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The weather was just starting to shift from summer to fall. Leaves started to fall from trees, and the air dropped drastically in temperature. As everyone knows, once the weather gets cooler, sicknesses start spreading like wildfire.
Now, Tord rarely gets sick. He took good care of his needs (most of the time), and he lived in a colder town of Norway for most of his childhood, so he had naturally grown immune to catching something as simple as a cold or fever, or so he thought.
Recently, the Norsk had been hard at work on some project he recently picked up on. Whenever Tord was locked into “work mode,” he neglected his basic needs, like forgetting to eat, hydrate, and sleep. This, of course, had weakened his immune system gradually, and overtime, that would take a heavy toll on his being.
That morning, Tord had woken up at around 12:20 PM, the latest he’d slept in a while. Immediately, he was met with the sweet greeting of body aches. His head hurt from working, and his back was sore from slouching on his desk for hours at a time. Not only that, but his throat was dry as hell, added on with a thick, cold layer of sweat coating his entire body. God, he felt like shit. Well, he knew this was going to bite him in the ass eventually.
He got up, stretching and shaking off the aches. All he needed was some food in his system, and he’d be back on track to start his work again.
Tord began his journey down the stairs to the kitchen, where the other three boys were already perched at the kitchen table, eating their breakfast. When Tord walked into the room, Edd looked up at hearing footsteps, knowing only one resident in the house had yet to wake up. “G’morning, Tord,” he greeted with a small smile.
“Hi, Edd,” Tord replied back, not quite his usual tone while talking to Edd. His voice sounded a little rough, too. Dammit, he knew his taller friend would catch on soon enough.
The taller Brit, always the observant one, heard the slight rasp in his Norwegian friend’s normally smoother voice. He raised a brow, eyeing the man that stood in the doorway. “Are you feeling alright? You don’t sound too hot.”
“Ah, yes, I’m fine. Just tired,” Tord quickly retaliated, not wanting to admit he was feeling ill. Realizing he needed to move so Edd couldn’t observe him like a hawk, the red hooded male walked to the fridge to get something small to eat.
There wasn’t much in there, just cola (obviously), some uncooked bacon (Tord didn’t feel like making anything), a few bottles of Tom’s smirnoff (surprisingly, usually he kept it in his room), takeout bags, a few miscellaneous eggs lying around, milk, some random containers of liquid (Tord didn’t want to know what it was), and some fruit.
Finding an apple, Tord quickly grabbed it, washing it under the sink. He felt Edd’s eyes burning into his back. The green hooded male was waiting for him to make an obvious tell that he was sick.
“You don’t want any bacon? I could make some for you if you wanted.”
Fuck.
He usually would instantly accept the offer, but he felt too queasy to eat something so greasy. Knowing this would immediately give him away (which was Edd’s goal), he declined.
“I’m not too hungry.”
Maybe, just maybe, Edd would believe him.
Nope.
Before Edd could get a word out, a certain ginger had spoken up on the situation at hand.
“You usually always eat bacon. Do you have a stomach bug or something?”
Could he play along with this? Maybe, but he would probably still end up in the same position if he had admitted he was sick in the first place.
Fuck it, he’s come too far to give up now.
“I’m just not that hungry,” repeated Tord.
Matt eyed the Norsk suspiciously. “Okaaaay…”
Realizing that all three of the guys were now extremely suspicious of him, Tord took his apple and speed-walked back upstairs.
“Do you think he’s ill, Edd?” Matt asked, turning his head to face the taller man.
“I know he’s ill. He’s just too stubborn to admit it.” Edd sighed. This wasn’t the first time this has happened. Many times before, especially in high school, Edd would take care of Tord when he wasn’t feeling good. The Norsk did enjoy getting taken care of by Edd, but he never said it out loud.
Just then, the green hooded Brit stood up from his chair, announcing his whereabouts. “I’m gonna check on Tord.”
Tom finally spoke, looking up from his food. “You’re doing us all a favor. He’s miserable when he’s ill.”
Matt agreed. When Tord felt sick, he would barely talk to the others, and his patience wore even thinner than before.
“Make sure he recovers quickly. His attitude pisses me off when he’s like this…” Matt complained, a plea for Edd since he was basically the only one who could help this dilemma.
Edd chuckled, beginning his walk to the stairs. “Don’t worry, Matt, I’ll do all that I can.”
——————————————————
Upstairs in his room, Tord lay in his bed face down. His headache had gotten worse, but he was too tired to get up to take any medicine. Hearing footsteps approach his room, he knew exactly who was here to visit him.
“Hey, Tord.”
Sure enough, it was Edd.
“Hi,” came Tord’s muffled response.
He couldn’t see because his head was buried in a pillow, but he felt the mattress dip from Edd’s weight as he sat down.
“You feeling alright?”
“What do you think? You already know the answer.”
“Tord, I’m serious.”
There was no response. After a few seconds, Edd heard a sigh come from the Norsk, and he moved his head from the pillow to face Edd, looking up at the taller male.
“Fine. I feel terrible.”
He looked terrible too, god damn, Edd thought. He almost felt bad thinking that, but really, the Norsk looked miserable. Tord looked a lot more tired than he normally did, and his face was paler. He even spoke quieter than he normally did, and his voice held a rasp to it.
Edd brought his hand up to feel Tord’s forehead, frowning when he felt how hot he was.
“Well, do you need anything?” Edd started. “Medicine, food, water, blankets, you name it. I can grab it for you.”
“Could you get me some painkillers? My head hurts like hell.” Tord muttered.
“Got it, painkillers. Anything else? I can get you water to help you swallow the pills.”
“Sure.”
“That's all you need?”
“For now, yes.”
“Alright! I’ll be back.”
Edd stood up and made his way out of the room to grab the medicine and water. Tord patiently waited in his bed, hugging a pillow to his chest.
The Brit made his way downstairs, filling up a glass of water in the kitchen. Tom and Matt were hanging out in the living room, watching tv. The ginger turned his head back to look at Edd in the kitchen.
“How’s Tord holding up?” he asked.
“He finally admitted to not feeling well,” started Edd, “I asked him if he needed anything, so I’m fetching medicine and water.”
“Maybe try checking his temperature to see if he has a fever, just so we know what he has.”
Edd nodded, “Good idea, thanks, Matt.”
Finishing filling the glass of water up, Edd made his way to the bathroom to grab the thermometer and the painkillers before heading back to Tord’s bedroom.
When he entered, the Norsk had his eyes closed, and he was clutching a pillow while being wrapped tightly in a blanket. Edd smiled slightly at the sight. He quietly padded over to the bed, gently trying to wake his friend up.
“Tord,” he spoke softly, his tone patient.
The red hooded boy slowly opened his eyes, looking up at Edd. “Mm,” he hummed in acknowledgment.
“I got you the painkillers. Could you sit up to take them, please?”
Tord obediently sat up. He had shed his usual red hoodie, revealing a grey t-shirt underneath.
Once he was handed the painkillers and the glass, he put the medicine in his mouth, taking a big gulp of the water and swallowing the pills.
“Before you lay down again, I’m gonna take your temperature quickly,” announced Edd, readying the thermometer. It was the one that you stick in their ear to take their temperature, not the ones you put under their tongue. Once he was ready, he stuck it in Tord’s ear, making sure it wasn’t too uncomfortable or not in correctly. He took it out, reading the temperature on the screen. 39 degrees celsius. Yikes, he definitely had a fever.
“It says you’re 39 degrees. So, today, you’re resting. No working, alright? I want you to get better, I don’t like it when you’re ill.” Edd tried to guilt Tord into actually resting.
Tord knew exactly what the Brit was trying to do. He knew the Norsk all too well; all his secret tells and signs, even the ones Tord thought were hidden. Edd was way too observant for his own good.
Sighing reluctantly, Tord spoke up. “Fine. I won’t work.”
Edd smiled brightly, ruffling the shorter boy’s hair, making him grunt.
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
The green hooded boy removed his hand from his friend’s head. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything.”
Tord nodded, lying back down and getting himself comfortable.
Edd was just about to leave, when he heard Tord’s voice.
“Hey, uh, Edd?”
He turned around. “Yeah?”
“…Thanks.”
The Brit smiled, seeing Tord flush and avoid eye contact. “You’re welcome, Tord.” And with that, he turned back and headed out the door, closing it behind him.
Edd made his way back downstairs sitting on the couch with Matt and Tom.
“Does he have a fever?” Matt asked.
“I’m afraid so,” replied Edd. “I managed to convince him to actually rest today and not work on his projects.”
“I’m surprised he complied,” voiced Tom.
“Yeah because if it were you, he’d instantly decline.” Matt argued sassily.
“Okay, buddy,” Tom grumbled, shoving Matt’s shoulder, making the ginger laugh. The blue hooded boy couldn’t help a smile at the other Brit.
Edd laughed at the exchange. He loved how close Matt and Tom were with each other.
A phone buzz in his pocket interrupted the moment. As the tallest Brit fished it out of his pocket, he saw a text with a familiar name pop up.
Tord 🥓
could you come upstairs
1:30 PM
Yeah what’s up
1:30 PM
just come plz
1:31 PM
Okay I’m coming
1:31 PM
Edd slid his phone back into his pants pocket, standing up.
“Checking on Tord?” asked Matt.
“Yup. I’ll be back,” Edd replied, walking towards the stairs.
Tord soon heard the door open to his room, seeing his favorite person friend walk through the door.
“What did you need?” questioned Edd as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He noticed the Norsk’s face was getting redder as he sucked in a breath of air.
“Do you mind just…sitting in here with me? I-I’m just really bored,” Tord quickly spat out an excuse for his question right away. He rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had picked up.
Edd’s eyes widened. He never thought that would be his question. Nonetheless, he would gladly agree to Tord’s request.
Realizing he had been silent for way too long, the Brit quickly replied. “Oh, uhm— Yeah! I’d love to, actually.”
“Cool.” Tord sat up, scooting back to make more room for the other on the bed.
Accepting the invite, Edd shimmied closer to the shorter male, sitting directly next to him.
“So, what did you wanna do? Did you have something in mind?” asked Edd, turning to look at the other man.
“I didn’t really have any idea, no,” Tord replied. He rested his head on the wall behind him, his eyes half lidded.
“Do you just wanna sit together?”
“…Yeah.”
Edd nodded. He was okay with that option, any company with Tord was worth spending.
Suddenly, the Norsk let out a loud sneeze, covering it with his arm.
“Woah there!” Edd laughed. “Quite the sneeze you have.”
“Yeah yeah, I know,” muttered Tord, trying to sound annoyed but failing miserably.
——————————————————
After a while, their small chatter turned into a comfortable silence, one that made the taller Brit smile.
A sudden weight was shifted onto his shoulder, making Edd’s eyes widen in confusion and shock. He looked down to find Tord conked out on his shoulder, snoring ever so slightly. His hair horns tickled Edd’s chin.
Pushing down the urge to laugh, Edd got comfortable, wrapping an arm around the other man’s shoulder and closing his eyes.
——————————————————
A while later, Edd slowly opened his eyes, looking down to find the Norsk still fast asleep on him. He smiled to himself, and decided he would wait for him to wake up.
Before Tord could wake up, though, Matt and Tom were caught peeking through the door, curious as to why Edd disappeared without coming back downstairs like he said he would.
Spotting the two being very un-discreet, Edd put a finger to his lips with a grin. The other two nodded, smirking themselves.
But it was too late. Tord had yawned, blinking himself awake. He looked over at Matt and Tom, then up at Edd, slowly but surely processing the situation. Once it clicked, his eyes widened and his face burned as he instantly sat up, acting like he hadn’t just been sleeping on his friend's shoulder.
Matt burst out laughing, and Tom giggled beside him. This obviously pissed Tord off. “Fuck you two,” he muttered angrily, though it held a hint of embarrassment inside.
The green hooded Brit chuckled softly, pulling the other man close to him as he wrapped his arm around his shoulder once more. This action made the Norsk jump in shock, but being too tired to retaliate, he let it happen.
With a wink and a grin, Tom and Matt left the other two men to their antics, giving them their privacy that Tord desperately wanted.
“If you want, you can fall asleep on me again,” offered Edd, knowing Tord still wasn’t feeling a hundred percent.
The red hooded man took him up on his offer, leaning his body weight onto him and closing his eyes, getting comfy.
The tallest Brit grinned to himself, giddy that he was able to be this close to Tord. He closed his own eyes, deciding that maybe another nap would be alright.