Male "A fever of another kind" 2 parts for now ( M "Strange Empire" John Slotter, Rebecca)

[doggo]

Ok, I haven't posted or even logged in in a very, very long time, but this little ficlet practically wrote itself. Thought I could share. The vile man John Slotter is sick, luckily he knows a doctor.

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A Fever of Another Kind


I slid under the covers trying not to wake him, but nevertheless he instantly crawled up against me, sniffling with a pitifully thick sound as I cradled his feverish, stuffy head against my bosom. I stroked his hair; unlike everything else in him, his hair was so soft, almost silky to touch.

HRRRHE’SSSHNG! Even if half asleep, he had managed to turn away from me to sneeze. He swayed there for a moment, his breath heaving, facing the faint moonlight creeping in from the window. HRRRHE’SSSHAOOH! A shudder ran through him, and a stream of mucus had forced its way down from his red, swollen nostrils. He patted the bed, searching blindly for a handkerchief. I reached for a fresh one – had taken a whole stack in the bed with me – and pressed it in his hand. He sat up to blow, wincing as the fabric touched the broken skin of his nose. Poor man, he was so terribly sick with this cold. I should have made him stay in bed instead of going out to inspect the mine; the icy rain had soaked him through on his way back, and getting so chilled had definitely made him worse. Not that he would have listened to me, or anyone else. After cleaning his nose for a good while, he gave a tentative sniff. Only a thin stream of air could pass through. Still better than nothing.

He crumbled back against me, letting out a sound that was half groan, half whimper. Poor baby. I wrapped my arms around him, and suddenly couldn’t resist kissing his hair.

“Purity...” he whispered.

“What is it?”

“You should… sleep elsewhere, you’ll get sick too.”

"You want me to go, captain?”

“...I don’t want you to go,” he slurred.

I wanted to tell him all those foolish things – that I would never leave him; that I would give him all the caring tenderness he had ever been left wanting; that I loved him. None of this was true, obviously, he was a bad man, who did vile things. Just a sensation created by the play of electric pulses sent by his tough but momentarily weakened body leaning against mine. A series of shocks, a wild current burning my heaving chest from the inside and filling my over-sized brain with the strangest impulses. A fever of another kind.

“Then, I won’t go,” I said instead.

 

Edited December 17, 2018 by doggo

[Reader]

De to the licious!!! 

[doggo]

9 hours ago, Reader said:

De to the licious!!! 

Thank you Reader!

[doggo]

Well, I couldn't resist writing a bit more. Yes he's a terrible man, so perhaps I can be terrible to him too.

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I slept lightly enough to wake up to him mumbling through his fevered dreams. Grimaces and whimpers – he was getting so anxious I had to consider waking him up, even if he sorely needed the sleep. Dad! he suddenly cried out, and that’s when I knew it was getting bad. Dad... stop! he coughed and shuddered. I could hear his chest was getting congested too. I am sorry, I am sorry… dad!! I tried to grab his shoulder as gently as I could, but my touch made him cry out and shake my hand off, terrified by his own nightmares. I had to stop this.

I sat up and, gently but firmly, placed my hand on his chest while stroking his hair with the other. Shhh shh shh… I shooed. He was coughing harshly and squirming to get loose, still trying to cry out against the mirage of his father. I could feel the fever through his shirt. But I held him firmly there and kept soothing him with my hand and my voice. Suddenly he tensed, and took a ragged gasp of air. HRRR’ESSSCHAWW!!! He stopped squirming, the sneeze had finally shaken him awake. He rolled slowly on his back and looked at me, wide-eyed, out of breath. It’s allright, I whispered. He shook his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. With effort he sat up, put his shaky arms around me and buried his face in the nook of my neck. It felt sticky with sweat, tears and snot. Something like a shuddering sigh escaped him, I think he was just barely suppressing a sob. I tried very hard to not to hug him too tight, he felt so fragile in my arms that even a bit too much tenderness could break him.

I rubbed his back. His shirt was soaked with sweat. “Would you want a change of shirt?”

“Doh...” he mumbled, and raised his head, rubbing his streaming nose to his wrist. “I’b allright.”

“No, captain, you’re not.” I looked him firmly in the eye to make my point clear. “Your fever is up and you have sweat through your shirt, and now you are shivering with cold because of that. I will get you a dry shirt, I have some that used to belong to my husband. I won’t have you getting worse because of inept bedside manner, you are sick enough as you are.”

I think he laughed at me, but I don’t understand why. “Whatever you say, doctor.”

 

Edited December 17, 2018 by doggo

[Reader]

Ooooo 

23 hours ago, doggo said:

He stopped squirming, the sneeze had finally shaken him awake. He rolled slowly on his back and looked at me, wide-eyed, out of breath. It’s allright, I whispered. He shook his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. With effort he sat up, put his shaky arms around me and buried his face in the nook of my neck. It felt sticky with sweat, tears and snot. Something like a shuddering sigh escaped him, I think he was just barely suppressing a sob. I tried very hard to not to hug him too tight, he felt so fragile in my arms that even a bit too much tenderness could break him.

You’re trying to kill me!!

Thank you for this second part! Hope you write more when the muse strikes. Also, I love stories written in first person. 

[doggo]

On 12/18/2018 at 10:50 PM, Reader said:

Ooooo 

You’re trying to kill me!!

Thank you for this second part! Hope you write more when the muse strikes. Also, I love stories written in first person. 

Thank you I write what I like to read myself, so lots of vulnerability. I am quite rusty when it comes to writing, but there's a little something I would really like to try here. Or try the idea on a short comic strip. We'll see...

[Reader]

@doggo Vulnerability ties in so nicely with colds! If this is rusty, I’m excited to read more! You draw too?! 

[doggo]

Yeah, I do! I actually started drawing when I joined this forum 10+ years ago. I'm still not very good so it's slow, but I do enjoy it