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Jughead groaned at the morning sunlight streaming through the window as he woke up. He rubs his eyes to clear all of the drowsiness, then stretches his arms as he yawns. He eyed the clock on the wall, which signaled it was 6 a.m. Definitely way too early for him. Without further ado, he stands up to get a glass of water and fall asleep again for another two hours at least.
He went out of the room, his bare feet adjusting to the cold floor. Scratching his chest and yawning, he almost missed the scene in the red couch, close to the small kitchen they had. There was Archie Andrews, the famous redhead and Jug’s childhood friend/roommate, sleeping with a notebook wide open on his chest. The coffee table had a pencil, some papers, and his phone buzzing with 5% battery left, also with some new messages from Betty.
Jughead blinked a few times. He remembered he went to sleep before Archie last night, as the redhead had to study for a soon to come university exam. Did he seriously not go to his room and just slept on the couch, without anything covering his body from the cold?
Jughead let out an exhale through his nose and went to the couch. He crouched down and gently nudged Archie’s shoulder before whispering. “Hey, Arch, I think a bed might be nicer to sleep in than the couch.”
Archie barely reacted. Now that Jughead had a closer look to his face, he noticed the redhead’s freckled nose was irritated and his sinuses had a red tint to them. His signature red hair was slightly disheveled, and some dark circles under his eyes were starting to make themselves known. Archie stirred, the breathing through his nose sounding stuffed up. The guy groggily mumbled something under his breath, his eyes barely managing to open.
Jughead’s eyebrows furrowed, a hint of concern appearing in his face. Though, before he had the time to further analyze the situation, his roommate’s sinuses flared as he took a sudden breath. He suddenly pitched forward with an unrestrained:
“Hh’cshHht!” Archie sneezed uncovered, making Jughead take an instinctive step back, surprised.
He watched some of the spray droplets dance in the sunbeam. While it was a bit gross, Jughead was more concerned about the fact that Archie wasn’t the type to not cover his sneezes. Something definitely wasn’t right here. As if on cue, Archie clumsily raised both hands to cover his mouth and nose, with a set of hitchy breaths reaching Jughead’s ears.
“Hh’itSHhht!” He sneezed again, his body shuddering slightly despite the usual softness of his sneezes. He took in another breath. “Hah’chSHhh!- isShHuh! Hhh-hehh…”
He had a few false starts, his hands not leaving his face, until he seemed to give up and sighed with a groggy frustration. Archie sneezing in the morning wasn’t anything new, as he suffered from seasonal allergies, but Jughead knew this was different.
“You okay, Arch?” Jughead asked with genuine concern in his tone.
Archie sniffled and looked at his roommate, his expression dazed. “Jug?”
“Who else, Santa Claus?” Jughead asked with his usual sarcasm. “How long did you stay up last night?”
The redhead slowly sat up, a shiver passing through his spine that wasn’t missed by Jughead.
“I, uh…” He sniffled, and Jughead could almost see his brain’s gears trying to move. “I don’t remember, I was studying and I guess I fell asleep.”
Archie sniffled again, his nose clearly bothering him. Jughead wasn’t surprised to see him raise a hand towards his nose again, his eyelids fluttering.
“Hh’cSHhh!” His sneeze was tired, yet ticklish. “Shit, I think I’m coming down with something…”
“I think you already came down with something,” without letting Archie time to reply, Jughead put a hand on his forehead. “And that something is a fever.”
“Ugh… really?”
Jughead couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows even more. “Arch, how long have you been like this?”
Jughead knew Archie was the type to ignore his health in favor of something like his exams. He was really wondering why he didn’t notice yesterday. When Archie sat down at the couch and waved goodnight at Jughead, he looked totally fine, or so Jughead thought.
“Well… I was feeling weird yesterday, but I swear it wasn’t a big deal,” his voice was rough and weak, but his mind was now adjusting to the new situation. “Oh no, Jug, the exam is tomorrow and I have to lower this fever! Or else I’ll just be sneehh— sneezing— Hh’itscHh!”
“Bless you, jeez,” Jughead scratched his head. “I think sleeping here all night without a proper cover is what made you this sneezy.”
“I can’t believe I fell asleep here —snff!— now what am I going to do? Do I take tissues to the exam? What if I get feverish in the middle of it? And what if-”
“Woah, Archie, calm down,” Jughead patted his back, stopping the anxious thoughts overflowing his feverish brain. “Look, I’ll make you some, uh, chamomile tea. I think that’s good for fevers, right? And you can tell your professor you’re feverish so you take the exam another day, no?”
Archie shook his head, resting his forehead on his hand. “No, I can’t. No exceptions.”
“Okay, then you just have to rest. And with a duvet this time, Freckles-”
“Hehh’iSCHHhuh!” Archie covered with both hands, his shoulders jerking with the sudden force of the sneeze. Jughead’s eyes widened; this sneeze was way louder and more desperate than Archie’s usual sneezes. The latter sniffled experimentally, looking at the ceiling.
“Jesus, you’ll wake up our neighbors at this point,” Jughead crossed his arms with a sided smile. Archie sniffled, his nose giving up on the sneeze, and looked at Jughead with a weak smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Says you, with your loud Godzilla sneezes.”
Jughead chuckled. “Only I have permission to wake up the neighbors with my sneezing. But anyway, let me bring you some tissues and I’ll prepare the tea.”
Archie’s back slumped against the couch, a tired sigh escaping his lips. “I’m such a mess.”
“You’re not, man. Fevers happen to everyone.”
Archie didn’t look too convinced as he crossed his arms. Jughead quickly fetched a box of tissues from the bathroom and returned to the living room, handing them to Archie. He then headed to the kitchen to prepare the chamomile tea, glancing back at his friend who was blowing his nose softly. Jughead noticed another shiver pass through Archie’s spine, this time more noticeable, so he raised an eyebrow.
“Do you want a blanket?”
Archie sniffled. “I think I can go get it myself.”
He tried to stand up, but his legs trembled and he fell back into the couch. Jughead left the tea boiling as he got closer to Archie to prevent him from standing up again.
“Don’t push yourself, Arch. I’ll go get it.”
Jughead saw Archie nod weakly, then went to Archie’s room to bring the thickest blanket he could find. Once he went back to the living room, the redhead’s eyes were closed in exhaustion.
“Here. Don’t fall asleep yet, you need to drink the tea.”
Archie’s eyes opened without much force, but he still managed to give a small smile in response.
“Thanks,” he murmured, his voice broken. He coughed slightly against his fist before covering himself with the blanket. A sniffle was heard, and a second after it, Archie took in a breath as his eyebrows scrunched up. “Hh’chSHht! uh…”
“Bless- oh, you’re not done.”
Archie looked confused for a split second before he was ducking again into his hands. “Hh’isHhuh! Snf- how do you even know I’m not done?”
“Honestly? You make a funny face before sneezing, I’ve gotten familiar with it.” Jughead chuckled.
Archie gave a breathy laugh followed by a sniffle. “Only you would notice something like that.”
“I mean, it’s not hard to notice when it looks like this,” Jughead imitated Archie’s pre-sneeze face, gaining a slap on the arm that had no real heat to it. He laughed. “It’s not a bad thing though!”
“It looks so dumb! Why has no one told me before?” Archie said between laughs.
Jughead smiled; he’d managed to make Archie laugh, at least. Though the moment didn’t last long until Archie’s laughs turned into a set of coughs that only got more irritated and desperate by the second. Jughead was by his side in a minute, patting his shivery back as Archie coughed into his hands. Jughead’s concern came back.
“Okay, just take a deep breath,” Jughead said. He wasn’t the best person out there to take care of sick people, but he had to try for his childhood friend. In the many years he’d known Archie, he’d never seen him in such a miserable state as today’s. The redhead’s coughs eventually subsided, though it left him looking and feeling more tired than before. “Let me get you the tea, it must be ready now.”
Archie nodded weakly. Jughead filled a mug with the chamomile tea and blew softly into it in an attempt to dissipate the heat a little. He came back and placed the tea on the coffee table.
“Here. You can start drinking it now or you can wait for it to cool.”
The redhead grabbed it and gave a sip. The heat didn’t seem to bother him, so he gulped a few times more.
“It’s good,” Archie said, looking at the mug. Jughead couldn’t respond, raising a hand as he yawned, which made Archie feel guilty. “Thanks, Jug. Sorry for making you go through this...”
“Hey, hey,” Jughead started. “Come on, isn’t that what your super cool roommate is for?”
Jughead wasn’t the best at dealing with other people’s feelings, but these words made Archie give a weak smile. He shivered slightly and gave a sniffle before looking at his friend.
“Thanks. I’m just… a bit emotional right now, maybe it’s this stupid fever,” he took another gulp, then sighed. “What the hell am I going to do in tomorrow’s exam…”
“It’s like 6 a.m, don’t think about tomorrow yet,” Jughead sat down next to him. “Your fever isn’t that high. I’ve honestly seen you go through worse with your allergies.”
“Yeah, but… if I miss my exam, my grades will lower-”
“Arch…” Jughead stopped him. This was definitely the fever messing with his head, as he generally wasn’t this anxious. “Focus on drinking your tea, tomorrow doesn’t exist.”
Archie nodded, sniffling. “Yeah. I’m cool, everything’s okay…”
This was said more to himself than to Jughead, but the guy didn’t comment on it. Archie gave another, bigger gulp of his tea. He sniffled again, the steam watering his irritated nasal passages, then his eyes closed. A small intake of breath was heard, and he made the signature funny pre-sneeze face Jughead had mentioned earlier; this made him smirk a bit as he saw Archie pinching his nose shut and pitching forward.
“Hh’XT!” he stifled the sneeze, making the tea shudder slightly. Jughead couldn’t respond before Archie inhaled and pinched his nose once more. “Heh’iXT! uh…”
“Stooop, man, that sounds so weird,” Jughead said with a grimace. “I don’t know how you can stifle, it makes my head hurt just thinking about it.”
Archie sniffled wetly. “The steam is making my nose itch! I didn’t want to spill it or somehh— something— ishXt!”
Archie gave a half-stifle and raised his head to the ceiling, his sinuses still flaring with itchy need. He hovered a hand close to his face so he could catch the sneeze, but it wouldn’t come.
“Come on, give me the mug so you can actually sneeze instead of doing the weird choke-up sound,” Jughead said as he fetched the mug from Archie’s hand. “Let me get you a tiss-”
“Heh’isCHT! Hh’iSHhh! -schHHT!” Archie sneezed thrice in quick succession, catching the sneezes with his hands. His eyes watered a bit in response, and he stayed with his hands covering his face for more seconds than needed, so Jughead raised an eyebrow.
“Jeez, you still need to sneeze?” Archie nodded behind his palms, so Jughead grabbed a tissue and offered it to him. “Take this, and make sure to-”
Archie hurriedly grabbed the tissue as he took in a sudden breath. “Heh’isCHT!” He sneezed right into the soft paper, blowing his nose afterward.
“And stop interrupting m-”
“Hh’isCHhhuH!” Archie gave a smile at Jughead’s expression. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me…”
“Seriously, are you sure your name isn’t Archie Sneezy Andrews?”
Archie blew his nose and chuckled at Jughead’s comment, but then his breath hitched again. He raised the tissue and waited a solid five seconds until the tickle went away. He let out a frustrated sigh.
“This is so dumb.”
Jughead couldn’t help a laugh. “Bless you times… how many were they? Like eight?”
“Yeah, I think so…” Archie’s eyes closed yet again, and he barely had energy left to raise the tissue towards his face. “Hh’isCHhuh… Nine.”
Jughead laughed again. “That was more of a sigh than a sneeze, man. I don’t think it counts.”
Archie gave a weak smile, his eyes still closed. "Well, I guess it's a good thing. I don't think I have any sneezes left in me.”
“That’s better. You should finish your tea now.”
The redhead grabbed the mug and gulped a bit more. He coughed slightly, but didn’t stop until he finally finished it. His body shuddered and he covered himself more with the blanket, gaining a concerned look from Jughead.
“Are you ready to crash in bed now?”
Archie opened his tired eyes. “Maybe, yeah.”
Jughead raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem sure.”
“It’s just… I can’t stop thinking about that stupid exam.”
Jughead’s brow furrowed. He knew what Archie was getting at. Fever dreams were never the most pleasing thing to go through, and considering Archie’s already anxious mind, it was clear he didn’t want to have a nightmare and wake up alone at his room. Jughead stifled a yawn and cleared his throat.
“Well, we can watch TV a bit until your mind relaxes. Sound good?”
Archie wiped his nose with a fist. “Don’t you have a video to record today or something?”
“Naah,” Jughead shrugged. He did have a video to do, but Archie didn’t need to know. “I’ll just chill here for a while.”
“Thanks,” Archie breathed out, not even having the energy to muster a smile.
“What would you like to watch?” Jughead asked as he grabbed the remote. Archie sat in a more comfortable position, half-listening. The exhaustion was evident in his eyes.
“Just put whatever as long as it’s not some horror stuff. I know you.”
Jughead snorted. “I’d be surprised to find horror movies at this hour, though.”
He ended up settling for a reality show. Jughead wasn’t a fan of those, but they were great for falling asleep or mindlessly thinking about other stuff. After some minutes, Jughead went to grab his phone from his room, then came back and made his best to not interrupt. He would eye Archie from time to time, noticing he started closing his eyes after five minutes in, and then he stayed completely still, his expression neutral. He’d finally fallen asleep.
Jughead lowered the volume of the TV to not disturb his friend. He started looking for some other channel until a buzz from the coffee table startled him. It was Archie’s phone, showing an incoming call from Betty. A corner of Jughead’s mind recalled she was texting Archie earlier, but he was more interested in how his phone was still alive. He grabbed it and stood up, going to his room and closing the door. He saw it had 3% of battery left, that phone was a real goner. His finger pressed the green button to pick up the call.
“Heyy Betty,” Jughead greeted.
“Wait, Jughead?” The feminine voice spoke up from the other line. “Is Archie not there?”
“Yeah, well,” he scratched his head. “He has a high fever. He’s sleeping on the couch right now.”
“What?! Oh god, and he has his exam tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. I gave him some chamomile tea earlier, I hope it lowers it soon.”
“Does he need anything? I can get him something after I come back from work.”
“Hmm, if you can get a burger that’d be great.”
“A bur— hey, that’s for you, isn’t it? Be serious, Jug!”
Jughead chuckled. “Sorry, sorry. Some chicken soup would be great, we only have fish in the fridge right now.”
“Okay, I’ll call you then, I need to go back to work. Tell Archie I wish him good health!”
“I will. Thanks, Betty.”
They said goodbye and the call ended. And just in time, as the battery was now dead. Jughead sighed and went out of the room to get some breakfast; he definitely wasn’t going back to sleep after everything that had happened. He returned to the living room to charge Archie’s phone, then turned off the TV. He was about to go to the kitchen when he heard Archie’s congested snores pause for a moment. When he turned around, the redhead’s mouth was open as he took in sleepy, yet hitchy breaths.
“Hh’sCHhht!” He sneezed, barely managing to raise his hand to serve as a weak cover. Jughead couldn’t help a smile as Archie’s tired eyes examined the room.
“Bless you, Sneezy. Go back to sleep.”
Archie sniffled, not processing any of those words, as he fell asleep again almost instantly. Jughead sighed, then went to the kitchen, making a mental note to prepare a healthy breakfast for Archie. This was going to be a long day.