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Every year, without exception, as soon as November comes around, Stiles gets sick.
It's never anything more serious than the flu; it's usually just a persistent case of the sniffles and a cough that lingers nearly all the way to Christmas. But, when combined with the increasingly shitty weather and the stress of school ramping up, it ends up feeling like the absolute end of the world.
By mid-October, Stiles can tell that his annual cold is on the way. There's a tickle in his throat for most of the day, one that can't be scratched no matter how much water or tea he drinks. Sometimes, when he wakes up in the middle of the night, his nose is so stuffed up that he can't breathe, but it always dissipates by morning.
He keeps chugging orange juice, chewing vitamin C tablets and constantly washing his hands, all while hoping that his cold will at least stay away until after Halloween. He can't be sick on Halloween; he's supposed to go with Kira and Scott to a costume party that Danny's holding. Their costumes are ready; he'd spent weeks working with Lydia to paint the perfect matching Pac-Man ghost outfits for them.
But when Halloween comes, his red ghost costume stays tucked under his bed, because he is sick.
He wakes up to find himself coughing from deep in his chest, lungs already sore and aching. His head is so full of mucus that he can barely think and when he finally manages to suck in a full breath, he realizes the itch in his throat has progressed to something far sharper.
"Fuck," he mutters to himself, wincing as pain runs down his throat. He rolls over to grab his phone and check the time. He's slept until just after one, and the party is supposed to start at five. Thinking about missing it makes him groan again; Kira and Scott have been excited about it since the start of October and he hates to let them down.
But much as he loves both of them, he feels like he's been run over and he doesn't want to ruin their Halloween by either sneezing on their costumes or coughing his lungs out. He sends both of them a text (which might have been a little long and rambling, he realizes after the fact) and manages to make it to his kitchen. There's a stack of chicken soup stashed in his cupboard and after heating a can up, he settles on the living room couch underneath the warmest blanket he can find.
"Fucking November," he grumbles, wrapping the blanket tighter around his shoulders as a cold chill runs down his spine.
He puts on Netflix but only makes it through half an episode of The X-Files before passing out. When he wakes up again, the living room is dark and there's someone knocking on his door. He stumbles through his pitch-black apartment, tripping over the edge of his blanket with every other step, hoping to God that it's not trick or treaters.
Instead, he's met with Scott and Kira, both of them absolutely beaming.
"Happy Halloween!" they yell in sync. Kira's holding a six-pack of Gatorade and Scott has an extra blanket draped over his arms and if Stiles didn't feel absolutely disgusting, he would kiss them both.
"What are you doing here?" he asks, flicking on a light and stepping aside to let them into the apartment. "Did Danny's party get canceled?"
"Not that we know of," Scott says.
"We wanted to see you," Kira says. "Besides, cuddling always helps when I'm feeling sick." Before Stiles can reply, a cough explodes from his chest and he has to take a moment to get his breath back. When he stands back up straight, Scott presses a bottle of cough syrup into his hands.
"I love you," Stiles sighs, tucking the bottle into the folds of his blanket cape.
"Love you too," both Kira and Scott reply, so in sync that it kind of makes Stiles' head hurt.
"C'mon," Kira says, grabbing part of Stiles' blanket and pulling him towards the living room. "There's lots of Halloween movies on Netflix, and we brought candy too."
"Have I mentioned lately that I love you both?" Stiles says, letting Kira tug him along.
&.
They start with Hocus Pocus, which Stiles hasn't seen in years. After that, they move on to The Addams Family and after downing his second bottle of Gatorade, Stiles swigs back some cough syrup, wincing at the horrible taste.
"Sorry," Scott says when Stiles shudders and tosses the bottle aside. "We couldn't find any of the bubble gum flavor."
"It's fine," Stiles says, tugging his blankets tighter around himself and laying his head on Kira's shoulder. "But please pass me more Gatorade."
By the time The Addams Family finishes up, the medicine is starting to kick in. His coughing has stopped coming with such ferocity but his eyelids are starting to droop as well. Regardless, it's his turn to pick the movie and he immediately scrolls down to a ghost movie he's already seen. He presses play and settles back with his head in Kira's lap and his legs draped over Scott's.
"Let me know if you like it," Stiles mumbles and the next thing he knows, his apartment is flooded with light and there's a kink in his neck. There's drool crusted to his face and he wipes it away as he sits up slowly and peers around.
He's definitely been asleep for hours, but everything is exactly as he left it. Kira and Scott are both still on the couch, although their eyelids look heavy and they're holding hands behind Stiles' back. Netflix is still on, playing a Disney movie that Stiles only vaguely recognizes.
"Hey," he rasps. "What time is it?"
"Just after eight, I think," Scott says, breaking off into a massive yawn.
"How was the movie?" Stiles asks. Neither of them speak for a few moments; instead, their cheeks flush and they both bite their lips.
"Um, we didn't actually finish it," Kira finally says quietly.
"I'm surprised we didn't wake you up," Scott adds, rubbing at the back of his neck. "We jumped a lot. It was pretty scary."
"We've been watching Disney movies since. You looked so comfortable and we didn't really want to walk through your apartment in the dark."
"Oh my God," Stiles groans, dropping his head against Scott's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't think-"
"You were barely conscious," Scott replies, pressing a kiss against Stiles' hair. "We forgive you."
"Besides, it's not Halloween without getting scared," Kira murmurs, brushing her lips against Stiles' forehead. She has to pull away to yawn as well and Stiles sighs before taking both of them by the hand.
"Come on," he says, standing up. "You need to get some sleep."
"If you get your bed ready, we'll be there in a minute," Scott replies, kissing Stiles one more time before heading off towards the washroom.
Stiles halfassedly makes his bed before collapsing into it. By the time Kira and Scott come back, he's on the verge of passing out again.
"Might be a bit of a tight fit," he mumbles, scooting as far as he can towards the edge.
"We'll make it work," Scott says, taking the middle spot and pulling Stiles towards his chest. After Kira joins them, she pulls the blankets up and drapes her arm over the two of them, until her hand is resting on Stiles' hip. It is a bit of a squeeze, but it feels right. They've only been officially together for three months, not nearly long enough to even think about moving into the same apartment, but Stiles thinks he could get used to this, get used to having both Kira and Scott beside him every single night.
"Don't worry about the ghosts," Stiles mumbles against Scott's chest, reaching out until he can feel Kira as well. "I'll protect you. I have a bat, you know."
"Stiles, go back to sleep," Kira mumbles, gently squeezing his hip.
"We love you," Scott whispers, rubbing his hand down Stiles' back.
Stiles loves them too. And even if November is still going to be an awful month, filled with sore noses and sore chests and disgusting cough medicine, he thinks that he'll be able to get through it, so long as the two of them are close by.