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Kris and Noelle had been gone for only a Day now, last Asriel remembered it was something about a spelling bee related to Hometown High School, and Toriel had been one of the teachers going with the students to Boston, while he had been left at the Dreemurr Household to both hold down the fort and because he didn't want to go Boston with them.
Asriel had assumed that this was going to be the perfect time to invite Dess over for the 3 Days they'd be gone for. as the rowdy doe and golden boy hadn't had the chance to spend time with each other for any real sizable period of time, but just to Asriel's luck, he had come down with a sort of sickness the Day before Toriel and Kris left.
He didn't want Kris to miss the spelling bee because he was certain that if Toriel in her motherly ways learnt that he was sick, that she'd either entirely cancel their trip to Boston or stay behind to take care of him, so he had struggled for the Day before they went to hide his sickness. and now that they had finally left, it had only gotten worse.
The Night before he had only fell asleep because his body was simply that exhausted to the point where he didn't have enough energy to sustain himself, yet in a cruelly ironic twist of fate. this was some of the best sleep he had gotten in recent Weeks as she had been spending most of his time at Night filling out College applications, because after all he had finished High School only a Year beforehand.
Yet as Asriel awoke, everything hit the poorly goat boy at once. though the first evidently clear ailment he felt was the horrible dryness in his mouth and the equally worse sore throat, then the aching he felt in his arms and legs, and the uncomfortable cold sweat he felt running down his back. letting out a strained groan as daylight poured through the gaps of the curtain in his and Kris's room.
He felt weak, tired, cold, hungry yet sick. an uncomfortable and confusing maelstrom of various feelings what didn't really make sense when he was feeling them all at once. now letting out another groan as he tossed in bed, trying to muster what very little energy so he could force himself out of bed. get a drink of cold water, take some painkillers, and unceremoniously vomit the frozen pizza(what he couldn't taste due to his badly blocked nose) he had for dinner last Night. and go back to bed and try to sleep off the horrible feelings he had now.
Yet Asriel simply couldn't, he could only pathetically lift his legs or arms. but the energy he had wasn't even enough to get out of bed. causing him to let out a pained grunt of frustration when the realisation had finally set in, the sickness had practically now made him bed-ridden and he obviously couldn't stay in bed all day, not if he was alone.
He had laid there for a couple of Minutes, weighing what little options he had. and though his mind told him to double down on his pride and try to power through the immense sickness he felt and get out of bed. and in his desperation he had decided that texting a certain rowdy doe may be a better option, after all how could he expect himself to be able to take care of himself for the Day if he can't even get up in the present?
So he rolled over towards the bedside dresser and had moved one of the arms out of the warm cocoon made out his quilt that he had rolled himself into. his fingers feeling the cold wooden surface until they eventually felt a small rectangular object on the dresser, gripping it before retracting back into the limited warmth his quilt had given him.
Asriel had turned on his Phone and winced from the brightness of it's screen, struggling to input his passcode before opening Whatsapp and pressing on the first contact what had appeared, as he struggled to type out a message.
My Deer
>heya dess
He placed down the phone on his mattress for several seconds, quietly mumbling out something along the lines of, "What am i doing?". before he soon looked back at his phone and Dess had already responded to his text, so Asriel had begun to slowly and painfully type a response to the rowdy doe.
<hi az
<whats up
<do you wanna hang out or smth
>kinde
>fuck
>kinda*
>look im gonna be honest i feel really shitty and i cent get out of bed, i hate asking you for hulp but im literally struggling here to type a basic message smh
>cant* help*
Asriel saw Dess's typing bubble show up and disappear several times, he wondered if she was even going to help him at all. and in some parts of his tired mind. he had hoped that this was the case.
<ok i can kinda tell you're sick cuz you type fast and you're taking like 3 mins to type out messages
<i wanted to come over anyways and im gonna go to sans and get some medication for u
>dont
<why?
>i just need some help getting out of bed dess im nit that sick
<if you weren't that sick u wouldn't ask me for help i know how stubborn u are goat boy
<also why would i leave my boyfriend to suffer in bed from being sick im not that bad of a girlfriend
He rolled his eyes, knowing that trying to tell her that he's not that sick would be utterly pointless, so he had relented and begun to type out a response again.
>fine jist be quick bc i think im gonna vomit my guts out in a minute
>you still have the spre key right
<yea, you left it here last time we fooled around
<ill be quick as i can az and just stay in bed or smth
<not like you can do much more than that LOL
>fick you
Asriel let out a quiet sigh before turning off his Phone, leaving it on the mattress as he tossed in bed, trying to snuggle himself into his quilt as much as he could to try and generate more warmth. but he still was subconsciously shivering as he faced the wall of what his bed sat against, his eyes looking at the star stickers on the wall. though unlike the ones in Dess's room they didn't glow in the dark.
Time had passed by as he laid in bed like this, and he had closed his eyes to try and mitigate the effects of the headache he found himself suffering from. until eventually he heard the front door downstairs unlocking and someone opening it before closing, and then the ever so distinct clatter of hooves against hard flooring growing louder as the person had ascended up to the second floor.
Eventually, he heard the door to his room open and someone stifle a laugh when they had saw the way he had practically turned himself into a burrito with how he wrapped the quilt around himself, causing him to open his eyes and move his head in the direction of the person.
Obviously, it had been Dess. who had been wearing her red plaid jacket over a simple grey hoodie and black sweatpants, it seemed as if she had been in clothes meant for simply lazily lounging around all day and that she had merely thrown on her plaid jacket. and he had also noticed the plastic grocery bag she held in one hand. looking at his disheveled face. having large eyebags underneath his dull green eyes and the fur on his head had been moist from the sweat he had been producing. and as she had finally stopped surveying the features of his face, she spoke. "You really weren't lying, you look like shit."
"...-N...No...s-shit..", He spoke with a dry and hoarse voice, with Dess wincing when he had finally croaked out his words before she soon had approached the bed unprompted, and had eventually sat on the edge of the bed near him. an expression of concern and sympathy on the doe's face as she looked down at him.
"Poor baby..~", She teased him as she extended out her hand and felt his forehead with the back of her palm. feeling how high of a temperature he actually had.
He let out a low growl from Dess's teasing, he didn't have the patience or the energy to deal with her typically very annoying personality as they maintained eye contact.
"Angel you're burning up i'm going to go get you a glass of water just..-uh, stay here.", Not exactly knowing how to manage the situation, she stood up from the bed. leaving the grocery bag next to Asriel as she soon left the room and had left him alone. as a deep regret began to gnaw at the back of his mind, as in his point of view, messaging her was a rash and foolish mistake made out of desperation. because he probably could've powered through it for the Day but now he decided to let Dess worry about him and possibly catch the same sickness he was suffering from.
But his self-loathing and guilt was soon cut short as Dess returned from downstairs, he didn't face her as she had made her way back over to the bed and sat back down at her previous position on the mattress as he heard her set down a glass of water on the bedside dresser, and then he heard her voice. when she was genuine, no teasing, no intent to flirt. it was soothing, calming, an effect on him what no other voice could do, except hers. "Azzy, you can't just lie there and try to ride this out, you're clearly suffering and i-i uh...hate seeing you like this, at least drink the water, please."
There was a acutely tangible tone of awkwardness and apprehension in Dess's voice. it was evidently clear to Asriel that she didn't really know what to do in this situation, and to him, that only tripled the already crippling guilt he felt for practically forcing her into taking care of him. but he didn't have the energy to disagree with her, and he didn't want to disappoint her either.
And so Asriel had made an awkward shuffle to stop facing the wall and lean up in bed, letting out a stifled groan as the aching he felt in his arms had drastically increased when they were now supporting his upper body. now locking his gaze with Dess's as she had further looked upon the finer details of his face.
The fur on his head had been unkept and messy, while her nose had begun to twitch when it picked up on the faint smell of the "summer berry" shampoo he had used to wash his fur with. but the most dominant smell was of his natural musk, and typically the odour of his fur and body turned her on. but in this situation she could only help but feel sympathetic to the fact he was either too tired or weak to wash his fur, before Asriel had reached out for the glass of water on the bedside dresser and firmly gripped it.
He proceeded to drink it, with the cold water almost instantly evaporating the dryness he felt in his throat. and it had greatly soothed his aching and sore throat, causing the poorly goat to let out a low sigh of relief, finally mustering some strength to actually speak. "T-Thats...-..b-better."
He had set the now empty glass back onto the dresser before looking at Dess, who had grabbed something from out of the bag and chucked it towards him. "You'll..uh, probably need these. i got some painkillers from Sans's Shop before i came here Azzy."
Asriel's expression had morphed into a frown, now speaking with a hoarse but far less dry voice in response to her. "Y-You...c-could've given me-...these when i s-still had a drink, Dess-.."
"...Yeah, shit....-sorry Azzy.", Asriel gulped as he grabbed the painkillers. taking them out of the packaging and removing 2 tablets and placing them in the fluffy palm of his hand, now opening his mouth and placing them inside. using his saliva to try and swallow them in a uncomfortable way, seeing that he had no water to drink and he wasn't willing to ask Dess to get him more.
He let out a shallow wheeze as he swallowed them, Dess now looking at him with a mixed expression of suspended amazement and confusion. "..Did you just..?-", Asriel had confirmed her assumption with a silent nod. before his expression shifted when Dess slowly inched closer to him on the bed.
"...I think it's best if you rest now, Azzy.", She looked at him as she inched closer. causing him to slightly move back as he looked at her with a confused yet understanding expression. "I-I....will-, you...c-could um...-i d-don't know, stay on the couch?, o-or just leave...i-i feel a lot better now...D-Dess."
"...Fuck no, i'm not leaving you while you're like this Azzy, and you're clearly shivering so....", He looked down at himself and then back up at her. "N-No i..-i'm not."
"Just...come're, Azzy..~'",While speaking she had been taking off her red plaid jacket, pushing that and the grocery bag off of the bed before without warning had practically leapt forwards and coiled her arms around Asriel, gently pushing him down and onto the pillow of his bed while peeling the quilt off him, just enough so that she could get under it before letting it fall over them.
Asriel's breath hitched as he now found himself in the tight embrace of Dess, quite naturally he didn't want this nor had given his consent to this. the risk of her getting sick were too high, but it's not like he could do much to stop her or object to her, as he was already savouring what little strength he had as is.
But the sensation he felt was indeed nice. as the uncomfortable coldness what had been causing him to shiver had been replaced by the all-consuming warmth of Dess's body heat being transferred to his, and the feeling of her warm breath against the side of his neck had also been quite pleasant.
Yet Asriel didn't expect her to lean forwards and to nuzzle her snout into the crook of his neck, to smell his musk while holding him even closer. uncaring of the risk of being infected by Asriel. who had seen this as a rash and risky move by the doe, though it had been abundantly clear that she had no care about mitigating the risk of infection, but the new sensation of her warm snout nuzzled into his neck. and her warm breath tickling his strands of fur with each exhale. it had a caused a tidal wave of tiredness to overwhelm his already exhausted mind.
But he still didn't want this, well. he did enjoy it, but the risk involved was simply too great and he didn't want to be responsible for her being stuck in bed like he was. but in his current weak and even sleepier state, there wasn't much he could do to get the doe from cuddling against his fluffy frame, but he still tried his best anyways. "D..-Dess...-you're..g-gonna...g-get s-sick, p-please-..."
"I'm not leaving you here while you're shivering and coughing like this, you need warmth.", Dess spoke while still sniffing and nuzzling in the crook of his neck, and while speaking she had moved one of her arms from being coiled around his frame so that she could slide her hand under the baggy grey t-shirt he wore. stroking and rubbing in circular motions around the thick fur what covered his stomach. causing Asriel to let out a shuddering breath as his previous apprehension and guilt began to melt away. now that the overwhelming sense of comfort and warmth had become impossible to drown out in his tired and poorly mind.
Soon after, he closed his eyes and clenched them as Dess had continued to caress and stroke his stomach before soon stopping. her movements ceased as she snuggled as close as possible into his side as they rested together, pressed against each other as humanly possible so that he wouldn't feel that horrible cold what had been tormenting him all Day.
And eventually, he had fallen asleep. though he couldn't quite recount if he dreamt or not.
And, eventually, he had woken up.
The first distinct sensations and feelings he felt had been a distinct lack of warmth, at least not the same all-consuming one brought on by Dess's frame being wrapped around his own. but there wasn't a complete absence of the warmth either. and he could still smell the fresh pine scent of her fur, mixed with a faint herbal smell.
And the feelings of his sickness were still present, his stuffy nose, the uncomfortable sweats he experienced on the back of his fur, and the aching in his arms and legs were still present. but far less extreme then before he fell asleep in Dess's embrace several Hours earlier, and he didn't feel the awful headache or the dryness of his mouth or the soreness at the back of his throat.
Only then had Asriel had realised that Dess had placed her plaid jacket onto him during his sleep, and the absence of her in his bed confused him. and eventually he leaned up and let out a low yawn, rubbing his eyes and had finally mustered up enough energy to peel the quilt off his frame, wincing at the sudden coldness what he felt. before eventually-
The clatter of hooves against the steps of the stairs had stopped Asriel in his tracks, as Dess had soon entered his and Kris's bedroom again and looked on at him with a confused yet relived expression as she held two brown paper bags in each padded hand, he could see the grease stains on the bags of food from here. it seems she had got the pair Dinner or even Supper, judging off the fact it was now Night due to the lack of natural light seeping through the closed curtains of his window.
"Wh-What...time i-is it..?", He looked at her, his voice was a lot less hoarse and he had pronounced words far easier with less stuttering, though it was still clear that he was poorly but this was a definitive improvement over his previous condition several Hours earlier.
"One second, Azzy.", She stuffed her free hand into the pocket of her hoodie. withdrawing her Phone and turning it on. looking at the display, before looking back up at Asriel.
She had looked back up at Asriel, now speaking. "It's about um, 10:23PM. i woke up about an Hour ago, and i went out for a bit to get us some food."
Hearing how late it had actually been, he lowered his head as he heard Dess approaching him. smelling the food inside of the bags what she firmly clenched in her hands, it smelt like QC's, it smelt like the burgers they do. it seems in his sleep she must've left briefly to go to the Diner, small things like that were why he loved her so much. she didn't have to go out into the cold of the Night. spend her own money, she didn't even need to remain by his side. but she chose to, and in his mind. that deserves so much more than just admiration and respect he felt for her in this present moment.
He'd return the favour , if or rather when(considering how rash she had been acting around him) she got sick. he'd be there for her, making sure she's warm, making sure she has food and water, cradling her to stave off the cold what she felt, kissing her in the tight circle of his arms until she fell asleep in them. but, his line of thought had soon ended when Dess shook him gently on the shoulder.
"Asriel?, you should probably eat, i-..uh don't think you've really eaten today, have you..?", Her tone dripped with concern and sympathy. her steel blue eyes locking gazes with his half-lidded dull green eyes.
"..N-No, i haven't.", He soon broke off the brief staring contest with her. looking down at the floor as she begun to open the brown bags she had been clenching in her hand.
Dess leaned over to place a slightly soggy wrapped up burger on his lap, eliciting him to stop looking at the floor and back up at her. she had already been in the process of devouring the cheeseburger she had got herself, and had a bag of fries carefully balanced on her lap. she looked over towards him, and gave him a wink before she shortly went back to eating the already half-eaten burger in her hands.
He looked back down, grabbing the burger on his lap and carefully unwrapping it before bringing it towards his mouth. he didn't taste much as he slowly ate it. as his sickness had numbed his taste, factored in with his still stuffy nose affecting his sense of taste, though in that present moment his hunger had pressed him from taking small, cautious bites. into tearing large chunks of the patty and bread with his fangs and swallowing it.
Eventually, he had finished it and made a mess of the fur around his mouth. Dess had let out a soft chuckle after watching him consume it. as she had finished her burger mere moments earlier and had been consuming the fries out of the bag what still sat on her lap. his stomach grumbled as he watched her eat, did she get him fries too?
"H-Hey...-Dess, did..y-you um, g-get me any fries..?", Dess had suddenly frozen mid way through eating one of the fries. the colour from her face draining and she had quietly swore under her breath, before looking back up at Asriel with a ashamed and sympathetic expression.
"Fuck...-Azzy, i'm sorry. i-i uh..forgot. and-just, take my fries.", She extended out the half empty bag of fries off of her lap to Asriel, who looked down at the fries and back at her face.
"N-..No, i-it's fine. i-i'm fine..", Dess let out a drawn out sigh. not bothering to argue with him over actually eating when he's hungry, and went back to finishing off what remained of her fries, before stuffing the crinkled up wrappers of their burgers and her empty bag of fries into the torn open brown bag, placing her hooves onto the carpet of the bedroom.
"I'm just gonna, go get rid of the rubbish, stay here Az.", She stood up and moved out of the bedroom. with Asriel hearing her descend the stairs as he shifted his postion on the bed.
He looked down at Dess's plaid jacket, he was genuinely baffled to how it even fit his frame. given that he and Dess had been about the same size, but she was far thinner than him, but he didn't want to take it off. instead he pressed the collar of the plaid jacket against his snout, sniffing the pine scented musk of her fur. mixed in with that curious herbal smell what she never explained when brought up.
He stayed like that for several Minutes, only snapping out of whatever trance he was lulled into by the faint smell of his girlfriend on the plaid jacket by hearing Dess's soft laughter, with Asriel's face quickly turning a shade of bright red from embarrassment being caught by the doe.
She moved forwards and sat back onto the bed, looking at him as she slowly leaned forwards. whispering into his ear and causing the goat boy to shudder. "Well, seeing how much you like my scent. why don't you just keep that jacket Azzy, it's only fair after all..~"
"D-Dess..-i-i, u-uh...", He was left sputtering on his words, eventually letting out a hoarse cough what he covered with one of his hands. before looking towards the bed itself. "I-It's getting late, y-you should uh...-probably go back to the Manor, i-i think i'll be fine for the N-Night."
Dess let out a huff and crossed her arms, speaking with a stern tone in response to him. "I'm not...-leaving you like this, Az. not until you're fully better or when Toriel and Kris come back from that spelling bee-..thing, in Boston."
"B-But-.", He had been quickly silenced by her when she had coiled her arms around him. causing him to let out a bleat in surprise and crash down onto the bed, he tried to speak several more times but he had been quickly silenced when she further constricted him and brought back the feeling of immense comfort and warmth he had felt earlier.
"....No buts Azzy, this is final.", She adjusted how she had laid on the bed. flipping onto her side with Asriel still tightly held in her arms, though she had uncoiled one of them to pull the quilt over their frames, while Asriel had thrashed in her arms so that he had now been face-to-face with her.
She had finished dragging the quilt over them. returning her arm to it's rightful postion being coiled around his fluffy frame, he looked into her eyes. and they had remained there in silence for several more Minutes longer, but without warning. Dess struck as her lips collided against his, dragging him into a passionate kiss.
He tried to open his mouth to say something, but her tongue took advantage of the opening and battled with his. and soon, the sensation of it all had eventually lead him to directly lean into the increasingly more hungry and needy kiss.
Soon after, He pulled out and left a trail of saliva between the two. what Dess had soon used her thumb to break the trail while looking at his dumbfounded expression. letting out a soft giggle before he had finally staggered out words into some sense of a coherent sentence.
"W-Why...-d-did you do t-that, y-you know...-that you're gonna g-get sick now, r-right..?-", As he had been speaking. Dess had leaned forwards and rested her snout into the crook of his neck before she had eventually spoke in a far more lazy and needy tone than the one she had been speaking with prior.
".....And...that means you'll need to take care of me, and cuddle me. like i'm doing now with you Az, what downside is there to that..?~", It was clear to Asriel that she had been getting sleepy. and he too had gradually getting more tired, but he didn't expect her to suddenly dramatically shift how she laid in bed with him, using their postion to flip onto her back and allowing Asriel to lay on her stomach. despite being far lighter than him, she could still support his weight, and she had made sure to tuck his head under her chin so that his horns framed her face.
He let out a deep and content sigh now that he felt warmth from all angles, and the quilt over their frames had been simply overkill. as he soon shifted how he laid on top of her, getting comfortable and melting into her tight and cozy embrace causing a small smile to form on her face after seeing that he was finally settling down.
His eyes soon felt heavy, and before he fell asleep for a second time. he muttered out something. "I...love...you, Dess.."
Before the Night consumed him, he had heard a response.
"I love you too Azzy."