#sinus infection flush

[kebriones]

UH OH MY SINUSES

[many-gay-magpies]

i feel Bad

[satorusugurugurl]

Wake Up Call

Summary: Nanami Kento does everything in his power to try to wake you up for a meeting. But damn you're too cute!

Pairing: Nanami Kento x FAB!Reader

Word Count: 942

Warning: fluff, suggestive

A/N: Staring Fluffy Fridays! Every Friday you’ll get a fluffy one shot/drabble! 😘💚 I have a severe sinus infection, so I’ll be at home all weekend working on requests and stuff! Antibiotics here we go!! (totally not rolling on the floor in pain)🥲

The annoying buzzing of your phone pulled you away from the cozy sheets. Whining in protest, you smother your face back into the sheets. Nanami watched you from the bedroom door, a gentle smile tugging at the corner of his lips. You were so adorable when you were sleepy like this.

Your alarm kept blaring, making you throw the covers over your face, clung Nanami in that he needed to step in. He trod carefully over to you, his palm gently pressing against your upper arm and moving his hand up and down in gentle strokes, watching you stir slightly, heavy eyelids lifting to gaze at him.

“Love, you need to wake up.”

“Mmm.” You protested, shoving your face into his pillow that you spooned.

“That was the third time you snoozed your alarm. You asked me to wake you up, do you remember?” strands of your hair fell over your face as you hummed. “You have a meeting this morning with Gojo and Yaga.” Surely your boyfriend thought that would do the trick, but you didn't budge.”Love, your meeting concerns the curriculum you're starting on barriers.” You cuddled the pillow more, moaning softly.

Nanami hated seeing you so tired. You have been working so hard for the last month. Working overtime, skipping meals, not getting enough sleep. All of those factors spoke volumes about your character. You were hard-working and devoted to making the world a better case, ridding it of one curse at a time. Regardless of how strong your work ethic was, you also needed some time to rest and unwind. Nanami wanted you to sleep, but he also knew how hard you worked on your presentation for the meeting. A meeting a particular coworker wouldn’t shut up over if you were to show up at the last minute.

“Gojo is going to tease you if you show up late.”

“Mmm, stupid blindfolded bastard.” You slurred, curling in on yourself. “He makes’ fun of me Imma snap that dirty blindfold against his face like a rubber band.”

Nanami sputtered a laugh, his large hand reaching up to stifle it. You were so cute and blunt when you were sleepy like this! Nanami turned the opposite way, laughing harder into his palm, cheeks flushed while his shoulders shook.

“Sorry to break it to you,” he chuckled, shaking his head, “but you’ll have to get through his infinity to do that.”

“Minor setback,”

“My love.” his freehand trailed down, gently massaging your hip, peeking out from underneath the sheet. You didn’t move, breathing deeper as you slowly drifted back to sleep. “Come on, you need to get up.”

“Ken~ five more minutes, please~”

With a glance at his watch, Nanami sighed in defeat. You’d still have time to make it to work if you picked up breakfast to go. He could put in a mobile order; that way, you could sleep in just a bit more like you wanted. Like he wanted, you deserved to get as much rest as possible.

“Fine, I’m snoozing your alarm for eight minutes,” he repeated to your dozing form. “If you fight me on it in eight minutes, I will be dragging you into the shower myself.”

“Ooookay, love ya’,” your sleepy form whispered.

“Love you too, honey.”

Eight minutes later, you groveled, hiding under the sheets as Nanami stomped in. He waited briefly to see if you would get up on your own. Without hesitation, your hand snaked out from under the layers of blankets and hit the snooze button for a fourth time.

Releasing a heavy sigh, Kento rolled his sleeves up to his elbows before digging you out from your fortress of blankets. His sudden actions had your heart racing and eyes going wide. Having him pick you up like that was a great wake-up call! You giggled and kicked your feet as Nanami carried you into the shower, not fazed by his tight grip.

“There.” Kento placed you down in front of the shower. “Get to it.” Fingers yanked your shirt over your head, tossing it to the floor. “You’re going to be late.” But as he turned to walk out, you grabbed him, pulling him back into your bare chest.

“Oooh, Kento~ let me thank you for the wake-up call!” There was no chance you would let him leave now. You were wide awake and ready to go as you pulled him into the shower with a smile so sweet it could give him cavities.

Despite Nanami’s best efforts, you still arrived ten minutes late to work. Hair was messily done, a cold latte in your hands, and your uniform buttons were mismatched. Yaga jumped as you slammed a box of donuts down on the table as a makeshift apology before waving bye to Nanami, who headed to his office.

“Oooh~ my oh my! Ex-salaryman jujutsu sorcerer and our talisman expert had a lovely morning!” Satoru reached into the donut box, licking his lips as he took a bite from a jelly-filled donut. “You got a hickey on your neck, by the way, ~”

You gave Satoru your best Geto Suguru smile and head tilt. “Hey, Gojo, come here; you have powdered sugar on your blindfold.”

“Oh!?” he leaned forward, grinning. “Thanks for telling me I owe you big—” You yanked his blindfold away from his face, snarling down at the blue-eyed man before releasing it with a snap. “OW!!” Hearing Gojo’s yelp, Nanami roared with laughter as he continued down the hall; what a great way to start his morning.

Forever Tag List:

@darkstarlight82 @pandoness @nealeart

[mischievousmoony]

hello ! i saw that you were open for requests. could you do sick reader and james being the best bestfriend ever (and oblivious as hell) takes care of them? maybe they could be childhood friends so james doesn't realize that what he's doing in inherently romantic, like kissing reader's forehead to check their temp, giving his shoulder to them to lay on, sleeping in the same bed, and such.

AND even after reader is no longer sick, james still insist on spoon feeding them and acting like a helicopter mom.

- 🌱

what a lovely idea! thank you for the request <3 i love this because earlier this summer i had a nasty sinus infection for like 3 weeks :/ i wish i had a james potter then lol also i noticed you used they/them pronouns in ur req. im not sure if you wanted gn!reader, but i think it ended up being that way anyway. i didn't need to use pronouns, or even y/n, in this fic <3

𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎

⟢ james potter x reader ⊹ 1.4k ⟢ warnings/tags: fluff, no use of y/n, no magic

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

It was only an hour ago that you told James over the phone not to worry about you.

Now, he stands in your bedroom, having let himself into your flat with the spare key that you that keep at his parents' house for emergencies— which he uses very often, but hardly for emergencies.

"James," you complain in a nasally voice, "I'm going to get you sick."

He plants his hands on his hips and looks at you scrutinizingly. It reminds you of Euphemia when she would scold you and James as children, and truthfully, when she sometimes scolds you these days.

"Nonsense, my immune system is built like a tank."

"James," you whine further.

He ignores you as he approaches your bedside, frowning as he takes in your sickly appearance. He gently brushes away the sweat-drenched hair from your forehead.

"My poor thing," he comments before bending down to press a lingering kiss to your forehead.

"You don't feel terribly warm, but you look flushed," James' wrist swivels to press the back of his hand to your cheek, "Do you feel hot?"

"A- a little," you croak, knowing full well that a raging blush is the real culprit behind your reddening face.

James' frown deepens as he dives into his next area of concern, "Have you been eating? You hardly had anything in your fridge."

"I have enough peanut butter and jelly to get me through an apocalypse. Why were you in my fridge?"

"I had to put away the groceries."

Your eyebrows draw together, "What groceries!?"

"I bought you groceries," he says nonchalantly.

"Why would you buy me groceries!?"

James is suddenly sheepish. He rubs the back of his neck, "It's not much. Mostly ingredients for the chicken soup I'm gonna make."

"Make? If you really must you could've just gotten a can of–"

"Eugh! I would never subject you to canned soup!"

You roll your eyes at his dramatics.

"That processed shit is just going to make you feel worse," he adds.

"Does Effie know she's created a monster?" you mumble to the ceiling.

James' chuckles, "Look, I'm already here, I've already bought the food. Just let me make you a nice soup and then I'll get out of here." James raises his hands in the air to indicate his surrender to compromise.

Your head hurts too much to continue an argument that you know you won't win, so you relent and wave him off to the kitchen.

Before James leaves you, "Are you comfortable? Do you need anything before I go?"

"I'm fine."

"You sound stuffy. Is there a lot of pressure? Do you like a hot or a cold compress?"

You wince as you imagine a cold compress, feeling like that would make your headache somehow feel sharper against your brain.

"Hot."

James smiles, happy that you're beginning to give into his care, and disappears from your sight.

He returns with a warm, damp cloth and a paper shopping bag stuffed under his arm. He starts unloading his haul onto your night table.

"I brought you the nice tissues, the ones with the lotion so that they don't irritate your nose. And are you taking medicine? I wasn't sure what your symptoms were or what you usually take so I got stuff for everything. I've got nasal sprays, decongestants, cough syrups— which I'm pretty sure you hate so I bought lozenges too."

You watch despairingly as he sets medicine after medicine down.

"I took paracetamol an hour ago," you inform him.

"That's it? You could at least use the nasal spray then. Here, let me–"

You place a hand over his that fiddles with the cap of the spray, "I've got it. Just go make your soup."

James looks up from the little white bottle, "Oh yeah, sure." But he hesitates before he goes, "You want a lozenge though?"

You yield to James' incessant efforts, figuring he would feel better if you let him do something for you. You hold out your hand to accept the lozenge but as soon as he sees you nod, he is already set on removing its waxy wrap and popping it in your mouth himself.

At last, he presses the warm, damp cloth gently over your closed eyes and retreats to your kitchen.

He reappears every so often to rewarm the cloth that's over your eyes, bring you cups of water or herbal tea, and make sure that you're still comfortable. He's offered to fluff your pillows five times.

The next time he enters your bedroom, he's finally carrying a bowl of steaming soup, one of your dishcloths a barrier between his hands and the hot porcelain.

You sit and hold out your hands to accept the bowl.

"Oh, it's far too hot for you to hold," James says, choosing to ignore the fact that he is doing just fine holding it himself.

He plants himself on the edge of your bed and starts blowing on a spoonful of the savory soup.

"You can't be serious," you mutter, sniffling.

"Just lean back and relax," James instructs, "let me take care of you."

James looks at you with the roundest, most doe-like eyes can can muster. Oh, those stupid big brown eyes— it's impossible to resist them.

You let James feed you what just might be the best soup you've ever tasted. Rich flavors dance on your tongue and you try not to let your eyes flutter closed in bliss, but the enjoyment is written across your face anyway. He refrains from teasing you, feeling too much pity for your being unwell to make any fun.

"Is this helping any?" James checks, blowing on another spoonful of broth.

You hum affirmatively, "It's really nice," you murmur, letting the warmth of the soup spread across your chest.

A prideful smile finds its way onto James' lips.

After he he scrapes the last bit of soup onto the spoon and brings it to your mouth, he places the empty bowl onto your night table. You realize that you still need to thank him and you share words of gratitude as you wring out your neck.

"You alright?"

"A bit stiff from being cooped up in bed," you roll out your shoulders.

"Well, you needed your rest," James says, studying you. "Here, scoot up."

You look at him curiously as he helps you scoot forward. When he starts settling in behind you, your eyes round.

"James!"

You've lost count of how many times you've uttered his name in scolding today. Your face flushes crimson and you count yourself lucky that he at least can't see it this time.

James shushes you, and your protests die in your throat when his hands apply a satisfying pressure to your neck.

He can't help but chuckle, nor can he help seek your approval, "Helping?"

"Uh-huh," you sigh, your eyes fluttering closed, and you feel James' body rumble with laughter against you.

The coming days play out similarly, and you've quickly ceased protesting against him. James attends to your every need and casually showers you in affection day after day.

He even insists on staying over some nights, which you do protest against, as he means to sleep on your couch which is not even long enough for him to lay flat. But you need not worry about that, because when night falls he ends up dozing off next to you in bed, where he intended to only stay until you fell asleep.

In the mornings, neither of you seem to mind waking up in each others arms.

Within a few days, your health improves, but this doesn't stop James from continuing to tend to you.

"I haven't run a fever in days!" you protest as James' lips still against your forehead for several seconds.

"You never know," James mumbles against your forehead before pulling away.

You huff as you meet his eyes on his retreat, "I'm not sick anymore, James."

"You still sniffle sometimes," he shrugs, turning to collect the empty bowl on your night table, which he fed you fresh stew out of for lunch this afternoon.

You chuckle at his antics, "It's just a lingering sniffle, it will probably clear up by tomorrow. Besides, I hardly need someone taking care of me for that."

James pulls his lips into a timid line, feeling quite sheepish. He hides his face as he turns to leave your room with the dirty dish.

He tsks as he formulates an excuse for himself, "Or it means that your illness is coming back for a second round. What kind of friend would I be if I don't make sure it's gone before I set you loose?"

James makes his way to the kitchen to wash your dishes, seemingly unaware that he might enjoy taking care of you a bit more than a friend would. Or maybe he’s simply embraced the comfort of being exactly where he wants to be.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

[daisies-daydreams]

Can I request a oneshot where Keegan has a really bad migraine with a fever and the 141 gets a little jealous when Y/N who's a doctor takes care of him

Doctor's Orders (Keegan P. Russ x F!Doctor!Reader)

Pairing: Keegan P. Russ x F!Doctor!Reader Category: Fluff Warnings: Swearing, Depictions of Medical Examinations, Jealous!141, Implications of Violence, Different POVs Word Count: 1.3k+

A/N: Hello there! I'm so so sorry it's taken me this long to reply to your request, but I hope you enjoy it! 💖

You sighed as you stepped into your office, the welcoming sight of your Keurig drawing you towards your desk. It wasn’t the routine medical check-ups that got you…it was your patients. If you hadn’t taken the Hippocratic Oath, you’re pretty sure you would’ve strangled them. One after the other, they never failed to flash you a cheeky grin, throw a wink, or say some cheesy pick-up line. 

You popped a new pod into the Keurig before sinking into your swivel chair. You rubbed your temples as you took a deep breath, the stress melting away as you felt the sunlight pour in through your window. A knock on the door suddenly stirred you from your thoughts.

"Duty calls," you muttered. You sat up straight and maneuvered a bit in your chair. “Come in,” you said. You raised a brow as the door creaked open before a familiar face appeared. 

“Good to see you, Russ,” you smiled as you slid your hand around the handle of your warm mug. Keegan was one of your favorite patients. Despite being curt, he was always respectful towards you. You frowned when you saw his unusually rosy cheeks and a sheen of sweat covering his face. 

“Russ, what’s wrong?” you asked as he sat in the chair across from you. The man’s dark eyes looked strained as he clenched his jaw. 

“I’ve got a killer headache, doc,” Keegan mumbled. “Feel like I have a pretty crappy fever, too,” he added as he folded his hands together. You scanned him up and down. Usually you refuse to see patients outside of office hours…but since he’s not really being a bother… 

You set your piping drink onto your desk before taking a forehead thermometer from one of your drawers. You saw his eyes soften as you stepped over, your white lab coat swaying a bit as you came near him. 

“Let’s have a look-see,” you smiled gently. He nodded, only to grunt and squeeze his eyes shut. You turned on the thermometer before scanning his forehead. You frowned when you looked at the small screen. 

“Well, your temperature is a bit higher than average,” you said. Keegan remained quiet as you pulled out a small flashlight. “I’m going to shine these in your eyes for just a moment,” you said. You examined his pupils, watching as they shrank in the light. “Hmm…doesn’t look like you have a concussion,” you thought aloud as you turned off the flashlight. “Are you experiencing any other symptoms? Shortness of breath? Sore throat?” you asked as you pushed the buds of your stethoscope into your ears. Keegan shook his head as you placed the diaphragm over his sternum. Your brows furrowed as the sound of his rapid heartbeat pounded in your ears. 

“Your heart’s beating awfully fast,” you frowned. You noticed his cheeks darkened another shade of red as you slid the metal piece to another part of his chest. “Take one deep breath for me,” you said as you took a deep inhale. Keegan followed you, his lungs sounding just fine. You hummed before checking his back. You flushed a little at the feeling of his muscles flexing beneath your simple touch. You cleared your throat and quickly stepped back. 

“I’ve had migraines before, but never one with a fever,” Keegan spoke up. You turned your head towards him and nodded. 

“Are you prone to sinus infections?” you asked as you splayed a wooden depressor over his tongue. The man blinked before slowly nodding. 

“‘Tis the season,” he said with a shrug. You chuckled a little before tossing the tool into the bin. 

“Well Russ, if you start to feel worse, come back and see me. But for now, I want you to rest, drink lots of fluids, and take plenty of ibuprofen and some mucus relievers. You can find them over the counter,” you said. Your breath hitched as he suddenly stood up, his chest nearly brushing over yours. 

“Thanks, doc,” he said, his voice dropping a few octaves as he gazed into your eyes. You nodded as you smoothed your hands over your lab coat. 

“Of course,” you smiled with a nod. You walked him to the door, your brows arching as he paused in the threshold. 

“You know, you’re really good to us, (L/N). I’m not sure how us idiots would survive without someone like you looking out for us,” he grinned. Your throat tightened as you squeezed your hands together. 

“T-Thank you,” you mirrored his expression. Keegan gave a short nod, though you found it strange how quickly his demeanor shifted as he walked down the hall. You looked on before slowly closing your door. 

----

Keegan rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. Of course his heart was beating rapidly: he was mere inches from the most beautiful woman on base. He whistled to himself as he walked out of the clinic and into the rec hall. He paused in the doorway when he saw the 141 crew staring daggers at him just as he entered. 

“Is there something on my face?” Keegan asked. 

“Nah,” Soap said as he crossed his arms and glanced away. The American man raised a brow. 

“Come on, guys. This isn’t Mean Girls,” he grunted. 

“Then why are you lying like Regina George?” Gaz huffed. Keegan’s eyes widened a little before he composed himself. 

“People can still talk if they have a migraine, Garrick,” he said. 

“Sure, but you’re acting awfully spry for someone who has a fever, too,” Ghost grunted. Keegan’s lips tightened into a straight line. The men around him wore the nastiest glares as he cleared his throat. 

“I got better,” he said as he glanced behind his shoulder. 

“God dammit, Russ. Playing the wounded gazelle gambit? Really?” Gaz groaned. Keegan simply shrugged. 

“Hey, it worked,” he said. The three men’s eyes widened. 

“What?” Soap asked. The American smirked. 

“While the three of you were drooling over (Y/N), I took a more…subtle, approach,” he said. “Simple as that,” Keegan added. 

“Let’s get him,” Ghost said as he cracked his knuckles. The Sergeant held up his hands. 

“C’mon, gents, are we really going to resort to violence over our doctor?” he asked. The 141 silently stared at him as they slowly approached. 

“I guess that answers my question,” he laughed before turning on his heel. 

Epilogue 

“What exactly did you do to get a black eye?” you asked with a worried expression. Keegan hissed as he placed an ice pack over his dark, swollen eye. 

“You know me, always taking a joke too far,” the Sergeant shrugged. He glanced over at the door to see the 141 scowling at him. 

“You poor thing. First you have a fever and a migraine, and now you’ve got a big bruise on your face,” you frowned. Keegan nodded slowly and winced as his eye throbbed. 

“Just my luck, right?” he chuckled softly. You sighed. 

“Seriously, I want you to go back to your quarters and get some good rest. Doctor’s orders,” you said as you pointed your pen at him before writing him a note. 

“Yes ma’am,” Keegan grins softly as he takes the note between two of his fingers. You offer him a small smile as he slips off the examination table. 

“Take care, Russ. And I better not see you for the rest of the day, okay?” you giggled. Keegan’s heart skipped a beat at your bubbly laugh. 

“What if I saw you for drinks this Friday instead?” he asked. You paused as your cheeks flushed a little. You bit your bottom lip as you squeezed the cord of your stethoscope. 

“Depends on where we go,” you said as you narrowed your eyes. 

“Your choice,” Keegan replied. Your face lit up a little as you hummed. 

“Alright, deal. But on one condition,” you said. Keegan’s eyes sparkled as he nodded. 

“Sure. What’s on your mind, doc?” he asked as he straightened his posture. 

“You have to promise to stop pretending to be sick just to come see me, alright?” you said with a wry grin. Keegan’s jaw dropped. 

So much for being subtle. 

----

Thank you for reading! ❤️

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[aventurineswife]

Helloooo could we get something cozy about Welt and/or Dan Heng with a sick Reader? Platonic or romantic, doesn’t matter. Basically, Reader had a case of stubborn allergies that they didn’t realize became a sinus infection until they started having difficulty breathing; and the next thing they know, they came down with bronchitis. Reader usually gets a little more irritated and snappy when they get sick, but this time because of the infection, they’re so tired they don’t even have the energy to get annoyed, even if March and the Trailblazer are making some kind of ruckus outside of Reader’s room. Speaking from experience, it involves a lot of sneezing and coughing, chest pain from even just breathing, and being unable to sleep despite the exhaustion. 🤧 Ugh…

Through Every Cough and Sigh

Tags: Welt x Reader, Dan Heng x Reader, Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, Caretaking, Fluff, Soft Moments, Slow Burn.

A/N: I’m so sorry for what you're going through, It’s the worst when allergies turn into something worse. That constant coughing, the struggle to catch your breath, and the chest pain make everything feel so exhausting. I know it can be frustrating when you're stuck trying to sleep but can’t. Please make sure to rest as much as you can and drink plenty, even if it’s hard. I hope you feel better soon! You’ve got this! 🤧💪❤️‍🩹

You had been sneezing incessantly for days, your chest tight, your breathing shallow. But it wasn’t until your throat felt like it was closing up that you realized the situation had escalated. A persistent sinus infection had spiraled into full-blown bronchitis, leaving you exhausted and vulnerable, unable to muster even a hint of annoyance at the usual noise outside your room.

Welt, who had always carried a quiet yet unwavering sense of duty, had noticed the shift in your demeanor. You hadn’t spoken much in the past hours, only the occasional strained cough or wheeze breaking the silence. He stood at the door, hesitant for a moment before pushing it open with a quiet creak.

Inside, you lay sprawled across the bed, your face flushed with fever. You barely had the strength to lift your head when you saw Welt enter.

“Feeling worse than I expected, hm?” Welt’s voice was soft, but there was an edge of concern in it that was rare for him to show so plainly. He set a small tray of tea and medicine on the bedside table, making his way over to the chair nearby. His eyes scanned the room for anything that could make you more comfortable.

“Not like I could’ve avoided it,” you muttered weakly, your voice hoarse, but Welt could see the exhaustion in your eyes. You weren’t angry, as you usually would be. You were too tired for that.

“I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice in this. You’ve pushed yourself too hard lately,” Welt said, his tone gentle but firm. He took a seat next to the bed, lifting the cup of tea and holding it out. “Drink this. It’ll help with the cough.”

Your lips twitched into a half-hearted smile, too weak to protest. Your hands felt too heavy to lift, but you managed to grip the cup with a sigh of relief. The warmth of the tea soothed your throat, and for a moment, you felt at ease.

“I’d argue with you, but…” Your voice faltered as you took another sip, your eyes fluttering closed in exhaustion.

Welt chuckled softly, the sound rich and comforting. “You don’t have the strength to argue right now, do you?”

“Nope…” you muttered with a small sigh, still holding the cup. The room was silent for a moment, save for the sound of March and the Trailblazer’s antics outside.

Welt’s gaze softened as he watched you rest. There was an old saying that heroes often didn’t get the luxury of rest, but that didn’t apply here. He wasn’t some god or immortal; he was just a man who had lived through countless struggles, and this time, his role wasn’t to fight. It was to take care of those he cared about.

He remained by your side, his presence a comforting constant as you drifted in and out of sleep. The noise outside continued, but it didn’t seem to reach your ears. It was quiet here, in your space, with Welt there to make sure you didn’t have to face this alone.

Your struggle with your health had taken a toll. A simple allergy had snowballed into a full-blown sinus infection, and by the time you realized it, your body had started to betray you. Coughing, sneezing, and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion had replaced your usual sharpness, leaving you too tired to even feel irritated at the noise coming from outside your room.

Dan Heng had noticed the subtle signs of your illness early on, the constant sneezing, the quiet wheezes that escaped your lips. At first, he assumed you would push through it as you always did. But when the coughing became more frequent and painful, and your face grew pale from fever, he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

“[Name],” Dan Heng’s voice was low, though his concern was clear as he stepped into your room, carrying a damp cloth. He didn’t ask if you were feeling okay; it was obvious you weren’t.

You barely acknowledged him, your chest rising and falling with difficulty as you sat propped up against your pillows. You were too tired to even offer a sarcastic remark when you caught sight of him. “I’m fine,” you said weakly, though your voice cracked.

Dan Heng didn’t respond to the words. He simply set the cloth on your forehead and sat down on the edge of the bed. His eyes lingered on you for a moment, and in that brief silence, his usual cool composure slipped, revealing the smallest hint of worry.

“You need rest,” he said after a moment, his tone flat but unwavering. His hands moved to adjust the blanket over you, ensuring you were comfortable.

“I don’t have time to rest,” you replied, though it came out more as a tired murmur than the usual defiant statement. “You know how it is.”

Dan Heng didn’t speak for a moment, his eyes softening as he studied you. “You’re no good to anyone if you’re too sick to function. Let the others handle things for a while.”

You let out a defeated sigh and let your head fall back onto the pillow. “Guess you’re right,” you muttered, closing your eyes.

Dan Heng didn’t leave, staying by your side as you drifted in and out of sleep. He couldn’t help but notice how peaceful you looked when you weren’t fighting your own body, how vulnerable you seemed when you weren’t the one taking care of everyone else. He knew you would be back to your usual self soon enough, but for now, he would remain silent and watch over you.

Every now and then, you would stir, sneezing or coughing, but Dan Heng remained a quiet, steadfast presence, ensuring you had everything you needed. It was strange for him, this role of caretaker, but he found solace in it. For once, he wasn’t running from something; he was simply here, with you, making sure you were okay.

And despite the ruckus outside, the world felt smaller, quieter. Just for a moment, everything else faded away.

[mamaestapa]

Colds and Cuddles|| Jamie Drysdale x reader

• pairing: Jamie Drysdale x reader

• summary: Jamie takes care of you and gives you all the cuddles you need when you come down with a bad cold

• warnings: sickness, colds/sinus infections, tooth rotting fluff, Jamie being the sweetest human ever<3

You sat up in your bed, propped up with a couple pillows and sniffling softly as you reached for the box of tissues sitting on your bedside table. You pulled a lotion infused tissue out of the box, bringing it up to your red nose. A look of disgust took over your features as you blowed harshly into the tissue.

You definitely had a cold or a sinus infection.

You started to feel under the weather after your night out with friends on Friday night. You shrugged it off as just a little congestion since the weather has been in fluctuating like crazy in Philly. However you woke up Sunday morning feeling much worse.

You picked up your phone from the bedside table and decided to call Jamie, who would be on his way home from morning practice. The phone rang three times before Jamie picked up, his soft tone on the other line making you smile.

"Hi pretty girl, how you feeling?"

"Hi Jamie baby," you sniffled, cringing at the sound of your nasally voice as you spoke. You laughed slightly, "Like shit."

You could hear Jamie's frown through the phone as he spoke, "I'm sorry baby. Do you want me to pick anything up for you?"

"I don't think so, just you please."

"Of course, I'll be right over."

You smiled, sniffling softly once again, "See you in a bit, I love you J."

"I love you more, baby."

You hung up the phone with a soft sigh and another sniffle. You hated being congested. You hated being sick. You just wanted Jamie home so he could cuddle with you. Jamie was the best when it came to cuddling, and he always knew how to make you feel better.

You got up from bed, deciding to fix freshen up a bit before your boyfriend got home. Since getting a new place together, you and Jamie only live about ten minutes away from the arena so he'd be home fairly quickly as long as traffic wasn't too crazy. You brushed your hair put on one of Jamie's old Ducks sweatshirts, one he had worn during his rookie year that you loved so much. After freshening up in the bathroom, you got back into bed and picked up your phone that was laying on your pillow.

Jamie had texted you, letting know you he was on his way and that he was stopping at the store to pick some things up for you. You smiled warmly at his message as you replied. Jamie was the best boyfriend.

About ten minutes latter, you heard the front door to the apartment open. Jamie walked down the hallway and into your bedroom. A frown appeared on his face as he looked at you with sad eyes. You looked miserable, propped up on your pillows and snuggled under the covers. Your eyes were droopy, heavy with sleep and sickness.

"Hi baby," Jamie cooed as he walked over to you. You smiled softly at your sweet boyfriend, "Hey Jamie Baby."

Jamie got close to you and placed the back of his hand on your flushed cheek. You brought a hand up from under the covers, placing it on Jamie's forearm as he checked you for a fever.

"How are you feeling?"

You sniffled softly, "Pretty shitty, "but at least now I have my hot boyfriend here to take care of me."

Jamie shook his head, laughing at what you had just said. Your comment made his cheeks flush, matching the shade of pink like yours. However, Jamie's wasn't from a fever. Yours was.

"You definitely have a fever." He observed, flipping his hand over so he could cup your cheek. You nuzzled your face against his palm, making Jamie smile as he started to softly stroke your cheek with his thumb.

You nodded, "I took my temp after I called you. It was one hundred one point four."

Jamie's smile faltered as he took in your appearance. Your cheeks were flushed from a fever, your eyes were heavy with dark purple under eyes, and you had a pink nose from the constant dripping and blowing.

"Does anything hurt?"You closed your eyes, wincing softly, "My head. My throat too, but I think it's just drainage. I cant stop sneezing either."

"You poor thing," Jamie said, voice laced with sorrow as he continued to gently stroke out cheek, "can I get you anything?"

"Just you," you said as you smiled softly at Jamie, "just you holding me would be great." Jamie smiled at you as he dropped his hand from your cheek. He slid his tennis shoes off and walked over to the opposite side of the be, his side of the bed. Jamie sat down on the bed with a soft groan as his tired limbs thanked him for taking a much needed break. Jamie carefully laid down beside you, holding his arm up for you to cuddle into his side. You adjusted your position so you were now tucked into Jamie's side, resting your head on his chest.

"Are you comfy, sweetheart?"

"Very." you nodded, pulling the comforter up so the material covered Jamie too.

"Good." Jamie said softly. He brought his left hand down to your head, running his fingers through your hair while and scratching your scalp every so often. He hoped it would lull you into a much needed sleep, which it did, but not before you thanked your boyfriend for being so sweet and taking care of you.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Jamie baby."

Jamie leaned down and pressed a gentle, loving kiss to the crown of your head, "There's no need to thank me, baby. It's what I'm here." He squeezed you gently as he finished speaking, "I hate seeing my girl sick. I'd do anything to make you feel better."

"Anything you say?"

Jamie shook his head, chuckling softly, "Not that. Gotta get you feeling better first, Mrs. Drysdale.”

"Mrs. Drysdale? I must've missed my own wedding then." You teased, poking Jamie in his side. Jamie grabbed your left hand and laced his fingers with yours. He started to play with the gold band of your simple engagement ring that was wrapped perfectly around your ring finger.

"I'm sorry, future Mrs. Drysdale."

You chuckled as a smile pulled at your lips. The smile didn't stay on your face for long though as the pain in your throat started to feel worse.

"Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow." You said after cleaning your throat. Jamie hummed, rubbing your arm lovingly as he spoke, "I hope so too. Now," he brought his hand back up to your head, slowly running his fingers through your hair once again, "get some rest, okay?"

"Okay." you said quietly as you sniffled. Tiredness was already taking over, and soon enough you were fast asleep on Jamie's chest. Jamie didn't mind if he got sick, all he cared about was making sire you were comfortable and feeling better.

Being tucked into Jamie's side and wrapped in his arms did just that.

hi loves!!

not only could all us jamie girlies use some fluff after his injury today, but i’ve been promising to get this fic out for weeks now.

life happened though and college was kicking my booty once again, BUT it’s finally done and updated

this is dedicated to @guerrillateezsworld (who i said i’d write this for weeks ago. thank you for being so patient my love. i appreciate it so much and i hope you enjoyed this!) and to @mxqlss (i hope you feel better soon my sweet!) i love you both, thank you for always being so sweet and supportive🤍🤍 you’re AMAZING!

as always, thank you all so much for all the love and support you continue to give me personally and on my writing. it means the world!🫂🤍

now jamie drysdale…PLEASE be okay :( the girlies and me especially cannot take you being hurt again. so please please be okay

[pmak2002]

Just Being Here is Enough.

A/N mentions of struggling with Mental Illness Anxiety and Depression/ being overwhelmed

You were worried as you entered your boyfriend’s apartment. He hadn’t been answering your text or calls since he had canceled date night the day before. He had said he hadn’t been feeling very well and needed to rest.

He had told you not to worry and that he would make it up to you as soon as possible despite his hefty filming schedule. But you worried anyway and now that he hadn’t given you any updates since last night you knew you had to check on him.

The first thing you noticed is the dirty dishes in the sink and dishwasher. As well as empty takeout containers all over the floor.

As a normally tidy person it worried you seeing such a mess. There was also snotty tissues scattered around. You noticed the gunk in the tissues was green instead of clear a sign of a sinus infection.

You noticed the couch had empty tissue boxes and water bottles on the table next to the couch as well as more pillows and blankets than usual.

You moved through the mess to Timothee’s room. He was clearly not well and you knew he wouldn’t be thrilled for you to see him in a bad state but you worried foo much to care.

You knocked on the bedroom door carefully incase he was asleep. You knew it probably wasn’t locked but you wanted to be sure.

You hear Timothee groan and then his voice.

“Who is it?” He called weakly his voice sounding raspy and weak.

“It’s me I wanted to see if you’re alright.” You call back.

“Enter.” He says sounding less than thrilled.

You enter the room to find him laying with his face in a pillow and his curls are tangled and unruly. Despite filming Marty supreme and needing haircuts it seems he had possibly missed an appointment with Jamie. Seeing how long his hair had grown since his last cut.

You carefully approach him and rub his back. He sighs and rolls over. There is dark circles under his eyes, he’s pale, flushed and his eyes are red as if he’s been crying. You take your thumb and wipe a stray tear.

“Oh mon ange.” You coo.

“I told you not to worry. You didn’t have to come.” He says. You take your hand and rub his check. He coughs harshly.

“I couldn’t help it I know you’ve been doing a lot and..”

This brings fresh tears to his eyes.

“Oh Timmy baby what happened?”

“I started feeling really sick the other day I thought I was just a cold but it kept getting worse and then I was constantly on the move and doing things. I can’t keep up and my brain was screaming and I couldn’t calm down and…”

He’s really crying now. Tears and snot running down his face.

He sits up bawling and shaking. You immediately wrap your arms around him as he shakes.

“My darling boy you’ve been too much for too long. You’ll kill yourself if this keeps happening.”

You kiss his head and hold him tight the pressure from your embrace calming him down some.

“When was the last time you’ve ate, slept or showered?!” You ask worriedly.

Tim shrugs and wipes at his eyes.

“You definitely need a hot shower if you want to clear up this sinus infection did you visit the doctor at all?!” You ask as you pull away.

He nods

“I’ve only felt ok enough to take my med, drink, water and sleep. I took a bath the other day but I just couldn’t get myself up unless I had to use the bathroom or order food to eat. Everything hurts so I could barely stomach or swallow.” He explains.

You grab a tissue from the tissue box on his nightstand and hold it over his nose.

“Blow your nose. We gotta get that gunk out. Green means it’s infection.”

He nods and does as you instruct.

“There we go. That help?” You ask as you toss it into the trash and then head to wash your hands in the bathroom.

He nodded “my head hurts though.”

Frowns “all that pressure doesn’t feel good does it?” You say.

He nods slowly as if moving his head around hurts.

“I’ll start a hot shower. It’ll help clear it up and you’ll feel much better.”

You go to his bathroom and start a hot shower for him. Knowing the steam will help him with his sinuses.

Once that’s done you help him out of bed and into the bathroom. He uses the bathroom before you help him prep for his shower. Then you help him into the shower. Then leave him to let him clean himself up.

While he showers you set about cleaning up the house. Staring the dishwasher, throwing out the trash and endless tissues and empty takeout containers and empty tissue boxes. Then start a load of laundry.

You set up a grocery order of soups, crackers, water bottles, tissue boxes, and whatever else he might need or want.

Once it arrives you put away the grocery items and bring up some tissue boxes and a water bottle for him.

Later.

You help Timothee into a pair of warm pjs. Then help him brush out his tangled and matted curls.

Then You help him take his medication and give him the water bottle.

“Can I get you anything else sweetness?” You ask.

He puts the water bottle aside on the nightstand once he’s done with his medication and reaches up at you making grabby hands tears in his eyes again.

“Hey hey why the tears? It’s alright.” You soothingly as you crawl into bed beside him. He practically throws himself at you.

You hold him tight the way he likes to be held when he’s stressed or sick.

“Everything is too much I’m tired, I’m scared, I’m…”

“Oh Timothee. Sweetie it’s been too much work for you. You need to get rest and heal. You need time to breathe. No wonder you are so sick.” You slowly run a hand through his curls. As he cries.

“I’ll call and talk to Brian about a break for a little while you need it. Especially with how sick you are.”

He shakes his head. Then winces from pain.

“No I can’t I have to work, I have to work I can’t delay filming I can’t..”

“Timothee try to breathe you can’t keep doing this it’s inhuman to push yourself so hard.”

He shakes his head again but keeps crying.

You hold him and he cries himself to sleep in your arms.

You start humming as you hold him listening to his mouth breathing because of the sinus pressure and infection. You so desperately want to take away his pain, stress and the need for perfectionism but you can’t.

Later that day.

You call with Brian and the rest of Tim’s team to move his schedule around to give him at least a couple weeks off so he can recover and just be instead of constantly on the move.

Timothee sleeps throughout the day and you decide to spend a few days with him to make sure he’ll be ok.

You call your dog walker to take your German shepherd Kodak for a while. So you can focus on Timmy and help him recover and recharge.

You cuddled Timothee close and soon you fall asleep with him in your arms.

Later.

You awake to Timothee squirming In your arms.

“Hey what’s wrong?” You ask concerned.

“Antibiotics are messing with my stomach. Need the bathroom now!” He whined

You help him to the bathroom. Then go about cleaning the rest of the apartment and putting away the now clean dishes and moving the laundry into the dryer.

Once that’s done you get another water bottle and tissue box and head back upstairs and find Timothee back in bed. He immediately reaches out for you.

You put the items on the nightstand and then

You crawl into bed with him and cuddle him close and tight just the way he likes it.

“Can I get you anything else Mon Armor?” You ask?

He shakes his head and buries his head in your chest before yawning and mumbling.

“Just being here is enough Mon Ange. Thank you.

“Of course my love. Always.”

[b4mpyre-k1zz3s]

Extreme Watersports

After a particularly rough stunt, Bam decides to call Y/N for help

Bam Margera x Gn!reader

1.2k Words

(Fluff)

Warnings: Whump, suggestive content, crude language

An: aaaaa my first fic!! credit to @peacelovemisdemeanors for the idea!!

“Y/Nnnnnnn!!”

“What is it now?” you sighed, rubbing your temple with one hand as you held your flip phone to your ear with your other. Bringing a knee up to your desk, you reclined in your rolley chair. It was late, and you couldn’t bring yourself to do the whole ‘pretending to be worried about your boyfriend’ routine you do every week.

“I’m sick.” He spat. You could practically hear him roll his eyes over the phone. “I did that waterskiing stunt with Knoxville and I got a brain eating amoeba now. I’m getting dumber by the second, Y/N!” You snickered at the dramatics he presented, “Really? Couldn’t even notice.” Even at that, Bam couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Ha ha. Very funny.”

Before you could continue, you were already getting up from your lamp-lit desk, walking over to your medicine cabinet in your cold, tile bathroom. “So, I bet you’re gonna want me to come over?” You grabbed a box of tissues and could hear pillows rustling on the other end of the line as you searched for Nyquill, Dayquill- really any quill. “I mean,” Your boyfriend feigned reluctance, “s’ not like I can’t take care of myself. But if you really want to…”

You opened the grand heartagram-emblazoned doors of Castle Bam, rushing in to get out of the cold- no surprise Bam got sick out there. Kicking off your shoes in the eerily quiet hallway, you made your way across the hardwood, plopping down on the couch, “Hey, Ryan! What’s up?”

“Y/N! Thank god you’re here.” You sunk into the plush sorta as Ryan sighed, not looking particularly alarmed or interested- but he never really was with anything. He jabbed a thumb towards Bam’s room, not really taking his eyes off of the tv, “Rapunzel hasn’t left his golden tower in two days.” He finally tore his eyes away from Pimp My Ride, his gaze landing on the plastic bag in your hands, “You got snacks? Or s’that all for bubble boy upstairs?”

“Mmhm!” You chuckled, dragging yourself away from the dangerously comfy couch. “Well, while you’re up there,” Ryan called to you as you bounded up the stairs, “tell him his ass is fine! And he should stop whining about it!” That did worry you a bit, but you just passed it off as another one of his sarcastic comments.

You creaked open the door, and the sight you stumbled onto was almost comical. Your boyfriend, Bam Margera, the biggest asshole loudmouth you knew, cuddled up in a mess of blankets and pillows, looking like a little kid amongst the abundance of plush in his room with the curtains drawn. He glanced up when he heard the door open, looking at you with flushed skin and wet, red eyes, “Y/n…”

You closed the door behind you, maneuvering over to his bed in the dark as he whined to you in that cute stuffy nose voice. “Oh…this sucks so fucking bad!! I totally ate shit on those waterskis- I sent you the footage, right?” Trouble, your boyfriend’s cat and maybe your best friend rubbed against your leg as you bent down to pet her. “Mmhm. You really ate shit, baby. Good footage! I think Jeff’s gonna love it.” He cracked a smile before he continued, not even noticing you removing the contents of the bag, “Yeah- I got water in every hole! My eyes, my nose- I got ass blasted with the coldest water imaginable- I have been shitting water for days!”

Yep, that’s what Ryan was talking about. While you were concerned with that, you were more worried with what sounded like a sinus infection to you. You jokingly replied to him, “I’m very sorry about that ass, Bam- it’s so cute!” You unscrewed the cap of the medicine bottle and Bam immediately smelled the sticky, bitter syrup, reacting accordingly.

“Seriously? Do I have to?” He groaned. God, he’s even more of a man child when he’s sick. “Yes, Bam. You do. Shouldn’t April be doing this anyways?” You always felt like his mother when you had to do this kinda stuff- like the time you had to ice his tailbone for three months after he broke it, or when you had to treat that infection he got from when he let Ryan brand him with a hot iron. You shivered remembering that last one, the image of that dick shaped burn literally burnt into your memory.

He readjusted himself in bed, sitting up, seemingly accepting his fate. “Fine…” You expected him to hold his hand out, but he surprised you, lazily tilting his head back and leaving his soft lips slightly agape. Taking a moment to savor this sight you shamelessly gawked- you boyfriend, shirtless, his mouth open like a baby bird. You giggled a little, getting an idea to make this a little more fun for the both of you.

You sat up a little bit on the pile of blankets and straddled his outstretched legs, leaning over his face and taking it in your free hand. Opening his icy blue eyes at this, Bam was caught by surprise as you leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. It was short but gentle and sweet, and just as you pulled away you took the medicine in your other hand and poured the pre measured amount down his smirking gullet.

Bam swallowed hard, tasting the bitter honey flavor on his lips as he licked them, trying to taste you but only getting acridity. “Ugh.” He shivered, shrinking back in his black bed sheets that he camouflaged in. You placed a hand on his forehead, moving the sweaty dark curls that were plastered to his skin. He was burning up. “Hmm.” You said nothing, knowing it would only fuel his already mounting whininess. “Wanna popsicle?”

“Of course I wanna goddamn popsicle.” He coughed weakly, reaching a hand out of the blankets. You reached back in the bag, fishing out one of those two stick popsicles. Taking the wrapper off, you snapped it in half, handing him one while you took the other in your mouth.

You would spend the next few minutes making dirty jokes while sucking on the admittedly phallic fruity flavored ice pops before Bam patted the spot next to him in bed. You cracked a smile, teasingly asking him, “Oh? You wanna cuddle or somethin?” This would be totally out of left field for him- usually it was having sex or giving stitches for you two. “Shut up, just get in.”

You weren’t one to complain about cuddling your boyfriend, so with a goofy grin, you slipped in next to him, completely disregarding the possibility of catching whatever he may have. “Awww, ‘cmere!!” You giggled. He ignored you, laying his head on your chest and wrapping his arms around your waist, snuggling in and quickly falling asleep next to you. After a few minutes, you too succumbed to sleep, falling into a deep, sweet slumber.

[fuckin-sick-bih]

I'm Your Rock, Baby. I won't back down.

Fandom: Stranger Things (honestly in my head I was thinking of Tattoo and Florist AU but it's kinky Eddie instead of kinky Steve this time? idk food for thought!) Summary: Steve's been sick and Eddie's been enjoying playing Caretaker. When Steve wakes up from a nap, they watch a movie together and cuddle. CW: cold sneezes, sneezing on partner's neck/shoulder, mention of nose blowing/wiping but really low mess fic for me! Word Count: 1,259 MINORS DNI Author Note: little drabble i did just writing in the tumblr text post thing bc for some reason writing in the tumblr text box makes it easier to write rn? idk, man, don't ask me how my brain works i just live with this traitorous electric meatball

Eddie swayed his hips to the beat of the song as he hand-washed the few items they had that weren't dishwasher safe in the sink, rings sitting on the counter beside him. His phone was softly spitting out one of his current favorites and he was mumbling along, trying to keep quiet so Steve could rest.

Poor Steve had been down for the count the last few days with a nasty cold that had left him utterly exhausted. He scrubbed at the pan he'd made breakfast this morning in as he mulled over the last few days of meds, tissues, sleeping, soup, meds, and more sleeping.

Of course, Eddie was over the moon at getting to take care of Steve. Anytime he got to take care of Steve was a win in his book. His boyfriend was like a walking poster child for hyper independence and Eddie secretly blamed the Harrington parents for that.

Pulling the drain and letting the sink water gurgle down into the abyss, Eddie sighed. He paused his music only to hear sniffling from back in the bedroom. Straining his ears, Eddie swore he heard a catch of breath just before-

"HeNX'T!"

"Don't stifle!" Eddie called out instantly, though his tone was fond as he dried his hands.

As he headed back to the bedroom, Eddie spoke again, "You want a sinus infection? That's how you get a sinus infection." He crossed his arms and admired the sight of Steve sitting up in bed with a tissue folded over his nose.

There was a light blush over Steve's face, skin still lightly tanned from summer. "Sorry. Habit. Snf! What were you doing out there? I thought you fell asleep with me?"

The quiet softness as well as how his voice seemed to grate against his throat, making Steve wince a little had Eddie moving over to the bed to sit with him. "Aw, I'm sorry. I woke up and started cleaning up a little is all. Thought I'd let you sleep as long as you could. Seemed like you needed it. How you feeling now, handsome?"

One of Eddie's hands was coming up to brush Steve's bangs back up out of his face, carding lovingly through his hair as well as pressing to his forehead. "Better than I was, honestly, but I th-hih-! ohh no... heh-ih!"

It was like Eddie's whole world was slowing down as he watched and felt Steve's expression crumple into a pre-sneeze show. His brows rose then collapsed into a pleading sort of pinch while his nostrils flared, mouth hovering open.

"E-ehhddieh-! EhX'TSHH! ID'SHuh! Hh...! ugh d'noh..." Steve collapsed forward, head jerking downward to sneeze towards their laps as his face flushed with color. He was scrambling for a tissue, but Eddie was already plucking and handing him several.

"Bless you, sweetheart, jeez." Eddie leaned forward to kiss Steve's forehead and then the top of his head. "You sure you're feeling better?" He teased, trying not to squirm as Steve blew his nose into the wad of tissues.

A little sniffle came from Steve as he finally pulled the tissues away from his face. "Uh-huh. Just think it's moved to my head. I'm all-" He gestured vaguely to his face and head with a pointed finger and sniffled again. "What's that word you use?"

Eddie made a strangled little sound and rested a hand on Steve's knee. "Stuffy?" He suggested helpfully, praying his boyfriend was searching for a more vanilla term.

"Sure. That." Steve replied with an amused little grin and Eddie knew right then and there that Steve was feeling better if he was getting one of those smiles.

Without warning, Eddie leaned in to press a soft kiss to Steve's lips before pulling back. "Brat." He took a moment to pretend to examine him, going so far as to thoughtfully tap his chin for dramatic effect. "You feel up to watching a movie on the couch with me?"

Steve looked amused at first, but he was quickly looking more and more distracted. "Yeah, I... I think I can manage- that..." His eyes went unfocused as he tried to respond to Eddie's question and Eddie knew pretty quickly what was going on as his eyes flicked to Steve's cherry-red, chapped nostrils that twitched and flared.

"Hiih... IXX'TShhuh!" Steve lurched forward towards their laps again with his powerful sneeze that had tears springing to his eyes. "Ugh, sorry. That might end up happening... more- heh...ihh-hh! ISSHHuh! God, sorry." 

. . .

Twenty minutes later found Steve curled up in Eddie's lap on the couch with Princess Bride playing on their television. Eddie was playing with Steve's hair as his head rested on his shoulder, legs sprawled over his lap.

They were both covered in a blanket and Steve had the box of tissues in his lap, one in his hand which he kept dabbing at his nose with. Eddie was doing his best to pay attention to the movie, but if he was being honest with himself he could quote the whole thing from start to finish just by where in the musical score they were.

So instead he doted softly on Steve who was sleepily watching the movie. Not much energy to do anything else as Eddie pressed soft kisses to his forehead, hair, eyebrows, and even the bridge of his nose once.

Though that had made Steve's eyes well with ticklish tears and his nostrils flared as his breath hitched softly, "E-Ehhddie, that's gonna... huh-! m-make me s-sneeze..."

"Oh, is it?" Eddie practically purred as he lifted a hand to gently tap the pad of his pointer finger against the side of Steve's nose. "Hadn't noticed."

"IHIshhiiew! IXt'Hue!" Steve exploded moments after the tap like that was all he needed to be set off. Eyes watering, bright red nose twitching and shining ever so slightly around the chapped rim. "Ugh, snf! you're a menace, Munson. Absolute snff! menace. Those good for you? Or should I nix the tissues and use you instead?"

A shudder ran through Eddie at Steve's words and he groaned, letting his head tip back. "That's playing dirty, Stevie, and you know it. You can't dirty talk me while you're sick and sneezy." Then came the soft feeling of plump lips traveling over his throat and the subtle brush of a damp nose tip against his Adam's apple.

Eddie would deny at all costs the noise that garnered from him.

It did get Steve to chuckle, though. "Like you tapping my nose isn't playing dirty. You made me sneeze. That- hhh... oh h-hang on... gonna- hihh..."

This time Eddie didn't get to watch Steve's build up, but he could feel it. Every stuttering inhale pressed up against him, the way his fingers curled against Eddie's shirt ever so slightly, and how Steve tucked into his shoulder with a final wavering. "Hihh-ih!" Before finally pressing his face into Eddie's neck and shoulder as he sneezed, "IHHxT'Shuh! Ohh- snf! shit, I forget what I was saying." He admitted, chuckling a little again as he pressed a tissue to his running nose.

Meanwhile, Eddie was getting his heart rate under control and running his fingertips lovingly along Steve's back up and down. "Bless you, pumpkin. Okay, I promise-" And Eddie made a little X over his heart with his free hand. "No more teasing my poor boyfriend's nose unless he asks or he's all better, deal?"

And then Steve gave him a wicked smile. One that only meant one thing. "I never said it was a bad thing, Eds."

[leviathanlazarus]

Smother the Flame in Your Heart - Part XXIII

Read previous parts here or read on Ao3 // Playlist

Pairing: Danny Wagner x Sam Kiszka

Word Count: ~3100

Warnings: none:)

<3

---

Finally, with relationships mended and things all settled, Josh’s idea for the group to get out to the “big city” again became reality. The art exhibition he’d previously had in mind had ended but of course, a new one had opened. So on an exceptionally warm and humid June day, the boys all found themselves meandering through the wide and high, glistening tile-lined rooms of the Detroit Art Institute.

Josh was lingering amidst the Indigenous art; Jake was taking his time with the shiny silver armor and wide array of swords that the museum had to offer. Sam and Danny stayed mostly together, keeping close, until Sam got caught up in all of the bright, colorful contemporary art that eventually Danny had felt he’d seen enough of once the stark shapes and blocks of color began to blur together.

He found himself standing in front of a bizarre yet beautiful reliquary, as the plaque beneath the strange object told him. He stared for a long moment first at the piece of bone encased in glass and gold, his eyes moving up to study the thin cross on top, then to each golden angel that held everything together and held it in the air, elevated in its little forever home. He was mesmerized by its splendor and its strangeness.

How would this man, this saint, feel if he knew a part of his body was immortalized and sitting in a museum? Danny wondered as he stared. Maybe he did know. Maybe before he died, he had faith that the people who believed in him and loved him would keep him a part of the living earth forever. Or as long as possible. Once the world ended, the glass, gold and bone would become dust like everything else. 

Still, the piece of that man, the piece of art, had already existed for almost a thousand years already and thousands of people had stared at it and probably pondered the same questions. What had he done to become a reliquary anyway? What made people want to immortalize him and keep him on display? How did he die to begin with?

Danny was glad he wasn’t literally immortal. When he’d first turned into a vampire, that was one of the first things he’d worried about. He didn’t want to spend eternity watching the people he loved die, watching the world burn without being able to help it, to linger and suffer inside with no way to end it. He’d pored over movies and books to try and find answers, but the real answer came when he’d just kept living–aging never stopped, he realized, nor did illness and injury. He’d had sprained arms and ankles that took just as much time to heal as anyone else, colds and sinus infections that required the same OTC meds and antibiotics to get him well again. Everything from his hair to skin to muscles kept changing with time. Thankfully, he wasn’t living on pause and one day his heart would stop like everyone else’s. 

And his heart did stop for a brief but seemingly earth-shattering moment when he made eye contact with a familiar blonde girl walking past. She looked away quickly at first, as anyone would when they make unintentional eye contact with a complete stranger, but then just as quickly she turned her face to meet Danny’s eyes again and he saw a damning flicker of recognition. Her eyes widened just a bit and then he saw fear in the dilating pupils; then anger as her cheeks flushed and her steps stopped, the heels of her shoes echoing. She planted herself in the middle of the room, just a few feet in front of the reliquary, staring back at him for only another moment but what felt like its own tortuous eternity. 

Once their shared recognition and damning memory was over, Danny scuttled out of the room to find Sam, his heart beating frantically, his whole body hot. Sweat was pushing past his clothing, dampening his armpits and his lower back, his hairline, the back of his neck. As he searched through the echoing museum with all this frantic energy, he eventually realized as he paused in front of a huge abstract painting full of cool blues and stark greens, that he wasn’t even sure what he could do. What was there to do? 

Well, he knew he needed to find Sam no matter what. 

Sam had gone in the opposite direction of Danny through the museum. Danny finally located him among the Asian artwork, looking intently at an ancient vase behind glass. 

“If that was in my house, someone would eventually break it,” Sam commented with a gesture at the vase. “It’s crazy how well some things are preserved for thousands of years.” 

“I was thinking the same thing,” Danny said, then he let out a long breath. He looked around, fearing that his past victim might have followed him, but she hadn’t. 

Sam turned to actually look at Danny, and Danny felt the rest of his surroundings blur. It was obvious, he realized, that he must have been a little out of sorts. Especially to Sam, who cocked his head to the side and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Um–” Danny wasn’t sure what to say. Was he overreacting? No, certainly not, he quickly concluded. Clearly the mental fog and disbelief and distance he relied on with strangers hadn’t come to fruition with that young woman. He exhaled again and took Sam’s hand in his, needing his boyfriend’s touch. “I just saw someone.” 

Sam’s head tilted to the other side. “Who?”

Danny groaned and looked around again, but still he was in the clear. “Before we were official. I went to a bar and found a girl–” He huffed, frustrated with himself. “That sounds gross. But I needed to, y’know, since I couldn’t–not with you–”

“Alright, babe, it’s okay,” Sam said, but his own heart began to race. Jake had asked him about this very thing and here they were. It was so naive of him to think Danny would never encounter anyone he’d ever been with in that way. 

Danny ran a hand over his face. “I feel sick.” 

“So let’s go.” Sam was already leading the way out of there, fishing into his pocket for his phone with his other hand. “I’ll tell Josh and Jake that we’re heading out. What do you wanna do?” He was walking faster but Danny was keeping up, then in a second Danny was walking even faster, dragging Sam along instead. 

Danny had no idea what he wanted to do besides escape, and it made him feel like a coward. Like a cretin. Like someone who didn’t even have a fraction of the goodness of a saint, although that thought made a silly, nervous laugh bubble out of him as he swept him and Sam out into the sunshine.

“What?” Sam asked, squeezing Danny’s hand once they were a good distance away from the museum, to make him stop walking.

“Nothing. Just–oof.” Danny inhaled fresh air and tilted his head up as they stood in the shade of a walnut tree. “I just needed to get out of there. Fuck.” 

Sam rubbed Danny’s damp lower back. His own bout of panic had quickly subsided–whatever consequences Danny might have faced for this were in the past as far as he was concerned. “We’re outta there. Now what? I doubt she’s gonna do anything.” The words were out before he thought of how much minimizing Danny’s anxiety might just further upset him. Thankfully, Danny just sighed and leaned into Sam���s touch.

“Probably not. But–ugh, dude. The way she looked at me,” Danny said, shaking his head. “I’m disgusting.”

“No, you’re not, babe,” Sam said, trying to be gentle. There were other things he wanted to say but knew none of those words would be right, so he left it at that even though Danny undoubtedly didn’t believe him. 

Danny backed up against the tree, making leaves shake over his head. “I feel disgusting. She–she totally knew. She remembered.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Danny looked up through those shaking leaves, peering at the sun. “In a way, it’s not. But in another way, it is.”

Sam stepped over to him and linked their arms. “Come on, Daniel. Let’s go get a drink.”

“I’m gonna need more than one.”

Sam managed a laugh. “We can do that, big guy.”

At the restaurant, the first one they could find that was far enough from the museum without being too much of a hike for the twins, Danny was still too stressed to enjoy drinking. He sipped his first beer slowly, hyper-vigilant and head on a swivel, and he still felt painfully sober when he began to drink the second one. It wasn’t until he and Sam went into the bathroom to hit Sam’s THC pen that Danny felt at all stabilized, ironically, and he was able to go back into the dim bar with a little more assurance. 

“I don’t think she’s tailing you,” Sam said, also peering around but he was trying to locate their waiter so he could order some onion rings. Food would also make Danny feel better. “If that’s helpful,” he added, giving Danny a pat on the shoulder. 

Danny took another drink before he said, “No, I know. But now I’m thinking about all the other people I might run into who would recognize me.”

“Well, you never have to worry about it ever again. Now,” Sam replied, finally making eye contact with the waiter. Looking at Danny, he winked and smiled. “You’ve got me.”

Danny laid his hand on Sam’s thigh under the table. “I know. But until you came along, I was like, fucking traumatizing people.”

Sam brought his fingers to Danny’s mouth; he lifted Danny’s lip with the tip of his first finger, just enough to steal a quick look at one fang before Danny shook his head, smiling bashfully. 

“Poor baby,” Sam cooed, more genuine than teasing. “I don’t know how everyone didn’t just fall head over heels in love with you like I did.”

Danny chuckled. “You Kiszkas are messed up.”

“Apparently Josh is the only sane one. If I ever get the whiff of a crush, we’re moving.”

Much to both Sam and Danny’s relief, the twins were as sane as they could be when they showed up. Josh was carrying a little white plastic gift bag from the museum, plopping it onto the vinyl space of the booth next to him as he slid in opposite Sam and Danny, while Jake followed and was quick to grab a menu.

“You guys got through everything really fast,” Josh remarked as he stole Sam’s half-drunk water. “I could have stayed there longer, but Jake wanted to start drinking too.”

“Oh,” Danny said before Sam could reply. “You didn’t tell them.”

Jake looked up from the shiny plastic. “Tell us what?”

Danny looked at Sam, giving him the silent go-ahead. He went back to his beer as Sam relayed the story for the twins, ending just as both of them were opening their mouths to speak but cut off by the waiter coming by again to get their orders.

When the waiter drifted off once more, Josh was the first to get a word in: “I don’t understand. If people can remember what happened to them, why aren’t there tons of people talking about this?”

“Not every vampire leaves their…meals alive,” Jake answered, beating both Sam and Danny to the punch. 

Josh’s face scrunched up. “Right.”

“Not everyone remembers,” Danny went on. “Or they don’t remember things clearly. This sort of brain fog sets in, plus the confusion from the weird act itself. Repression?” He sighed, looking dejected as he slumped over the table. “I’ve always trusted the people–to forget, you know? At least enough to keep me in the clear.”

“And you don’t do it at home,” Sam added, then smirked. “I was just so special.”

“Well, so now what?” Jake asked, and everyone paused as the waiter came back with the twins’ drinks. 

“Nothing,” Danny said, leaning back against the booth, hands braced on the table in front of him. “If there’s not a warrant out for my arrest now, I don’t think there ever will be.”

“You checked for that?” Josh asked, raising his eyebrows.

Danny chuckled and pulled out his phone. “Shit. I will now. I was sort of joking but–yeah.”

Sam squeezed Danny’s knee below. “It’s fine. She’s clearly fine, right? So she had one night with a hot vampire and got some of her blood sucked. Big deal.”

Josh made another sour face while Jake silently considered Sam’s statement before giving an affirmative shrug. 

“I didn’t forget anything either,” Jake said after the four of them sat in silence for a minute, sipping their drinks. “There must be something wrong with us Kiszkas.”

Sam snorted. “I was just saying that to Danny before you got here.”

“It’s just because you both were so enamored with me,” Danny half-mumbled, not looking at anyone as he said it. “You wanted to remember.”

Sam looked at Jake, who stared back at him blankly. Then Sam laughed so Jake did too, and Josh rolled his eyes and grabbed his beer again. 

“You’re not wrong,” Sam told Danny, leaning against him. “You bewitched us.” 

Danny was glad that Sam didn’t really feel threatened by or jealous of Jake anymore, but it was a little unnerving–and, if he was being even more honest with himself, a little irritating–that he was the only one at the table who seemed to be, well, unnerved. He couldn’t blame Josh, who was the most clueless of anyone when it came to the vampire stuff, and he couldn’t really blame Jake, who just wasn’t close enough to expect an outpouring of understanding from. Danny figured no matter how much Jake felt anyway, he’d only be comfortable showing a fraction of it in front of Sam. 

But Sam. Sam normally got riled up about practically anything–how could he be so nonchalant right now? 

Danny tried to stuff his growing irritation down. He tried to drown it with more beer and greasy bar food, then more hits from Sam’s pen, until he felt painfully stuffed with onion rings, Buffalo wings and IPAs, rendering his body essentially useless and his mind a little placated.

The relief, unfortunately, was short-lived. When he got up again to go to the bathroom, he had barely unzipped his fly when the image of that girl’s horrified face bombarded him again. Danny charged into the nearest stall and threw up until he was dry-heaving.

Later, the whole thing was still on Danny’s mind. It was like a relentless itch in his brain that couldn’t be scratched, and he felt exhausted by his own thoughts and the havoc on his body. He actually wanted to be alone for the rest of the night, but Sam accompanied him home and Danny couldn’t bring himself to voice that desire–besides, he knew it wasn’t Sam’s fault that he was back in a loop of paranoia and self-hatred. But even reminding himself of that repeatedly didn’t curb the irritation he felt with his boyfriend.

He wasn’t even hearing the words that were being spoken as Sam yammered on, all while Danny was stripping down in the bathroom to just try and take a soothing shower and wash the day away. Though he normally loved Sam’s voice and whatever he talked about, it quickly became grating.

With only his boxers still on, Danny whirled around to face Sam in the bathroom. He clapped a hand over his boyfriend’s mouth and said, “Shush.”

Sam’s eyes widened and only a second passed before he yanked Danny’s hand away from himself. “Rude,” was all he said, and Danny felt even worse when Sam’s face looked hurt and dejected. He’d half-expected Sam to take it as teasing and just carry on. But Sam turned away and took a step forward, one foot already out in the hallway as he added, “Being mean doesn’t suit you, Daniel.”

Danny grabbed Sam’s arm and pulled him back against his chest. “I’m sorry.” He wrapped his arms tight around Sam and rested his chin on his shoulder. “I just can’t stop thinking about it. All of it.”

Sam sighed, staying motionless and a little limp in Danny’s arms. “I don’t know how I can help,” he admitted. That was why he just kept talking about anything and everything else–he wanted to be a distraction. 

Danny pulled some of Sam’s hair back so he could press his lips to his neck. “I just don’t want to feel stupid or silly for being worried. Scared, actually,” he said, then inhaled the scent of Sam’s skin and his blood beneath. Sam was the only person who ever made him feel like it was okay to be a monster–vampire. He didn’t ever want to ruin that either. “I didn’t understand why you weren’t upset about what happened.”

“I was upset,” Sam insisted, still stuck in Danny’s hold and made to look ahead into the dim hallway. “But we don’t need both of us to be upset. That won’t solve anything. I thought it’d just make you feel worse.”

Hearing just that made Danny relax more. But when he took another breath with his nose touching the long column of Sam’s neck, the urge and drive he so badly wished he could take away charged forward through his system.

“I’m…a little hungry,” he admitted, slipping his hands beneath Sam’s shirt. 

Sam smiled a little to himself. “That’s probably not helping either. You’ve had a rough day, right?” He turned in Danny’s arms and dragged his fingertips down his sides. “That’s something I can do to make you feel better.”

Danny’s solo shower was abandoned for a shared bath. He touched his wet fingers to the vivid bruise on Sam’s neck, then the bite mark before it faded away with his saliva–Sam’s skin there was hot and damp, and Danny kissed the spot one last time before he leaned back against the cool tile. 

“Feel better?” Sam asked. He certainly did, having been able to again give Danny what he needed more than anything, and all cozy against his sexy, sweet vampire’s warm, strong body. 

Danny scooped up a handful of bubbles from the water’s surface and ran his soapy, wet hand down Sam’s arm. “I do, actually. Thanks for listening to me, y’know, bitch some more. And for your sweet, sweet blood that I’m cursed to drink forever.”

Sam smiled and tilted his head back against Danny’s chest. “Damn right, forever.”

---

Tagging:

@mackalah @sparrowofrhiannon @starbuggie @lightsofthe-living-gvf @sanguinebats @gvfrry @clairesjointshurt @bizzielisteningtogreta @milojames16 @brokebellsgvf @streamsofstardust @heckingfrick @wetkleenex-gvf

If you’d like to be tagged in any of my fics, you can go here or DM me :)

[rickybowensfever]

borrowed hoodie - sicktember 2024

Hello! I was struck with a sinus infection last week. I get chronic sinus infections and oh my god they are the WORST.

Anyway, I got some inspo last night to write this for the "Borrowed Hoodie" prompt for Sicktember 2024! I'm not going to have too many Sicktember fics left bc I got sick :( but I'm hoping to spark some dopamine and get at least another out for you.

I have been thinking about Susannah's role when her boys get sick and since she has cancer, obviously they'd want her far away from any illnesses. But this is fiction so let's just pretend that she can't get sick from them bc she's a Mom and her immune system isn't as bad as I make Conrad's mwahaha lol I always put Laurel in these situations bc she's more nurturing and has a stronger bond w/ Conrad. But, I'd like to add Beck in and show off her maternal side.

This fic is inspired/set after the episode "Summer Heat" and I took out some scenes that happen in that episode.

LMK what you think & happy reading!

Sicktember 2024 Prompts @sicktember

8. Borrowed Hoodie  

Alt. 

4. Flushed Cheeks

AO3 Link

BELLY POV

Belly woke up wearing Conrad’s hoodie and she was on cloud nine. 

She smiled wide, showing all of her pearly whites. Lying in her warm bed, she hugged herself, sniffing the hoodie that smelled of him; salty and sweet like the ocean. She didn’t want the moment to last, but she had to head over to the country club for dance rehearsal for the Ball. 

Last night was The Fourth of July. At the end of the night, she shared a special moment with Conrad as they both watched the fireworks shooting in the night sky over the ocean. It was breezy which made her jump in place as a chill came over her. Conrad stood by her wearing a zip-up hoodie and when he heard her yelp, he didn’t hesitate to offer her his hoodie. He took it off revealing his gray t-shirt. Belly’s stomach fluttered with butterflies as he placed the jacket over her, holding it out for her to put her arms into the sleeves. She couldn’t stop smiling, her teeth began to hurt. 

Belly turned over and grabbed her phone, unlocking it and composing a text to Conrad. 

Good morning :) 

She smiled a big, toothy grin. Nothing could bring her euphoric mood down. 

— 

After showering and changing into a dress, she headed over to the club. Of course, she wasn’t leaving the house without the hoodie. The light blue zip-up hoodie with white strings was now her security blanket. She left it unzipped as it was baggy on her, making her hands disappear and coming down to her thighs. 

Belly walked into the hall where all of the debutante girls mingled waiting for rehearsal to start. Nicole grabbed Belly as soon as she saw her, then looked her up and down. “Is that Conrad’s hoodie?” Nicole asked, furrowing her brows in suspicion. 

Belly’s stomach dropped. She was so giddy this morning and her head was in the clouds that she didn’t even think about seeing Nicole. Belly paused, fumbling a response, “Oh my God! Yesterday was so wild, I must’ve taken his by mistake. I didn’t even notice!” her stomach turned with anxiety, she nervously laughed, lying through her teeth. She shrugged her shoulders and took the hoodie off, placing it down off to the side on a couch by the wall.  

After rehearsal, Belly ran over to her car with the hoodie lying over her arm. She threw it in the backseat and got into the driver’s seat. She pulled out her phone to view her new messages, hoping to have one from Conrad. Her notification bar didn’t reveal any new messages, only a few notifications from her Instagram followers and of friends going live. Her stomach sank as she re-read her last message to Conrad with the “Delivered” text underneath. She rolled her eyes and turned on the car, hitting play on the radio to shuffle a song on her Spotify playlist. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove home, hoping Conrad would be there. 

— 

When she got home, the house was quiet. Susannah walked in from the front of the house and greeted her, “Good morning, my love” she said, smiling wide. 

Belly returned the smile. “Morning! Hey, Susannah? Have you seen Conrad?” she asked, anxiety fluttered in her stomach as she awaited the answer. 

Susannah frowned and her shoulders slumped. “He’s in bed with a nasty headache. Let him sleep” she explained. “I’m painting some portraits if you’d like to join me” the blonde haired woman said with a smirk, glancing toward the back door. 

Belly fake smiled at her. At least she knew Conrad wasn’t ignoring her, but she was hoping to spend the day with him. Belly gripped the hoodie in her hands and declined, “I’m okay” she replied laughing. 

Suddenly, Jeremiah came in from the back door in his usual chipper mood holding a beach towel over his arm and a backpack on his back. “Hey Bells! I’m going to the beach, want to join?” he asked. 

Belly immediately nodded her head, not even thinking twice about it. “Yes! Let me go get changed” she said assessing her outfit that was not suitable for the beach. 

Belly walked through the hallway toward her room but stopped once she got to Conrad’s door. One side of her conscience was telling her to open the door and tend to him but the other had Susannah’s voice playing in her head. Let him sleep. Belly hesitated, assessing her options, hoping for a sign that never came. 

The hall was quiet. She groaned and marched toward her room. 

—- 

CONRAD POV

Conrad woke up that morning with a splitting headache and the chills. No matter how much alcohol they had the day before, he knew this was not a hangover. He groaned, pulling his arm out from under the warm covers and placed his palm on his forehead. His hands were cold, preventing him from getting an accurate read on if he was running a fever or not. 

He pulled the covers out from under him and looked around the room for his zip-up hoodie. He scanned the room twice, and realized it wasn’t on the chair where he usually put it. He sighed, waiting a couple of seconds, pulling his aching body off of the bed and walked out of the room. 

Conrad entered the kitchen in search of some Advil and water. Susannah sat at the dining table typing on her phone, but stopped when she heard footsteps. 

She immediately frowned when she saw her oldest son’s pale complexion and rosy cheeks. “Aw, honey. You don’t look too good” she said, placing her phone on the table and getting up. 

Conrad put his hand out to stop her, creating distance between them. “I’m fineee” he croaked, opening the cabinet and grabbing a bottle of Advil which he unscrewed and poured out two tablets on the counter. 

“It’s just a bad headache, really” he said, composing himself not to worry her, taking a glass of water, chasing it with the medicine. 

“Mom, I’m fine. It’s really just a headache” he yawned, “I’m going to sleep it off” he shrugged, putting the medicine back in the cabinet and shutting it. 

Susannah sighed, knowing from his rosy cheeks that he wasn’t telling the truth. “Alright, if you say so. I’ll be just by the pool, if you need anything” she replied, giving him a thin-lipped smile before he disappeared up to his room. 

—- 

Luckily thanks to modern medicine, he was able to get some sleep. But when he woke hours later to the sun shining in through his blinds, Conrad felt 10x worse and the chills from earlier re-emerged for an encore. It was absolutely unbearable. His body was heavy and achy but fortunately, his headache was gone. 

After lying in bed awake for what felt like twenty minutes, Conrad mustered up the energy to get out of bed, knowing he needed to take more pain relievers. One thing about Connie is he hated feeling like a burden, so of course he always downplayed his symptoms when he was sick. Therefore, walking back into the kitchen, he silently hoped the coast would be clear. 

But his wishes were crushed when he and Susannah walked in at the same time. “Any better?” she said, her voice in a high pitch. 

“A little” Conrad muttered, going back to the cabinet where they last ran into each other. 

“Honey, why don’t you lie on the couch and I’ll take care of you?” she suggested, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. 

Conrad nodded, declining her request. “I’m okay, really,” he answered in a low voice. He really didn’t need anyone to fuss over him. Let alone, he’d feel guilty if he got his mother sick. 

Susannah crossed her arms, putting her foot down. “Con. You’re shivering, I really don’t mind” she said, noticing her son shivering in place, goosebumps forming on his arms. 

Conrad silently walked over to the couch in defeat. His brain was foggy and with his lack of energy, he was simply too tired to keep protesting. Susannah smiled, glad that he wouldn’t fight her on this anymore. 

Conrad curled up with a blanket on the couch and closed his heavy eyes. Suddenly, he was being woken by a gentle nudge. He opened his glassy blue eyes to see his frail mother sitting by the edge of the couch with a forehead thermometer in her hand. She gently leaned over to feel his forehead, despite feeling the heat radiating off of him from where she sat.

Susannah frowned at her son as she felt his boiling hot forehead, “Oof, you’re burning up, babe” she looked down, turning on the thermometer. She placed the thermometer up to his forehead and waited momentarily for it to beep. 

Susannah’s eyebrows raised and her eyes grew big as she read the alarming temperature. “101.4” she recited, in a broken voice, “I don’t know how you got this sick” she declared, slowly getting up from the couch. 

Conrad batted his eyelashes. He didn’t even realize he was that sick. He truly had himself convinced that he did just have a headache and mild symptoms that would soon disappear, not persist. 

As the chills continued, Conrad felt himself striving to get warm. He pulled the light blanket to the side and got up, walking toward a basket where they stored their blankets. 

Susannah immediately nipped that in the bud. “What’re you doing, honey?” she asked, making him freeze in place. 

He turned toward her and replied, “Getting a blanket” he answered slowly. 

“I’ll get that and I found your hoodie in Belly’s room when I was dropping off her laundry” she said looking over at the piles of laundry on the dining room table that she was folding before he came down, the hoodie lying next to them. 

Conrad nodded and slowly walked back to the couch. Susannah put down her supplies; a wet rag, a glass of water, and a dose of pain reliever. She walked over to the basket and grabbed a light blanket. When she closed the wicker basket, she placed the blanket on the arm of the couch. Then, walked to the dining room to grab his zip-up hoodie. 

When she got back to the couch, she handed over the hoodie. Conrad sat up and she helped him get each arm through. He zipped it up and lay his head back on the pillow, pulling the blankets up toward his chin. 

Susannah frowned at him, turning toward the coffee table and grabbed the medicine. Conrad sighed when he realized he had to sit up again. He complied and took the medicine with the glass of water, then lay his head on the pillow again.

He closed his heavy, tired eyes as he simply felt the fatigue settling in. The cold rag hit his steaming hot forehead and he sighed in relief. 

“Get some rest” Susannah whispered, patting the mountain of blankets. Those were the last words he heard before drifting off to sleep. 

BELLY POV

When Belly returned from the beach, she was in better spirits. Thanks to Jere, he always knew how to cheer her up. It was like he could sense her sorrow even if she put on a brave face and a fake smile. 

The two walked into the house laughing but were soon reprimanded for their volume. “Ssh!” Susannah held up her index finger to her closed lips, looking at the two teens with wide eyes. “Connie’s sleeping on the couch. He’s not feeling too hot” she whispered. 

Jeremiah put his hands up in defeat. “Sorry” the two whispered. 

When Belly got back to her room to shower from the beach, her heart stopped. She could’ve swore she left the hoodie on her unmade bed. But now her bed was made and there was a pile of clean clothes folded on top of her comforter. She frantically scanned the room looking for the hoodie. She looked under the bed, under the comforter, and in her closet but it was nowhere to be found. 

“Hmpf!” she expressed in frustration, whoever came into her room while she was out must’ve taken the hoodie. She left her beach towel and belongings on the floor of her bedroom and stormed down the stairs to find the hoodie. 

When she got to the border of the living room and the kitchen, she froze. Out the window, Susannah was lounging by the pool reading a book. Besides Conrad sleeping on the couch, the coast was clear.  She walked closer to the couch, slowly trying to be as quiet as she could be so as not to wake him. Her heart melted as she saw him; snoring softly, his cheeks flushed with a light pink tint. Then, her eyes lit up as she saw the light blue and white string of the hoodie peeking out under the blankets. 

She smiled, her lips turned up in a crescent moon, glad to know the hoodie was back with its rightful owner, even if it did sting a little to know her time with it was up.

[ooc-miqojak]

Sinus infection hell. I feel tired and disgusting all the time, on top of having many inches of snow (and weather in the negative degrees F) that prevents me from ever wanting to leave the house.

Protips for anyone else with one -

A. Humidifiers!! It's winter in the US, and that means dry air, which will nuke your sinuses. (I was prone to them while living in L.A. as well - it's always dry there, and the smog is terrible. Use humidifiers always if you live in a dry place!)

B. Flonase. Flonase is your one true savior (I'm not kidding, it's very much like a magic bullet every time I get one of these...my sincere thanks to the doctor who first prescribed it to me years ago for this reason) - but you can pair it with...

C. Zyrtec! Flonase helps a lot with the swelling and drainage, and if it's allergies, pairing it with Zyrtec helps kick the allergies in the teeth.

D. Drink lots of water! Lots of things suggest vitamin C as well, but citrus interacts with/neutralizes ADHD medication, so I can't have my favorite source of it...OJ. Imbibe your Vitamin C in the form you wish.

E. I refuse to do this one, because I refuse to waterboard myself: Neti-Pot. But be sure to use distilled water! I worked in a pharmacy in my 20s and heard horror stories (to include death) that came of improperly used Neti-pots. Pour that stuff in your face holes if you're up to it (I'm sure as hell not) to flush out the sinus holes in your face bones that are nasty and making you feel bad.

D. Sudafed - my go-to decongestant anytime I'm ill and stuffy! No decongestant will ever clear you up like this one. Be aware that it is in the same family as adderall, so depending on your dose it may not be advisable to take this (my dose is low enough that I'm safe). If you have heart problems... again, this is in that same family of drugs and may not be safe for you, so check with your pharmacist (they know more about drug interactions/effects than the average doctor... its their job to, after all!).

E. Rest. Nap all you want, cuddle your favorite pet or person or stuffed animal or whatever... but if you're tired? Answer the call. Your immune system is hard at work, so take the pressure off of everything else and rest up, let your body do its thing with the help of those meds. Maybe watch some Osmosis Jones, and celebrate your immune system being so cool.

[3liza]

when horses get sinus infections they just shunt some big needles in there and flush it out. they should do that for people more imo

[mandomover]

The Rookie

Chapter Twenty - Dinner date, Javi’s late

You get a much deserved chance to relax and catch up with Murphy, Connie and Javi.

Warnings: swearing, smoking, drinking, angsty feelings

Words: 2450

Masterlist | Next

A/N: ok I’m sorry it’s gotten a bit shit. It trailed off for a bit and I lost the way of it so some of it reads a bit too fillery but I swear I have a game plan! I still love Rookie and this version of soft Javi but bare with me- I’m a few weeks off popping a human out, I’m ill af with sinus and chest infections and I’m feeling super sorry for myself so hang tight. I’ll get back to it soon I swear 💕

You settle back in your chair, setting the knife and fork side by side on the dinner plate, nursing your full belly with a groan.

“Jesus Connie, that was amazing!”

“Thanks,” she grins.

“Just one of the many reasons I married this wonderful lady,” Murphy pipes up, shoveling another forkful of noodles into his mouth.

“Oh stop it,” she beams, looking bashful.

“Yeah, truly delicious Con,” Javi mumbles after swallowing his mouthful.

You were so hungry you shoved your food in like you hadn’t eaten in days, only speaking really once you finished, allowing Connie and Murphy to carry the conversation, mostly about Olivia and how she was settling into her new home, which apparently was like a duck to water.

“Oh I’ll clear these then we can get dessert sorted, it’s getting late,” Connie exclaims, pushing back from the table and reaching for your empty plate.

“Yeah sorry Con, meeting ran a little over.”

“Where was your meeting?” you ask suspiciously.

“Downtown.”

“Who was there?”

“Informants.”

“What kind of informants?” You knew fine rightly the kind of informants Javier Peña used to keep on a regular basis and while he hadn’t mentioned any of them recently, that didn’t mean he wasn’t still receiving information from them.

“None that concern you.” He gave your thigh a squeeze under the table that implied ‘leave it’ but he left his warm palm on your leg so you didn’t take too much offense by his tone of voice. While it should have given you goosebumps to be shot down, it made you feel protected, and safe, even though being in the Murphy’s place made you feel just as safe as being anywhere else with Javi. But it was still a strange sensation, Javi’s calloused hand on your denim clad leg. Comfortable; like everything about Javi, but dangerous in a way that made your stomach clench in excitement.

You looked at the clock on the wall, noting that it was well past eleven. Javi wasn’t kidding when he said he’d be a little late, but you still weren’t convinced by his noncommittal answers.

Connie tried to balance a plate and crockery together but they slipped and Murphy’s hand shot out to catch a falling knife from the plate.

“Here let me help,” you said, jumping up from your seat and grabbing the most haphazard looking items off Connie.

You followed her into the kitchen, as Javi rose from the table pulling his cigarettes out of his pocket, taking himself out to the balcony for a smoke, and you set the dishes into the sink before moving to the fridge and lifting out a fresh beer. You chugged the neck before leaning back against the counter, watching Connie as she bustled around the kitchen preparing dessert.

“How are you and Javi?”

“Yeah, good thanks. We’ve got a good routine and it works, gets the best out of us work wise.”

“Mm I bet. How are the living arrangements?”

“The living arrangements?”

“You and Javi living together.”

“Oh we’re not-“

“I take Olivia out for a walk at seven every morning. Don’t act like I don’t see you coming out of his, wearing his sweats and shirts.”

Your face flushed as you splutter out a response.

“Oh well, it’s just a handy arrangement, I don’t think-“

“I didn’t think anything of it, I’m obviously not privy to the workplace drama or romances. But then Steve saw one morning and if he noticed something and it got his tail wagging then I knew something must be going on.”

“There’s nothing happening I swear. I would tell you. He’s helping me out. I-“

You stop, afraid that by admitting out loud to someone else what’s been happening, it might make the reasons for it more concrete and give your brain a reason to do it again.

“I had a panic attack. And it wasn’t the first time. I haven’t had one while in Columbia but it was a bad one and Murphy and Javi were there to witness it after a chase, and Javi helped me out of it. So he’s just keeping an eye on me. Making sure I’m OK.”

Connie sets the knife she was using to cut the cheesecake down and turns to envelope you in a tight embrace.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry! I didn’t know.”

“It’s OK,” you shrug, a little embarrassed. “It’s just nice I guess to not have to worry as much when I’m with Javi. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s hella convenient, but I feel like I won’t have another one if I’m with him and I can’t lose that focus right now. If I start down that road again and someone else finds out, I’ll get pulled from this mission. Can’t have a basket case on the payroll can you?”

You take another swig, looking at your feet while your face reddens deeper and Connie turns back to the dessert, giving you some privacy while she plates the food.

“Why do you think being with Javi will stop you having another one?”

“I just… I feel like…”

You trail off, not sure how to put into words the feelings being in Javi’s presence gives you. You feel like you belong there, right by his side. He’s a dick to a lot of people but with you he’s soft and genuine and vulnerable and you’re the same with him, and very rarely in this lifetime have you known someone who can evoke those feelings from within you. You feel safe; like you know he’s a good shot if it came down to it, but you feel protected, safe from the outside world be it physical damage or mental damage or anything that could make you feel sad or hurt. Spending every moment with him the past while has crippled you though, because the rare moments you’re apart, it hurts you to watch him go and you feel like a part of you is missing.

“Do you like him?”

“Course I do. Wouldn’t spend so much time with him if I didn’t.”

“You know what I mean,” she raises an eyebrow at you skeptically and crosses her arms expectantly, waiting for the truth.

“Fuck, I don’t know. I just know I can’t be away from him.”

Connie purses her lips in thought before turning back to the dessert.

“I haven’t seen Javi like this before. I mean, he’s always quiet and I know he’s a hard shell to crack, but Steve talks about this lonely hardass ‘Bogotá Batchelor’ and with you here every day, he hasn’t had to go anywhere else to seek solace and that’s been nice. For everyone. And that’s not like Javi. He’s so comfortable around you. It’s like you’re already a couple. You’re not a couple are you?”

“No,” you laugh. “I’m pretty sure I would know. And it’s not like that.”

“Are you sure? I saw the way he looked straight for you when he came in, and the little touches during dinner. I might be married but I’m not blind.”

You laugh again and shake your head.

“I swear, nothing’s happening. We’re not like that.”

“You’re telling me nothing has ever happened?”

You scratch the back of your neck, wincing slightly as you catch her appraising look from under your furrowed brow.

“We, um, slept together once. It was about a month ago. But we kind of fell out and only just reconciled a week or so ago so I don’t think we’ll ever test our friendship like that again.”

You didn’t need to include the kiss last week, because you definitely had no idea what the fuck that meant.

“Ahh.”

“What?”

“Steve said you and Javi had both been strange for a while but wouldn’t go into specifics. Just got really annoyed when I asked after you guys. Makes sense now.”

“Yeah you could say we were acting like dicks.”

She watches you with the flicker of a smile on her lips then questions you, “were you acting like that because you genuinely felt awkward about crossing those lines, or because your heart realized it was something you actually wanted but your mind hadn’t got the memo yet?”

Your mouth falls open and you’re stuck for something to say. What Connie said resonates with you and you wonder if your head and your heart are aligned at all? You're falling apart as it is, you can’t have them not on the same page. But as usual you push the realisation that you need to face these feelings, away to a locked compartment in your brain and traipse into the dining room after Connie, flashing a smile at Javi and a Murphy, the former who is watching you from the balcony while he draws a smoke.

Dessert is fantastic, and you’re most definitely full to the brim now, sure you’ll pop if you squeeze even one more bite in.

You lounge in your chair so you can finish your beer, Javi’s thick arm slung casually over the back of your chair and you can’t help but hyperfixate on his position. The way he’s left it there, casual in its placement, has caused his body to shift, turning into you slightly and you can’t help feel like he’s still trying to protect you, caged territorially around you like an animal sheltering its pride.

Connie throws you an all knowing smirk across the table and you stifle your coughing fit by sinking the remainder of your drink, wiping the escaped droplets with the back of your hand.

You rise to put the empty bottle in the trash, lifting other empties on your way to the kitchen and as you place the last bottle into the can, Javi peers around the doorframe, shining eyes lit up.

“Coming upstairs?”

You nod and smile at him, setting the lid down.

His shoulders seem to relax like a balloon that’s released the air, as though his shoulders were hunched in anticipation of you saying anything other than ‘yes.’ A wary grin spreads across his face and he nods towards the front door, pulling himself backwards out of the kitchen. You sigh as you hear him make his goodbyes and wonder why you over-thought the seating position at the table at all. He’s your best friend. And he told you that nothing would happen on his end. Of course he would lean an arm around you while he’s relaxing at the table. Of course he would give you a reassuring squeeze on your leg. You care about each other deeply, in a purely platonic way so that’s how you show affection and care in this scenario. Your relationship is heightened because of the stressful non stop situation you’re in. Sure you slept together but there were no feelings there, that’s why the following few weeks were awkward. Then you kissed him out of nowhere but think of the day you had had. Heightened emotions on top of heightened emotions. But you’re not awkward now. You’re friends again. Taking care of each other in the little ways you can while on a shitty mission like this one. You’re not stupid. Javi’s a hard man, reserved and simple but he’s let you in enough to peel away some of those layers so you’re not going to fuck that up again. So you say your goodbyes and follow him up the stairs.

You throw yourself onto the top of the bed, sated and sluggish after a few more beers with Javi, lounging against the headboard while he pokes about his drawers for a T-shirt for you to sleep in. His brow is furrowed and he slams the drawer shut, wrenching open the next one down.

“What’s up?”

“Have you actually used all my T-shirts and not returned a single one?” he accuses.

“I haven’t been home much to wash them and bring them back! I’ll get round to it. You’re bound to have something for me to borrow.”

“You’re at the point now where you’re looking the clothes off my very back.”

“It’s a nice shirt,” you protest.

He laughs, a real belly laugh and pulls his shirt off his head, revealing his golden chest.

“I’m kidding!” you squeal, covering your eyes childishly and pretending to peek through your fingers as he balls it up and throws it at you. “There’s bound to be something.”

“Cariño, you’re bleeding me dry here.”

You jump up and go to his wardrobe, noseying through his suits and shirts until you find an old jumper at the back, a thin layer of dust sheening the shoulders.

“Jesus when did you last wear this?”

“Some date a while ago.”

“Javi Peña doesn’t date.”

“Yes I do. They just need to be worth it.”

“The only girls you know are me, Connie, and your informants from the whore houses,” you snort, turning away from Javi and pulling your shirt off, replacing it with the jumper. “You need to broaden your horizons.”

You turn back around, looking at Javi, mustache bristling and wide hands splayed on his hips.

He lifts his gaze from the floor and looks at you expectedly.

“What?”

He doesn’t answer, dark eyes smoldering into yours before he shrugs and sits to pull his jeans off and climb into bed, almost as if he were deciding to say something or not.

You shirk your own jeans, dumping them on the foot of the bed for you to roll back on tomorrow morning for your traipse home to shower and change before work and roll the sleeves of the long jumper up to free your hands, pulling the sheet right around you and snuggling in. You eye Javi, lying on his back with his hands behind his head looking up at the ceiling distractedly.

“I’ll go home tomorrow and wash all your stuff, I swear.”

“Good. You may aswell bring some of your own stuff back too so you stop stealing mine.”

He leans over, turns off the light and rolls back towards you, pulling you in tight to his body. “Would save us some time dropping you off at yours every morning too, you’re taking longer every day and all the good coffee’s gone by the time we arrive at the office.”

He places a gentle kiss to your forehead and nuzzles his face against your hair, getting himself comfortable for the night.

It’s much later and you can hear Javi’s soft snores against your cheek telling you he’s sound asleep but you’re a million miles away from sleep. Your mind is racing, pouring over Connie’s comments and your own thoughts about them, and Javi’s last remark.

What did he mean by ‘bring some of your own stuff back too?’

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[technocipher]

Some may wander onto the church's balcony, never once sparing a glance at the rolling rack of plants. "They're just plants. Who cares? Doesn't Eva grow flowers over there?" Sure, there's a scant number of plants growing there. Nothing seems to support much life over there. No signs of any vegetables from those seed packets we give her, either.

(In all likelihood, the developers probably thought that few would notice that section. Fleshing out the balcony with more plants might've been deemed a pointless gesture.)

What many don't realize, however, is that many plants are medicinal! Consider that the next time you pass by the herb pots at the grocery store. Common thyme, for example, is antibacterial! It can also be steeped as a tea for sinus infections, and that's just a small fraction of what it can do!

The central shelf on the rolling rack carries rosemary, along with a plant I could not identify. Just generic, silly nonsense, right?

Wrong! Rosemary is more than just a kitchen spice. It's a fantastic herb for the brain!

It acts as a brain stimulant!

It aids with memory!

It aids blood circulation to the brain!

It aids with treating early onset dementia/Alzheimer's!

It acts as an antidepressant!

It acts as an antiviral!

It aids concentration!

It also has anti-anxiety properties!

Where the revenants are concerned, I'd say that's quite the vital herb! With the help of scavenged alcohol and some sterile jars, bottles, and lids, there's potential for the crafting-- and trading-- of rosemary tinctures! (In the absence of proper sterilization, whatever they can use to rinse would have to do. Above all else, these chosen jars and bottles would need to be airtight enough to prevent oxidization. An oxidized tincture is not desired-- it can lose a lot of those helpful properties!)

If water is still consumed by the revenant population (and if it is, I haven't seen it mentioned)... they can take these tinctures through water. A couple drops or barely a spoonful would go a long way! Some may attempt to slip these under their tongues and get quite the burn for their trouble. At Home Base's bar, there are numerous bottles of blood bead leukocytes. These could possibly handle a small dosage... if our favorite revenants can stand to hold the first sip for ten seconds.

Now, the uppermost shelf of the rack holds some decorative plants... and some parsley, growing out of a generically-labelled tea tin. Parsley? Really?!

Parsley's got quite the high vitamin content, though. I don't know if revenants require the same intake allotment for vitamins like humans have-- I've never seen it mentioned before. But if you factor in the maintenance of the host' body, vitamins are just as important! Whether or not the BOR parasite directly benefits remains to be seen, but for now, we're covering the fun stuff.

What the heck does parsley do, anyways? Well...

It's got stupidly high amounts of Vitamin K, which is not only good for your bones, but also boosts blood production!

It's full of other key vitamins and antioxidants!

It acts as a diuretic!

It also helps to keep your eyes healthy!

In the grand scheme of things, it might not seem like that big of a deal. But it could help boost a revenant's regeneration. Code Vein flip-flops a bit on how regeneration works, especially with gameplay in mind. Could parsley increase the healing amount, or even the number of times it can be tapped into? Quite possibly! It could also be circulated to the shelters, and thus assist blood donors with recuperating quicker. The diuretic properties can also be utilized to help flush status effects quicker. And as for the eye health of revenants far and wide, wouldn't that go a long way? That's a lot less stress on them, isn't it?

Though I cannot identify the other plants on the rack, that doesn't mean that they're lacking in benefits. There are some flowers that can be eaten and be used in medicine. Calendula, for example, is an edible flower that can be used to aid the healing of wounds. Besides, it's such a bright and cheery flower-- why not keep a few blooms just to look, and let them go to seed, while you're at it? (Calendula is very easy to grow-- save those seeds!)

Another one is chrysanthemum, which is another edible flower. Its primary benefit is eye health, and I believe it's even stronger than parsley in this regard. (Do not consume the store-bought ones, as they have been treated with a myriad of extremely harmful chemicals! The best way to avoid this is by growing them yourself. Remember to buy non-neotic seeds; these are better for pollinating insects and keeps you safe, too!)

And if the parts above the soil aren't safe for consumption, remember that the roots can still be used! Roots can have loads of medicinal properties! Some can be edible, while others can be dried and infused into oils! An example.of an edible root is the humble dandelion. Though the entire plant is completely edible, its taproot is a potent liver detoxifier! Should it be roasted and brewed into tea, it tastes just like coffee!

Even if revenants aren't taking these medicines themselves, consider how much it would benefit the human population living in the shelters. If we really gotta split hairs, the medicinal benefits could carry over into blood donations. Entire categories of enhanced blood could be produced by the shelters, and distributed to the revenant-occupied shelters. In times of disease where the latter is concerned, these unique products could be life-saving. Even then, the more positive trading arrangement may improve human and revenant relations-- a massive issue omnipresent within the Gaol of the Mists. This isn't just food and decoration; it's something greater.

Just a little thing that makes life a bit more bearable.