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“How did you even know I was sick?”
“Full offence, you look terrible. And you haven’t done a single flip since you came down this morning. I’m surprised the brats haven’t noticed.”
Sportacus let the ‘brat’ comment slide, too confused by how the afternoon was going. That morning, he had woken up with a stuffy nose and dry throat. He’d thought it would get better as the day went on but instead, he felt sluggish and there was a headache building behind his eyes.
He’d been about to sit down for a picnic lunch with the kids when Robbie had stomped over, pulled him up by the shirt collar, and told the kids that they were ‘not allowed to get in trouble for the rest of the day’.
“Where are we going?” Sportacus asked. Robbie was pulling him along by the hand away from the park. He tried to look up at Robbie but the sunlight made his head throb.
“You shouldn’t be around kids if you’re sick. Why do I have to tell you this?”
Sportacus winced, “I was keeping my distance. You didn’t answer my question.”
The answer was apparently Robbie’s home. Once they were inside, Robbie sat Sportacus down at his kitchen table and placed a small tin box in front of him.
“Pick one,” He instructed, “I’ll get the water.”
Sportacus didn’t understand what Robbie meant until he opened the tin and saw different kinds of teabags inside. On the other side of the kitchen, Robbie popped a mug into the microwave.
The bunker was always cold to Sportacus. With its metal floor and no natural light, he always felt a chill on the rare occasion he was in here. He shivered and rubbed his arms.
This seemed to draw Robbie’s attention and he crossed back to Sportacus. For a second, Sportacus thought Robbie was going to snap at him for not picking a tea yet.
Instead, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Sportacus’ forehead. Immediately, Sportacus felt his face turn bright red and he stammered out, “W-what are you doing?”
Robbie pulled away after a moment, “You were shivering. Wanted to check for a fever.” He sounded matter-of-fact, but his face was also flushed.
“And?”
“You’re fine.”
“Oh. Um. Thank you.”
Robbie didn’t say anything and left the kitchen. Sportacus shifted through the tea selection before choosing one. A few minutes later, Robbie came back, holding several small boxes.
“Do you have any muscle soreness or stomach pain? Or is it all in your nose and head?” He asked, looking at the back of one box.
“The second one. My throat hurts too,” Sportacus frowned, “I don’t want any medication.”
“Why not?”
“It’ll just make me sleep.”
“So? You should sleep this off.”
“But what if someone gets in trouble? I’ll be in no shape to help them!”
“Do you honestly think you’re in any shape to help them now?”
There was no great argument for that so Sportacus merely looked away, wrapping his arms around himself.
“Why do you keep doing that? I already told you, you don’t have a fever.”
“It’s freezing down here,” Sportacus confessed, “I don’t know how you stand it.”
Rolling his eyes, Robbie placed a red box of pills on the kitchen table and left again. He returned with large green blanket that he wrapped around Sportacus. The sudden warmth made Sportacus sigh and he leaned forward into Robbie’s chest, “Thank you, Robbie,” he mumbled.
For a moment, Robbie was tense. Then, slowly, he wrapped his arms around Sportacus, resting his chin on his head, “You should take something and get some sleep.”
Sportacus, eyes now closed, nodded against his chest, reluctant to move. Robbie began rubbing the back of his neck. It did wonders for Sportacus’ headache and he wrapped his arms around Robbie’s middle so the man couldn’t get away.
They stayed like that just long enough for Sportacus to become comfortable. The microwave beeped suddenly and they both jumped, having forgotten completely about the tea. Sportacus let Robbie go and instead clutched at the ends of the blanket, pulling it tighter around him. Robbie took a step back before leaning down and kissing Sportacus’ forehead again.
Sportacus blinked, “I thought you said I didn’t have a fever?”
“Y-you don’t!” Robbie turned towards the microwave, “I was- I was just double checking!”
Sportacus’ head still hurt a bit, his nose was still stuffed up, and he was still tired. But he found it in him to smile.