Work Text:
Luka had already had a strange feeling the day before— a sinister, imminent premonition. His throat would itch whenever he spoke and he had started sniffling too often without even realising it.
Well, it was nothing too alarming anyway. He didn't pay much attention to it, he simply finished his training and went home. It will be tomorrow Luka’s problem to deal with.
Tomorrow’s Luka had become today's Luka and he was bundled beneath the covers up to his neck. He felt like a wreck, his head was pounding, he was freezing for no apparent reason despite multiple layers of covers and clothing and his bones felt incredibly heavy and dense inside his body.
He lethargically reached a hand towards his nightstand searching for his phone and checked the time: 9:00 am.
God, it was late already, he had overslept. But leaving the bed now sounded like a death sentence. He rolled onto his other side and hugged the pillow tightly, burying his face into it.
That was a problem. He couldn't even muster the strength to get dressed, let alone go to practice.
However, he couldn't skip training, not today and not even the days to come. The team needed him more than ever, with el derbi madrileño only three days away. They had been reviewing their tactics endlessly, studying their opponents’ moves in depth, preparing everything together and now it would all be for nothing.
People would literally fight during that derby and he was supposed to sit it out because of a simple cold? No way.
When Luka showed up to training, everyone kept looking at him strangely.
“Luka, are you okay?”
“You're white as a ghost”
The French and the Welsh accents of Benzema and Bale had blended into a strange cacophony Luka could barely distinguish.
His head was exploding. He ignored the continuous commentary behind him and started his routine but he couldn't fool anyone. One by one, everyone more or less stopped halfway through their run and hovered around him.
Luka only wished they would just stop talking, even the faintest noise strained his nerves so he started warming up on his own. He hadn't seen Sergio yet, some part of him hoped that he hadn’t come in today for some unknown, highly unlikely reason so he wouldn't have to see him in such bad shape.
The muscles of his legs started to feel heavy after only a few movements, even running a few metres was tiring. Luka was shivering, he shrank further in his tracksuit jacket to try to find some warmth— it seemed to be a sunny spring day but he just couldn't stop shivering and coughing.
Then he noticed Sergio, he was running at the back of the line and seemingly talking to someone. The last thing Luka wanted was to draw his attention but he couldn't help coughing and covering his mouth with his hands hidden inside his sleeves.
“Sergio, don't come close, wait!”
But Sergio had already wrapped his arms all around him and was holding his head against his shoulder. And it felt so good. Damn him. For a moment Luka basked in the warmth Sergio's body gave off through the yellow training bib, sinking more into the curve of his shoulder. It was so cosy, cosier than his bed could ever be.
“Lukita, are you sick?" Sergio asked in the gentlest voice imaginable. His cool lips lay against his burning forehead for a moment, providing a fleeting sense of relief. Luka had to summon all his self-control to pull away from him.
“Yes, I'm gonna pass it to you, let me go” he warned.
Sergio didn't let go, he held him even tighter and cupped his aching head in his hands.
“Please, don't overwork yourself, go home now” he whispered, as their teammates walked around them, not even questioning their level of intimacy anymore.
“I can't,” Luka coughed.
“Yes, yes you can. You need to rest. Please, don't make me worry”
Sergio scratched gently through his hair and the tips of his lips brushed on the shell of his ear. Luka was no longer quite so cold, the trembling had finally ceased.
He leaned more into the crook of Sergio's shoulder, letting him pet his head as much as he wanted. Oh, he would have stayed like that forever, settled in Sergio's cozy arms as he continued to whisper sweet nothings into his ear, listening to his steady heartbeat as a lullaby as he would slowly drift off.
“Sergio-”
Luka was once again preparing himself to tell him to keep his distance when he felt a kiss warming up his cheek. He could only hope Sergio's immune system was strong enough to compensate for his being so stupidly selfless.
Luka eventually decided to follow his teammates and Sergio's advice and take the day off. He went back home and after taking some meds, he immediately climbed back into his bed and fell asleep shortly afterwards.
Sadly, he was a light sleeper, he always had been. He was suddenly woken by the continuous buzzing of his phone, which he had forgotten to charge and had left still buried beneath his pillow.
As he unlocked the screen, his eyes lit up.
Sergio: I'm outside your door
When Luka got to the door, he was promptly greeted by another tight, sappy hug.
“Hi” Sergio said, only after holding him up by the waist and nuzzling his face against his shoulder “Are you ok?”
“Yes, yes I'm ok” Luka cut him short though his head was still spinning.
Sergio grabbed his arm before he would fall flat on his ass onto the cold floor. His eyes had turned the sweetest caramel when they met his Luka's.
He looked radiant, he was only missing a huge bouquet of flowers, otherwise he would have been the portrait of a modern prince charming. Luka was in an old Dinamo Zagreb hoodie twice his size, his sweaty hair stuck to his face and his puffy red nose constantly sniffing.
“Why are you here?” he asked, quite self conscious about currently looking like shit.
“Uh? To take care of you?” Sergio stated flatly as he just stepped inside. He went straight to the kitchen— he knew that house like the back of his hand.
Thank God Luka hadn't given him a copy of his house key, despite Sergio having begged him for one multiple times.
He didn't say anything and groggily returned to the comfort of his bed. He usually wanted to be left alone when he was sick so why did the idea of Sergio fumbling in his own kitchen sound so appealing? God, his head hurt so much, he should have avoided thinking when it wasn't strictly necessary. So he just lay on his stomach, closed his eyes and tried to empty his mind. But it was too late, he was no longer able to catch sleep.
Sergio returned shortly afterwards with a steaming cup of tea in his hand. He placed it on Luka's nightstand and walked around to the other side of the bed to sit down. He took off his hoodie and adjusted the pillows piled up under his back as though he were in his own house. Too damn close.
“Stay away, do you wanna catch it too?” Luka raised his head slightly to warn him once again.
In reply, Sergio leaned down and fixed a misplaced strand of hair on his face like it was nothing. It pissed Luka off.
“Are you even listening to me?”
Why was he so careless? So damn clingy like he wasn't going to be in the lineup against Atlético in a few days too. Luka grumbled like an annoyed cat when Sergio started to caress his back, despite finding it extremely soothing.
“Wear a mask or something at least”
“Nah”
“Why?”
“Wanna kiss you” Sergio protested as he rested his head on Luka's back over by the covers “but you are mad at me, you're so mean”
Luka really wanted to sneeze in his face. Maybe Sergio had to learn the lesson the hard way, he didn't do it only because the team needed both of them healthy and fully functional.
“I'm not mad at you” he scoffed, pulling the cover down so Sergio could hear him more clearly through his weak voice“but you’re so annoying sometimes”
Sergio scowled, then scooted closer and got under the covers with him. Luka quickly retreated into his half of the bed.
“No, no way, get out! I'm gonna infect you”
Sergio had already caught him in his arms and trapped him there. Luka had nowhere to go, Sergio was practically taking up all the damn space.
Luka could have kicked him out, literally. But he was so warm, so pillowy and comfortable and his hands were soft like an angel’s. Maybe there was a hidden switch in Luka’s head to turn him off because he suddenly calmed when Sergio kissed his forehead.
“Please don't push me away” Sergio cooed “I know you want to play Sunday but you don't have to sacrifice yourself. Just relax and let me help, will you?”
Sergio's long tattooed fingers combed through L's hair again and again as he peppered kisses all along his jaw whispering all kinds of lovey-dovey things like Lukita mio, mi precioso, mi conejito. Luka moaned something in Croatian while he rapidly switched from his flattened pillow to the swell of Sergio’s chest. Sergio's arguments could be very persuasive.
“So cute”
Luma suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at him.
“Take it back,” he said in a very nasal voice.
Sergio kept mindlessly petting his head, ignoring the reproach. He only spoke after Luka had readjusted himself against his chest and his arms were all over him, using him as a human hot water bottle.
“Seriously, you're the cutest thing ever when you're sick. Always so stubborn though”
Luka gave one last grumble before completely settling into the hug and dozing off.
The cup of tea lay abandoned on the nightstand, frozen cold.
Luka woke with his face buried deep in the crook of Sergio's neck, his hands tucked beneath Sergio's shirt and their legs messily tangled together.
Sergio was practically fused to him and they were breathing the same air. God, what a disaster. It would be all his fault if the two of them ended up too sick to play that Sunday. Who would tell the coach? Not him, that was for sure.
However, much to his surprise, Luka no longer felt like someone was smashing his bones with a hammer and he wasn't even that cold, despite the covers being tossed aside for some reason. Had he kicked them away in his sleep? Probably. Luka would wake up in the weirdest positions sometimes— someone had even caught photographic evidence to send in the group chat.
He struggled to free himself from Sergio's hold so he could pull the covers back over them without waking him up.
He succeeded but it was quite a feat. Sergio was peacefully snoring yet he hadn't let go of him at all, his hands were still firmly resting on the small of Luka's back in a protective way. So adorable, so attentive. Luka couldn't help himself and placed a kiss on his exposed neck.
“You had to watch over me, you idiot” he complained light-heartedly as he wrapped the cover more tightly around Sergio's back.
Sergio kept sleeping like a log, unable to hear anything. His lips were slightly parted and there was a thin thread of drool hung on his chin.
“So ridiculous” Luka chuckled “you’re completely gone in dreamland”
He would be lying if he said he didn't find him cute though. Knowing Sergio, he had probably trained twice as hard in case Luka wouldn't take part in the next game and now he was exhausted and had simply shut down.
Luka tried not to shift too much in the covers so as not to wake him up. He kept watching Sergio sleep then nuzzled his forehead against his.
It was slightly damp, warmer than the rest of his skin. As Luka moved even closer, he could almost feel his beard tickling his cheek and he remained still. But those pink, fleshy lips were right in front of him and it was impossible not to do something about it.
He lowered his face a little and pressed his lips on Sergio's as softly as he could.
"And so ridiculously beautiful” he said under his breath. He hoped Sergio was so deeply passed out that he hadn't felt anything or he would die of embarrassment.
He slightly fluttered his eyes open as he spoke and he saw Sergio blink and then respond to the timid kiss, deepening it more and more as he gradually woke. Luka gave in and the kiss transformed into a dreamy, heated make out session.
“I was dreaming someone kissed me” Sergio eventually whispered into Luka’s ear when he fully opened his eyes “then I realised it was you and that it was real”
“Someone? And who else might they be?” Luka teased, still only a few inches from his lips.
He gave a little raspy laugh. Sergio took his face in his hands and gave him another long kiss with tongue that almost left Luka dizzy.
“I'm so in love with you Lukita, even in my dreams” he declared, his hands not leaving Luka's face, not even for a second. Luka’s lips curled into a grin.
“Why? What do you even like about me? I even wanted to kick you out today”
“Everything” Sergio responded completely enamoured, playing with Luka's zip and trailing inappropriately wet kisses down his neck. Luka shuddered and slipped his hands under Sergio's undercut as those kisses reached more dangerous territory.
"I can't stand watching you sick… Want to make you feel good” Sergio murmured, unzipping the worn-out Dinamo hoodie and running his warm palms all over his cool body “vice you, spoil you, you deserve anything, mi querido”
Sergio kept going with all his corny pet names and increasingly heated kisses as Luka tried to resist him. We can't do it, he thought, if we have sex it's over, but his body betrayed him, arching as Sergio shoved his hands in his swollen pants.
“Sergio, don't-” he pleaded, turning his head aside, too ashamed of his own reactions.
“Why?”
“Hah, you know very well why, don't make me repeat myself”
“Mmh but this is a very effective remedy… you'll sweat the sickness out” Sergio hummed, grabbing his cock and gently fondling him.
It felt too fucking good for Luka's resolve not to waver. Sergio's hot mouth was already around his nipple… Fuck it, he thought and turned back to lower Sergio's pants as he ravaged him.
If Zidane’s eyes could speak, Luka and Sergio wouldn't have made it off the pitch alive. While Luma looked slightly healthier, Sergio seemed to be roaming aimlessly back and forth along the defensive line, with glassy eyes and a runny nose.
None of the Merengues dared ask their captain why he had gotten sick too, not even twenty-four hours after Luka. Everyone knew the answer. They glowered at Luka since— of course— he was the one to blame. Luka wanted to sink into the midfield and disappear forever.