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Pico was used to his sleep being fitful and often interrupted. Sometimes he'd have a source for his sudden state of awareness, like one of his partners shifting in their sleep or a nightmare, but more often than not, he'd find himself wide awake at a completely stupid fucking hour, unable to do much more than lay there since he tended to sleep wedged between the two of them anyway.
Still, this felt... a little strange.
He wasn't wide awake this time, though he identified the time as definitely being late, since the sun wasn't yet peeking in between Boyfriend's ever-closed curtains. This wasn't a "jerked awake" situation, more like he somehow woke up by accident and was still exactly half-aware of what was going on.
His eyes were gummy with sleep and he was freezing despite the thick comforter over him and the shared body heat of his partners. He didn't expect to fall back asleep, since he rarely could, or at the very least it took over an hour, so he was surprised when he dozed back off and roused again what couldn't be more than fifteen minutes later.
Mind fuzzy, he shivered at the chill against his skin. BF should know better than jacking the air conditioning way up when he barely had the money to run it in the first place. Letting out a discomforted groan, he rolled onto his side and wrapped himself around Girlfriend like she was a teddy bear. Being a demon, she always ran pretty warm, which was doing a lot for him at the moment.
In her sleep, GF hummed, pushing her back into the contact subconsciously. He had forgotten she didn't keep up her human disguise while she slept until he felt her tail stroke his leg in further acknowledgment of his presence behind her.
Thoroughly comforted, he somehow managed to fall back asleep again.
This time, it was a noise that stirred him. "Pico, babe, you're crushing me."
Pico opened his bleary eyes, taking stock of what was happening around him. After a couple long seconds, he realized how tense his arms were and relaxed them. GF, freed from the bear hug Pico had somehow trapped her in while unconscious, huffed out a laugh. "Thanks."
He mumbled something incoherent even to himself, letting out a soft groan of annoyance as GF shifted to lay on her back, which simultaneously made him also have to move and suddenly aware of how numb the arm that had been pinned underneath her was.
"Sorry," she said, though from her tone, she wasn't sorry at all. She even laughed again when Pico butted his head against her jawline like a cat, squeezing her middle again. "You're clingy tonight."
"Tired," he finally managed to supply. His voice croaked out of his throat like a frog, and he almost coughed. Must be dehydrated or something. "G'back t' sleep."
He felt her nails skritch along his scalp as his eyes drifted shut, then a kiss against his forehead. He melted into the contact, it felt so good. He was already beginning to fall asleep when–
GF shifted again, placing a jarringly cold hand firmly against his cheek. Caught off-guard, he flinched away from her. "Wha–"
"Were you always this warm?" She asked. The hand moved to his forehead next. His eyes had adjusted to the dark in the short time he'd been awake, and he could make out the frown on her face when he looked up. "I can't tell."
Pico was about to say something when that cough finally caught up to him. He jerked his arm out from under her so he could at the very least prop himself up to not cough in her face just as the fit hit him. It took him a good few seconds to be able to stop.
The pieces suddenly clicked together in Pico's head.
Shit. He was sick.
It seemed GF had come to the same conclusion, coaxing him back into their cuddling session. "Poor thing," she said like she was talking to a tiny, pathetic kitten. "I didn't know you weren't feeling good."
"I didn't either," he mumbled absently. He was sure there had to have been some sort of sign, but he'd been too stupid to pick up on it, apparently. Now that he was aware of it, though, all the red flags were there - the chills, his sore throat, the way his throat caught every couple of breaths. He wasn't sure if the aching pain behind his eyes was his sinuses or the fact that he was utterly exhausted.
A switch had clearly flipped in GF's head, as it so often did in these situations. She'd gone from smug teasing to doting in a second, once again moving to run her hands through his hair, letting out a thoughtful hum. "Do you need anything? I'm sure Boyfie has some medicine somewhere."
The mention of BF made Pico wince. The man was, per usual, completely dead to the world on his other side and likely wouldn't wake up unless either of them started violently shaking him. That was a mercy, but Pico was now very aware of the fact that he likely shouldn't be sleeping next to his, presumably, uninfected partner. GF was a demon and would likely be fine, he had to assume, but BF didn't have that luxury.
"Picooo," GF called gently. Her hand once again moved to stroke his cheek. He was sure the flush of heat he felt in his face wasn't just from the fever. She smiled patiently at him, crimson eyes still warm and twinkling even in the darkness. "Don't drift off just yet, sweetpea."
"'m fine," he answered finally, burrowing his face deeper into the pillow he was propped up against. GF huffed fondly, kissing his forehead like she physically couldn't resist the urge to do so. "Just wanna sleep."
"Of course, stringbean," she cooed lightly. "We'll see how you're feeling in the morning, okay?" Pico mumbled something in acknowledgment, continuing to be vaguely offput by how easy it was for him to doze off at the moment. Engulfed in the affection of his girlfriend, aided by the way she hummed softly to soothe him, it wasn't long at all before he managed to fall asleep.
He was sure he'd managed to stay asleep for much longer that time, given how groggy he felt when he next stirred. Now, instead of just being vaguely out of it, he felt like he was submerged in a hot, heavy fog and his brain had been reduced to sludge. He could barely bring himself to open his eyes or do much more than mentally fuss over the fact that GF was clearly no longer next to him, taking away his one source of comfort.
"Blue, come on," he heard from somewhere above him. It was his girlfriend's voice and he was satisfied enough that she clearly wasn't talking to him, because he did not have it in him to respond at the moment. Pico felt the bed rock slightly as GF attempted to shake their boyfriend awake. "It's important."
Another brief few moments of the bed creaking back and forth and BF finally seemed to get the memo. Sleep was thick in his voice as he responded, "beep...?"
Though annoyance had initially been present in her tone, it immediately melted away when BF actually woke up. "Morning, babe," she said sweetly. He was pretty sure the silence that followed was a brief kiss. She only let herself be distracted for so long, though, which was kind of impressive for her all things considered. "Pico's sick, I think. You're better at this sort of thing than I am."
At that, BF immediately sat up like he'd completely forgotten that he was tired in the first place. Pico, still exactly half-conscious despite the fact that he was sure he was no longer capable of falling back asleep, winced at the mere fact that he could feel eyes on him.
It was only at the point that his face was once again being touched that he finally had enough. He groaned weakly in a sound that sounded not unlike that of a dying toad, lifting a hand to swat weakly at the fingers that were resting against his cheek. He finally managed to open his eyes to glare at his assailant, who was looking at him with far too much concern in his eyes.
Thankfully, BF's attention turned back to GF before Pico could experience any particular feelings about that. Though the cyan-haired man didn't say anything, GF still responded; "yeah, I think it's worse than it was last night. I wasn't sure what to do."
"I'm right here, you know," Pico struggled out, not surprised that the words caught in his sore throat and made him start coughing again. He pushed himself upright, wincing against the burning ache that spread throughout his muscles. BF quickly coaxed him into leaning against his shoulder, something he experienced brief apprehension about before giving in.
Another wordless glance was given, and Pico was given even less context in GF's reply. "Yup, I can do that. I'll be right back."
Despite the fact that his body had since decided it was time to be extremely warm, Pico still found himself shivering. Annoyed, he kicked off the blankets he was draped in and collapsed into BF's side, huffing. "I'm gonna kick myself if you get sick, too," he mumbled bitterly. "Don't even know how I got it in the first place..."
BF didn't respond, which Pico found to be a bit concerning in its own right. It was rare for BF to be quiet; he was always beeping about something, even if he had no one to talk to. Pico glanced up at him again, taking in the obvious concern in his features. It, too, was rare for BF to look so serious - eyes dark with worry, lips set in a frown.
“Relax, it's not like I'm not fucking dying,” he rasped, directing his gaze back down. If he had to keep looking at that pathetic expression, especially knowing it was directed at him, he wasn't sure what he would do with the guilt.
Words continued to not come to BF in any form, though he relaxed a bit, presumably realizing that he was freaking Pico out. He snuggled his boyfriend closer, placing a kiss to the top of his head without any further hesitation.
Pico made a noise in his throat (one that probably didn't help it any), shoving himself away. “You are pushing it,” he said, all bark and no bite. BF did nothing but smile in response. Dumbass. All it took for him to wipe that smug grin off his face and set him firmly back into caregiver mode was to start coughing again, something Pico partially did on purpose just to prove a point.
“Hey, babe,” GF said as she reentered, carrying a comical amount of things in her arms that were likely better off being brought into the room in trips. Her tone was as soft as one would talk to a fawn, and it made Pico scrunch up his nose. “BF just wants to take your temp and get some medicine in you, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Pico muttered dismissively. He knew from experience how fussy BF could be, though it was usually directed at injuries with how infrequently the mercenary got sick. Seriously, whatever he had, it felt like it had to be some divine punishment from the universe for him to have caught it at all.
Not one to be babied, he nabbed the thermometer off the nightstand GF had deposited her armful onto himself and popped it in his mouth. It was around that point that he realized that he was currently very much the center of attention, and he very much did not like it.
It was one thing, having their eyes on him. He wasn't used to it, but he didn't... dislike it. At least not nowadays. It came naturally to them with how relaxed they were, seeing him always being so tense. They liked to make him relax, by any means necessary. Sometimes it involved a little pampering, which was embarrassing as all Hell and if Darnell and Nene ever saw it he was pretty sure he would have to kill them to keep their mouths shut, but y'know, he didn't… mind it.
This, however, was sort of pathetic.
Nobody said anything until the thermometer beeped, presumably to discourage Pico from responding, so Pico was inevitably the one to break the silence. “One-hundred and one-point-two. Happy?”
GF, of course, not really knowing anything about the topic, look to BF for guidance. “Is that bad?”
Their boyfriend once again turned to press his hand against Pico's face, making the ginger huff. His brow was furrowed, but he didn't look as concerned. He looked back up and her and made the universal “eh?" signal with his hand. It's not great, he was trying to say.
“Jesus fucking Christ, it's a cold,” Pico bemoaned. His throat caught again as he sat himself up more, and he had to choke another coughing fit down before he could continue. It also wasn't helping prove his point that his head swam a bit as he did so, but he shook it off before they could notice. “I've gone to work through worse.”
“That might be comforting if you didn't sound like you swallowed a frog, sourpatch,” GF teased lightly. He should've been grateful for the return to form, but he scowled instead. “We'll leave you alone in a minute, okay? Just take some medicine, for our sake.”
Ugh. That was mean. These two were such fucking dicks. “You know, when I was a kid, I would just sweat this shit out like god intended,” he complained aimlessly, readily accepting the cough syrup he was handed anyway. “It's survival of the fittest out on those streets.”
BF gave him a pointed look, making a vague but sweeping gesture of his bedroom. GF snorted audibly, translating through stifled laughs, “babe, this is my house.”
For his efforts, Pico returned the glare, staring BF dead in the eye as he took the dose of liquid medicine like it was a tequila shot. This turned out to be a pretty apt metaphor, as his body almsot immediately decided that it did not want that inside of it and tried to make him cough it back up. BF was visibly amused as he passed him a bottle of water next.
“Aw, there’s our big, brave man,” GF said, officially deciding it was time to be a complete and utter nuisance. “Are you gonna survive, sweetheart?”
“I will literally kill you,” he choked out, clearing his throat before he continued his extremely genuine and viable threat, “and then kill you again.”
(To be completely fair, he wasn't exactly on top of his game at the moment.)
Unfortunately for him, GF only looked more delighted with herself at his response. She even got BF cracking a smile, which was almost enough to make Pico forgive her at that point. Almost. “I'm just teasing. I'm gonna make some tea, join me whenever, okay?”
Pico hummed in acknowledgement, BF waved her off. The mercenary heaved a sigh, massaging his temple. His head really did not like him right now, in more ways than one. Even still being in the room with BF looking over his shoulder was making him uneasy.
Man, fuck this.
“I'm going to change into something lighter, I'm sweating like a fucking pig,” Pico muttered, hoping that was a decent enough excuse to get BF off his back before he could say anything.
This proved only half-successful. In reality, BF said the first thing he had since Pico got up, though his voice was quiet and unlike him and it was more just to draw attention to himself than anything. “Ba beep,” he said, gesturing to his dresser.
He was offering to let him borrow some clothes.
The sentiment made him pause. It shouldn't have, but it did. Normally, the offer wouldn't do much more than make him blush (unfortunately), but he would more than likely give in. Sharing clothes was one of those cute things BF was into, so it was worth the momentary embarrassment, and BF's clothes were so baggy on him that they worked well as pajamas anyway.
Right now, though, the idea felt like far too much.
Ignoring the screaming of his muscles, Pico stood. “No, it's fine, I brought a change,” he said, picking up his bag off where he'd dropped on the floor the night prior. He couldn't bare to see how BF reacted to such a simple statement, so he didn't lift his gaze. “Be right out.”
A strange thing about Pico was that closed, tight spaces tended to be far more comfortable than the alternative to him. As he entered the bathroom and shut the door behind him, for the first time that morning, he didn't feel trapped.
Of course, that would only last for as long as he could sit around in there before realizing he eventually had to leave.
Glancing in the mirror, he could immediately tell why his lovers had been fussing so much, unfortunately. Maybe his fever wasn't that bad and maybe his symptoms were easily manageable, but he did kind of look like shit. He was already pale to begin with, so at the moment, he literally looked dead from the pallor caused by his illness.
The pronounced nature of his eyebags or the dull flush of fever around them certainly weren't helping things.
He let himself cough again, leaning against the counter. He hated this, he really did. He could handle the fuss caused by injury - injuries were, usually, a sign that he'd been fighting for something, anyway, and once they were patched up, it was easy enough to move on.
Sickness, on the other hand, was vulnerability for vulnerability's sake. A sign of a weak immune system, and, to an extent, a sign of a weak person, at least in his eyes. And presumably his partners', too, given how they'd looked at him like he was suddenly so fragile. It was stupid.
He couldn't act like they were worried over nothing. He'd given them something to worry about in his incompetence, weakness, whatever. This was on him.
The thought made him worry his lip. Through all the other uncomfortable sensations in his body at the moment, he barely picked up on the way his heart began to beat a little faster at it. Vulnerability with no point. How could he ever expose them to that?
At that moment, he made up his mind.
Throwing on a change of lighter clothes as he said he would, he splashed some cool water in his face and steeled his nerves. This wasn't a good idea, but it felt like the safe one. And he was all about security.
Poking his head back out into BF's bedroom (really just his whole apartment, the place was tiny), he saw that BF had gone out to join GF in the kitchen. Good, that meant he was distracted. Sneaking out as quietly as he could manage, his gaze fixated on the balcony outside BF’s bedroom window.
It had never been particularly hard to sneak into the apartment, and that meant it wouldn't be very hard to sneak out of, either.
He didn't want to do it, to be clear. He was sure his partners wouldn't be happy with it (and, on a more selfish level, he was dead tired, only getting more so, and the walk to his place sounded like it could just about kill him in that state). But he felt like crawling out of his skin, and that wasn't a sensation that liked to be ignored.
Perhaps it was just because of his aforementioned exhaustion, and more than likely the fever, but he'd failed to consider a very important flaw in his plan. Well, he'd thought about it, but the concept didn't stick long enough in his slowly melting brain.
“Pico?”
Tiny ass one-room apartment.
Pico, who had been staring out the window in a feverish daze for an indeterminate amount of time, forced himself to face BF, who was looking at him with that horribly pitiful expression again. It made two things clear very quickly - one, that he already knew what Pico was thinking, and two, he was already distraught by it.
“Pico,” BF said again, like it was the only way he knew how to react. Pico wanted so badly to formulate some, any form of excuse, but that simple word on BF's tongue was all it took for him to let his walls down. Pathetic, pathetic. Why was he like this? “Beep ba…”
“I–” Whatever stupid thing he was about to say got stuck in his throat before he could force it out. Caving under that worried gaze, he couldn't bring himself to lie or even defend himself. “I'm so stupid. I'm sorry.”
BF's brow furrowed as he shook his head. He stepped forward, hesitating for a moment when Pico flinched back. “Dee bap–” he cut himself off, suddenly seeming annoyed. Probably with himself. Shit.
“I don't know,” Pico said, mostly to fill the gap. No room for excuses or lies left him only with explanations. “I don't know why I'm freaking out. I don't… not want to be here? B-but I…”
But he what? He had no way to conclude that statement. Not in a way that didn't sound utterly stupid. What was he, scared? Of what? What the Hell did he have to be scared of, being taken care of by the people he was fucking dating? The people he was supposed to love and trust? Why did that make him feel so cornered? What was his fucking problem?–
“Pico.” Again, a tranquilizer dart straight to his spiraling thoughts. All attention rerouted. BF was directly in front of him now, waiting for his permission, per usual. A hand slightly raised in an offer.
The man took a breath, exhaled. Allowed himself the one simple comfort.
BF's cool hand cupped his cheek. Pico shuddered, both shocked by the chill against his feverish face and grateful, for once, that his boyfriend's hands always seemed to be so cold. He hadn't noticed the way he was shaking slightly, likely from fatigue, until BF's touch dragged him back down to reality. All at once, he could feel himself melt. A soft smile spread on BF's face as Pico subconsciously leaned into him, soaking up the comfort.
“Sorry I'm such a pain in the ass,” Pico muttered, wincing at his raw throat. He'd been so out of it that his brain had hardly been registering the sting. “I just get so in my head, and I keep thinking in circles, and I, I just–”
His boyfriend huffed, bringing up his other hand, holding Pico like he was the most delicate thing in the world. Now, under the concern, there was a warm glow of care and the slightest bit of amusement. He was, very noticeably, not disputing Pico's claim about being an utter disaster and a pain to deal with.
He sure wasn't acting like he minded all that much, though.
One of his thumbs trailed up to just under Pico's eye, tracing the pronounced bags under it in silent emphasis. Words were failing the man, but he was communicating a sentiment Pico heard loud and clear. You're sick, you're in pain, that cough syrup is gonna be kicking in soon and making you tired as hell. Let us take care of you, idiot.
Pico's heart squeezed in the final remaining remnant of that fear he couldn't place or name. With all the bravery he could muster, he swallowed it down. He, too, didn't have to say much to get his point across. “Okay.”
BF grinned, immediately tilting Pico’s face up enough to kiss him on the tip of his nose - mostly because Pico pulled away just a bit before he could go for the lips. Pico coughed out a laugh, pushing him away. “You are going to catch this stupid cold. You are going to catch this stupid cold and I am going to laugh, you clingy bastard.”
Hardly deterred, BF just hit him with another one of those smug smirks, wasting no time ushering him back into bed. Pico was so bewildered by his boyfriend's sudden about-face that he didn't notice another piece of consideration he'd offered him - BF took the spot in the middle of the bed, leaving Pico on the outside. Pico normally liked being between them, but that changed when he felt smothered.
He knew him way too well. It was so rare for that not to be a bad thing.
GF shortly poked her head in from around the corner, eyes immediately softening at the scene in front of her. In the short time she'd given them to sort things out, as BF assured her he could do alone, the rapper had pulled over his laptop to work on music in bed while Pico curled up against his shoulder, already dozing off. “Everything good in here?”
“Be'bop!” BF said cheerfully, his typical tone restored. Pico merely hummed, burying his face further against his boyfriend. The medicine was really hitting him now, and he was surprised he was managing to stay awake with how heavy his eyelids felt.
“That's good,” she said with genuine relief, her tail twitching behind her. Her attention turned to Pico, who she still held some level of fuss over. “Do you need anything, sweetpea? Do you want some tea?”
Pico only blinked at her at first, his brain sluggishly piecing together a coherent thought over the course of three seconds. He eventually lifted his head just enough to give an audible response. “If you don't get over here right now, I swear to god.”
The blunt statement made her wheeze out a laugh. “Okay, okay, that's fair,” she giggled, eagerly skipping over and plopping down at BF's other side, quickly situating herself to be snuggled against his arm as well. Her gaze, however, still fell on Pico, watching as his eyes drifted back shut, the way his chest slowly rose and fell with each gentle breath. “God, you're adorable.”
Barely processing what was going on around him anymore through the thick haze of sleep, he was only able to tell that he should probably be offended about something. He grimaced, managing a quiet, “hmm.”
Another soft chuckle was earned at that. Just out of the corner of his consciousness, he was able to feel his girlfriend's long tail drape across his leg, just like it had that prior night. Even further soothed, he fully melted into his boyfriend, barely able to cling to consciousness.
“I love you guys,” GF said casually, her tail tip rhythmically lifting and falling playfully as she spoke.
“Bee la you,” BF returned without hesitation, even over the music blaring through his headphones.
Finally giving up the ghost, Pico offered one final thing to them both. It was something he usually struggled out, a set of three words that he was prone to keeping under lock-and-key. Now, though, he trusted them with it more than ever.
“Love you, too.”
He'd never see their fond reactions, the way their faces both immediately flooded with love. He, himself, was too busy soaking in theirs. Lulled by the soft bass thumps from BF's headphones, Pico finally let himself fall back asleep.