Regimen

“So, why don’t we give it a try? If you don’t like it, you can just let me know.”

“…Alright.”

Alright was all Kiohri could really think to say at the time. It was a strange feeling as they walked, using one earbud to listen to directions to a pharmacy nearby to pick up medication other than Theo’s for the first time. They were nervous, and for what? They trusted the professionals they had chosen to speak with, and they’d said if any issue arose they’d work together to fix it. There was nothing there they felt was worth the uneasy feeling they had as they entered through two automatic doors and made their way to the pick-up counter. “Picking up for Kiohri Thomas.” They muttered, looking at the younger worker behind the counter who smiled. A nametag reading “Aria” on her uniform. “Sure thing, birthday?” She asked, looking at a computer screen to the side of the counter. “C.C 50, moon 20, sun 10.” They replied, Aria nodded and began typing, though glanced back at them. “You have one prescription, Zeiqueliu?“ She waited for confirmation, at first, Kiohri wondered if they got something wrong. Oh. The common name… Didn’t know it was infernal. They processed the thought and nodded. “That’s correct. I’ll also be picking up two prescriptions for Theodore Thomas, birthday S.C 150, moon 12, sun 25.” They explained, the young woman at the counter clicking around on her computer and typing some information in. “Alright, he has… Jiilqueefi ready, and Jiiahrah. That correct?” “Yes.” Kiohri replied simply, pulling out their ID and medical card to present before the young woman had even asked. She looked it over, and after returning it handed Kiohri three small bags stapled shut containing bottles of medicine. “Thank you, have a good evening.” Kiohri said, nodding to the woman before heading out.

The walk home was uneventful, though they continually found themself glancing down at the middle bag; “Kiohri Thomas, Zeiqueliu. Once daily.” …It didn’t feel quite right reading that. When they arrived home, they slid their shoes off in the doorway before going to the kitchen and setting down the bags, opening each one carefully and placing the bottles inside side by side. They could hear Theo in the back talking with Lillie, and faintly make out a dramatic “Nooo!” From Theo alongside repeated clicking noises. They chuckled, Theo was much better at learning those games than they were. They looked over at the fridge, a magnet held a weekly medication sorter to the front, which they took off and sat on the counter, popping each empty tab open. With Theo’s permission, Kiohri had begun sorting his medications into place for him. He would tend to forget, and they didn’t mind doing it. It was relaxing to drop the pills in place one by one in a repetitive motion. They were careful; they always double checked to make sure they’d gotten everything right. Bothare once daily, so just fill them in two pills each tab. And as they finished, they closed the tabs again and returned the sorter to its spot on the fridge, putting the remaining medicine away in the top of the medicine cabinet away from any general use pills.

They looked at the remaining bottle on the counter, furrowing their brows at it. “Why do you look like you’re about to fight a pill bottle?” Theo’s voice caught their attention as they looked to see the man leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling. “Is that the one you got?” He asked, Kiohri sighed and nodded. “Yes… I’m just not used to the idea, that’s all.” They muttered, picking up the bottle and looking it over. “Do you… not want to take it?” Theo spoke gently, a sympathetic expression on his face. “No, that’s not it. I’m going to try it, if it can help me more than what I do on my own I’ll be grateful for it… I just…” they chuckled forcefully as they set the bottle down. “Not to sound old, but in my time, this wasn’t really a thing. You know?” They smiled awkwardly as they saw the slight sad smile on Theo’s face, who hummed and walked over to give them a hug. “Well, you don’t think it’s an issue when I take medication.” He pointed out, Kiohri shaking their head. “It’s not that I think it’s an issue, I… I know it can help. It’s just the first time I’ve ever actually been put on medication.” They muttered. Theo seemed to pause for a second, thinking for a long moment before a quiet huh escaped his lips. “You’re right… In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never even gotten an antibiotic. Well… Everyone starts somewhere. And hey, how about this!” Theo clapped his hands together and walked over beside the fridge, sorting through a messy drawer and pulling out a medicine sorter similar to his own. “We can take them at the same time if it works for you! That way you’re not on your own.” He grinned in a way that felt contagious, Kiohri’s awkward smile turning to a softer genuine one. “Here, you sort your medicine how you like. I’ll make us some dinner, and tomorrow morning we’ll start taking our doses at the same time. Yours is once daily too, right?” Theo asked, placing the pill sorter in front of Kiohri as he went to start rummaging through the fridge. “Yes, I was told to try in the morning. So that works.” Kiohri explained as they opened the bottle and began to sort their pills one by one. “Awesome, then let’s do it! Assuming that would help you, of course. Sorry- I ran with that without really checking.” Theo paused his hyper movement to fully focus on Kiohri. “Do you want to do that? Or would you prefer to handle it yourself?” He asked, Kiohri pausing their sorting to similarly give their full attention. “I want to. I appreciate you checking, if I had an issue I would have let you know.” They assured, patting Theo’s head in a motion he used to do to them frequently. “I think it will help me get used to the routine if I do it with somebody… not a bad idea.” They said softy.

Theo worked to prepare a simple dinner as Kiohri put their sorter on the fridge just below his, then went to greet Lillie. Dinner consisted of Theo describing in detail the game of Mario Party he and Lillie had played, including ultimately playful accusations of betrayal. After dinner, Lillie washed the dishes and then went to bed a bit early. Theo watched TV for a bit, but Kiohri gave him a hug and kiss before crawling into bed. They stared at the ceiling for several minutes, just thinking about how the day had gone… It wasn’t nearly as bad as they’d feared. The next morning, Theo and Kiohri got up at their usual times. As the sun became more obnoxious in their window, they took that as their cues to go and each got their drink of choice, Theo a bottle of juice and Kiohri a bottle of water, and then each took their day's medicine from their sorters. Theo took his two pills in one go, though it clearly was a choice he regretted as he struggled a bit to get them down. Kiohri went right after, sitting in awkward silence for a moment. “…What if I make omelettes this morning?” Kiohri asked. “Oh, that’d be awesome. I can never do them right.” Theo said as he chuckled awkwardly at his confession. Kiohri smiled slightly, nodding. “I’ll get on that so they’ll be done when Lillie wakes up.” They began to gather up ingredients as Theo made his way to the table, watching them closely. They seemed less tense than the other night, maybe he’d keep up this routine with them if it really helped.

Kiohri seemed to get more comfortable with their new routine as days passed, becoming less awkward about taking and sorting their own medicine. Theo kept an eye out, and made sure to check in on them every few days. Since schools were having a crescent peak week, Lillie was home much more. Even with that though, Theo found himself noticing a change after several weeks. Kiohri always tended to go lay down before him, but before they had almost always still been awake when he went to join them half an hour or so later. The first night he noticed they’d fallen asleep early, he wondered if it was just one of those flukes. It happened consistently, though. He was careful to never wake them, but some of those early nights he’d just look at them for a bit. He worried sometimes that they didn’t sleep well enough, so it felt like a weight off his shoulders to see them so peaceful. Smaller changes caught his attention as time passed after that, too. As a consequence of better sleep, Kiohri seemed just a bit more cheerful overall. It wasn’t anything drastic, a bit more energy to go out as a family here and there; They seemed to be more content with their art as well. Little things here and there, and each one made Theo smile. Kiohri had noticed the changes as well; internally it felt more obvious than Theo saw it. They had gotten very good at managing anxiety over the years, they knew how to calm themself quickly and manage any attacks, but over time they felt there was less anxiety to manage in the first place. They did notice a small weight change as they neared the middle of their third month, which confused them a bit. Their weight had never concerned them aside from being healthy; and with a routine checkup confirming they were still physically healthy, they had no reason to worry too much. One day, Theo and Kiohri sat out on the porch as evening came. Chatting about whatever they thought of; the weather, Kiohri’s day at their shop, Theo’s day at home… Lillie’s current obsession with some new superhero show they both needed to get caught up on for them. Theo looked over at Kiohri as they sipped a glass of tea and muttered about how convoluted modern superhero universes were getting, they were so focused it took a moment to notice the eyes on them and return the look to Theo. Once he had their attention, he spoke. “You’ve been doing really well lately, you know. I’m proud of you.” Theo spoke softly and with a smile on his face. Kiohri smiled, setting their glass down. “Thank you… and the same to you, Theo.” They leaned over and gave Theo a kiss on the forehead, rubbing the back of his head and pulling him into a hug.

After handling a few dirty dishes and relaxing for a while, watching some Tv with Lillie, Kiohri went to theirs and Theo’s room to get in bed. They got dressed for bed, but paused for a minute as they fiddled with the ring on their left hand. They felt incredibly lucky to have Theo around. They had to admit; Theo had been the one to help them personally normalize many things they struggled with. He never seemed ashamed of the things he did to care for himself. They knew that wasn’t always the case, but it was still relieving to see somebody so confident. Sitting on the edge of the bed, they turned their head as they saw Theo slip into the room and wave to them. “Hey, hey. You alright?” Theo asked. “Oh, I’m alright. Just looking at my ring.” Kiohri replied, slipping the ring off and placing it onto a small ring holder on the bedside counter. “They’re still so nice… You went overboard with them, you know.” Theo teased, taking off his own ring and placing it by his lamp. “I take pride in it.” Kiohri beamed. A smile and chuckle from Theo was his only reply, though Kiohri turned to watch him as he took off his arm warmers. Scars lined the back of his arms, small horizontal slices covered with an abstract tattoo that included a diamond shape at the cerner near his wrist. It was still fairly new, and wrapped around to the front of his arms even where the scars weren’t present. As Theo laid down, he turned and pulled Kiohri down into a hug, smiling. “You can quit staring at my tattoo, you know. Does it look that weird to see me with one?” He pretended to pout, Kiohri chuckling and shaking their head. “No, the opposite… It suits you, it feels natural. The one thing… why’d you get a diamond? You have a spade on your other arm.” They gently tapped the spade shaped marking on Theo’s left bicep, which he glanced over at. Theo poked Kiohri’s cheek, which after a moment they realized was him poking the diamond shaped mark on their skin. “That’s why.” Theo said. Kiohri stared at him for a moment, which made him chuckle. “Sorry, I stole your brand.” Theo teased. Kiohri cackled and awkwardly reached to pat him on the head, then snuggled closer to him. “Take it, it’s yours now.” Kiohri chirped. Sighing as they calmed themself. “Eh liquevile ouqueui… Tevehteh.” They muttered, Theo chuckling. “Liquevile ouqueui tevouii, quelifi miahni.” He replied, giving Kiohri a peck on the forehead before closing his eyes. Kiohri watched him for a moment, his chest rising and falling with his breaths. Then sighed and closed their eyes, chuckling slightly as they held Theo’s hand and drifted off to sleep.