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Of course the one day Till decides to not pack an umbrella it rains. He didn't have room in his backpack today, and why would he need an umbrella when the weather's been completely sunny, right?
He stands under the roof right outside the school, watching the rain pour harder than it ever has. Mostly everyone has gone home already. If he waits any longer, the teachers are going to start questioning why he's just standing there.
What is he to do? Well, it's not like he has many options. He can either walk home, call his mother out of work to pick him up, or wait for Ivan to finish his extra curricular activities to walk him home and lecture him about not bringing an umbrella.
He sighs. Okay, looks like he's walking home then. It's fine, it's only about a 20 minute walk, no biggie.
The moment he steps out from the shelter, he regrets it. It feels as if he's being waterboarded. Okay, new option, run.
He breaks into a full on sprint back to his home, hoping that he doesn't slip. And he doesn't, but after a good minute or two he's completely out of breath. Fuck. The rest of this walk is going to be painful.
By the time he reaches his house, it looks as if he took a dive in the pool. His uniform is soaked, his shirt practically see-through now. He gets his key, missing the key hole a few times before finally opening the door. He slams and locks the door behind him.
Well great, now he's going to make a mess all over the floor. He checks his phone, a few missed messages from his mom.
Ma
Till sweetie, did you get home safe?
I didn't expect it to rain so heavily.
Till
yes don't worry
I had my umbrella
Ma
I'm glad. I'll be home soon.
Love you.
Till
love you too ma
He sighs. It's okay, he can clean up before his mom gets home.
━━━━━
The next morning arrives, and Till feels horrible. He's exhausted, and so, so cold. Nonetheless, he forces himself out of bed and gets ready to start his day.
He finally makes it to the kitchen, picking up his packed lunch his mom prepared for him before she left to work. He placed it in his bag, and this time, made room for his umbrella.
The air is still humid from the storm, but at least the rain stopped. Though, the walk to school feels oddly chilly. He curses himself for only wearing his T-shirt. Why was the weather suddenly turning against him?
His legs feel like jelly by the time he reaches the building. He shakes the feeling off, quickly making his way to his class and practically collapses on his chair. Acorn gives him an inquisitive look which he's choosing to ignore today.
Class is no different than usual, only this time, he could not focus, not one bit. His head starts pounding, and the only thing that brings him comfort is the cool surface of his desk. He lays his entire face down as he drifts off. A small nap should be fine.
"Hey man, you good?” He's shook awake.
Till lulls his head to the side, just about enough to see who's shaking him. It's Acorn. Though, he's too exhausted to reply. So he just stares.
“Uh.. Well class is over— all four of them, actually.”
Till jumps up. “What the fuck!? I missed four classes and you didn't wake me up!?” He immediately regrets this action, rubbing his forehead in pain.
“I tried! But you were knocked out like a light!”
“How did I not get in trouble..?” he mumbles, in which Acorn shrugs.
“Well, it's lunch now so you better get going. Or else Ivan's gonna come looking for you again.” And that's the last he sees of Acorn.
He groans, using every last strength in his body to stand up. He clumsily slings the bag on his shoulder and stumbles his way out of class.
Fuck, he doesn't even have an appetite. The thought of eating is enough alone to make him feel nauseous. He just wants to sleep, despite sleeping through all his classes.
He leans against the wall for support as he trudges his way down the hallway. Was the hallway always this long? He pauses, leaning his head against the smooth surface. It's cool, just like his desk. It feels nice. Maybe he can rest here for a bit. He begins to doze off once more.
“Till!” Huh?
He opens his eyes, turning around to see who called his name. It's Ivan, pacing his way through the halls to get to Till.
“Ivan..?” He mumbles.
“Till,” he exhales, a little out of breath. “I was looking for you, why—” he pauses. "Till, are you okay?”
Till opens his mouth, or at least he thinks he does. But no sound comes out. He feels his body heat up as his vision gets blurry.
THUMP
━━━━━
Bright. It's bright. Is he in heaven?
“..Till?”
He looks to the side, Ivan. Nope, definitely not heaven. He lets his eyes adjust, scanning the room. This looks like the infirmary.
“Till!” He turns to look back at Ivan. He looks a little disheveled, but he can't exactly see clearly.
“How are you feeling? The nurses said you have a fever. Did you walk home in the rain yesterday? You could've waited for me.”
He's ready to close his eyes and go back to his peaceful slumber before he hears the same voice.
“You just passed out in the middle of the hall, I had to carry you here… You scared me.”
It takes a moment for Till to process Ivan's words. “..I passed out? Again!? For how long!?”
Ivan crosses his arms. “How else would you have gotten here, you blockhead. And what do you mean again?”
“I-I slept through all my morning—”
“Till sweetie!” A comforting voice calls out to him, in which he immediately recognizes it to be his mother. Io runs over to his bed, still dressed in her work clothes. She looks frantic as she puts a hand on the boy's head and then his hand. “Till! Oh my baby, they told me you have a fever. I'm here to pick you up okay?”
A fever, huh. Makes sense. But he realizes his mom is supposed to be at work, did she call off to pick him up? He feels a pang in his head, unsure if it's guilt or the fever punishing him for no reason.
“Don't.. You have work?” he manages to say, gritting his teeth from the pain.
"It's okay, I ran here as soon as I got the call,” she whispered, rubbing Till's hand soothingly.
Till immediately feels guilty. “Ma.. I'm fine! Really! I'll be okay, you can go back to work!”
“No honey, you need to go home right now.”
“But—”
“It's okay auntie Io, I can take care of him. You can drop us off and go back to work.” Till whips his head around, meeting Ivan's polite smile.
Io turns to him as well. “Oh no, dearie, I can't take you out of school..”
“It's okay. I already did all my work in my classes— I was planning to leave early anyway.”
“A-are you sure? I'd hate to add onto your responsibilities.”
Ivan nods. “I'm sure, I promise Till will be in good hands.”
The fuck? There's no way he's letting Ivan take care of him! He'll show them he's fine. He quickly sits up, pain shooting through his body. He immediately feels nauseous, he's going to puke. He looks around, panicked, before picking up the bucket that was placed beside him and vomits.
Okay, well, the plan wasn't very successful it seems.
Io gasps, reaching out to comfort him while Ivan stares blankly, unimpressed. His polite smile is long gone after Io looks away.
“Come on honey, let's bring you to the car.”
He has no choice but to agree, Io helps him up and continues to support him while they walk to the car. He feels bad, he knows how worrisome his mother can be.
He's placed in the backseat, along with Ivan.
“You can lean your head on my shoulder, Till,” Ivan hums.
“Fuck off,” he murmurs under his breath. He wasn't going to deal with Ivan's mockery today— he had already humiliated himself enough.
Instead, he leans his head against the window, muffling all the conversation between his mother and Ivan. He doesn't live very far from the school, but the car ride feels longer than it should. His head hurts, and the constant bumping against the hard glass from the road bumps aren't exactly helping.
It's also cold. Way too cold to just be wearing a T-shirt. His eyes trail to Ivan, wearing his coat and green hoodie. He wonders how warm Ivan must be. Till lifts his head from the window, and practically throws himself on Ivan's shoulder.
The sudden impact causes Ivan to jolt a little. He looks down at Till in shock, but Till isn't even looking back at him. His eyes are shut, his face is completely flushed, and he's shivering. Instinctively, Ivan wraps an arm around the smaller male, rubbing his arm in an attempt to warm him.
Till only leans into him further, much to Ivan's delight. Ivan secretly hopes that they encounter traffic on the way.
━━━━━
Soon enough Till's house comes into view, Ivan hesitates before lightly shaking Till's shoulder awake. The younger male groggily opens his eyes, still half lidded as he scoots off Ivan.
After they step out of the car, Io gives Till a peck on his forehead and quickly leaves to go back to work. Ivan politely waves her off, before dragging Till inside the house with him.
Till is too exhausted to acknowledge Ivan, quickly taking off his shoes and making his way to his bedroom. The problem? His bedroom is on the second floor. He sucks his breath and begins to hike his way up the stairs, gripping onto the railing like his life depends on it.
He probably climbed about two steps, before Ivan pops up behind him. “Need me to carry you?”
“..No,” Till mumbles, but he makes no further movement to continue walking up the steps.
Ivan blinks, before grabbing Till's waist and supporting him up the stairs regardless. They quickly reach his room, and Till immediately plops himself on his bed. He doesn't bother saying thank you, because he didn't need Ivan's help.
“Lay down and stay put.”
Well what else am I supposed to do Mr. Obvious? Is what Till would normally say, but he isn't feeling normal. Instead, he just nods. He feels cold, too cold. He shuffles to get under his blanket, but it's not enough, he's still cold. He needs—
A second blanket is draped on top of him, adding a comforting weight. “Is that better?”
He relaxes a bit, looking up at Ivan. How did he get back so fast? He nods once again in response to his question.
Ivan makes sure he's laying on his back before carefully pulling the blankets up to his chin. Till couldn't help but burrow into it, earning a chuckle from the taller male.
A warm palm meets his forehead and he subconsciously leans into it, closing his eyes. It feels nice. The palm moves down to his cheeks, lightly caressing it.
But then, it stops. Till opens his eyes, no longer satisfied. His hand instinctively shoots up, grabbing onto Ivan's.
“Why'd you stop..?” Till mumbles, bringing Ivan's hand back to his face.
Ivan stiffens, nothing knowing what to say. “You're burning up. I'm going to get you medicine.” But Till's grip tightens, although still weak due to his state.
“Please don't leave.”
Ivan's heart begins to race. He wants to stay, he really does. But he knows what Till needs right now.
“I'll be back soon,” is all he can say. He manages to remove Till's hands, settling them back under the blanket causing Till to pout.
Till is too tired to argue though, because as soon as Ivan leaves, he drifts off back into sleep. This one wasn't as peaceful. He awakes in a cold sweat, he can't remember his dream but the room is dark. He frantically looks around— the door is so far, the walls look uneven. He is alone.
A feeling of terror washes over him. Wasn't Ivan just grabbing medicine? Where did he go? Till forces himself up, his head spinning.
Every movement hurts, and he can't shake the nauseating feeling away. He stumbles out of bed, but doesn't even make it half way across the room before his knees buckle. It doesn't hurt, not as much as his head at least.
By now, he's on the floor. He looks at the door again, it's even farther now. Droplets fall onto the back of his palm, he can't even tell if it's sweat or tears. From a distance, there's what can only be described as a loud thumping noise. It's only getting closer.
His heart and head is pounding from anxiety. He needs to get up— he needs to escape.
He props himself up on one knee, ready to push himself up before he feels someone grab him. He wants to scream, but he's pulled close into what he can only describe as a warm and familiar hug.
Till immediately recognizes the scent, the warmth, the clingy arms. Ivan.
He relaxes a bit, head still spinning. He doesn't really process what's happening before he's scooped up and placed back on the comfort of his bed. But he doesn't let go, clinging onto his newfound warmth.
“Till, it's okay.”
“Ivan..” He didn't realize how much he was crying until his voice came out completely strained. “W-why’d you leave?”
Ivan uses his free hands to wipe his tears. “You were asleep.”
“But you said you'd be back.”
“I know.” Ivan pauses. “I'm back now, and I won't leave again, okay?”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
He let's go of Ivan, but subconsciously continues to lean on him for support.
Ivan reaches on his bedside, popping open a bottle of pills. “Open your mouth.”
Till complies absent-mindedly. A small pill lands on his tongue. He doesn't process it before a water bottle is shoved in his face. He allows Ivan to tip the bottle into his mouth, carefully swallowing the pill.
As soon as that's over, Ivan lays him back down, gently placing a small wet cloth on his forehead. Till lets put a small noise of displeasure as he no longer feels the warmth of the other boy's body heat.
“There, you should be all good. Now you can go back to sleep.”
Till winces at the thought of going back to sleep after what just occurred. “Don't wanna..”
“You were just sleeping moments ago,” Ivan states, brushing loose strands away from his face.
“You're gonna leave if I sleep again.”
The taller male visibly tenses, but it goes unnoticed by Till in his delirious state.
“You promised to stay.” Till continues, his voice beginning to quiver.
“...I did, and I will.”
Till helplessly tugs at Ivan's sleeve. “How would I know?”
“Well, what do you want me to do then?” Ivan asks, but he knows. That smug bastard. He just wants to hear Till say it. Any other instance Till would cuss him out, but this time is an exception.
Till shifts, making just enough space for Ivan. “Stay with me, please.” He pulls Ivan's arm, urging him to join him on the bed.
“Mmm.. Alright. If that's what you want,” he hums.
Ivan keenly positions himself beside Till. They haven't shared a bed since they were kids. Till pulls the blankets over Ivan, before grabbing his arm and using it as his pillow. Ivan is still. Almost too still. The blankets combined with his hoodie and Till's body heat is a little too warm for his liking, but it's okay. It's only when he hears Till's faint breaths indicating he's asleep he turns.
And he stares, taking in every feature on Till's face. Being this close, Till clinging onto him, he almost wants to cry. He shifts a little closer, slinging his free arm around the smaller male and nuzzles into the side of his face.
He savours this moment, before closing his eyes as well and allowing himself to drift off into his own sleep.
━━━━━
The sound of the bedroom door creaks open as light footsteps make their way into Till's room. Io smiles at the sight. Both the boys seem to be in a deep sleep. She quietly walks over to them, lifting the blanket just a bit more before turning the lights off and partially shutting the door, leaving only a little crack.
She makes her way back downstairs, preparing chicken noodle soup for when they wake up. She'll make sure to thank Ivan, as well as scold Till about packing an umbrella next time.