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John had been sick. He was inconsolable when he was sick, always moping about and complaining. Mavis had offered John a few medications, but he found himself struggling to get John to take pills. He was sure that the man would have been fine, regarding his past, but… Mavis never pried or tried to shove his pills down John’s throat like he had jokingly threatened a few times before.
He was sitting next to John on their shared couch, watching a movie, when John began to start coughing again. He was bundled up in the comforter from Mavis’ bed, cradling a bowl of the best chicken noodle soup he had ever had. Even growing up, he was never given anything as good as this. Mavis was fantastic at making this soup. He had explained, while he was getting it prepared, that he learned to make it himself when he left his family. It was the only thing that really made him feel better.
Mavis shifted to look down at John scowling a little. “You should really take some of that medication I got you earlier.” He waved a hand at the bottle on the coffee table.
John just sighed and shook his head. “Don’t wanna. I’ll be fine.”
Mavis snorted. “You won’t be fine if you don’t take any medication to feel better, John.”
“I’ll finish this bowl of soup and then have some.”
“Alright.” Mavis hummed.
He went back to rubbing John’s shoulder, drifting off a little as the movie they were watching was some chick flick that John had insisted they watched. Mavis never liked cheesy romance movies, he always thought they were simply some of the most boring, corny things. He nearly fell asleep when John’s frame shook from another violent cough fit. John reached to put the bowl down on the table and continued to cough, struggling to get a breath in.
Mavis shifted from his position to rub John’s back, soothing him until the coughing fit was done. “That’s it… there you go.” He muttered, continuing to rub John’s shoulders as the man remained hunched forward, unmoving but clearly still conscious. “What if I gave you some liquid medicine? Would that help? You can take it with your soup.”
“Can I?” John’s teary big blues shifted to look at the large man from under the blankets. “Please?”
Mavis chuckled softly and gave John’s forehead a kiss after he swiped some of the sweaty locks off his flushed face. “Yes, dear. Just stay here, okay? I’ll be back shortly.”
Mavis got up and disappeared upstairs. Peaches jumped up into Mavis’ spot and curled up partially on John’s lap and began to purr. It helped John feel a little better, sinking his shaky hands into Peaches’ fur and scratching her shoulder and head as she purred away. Mavis picked through his medicine cabinet in the bathroom, behind the mirror. He had a fair selection, as Mavis himself simply refused to take pills.
He found a particular bottle. At first he decided against it, but then he shook his head. John needed to get better. Mavis plucked the dark brown bottle off the shelf and shut the cabinet, catching a glance of his reflection in the mirror before he passed it. He looked exhausted, being up at all hours of the night to make sure John was okay. It was worth it, though. The tender moments of taking care of John… Mavis smiled slightly to himself, hands shaking a little as he headed back downstairs.
His loud footsteps made his approach known well before he actually was visible in the darkening space of the living room. With all the windows on the main floor, it still got awfully dark. Mavis turned a lamp on close to the couch, making sure it wouldn’t be too bright for John, but bright enough that the man could read the bottle. They may have been boyfriends, but Mavis understood the other man’s paranoia. At the end of the day, they were still sworn enemies. Mavis smiled down at John and Peaches, that bittersweet thought being pushed to the back of his brain as he looked at the two.
John was laid back on the couch, head tilted and lips parted a little, breathing out of his mouth as his nose was far too clogged. His hands were sunk in Peaches’ fur, she was still trying to lose her winter coat. Peaches was comfortable, purring away, her tail slowly flicking. Mavis set the bottle down and pulled out his phone. He snapped a photo and grinned down at it for a little before he put his phone away and lightly shook John awake.
“I got the medication for you, love.” Mavis offered him the bottle.
John took it with a little hesitation but he smiled. “Thanks, babe.” He opened the bottle and went to take a swig when Mavis stopped him, taking the bottle.
“This isn’t like NyQuil,” Mavis explained. “This is Buckley’s, a brand in Canada. It’s really strong.” He insisted.
John scoffed but he smiled at Mavis. “I'll be fine, Mavis. I've drank worse.” He reminded the deputy.
Mavis just shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He lightly chided.
He tilted the bottle against John’s bottom lip, letting the man take a swig. He swallowed almost immediately and pulled away from the bottle, his nose wrinkling, eyebrows scrunching, and his mouth turning into a grimace, his head tilting to the side. He swallowed and stuck his tongue out, letting out a disgusted noise as his head shook, then his shoulders followed. Mavis bit his lip and tried hard not to break into a smile, taking the bottle back and putting the lid on it. It was kind of cute seeing John’s expressions.
“Well?” Mavis asked, voice pitched from holding back laughter.
“Holy fuck.” John weakly mumbled, sticking his tongue out again and cringing. “That’s awful.”
The deputy set the bottle down and crouched in front of John, grabbing his hands over the large cat’s head. “But you did it. I’m proud of you.” Mavis kissed the man’s knuckles.
“Don’t give me that again.” John grumbled. “Did you poison me? I swear you poisoned me.” He looked down at the kneeling deputy.
Mavis just laughed a little and put his head on Peaches’ shoulder, letting one of John’s hands sink into his brown mane. “I wouldn’t poison you, John. You know that.” He sighed.
He could tell there was something John wanted to say. Knew the words before they could even think to leave the baptist’s mouth, but neither of them said a word. Instead, John just simply sighed and gave Mavis’ hair a tug, then curled his fingers to scrape his nails into the man’s scalp. Mavis hummed and shifted to be a bit more comfortable, finding himself dozing off into the touch.
“I’m still proud of you,” Mavis mumbled, sleepily against Peaches. “You did wonderful.”
John hummed and gave the man’s hair another tug. “If you’re going to fall asleep, might as well do it in our bed, hm?”
Our bed. That gave Mavis butterflies. He smiled bashfully, turning his head away from John’s eyes, trying very hard not to giggle about it either. He shifted to stand and Peaches got up, jumping off the couch and meandering upstairs. Mavis looked like an idiot in love, even looking down at the sickest man in Hope County. John looked up at the deputy before he smiled a little and lifted his hands, like a child asking for uppies. It made Mavis snort.
“Okay, John, but only just because you’re not feeling well.” Mavis chuckled and turned the TV off.
He wrapped his arms around John, then shifted to hold him in a bridal style and carry him upstairs. John looked up at Mavis the entire time, mirroring Mavis’ stupidly enamoured expression, unable to help himself from feeling so in love with the deputy. The prime enemy to the Project. John didn’t care now. As he was set down on the mattress, John curled up in the comforter, watching Mavis disappear to go brush his teeth and get ready.
Mavis crawled back in a few minutes later, the bed dipping beneath his weight until he was wrapped perfectly around John, arms surrounding him and keeping him warm. John normally did not like being the little spoon when they cuddled, but he could not help himself but absolutely love being wrapped up like this. Taken care of properly. John sighed.
“I can still taste that medicine, you know.”
Mavis chuckled lowly behind him, the sound vibrating in his chest and rattling John’s skull. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to give it to me again.” John groaned.
“I might. You’ll need it to be big and strong again.”
“Yeah, yeah…” John yawned, then nestled back into the large man.
Peaches had found her way into their room and curled up in front of John, purring away and vibrating the entire mattress. Mavis copied her, and soon John felt like he was being shaken around, but it was rather calming. As he began to doze off, he could hear Mavis’ sleepy voice above the loud lawnmower of their cat.
“What was that?” John asked, shifting his head to look back at the large man.
Mavis opened an eye and looked up at him. “I said, I love you.”
“Oh.” John closed his eyes and turned his head, a bashful smile creeping across his face as he nestled into the blanket, his cheeks heating up and his body feeling comfortably warm. “I love you too.”