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At first, Andrew suspected it was just a bad day. A heaviness in his head, a fog that made him pay less attention to practice than normal. He brushed both Neil’s concern and Kevin’s anger off in equal measure, just wanting to get back to his room and sleep for the rest of the day.
Neil didn’t comment when he burrowed beneath his blankets and didn’t talk for the rest of the night. The junkie eventually left him to sleep and watched games with Kevin in his room, but Andrew could feel his eyes on him as he walked away. At the moment, he was too tired to muster up the energy to feel bad about pushing him away. Neil could handle Andrew’s moods.
His bad day theory was proven wrong when he woke up with a throbbing headache. He sits up, only to find the world was tilting a little bit. Groaning, he lays back down. “Fuck.”
Neil, insufferable morning person that he is, is already up and back from a run. Andrew can hear him rummaging around in the kitchen. The noise is for Andrew’s benefit; he knows if he wanted to Neil could do his whole morning routine in near silence, so used to being unseen. But he doesn’t want to startle Andrew. It’s as annoyingly considerate as it is unnecessary.
He also knows without seeing that Neil’s getting two mugs of coffee, one for Andrew to wake him up before Neil goes to his 9:00 class, like he does every Thursday. “Don’t bother,” he tries to yell, but his voice comes out a thin, papery rasp.
Neil comes into the room then, before stopping short at the door. “You look like shit.”
“I’m not sick,” he says immediately.
“I’ll make you some tea,” Neil answers, turning on his heel and heading back into the kitchen.
“I don’t like tea,”
“Can’t hear you. I’m in the kitchen.”
Andrew wants to scream, but can’t muster the energy, so he just settles back against the headboard and closes his eyes.
A few minutes later, Neil is there, handing him a thermos of tea. He can barely taste it, which is ideal, but he can tell Neil put a truly obscene amount of honey in it. His throat still feels like it’s been shredded when he swallows, but he hides his grimace.
At least, he thinks he does. Neil’s face says otherwise. Or maybe Neil is just obnoxiously good at reading him.
“Shut up,” he rasps.
“Didn’t say anything,” Neil quips back.
“Your face speaks volumes.”
Neil smiles like it’s a love confession. “I’ll tell Coach you won’t be at practice.”
“Letting me play hooky, captain?”
“It’s a liability if you pass out. Lots of paperwork.” His face softens then. “I’ll come check on you later.”
“You don’t need to.”
“I know.”
Andrew doesn’t know if it’s being sick, or the discomfiting feeling of being...looked after that makes him feel like heaving, but he shuts his eyes in an effort to make it leave. He hears the click of the door shutting as Neil leaves and breathes out.
--
Kevin gets back from his own class about an hour later, and Andrew wakes at the sound of the door opening.
. “Neil was right- you do look like shit.”
“Unlike with Neil, I will throw this thermos at your head.”
Apparently it didn’t come across with the bite Andrew had intended, because Kevin just scoffs and throws something at him.
“Cold medicine?”
Kevin shrugs. “You’re too stubborn to take it on your own. So I’ll just stand here until that happens.”
He swallows the pills with the last drops of tea, wincing as they scrape his throat. “Did Neil put you up to this?”
“You think Neil would think of using medicine? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s never heard of cold medicine.”
Andrew grunts in assent, turning the thought over as Kevin retreats into his bedroom. If Neil didn’t put him up to it, Andrew doesn’t know what sparked Kevin’s sudden concern for his wellbeing. It was a cold. He wasn’t dying.
He had half convinced himself it was all a fever dream when he heard a knock. “Who’sit?”
The person didn’t bother answering, opening the door where Kevin had left it unlocked.
Andrew purses his lips. “I didn’t know a cold would turn my room into fucking Grand Central.”
“Relax. I’ll be gone in like two minutes.”
He watches as Aaron walks past him to the kitchen. “Nicky got you ice cream, even though I told him that dairy just makes sore throats worse. He wanted to bring it himself, but I told him the last thing you would want was him buzzing around. Here are some crackers if you get hungry.”
He was gone as soon as he’d arrived, and Andrew settles back under his blankets for a nap. When he wakes to a soft knock at the door, he glances at his phone and sees it’s close to dinner time.
“It’s me,” he hears, and recognizes Renee’s voice. “I’ll only be a minute.”
He thinks he mumbles, “Come in”.
“I brought you some soup, when you’re feeling up to it. And Dan, Allison, and Matt offered some of their DVDs in case you get bored. Allison says that bad movies are the best cure for a cold.”
He hums at that. “I think most doctors would disagree.”
Renee chuckles lightly at that. “Yes, well. They’re trying.”
He doesn’t know whether he wants to ask why. It seems a pointless question. “They know I probably wouldn’t do the same for them.”
Renee smiles. “They know. But I don’t suspect that that’s why they’re doing this.” She pauses at the door, evidently not expecting an answer. “Feel better, Andrew.”
--
Neil makes his reappearance shortly after that, once he’s done ending his day running drills with the freshmen strikers.
“You missed quite the parade in here,” Andrew greets him.
“Oh yeah?” he asks, making his way up to the loft.
“Yes. Kept me from taking the nap I wanted.”
“I don’t know. You looked pretty dead to the world when I came in earlier to check on you.”
“Well, I didn’t have to keep up with you running your mouth. That preserves energy.”
“You like my mouth,” Neil smirks, leaning in and stopping short of his mouth. “Yes?”
“You’ll get sick.”
“I don’t care. We have plenty of provisions.”
Andrew closes the gap with a short kiss. “I’m not sharing my soup. Or my ice cream.”
“Rude.”
Andrew doesn’t have the energy to deal with the look on Neil’s face, so he pushes his face away lightly. “That’s it for tonight.”
“Do you want me to sleep in my bed?”
From anyone else, it would come across petulant, but Andrew knows Neil means it. He also doesn’t have the energy to parse through the jolt that goes through him at the idea of Neil not being next to him.
Instead of voicing that, he shrugs. “Don’t whine when you get sick.”
Neil doesn’t answer, simply settling in next to him.
Andrew closes his eyes. “And don’t keep me awake with your staring.”
“Go to sleep, Andrew.”
He drifts off to the feeling of Neil’s hand in his hair, and the warmth of his body next to him. He knows the comfort won’t last, and he won’t always be okay with this, but for now, it’s enough.