Breaking the Barrier

[LimeyBlimey]

Ooooh I hadn’t thought about that!

[lighthousegirl]

I love this... the characters feel so real, they remind me of my own friends. I'd love to find out more about Ethan... I like a mysterious type. 😏

[LimeyBlimey]

21 hours ago, lighthousegirl said:

I love this... the characters feel so real, they remind me of my own friends. I'd love to find out more about Ethan... I like a mysterious type. 😏

Ethan's character has so much potential!! I've actually been thinking about him and how to write something more with him. Maybe with him and Alyssa, from Alyssa's perspective...? She's a fairly deep person as well, although we don't know her aside from that one time we met her at the arcade. Ethan's character is so endearing to me though for sure. I will definitely have more of him in the future!

[LimeyBlimey]

Surprise!! 😁 I have another part here!! Just another quick little continuation of Matt and Kaylee's day.

.

.

.

.

After I arrived at work, I noticed that even the walk to my classroom was tiring. I started setting up my classroom for the day, my head and face feeling congested. Despite how I felt physically, though, I couldn't take my mind off of Matt. It was almost euphoric. I got constant happy butterflies as I played the amazing scene from the previous night over and over in my head. Our conversation…our first kiss…how he had come in from the rain so sick and shivering but so vulnerably sweet…and of course that gorgeous towel-wrapped body of his. I wondered how he was doing this morning. He had been in a rush to get ready for work, so I hadn’t even gotten a chance to check on him and see if he was feeling any better. I debated texting him now to ask if he was feeling as sick as I was. I know I had probably pushed it a bit last night with all the stress and emotional changes. I briefly felt my own forehead. It felt warm, so I hoped I could just get through this day. I sneezed twice into my jacket sleeve, cleared my gross-feeling throat, and got to work. After morning circle time, my class always had open choice for the first forty-five minutes of the day, so I set out an art activity on the table, a sensory activity in the bin by the sink, and a number game at the math manipulative table. I felt drained of energy by the time I finished, so I sat down to rest on the floor of the book corner while I put out the new books I had chosen on Friday for this week.

As I finished sorting the books onto the shelves, I heard noises and a low voice in the room next door to me. I chuckled. Jen always mumbled to herself or voiced thoughts out loud while she was working in her classroom. Now might be a good time for me to go talk with her about everything before we had to go to the staff room for our morning gathering with the director and other staff. I stood up, stifling a cough into my elbow. I went to Jen's room and knocked lightly on her doorway, which was our way of letting the other know of our presence in case we were focused on something.

Except Jen wasn't alone. Our director, Carrie, was there too, setting up books in the reading corner. Jen looked over at me when I knocked, and then gave me a brief, distracted smile. She looked okay, other than having a chapped and slightly reddened nose.

"Hey, Jen. Hi, Carrie," I said.

"Good morning, Ms. Kaylee!" Carrie called over the pile of books she had in her arms. Jen and I exchanged a smirk. It was typical of Carrie to go around the classrooms in the mornings before our school week started so she could check with the teachers on their weekly lesson plans and offer a bit of help in their classrooms if they seemed to need it. Before becoming a director, she had been a teacher for many years, and would still visit our rooms during the day to spend time with the students as well as observe. I turned my head outside of the door and cleared my throat again. I couldn't exactly talk to Jen so freely with Carrie in the room.

"How are you?" I casually asked Jen.

Jen shrugged, and glanced once in Carrie's direction. "I'm better now, for the most part. I didn't get sick as bad as Liam, thankfully. But...are you okay? You look pale."

At the sound of her words, Carrie instantly looked in my direction. I grimaced. Jen had unknowingly given me away. I silently cursed myself for thinking I could have gotten away with it.

"What's going on, Kaylee?" Carrie asked, and stood up. Carrie was almost like a second mother to many of us, being just over sixty years old with children the same age as many of the teachers, myself included. She had four small grandchildren of preschool age as well. She was fun and excitable, and was a firm but supportive leader, and we all loved her. She was actively slim, always professionally well-dressed, and kept her graying blonde hair in a pixie cut style. Carrie walked over to me and stared hard into my face. I looked at her guiltily, and she pursed her lips the way she always did whenever she caught a sick teacher trying to come into work.

"You have 'fever eyes', Kaylee," Carrie said in an accusatory tone. I grimaced again, and she put the back of her hand on my forehead to confirm her suspicion.

"Sorry. I think my boyfriend gave me his cold," I admitted, and felt a happy leap in my chest when I realized I had used that term regarding Matt. Jen was standing behind Carrie and I saw her eyes go wide. A surprised smile spread across her face as she must have figured out what had happened to me over the weekend. I couldn't help but look back at her with a slight smile and a nod in acknowledgement. Thankfully, Carrie had pulled out her phone and seemed to miss our whole silent exchange.

"You know the rules, Kaylee," she said kindly but firmly. "You should have called me. I'll get a sub so you can go home and rest. Michelle or Nora are on call for this week."

"I'm sorry," I apologized again in a quiet voice. Now I felt bad, and not just because of the fever. Even though it was an inconvenience to get a substitute, health for the teachers was important because it meant health for the school as well. I was putting everyone else at risk of getting sick if I had a fever, even a slight one and even if it was just a cold. I was still probably contagious, and Carrie was always rigid when it came to our school's cleanliness. Preschoolers were already little walking germ incubators.

"Twenty-four hours fever-free," she reminded me patiently. "Hopefully we'll see you back on Thursday. You're already prepped for today, right?"

I nodded, and sniffled against a sudden tickle inside my nasal passages. "Yeah. I also made sure to wash my hands before I started, and I tried not to breathe on anything."

Carrie smiled kindly, although her nose wrinkled once in a germ-a-phobic reaction. "Thank you. I'll take care of it. You feel better, okay?"

"Thanks," I said. I started to walk back to my room. My nose was tickling even more now, and I pinched the bridge of it to try and prevent a sneeze from forcing its’ way out. I knew I was probably going to lose the battle in a minute or two.

"Kaylee!" Jen's voice whispered loudly from the doorway, and I turned around.

"I expect a text later about everything," she said quietly, and then grinned. "But I'm sooooo happy for you and Matt!"

I grinned back and blushed, waved once, and then quickly dabbed at my running nose with my jacket sleeve. Jen turned back to her classroom, leaving me alone in the hallway. I chose that moment to practically run into the staff bathroom nearby, knowing I wouldn't be able to stop the impending sneezes that had been threatening me for the past few minutes. I managed to successfully stifle the attack in the bathroom stall, hoping Jen and Carrie wouldn't hear me.

"Hhk-chiew! Htchchooo-hschewww…hhuhhcheww!"

I took a wad of toilet paper from one of the stalls and blew my nose. I guess it was a good thing I was leaving. I was pretty sick, still. I left the stall and washed my hands. I grabbed my things from the classroom and headed back to my car.

When I stepped outside into the cool morning air, I felt the effects of the cold medicine I had taken before work clear my head. I got in my car and pulled out of the parking lot. I felt restless. I didn't exactly want to go back to the lonely apartment. I had pretty much already been stuck there all weekend. I decided to go through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru instead just get myself some breakfast. I sneezed again while waiting in the restaurant morning lineup, and heard my phone buzz with a text alert. It was Matt.

‘Hey’, the text said.

‘Hi :)'’, I responded. ‘How are you?’

‘Happy, because of you :). But physically? Not that great. How bout you?'’

‘My boss just sent me home.’

‘Aw, man,’ his response said. ‘Wish I could go home too. But Sylvia is still here, so I’m stuck for now.’

I had an idea then, and quickly texted Matt back while I slowly moved my car up the lineup. ‘Hey, I'm actually at the Chick-fil-A drive-thru. Want me to bring you coffee, and maybe try to get them to make you a soup for later?’

Matt's response was quick. ‘YES PLEASE!’

I smiled and texted back, ‘You got it’, and followed with a kiss-face emoji.

‘You're the best, Kay.’

He texted me the address for his work as it was finally my turn to order. I told the friendly cashier about my poor sick boyfriend, and they were so kind and said of course they would be able to make me a large order of soup if I didn’t mind waiting a bit. They handed me my two coffees and breakfast sandwich, and I pulled into a spot near the drive-through and waited there for a little while with my window open. I pulled out my phone and started a round of Candy Crush.

“Hehttchiewww!” I sneezed unexpectedly, spraying it right onto my poor phone. I wiped my phone on my jacket, but then felt another tickle start.

“Hhuhcheww…hehhtchscheww!”

“Bless you,” said a voice outside my window, which turned out to be one of the Chick-Fil-A employees with the rest of my order. “You the one waiting for the soup?”

“Thanks. Yeah,” I said, sniffling, and he handed me the bag through my open window.

“Sounds like you need it! Hope you feel better!” he said politely with a smile, and turned to jog back to the restaurant. As he walked away, I saw him pull out a small bottle of antibacterial gel from his pocket and squeeze some onto his hands. I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t even made contact with him. It seemed like everyone was a germaphobe these days.

I texted Matt to let him know I was on my way, and then drove to his office. I ate my breakfast sandwich on the way. It tasted disappointing, only because this cold had apparently made me lose my sense of taste. That was always annoying. As I pulled into a parking spot near the door, I pulled a tissue from a small pack I kept in my purse. I blew my nose, then texted Matt that I had arrived. He told me to meet him by the front door so he could let me in. Apparently, they required an ID badge to enter, so I walked over and waited for him with our food and coffees. I wondered if I was being too forward with this, as I hadn’t exactly asked if I could come in. Plus, I’d never visited his work before, so I was a bit nervous.

Through the glass front doors, I saw Matt emerge at the top of a big staircase inside the main lobby. As he came down the steps, he suddenly held his hand up to his mouth and sneezed once, then two more times as he came down the steps. He was actually even still going as he opened the front door for me.

“—Schoo! Sorry about that,” he finished, and sniffled wetly. His eyes closed halfway and his breath hitched.

“Hhh…haahhchooo! Sorry again. I think I’m done for now.”

I grinned. “Bless you. Here’s your coffee, and your soup for later. Oh, and Chick-fil-A wishes you to get well soon.”

“Thanks,” Matt chuckled, accepting both, and bent down to kiss me lightly on the lips. His eyes looked tired, and his nose was very chapped and pink, but he seemed happy to see me. He also didn’t seem to question the second cup of coffee I had in my hands. However, I hesitated in the lobby.

“Aren’t you coming upstairs with me?” he asked, his voice sounding nasally and congested.

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I don’t want to impose. Especially if your corporate manager is here and you guys are all working.”

Matt smiled and sniffled again. “It’s no big deal. Since we finished the major stuff with the building, Sylvia’s visit today is casual. She’s just checking in with everyone since she didn’t really have time yesterday. Also, her plane leaves for California around 2, so she’s only here for a bit longer.”

“Oh. Okay,” I said. “I just don’t want to make you look unprofessional or anything.”

“You won’t. Come on, I want you to meet everyone.”

Matt led me up the stairs to another door with an ID badge sensor. Inside the main office, which turned out to be a large room with several sections of gray cubicles, Matt walked me back to his space. His cubicle was a larger one, with an L-shaped workstation and a triple-monitor setup. As he set his coffee and food down, I took a look around his workstation. I first noticed there was a tissue box right by his keyboard, and that the small wastebasket under his desk was already half-filled with used tissues. Aside from that, he had, like most of his surrounding coworkers, decorated his cubicle. On the wall, he had pinned a couple of retro-looking posters for “Star Wars”. On his workstation shelves I noticed a couple of “Overwatch” POP! figures, one of which I had given him for Christmas last year. He had two Goku and Vegeta figurines from last summer when he had flown with his younger brother Alex to San Diego for the Comic Convention. He had a few Lego setups, including a “Back to the Future” themed car. I also saw a couple of framed photos of him and his parents and sister, and one of him and Alex at Comic-Con. I also noticed a photo of me, although it also included Gavin and a couple of our other mutual friends. We were at a theater for a midnight showing of a new movie. I pointed out the picture.

“I forgot Steve took that,” I said, and made a face. “You still have it.”

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged. “It was a fun night.”

“I remember it a little differently,” I said, frowning. “Only because of Gavin. He--”

Matt suddenly held up one finger. “H…hold that thought…I…”

He suddenly turned his head to the side and his breath hitched loudly. “Hh-huhhh-HAAHHhhSCHEIWW!”

A couple of voices in the cubicles near us casually called out, “Bless you,” and “Gesundheit, son.”

“Bless you,” I said, my eyes widening in surprise. “That one was almost Dave-worthy.”

“Thanks,” Matt said, cringing and grabbing a tissue from the box next to his keyboard. “That’s been happening all day. It sucks. I was hoping I’d feel at least a bit better today.”

He blew his nose wetly, and then tossed the tissue into the waste basket to join all the others. He sank down into his own chair and rubbed his face quickly with his hands. He then looked up at me with a tired but pleased expression.

“I’m so glad you came, Kay. I’ve always wanted to bring you to see my work…but it didn’t exactly seem appropriate.”

I nodded, blushing a little, and sipped at my coffee. Matt sipped his coffee as well, sniffled once, and then set the cup back down on his desk. He stood up and picked up his bag containing the soup.

“Come on, we’ll put this in the break room fridge.”

I set my coffee down on Matt’s desk and he showed me around the office. We stopped by most of the occupied cubicles to greet his coworkers, and everyone greeted me politely, talked to me briefly, or joked with Matt a bit. Matt kept sniffling wetly, and when we moved between the cubicles, I saw him take out a couple of tissues he had in his pocket and wipe his nose again. It seemed his cold really wasn’t any better than it had been over the weekend. I suddenly wondered how dinner with his bosses had gone last night, but I knew it wasn’t the right time to ask.

We also saw Dave, who waved and gave me a quick upward nod through his headset. He had several line graphs up on his computer monitors and was chatting animatedly with a client. A couple of Matt’s other coworkers also didn’t manage to greet me personally because they were on the phone as well. Aside from that, the atmosphere in the office did seem pretty casual and fun. Matt showed me the room where they had a ping-pong table, a pool table, and a tv, and then the room where they held meetings.

Matt took my hand and led me slightly away from the cubicles to an open door where a large office was. I heard two voices inside, and Matt glanced in once. He then knocked casually on the doorway (I couldn’t help but notice that the action was very similar to what I did with Jen), then waved me in. Matt’s boss and the corporate manager were in the room, chatting quietly together. Ken stood leaning against his desk and Sylvia sat nearby in a chair. Ken looked like an average “dad”-type man with short, sandy-blonde hair and a clean-shaven face. He wore the company polo shirt, slacks, and shiny black loafers. Sylvia was, I couldn’t help but notice, exotic-looking and beautiful. She had long, dark, wavy hair, high cheek bones, and a long nose. She was well-dressed in slacks, a tucked-in blouse, and expensive-looking heels.

“Hey, guys. How’s it going?” Ken said.

“Ken, Sylvia…this is my girlfriend, Kaylee,” Matt introduced me, and Ken shook my hand. Sylvia stood up from her chair and did the same, smiling politely at me through straight, white teeth.

“Nice to meet you, Kaylee,” Ken and Sylvia greeted me.

“Thanks. You too,” I said.

We all chatted together for a few minutes. They asked about my work, and Sylvia found it sweet that I was a preschool teacher, which prompted Ken to talk about his two sons at home that were both in upper elementary school. He laughed as he said he didn’t really miss the preschool years, and that my job must be a hard one. I smiled to myself that my speculation about him being a dad had been so spot-on. However, I wondered if they would both ask why I wasn’t at work today, and tried quickly to think up an excuse that didn’t involve me being sent home sick. That might not go over well. I glanced at Matt and he seemed to pick up on my cue to try to change the subject. Unfortunately, in that moment, his face took on a blank expression and his eyes went half-closed. Right in the middle of our conversation I saw him suddenly turn his head away and lift his elbow up to his face.

“Hhheh-schhoo!”

“Bless you,” Sylvia said.

“Sorry about that,” Matt said breathily. “E-excuse me a second.”

He quickly walked out of the room. I knew he needed to sneeze again, but didn’t want to do so right here in front of his bosses. I stepped forward to try and provide a distraction for him.

“Matt told me you’re heading to California,” I spoke up. “Is that where you’re from?”

“No, that’s just where one of the other corporate offices is,” Sylvia said, glancing curiously past my shoulder at Matt. I glanced back quickly at Matt, who had successfully muffled a sneeze but still had his elbow up to his face, and then I turned back to Sylvia.

“I love California,” I said quickly. “I actually grew up in San Diego.”

“Really? Small world,” Sylvia said, smiling, falling briefly into my distraction. “I’ll be visiting the San Diego office for the rest of the week before I head back to Virginia, where I’m from.”

She then glanced past me again at Matt. “Is Matt okay?”

Apparently, there wasn’t getting much past Sylvia.

“He’s fine,” I said lightly, covering for Matt. “He gets pretty bad allergies in the spring.”

Ken piped in with a chuckle and his slight east-coast accent. “Yeah, I had noticed he sounds a bit sick. All day yesterday, too, as a matter of fact. Hope it’s nothing more than allergies. It was bad enough last week when a bunch of the others had that cold that’s goin’ around. Our guy Dave was especially loud about it. That gruesome sound carried all the way over here.”

Matt walked back into the room then, still sniffling slightly, and put his arm around my shoulder.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized. “My allergies are pretty awful today. Kay, I need to get back to my desk.”

“Oh, okay,” I agreed. “I should probably head out, anyway. I don’t want to distract everyone.”

“Yes, I should probably run, too,” Sylvia said, picking up her phone to check the time. “I have to return my rental before I get an Uber to the airport.”

She turned to me and Matt and reached out to shake his hand. “Matt, I’m looking forward to working more directly with you soon. Kaylee, it’s been a pleasure. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again sometime.”

“I’ll walk you out, Sylvia,” Ken said, and Matt and I took our cue to say goodbye and head back to Matt’s desk.

“Thanks for covering for me, Kay,” Matt said quietly in my ear as we were walking. His eyes were watering now and his nose was running slightly.

“Anytime,” I whispered. I heard voices behind us, where Ken and Sylvia were heading towards the main door. Matt’s cubicle wasn’t far from there.

“I wish I could come home with you, but I gotta stay.”

“It’s okay, Matty,” I sympathized.

Matt and I got back to his desk where I had left my coffee. My head was starting to ache a little, so I was grateful for the caffeine pick-me-up. Apparently, the cold medicine was starting to wear off.

“Hckk-chew!” I sneezed quietly into the back of my wrist.

“Bless you,” Matt said, handing me a tissue from the box on his desk. “I think it’s time you went home and laid down. You need rest, too.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I admitted.

“I’ll walk you out in a minute,” Matt said.

Matt sat at his desk and checked his que for cases while we waited for Ken to come back in. While Matt was busy on his computer, I saw Ken come in through the office door nearby, so I made an exaggerated motion in picking up my purse and coffee. Instead of heading right in the direction of his office, however, Ken started walking over toward Matt’s cubicle section.

“Ready, babe?” I asked Matt loudly, and he turned.

“What? Oh, yeah, sorry. I just got a case, so yeah...lemme walk you out now before I take it.”

Matt put his hand lightly across my shoulder and we started to head out. Ken had stopped to talk with one of the other employees right outside their cubicle opening. As we walked past him, he smiled casually at me, so I smiled back and held up one hand in a polite wave. Suddenly, I felt Matt’s arm tense across my shoulders and his body flinched. I heard his breath hitch twice, and I winced. Right as we passed Ken, Matt turned his head away from me and sneezed down at the floor.

“Hehh-hehh-scheieww!!”

“Bless you, son,” Ken called after him casually. “Better not share those allergies with poor Kaylee.”

Matt looked back and faked a quick laugh, and then he walked me outside. He opened my car door for me and I got in. While my door was still open, he bent down and kissed me softly on my lips.

“Thanks again for coming, Kaylee. And for the soup.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could come.”

Before I got the chance to forget, I pulled out a few cold pills I had shoved in my purse before I had left for work this morning, and silently handed him one. He took it, making a slight grimace.

“That bad, huh?”

“I don’t think the allergy excuse is going to cut it for much longer,” I said. “I’ll see you at home, okay?”

.

.

.

.

Let me know if you have any other requests or ideas for the story! I'll be adding to it here and there! ❤️

[beau34]

Omg I have missed this story and these characters so much!! I’d love to see some more caretaking from Matt to Kaylee as well. 😆

[Me4ever]

Oh man this is a great story! Love the characters and care taking absolutely melts me. Love Matt and Kay. Would love to read more of those 2! 

[castiel_angel]

This was so fantastic in so many ways 😍❤️ I would absolutely love to see more of these characters together in the future!! 

[WishUponAUnicorn]

This is wonderful thank you so much for sharing!!

[Evian]

Omg I love it

[RipleyToo]

Ahhh please continue! Anyway we could get more of Ethan sneezing? He’s one of my other favourites! Love the story! Hope to see more!

[LimeyBlimey]

Hey guys! I’m just hopping on here to let you know I haven’t dropped off the planet with the story! Summer has been so packed for me, so I just haven’t gotten a chance to write! But I hope to be back on soon! And I’ve taken notes of the requests too, so stay tuned! 😊✌🏻

[RipleyToo]

On 8/8/2019 at 10:59 PM, LimeyBlimey said:

Hey guys! I’m just hopping on here to let you know I haven’t dropped off the planet with the story! Summer has been so packed for me, so I just haven’t gotten a chance to write! But I hope to be back on soon! And I’ve taken notes of the requests too, so stay tuned! 😊✌🏻

Ooooo! Can’t wait to see it! Have a great rest of the summer!

[LimeyBlimey]

I'm back with another part! Sorry it's been awhile, but hopefully I can get a few more parts in before this story wraps up its current timeline! Anyways, to continue...

.

.

.

.

By the time I got back to the apartment, my head was aching again and my nose was completely clogged. Dropping my stuff next to the front door, I immediately went into the bathroom to get some Ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet.

“Hehhchieww…hetchiewww!” I sneezed twice into the bathroom sink. I went into Matt’s room and changed into some comfy clothes, then headed to the living room. Matt’s blanket was still on the couch, so I sat down, pulled it around myself, and turned on the tv. My nose and my head felt congested and foggy. I pulled a tissue from the box on the coffee table and blew my nose not once, not twice, but three times. It didn’t even seem to help much, because my nose just immediately filled back up again.

“Hheh…hh..hehchooo….hckttchew!”

Well, since I was obviously now stuck here for the rest of the day, I started up “Friends” on Netflix, which was always my go-to show at my condo when I wanted some background noise. I turned it down, settled down into the couch, and was asleep within minutes.

I woke to the feel of a comfortably cool and slim hand on my forehead. The hand didn’t feel like Matt’s, and I opened my eyes. It was Ethan, who quickly pulled his hand back.

“Sorry. Just wanted to make sure you’re still alive,” he said with a chuckle. “Matt texted me and asked me to check on you when I got home.”

“It’s okay,” I said sleepily, and sat up a little.

“You look like shit, Kaylee,” Ethan said, looking down at me with an expression of mixed concern and amusement. His voice sounded only a little better than yesterday, less hoarse but now very congested. He sniffled a lot, the sound of it wet and full. He was obviously still trying to fight off the cold that had taken me and Matt down.

“Yeah, my boss sent me home,” I said, surprised at the sound of my own voice. While I was sleeping it must have dropped down an octave, which happened sometimes when I got sick.

“Whoa,” Ethan added with a chuckle. “And you kinda sound like shit, too.”

“Hey, at least you can relate then,” I said, making a teasing face at him and reaching for my phone. “What time is it?”

“A little after three. I just got home from work.”

Whoa. Apparently, I had slept all afternoon. I rubbed my face and my eyes and coughed into the blanket.

“They didn’t send you home?” I said.

He shook his head and sniffled again. “Nah. If I can talk, that means I can still do my job.”

“Harsh. Are you at least feeling any better?” I asked. He only shrugged off my question, and I looked up to study his face. He looked pretty tired, and his nose was slightly pink and chapped, though not as bad as Matt’s. I fought a smile and looked back down. He definitely looked sick, but was obviously still in denial about it.

Ethan stood there silently, looking toward the kitchen for a few seconds, and then awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. “Do you want anything?”

I shook my head, and quickly grabbed for a tissue. “No thanks. I’m f, fine…Hh-hkktcchiew!”

“Bless you,” Ethan said quietly. “Well…Matt’ll be home soon, I think.”

I nodded, coughing again and grabbing another tissue. “He works seven to four now.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna grab a snack. You sure you don’t want anything?”

I shook my head, but then we both heard my stomach rumble rather loudly. I blushed.

“Okay, apparently my stomach thinks differently than I do,” I admitted.

Ethan headed into the kitchen while I stretched back out onto the couch and turned my attention to the tv. After a few minutes Ethan came back in holding two sandwiches on a plate and a bottle of water. He handed me the water and the plate, then took one of the sandwiches off for himself. He then gave me a polite half-smile and retreated into his own room. I figured he might be feeling a bit awkward with the two of us alone in the condo yet again, and he obviously didn’t feel well, so I didn’t blame him for leaving me alone.

I watched a couple more episodes of “Friends” while I waited for Matt to be done at work. My head and muscles ached, but I just tried to ignore it. Occasionally I heard Ethan sneeze from his bedroom, and I wished I could help him out, if he even let me do so. Right as I was debating getting up to look for the cold medicine, my nose tickled, and Matt walked in the door.

“Hey,” he called to me. I waved from the couch, stifling two sneezes into the blanket. Matt set his keys down and came to sit on the edge of the couch. He looked at me, made a frown, and then put his hand on my forehead.

“Aw, Kay,” he said, gently. “I think it’s your turn for the fever.”

“It’s okay,” I said quietly, and started to sit up. I closed my eyes against the fogginess in my head. “I was just about to get some Tylenol for my headache.”

“You stay there,” Matt said, and then stood up. “I’ll grab it.”

As Matt walked away, he coughed a couple of times into the back of his arm, but ignored it. I blew my nose for what felt like the hundredth time that hour while Matt went into the bathroom near the living room and opened the medicine cabinet. While he was rifling through it, he turned his head towards the open door and sneezed loudly, spraying the floor between the bathroom and the living room. He still sounded about as sick as he had this morning at work.

Matt came back with some Tylenol for me, as well as a thermometer. He handed me a couple of pills, which I accepted with a cough and then a now-hoarse “thanks”.

“Are you losing your voice, too?” he asked with concern, sitting back down and waiting for me to take the Tylenol with my water.

I nodded. “Probably.”

“Just like Ethan,” Matt grinned.

He held out the thermometer and I obligingly opened my mouth for him to put it in. While we waited for it to register, he stared down at my hand for a few moments, and then slowly interlaced our fingers together, making me blush. He was so gentle, I couldn’t help it. After a minute or so the thermometer beeped, and Matt pulled it out with his free hand.

“100.3,” he read it out loud, then set the thermometer on my lap. He brought our interlaced hands up and softly kissed the back of my fingers. “That’s not too bad.”

“Good…” I said, suddenly feeling the inside of my nose start burning and tickling forcefully. I quickly pulled my hand free of Matt’s as my breath started hitching.

“H...heh…hihttcheww!”

“Bless you,” Matt said, and I vigorously shook my head, my nose still tickling.

“D-dot done..hhtcheww, htcchhuuu! HhckCHEWW!”

The last sneeze came out with a painful force, and I collapsed back onto the couch. I looked weakly back at Matt.

“Bless you again,” Matt said, handing me a tissue from the coffee table.

“Thagks,” I said, and took it. I blew my nose yet again. I knew the sound of it was disgusting, but it did seem to help, and I could feel my nasal passages clear a bit.

“Yikes,” I said, tossing the gross tissue into the trash can still next to the couch. Someone had emptied it recently, maybe Ethan? He was usually the cleaner one of the bunch. I looked at Matt pathetically, and he smiled.

“It’s okay,” he replied with a chuckle. “You are still absolutely gorgeous.”

I made a face. “Thank you. Though I don’t feel gorgeous at all.”

Matt leaned in and kissed me as if to prove his point. We stayed that way for a few moments, until I found I couldn’t breathe well through my nose anymore and pulled away. I also felt another sneeze about to happen.

“Hh…hahh…gahhh. Damnit! I lost it,” I said with annoyance.

“Hahhschieww!” Matt abruptly sneezed at that moment, trying to aim the spray away from me and failing miserably. Then he laughed.

“Apparently I found it for you. Whoops, sorry about that.”

Matt watched me silently wipe off my damp arm. He kissed me again, then reached his hand up and gently felt my forehead again.

“Do you want to go to bed? I can just play a game or something at my desk.”

He watched me with a tentative, shy expression. Despite that I had slept most of the day, the thought of Matt’s soft and comfortable bed did sound inviting. I nodded.

“Sure. That sounds nice, actually.”

Matt grinned at me again, and then stood up. Suddenly, I found myself being scooped up into his arms and cradled like a baby. It made me giggle, and he walked us into his bedroom and laid me down gently on his bed. He leaned down and kissed me softly again on my lips. I impulsively reached out, grabbed the front of his shirt, and pulled him closer to me.

“Urgh!” Matt fell right on top of me with a cry, startled by my actions. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt either of us. I watched Matt bury his face in the bed, his chest over my stomach, and we both started laughing.

“Okay, Matty, get off,” I said through my laugh. “I can’t breathe.”

“It’s your own fault,” he teased. He turned his face towards me with another laugh, but pushed himself up anyway. He leapt over me instead and collapsed onto the other side of the bed, starting to cough a bit.

“You okay?” I asked him.

“Y…yeah,” he said, still coughing. “Guess that was a bit much for me.”

“Sorry,” I said, putting my lower lip out in a silly but sympathetic pout.

Matt smiled once and then laid down flat on his back with his eyes closed and his head facing me. He took his glasses off and laid them on his nightstand. I turned towards him on the bed, rested my head on his pillow, and placed one of my hands lightly on his chest to feel his heartbeat. I traced part of his shirt with my fingers, and Matt opened his eyes and looked at me. His eyes, despite the tired shadows beneath them, were one of my favorite features. They were a creamy brown, a lighter color than his dark brown hair. He smiled, then leaned into me and put his lips on my own. I kissed him back eagerly, leaning into him more. I felt his legs press up against mine, and suddenly became very aware of our presence on the bed. Matt put his hand under my lower back and pulled me closer to him. He sniffled once, and I had just grabbed his shirt collar and started to pull him on top of me when suddenly his body tensed up. He pushed me away and turned his face away, putting a closed fist up to his mouth.

“Hhh…hahhchoo!”

“Bless you,” I said softly, and then leaned in to try to continue our kiss. He shook his head.

“Not yet,” he said breathily, sneezed again, and then sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. His breath hitched. “Think I…g-got …heh…a..another…hhehhchooo!”

“Bless you again,” I said, giggling at Matt’s attempt to talk through his sneezes like that.

I then looked away towards the bed as I considered what had almost happened between us if Matt hadn’t been interrupted like that. I was grateful that fate had managed to pull us both out of that physically compromising position. Things already seemed to be moving so quickly for us. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since we got together. But I knew this was as far as we needed us to go, for now. This could be the start of something amazing and I didn’t want us to rush it and ruin it. I wondered if Matt felt the same way. I sat up on the bed, pulled my knees up in front of me and wrapped my arms around them.

Matt seemed to be done sneezing and he turned to look at me, a slightly awkward and embarrassed expression on his still handsome face. He cleared his congested throat, wiped his nose on his shirt sleeve, and sniffled wetly a couple of times.

“Man. Sorry about that,” he said. “Think it’s over now.”

He and I both looked at his bed in awkward silence. I blushed, and Matt stood up.

“I’m just gonna…go…play a game.”

I nodded and then watched him as he put his glasses back on, then sat down at his computer and started up Rust. I sighed inward. Apparently, Matt did feel the same way I did. It was way too soon to take it to the next level.

Well, I didn’t feel sleepy anymore, that was for sure. I pulled a book out from my suitcase and relaxed on the bed to read. Our awkward tension eventually faded from the room as we instead found a new and reassuring comfort in each other’s presence.

After a little while, there was a quiet knock at the door, followed by a light cough. Matt called out, “Come in.”

It was Ethan. He looked as if he had been asleep only moments ago. His hair looked tousled and he was wearing a pullover sweatshirt and the same joggers he’d worn on Sunday. He also looked awful. His nose was even more pink than before around the edges, and he had the same shadows under his eyes that I did earlier. He sniffled constantly.

“Hey.”

“What’s up?” Matt asked.

Ethan glanced at me on the bed, and then looked down at the floor in return. “Hey, Kaylee. Do you guys know where the cold stuff is? There’s none left in the bathroom.”

“Oh, sorry, Ethan!” I said quickly. “I forgot I packed a box for work this morning. It’s in my purse, you can just grab it out if you want.”

Ethan gave me a slightly helpless look and didn’t move from the doorway. I read his expression instantly that he had no intention of going in my purse, so I set my book aside and stood up from the bed to go help him. Ethan followed me, still sniffling.

“Are you okay?” I asked him while I looked through my purse. “Know what? Never mind. That’s a dumb question, since you were just asking for cold medicine.”

“No worries,” Ethan said, and suddenly held his elbow up to his mouth and turned his head away from me.

“HeAHHschoo!”

“Bless you,” I said, standing up and handing him the pack of pills I had just dug out from the bottom of my purse. Ethan took them gratefully with yet another wet sniffle.

“Thanks,” he said breathily.

“Bless you again in advance,” I jokingly said. But my guess was spot-on. Ethan turned his head away again.

“H…hheeauhshhoo! HeAHHHshuu!”

“Yikes,” Matt said, emerging from the bedroom. “Hate to say it, man, but I think you’re sick.”

Ethan rolled his eyes, wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve, and wordlessly went into the kitchen to take one of the cold pills. He pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and walked into the living room where he flopped himself down on the armchair and grabbed the tv remote. He coughed twice, then pulled an inhaler out of his pants pocket and set it on the coffee table.

“Hey, where’s Dave?” I asked to change the subject. “Doesn’t he work til 4 too?”

Ethan coughed again into the back of his wrist. “He texted that he’ll be out til later. Seeing a movie or something with Steve.”

“Oh yeah,” Matt chimed in. “He mentioned that earlier at lunch.”

“Sounds fun,” I said. “I’m glad he’s feeling better. Even though I shouldn’t be glad, since he’s obviously the one that gave us all this cold crap.”

Matt grinned in response, but Ethan said nothing. Matt and I joined Ethan in the living room and we all found a YouTube channel we all enjoyed. I think we both felt it was for the best that we not be alone in Matt’s bedroom anymore. Poor Ethan had no idea that he was going to play chaperone for the next few days until my roommate Emma returned from her trip and I could go back home. We watched a few episodes from the “First We Feast” channel, and for the next hour our scene actually became a bit comical as the three of us hung out on the couch together, taking turns coughing, sneezing, or exhausting our supply of tissues. Ethan pulled one out for himself, at which point I sneezed rather grossly, and he silently handed it to me instead.

“Thanks,” I said thickly, taking it. “Hck-chiew!”

“Bless you,” Ethan said quietly.

“What’s the plan for dinner, guys?” Matt asked after a while. “I can make something for us if you guys want.”

I saw Ethan cringe, and I suppressed a smile. Matt wasn’t a great cook, apparently.

“I don’t mind cooking,” Ethan offered in a quiet and congested voice. However, he coughed again, and the sound of it this time was wheezier. I looked over at him across Matt’s lap, where I had been resting my legs, and I noticed that Ethan’s face was looking slightly pale. I carefully nudged Matt. He saw the direction of my gaze, and then looked over at Ethan.

“Hey man, you doing okay?” Matt asked him. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m okay,” Ethan said, picking up his inhaler from the coffee table. No sooner than he finished using it, he turned his head away.

“HeAAHschoo!” he sneezed loudly, spraying the armchair he was sitting on. "HehhAHHSchooo!"

“Bless you,” Matt said. “Hey, are you gonna need your other inhaler? I can grab it.”

Ethan nodded in defeat, his breath also wheezing slightly. “Yeah. Probably. Thanks.”

Matt stood up and went into the bathroom.

“Other inhaler?” I asked. “You have two?”

Ethan nodded again and wiped his nose on his pullover. “Yeah, the other one is a preventative, so I don’t have to take the Albuterol as much. Since it’s a steroid and all.”

“Sounds like you know what to do then,” I said encouragingly, not really knowing what else to say. Ethan still looked pale, though, and I wondered if he had a fever, so I was glad that he took some medicine a little while ago. Matt walked back into the living room then, an orange inhaler in his hand. With a badly-aimed throw, he tossed it to Ethan, who instantly reached out and caught it anyway.

“Could’ve been a baseball player, with how much practice I get from catching your throws, man,” Ethan smirked. He held his inhaler up to use it, but a hard cough suddenly forced its way out instead. Matt and I watched him in concern.

“Cut it out, guys, I’m fine,” Ethan said after a minute. He used the inhaler, intentionally looking away from us for the ten seconds he held his breath.

“Anyways,” Matt said, rolling his eyes and turning to me. “Dinner? Any ideas?”

“Can we order something?” I suggested. “Since we’re all kinda sick and all. I don’t wanna push it.”

Matt shrugged, flexible as always. “Sure. Marco’s Pizza?”

I wrinkled my nose, which tickled and started running again from the motion. I wiped it with the last tissue I still had in my hand, feeling a sneeze start to work its way up. I didn’t really like pizza. Everyone around me always thought I was crazy for having that opinion. My nose tickled more forcefully, and I wrinkled it again to coax out the stuck sneeze. Matt saw my expression and grinned. “Oh, I’d forgotten Kaylee doesn’t like Marco’s.”

“Hck-chieww!...Or any pizza,” I reminded him, and sniffled back another incoming sneeze. "Hehh..tchiew!"

Ethan, who was playing a game on his phone, chimed in. “Bless you. Just text Dave and have him pick up dinner. Chinese…or whatever.”

We all agreed that sounded good, so Matt sent a text to Dave. The movie had just finished, so it was actually really good timing. He mentioned that Steve was going to come over too and we could all just pay him back for dinner through the Venmo app. I smiled. Steve was another nice guy, too, though he could be a bit self-absorbed at times. I think Gavin and I had been dating a few months the last time I’d seen Steve, and it was at the movie we all went to last year near the end of summer.

I now found myself with mixed feelings when I remembered that night. Because of the urban area and the popularity of the movie we were seeing, we had had to park almost a mile away from the theater. The weather was getting cold and Gavin had refused to go back to the car and get my jacket for me. He only wrapped his arm around me and gave me an excuse that “the theater’s always warm and they’ll let us inside in an hour.” Then right after I said I would just walk back and get it myself, Matt offered me his jacket. He claimed at the time that he had a light sweater on underneath and wasn’t cold at all, but I realized that he would have loaned it to me even if he was only wearing a t-shirt. I remembered that Gavin was grateful for Matt’s help in that moment and it made me wonder if he ever even had a clue about the way Matt really felt about me. Steve, however, had dropped a comment to Matt about how at least one person in our group, meaning Matt, cared about me. Gavin hadn’t heard him, but I had been within earshot and blushed. That had been my first clue into Gavin’s true character. So, I had a bit of a soft spot for Steve. It would be nice to see him again, especially to see his reaction that Matt and I were together now.

While we waited for Dave and Steve to arrive with the food, Matt found a new Youtube channel for us and Ethan’s phone dinged several times with multiple text alerts. He picked it up again and I watched him crack a couple of small smiles as his fingers tapped away in response. After a moment, the phone dinged several more times.

“Quite the social butterfly tonight?” I said impulsively. I knew I must have sounded ridiculous, like a mom trying to connect with her teenage son. Sometimes I couldn’t help being nosy, but I wondered if it was Alyssa and I just wanted to find out.

Ethan looked up at me briefly, and then looked back down at his phone. “Yeah. It’s Alyssa. She has the day off tomorrow and wants to see me again.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” I said with a smile. “But did you tell her you’re sick?”

“Nope,” he said, still looking at his phone and typing another text.

“You know she works with NICU babies,” I said with a frown, knowing I sounded even more like a nagging mother. “Please don’t get her sick.”

Ethan sighed, ran a hand awkwardly through his curly brown hair, and then looked down at his phone again. “…Yeah…okay.”

The front door opened then and Dave walked in with the food, followed by Steve with a couple liters of soda. Steve wasn’t tall, but he was fit and muscular from working out a lot, had black hair that he usually covered with a hat, astonishingly blue eyes, and a round face. He was a Project Manager for Dave’s uncle’s company, which is how he had met Dave and, eventually, the rest of us. Matt and I stood up to greet Steve and I became embarrassed when I realized I was still wearing my old t-shirt and sweats from this afternoon. However, Steve only grinned at me.

“Apparently she’s already moved in,” he teased. “Dave told me. Congrats, you guys.”

“Thanks, man,” Matt said. He went to shake hands with Steve, but then pulled back.

“On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t. Don’t know if Dave told you, but we’re all kinda sick right now.”

Dave set the food down and turned to look at us, a slightly gleeful and incredulous expression on his face. He could be obnoxious sometimes, for sure. At that moment, Ethan covered his mouth from a small sneeze and then sniffled wetly. Dave started to chuckle.

“No way. So all of you are down now? I didn’t think my germs were that heavy.”

“Yeah, thanks for the love,” I said sarcastically.

Dave clicked his tongue and winked at me. “You got it, babe.”

He went to the kitchen and pulled out several paper plates from the cabinet and forks from the drawer. He opened up all the containers and we went to the counter to serve ourselves. Matt handed me a plate and grabbed one for himself. I let him serve me some orange chicken and lo-mein noodles, and I smiled up at him. He smiled back warmly, sending happy butterflies through my stomach. I started to think I’d never feel normal while looking at him anymore, but I didn’t care.

“In all seriousness, though,” Dave said, changing his tone. “Sorry you’re sick, guys. Sure you want to be here now, Steve-O?”

Steve shrugged. “My immune system can take it.”

“Always so modest,” Ethan joked, and turned his head away from the food to sneeze again into his elbow.

“Bless you,” I said.

We all enjoyed dinner together, talking about the movie from last year and making plans to see the sequel later this summer. We also made tentative plans for a Las Vegas road trip, and spent a lot of time laughing at myself and Ethan, who took turns sneezing every few minutes. As it got late, Ethan and Dave had both gone to their own bedrooms and Steve had gone home, and I was up to my thirtieth or so sneeze of the evening and the tissue box lay empty on the coffee table. I had rested my legs across Matt's lap again and he had covered them with his orange blanket. We rested on the couch together and watched a show on Netflix while I dozed here and there. I really hoped I would be feeling better soon. My phone then dinged with a text alert, and I picked it up and checked my messages. It was from Emma.

"Hey, Kay. Turns out I'm heading back tomorrow. My flight gets in at 4pm, can you pick me up?"

.

.

.

.

[Feo]

I just love those last two updates! I got to see Matt at his work 😍 Thanks for continuing the story for us 🤩

[RipleyToo]

Aaaaaaa!! I loved this update! Especially the parts with Ethan! I love how the three interact with each other, it’s very comforting. Thank you for continuing the story for us! I hope there will be more soon.. hopefully with some more Ethan too 😉

[marina<3]

Your writing is phenomenal!!! I am so in love with this story and so invested in the characters. I do hope you continue! 

[WishUponAUnicorn]

This is wonderful !

[LimeyBlimey]

Happy New Year, everyone!

I've written a new story! Yay! I actually had this one in the works since before Thanksgiving, lol, but due to the busy holidays and my ever-busy schedule I could never really sit down and work on it! I've even changed it a few times to meet each holiday, so I realized I should just release the first part before it gets too late! So here it is. Also as always, let me know if you have any ideas or requests! 😁

.

.

.

.

It had been several months since Matt and I had started dating. Things were going very well, and we had settled by now into a happy and comfortable relationship. We enjoyed every minute we spent together. At one point, Dave told us that our relationship had reached the point of “cute” that it actually made him feel physically ill. At those words Matt had chucked an apple he had almost finished at Dave’s head. Thanks to Matt’s horrible aim, instead of hitting Dave, the apple core hit Ethan on the shoulder, leaving a wet and mushy spot on his white t-shirt. Needless to say, Ethan’s reaction had unpleasant results for Matt, but left Dave laughing in the background.

It was almost the New Year, so I was still on my holiday break from school. Matt and I had just had our first Christmas together at my condo. His parents were traveling, and my mom had a new rich boyfriend who apparently loved to travel as well, so Matt and I had a nice quiet holiday alone together. My roommate Emma had even gone home to Chicago to spend the holiday there with her parents. She would be back shortly after the new year.

Work was going well for both of us, although our days were pretty busy due to Matt’s recent promotion and my new class of four-year-olds. Matt was now responsible at his company for graphing the monthly case numbers, holding new-hire training classes, and a few other things. He loved it though, and according to his coworkers, he was doing a great job with teaching the new hires. I casually mentioned that if he ever grew tired of the I.T. career, then maybe teaching a college class or two would be fun. He only laughed and shrugged that suggestion off. I had a pretty good, albeit active, class this year. My busiest school years usually came with having twice as many boy students as girls, and this year just happened to be one of those years. Needless to say, I was thoroughly enjoying my time off. I had visited Matt a couple more times during the break, either bringing him lunch or us going out to eat somewhere. We were still taking things slow. We hadn’t even had sex yet, but we both knew that time was coming up fast.

A couple of days before the new year, Emma texted me that she had something important to talk to me about and for me to please call her.

“Hey,” she greeted me when I called.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“I just had to tell you now,” she started, and then there was a long pause. “When I come home next week, it’s not permanent. I’m…I’m moving out,” she said.

“Oh.” I looked down and fixed my eyes on a small random stain on my living room carpet. “Why?”

“I’m sorry, Kay,” Emma said, and hurried her words. “It’s not you, trust me! It’s just…”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly.

Emma paused again. “It’s just…I’m actually moving back home here. To Chicago. My mom’s cancer came back…we just found out.”

“Oh, Emma,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks,” said Emma. “Anyways, she and my dad are both going to need help. My mom starts immediate treatment, and my dad’s heart just isn’t what it used to be after his injury.”

“The one that put him out of the Force?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Emma said. “And I’ve just met with my previous manager here. They want to hire me back, with a nice raise, too.”

“That’s great,” I said encouragingly.

“Yeah,” Emma replied. “It’s a good opportunity for me. That way I can still work and be near my mom. And it’ll be nice to have my old friends to help me and my dad…afterwards.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said again. “So it’s already pretty far along?”

There was a sound of sniffling on the other end of the line. “Yeah…apparently it’s aggressive. Metastatic. I…just…I don’t even know what to say or think right now.”

“I understand,” I said quietly. “I’ll be here if you need anything, okay? Please let me and Matt help you with packing when you get back…and don’t worry about our lease agreement, it’s fine. We’re friends before roommates. When are you leaving?”

Emma’s voice shook a little. “I’ll be back for a few days after the new year for all my stuff.”

“Okay. Just keep me posted,” I said. We talked for a few more minutes, then exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

I felt so sad for Emma and her mom, but my brain was already racing. I guess I now needed to start looking for a roommate. Thankfully the holiday season was almost done, but this time of year tended to be difficult when it came to renters. Maybe I would just live solo for a while and look for roommates in the spring. Of course, I hated that idea, and I was fully aware that it could be expensive for me financially. I sighed. It was all too stressful to think about. Not to mention, I realized my throat had been hurting all day. I hoped it was nothing to worry about.

I called Matt after my conversation with Emma and he came over after work to spend the evening with me. I told him about Emma and her mom and he of course accepted my request to help Emma move. I also casually mentioned working on some roommate advertisements online next month, but I noticed he seemed just a bit reluctant to talk about that.

Matt put on a show on Netflix while I made some dinner for us. In the kitchen my nose started to tickle, and I stifled two quick sneezes into my elbow that Matt overheard.

“Bless you,” he called from the living room.

“Th-thanks,” I said, but felt another one coming. “Hcck-chuu!”

“Bless you again,” Matt said. “You’re not getting sick, are you?”

“Of course not,” I said. “I’m fine.”

When dinner was ready, I brought Matt his plate and mine as well and sat next to him on the couch.

“Thanks, this looks great,” he said, always enthusiastic about my cooking. He kissed me sweetly on my lips. We found a show to watch together while we ate, happy and content with our usual lazy weekend evenings.

Matt spent the night with me at the condo. We made plans to go out the next day and do some shopping for party stuff. Matt and his roommates were having a little gaming night on New Year’s Eve at their apartment with a couple of friends, so I was going to help out and make it into a party. I was looking forward to it.

I had trouble getting to sleep that night. I was already starting to stress about Emma’s move, having to find a new roommate, and my head felt like a fog was rolling in. I also woke up several times during the night having to sneeze. At one point after three stifled sneezes into the blanket, Matt rolled over, sleepily blessed me, mumbled something about zombies, and then went right back to sleep.

I woke up shortly after 7 the next morning despite my terrible night. I sat up, swallowed, and winced with the dry pain in my throat. I felt the beginning of a headache too. Great. I stifled a couple of coughs, and then felt Matt stir next to me.

“Hptchtchuu!” I tried to keep it quiet.

“Go back to sleep, babe, it’s early,” I said. But Matt only sat up, reached across to the end table for his glasses, and put them on. He then looked at me.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked me curiously.

I shrugged. “I’m okay.”

“I thought I heard you during the night too, but maybe I was just having a weird dream. You sure you’re okay?”

I leaned over and kissed Matt’s lips. “You’re so sweet, but I’m okay.”

After quick showers, we got dressed and then went out with a plan to get breakfast first since it was still so early. Two sneezes suddenly escaped me as we walked outside.

 

“Htchieww…hhehh-hehhctchuuu…”

“Bless you,” Matt said, looking at me with concern.

“Thanks,” I said with a laugh. “Guess I’m allergic to the sun.”

We went to a decent restaurant and ordered coffee from our male waiter. As he set two cups down for us I turned and sneezed again into my elbow. “Hck-chuuu!”

“Bless you,” the waiter said casually.

“Thanks,” I chuckled. Matt looked at me, a slightly suspicious expression on his face.

After we ordered our food, I felt my nose starting to run a bit, and excused myself to the bathroom. I don’t know why, but I felt a little embarrassed for Matt to see me getting sick. It’s not like I hadn’t been sick in front of him before.

“Hhhehhtchuu! Hhhck-chuuu…” I blew my nose with some toilet paper in the bathroom stall. “Huhh-hehhtchhuuu!” Those third ones always caught me off guard. I left the stall, washed my hands, and headed back to the table.

“You okay?” Matt said as I sat back down.

“Fine,” I lied, and sniffled.

However, after breakfast I found it was getting harder to hide it from Matt that I was getting sick. He wasn’t a dense person, and as he had seen me sick before, he pretty much knew what to expect. I sneezed again four more times on our way to the party store, and I knew they were getting wetter and harder to pass off as casual. I found a couple of napkins from my glove compartment and blew my nose.

“You sound like you’re getting a cold, Kay,” Matt said. “Should we head back home?”

“No, it’s fine,” I said. “Must be allergies or something. Well…I don’t know. Maybe I am getting a touch of a cold. No big deal.”

“I guess,” Matt said hesitantly.

“We need to get the party stuff,” I insisted. “I’ll be fine. Damn, not again…hhehhchuuuu!...hhh…hh…hehhtchiew-hhIIHHTCHchhuu!”

“Bless you,” Matt said, a look of concern in his dark eyes.

We spent the rest of the morning running errands for the party. Matt wanted to stop by Best Buy and Game Stop, and I felt myself starting to get tired already. However, I wanted us to make sure we had plenty of food for the party so we stopped by the grocery store as well. While we were perusing the chips aisle, my nose started running again. I blew it noisily with some of the napkins I had stuffed in my jacket pockets.

“Hhh-h…htsschuuu!…”

“Bless you,” Matt said. “Be right back.”

I watched Matt disappear from the aisle, and after a few minutes he returned, his arms laden with several items which he quickly dumped into our shopping cart. I looked at the items. Dayquil. Nyquil. Gatorade. Orange juice. A mega pack of tissue boxes. I sighed and rolled my eyes at Matt. He returned my look with that adorable and sheepish grin of his, and shrugged.

“Figured we might need it.”

I leaned into him with an embarrassed smile. “Thanks.”

He responded by putting his arms around my waist and planting a sweet but solid kiss on my lips. “I’ll take good care of you, babe. I always will.”

“Well, now you’ve done it,” I said jokingly. “Now you’re going to get sick.”

Matt shrugged. “I’ll be okay. I’ve already been sick this year, and I don’t usually get more than one cold every two to three years.”

I felt my nose start to run again and quickly wiped it with yet another napkin. “Lucky you.”

“Come on,” said Matt, grabbing the shopping cart. “Let’s finish up here and head to my place to drop all this stuff off.”

Today was Sunday, so Ethan and Dave were both home when Matt and I arrived back at his apartment.

“Hey,” they both greeted us casually from the couch, used to my presence now.

Ethan, having been raised to be polite, stood up from the couch and went into the kitchen to help us put the groceries away. We all chatted for a bit, and then Dave wandered in as well. Matt pulled some bread, cheese, and lunch meat out for sandwiches for us and Dave started making himself one as well. Ethan wordlessly happened to pull out all of the medicine and tissues from a grocery bag and set them on the counter in front of us, and Dave’s eyebrows raised.

“Someone sick?” he asked.

“Maybe Kaylee,” Matt said. “Sorry. It’s fine.”

Dave shrugged. “Hey, as long as it’s not the flu, I’m good. I can’t deal with that garbage.”

“It’s not the flu,” I said quickly, and tried to hold back a sniffle.

Matt, Ethan, and Dave chatted about their game plans while Matt made both our sandwiches and got us some chips and drinks. I took the bags from the party store with me and started sorting through the items in the dining room.

“Hhhettschhuuu!” I covered my face with the crook of my arm. “Hehhtcchuuuu…hhhhhiihhtschhooo!”

“Bless you,” Dave said.

“Thanks,” I said, and blushed. I didn’t know why this was embarrassing for me, and then I realized it. The last time I had gotten sick, I had been staying with all of them, and it was also the same weekend that Matt and I had realized our feelings for each other and had our first kiss. My brain was associating being sick with those same feelings from back in April. I guess that wasn’t so bad, but it was perhaps still a little awkward even after all these months.

I stayed with Matt at his place for the rest of the day. He wanted to play the new Star Wars game I had given him for Christmas, and I had a new book on my Kindle that I wanted to read. It felt good to rest too, I had to admit. I sneezed three more times, and then Matt left the room to return with a fresh box of tissues for me.

“Hey, so…” Matt said while I blew my nose twice. “I forgot to tell you. My company is having this new year dinner night on Friday the 3^rd and families and stuff are invited. Apparently since our Christmas party was employees-only, my boss Ken felt bad about that and decided to have this event. Want to come?”

“Definitely!” I said, sniffling. “Sounds fun.”

I spent the evening with Matt and his roommates and then stayed overnight with him as well. The next day was New Year’s Eve, so I wanted to get their place ready for the party. I took some of the Nyquil Matt had bought me, so I slept hard and woke up super groggy the next morning. However, now my nasal passages were both stuffed up and the rest of my head felt completely fogged over.

“Hhheiihhtchuuu…” I sneezed, coughing and then sniffling back more sneezes that I knew were still coming. “Hhhiitcchuuu…HIH-IITCHcchiew!”

“Bless you, babe,” Matt said sleepily next to me. “You sound awful.”

“I’b okay,” I said breathily. “Hhiiihhtchiieww!”

Matt sat up and felt my forehead. “Well you’re not hot, so that’s good. But maybe we shouldn’t make tonight into a whole party. You should just take it easy and rest.”

“Hhehhhscchooo!” I reached for the tissue box on Matt’s bedside table. “Doh, it’s fide. I’ll just take sobe Dayquil.”

“I’ll get it for you,” Matt said, and stood up.

“Thagks. Hhhiiitcchuuu!”

Matt gave me a dose of Dayquil and then insisted on making me breakfast in bed. He kissed me and then went out into the kitchen, leaving the bedroom door ajar. I knew Ethan was already at work, but Matt and Dave’s company was on holiday until the 2^nd, so I wondered how long it would be before Matt’s banging and clanging around would wake up Dave. His knowledge of cooking recipes pretty much consisted of sandwiches, or microwaveable meals, though he could also grill a really good burger. I liked to cook, so I had been teaching him a few things here and there, but he wasn’t always confident to do them on his own. I heard a light sound and realize he must have settled on cereal, which made me chuckle. The kitchen then went quiet for a moment, and when I heard the tea kettle whistle, it accompanied another sound.

“HhhHEHSCHieww! HhIIHHshchiewww!”

I cringed. Unless those sneezes were random, Matt’s and my theory about his strong immunity to colds may have just been tossed out a window.

.

.

.

.

More to come very soon!! ❤️

[Me4ever]

Looking forward to sick Matt and more adorable care taking! They're such a sweet couple 

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

Somehow, I missed this all the first time around, and I am SO GLAD I found it now, because it is all FANTASTIC! I can’t wait to read more!

[LimeyBlimey]

Hey! Stopping in with a quick part here! Be back with more when I can! <3

.

.

.

.

After breakfast, a couple of lazy hours, and a dose of medicine, I felt well enough to start on the prep for the party.

“Do you guys have a small step-ladder I can use?” I asked Matt.

“Yeah, I think so, Matt said, and sniffled once. “Think it’s in the coat closet, I’ll grab it.”

I took all the decorations I had picked out from the store and put them on the dining room table to open. After a minute or so, Matt brought me a step-ladder which definitely looked as if it had seen better days. It was cracked in one leg, scuffed and worn, and covered in old paint stains.

“Here you go,” Matt said. "Sorry, it's kinda old. My parents gave it to me when I went to college. It was old then, too."

"As long as it works," I said with a chuckle.

Matt suddenly turned his head to the side. “H…hhh…hhhehhghschuuu!”

“Bless you,” I said.

“Thanks,” Matt said, and sniffled again.

I unwrapped some tape and a little banner from the package, and handed Matt some decorations.

“Here,” I said, as I climbed up on the ladder steps. “Go hang these up by the front door.”

“You sure you don’t want me to do that?” Matt offered, eyeing me up on the ladder.

“It’s fine, I got it.”

While Matt worked by the front door, I realized I couldn’t quite reach a section of wall that met ceiling. I stretched up as far as I could, when my nose suddenly tickled forcefully.

“Hhhhiiitchuuu…Hhh… HIH-IITCHcchiew!”

“Bless you,” Matt called from the front of the apartment.

“Thanks,” I said, quickly wiping my nose on my sleeve. Damn this stupid cold. I stretched my arms and the taped banner piece out toward the wall and placed my foot up on the arched handle of the stepladder to give myself a bit more solidity. Without warning, there was a large snapping sound and the step-ladder suddenly broke under my weight.

“Ohhh, SHIT!” I yelled as I felt myself falling to the floor.

“Kaylee!” Matt cried. He was at my side in an instant. “Oh my god, are you okay?!”

I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds and realized the breath had just been knocked out of me. My ankle was stuck in the broken ladder.

“Ouch. Yeah. No. I don’t know.”

I heard Dave’s bedroom door open and he stepped out. “Everything okay? I just heard a crash.”

With extremely gentle hands, Matt pulled my ankle out from the ladder section. It hurt, but I tried to hold it in.

“Holy shit, Kaylee,” Dave said, coming over to me as well. “What did you do?”

“Well, the damn ladder broke,” I said with a wince, while Matt worked on dislodging my ankle. He managed to free it, and I rubbed it tenderly. My hip also hurt a bit where I had fallen and I knew it would have a nice bruise there soon.

Matt looked at me with concern. “Is your ankle okay?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It hurts. Not like broken, but it really hurts.”

Matt frowned. “Might be twisted or sprained. Can you put weight on it?”

Matt and Dave pulled me to my feet and as I tried to stand on my right foot I winced again from the sharp stabbing pain in my ankle.

“Owww-owww-owww,” I exclaimed, and then leaned fully into Matt, who grabbed me around my waist to hold me up. “Nope. Definitely can’t put weight on it. Holy crap, that hurts.”

“I’m taking you to the ER,” Matt said. “Dave, can you grab our stuff?”

Dave nodded and quickly brought me my phone and purse, and Matt’s phone, wallet, and keys. In the meantime Matt scooped me up into his arms and cradled me like a baby. I found myself blushing despite the shooting pain in my ankle.

“Keep me posted, man, okay?” Dave said, and walked us to the front door.

“Yeah, I’ll text you,” Matt said, and we headed out to his car.

.

.

.

.

More to come soon! <3

[castiel_angel]

This story just gets better and better with each update 😄 I love the way you’ve developed the characters and Matt and Kaylee’s relationship!

[M214186]

Love this 

[LimeyBlimey]

Here's the next part! 

.

.

.

.

When we got to the ER, Matt parked and left me in the car while he ran to get a wheelchair for me. He helped me check in at the front desk and explain to reception why we were there. Even though it was daytime, I saw that there were a few other patients already seated in the waiting area, so I hoped it wouldn’t be too long. My ankle had already started to swell up so after I checked in, Matt found us an end-cap of chairs in a quiet section of the waiting room and then gently pulled my leg up to rest on his lap. My ankle hurt so much now that I actually was starting to worry that I had broken something. One more thing to add to my stresses, I realized with a great feeling of annoyance as well as pain. Matt suddenly let go of my leg. He brought his arm up and stifled three sneezes into his elbow. He cleared his throat too, which was already starting to sound congested.

“Bless you,” I said. “Are you okay, babe? You’ve been a bit sniffly today.”

Matt only smiled at me and rested his hand on top of my leg again. “I might be starting to come down with a cold, too, but it’s okay. Let me just worry about you.”

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly, and I squeezed his hand. I winced as another shot of pain coursed through my ankle. Matt watched me with concern and looked toward the door leading into the ER patient rooms.

“Maybe they can get you some pain meds while we wait,” he said. “They’ve got the good stuff here.”

He started to pick up my leg to set it down on the wheelchair footrest, but then the ER doors opened and a nurse stepped into the waiting room.

“Kaylee?” she called.

“That’s me,” I called. Matt gently put my leg down on the footrest and wheeled me over to the nurse, who looked about the same age as my mom. She greeted us and then led us behind the doors toward a small area. She did my blood pressure, which was a little high, probably just from the stress and the pain. She took my temperature and frowned.

“Do you know if you’re ovulating?” she asked. “Your temperature is just a tad high. 99.2.”

“Oh. No, I’ve just got a bit of a cold,” I said. As if to prove my point, my nose gave me away and I attempted to stifle a sudden sneeze into my elbow.

“Bless you,” the nurse said with a sympathetic smile. “I suppose that explains it, then. It’s going around, for sure. But then you fell off a step-ladder? You poor thing.”

I nodded.

“Well, let’s go get it checked out and get you something for the pain.”

“Thanks,” I said. We followed the nurse into a private room, where Matt lifted me from the wheelchair and set me on the patient bed.

“Looks like you’re in good hands,” the nurse said with another smile.

“That’s what a lot of people say,” I mused. Matt only smiled. I pulled my ankle up onto the bed as well, grimacing from the motion. The nurse then helped me pull my pant leg up so she could look at my swollen ankle.

“Ouch,” the nurse said. “I can imagine this must hurt. What were you doing when you fell off the ladder?”

Matt jumped in and answered for me. “Putting up decorations for our New Year’s party. The stupid ladder broke and then her ankle got all twisted in it. It was my fault; the ladder was old and worn out. I should have thrown it out years ago.”

“You didn’t know,” I said to Matt. “It wasn’t your fault, Matty, I was just being careless.”

“Well,” the kind nurse jumped in. “These things can happen. It’s okay. And the doctor will be in soon. He’ll check it out and we’ll get you in for some x-rays.”

“Thank you,” Matt said quietly, and the nurse left the room. I looked at Matt, who sat down in a chair near the window and put his head in his hands. He was obviously feeling guilty about this whole thing.

“It’s okay, Matt,” I said to him, and he looked up at me. “I’m not mad. It’s just an inconvenience to me. I’m a klutz. I think I’ve either broken or sprained something once every couple of years since I was a kid. I guess I was due.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have let you climb that damn ladder, and just hung up the banner myself.”

“Then you would be the one sitting here, not me,” I said with a grin.

“Exactly,” Matt said. He sniffled once, then turned his head away from me. “Hhhhehgghhschuu! Sorry.”

“Bless you,” I said.

After another few minutes an ER doctor came in holding my paperwork and a small container with some pills that I hoped were strong Tylenol or something equivalent.

“Hi, Kaylee,” the doctor said, introduced himself to us, and shook my hand. “Sorry you hurt your ankle. Let’s take a look at it. But do you want this Ibuprofen first?”

“Yes, please,” I said. The doctor got me a cup of water and I gratefully swallowed the pills. He chatted with me for a few minutes about what happened while he tenderly examined my ankle. He then turned his attention to both me and Matt.

“Well, it doesn’t seem broken, but we’ll get you down to x-rays just to make sure,” the doctor said. “But it looks like a pretty bad sprain. You’ll definitely have to stay off of it for a couple weeks.”

“That’ll be fun,” I said sarcastically.

The doctor grinned, then told us to wait here in the room before we could be escorted to x-rays. He left, and shortly after the nurse came back and led us down to the x-ray room. She let Matt push my wheelchair, and I knew Matt appreciated that. He then waited outside the room while I had the x-rays done, and then the nurse took us back to the room.

 “Hhhaahhhschschieww!” Matt sneezed right as we walked back in.

“Bless you,” the nurse said.

“Thanks,” Matt sniffled. The nurse gently applied an ice pack to my ankle and then left the room, and there we waited for a while.

“So…what about the party tonight?” I couldn’t help but ask Matt. “It’s New Year’s Eve!”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s just a few people coming,” Matt said. “There’s Steve, also Jared, and I guess Ethan invited Alyssa.”

“I didn’t know she was into video games,” I said.

“She’s n…not…hhhehhggshuuu…really,” Matt said breathily. “She’s just…hhhe-AHhhchhieww!…into Ethan.”

“Bless you,” I said with a giggle. “Breathe, baby.”

“I’m f-fine,” Matt said, but sniffled again. He put his head down between his legs. “Hhhh….hhhEAGHHschiieww!”

“Bless you again,” I said.

After a while, the ibuprofen kicked in and my ankle started to hurt a little less. I laid down on the bed, which actually wasn’t too uncomfortable, and rested my eyes. Matt texted Dave an update and then played a game on his phone to let me rest for a bit. However, he kept stifling sneezes into his elbow every few minutes. Finally, the doctor came back in with copies of my x-rays.

“Well, Kaylee, looks like you’re definitely going to be off your feet for a while,” the doctor said, and showed us my x-rays. “Your ankle’s not broken, but you came very close. This is what we call a ‘grade three’ sprain.”

“Yikes,” I said. Matt and I exchanged looks. His face looked crushed with guilt.

“I’m going to wrap up your ankle for now,” the doctor continued. “And you need to keep it elevated and iced for the next two days, okay? And we’ll also write you a prescription for some good pain meds, a walking boot, and see if we can’t get you a knee scooter as well.”

We talked with the doctor for a bit longer, then took care of my insurance, got a referral for an orthopedist, and did the other necessary paperwork from the checkout staff. The inner me that was always well-organized and on top of things was also already making a list. I needed to call my director, text Emma, and update my mom, who would want to come up to help for a bit. Finally we were done, and Matt wheeled me back out to the car. He helped me into the passenger seat, and then turned his head to sneeze yet again.

“Don’t worry, Kaylee,” Matt said as he drove us out of the hospital parking lot. “We'll still do the party if you want, you just have to take it easy. I already texted Dave and Ethan to set up the rest of the decorations. It might not look as nice as you would make it, but it’s done.”

“You guys are all so great,” I said. “Let’s just go get all my crap from the pharmacy and head back to the apartment.”

.

.

.

.

More to come soon! ❤️

[RipleyToo]

Soo cute!! Any way we could get more sick Ethan too? I’d love to see more of that 🥰