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It was currently ten in the morning, and Tyler was taking care of a sad, sniffling Evan who was bundled up in about five blankets on their living room couch. There was a box of tissues settled right next to him with a handful of used ones accompanying it right beside it.
The build-up occurred for about three days.
The first day he told Tyler he felt a tickle in his throat and that he hadn’t been that hungry when Tyler offered to buy him lunch.
The second day it transformed into a slight sore throat, but Evan wasn’t going to admit that he might be getting sick. The headaches he was getting throughout the day were unrelated as well, he kept telling Tyler.
Which then brings us to day three. Evan had woken up and trudged into Tyler’s room with his bed’s blanket weakly wrapped around him. It wasn’t until Tyler properly got up and out of bed to feel the other’s forehead that the answer was right in front of them.
Evan came down with a fever.
Tyler wasn’t the least bit surprised.
The week before Evan had insisted that he take care of Tyler while he was in his own sad, sick state. The American was as stubborn as a mule and felt that he wasn’t so sick that he couldn’t take care of himself. But the Canadian was just as stubborn and kept pestering the former until he eventually gave up and let him. His reasoning being “what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn’t take care of you!” or something along those lines. So Tyler let Evan make him his bowls of soup and bring him his painkillers to take along with a water bottle. The cycle repeated, and all seemed well.
That is, until the one Thursday evening that was surely going to be a certain someone’s downfall.
Tyler cracks an eye open at the feeling of a sudden weight on his chest only to see Evan plopped right on top of him. The other’s head was resting on his chest as he unlocked his phone to begin mindlessly scrolling through Twitter.
“Hey, genius. You do know that I’m still sick, right?”
Evan pauses his scrolling to tilt his head up to look at Tyler.
“Yeah, I know.”
Tyler just blinks at him.
“Uh, hello? You are literally on top of me? You are breathing in my sick air? You’re going to get sick yourself, Ev. Then I’m going to have to take care of your dumbass.”
Evan huffs out a laugh and goes back to laying his head on Tyler's chest.
“First of all, I’m immune to that shit. I haven’t come down with anything in years! Second of all, you would have to take care of me regardless. Why? Because you love me, and cause I did such a good job taking care of you. Third of all, we haven’t cuddled in what feels like forever. I think I deserve this.”
“Uh-huh, if the “this” in question is getting sick. But y’know what? Whatever. Just know that I’ll be saying I told you so.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go back to taking your nap.”
And here they are now in their current situation.
With a grunt and a roll of the eyes from Tyler.
“I told your stupid ass that you would get sick.”
And a whine and a pout on the lips from Evan.
“How would I know that would happen? I just wanted to take care of you!”
The taller of the two was currently moving around their shared apartment. It was relatively small since his back and forth trips from the living room to the kitchen were literally only a few steps, but it was what they liked to call their home. They split the rent, which fortunately isn’t so high; plus it’s only a couple of blocks away from the university they attend. It's more than worth it.
And speaking of university…
“By the way Ev, I have class in like, half an hour,” Tyler says out loud. He’s walked into the bedroom to grab his jacket and backpack. “I’m about to be on my way soon, so I left the shit you need out on the table.”
“Whaaat? Can’t you just ditch and stay with me?” Evan lets his head recline into the couch. His head lolls from right to left as his eyes watch Tyler move from across the room. “We could just stay inside, Uber Eats some food, and binge watch shitty Youtube videos.”
“As much as I would love to, I’d rather not be on the receiving end of my professor bitching to me about how I didn’t show up for barely the second time in the semester. He has us on a strict attendance policy, and I already didn’t show up last week.”
A drawn-out sigh escapes from Evan’s mouth as he relaxes further into the couch. Tyler could practically hear the frown on the other’s face.
“Lame. Well, I guess I’ll just be here. Sad. And alone. And sick. And--”
Tyler bending and pressing a kiss to Evan’s forehead was what cut him off before he could finish. As he stands back up, he hears a content hum come from the other which causes him to roll his own eyes.
“Alright, that’s enough out of you,” Tyler says, a smile growing on his face. “I’ll literally be coming right back after my lecture. So it’s not like you’re gonna be alone for long. I’ll see you when I come back, okay?”
“Alright. Have fun at your boring lecture! Try not to take a nap halfway through.”
With that, Tyler makes his way out.
Click.
The sound of the front door opening.
“Ev, I’m home,” Tyler announces out loud.
He sets his keys on the table that was by the entrance as he toes his shoes off. The sound of the TV playing whatever show Evan put on could be heard, but not Evan himself. Weird. Usually the other never hesitates to at least give him a “welcome home” upon his return. Letting out a hum, Tyler drops his backpack by the entrance to walk further into the apartment. Once he’s out of their little entrance area, he sees that the TV is in fact still on. As for whoever was watching it…
Of course.
A quiet laugh escapes from him once his eyes come across the sight of Evan passed out on the couch. He had shifted to be laying on the couch, so his head was now resting on the armrest end of the couch. He was still bundled in his blanket, but with how much it took up, his legs were now exposed as he was wrapped up from chin to torso. His phone was on the table in front of the couch, and the remote was on the opposite end of the couch. His mouth was agape, and he was lightly snoring as he slept peacefully.
The male slips his phone out of his pocket and records the unflattering sight of his boyfriend. It could make for funny blackmail material, so naturally, he recorded at most thirty seconds. Once done, he pocketed his phone once more and shook his head.
“Hey, sleepyhead.” Tyler gently ruffles Evan’s hair. “I’m back home.”
“Mmm, hm?” Evan shifts to the side. His eyes were slowly opening and blinking away sleepiness. “Oh shit. Welcome home, Ty.”
Another laugh escapes as he watches Evan unfold himself from his cocoon. The other tossed the blanket to be hanging off the back of the couch, and stretched his entire body with a groan.
“I feel sweaty. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep with that thing around me still.”
“S’not like you could’ve helped it. You passed out with the TV on and everything.”
Tyler hears the other let out another groan as he makes his way back to the entrance to pick up his backpack. He sets it on a chair in the dining area of the kitchen. After doing so, he walks back to the couch to press a kiss to Evan’s forehead.
“Here, y’know what? Take a shower. I’ll make us something to eat while you do.”
“Aw, how sweet. Look at you being a good boyfriend.”
“Shut up and go before I decide to change my mind.”