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It really was just his luck to end up getting sick, and he knows that he only has himself to blame.
Clem had been sick first, and she had insisted that Louis keep his distance so that he wouldn’t end up getting sick, too. Naturally, he didn’t listen to her, assuring her that it would be fine. Well, he’s paying the price for that now.
“I told you,” Clem says, placing a cool rag over Louis’ forehead.
“And I told you; worth it,” Louis counters with a croak.
Even while being as sick as a dog, Louis couldn’t deny that he had no regrets.
“You are ridiculous.” Clem rolls her eyes, earning a faint grin from Louis.
“Only for you,” he insists, to which Clem makes a dismissive gesture.
“Well,” Clem says, handing over a bowl of soup for him, “Don’t go getting used to this now. This is only a one time thing, got it?”
The faint grin on Louis’ lips grows slightly as he responds, “Sure thing, Doc. I hear you loud and clear...”
He cradles the soup in his lap, playing with the contents in the bowl for a few moments. He can feel Clem’s eyes on him, and before she can comment, he’s glancing back up at her, grin growing a little more broad as he decides to push his luck a little.
“Y’know what would make me feel one hundred percent better?”
Clem knows she’s going to regret indulging him, but she really can’t help herself.
“What?”
“A kiss,” he says, tone so smooth Clem thinks she could die. “Whaddya say?”
Clem can feel the heat rise to her cheeks despite her best effort to shove it down. She struggles for a moment to find her words, but once she does, she’s crossing her arms and shooting him a look as she replies, “Nuh-uh. No way. Not until further notice!”
Louis had expected as much, and, as to be expected, he plays up the dramatics, sending her a big pout and hitting her with the biggest puppy-dog eyes he can manage.
“What? C’mon now, Clem! After all I did for you when you were sick? And you can’t even spare me a single kiss?”
Clem snorts at him, rolling her eyes, arms still crossed.
“Oh, calm down, Drama King… It’s not the end of the world. Just think of this as — I dunno — An ‘IOU’ or something. Kiss pending. Until you’re better.”
Louis pretends to think it over, moving his soup from his lap, to the bedside table, ignoring any of Clem’s protests. “Hm… Nah.”
Before Clem can even register what’s happening, Louis has reached out, curling his fingers gently around her arm and pulling her down, into the bed with him.
“Louis!!” she yelps, with giggles following close behind.
“You brought this on yourself!” Louis yells mischievously, letting her go and digging his fingers into her sides.
Clem immediately starts thrashing, fighting to pry his hands away from her abdomen, yelling out for him to stop, and when he doesn’t, she has no choice but to follow through with his demands.
Sure enough, feeling her lips pressing themselves lightly to his cheek is enough to have the tickling cease and a shit-eating grin forms on louis’ lips.
“If I woulda known that all it’d take for you to kiss me was to tickle you, I woulda done it a long time ago,” Louis teases, making Clem roll her eyes at him.
“Shut up,” she grumbles, poking him in the chest. “You’re lucky I kissed you at all.”
She would’ve caved and kissed him, anyway, but she isn’t about to tell him that.
“Oh, trust me, I believe it,” Louis says, still grinning. “Buuuut...maybe it couldn’t hurt to try to press my luck a little further…”
Clem just stares at him, expression deadpan, while he continues beaming at her with that annoyingly beautiful smile. Since when had she gotten so weak for him? How long had it taken before she was willing to smother his face with kisses, regardless of the consequences? She wasn’t sure, but she had a feeling that Louis had figured just how he made her feel.
“Y’know, I really can’t stand you sometimes…” Clem’s hands are encasing Louis’ warm, freckled cheeks, squishing them, and before Louis can think of some witty retort, she’s moving in to kiss him properly. It only lasts a few seconds before she’s pulling away.
“There’s your kiss, so now you can quit asking,” Clem says, voice flat. It doesn’t deter Louis though.
“Oh, sorry Clemster, I’m afraid that I’m always gonna ask.” His arms wrap around her waist, holding her in place. Clem doesn’t even try to fight him.
“Even when you’re sick and should be sleeping, apparently…” Clem moves a hand from Louis’ cheek and flicks his nose.
Louis’ nose wrinkles in response and he momentarily leans his head back, away from her, but his arms stay wrapped around her, unwilling to let her go.
“I’d sleep better with you here with me,” he says, an underlying hopefulness to his tone as he extends the invitation.
Clem is quiet for a few moments before she’s sighing.
“I really shouldn’t. Ruby’d kill me if I let you get me sick again.”
“Hey, if you’re gonna get sick, you will. You’ve already kissed me and you’re still laying here with me, so I’d say the damage is already done.” Louis’ lips twitch slightly, but his smile doesn’t falter.
“You don’t know that,” Clem denies, half-heartedly. He probably has a point, but she wouldn’t like to believe it. Getting sick once is torture enough. “And besides, if I lay here, you’ll just wanna kiss me again, anyway.”
Louis actually chuckles when she says that.
“I’ll have you know that I’m always wanting to kiss you, thank you very much.”
“All the more reason I should go,” Clem responds. “Don’t need to tempt you any more than I already am.”
“Hey, c’mon,” Louis tries, one more time, as a last ditch effort. “I promise not to kiss you again if you stay. We can just... cuddle until we fall asleep. Besides, your immune system has to be stronger at this point, right? After just recovering from being sick and all that…”
Louis gets so bored being alone, and he has a tendency to overthink things if he has no one around to talk to. He doubts he’d be able to fall asleep, and besides that, he really enjoys Clem’s company.
“I don’t actually know about all that…” Clem says, unsure, but the puppy-dog look Louis is shooting her way makes her sigh. “But okay, fine. I’ll stay.”
That’s all it takes to have Louis grinning at her again. He gives her a squeeze, and Clem moves a hand to rest on his shoulder.
“Don’t say anything,” she warns, knowing that he always has something smart to say. “Just close your eyes and go to sleep.”
Surprisingly enough, Louis does as he’s told. Maybe the cold has really gotten to him, because Clem is fairly certain that he drifts off rather quickly. That’s a good thing though, she supposes; he needs his rest.
She figures that she could probably take this opportunity to sneak away, but at the risk of waking Louis up, and actually being rather comfortable, she decides against it.
Instead, Clem moves the hand she has on Louis’ cheek, and can’t resist as she gently starts tracing over his freckles, making all types of pretty constellations until she can feel her own eyelids starting to grow heavy, and she, too, drifts off.