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Law had spent the entire night in his study room again.
This was, regrettably, an increasingly common occurrence in recent months and, to be honest? Soren hadn’t even known that he was home until this morning… When he’d come rushing out, poured himself a large cup of straight black coffee and chugged half of it before he’d even turned away from the counter completely, smooched them on the cheek, and bolted out the front door like the Devil himself was on his heels, tossing something over his shoulder about a seminar that they didn’t quite manage to catch. And they’d watched the proceedings with a mixture of frustration, confusion, and amusement… Although ultimately they settled on frustration.
They were alone in the apartment.
Again.
They’d come to expect it by now, of course―Law was a busy guy. He was in medical school, for Pete’s sake.
… But it didn’t make them feel any less alone or frustrated. For being their boyfriend, Law wasn’t really around often enough to make it feel like it. He was a med student, of course, so they expected him to be sort of… Absent? But the last semester or so had been ridiculous. He spent more time in class or studying at his friends’ places than he did doing anything else, including even just sitting down for a meal with them.
And, sure, they knew he was getting into the really meaty bits of med school, there was a lot to do, but… He fell asleep at Bepo’s place all the time, and if he didn’t fall asleep there (or Penguin’s, or Shachi’s), he fell asleep in his study room at the desk which couldn’t be good for his back.
Personally, they hadn’t slept a full night in ages because, without him around, they had a whole lot more nightmares than they did when he was in bed with them, and it was starting to take its toll… But there wasn’t anything to be done. Because Law wasn’t ever here, and when he was here he was as exhausted as they were, so they really didn’t want him worrying about them.
Even if they were starting to think that they might be sick. Or getting sick, at least.
Sniffing and shaking their achy head, they slunk out of the kitchen and sat down at the computer. Sure, they were exhausted and they had a horrible headache and they’d need to take frequent breaks to blow their nose, but working on some commissions was the only thing they really had to occupy their time with that would actually occupy them instead of just letting them stew. It wasn’t like they could go to sleep, anyway.
They didn’t feel like dealing with a nightmare right now, thanks.
And if they started sleeping during the day, they’d see Law even less.
Ugh.
At least they still had the moon. When they couldn’t sleep at night, which happened most nights these days, they could just sit in the living room window and look up at the moon and… Well. Bitch a little, they guessed. The moon was their only friend for a long time, and if she could just hear them and talk back… Maybe they wouldn’t feel so lonely. Or maybe they would, since they could only see her at night, which was a lot like only being able to see Law when he was home and not busy.
But talking to the moon did still help a little.
Not a lot, but it was better than keeping it all bottled up, right?
They slogged their way, miserably, through the morning and afternoon, taking a few breaks to blow their nose and attend to other needs but otherwise focusing on the commissions they currently had. There were enough projects that, at least, when they got stuck on one they could switch to another, so that was… Nice? Aside from the money aspect and the distraction aspect, of course.
Still, when late afternoon came, their throat was sore and their body was aching. From sitting here all day or from something else, they couldn’t be sure. They’d be fine, ultimately, anyway, so it wasn’t like it would matter. And if they could just get Law home to sleep for a couple of nights with them in bed they’d probably feel worlds better! This was probably just from not sleeping enough.
Maybe.
Whatever.
They sighed, easing themself up out of the chair and slinking to the bathroom to scrub their face a little, hoping the cool water would help their headache. Were they getting a fever? Probably not. It was probably just that their hands were just cold from the water.
They blew their nose, wincing, and coughed.
They wished Law was here. He usually made them feel better.
But he didn’t get a break from classes and studying for another couple of months, so they’d just have to survive until then. Which… Wasn’t as easy as they were hoping, if they were honest. They’d thought they could handle him being more busy but really it kind of… Sucked? Really bad? And they did understand, and they’d never ask him to stop or somehow put his dream aside for their sake, but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck.
They’d manage, in the end, they were sure.
But, like, ugh.
And now they were starting to feel really fatigued, since they hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours in weeks, so that was great.
Hopefully Law would come home to sleep tonight. They didn’t recall him having any study sessions planned that he’d told them about, so…
Yeah. Hopefully.
They trudged into the kitchen to get themself some water, leaning heavily against the counter while they filled the cup. Maybe they should drink some tea for their sore throat? Eh, but water would do fine.
Holding the water turned out to be something of an ordeal, but they powered through it and drank the whole glass. It did make their throat feel better, thank goodness. Maybe they just hadn’t been drinking enough lately. That was always a possibility. They already weren’t sleeping enough, so…
They drank another glass, feeling moderately better, and started to make their way back to the computer after shutting off the kitchen light. Their phone chimed to alert them to a text, sitting next to the keyboard. It was starting to get late, and the sun would be going down in a couple of hours, and if all went well Law would be here tonight to sleep. They wanted to get some work done while they were still awake enough to do it, you know?
They flicked on the living room lamp as they entered the room, but they only made it about three more steps into the room before everything tipped sideways and they found themself on the floor. Their limbs felt like half-set jelly, and they…
They were so tired...
Law had really been hoping to go to class and then go straight back home today.
He’d barely gotten any time to relax in weeks and today shouldn’t have been difficult―one of his seminars was primarily review and the other classes he had weren’t the hardest classes he’d ever taken by any stretch. He had all the homework he knew of done, he’d already spent a more than reasonable amount of time studying for all of his upcoming tests that he was aware of, and he was fairly sure there weren’t any more assignments for the rest of the week. Easy day. Should be able to go and then go home and hang out with Soren and/or lounge around while they worked on commissions.
Hadn’t gone like that, unfortunately, because as it turned out there was a test he had forgotten about and it was next week. And it counted for about 30% of his final grade.
So he’d had to run to Bepo’s place as soon as he was out of his last class of the day and start cramming just to make sure he knew the material well enough to get by with hopefully taking a couple of days off from studying.
He sighed, shoulders hunched up, as he made his way up the apartment building’s stairs and got his keys out. It was later than he’d wanted to come home, but still a lot earlier than some of the study sessions he’d attended this semester.
It was odd, though―Soren usually kept their phone on them even when they were working and it had been three hours since he sent them a text warning them he’d be home later than he expected… They hadn’t replied yet, or even read the text from what he could tell. Of course it was always possible that they were just wrapped up in work and had only read the initial notification. They probably intended to reply, but hadn’t gotten a chance or had simply forgotten by the time they took a break from working.
Didn’t mean it wasn’t sort of weird. They usually replied as soon as they saw a message like that, even if it was just with a simple “okay” or a thumbs up.
He hoped they were okay, although it was probably pure paranoia to think something was wrong just because they hadn’t responded to a text. They could even just have gone to bed early, for all he knew, or taken a nap. Or they could be mad at him, or they could have left their phone in the kitchen this morning and just not thought to go grab it at any point in the day. There were a lot of possibilities.
He shook it off and unlocked the front door.
“Soren?” He called, softly, as he stepped in and stepped out of his shoes, shrugging off his jacket as he bumped the door shut with his hip, “I’m home, Bunny.”
Receiving no reply, he frowned a little, but ultimately decided that they were probably just in bed. Or they may have headphones on… But at this hour an early bedtime was more likely, even if they didn’t seem to be going to bed early or napping a whole lot lately.
With that in mind, though, it was even more odd to notice that the living room’s main lamp seemed to be on, judging by the amount of light. Soren usually shut it off before they went to bed… So maybe they were just working with headphones in. It would make sense. They always did best with music, although he thought they preferred playing it through the speakers to keep from hurting their ears.
Oh well, if they were in bed, maybe they’d left it on for him? Or simply forgotten to turn it off, as unlikely as that was.
He stepped into the room, ready to cross to the lamp and turn it off on his way to the bedroom, since dinner clearly wasn’t in the cards tonight unless he ordered something, because Soren usually cooked and he he didn’t have the energy to whip anything up right now, personally.
But then, he saw them.
He saw Soren laying in the middle of the living room floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut―simply piled there like they’d fallen over suddenly and hadn't gotten up.
He went to them immediately, kneeling at their side and checking them over. They were breathing, shallowly, and their forehead was scorching to the touch. They seemed lethargic, eyes barely peeking open to look at him before they fell closed again. They wheezed, softly, hand twitching toward him, and then they winced and shuddered, face scrunching up in discomfort.
They were clearly sick, and had been for a while, and Law was furious with himself for not noticing sooner. If they were in this state then they must have been working up to it for a couple of days… And, lord, the dark circles under their eyes just made him feel worse. Had they been sleeping? Were the circles simply a result of fatigue from being ill, or from them staying up when they knew they shouldn’t?
Were they having nightmares again?
Immensely guilty and even more frustrated, he carefully slipped his arms under them and shifted them up into his hold, against his chest. They whined, softly, squeezing their eyes shut, but thankfully the only other thing they did was relax against him. He sighed softly, getting up as slowly as he could so he wouldn’t jostle them too much, and carried them to bed. After laying them down and getting them tucked in, he stroked their hair for a moment, pushing it up off their heated forehead.
“Hey,” He said, softly, “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”
Soren groaned at him, but after a moment they managed to blink their eyes open in the much darker environment of the bedroom and squint at him. “... H-headache,” They mumbled, “Shak― Shaky. Tired. Stuffed up. M-muscles hurt.”
He frowned. Could be a cold, or could be the flu. Either way they’d need rest, decongestants, and something for their headache if at all possible. Lots of fluids, any healthy solids they could keep down… It seemed like it was probably the flu, so he’d need to start in on helping them immediately.
“Okay,” He said, “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna run to the store to get something to help, alright?”
“Mm,” Soren said, closing their eyes and furrowing their brow a little.
“Be back in a half-hour. Try to sleep.”
“Mm,” Soren said again.
He got up from the edge of the bed, making his way back to the front door and putting his jacket and shoes back on. He could grab food while he was out, he guessed―probably soup. Sprite or cola wouldn’t be a bad idea…
He drew up the shopping list in his head and jotted it into a memo on his phone, then called Bepo.
“Okay,” He said, “Listen. Soren’s sick and I’m gonna need someone to lend me a hand. I don’t want to leave them alone in the apartment all day while they need me.”
“Soren’s a grown-up, Law,” Bepo said, in a very light and good-natured tone that let Law know he was joking, “They can take care of themself.” Then, “What do you need us to do?”
“Mostly I think I’ll need someone to record the lectures for me?” He hated sounding unsure, if he was honest, but he… Wasn’t sure if that would work. Obviously he could email his teachers―most, if not all, of them would understand―but getting more time on assignments was a different beast than trying to make sure he got the actual lecture and not just the book reading he’d need to do to get his notes otherwise. “So if you can convince someone to do that, that’d be great. I should still be able to make it in for the tests…”
“Boss,” He sighed in return, fondly exasperated, “Leave it to us, okay? Let somebody else worry for once. You’re gonna stress yourself to death, big guy.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Law hated admitting he was right, too, but he knew he was.
“I’ll text you when me and the guys come up with something.” Bepo promised, “And we will come up with something, so you just worry about being there for your joyfriend or so help me…”
It was an empty threat, he knew, but it still made him feel a little sheepish. “Sure, sure.”
“Bye, boss. Don’t give yourself any aneurisms or anything! Soren needs you, you stubborn mule.”
“I’ll try,” And, thankfully, the joke got him to crack a smile and lightened his mood considerably.
The actual store visit didn’t last terribly long. Law had a list and he had his wallet, so it was only a matter of piling the necessary items into a basket, then checking out. And yeah, sure, he spontaneously grabbed a couple of things, but he grabbed them in passing and didn’t think too much about it so there wasn’t really any delay. In the end he spent more than he meant to, but ultimately he didn’t care.
All of it was for Soren, which made it worth it.
He paid, took his bags, and headed home.
He ended up with two bottles of the actually decent Cold/Flu medicine (one daytime, one nighttime), some Vix, headache medicine since they were running low at home anyway, canned chicken soup, crackers, a couple of two liters of Sprite, a stuffed rabbit he thought Soren would like, tissues, and a box of hot cocoa. The last three weren’t on his list and were grabbed at random, and a lot of the price was in the rabbit, but it had been a while since he got anything for them and he was pretty sure they’d appreciate something to hold onto when he wasn’t there, especially right now.
Returning home and kicking his shoes back off, then taking off his jacket again, he headed straight to the kitchen to warm them up some chicken soup―the cocoa, regrettably, would need to wait until they were feeling good enough to keep it down. Chicken soup was easier on the stomach.
He poured them a glass of Sprite, for now, and headed into the bedroom with the items and a package of crackers.
“Hey,” He said, softly, after setting the items on the bedside table, “You still awake?”
“Mm,” Came Soren’s muffled reply as they peeked out from under the cover.
“Can you sit up for me? We need to get some food in you. Medicine too, probably.”
With a little help, he was able to get them sitting up and leaning against the headboard. They were able to hold the bowl of soup in their lap and feed themself, even if their arms shook a little, so he let them while keeping an eye on them just in case.
Halfway through the bowl, which took considerably longer than it would have under any other circumstances, Soren paused and swallowed.
“Sorry,” They said, like they were somehow doing something wrong by being sick, “Know you’re busy.”
“It’s fine,” He said, laying a hand on their thigh and smiling a little, “Don’t worry about it, okay?”
“Okay,” They said, though they didn’t seem sure, “... Thank you.”
“Of course.” He leaned in, pressing a kiss to their still-hot forehead. They were a little sweaty now, but that was fine. He wasn’t one to shy away from a little sweat. “Think you can stomach a little medicine?”
They nodded, and he got up long enough to grab the associated bags from the kitchen.
He gave them a dose of the cold medicine first, then the headache medicine. They grimaced through the ordeal, taking a sip of the Sprite to wash the taste of the cold medicine out, then another to wash down the headache pills. Hopefully it would help, and they’d be able to get some sleep.
“Oh,” He said, after they had finally finished their soup and eaten a few crackers, “I almost forgot.” He leaned down and picked the stuffed bunny up out of the bag, turning to them and offering it, “This made me think of you,” He admitted, “And I thought you might like it.”
They looked between him and the bunny for a second before gingerly taking it in their shaky hands and hugging it to their chest with a small smile. “Thanks. I love it.”
He smiled a little in return. Grabbed one of the boxes of tissues he’d bought and sat it on the bedside table, “Thought you might appreciate these, too.”
They giggled softly, “I do.”
He leaned in to kiss their forehead again, “Okay, be right back again. I need to throw something together to eat real quick.”
They nodded, sliding down further in bed and getting comfortable.
In the end he made a sandwich and all but inhaled it in both his rush to eat it and the sudden realization of how hungry he was. He hadn’t eaten at all today until now. He grimaced at that, but resolved that both he and Soren would be eating at least two meals a day for as long as Soren was sick.
He shut off the kitchen light, then the living room one. Headed to the bedroom and changed into a pair of sleep pants before slipping into bed with his sick and exhausted datemate, who hummed and shifted closer. He held them against his chest and buried his head in their hair, sighing softly. He’d missed this―he fell asleep at his desk or at Bepo’s place so often that he didn’t really do this very much anymore.
And that might be part of the problem. For both of them.
Going from sleeping alone all the time, to sleeping together all the time, to sleeping together only very rarely wasn’t a nice adjustment. And he’d bet that they had probably been having nightmares, which he felt immensely bad for. He needed to go about this better―no more falling asleep at his desk and from now on he was telling Bepo to kick him if he fell asleep while studying at his place.
He yawned, settling in a little better and inevitably falling asleep.
He turned his alarm off in the morning without even getting out of bed―he merely tucked himself back against his datemate and laid there even as they started to stir.
“... Gonna be late,” They mumbled to him, sounding a little worried, after several minutes.
“Not going,” He said in return, kissing the top of their head, “Go back to sleep, Bunny.”
“But…”
“No buts,” He nuzzled them, “Sleep, you need it.”
They grumbled, but without any energy or real forcefulness, shifting a little before going still. And he felt it about the moment they dropped back off to sleep.
He only shifted far enough to grab his phone from the bedside table before settling back in, and thankfully Bepo had already texted him with a full plan for what he and the others were going to do to ensure he got his work done without going to class.
Awesome.
That meant he really could just stay here until he inevitably had to go into class to take a test tomorrow.
He texted a thank you and settled in to hold his datemate until they woke back up so he could give them some medicine. Everything else could wait. This was more important.