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The breath of excitement, joy, and pure relief that Todd let out was immediately drowned by the unanimous, thunderous “yawp” the poets let out in the audience. Todd had been a little upset that Neil couldn’t make it due to a family event, but was quickly cheered up by all his friends supporting him in the audience.
Giddily, Todd almost skipped to his friends after the poem presentation had ended, a bright grin plastered on his face.
The poets all talked over one another, clamouring and showering Todd with praise, Todd ducked his head, feeling embarrassed and grateful and so, so loved. He caught sight of an amused Mr. Keating standing to the side, pride prominent in his eyes, before turning to talk to someone leaning against the wall.
“Neil!” Todd said, weaving toward him through the gaggles of people, “you made it!”
“Of course,” Neil said, pushing off from the wall and giving one of his half-smiles that melted Todd completely.
An exhilarated laugh escaped Todd, and he leaned forward to kiss Neil on the lips. He had not expected Neil flinching and bowing his head, pushing Todd back slightly and gently.
“Maybe not.”
Todd swallowed and felt his heart sink, hurt at the prospect of Neil not wanting his kiss.
“Oh,” Todd whispered, glancing between his lover and his captain, guilt blooming in his chest that he might have accidentally outed Neil, even though he was pretty sure Neil had already told Mr Keating.
Mr Keating politely walked over to the rest of their friend group.
“It’s not that!” Neil said hurriedly, before clearing his throat and looking down at his shoes, scuffing them a bit.
“It’s just… I haven’t been feeling well.”
Todd sighed softly, relieved for a moment, before a different kind of worry took hold of him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked gently, rubbing Neil’s shoulder through his winter coat.
“Nothing much, really,” Neil said shyly, not quite meeting Todd’s eyes, “only my throat’s been killing me, and I wouldn’t want you to catch it. Whatever it is.”
A surge of warmth and protectiveness swelled in Todd’s heart, and he couldn’t help but cup Neil’s cheek.
“Oi, lovebirds,” Charlie raised their voice slightly to be heard over the murmuring of the crowd, “stop being gay and come get celebratory ice cream!”
“You up for that?” Todd asked, taking in the sight of Neil’s poor, tired eyes.
Neil gave a small smile and nodded, letting Todd wrap an arm around his waist and rejoining their friends.
The group once again exploded with praise for Todd as they made their way to an ice cream shop, only quieting down when they arrived to stuff their mouths full of the delicious treat.
Neil took a small bite of his ice cream, wincing and rubbing his throat a bit.
“You don’t have to finish it if you can’t,” Todd murmured, rubbing the small of Neil’s back, feeling his lover tremble.
Neil shot Todd a small, embarrassed smile, nodding slightly before turning his attention back to the conversation their friends were having.
Todd brushed sweat-slicked hair off from Neil’s forehead, and Neil slumped, leaning into his lover’s touch. His cheeks were splotchy pink, and he was shivering a little. Todd would have given anything to scoop Neil up, hug him tight, and not let him go until every bad thing had left his body.
The group soon finished up their ice creams and began their journey back to the hotel. Neil and Todd walked to the train station in silence, letting their friends’ chatter wash over them.
When the train arrived, they were faced with 3 open seats. The rest of the poets didn’t even bother making excuses of “not wanting to sit down,” simply nudging Neil, Todd, and Mr Keating towards them while continuing their conversation, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Can I?” Neil murmured and rested his head on Todd’s shoulder, closing his eyes.
“Of course,” Todd said softly, fighting the swirls of guilt, pity, love, and whatever else that were warring in his chest. He shifted a bit so Neil could lean more against him and be more comfortable, and gave his lover a tender kiss on his forehead.
It took scarcely a minute or two for Neil’s breaths to even out into the soft ghosts of snores. Neil usually had a lot of trouble falling asleep, with his nightmares and all, but the poor thing must have truly been dead on his feet if he drifted off that fast, even through the rush of the train and the announcements of stops.
Todd got a weird look or two from the old man sitting across from him, but the poets quickly formed a protective barrier in front of them, and luckily the rest of the commuters were too engulfed in themselves to spare a glance. As for his part, Todd spent most of the ride contemplating Neil, the faint flush of fever on his cheeks, how young and vulnerable he looked in his sleep.
As such, it broke Todd’s heart having to wake Neil so soon. He placed gentle kisses into his messy hair and scrunched up forehead until he stirred.
“Sorry, my love. Our stop’s next,” he said softly as Neil blinked blearily at him and rubbed his eyes, sitting up again.
When they had gotten off and exited the station, Todd turned to Neil.
“Do you want to stop at the CVS on the way to the hotel? Pick up some medicine?”
Neil let out a half-sigh, half-cough and shook his head.
“Jus’ wanna sleep.”
“Why don’t you kids go back and change, and I can run and grab some medicine and midnight snacks?” Mr Keating offered.
A chorus of “thanks, captain,” and “you’re the best,” rang out from the group as they shuffled back to their hotel room.
As Todd tucked Neil into bed, he couldn’t help but ask, “why did you come out if you were feeling so poorly?”
“Wanted to see you,” Neil said, his puckish grin shining in the darkness, “promised I'd come.”
“You dummy,” Todd huffed, unable to keep the fondness out of his voice as he ruffled Neil’s hair.
“But I'm your dummy,” Neil said, still grinning.
Todd caught his infectious grin as he snuggled next to his lover, the sounds of their captain and their friends reciting poetry washing over them, lulling them to sleep.