Chapter Text
1.
When Jude opened, his eyes, he immediately felt something wrong. He turned over to shut off his alarm for morning practice, his head immediately pulsing with pain. It felt as if someone had shoved their hand into his skull and was trying to crush it. As he tried to sit up he got dizzy and his muscles felt sore.
Was he sick? Jude never got sick. Not like this. Not where he’s lying here at 6 AM struggling to get up due to the immense fatigue he was currently feeling. He sighed deeply slowly laying himself back down. What could this sickness have come from? He was sleeping well, eating well, and hadn’t been out in the rain recently. But boy he felt awful.
He attempts to sit up again, this time succeeding. He takes another deep breath before moving to stand up. He grips onto his bedside table, wincing. He had morning practice, which typically doesn’t involve the hardest workouts. All he had to do was get through that and then hopefully whatever this is would pass over.
He gets ready slowly, but fortunately, he wakes up pretty early before practice, unlike Erling, who told Jude he sets his alarm for 15 minutes earlier.
Jude eats an apple that’s on his counter, too tired to prepare anything else. He eats that slowly as well. He’s realized that any sudden movement hurts his head. He drags himself to his car and immediately turns down the radio that had been blasting since last night. It’s only a five-minute drive to Dortmund's training grounds.
Once he gets there, the first person to greet him per usual is Erling. “Good morning Jude!”, he says, wrapping his arm around Jude’s shoulder. Jude winced at the volume of his voice, and Erlings typical smirk disappeared. He now looks concerned and he fixes himself to face Jude face-to-face.
“What is wrong? Are you not feeling well?”, dropping the volume of his voice significantly. The worried expression on Erling's face deepens as he examines Jude’s face.
“I’m okay, Haaland, just have a little headache”, Jude lied. He didn’t need to concern Haaland with this common cold he was probably experiencing.
“Are you sure? " Your forehead is sweating Jude, you feel warm”. His hands now gently cup Jude’s face and move to his forehead.
“I might be coming down with something, but it’s not as bad as it seems I promise”. Jude couldn’t lie to Erling for very long, so he hoped this would get him to stop asking so many questions.
“Okay, but promise me if you feel worse, you'll stop practice and let me know?”, Erling asked.
“Yes, of course”, Jude reassured. Erling nodded leading them out onto the pitch, his gentle hand staying on the small of Jude’s back.
Once they started their drills, the sickness really hit Jude. His head was pounding and his stomach started churning. He could see Erling watching him like a hawk, no matter where he moved on the pitch. His movements were slower than usual and he was sure everyone noticed.
Suddenly he feels the urge to vomit, and he makes his way as quickly as he can to the nearest trash bin but doesn’t make it in time. He ends up throwing up right on the turf, just a couple of feet away from the bin. It doesn’t take long before he feels someone hold him by the sides of his waist.
“You’re okay, let it out”, the voice he knows belongs to Erling says, as Jude hurls forwards again. Erling gently rubs his back. When he's finally done he lifts his head, too quickly it seems, because he almost falls back in the process from dizziness. But Erlimg manages to catch him, wrapping his arms around him. Jude instinctively leans back into Erling's body.
“Oh, Jude… It’s okay, I’m here. I am going to take care of you.”, Erling said into his ear softly. The sweet words almost brought tears to Jude’s eyes. Suddenly, Jude feels himself being carried. His eyes remain closed as he rests his head on Erling's shoulder, his face hidden in his neck.
At some point, Jude falls asleep and wakes up in a bed. Not his bed, but he still recognizes this bed. It’s Erling's bed. He looks around the room but sees no Erling. He gets up cautiously once again, an ice pack falling onto his lap that he hadn’t even realized was on his head, which definitely feels better. He sets the ice pack down on the bedside table. He realizes now that he is dressed in what’s definitely Erlings clothes. He must’ve vomited all over his training clothes.
He hears some noise coming from the kitchen so he walks through the hallway hoping to find Erling. He’s successful as he finds Erling cooking something in the kitchen. He seems pretty focused and doesn’t seem to notice Jude’s presence at first.
“Erling.”, he calls, his voice hoarse and low.
Erling quickly whips around rushing to Jude. “Jude, you’re awake. I am making you some soup. I’ve put some medicine here for you and some bananas as I've researched and apparently it is good for when you're sick. I will get you a new ice pack as well. Feel free please to sit on the couch”, Erling rushes out, examining Jude again.
“Oh, I-“, Jude can’t even get the words out as Erling continues.
“You really worried me, Jude. When we came back here, you woke up briefly and you were so out of it.”
’Huh’, Jude thinks. He doesn’t even remember waking up. He suddenly starts to feel a little guilty for everything. Erling packed up his stuff, brings him to his place, cleans him up, puts him to sleep, puts on an ice pack, and is now making him food. He’s overwhelmed with appreciation.
“Erling thank you, so much. Thank you.. I cannot say how much I appreciate this. I-”, his voice cracks. He doesn’t even realize his eyes have started to water. Erling wipes away Jude’s tears swiftly, and doesn’t waste any time to embrace him.
“Yes of course Jude, I will do anything for you. Please do not cry. I care for you so much, always”, large hands cupping the back of Jude’s neck massaging it tenderly.
They stay like that for a while, neither of them rushing to move. Jude had always known Erling cared for him but this was different. Whatever this was between them, Jude never wanted to let it go.