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Creius should've known that when he woke up the previous day with an ache deep within his bones that it was a sign for what was yet to come, but he'd ignored it in favour of working out with his team to make sure that they were still working together, especially with Marsha's recent addition, and Merel's reluctant return. He'd have been a fool to not see the tension between the two women, or the way that Merel eyed them all with a fear he couldn't fault her for. He'd worked his team hard until they were all—including him—begging for their beds, and Creius had chosen to just fall directly into his and sleep.
Which probably explained why he'd woken up with joints that felt like they were being constricted, and a stabbing pain behind his eyes that forced him into keeping them shut.
For once, Creius was glad that he and his team weren't scheduled for any missions; he wasn't sure he'd be able to drag himself out of bed if they had.
He continued to lay there, just focusing on trying to stay conscious long enough to figure out a plan, but his mind kept drifting towards nothing, his body too sore for him to form even the simplest of thoughts. It wasn't as if he'd never been sick before, because he had, but this was the first time in a while that he'd felt like… well, felt like shit, and he hated it. He managed to pry his eyes open long enough to check the time, and groaned when he noticed it wasn't even close to dawn yet. No one would be awake at this hour, not willingly at least, and certainly no one that Creius wanted to bother over his own stupidity. If he'd just listened to his body and rested yesterday, then he might've been fine.
But no.
Here he was, sick, and unable to even crawl under the covers unless he wanted to agitate is aching body. Which he did not want to do. Just lying where he was was painful enough.
Briefly, he contemplated calling one of his teammates, but the last thing he wanted was to spread whatever illness he had to them and drag them down with him. He could call Marsha, she was a healer after all—oh wait, Creius stopped himself. Marsha had said something about visiting a friend and had left after training yesterday, so she wasn't an option.
Creius sighed and gritted his teeth against the pain as he shrugged off his many layers until he was in nothing but his boxers and then managed to crawl under the blankets where he just dragged them over his head and closed his eyes. It wasn't at all comfortable, and it wasn't long before he started to feel as if he were suffocating, so he poked his head out enough to breath and tried to go back to sleep.
Tried being the key word.
If he'd been in a healthier state, Creius would've tossed and turned to find that magic position that would help him sleep this illness off, but just as his body had forsaken him, so had his mind apparently. Because he just couldn't sleep. Everything hurt which made him tired, but because of the pain, his mind refused to rest. Stupid survival instincts, they always picked the worst time to show up. As much as he distrusted the Foundation, here was the safest place to rest right now so he should be able to sleep.
But as the sun rose and morning came with it, Creius gave up on sleep and just lay there.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed before someone knocked at his door, and he had no clue how long it was before the second knock at his door came.
Then his door creaked open and Creius grunted to let his visitor know he was alive and disgruntled at being disturbed.
"Wow, you must feel like shit if you're still in bed." Yermolai's voice was grating on Creius' ears and he cracked open an eye to see Yermolai leaning against the wall in front of his bed, arms crossed and amused smile plastered on his face.
"Go away." Creius grumbled, not in the mood to deal with Yermolai's antics.
"I would, but we were assigned a mission, urgent apparently, a rogue Arcanist group causing a bit of trouble—not Manus. What are your orders?"
Well that was something at least; the last thing he needed was Manus Vindictae making themselves known when he wasn't one hundred percent. But a mission was a mission and Creius gritted his teeth as he forced himself to sit up, eyes squeezed shut as the world spun around him and he slumped against the wall.
There was a hand against his chest, keeping him somewhat upright and Yermolai's voice came from much closer than it had been a moment ago. "Yeah, you definitely aren't coming."
"I just need a minute."
"You need a week."
Creius tried to muster up a glare and his head chose then to become particularly vengeful, a pain so sharp that it felt as if his face had been carved open again. The humourous look on Yermolai's look faded and he pushed Creius into lying down again. "Rest, Creius, you are in no state to come with us."
"Make sure you keep an eye on Merel. Put her with Paravyan," Creius murmured, letting his eyes fall shut once again, "and don't let Marsha overuse her skill if it ends bad."
"Rest," Yermolai insisted, voice carrying away from Creius, "I'll make sure we all get back in one piece."
Creius grunted, "keep me updated."
"Yes, sir." Yermolai said and then the door was shutting behind him and Creius was left on his own.
Only this time he wouldn't be able to sleep until he knew the outcome of the mission.
Cold hands brushed against Creius' cheek and he started awake, unaware of when he'd even fallen asleep in the first place. His face scrunched up, and he turned away from the touch, but it followed him, moving from his cheek to his forehead to brush his hair off his brow. The touch was so gentle against his aching head that Creius leant into it this time; a moment later he recognised the touch and cracked open his eyes to see a shape that could've been Name Day or someone else entirely. But he knew better than to think those gentle scarred hands belonged to anyone but the man he cared most for.
"You are a little feverish…" Name Day murmured, sitting on the edge of Creius' bed and moving his hand down to Creius' neck. There was concern and worry in his voice and Creius hated to be the one to put it there.
"'m… okay…" Creius croaked out, question on the tip of his tongue that he couldn't get out. He wanted to know why Name Day was here instead of on assignment at the Far East branch where he'd been the past week.
Name Day could apparently read his mind because he answered the question without hearing it. "I got back yesterday and ran into Yermolai. He told me he and the rest of XII were going on assignment, but that you were remaining behind." Name Day's voice took on a frustrated note. "He could have told me you were sick, I would have come sooner."
Creius hummed, blinking slowly, mind working slowly to process what Name Day was saying. "I'm not… sick."
Name Day cocked a brow. "Really? So why are you still in bed?"
Creius didn't have an answer to that. Really, he was sick, he just didn't want to acknowledge it. Being sick meant that he couldn't work, that taking care of himself became just that much harder. Besides, all of his limbs were aching, joints and muscles working together to make him miserable, and the headache he'd had before falling asleep—which he still didn't remember doing—returned with a vengeance. He sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing as Name Day leaned over him to smooth his hair back. "I might be… a little unwell."
Name Day's hand stilled for a moment before it slid down to cup his cheek, and Creius felt the soft brush of lips against his forehead. "Okay. Would you like some water? Food?"
"Please." Creius said quietly. Now that Name Day mentioned it, it'd been some time since he'd last had something to eat or drink and that should've been the first thing he'd dealt with when Yermolai had woken him. No wonder he felt awful.
"I won't be gone long." Name Day said, and then he was gone, the door clicking shut behind him.
Creius just nodded and continued to lay there. He couldn't remember the last time that someone had been there to take care of him when he was sick; his parents were long dead and no one else had ever gotten close enough to him to be privileged enough to see him so weak before. Name Day was the first person in a long time to earn that right. Yet as odd as it was, it was also… nice to know that someone cared so deeply for him that they would take the time out of their day to make sure that he was okay.
That was what people in relationship did, right? Look after each other? It wasn't like Creius knew exactlty what he and Name Day were, and he was almost certain that Name Day also didn't know. They were navigating it together though, through the ups and downs as they learnt about each other and the feelings they felt.
The door slid open again, Nsme Day returning with supplies in hand that he placed on the little table beside the bed before reaching for Creius. "Time to sit up."
"I… don't know if I can." Creius admitted quietly.
"That's okay, I'll help." Name Day said and hooked his arms under Creius' before hauling him up to lean against the wall.
Creius gritted his teeth against the pain that followed from the movement, chest heaving even though he had done nothing but let the movement happen. He watched Name Day grab a towel and disappear into the bathroom, returning after a few seconds to place it around his neck. The cold soothed the ache in his neck, and Creius let out a relieved sigh. He sighed again as another towel began to wipe down his face and chest, the touch as gentle as ever.
"Thank you." Creius said, head a little clearer than had been before. His eyes were open now, and it didn't feel like such a fight to keep them open.
Name Day smiled at him and opened a bottle of water before offering it to him with one hand; in the other were a couple of pills that from a quick glance at the bottle were some kind of painkiller. Creius tried to lift his hand to take them, but a sharp pain in his elbow had him aborting that mission with a wince. He really hoped they worked fast, he was tired of all this pain.
"It is okay." Name Day murmured and held the medicine to his lips before following with the water to wash them down, tilting it until the cold water trickled into his mouth. It was such a relief that Creius wanted to gulp down the whole bottle, but Name Day infuriatingly kept it at a trickle until he had drunk a quarter of it. Name Day put the bottle back on the bedside table and asked, "do you want to try eating?"
Creius gave his body a quick study before he shook his head. He was tired just from having a drink, and he wasn't overly hungry to begin with. Right now he just wanted to rest; he could eat later.
Name Day nodded and then sat on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs up so he could stretch out, and Creius took the unspoken invitation immediately, slumping into Name Day's side the moment the man was settled. Part of him was worried about getting Name Day sick, but part if him also just didn't care. He was miserable, and Name Day always made him feel better, so being close to him was bound to make him feel better.
With a bit of shuffling, Name Day had Creius' pillow behind his back, laying down just enough for Creius to rest his head on Name Day's chest. It was the wrong side to hear the mans heartbeat, but Crieus didn't care, not when he had a hand scratching gently at the back of his head, and it wasn't long before his eyes were slipping shut again.
Already, he felt better, and quietly asked, "the medicine?"
Name Day hummed, "Medicine Pocket special. It is what they use during their bad days. Is it helping?"
It was Creius' turn to hum, "I feel like I could run a few laps rather than drag myself a single lap."
A laugh greeted his ears. "No laps until you feel better." Then there was a brief pause before a question followed. "Is it just pain?"
"That and exhaustion." Creius said. "And a headache that keeps me from sleeping."
Name Day made a noise, but before Creius could ask what was wrong, the headache that'd been plaguing him vanished as fingers brushed against his temple. Creius blinked and then tilted his head up to see Name Day looking down at him with a pleased expression—and a new tiredness.
"What did you do?" Creius asked.
"The part of my skill that heals," Name Day said with a sudden yawn, "did… did it work?"
Creius nodded and returned to leaning against Name Day's chest, "my headache is gone. Thank you."
Name Day began to scratch at the back of his head again, "I'm glad. Try to rest now, you will feel better when you wake."
Before Name Day had even finished speaking, Creius felt himself start to drift off and huddled closer to Name Day, throwing an arm over his waist to hold him closer. "You'll be here?"
A hand smoothed his hair followed by the feeling of lips against his brow, "of course. I'm not going anywhere until you're well again."
For a reason that Creius couldn't name right then, Creius' heart warmed. Perhaps when he next woke up the misery he'd woken up with would be gone, and he could spend the time enjoying Name Day's company, like he always loved to do.