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The camera light blinked red across the room.
Avallum's off-collab had been live for over six hours now, longer than any of them planned.
The five of them were sprawled across the tatami floor of the rented Airbnb, surrounded by snack wrappers, game controllers, and the messy sprawl of laughter that only came from being together offline for the first time.
"Alright, chat." Cassian said, voice still bright though his eyelids drooped. "One more round before we crash for the night?"
"Crash?" Rosco echoed. "I already am crashing."
Lucien laughed from behind the camera, his avatar still grinning on-screen, its tracking just slightly off from fatigue. "You said that an hour ago."
Only one of them was not keeping up.
Gale's voice was softer than usual. It had been gradually fading since the second hour, replaced by shorter laughs and quieter responses. His skin had a sheen to it now — light sweat along his neck, his bangs clinging slightly to his forehead.
The chat had noticed.
"Gale sounds tired 😭"
"He okay??"
"Let him rest bro 😭😭😭"
Zander noticed too. From his spot beside him, he caught the way Gale's hand trembled slightly when he reached for his water bottle, the way he blinked a second too long as if the world blurred in front of him.
"Hey." Zander murmured, leaning in while the others teased each other. "You good?"
Gale smiled automatically, the kind of reflex trained from streaming. "Yeah, yeah. Just warm."
He was always like this — steady, dependable, pushing himself past the line so no one had to worry. It was both admirable and infuriating.
Zander's brow furrowed. "You look like you're melting."
"Guess I am gold for a reason." Gale muttered, trying to make it a joke.
It earned him a quiet chuckle. Zander let it slide, though his gaze lingered.
The game resumed. Chaotic, loud, their voices overlapping as chat exploded in laughter.
Gale's avatar on screen moved sluggishly, lagging behind his usual quick precision. His laughter came late, as if his brain was fighting through fog to keep up.
And then, mid-sentence, it happened.
One moment, Gale was laughing — soft, breathy, tired — and the next, there was a dull sound: his headset sliding off, followed by the thud of something hitting tatami.
Lucien froze. Cassian's eyes widened.
"Gale?"
The camera caught the blur of Zander lunging out of frame, the mic picking up the scrape of his chair.
"Gale! Hey — hey, dude, c'mon—"
The stream erupted.
"WHAT HAPPENED???"
"GALE????"
"Someone check him omg"
Cassian, thinking quick, switched the overlay to BRB, muting their mics. The chat went wild regardless, the numbers spiking as panic spread across Twitter.
In the Airbnb, the energy had changed completely.
Gale was out cold, skin hot beneath Zander's hand. His pulse fluttered fast against his wrist, breath shallow and ragged.
"Shit." Zander hissed under his breath. "He's burning up."
Lucien knelt beside him, already fumbling for a cool towel. "He said he was fine earlier."
"Yeah." Zander said tightly, pressing the cloth to Gale's forehead. "He lied."
Cassian returned from turning off the stream setup. "I ended it. I will handle Twitter."
"Fans saw?"
"Yeah. It was on camera for like two seconds."
Rosco grabbed a blanket, muttering, "We will tell them he's resting."
Zander barely heard them. He'd slid down beside Gale, hand still braced under his head. The fever radiated through his palm like fire.
"Hey, Gale." He murmured, voice low. "You gotta wake up, man. You can't just drop like that, you will freak everyone out."
A small sound escaped Gale — half groan, half breath. His eyelids fluttered, but did not open.
Zander exhaled shakily.
Hours later, the Airbnb was quiet.
Lucien and Cassian had gone to the nearest konbini for fever meds and sports drinks. Rosco was in the kitchen boiling water for towels. The tweets had gone out:
@AvallumOfficial: "Gale is currently resting after falling ill during today’s off-collab. Thank you for your concern. We will keep you updated. 💛🖤 #AvallumLIVE"
Replies flooded in — well-wishes, fan art, anxious messages. The tag #GoldLust trended again for the first time in months.
Zander stayed by the futon. He'd gotten Gale out of his heavy hoodie and covered him with a light blanket. The fever had not broken, if anything, it had climbed.
Gale's breathing was uneven, soft sounds slipping out when he stirred.
"...Zan…?"
The word was barely there, but Zander leaned in instantly.
"Yeah. I'm here."
Gale's lips parted, a faint line of apology escaping. "Did... did the stream end?"
"Yeah. Don't worry about it."
"I wasn't supposed to—"
"Don't." Zander said quietly. "Don't you dare apologize for fainting."
Gale's lashes trembled. "You sound mad."
"I am mad." Zander admitted. "At you. For not saying anything. For trying to push through."
Silence.
Just the soft hum of the air conditioner, the faint noise of water boiling in the kitchen.
Then Gale whispered, voice rough. "Did I ruin it?"
Zander's chest tightened. "No. You scared us. That's all."
The night blurred into fever dreams.
Gale drifted in and out — half-aware of cold towels pressed to his forehead, a voice murmuring beside him. Sometimes it was Zander's, sometimes Cassian's. But it was always Zander he felt closest, the weight of his presence anchoring him when the fever dragged him under again.
He remembered shivering violently, even as sweat clung to him. A hand steadied him —Zander's again. "Breathe." That voice whispered. "You're okay. I got you."
Later, when the others finally slept, Zander stayed awake.
He sat on the floor beside Gale's futon, knees drawn up, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. Every so often he would reach out, check the temperature on his forehead. Still too hot.
He thought of the way Gale always smiled during streams, always the leader, always the first to lift the others' moods. And now here he was — vulnerable, quiet, asleep and completely unguarded.
Zander brushed a damp strand of hair from Gale's face.
"Stubborn idiot." He murmured.
By morning, Gale woke to the soft gray of dawn slipping through the shoji doors. His throat ached, and his body felt heavy, but the fog had eased. He blinked, squinting —someone had fallen asleep sitting beside him.
Zander, head tilted back against the wall, still holding the edge of the blanket where he had been keeping it tucked around Gale's shoulder.
Gale's heart clenched.
He swallowed, whispering, "Zanny."
Zander stirred, eyes opening slowly. "Hey." His voice was rough from exhaustion. "You are awake."
Gale nodded weakly. "Did I... cause a mess?"
Zander snorted softly. "You trended worldwide, so... yeah, a bit."
Gale groaned, half laughing. "Oh, great."
"They're just worried. Cass already told them you're fine."
Gale sat up slightly, wincing as dizziness hit. Zander was instantly there, a steady hand on his shoulder.
"Easy."
Their eyes met — too close, too much unspoken.
"Thanks." Gale murmured.
"You scared me." Zander said quietly.
"I didn't mean to."
"I know."
For a moment, neither spoke.
The morning air buzzed with quiet tension —the kind that lived in the space between friendship and something unnamed.
Gale broke first, whispering, "You stayed up all night?"
"Couldn't sleep." Zander admitted. "You kept mumbling nonsense about golden ships and Minecraft."
Gale smiled faintly. "Sounds like me."
"Yeah." A pause. "You really hate hospitals that much?"
Gale hesitated. "Yeah. I just... they remind me of some bad stuff. I didn't want to go if I didn't have to."
Zander nodded, eyes soft. "Then don't scare me like that again, okay?"
"I will try."
"Try harder."
The gentle reprimand drew a small laugh out of Gale, his voice still hoarse but lighter now.
Zander passed him a bottle of water. "Drink. Slowly."
Gale did, their fingers brushing briefly when he handed it back. The contact lingered longer than it should have.
Outside, Lucien called from the kitchen. "He alive yet?"
"Barely." Zander answered, smirking.
"Good! Cass made porridge. Tell him to eat before he collapses again!"
Gale groaned. "I am never living this down, am I?"
"Not a chance." Zander said, but there was warmth in it.
By the second day, Gale was stable enough to sit up with a blanket around his shoulders, scrolling through the flood of fan tweets on his phone.
#GoldLust: "Zander stayed with him the whole time 😭😭😭"
@AvallumFanArt: "Sending love and soup to our golden boy 💛🖤 #GetWellGale"
He chuckled softly. "They're being dramatic."
Zander, sitting cross-legged across from him, raised an eyebrow. "You literally passed out live."
"Okay, fair."
Cassian peeked in from the hallway. "Don't overdo it, Gale. We'll do a chill stream update tomorrow. Just talking."
"Got it."
After Cassian left, Gale leaned back against the wall, eyes slipping shut. "Hey, Zanny."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For... you know. Everything."
Zander's tone softened. "Anytime."
Silence again, comfortable this time.
Gale's voice was quieter when he added, "You really did not have to stay up."
Zander looked at him for a long moment. "Yeah, I did."
Gale opened his eyes, meeting his gaze. "Why?"
Zander's mouth twitched, as if he was debating saying something stupid. Then, finally: "Because if something happened to you, I don't think I would be able to stream again."
Gale blinked. "That's... dramatic."
"Maybe." Zander said with a small shrug. "But true."
Gale's smile faded into something gentler. "Zanny..."
"Yeah?"
"I am glad it was you."
The words hung in the air between them —light, quiet, heavier than they sounded.
Zander looked away first, rubbing the back of his neck. "Get some rest, Goldie."
Gale laughed softly. "Calling me that again?"
"Just making sure you know you still owe me a rematch when you're alive again."
Gale's voice softened. "Deal."
As the afternoon light filtered into the room, Zander leaned back, watching him drift off to sleep again. The fever was gone now —replaced by the faint flush of recovery, the gentle peace of rest.
Zander reached out, tucking the blanket up once more.
"Don't scare me like that again." He murmured under his breath.
Gale did not hear him, but maybe he did not have to.
Because somewhere, in the quiet between heartbeat and breath, something new had already started to bloom.