Work Text:
The next day, Nya began to regret all of her life decisions. She woke up with more joint pain than she had anticipated, more than likely from overextending her energy on all of her errands. As a result, she decided to spend her day resting in bed to see if that helped her energy levels.
Jay made the decision to stay by her side all day. He absolutely didn’t mind this whatsoever, as it honestly gave him an opportunity to start binging a new show with her.
“Alright, so you want to watch something on Max?”
“Sure.”
Jay maneuvered the remote as Nya put another ice pack on her hands. They barely made it through the Science and Nature section before Nya saw something interesting.
“What’s that?”
“What’s what?”
“That one, the “If God Is Willing And Da Creek Don’t Rise”?”
“Oh, this one?”
“Yeah.”
“That looks good. And it’s only 2 episodes.”
Nya nodded in agreement, and Jay turned on the mini-series. Jay had fallen asleep by the end of the first episode, but Nya enjoyed it enough that she didn’t really care. However, in the middle of the 2nd episode, she began to feel a bit worse than she had anticipated. And a gut feeling was telling her it was more than her hEDS pain flaring up.
“Jay?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Can you hand me my test strips?”
Jay nodded, and even opened the kit for her. She held out her ring finger for Jay to prick and collect the blood onto the test strip, the results confirming her suspicions.
“Fuck, that’s high. If you’re willing, my insulin’s in the fridge.”
“Yeah.”
Jay ran out, and Nya took the time to prep a spot on her abdomen for the injection. When Jay came back in, he handed Nya the vial and a fresh syringe.
“And the needle-”
“When I’m done, there’s a pickle jar on top of the fridge. If you can’t reach it on your own, have Sensei help you get it down. Don’t do what I do and climb on the counter.”
Jay mockingly frowned, but did nod to agree with her. With the insulin administered and her pesky sugar levels corrected, she laid back down and grabbed as many of the blankets as she could.
“Are you hungry? I was about to order some McDonald’s.”
“I’m good.”
“Suit yourself.”
Nya settled back into what remained of the show as Jay figured out his lunch order.
=====================================================================
It was unusually quiet when Zane returned home from classes. The living room was empty, with no sign of Nya’s show or even Jay’s usual video game.
“Hello?”
They walked around for a bit before finding Jay walking out of Nya’s room.
“My food’s here. Can you help her?”
“Of course.”
Jay left, and Zane set their bag down by the door. They very quickly noticed how tired Nya looked, even after more than likely having slept for a while already.
“Nya? Are you ok?”
She dramatically sighed and moved over from Max to Peacock.
“My body is one big ache.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Do you need any help?”
“...wanna finish this season with me? You can bring your schoolwork in and get that done if you want.”
“Sure.”
Nya cleared the other side of her bed, allowing Zane to sit in comfort. As they spread out their assigned homework, Nya cued up to start the last 3 episodes of their “Below Deck” season.
=====================================================================
By the season finale, Zane had the majority of their homework finished. The only thing left was a tedious set of vocabulary to organize, which honestly served more as a fidget than as an annoyance.
As the reunion episode started up, Cole knocked lightly and gently opened the door.
“What are y’all doing in here?”
“Curing cancer.” Nya answered sarcastically.
Cole chuckled, but Zane finally finished organizing their vocabulary.
“Oh, it’s my night for dinner, right?”
“Yeah. I was wondering what all that raw shit was in the fridge.”
“Chicken in a barbecue marinade and brussels sprouts. Rice should already be cooked.”
“Neat. I'll sit with Nya if you want to make dinner real quick.”
“Sure.”
Zane gathered their school supplies and left, and Cole sat on the floor next to Nya’s bed. She decided to switch back over to Max to find a cooking show to start with Cole.
“So. What are you thinking?”
“Not “Chopped” again. That’s a show that I watch like the fucking Super Bowl.”
“Ok. Stop when you find one you like.”
Nya tossed Cole the remote, and he began scrolling. Eventually, he found a show called “Supermarket Stakeout”.
“Ok, that does look fun.”
Cole nodded and turned on the show, letting Nya settle into some NyQuil and a large bottle of water. They took delight in the smells coming from the kitchen as Zane settled into their cooking, and their show served to settle them down even more.
=====================================================================
Eventually, the night did wind down. Nya fell asleep for good after another NyQuil dose, allowing Cole to finally head into the dining room to start on his homework. As Cole left, he noticed Zane sitting outside of the door with a thick Russian novel and their own cup of hibiscus tea.
“In case something happens and everyone else is asleep.”
“Cool. I’ll be in my room. Just shoot me a text if shit goes south.”
“Got it.”
Cole left for good, and Zane settled in with their book. Luckily, the rest of the night was quiet from there. Everyone slept peacefully, allowing Zane to finish their book with no interruptions.