Of Hair Loss & Heartthrobs

"Ya don't have ta like et, but ya have ta accept et." Cove said simply. "Don't come ef ya don't want ta, but ah'm gonna marreh hem."

"Yar not." Rhett growled softly, his eyes deadly. "Ah will ave' Treva stop treatin em before ah let ya marry em." He was not going to allow this to happen to his son. "Yar mah son, only ah teenager, an ya ave ta ave' mah consent and ah ah'm nowt givin et." Rhett would rather have Leon dead than married to his son in the condition. "Ya don' even love em, ets got ta beh puppeh loveh. Ya jus' feel bad because heh es dyin'."
Leon glanced up at Rhett, then to Cove, and then he simply nodded his head.
"Okay Mister Rhett....I don't want him to marry me either....Im not going to have any hair." He was still just devastated over the hair and Cove deserved better....

"Ah'll get mom's consent then." Cove sighed. "Dad please... and don't ya say ah don't love hem. Ah love hem more than ah've loved anything. Ef ah'm old enough ta beh ah mother, then ah'm old enough to get married ta who ah want." He turned to Leon. "Love, ah want ta marry ya... even ef ya don't have hair."

Leon just shook his head, the anguish written all across his face. "No...Y-You should have better!!" He felt the tears once more and he hated it. He was very much tired of crying for one day. He had not cried often actually, even with his being sick, but losing his hair had hurt him. "L-Like...B-Briley..." His voice was an inaudible whisper.
Rhett just grunted, shaking his head. His son was not going to do this, he would not ALLOW his husband to let their son do this. It was not good for him.

"Stop sayin' that." Cove's voice was gruffer than it had been lately with Leon. "Brileh, heh's mah best friend. Ah love hem ta death. But not like ah love you. Ah love ya more than anything, Leon. Ah want ta help ya through thes, and then spend tha rest of mah life weth ya."

"Exactleh." Rhett snorted at his son. "Tha rest of YAR lifeh." Leon probably did not have that much time left, and then that would leave Cove alone and Rhett did not want that.
Leon just sniffled, clinging to his Cove tightly. "E-Even if im u-ugly?" He hiccuped softly.

Cove shot a glare at his father, pressing Leon into his chest.
"Yar not gonna beh ugleh, love. But yes, even if yar ugleh, ah stell want ya."

"Kay." Leon nestled himself close to Cove, his eye dropping shut. Sleep helped fight Cancer, and Leon had been sleeping like the dead lately. In his hand though he still clutched his hair, even as his chest slowed down, almost as if it had stopped in his sleep.
Rhett watched the boy, snorting softly as he placed a kiss to Cove's cheek.
"Ah jus' don't want ya ta hurt. Ah don' want ya ta beh a widower...Ets mah job ta protect ya...." Rhett, if he could, would take every ounce of pain his son could ever feel and he would be happy with that.

"Dad, ah'm gonna hurt ef heh dies whether we're married or not... ah just want ta make hem happeh while heh's here.." He sighed, looking down at Leon. "Ah want hem ta beh mine..."

Rhett growled softly but by the look on his face it was obvious Cove had just won.
"Fineh...." He would let it go, make his son feel like Leon is his...and maybe Leon could stick around. Rhett didn't know, but whatever made his son happy.
His eyes though stayed locked on Leon, his brows furrowed.
"Es heh breathing alright?"
He wasn't. His chest was rather eerily still.

Cove glanced down at his lover, his eyes worried as he placed a hand to the boy's chest, feeling for a pulse.

There was a pulse, but no movement to ensure he was breathing.
"Yar realleh bad at thes." Rhett picked Cove up, sitting him on his other side so he he could give Leon mouth to mouth. The boy's chest moving with every breath Rhett pushed into him.
Pulling away, he glanced to Cove, reaching out for his phone as Leon took a breath on his own, his eyes opening.
"Treveh, Leon's nowt breathin' tooh good." The man spoke calmly as he called his brother.
"Alrigh'."
And soon Trever was to the house, carrying in with him a rather large machine.
"Okay, so." Trever immediately hooked the machine up, strapping an oxygen mask around Leon's face.
"He needs this when he goes to sleep." Unconsciously, without Leon's telling them to keep going, his lungs might forget to breath.
This machine will make sure they continue, even when they dont want too.

Cove nodded, paying attention to what Trever said, thanking his father softly as he ran a hand through Leon's hair. There was so much to keep track of... so many things Leon needed...

Rhett listened as well, his arm tight around Cove's shoulders.
His son was going to have a nervous break down trying to keep up with this kid. Cove was only a kid himself, a mother in fact, and the last thing he needed was Leon to deal with and all of his issues.
"Coveh...Ah think ah'm going ta call es father."

"Noh... Cade well take hem from meh." Cove sighed as he pulled Leon to his chest. "Heh'll make et like thes was mah fault and heh'll take Leon home..."

"Heh wont take em from ya, but heh can take turns with ya lookin after hem." Rhett would not allow Cade to take that boy away from his son. He hated this situation with Cove being stressed but if this is what his son needed to feel okay, then this is what had to be done. He did not care if Cade was Leon's father, he was not going to let the boy be taken. "Coveh, ah wont let em take Leoneh away from ya, but ya need help." There was no denying that. Pick his phone up, his dialed the Johnson home.

Cove protested but Gabriel had already picked up the phone.
"Rhett? Do you need something?" He considered Rhett a friend really, but they didn't speak too often.

"Yah." Rhett simply hugged Cove tighter to shut him up. "Yar grandsoneh es gonna driveh mah boy inta an earlieh graveh. Heh needs ah lot of attention an Coveh doesn't want ta let em goh but heh es only ah kid. Heh can't doh thes like heh wants ta. Leoneh as jus' started losin hair, an heh needs ah breathin' machine ta breath for em when heh goes ta sleep. Ah think Trever wants him on oxygen though at all times." Rhett sighed softly, he did not like this, he actually felt sorry for Leon.
Still though, he was more worried with his son.
"Coveh jus' can't take care of em on es owneh, heh needs help. Bottom lineh, but Leon es stayin ere'."

"I'll get Cade." Gabriel nodded, his chest tightening with worry for his grandson. "Want us to come over now then?" He asked as he made his way to his son's room.

"If ya would. Ah'm abou' ta take Coveh inta mah room fer ah nap." His voice left no room for argument. He would leave Trever in here to care for the boy.

"Alright, I'll be on my way." Gabriel spoke before hanging up the phone.
"Dad..." Cove groaned softly. "Ah don't need ah nap."

Rhett said nothing to him, simply stand up, reaching down to take Cove in his arms, and lifting the boy as if he were weightless. He rested Cove's body against his chest, one arm securely holding him there and the other around his legs to support his arse. He then left the room, and made his way into his and Kyndal's bed room. He held Cove with one arm, then gently scooted Kyndal to the far side of the bed. He crawled in himself, and laid with Cove pressed warmly to his chest, his lips resting on the crown of the boys head.
"Sleep."

Cove whined softly, though he did wrap his arms around his father.
"Ya thenk heh's gonna be alright, daddeh?" He asked lightly. It'd been a while since he called Rhett daddy...

Rhett smiled softly at that, his grip tighening on his son.
"Coveh...Ah don' know fer sure, but ah think with ya takin care of him, heh as' one ell' of ah chance...An' even if heh don' make et...Ya made es time aliveh preciouseh." Rhett was not a very nice, or caring man, but his son was his heart.

"An' et's not puppeh love. Heh's mah everytheng." He nodded lightly, pressing into his father. He was quite tired...