Archive of Our Own ^beta

Emil had come to find that he had a curse, one that came every winter break and always stayed until school kicked back in. Seldom did he ever last a little over a day into his break before it hit, and once it came, he was confined to his bed with a strict diet of soup and medicine. Knowing his brother’s interest in magic and things of the sort in the past, he laid all of his blame on Lukas and not his own weak immune system. No matter who he blamed, he was still laying in his bed, face flushed and skin damp, as he cursed the mere existence of influenza.

His mind was completely checked out as he tried to fall asleep for the fifth time that day, seeing as he couldn’t do much else. He wasn’t focused on much, his mind and body working almost entirely on auto-pilot, another symptom of sick he hated. At that point, he had lost count at how many times over the week he turned his head to find Lukas standing right beside him, causing the younger to scream at the sudden presence, only to find out that he had been in the room for minutes by that point. In short, the whole experience of being ill greatly pissed him off and he couldn’t avoid it no matter what he did.

After a moment, Emil swore he heard a faint noise, but didn’t bother using what little energy he had to see what it was. If something was in his room to kill him, he’d welcome the sweat embrace of death over his current state anytime. However, when he felt a new weight weigh down his mattress, a pair of hands running up his legs, he decided that today would not be the day he died. Without a second thought, the boy mustered up every bit of energy he had, letting out a hoarse cry as he struggled to pull himself up. As his eyes laid on wide surprised brown eyes, his hazy mind connected that the murderous psychopath that had broke into his room was his boyfriend, Leon. With a groan, he let his head fall against his pillow, too spent to reprimand the other boy for scaring him. Before another sound could be made between the two of them, Emil’s bedroom door suddenly slammed open, revealing both Mathias and Lukas, the latter wielding a baseball bat, swung high over his head.

“Lillebror, hva er- Oh. It’s just you.” Lukas said with an eye roll as he saw the brunette on Emil’s bed. “Off the bed.”

Leon did as told, knowing that one of the many rules Lukas had for him being over was no being in bed together, and to keep the door open at all times. Still, with a small wave, Leon gave the two a proper greeting. “Good afternoon. Lukas, I didn’t know you played baseball.”

“It’s actually mine.” Mathias chirped, stomping out any lingering tension with his cheerful attitude. As he went to speak again, Lukas shot him a glare. “Right. Parenting mode, got it.” He affirmed, regaining a serious expression for as long as the Norwegian kept his eyes on him.

“We have a door.” Lukas said, looking over at the open window.

“Lukas,” Emil croaked out, weakily lifting his hand to wave him away. “’s fine. Please let him stay."

After a moment of thinking, Lukas sighed. He hitched the bat against his hip, shooting Leon a small warning look as he brought two fingers from his eyes and sternly pointed towards him. He turned, leaving the door wide open as he left the trio alone. Mathias gave an apologetic shrug, reaching to close the door completely for the two. As quiet set back around the two, Leon turned his attention back to Emil.

"You look sick.” He said as he returned to his spot on the bed, earning an annoyed glare from the blond laying in front of him.

“Don’t be stupid, or I’ll call him back up here.” Emil warned as he struggled to sit up.

Leon noticed the wastebasket next to his bed, snickering a bit. “Warn me when you puke. Like, I’m sure you’re totally hot when you vomit, but I’d rather not see it.”

“I dry heave. And it’s for my tissue.” Emil clarified, arms crossed as he gave the other a glare. “Did you just come here to give me a bigger headache or did you have an actual reason?”

Leon gave a shrug, hunching forward and placing his elbows against his knees as he peered up to the other. “Is it a crime to want to come see my xiǎo zhū pó and make sure he’s okay?”

“I don’t know what you called me, but I probably would be offended if I knew.”

“Probably.” Leon snickered, moving to sit beside Emil. “I’m your personal nurse, so, like, tell me what you need and I’ll do it.”

Emil grunted as he tried pushing himself away from the other. “I already have two nurses,” he said, “Li, get away, I’ll get you sick.”

“We all aren’t weaklings like you, Em. C'mere.” Leon laughed, moving to wrap his arms behind the Icelandic, making him give a small squeal along with a few coughs.

“Leon- Quit, I’m being serious!” He laughed, not wasting what little strength he still had on fighting the other off.

“When did a little bacteria ever stop me from doing anything?”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Okay, Mr. I-Dry-Heave.”

Emil responded by giving him what was supposed to be an elbow hard against his stomach, only coming out as a small nudge. Leon mocked hurt, his hold tightening as he countered the failed attack with one of his own. Without warning, Leon turned Emil, peppering kisses against his clammy skin. Emil continued telling the other not to, as he feared of the brunette catching his flu. Leon, as always, didn’t listen to him, finishing by a soft kiss against his lips. They lingered together, Emil finally relaxing his feeble body against him as his mind slowly began racing for the first time that week. Emil felt his face heat up more than it already was, his stomach feeling light and churning ever so slightly. As Emil felt himself being tugged closer and their touch deepening, he quickly forced himself away from the other, gaining all his power back in a quick burst as he hung himself over the bed and over the small bin.

After he was sure nothing more would come up, he finished his retching and laid himself back down, exhausted and engulfed in embarrassment. Leon gave the other his space, reaching to rub his side in an attempt to soothe him.

“I didn’t realize kissing me was that horrible.” He joked after a moment.

Emil just groaned, hiding his face against his pillow while mumbling an apology to him. He felt an arm lay over him once more, pulling him close against the other as he laid behind him. They cuddled in silence with the occasional whisper from Leon, making sure the other was still okay.

“Leon?” Emil muttered, not bothering to stir himself to look at the other. “Thank you for coming over… It means a lot.”

“Nah, don’t thank me.” Leon replied, shaking his head a bit. “Though, if you really want to thank me, you can take care of me if I get sick. Deal?”

Emil gave a soft chuckled, pressing back against the other. “Deal.”

“Emil…” Leon whined, his tired eyes wandering to his bedside. “I feel awful.”

Emil glanced up, shaking his head with an eye roll. “Well, I warned you. But you didn’t listen to me.”

Leon whined even louder, his body aching and his temperature fluctuating constantly between scalding hot and freezing cold. As always, Emil had ended up being right as not even three days after his own recovery, here Leon was, laid in bed with the flu. Still, a deal was a deal, so Emil stayed at his side, doing all he could to nurse the other back to health. However, when he had asked him to take care of him, Leon had expected the same treatment he had given him: kisses, cuddles, all the works. He didn’t expect to be forced to take disgusting cough syrup, and not receive even a single affectionate touch at all. Just as Emil was pouring another spoonful of the foul medicine, Leon desperately tried to avoid it, his groggy and cracking flat voice speaking up.

“Hey, like… That medicine isn’t helping at all. Maybe I need something else?” He suggested, sweating more as Emil finished and brought the spoon near his lips. “M-Maybe a spoonful of Emil?”

Emil eyed him, scoffing a bit at his suggestion. “I don’t think so. I’m not risking my health again. Now,” he hummed, a hint of evil in his eyes as his lips spread into a grin, “open wide, litla svín kona.”