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"Is it cold in here?" Sirius asked.
James paused to take stock of how he felt. He was in muggle trousers and a short sleeved tee that he'd stolen from Sirius. It was more than Sirius was wearing right now, but he was perfectly comfortable with the temperature of their flat. "It feels fine to me."
Sirius hummed, then walked to their room to grab a jumper. He pulled it on, and James didn't think anything about it.
When they were going to bed, Sirius grabbed an extra blanket and put it on top of his side.
"We can turn up the heater, if you want," James offered. It would be too warm for him then, but he could always kick off the blankets on his side, if he wanted. Or he could turn on the fan and put a third blanket on Sirius's side. Would that be too much? He didn't know. They hadn't been sharing a bed for so long that he knew what to do without asking.
"I'll be fine," Sirius said.
"Okay," James said with a shrug.
The next morning, Sirius was up before James. He had a beanie pulled over his hair along with the jumper now, and his face was flushed. He must be overheating in all that, but whatever, it was his business how he dressed, not James's. If he was too hot in the hat but didn't want to take it off, that was entirely up to him.
He shuffled around the flat all day, doing the usual chores that he did over the weekend while James took care of his own business.
To be honest, James didn't notice that anything was wrong. Yes, Sirius looked like he was overheating himself, and it's true that he was moving a lot slower than usual, but it's not like all he was doing was looking at Sirius-- something he had done quite a bit of while at Hogwarts when he was just starting to fancy Sirius; he'd stare at him all day to the exclusion of pretty much everything else in his life at the time.
It was only that afternoon, when Sirius tried to sit on the couch, missed, and fell on the floor then didn't really move from where he'd landed on his butt that James knew something was wrong.
"Bugger, are you okay?" James asked, hurrying over. He knelt down next to him.
Sirius's eyes were glassed over, and his mouth was slightly ajar as he tried to catch his breath. He was sweating, but he hadn't taken off the hat.
With a frown, James reached for it. When his fingers brushed against Sirius's skin, he paused. He turned his hand and pressed the back of his hand against Sirius's cheek. "You're burning up."
Sirius licked his lips like he was going to reply, and his throat worked, but then nothing came out.
"You've got a fever, love. Why didn't you say anything?"
Sirius shivered.
Right, that could wait until later. Like, say, when he was feeling better.
"Took a Pepper-Up," Sirius slurred.
That explained why he'd been able to keep moving all day, even though he hadn't been feeling well. Still, James felt terrible that he hadn't noticed. There had been details to let him know, and he'd completely dismissed them, thinking that Sirius would've said something. But why would Sirius have said something? He'd never took a day off from classes when he got sick at Hogwarts. James had sort of been thinking that it would be different now that they were dating, but why would he think that? Sirius hadn't changed how little he wanted to listen to authority figures when he moved in with the Potter family, so there was no reason to think he'd be more open about being sick when he was dating someone.
"Have you eaten anything today?" James asked.
Sirius made a face. He was probably nauseous, and taking a Pepper-Up hadn't helped that in the slightest.
"C'mon," he said, grabbing Sirius's elbows and pulling him to his feet. "Let's get you in bed."
"It's too early," Sirius slurred.
"You don't have work tomorrow, and even if you did, I'd owl in for you, so that they knew not to expect you. I promise, your sleep schedule will survive this."
Sirius groaned, but James didn't actually know if it was in response to what he'd said, or if it was because standing up that quickly had been uncomfortable.
"We'll get you in bed, and I'll make you some soup. If you're feeling up for soup," he added. "Are you?"
Sirius made another noise, but James well and truly could not tell if it was affirmative or not.
Well, he'd just make the soup anyways, and they could reheat it if he wasn't hungry now. He'd need it sooner or later. What else would he need? Er, fluids, right? Water. Lots of water. And if not soup, then what was Sirius supposed to eat? It had been so long since James had been sick that he couldn't really remember. Besides, his mum had always taken care of him. He'd never had to deal with it himself. What had Mum always done? It was hard to remember because he'd always been sick at the time, and it's not like his powers of perception were that great to begin with. (It had taken him three months to realise that when Sirius kissed him, he didn't mean it as a friend, and Merlin had that been an awkward conversation to have.)
He'd get Sirius warm, make sure that he had food and water, and hopefully that would be enough. If not, well, he'd be able to figure it out.
He had to owl in sick for both of them come Monday, even though Sirius was lucid enough to insist that he was fine to work. James had taken one look at him and shot that idea down.
By that afternoon, Sirius's fever was gone, and he snuggled up to James on the couch after changing the sheets on their bed. "Thanks for taking care of me," he said.
"You're welcome. I know you'd do the same for me."
"Of course I would. Godric knows that I can't leave you to your own devices when you're sick."
"I was fourteen," James protested, knowing what Sirius was referring to.
"Padfoot, I'm dying," Sirius whined. "I'll never wake in the morning!"
"Sod off," James said with a laugh, giving him a shove. A gentle one though, because Sirius was still recovering. "You should've told me you were sick, love."
Sirius grimaced. "I didn't think it was necessary."
"I think it was necessary." He had needed for it to be shouted in his ear for him to notice that Sirius was sick. He hadn't noticed on his own. If he had, then he would agree that it wasn't necessary for Sirius to tell him flat out. "Really, I know it seems silly to you, but I'd feel a lot better if you'd tell me. In the future."
"It's that important to you?" Sirius asked after a moment.
James nodded.
"I'll do my best," he promised.
"That's all I can ask," James replied. While he would prefer to have a firm promise that Sirius would tell him the next time he was sick, he knew that this was the best it was going to get.