#sick for the third time this month with really bad flu can't go for a silly little walk or see friends or smoke weed or nothing

[tonysobranie]

if i don't get well enough to do literally anything that makes my life tolerable soon im going to implode

[sorinethemastermind]

Fluffcember 2024: Winter Flu | Rayllum & Sorvus Callum is determined to ask Rayla to be his girlfriend this Winter Break. But if he can't even start a fire, how is he supposed to create the perfect moment? Soren has decided to stay on campus this Christmas, but with Rayla and Callum as his only company, he's starting to feel like a third wheel. Except maybe it's not just the three of them left on campus after all...

 Corvus had been looking forward to the peace and quiet of a campus Christmas. Usually the school was bustling and loud. Too loud for Corvus' tastes. But not many students had chosen to stay for the holidays. They rarely did, not when they had to pay for room and board and all the eateries were closed.

 In fact, Corvus would say that only three kinds of students had stayed behind.

 The lonely ones.

 The lovesick ones.

 And whatever the boy at the end of the hall was.

 In Corvus' building there was only one other person who had chosen to stay on campus for the

holidays. His room was at the opposite end of the hall, and while Corvus had seen him around

school, they had never spoken.

 Until yesterday, that was. He'd come into the cafe while Corvus was tidying up, asking if he

could use their oven. Corvus had agreed - what was the harm? - and been pleasantly surprised

when he actually brought the baking tray back. Soren - that was his name - had invited him along to whatever gathering he and his friends were having. Corvus had declined, he was busy, after all. And he didn't know these people. He'd honestly thought that would be the end of it.

 But here he was again, ducking out of his room at an hour Corvus had thought only he woke up at. 

 Soren waved to him, and Corvus lifted a tentative hand in return. He was wearing a gray sweat set, much too thin for this time of year. But he didn't seem to notice the chill in the air. His eyes were very blue.

 Just like the cloudless sky that they emerged under. Corvus didn't usually spend much time on the school grounds, they were too busy for his liking, but with most of the other students away for the holidays, he had decided to try going for a morning jog. Apparently Soren had had a

similar idea. The pair of them did a few laps of the field, though Soren quickly outpaced him. Corvus didn't mind. He was out here for the peace and quiet, not the company.

 He reached their building a few minutes after the other man, pushing sweaty hair out of his

face, air puffing out in clouds of steam before him. Soren was panting, but threw him a wide

grin as he approached.

 "Not half bad for your first time."

 "It's not my first time." Corvus told him, doing some finishing stretches.

 "Really? I don't feel like I've ever seen you with the group before."

 Ah. So that was it.

 "I usually do my runs at night." he admitted. "It's more... peaceful."

 Soren chuckled. "Well, if you ever get sick of your solitude, we meet up every morning around six."

 "Noted." Corvus tucked the information away. Not that he would need it. The last thing he wanted was for his daily runs to become another social event. School already provided enough of those as it was.

 "Well, guess I'll be seeing you around." Soren told him with another grin. He was still panting, though he'd stopped his run before Corvus had, and seemed to be struggling to catch his breath.

 "Are you alright?"

 "Yeah." Soren wheezed. "It's nothing."

 "You're sick." Corvus realized. "You should be resting."

 "I'm fine." Soren reiterated. "Really. It's nothing."

 "There's been something going around school all month." Corvus told him. "You probably caught it. You shouldn’t be out in this cold, let alone running.”

 ‘How else am I supposed to sweat it out?” Soren asked him. "Anyway, I took something for it earlier. It's only expired by a few months, so it should be kicking in any minute now-”

 “You shouldn't be taking expired medications!" Corvus said, eyes widening. 

 Soren shrugged. "I mean, it's just a best by date. Maybe it's not at it's best anymore, but it should still work even if it's at it's... regularest."

 "That's not how that works." Corvus told him, following Soren up the stairs and into their building. "You should go into town and get something new."

 "My sister has my car."

 "Uber?"

 "And get them sick? No way."

 "You could doordash it-" Corvus began, but Soren shook his head again.

 "I'm fine. Honest. It'll pass in a few days."

 He stifled a cough - not very well, Corvus thought - and then they were at the door to his room.

 “If you stick around you’re gonna get sick, too.” Soren said, his voice a little nasally, one hand resting on the doorknob. “Not, uh, that it’s that bad or anything. Not bad at all. Probably not even a big deal-”

 Corvus sighed. Why did he even care?

“Well, you should rest.”

Whatever the reason, he did.

 “Alright. I’ll think about it.” Soren said, opening the door to his room. Corvus nodded, turned, and walked back down towards his own.

 The door swung shut behind him and Corvus was standing in the doorway to his room. He stood there for a moment, sighed, and grabbed his keys from their place on the wall. The pharmacy was barely a five minute drive, and a bottle of tylenol and a bag of cough drops wasn’t that expensive. And from there it was only another few minutes to the grocery store, so he might as well…

 Twenty minutes later Corvus found himself standing in front of Soren’s door holding a shopping bag filled with a bottle of tylenol, a bag of cough drops, a box of ginger chamomile tea, and a can of chicken soup. He dropped it off, knocked once, and hurried away down the hall.

 He was almost at his door when he heard the one behind him open and turned back to see Soren standing there, looking through the bag. He glanced up, a slow smile spreading across his face.

 “Hey, thanks. You didn’t have to do this.���

 “Can’t have you getting anyone else sick.” Corvus said.

 “Yeah, well. Still. Thanks.”

 “Sure.”

 Soren smiled again, blowing a strand of blond hair out of his face and glancing back down at the bag in his hands.

 “Just let me know what I owe you.”

 “You don’t owe me anything.” Corvus said.

 “Hm. We’ll see about that.” Soren winked at him as they both returned to their own rooms. Soren most likely to rest. Corvus to hide the flush spreading across his face.