Work Text:
To say Luis was sick would be an understatement.
Sure, he was no stranger to pain; after all, getting a knife stabbed cleanly through your spine was bound to leave anyone with at least some chronic pain-
But this was just straight up dreadful.
Luis had no clue where he might’ve caught it from, let alone from who, because he’d rarely left the house all weekend- but like some kind of cruel twist of fate, he had come down with the worst flu of his entire life seemingly overnight.
Ok. Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. Luis had dealt with worse. Like, a lot worse. He’d fallen sick to his own creations and experienced pain no single human being should have ever had to go through more times than he could count on his own two hands-
But that didn’t mean the flu he currently had didn’t suck. And he sure as all hell made it known just how bad it was whenever he wasn’t in so much agony he could hardly talk.
‘Is this really all it takes to shut you up?’ Leon had joked one morning, earning him a weak but passionate slap across the shoulder. Luis had to bite his lip hard in order to not fall into a disarray of giggles at the mere sight of Leon smiling like a sheepish young boy.
‘ Maybe you should get sick more often”
“Maybe you should get off your ass and help me, Pendejo”
“Alright, alright!! Such a drama queen…”
That was, of course, all before Luis got really sick.
In just a matter of hours, Luis was left totally bedridden. He couldn’t stand (Actually, he couldn’t stand or walk, like, at all most of the time- having a hole on your spine does that to you) and his body just felt awful.
Luis’ head throbbed with what he thought was one of the worst headaches he’d ever experienced in his entire life- his brain thrashing around in his own skull like church bells on a Sunday morning- and his chest ached and rattled with every intake of breath he took. It sounded awful, and it felt even worse. At times he just felt like holding his breath for a few seconds just to alleviate some of the pain.
His entire body felt like lead and the ends of his limbs tingled with sharp, stabbing pins-and-needles; if he dared tried to move his head or god forbid stand up, his limbs and skull held him down like a fishing lure.
But the absolute worst part of it all were the cold chills.
Every few seconds, sharp, painful chills would Wrack Luis’ spine and leave him shivering cold- colder than he should have been inside of his and Leon’s warmed-up apartment. The chills felt like repetitive, stabbing, freezing knives crawling up his back every few seconds and goddamnit he just wished they would stop already. He’d had more than enough of knives in his back to last him a lifetime, after all.
They felt almost painful, and no matter how much he begged Leon for more blankets, he insisted on keeping just a single thin bed sheet over his back as Luis curled in on himself in an attempt to gather any semblance of heat.
“ You’ll overheat if I give you more blankets,” Leon had explained. The warm hand on Luis’ forehead checking his temperature feeling like a godsend.
“ And you’re already burning up. You’ll just make yourself more sick, dove”
“Mmmmcold…….” Was all he had the energy to reply with in the moment as he brought his wrists up to his chin and whined when another chill wracked his spine.
Leon gave an ever-familiar sympathetic sigh, “ I know, I know… it’ll pass, doll. I swear.”
And that’s more or less how Luis ended up in the position he was. Curled up with his knees at his chest and his wrists tucked under his chin, feeling simultaneously too tired to move yet too sore to fall asleep. If he dare try and move from the position he curled himself up into, his body would pull him back down into the bed again like a ball-and-chain. So all he could do was close his eyes, sigh, and wait for either sleep to come or for something to happen and grant him some relief.
Luis felt Leon slip into the bed beside him, his familiar weight sinking against the mattress and even though he could hardly open his eyes to see, Luis could just tell Leon had something in his hands.
“You feeling alright, dove?”
Leon asked, his voice soft and full of sympathy. Luis very rarely ever got to hear Leon be so quiet and gentle, so as awful as the situation was, he treasured it best he could.
Luis couldn’t say anything in response. He just gave a grunt-y noise from his throat to confirm he was still alive and went straight back to feeling like dead weight.
He physically cringed when another sharp, painful cold chill shot up his spine.
And Leon must’ve noticed, because in seconds, his hands were already carding through his long, fanned-out hair and scratching the temple of his head with repetitive and reassuring scritch-scratch-scritch-scratches. Luis’ hair has grown significantly longer since when they first met, and he was surprised Leon’s fingers didn’t get tangled in his curls.
The blonde's nails felt almost heavenly against the brunette's scalp and he wished he could fall asleep like that forever.
Luis didn’t even realize a moment had passed until Leon spoke up once more,
“I made you some dinner”
That got his attention. He peeled his heavy eyelids apart and blinked at the plate Leon held in his hands; too disoriented to make out what was on it.
“It’s just some cheese sandwiches,” Leon mumbled, sounding a little embarrassed. If Luis were feeling even the slightest bit better, he probably would’ve made a jab at Leon’s American-style dish and lack of cooking skills- but honestly? His heart felt like it was melting at just the thought of his partner cooking him something while sick.
Mierda, está locamente enamorado de este hombre.
“I know it’s not a lot, but…”
Leon continued on, picking up a slice and holding it up to where Luis lay with his vision half-swallowed by the pillows. The smell of warm cheese was oddly welcome.
“But, y’know, you haven’t eaten all day, and you need something in your body,” Leon’s tone was far from upset, but he was definitely trying his best to get his point across to Luis- who, right now, felt like doing anything but eating.
“‘Sides, I made these specially for yooouuuu…”
Luis huffed as much of a laugh as he could manage at Leon’s tone, a smile barely evident on his face- but it was enough of a confirmation for Leon to take the bait.
“C’mon, you know you want iiiiiiittttt….”
“ M jus’ sssso tired….” Luis tried to defend himself, every word that came from his mouth rung in his skull and only added to the already painful headache.
He tried his best to not seem even the slightest amused by Leon, but goddamn, was it hard.
“I know you’re tired, hun,”
Leon kissed Luis’ (rather sweaty) forehead and began rubbing circles into his back when the brunette shivered yet again. And Luis practically melted at his touch; grateful for even just the smallest bit of warmth against his skin. Leon was like a walking furnace most of the time, which only made Luis want to instinctively curl up to him even further.
“But you’ve gotta eat something. You’re just gonna get more sick if you don’t”
Luis made a noise that vaguely sounded like ‘I don’t care’, but it was far too muffled to realistically be considered English at all. If even just moving his head and talking was enough to have Luis’ skull feel like it was collapsing in on him from the inside out, he shuddered to imagine what eating would feel like.
When he heard Leon sigh in defeat, Luis mentally rewarded himself for winning their make-believe war of attrition;
Only to be stopped in his tracks when he heard Leon making…. Fucking plane sounds???
“ Bbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrr…….”
“ Leeeoonn…-“ ‘ ¿Qué carajo estás haciendo?’ Is what Lui s wanted to say, but he was promptly cut off when Leon continued;
“Uh, here comes the aeroplane…. Nyoooom…..”
“ Jesús maldito cristo- Leon!!”
Finally, finally- of all the goddamn things- that finally got a reaction out of Luis. He threw his head back against the pillow and laughed harder than he had in days. Was it painful? Oh, absolutely- his head felt like it was being slammed against a wall and his chest rattled like crazy;
But Luis would be lying if he said he wouldn’t trade Leon’s laughter alongside his it for the world.
“ You- Santa mierda- you can’t make t-those jokes!! Joder, you are a secret agent!!”
“ Special agent, actually” the ‘special agent’ smiled, clearly biting back his own laughter as Luis’ only grew more and more.
“That has- got to be- the worst joke you have ever made-“ Luis tried to make out a sentence inbetween his rattly coughs and sharp chills, but much to his dismay, Leon only continued.
“Damn, I guess I better step up my game then huh-“
“ Por favor no-“
“Ok, ok, how about this,”
Leon sat up on his haunches, finally taking the accursed sandwich away from Luis’ mouth.
“If you take at least a couple bites, I promise I’ll never make a joke that bad ever again”
“ Ever?” Luis croaked from his pillow, an eyebrow raised and his smile crooked. He could hardly make out Leon’s expression, but if he had to guess, it was probably one of dishonesty.
“I swear on my mother’s life I won’t”
“You don’t have a mother”
Now it was Leon’s turn to burst out into laughter; loud, uninterrupted and honest. Even through the pain, it was music to Luis’ ears.
“Just eat your damn sandwich, doll”
“ Mmmmmmonly cuz I love you cariño….”
Leon scratched the top of his head one last time and gave him a kiss on the forehead, chuckling breathily;
“I love you too.”
Luis managed to eat… most of the sandwiches Leon had made him. He’d gotten through two of them- conveniently leaving out the crust- before finally succumbing to his own need for sleep.
He was right in his theories, though; every single chew he took make his brain feel like it was being slammed against a wall, but at least the cold chills stopped- and everytime he swallowed, Leon gave a quiet, almost unintentional little ‘ good job’, from the back of his throat. Which probably shouldn’t have made Luis feel as warm as it did- but he didn’t have the strength to care. Or even begin to try and dissect why.
Sure, it felt rather childish to be fed like some kind of dying Victorian child- but there was something undeniably intimate about letting Leon just… take care of him. Even if just for a moment. With no guilt to follow suit. Something Luis hadn’t experienced in a good long while.
Would it be strange to say it reminded him of when his Abuelo used to make him tomato soup when he was a little boy all the way back in Valdelobos whenever he was sick? Maybe that was a discussion for another evening.
The longer he chewed, the more tired Luis grew; to the point where he was literally falling asleep with food in his mouth half-chew. Head slacking and eyes dropping closed, Leon had to pull his hand away from his mouth and tap his chin or give his head a little scratch as a reminder to not fall asleep with food in his mouth.
“ C’mon, dove,” he’d whisper, his voice full of quiet sympathy and affection.
“ You’ve gotta finish it. For me?”
“Hhhmmphh…”
“You’re gonna choke if you don’t swallow..”
Eventually, though, Luis had to push Leon’s hand away and silently say ‘ no more’. Thankfully his partner could read him like an open book and was curled up by his side in a matter of seconds, continuing to rub his back in comforting, repetitive motions.
Their foreheads were inches away from touching, and it was very apparent just how rattly Luis’ breath was; but Leon didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.
“ Yyyoour’re gnna catch mmy fluuu…”
“ I couldn’t care less,” Leon chuckled at Luis’ sleepy tone, closing the gap between them with a kiss to his flush forehead.
“ ‘Just means I get to spend more time with you”
Luis could hardly open his mouth to complain before Leon already had a hand through his hair, carding his fingers softly against his scalp.
“ Go to sleep, dove,”
He whispered,
“ You’ll feel better in the morning.”
Luis didn’t need to be told twice. And so he fell asleep in Leon’s arms faster than he ever had in his entire life.
And despite his body’s attempts, Luis had somehow gotten one of the best night's sleep he had ever had in his entire life.