Romantic Notions (Frerard)

Eighteen: Comfortably Numb

Gerard shook his leg nervously, chewing his lip as he flipped through the Women's Health magazine in the waiting room. He'd already paged through the others, only the Highlights one remaining untouched—he was saving it for last, mostly because he didn't want to be caught reading a children's magazine, but also because he knew it was likely to be the most enjoyable.

The nurse's voice sounded very echoey and far away when she called his name, his eyes snapping up to her and the magazine slipping from his fingers to land on the linoleum.

"Mr. Way, we're ready if you are," she chuckled softly, a reassuring smile on her lips as she led him down a short hall of exam rooms. He could feel his cheeks burning, the embarrassment and anxiety flickering through him making his palms sweat.

He wiped them on his jeans as he took a seat in the small room, answering the basic questions about allergies and the reason for his visit and whatnot. He was only halfway paying attention, his mind elsewhere until a familiar name hit his ears.

"Alright, hon; that's all for me. Dr. Ross will be in to see you shortly."

——————

"Wasn't expecting to see you here," Gerard chuckled as the young doctor slipped into the room, recognition in the brunette's eyes as he smiled.

"Nice to see you again, Mr., uh... Way," Dr. Ross replied, glancing down at the paperwork in his hands to associate his name with his face. "What brings you in today? I see you checked the 'STD testing and prevention' box."

"Um, yes, I, uh... I don't need to get tested, I haven't been with anyone in about six months, and I was clean then. I, um, I honestly just have some questions, and I need to know what options I have."

He knew he was rambling at this point, but the words continued to tumble from his lips, internally yelling at himself to just stop talking.

"Um, so my boyfriend is HIV-positive, and he hasn't been with anyone since the time he contracted it, and he's terrified to be intimate with me because he thinks he'll give it to me. He knows that it's practically impossible since he's undetectable, especially if we use protection, but he worries so much about it, and I just need to know if there's anything else we can do so he isn't scared to be with me like that."

His cheeks were flushed by the time he managed to shut his mouth, finally taking a breath and meeting Dr. Ross's eyes.

"Have you ever heard of PrEP, Gerard? It stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, which means that if you take it before you're exposed to HIV and build up the antiviral within your body, your risk of contracting it will be greatly reduced. It basically creates a more hostile environment within your blood that prevents the virus from replicating, should it get into your system. Your boyfriend's undetectable status already presents an incredibly low risk, and in combination with PrEP, you are as guaranteed not to get the virus as you can get," Dr. Ross explained with a smile, the joy and relief on Gerard's face reminding him of why he opted to do part of his residency at Planned Parenthood in the first place.

"H-how long does it take to build up in your system?" Gerard asked, his excitement getting the best of him.

"Truvada—the only FDA-approved PrEP medication, so far—reaches high protection levels after seven days of taking it. And, if taken consistently, the estimated level of protection is up to 99%."

Gerard didn't say anything for a moment, trying his hardest just to process the thoughts Dr. Ross was putting in his head.

He would be totally safe from getting it.