissed his cheek gently. "You’re the best babe. Did you know that?" Feroz asked, returning the quick kiss Tate placed on his lips. "I know we do." He nodded his head in agreement, and let him tug him towards their bed. Frowning when he heard the other boy start coughing, Ozzy shifted slightly, lifting Tate up so that he was in a sitting position. "Are you sure you’re okay, babe? Do you need to go to the doctory? Are you getting sick?" He asked, releasing his hand and pressing a hand against Tate’s forehead, checking to see if he had a fever.

Tate just rolled his eyes as he listened to Ozzy. He loved Feroz so much; he couldn't stay mad at him for long even if he wanted to. Tate smiled as his cheek was kissed and he 'booped' Ozzy's nose. "I know I am." Although Tate didn't want to push off talking about it till later at least Ozzy still wanted to talk about it. Tate frowned as he was lifted up, and he gently pushed away Feroz's hand from his forehead. "I'm fine, Ozzy. It's just a little hard for me to breathe right now, but I'm fine I promise." He tried to reassure his boyfriend, "Thank you for being worried about me, but can we please just cuddle? Cuddling makes everything better." 

Ozzy huffed, feeling his face grow hot at the chastising Tate gave him. He knew that he was acting like a little kid, and he knew that the other boy was right, but he would never admit it. He grumbled slightly, only backing up his boyfriend’s claim. “Hmph, I’m not a little kid.” He said, his voice low, and he didn’t pull his face away from his neck. “Come back to bed, please.” Ozzy said a few minutes later, finally pulling his head away from the smaller boy’s neck. “I wanna cuddle, please.” He said, brushing his nose against Tate’s ear, letting his lips press against his neck. “Pleeeease.”

Tate smiled as Ozzy huffed and he knew that Ozzy knew he was right. He continued to wash the remaining dishes and he laughed lightly at his boyfriend's grumbling. "Of course not. You're just an adult that pouts like a little kid." He teased, enjoying his boyfriend's company as he finished the dishes. Tate contemplated for a few seconds whether to cuddle or finish cleaning up the kitchen, but as he felt Ozzy's lips against his neck he decided to wait till later to clean up. "Alright, let's go cuddle." He grabbed a few paper towels to dry his hands, before he turned around to give Ozzy a quick kiss. "We still need to talk later, but right now let's just cuddle." He grabbed Ozzy's hand and tugged him back to their bed, laying down on the bed. Tate coughed a few times, his binder squeezing him uncomfortably especially around his ribs, but he tried not to think about it. 

Feroz knew that he was being a brat, and that he was being childish. But he was upset, and when he was upset he did bratty and childish things. The silent treatment was one of his favorite things to do, and he’d only subjected Tate to it once a few months back when they had first started dating. He finished watching the show in silence, more or less ignoring the other male’s presence next to him. He could tell that Tate was upset with how he had just ended the conversation, but Ozzy was too stubborn to apologize, even though he knew that he was wrong for it. When Tate finished eating and grabbed their plates before heading to the kitchen, Feroz let out a sigh, running his fingers through his hair, before pausing the movie once again so that he could get out of bed and follow him to the kitchen. While he was at the sink, Ozzy walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, nuzzling his face into his neck. “I’m sorry. I love you.” He mumbled.

Tate was honestly getting a little mad at Ozzy, he could deal with him ending the conversation but getting the silent treatment was just childish. He's dealt with Ozzy when he was like this before around the time they first started to date and even then it ticked him off. He did the dishes in silence, a little surprised as he heard the show get paused once again, and Ozzy follow him into the kitchen. Tate sighed as he felt Ozzy's arms around him, and he leaned back against him slightly. "I know." He said, as he continued to wash the dishes. "I love you too, even though you give me the silent treatment when you're upset like a little kid." 

"I am trying to, Ozzy, I really am.. It's just hard to explain." Tate said, repeating himself. He couldn't help the hurt expression on his face when he realized Ozzy didn't believe him. How was he supposed to explain to his boyfriend why they couldn't go further? It's not like he could just come out and say the real reason. Well, he could but he didn't know how Feroz would react to the news so it was better to be safe than sorry. "That's not the reason. You're really freaking attractive, and I love everything about you. You don't have to change anything about yourself. You're not doing anything wrong, Feroz.." He tried to reassure him, trailing off at the end when Ozzy started up the show again. He knew he shouldn't push the situation any further since his boyfriend was obviously wound up about it already, so he just let it drop. Tate grabbed his plate again and ate in silence, staring at his laptop. Once he finished, he got up and grabbed Ozzy's plate before he went back to the kitchen to clean up the mess from breakfast.

Ozzy frowned slightly at is question, chewing the rest of the food in his mouth slowly before swallowing. “Sorry.” He mumbled, before he continued eating his food at a slower pace. Ozzy had always loved food and had always been a quick eater, something that his family and friends had never failed to comment on before, but now that Tate had commented on it, he felt a little embarrassed. Almost like he was a child being chastised. He followed his boyfriend towards their bed, plopping down next to him and let out a sigh when he started scrolling through tv show titles on Netflix, before grinned. “Hey, hey! Go back.” He nudged him gently. “We can watch American Horror Story.” Ozzy pushed the other boy’s fingers away, clicking on the show title, before quickly finding the episode he left off at. Ozzy had just finished taking the last few bites of his food when he saw Tate pause the screen. “Yeah, sure of course. I’m always honest with you.” He nodded, his face growing serious as he shifted around to face the other boy. When he heard his question, Ozzy sigh, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “Well.. No? It doesn’t bother me, I just.. I want you to be comfortable with me, and with our relationship, and I’d never force you to do anything that you didn’t want to do, you know that right? Sometimes it’s just hard..” He paused, smiling slightly. “Bad word choice, sorry. I meant that sometimes it’s hard to stop because I want you, like really bad, and sometimes it feels like.. Like you don’t want me back?” His voice got quiet towards the end of his sentence and he looked down, unable to meet Tate’s eyes.

Seeing Ozzy frown, made Tate feel a little bad for pointing out how fast he ate. He nudged him and smiled, "It's alright, Ozzy." He let Ozzy scroll back to American Horror Story, settling next to him as he poked at the food on his plate, taking a few bites as he tried to watch. Tate couldn't focus on the show playing on his laptop, even though American Horror Story was his favorite TV show, zoning in and out for a few minutes as he let his thoughts get the best of him. He knew Ozzy probably wouldn't be upset with Tate for not taking their relationship further but Tate couldn't help that he got anxious over things like this. Tate set his practically untouched breakfast on the nightstand next to him, so he could turn to face Ozzy more. He laughed lightly at the word choice, before he turned serious again. "What? No that's not true at all." He said quickly, scooting a little closer to Ozzy. "I honestly really want you, and I want to go further but.. 'things' just kinda get in the way of that.." He struggled to find a better way to explain to Ozzy why he always turned down his advances. Tate sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's hard to explain, Ozzy. I'm sorry." 

"Yes, yes it would. It would physically kill me to do the one-eighty turn towards the cabinet, open the cabinet, reach inside of it, grab a glass, pull the glass out, close the cabinet, pour the juice, and drink it from the glass. See how drawn out and streneous that is? It’s so much easier to just drink from the carton." He said, taking another gulp from the orange juice, before letting out a sigh. "Sure you are. You weren’t nice last night when we were cuddling." He poked his tongue out at him playfully. Ozzy loved Tate more than anything, and he loved their relationship, but sometimes he couldn’t help but want more, and Tate obviously wasn’t ready, that much Feroz could tell by how he always managed to turn down his advances. But Ozzy was patient. He could wait until his boyfriend was ready for more, even if it took months longer. "Only once or twice? Well, I definitely need to work on that. You need to hear it a million times." He mumbled, pressing a kiss against his lips gently. "Because that’s where you belong, duh. Here in my arms." He already began shoveling food into his mouth by the time Tate filled up his plate, halfway through the miniature mountain of eggs he had created, and was in the process of biting into his toast when Tate asked him if he wanted to watch something on Netflix. "Yeah, babe. Sounds good." He said, his words muffled from the mouthful of food he was currently chewing.

Tate huffed at Ozzy's extensive explanation and he rolled his eyes. "It does sound like a lot of work when you say it like that. Fine just keep drinking out of the carton, lazy pants." He said, with a sigh. Despite knowing that Ozzy was just teasing him, Tate couldn't help but feel a little guilty that he had to turn down Ozzy's advances again. He was lucky enough that Ozzy never pushed him to do more, but how much longer would he remain patient? The thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind as he was kissed, and he kissed him back, smiling when he pulled away. Even though they've eaten practically every meal together for the past few months, Tate will never get over how fast Ozzy ate. Seeing that half of Feroz's eggs were already gone by the time he got his own plate made Tate make a face. "Do you even breathe or chew when you eat, Oz?" He asked, half joking half serious. He walked over to the bed and grabbed his laptop to login into Netflix. He patted the bed next to him signalling to Ozzy to come sit with him as he scrolled through some of the TV shows. He started up a show and sat back leaning against the wall behind him. Tate stayed quiet for a few minutes trying to focus on the show and eating his breakfast but he couldn't get his mind off of one thing. He sighed and paused the show, before he looked over at Ozzy. "I'm going to ask you something and you have to be totally honest with me, alright?" He started, not able to help the way his shoulders tensed up. "Does it.. Does it bother you that we haven't done anything? Be honest, Feroz."

"Are you sure?" Ozzy asked, letting his hand rub against his boyfriend’s back soothingly. He scoffed when whe chastised him, rolling his eyes. "You just finished making out with me like three seconds ago, babe. I’m sure you can live with me drinking out of this carton." He said, screwing the top back on it. "And what’s the point of dirtying up a glass anyway?" He asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, so you don’t think it makes me sound like a gremlin, but you think it makes me sound like a Muppet or a character from Sesame Street?" He asked, feigning a hurt look. "That’s rude, Tate." He let his hand stroke Tate’s cheek gently while he looked at him, a soft smile on his face. "I think it’s totally possible.." He tapped his boyfriend’s bottom lip. "Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?" Feroz asked, leaning down to press a small kiss against his cheek. He huffed slightly when he pulled away. "You know you always find a way to get away from me." He teased, leaning against the counter and watching him cook the rest of their breakfast. "Ugh, finally." He pushed away from the counter, opening the cabinet and pulling out two plates for the both of them. After handing the other boy his plate, he started piling up the food on his plate. When he had a miniature mountain of food on his plate, he kissed his boyfriend’s cheek gently, "Thanks babe. Love you."

Tate nodded his head again, smiling as Ozzy rubbed his back and although it didn't do much Tate still appreciated the gesture. He rolled his eyes, and sighed. "I'm just saying would it kill you to use a glass?" He asked, before he shook his head. "You know I don't think you sound like a Muppet or a Sesame Street character, Ozzy. I'm not rude I'm making you breakfast so I'm nice." He smiled, leaning into his boyfriend's touch turning his head so he could press a kiss to Ozzy's palm. Tate didn't know he got so lucky to get someone like Feroz. He couldn't help the way his smile grew a little and he nodded. "Once or twice, but it's still nice to hear." He said, feeling the familiar butterflies in his stomach as his cheek was kissed. "And you always find a way to pull me back in." He grabbed the plate from Ozzy after he was done cooking and he waited for Ozzy to grab his food. He smiled gave him a quick kiss. "No problem. Love you too." Tate piled food onto his plate, his stomach growling loudly as he did. "You wanna watch something on Netflix while we eat?"

Feroz frowned slightly when his boyfriend coughed, rubbing his back gently. “You okay, babe?” He asked, raising his eyebrows at him. He headed over to the fridge, pulling out the carton of orange juice they had and undid the cap, taking a sip from the carton, a habit that his mother used to chastise him for when he was a child. “It makes me sound like a Muppet. Or one of the puppets on Sesame Street. Or a gremlin.” He sighed, setting the carton down, before immediately returning the kiss Tate placed on his lips. “Hmm, I love you more.” He wrapped his arms around him, his eyes locking with Tate’s, the hazel orbs conveying all of the love and affection he had for his boyfriend.

Tate nodded his head probably a little more quickly than necessary and he waved it off. "Yeah, m'fine." Seeing Ozzy drink the orange juice straight out of the carton made Tate make a face. "Ozzy, get a glass they're literally right behind you." It wouldn't be the first time he told his boyfriend, but Ozzy still hadn't broken out of the habit. "A gremlin? Really?" He couldn't help but laugh a little at that, "I don't think your name makes you sound like a gremlin." Tate didn't know why Ozzy looked at him the way he did, with so much love and affection that Tate didn't deserve, especially not from someone as wonderful as Feroz. He knew that Ozzy wouldn't look at him the same way once he told him so for now Tate enjoyed the love he got from his boyfriend. "I don't think that's possible. I love you too much." He leaned his head against Ozzy's shoulder, cuddling into him for a minute. He was going to miss this after Ozzy was gone. He pulled away from the embrace and went back to finish cooking their breakfast that could very well feed at least half of their university. "Food's ready if you wanna get a plate, Oz."

"That makes me feel loads better. You really know how to make a guy feel great about himself, babe." Ozzy teased, setting the bread on the counter and began taking out the slices for their toast. Once they were inside the toaster and he pushed down the lever, he heard Tate ask him for the pancake mix. He made a face, shaking his head. "You sound like my mom when you call me that." He fake pouted. Ozzy’s mother and Tate were literally the one two people who called him Feroz. "But I’ll let it slide because you’re cute." He grabbed the pancake mix and sat it on the counter next to his boyfriend, before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Tate laughed, coughing lightly his binder making it uncomfortable and a little hard to breathe. Maybe wearing his binder almost 24/7 wasn't a good idea. He shook it off take a few deep breaths before he smiled as his boyfriend kissed his cheek. "Sorry I just like your real name. It's unique." He set the burners on low to make sure nothing would burn as he threw together to ingredients for the pancakes, focusing on that instead of the uncomfortable feeling that was his binder. He maneuvered around the small kitchen as he placed dishes in the sink once he was done with them, and put away ingredients. He stopped for a moment to give Ozzy a quick kiss, smiling as he pulled away. "Love you, Ozzy." 

Ozzy chuckled slightly when he placed another quick kiss to his lips, before he followed him towards their kitchen. He caught up with him quickly, draping his arms over his shoulders and leaning against him as he walked, his chin resting on Tate’s shoulder. Ozzy hadn’t always been affectionate. It had taken him a good two or three months for him to actually hold Tate’s hand, and another month for him to cuddle with him. But now that he had done it, he couldn’t get enough. He was the biggest fan of PDA and just DA in general. “Toast? Hmph, I’m offended that you’re limiting me to toast.” He huffed playfully, but headed towards the pantry where they kept the bread.

Tate couldn't help the small grin that appeared on his face as Ozzy draped his arms over his shoulders, already expecting the affection. He loved how affectionate Ozzy was now, at the beginning he was scared to show any kind of affection to him afraid that he would scare Ozzy off. Now he could kiss and hug his boyfriend all he wanted. "Sorry, Ozzy, if it makes you feel any better I think you make really good toast." He said, grabbing the eggs, and bacon out of the fridge. Tate put a few pans on the stove to start cooking everything. "Feroz, can you give me the pancake mix out of the cabinet?" He asked, gesturing to one of the cabinets behind him.

"The two of us?" Ozzy looked at his boyfriend with a fake confused expression. "That’s just for me. I don’t know what you’re going to eat." He teased, a smile forming on his lips, before he reached for Tate’s hand, pulling him up gently, and placed a kiss on his lips gently. "Of course I wanna help. Just don’t be upset if I end up starting a small forest fire."

Tate almost believed that Ozzy was being serious, but seeing him smile made him realize that he was joking. He smiled when he was kissed, returning the quick kiss. “I’ll make sure that won’t happen. I don’t think either of us could afford to burn down our dorm.” Tate pressed another quick kiss to his boyfriend’s lips before he moved the small kitchen. One thing that Tate always made sure of was that they were always fully stocked with food since they both could eat like there was no tomorrow. “Actually I’m going to put you in charge of making the toast. Please try not to burn it, Ozzy.”

"I’m glad you still think I’m handsome. I’d be a little upset if you didn’t." Ozzy huffed quietly, before smiling. "You’re welcome. Just telling the truth, babe." He stretched slightly, sitting up in their bed. "Hmm, eggs and bacon and pancakes and toast. Ooh, French Toast. Yeah, all that sounds good." Feroz was a big foodie, and he loved Tate’s cooking. "C’mooon, geddup." He nudged his boyfriend’s side.

Tate watched as Ozzy sat up and stretched as well, the bottom of his shirt lifting up a little. He couldn't help but laugh a little at how much food Ozzy wanted. "Bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast, and french toast? All of that for the two of us?" He asked, although he knew that they actually would eat all of that. Hell, Tate could probably eat all of that by himself and still be hungry afterwards. "Alright, alright, I'm getting up." He sat up and tugged down his shirt. "You wanna help make breakfast?"