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From outside the frosted window, snow fell. The fireplace in Ajax’s house crackled, casting golden light across the wooden floor. The lanky ginger pulled a thick blanket tighter around him and Lumine both, before intertwining his fingers with hers beneath the fabric. The scent of burning pine wood from the hearth mingled with the floral aroma of chamomile tea steeping on the side table.
Lumine snuggled up to the Harbinger, who'd wrapped her in his arms. He was like a personal space heater, just for her.
Was he always this hot?
"You're warm," she murmured against his chest.
Ajax hummed in response, his chin resting atop her golden head of hair. Outside, the wind howled, but here in his arms, she felt nothing but peace.
Then, a sneeze, from the body she was pressed against. It startled them both. Lumine jerked back slightly, her eyes widening.
“Be healthy,” she said, in broken Snezhnayan. She'd learned that from Anya, when Teucer had a sneezing fit after lunch one day.
“Thanks, myla, but—”
Another sneeze cut him off, more forceful than the first. He pulled away from her slightly, turning his head to the side as his body shuddered with the effort.
“Ajax?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, another sneeze erupted from him, followed by a grimace.
“I’ll be okay.”
Then he coughed. It was a harsh, rattling sound that shattered the moment and made her brows knit in concern. His body tensed beneath her, and Lumine pulled back just enough to look up at him.
"Ajax..."
He tried to wave her off with a weak smile, but another cough tore through him. His face was flushed, though whether from the fire or fever, she couldn't tell. "I'm fine," he managed, his voice hoarse and strained.
Lumine watched him with growing concern, her hand instinctively reaching for his forehead. His skin burned against her palm. A flush had spread across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. She bit her lip.
"You're not fine," she said. "You're burning up."
“Myla…”
"You stayed out ice fishing for too long… didn’t you?"
Ajax's silence was answer enough. He turned his head away, another cough shaking his shoulders. When it subsided, he let out a shaky breath, his arm still wrapped around her waist.
"I should get you some water," she said softly, trying to pull away from his embrace.
Ajax caught her wrist gently, thumb brushing over her knuckles. "Don't," he said, his blue eyes meeting hers with unusual vulnerability. "Don't leave."
Her heart squeezed at the plea in his voice. "Come on, you can let me go, I'm just going to get you some medicine—"
"Stay." His grip tightened, not painfully, but desperately. "Please. Just... stay with me."
Lumine hesitated.
The fever’s heat radiated from his body in waves that spoke of how sick he was becoming. But the way he held her—desperate, vulnerable, so unlike his usual confident self—made her chest ache.
"Alright," she whispered, settling back against him. "I'll stay."
Ajax exhaled, his arms wrapping around her once more. "Thank you," he murmured into her hair, his voice barely audible over the hissing fire.
She reached up to run her fingers through his curly ginger locks, soothing him as another cough wracked his frame.
"You're going to be okay," she whispered, though she wasn't sure if she was reassuring him or herself.
Ajax's only response was to pull her closer.
Weak morning light filtered through the curtains when Lumine heard the creaking of floorboards outside Ajax's room. She'd been sitting in the chair beside his bed for hours, watching the rise and fall of his chest, listening to the occasional cough that interrupted his restless sleep.
The door opened, and Ajax's mother entered, expression stern but worried. She carried a tray with a steaming bowl of soup and a fresh cup of tea.
"How is he?" Anya asked, setting the tray on the bedside table.
"The fever hasn't broken yet."
The older woman nodded, placing a hand on her son's forehead. Her lips pressed into a thin line. "That foolish boy. Always pushing himself too hard." She turned to Lumine with a softer expression. "Thank you for staying with him."
Lumine managed a small smile. "Of course."
"I've told him he's not to leave this bed until the fever breaks completely. If he tries to get up, you come get me immediately." There was no room for argument in her tone. "Or I'll tie this boy down to his bed."
"I will."
Anya brushed her hand over her son's head before she left the room, leaving Lumine alone with him once more. She moved from the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, her hand finding his beneath the heavy quilts.
It was nearly noon when Ajax finally stirred. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused and glassy with fever.
"Lumine?" His voice was barely a rasp.
"I'm here," she said, leaning closer so he could see her.
He tried to sit up, but she pressed a gentle hand to his shoulder. "Your mother said you have to stay in bed."
"My mother—" He groaned, letting his head fall back against the pillows. "Of course she did."
"She's right. You need to rest."
Ajax's lips quirked into the ghost of a cocky grin, though it vanished from a sudden cough. "Are you going to enforce her orders, then?"
"If I have to." Lumine reached for the tea on the bedside table. "Here. Drink this."
He accepted the cup with shaking hands, and she helped guide it to his lips. After a few sips, he set it aside with a sigh.
"How long have you been here?" he asked.
"Long enough."
"You should rest too. You don't have to—"
"I want to be here," she interrupted gently. "Besides, someone has to make sure you don't try to sneak out the moment your mother leaves."
Ajax chuckled weakly, but it dissolved into a cough. Lumine waited patiently until the fit subsided.
"I'm not going anywhere," he mumbled when he could speak again. "Don't think I could if I tried."
"Good."
His eyes drifted closed again, but his hand tightened around hers. "Stay?"
"I'm not leaving." Lumine settled more comfortably on the edge of the bed.
The afternoon passed in a haze of fever dreams and brief moments of wakefulness. Each time Ajax woke, Lumine was there—helping him drink water, adjusting his pillows, murmuring soft reassurances when the fever made him restless.
As evening approached, he surfaced again, more lucid this time. The feverish glaze in his eyes had cleared slightly, though his freckled cheeks and nose were still flushed.
"You're still here," he observed, his voice stronger than before.
"I told you I would be."
"Even though I'm boring like this? Just lying here?"
Lumine smiled, brushing a damp curl from his forehead. "You're never boring, Ajax."
"Liar," he said fondly, but there was warmth in his tired eyes. "Tell me something. Anything. I'm going crazy just staring at the ceiling."
"What do you want to hear?"
"Tell me about your travels. Especially your time in Natlan."
So Lumine talked. She told him about Natlan's war with the Abyss, and how the nation as a collective came together to defeat it. She even talked a bit about each of the six heroes who she fought alongside in the battles throughout.
Ajax listened intently, asking questions about the heroes she'd met—Mavuika's fierce but steady leadership, Kinich's odd bond with Ajaw, and even Chasca's own tale with the Abyss. Despite his weakened state, his eyes lit up with genuine interest, and Lumine found herself smiling at his enthusiasm even in sickness.
When she was telling him about the ruins of Ochkanatlan, he had drifted off again, his breathing finally steady and even. The fever seemed to have broken at last.
Lumine didn't move from her spot beside him. She stayed through the night, keeping watch, just as she'd promised.
In the morning, when Ajax's mother came to check on them, she found her son, sleeping peacefully—and Lumine curled up at the foot of the bed, finally allowing herself to rest.