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Yonny was roused by the gentle patter of rain against his windows, and promptly startled awake by the not-so gentle sound of Dingo hacking up a lung in the other room. They rubbed their eyes as they lazily dressed themself, ready to spend the day playing doctor as needed.
The ranger was rarely ever sick as a kid, likely due to the fact that he often played out in the dirt as encouraged by his parents. But when he did get sick, boy was it hell to deal with. Yonny was honestly lucky that they had been friends for so long, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to put up with his stubbornness; they vividly remember a time where he put up such a fuss that his mother had to crush up his tablets and hide it in his food, like one would do for a dog.
Ah, it had been a while since they had to really take care of Dingo like this, way back in their college days. It never got any easier.
Yonny approached his friend’s door and knocked, hearing a groan on the other end. The door creaked open and the doctor was happy to find Muffin curled up on Dingo’s chest, content to bounce every time the ranger was taken over by a violent coughing fit. They quietly chuckled at the sight, walking in to sit beside Dingo.
“Morning, Dee.”
Dingo squinted up at the doctor, trying to make out their silhouette in the dark. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a croaky mess of unintelligible noises.
“Already lost your voice?” they sighed, brushing some hair out of the ranger’s eyes.
He nodded, idly petting Muffin’s soft fur. Yonny felt his temperature with the back of their hand and, unsurprisingly, he was feverish. The poor thing was really going through it today, huh? To think it all started with a sniffle when he came back from a mission… Stars, to think after all his time eating dirt, his immune system still left much to be desired.
“Right, I’ll make you some breakfast. But you have to get up, okay?”
“Ugh…”
“I’ll be in the kitchen.”
As the kettle boiled, and the toaster heated up behind them, Yonny prepared some plates and mugs. Dingo was never much of a tea person, but with his wrecked throat, he ought to get used to it for his own sake. Some honey and lemon juice swirling in the hot drink should help soothe the ache. If only he had some ginger to throw in too, as they themself used to do when they caught a cold.
Yonny picked up a bag of kibble and soon heard the quick pitter patter of furry footsteps as Muffin cried out for food. They obliged as they still had some time before the kettle would be finished, the poor girl seemed awfully hungry too, spending all day and night on Dingo’s bed.
Following behind the ginger cat was Dingo himself, shoulders stiff and eyes bloodshot. Yonny was tempted to bring attention to his dishevelled appearance, but he wasn’t likely to take it well so they held back. Plus, another thing took their attention before they even had the chance to greet the ranger.
“Dingo. Put some pants on.”
“Nope.” he muttered, plopping himself down at the table.
“Have you no shame?”
When they only got silence in return, they rolled their eyes and started pouring Dingo’s drink, only to get distracted once more. This time it was a phone call, reminding them that they had forgotten to call in sick. The others must have been confused to see neither of them show up at HQ.
They put the phone to their ear, trying to balance it on their shoulder as they juggled their other tasks.
“Hello?”
It was the Captain. “Yonny! Where are you, and where’s Dingo?”
“Ah, well Dingo is…” they glanced out at the wet outdoors, “a little under the weather, ehehe!”
“I’m sorry to hear that. What about you?”
“I’m staying back to take care of him, but if you ever need my services I’m just a call away!”
“Alright… Well, I’ll leave you to it. Hopefully today will be a slow day.”
A slow day indeed, for the two Ohrians at least. Yonny said his goodbyes and hung up the call, plating up Dingo’s breakfast and setting it out on the table. The ranger looked down at the choice of spread on his toast and groaned, voice raspy as he forced out his childish complaint.
“I hate honey.”
“And I hate seeing you sick. Now eat up, it’ll help.”
The doctor was rummaging through med kits and containers of medicines that the average joe would struggle to read aloud. He eventually pulled out something simple, a bottle of cough syrup. Painkillers could come later, right now they figured that Dingo just wants the temporary relief, hopefully the tea will help if he just sucks it up and gives it a try.
Yonny turned around to see that the ranger had soon caved and started eating his toast, and the mug was half empty despite its high temperature. He sulked in his seat, but it was clear how hungry he was, having expended so much energy trying to fight off his cold. As Muffin tucked into her own meal, Yonny snuck up behind Dingo, tapping the grumpy ranger on the shoulder.
“Feeling any better?”
“A little… What are you holding?”
“Oh nothing, just a little extra help, ehehe~”
Dingo grimaced at the sound of their laugh. They only laughed like that when they had something planned, he was not excited to find out what that would be. To his surprise, it wasn’t anything nefarious, just a bottle of children’s cough syrup. He read the label, squinted, and looked back up at Yonny, who seemed frustratingly amused by his reaction.
“I’m not a fuckin’ kid, Yon.”
Yonny hummed, pouring a spoonful of the watery syrup.
“You’re acting like one right now.”
“Oi! You dunno what you’re talkin’ about! Ugh, I haven’t had that crap since I was little.”
“Oh, suck it up, princess.”
“Princess?!– you fuckin’ dickhea-GHK—”
Dingo choked as Yonny took the chance to shove the spoon in his mouth. They muttered quiet apologies as they forced him to swallow the gross syrup. He should have been more angry at the doctor but he was frankly too tired to be bothered, they just wanted him to get better after all.
Though, as they pulled away, the ranger found it difficult keeping it down. He coughed and sputtered, taking a sip of his tea to try wash away the nasty taste.
“Fuck man, that– that was terrible.”
“Would you have preferred the cherry flavour?”
“Oh hell no. I can’t get the damn taste out of my mouth.”
Yonny laughed, “Well I’m sure you’d like some more tea the—”
They were cut off, like they had done for the ranger moments ago, this time by a kiss. Dingo had grabbed them by the collar and roughly pulled them in before they had the chance to finish their sentence. After they pulled away, Yonny was lost for words.
Dingo smirked, “Much better.”
“I– you– you’re going to get me sick, Dingo!”
“Aw, come on, Yon! I’m sure you can manage–” He struggled through another coughing fit. “Fuck, I needa go back to bed.”
The doctor helped him stand, then sent him back to his room, calling out after him.
“I’ll bring you some water and painkillers, get comfortable!”
“Yup!”
As the door opened and shut, Yonny sagged against the table. He really had the gall to kiss them like that, even when he was taking the brunt of a cold. Stars, he was an idiot, a loveable one but still. And after all that honey, he kind of tasted… sweet. No, they can’t get ahead of themself like that, they need to focus.
They pulled themself together long enough to get the glass of water they promised, and a packet of painkillers. Though, the moment they entered Dingo’s room and found him hanging off the edge of his bed, they felt like they may just melt again. With a sigh, they placed the items on the bedside table, before hauling the ranger’s legs up onto the mattress, tucking him in a thin sheet so as to not overheat him.
Muffin trotted up and brushed against his legs, just as eager for his affection as Dingo seemed to be. Speaking of, the ranger soon found a strong hold on Yonny’s shoulders, keeping them from leaving the room.
“Join me.”
“What? Dee, you know I can’t. I’ll get sick.”
“Don’t care. Hold me.”
Yonny sighed heavily, “You’re such a handful. Move over.”
He did just that, and Yonny scooted in beside him before the ranger was draped over them like a hot, wheezing blanket. As they embraced, Muffin jumped up and curled up on the pillow. If they got sick, so be it. They accepted their fate as the wind and rain outside lulled them to sleep.