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It was barely morning, but Beau was up and ready for yoga with Caduceus.
It was one of those sacred rituals. It didn't matter that it was Sunday or what her week was like or the awful email she got from her dad last night. All of that was pushed from her skin through her sweat, through the quiet sounds of movement and breathing.
Caduceus had the best energy for this kind of thing, calming and stable. Which made mornings like this all the more stark.
"You, uh, you good Cad?" she asked the instant she saw him.
He was upright, tired eyes forced open and gray skin gone feverish-pink in places. He wore a hoodie, something worn and too familiar to Beau to belong to Caduceus. Sure, it was fall, but it wasn't nearly cold enough for him to wear sleeves. Not when he preferred to go shirtless for yoga.
"I'm perfectly fine," he lied.
Hearing the rasp in his throat, she frowned. "You've caught something."
"Clays don't get sick."
She snorted. "Well, maybe you've been spending too much time with your mortal friends. Not enough tea."
"It's just a little cough," he insisted. "Maybe allergies."
His lies were weak, telling more about his condition than anything else.
"Just go back to bed, dude," Beau said. She pulled her phone out of her leggings' pocket and shot a quick text.
Caduceus moved to roll out his yoga mat. "No time today. After yoga and meditation, I need to start breakfast. We were all too busy yesterday, and I won't skip two weekend breakfasts in a row."
"We'd survive," Beau said, but didn't push it. Instead she unrolled her own mat, playing along. Caduceus regarded her suspiciously.
Then, the stairs. "Caduceus."
There was the slightest guilty flinch from Caduceus at the voice. They turned to see Fjord on the bottom step. His hair was disheveled, he wore tattered sleeping clothes that were much too long for him, but his eyes were bright and alert.
"Did you take your temperature this morning?" Fjord asked.
"I feel --"
"Not what I asked."
Caduceus shot Beau a look, some mixture between a plea for help and an admonishment for tattling. She stuck out her tongue.
"Caduceus, just come back to bed," Fjord insisted. "I'll handle the plants today, and I can run and get you some medicine."
Caduceus opened his mouth to object, but a sharp look from Fjord silenced him. He slumped, looking much more tired than before as he slowly dragged himself upstairs. As he went, he muttered about disappointing everyone and his family's constitution.
When he was gone, Fjord said to Beau, "Thanks for waking me. He was looking off yesterday, but, well… You know how he is."
"No problem, man," she said with a wave of her arm. "And, uh, I'll figure out something for breakfast."
"Thank you," Fjord said again. Then he rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter he won't be able to participate - he'll whine all day about letting everyone down if weekend breakfast doesn't happen."
Beau chuckled. "You just worry about him. And the plants, I guess. But hey, text me what you need for him and I'll pick it up. Gotta hit the store anyway for breakfast."
"Wildmother knows he'll need constant supervision to stay resting," Fjord said with a little smile. There always seemed to be a secret joy he took in helping Caduceus, after all the firbolg had done for him.
"Who needs supervision?" came Jester's chipper voice. Up a little early, especially with her fully dressed in a bright yellow sundress, but not unheard of.
"Cad is sick," Beau explained. "Fjord is acting as nurse, and I'm going to get groceries and do...something for breakfast."
Jester gasped. "Oh, poor Caduceus! I'll go with you, Beau. I need some things anyway."
Fjord nodded, climbing back into the attic - Caduceus's room. Jester and Beau grabbed the house's reusable bags and set out on foot for the store.
"If we didn't need to get Caduceus some medicine, we could go to the farmer's market," Jester mused.
Beau's phone beeped - the list from Fjord.
He's being fussy, it read at the end.
lol what a baby
"We could do both," Beau said as she typed. "Just take more time."
Jester considered it, tapping her chin while several bags dangled around her elbow. "But I don't want breakfast to be late. Maybe, since it's not Caduceus cooking, it'll be okay not to shop at the market."
"Ooh, we can get meat and eggs and shit," Beau realized.
Jester gasped, reflecting her excitement. "Let's get bacon! I've been craving some really crispy bacon."
"Just do all the stuff we don't normally have? Like eggs and bacon and, I dunno, something with cheese?"
Jester clapped her hands once and launched off on her ideas from there. At the store, their brilliant plans for cooking fell before the allure of pre-made pastries and sliced bagels. Still, they bought eggs and bacon to cook properly amongst their slew of prepared foods.
"Nothing wrong with a shortcut," Beau said in the checkout line.
"We should tell them we made it all," Jester said as she admired a strawberry pastry they'd gotten. "Take pictures of them on plates and send them to Caduceus."
Beau laughed. "Even feverish he would see right through that."
Jester giggled back, then the person in front of them in line left.
They shoved all their groceries into bags, double checking against Fjord's list, then began the heavier trek home.
Back at the Xhorhaus, they laid out all the prepared foods nicely before tackling the harder task.
"What kind of eggs can you make?" Beau asked Jester. Jester hummed, then pulled out her phone. "Maybe just scrambled, then?"
Fjord poked his head in as they began cooking. "Medicine?"
"It's all in the red bag," Jester said.
Beau half turned to ask, "How is he?"
Fjord sighed fondly as he checked the bag. "Restless. As expected. By the time I get back up there he'll be halfway down the stairs."
"It's sweet that you're taking care of him," Jester teased.
Fjord flushed a slightly darker shade of green. "Uh, yeah. I mean, it's what partners do. He'd do the same for me."
"And you'd be just as difficult," Beau laughed.
He shook his head to hide his smile, then took the bag and headed back up. After a moment, they heard a stern, "Why are you up?"
They turned back to their work, Beau working on the eggs while Jester fried up the bacon. Side by side, shoulders bumping with each movement. It was nice. Quiet.
"It's nice that Caduceus and Fjord have each other for things like this," Jester said suddenly. "For when someone gets sick and stuff."
"It's kinda the point, right? Sickness and in health? They're not married, but you get the idea."
Jester frowned at the bacon as if it'd said something hurtful. Beau would need to have words with it later. "When I was little, Mama always took care of me when I got sick. And the Traveler would keep me company. But he's busier these days, and I can't go home just because of a cold. What happens if I get sick?"
"You have all of us here," Beau said, gesturing around them. "If Fjord and Caduceus weren't dating, we'd still take care of Cad, you know? And we'd take care of you, too."
"Would you keep me company if I got sick?" Jester asked softly.
The answer was instantaneous. "Of course. I'd take care of you, Jes. If you wanted me to, I mean."
Jester smiled, not her usual sunny grin but her soft, comforted smile. Then she straightened and focused on flippin bacon. "I'd take care of you, too, Beau."
"It's a deal, then."
Jester hummed a little tune to herself as they finished breakfast. She ran around upstairs to announce breakfast without her usual cacophony, for Caduceus's sake.
Beau stayed in the kitchen to start cleaning up while she waited for everyone.
Friends took care of each other. It wasn't something strictly regulated to partners. But there was a line there, something she and Jester had blurred and wobbled along.
Or was it all in her head? Was it just a super close friendship, and Beau was reading into because of her stupid feelings? Why couldn't feelings be easy for once?
She washed her hands and moved over the table, leaning on the back of a chair. She glanced down at the plate of bacon, fragrant and steaming a little.
"Hey, guess what," she said. "Fuck you."
The sentiment, like her feelings, appeared to be one-sided. So Beau sighed and took a seat and smiled when her friends began piling in. And if anyone noticed she stared a little too much or too little at Jester, they kept their observations to themselves. For once.