#finn appreciated yourself challenge 2k22

[fruitcoops]

Ugh ugh ugh so i have a roommate and we are really close friends which is a amazing. she’s been sick for about two weeks now and it sort of goes in and out: it’ll be ok for a few days and then get kind of sucky. The last two days she’s not been feeling well so I’ve been cooking for her and trying to get her to take naps and stuff but she has this really horrid sounding cough? And this is way to much information but here’s the kicker: I’m not sure if I’ve developed a crush? Either way I just really want her to feel better and I want to just cuddle her and rub her back and stuff but I don’t want it to be weird in case I do have a crush?? ANYWAY point is I was hoping that if you have a sec and the inspiration strikes that you’d write some o’knutzy or coops suck cuddles. It’s nothing life threatening just y’know feeling gross and the other(s) trying their best to help. Also if you don’t feel like writing that you can just revel in the silly silly story and the image of coops and o’knutzy cuddles, which are always happy :)))) -lilo

Fic O'Ween Day 10 & 11: Scary Movie & Costumes! Combining these two into one because Halloweekend is busy : ) Lilo, I don't know the whole context here, but it sounds like this is less of a crush and more that you want to take care of someone you care about. If the feelings keep Feeling after she's better, then that might be a crush (feel free to ignore if that's not true). Character credit goes to @lumosinlove!

TW illness (cough, stuffy nose), mention of throwing up (not described)

“You c��n go without me,” came a mumble from the pile of soft things on the couch. A sniffle followed. “I don’t mind.”

Leo sighed, easing himself into the space left over with a rub to the nearest socked foot. One sad, glassy eye peeked out from the depths of his own hoodie. “Harz…”

“S’okay, really,” Finn continued. “The party’ll be fun. I’ll be okay here.”

“We’re not leaving you alone like this.”

“I’m a big kid, I can—” A squeaky yawn interrupted him. “—handle it.”

“You don’t have to, though,” Leo said gently. They had been at it all afternoon, neither he nor Logan able to talk sense into a groggy and unhappy Finn. It had taken them long enough to lovingly bully him into letting them help once he realized he couldn’t get out of bed without wobbling—a headache had followed, then sniffles and a nasty cough, and by noon he finally gave in. The couch had been designated the ‘Sick Zone’. Finn alternated between naps and looking pathetic for the next six hours.

He fumbled for a tissue and blew his nose; Leo didn’t miss the wince that twitched at his shoulders and made a mental note to herd him into a hot shower as soon as possible. “I’m not exactly exciting right now.”

“And?”

“And so you should go to the—”

“No, Finn.”

“Go to the party!” he insisted, taking Leo’s hand in one of his clammy ones. “I promise I’ll be fine. You don’t have to sit here and worry over me when everyone else is having fun. They’ll miss you, Le.”

“And we would miss you.” Leo squeezed his hand. It felt warmer than before—too warm. He pushed down his worry and ran a thumb over the shadows beneath Finn’s eye. “I like you even when you’re not exciting, cher.”

The front door opened with a creak and they both looked up as Logan entered with an armful of grocery bags. His nose wrinkled. “Who closed the window? It’s—étouffant, you’ll stay sick if you don’t get air in here.”

“Finn was cold.” Leo leaned up for a kiss when Logan passed and saw him soften, looking between them on the couch. He made a small noise of agreement into Leo’s lips, then moved over to brush Finn’s hair off his forehead and leave a kiss in its wake.

“You’re hot, mon rouge.”

Finn cracked a smile. “Always am.”

Logan tsked at him, but the pass of his hand over the back of Finn’s head was gentle when he moved back to the kitchen. “I got your vegetables, Knutty, but I wasn’t sure what makes a medium onion different than regular ones.”

Leo blinked. “Are they…medium-sized?”

“That’s what I’m saying, I don’t know.” Several things clattered before Logan reappeared with two onions. “Is this medium? There were bigger ones and smaller ones.”

“How many onions did you buy?”

“Twelve.”

Leo laughed and started to get up, then paused and tucked Finn tighter under the blanket. “Don’t move.”

Finn gave him a rueful smile. “Can’t.”

“Shift change,” Leo teased, taking the onions from Logan.

A tug at his elbow stopped him just before he turned into the kitchen. “How long has he been that warm?” Logan asked, so quiet Leo could hardly hear him.

His heart sank. “Not sure. He wasn’t like that when you left, so I’d guess ten to fifteen minutes.”

Logan frowned. “Is he still talking bullshit about us going to the Halloween party?”

“Yeah. He’s pretty out of it, though.” Leo touched the fine bones of his wrist and smiled. “Thanks for going to the store, baby.”

Some of Logan’s worry lifted away into a pleased blush. “De rien, mon amour. Your food is always worth it.”

--

By 8 pm, Leo’s flu suspicions were confirmed in everything but a clinical diagnosis. Finn had given up on trying to convince them to have fun without him, laying his head in Logan’s lap or curling up tight against Leo’s ribs despite his feverish forehead. He dozed until dinner, managed to keep down a bowl of soup, and mustered just enough energy to argue with Logan as the evening’s entertainment.

I’m not going to throw up.

You look like you are.

No.

Just do it, you’ll feel better.

I would rather die.

He slept for 45 minutes to recover from such a harrowing conversation and did not—much to Logan’s annoyance—do the one thing that would make him feel better faster. Finn’s stubbornness, while rare, was damn near impossible to overcome. Leo was just grateful he took a hot shower with little cajoling, even if it meant he looked like the world’s cutest boiled lobster on the other side of it. The sides of his nose were starting to chap from the tissues. Better to nip that in the bud than deal with it for the next week and a half.

Finally, they settled on the couch and let the sounds of the TV fill the apartment. Leo could hear Finn breathing softly through his mouth while Logan combed his fingers through mostly-dry hair and rubbed Finn’s back at the same time. He pulled the edge of the blanket down over Finn’s feet and relaxed into the couch, exhausted. “Dumo sends well-wishes, by the way. Celeste wants to bring over some soup tomorrow.”

Finn made a quiet sound of acknowledgement; Logan cast him a smile that made Leo’s heart warm, reaching over to squeeze his arm. “Merci.”

“Boys?”

Leo’s sleepiness vanished in an instant and he sat up straighter, bending slightly to see Finn’s flushed face. “Hey, sweetheart, do you need something?”

He shook his head and shrugged the blanket up over his shoulder. “Can we—can we watch a scary movie?”

Leo looked over to Logan, whose face had fallen into something like distress. He raised a brow; Logan hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, ‘course we can,” Leo said. “Which one?”

“Don’t care.” One hand appeared to pat Logan’s knee. “You don’t have to stay for it. I know you don’t like them.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Logan promised with a kiss to the shell of Finn’s ear. “What kind of boyfriend would I be, eh? Leaving you when you’re sick. It hasn’t happened before and it won’t happen now.”

The faint sound of chaste kisses filled the background while Leo scrolled through the ‘Horror’ section. If he guessed correctly, Finn would be out cold in less than twenty minutes, and then they could change the show to something that wouldn’t petrify Logan for the next month. He didn’t have much of an opinion on scary movies, but that was one of the trials nobody warned him about when he got two boyfriends: movie night was like a judicial negotiation.

“Thank you for staying.” Finn’s voice was nearly inaudible against the opening music. “Both of you. This isn’t how you planned on spending the night, and you worked really hard to put together our costumes, so. You know. Thanks. And sorry.”

“Finn,” they chorused with equal degrees of heartbreak.

Leo pulled on the hem of his pajama pants until Finn looked back at him, altogether too drowsy and adorable for his own good. “If we had gone to that party, we’d spend the whole night worried about you because we care that you’re safe and healthy. Getting you Gatorade and making soup is what I wanted to do. It’s what we get to do for you, now.”

Finn still didn’t look convinced, but Logan moved his hand around to tip his chin up. “It’s not because you can’t take care of yourself,” he said quietly. “It’s because you don’t have to.”

It was a good thing Logan had guided Finn’s gaze away; Leo wasn’t sure he could have handled seeing whatever expression came across his face at that. The caving of Finn’s chest and the full-body tremor that went through him was enough to make his breath catch. “I know,” Finn rasped after a few moments. “God, sorry, I—yeah, I know. I’m working on it.”

“We know.” Leo folded a hand over his ankle, just for a point of contact. “I mean, yeah, I wish we could’ve gone because you’d look hot as Ferris Bueller and I desperately want to see Lo in a fringed jacket someday. But I’m not sad about staying in and watching movies, either. This is fun. Spending time with you two is what I want.”

Finn took a tissue from Logan and blew his nose with a miserable honk. “You never have been good at picking one or the other, huh?”

“Not once,” he laughed.

“Worked pretty well, though,” Logan noted. “I’m not complaining.”

“Choices are for chumps,” Finn agreed. It was good to see him smile. The moment was only ruined a little by a sudden, violent axe-murder occurring on the television—Leo counted them lucky that Logan didn’t launch their sick boyfriend off his lap with the force of his flinch.

“Can we please just watch Halloweentown?” he begged, clutching Finn’s shoulder and arm while Finn cackled himself into a coughing fit. “Or Casper? I’ll put up with Beetlejuice, I don’t care.”

“How about The Exorcist?” Finn suggested.

“I was thinking The Conjuring,” Leo added.

A flush rose to Logan’s cheeks and he leaned over to whack Leo on the arm with a pillow. “See if I ever buy you onions again, you ungrateful, evil, horrible—”