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"Deuce."
Deuce opened his eyes and blinked wearily around his room as his gaze adjusted and his body slowly woke up. For a moment, he thought he'd imagined his boyfriend's voice, but that couldn't be right? Jack would be in classes right now.
"Deuce. I'm right here."
Deuce turned to look to the side and nearly jumped. Jack was sitting in his desk chair, which had been moved to the side of his bed.
"Jack? What're you doing here? You should be in class! You're gonna get nicked off your attendance if you're here with me." Then he remembered he was sick and sat up quickly, drawing his blanket and sheet up to his face to cover his mouth and his nose. "Ah! You're gonna get sick if you're in here! I can't be the reason you get sick!"
Jack rolled his eyes, but it was done in a fond manner. It wasn't often that the beastman did things like that, and so the blue-haired teen was distracted by the novelty of it. When two sharp sounds reached his ears, he startled and focused on his boyfriend once more. Jack held his hand up, his fingers pressed together. It was snapping that he heard, to get his attention. "Sorry about that."
Lowering his bedding, Deuce brought a hand up to rub at his shoulder, which was a little sore. Why did colds always make his shoulders ache?
"I've cleared it with the professors, it's fine. I wouldn't mess up my chances by skipping class. You should know that by now."
Deuce sighed and nodded. Then he broke into a fit of coughs, raising his comforter to cough into it. Once done, he looked at the taller boy again. There was an expression on his face that wasn't there very often. It was one of carefully constructed worries that hid the full range of concern he felt. "Hey, it's okay. It's just a cold. You know they aren't that bad."
Jack shook his head. "I've never been sick. Well, besides what happened when I went with Leona and the rest to Sunset Savanna. But that was just 'cuz I wasn't used to the strength of the sun there." He clutched his hand into a fist, as if lamenting his weakness against the sun. Deuce nodded along with him before giving a start as a very specific part of his statement fully registered.
"What do you mean you've never been sick?" Then a thought occurred to him. Maybe Jack was just messing with him? Sure, it wasn't his usual style, but with Deuce (and a few others) he had moments of playful energy. "Oh, haha. That's a good one."
"I was being serious. I've never been sick.” The white-haired teen gave a shrug. “I don't know why. Maybe a mix of the beastman genes and the fact I'm very active." He shrugged again.
Deuce just stared.
Never? He'd never been sick? How was that possible? Everyone Deuce had ever known had gotten sick at least once a year with a cold. It was why it was called a 'common cold'. "I can't even imagine what that's like..." He shook his head, flabbergasted.
"It's just like you are normally, but all the time,” Jack explained, rubbing the back of his head. “And you can definitely get there! It'll take a lot of work, but I can help you!" He lifted his hand and clenched his fist in determination, a fierce smile on his face. Deuce—even in his cold-induced, brain-fog-giving state—felt himself fall in love with this intense, beautiful, sexy, gorgeous, sweet, and kind wolf beastman all over again.
"I love you," he said, not exactly sure why he chose to say it right then. Still, it was the truth. So, he decided to just leave it at that. It wasn't until he focused back on Jack and took in his shocked expression that he realized he'd said the three words they hadn't yet reached the point of saying.
Apparently, Deuce had just gotten there. Now he had to worry about Jack not being ready yet, and reassuring him that he didn't have to say it yet just because Deuce had, and—
Stupid cold.
"I love you too, Deuce."
The blue-haired boy felt warmth rush over him as he looked at Jack, beaming uncontrollably as he held the other’s gaze while clinging to his bedding. There were tears at the corners of his eyes and he felt delirious, and so when Jack chuckled and beamed at his reaction, never mind the blush peeking out from his tanned skin, Deuce felt those few tears trail down his cheeks.
"You need to eat and rest. Actually, that's why I came." The taller boy lifted the to-go bowl that was sitting on his lap, which Deuce hadn't noticed in his earlier freak out. A spoon had appeared in Jack's hand once he opened the bowl’s lid.
Deuce grimaced as his body grumbled its thoughts on food at that moment. Which sucked cause, while he wasn't a glutton like Grim, he really did love food. "I'm not hungry," he muttered softly, looking down at his lap. He already knew that if he looked at Jack, he'd be worn down in a matter of seconds.
Jack, apparently, was having none of it. Deuce's face was turned to face his boyfriend by Jack's firm but somehow still soft hand. It moved from where it had gripped his chin to frame the side of his face.
For a moment, he thought they were about to kiss and was torn, because while he thought about it all the time, he was still sick and they'd hadn’t kissed yet. They were wanting to take their time with everything. That had mostly been his idea, due to his past. He'd been impulsive about everything. He didn't want that with Jack.
Though he knew that school relationships rarely lasted past graduation, he really wanted it to be with Jack. Preferably for the rest of their lives. And though they hadn't discussed it, he was pretty sure Jack wanted the same.
No kiss came though. Jack simply shook his head at him before speaking gently yet firmly. "You need to eat so you can get back to sleep. I'll bring you dinner later too. So be ready for that."
Deuce shook his head. "I don't wanna throw up." Jack moved his hand from Deuce's face to rub at his forehead. Deuce felt bad suddenly, but he really couldn't eat.
"If you don't eat, you’ll throw up at some point anyway. If you eat, there is a chance you could, but then at least there's food in your tummy and it'll suck a lot less than if there wasn't." Even with the smart thinking behind Jack's words, he still felt hesitant to try. "Deuce, if you’ll eat as much of this bowl as you can, and not fight me on meals for the rest of the time you're sick, then once you're all better, I'll kiss you."
The shorter boy blushed deeply, but felt his competitive nature waking up from its slumber at the challenge set. Especially with such a high stake prize. But he also didn't want Jack offering that just to get him to eat. "That's okay. I mean, I'll still eat, even if I don't want to. But we wanted to take this slow so—”
A hand closed around his own, fingers laced with well practiced precision. Deuce, who hadn't realized he looked away, looked up at him. "The only thing keeping me from kissing ya right now is you being sick. So stop stalling and just accept the challenge, honey."
Deuce did end up eating in the end, but not before spending five minutes hiding due to the emotions he felt at his very first pet name.