Archive of Our Own

It almost reached Midnight as they prepared for their next car video.

As usual, Nick was sat comfortably in a puffer jacket at the back, meddling with the camera that they planned to use soon. Matt was at the front with an equally thick jacket to keep him warm as he patiently drummed onto the wheel. Which left the vacant seat beside him.

They were parked right outside Nate’s house, waiting for Chris who had spent the whole day with him. The two were suppose to have plans that required outdoor activities but that all seemed to change for reasons Matt didn’t quite know.

The brothers were in a light conversation when the final triplet arrived and Matt couldn’t help but comment on the single lack of clothing that Chris failed to wear.

“Where’s your jacket?”

Chris settled onto the passenger’s seat, placing his drink down and closing the door behind him. He glanced up at Matt with a shrug.

“Didn’t bring one,” He answered simply.

“Chris, it’s the middle of winter,” Nick chimed in.

“So?”

“So, you should be layering up!” He explained, gesturing to himself and Matt who both wore the appropriate attire.

“Well what do you want me to do, pull a jacket out of thin air? Besides, it’s not like we’re gonna leave the car, are we? We’re only gonna grab some food, shoot a video and drive back home,” he explained with half a care. His eyes glued to the phone. Possibly searching through his music playlist, Matt assumed.

Nick had an unconvinced but warning tone as he replied, “alright, but don’t say we didn’t warn you when you get sick tomorrow.”

Chris scoffed. “Okay, sure.”

Matt peered behind and shared a look with his older brother who shrugged in defeat. Matt received that as his cue to set off.

—

Chris sneezed.

“Uh oh, is Chrissy Wissy feeling a little under the weather today?” Nick pouted teasingly from the opposite side of the table.

The man in question rolled his eyes, settling down his no longer wanted waffle after spraying his germs all over it. “Relax, I’m not sick, it was just a sneeze.”

“I don’t know, that sounded pretty bad to me,” Matt drawled with a slight smug upon his lips.

“I’m not sick,” he repeated firmly.

“If you say so.”

And as time continued to tick by, it seemed Chris really was in great health as they continued to spend the day with no issues. Save for the few sniffles here and there. The worst Chris could have potentially came down with, was a mild cold that could easily be overlooked.

And of course, if the wide smirk and the constant bragging had anything to do with it, Chris was clearly quite proud to be proven right. Ranting on about how he was immune to whatever weather struck in Boston.
It was all a little troublesome for Matt but nonetheless, he had to give it to his brother for not falling sick.

However, his continuous victory was short lived when the next day arrived. Nick and Matt had finished up their breakfast and started to wash up when the questioning thought started to arise.

Because it wasn’t too unusual when one of the triplets fail to show up for breakfast. However, all three of them almost always wake up around the same time which lead to sharing breakfast together.

“You think he was up really late last night or something?” Matt had asked.

Nick shrugged. “I don’t know, why don’t you check up on him and see for yourself?”

And so Matt did, remembering to give a light knock before calling out, “Chris, I’m coming in. Make sure you’re decent.”

The door creaked open to reveal a very dark and stuffy room. Matt took advantage of the light through the hallway to observe inside. He squinted to make out the figure on the bed.

Matt chuckled, switching the light on. “Chrissy, wake up!”

Instantly the light flooded the room to reveal his brother limped over messy sheets, still in last night’s clothing. He must’ve been really exhausted if he hadn’t bothered to change, Matt assumed. Chris groaned, weakly searching for his duvet and placing it over his head.

Matt furrowed his brows at the sight, immediately switching the lights off and approaching closer to sit beside his brother.

“Chris, are you okay?”

He groaned again.

Matt reached out and placed his hand onto his brother’s damp forehead. Chris shivered at the touch and Matt frowned before retrieving his hand back. Chris was really warm.

“I’ll get you some water,” Matt offered, leaving the room to grab a cold water bottle downstairs. There, he reunited with Nick and updated him to which the man grinned in delight.

“Oh, I gotta see this,” Nick grinned tauntingly.

Matt returned with Nick, handing the bottle to his sick brother. Chris weakly readjusted into a sitting position, leaning his back onto the headboard as he downed the drink.

“Well, I hate to say I told you so,” Nick shook his head before smirking. “But I told you so.”

Chris conjured up enough energy that he still had to sneer at his brother to which the man reached both hands out in defense.

“Don’t look at me like that, you brought this on yourself,” he retorted.

“Should I get him some medicine?” Matt inquired.

Nick shrugged. “Well if he’s in pain, then yeah you probably should. Other than that he should be fine with just drinking lots of water and rest.”

Nick peered at Chris once more with a grimace. “You should probably stay far away from him though,” he warned. “Unless you wanna end up like that.”

Matt turned and observed his weak frame. His brother was the most energetic out of the three of them so it was incredibly unusual to see him so torn out. Honestly, he hasn’t seen him like this since they were in their preteens.

Nick must’ve noticed the concerning look on Matt’s eyes when he sighed. “Don’t worry, Matt. It’s only the flu, he should be back to himself in about three days.”

Matt nodded, agreeing.

“Okay.”

—

Matt returned to Chris’ room with a plate of waffles and syrup placed onto a tray, including aspirin and a glass of water since his brother had already demolished the whole liquid from the bottle he had given him earlier.

He settled the tray onto the small desk beside the bed and switched the lamp on to provide not too much but enough light to see.

“Chris,” he whispered, not wanting to alarm his brother. “Come on, you need to eat.”

Chris groaned from under the sheets and Matt rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be such a baby. Get up and eat,” he demanded.

Eventually, Chris snaked out of his sheets and sat up, allowing Matt to place the tray onto his lap. With a miserable frown, Chris took a bite of his waffle.

The sight was sort of amusing, Matt couldn’t help but let out a silent laugh.

Chris reached out for a drink and frowned once he observed the glass.

“I wanted Pepsi,” he mumbled.

Matt rolled his eyes. “Nick said you needed to drink lots of water.”

He glared at Matt but didn’t have the strength to retort back a response and accepted the drink, gulping down in big chunks.

“Wait!” Matt called out before his brother could down the whole drink. He handed the painkillers to Chris. “Swallow it.”

Chris gave him a look but obliged. Matt watched patiently as his younger brother gulped the pill down before returning his eyes to Matt with a humorless grin.

Satisfied, Matt lifted himself off the bed and began to take his leave. “Just make sure you finish up your breakfast. I’ll come by later to take your dish away.”

“Yes, mom,” Chris drawled, finally uttering his first few words for the day.

Matt scowled in return before leaving the room. Chris can get in the worst mood whenever he was sick.

Speaking of which, their actual mom eventually came by later that day with a homemade meal once learning of Chris and his health thanks to Matt.

Nick beamed at the beef stew that was revealed inside the bright red pot. “Chris should get sick more often!” He grinned before pulling out a spoon and helping himself to a bite.

However, the act was short lived when his mother smacked his prying fingers away. “Your brother is sick, have some compassion and wait for your turn!”

Nick pouted like a little kid. “Well it’s not like he’s dying.”

His mother served a plate and Matt followed without thought as he watched the two converse by the door. She was either cooing at his brother or complaining. Sometimes, a mix of both and Chris could do nothing but wallow in silence and shame. Matt would be lying if said he didn’t find this amusing.

Eventually, night arrived. Matt and Nick walked their mother to the door. She bid a quick farewell, reminding the two that they should check up on their brother every now and then to which Matt agreed promisingly. Nick too, but it lacked meaning.

Soon, Nick had already huddled up in his bedroom when Matt had planned to do the same. Not before fulfilling his mom’s promise.

Quietly, he creaked the door open enough to see his brother sprawled onto the bed. Matt moved closer and perceived the steady rhythm of Chris’ chest rising and falling. He noticed the slight shiver from his brother to which Matt pulled the sheets as gently as possible to avoid waking him up and tucked it just under his chin.

Matt lingered there for a moment, gazing softly at his face. He brushed Chris’ hair aside so it wouldn’t bother him too much before finally leaning back.

With one last look, he finally left him to rest.

—

“Woah, woah, woah!” Immediately, Nick is already backing away from the counter. His hands reaching out in front of him, defense mode activated.

Matt turned around to face whatever it was that got Nick all worked up. There, stood their youngest brother, back from the dead. His eyes groggy with dark circles. His hair all tangled up in every which way. A scowl settled onto his lips as he glared at his brothers.

Matt promptly lifted himself off the chair, rushing over to him. “Chris, what are you doing here?”

“Yeah!” Nick agreed, grabbing a chair as if to create a barrier between them. “I don’t wanna catch whatever germs you got going on!”

As if to prove Nick’s point, Chris released a loud and nasty sneeze which received a squeak from the agitated brother.

“I’m hungry,” he explained, his voice slurred and croaky.

“Okay fine, I’ll make you some breakfast. Just take yourself back to in bed,” Matt ordered.

Chris’ frown deepened and shook his head. “Don’t wanna.”

“What do you mean you don’t wanna?” Matt watched as Chris slightly lost his balance from just standing. He reached out to grab ahold of him from falling. “See? You can barely even hold yourself!”

“I don’t wanna go back!” Chris whined, leaning into Matt.

Nick grimaced. “Quit being such a baby, Chris.”

Chris glowered at him, loosening himself out of Matt’s arms and creeping up close to Nick. The other squealed, trying to distant himself.

To Nick’s fortunate, he was saved when Chris halted his taunting and held his head in discomfort, leaning onto the counter. Matt is instantly behind him and guiding him out of the kitchen.

“Come on, let’s get you back into bed.”

Nick nodded vigorously. “Yes, let’s do that!”

Soon, Matt is tucking his brother under the covers. He looked up to find Chris staring right back with a lazy grin. Apparently, whatever mood he was in before had completely vanished from existence.

“What?” Matt asked.

Chris shook his head. “Nothing.”

The other responded with a weird look but shook his head, choosing to ignore it. Matt left the room to make a start on the meal he had promised. Soon, he returned with the tray in his hand.

Chris grinned giddily, immediately adjusting himself into a sitting position. His hands patting his lap with excitement and Matt laughed and shook his head.

“Seriously, what is wrong with you?”

Chris didn’t answer and instead asked a question of his own. “So is this a regular thing now?”

“Relax, don’t get use to it.” Matt rolled his eyes before placing the tray down on the desk.

Chris pouted. “But I always wanted my own personal maid!”

“Then just find someone to pay and do it for you.” Matt replied in a joking manner.

“Will you do it if I paid you?”

“Heck no!”

“Come on!” Chris drawled. “You’d look so cute in maid outfit!”

Matt sputtered incoherently before raising his voice in shock. “Who said anything about a maid outfit!”

Chris continued seriously. “Okay fine, how much money would I have to pay you to wear a maid outfit?”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Matt dismissed, approaching the door. “Just finish your food and I’ll come back for it-“

“Wait!”

Matt stopped and turned to look at his brother.

“Don’t leave,” Chris begged. “I’ve been in my room alone for so long and I’m so bored! Stay here with me, just for a little while.”

Matt squinted cautiously but Chris began to stare at him with puppy eyes. Despite the fact that the act was such an awful attempt, he just couldn’t find the strength to say no.

“Fine,” he settled with. “But if you start being all weird-“

“I won’t, I promise!”

Matt sighed and made himself comfortable onto the bed, pulling out his phone to scroll through Tiktok. He could feel his brother’s gaze and sensed the wide grin aimed for him.

Matt sighed. “Chris, eat your breakfast.”

“Will you feed me?”

“Chris!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Chris laughed.

—

Matt returned back home with a bag of groceries. Nick, passing by, followed after him in curiosity.

“You went shopping?” He asked.

“Duh,” Matt replied.

“What did you buy?”

Matt doesn’t answer and places the plastic bags onto the counter. Nick took the initiative and searched inside, pulling out a bag of apples.

“You bought fruit?”

Matt took the item from him. “Yup.”

Nick watched as Matt pulled out a chopping board and began dicing the apples.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

Nick strolled by him, peaking over from behind Matt’s shoulder. “Well, it looks like you’re making yourself a fruit salad.”

“It’s not for me,” Matt corrected.

Nick glanced up at Matt, his eyebrows furrowed in question before returning back to the fruit. It didn’t take long before his eyes widened.

“IT’S FOR CHRIS?” He clamored.

“Nick, don’t yell so close to my ear!” He shoved his older brother away before returning back to the apples.

Nick stood upright after slightly stumbling from the force. He looked at Matt in disbelief. “Why are you making him a fruit salad?”

“Well incase you’ve forgotten, he’s sick,” Matt explained patronizingly. “This’ll regain his strength.”

“Oh my god, Matt,” Nick chuckled, covering his mouth in shock.

“What?”

“I’ve never seen you put this much effort for yourself, much less anyone else!”

“That’s not true.” Matt frowned.

Nick scoffed. “Are you kidding me? I could be falling down a flight of stairs and you’d tell me to fall more quietly!”

“That’s ridiculous, I would not!”

“Yes you would!”

“Nick,” Matt slammed the knife down and whipped his head to meet his brother’s gaze. “I’m trying to chop these apples and you keep throwing me off!”

Nick smirked. “Why, are you getting nervous?”

“No!” Matt denied. “You just keep distracting me!”

“Okay fine, fine,” he yielded with loopy smirk. Matt gave him one last warning look before returning to the apples.

He heard as Nick walked away from him and listened to the ruffled sound of plastic bags. Soon, his brother placed down a couple of oranges and Kiwi. Matt looked up at him.

“You should include more of these,” Nick went on to explain. “It’s rich in Vitamin C, good for the sick.”

Matt watched as Nick stole an orange for himself before taking his leave.

—

“I’m back,” Matt announced as he opened Chris’ bedroom door. He held the plate of fruit salad in one hand and the glass of water with the other.

He glanced down to find half of his brother dangling upside down from the opposite side of the bed, his legs rested on the mattress for support. Chris looked up from his phone and immediately his eyes lit up.

He sits up. “Where did you go?”

“Shopping,” Matt answered.

He placed the plate onto the table and Chris crawled over to observe it. He frowned.

“Fruit, really?”

“What’s wrong with fruit?”

Chris picked up the plate despite the disappointment written all over his face. Which didn’t surprise Matt at all. He figured his brother would react like this.

He fiddled with the slice of apple between his fingers. “You went shopping to buy fruit?”

“Yup.”

“That’s it?” Chris pried, hopeful. “Nothing else?”

“Nope.”

Matt walked over to the other side of the bed, making himself comfortable beside Chris. He could feel the glare from his brother but chose to ignore it.

“Come on, Matt! How long are you going to torture me?” Chris whined, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “These last two days, I’ve done everything you said!”

“It’s for your own good,” Matt replied stubbornly.

“But it wouldn’t kill to have something else like I don’t know… a couple of snacks every once in a while? All you’ve been feeding me is food and water!”

Matt rolled his eyes. “What, like it’s a bad thing?”

Chris’ eyes widened and reached out to grab Matt’s shoulders. He was forced to meet his brothers eyes.

“I haven’t had a Pepsi can in two days!”

Matt gave him a disappointed look. “So?”

“So, I’ve never spent a day without Pepsi, ever!”

“Chris.” Matt shoved his brother’s hands off his shoulders. “You’re sick-“

“Yeah, sick,” Chris interrupted. “Not prisoned! You won’t even let me leave this room!”

“Did you see what happened when you did? You couldn’t even stand on your own! I had to give you support.”

“That was this morning! Look at me, Matt. Does it look like I’m going to pass out right now?”

Matt observed him. His brother definitely did look more lively than this morning. He was obviously healthy enough to stand on his own considering he took a shower all on his own while Matt was out, which certainly improved his appearance. His hair returned well kept and silky and those dark circles were beginning to fade.

Matt sighed in defeat. “I guess you do look a little better than before…”

“Exactly!” Chris nodded vigorously.

“Alright,” Matt yielded. “I didn’t just buy fruit.”

Chris’ eyes lit up.

Matt shook his head, holding back the threatening grin that fought to appear. “I might have also bought a couple of treats while I was out..”

Chris grinned. “And Pepsi?”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Yes, Chris, and Pepsi. I was planning on saving it til you got better but..”

His brother opened his mouth to speak but Matt smacked a hand over Chris’ lips.

“But, you have to finish the fruit first before I can give you anything,” he finished.

Chris agreed, nodding his head and Matt removed his palm. At once, the other began chomping on the slices. He continued to shove more fruit inside, disallowing the chance to patiently wait for the first bite to go down.

“Slow down,” Matt tried to warn.

Just as he feared, Chris began to cough a couple of fits and Matt rushed over to attend him and grabbed the glass of water. He placed the rim between his brother’s lips and titled the glass up, his other hand rubbing gently behind his back.

After a while, Chris tapped onto his hand and Matt pulled back, placing the glass back down before glaring at his brother. “Chew more slowly.”

Chris grinned but nodded.

Hours went by and the brothers spend the rest of the day talking nonsense and munching on the treats Matt had promised. Matt had saved some aside for Nick knowing his brother would be devastated if he hadn’t.

Chris was sipping onto his third Pepsi can, making up for all the times he had missed out on when their conversation began to get a little heated.

“I’m just saying, Nick and I did warn you’d get sick.”

“Well if you’re so sure I’d get sick, why didn’t you turn the heat on in the car?”

“You never asked!”

“It’s the middle of the winter, Matt, should I have to ask?”

“Oh, so this is my fault now?”

“Maybe it is, Matt!” Chris watched his brother’s mouth drop in offense but continued. “Maybe if you just had some common courtesy, I wouldn’t have fallen sick. Hmm?”

Matt shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re blaming me for this!”

“Oh really, Matt? Is it really that unbelievable?” Chris accused in a patronizing tone and Matt could already feel the storm heading it’s way.

“Hmm, I’m Matty!” Chris mocked, jutting his lip. Matt glared in horror. “I’m so perfect and soft and I can do no wrong!”

“I do not say that!” Matt defended but Chris tuned him out and continued.

“Poor, Matty! Chris is being so mean to Matty! Leave Matt alone!”

“Okay fine! Here’s some common courtesy for you!” Matt flipped him off and hopped off his bed, heading for the door.

“Wait!” Chris called, wrapping his arms around Matt’s hips before the man could go anywhere. “Where are you going?”

“To bed!” Matt huffed, trying to slip through Chris’ hold.

“No wait, I’m sorry!” Chris cried. “I was joking, please stay!”

“Oh, you’re joking now? I thought you said this was all my fault?” Matt attempted to loosen Chris’ arms but that only seemed to make the other tighten his hold. Soon, Matt was suffocating. “Chris, let go!”

Unfortunately, Chris does the exact opposite. Dragging him close and suddenly the world spins a three-sixty.

After a lot of struggling and a lot of arms swinging, Chris had him successfully pinned under. For some one who’s suppose to be sick, he still had a lot of strength up his sleeve. Finally, Matt grew limp, panting. His eyes on his brother as Chris looked down with a prideful smirk.

“Let go,” Matt demanded.

“Well not with that attitude, I won’t. A little ‘pretty please’ never hurt anybody.”

Matt sighed. “Please get your fat ass off of me!”

Chris tutted. “You can do better than that.”

“Chris!”

“Will you leave if I do?”

“Yes!”

“Then I won’t!”

Matt made a second attempt to escape and almost managed to slip right through until Chris pulled an unexpected move. Suddenly, he could feel fingers wriggling just underneath his chin and Matt let out an embarrassing squeal.

All at once, Chris’ fingers was all over him and Matt let out fits of pained laughter and protests. The other chuckled in delight as the the man underneath began to hit him with all his might.

“Chris!”

“Will you?”

Tears began to form at the brink of his eyes, his strength weakening. It was all so overwhelming, it wasn’t long before he would brake.

“Come on, Matty!”

He swung his arm one last time knowing it had no affect on the other before finally nodding his head desperately. “Okay, okay!”

“Okay, what?” Chris poked.

Matt struggled to get his words across.

“Matt?”

“I won’t leave!” Matt eventually cried out.

“You promise?”

“Yes! Yes, I promise!”

To much relief, Chris stopped altogether and Matt could finally breathe! He panted heavily, wiping the tears and just laid there as he tried to steady his breathing.

He glanced up to find Chris looking down at him with a wide grin and then they kind of just stayed like that for a moment, in a daze. Everything around them forgotten.

Eventually, Matt found his words again. “You can get off now, I’m not going anywhere.”

Chris shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m kind of comfortable like this.”

Matt rolled his eyes and shoved his brother off. Chris chuckled willingly. The older brother fixed his hair and glared at the other. “It’s still getting pretty late, Chris. We should head to bed soon.”

“Why don’t you sleep here?” Chris offered immediately.

Matt released an exasperated sigh. “Chris!-“

“No, I’m serious!” He interjected. “Why not? When was it the last time we ever had a sleepover?”

“We live under the same roof,” Matt clarified. “Everyday is a sleepover.”

Chris gave him a look. “You know what I mean. Come on, Matt! Stay the night!”

Matt looked at him with hesitation.

Chris returned with puppy eyes as he went on to say, “you wouldn’t leave a sick man all on his own, would you?”

“I thought you said you weren’t sick anymore?”

“No, I said I was getting better,” Chris corrected. “But not fully healed.”

The moment felt sort of familiar to him as Chris stared at him with a hopeful twinkle in his eyes, waiting for his response. After all that’s happened, his brother really didn’t deserve to get his way. But knowing Chris, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Besides, a sleepover didn’t sound so bad.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to sleep one night-“

Chris beamed in excitement and climbed under the sheets. Matt blinked blankly until his brother invitingly patted beside him. He sighed before following suite.

They laid beside one another, face to face. Chris gazed at him with a wide giddy smile and Matt couldn’t help but mirror the look.

“Just switch the light off,” Matt told him.

Chris obliged, reaching from behind until darkness flooded the room. Matt adjusted himself a little and breathed out a sigh. He thought to himself, this wasn’t so bad.

Suddenly, he felt an arm sneak around his waist. Matt opened his eyes and narrowed at the silhouette in front of him.

“Don’t push it,” he warned.

“Sorry.” Chris retrieved his arm back.

__

“Matty.”

His eyes twitched but chose to ignore it while he still can. If he could just tune out the real world, maybe he can still fall back to where he left off in his dream.

“Matt!”

Never mind.

Matt scrunched his eyes and groaned, pulling the duvet over his head. He could hear his intruder giggle as he gently shook him.

“Come on, Matt, it’s past noon,” he informed. “Nick and I already had breakfast.”

Woah, he slept for that long?

Eventually, he sighed. His eyes were closed when he leisurely leaned up. Instantly, there was this ringing in his head and he held the bridge of his nose between his eyes.

Chris must’ve noticed as he asked, “hey, are you alright?”

Matt didn’t respond and tried to shove the feeling aside. With all his effort, he lifted himself off the bed and instantly regretted it. Suddenly, the room was spinning and he felt his legs give out.

However, before he could hit the ground, a pair of arms held him into place.

“Woah, Matt!” Chris yelped, holding him tighter. “What’s wrong?”

Again, he’s given silence. Matt couldn’t find it in him to form words and instead leaned in, resting his head onto the crook of his brother’s neck.

Chris tenderly threaded his fingers through the dampness of the other’s hair. Matt didn’t even realize that he was all sweaty. Nonetheless, the gesture was relieving and Matt hummed approvingly.

Eventually, Chris guided him back to bed and tucked him in. Matt felt a warm hand press softly onto his forehead and he absentmindedly leaned into the touch.

“You’re warming up,” Chris mentioned, retreating his arm back and Matt already missed the warmth. His brother immediately hopped off the bed, suddenly gaining this new found adrenaline.

“Don’t worry, Matt, leave this to me!” He assured, approaching to the door. “You just stay there and rest up!” With that, Matt was left alone.

Matt rubbed his eyes and looked around the room, finally taking in his surroundings. He observed questioningly at the unfamiliar structure of the room until it all slowly came back to him.

He should’ve known a sleepover would be a bad idea.

He pulled the blanket around, searching for his phone and eventually found it on the floor beside the bed. He wasn’t prepared when the phone light blinded his eyes, not helping the ringing headache he had going on. Matt groaned, rubbing his eyes before looking the second time.

Chris wasn’t lying, the minutes were close to reaching one o’clock. He swiped past the Lock screen and like usual, played a bit of Clash of Clans. However, gradually he could feel his hand give out as the phone slipped right past his fingers. His eyes closed.

It felt like a second had past when Chris returned. He could hear him chattering about something he couldn’t quite pinpoint. It didn’t matter though cause he soon learned that whatever he was blabbering on about wasn’t aimed at him.

“I did warn him to keep his distance,” he heard Nick say.

“At least he was there for me,” Chris defended, placing the tray onto the counter. “I didn’t see you around when I needed it the most!”

“Who told you to leave the house without a jacket! Why should I suffer cause you can’t follow basic survival skills?”

Chris groaned exasperatedly. “Why does everyone keep saying that!”

“Because that’s what happened!”

The bickering that constantly went back and forth was not helping Matt’s condition and the sick man groaned in anger, pulling the blanket over his head to tune them out.

Chris must’ve noticed as he hushed the other brother. “Will you tone it down? Last thing he needs is you whining about something stupid.”

“You were yelling too,” Nick muttered but obeyed.

Chris pulled away the blanket and helped adjust Matt so that his back was leaning against the headboard. He placed the tray down onto his lap and Matt looked down at his meal.

It was French toast. Matt liked French toast.

Except he made no effort to grab the toast and take a bit. He could sense his brothers patiently waiting for him with expectancy that never arrived. Instead, he just continued to stare blankly at his food.

“Well ain’t this fun,” Nick deadpanned.

“The toast isn’t going to eat itself, Matt,” Chris encouraged. He lifted the bread up and placed it between Matt’s lips. “Want me to feed you?” He offered.

Matt didn’t really give it much thought and slightly parted his lips, taking a small bite and chewed slowly. Chris smiled with contentment.

Nick grimaced. “That was awful to watch.”

Chris scowled at him. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to make yourself useful for once?”

“What do you want me to do, hold the plate? There isn’t really much to work with here!”

“Then leave!”

“Gladly!” Nick huffed as he grabbed the door knob. “But you two better keep your nasty germs away from me!”

In spite, Chris released a nasty sneeze. Anyone with perfectly capable ears could tell just how fake that sounded but nonetheless Nick shrieked and slammed the door shut.

Chris smirked, satisfied, before returning to his other brother. He lifted the toast a second time with a toothy grin. “Open wide, Matty!” He cooed.

This time, Matt ceased him. Holding onto his wrist weakly as he glared at his brother. Chris only chuckled and allowed Matt to take the French toast from him, finally putting his own hands to use.

—

Matt spent the rest of the day in Chris’ bed, not once leaving the room as neither of his brother’s would let him and Matt was beginning to understand what Chris really meant when he referred to this being similar as a caged prisoner.

He felt like he was intruding Chris’ space considering he’s been on his bed for hours but when he offered to return back to his own room, Chris denied him. Assuring him that he was completely fine with the idea of Matt spending his sick days here. In fact, he encouraged it.

Chris remained beside him. He went on about any topic that would swarm in his thoughts and when he had nothing left to say, he would sing without conscience of doing so. It was all sort of a lot for Matt to handle, especially in his condition. But he didn’t have the heart to tell Chris anything. Instead, he listened in silence the whole time.

Besides, deep down, he appreciated the company.

However, he must’ve eventually dozed off without realizing because he wakes up later alone in the dark. Somehow readjusted into a laying position and tucked underneath the blanket.

Matt rubbed his eyes when he heard footsteps and murmurs from outside that gradually tuned louder. Finally, the door slowly creeped open to reveal a peeping Chris. His brother smiled softly when he noticed the other awake.

“Mom’s here,” he confirmed, opening the door wider to reveal his mother beside him.

His mother wasted no time when she rushed inside to cave in a suffocating hug despite his pleading protests. She cooed in empathy as she analyzed his condition, constantly asking many questions yet not waiting for an answer. Apparently, this was all amusing to Chris.

However, mom didn’t share his amusement as she whipped his head disapprovingly at her youngest son. “I don’t know why you’re smiling, you did this to him!”

Chris stammered incoherently. “I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Mom paid no mind to his response and moved along to important matters. “Just make yourself useful and bring his food down will you?”

Chris pouted but obliged. “Fine.”

His mom returned to him the moment Chris left. She gifted him a warm smile. “I made pasta, your favorite!”

With enough amount of effort, he returned a small grateful smile of his own. “Thanks, mom.”

She held her gaze fondly until she squinted her eyes in some sort of taunting but curious gaze. Matt could only blink back cluelessly.

“So,” she began, “A little birdie told me that you’ve took it upon yourself to be Chris’ little housemaid.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Let me guess, did Chris tell you that?”

“Nick, actually,” she corrected. “He also told me that you’ve been making breakfast for him and going out your way to shop for him.”

Matt shrugged. “Well he couldn’t do it all on his own. You should’ve seen him, mom. He could barely even walk!”

His mom smiled. “You know, you were just like this when the two of you were younger. Chris would fall sick and you just couldn’t stop worrying over him.”

She laughed. “Why, I would say you were more worried for Chris than he was for himself.”

Matt didn’t really have anything to say, a slight awkward grin creeping onto his lips.

“You wouldn’t stop nagging about it. Even when I assured you a hundred times that he would be fine.”

“Well how was I suppose to know? You wouldn’t even allow me to check on him!” Matt defended. “I was left in the dark here!”

“And why do you think that is?” She challenged, gesturing to his whole body and Matt clicked on that she was talking about his current state. “I didn’t want you falling sick either! But I suppose that didn’t matter because you would only sneak into his room at night anyway.”

Matt’s eyes widened. “You knew about that?”

“How else did you miraculously fall sick the next day, hmm?“ Matt rubbed his neck in shame, an awkward grin on his lips. “Don’t think I didn’t notice, Matthew Bernard.”

“Sorry,” he replied sheepishly.

His mom sighed and waved it off. “You can’t help yourself sometimes but worry, I suppose. I guess things haven’t changed in your case, huh?”

Matt shrugged.

Chris returned with the pasta and placed it onto his lap. He settled the glass of water onto the table beside him. Matt watched him with a frown.

“Was there no root beer?” He asked.

Chris tutted. “You’re sick, Matt. You need to be drinking lots of water. At least, that’s what you told me, right?”

Matt scowled but nevertheless sipped up his drink.

“Alright,” his mom clapped, lifting herself off the bed. “We won’t bother you any longer!”

“We won’t?” Chris repeated.

“Nope,” she said, guiding Chris out the door. “Matthew needs to eat up and rest.”

Chris peeped over her shoulder with a pout, meeting his eyes. “Can’t I at least stay until he’s finished?”

“No, you may not.”

“But this is my room!”

That was the last thing Matt heard from him before the door closed behind them and soon he was left alone with his thoughts. He glanced down at his pasta, lifting the fork and tossing the pieces around in his plate.

The silence may have been relieving for the headache he had going on. Still, it was a little too quiet.

After his meal, he tried closing his eyes for a bit. Yet when sleep never arrived, he decisively scrolled through his phone. Usually that would entertain him for a few hours but eventually he grew bored of that too.

He sighed, staring up at the ceiling and drumming his hands onto his stomach. His thoughts reverted to Chris and figured this was probably how he felt in his position. He could understand now why Chris hadn’t wanted him to leave him on his own.

A part of him thought if he should go join the others upstairs but he knew they would only send him back down. Besides, he doesn’t know if he can trust himself to walk up those steps without tumbling right back down.

God, why did Chris had to have the flu? Why couldn’t it just have been a simple cold?

Eventually, night arrived and his mom gave one last hug before bidding her farewell. Chris beamed, finally being able to return to his own room. He fell beside Matt with an exhausted sigh and the mattress slightly creaked under his weight.

A yawn escaped Matt’s lips and Chris noticed.

“Alright, sleeping beauty, time for bed!” He said, fixing the blanket.

Matt glanced at the door then to Chris. “Are you sure you don’t want me to leave?”

“Of course not! You know how I love sleepovers.”

“I just feel like I’m taking up a lot of room,” Matt explained. “I don’t wanna intrude your space or anything.”

“It’s a king sized bed, there’s plenty of space.”

Matt gazed at him with a slightly sorrow look. Something bothered him and he felt like he had to set things straight. Otherwise, knowing him, that guilt feeling inside would never leave him alone.

“Hey, Chris?”

“Yeah?”

Matt huffed, knowing that Chris did not deserve the next few words that he wanted say but Matt kind of owed it to him.

“I guess it was kind of my fault that you got sick. So for that, I’m sorry.”

Chris blinked, comprehending his words before he suddenly launched up so that he was eye level with Matt. He was so close that the older brother had to lean back a bit.

“How the hell do you think this is your fault?” He clamored.

Matt collected himself before he explained, “Well, you said it yourself. I knew you would get cold without a jacket and I should’ve had the initiative to turn the heat on. So, yeah..”

Chris shook his head vigorously. “Matt, I was just joking about that! I only said that cause I was an idiot and didn’t wanna take the blame for it. You were right, I should’ve brought a jacket!”

Matt shrugged. “Still, I feel like I could’ve avoided either of us from getting sick.”

Chris rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, this isn’t your fault.”

“Yes it is!”

“No it isn’t!”

“It is!”

“I’m not arguing with you about this.”

Matt could sense Chris gradually lose interest of the topic like he usually does when it’s all too much of a nuisance to him. But before he could fully tune him out, Matt would just have to quickly put his point across.

“You can’t just fully take the blame for this,” he explained. “Yeah, you should’ve been wearing your jacket. But I also should’ve turn the heat up anyway. It’s the middle of winter for crying out loud. We both should’ve had enough common sense to realize that.”

“We both played a part in this. We both were wrong,” he finished.

Chris didn’t respond and if Matt were anyone else, he would’ve assumed he wasn’t listening anymore but as his brother, he knew Chris well. He watched as the third triplet gaze thoughtfully at the ceiling and Matt hoped this would make Chris understand. Finally, he turned to Matt.

Fine,” he agreed.

Matt blinked, not expecting him to agree so easily. He was sure a couple more of back and forth bickering was still in store for them.

He tilt his head. “Fine, really?”

“Yup.” Chris nodded. “You’ve convinced me, this was partially your fault too.”

Matt furrowed his brows. Something was up, he could feel it. However, he chose to not say anything and play along.

“Good, I’m glad you understand..” he responded warily.

Again, Chris nodded. “Yup. Which is why you have to make it up to me.”

Okay, Matt can kind of guess where this was going now.

He gave his brother an unimpressed look. “What do you want, Chris?”

Chris grinned, immediately diving under the covers and Matt stilled in silence as his brother shuffled closer. He tensed when he felt a pair of arms lace around his torso.

His eyes widened. “What are you doing?”

Chris snuggled his face just below his chest and if it weren’t for the strength that Matt lacked due to his poor health, he would’ve shoved Chris away. For now, he could do nothing but accept his fate.

A pair of blue eyes glimmered up at Matt. “If you were truly sorry, then you wouldn’t mind cuddling with me for a bit.”

Matt rolled his eyes. “Come on, Chris. Be serious!”

“I am being serious!” Chris argued. “All I ask is for some affection in return. It wouldn’t kill you, would it?”

Matt really must’ve lost right there because for a second, Chris almost made sense to him. Was he really going to follow through with this?

Honestly, he really couldn’t find it in him to care anymore.

“Fine,” he muttered.

Matt shuffled down until he was eye level with the other, laying beside him. Chris watched in shock, not expecting for him to cave in so easily. It made Matt sort of feel smug to catch his brother by surprise.

“What, this was what you wanted, right?” Matt smirked. “Or are you just all talk?”

This made Chris scowl challengingly. Matt could feel the hands behind his back gain pressure and it took him a second to realize he was being pulled closer. Their nose almost bumped and the space between them almost non existent.

It was Chris’ turn to smirk. “How’s that for all talk?”

Chris moved his legs until they were tangled between Matt’s own. Same pair of blue eyes lost into each other’s eyes. The proximity was all too overwhelming for Matt that he could feel his cheeks start to warm up.

He immediately looked away, reaching his hand out and placing it onto Chris’ chest to try to create space between them. “You’re suffocating me,” he murmured awkwardly.

Chris quirked a brow. “I’m barely doing anything! This is what real suffocating looks like.”

Suddenly, it felt like his lungs were being crushed when Chris squeezed the life out of him with so much strength that Matt struggled to breathe.

“Okay! Okay!” Matt yelped, slapping Chris. “Let go of me!”

Chris chuckled but complied and loosened his arms and Matt regained his breath, releasing a relieved sigh. Sensing that he was being watched, Matt looked up to find his brother already staring right back at him with a soft look in his eyes.

“What?” Matt asked.

Chris shook his head. “Nothing. Let’s go to sleep.”

With that, Chris leaned behind him to switch the lights out and Matt was met with total darkness. He felt a pair of arms return and wrapped snuggly around him with a content sigh from the other.

“Night, Matty,” he heard Chris say.

“Night, Chris,” Matt returned.

With caution, Matt sneaked an arm out and gently placed it around Chris, waiting for the other to comment about it. When nothing came, Matt relaxed and finally closed his eyes.

—

A few more days passed when both brothers were fully healed. Chris and Matt were up and running again around the house hold. Falling back into the same routine they did every morning.

They were in the middle of having breakfast together when there was a knock at the door. Matt volunteered to attend to it, skipping down the stairs and assuring whoever was behind that door when they wouldn’t stop knocking.

“Hey, Matt!” Nate smiled.

Matt raised his brows in surprise but politely smiled in return. “Nate! I didn’t know you would be coming over today.”

“Really? I’m sure I did let Chris know beforehand,” he explained.

“Yeah well, Chris fails to tell us anything.” Matt rolled his eyes and Nate chuckled, letting himself in.

They climbed up the stairs and reached the kitchen where they met up with Chris.

Nate naturally pulled out a chair and made himself comfortable. He turned to Chris. “So I heard from Nick that you were sick for the past few days.”

Chris groaned. “Worst few days of my life! I was stuck in my room the whole time because no one would let me leave!”

“We went over this, Chris.” Matt shook his head. “You could barely walk, let alone stand.”

“Still!” Chris yelled. “You left me alone with nothing but my thoughts!”

“Hey, I kept you company!” Matt defended.

Chris shrugged. “True, but you weren’t there on the first day!”

Matt shook his head and Chris returned to Nate. “But yeah, then Matt also got sick.”

Nate’s eyes widened and looked at Matt. “You got sick too?”

Matt nodded.

“Damn,” Nate glanced down with a hint of regret that Matt couldn’t understand. “Now that makes me feel more guilty.”

Matt tilted his head. “Why?”

“Cause that just means I’m the reason you both had a bad week,” he explained.

Matt blinked, not following and turned to Chris for guidance. Fortunately, Chris seemed to understand whatever Nate was going on about.

“You’re right!” He shrieked.

Again, Nate looked down in shame.

“No!” Chris shook his head with the look that seemed like Nate wasn’t getting it. Whatever he meant, he didn’t bother to explain it to their friend and turned to Matt.

“I never got sick over a jacket!” Chris explained as if what he just said was the missing piece to the puzzle.

Matt was perplexed. “Then how did you get sick?”

“Him!” He pointed to Nate.

Matt looked at Nate, who was still looking down in shame, his eyes returned to Chris.

“I’m not following.”

“Nate was sick!” Chris clarified. “That’s why we had to cancel our plans that day and I ended up spending that night at his house!”

Matt’s eyes widened.

He gestured to Nate. “You got sick because of him!”

Chris nodded. “Yes!”

“So it wasn’t because you didn’t wear your jacket?”

“Correct!”

“So it’s Nate’s fault we got sick!”

“Exactly!”

“Alright guys, I get it!” Nate huffed. “I suck.”

“No!” Matt disagreed, turning to him. “It’s just, Chris made us think the whole time that it was my fault he got sick.”

Nate was puzzled. “How could it be your fault?”

“Because Chris blamed me for not turning up the heat in the car.” Matt glared at his brother. “Can you believe him?”

“Hey!” Chris gaped. “Don’t paint me to be the bad guy here! You also blamed yourself for it. It was a mutual blame!”

That’s when it dawned to him and Matt furrowed his brows in question. “If you knew Nate was sick, why did you blame it on the jacket? Worse, you blamed it on me when you knew Nate was sick!”

Chris moved his lips to speak but paused.

Nate also looked at him questioningly. “Yeah, how did you mess that up?”

Chris stuttered before finally forming an answer. “B-because Matt and Nick threw me off when they were so certain I’d get sick over a jacket! It made me forget all about Nate!”

Matt cackled, realizing just how hilarious this all was. Trust Chris to forget about his closest friend being sick the very next day.

“Just wait until Nick hears about this!”

“No,” Chris disagreed. “We don’t need to tell this to Nick!”

“Oh, I think we do.” Matt smirked.

“Where is Nick anyway?” Nate asked once it dawned to him that they were down a triplet.

“Oh he’s still asleep in his room,” Matt answered casually.

Wait a second.

Matt whipped his head to Chris who was already staring right back at him with wide eyes. Nate watched the scene cluelessly, his eyes darting between the two brothers.

“What is it?” He asked.

To his unfortunate, he never received an answer as the boys immediately left him on his own, hopping up the stairs and outside Nick’s door.

“Nick, you okay in there?” Matt called.

There was an unpleasant groan at the other side.

Chris didn’t wait any longer opened the door. The room was dark and they could barely make out the scenery in front of them. For this reason, Chris switched the light on.

Apparently, that was the wrong move and Nick whined as he harshly tugged the blanket over his head.

“Nick?”

“You two did this to me!” Nick cried from underneath the duvet. “I warned you to stay away but does anyone ever listen to me? No! Now I have suffer the consequences!”

Matt and Chris looked at each other in amusement before they both fell into a fit of laughter.

Nick pulled the blanket down enough to reveal sour blue eyes. “Well I’m glad someone finds my miserable state amusing,” he stated sardonically.

“Don’t worry, Nick,” Chris assured him once his chortling died down. “We’ll take care of you.”

Chris turned to his other brother for support. “Won’t we, Matt?”

Matt grinned, nodding.

“Yes, we will.”