Archive of Our Own

When Rhys woke up to begin another day at work, he immediately knew it was going to be an awful one. He had ignored the signs at first. A cough here, a sniffle there, a few aches and chills, not really a big deal. After all, one doesn’t make it to being the head of the coding department of Hyperion by calling in sick. Therefore, he had went about his work week just the same, ignoring it in favor of burying himself in his job. Despite the symptoms progressively getting worse, he forged on. He had given an arm and a eye for this company, so a case of the sniffles wasn’t going to stop him. Not to mention, he was currently in the middle of a very important project, one that might earn him that promotion to middle manager that he had desperately been hoping for. That would show that asshole Vasquez a thing or two. He was determined to make it up to the top, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

That was why, despite the feeling of being run over by several trucks, Rhys shoved himself out of bed, tiredly forcing himself to prepare for another day at the most successful company in the galaxy. As he pulled himself from underneath the covers, he shivered, frowning slightly. How had his quarters managed to get even colder than last night? Didn’t he turn up the heat already? He debated contacting maintenance as he headed towards the bathroom, before ultimately deciding against it. If he really felt like it, he could probably just fix it himself.

Something that was even more irritating, however, was the way his echo eye seemed to flicker in and out. After connecting his arm to the port in his side (which also took longer than usual to link up), he ran a diagnostics program, hoping to find the cause for the bug. When it came up clean, he sighed, wondering if he would have enough time to stop by the cybernetics department before his shift began. The clock said otherwise, as he checked the time via the echonet. Today was going to be a long day then, as the flickering was only adding to his headache.

He continued to go about the rest of his morning rituals as usual, interrupted by a few coughing fits here and there, as well as a miserable sounding sneeze. When he felt mostly presentable, he gave himself one last glance in the mirror, adjusting his tie as he did so. He grimaced slightly at his reflection, wondering idly if he had always been this pale. It was probably just a trick of the light. He smoothed down his shirt once more, before setting off from the residential area down towards the coding department.

His echo eye pinged as he walked, with Vaughn messaging asking about joining him for lunch. The accountant also mentioned that Yvette was busy training some of new acquisitions hires, so it would just be the two of them. Rhys smiled slightly, replying with a confirmation to meet him in the Hub of Heroism. Despite how much he enjoyed spending time with Yvette, it was nice to get some time alone with his best bro. She was cool and all, but he and Vaughn had always been much closer. He had known Vaughn since college, winding up having the accountant as a dormmate for the first year. A friendship had quickly developed between the two, and they had been bros ever since.

Vaughn was always supportive of Rhys, and often helped him with his goals to move forward in the company. He was intelligent and funny, and honestly the most incredible friend Rhys had ever had. They always had each other’s backs, and were practically inseparable. Vaughn was just so….amazing. His mind continued to dwell on the wonderfulness that was his best bro, before his smile suddenly disappeared. He quietly admonished himself as he realized just how sappy his thoughts had gotten, and he mentally shoved the topic into the back of his mind. After all, they were just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s not like Rhys was falling for him or anything. That would just be ridiculous. As he finally made it to his desk, he collapsed into the chair, booting up the computer as he sniffled quietly, head spinning from the simple trek there.

Work was long and miserable, and despite not being hungry whatsoever, Rhys could not wait for lunch. Usually he was eager to work, sucking up to every superior in his line of sight, and putting 110% effort into everything he did. However, he felt utterly exhausted, despite having gone to bed early the night before. The lines of codes in the project he was building were blurring together, and the flickering of his eye was making his head pound ten times worse than usual. The temperature in the office seemed to shift between hot and cold continuously, and his throat felt like it was on fire. The coughing probably didn’t help much. He tried his best to focus on the work in front of him, but it was all just a mess of numbers and letters that seemed practically illegible to his fogged mind.

Finally, after seemingly forever, his echo eye pinged signaling it was time for his lunch break. He stood up from his desk, pausing as the edges of his vision darkened for a moment and he swayed slightly. After regaining his composure, he set off to find Vaughn, hoping some time spent with his friend would help him feel better.

The distance from his department to accounting seemed much longer than he remembered, although the twisting hallways and occasionally shifting floors definitely did not help. Whose idea was it to install those, anyways? It made getting around so much more difficult. His chest ached too, and he wondered if the oxygen levels had been lowered. It would be something Hyperion would do, after all, in order to save more money despite the high amount of profits they were raking in. As he stopped in the accounting department, looking around at the number crunching nerds, he frowned. Where was Vaughn? Wasn’t he supposed to be here? As he continued to search the area, his echo eye pinged once again, from none other than the man himself. It startled Rhys, however, and he jumped slightly at the notification before pulling it up.

Vaughn: Bro, where are you? I’ve been waiting for like 10 minutes in the Hub. People are starting to stare.

Oh right. The Hub. The Hub of Heroism. The Hub specifically named for Heroism. That Hub. That was where he was supposed to be. He frowned slightly, wondering why Vaughn hadn’t informed him of this. However, if he had looked at the previous conversation he had with his friend, he would have seen that Vaughn had said exactly that. He scrubbed at his nose with his sleeve before heading to the actual meeting place, somewhat annoyed at the fact that he had come all the way to accounting for nothing. His echo eye pinged again, and he realized he had forgotten to reply.

Vaughn: Bro?
Rhys: I’m on my way dude. Chill out. Had some things to finish up.

Despite the fact that Vaughn was obviously not being very helpful in setting this meeting up, Rhys was not going to admit he had gone to accounting first. After all, he didn’t want to seem stupid in front of his best friend. Even if it was Vaughn’s fault. He needed to impress him. Why he felt the need to do so, he wasn’t exactly sure, but he knew he had to show Vaughn just how great he was at things. He also wasn’t exactly sure which things, but definitely the fact that he was good at things.

The trip back down to the Hub was much easier than up to accounting, as the halls and floor had finally decided to stop shifting around. The only interruptions were a few coughs and sneezes along the way, and a few offended looks from fellow employees that Rhys promptly ignored. He was making more money than them, after all. What business did they have being annoyed with him? He wasn’t going to stop working just because of a small bit of the sniffles. Although with how much his chest and head and everything ached, he was starting to wonder if perhaps it was more than just that. Not that he was going to do anything about it, however. He wasn’t going to let anyone see any sign of weakness in him. After all, if he did, how would he ever make it to his rightful place as the CEO?

Upon finally arriving at the location, he managed to spot the accountant among the rest of the employees in the area, standing beside an obscenely large, gold statue of Handsome Jack himself. He headed over to his friend, barely avoiding running into one of the tables as he did so. After stumbling to a stop in front of the shorter man, he grinned lopsidedly. “Told you I’d make it.” He winced slightly at how rough his voice sounded, but brushed it off as disuse. After all, Vaughn was the first person he had spoken to since he started the day.

Vaughn turned around, ready to tell his friend off for being so late, when his expression softened at the other man’s appearance. Rhys looked absolutely awful. His hair was much less styled than usual, with a few strands sticking up here and there. Nobody who didn’t know the man would be able to tell the difference, but Vaughn definitely could. He was also extremely pale, with a bright red flush along his cheeks, and dark bruises under his eyes. Speaking of his eyes, the blue echo eye was flickering constantly, flashing a bright glowing blue before dimming, only to repeat the process in the next second. The other eye was slightly hazy, and he shivered as he stood before the accountant with a crooked grin.

“Bro, you look awful. Are you alright?”

“Me? Yeah of course I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I-” As if to contradict himself, he broke off into a harsh coughing fit, nearly falling over as he did so. A few employees nearby picked up their lunch and relocated further away.

Vaughn reached out a hand to steady his friend, before pulling back as the cybernetic man seemed to recover. “I don’t know. Maybe because you look like death warmed over? Not to mention you sound horrible.”

Rhys stood up straighter, taking on a defiant expression as he began heading towards the food, hoping he walked steadier than he felt. “Psh, nah. I’m fiiine. Don’t worry about it. Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.” In all honesty, he was definitely not, but he was not about to admit that to Vaughn. Especially not after the blatant lie he had just told.

“Alright dude. If you say so. But if you die on me, I’m gonna take your next paycheck.” Vaughn followed behind his friend, still not entirely convinced by Rhys’ performance.

After grabbing some food from one of the places within the Hub, the two managed to locate a table in a corner of the room. As he sat down, Rhys mentally congratulated himself for maintaining his composure for so long. However, his body began to betray him once more as he stifled a sneeze into his sleeve, turning away from his friend slightly as he did so. He looked back at the accountant, hoping the other hadn’t noticed.

Unfortunately for him, Vaughn was looking right back at him, brow furrowed in worry. “Dude, you know, one sick day isn’t going to kill you.”

“I know that. But as I said, I’m fine. F. I. N. E. Fine.”

“It is flu season you know. Maybe you picked it up from somewhere around Helios. Although usually the flu shot Hyperion provides protects against that sorta shit. Why we even still have a flu season is beyond me, though. There aren’t even seasons in here. We should like be...immune from that kinda thing. Like seriously. We’re in the middle of freakin’ space! Not to mention, with all the technology Hyperion’s developed, you’d think they’d find a cure for-” Vaughn suddenly paused in his tirade, finally taking note of his friend’s somewhat nervous expression at his commentary. “Rhys...You did get your flu shot, right?”

“I...uh…” Rhys rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, purposely avoiding eye contact as he sniffled slightly.

“Rhys.”

“I might’ve...sort’ve...forgot?”

“Rhys! No wonder you look like shit. You probably got like space flu or something. How could you even forget? It’s paid for by the company! Not to mention all the ridiculous posters everywhere.”

“I’ve been busy, okay? I have a really big project due soon, and it could mean my promotion!”

“A promotion isn’t worth dying over, Rhys.”

“Psh, I’m not gonna die. Plus, as I said, I’m fine. It’s probably just a cold or something.”

“If you say so, bro.”

Vaughn sighed in defeat, realizing his friend was going to continue to be stubborn no matter what he said or did. Hopefully the man was telling the truth, and it was just a cold. However, Vaughn was definitely not convinced. And the glazed look in Rhys’ eyes, as well as the constant shivering as their lunch continued did not give him any confidence. Not to mention, the cybernetic man had barely touched his food.

As he continued to study his friend during his meal, he realized that even the flu wouldn’t get this bad overnight. The man looked absolutely awful, and every shuddering cough or sneeze seemed to pain him even more. Of course though, his dork of a friend would be one to ignore every protest his body gave to actually take care of it. Despite Rhys’ obsession with his outward appearance, he never had been too concerned with his physical well-being. Hell, Vaughn had almost choked on his pizza when the man announced he was cutting his own arm off for the sake of the company. He had to often force his friend to take breaks or eat, or the man would have collapsed from hunger or sleep deprivation years ago. Even during college Rhys had always been incredibly stubborn.

He cared for Rhys a lot, in fact much more than he let on. Rhys was his best friend, his confidant, his most trusted ally. And he was Rhys’. Sure, they were only friends, but sometimes Vaughn thought about what would happen if they became more than that. He wasn’t sure when the feelings had first started, but once they were there it was like a looming presence that never seemed to go away. Despite this, he never once brought it up, the friendship between him and Rhys way too important for him to lose over something as minor as a crush. Although at this point, it was so much more than that. And watching the man he loved in such a pitiful state was filling him with concern.

Rhys tried to keep up the act to the best of his abilities, but the thick haze in his mind was making it increasingly difficult to do so. He continued to make conversation with Vaughn just the same, talking about his day, and pointedly skipping over the small detail about how no work actually had gotten done because he couldn’t read the fucking codes. The still flickering echo eye was doing nothing for the pounding of his head, and the room would occasionally shift wildly so he would have to squeeze his eyes shut just to get it back to normal. Whether that was due to the bug in his eye or something else, he couldn’t say. Despite all of this, he continued to force himself to focus, nodding along as Vaughn talked about his own day, as well as the paychecks they were working on calculating for the staff. He continued to shove back any concerns for his health, despite the earlier discussion. He was fine. It was just a little cold, after all. Nothing he couldn’t handle.

As the lunch hour came to an end, he stood up, moving to grab his tray to clear the table and reluctantly head back to work once more. A part of him begged to stay with Vaughn, take the rest of the day off and follow the man back to his own job in accounting. With the haze in his mind, he was beginning to agree with it. Vaughn was nice. Safe. Warm. At least, he thought Vaughn was warm? It had been a while since they had hugged, but, from what he remembered, Vaughn gave very nice hugs. Maybe he should hug Vaughn again, just to check. After all, it was was imperative to being a good employee that he make sure his best friend was, in fact, warm. However, upon moving towards the man to do just that, the edges of his vision started to darken, the entire room dimming before him. Black spots danced before his eyes as his legs gave out from underneath him, and everything faded to black.

Vaughn was filled with a mixture of surprise and terror as he watched his friend begin to collapse, and he swept into action. That extra time spent in the gym had done him good, as he was able to swiftly catch the man before he fell to the ground. He scooped his free arm underneath Rhys’ legs, lifting him up bridal style in order to carry him. Most of the rest of the employees were clearing out to head back to their own jobs, ignoring the scene that had just taken place. They had grown accustomed to the untimely death of their coworkers, and it just meant less competition in the fast paced world of Hyperion business.

The accountant grimaced at the uncomfortable heat radiating from his friend, concern practically coming off of him in waves as he made a beeline for medical. He hoped to god Rhys would be ok. He wasn’t sure what he would do without the other man. Especially since he never got to tell him just how he felt. As he approached the entry to the medical area of Hyperion, he skidded to a halt, his heart dropping as he read the sign. Apparently medical was closed. He started to debate whether they were actually allowed to do that, before remembering that right, this was Hyperion. They could do whatever the hell they wanted. He sighed in frustration before deciding to take Rhys back to his place and hope he could help the man himself with his limited skills in first aid.

As he began to make his way towards the residential area, he suddenly remembered the little fact that both of them still had jobs to do. With another aggravated sigh, he paused, shifting Rhys in his arms so he could access the communications aspect of his glasses. The intense heat that radiated off his friend did nothing to comfort him as he did so, nor did the still dead weight of his unconscious body. He contacted Rhys’ boss first, letting the man know his employee would be taking a paid sick day for the rest of the day, as well as the day after. Luckily, Rhys seemed to have several saved up. Vaughn then contacted his own boss, giving the same news. With the questioning look from the man, Vaughn lifted Rhys up slightly further, so he could be seen from the video on his boss’s side. With an understanding nod, Jameson let Vaughn take the days off with the notion that he either make up the work he missed from before or work from home while taking care of his friend. Vaughn thanked all the stars in the sky that he had such a decent boss. It helped that they were both numbers men, probably.

With that task out of the way, he continued his trek to the residential deck, straining slightly from carrying his friend such a long distance. Despite the amount of weights he lifted in the gym, Rhys still weighed a lot for such a lanky man. However, the slight squish that he had was just another part of Rhys that Vaughn found entirely endearing, so he ignored it and continued onward. After a short internal debate on which quarters to take Rhys to, he finally decided on his own as he headed towards the entrance, punching in the code and taking his friend inside. As he began to carry Rhys to his bedroom, the man in his arms began to finally wake up from his impromptu nap with a quiet whine. Vaughn blinked in surprise, somewhat relieved at the fact that his friend was finally coming too. He set his friend down on his bed, taking a seat beside him on the edge.

As Rhys began to wake up more, he squinted up blearily, looking around his surroundings in clear confusion. His echo eye booted up once more, beginning its harsh flickering once more and surprising the sick man into yelping. He slapped a hand over the offending iris, squinting at his surroundings as he began to shiver again. He sniffled pitifully, before attempting to burrow underneath the covers on Vaughn’s bed. “S cold…” he mumbled, continuing his awkward wiggling as he did so.

Vaughn placed a hand on his friend’s forehead, frowning worriedly at the attempts to literally tunnel beneath his blankets, as well as the extreme warmth that leaked into his palm. Rhys had paused his wiggling at the hand, letting out a soft hum at the coolness on his head. This seemed bad. Incredibly bad. Vaughn stood up then, determined to find a thermometer somewhere within his wreck of an apartment. If he could get a better judgement on exactly how high Rhys’ fever was, perhaps he could find a way to bring it down and pull his friend out of whatever delirious state he seemed to be in.

After raiding his medicine cabinet, he managed to find a thermometer, as well as some expired fever reducers. Hopefully they would still work, but if not he would have to do it the old fashioned way. As he walked back to the bedroom where he left Rhys, he blinked in surprise to find that his friend was not, in fact, in the bed as he had left him, but rather on the floor, attempting a desperate crawl towards the door. If he hadn’t been so concerned, he might have started laughing at the ridiculous sight of his normally composed friend crawling around on the floor like some kind of injured salamander. “Rhys, what the hell are you doing?” He attempted to appeal to the logical side of his friend, hoping he wasn’t too far gone from the fever to be pulled back.

“Yvette said that I n’d to get back to work or Assquez is gonna take over my job,” the man mumbled, continuing his desperate, yet weak crawl towards the door. He was stopped by Vaughn’s feet, and looked up at him with the saddest look Vaughn had ever seen on a human being ever. He had to force himself not to give in, despite how much that look was tugging on his heartstrings. Letting the man go back to work was not in either of their best interests at the moment.

“Rhys, Yvette isn’t here. She’s at work, remember? And that doesn’t exactly explain why you’re on the floor.”

“Everything hurts. Legs wn’t work. Too shakey.”

“Okay. Well that’s probably a good sign you should get back in bed then, isn’t it?”

“But VasQUEZ!” Rhys’ voice cracked on the last syllable, and he forced himself to sit up as tears began to stream down his face.

“Dude, he isn’t going to take your job. I called your boss. You’re taking a sick day. Everything is fine. Now please, for the love of all that is holy, get your ass back in that bed so I can take care of you.” Despite how much Vaughn loved his friend, sometimes he wondered how the man could be so difficult. If only Rhys had managed to get his flu shot in the first place, or even just take care of himself, they wouldn’t be in this mess. Instead here he was, watching as a grown 23 year old sobbed on the floor in front of him.

“B-but...she...she said....What if I lose my job, Vaughn?” Rhys sniffled, his voice shaking as he shivered on the floor, tears continuing to flow from his eyes. If the man knew how he looked currently, he would probably be appalled, with a sweaty, tear soaked face and snot leaking from his nose. As it was though, he was too far gone, still sobbing like a child who had lost their favorite toy.

A part of Vaughn wondered how the flickering tech in his eye hadn’t shorted out with all the waterworks, as he decided the best solution currently was to attempt to comfort the delirious man. Maybe if he could get the other to calm down, he would be more cooperative. He knelt down next to his friend, pulling him into a hug. “You won’t Rhys. I promise you, bro. It’s gonna be fine. Plus, this is part of your job now. To focus on getting better and letting me take care of you. Do you think you can do that, buddy?”

The hug seemed to help considerably, as Rhys relaxed into his friend’s arms, his own coming up to return it. He nodded slightly in reply to the question, before laying his feverish forehead upon his Vaughn’s shoulder. Normally, Vaughn would be incredibly grossed out by the tears and snot currently leaking into his shirt, but as it was, he was too filled with concern to care at the moment. After a few minutes of the two sitting on the floor, the tears stopped flowing, with only a few hiccups coming from the cybernetic man. He allowed Vaughn to help him to his feet, before curling back up on the bed once more. As he scrubbed at his nose with his sleeve again, he let out a quiet huff. “M getting your bed so gross dude…”

“Don’t worry about it man. You’re sick. You can’t help it.”

“M not sick. M fine.”

“Really? Are you sure about that? Because about thirty seconds ago you were sobbing on my floor like a five year old.”

“It wasn’t...it wasn’t that bad…”

“Yeah, and I’m the queen of Pandora. Just shut up so I can take your temperature. You probably have one hell of a fever. And I need to figure out just how bad it is so I can get it down some and I don’t have to watch you cry again.”

Rhys shut up then, obediently allowing Vaughn to shove the thermometer in his mouth. After a few moments of trying to hold back the coughs that attempted to come up, the digital thermometer beeped with it’s morbid answer. Vaughn removed it, brow furrowing slightly in concern at the results it displayed. “104.3. This isn’t good, dude. How the fuck did you let yourself get this bad?”

Rhys opened his mouth to reply again, before letting out another sneeze instead. He sniffled slightly, squeezing his eyes shut as his head throbbed. “Do you have any uh...what are they called…” His brow furrowed slightly as he attempted to focus through the fog in his head, attempting to find the right word. After a few moments, he gave up. “Those paper things…Cn’t remember the name…”

“You mean tissues? Yeah. Here.” Vaughn grabbed the box from off his dresser, handing it to his friend.

“Yeah...them. Damn bro you’re like...super smart….Read my mind and stuff…” He pulled a few from the box, wiping his nose with something other than his sleeve for the first time.

“No dude. I’m just not dying from the flu is all. Because, unlike someone else I know, I actually got my shot.” He continued to joke with his friend, but internally, his gut was twisting in knots at just how awful Rhys really was doing. At least he seemed a bit more lucid than earlier. That was good, right? He sighed, going to fetch a glass of water so he could give the man some fever reducers. Hopefully they would do something, despite the year old expiration date. He really needed to update his supply. Upon his return, he found that his friend had managed to find a way under the covers, and was buried under a mound of blankets that Vaughn hadn’t even realized he had. How Rhys had managed to find all those others, he wasn’t sure. Either way though, he knew the man couldn’t stay under them.

“Dude, you’re already running a fever. That is definitely not going to help.” Vaughn sighed, attempting to tug the blankets off his sick coworker as he set the water and medicine aside.

“M sooo cold though…” Rhys whined, gripping the blankets tightly in an attempt to keep them on. However, in his weak state, and with Vaughn’s much larger amount of strength, he was no match for his friend. The blankets were soon ripped away completely, leaving him shivering in the now cold air once more. He whined again, a pitiful noise that sounded more appropriate coming from a kicked puppy than a grown man. He curled up further, before being nudged gently into a sitting position by Vaughn.

“I need you to take this dude. It’ll help.”

He attempted to hand Rhys the pills and water, before getting a glazed look of confusion in response. After a few seconds, the cybernetic man finally caught on, grabbing the pills and popping them in his mouth. He attempted to take the water as well, but with the amount of shivering he was doing, the best he managed was spilling it everywhere. With a soft sigh of both annoyance and concern, Vaughn helped the other man drink the water, praying to whatever god that would listen that the pills would do something to lower the raging fever that his friend seemed to have. After Rhys had finished drinking, he broke into another coughing fit that filled Vaughn with even more worry. It sounded bad. Really bad. Not knowing what exactly to do, he just gently rubbed his friend’s back, hoping it would help some. After it was over, Rhys whimpered once more, laying back down and curling up again into a ball as he sniffled pitifully. “I don feel good…”

Vaughn gave a soft smile of sympathy in return. “I know dude. I know. Maybe you should try sleeping some? That might help.”

“But I’m so hoooot….”

The accountant quirked a brow slightly, frowning. “Weren’t you cold earlier?”

“Yeah? But now ‘m hot…”

“Well maybe you should get out of your work clothes. That might help.”

Rhys nodded, humming in agreement as he sat up and attempted to unbutton his shirt, fumbling with the buttons and constantly shoving the tie out of the way to do so. Vaughn shook his head, before moving Rhys’ hands aside to undress the other himself. “Let me do it dude. You can’t seem to even hold a glass of water, let alone get your own shirt off.” A part of him wished this was happening under much different circumstances. Perhaps with him undressed as well, and with Rhys acting more like himself and less like a petulant toddler. Although there wasn’t much he could do about that. He removed the vest first, before tugging the tie out of the other’s pants. “Why the hell do you even wear it like this? It’s ridiculous.”

“Like the way it looks. ‘S fashion Vaughn. You wouldn’t understand.”

Vaughn snorted, grinning slightly at the reply. “Yeah...fashion. I definitely wouldn’t.” After removing the other’s tie, he worked on the shirt next, unbuttoning it and pulling it down off his friend’s shoulders. He paused at the cybernetic arm, unsure what to do with it as he studied the thing, looking for a way to detach it. “How do you...uh could you get this off bro? I mean I would, but I’m not exactly sure how it works.”

Rhys blinked momentarily in confusion, before realizing what exactly Vaughn wanted. He reached over with his left arm, fumbling with the clasps for a bit before clumsily managing to detach the arm, handing it to Vaughn. The accountant took it, holding it in his hands as he tried to determine exactly what to do with it. After a while, he decided to set it down on the bedside table, making a mental note to head to Rhys’ place to grab the charger later. He never got used to seeing Rhys with only one arm, despite how many times he detached it in front of him. It threw him off every time, a vague sense of unease coming over him as he saw an empty space where an arm should be. At the same time, however, he knew how much it bothered Rhys as well. He was the only person the man had ever been comfortable with taking it off in front of, and it made Vaughn feel important, in a way. It was nice, the level of trust the two had with each other. And it only helped to strengthen the feelings the accountant had towards his friend.

After that was done, he tugged off Rhys’ shoes next, chuckling slightly at the cartoon socks his friend was wearing. He set them on the floor next to where he put the other clothes, out of the way in a corner of his room. He would worry about that later. Before he could say anything more, Rhys had managed to wriggle most of the way out of his pants himself, tossing them aside and curling back up on the bed once more. Normally, he would fold them up neatly, but it seemed he was too tired currently to care about wrinkles. In nothing but his cartoon socks and Hyperion boxers, he began to doze off. He sniffled slightly, before mumbling, “Gnight bro...M gonna sleep now.”

Vaughn snorted, going over and picking up the pants, folding them neatly. “Alright dude. Sleep well. If you need anything lemme know. I’ll be around.”

“MMkay. Love you.”

“Love you too, bro.” And with that, Vaughn left his friend to sleep. He hoped with a bit of rest, as well as the meds he had given, his friend would be able to improve some. Deciding there was nothing else he could do at the moment, he grabbed his laptop and sat down on the couch, starting on the work his boss had given him to do.

After a few hours of working, Vaughn stood up, stretching his muscles as he began to head to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. However, as he started to open the cabinet, he heard a loud bang from his bedroom, and he was there within a second. As he peeked in on his friend, he saw the man curled up on the floor, shivering and muttering things in his sleep as tears fell down his face. He had most likely rolled off the bed sometime during the nightmare, thus the source of the bang. Vaughn rushed over kneeling beside his friend and pulling him into his arms. “Hey...hey Rhys wake up. You’re having a bad dream. C’mon bro. It’s alright. I’m here.” As he held his friend, he noted that the man was still incredibly warm, to the point where it seemed he was even hotter than before. That wasn’t a good sign. He patted Rhys face gently, attempting to wake the other up.

After a few moments, Rhys blearily opened his eyes, although they remained unfocused, glazed over completely. He seemed to be looking at something behind Vaughn, and was mumbling words that the accountant couldn’t quite make out. Vaughn reached up beside him, grabbing the thermometer off the bedside table and managing to stick it in his friends mouth. After a few moments, it beeped once more, the numbers reading even warmer than before. Which meant the medicine had done absolutely nothing. Rhys began coughing again, and Vaughn’s heart clenched in fear and worry at the entire situation. What the fuck was he supposed to do? He was an accountant, not a doctor. He decided to follow his instincts, scooping his friend up in his arms again and carrying him to the bathroom. As he did so, Rhys turned his unfocused eyes towards him, squinting slightly. “Vaughn? Where are we going?”

“We’re gonna see if we can get that fever down so your brain doesn’t boil in your head.”

“Mmmm….okay. But why?”

“So you don’t die.”

“Wait am I gonna die?”

“Not if I can help it.” Vaughn stepped inside the bathroom, placing his friend down on the floor and shutting the door behind him, despite the fact that there was nobody else in the apartment.

“You’re….you’re like a superhero….gonna save my life.”

“Well I’m damn well gonna try, bro.”

“Hey….hey….superhero man….”

Vaughn began to turn the bath on, stopping up the drain as he attempted to fill the thing with lukewarm water. He chuckled slightly at the nickname, although it was hollow as his concern outweighed his amusement. “Yeah, Rhys?”

“You’re really….really strong….can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure, dude. What is it?” He sat down on the floor next to Rhys, waiting for the tub to fill up.

“I think...I think I might be in love with someone….” He sniffled slightly, scrubbing at his nose with his arm, although it did little to help.

Vaughn’s heart clenched at the words, wondering who this person could be. Of course he knew Rhys could never love a guy like him. Still though, actually knowing it and hearing it were two different things. He frowned, brow furrowed as he tested the water once more. “Who is it?”

“S my best friend….His name is Vaughn….He’s really smart...and….and funny...and he cares sooo much about me. I love talkin’ to him...and listening to him...and just...being with him... Nd I think I’m in love with him. Shhh don’t...don’t tell him though...aight? I don’t...don’t wanna mess things up...He’s super important. Best bro ever. I need him. Don’t wanna like...ruin our broship...our bromance...” As Rhys continued to ramble about his love for Vaughn, he started patting the other’s face with his hand, his expression dreamy as he looked off into the distance. It would have been adorable, if not for the flickering echo eye, along with the snot and tears streaked all over his face.

Vaughn sputtered slightly at the answer, completely thrown off by his friend’s reply. Of all the people Rhys were to fall for, it was him? Of course, it could be the deliriousness talking, however the man sounded so sincere and honest, Vaughn was certain it was the truth. He couldn’t quite believe it. However, with the fact that Rhys was hallucinating still, he decided it was best to put that issue on hold until he managed to lower the other man’s fever slightly. After he decided the bath was full enough, he turned the water off and scooped Rhys up once more, before placing him into the water.

The coding lackey yelped as he was placed in the lukewarm water, surprised by both the relocation as well as the shock of cold compared to his heated skin. He continued to shiver for a while, before finally relaxing slightly in the water as he began to get used to the temperature. He began to doze off, head beginning to dip below the water, before he was being nudged awake again by Vaughn. He whined slightly, before shifting so his head was above the water again.

“Hey dude. No falling asleep in the tub. I don’t want you drowning on me.” Vaughn sighed slightly, wondering when exactly he had become the mom friend. Probably from the moment he had met the other man. After a few more minutes of having Rhys sit in the tub, he finally decided it was probably enough to at least help. He still wasn’t sure exactly what he was doing, going mostly by logic and instinct. “Alright dude. I think you’re probably cooled down enough to get out if you want now.”

Rhys nodded, shoving himself up onto shaky legs as Vaughn reached out to steady the other if needed. He stepped out of the tub, shivering slightly, although much less than before. Vaughn grabbed a towel from the closet in the bathroom, standing on his toes to wrap his taller friend up in the fluffy fabric. He led his friend back to the bedroom, where he had the other lie down on the bed once more.

Rhys coughed some, looking over at his friend with a soft smile. “Hey, bro.”

Vaughn glanced up from where he was digging in his dresser, attempting to find some clothes that might fit Rhys. “Yeah?”

“Thanks...for taking care of me and everything. Sorry I’ve been such an idiot about it.”

Vaughn smiled slightly, looking back towards his friend. “Hey dude. Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for. Just do me a favor next time.”

Rhys quirked a brow, curling up a bit more in the towel. “What?”

“Get your damn flu shot next year.”

“I dunno Vaughn. I don’t think I need it. After this I’m probably invincible to the flu.”

Vaughn huffed, chucking a t-shirt at the other’s head in annoyance.

He pulled the shirt off his face, weakly tossing it back and missing by several feet. “Hey! M sick! Plus I was just joking.”

“So you finally admit it!”

“Yes. I admit it. I am slightly sick.”

“Slightly my ass, bro.”

“Fight me.” He punctuated this with a miserable sounding sneeze, which made his statement seem much less effective.

“Dude, you sound like you’re dying. How the hell would you fight me?”

“Psh, I could still kick your ass.”

“Sure you could. It’s totally not like I carried your sick ass all the way from the Hub to my place.”

“Wait you...you did?”

“Yeah dude. You passed the fuck out and I tried to take you to medical, but for some ridiculous reason they were closed. So I brought you here. You scared the shit out of me by the way. I was worried you were gonna die.” He frowned some, remembering the entire thing.

“Oh jeeze dude...I’m...damn I’m sorry.” Rhys frowned as well, guilt overcoming him at that.

“Don’t worry about that right now man. Just focus on getting better, alright?”

“Yes sir.”

Vaughn chuckled, rolling his eyes at the smartass reply. He was incredibly thankful that Rhys seemed to be more like his old self. “Alright. I’m gonna go pick up some things from your place. Like clothes that actually fit your string bean ass. If you need anything, I have my echo glasses so just give me a call.”

“Alright. Don’t die.”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”

“Just get out of here already. I’d like to wear something other than a towel, bro.

“Alright alright I’m going. Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Vaughn then left his quarters, heading to Rhys’ in order to gather some things for the other man. As he walked, he continued to dwell on the confession from earlier, wondering just exactly how he should confront his friend about it. Or if he even should at all. Their friendship was incredibly important to both of them, and Vaughn wasn’t sure he wanted to ruin it, despite the mutual feelings they seemed to share. Not to mention, Rhys probably didn’t even remember his confession, too out of it at the time. In the end, he decided he might as well take the chance, or else it may never happen. The worst that could happen was things would be awkward for a while, and then they could go back to normal once more.

Vaughn stepped inside with the things he had gathered from Rhys’ apartment. He also had bought some fever reducer, cough drops and syrup, as well as some other things that could probably be used to help his friend. As he set about putting everything away, he began to think on how exactly he would bring up the topic to Rhys. He slipped inside the bedroom with the charger, setting up Rhys’ arm the same way he had watched his friend do several other times. As he glanced over at the other, he noted that the man was asleep once more, sleeping much more peacefully than earlier. He debated taking his temperature again, before deciding against it in case he woke the other up. Vaughn smiled slightly at just how cute his friend looked, bundled up in a towel and snoring softly, with a bit of drool leaking out of his mouth as he slept.

He stepped out of the room again, deciding to make some food for himself and Rhys. He pulled out the ingredients he had bought, as well as some pots and pans, and got to work. The one thing he could always impress Rhys with was his cooking skills. Probably because the man never ate a decent meal in his life unless Vaughn made it for him. He snickered slightly at the thought, and continued cooking.

After a few minutes, he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned around to see his best friend. The man still looked absolutely awful, and was shivering and swaying slightly. He had managed to find the pajamas Vaughn had brought over, however, and was wearing the matching blue flannel set he owned. He also had stolen the blanket from Vaughn’s bed, and was wrapped up in it like a cloak, the end trailing behind him on the floor.

Vaughn quirked a brow, studying his friend slightly. “Dude, why do your pajamas match better than your clothes?”

“Hey! My clothes match just fine, thank you. Plus, these were the warmest ones I own. It’s fucking freezing in here. ”

“Dude, it’s seventy-two degrees. It’s cuz of your fever. Speaking of which, you should probably not be so bundled up or you’re gonna overheat again.”

“I’m a grown man, Vaughn. I think I can take ca...ca….” He was interrupted by a sneeze, which he caught in the blanket. “I can take care of myself.”

“Dude, gross. You know, I did give you tissues. Also, if you could take care of yourself we wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”

“I forgot them….Also...shut up.” Rhys pouted slightly, the scene made only more pitiful by his occasional sniffling and red rimmed eyes.

“Wow. What a great comeback, dude. Anyways, I made you some soup. It’s my own recipe, so let me know what you think. Also you should probably take some more meds.”

As he said this, he set a bowl of soup down on the table in front of Rhys, as well as a glass of water and some more fever reducers. Rhys shuffled over, taking a seat and looking at everything dazedly. His mind was still fairly foggy, so focusing was still pretty difficult for the man. Vaughn sat across from him with his own bowl, watching his friend carefully.

Rhys huffed at all the babying from his friend, but reluctantly took the medication anyways. He then took a bite of the soup, surprised at just how good it tasted. “Dude...this is really good. What the heck is it?”

“It’s chicken soup made from scratch. Not that you would know since you only eat cereal and potato chips.”

“Hey! I eat other things.”

“If you wanna call that processed stuff you eat food.”

“Whatever…” Rhys grumbled, going back to eating the food.

Vaughn frowned slightly, deciding if he was going to bring it up, now was as good a time as ever. “Hey, bro.”

“Yeah?”

“So uh...I have a confession to make.”

Rhys quirked a brow, looking over at the other in confusion. “What is it?”

“I uh...think I might….like you?” He looked down as he spoke, avoiding eye contact with the other and hoping amongst all hopes that he wouldn’t be rejected as he continued. “Not just like….as a friend...but like...like like. Like...more than a bro?”

Rhys nearly choked at that, swallowing the mouthful of soup he had slowly before coughing anyways. After he recovered from his near death experience, throat burning even more, muscles aching, he mulled over what Vaughn had just said, beginning to think about his own feelings for the other. “Well uh...that’s...um…”

“Shit...Just kidding! Forget I said anything.” Vaughn hurriedly replied, suddenly fearing the harsh sting of rejection much more than before.

“No...no...I was just going to say I uh...kinda...sorta...feel the same?”

“You do! I uh...I mean...you do?”

“Yeah. I didn’t really...wanna admit it. To even myself? Because I didn’t really wanna ruin this whole...bro thing we have going on. But yeah...I kinda do.”

“Wow...That’s...that’s great! So um...what now?”

“I don’t...actually know? Does this mean we’re dating or something?”

“Do you...want it to mean that?”

“I mean...kinda? Yeah. I do. But only if you do too, obviously.”

“Rhys.”

“What?”

“Of course I do.”

Rhys grinned then, a blush coming across his cheeks that wasn’t entirely due to the fever. He ducked his head down slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I uh...I really wanna kiss you right now….But...I’m kinda gross.”

“Dude, do you really think I care about that? Plus, unlike your dorky ass, I’m protected.”

With that, Vaughn pushed himself up from his spot, coming around the table to the other. He leaned down slightly, turning Rhys head towards him, before pressing his lips against the others’ in an experimental kiss. Rhys responded in kind, eyes slipping closed as he reciprocated, the feeling much different from anyone else he had kissed, but much, much better. He pressed closer to the other, Vaughn’s face feeling incredible against his own heated skin, his beard scratching against Rhys’ chin and making the experience even better. After a few moments, they separated, both panting as Vaughn pressed his forehead against his friends.

“Dude. You’re really hot.”

“I know,” Rhys grinned, winking at the other.

“No, I mean, you’re still burning up. I’m gonna go get the thermometer.”

“Wow bro, way to ruin the moment.”

“Is it bad that I care about your health? I can’t have my boyfriend dying on me when we just start dating, now can I?”

“That’s...ok you have a point there.” Rhys blushed slightly again, reeling over the situation as Vaughn pulled away.

“Yeah. I thought so. I’ll be right back.” Vaughn turned around, reluctantly heading away from the other to grab the thermometer. His own mind was reeling at the entire thing, all of his wishes coming true in a few small moments. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew that Rhys health was much more important than their new, blossoming romance. After grabbing it, he returned to the other, who had laid his head on the table and seemed to be dozing off slightly.

“Hey, bro, lift your head up so I can put this in your mouth.”

“Mmkay.” Rhys complied easily, and Vaughn frowned slightly at just how obedient the other was suddenly being. It seemed that the man was slipping into a mild delirium once more, proven by the dazed expression he had on his face.. This was going to be a long few days. He slipped the thermometer under the other’s tongue, pulling it out at the beep and reading the results. 103.6. Better than before, but still not ideal whatsoever. The bath and medication had probably helped some. However, Vaughn desperately hoped that medical would be open tomorrow so he could get his friend--no, boyfriend--some much better help than he could provide.

“Alright Rhys, let’s get you back to bed.”

“But...but what about the dishes? Shouldn’t I help clean?”

Now Vaughn knew Rhys really was delirious. The man never offered to help clean up. He sighed, shaking his head. Of course the one time he actually offered to help. “Nah bro. I got it. You need to rest.”

“If you say so…” Rhys stood up shakily, swaying slightly as he did so. He then began to stumble towards the door to leave the apartment.

“Dude...no that’s the wrong way. The bedroom is this way.” Vaughn went over, leading his dork of a boyfriend back to the bedroom.

“Right. I knew that…” Rhys nodded, going with Vaughn and laying back down on the bed once more.

After Rhys was on the bed once more, Vaughn furrowed his brow as he studied the scene. “I’m gonna have to take that blanket from you, dude.”

Rhys gripped the blanket tighter, whining, “Nooooo….”

“Yesssss. Dude please you don’t need it right now.” He tugged on it gently, not wanting to rip it away just yet.

Rhys pouted, before finally releasing his hold on the blanket. Vaughn took it from the other, putting it aside in another corner of the room. “You can have it back when your fever goes down.”

“Okay fine. Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Dude, you gotta pinky promise though.” Rhys held up his pinky.

Vaughn sighed, rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of the situation, before taking Rhys’ pinky with his own. “I pinky promise. Now try and get some rest. I need to go clean up some and get you some ice.”

“Alright. Goodnight...boyfriend.” Rhys snickered slightly at the word, like a schoolgirl with a new crush. He was obviously just as happy about it as Vaughn, and with his feverish state he wasn’t afraid of showing it.

Vaughn grinned, chuckling slightly at the dorkiness of it. “Goodnight Rhys.” He flicked off the light, exiting the room and setting about cleaning up the table. He grabbed some ice from the freezer, wrapping it up with a washcloth and placing it upon his sleeping boyfriend’s head. It was still so surreal, to think that had happened, and his heart filled with a fuzzy warmth that made him smile even wider. Now if only Rhys could get better sooner. He glanced at the time, realizing that he should probably get some sleep himself. He changed out of his work clothes, throwing on an old tshirt and pajama pants before heading out to the living room once more. He grabbed a pillow and blanket, crashing on the couch in a dreamless sleep.

Vaughn was awoken by the sound of coughing, as well as soft sobs coming from his bedroom. He groggily shoved himself up from the couch, scrubbing at his eyes before slipping his glasses on his face. He trudged to the bedroom, peering in through the darkness at his friend. He quietly stepped over to the other, who was curled up and coughing harshly in between soft sniffling and sobs. A worried expression crossed his face as he watched, before sitting down on the edge of the bed beside the other. He rubbed Rhys’ back, wondering what exactly had put the other into such a state. Well, besides the heavy heat radiating off him.

Rhys blinked up at him blearily, eyes hazy and echo eye flickering a bright blue in the darkness. He managed to catch his breath for a moment, the coughing finally ceasing as he began to speak.

“Evrythin huuurts...So mch...and...and I dreamed...I had a dream that you...you died. You were shot...there was blood everywhere…I’m sorry bro….” Rhys hiccuped, sobs still coming through in between his sentence, his voice extremely hoarse. “Now...now Vasquez won’t leave me alone...kept telling me you weren’t cmin back. It was my fault too….all my fault…”

Vaughn sighed softly, pulling the other close into another hug, rubbing his back gently. “Well I’m here Rhys. I’m alive and I’m completely safe. Vasquez is an asshole anyways. Don’t worry about what that guy has to say. It’s nothing important. Ever. It’s alright bro. I’m still here.”

“I did my best…did my best to help you…”

“Of course you did bro. I know you would.”

“I...I love you Vaughn. SO much…”

Vaughn chuckled slightly. “I love you too Rhys. Don’t forget that.” He wasn’t lying when he said that, either. He had loved the man since he had met him.

“So...so you’re okay?”

“Yep. I’m perfectly fine. You should go back to sleep though. You probably need it.”

“Okay...Don’t leave though…”

Vaughn smiled softly. “You want me to stay?”

Rhys nodded, sobs fading into gentle hiccups as he did so. He scrubbed at his face some with his sleeve, before Vaughn tugged his arm away and replaced it with a tissue. He cleaned up the other’s face as best as possible, wiping away the mess the man had made of himself. “Alright. I’ll stay here. Scoot over some though.”

Rhys complied, scooting over to the other side of the bed, lifting his arm some to allow Vaughn in. Vaughn tossed the tissue out, setting the box beside his boyfriend before moving to lie next to the other, pulling him close. They fell asleep like that, snuggled close as Rhys snored softly in Vaughn’s arms.

The next day, medical was thankfully open, and Vaughn thanked his lucky stars since Rhys fever had somehow managed to spike even higher than before. The man was mumbling nonsense, clinging to Vaughn tightly as he shivered and sneezed miserably. His coughing sounded worse as well, a raspy gurgle beneath it. As Vaughn carried the other, he bit his bottom lip tightly in worry, ignoring everything and everyone around him as he headed directly for the medical area. He pounded harshly on the door, and rushed inside after it was opened. One of the doctors took him from his arms, and the nurse requested he wait in the waiting room until they were done. One of the other nurses asked why he hadn’t requested a medical team beforehand, to which Vaughn replied that he hadn’t even considered it. He mentally berated himself the entire time he waited, cursing his own stupidity and hoping that it hadn’t cost Rhys his life.

After what felt like forever, the doctor stepped out, and Vaughn jumped up out of his seat in order to hear the news.

“So your uh…”

“Boyfriend,” Vaughn stated proudly, shoving his glasses up on his nose.

“Right. Your boyfriend has developed a fairly severe case of pneumonia. Most likely from the untreated flu he seemed to have in his system. He should be fine, but he’ll have to remain here a few days. Even when he is released, he will need at least a week to recover. I’ve contacted his superiors, so he shouldn’t be penalized for his absence,” the doctor stated.

“Thank you doctor. I really do appreciate this.”

“It’s my job, Mr. Little. You can go in and see him now.”

Vaughn nodded, stepping around the doctor and heading to Rhys’ room. He stepped inside, frowning as he saw the sight before him. Rhys was hooked up to an IV with medications and saline, as well as a breathing tube in his mouth. It seemed his echo eye had been deactivated for the time being, which was probably a good thing since it had been flickering due to the fever or illness, or perhaps both. His face was pale, and in the bed he looked even more frail than ever. Vaughn stepped over to his cybernetic dork of a boyfriend, and sat in the chair next to the bed.

“Goddammit Rhys. You idiot. Why don’t you just take care of yourself like a normal person?” He shook his head, sighing.

A hand went up to pet Rhys’ hair, and he sighed yet again before standing up once more. Since there was not much else he could do, he decided to head back to work, but asked that the nurse let him know if he woke up.

Vaughn had finished his shift in the accounting department, although it was incredibly difficult to get any work done when his mind kept straying to Rhys. Despite the fact that he was in good hands, he couldn’t help but worry about the other. Rhys had always been terrible at taking care of himself, after all, and this just proved it. As Vaughn began to head back to his quarters, his echo glasses blipped with a new message from medical. Apparently, Rhys was awake and lucid. Vaughn rushed down there as quickly as possible, skidding to a stop in front of the nurse station to let them know of his presence before heading to the room.

Rhys was sitting up slightly in the bed, a bored expression on his face as he flipped through the channels on the shitty television they had in the room. Upon seeing Vaughn enter, he set it down, a smile coming across his face. “Took you long enough to get here. I thought my boyfriend had ditched me. Woulda been a dick move on your part, by the way, since we just started dating and all.”

Vaughn grinned, incredibly thankful that he hadn’t imagined that and that Rhys still remembered. “I had to make sure I was presentable for the hottest man in Helios.”

“Why would you want to be presentable for yourself?”

Now it was Vaughn’s turn to blush at the compliment, and he stepped over to the chair beside the bed, plopping down into it. “You’re such a dork.”

“Says the giant nerd.” Rhys stuck his tongue out at the other, before his expression shifted to that of a pout. “This fuckin sucks dude. I can’t see out of one eye, I don’t have my other arm and they won’t let me have it back, and I feel awful. Everything huuurts.” As if to emphasize this, he sneezed, bending over slightly at the force of it. “Ugh…”

“You know, none of this would be the case if you had just gotten your flu shot. Or taken care of yourself like a normal person and stayed home sick instead of working yourself to death.”

“Hey, you can’t make it up in the company without a little bit of effort.”

“Dude, you could have died. The doctor even said so!”

“But I didn’t.”

“Yeah, because I saved your sorry ass.”

“And that makes you my hero.” Rhys fake swooned at this, before grinning once more.

“I thought Handsome Jack was your hero,” Vaughn raised a brow, remembering his boyfriend’s obsession with the man.

“He was. But now he’s just a close second to the real superhero. My very own adorable boyfriend.”

Vaughn snickered. “I’m more than adorable. Don’t forget I’m strong too. I carried you around practically all of Helios.”

“You sure did man. How the hell did you even manage that? You’re so tiny!”

“Hey! I’m not that small. And, well, I have been working out a lot more lately.”

“How much? Like every hour? Do you even lift bro?”

“Fuck yeah I lift bro. I lifted your heavy ass.”

“I’m not that heavy!”

“Yeah you are. But it’s cute.”

Rhys frowned, pouting slightly at the comment. His eyes betrayed his amusement, however.

“Stop pouting, you dork.”

“I’m not...I’m not pouting.”

“Yes you are, right there.” Vaughn pointed to Rhys’ lips, indicating his pouty expression.

“Where, right here?” Rhys pointed to the same place, a smile threatening to tug at his face as he did so.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know if I’m getting the right place. I think you’re gonna have to show me. With your lips.”

“Oh my god, you’re a dork.” Vaughn snickered, before leaning in and kissing the other once more.

After they pulled away, Rhys was smiling once more. “Yeah, but I’m your dork.”

“Yeah you are.”

He kissed the other again, and again, deeper and closer than before. They continued like that for some time, only stopping when the nurse walked in on them to tell Vaughn he would have to leave soon. After a few minutes, Vaughn reluctantly pulled away from the other, frowning slightly as he looked at his boyfriend.

“Sucks that you can’t stay here with me. You were really good at cuddling, dude.”

“I was, was I?”

“You gave...like...the best cuddles.”

“Hmm...well when you get out of here I can give you all the cuddles you want. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds like the best plan you’ve had all day.”

“Alright, goodbye bro. I’ll be back tomorrow after work to check on you.” He gave Rhys one last kiss, before beginning to depart.

“Goodbye. I hate to see you leave, but damn I love to watch you go.”

Vaughn paused in the doorway, turning to waggle his eyebrows at Rhys and do finger guns before leaving. They both were snickering as Vaughn headed back to his own quarters for the night.

Over the next few days, Rhys continued to recover, growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that he wasn’t working, and that he had nothing to do during his time in the hospital when Vaughn wasn’t around. However, the pain in his chest, as well as everywhere else, tended to remind him why exactly he was here. That didn’t stop him from attempting to escape a few times. After all, he still had to finish that project. Even if his boss had given him an extension, his shot at a promotion would be closer the sooner he finished it.

His most successful attempt had been in the middle of the night, where he had gotten halfway to his own quarters before he started coughing, his lungs burning with every release. He started to feel lightheaded, the room began to spin around him, and the ground was suddenly much closer than he remembered. He woke up on the floor, with Vaughn kneeling beside him and shaking him awake. He seemed incredibly pissed, although through the fog in his mind, he couldn’t exactly figure out why. He snickered, finding the angry expression, as well as the gibberish Vaughn seemed to be speaking incredibly hilarious. Suddenly, the ground was no longer below him, and he seemed to be flying. He mentioned as much to Vaughn, who only shook his head and continued to speak something that didn’t make any sense to the cybernetic man. He continued to giggle at the gibberish, before slowly drifting off into a fevered sleep once more.

When he awoke, shaking and panting, Vaughn was nowhere to be found. He yelped, fear gripping him as he realized that he must’ve been kidnapped. He stood up on shaky legs from the bed, suddenly determined to find his boyfriend. Obviously, since Vaughn wasn’t here, he must have been kidnapped. And Rhys had to save him. Unfortunately, he was shoved back to the bed by some strange woman, whose hair was glowing an odd yellow. He struggled against her, demanding he be taken to Vaughn, before he finally gave up out of exhaustion, crashing back to the bed tiredly. He was beginning to drift off, when Vaughn entered the room out of breath. He stepped over to Rhys worriedly, grabbing the other’s hand gently.

“Dude…I’m here. What did you need? What’s wrong? Why was I told you tried to leave again?”

“I thought you’d been kidnapped.”

Vaughn huffed, shaking his head slightly. “Well I wasn’t. You’re supposed to be getting better. If you hadn’t have left the first time, this wouldn’t have happened. Stop being an idiot and just take care of yourself, for once.”

“But...I thought...they took you.”

Vaughn deflated slightly, sitting down next to the bed once more. “I’m here Rhys. Nobody took me. I am perfectly okay. But you need to stop worrying about me, and worry about yourself. You’re not gonna get better if you keep making stupid decisions.” He pet the other’s hair gently as he spoke, smiling sympathetically at the other.

The hair petting soothed the other, and Rhys began to drift off, nodding slightly. “Alright...I’ll try bro.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Finally, Rhys was well enough to be released, and was sent home with orders to rest and take care of himself for the next week. Not an easy task for the cybernetic man, who was still determined to make it to the top as fast as possible. However, Vaughn had managed to convince his boss to let him use his vacation time, and wound up keeping his boyfriend company for the remaining week of his sick leave. And as promised, Vaughn gave Rhys as many cuddles as the other wanted.

“You know, if this happens again I’m gonna break up with you.” Vaughn stated, breaking off a kiss to stare pointedly at his boyfriend. It was two days before Rhys was allowed to go back to work, and the man was feeling much better.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, bro.”

“Nah. I like dating you. I don’t think I wanna test it.”

“That’s what I thought. So get your flu shot and take care of yourself when you're sick next time, or I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“I don’t know, I think I’d like you to kick my ass. Prove to me just how strong my handsome boyfriend is, that he can kick even my ass.”

“Your ass isn’t that hard to kick.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, really.” With that, Vaughn flipped both of them over, so Rhys was on his back on the bed. Holding the other’s hands over his head gently, he leaned in, kissing the other hard. When he finally broke it off, Rhys was grinning up at him.

“Alright, I believe you.”

“That’s what I thought, punk.”

“Dork.”

“Nerd.”

“Dweeb.”

“Hottie.”

“Goddammit, I love you Vaughn,” Rhys chuckled slightly.

“I love you too, Rhys. I love you too. So don't ever scare me like that again."

"I'll try my best."

"Do or do not, there is no try."

They both snickered at the reference, before it devolved into kissing once more. Things were finally looking up, for the both of them.