Thanks (m, cold)
Hi guys, thank you again for voting on which scenario you wanted to see for this fic! It's a bit of a slow burn, and idk how I feel about the ending, but Elijah is staunchly miserable by the end so hopefully that makes y'all happy 😅 let me know if you like it 🫶
Ps I've been writing this for literally the past 12 hours so I cannot look at it anymore, I'll read it over and edit errors in the morning but I need to get it out before it drives me insane lmao. 5.5k words under the cut :)
CW: male snz, colds, coughing, fever, contagion
There was nothing quite as depressing, Elijah decided, as the days leading up to Thanksgiving dinner service in a restaurant. Well, unless you were Greyson.
“Goooood morning, boss! Two days til the Big Day; are you pumped?”
Elijah turned his chair slowly towards the door, where the chef stood grinning unironically. He thought, not for the first time, that Greyson was likely some sort of dog in a past life – a golden retriever, or possibly a lab. One of those ‘no thoughts, just vibes’ dogs.
“Am I pumped?” Elijah asked, glaring at Greyson. “For a day that should be spent drinking shitty beer and eating my weight in carbs spent instead putting on a fake smile for people who don’t even think of us as human? For people who go out to eat literally once a year, and make sure they do it on a holiday so they can feel powerful by forcing a restaurant to serve them, then complain about the price and stiff my servers? Am I pumped to barely break even, even though the restaurant will be packed from ten am until close, because those same people staunchly refuse to pay more than eighty bucks a head to stuff themselves silly? Am I pumped to listen to my staff complain all day, despite the fact that when each of them was hired, they were told in no uncertain terms that they would be working holidays?” Elijah clicked his pen closed loudly, stood to let Greyson through, and sat with him in tandem, his face set in anger the whole time. “No, Grey. I am not, in fact, pumped.”
Greyson broke their eye contact to wake his computer, the lecture obviously unexpected. “Clearly I should’ve read the room before opening my mouth,” he said, glancing back over at his boss briefly. “My bad, boss.”
Elijah, embarrassed that he’d let himself sink into such a state about something as stupid as a holiday service, pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Fuck. Sorry, Grey. You just caught me at a bad moment. I had two servers call out for today, I’m fuckin’ sweating because we really need everyone here for Thursday and neither of them are sure they’ll be good to come back in two days.”
“Hmm,” Greyson hummed, his eyebrows threading together. “That’s weird. I had Victor and Elise call out on my way in.”
Elijah felt his heart thump in his temple. “Did they say why?”
“I didn’t ask,” Greyson said, turning his chair to face his boss. “But I guess I should’ve. Did the servers say why they couldn’t come in?”
“Some sort of fever-cold thing, is what Jason said he had. Ashley just said she felt like shit.” Elijah pressed his fingers into his eye and sighed. “I need a cigarette. Care to join?”
Greyson, never one to turn down nicotine in any form, stood from his chair. “Thought you’d never ask,” he said.
The two of them walked through the empty kitchen in silence, Elijah entirely too wrapped in his own thoughts to continue their conversation. There was an ongoing joke, a trope, at this point, about holidays in the restaurant; everyone was always sick for them. Last Easter, the servers all had bronchitis, and a couple of Valentine’s days ago, Greyson had so many cooks call out with the stomach flu that they’d had to hire last-minute temps to fill in on the line. Despite doing nearly 300 covers, they barely made enough to cover the immense labor that seven temps on a holiday cost.
“Lij,” Greyson said as the two of them stepped out the back door and sat on the milk crates littering the loading dock, “it’s not going to be like Valentine’s. I can see your fuckin’ gears turning.” The chef pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket, handed his boss one, and lit them both up. “Relax.”
Silence, once again, fell upon them as they smoked and watched fat snowflakes disintegrate on the asphalt. Elijah hoped that Greyson was right, that everything would be fine and he was overreacting – but he knew better than to hope. More likely than not, it was going to be what it always was on holidays: a shit show.
Matt and Mark, hand-in-hand until they spotted their bosses by the door, turned the corner and waved to their counterparts in tandem like well-trained circus animals. Elijah couldn’t help but smile as their fingers unwove from one another.
“Morning,” Elijah called, stubbing out his cigarette. Greyson did the same, and the two of them stood to let the younger men into the building.
“Aren’t you freezing?” Mark asked rubbing his hands together as he pushed the door open. Elijah shrugged as he held the door open for the other two and walked in behind them.
“My rage keeps me warm,” he said, prompting a laugh from Greyson and an eye roll from the younger men. “How’re you guys?”
Mark shot a look at Matt as they all walked towards the office at the front of the kitchen. “I’m well,” he said, pointedly. Elijah nearly stopped in his tracks when he glimpsed Matt glaring at his boyfriend.
“Matt…?” Greyson asked, an attempt at giving his sous chef a get-out-of-jail-free card. There was silence as the three of them turned, expectantly, towards Matt.
“I’mb good,” the sous said, his voice cracking on the second syllable. Elijah audibly groaned, Mark winced, and Greyson bit his cheek to keep from laughing at the absurdity.
“Well, you certainly sound great,” Greyson said, palming Matt’s shoulder aggressively. “Would you like to go home and sleep that off?”
“Yes, he -”
“Ndo,” Matt said, cutting Mark off and shooting him a look. “I wandt to help prep.I’mb – hh! hh’NGTSH-uh!” Matt turned and pulled his coat up over the bottom half of his face to sneeze, then quickly gathered himself and stood up straight. “I’mb fine,” he said, convincing no one.
Elijah closed his eyes briefly and sighed through his nose; fortunately or unfortunately, he knew exactly why Matt hadn’t called off.
The week prior, Elijah and Greyson had dolled out raises and bonuses for the staff; this year was Matt’s fifth as sous chef. Greyson had basically written a dissertation of why his sous chef should be given a new title – Executive Sous – along with a significant raise and bonus. It hadn’t taken much convincing; Elijah knew exactly how hard Matt worked, and staying at the same restaurant as a sous chef for five years was nearly unheard of in this city, especially for someone as young as Matt. He and Greyson had agreed that Matt’s loyalty to the restaurant deserved to be compensated, and had surprised him before his day off with the new title and pay.
Matt had been surprised – shocked was probably a better word for it, honestly – and had confided in Elijah after Greyson had dipped early to meet up with a date that he felt like he didn’t deserve the raise.
“You do,” Elijah had said, laughing lightly. “We wouldn’t have given it to you if you didn’t deserve it.”
The younger man had shaken his head. “I just… I mean, Greyson is here way more than me. I get two days off mostly, and he doesn’t let me work longer than ten hours. And I love it here, you guys don’t need to, like, worry about me leaving if that’s what this is about.”
Elijah had given Matt a confused look. “Greyson should be here more than you, first of all he’s a partner, not just the chef, and secondly, he gets paid very well to be here eighty hours a week. That’s his choosing. You’re his employee – if you were here as much as he was and getting paid significantly less, that wouldn’t be fair. And we’re glad you love it here, but that’s not why we gave you the raise. We gave it to you because you’re a hard worker, and you deserve to be compensated for what you do.” Elijah had smiled at Matt, patted his knee, and finished with, “Don’t sell yourself short.”
Matt had just smiled back and nodded, but Elijah knew he hadn’t changed his mind about ‘being undeserving’. Elijah knew, via background checks that were performed by his off-site HR company, and via Mark being a blabbermouth the second he got a glass of wine in him, that Matt had been a bit of a troubled kid; he’d been bounced from one foster home to another as a kid, and then one juvenile detention hall to another as a teenager. Only when he’d dropped out of high school and gotten a job as a dishwasher at a Denny’s did he finally decide it was time to shape up. He’d worked his way into the diner’s kitchen, then a slightly nicer kitchen, and when he was 20, he’d shown up at the front door of Elliot’s in an ill-fitting suit with a speech about how he was ready to work somewhere that he could hone his passion, even if they couldn’t pay him a dime. Greyson had hired him on the spot, not even consulting Elijah, despite only having been the executive chef for a few months.
Elijah knew Matt felt that he owed Greyson, not the other way around, and this promotion and raise was the nail in that coffin of doubt. He knew there was no way Matt would go home, no matter how shitty he felt.
Greyson just shrugged at his sous chef’s denial of being sick. “If you want to stay, I’m not going to make you leave,” he said, walking into the office and changing from his sweatshirt into his chef’s coat. “Just don’t sneeze on the food.”
Matt rolled his eyes and stripped off his jacket to put his own chef’s coat on. “Yes, Chef,” he said, coughing into his elbow. Mark and Elijah exchanged sidelong looks.
“Are you feeling okay?” Elijah asked his junior manager. Mark smirked, hiked his laptop bag further onto his shoulder, and started towards the dining room – his makeshift office.
“Never better, boss,” he said, pushing through the swinging doors. “Never better.”
***
“So, is he coming in tomorrow?”
Greyson lolled his head to the side, hands still on his keyboard, and deadpanned Elijah. “The fuck do you think?”
Elijah pulled a hand down his face and nodded. “Yeah, okay, just wanted to check.”
While Matt had been relatively fine the first few hours of the shift, by the time the last guests had eaten, the sous had been so staunchly miserable that Greyson had marched his ass into the office, thrown his jacket over his shoulders, and pointed towards the back door. “Go. Home. Now.”
“Chef, I – HTSHH! Hh-! GTSH-uh!” Matt wrenched to the side, collapsing into a post-sneeze coughing fit that made the cooks flinch from five yards away.
“You’re not fine,” Greyson insisted. “You’re sick, and you’re going to get everyone else sick.”
Matt nodded, miserable, and hung his head. “Sorry, Chef,” he muttered, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his jacket.
“Go,” Greyson said. “And come back when you’re well.”
Mark had taken Matt home in an Uber, and the cooks and servers had been able to leave relatively early, which left Elijah, Greyson, and a bottle of whiskey between them on the desk to figure out how they were going to handle the rest of the week.
Greyson sighed and reached for the bottle as he pushed away from his computer screen. He took a long pull and handed the bottle to Elijah, who followed suit. “I just… I don’t understand why he’d come in that sick,” Greyson said, pulling his hair to the top of his head and securing it with a rubber band from their drawer of office supplies. Elijah had to pull the bottle away from his lips to laugh. “What?” Greyson asked.
“You, of all people, can’t understand why he came in sick?” Elijah asked, incredulous. “You?”
“What do you mean me?” Greyson asked, snatching the bottle back. “If anything, he learned it from watching you.”
“Oh, spare me, Greyson,” Elijah rolled his eyes. “For awhile there, you literally came in sick three weeks a month.”
Greyson scoffed. “At least I’ve never passed out on the kitchen floor.”
“Yes, you have.”
“No, I almost passed out. You actually fuckin’ swooned. Collapsed in a puddle. Full damsel in distress.” Greyson took another pull and placed the bottle back on the desk. “So don’t come for me unless I send for you.”
Elijah guffawed at this. “Who taught you that saying?” he asked. Greyson shrugged.
“I heard one of the servers using it. I like it.”
“The servers are twenty years old, you dinosaur. The last thing they want is Grandpa Greyson using their jargon.”
“Fuck off, if anyone here is a grandpa it’s…” Greyson stopped suddenly, held up a finger, let his eyes flutter shut, then let out a shaky breath. “Fuck, that’s annoying.” He rubbed his nose on the back of his hand, then raised an eyebrow at his boss, whose face had drawn into concern. “What?”
“What was that?” Elijah asked, glancing over at the bottle of whiskey they’d spent the past hour sharing.
“I just thought I was going to – oh,” Greyson’s eyes widened. “No, dude, relax, I’m totally fine. I feel great.”
“‘Buzzed’ and ‘great’ are two different things, Grey,” Elijah said. He reached up to feel Greyson’s forehead, prompting the chef to lean back in his chair.
“Great as in healthy,” he insisted, shooing Elijah’s hand away. “Seriously, I’d let you know if I – HRRTSHHH-ue!” He caught the sneeze in his elbow – barely – and choked back an irritated cough. From the crook of his arm, he heard Elijah swear.
“I’m going to end your fuckin’ life, I swear to God,” Elijah muttered, pushing the bottle further onto Greyson’s side of the desk. “You let me drink from the same bottle as you, you dick.”
“I’m fine, Elijah, Christ it was one sneee – hh! - hh…” Greyson tipped his head back in anticipation, then lowered and shook it when the feeling once again dissipated. “See? Totally fine.” He sniffled – convincing, Grey – and immediately changed course. “Plus, it’s alcohol. It’s an antiseptic.”
“It one million percent is not,” Elijah said, rubbing his temples in defeat. “Greyson, you cannot be sick. We cannot be sick. How the hell are we going to be able to run Thanksgiving?”
“Elijah,” Greyson said, “listen. I am fine. Everything is going to be just fi – ITSHH-ue!” Greyson pitched forward into his palm and cringed. Elijah, begrudgingly, slammed the box of tissues they kept on a side table in front of the chef.
“Bless you,” he said while Greyson cleaned himself up. “And, I mean this from the bottom of my heart: fuck. You.”
***
“Hhh-! Huh… hnnn.”
“Bless you.”
“Oh, screw you, Lij,” Greyson muttered for the millionth time that day. He grabbed what felt like his hundredth tissue and blew his nose – only for the feeling to reignite. “Huhhh! Hhh...hh… guhh.” Greyson rubbed his nose again and angrily spiked the tissue into the trash can beneath his prep station.
“Bless you,” Elijah said again, mocking.
“You kndow,” Greyson said, turning towards his boss, who was seated in the office, not looking Greyson’s way. “Karma is going to combe for you for being an asshole to mbe.”
At this, Elijah glanced towards Greyson. “Karma? No, karma is having a cold and not being able to sneeze because you let your friend drink out of the same bottle as you when you knew you were getting sick. That’s karma, and you got what was coming to you.”
“Fuuhhh! Huh! Hh...fuck,” Greyson grumbled, coughing into his shoulder.
“Karma is also giving your sous chef a lecture about being sick at work, only to be get sick and have to come into work because you’re technically the most well of all the sick cooks and chefs.”
“Are you finished?” Greyson asked, throwing his hands in the air. “I get it. And to be fair, I did ndot kndow I was getting sick.” The chef sucked in painfully through his nose and collapsed into coughs once again.
“Mmhmm,” Elijah mumbled. When it seemed like Greyson wasn’t going to be able to stop the coughing, he took pity and got up to make the chef tea.
“Here,” Elijah said, slamming a paper cup in front of Greyson. “Drink it. Sickie.”
Greyson, unable to come up with a proper comeback, just did as he was told. “How mbany on the books tonight?” he croaked. Elijah sighed, pulled up his phone, and slid it towards Greyson. “Fuck,” Greyson said when he saw the number.
“All the people in the city who aren’t coming in tomorrow decided tonight was the night, apparently,” Elijah said, taking his phone back and putting it in his pocket. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked, in earnest.
Greyson nodded. “It’s ndot too bad,” he said, taking another sip of tea. “Just wish I could fuckigg sndeeze.”
Elijah huffed out a laugh. “You’re sure you don’t want to call Matt in?”
“Definitely no – hh! Huh...hhhITSHHHZUE! Oh thank fuckigg God – HUHHESTCH-ue! Hh! Hnn...HuhhhETSCHH-ue! HTSSHH-ue!”
Elijah whistled, long and low, and pushed the box of tissues towards Greyson. “Wow,” he said. “Bless.”
Greyson rolled his eyes as he took a handful of tissues and cleaned himself up. “See?” he said once he’d thrown them away and washed his hands, “Good as new. HTSSHH-ue!”
Elijah chuckled. “Sure, Chef,” he said, moving towards the doors to the dining room. “Whatever you say.”
***
In his thirty-nine years on earth, Elijah had learned a lot about himself. He’d learned that he was a hothead, and he had to really think about the repercussions of what was going to come out of his mouth if he wanted to keep the person he was talking to in his life. He’d learned that he was incapable of whistling, juggling, or any other party trick – but he could pull out a fantastic rendition of Queen’s Somebody to Love during karaoke, and that was enough to make him seem like he was fun at parties. He’d learned that he loved to have his own space, and should he ever find a partner, he knew they’d have to have separate bedrooms. And he had learned exactly what it felt like when he was getting sick.
Like… really sick.
When Greyson said things like, “I didn’t know I was getting sick,” it truly did not register to Elijah. Maybe it was because Greyson’s illnesses always seemed to be some sort of mixed bag – starting differently every time, with symptoms that varied wildly – or maybe it was because he just didn’t tune in to how he was feeling. Greyson always said he basically tried to ignore his body until it forced him to pay attention; maybe that was something that Elijah needed to attempt. Because Elijah… Elijah knew exactly when and how badly he was getting sick every single time.
It had started that afternoon, mere hours after he’d given Greyson shit about exposing him to this illness, the way it always did – with the type of sore throat that made you feel weak in your knees. Elijah had swallowed, then immediately felt dizzy with the pain that surged in his throat. Oh, he thought, touching his neck. Oh, no.
He was, of course, a creature of habit and attempted all his usual ways to quell the pain – cups of tea hidden in paper sleeves, lozenges he hoped Greyson was too stuffed up to smell on his breath, handfuls of ibuprofen – to no avail. By the time dinner service came around he could hear the rasp in his voice and, despite the ibuprofen, could feel the ache in his joints that meant he’d already made it to stage two; fever.
This was how he knew he was going to be down badly. If he could ride the sore throat past the fever and straight into congestion, he might be able to get away with just a normal cold. But if that fever set in before any other symptoms, it was all over.
“Yo,” Greyson said, approaching his boss post pre-shift. “Cand we quickly talk about the semantics of tomborrow’s buffet before people get here?”
Elijah lifted his heavy head from his pre-shift notes and blinked in Greyson’s direction. “Okay,” he said, brilliantly. Greyson’s eyebrows knit together, concerned.
“You good?” he asked, rubbing his nose on the back of his hand. Elijah nodded slowly – surely, if Greyson was able to push through this illness with such ease, he was just being a baby about it. He swallowed through the knives in his throat and nodded.
“Just a headache,” he said. “What do you want to talk through?”
“Just wanted to see how mbany cooks you think I should have on the buffehh....ETSZHCHH-ue!” Greyson directed a massive sneeze into his elbow, and Elijah’s head about exploded with pain.
“Christ,” Elijah muttered, pressing his palm into his eye. Greyson muffled a cough into his sleeve and shook his head to clear it.
“Fuck, ‘scuse mbe,” he said, looking back at his boss. “Umb. Did I get you or something?”
Something like that, Elijah thought as he shook his head. “No,” he said. “You’re just loud, and my head hurts.” He pulled out his phone, looked at the cover spread for the next day, and said, “Three cooks on the buffet. One for omelets, one for prime rib carving, one for dessert bar.” He looked up at Greyson for his confirmation. “What?” he asked.
“You just… look like you’re in pain,” Greyson said, carefully. “Did you take -?”
“Yes, I took ibuprofen,” Elijah cut him off. “Go make sure your guys are ready for tonight. Take a decongestant so they can understand you. I’ll be back there in a minute.”
Greyson pursed his lips, but didn’t argue. “Yes, sir,” he said, and left Elijah to brood.
By some stroke of luck, the third inevitable stage of Elijah’s illness didn’t hit him until after they’d finished service. He was checking the lead server’s station so she could go home, when suddenly it felt like a thousand bees collected in his sinuses.
“Yeah, looks good Riley, thanks, see you in the mo – IGTSHH-uhh! HSTSH-ue! HhhhINTSZH-ue!” Elijah wrenched to the side, the sneezes so sudden he barely had time to cover his mouth.
“Yikes,” Riley said, taking a step away from her boss. “Bless you.”
“Thanks,” Elijah muttered, pinching his nose to quell the itch.
“You pick up whatever has everyone else out this week?” she asked, taking off her apron. Elijah shook his head.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “Have a good night.”
With all the servers gone, Elijah slunk back into the kitchen and sunk into his office chair, his head in his hands. He was not prepared to do a whole holiday service feeling like this. This was nightmarish, and he’d only felt sick for nine hours. Tomorrow? Tomorrow was going to be -
“Hey, bless you,” Elijah sat up and turned around at the accusation to see Greyson standing at the office door with his arms crossed. “Could’ve heard those from fuckin’ space.”
Elijah rolled his eyes, painfully. “Whatever,” he said, powering his computer up to finish the night’s paperwork. “You’re one to talk, I don’t think you’ve gone three seconds without -”
“HRRSHH-oo!” Greyson cut him off with a comically-timed sneeze directed into the collar of his shirt.
“-that,” Elijah finished.
Greyson grabbed a tissue and wiped his nose. “Yeah, but it’s been well-established that I have a cold. I was under the impression that you were still -”
“HTSHH! HRSHH! Huh-! HuhhESTZHH-ue!” Elijah once again collapsed in on himself, head both buzzing and pounding, the explosive sneezes grating the back of his throat.
“- well,” Greyson finished, and moved into the office to sit by his boss. Just as Elijah looked up from his lap, Greyson slapped a hand on his forehead.
“Enough,” Elijah said, pushing Greyson’s palm off. Greyson put both his palms on his knees and gave Elijah a knowing look.
“So, you’ve been sick all day, or…?”
“Greyson,” Elijah said, clearing his throat, “I’m fine.”
“You have a fever, Lij. Like, a pretty significant one.”
He knew, and he had known, but the words made Elijah’s eyes well and his throat close all the same. God, he hated having a fucking fever and all the stupid, ridiculous emotions that went along with it. Elijah took a breath, closed his eyes to collect himself, and addressed the chef.
“I’m not feeling 100%,” he said. “But I will be fine. You are sick – if I’m not 100%, then you must be at like 10% at this point.”
“I don’t have a fever,” Greyson pointed out, taking Elijah’s hand and placing it on his cool head. “See?”
Elijah bit his cheek to keep from snapping. “Alright,” he said. “Whatever. Still, you need to go home; it’s a big day tomorrow.”
“I will when you do,” Greyson said, shrugging. Elijah, completely spent, and done arguing, just turned off his computer – paperwork be damned for the night.
“Fine,” he said, putting his hands up in surrender. “Let’s call it a night.”
Greyson, clearly confused, just raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Alright boss,” he said, grabbing his jacket. “See you tomorrow.”
***
If there was one thing Greyson knew about Elijah, it was this: if you wanted him to admit defeat, you had to corner him.
When he woke up at oh-dark-thirty that morning, Greyson felt lucky that he was no worse for the wear then he was the night before. Was he stuffed-up to the gills? Yes. Did he have an incessant, grating cough? Yeah. But ultimately, it was a cold, and he’d work through far worse many more times.
So, despite the fact that it was still dark out, Greyson donned his hoodie and set out for the restaurant. On the way to the early-morning subway, he called Matt.
“...Hello?” Matt answered on the third ring. “Chef?”
“Mbornin’ sunshine,” Greyson said, coughing into the receiver. “How’re you feeling?”
“Uh…” Matt said, attempting to gather his bearings. “Better. Am I supposed to be at the restaurant now? I thought I was scheduled at eight.” Greyson heard him push back a blanket and plant his feet on the floor. “You sound like shit, by the way. Sorry about that.”
“Inevitable,” Greyson said, a brush-off. “And you aren’t scheduled til eight, but I have sombe very important, pre-work, Executive Sous shit I ndeed your help with.”
“Sure, boss,” Matt said, and Greyson could hear him changing clothes, using mouthwash, and whispering goodbye to Mark. “Anything you need.”
“Good man,” Greyson said, pausing at the top of the subway steps. “Could you pick up cough drops, Mucinex, and a hot water bottle, if you see one? Oh, and a real blanket. I’ll Venmo you some mboney.”
“Uh, sure, boss. Is this… for you?”
“Not for me,” Greyson said, coughing into his sleeve. “For Elijah. He’s down bad.”
“Oh. Oh, shit,” Matt said. “Yeah, okay, for sure boss. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, mban. Hey, I’mb about to head down to the subway, text mbe if you have any – hh! HTSHH-ue! Fuck, sorry,” Greyson wiped his nose on the back of his hand. “Mbaybe grab more tissues while you’re there,” he amended.
“Sure, Chef. Bless.”
“You’re the best, Mbatt. Always knew you’d make a perfect number two.”
Greyson could hear the eye roll through the phone. “Don’t get sappy, old man,” Matt said. “See you soon.”
***
To say Elijah felt like shit would’ve been the understatement of the century.
When he woke up that morning, Elijah was fairly sure he was dying. The fever he’d crawled into bed with hadn’t budged, his sinuses were packed, and he’d officially acquired the final gem on his sick-as-fuck gauntlet: the cough. This day was going to be absolute hell.
Elijah did his level best to get ready for the busy service; he managed to take about half a shower before he had to sit down, dizzy from exertion; he’d gotten one contact in before sneezing so hard he almost poked his eye out and settled on glasses; he’d even found the strength to put on a pair of pants, though a button down was entirely too much for his shaking hands, so he settled on a cardigan that looked passable enough. God he hoped the servers – and Mark – would be able to hold down the fort out front, because this was nothing short of tragic.
Unwilling to deal with the subway and unable to drive safely in this state, Elijah settled on calling an Uber to work. It was early, a little before eight, but he knew if he didn’t get there now, he’d never make it.
“Happy Thanksgiving!” the driver said, leaving Elijah to immediately regret his decision not to drive. “Pretty early to be up and at ‘em. You heading to see family?”
Elijah cleared his throat as best he could before begrudgingly responding to the driver. “Ndot quite,” he said, his voice strained and congested. “Worki – HGSTHH-ue! HRSSH! ETSZCH-uh!” Elijah attempted to hold back the sneezes, unsuccessfully. Sans any tissues, he wiped his nose on his sweater sleeve. “Excuse mbe, sorry.”
“Working and sick on a holiday?” the driver said, shaking his head. “That’s rough, man. Bless you.”
Elijah’s face flamed, but he was in no state to deny. “Yeah,” he said instead. “Thangks.”
The rest of the drive was in blessed silence, and Elijah made sure to tip the guy extra for being exposed to whatever plague he was walking around with. When he finally pushed through the back door of the restaurant, Elijah felt like he’d already lived a lifetime today; he really wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to take.
“Elijah!” Greyson’s voice reached him before Elijah could even see his face. “Happy Thanksgiving, you sick old fuck!”
Elijah turned the corner and almost burst into tears – there stood Greyson, his face pale and nose bright red, and Matt and Mark looking no better, outside of his office; his office that had been, essentially, turned into a cozy-looking bedroom.
There were blankets on the floor, the chairs removed, and medicine on the desk. The harsh office light had been shut off, and instead one of the lamps from the host stand glowed gently from behind the computer. And, perhaps most heart-rendering, in Greyson’s hand was a bowl of steaming soup, and in Matt’s, a cup of tea.
“I know you hate working the holidays, and feeling like shit is just insult to injury,” Greyson said, setting down the bowl so he could guide Elijah into the office. “So we thought we’d mbake it just a little less shitty.”
Elijah allowed himself to be lead in, unable to find the words to thank his friend. He turned into his elbow to cough, a welcome respite from the tears he could feel threatening to spill over. “Grey,” he said when he’d gathered himself. “I… this is so… you guys…” he swallowed around the lump in his throat and shook his head. “I don’t kndow what to say,” he said, looking up at Greyson. “Thangk you.”
“Ah, save it,” Greyson said, placing a hand on his friend’s back. “You’re always looking after us. Call it our Thanksgiving to you.”
Elijah smiled a little, punched Greyson’s arm lightly, and allowed himself to be pulled into a hug. Heading to see family? the Uber driver had asked him. Maybe he had been, after all.
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No Place Like Home
another Daniel/Armand fic. Read it below or here
Daniel is delirious.
He can't remember the last time he ate. Wait, he can. It had been a hot dog from some street vendor, with the last few bucks he has in his pocket nearly two days ago. He hasn't got any more money. He was kicked out of the hotel yesterday morning for not being able to pay. He knows he has money somewhere, but he can't remember where. It's hard to remember things. Armand always took care of everything so he didn't have to.
But Armand is a thousand miles away on their private island.
He thinks sometimes Armand ruined him for the rest of the world. How can he survive now, with all these ordinary people and their ordinary lives? How, when he knows the extraordinary is out there, just a phone call away?
He's so tired and hungry he feels faint. He should get something to drink. He needs water. He can't remember the last time he drank anything that didn't have alcohol in it. Daniel wishes he had some liqueur now; he's so cold, it would warm him up.
His thin tee shirt does nothing to protect the from the chilly fall air. He had a jacket, but he had taken it off on the bus a few days ago. He fell asleep with it beside him and woke with it gone. He figures whoever stole probably needs it more than him. If Armand were here, he'd go buy him another. Armand handles things like that. Armand makes life easy.
Armand says getting money is simple. Then again, Armand can read people's minds so he has an unfair advantage.
Fuck, but Daniel would kill for a cigarette. He'd ask to bum one from somebody, but he knows he looks a mess. No one's gonna give out smokes to a vagabond. Not that it matters, it's nearly three in the morning. Everyone is asleep.
But it's Chicago; didn't he and Armand once have an apartment in Chicago? It may still be leased in Daniel's name. If only he could remember the way there.
Daniel wonders if he can beg a quarter off someone to make a call. There has to be some other night owl out and about. He could call and Armand would send one of the planes. Daniel hoped for the one with the bedroom, so he could sleep.
He's so cold and so tired.
Daniel finds a payphone. Remembers he can call collect. His fingers are numb and he's shaking so badly he drops the receiver. It's a small thing, but it causes him to burst into tears.
When he bends to pick it up, the world spins. Daniel has to grab unto the phone booth to stay upright. He manages to make the call and soon hears Armand's rich voice “Hello,”
Daniel weeps, unable to form words. He tries, but he keeps hiccuping.
“Daniel?”
Daniel nods, but realizes Armand can't see him. He takes a breath and calms down enough to reply “I wanna come home.”
“Of course, Daniel.”
Daniel sniffles. “Are you mad at me? For leaving?”
“Don't worry about that, beloved. I'll have you home soon. Now listen to me...”
Armand calmly and coolly explains that he's getting a room set up at a hotel for Daniel where he can shower and order room service. Perhaps even nap. The driver will fetch him and take him to the airport when the plane arrives.
Daniel is shown to his room as soon as he arrives at the hotel. There's already food waiting for him. Armand's ordered enough to feed three people. Daniel eats enough for two. He spends ages in the shower, washing off the grime. He wears the hotel bathrobe when he's finished. His clothes are disgusting. He crawls into bed wearing only it, and is woken a few hours later by a knock on the door.
Daniel doesn't recognize the man whose waiting outside, but he recognizes him. “Mr. Molloy, I'm to take you to the airport.”
The man, a middle age fellow with graying hair and laugh lines, looks him up and down. “Would you like me to purchase you some fresh clothes from the gift shop? They have sweat pants and tee shirts.”
Fresh clothes sound heavenly. A few minutes later Daniel is in gray sweats, a tee and a hoodie. The name of the hotel is emblazoned across the hoodie and up one leg of the sweats. Not his most fashionable look, but he's warm.
He falls back asleep in the car to the airport. When they board the train, Daniel is happy to see it's the one with the bedroom. He loves that plane, with it's velvet cushions and lace curtains.
It's nearing ten by the time they reach Night Island. Armand isn't waiting for him, but he's probably asleep. Daniel is shown to his room by another nameless servant. He collapses into bed and passes out.
Daniel isn't sure how long he sleeps, but he wakes to cool hands touching his face. He blinks open his eyes and sees Armand looking down at him. “What time is it?” Daniel slurs, still half asleep.
“Nearing six.”
Daniel tugs Armand's wrist. Armand understands what he's asking and slides into the bed next to him. Daniel immediately wraps his arms around him and buries his face in his chest. “You ate yet?”
“I wanted to see you first.”
“Mm, feed from me,” Daniel says. He misses the feel of Armand's fangs in his skin.
“Not now, my love. You're too weak.”
Daniel frowns. “Not fair.”
Armand's fingers grip his chin and turn his head up. “When you've rested, we'll talk about it.”
“Then kiss me, I've missed you,” Daniel demands. He hopes he doesn't sound like a child.
Armand gently releases him. “When you're back to full strength.”
Daniel whines. “Just one kiss.”
“Nothing is ever 'just one' with you,” says Armand, but he sounds fond.
“Come on, baby. It's been weeks.”
“Whose fault is that?” Armand says and Daniel wants to argue, remind Armand that he said some cruel things last time they fought. But mostly he just wants Armand to kiss him and tell him he's happy to see him.
Armand smiles and leans in to press the briefest of kisses to Daniel's eager mouth. “I'm happy to see you.”
Daniel grins at him. “You poking around my head?”
“You're thinking loudly.”
Daniel yawns. “I'm sleepy.”
“Then go to sleep.”
He shakes his head. “Don't wanna. I wanna be with you.”
Armand is clever enough to see where this is going. “Shall I stay with you?”
“That'd be nice.”
Armand runs a hand through his hair. Daniel presses into it like a cat. Armand dips down and kisses Daniel on the cheek. “Go to sleep, Daniel.”
Daniel barely closes his eyes before he falls asleep. There really is no place like home.
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