#i also declare that simon is unusually clingy and touchy when hes sick

[whumpbug]

no one asked nor requested this but. i had to. i promised a sickfic and i had to deliver because i am finally feeling vaguely ok enough (-｡-;)

please enjoy this little fluffy moment between my boys that are definitely totally just friends and nothing else

whumpee: Simon

caretaker: Archie

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The catalyst had been Simon’s shift in the pediatric unit.

Contrary to what most people might think, Simon actually really loved kids. He found working with them to be very entertaining, and they tended to bring out a softer side of Simon.

It’s just that, well, he was assigned to the pediatric unit in January, the height of flu season.

Now, Simon prided himself on being a very healthy man despite some of his unhealthier habits. He may not sleep as often as he should, but he drank lots of water and ate well and got his flu shot every year.

So when he came home from his shift feeling a little more run-down than usual, he chalked it up to skipping a cup of coffee in the morning and moved on.

He made himself a hasty dinner (a leftover bowl of microwave mac ‘n cheese from the night before) and settled into the couch, content to nap the rest of the day away in preparation for his shift tomorrow, when suddenly his phone chimed.

It was a text from Archie.

[Hey Simon! Just checking to make sure we’re still on to go see that movie tonight? I just emailed you your ticket!]

Fuck.

Simon had completely forgotten about his plans with Archie. Plans that had been in place for nearly two weeks now. Plans that took place in thirty minutes. Flaking was out of the question. No, Simon couldn’t do that to Archie, not after he finally agreed to take a day off of patrol to do this with him.

Simon dragged a hand across his face and groaned lowly. He shot Archie a quick reply of confirmation and let his phone slip from his hand.

He could sleep when he was dead. He could power through a few more hours, surely.

He got up and reluctantly made his way to his bathroom to get ready. The reflection in the mirror looked.. off. His hair was mussed and his entire face was paler than he’d seen in a while, save for the red splotches high on his cheeks. The dark circles that were ever-present were somehow even darker and more pronounced. He looked terrible.

Simon blinked dazedly at the mirror before spurring into action. He doused his hair with water and combed out all the tangles. The wet hair on his neck made him shudder. Then, he quickly splashed his face with cold water to eke more color into it and changed out of his scrubs and into his shirt. 

Once he deemed his appearance acceptable, he texted Archie that he was on his way and locked his door behind him.

••••

Simon arrived at the theater feeling even worse than he had before.

It was with great shame that he silently admitted to himself that he may have picked something up from work.

Now, to go along with the exhaustion, was a vicious chill that clamped around his body and had him pulling his knit sweater even tighter around himself. He also had a splitting headache that made it hard to think and he felt vaguely nauseous, but he elected to ignore that particular symptom.

Just a few more hours, Guevara. You can do this.

He straightened and put on a brave face before finding Archie standing outside the theater and walked right up to him.

“Simon! You made it!” Archie chirped, practically bouncing over to him. “God, I’m so excited. I’ve been wanting to see this movie for months!”

Simon smiled, and despite everything, it wasn’t forced. They were going to watch some new murder mystery movie-- not necessarily a movie Simon would have picked out himself, but seeing Archie so riled up made it worth it.

“Well what are we waiting for? Wouldn’t want to miss those trailers, would we?” Simon managed, leading the way for Archie. He walked in front, mostly so he could hide his sickly appearance from Archie until they were in the dimly lit theater.

Soon, they were situated in the fold-up seats with a big bucket of popcorn. Archie was practically vibrating with excitement, and as much as Simon wanted to match the energy, he could feel himself deteriorating.

He was regretting not washing his hands more often with those kids.

His entire body was hurting now. His headache was raging on, even when the lights shut off for the beginning of the movie. His eyelashes felt like they had weights on them.

Simon tried to stay awake, he really did. Archie had been looking forward to this little outing for so long, and the last thing Simon wanted to do was make his illness known and ruin the evening.

He tried various methods-- biting his tongue, digging nails into his palm, adjusting his position every five seconds-- but he found that his efforts were in vain.

Soon enough, his eyes drooped shut and his head lolled forward.

He hoped Archie would be too enthralled in the movie to notice.

••••

The first thing Simon registered when he woke up was someone shaking his shoulder, and the blurry silhouette of credits rolling on the movie screen in front of him.

“Simon? Hey, wake up. Are you okay?” Archie’s voice filtered in.

Simon groaned softly and scrunched his eyebrows together at the disturbance. He felt a hand settle on his forehead, then slide down to his cheek, and finally his neck. He couldn’t help but lean into the cool touch.

“Oh Simon.. You’re burning up,” Archie cooed, smoothing some hair away from Simon’s sweaty brow. “Why didn’t you say anything..?”

Simon’s head slumped forward as he groaned again. He was having trouble focusing on Archie’s voice, let alone what he was saying. He felt so groggy. Usually he could bounce back from a nap with no problem, but presently, every muscle in his body was screaming at him to curl up and go back to sleep.

He whined lowly. Not only did he feel so miserable, but he had knocked out for the entirety of the movie Archie waited months to see. He had to be the worst friend ever. He hoped Archie would forgive him.

“Hey, it's okay! We can rewatch it another day! Lets just get you home, okay? I’m going to carry you,” Archie declared, adjusting himself a bit.

Something about this didn’t compute. Simon knew he was taller than Archie. There was no way he would be able to carry him all the way to the parking structure where he parked. It couldn’t be possible.

“I have super-strength, silly,” Archie whispered with a soft laugh. “Carrying you feels like carrying a carton of milk to me.”

Oh right. Super-strength. Made sense.

Simon didn’t have too much time to dwell on it before his center of gravity suddenly tilted and he was pressed close to a warm body.

Instinctively, he curled up against it. He let his head fall on Archie’s shoulder and draped his arm around his neck. Archie was so warm and he felt so cold. It was heavenly to be so close to him.

“Someone’s clingy,” Archie mused, beginning the gentle walk to the car.

The process of getting to the car went by in a blur, but Simon was eventually settled in the passenger seat, his own sweater draped across his legs and Archie’s pulled up to his chin.

“Get some sleep. I’ll carry you into the apartment when we get there.”

Simon slept.

••••

The next time Simon woke up, he was laying on Archie’s couch with a thick Darth Vader print blanket. Despite this, he was somehow still shivering. 

“Oh, you’re awake!” Archie smiled as he crouched next to Simon and brushed a knuckle over his brow. “Still warm. I wanted to wait until you woke up to give you medicine.”

Simon blinked. Something felt wrong. Archie shouldn’t be the one doing this. This was one of his rare days off where he let himself just be a person. He shouldn’t be stuck looking after a med student who failed to take the proper precautions during his residency.

Simon couldn’t allow it.

He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. His arms shook as he pushed himself up.

“No. I’m fine.. Archie.. you should be relaxing.. it’s.. your day off,” Simon managed, yanking the blanket off his legs, only to be met with a ferocious shiver that overtook his entire body.

Archie didn’t react. He only calmly guided Simon back to the couch and covered him with the blanket yet again. Simon couldn’t help but be grateful.

By the look on Archie’s face, Simon had a vague idea that in his previous feverish hazes, he had tried to escape as well.

“Respectfully, if anyone needs to relax here, it’s you. You can hardly even stand,” Archie said firmly, running a hand through Simon’s sweaty hair.

Simon shuddered at the touch and melted, letting his eyes fall closed once again to avoid eye contact. Damn it Archie. Stop making this harder than it needs to be.

“Simon.”

Archie’s voice was more intense than Simon had heard it in a long time, and he forced himself to meet his gaze.

“I truly can’t think of a better way to spend my day off. Let me take care of you. Please? You always do it for me,” He half-whispered, the intensity replaced with a quiet plea.

Simon didn’t respond. Instead, he pulled the blanket tighter and leaned into Archie's hand as it combed through his locks. 

Fine. If that was how it was going to be, oh well.

Archie smiled at Simon’s silent acceptance, and leaned over to kiss the top of his head.

“Get some rest. I’m going to go warm up some soup and get you some ibuprofen.”

Simon sleepily watched him disappear into the kitchen, looking nearly as excited as he did at the start of the movie.

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