Chapter Text
Sand blinked his eyes slowly, the early morning light steadily pouring through the window of Ray’s house. It took him a moment to remember what woke him up, but then he heard the insistent buzzing of his phone alarm on the nightstand and let out a groan as he rolled over to turn it off. The lump next to him didn’t even stir as Sand shifted around. Usually Ray was a light sleeper but he was currently cocooned under the blankets, apparently dead to the world.
Sand didn’t think much of it as he listened to Ray’s soft snores, the only noise permeating the room. He figured he was just worn out from working at the hostel late yesterday. Sand stood up and stretched, popping his back, and walked into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He had a few errands to run before he could enjoy the evening off. He needed to take his mom in for a doctors appointment, make a few wine deliveries and clean up his apartment some before Nick came home. He had spent the week with Boston, taking a trip to god knows where.
Once Sand had showered and eaten some toast, he went back to give Ray a kiss goodbye. Usually he would wake up long enough to say bye and then fall back asleep as soon as Sand had left. However, he hadn’t moved at all while Sand was getting ready. Even as he shook Ray’s shoulder gently, all he did was a let out a louder snore and remained completely knocked out. Sand just shook his head and kissed his messy hair. He then left a note on the nightstand, saying he’d be back around 1pm. With that, Sand gathered his things and left quietly.
Ray let out a long groan as he tried to sit up in bed. His efforts were in vain though and he didn’t have the strength, promptly falling back on his side. Everything felt too hot but too cold at the same time, and every muscle in his body ached. He tried to call for Sand but immediately stopped when he felt how sore his throat was. He noticed the sticky note lying on his nightstand and blinked his eyes to clear the bleariness out of them. Ray let out another groan as he realized Sand wouldn’t be back for a while.
‘Great,’ Ray thought, ‘I guess i’m not going anywhere anytime soon.’
A heavy shiver passed through him and he buried himself underneath the blankets while closing his eyes from the dizziness, waiting for Sand to come home.
Sand hummed quietly to himself as he cleaned up around his apartment. He let a smile pass over his face as he watered his numerous plants, letting the warm sun filter in, giving him a sense of peace. Once he was done and had finished folding his laundry, he checked the time on his phone. He gave a frown when he realized that Ray hadn’t messaged him at all, and it was almost 1 pm. Usually the boy would wake up and send him a message, usually about how much he missed him or some inappropriate comment about what he was going to do to Sand when he got home.
Sand was a little worried now.
‘Maybe he’s not feeling well,’ he thought to himself.
With that, he quickly got his things and headed back to Ray’s house, trying not to drive to quickly as his worries grew heavier. Once he parked his bike, he ran up to the front door and let himself in, quietly padding up the stairs to Ray’s bedroom. When he walked into the room, it looked like Ray still hadn’t moved. Now Sand was really worried. He walked up to the side of the bed and kneeled down, running a hand through Ray’s hair. He wasn’t expecting Ray to speak, thinking he was still asleep.
“You’re back,” Ray croaked out, without opening his eyes. Sand hardly understood what he said though.
“Are you not feeling well, baby?” Sand asked and gently put the back of his hand on Ray’s forehead, feeling his temperature. He was burning up. All Ray could do was hum softly, wincing as his throat burned with the sound.
“I’ll be right back,” Sand said and quickly went to the kitchen to grab a bowl. He then filled it with some warm water and grabbed a small towel from the bathroom.
“Come on, I’ll help you sit up,”he said, slowly shifting Ray upright against his mountain of pillows. “I’m going to give you a sponge bath. You don’t want to keep sleeping all sweaty.”
Ray slowly cracked open one eye as the dizziness passed, scrunching up his nose and giving a small pout when he saw the bowl in Sand’s hands. He hated getting sponge baths, or really if he had to do anything while he was sick. He just wanted to lay back down and sleep his fever away. Sand shook his head and gave a soft smile at Ray’s attempt to give him puppy dog eyes.
“You’re not getting out of this, baby. I promise it’ll make you feel better. Then I’ll let you sleep more,” Sand said gently. He pulled back the covers covering Ray, whispering soothing words as he shivered from the fever. He knew Ray didn’t have the strength to get his shirt and boxers off so he opted for lifting up his shirt to his chest long enough to wipe him down. Ray just wanted it to be over as soon as possible. He jerked a little as Sand began wiping his stomache. He hated to admit it, but it was starting to help him feel more relaxed, and he was thankful to feel a little more clean.
“Feels good,” Ray said softly, eyes closing as he let out an involuntary sigh of satisfaction. Sand smiled softly and kept working his way up to his chest. Once he finished, he lowered his shirt back down and began gently wiping down his arms, nothing but pure love and devotion pouring from his hands. Ray felt like he was on a cloud by the time Sand started gently wiping his face. He was softly pressing kisses to his hair and murmuring praises to him for being still. It was times like this that Ray felt overwhelmed by all the love he was receiving. Though they had been together for a few years, there were times when it still felt unreal that Sand was still by his side. He wanted so badly in this moment to tell him how much he meant, something he knew he wasn’t always good at.
“Sand…,” Ray said almost as a whisper. He knew he couldn’t talk much but he wanted Sand to know he appreciated what he was doing.
“Hmm?” Sand hummed while he worked diligently at wiping his face. When he didn’t hear anything from Ray, he looked up and his breathe hitched. Ray was gazing into his eyes, moisture building up in the corners of his own eyes. Though his eyes looked glassy and were hardly able to stay open, he was looking at Sand like he was the only person in the world that mattered. Sand couldn’t look away and waited for Ray to say something.
Ray let out a small huff, frustrated that it hurt so much to talk. His lips quivered as tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. “Thank you,” he whispered, hoping Sand could understand how much he appreciated him. Sand knew this was hard for Ray to do and didn’t want him to break down and feel any worse than he already did. He let a huge smile cover his face and softly peppered kisses all over Ray’s face, trying to distract Ray from crying. It worked and Ray let out a small giggle as Sand kissed the tip of his nose. He pulled back, seeing a soft smile on Ray’s face.
“I’ll always be there for you…. buuuuut you’re not going to like this next part,” Sand said as his gaze shifted down to Ray’s legs. Ray’s eyes followed his gaze and he let out a groan and tried to move to pull the covers back over him. He was shivering and was back to his pouty self as Sand chuckled and moved his hands out of the way.
“This will be quick, I promise,” Sand reassured him. He pulled the covers back and made quick work of wiping down Ray’s legs and under the waistband of his boxers. Ray teased him by giving a half-hearted shake of his hips, making Sand tsk and push him back down.
“Not now baby,” Sand reprimanded at Ray’s suggestive movement. He heard Ray give a small whine. “Have you eaten anything today or drank anything?”
Ray shook his head and Sand quickly tucked Ray back in and ran downstairs to grab a glass of water. While he was there, he quickly ordered some spicy soup and made sure it would be delivered as quickly as possible. Once back upstairs, he handed Ray the water and helped him sit up more to drink it. Ray let out a soft sigh once he finished it, not realizing how badly he needed it. His throat felt a little better after that and he sank back into the pillows.
“You can’t fall asleep yet, sweetheart. I ordered some soup for you. I know you don’t want to but you need to eat a little before sleeping again.” Sand said as Ray was drifting off.
Ray didn’t want to keep his eyes open, but he knew some food would probably help. It wasn’t much longer before the doorbell rang and Sand bolted downstairs to grab their food. He quickly came back and opened up the soup for Ray. He sat down next to him and began to slowly feed him small spoonfuls of the soup. He tried to give Ray a little bit of rice but he shook his head. He felt queasy and didn’t think he could stomach it. Once he finished feeding Ray most of the soup, he set it down and helped Ray to lay down further so that he could finally nap. He pulled the comforter up to his chin and almost laughed at how cute Ray looked, with only his eyes and messy hair peaking out from under the covers.
“Get some rest, baby,” Sand said and made to stand up so that he could go eat as well. However, he felt Ray’s hand gently grab his wrist, stopping him from getting up.
“Stay?” Ray asked. He didn’t want to fall asleep without Sand being there. Sand gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m not going anywhere, baby. Just going to sit here and eat while you sleep.”
He climbed back onto the bed and sat next to Ray. He felt Ray relax next to him and heard him sigh as he drifted off quickly, soon letting out soft snores. Sand watched him fondly for a moment until he was sure Ray was asleep. He grabbed his bowl of pork and rice and ate quietly while Ray dozed. He then got up slowly and went around the room, cleaning up and taking the bowl of water and food back downstairs. He figured Ray would be out for a while and set an alarm to wake him up in a few hours to take some medicine and eat some dinner. While he had time to kill, he went to the music room and grabbed the guitar he kept their when he wanted to play for Ray. Sand had some song ideas he wanted to work on anyway, so he sat here strumming out chords and singing softly for the next few hours. It felt like it was no time before his alarm went off and he quickly stood up and went upstairs to check on Ray. Ray looked peaceful while he was sleeping, but he was covered in sweat. Sand saw this as a good sign though, Ray’s fever finally breaking. He went back downstairs and heated up what was left of the soup and grabbed another bowl of water, intending to wipe Ray down again. Soon he was sitting next to Ray, wiping his face and arms. Ray stirred a little at the movement and slowly woke up, blinking his eyes slowly as he took in the sight of Sand putting the rag down and grabbing some water and medicine.
“Good evening, sleepyhead. It looks like you’re fever broke. How are you feeling?” he asked while helping Ray to sit up again.
Ray took a second to think and assess how his body felt. “A little better now, my throat just hurts,”
Sand handed him some water and medicine, which Ray gratefully took. As much as he hated taking medicine, he wanted to feel better again and wanted to spend time with Sand. Sand held up the soup and began feeding him some. He finished the soup and then he had Ray eat a little bit of leftover rice. Ray seemed more hungry and able to stomach the food better now.
“I need a shower,” Ray said in disgust. He could feel the sweat coating his body, making his clothes stick to him. Sand seemed hesitant to let him get up. Ray smirked at him as a thought crossed his mind. “You can help me out if you’re so worried, he said suggestively.
“Clearly you’re feeling better if you can act like that,” Sand said, shaking his head at his boyfriend’s antics. Ray leaned closer to him. “Maybe I can show you my appreciation for taking care of me.” Sand just looked at him unimpressed.
“Let’s see if you can even stand up and walk before we even think about doing that,” Sand deadpanned as he pulled the covers back. He quickly became serious again as he helped Ray slowly stand up, holding his waist. Ray’s legs gave a little wobble but didn’t give out. They began the slow journey to the bathroom and Sand was relieved to see it wasn’t too much of a struggle for Ray. He had Ray sit down on the bathtub while he started the shower, finding a temperature that wouldn’t be too hot for Ray. He then stripped, tossing his shirt at Ray when he heard him give a low whistle. Sand walked over to Ray and helped him stand up and take off his shirt and boxers, gently pulling him into the shower. They both let out a deep sigh as the warm water cascaded over them, melting the sickness and stress of the day off of their bodies. Sand began to lather shampoo into Ray’s hair, gently massaging his scalp. Ray closed his eyes and smiled as the scent of Apple and sandalwood washed over him. Sand carefully tipped his head back and washed the shampoo out without getting into his eyes. Once he finished, he quickly washed his own hair. As he closed his eyes and tipped his head back, he felt Ray’s arms wrap around his waist.
“Ray behave. I’m going to get shampoo in my eyes,” Sand said in between giggles. Ray’s hair was tickling his neck as he hugged Sand and began leaving soft kisses around his collarbone. Sand sighed softly and rinsed out his hair while Ray continued peppering kisses over his shoulders.
“Let me wash your body, baby.” Sand said, grabbing a sponge and pouring a generous amount of of Ray’s unreasonably expensive body wash on it. He began gently wiping down Ray’s shoulders, moving slowly to his chest and down his abdomen. The whole time Ray was staring up at his face, a mixture of content and desire in his eyes. Sand promptly ignored it and spun Ray around gently, scrubbing at his back. He could feel Ray’s smirk as he bent down to wipe down the back of Ray’s legs. Sand gently turned him around and wiped down his front, smacking Ray’s thigh when he felt him teasing him with his hip movements. Sand stood up and helped Ray rinse all of the bodywash off, pressing his face into Ray’s hair so that he could smell the comforting scent now clinging to his whole body. Ray felt a lot better, his fever and aches slowly fading away. Though he was still feeling weak, he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to thank Sand.
Ray put his hands on Sand’s shoulders, making him pause while washing his own body. Sand looked down and made the mistake of looking into his smouldering eyes. Ray had the look on his face when he was about to cause trouble and Sand panicked and tried to catch Ray as he sunk down to his knees in front of Sand.
“Ray wait, don’t..” Sand trailed off and could only stop and throw his head back as Ray showed him how grateful he was.