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Max was starting to regret coming back to Wonderland.
Not for the reasons anyone might guess. His father was something he could handle well enough; he’d been doing it his whole life. Possessed flamingos and ever-changing houses were standard when it came to him.
What he could not handle was illness.
He’d always been a bit sensitive when it came to getting sick; even seasonal allergies could take him out for a week if he weren’t careful.
Unfortunately for him, Wonderland seemed to have a particular talent for making everything worse.
The first sign had been the headache. Max had ignored it, throwing himself down the rabbit hole to go save the Queen. The second had been the chills. He ignored those too, too busy sidestepping flamingos to care. The third had been Luis.
“You look terrible.” Max slowly turned his head. Luis was standing several feet away, arms crossed over his chest, staring at him with the deeply irritating expression of someone who had just discovered he was right about something.
Max rolled his eyes at him. “Wow, thanks,” he retorted, sarcasm bleeding into his tone.
“You look like you’re about to fall over.” Max ignored him and turned away.
They had been travelling through Wonderland for most of the morning, trying to find a way through its shifting forest landscape. Every time they thought they’d found a path, the trees rearranged themselves, leaving them exactly where they’d started. It was almost certainly the same magic his father had used on the house earlier.
It was annoying and exhausting.
And, increasingly, Max was finding it hard to care. His head throbbed with every step. His clothes felt strangely heavy. He couldn’t seem to get warm, despite the humidity of late summer in Wonderland, and every few minutes, a shiver ran down his spine.
He’d rather die than admit any of that to Luis, though.
“You better hope whatever you have isn’t contagious, Hatter,” Luis mumbled, walking a few steps behind him and watching as he stumbled.
“I’m not sick.”
“Sure. Whatever. Keep walking.”
“Gladly.”
Max took three more steps before his foot caught on a root, and suddenly the ground seemed to tilt beneath him. He reached for the nearest tree and missed. A hand caught his arm.
Luis steadied him before he could hit the ground. For one humiliating second, Max leaned into his grasp, then pushed away as soon as he had his feet back under him. Luis raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. “I’m fine,” he mumbled, face flushing in embarrassment as he fixed his hat.
“Uh-huh. You nearly walked into a tree and then fell over.”
“I was distracted.”
“By what?”
“This annoying idiot who keeps talking to me.” Luis blinked, looking him over again, and Max could tell he noticed something. “What?”
“You’re burning up,” Luis commented, the usual teasing tone he used with him gone, replaced with genuine concern. Max’s smile disappeared. Luis surged forward, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. He recoiled at the touch, slapping his hand away.
“Don’t touch me,” Max snapped.
Luis held his hands up defensively. “You’re definitely sick.”
“I said I’m fine. I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“I didn’t offer.” The snark was back in his voice, and Max found himself strangely relaxed.
“Good.” They glared at each other. Then Max sneezed, doubling over with the force of it. “Don’t,” he warned.
“I didn’t say anything,” Luis said, a small smirk on his lips.
“You were going-”
He was cut off by another sneeze. Luis sighed and lightly placed a hand on his back, guiding him somewhere. “Come on,” he said gently.
“Get your hands off me, Madrigal.” He conceded, removing his hand, but continued to walk, clearly expecting Max to follow. He glanced over his shoulder, making some kind of communicative eye contact with Robbie. “Where are you going?”
“Somewhere you can sit down.”
“We don’t have time for that! My father-”
“Who gives a shit about your father!” Luis yelled, louder than he meant to. “You’re sick, and if you keep pretending you’re not, you’re going to make yourself worse. Who’s going to stop Maddox then?”
Max opened his mouth to argue, but nothing came out. He hated that Luis was right. More than that, he hated how he was beginning to feel. His knees felt weak, and his head was pounding. Even breathing seemed to take more effort than it should. “Fine,” he breathed, following Luis.
“Fine?”
“We can stop for a few minutes.”
Luis looked suspicious. “That’s it?”
“Don’t push your luck, Madrigal.”
They found a small clearing beneath a massive tree whose branches curled over them like a roof. Max sat against the trunk while Luis crouched beside him. “Better?”
“Not really.” The admission slipped out before he could stop himself.
Luis’s expression softened. “Okay, stay here,” he ordered, standing up.
Max frowned. “Where are you going?”
“To find water before you keel over.”
“I can come with you. I don’t need-”
“I know, I know. You don’t need me to take care of you. But you can barely stand. Just…let me do this.” Max scowled but nodded, watching as Luis’s eyes lit up, and he ran off.
Max leaned his head back against the trunk. For a moment, he simply closed his eyes. He quickly realized that was a mistake. Suddenly, the world seemed to spin, and his eyes shot back open, but the spinning didn’t stop. His breathing was coming out in short, shaky puffs.
He really wasn’t feeling well.
He’d known that, of course; he’d known for hours. But knowing and admitting were two different things. Especially when admitting it meant admitting to Luis that he needed his help. The thought made his stomach twist.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but he knew that by the time Luis returned, the chills had returned and his eyelids had grown heavy. He barely noticed when Luis walked up to him, holding out a canteen for him to drink from. “You fell asleep,” he observed, handing it over.
“I was resting my eyes,” he said through a mouthful of water. Luis scoffed and crossed his arms, clearly not buying it. His hands trembled as he took another sip. He tried his best to hide it, but Luis raised an eyebrow at him anyway. “Thanks,” he muttered when he was done, handing it back.
Luis blinked in surprise, as if he hadn’t expected any thanks. “You’re welcome.”
They sat in silence for a moment, Max fighting off sleep as Luis stared at him, observing every twitch of his fingers or blink of his eyes. “You’re getting worse.” The concern in his voice made Max’s skin crawl. He hated the idea of needing to be cared for, but that’s all Luis seemed to want to do. Maybe Luis would soon remember his hatred for Max, and he could finally be free of this.
“I’ll be fine,” he reassured him, rolling his eyes.
“You keep saying that, but I don’t think it’s true. Look…” Luis shifted next to him, close enough that their shoulders brushed together briefly before Max jolted away. “I know a thing or two about working through pain for the benefit of others. It might seem good in the short term, but all it’s going to cause you is harm.”
“If you like being helpful so much, you should go help the others find the right path,” he snapped back, completely ignoring Luis’s advice.
“I’m not leaving you alone while you’re sick.”
“You hate me.”
Luis snorted. “Absolutely.”
“Yet you’re staying?” Max questioned, turning to look him in the eyes. “Why?”
“I try to be a good person.”
“Debatable.”
“Shut up and drink your water.”
“I already did.” Luis shook the canteen, his expression shifting to surprise when he didn’t hear the sloshing of liquid inside.
“Then sit there quietly and rest.”
“You’re bossy today, Madrigal.”
“And you’re as annoying as usual, Hatter.”
For a while, neither of them spoke. Instead, Max listened as a light breeze blew through the forests, causing the leaves to rustle and the branches to creak. It was a welcome distraction from the pounding of his head. Eventually, the breeze picked up, and the cold became unbearable. He tried to subtly wrap his arms around himself, but Luis noticed.
Without a word, he pulled off his jacket and held it out. Max blinked. “I already have a jacket.”
“You’re still cold.”
“I don’t-”
“Just take it!”
He hesitated, but nodded, taking the jacket and pulling it tightly around himself. It was warmer than he expected, and he sank back against the tree comfortably. “Thank you,” he whispered, barely loud enough for Luis to hear.
A few more minutes of silence passed. Then, Max said, “Luis?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Luis stood immediately. “Okay. Come on.” He helped Max to his feet and guided him a few steps away from the tree. Max hated every second of needing the support, but his legs felt like they belonged to someone else.
“I can walk,” he insisted, despite his tight grip on Luis’s arm. “You don’t have to hold me.”
“Then let go.”
“No.” Max glared weakly at him, but Luis pretended not to notice. When the worst of the nausea passed, Max sagged against the tree. Luis stayed beside him the whole time, ready to catch him.
“Better?” he asked softly, guiding Max down to the ground.
“A little.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, staving off the last of the nausea. “Sorry.”
Luis went still, as if he wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. “For what?”
“This. Being sick.”
“You don’t have to apologize for being sick. It happens to everyone.”
“It’s embarrassing,” he complained, swallowing hard. “I can’t do anything.”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
“We’re supposed to be finding a way out, and I’m the only one who knows these woods well.”
“That’s not true,” Luis said, frowning, though Max couldn’t tell why. “Red and Pink know their way around too. They’ll find a way out.”
“And if they don’t?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Luis gave him a small smile, and Max couldn’t help but return it. It lasted approximately two seconds before another shiver ran through him. Luis sighed. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m fine.”
“Come here.”
“What?” Max frowned, tilting his head in confusion.
Luis settled beside him, then pulled the jacket more securely around Max’s shoulders. He didn’t protest this time; he was too tired. His head tipped sideways, and he realized, distantly, that it had landed against Luis’s shoulder. Neither of them moved.
“You know,” Luis murmured. “You’re a lot less annoying when you’re quiet.”
Max’s eyes closed as he leaned in more. “You’re a lot less annoying when you’re quiet too.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
There was another silence, but it was more comfortable than before. Luis noticed Max’s breath gradually slow, and soft sounds escaped him as he fought through congestion. “Max?” No response. “Hey,” he said, leaning against him slightly.
“Hm?”
“You should get some rest. The others will be fine without us.”
“Can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll leave,” Max mumbled, exhaustion and sickness causing his words to slur together slightly.
Luis’s expression shifted to something close to pity, but Max didn’t notice. “I won’t.”
“Promise?”
The question was so quiet Luis almost missed it. He looked at Max for a long moment, then nodded. “Promise.”
Max visibly relaxed. Within minutes, he was asleep, head still resting against Luis’s shoulder. He stayed exactly where he was.
Eventually, the forest began to change again around them; trees shifted, paths opened and closed. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the faint voices of the others.
Luis ignored all of it.
He had spent years arguing with Max. He’d called him arrogant, stubborn, impossible, and an absolute pain in his ass more than once, not to mention the things he’d said about Maddox. He had never expected to be sitting in the middle of Wonderland with Max asleep against his shoulder, guarding him like this.
But somehow, it didn’t feel strange. It felt necessary.
When Max woke several hours later, the fever had eased enough that his head no longer felt like it was splitting apart. The first thing he noticed was the blanket. The second was Luis sitting beside him. “You stayed,” he observed, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Luis glanced over, not realizing he had woken up. “I said I would.”
Max looked down at his lap, picking at the blanket. “Where’d you find this?”
“The others found the White Rabbit’s cottage. I didn’t wanna wake you, so I just had Robbie bring us some stuff. Speaking of…” Luis handed him the canteen, which had been refilled. He accepted it, drinking it in its entirety before lightly chucking the empty container at Luis’s chest.
“Y’know, you’re surprisingly good at this.”
“At what?”
“Taking care of people.”
Luis shrugged. “I learned it from my family, I guess. Helping raise seventeen cousins teaches you some things.”
“Seventeen?” Max questioned, eyes widening. “I don’t even have one.”
“You don’t have any cousins?”
“Nope, it’s just me and my dad. He’s not much of a…” Max trailed off, staring at something in the distance. Luis followed his gaze, but there was nothing there.
“Caretaker?” he prompted.
“Yeah. Too focused on the pocket watch.” Max made a face before pushing himself to his feet, stumbling slightly but staying upright. “Well, looks like I’m all better!”
“Max…”
“Luis,” he said in a teasing voice, pulling Luis’s jacket off and throwing it down on his head. Luis made an annoyed huff as he picked it up and folded it neatly, along with the blanket. “I’ve never actually been to the White Rabbit’s house.”
Luis smiled despite himself. “Then I guess we’re going. C’mon.”
He led the way through the forest, hoping that it wouldn’t start changing again. Luckily, it didn’t, and they easily found their way to the little cottage where the White Rabbit lived.
For most of their lives, Luis had been one of the last people Max would ever have expected to trust. They had spent years fighting, arguing, and blaming each other for things neither of them had known how to fix.
And yet, when Max had been too sick to stand, Luis had stayed. He had given him his jacket, found him water, and sat beside him until he fell asleep. He had promised not to leave, and he had kept that promise.
Max looked away before Luis could see the small smile forming on his face.
When Luis walked through the door, Max followed without hesitation.