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It wasn’t often that he sang in such a low, gentle voice. In fact, it was basically never.
Levi brushed aside Violet’s hair and adjusted it just the way she liked it when she was awake, especially how he would on those nights they would stare longingly at each other before falling asleep. Ugh, so pathetically cliche…
But damn, if he didn’t adore it.
Violet sighed, relieved but frustrated that she was too weak to move her arms to do it herself.
“It’s okay,” Levi mumbled, almost to reassure himself as well.
His cool tail slithered over her hip and beneath her pajama shirt in hopes of cooling her fever. Her smooth skin was hot on his scales. He hoped it wasn’t an emergency. Was it an emergency? Did he need to call a doctor or a professional or something? Maybe Lucifer? He’d know what to do. He always took care of the brothers when they got sick, but Levi hardly ever took care of anyone but himself for all these years.
“M-maybe we should, um…take your temperature again, Vi,” he said, sitting up in her bed to snatch the thermometer from a bin on the nightstand.
Other items inside the container included cool compresses, bandages, and medicated creams, along with a million random things that she’d collected over the years in hopes that the items would help her if she got hurt. But the only useful thing at the moment—and probably long-term—was the thermometer.
He pressed the metal tip to her lips, wishing he could give them a kiss but worrying that the touch might definitely give him the autumn flu. Granted, he already was practically guaranteed to get it by virtue of hanging around her house while she was sick, but dammit if he was going to let his Player 2 suffer all by herself. Besides, she was worried that she couldn’t take care of cooking or cleaning, though her anxiety was lessened a little in her sickness. On occasion, she asked him to check the doors or adjust her blankets, but for the most part, she slept.
And when she slept, he sang. Quietly. To himself. But he did, in order to occupy his time.
For now, Levi took her temperature and checked the number with a frown. “Well, it hasn’t gone up, at least,” he mumbled, throwing the thermometer back into the bin to sanitize later. “You’re still a thousand degrees though. Should I maybe…get you more ice or something?”
“No. I’m fine,” she replied, rolling onto her back and lifting her shirt until it rested beneath her breasts. “I’m burning up. I feel so hot.” His tail followed her body’s movements, giving a little massage over her stomach before the majority retreated back to Levi’s side. Its tip, however, flicked into her palm, where she rubbed the scales in a tired tic.
“I don’t know what I can do then,” he said, trying his hardest to keep distance between them so that he didn’t burn her any further. The last thing she needed was more body heat. “C-can I…I don’t know. I think you just need to sleep it off, huh?”
“Probably.” Violet’s voice cracked, her throat sore and clogged as she coughed out a groan. “I hate this. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’m so sorry. It’s so gross.”
“It’s fine, Vi,” he repeated, a bit more firmly as he got more comfortable beside her on the bed. This time, he rested his head on the same king-sized pillow as her, his face close but still feeling so far away. “I’ve seen worse. You’ve never seen what Asmo looks like when he gets the flu.”
She laughed, but only for a moment before a sharp cough took over her lungs.
Frowning, Levi reached his hand across the pillow to brush back her ivory hair again and try to fix her loose bun. A stray curl wouldn’t stay behind her ear, and he knew it’d drive her nuts if she was conscious enough. Despite him trying to help, she struggled against his touch, moaning out an almost incomprehensible, “I hate this so much. I’m so uncomfortable.”
“Do you want to take a cool bath?” he asked, hopeful. “I don’t mind…I mean, I can…carry you to the tub…or I-I can try to. I know you don’t like when I do that, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a bath.”
“I want to sleep,” she whined, turning her face away and sniffling. “Maybe you can play some music.”
“Music? Oh, that’s smart.” He reached for his phone and opened his library. “Do you want anime theme songs, or outros, or maybe a MIDI soundtrack? Ooh, or there’s the piano covers of Sucre Frenzy songs. Those might be good!”
“Anything,” she sighed, voice harsh with tears of frustration, “as long as it’s relaxing.”
Levi’s throat tightened in sympathy. “Ah, Vi…”
How uncomfortable was she? Red-faced and barely moving, Violet shifted in desperation to feel better to no avail.
Demon flus were nothing to overlook. Though they didn’t last as long as those in the human world, the symptoms always seemed worse—at least, when it happened to the love of his life, Levi swore he’d never seen anyone get any sicker than this.
He chose to play soft covers of some of his favorite pop songs. Not the best idea, to be fair. Once he settled beside Violet again with the phone in between their heads, he couldn’t stop himself from humming along. His fingers moved to the rhythm as though he were conducting a small orchestra, and his eyes closed as he drifted away into his own world where everything was okay.
“Levi?”
Startled, his eyes launched open. “H-huh? What’s wrong?”
She smiled, rolling back on her side and scooting a little closer, her legs intertwining with his but her face staying further away so that she could catch his eye. To be fair, she didn’t have to try getting his attention. She already had it entirely, all the time, anywhere she wanted or needed it.
“I like when you sing along,” she said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder and running it down to his wrist, where she squeezed as hard as her weak body allowed her.
“M-me?” he asked, shocked. “I-I didn’t mean to…It was an accident.”
“No, I like it,” she repeated. “Keep doing it? For me?”
Embarrassed at getting caught, Levi felt a flush scurry into his cheeks and straightened his bangs to cover his eyes. How humiliating. He couldn’t sing in front of her in this condition, and with such quiet background music? She’d hear his voice shaking and off-key and maybe even hate the way it sounded. So what if they’d been to karaoke together? That had backing vocals and booming bass. This classical stuff was borderline criminal to sing along to.
But…
But she seemed to really want to hear him sing.
It wasn’t often that he sang gently, but now, he had no other option.
So, eyes clenched shut, only peeking through them to see that Violet wasn’t watching, Levi sang.
He didn’t sing well; the lyrics were weird and the pitch was out of his range, especially while he tried to be quiet so that she could fall asleep.
But when he allowed his eyes to reopen to check whether Violet was resting, he found her gaze locked away, her body heavy though she continued to sniffle through a stuffy nose.
His tail slid back over her hip and ran up her spine, rubbing a tender massage into her sore back. She hummed, almost following the rhythm of the song before she cleared her throat to avoid a cough.
He sang.
He simply sang for her.
And soon enough, she drifted into a semblance of sleep, her mouth opening so she could breathe and her shallow inhales coming out in cute little snores. If he didn’t think she would kill him and if she didn’t look so burnt and gross, he might have taken a picture. During any normal nap, he would’ve killed to have the chance to have such an adorable photo of his dearest partner, but now…Maybe it was better if he didn’t.
She would get better, he thought, brushing back her hair once again and resting his palm on her forehead. Still hot. His fingers tangled into her damp curls as he swept it out of her face.
“It’s fine,” he mumbled, still wishing he could kiss her goodnight, though it was only two in the afternoon. “You’ll be okay, Vi. I can take care of you.”