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Ah…
Ahhhhhh…
Ahh-choo!
John Shepard groaned, rolling over in bed as he sniffled weakly. He reached for the box of tissues on the endtable, only to knock it onto the floor.
He groaned again.
“Wow, you’re a sorry sight,” a voice from the bedroom doorway said.
John looked up to see Kaidan leaning against the doorframe, the picture of smug health.
“Screw you,” he grumbled, feebly reaching for the box.
Kaidan laughed, walking over to the bed, scooping up the fallen tissue box, and handing it to John. “Love you too.”
He went to press a kiss to John’s cheek, but was rebuffed. John coughed weakly, “Don’t want you to get whatever this is.”
“If I was going to get it, I’d have it by now,” Kaidan chuckled, pushing John’s hand aside and kissing his cheek anyway. “How are you feeling today?”
“Like shit,” John grumbled.
“That’s helpful,” Kaidan shook his head. “What do you need, you big baby?”
John shot him a glare about as fearsome as a sick puppy, before admitting, “Some soup would be nice.”
Kaidan smiled. “I’ll get you some. I think we have chicken noodle.”
“Fuck yeah,” John said weakly, managing a sad fist pump. “My favorite.”
“I even think it’s the kind with the little stars in it that they make for kids,” Kaidan teased as he left the room, giving John no time to think of an appropriate retort beyond a shout of “Jerk!”
John closed his eyes, trying to doze a little while Kaidan made him his soup. He hadn’t slept well in a few days since this damn cold came on, and he’d forced Kaidan to sleep on the couch so he wouldn’t catch it – because this was the worst cold John had ever had. It took a lot to put Commander Shepard out of commission, and this cold had done precisely that.
He was almost asleep when Kaidan returned with a tray, gently setting it on John’s lap before sitting down on the other side of the bed.
“Wow, thanks, Mom,” John teased, seeing the abundance of food – soup, crackers, a glass of water, and a giant mug full of orange juice. He really did appreciate it, though, so he leaned over and pressed a kiss to Kaidan’s cheek.
“I figured you’d want to watch a movie with lunch, so I dug up an old copy of an old Earth TV show you might like,” Kaidan replied, turning on the vidscreen and typing in a few commands to his omni-tool.
“You and I have very different taste in TV,” John chuckled through a mouthful of soup. He preferred classic Earth horror movies…Kaidan preferred soap operas.
“We’ll both like this, I promise,” Kaidan insisted. “It’s called Mystery Science Theater 3000.”
“I hate it already,” John said, raising an eyebrow.
“They take shitty Earth movies and make fun of them, just like we do. Now shut up and watch it,” Kaidan replied, starting the first episode and sitting back down.
The more the episode progressed, John had to admit he did enjoy the show – the commentary was just as funny as the creators’ attempts to look futuristic and high-tech.
At the end of the episode, he conceded, “Okay, fine, let’s watch another episode. Only for you, though.”
Kaidan laughed and started the next episode. “You’re the most stubborn person in the galaxy.”
“Would you have me any other way?” John asked, offering his best attempt at a sweet smile. He coughed instead.
Kaidan smiled. “No. No, I wouldn’t.”