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Jimmy knew he should have never left his flat to go out on patrol.
The vigilante had been feeling off all day, and now as rain pours down on his back, he feels worse.
The cough he’s had all day now has him doubled over, as he violently hacks, trying to breathe through his couching fit.
His nose keeps running, and his body aches, he just wants to lay down on the wet pavement and sleep.
The vigilante stops, leaning against a wall by the opening to an alleyway, body shaking.
He covers his eyes and mask with his right hand, trying to block out the brightness of the street lamp, gods what’s wrong with him.
His legs ache from walking and whatever is plaguing his body right now.
The blond hero is so close to getting back to his flat, just a few more blocks of this.
He slides his hand down from his eyes, sliding down to his chest.
Jimmy blurry blinks his eyes open against the harshness of the rain surrounding him.
He sees dark gray, wet pavement under his feet.
The vigilante’s eyes slowly trail up for his future path, when they land on black and dark green clothes, a black mask, mismatched gray and red eyes, and pure white hair, wet, and clinging to the man in front of him’s forehead.
Jimmy’s body starts to shake from fear.
The man standing in front of him, looking at him with curiosity, is someone to be feared.
Even in his sickness, Jimmy can recognize the danger of this man, this villain.
“What are you doing out in the rain?” a low, intimidating voice asks.
Jimmy bites his tongue, the answer on the tip, his brain not quite thinking things though, through what is most likely a decent fever.
“Patrole.” Jimmy says, glaring at the villain, “Now leave me alone.”
He goes to take a step away from the wall, to cross the street, he needs to get home before he collapses.
But that was a mistake.
Jimmy’s falling before he realizes it, and all the ill vigilante can do is cross his arms over his face, closing his eyes, and brace for the inevitable impact with the concrete of the wet street.
The vigilante feels hand on his body, and he’s being pulled against a wet, green puffer vest, the words, “Woah there.” quietly uttered near his head.
Jimmy’s vision swarms with vertigo as he leans against the man who caught him, hand balling info fists in the vets under his face.
He’s so tired, he just wants to keep his eyes closed.
His body is scooped up into strong, lith arms, and he groans, his body aching.
The vigilante’s eyes flutter open, just enough to see the villain, Aeolus, holding him in a princess hold.
Jimmy leans into the warmth of his body, chasing the heat, resting his head on the man’s shoulder, hands still balled into fists in his vest.
Jimmy closes his eyes again, letting out a small, involuntary wine.
He passes out in Aeolus’s arms.
-⬘♡⬘♡⬘♡⬘-
Jimmy blinks his eyes open, his temples pounding with a headache, forehead too hot, but body too cold.
The vigilante brings a hand up from under blankets, to rub his eyes, and feels his mask on his face.
He must have fallen asleep with it on.
Jimmy goes to remove his mask, but that's when he processes the room around as a new environment.
There’s a fire going in a fine place in front of him. Jimmy’s flat does not have a fireplace…
Jimmy sits up, his body protesting, pain and soreness making him ache.
“Uggghh.” He groans in pain, holding his head, why does he feel like crap.
Someone walks around the couch and lightly pushes him back down onto the couch, saying softly, “Shh, go back to sleep.” the man says, “You need to rest.”
Against his instinct of a new environment, Jimmy does as the hand pushes him, laying down, closing his eyes.
The darkness helps out his pounding headache, so he keeps his eyes like that, eventually falling back asleep.
-⬘♡⬘♡⬘♡⬘-
Jimmy wakes up again to a hand on his shoulder, and a soft voice, “Hey buddy, I got some Tylenol for you to take.”
Jimmy blurryly opens his eyes, looking up at the tall man standing over him.
He hand moves, being joined by another, and they help Jimmy sit up on the couch.
The vigilante brings the blankets covering his cold body up, wrapping his torso tighter.
The man taps his left hand. Holding out two little white pills.
Jimmy opens his hand, taking the pills in them, before putting them in his mouth.
The man holds a glass of cold water up to Jimmy’s lips.
Jimmy holds his head back, taking a big sip of the water, swallowing the pills along with it.
The vigilante drinks more of the water, and more until it’s almost gone.
When he’s done, the glass is taken away from his mouth, and after a few seconds, replaced with a spoon of chicken noodle soup.
“Here’s some food.” The man says, and Jimmy looks up seeing him kneeling down in front of the couch, a bowl of soup in his hands.
Jimmy opens his mouth, and the man starts to feed him the soup.
Even if he tried, Jimmy’s sure his arms would not be able to hold the spoon for himself anyway, so he’s thankful.
When he’s full, Jimmy says in a raspy voice, “ ‘m full.”
The man pulls the spoon away from his face, nodding, putting the spoon into the bowl and standing up, setting it on a table at the end of the couch.
He looks back at Jimmy, gently helping the vigilante lay back down.
The blond closes his eyes, falling asleep quickly, feeling a little better.
-⬘♡⬘♡⬘♡⬘-
This is Jimmy’s life for the next three days or so.
He’s too exhausted to do much more than eat and drink.
On the fourth evening, Jimmy stays sitting up after he eats and the man pauses before asking, “Do you want to watch a movie?”
Jimmy looks at him with tired eyes, slowly nodding.
The man nods, picking up a remote, “Anything specific?”
The vigilante shakes his head.
The man chuckles, it sounds familiar, like something Jimmy’s heard while running from danger.
He nuzzles his chin into the blankets around himself, ignoring that thought, he must just be imagining things with his fever.
The man puts a movie going, and Jimmy watches it.
After a bit, Jimmy falls asleep, head on the man next to him’s shoulder.
The man does not push him off, or move him, instead sitting there, and eventually falling asleep himself.
-⬘♡⬘♡⬘♡⬘-
Etho holds a bowl of soup in his hands, the heat leaching out of the ceramic bowl, and into his palms.
The villain looks down at his couch where a vigilante, Ghost, lays, asleep.
Ghost has been sick for almost a week now, and after he found him, barely functioning, on the street, he’s been on Etho’s couch, only up a few times (with a little help from Etho) to go to the bathroom.
He’s been getting better, but Etho wonders if he realizes who he is.
Out of not wanting to cross a boundary, Etho has not touched Ghost’s mask, instead leaving it on his face.
He’s left his own mask on when he’s not in his room, not wanting to expose his identity, even to the delirious vigilante.
Etho reaches out a hand, gently waking up Ghost.
The blond man blinks up at him, slowly sitting up on his own.
The man looks towards the curtained windows, seeing the bright light coming through the light blue curtains, “Good morning.” he mumbles with a rough voice, rubbing his eyes over his mask.
Etho smiles under his mask, Ghost is cute when he first wakes up, his voice raspy with sleep, eyes blurry blinking, it’s really adorable.
Etho’s thought Ghost was cute since he first noticed him on the street, taking down someone who decided to rob a small corner store in a neighborhood in the city. His strong body moves quickly, and his powers would flick on and off with skill, perfectly hiding him until he was ready to pop out of nowhere to punch the man who was at least twice his weight.
“Hungry?” Etho asks the blond.
Ghost nods, reaching out and taking the bowl of soup.
The blond had started to regain some of his strength.
He’s getting better faster now.
It’s good progress.
Ghost spoons the soup into his mouth, eating the whole bowl.
When it’s gone, Etho takes the bowl and spoon, handing him a glass of cold water to wash it down with.
The villain goes to his kitchen, putting the bowl in the sink before coming back to Ghost.
“How are you feeling?” Etho asks his guest, tilting his head to the side a bit.
He’s met with silence as Ghost stares down at his glass of half drinking water, his brown eyes full of something Etho can’t discern.
“Why are you taking care of me?” Ghost asks in a quiet voice, not looking up at Etho.
Etho understands why Ghost is asking, he’s a villain after all.
-⬘♡⬘♡⬘♡⬘-
Jimmy looks up from his glass of water, looking Aeolus in his mismatched eyes, waiting for his response.
“Because you are sick and you needed help.” Aeolus says.
“But you are a villain.” Jimmy says, “why?”
Aeolus stands there, staring at him, silence filling the air.
“Becuase I wanted to.” he says simply.
Jimmy looks at him, and something in his heart aches, aches to be closer to the man who cared for him.
He’s gotten to know Aeolus a little more as he’s been sick, his personality, some of his interests, and now Jimmy’s fallen for him, fallen hard.
And maybe if Jimmy had not had a fever, clouding his judgment a little, the question might not have slipped from his lips, “Can I kiss you?”
Jimmy’s heart pounds as he realizes what he said, his cheeks flushing from embarrassment.
The silence in the room is loud, yet it’s almost drowned out by Jimmy’s heart beat in his ears.
The floorboards below Aeolus creek as he shifts his weight on his feet before taking a step, sitting down on the couch next to Jimmy.
Jimmy turns to face him, his heart pounding.
“Let me cover your eyes.” he says in that low, soft voice Jimmy’s fallen in love with.
Jimmy closes his eyes, feeling as a hand gently rests over his domino mask, covering his eyes.
The few seconds of darkness and silence is killing.
After what feels like an eternity, something warm and soft is being pressed to Jimmy’s lips.
It’s new, and different, but something just feels right.
Jimmy tilts his head a bit, moving into the kiss better, kissing the other man back.
His left hand gets placed on the other man’s hip, and his right slides up Aeolus’ side, trailing blindly up his body before it gently cups his jaw, the one Jimmy’s eyes have never laid their sight on.
The other man warmly leans into Jimmy’s hand, and for a moment, Jimmy’s brain is quiet, it’s nice.
Eventually, the lips pull away, but Jimmy knows they are close by the warm breath puffing against his mouth.
The two of them breath for a little, catching the air they lost before Jimmy slowly pushes forwards, leaning back in aging for another kiss.