Aiden was curled up in bed with his heaviest blanket over his body and a haze in his mind. Damien was in his office chair beside him with his feet on the coffee table. They’d ordered some chicken noodle soup from the bistro since Aiden needed something with broth as the heft of his head cold settled. He was achy and had the chills, and was glad that he’d caught it early enough to bail out of class and work before it caused too many issues. Thankfully, he wasn’t on the schedule for the store more than a few nights but he was worried about missing classes this close to midterms so he had Margo and Tommy take notes for him. He wasn’t worried about Margo, they’d give him more than he’d needed, but he had to emphasize to Tommy how important it was because he tended to daydream in class. He liked Tommy, but Tommy really liked Billy and she took up ninety percent of the real estate in his head, with at least five percent of the remaining chunk going to mochi donuts and boba drinks with extra sugar. It didn’t leave Aiden feeling all that confident that he’d get any notes.

A soft cough left Aiden’s lips and he groaned, pulling the blanket up closer to his head. He tried to get comfortable but it wasn’t working. He had no idea what was happening in the movie they’d been watching.

“Are you sure you’re good?” Damien asked.

“I dunno,” Aiden mumbled as he shifted again. He slid down, giving up on trying to pay attention to the TV. He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, feeling the pull of the cold meds finally sweeping over him. He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d finally let his heavy eyelids shut—time was being weird—but he was startled by the feeling of a hand against his head, pushing his sweaty hair back.

He heard Damien get up and walk around, heard the faucet running, and felt cold relief wash over him as a wet cloth was draped over his forehead.

“Thanks,” Aiden mumbled.

“No problem,” Damien said quietly.

Aiden breathed out a slow sigh and let his head relax. It grew quiet in the apartment, even the sounds on the TV started to dull. He heard Damien moving around again, but his eyes felt so heavy and impossible to open so he could only imagine what it was his neighbor was doing. The rocker had every inch of the apartment memorized so he didn’t feel the need to pay much attention unless Damien called out for him. He’d find whatever it was he was looking for.

Damien was doing his best to keep quiet, but Aiden was pretty sure he heard dishes moving, the fridge opening, and slippers tapping across the wooden floor. With the cool chill against his forehead, the overworked webcomic artist finally drifted off, body going slack as he melted under the covers and tried to sweat out the fever.

💖

When Aiden next opened his eyes, it was dark out. The patio door was open and the curtain popped a bit with the breeze. He felt sticky and the blanket was damp. The head cold must have been worse than he’d assumed for him to have sweat this much. The lights were down low and, as he rolled over, he caught sight of Damien in the office chair next to him holding a manga. The washcloth fell off of his head—it was still cold—and hit the floor.

Damien looked down at it, lifting the book as he tried to figure out where the cloth had gone in the low light. “Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked as he leaned over to grab the towel.

“Foggy,” Aiden mumbled, smacking his lips. “Dehydrated.”

“Margo stopped by and dropped off some more soup and a few more sports drinks,” Damien said as he set the manga on the table. He stood and walked over to the kitchenette.

The light from the fridge hit Aiden’s eyes and he groaned, pulling the blanket up to his face to hide. His neighbor returned with a bottle of blue flavored drink, twisting the lid off before he handed it over. Aiden mumbled a thanks as he attempted to push himself up. He slouched against the cold wall and sipped the drink. Sweat rolled down his jaw, he lifted his damp shirt up to wipe it away.

“You don’t have to stay,” Aidens said after he slaked his thirst some.

“You can hardly sit upright,” Damien said.

“Yeah, and?”

Aiden turned his eyes toward Damien. He was too weak to react to the fact that Damien’s hand was coming toward his head, brushing back his twisted curls with a soft touch. Aiden’s heart fluttered, his head felt so heavy and he leaned into Damien’s hand. It was warm, almost warmer than his feverish body was.

“Should we take you to a doctor? You feel really warm,” Damien said.

“Nah, I just need to sweat it out,” Aiden replied.

“Are you hungry? I can reheat that soup, or make some ramen.”

“I should eat something and take more meds. Ramen is fine, I can use the kettle. No need to be fancy.”

Aiden went to pull the blanket off and get out of bed, but Damien told him not to move and offered to get it for him. It wasn’t usually how he handled these messes, but Aiden had to admit he liked being cared for and doted on a little. He was so dizzy and sore. He ended up kicking the blanket onto the ground and pulled his shirt off, tossing it on top of the crumpled linen. He brushed back his shaggy hair, grimacing at how damp it was. I need to do laundry, he mused as he finished his drink. The kettle started heating with soft whirs.

“This sucks,” Aiden groaned.

“You’ve been working really hard lately, it’s not surprising you wore yourself down,” Damien replied as he leaned on the nearby counter.

“This happens every autumn. It sneaks up on me every time, too,” Aiden replied as he stretched his legs out. The basketball shorts he’d put on before climbing into bed clung to his long legs. “I hope you don’t catch it, I’d feel awful.”

“I’ll be fine, not sure I can catch… whatever… you have.”

Aiden cut his eyes to Damien, but it was hard to see his expression without his glasses. That was one helluva suspicious sentence, but he opted not to address it. Damien cleared his throat nervously as the kettle beeped and started dispensing water. They remained in awkward silence for a moment. Aiden picked up a single issue comic from the coffee table to fan himself down while Damien grabbed the styrofoam container and a pair of chopsticks from the nearby coffee mug. He walked back over to the bed and told Aiden he’d grab the cold meds.

Hands shaking, Aiden dug into the ramen. He was glad he was hungry, that meant it wasn’t the flu or something worse. The medication was taken and he enjoyed his meal slowly, unable to really do much else to keep himself from addressing how Damien kept eying his shirtless form. The fever was really messing with him and he felt self-conscious about his body. He spent a lot of time at the computer, sitting at his desk, and wasting away in class, so while he wasn’t lazy he definitely wasn’t a cut masterpiece by any means. He was average. Tall and average and pretty plain. But Damien kept looking at him like he was an action star… or he was repulsed by him, but he wanted to believe the first option was the truth. Or he was staring at his tattoo, which was probably more accurate.

“You have so many freckles,” Damien said, almost as if he realized he was staring.

“Yeah, we actually incorporated a lot of them into my sleeve. You can see them in the koi fish’s scales,” Aiden replied as he lifted his arm a bit, hoping he didn’t smell too bad from all of the sweat as he did.

Damien looked at it. “It’s so cool, I want one.”

“Margo could probably paint you something. Mark your new move and new life with some ink, that’s what I did,” Aiden replied.

Damien looked at him with a smile. “I think I’d prefer it if you made something.”

Aiden nearly choked on the noodle he’d slipped into his mouth. He blinked a few times and felt a stronger heat rush over his cheeks. It made him dizzy.

“Oh… I mean, I can,” he mumbled.

“I’d like that… Now I have to think about what I want.”

Aiden smiled when Damien did. He liked seeing his neighbor smile, it was dreamy and surreal, and it made the haze rushing over him grow heavier. He asked Damien to take the cup to the kitchen for him so he could get back to sleep. The dizziness was growing worse from being upright so he needed to get horizontal again. He curled up and turned on his side, blinking his eyes lazily before he closed them.

Damien told him goodnight and grabbed another blanket to cover him with, then sat back down to finish reading the manga. Aiden selfishly hoped that he’d still be there when he woke in the morning.