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He felt it the first time when he woke up early in the morning, a slight scratching in his throat that told him he was either gonna be croaking out his words at the end of the day or it would progressively get worse every morning until he was properly sick — there was no inbetween. With a groan he blindly reached for his nightstand to grab his water bottle and took a huge sip from the luke-warm water. He grimaced at the taste.
He looked to his right where Craig was quietly snoring on his stomach, half his face pressed into the pillow and Tweek even saw some drool on it. The blanket only covered one of Craig‘s legs, since Tweek tended to hog all the blankets in his sleep, so Craig‘s body was revealed in all its glory. Red Racer boxer shorts with holes in them that were bordering the line of too small, but Craig was actually a sentimental piece of shit that had trouble getting rid of belongings no matter the fact that he’d owned them since he’d been a teen. A tank top that had ridden up and revealed the smooth skin of his lower back in such a way that Tweek had to hold himself back from running his hands up the expanse of skin.
He smiled at the sight of his boyfriend‘s squished up face and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead. Craig let out a soft breath at the touch but didn‘t react otherwise, probably still knocked out from his late-night studying session. Tweek looked at his phone and checked the time. 6:27am. Great, he woke up half an hour before his alarm. He had an early shift at work today and he already dreaded the morning rush, but whatever. At least he was off at three then.
With a cough he crawled out of his bed (them both opting to sleep in Tweek‘s room last night) and staggered to the kitchen to make himself a coffee. He would make himself another one once he arrived at work, but for now he needed some caffeine to wake up properly. The scratch in his throat lessened slightly with the hot coffee that he sipped leaning on the kitchen counter, but it didn‘t vanish. Hm.
Tweek hated getting sick, always worried it was something worse than a cough and in turn his hysterics made his anxiety skyrocket. On top of that he hated relying on Craig even more than he already did, his boyfriend did a lot of stuff for him and caring for him when he was sick on top of all that? Just the thought of sickness had his head twitching in an anxious gesture. “Shit,” he croaked to himself and put the now empty cup into the dishwasher. He had to get ready for work, he could worry about getting sick once he actually was.
Work didn‘t make his physical condition any better. Throughout the day his voice got worse and worse from all the talking, as well as his throat. There was a headache pressing behind his temples and he had to lock himself in the freezer for a few minutes various times to get some peace and quiet from all the noise in the cafe. His coworkers kept sending him worried looks every time a tic made him nearly spill a coffee. Normally his tics were a rare occurrence these days, but with his rising anxiety and waning concentration came more tics. Not to mention that the tics made his headache flare up in sharp bursts and he winced every time his head twitched to the side.
The minutes crept along so slowly Tweek felt as if the clock was mocking him every time he checked how long he still had to go. Only another hour and he would finally be relieved of this hell. He sighed and leaned on the counter, holding his head in his hands to massage his temples in hopes of alleviating the headache a bit. It was useless though. The door rang in a shrill screech and Tweek winced at the sound, not raising his head to greet the new costumer — they could go fuck themselves, he needed a second.
“That‘s not how you greet your customers, honey,” an all too well-known voice chimed in from the other side of the counter. Tweek‘s head whipped up in shock and he winced at the painful stab that went through his head.
“C-Craig?!” He squeaked way too loudly with the state his throat was in. “What a-are you doing here?” Oh god, he was stuttering again and his hands twitched nervously. Normally he loved when Craig came by his workplace, but in this case the last thing he wanted Craig to do was see how miserable he felt. His boyfriend was stressed out of his mind from upcoming midterms and projects for university, he didn‘t need a sick Tweek on top of that.
Craig scrutinized him for a few seconds. Fuck. Tweek internally groaned at the sight, he was already worried, great.
“Something‘s wrong,” Craig stated in his usual nasal tone, narrowing his eyes further at Tweek.
Tweek groaned out loud this time. “I‘m fine Craig,” he busied himself with grabbing a to-go cup, “What c-can I get for you? The usual?” Tweek honestly didn‘t have to ask, his boyfriend was a creature of habit and got the same big cappuccino with a pump of hazelnut syrup every time he came by. He was already turning away to make the drink, trying to cover up how croaky his voice was.
“Why do you sound like you smoked an entire pack of cigarettes?” Craig wasn‘t buying any of his bullshit, god damn it. “You‘re sick aren‘t you?”
“I‘m not,” Tweek cleared his throat so he wouldn‘t sound so hoarse,”I‘m fine really, you don‘t need to worry about me. I‘m a grown up and can take care of myself.” When Tweek turned around and put the cup down on the counter Craig only gave him a deadpan stare before letting out a sigh. He dropped some money on the counter that was maybe double of what he had to pay and grabbed the cup.
“You‘re lucky you get off in an hour and I need to hurry to my next class or I would be already dragging your ass back home,” he motioned that he would be watching Tweek and checked his watch, “Oh shit, I really need to hurry.” He leaned in and gave Tweek a short kiss before hurrying to the door. Before he left he turned back around. “I better see you in bed when I come home! Love you, honey!” And with that he vanished through the doors, leaving some customers that sat at the tables perplexed at the phrasing.
Tweek only put his head in his hands and sank down behind the counter, hiding from amused glances. How did Craig never notice when he was spewing embarrassing shit, but when Tweek showed verbal affection the other always made a fuss and turned into a blushing mess.
He groaned in misery and had to cough, once again reminded that he had actually gotten sick. What a fucking day.
When he finally came back home it wasn‘t only his throat and head that was plaguing him, there was also an ache that had festered throughout his entire body. He felt sluggish and tired as he slipped out of his shoes and he didn‘t even bother turning on the light in the knowledge it would just make his headache worse. He better went to sleep immediately to escape Craig‘s overbearing worry once the other got him. Tweek really loved him and always felt cared for, but Craig could get a bit too much sometimes when it came to wanting Tweek to feel as comfortable as possible. They‘ve been together for years, had extensive talks about that and for the most part Craig tried to hold back from hovering like a mother hen.
But when Tweek got sick he literally took it as his cue to go absolutely wild and Tweek rationally knew that Craig liked taking care of him, but his brain couldn‘t stop itself from calling himself a burden every time. Especially when Craig already had so much on his plate. It was a year-long anxiety he never seemed to be able to shake off.
“Hey pretty boy,” he greeted Stripe in a raspy voice as he went into the living room, the guinea pig excitedly squeaking at finally getting fed as well as pet. After filling up Stripe‘s water, he opened the fridge in hopes of eating something light since he hadn‘t eaten since morning, no time for lunch break during his shift, but at the sight of the rest of yesterday’s takeout his stomach churned uncomfortably. Maybe not. He grimaced. The last thing he wanted was having to throw up, no thank you.
So with an empty stomach, a queasy feeling and a splitting headache he opted to make himself a tea with a load ton of honey. To the surprise of a lot of people he didn‘t have a sweet tooth, he liked bitter things way more. Craig had the sweet tooth in their relationship. So Tweek normally never put honey in his tea, but he knew it would help his throat that was wholeheartedly shot from his shift.
While he waited for his water to boil he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on anything other than the pulsing headache. It had wandered from his temples forward to his forehead and he was about to lose it from frustration. He hated not being able to do anything against being sick, all it did was make him anxious and miserable.
He poured the hot water into the cup and carried it over into his room, putting it down on his nightstand. He let it cool there and went into the bathroom, scavenging through their medikit for some painkillers and breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted some left over ibuprofen at the far back. “Thank god,” he murmured and swallowed a pill dry. That would at least take care of some of his pain. To be sure he also checked his temperature that luckily wasn‘t too high, still above average but nothing that was too debilitating.
Having taken care of that Tweek already felt better mentally, being sick always stressed him out to no end. When he came back to his room he slipped into some joggers and a worn out shirt, taking a sip of his tea that was now ready. He hurried under the covers and turned on the TV in his room for some background noise — he was about ready to doze off. It was still early in the afternoon but he knew Craig would be on his ass if he didn‘t take a nap, and he had to admit his body was screaming for some rest.
So it actually didn‘t take him long to doze off with the TV humming in the background and its light the only thing giving the room some visibility with the curtains drawn.
Tweek woke up to the clinking of keys and annoyed grumbling about shoelaces from Craig. His boyfriend was normally the silent type, but when one paid attention they would notice that Craig was a mutterer, always whispering something under his breath, whether it be insults or complaints. It was mostly a mix of both of these options. Tweek had to softly smile at his boyfriend’s antics, eyes still closed and only half awake.
He felt hot, sweat had gathered under his armpits and he blindly kicked his blanket off, sighing in relief at the rush of air that reached his skin. His throat was dry as hell and he dreaded opening his eyes, already knowing just the slightest sliver of light was gonna send a pulsing ache through his head. He coughed blindly into his arm and spread out on the bed when he heard Craig step into his room.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Craig asked quietly and sat down next to Tweek, putting a cold hand on his forehead. At this Tweek sighed in relief and only gave a small hum, taking his time to answer. He was mulling over the question whether he should be honest or not — on one hand was he craving Craig’s care but on the other his anxiety kept telling him to suck it up.
“You also took care of me when I was sick and a whiny baby, so let me take care of you, hm?”
Craig just knew him too well.
Tweek let out a self deprecating huff before slowly blinking open his eyes to squint at his boyfriend in the dim room. The TV had entered screensaver mode after his youtube playlist had run through, so it was only displaying a sandy beach. “M’feeling hot,” he whined slightly and turned towards Craig, pressing his cheek against Craig’s thigh. “And my throat is shot, headache is moderately fine as long as it’s dark. Feel sluggish though.”
Craig softly carded through his sweaty hair. “Did you take your temperature?”
Tweek nodded. “Already took painkillers too.”
“Good.” Craig leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek that was squished against a muscular thigh. “Have you eaten, love?”
Tweek only replied with a quiet hum of denial and closed his eyes again. He was hungry, but he still felt too queasy to eat anything. Nothing he ate would stay down, he was pretty sure about that, but Craig obviously wouldn‘t like that.
Craig was quiet for a few seconds, probably holding himself back from nagging and in the end only let out a sigh. “Are you nauseous then?”
Tweek opened his again in confusion and furrowed his eyebrows at the other. “No ‘oh Tweek you should have eaten something’ or ‘you need to take care of yourself when I‘m not here’? What happened to my boyfriend and what did you do to him?” He narrowed his eyes at Craig as if to gawk whether he was actually sitting there or had been replaced with an alien. Tweek knew that notion was near impossible, but somewhere at the far back of his head genuine worry floated around.
Craig rolled his eyes fondly and ruffled Tweek‘s hair at which the other let out a croaky squawk. “I just respect that you don‘t want me fussing too much over you, so — are you nauseous or not?”
“Not really, just… queasy I guess,” Tweek rolled onto his side and pulled his knees up so they bumped against Craig, “but the thought of food makes me nauseous. So I don‘t wanna risk it.” He shivered, suddenly feeling cold as the sweat on his back was cooling from the air. He probably looked more sick than he felt to be honest, it was nothing he couldn‘t manage on his own, really.
“You wanna take a bath then? You said you felt sluggish,” Craig started rubbing his back, apparently not minding the disgusting feeling of a sweat-soaked shirt — Craig was weird like that.
“Yeah that would be nice,” Tweek hummed with a small smile and leaned into the hand on his back that was rubbing circles along his spine. Just as he started properly enjoying it Craig stood up and the soothing hand left him cold again. Tweek made a protesting noise in the back of his throat. The audacity to rob him of more back rubs.
“I‘m just gonna get the tub ready,” Craig leaned down and pulled the stuffy blanket back over Tweek‘s shivering figure. “It‘s only gonna be a few minutes, honey.”
With a last kiss to his forehead Craig left, his steps echoing further until the sound of rushing water could be heard. Tweek smiled to himself — Craig was such a sap sometimes, especially when it came to Tweek. When they were out together they always held hands or were bumping shoulders, sometimes stealing kisses when they felt like it. And even if it didn‘t look like it, Craig was mostly the one initiating these touches. It was worse when they were home. As soon as Tweek stood in the kitchen and cooked it didn‘t take long until he had his lanky boyfriend plastered to his back, it was annoying but extremely endearing to him.
He liked that no one really knew about this side of Craig, the sweet and caring one. One could even say he was possessive over that specific version of Craig, never wanting anyone else to experience his boyfriend like that. It made him feel special to no end, no matter how overbearing it could get sometimes. Craig always made him feel special.
So even when Tweek hated being sick and having to burden his boyfriend with something he could easily take care of himself, he felt content listening to the rushing water and Craig muttering to himself about which bathbomb to use.
A sudden twitch made him wince as his head whipped to the side and he actually heard his neck crack. Jesus fuck — his headache flared back to life and he groaned, trying to alleviate the pain by pressing his palm into his eyes until he saw white dots.
“Bath is ready, honey — are you good?” Craig stood in the door, some black strands plastered to his forehead from the humidity in the bathroom.
“Headache,” Tweek ground out between gritted teeth and inhaled deeply, willing the ache away with sheer willpower. Footsteps approached the bed and before Tweek could look up he was swept up into Craig‘s arm.
“Craig! I can walk on my own, put me down!” His eyes were wide open and he threw his arms around his boyfriend‘s shoulders who was just giving him a deadpan, but couldn‘t help the slight smirk to his lips. “Don‘t laugh!” Tweek scolded, but Craig only pulled him closer into his arms, one holding onto Tweek‘s torso and the other gripping under knobbly knees.
“I‘m not laughing, do you see me laughing? I don‘t.” Craig carried Tweek down the hallway into their bathroom where steam was still rising up from the water that was speckled with bubbles and some flower petals from the bathbomb.
“I can see your goddamn smirk you bastard,” Tweek pressed his finger into the side of Craig‘s mouth where the upturn was clearly visible to Tweek‘s trained eye. Craig only huffed a short laugh and set him down on top of the toilet seat next to their shower.
Craig always preferred showers and only took a bath if Tweek begged him to take one together, so normally the bathtub was Tweek‘s domain. An array of different scents and bathbombs lined the shelf next to it and every time Tweek looked at it he couldn‘t suppress a laugh. He hadn’t bought any of these things, all of them had been gifts from his boyfriend who was obsessed with making Tweek smell like a bouquet of flowers.
Yes, Tweek liked baths. But definitely not to the extent of needing over twenty bathbombs at his availability at all times, it was frankly ridiculous. Craig thought differently and always made sure Tweek had enough options for his bath.
“Do you need help undressing?” Craig didn’t even wait for an answer before pulling Tweek’s pyjama shirt over his head. Tweek huffed in annoyance.
“I’m a grown man. I can undress myself, Craig.”
“I know, but you don’t need to. You have me.”
That promptly shut Tweek up and made him flush even more than he already was from the slight fever. Idiotic boyfriend always flustering him.
He let himself be helped out of his clothes until he stood completely nude in front of Craig, ready to get into the hot water. Craig helped him in even while he was loudly protesting and as he let himself sink into the soothing heat of the water he let out a sigh. The ache in his bones immediately lessened and he closed his eyes to block out the bright overhead lights that were straining his headache. His head lolled against the rim and the exhaustion of the day washed over him even though he had just taken a nap. Another nap in the tub sounded really nice right about now. The soft smell of roses wafted up into his nose and he took a deep breath.
“Don’t fall asleep on me, honey,” Craig laughed from the side and Tweek opened up one eye to glare at him.
“If I wanna nap I’m gonna nap. You can’t stop me.”
Craig scooted closer and nudged Tweek’s cheek. “I still need to wash your hair, dummy. It’s all sweaty and gross.” Apparently that didn’t stop Craig from stroking through it anyway.
Tweek let out an annoyed whine. “Just let me doze for a few minutes.”
“Ok then, but I’ll keep an eye on you so you don’t drown yourself,” Craig got up and flicked on the nightlight they had in the bathroom and turned off the overhead lights, “now it’s easier on your eyes.”
“Thank you.”
The bathroom was filled with dim, warm light that threw shadows onto the wall as Craig sat down next to the tub and picked up one of Tweek’s arms and started massaging his hand. It was all dried out and roughed up from work and glittering pearls of water slowly dropped down from his wrist as it was raised out the water.
Tweek sighed at the feeling and sunk further into the heat, only his nose and eyes peeking out to still breathe. In the back of his mind was a nagging voice that told him that Craig really didn’t have to do that and that everything was a bit over the top, but the cozy feeling in his heart when he looked at the content face of his boyfriend won out. Craig liked caring for him, so he should just enjoy it at this point.
After Craig was done with his hand he switched over to Tweek’s head and started softly massaging his temples at which Tweek couldn’t suppress the quiet moan he let out.
“Enjoying yourself?” Craig asked in a whisper as to not disturb the quiet that had settled over them.
“Mhm,” was Tweek’s only answer and he couldn’t deny that he was enjoying himself. The back of his throat still burned every time he swallowed and the heat penetrating his bones had only slightly lessened the ache in them, but with the way Craig was doting on him he couldn’t help but feel better. The feeling of Craig’s hands in his hair was one of his favourites and he was extremely lucky that it had turned into an subconscious action Craig did as soon as they were cuddling.
After a few more minutes in which Tweek’s hands had started pruning, Craig finally got him to wash his hair with the promises of cuddles. Tweek rumbled and grumbled at having to move but turned around so his back was towards Craig. He shielded Tweek’s eyes as he poured water over his head and mumbled soft instructions to him. Tweek couldn’t suppress the goosebumps that rose on his body at his boyfriend whispering softly into his ear. What could he say, at the end of the day he was only a human who was extremely horny for his boyfriend. But he knew they both would never start something while the other was sick. Still, Tweek could enjoy Craig’s big hands in his hair and his husky voice in his ear.
Craig was efficient, but careful, which made Tweek slightly doze off at the treatment, losing himself in the now lukewarm water and dim light. Even after his nap he was still tired.
With one last rinse they were done. “Ok, now you can get out of the water. I don’t want you to shrivel up like an old man.”
“You wouldn’t love me if I was old and wrinkly?” Tweek slowly heaved himself out of the tub and the sudden dizziness made him grab onto Craig, who was already standing there with a towel in his hands.
Craig laughed and helped Tweek out of the tub so he wouldn’t slip and started drying him off. “I’d love you in any shape or form, but I’d prefer to be old and wrinkly with you.”
Tweek smiled softly at that answer and swayed with Craig’s motions, holding onto his shoulders. “You’re such a sap.”
“Only for you,” Craig grinned and kissed Tweek’s forehead, finally wrapping the towel around Tweek's waist. “Let’s get you back to bed and I’ll make you some food.”
Tweek grimaced at that, his stomach still didn’t feel quite right and he really didn’t wanna risk nausea on top of everything else. Realistically speaking he knew that this queasy feeling might go away if he actually ate something, but still: He didn’t wanna risk it.
“I know, I know. But you really need to eat something or you won’t feel better anytime soon, love. What do you think would make you the least nauseous?” Craig led him back to his room and planted him onto his mattress, leaving Tweek there to rummage through his closet.
Tweek watched him look for a specific pyjama set.
“Maybe just some vegetables? Nothing heavy or hot, I think that might make it worse,” he coughed into his elbow and reached for his nightstand, pulling open a drawer. He still had throat lozenges somewhere in there, he was sure about it.
Craig made a triumphant noise as he pulled out the desired set and Tweek looked up to see what Craig had been looking for. He couldn’t help but snort at the sight. A set of green pyjamas with coffee cups printed on it was hastily thrown over at Tweek, who barely managed to catch it. “Are you serious?” Tweek huffed as he held up the shirt, but started slipping into it.
“They’re your favorite aren’t they?” Craig stood up and helped Tweek into the pants at which he just rolled his eyes, but didn’t complain.
“When I was like fifteen,” he also slipped into fuzzy socks Craig gave him and finally took the medicine for his throat.
“And you haven’t mentioned once that this somehow changed, so by default they’re still your favourite,” Craig argued and pulled back the blankets, pushing Tweek back into his bed.
“Whatever you say babe,” Tweek drawled with a croaky voice and cuddled into his sheets, reaching out to check his phone and call in sick for work tomorrow. There was no way Craig would let him out of the house like this.
“I’m gonna cut some vegetables for you and then we can cuddle and watch a movie if you’re not up for sleeping, but you need to take painkillers first,” he vanished back into the bathroom and emerged with some ibuprofen.
Tweek put his phone away and took the pill with a twitch to his head. “B-But what about all your assignments and the studying you have to do?” He didn’t make eye contact and nervously fiddled with a corner of his blanket.
There was silence for a few seconds before Craig let out a sigh and sat down next to Tweek. He immediately started stroking his still wet hair and pushed it behind his ears. “Stop worrying about me and worry about yourself, honey. My assignments can wait. I’m not behind on anything and have more than enough time to study. One day of not studying won’t affect my grade, don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” He kissed Tweek’s cheek once before standing up and heading to the kitchen, leaving Tweek alone with his thoughts.
The ibuprofen in his hand seemingly stared up at him in mockery and he narrowed his eyes at it before swallowing it dry. Fuck being sick. Fuck Craig for being such a good boyfriend and taking care of him. Not wanting to think about his mixed feelings any further he turned around and reached for the remote, turning on his TV to look for a movie he wanted to watch.
All the stuff he clicked through seemed boring to him, nothing that stood out or excited him. He was too tired for that anyway. So he opted for Craig’s favourite Red racer movie that they’d watched so many times throughout the years that Tweek had lost count. At this point both of them could recite it line by line, but it was comforting to have on in the background. Something constant throughout their entire relationship they always opted to watch if one of them needed the comfort.
Tweek wasn’t the biggest Red Racer fan, and hadn’t been as a child, but Craig’s love for the franchise was contagious so no matter how obvious the plot was and how bad the action scenes – Tweek couldn’t help but look fondly at the movies that were so dear to his boyfriend.
“Oh,” Craig made an excited noise as he came back into Tweek’s room, clad in sleep shorts and an old shirt with a plate full of cut vegetables in hand. “Red Racer?” He closed the door behind himself and slid underneath the covers, balancing the plate on both their laps and pulling Tweek into his side. As expected his hand started fiddling with blonde strands immediately.
With a happy sigh Tweek melted into his side and took a huge whiff of his boyfriend’s scent. He smelt like cheap laundry detergent and a scent that felt inherently like Craig, and Tweek would have loved to just smell him for the rest of the day. Maybe they were both equally weird like that.
Craig nudged him from where he was nuzzling into his side and held the plate up to Tweek who scrunched his nose. “Come on, you don’t even have to eat all of it.”
With a whine and an eye roll he picked up a slice of bell pepper and started taking small bites of it. Craig started up the movie and let Tweek slowly work through the plate. Surprisingly after a few slices his hunger hit him and he ravished the entire plate in the span of a few minutes to which Craig gave him the look of ‘I told you so’ but didn’t comment on it as he put the plate away so they could lay down properly.
The painkillers were kicking in, his throat had been numbed by the medicine and he was surrounded by the warmth of his boyfriend. And for once the weird anxiety about being cared for took a backseat and he just let himself enjoy Craig doting on him, sinking further into his boyfriend’s side and softly kissing his neck in thanks. A small shiver went through Craig, always having been sensitive in the neck area and he looked down at Tweek who was just looking up at him with wide eyes.
“What was that for?” He asked and slicked Tweek’s hair back from his forehead.
“Nothing just… I love you,” Tweek smiled and bumped his head against Craig’s jaw, hiding his face in the safety of the other’s neck.
“I love you too, honey,” Craig laughed and gave him a squeeze.
Surprisingly it was Craig who dozed off first with his arms slung around Tweek like an octopus. Trapped in an overbearing grip, Tweek tried to reach for the remote to turn off the TV, but gave up after a few tries when Craig started rumbling and pulling him even tighter into himself.
Guess he was gonna watch the next Red Racer movie that was on auto-play. Huh. There were worse ways to spend a day being sick.