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Dedan woke up feeling as though there was a brick in his head. The sound of his alarm gave him a pounding headache. He sneezed, jolting Chester awake.
“Wha—what happened?!” His husband clamored for his glasses on the night stand.
Dedan was aware of the snot dribbling from the slits on his face acting as his nostrils. He grabbed a tissue from his night stand and blew his nose.
“Sorry, just allergies,” he said, tossing the tissue away and turning off his alarm.
“Are you sure?” Chester said as he threw the covers off.
“Fine, I’m fine,” he said, though painfully aware of his clogged sinuses.
“Okay, well, be sure to take some decongestant before we go.”
“Of course,” he slid the covers off, feeling the entire world warble around him as he sat up from the bed. It took him a minute to feel comfortable enough to stand on his feet.
Dedan was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, desperately chugging way too hot coffee to help soothe his sore throat.
“Dedan,” Alain, their cat, whined. “I’m so hungry.”
“Go bug Chester, he’s the one who feeds you.”
“But you have food now. Give me some.”
Dedan was about to respond, but he ended up coughing loudly into his apron.
Alain grinned, tail tip flicking mischievously. “You’re sick.”
“No, I’m not.” Though his stuffed sinuses made it sound more like “doe, I’m dot.”
“I’m telling Chester.”
“Don’t you dare! I’m sure I’ll be better by lunchtime.”
“I’m gonna do it.”
“Hush! Here, have some egg,” He scraped some off the pan and dropped it in Alain’s bowl.
“Chester’s gonna be mad when he finds out you’re going to work sick,” Alain said before nibbling at his unexpected treat.
Dedan knew Alain was right, but he also knew the new shipment of cows were coming in today. There was no way he could miss that. He had to make sure the farmers hadn’t shorted him like they did once before. Granted, it was a clerical error, they made up for it, and they haven’t done it since, but he just liked to be sure. There was no way he could relax without being there himself.
“Hey babe,” said Chester as he finished tying his bowtie and walked into the kitchen. “I had the weirdest dream last night.”
“Oh?” Dedan set the table for them to eat.
“Yeah. I was at the post office and Allister was replaced with a giant chicken. I tried to tell everyone, but they said they preferred the chicken!” He laughed, hovering a hand over his mouth. “Weirdest thing, right?”
“That’s funny,” Dedan said through strained laughter, knowing if he so much as breathed too hard, he would break into a coughing fit.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Chester said after a sip of coffee. “You look pale.”
“Like I said, it’s allergies,” he waved a hand, a few light coughs escaped. “Just the changing of the seasons.”
Chester looked at him skeptically.
“I took the decongestant, I’ll be fine by lunch.”
“Alright, if you say so,” Chester said before eating his breakfast.
They boarded the train to the office. Dedan couldn’t remember the last time he felt so woozy. The movement of the train made his already sour stomach even more nauseous.
Luckily, Dedan got off first to his office while Chester stayed on until Damien where he needed to collect quotas from the smoke mines.
The Director stared off into space for the first half hour of his day, only stopping to blow his nose or break into a coughing fit. He alternated between buttoning up his coat and sliding it off his shoulders as he passed between hot and cold flashes.
Dammit, the cat was right. Chester was going to be so cross with him when he finds out. A part of him knew he was sick, but he thought if he just pushed through, he’d be alright. Instead, he felt even worse.
Try as he might to focus on his work. Just the act of reading too fast made him dizzy.
He crossed his arms on his desk and laid his head down. He moaned loudly.
“Dedan?”
He awoke with a start, realizing he had just fallen asleep.
“Wh-wha??”
Chester, who was standing in front of his desk, crossed his arms and gave him a look.
“Just allergies, huh?”
Dedan gave him his best grin.
Chester cocked an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry, babe,” Dedan pouted.
Chester leaned over the desk and touched his forehead. “You’re feverish.”
“Am I…?”
“You know I can’t let you stay here, right?”
“Yes,” he shuffled in his chair.
“I’m going to have to take you home now.”
“Okay.” He wasn’t going to fight. All he wanted was to sleep.
“There you go,” Chester picked up the phone off the desk and dialed an extension. “Tad? It’s Chester. Yeah, Dedan is sick today. I’ll be back in about an hour or so. Yeah. Okay, thanks. See you.” He put the receiver down.
“What about the cow shipment?” Dedan said.
“I’ll be back before they get here,” he patted his husband’s pale cheek. “I’ll be sure they don’t short us.”
“Okay,” said Dedan.
“You really need to trust me more.”
“I’m sorry,” Dedan pouted again.
“It’s okay, one day you will,” he smirked. “Let’s get you home.”
After another woozy train ride, they arrived back home.
“Bed, now!” Chester flicked an arm towards their bedroom.
“Okay,” he dragged himself to bed, shedding his boots, pants, and overcoat on the floor.
Alain was napping on the bed when Dedan came in. He grinned when he opened his eyes and saw the Guardian.
“You got in trouble, didn’t you?” he teased.
“Shush. I just want to sleep.”
Dedan crawled under the covers, shivering a bit before settling into a comfortable position.
Chester entered with a tray of soup and saltine crackers.
“Sorry the soup’s not fancy. It’s from a can, but I don’t have time to make you a proper meal.”
“It’s okay,” Dedan sat up a bit as Chester laid the tray on his lap.
“I promise to make you a proper soup tonight. For now, you need to eat to strengthen your immune system.”
“Okay,” Dedan could feel his consciousness fading. He barely had any sense of himself. He absentmindedly let Chester feed him, a mechanical motion. He was only vaguely aware of Chester’s face, looking at him soothingly.
Once the soup was gone, Chester set the bowl and spoon aside and lifted the covers. “Now get some sleep.”
Dedan scooted under the blankets, staring blankly at the ceiling. His grumbling stomach had been somewhat sated.
“Sleep well,” he heard Chester say as he turned out the light.
Dedan felt Alain curl against his body before he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.
It was dark when he woke up sweating. He kicked the blankets off and panted, trying to cool down. As he did, he could hear the clattering of pans in the kitchen and the occasional meow from their pet. Chester was cooking, though he couldn’t smell what it was.
Now his body began to shake. He was cold. “Are you kidding me?” He mumbled as he pulled the covers over himself. He repeated this pattern, covering and uncovering himself until he decided it was futile and got out of bed.
He shuffled into the kitchen. Chester was wearing his apron, though it was way too small for him. The string was tied around his waist three times and the long front had to be tucked into the string for it to not drag on the floor.
“Good morning. Or should I say ‘good evening’?” Chester said before his eyes drifted to Dedan’s feet. He waved a finger at him. “Ah, ah, ah! Go put on some socks, mister! You’ll make your cold worse”
Dedan wriggled his toes and groaned in defiance, but obeyed anyway. He could feel his body get warmer once he put the socks on.
He returned and plopped at his usual spot at the table. Chester placed a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of him. He couldn’t smell it, but it looked tasty.
“I’ve made enough for tomorrow for your lunch, so be sure to eat it up.”
“Sure, I’ll take some with me to work tomorrow.”
“You’re staying home.”
“What?!” Dedan said, annoyed.
“There’s no way you’re going to be better by tomorrow.”
“But who’s gonna run the Zone?”
“I can handle it for one day. Besides, you’ll only draw out your sickness longer if you overwork yourself.”
Even with his socks, Dedan could feel his body get cold. He tried to discreetly rub his arms for warmth. “What about the cow shipment? Was there any issue?”
“None,” Chester said casually.
“Are you sure?”
“I triple checked. Besides, you haven’t taken a day off since…” Chester screwed his face, making tic marks in the air as he counted. “For at least 50 years.”
“Yeah. Because I have a very strong immune system.”
“Strong. Not impenetrable.”
Dedan huffed, crossing his arms. Mostly he did it for warmth.
“Are you cold?” Chester tilted his head.
Busted.
“A little. I was warm a second ago.”
“Sounds like you’re having hot and cold flashes.”
“Yeah…” Dedan grumped.
The first time he remembered having hot and cold flashes was way back before the Reset. He thought one of the Elsen was messing with the thermostat and proceeded to chew the poor guy out, shoving him in the break room refrigerator. Turns out it was because he had the flu. He grimaced at the memory.
“Eat your soup, it’ll help with the cold flashes, at least.
Dedan lifted the spoon out of the bowl, dripping with broth. He clamped his teeth down on it, letting the liquid drizzle down his throat. It felt soothing.
“I know it’s not as nice as yours,” Chester said, “but I hope you like it.”
Dedan put the spoon in the bowl again. “To be honest, I can’t taste anything. But I’m sure it’s great.”
Chester beamed. “Thank you! That’s great praise coming from a chef like you.”
Dedan blushed a little. “I just like cooking, that’s all.”
“And I’m grateful for it. It’s like having my own four star restaurant.”
Dedan chuckled under his breath before breaking into a small coughing fit.
After dinner, Dedan had a warm bath before going to bed. Despite sleeping all day, he felt exhausted. He had trouble getting to sleep, but managed to drift off eventually.
He stayed home the next day just as Chester asked. He was certainly feeling better, but his congestion and coughing were still bad.
He mostly watched TV the whole day, passing out once or twice. It was dreadfully boring, but he was too achy to do anything else. Alain sat on his stomach or by his feet most of the time. Dedan supposed even that greedy cat cared for his owners.
That night, he was feeling well enough to taste Chester’s leftover soup.
“You did an excellent job,” Dedan said as he gobbled it down. “It’s no five star restaurant soup, but it tastes like homemade, which is better in my opinion.”
Chester’s eyes were slightly purple underneath, as if he hadn’t slept in a while.
“Are you okay?” Dedan leaned in. “You look exhausted. You didn’t overwork yourself in my absence, did you?”
Chester waved a hand. “It’s not because you were gone, I’m just really tired today.”
Dedan sat back. “Alright. Well, I want to go back to work tomorrow, so we’ll both go to sleep early.”
The next morning, Dedan woke up at the sound of Chester sneezing. He could feel the elsen’s body shiver against his side.
“Babe?” He said before sitting up in bed.
Chester looked up at him pathetically, wheezing from his blocked sinuses.
“Oh no,” Dedan said.
“Oh no, indeed!” Chester whined before breaking into a coughing fit and sitting up.
Dedan pulled their foreheads together. Chester looked at him inquisitively.
“I think you have a fever.”
“Oh…”
“Just a small one. Nothing a couple days of rest can’t handle.”
“But I have to—“
Dedan clicked his tongue. “You don’t want to drag out your sickness any longer, do you?”
Chester sighed in defeat.
“I thought so,” he smirked triumphantly.