Archive of Our Own ^beta

Max pushed himself halfway up and blinked in the direction of the entryway. He was sick, but he was pretty sure he heard the door opening and closing, and it shouldn't have. No one else was home this weekend. He was certainly not expecting to see Ryan.

"What are you doing here?"

"Dude, I know where the spare key is." Ryan held up a bag. "I brought you some vodka."

Max made a face at him. Just the thought made him want to go back to sleep and never get up.

Ryan laughed, too loud for how Max felt. "No, come on. Your sister would kick my ass. It's chicken soup."

"I'm going to kick your ass," Max muttered.

"Nah. You love me."

Max flopped back down onto the couch when Ryan went toward the kitchen. It was comforting, in a way, to have him rustling around.

Ryan came back with a bowl, a glass, and a DVD tucked under his arm. Max sat up and took the bowl from him. It really was chicken soup.

"Aren't you having any?"

"I ate." Ryan put the glass on the coffee table and put in the DVD.

"That's not more weird porn, is it?"

"Nope." Ryan sat down just as The Princess Bride opening titles started to play and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table.

The soup was good, and the glass was full of orange juice, and Princess Bride was a good movie for watching while sick. Eating tired him out, though, and by the time he was done with the soup, Max was ready to lie back down. He tried, but there wasn't enough room with Ryan there.

"You're taking up all of my couch."

Ryan laughed. "Come on, we can share." And then he was pulling Max up the couch and lying down with him.

"This is never going to work."

"Do you know how many girls I've spooned on couches just like this one?" Ryan wasn't lying about his experience; he got them both settled on the couch in such a way that Max didn't feel either squished or like he was going to fall off of it.

"You're going to get sick."

"I have a strong immune system." Ryan rubbed his knuckles against the back of Max's neck. It felt really good. "You'll be more comfortable if you take your glasses off."

"I won't be able to see the movie."

"You're falling asleep anyway."

Ryan was right, so Max took off his glasses and watched the indistinct shapes of the movie until he really did fall asleep.

Three days later, when Max was feeling better and Ryan was feeling like death, Max let himself into Ryan's apartment with a take-out container of soup, a carton of orange juice, and The Princess Bride.