Christian's Cold

[Coldielocks]

Christian rolled over and groaned, he could already feel the fatigue and scratchiness in his throat; indicating his luck in avoiding the cold that had been running rampant throughout the academy the last 3 weeks, had run out. “Shit.” He said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes pushing his blonde hair out of his face. He sat up and stretched gingerly. His body was lean and flexible but muscular as well from the years of dance training and intense exercise programs. He got up slowly taking stock of his body. He was tired, his throat was scratchy and his nose felt stuffed, but it was manageable, at least for now. This week was arguably one of the most important weeks of the last 5 years of his training at the academy of ballet and dance. Friday the casting directors would be holding auditions for the male leading role in the upcoming show. His rolls in the last 2 shows had been acceptable but not important enough to have garnered the interest of any professional companies. He needed this role and he was well poised to get it, so long as he didn’t blow the audition.

Christian got dressed quickly and started gathering his stuff for the day’s classes. His roommate Ben was still sleeping soundly in the bed next to his. H-h-HCUGTX! He sneezed into his elbow trying to stifle as best he could to not wake his roommate. Ben rolled over his eyes opening,

“bless you” he said sleepily.

“th tha-HECHOO anks” said Christian sneezing again and feeling embarrassed, “heading to class, I’ll see you later.”

And he hurried out the door. The days classes weren’t too bad, mostly classroom time today which was helpful he didn’t relish the idea of a day full of dance when he wasn’t feeling his best. He caught up with Ben and a few friends during the lunch break. They chatted about the days classes and gossiped about who would be getting which parts in the next show.

 “We all know Christian’s got the male lead this year,” said his friend Dave.

 “For sure” agreed Nevina smiling over and Christian. “I think Jasmine has a good shot at the female lead, I just hope I don’t get stuck as understudy again.”

Christian listened quietly not really in the mood to join in the talk, he sneezed into his elbow quietly *hnxchth h-hnchoo heSHOO*  he sighed heavily then rested his head on his hands, his head felt heavy and was starting to hurt, he closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead trying to ease the pain some.

“You ok, Christian?” Ben asked looking over at him with concern.

“I’m ok,” he said tiredly, “pretty sure I’m coming down with that cold everyone’s been passing around though.”

“Oh that sucks, I had it last week, it kicked my butt for several days,” said Nevina.

“Y-yeah I h-heard H-HextCHOO HeSHOO” Christian managed to get out before sneezing a double down towards the floor.

 “Bless you” the table chorused together.

“Thangs” Christian said sniffling. He got up from the table grabbed his bag “I’m going grab some supplies from the store before my next class, I’ll see you guys later.” After a quick bathroom stop to blow his nose he headed over to the campus store. He wandered the few aisles grabbing a couple boxes of tissues and bottle of cold medicine. He hopped that would be enough to get through the rest of the day. He had plans tonight and didn’t want to have to cancel them especially over a stupid little cold. Justin, his boyfriend of 6 months would be returning from his business trip tonight and Christian been looking forward to the reunion all week. They’d meet as just a casual Tinder date but there was a spark there that had made both men unwilling to keep the relationship casual they’d typically spent every moment together they could when Christian wasn’t dancing and Justin wasn’t working. Which admittedly wasn’t nearly as much time as Christian wished it was. He and Justin understood each other though and their similar drives and determination was one thing that had brought them together and made the relationship so easy. Christian deposited his items on the counter where a young girl began ringing them up. “$10.43.” said the girl at the checkout stand. Christian handed over his card before burying his head in his elbow “H-HETTCHOO HA-HAshoo AtCHoo ugh… sorry about that,” he said blushing slightly.

 “It ok, looks like you’re coming down with something there though,” she said kindly.

“Yeah, hopefully this will help,” he smiled and gathered up his items. “Thanks,” he said.

 ”No problem, feel better!”

[Coldielocks]

The rest of that day passed uneventfully, and the cold medicine seemed to do a decent job of taking the edge off his symptoms. Other than the occasional sneeze, he felt decent. After class had finished for the day, he ran back to his room changed and headed over to Justin’s place.

Justin didn’t live far only a few blocks from the academy. Christian walked along the street quickly, the air was cold and thick clouds were rolling in, good chance of rain tonight he thought and he walked a bit quicker anxious to get to Justin’s before the storm broke. The apartment was good sized one bedroom with a large windows and comfortable modern furniture. Justin’s work, though demanding, paid well and the apartment was nice with a distinctly masculine feel. Christian made good time and let himself in using his key. Although Christian had a dorm at the academy, he tended to split is time pretty evenly between the two places. He and Justin had talked about moving into together full time but the timing just hadn’t been right yet. As Christin walked through the door he was immediately embraced by Justin.

Justin was slightly taller than Christian with an athletic build, black hair, and skin the color of caramel. Christian wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and breathed in his scent.

“Man, I’ve missed this,” said Justin.

“Me too,” said Christian. Justin reached down and kissed his boyfriend passionately pressing his lips hard against Christians. After a few seconds Christian broke away.

 “Sorry he said, I’m pretty sure I’m coming down with something, I don’t want to get you sick.” H-Huh ECHOO HE-CHooo Christian sneezed twice intohis shoulder as if to illustrate his point.  Justin smiled.

 “Bless you” he said then looked at him for a moment before pulling him in closer “But I don’t care, you’re worth the risk.” He lifted Christian chin up and kissed again him more urgently. Christian kissed him back hungrily. He ran his hands up Justin’s toned abs and chest. Before reaching down and beginning to undo his belt. Within seconds both men’s hands had deftly and expertly removed their partner’s clothes and the two men fell into bed together. Sex was never something they had struggled to find compatibility with. Their bodies seemed made for each other and it seemed second nature to them how easily the were able to understand and read each other’s bodies. Justin always seemed to know exactly how to satisfy the Christian and Christian was more than capable of leaving Justin in ecstasy. Once their rendezvous was complete, they laid side by side on the bed next to each other. Each smiling and panting.

“That was amazing,” said Justin smiling like a giddy school boy. Christian chuckled to himself at how childlike this man could be in the afterglow of lovemaking

“Yeah it was, I’ve missed you.” Justin leaned over to kiss him when Christian suddenly rolled away

HNGTCHX ngctx H-h-NGCHOO Christian sneezed then coughed lightly into his fist attempting to clear the congestion from his throat. “Ugh sorry.” He said. Justin grabbed the box of tissue on the nightstand and handed it to Christian.

“Bless you, you are coming down with something aren’t you?” Justin said and rubbed Christian’s back and he took the tissues and blew his noise productively.

 “Ugh yeah… seems like everyone had it these last few weeks, surprised I held out as long as I did actually.” He sneezed again H-HeSHOO. Then looked down at his watch. “Shit, I gotta go, it’s getting late.”

“You could stay here tonight.’” Justin said hopefully.

“I can’t tomorrow’s mylong day, I’ve got the early class and a full day of practice after that,” Christian replied. Justin looked disappointed at this news. “I should be able to stay over tomorrow night though”

“Alright” Justin agreed and stood up to embrace Christian, “I’ll see you tomorrow night then.” Christian turned to leave. “Hey, why don’t you wait a few minutes and I’ll call you an uber or something, its cold out there and it could start raining any second.” Justin said a hint of concern in his voice.

“I’ll be fine, and if I wait for a car I wont make it before they lock up.” He kissed Justin quickly then headed out the apartment and onto the street. Justin was right, it was cold, and windy to boot. Christian pulled his jacket around him tighter and half walked half jogged back towards the academy. He was about halfway there when the sky cut loose and rain began to fall. By the time Christian got back to the academy he was soaked through, He made it just in time slipping in the front door just as Madame Petrova was walking down the front hall way to lock up. “Cutting it a bit close tonight Mr. Blacker” she said reprovingly in her gravely Russian accent.”

“Y-yes s-sorry about t-that, l-lost track of the t-time” he shivered violently as the cold seemed to seep into his bones. “W-won’t-happen A-aga- HACHOO hchoo Hnchoo he sneezed roughly “again” he managed to finished then rubbed his nose with his sleeve sniffling. Madame Petrova sighed.

“Very well, go get dried off before you catch your death.” He sniffled again thanked her and headed to his dorm.

Once in his room he stripped his wet clothes off pulled on his pajamas and huddled under the covers attempting to warm up his frozen body. He coughed trying to clear the tickle that had settled into his throat and reached over to blow his nose. Ben was already asleep and thankfully didn’t stir.*HeSCHOO Et Shoo H-h hAtchoo# He sneezed three times into the tissue, groaned, and reached over to grab a couple more from the box. This was shaping up to be a rough cold. He tossed and turned for several hours attempting to get comfortable enough to sleep, but it was no use. He felt chilled and every time he would get close to sleeping his nose would begin to tickle and he have to sneeze. He finally got up around 3 and decided to take a hot shower. The hot water felt wonderful on his shivering body and the steam seemed to clear his nose some. HETCHOO HreSHoo ASHoo he sneezed into the air of the shower before shutting off the water and climbing out. After drying off and returning to his room he was finally able to fall asleep.

[Coldielocks]

Sleep didn’t last long though. At 5:30 he was awoken by Ben shaking his shoulder. “Christian wake up, you’re gonna be late for Johnson’s class.” Christian jumped up feeling panicked. He hurried around the room grabbing his dance bag. His head pounded in protest and he felt dizzy. He sat down to steady himself. “You ok?” asked Ben.

“Yeah” Christian answered his voice sounded strained and painful, “just got up too f-fast HREShoo A-AtCHoo.” He sneezed and grab another tissue from the box to blow his nose.

“Bless you,” said Ben looking at him rather suspiciously you sure you’re ok?

“I’m fine” he muttered grumpily standing up again, more slowly this time, and began quickly gathering his things: “Shoes, wallet, phone, water, clothes”, he thought throwing the stuff into his bag *HECHOO hACHOO* he sneezed, “tissues,” he added absentmindedly as he threw a whole box into his bag. Ok good, “Bye” Christian said said hurriedly as he rushed out the door. He made it to class just in time. He dropped his bag on the side of the classroom and began stretching. He felt exhausted and achy and his nose was definitely more stuffed up than it had been yesterday. He felt decidedly sick now. But he knew he would have to push through. He couldn’t miss any classes if he wanted to be able to audition at the end of the week. *HNXgt* he sniffled a sneeze into his elbow as he finished stretching.

“To the bar please” said Mr. Johnson briskly. Christian stifled another two sneezes *HNxgt HgCHoo* and grabbed a handful of tissues from his bag and stuffed them into his hoodie pocket before choosing a spot towards the back of the classroom. Only 2 minutes into the bar exercises and Christian could feel the need to sneeze building in his nostrils. He tried to breathe slowly through his nose willing the tickle to go away, but it didn’t work. He let go oh the bar and turned away HNgxt Hgnxt H-H-Hngchoo he sneezed burrying his face into a few of the tissues he’d stashed in his pocket. A few of the guys near him turned towards him looking at him quizzically but he ignored them. He stepped away and blew his nose a quietly as he could before returning to his spot on the bar. Next they lined up to practice combinations across the floor. Three times Christian stepped to the side to let someone else go ahead of him so he could sneeze or blow his nose. Finally it was time for a water break he sat down and let his head rest on the large mirror at the back of the room and closed his eyes. “Hey, Chris, how you doing.” Christian opened his eyes. It was Hayden. Hayden was his biggest competitor in the academy. He and Christian had auditioned for several of the same parts throught the years. Hayden had taken the lead the last show much to Christian’s disappointment. As much as Christian hated missing out on a part to Hayden he could never manage to actually hate him. Hayden was an unfailing good natured solid guy and seemed to be on friendly terms with everyone. Christian could have probably even been good friends with him if it wasn’t for his competitive nature.

“I’m alive,” answered Christian and coughing lightly into his fist. Hayden smiled kindly “sounds like you’re a little worse for wear today.”

Christian shrugged “Just a cold, I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah its definitely going around… just don’t overdo it, I had it a couple of weeks ago, tried to just push through and ended up with a sinus infection. It sucked”

“Alright gentleman, back to the floor” said Mr. Johnson.

“Well take care Christian” said Hayden and he walked over to his place on the floor.

[Coldielocks]

Class seemed to drag on forever to Christian and he was relieved when lunch time finally arrived. He entered the cafeteria but quickly realized he wasn’t in the mood for food and returned instead to the student lounge. He found a large sofa towards the back and laid down his eyes closed and was asleep almost immediately. After what felt like only a minute he was woken up by some saying his name. He looked up blearily at his friend Nevina standing over him. “Hey, sorry to wake you but lunch is just about over, and your were snoring pretty loudly there,” she said smiling good naturedly.

 “Oh man really? That’s embarrassing,” Christian chuckled but it quickly turned into a rough sounding cough. Nevina looked at him concerned.

 “You don’t sound so good.” She said

“I feel great. Christian said sarcastically then immediately turned away and sneezed twice into his elbow *HreSHOO H-HAtChoo. He pulled some tissues from his pocket and blew his nose noisily “Ugh… gross” and he slumped back into the sofa again.

 “Maybe you should head back to your room and take the rest of the day off to rest.” Nevina said kindly. “I cant” Christian replied. “Tryouts are this week if I miss any classes they wont let me audition.”

“Oh that’s right… I’d forgotten about that...” Nevina paused for a moment then continued softly “are you going to be ok?”

“I’ll get by” Christian said resignedly. “I should probably g-go H-HETCHOO NgtxChoo*! He sneezed again. “Hang in there” Nevina said kindly and she rubbed his shoulder as he stood up to leave. Christian managed to make it through the rest of the day, although by the end he was beginning to feel rather miserable. He was exhausted and his nose was running relentlessly and yet he was congested at the same time, his throat raw from sneezing and coughing, and his head was pounding. He considered texting Justin and letting him know he was not going to make it but decided he would rather be with Justin than stuck at the academy alone in his dorm. He decided to get a car to Justin’s this time as the extra walk in the cold sounded particularly awful. After the 4sneeze the diver glared at him through his rearview mirror until they arrived at Justin’s apartment. He was early and guessed Justin probably wouldn’t be home for at least another hour. He decided to lay down and take a quick nap on the couch before Justin got home then get up and make some dinner for the two of them. He walked through the door of the apartment and collapsed on the couch he sighed contentedly it felt so good to lay down and close his eyes. *HGCHOO h-hCHoo Hgnxt A-ASHoo* he sneezed hard, the force of them causing his upper body to shoot upright. He fished the box of tissue from his bag and used three to empty his nose and dropped them on the floor next to the couch, he would throw them in the bin when he woke up. He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

[Coldielocks]

It was nearly three hours later when Justin walked through the door of the apartment. He’d gotten held up at work and was tired and frustrated from the long day. As he walked through the door the first thing he saw was Christian sprawled out on the couch snoring lightly with a pile of tissue next to him. Justin smiled at how cute and pathetic he looked. He closed the door quietly behind him so as not to wake his sleeping boyfriend. Judging from the redness around Christian nostrils and the congested way his snores sounded coming from his slightly open mouth, Justin knew tonight was gong to be a bit more low key than that last one. He changed into some comfortable clothes and then pulled out his phone to order take out from his and Christians favorite Chinese place, making sure to get a large order of soup for Christian. The food arrived in less than an hour and Justin hurried to answer the door before the delivery guy woke up his sleeping boyfriend. He paid and gave the guy a generous tip and was startled by the sound of Christian sneezing HRESCHOOH HEstchoo Hetchoo Huh HuSHOO. So much for not waking him, thought Justin.

“Wow, bless you babe.” He said as he set down the food and then walked over to the couch. Christian looked at him surprised.

“W-Wbhen did you get hobe? Christian asked his voice was rough and hoarse sounding.

“Um… around 8 …” Justin replied looking at his watch. Christian looked at him with shock.

“Shit, I’m sorry… I was just going to lay down for a half hour or so. I was going to make us dinner…”

“No need I ordered Chinese,” said Justin. Christian looked at him guiltily.

“You should have woken me up” he said before another round of sneezes overtook him *HUSCHOO HetCHoo HreSCHoo.*

“You’re sick babe I don’t want you having to cook us dinner.”

“Its dnot thad bad” said Christian congestedly.

“Uh huh” said Justin skeptically “whatever you say, come on, I got you some soup. Should help you’re throat feel better.” And he reached down to help Christian up off the couch. They sat at the table eating together quietly. Christian sneezing every so often.

“So I’ve got some bad news, said Justine after a while. “I have another trip I just found out about today.”

 “Oh, when do you have to leave?”

 “Tomorrow,” said Justin.

 ”Seriously, you just got b-b *HACHOO* back.” Said Christian reaching across the table for another tissue.

 “I know but its an emergency, one of our investors wants to back out and the whole team is flying down tomorrow to try and get him back on board.”

“Howd long bill you be gone?” sniffled Christian from behind his tissue.

 “Four days or so,” Justine replied sheepishly. Christian sighed,

“I guess thads nod too bad. I’ll biss you though.”

“I know Ill miss you too, Ill make it up to you when I get back though,” said Justin, then smiled at Christian mischievously. Christian laughed but it quickly turned into a cough. It was harsh and wet sounding. Christian struggled to catch his breath as the coughs tore out of his sore throat. Justin quickly handed him a glass of water. Christian accepted it gratefully. Once Christian’s coughing died down Justin looked at him, worry was clearly etched across his face.

“Shit babe, that doesn’t sound good, are you sure you’re ok.” Christian cleared his throat before answering,

“yeah I think so, but this cold is really starting to kick my butt.” Justin leaned over and kissed Christian on the forehead. Then pulled away and placed his hand on his head and against his cheek.

“You’ve got a fever.” He said. Christian turned away from him andsneezed again *HRESHOO H-h-h-AtChoo* Christian wasn’t surprised by this news. He’d been feeling chilled and achy for at least half the day now.

“Come on’ said Justin “lets get you into bed. A good night’s sleep will probably do wonders.” The two men crawled into bed Christian shivered against the cold sheets and Justin spooned his body against him wrapping his arms around him.

“I got you babe,” he said “try and get some rest.” Christian fell asleep almost immediately, but Justin stayed awake listening to Christian breathe. He was worried about him. He knew Christian could take care of himself but he couldn’t help feeling guilty leaving when he was sick. The last few months Justin had been growing unsatisfied with their relationship. He wanted more, he loved Christian more than anything and he was tired of his job constantly getting in the way of their time together. Christian stirred beside him sniffling and rubbed at his nose still half asleep. Justin watched him he could tell Christian needed to sneeze but his body was fighting it back wanting to continue its sleep. After a couple minutes of sniffling turning and rubbing Christians eyes fluttered open and he blinked rapidly before sneezing loudly into the air. *HRETCHOO HESCHOO hschoo A-A-AASCHOO* Christian dropped back against the pillows and moaned.

 “Bless you…” said Justin.

“Thangs,” Christian muttered and grabbed a tissue to blow his nose. “Sorry for wakging you up”

“You didn’t, I’ve been up.” said Justin. Christian looked at him over his tissue quizzically.

“Everything ok?” Christian asked, his voice clearer having removed some of the congestion from sinuses.

“I… I think I’m going call my lead and let him know I won’t be able to be at the meeting tomorrow,” said Justin after pausing for a moment. “I want to make sure you’re ok I and I want to be there for your audition, You’re really important to me...” Christian looked at him with surprise for a minute then sat up.

“Justin, I’ll be fide, and I don’t want you jeopardizing your position just to babysit your boyfriend with a little c-c HatChoo cold.”

“I know.” said Justin quickly “but…” But Christian cut hm off.

“When we first met we promised each other we wouldn’t hold each other back from doing what we needed to achieve our goals and I stand by that promise… I appreciate your concern and you wanting to be there to support me, but its not necessary and it could very well impact your career.” Christian finished coldy. Justin looked at him with a mixture of surprise and hurt.

 “I… I just thought you would want me here, I want to make sure you’re ok and I want to help you and support you in anyway I can.”

 “I get that, but its totally unnecessary, I’m not a child and I’ve accomplished plenty without your help b-b-b AtCHoo before. I don’t see why now should be any different.”

 “Ok…well I guess if that’s how you really feel I’ll just go… it is an important meeting… I guess” Justin said looking down at his hands, unwilling to look Christian in the eyes.

 “good” said Christian curtly. “I think that would be best for both of us.”

The two sat in silence for several minutes before Justin got up. “I think I’ll go sleep in the living room tonight. We will probably both sleep better that way anyways.” And he closed the door behind him.

Christian flopped back down on the bed. He was frustrated and confused. Why would Justin suggest staying behind when it could cost him his job? It made no sense. Christian had known Justin’s job was a demanding one before they ever got together. They’d both been very clear about the nature of their positions and up until now it had always been understood that they each had goals in life that required sacrifice and commitment. In his heart Christian did long for Justin to stay, he hated not seeing him for weeks at a time but he would never dream of asking Justin to miss out on an opportunity just so he didn’t have to miss him. How selfish would that be? And at what point would Justin then expect the same from Christian? Dance was Christians entire life he had busted his ass for years training and practicing until his muscles screamed and his feet bled. He couldn’t bear the thought of having to choose between the man he loved and dance and he knew Justin felt the same about his career. Which is why they had agreed not to ask that of each other when they first started seeing each other. Justin was breaking the code! Christian did feel guilty for being so harsh with Justin, he knew his words had hurt his boyfriend, but this new level of commitment scared Christian and he didn’t think he could commit to the same level of devotion Justin seemed to be wanting, not when he’d worked so hard for so long and was so close to making it. Christian struggled the rest of the night. His sneezing kept him awake most of the night and his cough seemed to worsen as the hours ticked by, he was also pretty certain his fever wan’t get any better either, in fact Christian was pretty sure it was worse. Without Justin’s warm body wrapped around him he shivered under the heavy blanket. He couldn’t stop sneezing and his noise and sinuses were completely clogged. More than once he considered going out to the living room and snuggling up to Justin and asking him to hold him so he could fall asleep again, but he didn’t. He eventually managed to fall asleep and woke to the sun streaming in through the windows.

[Coldielocks]

He groaned as he felt the pain in his limbs, head, and sinuses. He pulled himself out of bed as the sun hit his eyes he doubled over as his cold made its presence know once more H-HESHoo HaAchoo HetChoo  he stood still as the room spun around him waiting for the dizziness to pass then and shuffled slowly out to the living room. Justin was nowhere to be seen. But there was a note and bag on the table. Christian opened the note and read it.

“Hey love, hope you were able to get a good night’s rest and that you’re feeling a little better now. I’m sorry about last night. I know I broke our agreement by telling you I was going to stay. I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and I’m sorry if you felt like I was suggesting you couldn’t. I just care about you a lot and I want to be there for you as much as possible. But I know how important dance is to you I know we can still be together and in love without acting like nothing else maters to us. Anyways, I’m on my way to the airport now, didn’t want to wake you up. I did stop by the pharmacy and pick up some medicine for you though, its in the bag on the table. Please take care of yourself I expect you to be in one piece when I get home. I love you, Justin.

P.S. Good luck on your audition! I know you’ll do great!”

Christian felt tears fill his eyes and brushed them away impatiently. He didn’t deserve this sweet man and he’d been such a grade A jerk to him last night. He pulled out his phone and dialed Justin’s number but the call went straight to voicemail. He was probably already on the plane. Christian would need to make this up to him when he returned, but for now he needed to focus on getting through his classes today and audition tomorrow. He sneezed harshly *HetCHoo H-Ha-HAchoo NgxtCHoo* not bothering to cover his sneezes. But they did nothing to move the heavy congestion that felt like cement inside his nose and sinuses. Sneezing simply made his head throb painfully. His body ached and his chest felt heavy and tight. This wasn’t good. He reached into the bag of supplies Justin had left him and downed a decongestant, cough suppressant, and fever reducer hoping it would be enough to get him through the day, but he kind of doubted it. He moved around the apartment sluggishly gathering his belonging and tiding up. He opted to get a ride back to the academy not wanting to waste the small amount of energy he had by walking back.

[Coldielocks]

Back at the academy, he made his way back to his dorm to change and shower before he would need to be in class. Ben was sitting in his bed reading a novel.

“Hey” he said as Christian entered not looking up from his reading. Christian grunted in reply. Then buried his face in his sleeve as another set of harsh sneezes wrecked his body. *HetChoo choo HReSHoo* he flopped onto the bed exhausted and feeling dizzy.

“Holy crap dude, you ok over there?” Christian shrugged not really trusting his voice to save any of his dignity at this point, then rolled over and began to cough. They hurt and didn’t let up for several minutes. Ben walked over and handed him a bottle of water then stood over him looking worried. “Chris, you don’t sound good at all… Have you taken anything? Seen the doctor yet?” Christian took a sip of water and finally managed to return his breathing to normal. He shook his head,

“took some meds this morning, not helping much yet...”

“I think you should take a trip down to the infirmary…” Ben said carefully. “This sounds worse than just a cold…” Christian shook his head.

“Auditions tomorrow, can’t miss them, Doc would pull me out of c-cl- *H-ESHooo h-Atachoo* class… and then I wouldn’t be eligible for try outs.” He sneezed again and groaned as the pain in his head spiked with the sudden movement. Dave looked at him with concern…

“Do you think you can even make it through your audition piece in this state?”

“I’ll push through,” said Christian defensively and he got up and quickly grabbed his things. “I’ve gotta go, I’ll see you later.” Christian walked out of the dorm and tried unsuccessfully to clear his nose again. No luck. He arrived at his first class and took his place not bothering to do more than the bare minimum of stretches. Its not like it was going to do anything for the pain and fatigue he felt in his entire body. He felt sluggish in his moves and noticed how quickly he felt out of breath. More than once he stepped toward the back corner and sneezed or coughed into his elbow trying his best to keep his outburst as quiet as he could. He wasn’t very successful though apparently. Halfway through the class after a particularly poor execution of his combination Mr. Johnson called for a water break. Christian immediately collapsed sitting down against the mirror and closed his eyes. He was breathing heavily trying to catch his breath but had to stop to sneeze yet again. *HRESHoo H-h-HETChoo NGXCHoo*

“Bless you came a deep voice from above. Christian looked up startled, and saw Mr. Johnson standing over him.

“S-s-sorry Sir.” Christian said as he moved to stand up. But Mr. Johnson placed a hand on his shoulder and crotched down instead to look at him.

“Christian what’s going on here, you’re performance is all over the place, and you look like you’re about to fall over any second.”

“I-I’m fine, Christian stammered. “It’s just a cold, I’ll push through.” Mr. Johnson looked at him sternly surveying him closely. Christian turned away to cough roughly into his fist, grimacing at how bad it sounded. When he turned back around Mr. Johnson hadn’t moved or changed his expression.

“No, I’m sorry Christian I don’t feel good about you continuing today. I want you to sit out the rest of class today.”

“But Sir…!” Christian protested.

“No but’s, listen I know you’re on the list for auditions tomorrow which is why I’m going to let you remain in class and observe, you’ll still be eligible to participate tomorrow, if you’re feeling up to it. But I don’t want you pushing yourself unnecessarily today and making yourself worse before tomorrow. I know how important this audition is to you. But please be careful. I’ve seen dancers push themselves too far more than once in my career and it doesn’t end well. You take it easy today as much as you can, but if you start feeling worse before your audition I want you to go see Doc and sit it out. Understood?”

Christian nodded feeling embarrassed and upset.

“Yes Sir.” He mumbled.

“Good said Mr. Johnson and he returned to front of the room to resume the class. Christian hated missing any practice time, but he had to admit he was grateful for the reprieve. The exertion certainly had not helped any of his symptoms. Though now that he was sitting still he began to feel chilled again. He shivered involuntarily and tried to burry deeper into his hoodie. He felt his nose tickle again and quickly grabbed a handful of tissue clamping them over his nose just in time *H-HSChoo a-a SHOO Atchoo hgnCHoo* Christian sat out the rest of class trying to keep his eyes open and absorb as much information as he could while also trying his best to keep his symptoms from disrupting the class. More than once he his head dropped forward and his eyes fluttered closed as sleep attempting to over take him. His box of tissues was also depleting rapidly. Soon enough class ended and the dancers filed out into the hallways. Hayden approached him after class.

“Dude what happened?” he asked looking concerned “saw Johnson come over and talk to you then you sat out the rest of class.”

“I’m sick” answered Christian “told me to take it easy so don’t overdo it before auditions T-t t *HESCHOO H-h atCHOO*.. ugh tomorrow.” Hayden watched as Christian finished another tissue from his bag.

“Aw man… you definitely sound worse than the other day, you gonna make it through?”

“Ill be be fine, don’t get your hopes up, I’m not gonna let you have the p-p-part just because I’ve got a c-c-cold HeSCHoo.” Christian managed to choke out testily before he sneezed again.

“No, no that’s not what I meant,” said Hayden looking guiltily.

“I know,” Christian sighed “you’re a good guy, I’m sorry… I just feel like shit, I don’t mean to take it out on you...” Dustin looked relieved as Christian sneezed again *HESHOO ooo* which then turned into another rough cough. Dustin watched Christian struggle silently, but didn’t say anything.

“Sorry man.” he said quietly when Christian straightened up again “try and take it easy I really hope you’re feeling better before tomorrow.” Christian thanked him and walked off.

 

[Coldielocks]

The rest of the day was about the same, though luckily the remainder of Christian’s day was classroom time rather than dance practice, which was easier. In his second class he managed to fall asleep for a few minutes then woke up to a coughing fit which forced him to exit the class room to regain his composure. He returned to find a bottle of water and bag of cough drops on his desk. His next class he sneezed 8 times in a row prompting Madame Dominica to place the entire box of classroom tissues on his desk. He must have looked terrible because he noticed sympathetic glances and encouraging smiles from most of his class mates as he trudged through the hallways to class. He didn’t even bother going to the cafeteria during lunch and instead opted to go crash on a couch in the student lounge again. As he entered he saw Ben sitting at one of the tables working on an assignment. Christian tried to avoid his attention but of course his nose betrayed him. HtsCHOoo H- HraCHOo  H-hECShoo he sneezed into his shoulder. Ben looked over at him.

“Still feeling pretty bad?” he asked sympathetically. Christian flopped onto the couch

“Pretty much just waiting to die now.” He said rather dramatically and coughed hard into his fist. The coughing hurt… He placed his hand over his chest and rubbed it wincing.

“Man, that cough still sounds pretty bad” said Ben and he walked over to the couch where Christian had flung himself. “You look like shit, by the way.” Christian laughed and then coughed again. Ben handed him an unopened bottle of water which Christian accepted gratefully. He laid back and closed his eyes hoping to ease some of the pain in his head. He felt a cool hand on his forehead and opened his eyes. Ben was sitting on the arm of the couch with a concerned look on his face.

“You’re really warm… definitely running a fever.”

“I figured as much,” said Christian as he jerked his head away from Dave’s hand to sneeze *HESHoo HerChoo HA aTCHoo* The sneezes made his head spin. And he closed his eyes again.

“You ok?” asked Ben.

 “…Dizzy” said Christian, not bothering to open his eyes.

 “That’s probably the fever.” Replied Ben “here” he reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of advil. “Take a few of these should help bring your temperature down.”

“Thanks,” said Christian and he swallowed two.

“Well, I’ve gotta go, take care of yourself and I’ll see you tonight after class.” Christian nodded but didn’t answer his eyes were already closed as Ben walked off. He looked back towards Christian as he exited the lounge and saw him curled into a fetal position coughing hard. Ben sighed, he was worried about Christian. He’d never seen him sick like this before. They’d both had their share of bugs over the years but Christian really didn’t seem like he was doing well. Ben thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone. He pulled up Justin’s number and wrote a text:

Hey Justin, it’s Ben, Christian roommate. I know you’re out of town but I just wanted to give you a heads up. Christian’s not doing great, I’m starting to get worried about him. I tried to convince him to go see Doctor Bennet but you know how he can be. He’s determined to get through the audition tomorrow. If you have some time maybe you could call and check in on him and see you can talk him into seeing the doctor. Idk Maybe I’m overreacting, but I just thought you should know. Talk to you later.”

He pressed the send button and waited to see if Justin would text him back but the message remained marked as unread until Ben had to head into class. “Oh well,” Ben thought he was probably in a meeting, he’ll see it when he’s out

[Coldielocks]

Meanwhile, Christian managed to catch few minutes of sleep before it was time to head to his last class of the day. He arrived a few minutes early and slumped down to sit on the floor outside the classroom door, his head resting on his arms which were propped up against his knees. As he sat there, he felt the familiar tickle grow in his congested nostrils. “Ugh not again...” He moaned. *H-h- Hetchoo HreSchoo HSchoo H-hATCHoo*. He sighed heavily and then coughed into his fist.

“Bless you” said a voice above him. He looked up and bolt of fear shot through him. It was Doctor Benett, the academy doctor. Christian jumped to his feet quickly.

“Oh t-thank you Sir.” He muttered. Doing his best to hide how congested and hoarse his voice was.

“Sounds like you’ve caught a nasty cold there,” said Doctor Bennett.

“Y- yeah, Christian admitted looking down, ”its not too bad though, sounds worse than it actually is.” Doctor Bennet stared at him quizzically looking over his disheveled form.

“Mmmm hmmm” the doctor hummed, sounding unconvinced. “Any fever, chest pain, shotness of breath?” He asked still staring at Christian.

“No, Sir.” Christian lied.

“Hmmmm, well alright then, but I want you come see me if you develop any of the things I asked about or if you don’t feel better in a couple of days, understood.”

“yes, Sir, I’m sure I’ll be fine, but I will come see you if not.” The doctor looked him over once more before continuing down the hallway. Christian held his breath until he was certain the doctor was out of earshot before letting his breath out and immediately doubling over with another series of painful coughs. They tore at his chest and left him gasping for breath. There was no way the doctor would let him audition tomorrow if he knew how sick Christian was actually feeling, and that wasn’t something Christian was going to miss out on. Just then Madame Petrova, his last teacher of the day turned the corner. She looked at Christian propped against the wall attempting to catch his breath and strode over. “Mr. Blacker what are you doing standing outside my classroom in this state?” She asked coldly. Christian regained his composure and looked back at her feeling confused.

“This is mby last class Madame.” He answered carefully still feeling winded from his coughing fit.

“I am aware of that Mr. Blacker, what I mean is why are you here waiting for class when you clearly should be in bed resting?” Christian didn’t answer for a moment, then he replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I can’d biss class if I want to audition tomorrow.” He said congestion creeping into his voice. He felt his eyes fill with tears and blushed embarrassed at the uncontrolled emotion. He hated this, he felt on the verge of collapsing, he wanted nothing more than to be curled up in bed with fifty blankets, and as much cold medicine as possible, he missed Justin, he was terrified that he was going to unable to preform well or at all at his audition tomorrow, his entire body was screaming to be allowed to just sleep and be sick. Madame Petrova’s face remained hard and unreadable but there was a flicker of compassion behind her stern grey eyes. She marched past Christian into the classroom and returned holding a clipboard in her hand. “Christian Blacker” she said and she ran her figure down the list of names on the clipboard. “Here we are, Present.” And she put a black check mark next to his name with a pen she pulled down from her grey hair which was wrapped on the top of her head in a tight bun “Now, Mr. Blacker as you have been counted as present for my class, I expect you to go straight back to your room and rest up for tomorrow. Do we understand each other?” Christian looked at her a stunned expression on his face.

“Y-Yes madame” he managed to choke out before sneezing into his elbow. *HETCho H-h AtChoo*

“Feel better Christian.” She replied curtly and turned and walked back into the classroom.

”Thangs…” Christian said still in a state of shock.

When he arrived back to his dorm Ben was sitting at his desk working on a project of some kind. “Hey, you’re back early” said Ben looking up for his work.

“Yeah,” Christian said flopping down onto his bed. “Petrova leb me head back early.” Then he sneezed roughly into his pillow *HReSHoo h-H-Atchoo h-HgCHOOoo.* Ben’s eyes widened in surprise.

 “Seriously?! That’s a first. Dude you must have been pretty pathetic to thaw out that frozen heart of hers.” Christian laughed at loud but immediately regretted it as he started cough hard again. The fit went on and on Christian chest felt like it was being crushed by a truck full of cement. He struggled to regain his breath but couldn’t. He felt the edges of his vision start to go dark. He was aware of Ben who had moved beside him thumping and rubbing his back trying to help stop the coughs. Finally, he was able to get a proper breath and the coughing slowed. Ben pressed a bottle of water into his hand and Christian took a long swallow then wiped the tears that had formed in his eyes. Christian grimaced and rubbed at his chest. “ow..” he said pathetically. “Shit, that really hurt.” He was still a little breathless. Ben didn’t say anything for a minute then said seriously

“Christian, that scared the shit out of me… there’s no way this is just a bad cold. You need to go see Doc.” Christian shook his head stubbornly.

“Auditions are tomobbow morbing. I’ll get a good ndights sleep todnight do the audition and if I’mb still feeling bad I’ll go see Doctor Bennet righd afder. But I’m not going to biss the audition.” DBen looked at Christian, his worry plain on his face.

 “I don’t think you should wait… but I know there’s no use in trying to talk you out of it…” he looked down defeatedly. Christian sneezed in reply HRESChoo h-H-HaTchoo HeT-Choo HreSchOOO.

“Ugh I’mb really am not up for dis righd now Ben” Christian said tiredly. “I just wand to sleep, ok…”

“okay” said Dave. “is there anything I can get you?” Christian shook his head then changed his mind,

“actually do you have any extra blankets? I’ve been freezing all day.” Ben grabbed two extra ones from his closet and handed them to Christian. He huddled underneath them shivering still but feeling better with the extra warmth.

“Thags Ben” he said congestedly.

”You’re welcome, try and get some sleep ok.” Christian nodded and closed his eyes he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow. Ben looked over at him huddled beneath 4 blankets still shivering. He could hear the congestion in his nose and chest as Christian snored quietly, his nose was red and sore looking from the constant sneezing and blowing, and his checks showed the tell tale signs of fever with red spots dotting each of his cheekbones. He didn’t like this at all. He still hadn’t heard anything back from Justin and he was really starting to worry about Christian.

Ben stayed up for several hours keeping an eye on Christian. He woke up a couple of times coughing hard or sneezing but fell back to sleep almost immediately after. Finally Christian seemed to settle into a deeper more restful sleep and Ben was able to dose off too.

[Coldielocks]

The next morning Ben was woken up by Christian rummaging around the room. “what are you doing?” he asked sleepily.

“gebing ready” said Christian still sounding incredibly sick.

“You feeling any better?” Ben asked hopefully.

“DNo.” said Christian shortly as he continued to get dressed. *HreSchoo HEteCHoo choo AtCHoo* Christian doubled over and had to grab the footboard of his bed for support. He clutched his head and groaned. “Ugh, shit it feels like someone is stabbing my nose and eye balls with a fucking icepick.” Ben looked at him sympathetically, he got up and began digging through the bag of medicine on Christians desk. He handed Christian a bit of everything he could safely take. He was going to need all the help he could get to get through this audition. Christian took the medicine silently.

“Alright, I’mb gonna head oud,” Christian said tiredly. “Wish be ludk..” But before Ben could say anything Christian staggered backwards coughing hard again. Ben didn’t think it was possible for him to sound worse than he had the night before but somehow he did. Ben rushed over and began rubbing his back again waiting for the coughing to slow, he had to grab his friend around the waist to support him as he very nearly fell over from the force of the coughs that seemed to rip out of his chest. As Ben held him up he could feel the heat radiating from his body. “Oh man,” he said when Christian finally stopped coughing, “you’re burning up.” Christian ignored him focusing on steadying his breathing. “are you sure you want to do this?” Ben asked.

“I have to,” said Christian his voice sounding weak and shaky.

“Alright then I’m coming with you, don’t want you passing on in the hallway.” Christian glared at him but didn’t protest. They walked to the room where auditions would be taking place in silence minus the occasional sneeze from Christian. When they got there, Christian dropped down and sat on the bench across from the classroom and rested his head on his hands. He sneezed heavily into his hands  as Ben handed him some tissue from the box he’d taken from their dorm room. H-H-ATCHoo ACSHoo HrESHoo h-HtgCHoo Christian didn’t know how he was going to manage this audition. Every breath was a struggle against the heaviness and pain in his chest, his eyes and nose pounded with pressure and pain from the congestion in his sinuses, and his head and body ached relentlessly, his limbs felt so exhausted and heavy he didn’t even know if he would be able to stand let alone dance, and his shivered in spite of the sweats and hoodie he was wearing over his audition attire. But he had to get through this piece somehow, he’d made it this far. Ben sat next to him silently. Christian closed his eyes as he waited for his name to becalled. He heard several people approach the bench where he and Ben sat, but didn’t bother to open his eyes or greet them. He could hear Ben talking in a low voice to whomever had shown up.

“No… I don’t know… he not doing good.,, He says he won’t miss the audition.” Christian heard Nevina’s voice next,

“poor guy, he looks miserable…” then he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Christian? You ok?” Nevina asked him directly. Christian opened his eyes and shrugged but didn’t answer. He didn’t have the energy for talking right now. Nevina rubbed his back comfortingly but didn’t prod him. Christian leaned his head back against the wall closing his eyes again but was jerked forward harshly with several sneezes. H-HetCHoo HerESchoo HetCHoo A-AtCHoo. He groaned and returned up head to its place against the cool brick wall. “bless you…” he heard several people mutter sympathetically. He nodded then closed his eyes again he stayed there until he heard his name called. He got slowly to his feet and walked into the audition room. There were four people sitting at a table in the front of the room, one of them was his teacher Mr. Johnson but Christian didn’t know the other 3. They must have been the directors for the show. “Mr. Blacker?” one of the directors asked him.

“Yes Sir” said Christian doing his best to make his voice sound normal.

“very good” you may begin. Christian took a deep breath and began his audition piece. The months of practice and muscle memory somehow caried him through and the adrenalin pushed his sickness riddled body to carry on to the end of the piece. As Christian finished he stood up slowly breathing heavily.

“Thank you Mr. Blacker,” said the director, “you will be informed of our decisions shortly. Good day.” Christian nodded politely and walked to the door. He was amazed he’d somehow mande it throughhis piece without passing out. But now that the adrenalin was fading he felt the weight of his illness more acutely. His lungs felt as though he was trying to breath underwater through a straw and his legs were shaking underneath him. He walked back out into the hallway where his group of friends were waiting for him. They smiled and congratulated him warmly impressed at his performance especially given how sick he was. But Christian barely heard them, he moved past them beelining for the bench where Ben sat waiting for him. *HeTCHoo H-H HeSchoo* he sneezed weakly and stumbled a bit. Ben reached out and caught his arm helping him sit down. “You ok?” he asked worriedly. Christian didn’t answer. He sat on the bench still trying to catch his breath it felt like his chest was full of gravel. And he sneezed again HEChOO h-Hatchoo CuSHoo. He burried his face in a tissue and tried to clear out his nose. But it just gurgled unpleasantly and remained stuffed up with congestion. Christian could feel his heart pounding and he still felt unable to catch his breath. Before Christian could say anything, he felt a hand on his leg and looked over.

“J-Justin?” he gasped out. “W-whad are you doinb here?” Justin smiled at him.

“Meeting ended early so I jumped on the next flight home, I told you I wanted to be here. Plus Ben here was worried about you.” Justin placed his hand on Christian’s. “Are you okay babe?” he asked gently watching Christian closely.

“I- I’mb not sure…” Christian admitted and he sneezed again turning his head so itwouldn’t landin Justin’s face. H-HAtCHOO hgSHoo h-hChoo Christina groaned andlayed his head onto Justin’s shoulder. “I really don’t feel good.” He admitted lamely. Justin rubbed his back soothingly,

“I know, love, it’s ok I’ve got you.” placed his hand on Christian’s cheek and leaned down to kiss his boyfriend but stopped abruptly… He moved his hand up Christian cheek and placed it instead onto Christian’s forehead.

“My God…Christian you’re burning up.” His voice was laced with concern and a hint of panic at realizing how high Christian’s fever must be. Christian opened his mouth to tell Justin he was fine, and how sorry he was, and how happy he was to see him, but started coughing instead. He coughed and coughed unable to stop himself or take a breath without doubling over with more coughs. He gasped in shuddering breaths trying to breath properly but the coughing wouldn’t let up. Tears streamed down his face as he coughed his chest burned in protest. He was aware of Justin now sitting next to him rubbing his back and sounding really worried.

“Shit Christian are you ok…? Then looking up at Ben,

”How long has he been this bad?”

“He needs to see a doctor..” But Christian couldn’t say anything to ease Justin’s concerns as the painful coughs continued to tear from his chest. He could see the anxious faces of his friends around him and he felt darkness creeping in around the corners of his eyes. He couldn’t breathe, he looked up at Justin with panic in his eyes and trying to beg him for help without words. Then everything went dark.

[chronic reader]

This is still so so great!!!!!! I can’t wait to see what happens next and hopefully lots of care taking from Justin

[Coldielocks]

 

Justin looked down at his boyfriend who was doubled over coughing relentlessly. The sound tore at Justin’s heart. How did this happen? How did he get this sick in just two days? What was wrong with him? He looked at Christian’s friends hoping one of them could ease his fears but they all were watching Christian worriedly too. Justin looked at Christian again just in time to see his eyes filled with fear before he slumped over against Justin passed out.

“Fuck!” Said Justin grabbing Christian’s limp body to stop him from falling onto the floor. “He needs a doctor, right now!” shouted Justin. Attempting to heave Christian’s unconscious body up on his own. Ben was there in a second helping support Christians body. They each draped one of Christian’s arms over their shoulders and Ben pointed down the hallway.

“Infirmary is this way, hurry!” The walk down only took a couple of minutes but to Justin it felt like an eternity. “Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok,” he begged silently. Justin felt Christian stir as they neared the doors.

“W-What h-happened?” Christian asked weakly. Justin’s throat was dry and tight he couldn’t seem to form the words to explain, so Ben answered.

“You passed out, we’re taking you to see Bennett right now.” Christian sneezed hard H-Htechoo H-hgSCHoo and slumped against Justin’s shoulder again.

”Probably a dood idea…” Christian mumbled quietly. They pushed open the infirmary doors.

“Doctor! We need help over here!” Yelled Ben. Dr. Bennet appeared immediately and quickly took in the Christian’s appearance.

“Get him onto the table here,” the doctor ordered. Ben and Justin heaved Christian up onto the exam table. Christian groaned and laid back on the exam table. His eyes closed with exhaustion as the doctor bustled around grabbing instruments. Christian began coughing again and he curled into a fetal position and tried to breathe normally. The heavy coughing and gasping coming from Christian brought Doctor Bennet rushing over. He placed stethoscope against Christian chest listening as Christian continue to struggle. Dr. Bennett shook his head as he listened carefully. Christian‘s coughing quieted after a couple of minutes and he laid back again winded and panting.

“Are you having trouble breathing, Christian,” asked the doctor looking concerned. Christian nodded grimacing as the movement caused his head and sinuses to throb painfully.

“Feels like t-t-theres an anvil on my ch-chestd” The doctor bustled around returning with a pulse ox and oxygen mask. Put this on he instructed and Christian did as he was told.  

“So how’d did this happen?” Asked Dr. Benett after Christian breathing started to normalize.

Christian attempted to answer but was interrupted but several painful sounding sneezes *H-hATCHooo H-hTSUUHUU H-hgSHoo* Justin winced at how painful they sounded and rubbed Christian’s shoulder soothingly. Christian groaned and laid his head on Justin’s arm.

Ben took over answering the doctor’s questions since Christian was still struggling to speak without sneezing or coughing.

“Started off as just a bad cold on Monday…. but he’s been getting worse all week, started getting really bad a couple of days ago…. He’s been pushing himself through class all week. I know he’s got a fever, and he’s been sneezing all week, bad cough, headache, dizziness, chills, body aches, congestion, sore throat, sinus pain...” Ben listed off Christian’s symptoms.

Justin squeezed Christian tighter hearing Ben relaying all the symptoms Christian was dealing with made Justin’s heart burst with sympathy. No wonder he was so miserable and sick. The guy had every symptom in the book. Justin’s face was stoic but inside he was screaming at himself. He should have been here. He should have realized Wednesday night Christian was getting worse, he should have made sure he was taking care of himself, he should have made sure he was checking his temperature and eating and resting, he should have called to check on him Thursday, he should have checked his phone earlier and come home as soon as Ben had sent him that text, he shouldn’t have left without checking in on Christian first, so many things he could have done differently…

The doctor stood up after writing down everything Ben had told him and stuck a thermometer into Christian’s mouth. Justin stood silently by Christian’s side holding his hand tightly afraid to let go even for a second. His heart was still pounding with fear from watching Christian pass out and struggling to breathe. The thermometer beeped after a minute.

“103.8,” the doctor reported.

 Justin stared at the numbers in disbelief. He felt like his heart was being ripped into a million pieces. Christian looked like he could pass out again any second. His chest was still moving far too fast as he struggled to breathe normally, his nose and sinuses were completely stuffed up and irritated looking and pressure caused Christian to wince in pain at every movement, his face was pale with a fine layer of sweat across his forehead and bright red splotches on his cheeks, his eyes looked glassy and tired, and his body shook violently as he shivered in the cool room of the infirmary. Justin moved closer to him and wrapped an arm around Christian, trying to provide any amount of comfort he could.

“Well Christian,” said the doctor. I’ll need to do a couple more tests to confirm, but I’d be willing to bet my hat you’ve got a bad case of bronchitis and a sinus infection, at the very least. And I want to get you an x-ray to make sure it hasn’t developed into pneumonia. Your oxygen level is not good, you’ve got a high fever, blood sugar is low, and you’re severally dehydrated. Which certainly explains why you passed out. I’m going to want to keep you here and monitor you for a couple days before hopefully being able to let you go back to your room on strict bedrest for at least another couple of weeks. You won’t be returning to class for at least a good 3 weeks.” Christian looked at the doctor crestfallen. Bedrest… Pneumonia…three weeks… Christian’s eyes filled with tears as he sat staring at his hands. Justin squeezed his hand “You’re going to be ok.” He said encouragingly but Christian could hear the fear still in his voice. Christian nodded and sneezed roughly into his shoulder *HrEpSHoo H-h-h-EChOO h-choo h-AtCHoo*

“here” said doctor Bennet walking over with a syringe, “this will start to fight off the infection and help you to get some rest.”

[Coldielocks]

Christian was in and out of it over the next couple of days. The medications and his illness made him feel constantly tired. Doctor Bennet had set him up on antibiotics for the infections and well as some prescription level cough suppressants, decongestants, and pain killers. Justin showed up at the infirmary first thing in the morning and stayed until Doctor Bennett kicked him out for the night. Christian slept a lot of the time so Justin had plenty of time to let his mind wander, during these times, he continued to blame himself for Christian’s illness. It was during one of these afternoons, when a man walked into the infirmary. Justin recognized him as one of Christian’s teachers, Mr. Johnson. Johnson walked up to Doctor Bennett. Justin could just barely make out their conversation:

Johnson: Hey, Doc I was told Christian Blacker was here, he wasn’t in class today.”

Bennet: Yeah, he’s over in bed 4, probably going to be therefor another day or two at least. Then strict bedrest afterwards I wouldn’t expect hi back to class for at least another 2.5 to 3 weeks, give or take.

Johnson (sounding surprised): What happened?!

Bennett: Bad chest infection and sinuses infection. He passed out Friday morning and was carried in here by his friends.

Johnson:  My God, he auditioned Friday morning…he got the part,too. He was that sick Friday?!

Bennett: I guess so, he came in here struggling to breath with a 103.8 degree fever, his buddy old me he’d been sick all week but started getting really bad Thursday.

Johnson (shaking his head): … I knew he wasn’t feeling well, had him sit out half of class Thursday… I didn’t know he was this bad though…. Damn it! I told him to take it easy and not to audition and to come see you if he got any worse. I should have sent him straight over to you that morning.

Bennett: Don’t blame yourself… I saw him Thursday night…He said he wasn’t too bad and told me straight up he wasn’t having any chest symptoms. He was obviously determined to make it to that audition.

Johnson: Cant’ believe he preformed in that state, and well enough to land the role… Will he be ok do the part still?

Bennet: He should be, you wont start practice for another month, correct?

Johnson: That’s right.

Bennet: As long as he continues to improve and take these next few weeks to really rest and recuperate, I think he’ll be fine. He’s young and healthy and that will help him bounce back. Keep an eye on him though when he returns to class. Make sure he eases in slowly and doesn’t overdo it, a relapse would set him back and he wouldn’t be able to preform if that happens.

Johnson: I’ll watch him like a hawk. Give him my best when he wakes up. Alright?

Benett: I will. Thanks for stopping by.

Justin listened to this exchange with a mixture of interest and guilt. Christian would be ecstatic to learn he’s gotten the part and would still be able to preform in the show. But this knowledge was dull in its excitement with the other bit of information Justin knew. It wasn’t Mr. Johnson’s fault or the doctor’s for not knowing how sick Christian had been Thursday. It was his. Justin was the one who should have been looking out for Christian when he was too pig headed to do it himself. He was relieved that Christian was out of the woods but still felt incredibly guilty for not having been there to take care of Christian. The image of Christian gasping for breath, his eyes filled with fear, the way the heat had radiated off his forehead and body when Justine had touched his cheek, then the way his body had slumped over after he’d passed out on that bench outside the audition room, haunted Justin. Every time Christian woke up coughing, Justin felt panic rising in his chest he saw Christian curled up in fetal position oxygen mask over his face in the infirmary coughing relentlessly, the painful sound of those coughs etched into his memory. He didn’t think he’d would ever be able to get those memories out of his head.

[Coldielocks]

After a few days Doctor Bennet was satisfied with Christian’s progress, and Justin was given permission to take Christian back to the apartment. Christian was still weak and dealing with the effects of his illness. He still sneezed often, and the painful cough that still occasionally left him breathless, as well as low grade fever. But now that he had several rounds of antibiotics in his system and his oxygen levels were more normal, Doctor Bennett seemed confident he was out of the woods. Christian was excited to get out the infirmary and back into a normal bed, And Justin was excited to have him home as well, although Justin was still worried about his boyfriend.

Justin still felt panic every time started coughing bad, especially when the coughs went on too long and Christian’s oxygen levels plummeted alarmingly. But there was no way Justin was going to force Christian to stay in the infirmary any longer than Doctor Bennet said was necessary, especially not just to ease Justin’s own fears. While Christian was being treated by Dr. Bennet, Ben and several of Christian’s other friends had helped move all of Christian’s stuff over to the apartment, since Justin and Christian both figured now was as good time a time as any to make living together official. That was really the only subject they’d spent any real time talking about the last several days. During short amounts of time when Christian was awake and clear headed, he couldn’t help but notice how reserved Justin seemed. Christian chalked it up to Justin being exhausted. Justin had sat at his side every minute of the past 3 days. Christian felt a bit guilty knowing he was pretty poor company at the moment, but he couldn’t help feeling relieved every time he woke up from a nap, or doubled over coughing and knowing Justin was right there by his side. “I’ve got you..” Justin would as he held Christian until the coughing stopped and he was able to breathe again.  The morning they planned to go home, the Doctor had pulled Justin aside to speak with him.

 “Now Justin, Christian’s over the worst of it but he’s still got a long road ahead of him before he starts getting back to his normal self. Make sure he gets lots of rest, eats, drinks, and takes his medications. He’s probably going to want to get up and do more than he should over the next couple of weeks, don’t let him. He needs to take it easy or risk relapsing and ending up back in here worse than before. I want you to monitor his temperature and breathing. If either one starts getting worse, I want you give me a call, any time day or night. Any questions? Justin shook his head,

“I’ll make sure he keeps getting better,” he promised.

After speaking with the doctor Justin returned to Christian’s bed where he was laying sleeping lightly. “Chris,” he shook his boyfriend’s shoulder gently. Christian opened his eyes and smiled at him before an irritated expression crossed his face and he collapsed into a fit of sneezes H-HeSHOO h-hAtCHoo h-TSCHOO Justin handed him a tissue and Christian accepted it gratefully. He blew his noise hard and Justin could already tell how much better the congestion was moving after just a few days on antibiotics.

“You ready to go home, love.” Justin asked gently.

“Yes, Please,” Christian answered back.

“Ok, let’s go.” Justin reached down and helped Christian up from the bed and wrapped his arm around his waist to steady him. Christian swayed for a moment and closed his eyes against the rush of dizziness standing up had caused. Justin waited a moment until Christian seemed more steady.

“you ok?” he asked. Christian nodded

“I’m ok, let’s go.” They walked slowly down the hall towards the front door. Justin had a car waiting for them outside. He helped Christian inside and shut the door behind him then climbed in the other side. Justin sat down just as Christian lurched forward sneezing again H-H-HReSCHoo H-HatCHoo. “bless you,” said the driver and Christian thanked him. Christian leaned his head back and closed his eyes as they drove towards the apartment. Justin watched him silently biting his lip. He still looked rough... But the Doctor seemed confident he was ready to go home. Justin hoped he was right. He’d never felt so anxious about someone else before, and the last 3 days watching Christian struggle in the infirmary had taken a heavy toll on Justin. He hadn’t slept more than an hour or two a night since Christian had collapsed. Every time he tried to sleep he would wake up covered in a cold sweet the image of Christian’s listless form burning in his mind’s eye. The car pulled up to the apartment and Justin ran around the car to help Christian out. They walked towards the front steps, Christan stopped abruptly leaning against the stair railing for support as he coughed violently. Justin stood there rubbing his back “I’ve got you,,, just breathe babe.” When the fit passed and Christian’s breath returned to normal they continued up to the apartment. Christian flopped himself down unceremoniously onto the couch as soon as they were inside then sneezed again *H-HETCHOOoo H-h-Choo* His eyes were struggling to stay open, the short walk to the apartment had already taken a toll on his non-existent energy levels. “Think you can make it into bed?” Asked Justin, “you’ll be more comfortable there…” Christian groaned at the thought of moving again.

“I’ll try…” Justin helped him to his feet again and supported him as they walked into the bedroom. He helped Christian undress and get into a pair of warm sweats and a hoodie. He tucked him into bed then placed a bottle of water and box of tissues on nightstand next to him. It was not a moment too soon as Christian’s breath hitched H-h-HetCHoo HhhATchoo HuSHoo

“Bless you,” Justin said softly handing Christian a tissue from the box then running his fingers through Christian’s messy blonde hair. Christian leaned into his touch and his eyes began to droop closed. Justin stayed at his side until he was sure Christian was sleeping soundly. He got up and began to tidy up then sent off a few necessary emails before starting on some food. Justin wasn’t much of a cook, but Christian’s friend Ben had thoughtfully filled the fridge and pantry with a variety of easy to make comforting foods. Justin made a mental note to thank him next time he saw him. He selected a can of soup figuring Christian would probably not have much of an appetite just yet, but remembering his instructions from Doctor Bennett to make sure he still ate something. When the soup was ready, Justin carried it into the bedroom. Christian was still sleeping soundly. Justin set the soup down and rubbed his leg.

“Christian, I need you to wake up, it’s time for your meds and you need to try and eat something…” Christian sighed tiredly and his eyes fluttered open.

“What time is it?” He asked sleepily.

“Just after 7,” Justin answered. “You can go back to sleep as soon as you eat if you want to…” Christian nodded and sat up. The shift in position shifted the congestion that was still in his chest and made him cough roughly…. Justin didn’t think he would ever not wince hearing Christian cough like that. He could only imagine how it felt for Christian. Taking a deep breath slowly as the fit died down Christian reached over for the bowl of soup and sipped it quietly. He finished half the bowl before pushing it away. “Sorry,” he apologized “I’m just not that hungry…”

“It’s ok,” said Justin and he took the bowl to the kitchen and returned to the bedroom. Christian was already huddled down back under the blankets and Justin saw that he was shivering slightly. Justin looked at him feeling worried.

“Don’t go back to sleep just yet,” he said, “I want to check you’re temperature first.”

 “OK…” said Christian resignedly. Justin returned with the thermometer and stuck it into Christian’s mouth. It beeped after a few minutes.

“101.7,” he said… “Still a fever but not abnormal… I’ll get you some advil though and see if we can bring it down a bit.” Christian nodded and then sneezed into the blanket he had wrapped around him H-H-hESHUu H-h-TCHOoo. Christian took the advil Justin had brought him and then laid back down into bed sighing gratefully. Justin turned to leave but Christian called after him. 

“Justin…. Can you stay with me please” Justin smiled at him and kissed his head before climbing into bed next to him.

“Of course, love.” He held Christian close as he difted off to sleep. Justin however, stayed awake for a long time watching Christian sleep. He would have gladly stayed up all night watching him just to make sure he was ok, but the long days of worrying and sitting up with Christian were taking their toll. Justin soon gave into sleep, his body pressed up against Christian’s his arm wrapped around him and their fingers intertwined.

[Coldielocks]

Justin wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep but he was woken up by Christian coughing. Justin squinted in the darkness trying to see Christian. Christian was no longer wrapped in his arms, but Justin had somehow slept through his moving. Justin could see Christian sitting up on the edge of the bed. His body shaking with each painful cough, his breathing ragged. Justin jumped up from the bed panic rising in his chest. He rushed over to Christian who was gasping for breath in between jarring coughs. His face was red and tears streamed down his face. “Shit!” Justin though he grabbed the bottle of water and handed it to Christian and began thumping his back trying to clear the mucus from Christian’s airway. Finally, the fit passed and Christian’s body relaxed, he was exhausted and panting but ok.

“I’m sorry…” Christian whispered his voice hoarse from the strain of the coughing fit. Justin leaned against his back and wrapped his arms Christian and holding him tightly. Justin buried his head against Christian’s neck listening to him breathe. They stayed quiet for a long time, just holding each other. It was Justin who finally broke the silence….

“You scared the hell out of me you know…” Justin’s voice sounded strained and off…. Christian twisted around to look at him and was shocked to see tears in Justin’s eyes. Christian placed his hand on Justin’s cheek

“I’m ok love,” he said. “Doc said the last thing to go would be the cough… and it’s always worse after I’ve been laying down for a while…” Justin shook his head tears starting to spill down his cheeks.

“No, not just now… I mean that was scary too but…” he trailed off his sentence unfinished. Christian stared at him

“what is it Justin?” He asked concerned. Justin took a deep breath to try and steady his voice before answering.

“It’s just…seeing you this sick…. at the academy when you were coughing so bad…. And your head was on fire…then you passed out in my arms….  You looked so scared and miserable… then the oxygen mask… “ The words came tumbling out of Justin’s mouth the fear and worry having finally reached a breaking point in him. Justin’s voice broke as the tears fell more freely down his face ”…and then in the infirmary…. You were so sick and I couldn’t help you… and I was so scared I was going to loose you… I shouldn’t have left when I knew you were sick… and it’s my fault I wasn’t there earlier… I should have made sure you were ok…  and I just I don’t know what I would do if something had happened to you…” Justin broke off and dropped his head and began to sob uncontrollably. Christian grabbed him into a tight hug and held him close as Justin sobbed into his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” Christian whispered… “I can only imagine how awful and scary all of that that was for you.” Justin shook his head laughing a bit. “You shouldn’t be apologizing to me you’re the one whose sick and feeling like death…” Christian smiled and shushed him. Their embrace was cut short when Christian sneezed H-HESCHOOoo H-h-h HAtCHoo followed by another set of coughs. Justin pulled away from him wiping his eyes and sniffling.

“Come on, you should be resting… not comforting me.” Christian smiled,

“but I want to take care of you, I love you.” Justin smiled back,

 “I love you, too. I’m ok… Just.. just please don’t ever scare me like that ever again… ok?” Christian leaned over and kissed his boyfriend

“I’ll do my best, can we go back to bed now?” Justin chuckled and nodded. He grabbed an extra pillow so Christian could sleep more upright. Then, two men laid back down under the blanket arms wrapped around each other. As they laid there sleep drifting closer and closer, Christian whispered, ”Justin?”

“Yeah?” said Justin sleepily.

“This wasn’t your fault you know…” Justin didn’t say anything. “Of course it was his fault….” He thought to himself.

Christian sighed, “it was my fault. I told you I could take care of myself and I pushed you away, I insisted on pushing myself through class so I could go to the audition. I lied to the doctor and my teachers, I ignored my friends… I don’t blame anyone but myself and I certainly do not blame you.. I don’t want you to beat yourself up about this anymore…please…?” Justin didn’t know what to say… The guilt he’d felt, ever since Christian had collapsed, had been eating a hole in him. He didn’t know if he could just let it go that easily…

”Please?” Christian mumbled sleep beginning to tighten its grip on him… Justin leaned over and kissed his forehead.

“I’ll try,” he promised and soon both men were sleeping peacefully.

[Coldielocks]

Over the next couple days Christian gradually improved, though he still tired easily and his symptoms continued to give him grief. Friday morning Christian woke up and made his way out to the living room. He walked slowly resting his hand on the nearby furniture for support. H-HeSCHoo H-h-SChoo He sneezed into his elbow keeping a firm grip on the chair next to him as he waited for the dizziness to pass. Justin looked over at him from where he sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. He watched him carefully and raised his eyebrow questioningly. Christian smiled over at him and shook his head, his unspoken answer to Justin’s unspoken question: No he didn’t need help.  As the dizziness passed, Christian slowly made his way to the couch and plopped down.

“Well hello there,” Justin greeted him “welcome back to the land of the living.”

“it’s good to be back,” said Christian sounding a bit winded from the trip from the bedroom but otherwise in good spirits. Justin got up from the table and came to sit next to Christian on the couch. Getting more serious, he placed a hand on Christian’s forehead to check his temperature. He was still a bit warmer than normal but certainly moving in the right direction. Still Justin worried about him.

“You think it’s smart for you to be out of bed?” he asked concern evident in his voice.

“I can’t lay in bed any longer, need a change of scenery,” responded Christian.

 “well take it all in,” said Justin jokingly, as he gestured grandly around the apartment. Christian laughed then immediately began coughing. Justin rubbed his back waiting for the coughing to ease up. The attacks still happened frequently but they were getting less severe. After catching his breath. Christian turned to face Justin.

“I have a favor to ask,” Christian said.

“What is it, love?” said Justin

“So… I know I’m still supposed to take it easy… but I was wondering how you’d feel about Ben, Nevina, Dave, and Dustin stopping by for a bit this weekend?” Justin didn’t answer right away.

“… I don’t know Chris, you’re still pretty sick, do you think that’s a good idea?”

“They’re worried about me… haven’t really seen much of them since I passed out.”

Justin knew this was true, Dr. Bennet had refused to let anyone else, besides Justin, visit Christian while he was being treated. And the only reason Justin has been allowed to stay was because Christian had become frantic and started practically hyperventilating when the Doctor had told Justin he had to leave. Justin knew that Christian’s friends cared about him a lot and they had all been so kind in helping get Christian’s things moved over and making sure they had food and any other supplies they needed. Justin didn’t want to tell them they couldn’t see Christian…

“Let’s see how today goes,” Justin said diplomatically, “I’d like to get your temperature back to normal first. But, as long as you’re feeling up to it and don’t’ get any worse, I think it would be ok...”

Christian beamed at this news and leaned over to kiss Justin deeply. “Thank you,” Christian said. Then he ran his hands down Justin’s chest snuggled up against him and kissed his neck. Justin leaned back and closed his eyes enjoying Christian’s touch. The warmth of Christian’s skin against his sent shivers of pleasure through his body. “You know this is coercion, right?” Justin said. “Just a little bit,” replied Christian seductively. But spell was broken as Christian turned away quickly to sneeze *H-HRESCHoo h-h-HEsschOO H-hATCHoo* Justin sat up and laughed as he passed Christian a tissue. “I think you may need to work your seduction techniques a bit.”  Christian pouted at him, and Justin chuckled again. “Come on, I’ll let you eat Breakfast at the table, but then it’s back to bed for you.” He reached down and helped Christian to his feet.

They sat at the table eating together. Christian still didn’t have much of an appetite but at least he was eating better than he had been. He had finished about half his oatmeal before feeling full, he sneezed into his bowl H-hESChoo h-hATchoo before pushing his food away. Christian rested his elbows on the table and propped his head up on his hands watching as Justin continued to eat and scroll absentmindedly through his phone. Christian sat quietly just watching until his eyelids began feeling heavy, he tried to force them to stay open but it was a loosing battle. Justin looked up from his oatmeal at Christian, who was clearly fighting to keep his eyes open. He stood up and helped Christian to his feet again, “come on love, back to bed.” Christian sighed but didn’t protest. He was tired. Justin helped him back into bed and tucked him in kissing his forehead. “Get some sleep, babe.” Christian rolled over and coughed hard into his pillow then closed his eyes falling asleep almost immediately. Christian stayed asleep for several hours, this had become their norm over the last few days. Christian would get up long enough to eat and take his medicine but he quickly grew tired and would promptly head back to bed and go back to sleep. Later that afternoon when Christian woke up, he made his way out the living room again.

“Can we watch a movie or s-s- HATCHOO something… I’m bored,” he whined petulantly. Justin rolled his eyes at him.

“You know you’ll be asleep before it’s half over.”

“Will not,” retorted Christian defiantly.

“You can watch a movie if you eat all of your sandwich,” said Justin.

“Deal!” said Christian and he laid back on the couch, grabbed the remote, and started browsing Netflix for something to watch. Justin went to the kitchen and assembled the two sandwiches. He returned to ingredients to the fridge and could hear Christian starting up another fit of harsh coughing from the living room. Justin checked the clock, Christian was due for more cough medicine. Justin grabbed the bottle and sandwiches and came and joined Christian on the couch.

“Here,” he said placing a pill into Christian’s hand, that cough can’t feel good.”

“Thanks,” said Christian clearing his throat roughly. He swallowed the pill with a quick swig of water. Then Justin passed him a plate with his sandwich on it.

“Deals a deal, every bite” he said.

“just not the crust, though,” said Christian, taking the plate from Justin.

“Are you kidding me?! How old are you? said Justin laughing.

“I don’t like crust,” said Christian.

“What do you mean you don’t like crust? It’s exactly the same as the rest of the bread, it’s just darker.”

Christian ignored him and made a dramatic show of pulling all the crust off his sandwich before starting to eat it. Justin rolled his eyes at him and sighed exasperatedly.

“You’re ridiculous, you know?” Christian stuck his tongue out at him and continued eating. Justin sat down next to him and rested his hand on Christian’s leg. He could be a real pain in the ass sometimes but he was Justin’s pain in the ass. Truthfully, Justin was happy Christian was finally feeling well enough to start acting like a pain in the ass again. They watched the movie and finished their sandwiches. Christian yawned then coughed rubbing at his chest and laid his head down on Justin’s lap. Justin smiled and combed his fingers through Christian’s hair. Christian hummed approvingly

“That feels nice,” he said. He sneezed into Justin’s lap H-HatCHoo H-SCHoo H-CHoo “ugh sorry…” Christian said.

“Its fine babe, don’t worry about it,“ Justin said, passing Christian a tissue. Christian blew his nose hard then snuggled back into Justin’s lap and yawned again.

“Getting sleepy?” Justin asked. Christian shook his head stubbornly.

“I’m fine.” Justin continued to play with his hair, and watched silently as Christian’s eyes grew heavy and drooping lower and lower until he eventually fell asleep, snoring gently on Justin’s lap. Justin smiled down at him and looked over to check the clock. The movie was a third of the way through.

“Told you you wouldn’t even make it halfway through.” He whispered and kissed Christian gently on the forehead. Then, laid his head against the back of the sofa and soon dozed off himself.

[starpollen]

This is very cute.  I really love the caretaking  thank you!

[Coldielocks]

Thanks for the responses guys! Here's the next part. Not sure how long this is going end up, but I'm still having fun writting it so I'll keep going until I'm bored or out of ideas lol. Shorter part this time, but I have more that's almost done that I'll be posting soon.

 

 

Justin was the first to wake up from their nap. Probably due to the uncomfortable position he’d fallen asleep in he also really had to use the bathroom. He lifted Christan’s head gently and replaced it onto a pillow. After relieving himself he returned to find Christian still fast asleep on the couch. He watched Christian’s chest rising and falling gently. He looked so peaceful, Justin hated to wake him, but it was time for his next dose of antibiotics and Justin wanted to get him some dinner before they headed to bed for the night. Justin leaned over and kissed Christian’s cheek then ran his hand up and down it caressing it gently. He was surprised at the coolness of it. He moved his hand to Christian’s forehead. “His fever must have finally broken,” Justin thought with relief. Christian’s eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at Justin before coughing into his fist.

“Morning,” he mumbled then yawned and stretched.

“morning,” Justin replied, “I think your fever’s finally broken, how are you feeling?”

“a bit better, actually,” said Christian he turned and sneezed into his arm H-hSCHoo H-hETCHoo

“think you could eat something before you take your next does of medicine?”

Christian nodded “yeah I’m actually pretty hungry.”

 Justin was pleased to hear this, Christian’s appetite returning was definitely a good sign.

“How does spaghetti sound?” Justin asked.

“That sounds great,” Christian said.

After dinner Justin did the dishes, then helped Christian take a shower.

“Ugh that feels so much better,” Christian said after emerging. He changed into some fresh pajamas and climbed into bed next to Justin snuggling into him.

“You seem better,” Justin remarked sounding pleased.

“Yeah,” Christian nodded “I am.”

“I’m glad your fever is finally gone,” said Justin, he paused for a moment before adding “why don’t you go ahead and text the gang and let them know they can come by tomorrow?”

Christian smiled broadly, “Really?”

“yes,” said Justin “go ahead.” Christian typed out a text and his friends quickly agreed to come over the next morning after breakfast. Christian drifted off to sleep excited about the next day.

[Coldielocks]

The next morning came and Christian was up setting out snacks in preparation for his friend’s visits. He was rummaged around the kitchen as Justin emerged from the bedroom having actually slept in later than Christian this morning.

“Where do you keep the b-b b-H-EschOO Eschoo bowls,” Christian asked. Justin shot him a look of annoyance.

“I’ll get them, you go lay down.” And he shooed him out of the kitchen and onto the couch. Christian sat down reluctantly and grabbed a tissue he could feel another sneeze coming on but it wouldn’t come out. He could hear Justin moving around the kitchen.

“You eaten yet?” He asked Chrstian.

”No,” answered Christian, “Not y-y H-AtCHoo H-h-HESsHooo H-Etchoo ugh yet…” the sneeze having finally worked its way out in the middle of his sentence.

“Bless you,” called Justin from the kitchen “foods ready, table or couch?

“Table,” said Christian and he got up and walked over. Christian sat down and began to eat Justin wasn’t eating, but reading something on his phone, his brow was wrinkled.

“Everything ok?” Christian asked.

Justin sighed and put his phone in his pocket, “just work drama. I’m not gonna deal with it now, they know I’m off for another week still.” Christian didn’t ask him to elaborate. He got up and started pulling out snacks from the kitchen again.

“I said I’d get them,” called Justin from the table.

“You’re eating” said Christian defensively.

“I just got up, Chris, we have time. Go sit down.” Christian rolled his eyes at Justin and went and flopped onto on the couch.

“Yes mom,” he said sarcastically. Justin didn’t answer. Christian looked over at him surprised Justin was on his phone again, texting furiously. After a few minutes Justin got up from the table and walked to the kitchen.

“What snacks did you want out?” He asked. Christian rattled off a list to him and Justin rolled his eyes, “you know they’re only coming over for a couple of hours right? We don’t need a whole meal here.” Christian sneezed in reply *h-h AtCHooo* then got up and started pulling some games and movies out into the living room. Justin was in the middle of typing another message into his phone, but looked up hearing Christian moving around again. Justin turned the corner to see what he was doing then frowned seeing him up moving around yet again. He and strode over taking the games from Christian’s hands, feeling annoyed now, “cut it out, Chris, you need to slow down,” Justin said. Justin placed the games and movies onto end table, stirred Christian back to the couch, then moved to the kitchen and started to make his coffee, he sat down at the table texting again.

Christian looked over at him, he looked stressed, but he knew better than to pry. Christian decided to go put something on besides pajamas and moved to the bedroom. Justin assumed he’d gone to lay down for a bit until he heard drawers and doors being opened followed by the sound of Christian coughing roughly. He walked into the bedroom and opened the door to find Christian attempting to get dressed. He had one leg into a pair of jeans, but had apparently had to stop halfway through as he started coughing. “Damn it, Chris. I haven’t even had a cup of coffee yet. Slow down and let me help you before you hurt yourself.” Justin said starting to feel angry. He helped Christian finish getting dressed and returned him to his spot on the couch. He handed him the remote and said, “stay here and rest. I’ll get everything ready, in a minute” Justin finished the text he’d been in the middle of writing sent it and sighed before slipping his phone back into his pocket. “What a nightmare..” he muttered to himself. Christian sat on the couch pouting as Justin finished the preparations.

 “You’re making me regret this,” Justin said, his tone grumpy.

Christian whined dramatically at Justin which then turned into a painful set of coughs, Christian grimaced and rubbed his chest which had started to ache again.

“Serves you right,” said Justin feeling frustrated.

Christian coughs tapered off and he looked at Justin feeling bit hurt, “I’m sorry, I don’t like feeling useless”

Justin’s tone softened, “You’re not useless, you’re still sick and recovering… Just do me a favor, and please don’t over do it… I really don’t need you getting worse after your first day without a fever.”

“Fine...” said Christian grudgingly. And he sat back on the couch and waited for his friends to arrive.

Ben was the first to arrive. Justin walked to the door and let him in after shooting Christian a reproving look when he started to get up to answer the door.

“Stay.” Justin ordered Christian firmly. Christian glared at him but did as he was told.

Ben walked in and greeted Justin, embracing him warmly, the two had become fast friends over the last 2 weeks, their mutual love and concern for Christian having smoothed out any typical new friendship awkwardness. Ben then turned towards Christian.

“Hey, there buddy, how are you?”

“I’m alright,” said Christian, coughing lightly “starting to feel more like myself.”

“Yeah,” agreed Justin. ”He’s been trying to run around all morning, getting right back to his pain in the ass self. I considered trying his leg to the couch for a while.” But he smiled at Christian and winked at him as he said it. Christian smiled back. He knew Justin meant well, he was just looking out for him after all.

Ben laughed “that sounds about right, sounds like you’re on the mend though.” said Ben, “You gave us a real scare the other week.”

“I know, I’m really sorry,” said Christian looking embarrassed. “I was a real idiot. Definitely learned my lesson though… Won’t make the same mistake next time… I don’t want to ever go through this again.”

“It’s alright, I’m just glad you’re ok,” said Ben kindly.

Dustin and Dave arrived next, followed by Nevina. They all gathered amicably around the living room. Christian sat on the couch with Justin next to him. Ben sat in a chair off to the side and Nevina, Dustin, and Dave sat on the floor their backs against the sofa. They shared all the recent news from the academy with Christian. Results of the auditions, gossip, who was exceling in class and who was falling behind. It was nice to hear news but Christian couldn’t help but feel disappointed at everything he was missing.

After having caught up for a while. They broke into the snacks and games Justin and Christian had set out. They selected cards against humanity and played for a while until a particularly humorous round caused Christian to laugh too hard and sent him doubling over into a harsh fit of coughing. He leaned heavily against Justin and coughed roughly into his side the coughs sounding heavy and wet. Justin rubbed his back gently waiting for the fit to pass as Christian struggled to clear the junk from his chest. After a couple of minutes Christian emerged from Justin’s side, face red and tears in his eyes. Justin reached over and handed him a glass of water which Christian sipped as his breathing normalized again. Christian looked up and noticed that his friends were watching him their faces full of fear. 

“damn Chris, you still sound so bad…” said Ben after a minute his voice filled with sympathy.

“Yeah,” agreed Dave “dude, my heart is pounding,” he laughed nervously. Nevina didn’t say anything but she looked close to tears.

“I’m ok, guys,” Christian reassured them, his voice sounding a bit hoarse now, “that wasn’t even a bad fit…” They looked at him with a mixture shock and concern then turned to Justin.

Justin shrugged his arm still around Christian’s shoulders “It’s true… Guess we’ve kind of gotten used to it.” He chuckled morosely.

“It doesn’t freak you out when that happens?” asked Ben incredously.

“Not really, I mean it’s rough on us both, I don’t like hearing him hurting… but the only ones that really freak me out are when he’s not able to breathe properly…”

“How can you tell the difference?” asked Dave.

Justin shrugged, “I dunno, the bad ones are higher pitched I guess, more tight… its hard to explain… they’re just… different…” he finished darkly. They sat in silence for a minute the weight of Justin’s wrods hanging in the air.

“Well, why don’t we take a break from the game and put on a movie instead,” suggested Dustin, sounding eager to change the subject. Justin looked down at Christian who was leaning against him heavily, he could tell his energy was fading, then nodded in agreement.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Justin replied. They put on a movie and within minutes, just as Justin expected, Christian was fast asleep. His head resting comfortably on Justin’s chest. Justin covered him up with the throw blanket from the couch then took the opportunity to catch up on the text thread from his team, he glared at his phone as he read it.  Nevina looked up at them from her spot on the floor. She smiled at the image of Christian sleeping soundly in Justin’s arms.

 “Is he ok?” She asked looking up at Justin. Justin nodded putting his phone back into his pants pocket.

“He’s fine, just worn out. This is longest he’s been awake at one time in over 2 weeks.” Nevina tsked ruefully.

“Poor guy… He’s had a rough time of all this. He’s lucky to have you though, Justin… Thank you for taking such good care of him…” Justin smiled back.

“How could I not?” And he smiled as he looked down into Christian’s face and ran his hand lovingly through Christian’s hair.

Once the movie ended Justin shook Christian gently waking him up to say goodbye to his friends. Christian’s eyes fluttered open. He sneezed harshly into his elbow H-h Atshooo H-Etchoo h-h-h ESHooo before sitting up from the couch and Justin’s warm embrace.

”Bless you.” chorused the group together. Christian chucked.

“Thanks, guys, and thanks for coming by, it was really nice to see you all.” He smiled the group but his eyes remain heavy. The days events had taken a toll on his energy but he was happy to have spent some time with his friends. One by one they said their goodbyes embracing Christian then Justin in turn. After everyone had left, Justin sent Christian back to bed “you look worn out,” he said gently. Christian nodded, he was feeling extra tired after the day’s events, but it was a contented tired. It had been good to see his friends. Justin didn’t say anything as Christian headed to bed he was standing at the sink washing dishes. He seemed to be in a mood today. But Christian was too tired to ask him about it right now and Justin was clearly not in the mood for talking. Christian laid down their bed and fell asleep. He was woken up after what seemed like only a few minutes by Justin, shaking him.

“Chris…? Chris, wake up babe, I’m sorry but I need to talk to you.”

“What is it?” Christian asked yawning sleepily. “Everything ok?” Justin sighed heavily.

”No, there’s a crisis at the office and they need me to come in. I’ve trying to deal with it over the phone all day. I tried to tell them I wasn’t coming in but they’re insisting… Are you ok to hang out by yourself for a few hours? If you’re not I’ll tell them no and deal with the consequences but…” Christian coughed into his fist, he still felt really tired.

“No, no it’s ok I can manage on my own for a bit. I’m proably just going to sleep the rest of the night. You do what you need to.”

“Are you sure?” asked Justin looking worried.

”Yeah I’m sure. I’ll text you if I need you or anything.” Christian yawned loudly. Justin sat still thinking for a minute Christian could see how hard this was for him.

”Alright, if you’re sure… I’ll be back as soon as I can, and you text me if ANYTHING happens, ok?” “Promise said Christian and he reached up and kissed Justin. Justin quickly changed his clothes and grabbed his brief case and laptop and several files from his desk.

“I left your dinner in the microwave and don’t forget to take you medicine before you go to bed for the night,“ Justin said. Then, he kissed Christian goodbye and hurried out the door. Christian laid backdown and pulled the blanket over himself and promptly fell back asleep. He woke up a couple hours later. Still feeling tired. He climbed out of bed slowly and made his way to the kitchen, stopping for a second when a dizzy spell hit him. “probably over did it today,” he thought to himself. He warmed up the food Justin had left for him, got a glass of water and his meds and took it back into the bedroom with him. He reached over and picked up his phone and texted Justin:

Christian: Hey, how’s it going over there? Any idea when you’ll be able to head back?

He picked at his food as he waited for Justin’s reply. His phone buzzed and he read the message:

Justin: Not good, it’s a huge mess over here, probably going to be a late night.

Justin: You doing ok?

Christian: I’m ok, still really tired though, you were right, should have taken it easier today.

Justin: Nothing else bothering you?

Christian: bit of a headache… but I’m alright.

Justin: Are you sure? You don’t need me to come back?

Christian: I’m sure, going to go back to sleep as soon as I’m done eating.

Justin: You take your antibiotic?

Christian: yeah

Justin: Alright, let me know if anything changes, and get some sleep.

Christian: I will. Love you.

Justin: Love you too

Christian sighed and put his phone down he felt sluggish and his head hurt, he wished he had listened to Justin about taking it easy. Sleep should help though, he finished his food and curled up under the covers and quickly fell back asleep. Christian slept restlessly for a few hours. He couldn’t seem to get comfortable despite how tired he still felt. His head was hurting more now and his coughing had picked up some too. He finally drifted off and slept hard for another hour. The next time he woke he knew it was well after midnight, he rolled over and groaned and shivered, he felt cold and shaky and his head was throbbing painfully. He sat up and coughed harshly his chest was hurting more than it usually did too. He shivered again, “why was he so cold?” he wondered. No… not cold… chilled... “crap!” he thought. He reached over to Justin’s night stand and grabbed the thermometer and stuck it into his mouth. He waited anxiously as he continued to shiver now that he was out from under the warm covers. Finally, the thermometer beeped. 102.7 Christian moaned, he needed to text Justin. He pulled out his phone but started coughing before he could type anything out. The attack left him feeling breathless but he tried to stay calm and not panic. He typed out a message to Justin:

Christian: Hey… Are you able to head home yet? I’m not feeling so great.

Justin: What’s wrong? Are you ok?

Christian: Yeah… I think I’m ok, but my fever is back

Justin: Shit, how high?

Christian: 102.7

Justin: I’m coming home now.

Christian: It’s ok you don’t need…

Chistian had started to reply but was seized by another round of painful coughs before he could finish the message, he gasped for air as they tore at his throat and chest… His chest felt tight and heavy. “This isn’t good” Christian thought beginning to feel worried. When he could catch his breath, he returned to his message. He erased what he had started typing and instead wrote:

please hurry

[Coldielocks]

Justin was at his desk, texting Christian his brow was creased with worry. “102.7,” he read. ‘Damn it!’ he said angrily. He stood up quickly and grabbed his things.

“I’ve have to go,” he said to his team members who were watching him with surprise.

“Justin, we aren’t finished here yet,” said his boss sounding annoyed.

“I know, I’m sorry, its Christian. I need to get home.”

“We’re nearly done, can you stick around for just another hour?” his boss asked imploringly, “we really need you on this.”

Justin looked down at his phone as he received Christian’s last message. He read it silently, “please hurry.” Justin felt his heart drop and felt the color drain from his face. He shook his head.

“No, it’s a emergency. I’m leaving, I need to get home now.” Justin sprinted out the door of his office and into the parking lot. He threw his things into the passenger seat and sped down the nearly empty freeways, well exceeding the speed limit. He arrived at the apartment in record time and dashed up the stairs. He pushed through the door breathless.

“Christian?! Where are you?”

“In here,” Christian called weakly from the bedroom. Justin rushed in and found Christian sitting on the edge of the bed. His face was pale his hand was over his chest breathing hard, a layer of sweat dotted his forehead. Justin rushed over to him and held him tightly. He could feel the heat radiating off his body. Christian moved against him and started to cough hard. Justin was all too familiar with the sound of those coughs, the haunted his dreams still on occasion. These were the ones he worried about. Christian gasped desperately trying to fill his lungs with air but still the coughing dragged on. Finally, after what felt like an eternity they fizzled out and Christian sat swaying unsteadily holding his chest and grimacing in pain with each breath. Justin scooped up the thermometer and stuck it into Christian mouth, he paced back and forth anxiously waiting for it to beep. It finally did and he took it from Christian and read the numbers 103.1. Justin’s heart pounded. “I’m going to call Dr. Bennett,” he said and rushed to his phone.

He dialed the number quickly and waited, phone rang once, twice, three times, four times, five times, then… “hello,” a gruff voice answered.

“Hello, Dr. Benett?” Justin asked.

“Yes, Justin?” said Bennet.

“Yeah, it me.”

“Is everything alright?”

“It’s Christian,” said Justin, “his fever has spiked and he’s having trouble breathing again, I don’t know what to do?” Justin said and his voice cracked with emotion.

“I’m on my way,” said Bennett just keep him calm until I get there.

“thank you, Doctor,” said Justin

He hung up and returned to the bedroom with Christian. Christian’s eyes were closed and he was focusing hard on trying to keep his breathing steady. Justin sat beside him and put his arm around his back.

”Doctor’s on his way,” he said “just relax ok? I’ve got you.”  Christian nodded but didn’t answer. Justin waited silently listening to every struggling breath Christian took as the minutes ticked by. He arapped his arms around Christian as his boyfriend shivered violently. Christian looked completely spent he laid his head onto Justin’s shoulder and Justin could hear that his breathing was still labored and ragged. Finally, Justin heard a knock at the door. He rushed to let the doctor in.

“He’s in here” Justin said anxiously. The doctor walked to the bedroom and set down his bag and began examining Christian. He stuck a pulse ox onto his finger and thermometer into his mouth, then listened to Christian’s chest with the stethoscope. Try and take a deep breath for me Christian the doctor said. Christian tried but it ended up sending him into another fit of coughing. Justin held his had and squeezed it tightly as Christian continued to cough. The doctor grabbed glass of water from the nightstand and handed it to Christian who took it gratefully and took a sip. After few more coughs, Christian finally was quiet again. Doctor Bennet finished his examination then spoke to Justin.

“Alright, so he’s had a bit of a set back, but I don’t think its serious. I’m going to give him a steroid injection to help his breathing, and then we can work to bring his fever down after that. But its nowhere near as bad as it was when he was brought in two weeks ago. You’ve obviously been taking good care of him. Sometimes these things just happen. He probably overdid it and his body felt the need to remind him not to rush the recovery process.”

“So he’s going to be ok?” asked Justin his voice shaky.

“He’s probably going to feel a bit worse for wear for the next couple of days but I expect after a few days of careful rest he’ll be right back to where he was before this set back.” Justin breathed a sigh of relief.

“I was worried he was gonna end up back in the hospital…” Doctor Bennet shook his head

“No no there’s no need for that. You were right to call me though. If you’d waited it likely could have been worse.”

The doctor prepped Christian for the injection and they waited together for it to take effect which seemed to happen quickly. Christian’s breathing gradually relaxed and the pain in his chest died down. Justin helped Christian to lay back down on the bed and he and doctor Bennet started working to lower his fever.

“Bring a bowl of cool water and with bit of vinegar and bunch of cloths in here.” Directed Doctor Bennet, as he rolled up his sleeves.

“We’re going to try and do this the old fashioned way.”

Justin brought the bowl and washcloths into the room and he and the Doctor applied the cool cloths to Christians head, neck, and wrists.

“Fever reducers are great,” Dr. Bennett explained as he worked, “but for a fever spike its best to try and bring the temperature down naturally before resorting to medications. Otherwise, it can spike up again once the medicine wears off.”

Justin placed a cloth on Christians head then began wiping his neck with another. Christian wrinkled his nose an irritated expression crossing his face. Eh-H-h hECHoo h- AtShooo H-h- ISHooo AtCHOOOoo he sneezed hard jerking upright as the smell of the vinegar entered his nose. Justin rubbed his shoulder and replaced the cloth that had fallen off from the force of his sneezes. Gradually Justin noticed the heat had started to dissipate from Christian’s body, and the violent shivers retreated once again. Christian’s breathing was even and he was sleeping peacefully again.

Doctor Bennet gathered up his instruments and got ready to leave.

”I’ve written him another prescription for an oral steroid to make sure his airways stay clear, and an emergency inhaler just in case this flares up again” He said handing the piece of paper to Justin. “Keep an eye on his temperature and breathing and let him rest as much as possible, at least for the next couple of days.”

Justin nodded doing his best to remember everything the Doctor said. It was now close to 5 in the morning and Justin hadn’t slept a wink his brain felt fried from the events of the last 12 hours. The doctor patted Justin’s shoulder.

“You did well, Justin. Christian’s lucky to have you. Call me if you have any questions or concerns, ok” Justin nodded again and thanked the doctor warmly. Doctor Bennett picked up his bag, walked to the door, and let himself out.   

[Coldielocks]

Justin walked back to the room where Christian was sleeping soundly and stood watching him. Now that the adrenalin had faded Justin felt exhausted. He looked at his boyfriend sleeping peacefully in their warm bed and his body ached with the desire to join him. But instead he turned and returned to the living room pulling out his phone. “6 am,” it was still early, but Justin wanted to make sure Christian had the medications he needed in case he took another turn for the worse. He dialed Ben’s number and waited as the phone rang in his ear.

“Hello?...” answered Ben sounding sleepy.

“Hey, Ben it’s Justin. I’m sorry to call so early…”

“It’s fine, everything ok?”

Justin sighed and paused before answering.

“yeah, everything’s fine now… Christian had a bad episode last night. Spiked a fever and couldn’t breathe well… had to call the Doctor over…”

“Shit! Is he alright?”

“I think so, he’s sleeping now.” Answered Justin, rubbing at his tired eyes.

“How can I help?” asked Ben.

“Doctor, wrote him a couple of new prescriptions, would you be able to pick them up and bring them over? I don’t want to leave him alone…”

“Yeah, no problem, I’ll head to the pharmacy right away. Just give me 5 minutes to get dressed.”

“Thanks Ben, I really appreciate it. I’ll text over the prescription and you can just pick it up.”

“Sounds good, see you in a bit.”

 “Bye.”

Justin hung up the phone relieved that Ben was so willing to help. He rubbed his eyes again fighting against the exhaustion and walked back to the bedroom and sat in a chair next to the bed watching Christian sleep and waiting for Ben. Christianed stirred a bit as Ben sat there and let out a soft low moanhe shifted a look of pain crossing his face. His eyes fluttered open and looked around hazily before he sneezed harshly into his pillow H-h-H ESChoo hh-IShoo h-KSCHuume then moaned again. Justin reached over and held Christian’s hand and squeezing it tightly in his own. “You’re ok babe, I’m right here, I’ve got you.” He reached up and brushed the hair from Christian forehead which still gleamed with sweat from his fever. Christian’s face relaxed at Justin’s comforting touch and he sank back into the safety of sleep. At some point, Justin must have fallen asleep in the chair his hand still wrapped around Christian’s, because the next thing he knew, Ben was knocking at the door. Justin looked over at Christian who was still sleeping and got up to open the door. In walked Ben, medicines in hand.

“Here you go,” he said brightly, handing the bags to Justin, “how is he?”

“Still sleeping,” answered Justin stifling a yawn, “thanks again for doing this.”

“It’s not a problem,” said Ben. Then he looked at Justin, taking in his rumpled appearance. Justin was still wearing the clothes he’d worn into the office last night, which were now wrinkled and disheveled looking, his hair was messy and unkept, and there were dark circles under his eyes, he looked exhausted.

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Ben asked. Justin shook his head.

“There was an emergency at the office I had to go deal with, I was there until around 2am, then rushed back home after Christian texted me, called the doctor, and got Christian taken care of, then called you… Honestly haven’t had a chance yet.”

“You should go lie down and get some rest. You look exhuasted.” Ben replied sympathetically. Justin shook his head.

“I’ll be alright. I need to get Christian something to eat soon then make sure he takes his medicine.”

“Let me make breakfast, you go lay down for a bit.”

Justin didn’t move for a minute while he considered this option.

“Are you sure?” he asked Ben hesitantly.

“Yeah, of course you’ve been taking care of Christian night and day for 2 weeks. Let me pitch in some.”

Justin felt his resolve melting away at the thought of a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep.

“Alright… Thanks Ben. Come and wake me up if you need help with anything, ok?”

“I will,” said Ben.

And Justin headed to the bedroom where Christian was still fast asleep. He collapsed into bed his exhausted body sinking into the warmth of the mattress. He closed his eyes sighing gratefully. Then reached out his arm wrapping it around Christian whostirred slightly and snuggled his body into Justin’s without waking. Justin curled up against him enjoying his warmth. Within seconds he was asleep.

Justin woke up several hours later and immediately noticed that Christian was missing. He jumped out of bed frantically and rushed to the door, feeling panicked. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Christian sitting on the sofa calmly eating a bowl of soup with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and Ben sitting comfortably in a chair nearby reading a book. They both looked up surprised at Justin’s sudden appearance.

”Hi..” said Christian his voice hoarse but otherwise ok. Justin walked over to him and hugged him tight. Before responding.

”I’m sorry… I woke up thought something had happened to you.” Christian smiled at him.

“I’m fine, Ben heard me coughing and brought me out here to eat and take my medicine. You were really out of it in there and we didn’t want to wake you up.” Justin flushed feeling embarrassed he couldn’t believe he’d slept through all of that. Christian turned away and coughed harshly into his fist. He still sounded rough.

“How are you feeling?” Justin asked him brushing his hair out of his eyes.

“Tired. Sore.” Answered Christian. Justin rubbed his shoulders he could feel the tension in them, surely the result of the harsh rounds of coughing and hours of struggling to breath from the previous night.

“You scared me last night, you know?” Justin said softly.

“I know, I’m sorry” said Christian apologetically.

 “It’s ok, I’m just so glad you’re alright” Justin leaned down and kissed Christian’s forehead

 “Thank you for coming home… Is your boss gonna be pissed?” Justin shrugged.

“Probably, I told them it was an emergency, but I didn’t really wait around for permission. Kind of just ran out.” Justin chuckled a bit at the memory. Christian frowned.

“I’m sorry you had to do that.”

“Don’t apologize, you did the right thing, I’m so glad you messaged me as soon as you knew you were getting worse. If you’d waited or tried to ignore it….” Justin trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought of what could have happened. “… I’m just glad I got here when I did and we were able to get you sorted out.” Christian reached down and squeezed Justin’s hand reassuringly before letting go and catching a set of sneezes in his blanket. *H-HRSChoo H-HetCHoo h-gesHuu* He sighed heavily and leaned back against the couch.

“I love you, Justin.”

“I love you too, Chris.” And Justin kissed his lips gently. Christian smiled up at him his eyes beginning to droop

“I think I’m ready to go back to bed now, if that’s ok.”

“Of course, love… I’ve got you.” And he helped Christian up off the couch and tucked hi back into bed kissing his forehead as Christian slowly drifted off back to sleep.

 

END

 

[glitterdoll78]

This was SUCH a good story, I’d totally read another one with these same characters. 

[Coldielocks]

Thanks! I’m brainstorming  another one with Justin getting sick next. If I get a chance to work on it I’ll make sure and add a link to it here. 

[ThatSneezyGirl]

I absolutely adore Christian and Justin together 🥺 please post more stories with them together 

[SneezeAbbie]

This is amazing!