Work Text:
2. Forced to go to school/work while sick
David Rose closed himself in the small washroom in the corner of the store and took a deep breath. Patrick was at a small business conference so David was in charge of the store, all alone, for the next three days, until Patrick returned. Which wouldn’t have normally been an issue, except for the fact that David was quickly realizing he was getting sick.
David of the past would have never admitted to catching an illness, instead just hiding away alone until he was better, but life with Patrick had changed him. It had softened him, and made him more vulnerable. And now he was struggling.
It was the beginnings of a cold, so he wasn’t too miserable yet, but he imagined it was only a matter of time before he was a coughing, sniveling mess, and he had to work the store. There was no other option, with Patrick being gone. He leaned on the sink and looked at himself in the mirror, glad to see that he wasn’t looking sick yet. He didn’t want to scare away the customers.
After splashing some cold water on his face and washing his hands, David went back out onto the floor and busied himself neatening the stock to distract him from the way his nose was starting to run a little, and the way his temples were beginning to throb. To his surprise the distraction actually worked, and before he knew it, it was time to close the store for the day.
He went through the motions of closing down the register and locking everything up, and was ready to leave before he knew it. Deciding to get ahead of this cold, David stopped at the cafe on his way home for some takeaway soup for dinner. Twyla gave him a few bags of tea, too, and a little container of honey when he went to the counter to pick up his order.
“Feel better soon,” she said as she handed over his bag.
“Oh, I’m fine. But thank you.”
“Sure!” Twyla waved as David left the cafe and trudged down the street to Patrick’s apartment. It was dark and cold when he opened the door, and his heart ached a bit, wishing for Patrick to be there waiting for him. He flicked on some lights, turned the heat up a few degrees, and set his dinner on the table before hanging his coat up in the abysmally small closet. A shower seemed like the best way to warm up a little, so David stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower, cranking the hot water all the way up and letting the bathroom fill with steam as he scrubbed himself clean.
Once the water was beginning to run cold, David shut the water off and dried himself, dressing in Patrick’s coziest pajama pants and a sweater. He wrapped his hair in his towel and went to the kitchen to heat up his soup and make a cup of the tea Twyla had sent with him. His phone chimed while he was waiting for the tea kettle to boil—Patrick was calling him.
“Hey,” David answered, propping his phone up on the counter so that he could continue making dinner while he chatted with his boyfriend.
“Hi, David. How was your day?”
David smiled down at Patrick’s face and shrugged. “It was okay. How was yours?”
Patrick frowned. “What’s wrong?”
‘Nothing!” David threw his hands up in the air. He rolled his eyes as he poured some of the honey into a mug and draped a tea bag over the side.
“David.”
David glanced at the phone at Patrick’s tone of voice.
“You look pale. Are you sick?”
“Not yet,” David led.
“Not yet? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I have a bit of a headache, it’s no big deal. Now, how was your day?” David picked up the phone and held it closer to him to see Patrick better. He missed him terribly.
Patrick sighed and looked worried. “My day was fine. What else is the matter?”
David paused pouring steaming water in his mug. “I told you what the matter is.”
“No, there’s something else. What is it?”
“I miss you, does that count?” David set the kettle back on the stove and stirred his soup. It was starting to simmer, so he shut the burner off and fished a bowl out of the cabinet. When Patrick didn’t respond, David sighed. “It’s really no big deal, I can just tell I’m getting a cold.”
“Aww, I’m sorry I’m not there with you. I miss you, too.” Patrick brought his face closer to the screen and David smiled. “Take your temperature, you look peaky.”
David scoffed. “What are you, a grandmother? Who uses that word?” He set down the phone and went to the bathroom anyway, wanting to prove to Patrick that he was okay. The thermometer lived in the cabinet behind the mirror, so David dug around the shelves until he found what he was looking for. He stuck the instrument under his tongue and walked back to the kitchen while he waited for the numbers to light up on the little screen.
“What’s it say?” Patrick asked once David was back in view of his phone camera. David held up a finger and picked the phone back up. After a few more seconds the thermometer beeped and David pulled it out from under his tongue. “37.5. I’m fine.” He turned the thermometer so that Patrick could read the screen for himself.
“It’s a little on the warm side, hon.” Patrick looked worried.
“I just got out of the shower, I’m still warm from the hot water.”
“I can come home, if you want me to.”
David shook his head. “No, I’m okay. Have fun learning about business.” He smiled at his boyfriend and looked at the clock above the stove. “I better go and eat my dinner, since the store opens so early.”
Patrick laughed at that and ran a hand through his hair. “Call me tomorrow? Let me know if you need me. I love you.”
“I will. I love you, too. Goodnight!” David blew a few kisses into the camera and ended the call. Sighing, he grabbed his soup and tea and carried them across the room to the couch, deciding to watch a little tv while he ate.
An undetermined amount of time later found David waking up, freezing cold and curled up on the couch in a way that was sure to make his neck ache for the next week or so. Whining, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked at his phone screen. It was almost 5am—somehow he’d slept most of the night on the couch without noticing. That was strange, and it gave him a sense of foreboding for how the rest of the day would play out.
David shivered as he looked through the notifications that had popped onto his phone screen while he was asleep. He decided that no one was worth responding to, and didn’t dare text Patrick this early in the morning, so he hauled himself upright and carried his dinner dishes into the kitchen. Washing the dishes felt like too much work for so early in the morning, so David left them on the sideboard and braced himself against the counter.
His head felt full of cotton and the slightly runny nose from the day before had turned into full blown congestion. Shivering again, David thought the most appropriate thing to do was to take another shower, so he headed into the bathroom to get warm.
The shower in Patrick’s apartment was so small it was barely functional, but for once David didn’t feel the need to complain about its size. It filled with warm steam quickly, and he could lean against the wall and still be completely doused in hot water. Like the night before, he stayed under the spray until it began to run cold, and then peeled himself out of the shower and into his clothes for the day. He looked longingly at the bed, but didn’t dare climb into it in case he didn’t climb back out in time for work.
Figuring it was best to just go to the store and work on inventory, David packed his bag for the day and donned his winter jacket, dreading the walk down the street. It was bitterly cold, a classic Canadian January day, and David tucked his chin into his coat to keep it away from the biting wind.
The cafe had just opened, so he ducked into the restaurant for some breakfast.
Twyla looked surprised when she saw David. “Good morning! What can I get for you?”
David looked around, expecting to see the other usual customers, but the place was empty besides him. “Um, a large tea with honey and a danish please,” he said, his voice hoarse and nasally.
“Sure thing! Are you feeling any better?” Twyla flitted around behind the counter making David’s tea and grabbing him a danish out of the case.
“Your tea and soup were wonderful last night,” David replied, dodging the question. He smiled when she handed over his order. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem! See you for lunch?”
“Yep!” David called over his shoulder as he left the cafe.
The store was cold and dark, and again, David wished that Patrick were waiting for him inside. After unlocking the door he entered quickly to keep some of the swirling snow out. He locked the door behind him and went around turning lights on, sipping at his tea as he went. He kept his coat on while the heat kicked in and wished that he’d thought to pack gloves as he reorganized some stock with frozen fingers.
Once the reorganizing was finished, David took his tea to the back room and let himself feel pitiful for a few minutes. If Patrick were here, he started to think, but stopped himself. Patrick wasn’t there, there was no point in wallowing in his absence. He felt bad enough without missing Patrick. Deciding to focus on himself, he took a deep breath and let his body tell him just exactly how severe his cold symptoms were.
His headache hadn’t lessened any, and if anything, it had gotten worse with the sinus congestion he had building. His throat was sore despite Twyla’s honey tea, his joints ached, and he was so damn cold.
The heat must be broken, he decided. His eyebrows rose in shock when he saw that the thermostat read 27 degrees. There was no way that was correct. How was he still cold if it was 27 degrees in the store?
A knock on the store doors jolted him out of his thoughts.
“Coming!” He rasped, his throat protesting at the volume of his voice. Hurrying out to the front of the store, David wrapped his coat a little tighter around him and unlocked the doors, flipping the sign to the ‘open’ side.
Ronnie was waiting eagerly to enter the store, wrapped snuggly in a hat and scarf. “Morning,” she bit out as she walked through the door and closed it behind her. “Cold one out there, huh?”
David nodded. “Sure is.” He wasn’t sure how long, exactly, he’d been reorganizing the stock on the floor, but it must have taken him longer than he thought it did, if it was already time to open the store.
“Is your heat broken?” Ronnie asked, unwrapping her scarf and waving her gloved hand in front of her face. “It’s roasting in here.”
“Is it? I’ll check.” David shivered his way to the thermostat and lowered the temperature a few degrees. “There, that should be better soon.”
Ronnie furrowed her brows at him. “You okay?”
David nodded again, smiling faintly. He really wanted Patrick to be here to deal with the customers.
“No, you’re sick. You look terrible.” She paused. “Where’s Patrick?”
“Business conference.” David couldn’t keep the hoarseness out of his voice and Ronnie rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, okay. Come on, close up. I’ll drive you home.”
“What? No! I’m fine, I’ll just take it easy until the end of the day.” David coughed into his elbow and winced at the way it made his throat burn.
Ronnie just raised an eyebrow with doubt.
“Thanks for being worried about me, but I really am okay. I have tea,” David said, gesturing to the cup he was holding in his hand. “And Patrick is counting on me to keep the store open.”
“Okay, whatever. I’ll just take my lotion and go,” Ronnie responded. She didn’t have time to baby David.
David rung her up and bagged her lotion, trying to suppress a cough the whole time. Once the door closed behind her, David hacked into his elbow until his eyes watered and his head threatened to explode.
David spent the rest of the morning waiting on a very few number of customers and sipping tea that Twyla just happened to bring over from the cafe when David was done with his previous cup.
When lunch rolled around, David deeply considered closing up the store for the day, but he knew that the after-work rush was when they brought in most of their revenue, so he pushed through his whole body shivers and sucked on a cough drop that Twyla had dropped off the last time she’d delivered his tea.
David was just about asleep, sitting behind the register, when he heard the bell above the door tinkle and he jerked up, ready to help the new customer. He was very surprised to see Patrick rushing towards him with a concerned look pinched on his face.
“Patrick? What—” he rasped before being taken over by a coughing fit. He felt Patrick’s cold hands press against his forehead and pull him into a hug.
“Shh, just try to breathe, baby.” Patrick rubbed up and down David’s back and pushed him so that he was sitting on the stool he’d just vacated. “You’re burning up, David.”
David wiped at his watering eyes and sniffled. “I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not. Come on, let’s go home.” Patrick quickly closed down the store and ushered David out into the snow to his still-running, warm car.
David curled up in the front seat and clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. The short ride home passed in a blur of snowflakes, and before he knew it, Patrick was helping him up the stairs to his apartment.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Patrick asked, hurt in his eyes as he unzipped David’s coat and led him over to the bed.
“It’s not that bad, I just wanted to get through the day.” David had to whisper now; his voice having given up the ghost after his last coughing fit.
Patrick simply held out the thermometer and waited for David to put it under his tongue. When the screen flashed David’s temperature, Patrick yelped. “Not that bad? David your temperature is pushing 40!” He efficiently stripped David out of his clothes and pushed him gently into bed, covering him with just the sheet. “You need to get cooled down.”
Patrick disappeared and David whined, wanting nothing more than Patrick to crawl into bed next to him and be the big spoon.
“I’m right here, relax,” Patrick whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed with a cool cloth to drape over David’s forehead.
David tried to pull away, but Patrick was insistent and David was tired.
“Just let me take care of you,” Patrick said quietly.
David stopped fighting him and shivered as Patrick dabbed at his skin with the cool cloth. “Why did you come home early?” David asked in a whisper.
“Ronnie called me and told me you weren’t doing well.”
David’s eyes flew open at that. “Ronnie? Called you?” Ronnie and Patrick didn’t get along that well. It was a shock that world war three hadn’t broken out at the voluntary contact.
“She was worried about you, and I can’t say I blame her.” Patrick folded the cloth into thirds and rested it over David’s eyes. “Now, when was the last time you took anything?”
David pushed one corner of the cloth away so he could see Patrick. “Took anything?”
“Yeah, like paracetamol? Cold and flu medicine?”
“Oh. I didn’t take anything.”
“At all?” Patrick huffed out a laugh. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Just snuggle me until I’m better,” David whined.
“Okay, okay, but only after you take some medicine.”
David took the pills Patrick handed him with a grimace and settled back into bed, sighing contentedly when Patrick curled up beside him and pulled him to his chest. “I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you, too.” Patrick kissed the top of David’s head and tightened his arms around him.