Chapter Text
Whenever Bojan was over, Jere was used to waking up slowly, from light touches and sweet nothings. So, it was a bit startling to wake up to his usual vibrating alarm. Jere groped around under his pillow attempting to quell the vibrations. Eventually, he found his phone and turned the alarm off.
After sitting up, Jere turned to face Bojan, curious as to why he had not woken up before him as he liked to do. The answer was simple: he was still asleep. Jere had the fleeting thought that Bojan hadn’t set an alarm at all, but a quick tap of his phone screen showed that he had actually slept through it. Figuring he was just tired, Jere decided to leave Bojan be. But as he retracted his hand, he brushed Bojan’s shoulder and realized that he was vibrating.
At first Jere thought he must have been shivering, as Jere did prefer to keep it a bit cool in his room, but after resting his hand on Bojan’s shoulder for a longer moment, Jere realized he was snoring. In that moment, Jere had just thought that it was endearing, and was thankful that he wasn’t kept awake by it at night.
It was going to be a slow day, so Jere didn’t bother to put his hearing aids in. He figured that when Bojan woke up, he’d come and find him. He brewed his own coffee, made his own breakfast, and sat down at his computer.
About an hour or so later, Jere saw the door to his bedroom move. He figured that meant Bojan was awake. And he was right! No more than a minute went by before Bojan actually emerged from their shared room. Jere was happy to see him, but first noticed his appearance. It was not uncommon to see Bojan in a sweater that made him look small, but that and his mussed-up hair made him look positively childlike. The thing that stood out to Jere, though, was his face. Bojan had dark circles under his eyes, and his nose was tinged red. As he approached, Jere began to type a message out on his phone.
***
“Morning,” Bojan said sleepily. He had not intended to sleep that late at all. He saw Jere typing and paused before his desk. Finally, after much deliberation, it seemed, Jere turned his phone around.
you okei?
Bojan had a choice: be honest, and potentially have Jere fuss over next to nothing, or lie, and potentially get shit for it later. Because, truth be told, Bojan needed the extra hour of sleep. He felt like he had been hit by a truck when he woke up, and it was difficult to breathe through his nose. But he figured that it would probably go away with a cup of coffee and a hearty breakfast. So he chose to lie.
“I’m fine,” he reassured. He would have to put on concealer to hide his eye bags.
***
Jere saw Bojan mouth “I’m fine” and remembered he had neglected to put on his hearing aids. He figured that he was getting better at lip reading every day, and he could use today as some practice. He had debated about coming right out and asking Bojan about the dark circles and the snoring, but he thought it better to let him admit it on his own.
One of the upsides of being deaf with a hearing boyfriend, was that Bojan could watch TV while Jere (who had migrated to the couch so the two could snuggle) could still focus on his work. Sure, doing work on a laptop was a bit more difficult than on a desktop, but people make sacrifices for their lovers all the time.
When Jere wasn’t devoting his attention entirely to his work (which, let’s be honest, who could actually do that when Bojan was sitting right next to him) he was watching his boyfriend. He seemed to be acting pretty normal, taking sips of his coffee every so often and such, except for the fact that when he wasn’t drinking his coffee, he was rubbing his throat and nose. Jere thought back to the snoring. Was Bojan getting sick? He considered this thought. Well, if he was, he would probably tell me.
***
Bojan tried to surreptitiously clear his throat without drawing Jere’s attention. He supposed that the fact that he was trying to be secretive about it even though Jere couldn’t even hear him was proof enough that he should tell him that he was feeling off. But he didn’t.
***
After a while of watching TV, Bojan had decided to do some chores. At this pronouncement, Jere went back to his desktop, abandoning his laptop on the couch. When he wasn’t focusing on his work, Jere absentmindedly watched Bojan do the laundry, wash the dishes, and tidy the living area by either directly looking at him, or through the reflection on his computer screen. So, when Bojan came up behind him and put a hand on his chair, Jere could see him coming in the reflection. He opened the notes application on the desktop.
Hei <3
He saw Bojan smile. Even though he couldn’t employ his usual emojis, analog emoticons would have to do. Bojan lifted his hand and put it to work ruffling Jere’s hair playfully. He grinned at this, until suddenly it stopped. Jere consulted the reflection, extending his hands to the keyboard, when suddenly Bojan gripped his head rather tightly and lurched to the side, bent double. Jere quickly erased his previous message to type a new one.
what happen???
Bojan kissed the top of Jere’s head before responding verbally. Jere turned around and asked Bojan to repeat what he had said, decoding a message of “Sorry, I sneezed.” He looked too embarrassed for Jere to want to give him shit for it anyway. He typed a new message.
good to know you not dying :p
Jere turned to see Bojan mouthing “Rude.” At this, Jere held out his hands incredulously as if to say, “Well what else am I supposed to say?” Bojan pushed Jere’s head.
“You’re supposed to say ‘bless you’ you ass!” he said (Jere had to ask him to repeat it nearly 5 times to get the full sentence…the “you ass” had been dropped after the first repetition but unfortunately that was the only thing Jere “heard” the first time…). Jere typed another message.
Bless you then >w<
Bless you. Jere had come across the phrase when learning his rudimentary English but hadn’t really thought that people said it. But Bojan, who seemed to be more experienced than him (even though he wouldn’t admit it) had proved him wrong. He would have to practice that phrase.
***
Bojan went back to doing chores. That had been a close call. He had been able to hide the sneezes under the guise of picking things up, or simply turning away from Jere, as he wouldn’t have been able to hear him anyway. Bojan felt lucky, even, that Jere hadn’t said anything. If he was able to kick this chill, and soon, it would be like nothing had ever happened.
Now, finally, Bojan had to do the chores he had been saving for last: the errands. It was not the coldest of cold days, but he was nervous that going out may exacerbate what symptoms he was already experiencing. And, after bidding farewell to his favorite little guy, he found he was right.
The arid air was harsh on his throat, and the wind made his nose run. The cool climate didn’t help with his inability to warm up, either. With these advancements, Bojan figured that he’d complete all of his regular errands, and then stop by a drug store on the way home to pick up some medicine.
***
Once Bojan was gone, Jere finished his work at a much faster pace. In fact, he got done way before he thought he’d be. Which left him some time to himself. After spending a little time outside (he realized that it was nearly sundown and he hadn’t been outside), Jere got to work on something he thought would make Bojan happy.
He put his neon green hearing aids in, feeling the click as the battery doors locked shut. The startup sound played, and suddenly the noise filtered in. Cars, people, animals, machines. Jere stood in front of the mirror and cleared his throat. The sound was loud and gruff. He summoned his voice, just to warm up, and tried not to be embarrassed about his “deaf accent” anymore. Bojan liked it, so why couldn’t he?
***
The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. Bojan was finishing up his errands–there was one left: the drug store. It had originally been a tentative addition to the list, but the longer he spent out of the house, the more concrete the idea became. Walking into the store and picking up a basket, he stifled two sneezes into the back of his hand. He was going to have a hard time continuing to hide this from Jere, he thought. Strolling down the “cold & flu” aisle, Bojan had no reservations putting anything and everything into his basket. If it said the words “cold relief” on it, into the basket it went. He also picked up two more boxes of tissues, and a bag of candy for good measure. The more things that weren’t sickness-related, the easier time Bojan would have hiding his purchase. He used the self-checkout and put the medicine at the bottom of his tote bag.
***
Jere was starting to think about dinner when he heard the front door unlock. He watched as Bojan stumbled in, setting his things down on the kitchen counter before letting out a few coughs that were so rough Jere thought he might tear a hole in his throat. Before he could even take a breath, though, Bojan was then launched into a sneezing fit that had him white-knuckling the counter.
All but teleporting to Bojan’s side, Jere snaked his hand around Bojan’s middle and across his chest, hugging him from behind. Rooting through his memories from that day, Jere began to piece together a story where Bojan’s health declined rather quickly, and he had barely even noticed.
“Hey, baby,” Bojan murmured. He was still holding on to the counter for support, but at least he wasn’t gripping it like it was his last tether to life.
“Bless you,” Jere offered in his thick deaf accent. He froze and Jere let go, fearing he’d done something wrong. Bojan whirled around, and Jere could see his eyes lock in on his hearing aids. It seemed that he had been counting on him not being able to hear him. Jere typed a message on his phone.
why you did not tell to me you are sick? 🤒 i take care with you
Bojan ran a hand over his face and sighed.
“I guess I thought it’d go away? That if I ignored it for long enough, I wouldn’t have to deal with it? I don’t know. I should have told you. I’m sorry,” he said, remorse and exhaustion clear in his voice. Jere typed another message.
I want to make you feel better 📈📈i cant help if you dont say to me things 😶
Bojan seemed to want to respond but was overtaken by the need to sneeze. He gasped loudly and grabbed Jere’s shoulder instead of the counter for support.
“Bless you,” Jere said again, moving to grab a paper towel when Bojan wouldn’t take his hand off his face.
“Thanks,” Bojan mumbled, wiping his nose and mouth with the rough paper. Before he could even mention the tissues in the tote bag, Jere was showing him another message.
you go sitting down now 🪑i put away the things and make the diner 🍝🍲🍛
***
Obediently, Bojan shucked his coat and sat on the couch, this time, alone. He tried not to feel so embarrassed or out of line whenever he coughed or deigned to clear his throat. He watched as Jere unpacked all of the groceries he had bought that day, and finally discovered the tissues and medicine at the bottom. He heard Jere make a noise that sounded suspiciously like a “tsk” before watching him put a kettle on.
He tried to distract himself with his phone, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what Jere had asked him. Why didn’t he tell him he was feeling unwell? What he said had been true–he did really think that if he willed away the sickness then it would actually go away. But Jere was there for Bojan to lean on just as much as Bojan was there for Jere. A relationship is a two-way street, he recalled having heard once.
***
Before starting on the actual food, Jere prepares a cup of tea and some medicine for Bojan. Both of those things and one of the boxes of tissues he discovered in Bojan’s bag made him wish he had taken two trips once he left the kitchen.
Bojan gave a start when Jere set down the tea. He seemed to have been thinking about something, pretty hard at that, for him to not notice Jere coming with the addition of the gift of hearing.
“I’m sorry for not telling you I was sick,” Bojan apologized again. Jere ran his hand from the crown of Bojan’s head down to the base of his neck when he heard him say this. He pulled Bojan’s head to his chest. He hoped that Bojan got some of the meaning that Jere was trying to convey through these actions. You don’t have to be sorry. What happened is in the past, and we’re here, now, together, doing this as a team. Let me care for you, the way I know you would have, and the way you have cared for me.
Bojan let out a content sigh, and Jere felt as if he had been understood.