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Jay woke up sweaty and aching, and when he got out of bed to take a piss, the world spun. He gripped the headboard as he tried to steady himself, but the only relief he found was from collapsing back into bed with his face buried in the pillows. It had been years since he’d last gotten sick, and even then, he had gone to work and did his job. He had to get up, and he had to get dressed, because he was supposed to pick up Hailey and they were going to grab their fancy drinks from Mad Dash before going to work. He’d been looking forward to it all week, and he knew she was, too, so he had to get up.
His body didn’t want to move. His head was pounding, and his limbs ached down into the bones. When he opened his eyes, the sunshine just starting to stream through his blinds felt like a toothpick shoved into his retinae. His mom had gotten migraines while she was alive, and they usually took her out for an entire day, if not more, and he knew that this was probably something along those lines. He wasn’t sure, though, having been relatively healthy most of his life. He rarely got sick. In fact, the few times he’d been in the hospital weren’t because of an illness, just on-the-job hazards. This, though, had come out of nowhere and knocked him flat on his ass.
Reaching blindly, he grabbed his phone from the charger and texted Hailey first the best that he could.
Jay: apparently im dying
Hailey: in a worrisome way?
Jay: i caught whatever mack has
Hailey: ahh heard I’ll get a ride from Kevin
Jay: send Mouse
Hailey: yessir
He fell asleep shortly after, ignoring his bladder for the sake of his aching body, closing his eyes to drift off. His dreams were filled with wavering images, trembling like heat lines off pavement in the summertime, flashes of smiles, and hands, and kisses, a body against his own, fingers through his hair, soft and gentle reminders to breathe. He couldn’t hold onto anything long enough to understand it, and his head ached even in the dream.
“Babe,” a voice called, and Jay wanted to swim towards him. “Jay. Baby. Wake up.”
He wanted to wake up. His body hurt, his head was pounding, this had to be some kind of awful mistake.
Then, he felt a hand on his forehead, and he forced his eyes open, to see Mouse sitting on the bed beside him, his hand pressed into Jay’s forehead to test his temperature.
“Hey,” Mouse said.
“Hi,” Jay said, and his voice came out throaty and weak.
“Oh, wow,” Mouse chuckled, and shifted on the bed. “You sound terrible.”
“Thanks,” he said, and rested his head back into the pillows, which were damp underneath him with sweat.
“Mr. I Never Get Sick is apparently susceptible to child germs, I see,” Mouse commented before pushing his hair out of his face, also damp with his sweat. “What can I get for you?”
“Water, and an axe to chop my head off.”
“I think that’s a bit dramatic,” Mouse replied, starting to stand up, when Jay realized his error. Mouse going to get him something, even as simple as water, meant that Mouse wouldn’t be there with him, and he did not want that at all. He whined and sat up, the blanket falling away from him. “No wonder you’re absolutely roasting, Jay, you’re wearing – wait, is that my sweater?”
Jay looked down at himself, at the sweater he’d pulled on in the middle of the night, half dead and shivering. The room had been dark, but he’d known exactly what he’d been grabbing by the texture of it. It was his favorite of Mouse’s sweaters, a soft, cream-colored thing that was two sizes too big on his frame. He hugged it to his chest and looked up at Mouse without replying.
“You’re adorable. Okay, sit here for two seconds. I’ll go grab you a water bottle, and I’ll be right back. Can you do that for me?”
“I can,” he agreed, even as the words scraped on their way up. “I think.”
“Okay.”
Mouse disappeared, and Jay’s heart squeezed, which was ridiculous, but he’d never felt this bad before, even when they’d been blown up by an IED or the time he’d been shot and died briefly. No, this was a new kind of terrible, and he was resolutely not a fan of it. He turned his body and groaned lowly to himself before he pulled the pillows up off the bed and rested them against the headboard so he could lean back more comfortably. Then, he paused to flip the top one around so the damp side wasn’t pressing into his back. Mouse returned with a bottle of water and his small bottle of Tylenol.
“Alright, typhoid, take this, and these,” he said, holding out the bottle of water and then dispensing two small white pills. “I’ll set up the projector in your room so we can watch some trashy television shows, and I’ll order us lunch so you can get some food in you.”
“I don’t want to eat,” Jay said, pressing a hand to the top of his belly. He ached all over.
“Oh, you’re real sick, huh? I’ve never heard you say you don’t want to eat,” Mouse said. “Should I call Will?”
“No,” Jay said quickly. “No, he’ll tell me to go into the hospital, and I’d rather die in this bed.”
“You’re such a baby.”
“I am not.”
“You are, which is okay, because you’re my baby.”
Jay felt the smile that always came along with Mouse claiming him like that tug at the corner of his lips. Mouse grabbed the mini projector they kept stored in a little basket underneath the bed and set it up on the shelf above Jay so that it cast on the blank white wall across from the bed, while he settled into the pillows he’d built up behind him.
“Thank you for being here,” Jay said with his scraped raw croak of a voice.
“Where else would I be?”
“At work?”
“Psh, not worth it. I get to see you needy and cuddly.”
“Platt is going to be pissed at you for skipping,” Jay said, and he glanced at Mouse who was settling into the pillows beside Jay himself.
“I’ll be fine, she’ll forgive me. Besides, I don’t think they need me more than they need you, detective.”
Jay hummed and brought the bottle of water to his lips to take a drink
“As long as you need me, Jay, I’m not going anywhere. Thank you for having Hailey call me. You never would’ve done that before.”
“I’ve always called you when I needed you.”
“No, sweetheart, I called you. You just waited for me to call you at night.”
Jay made a noise of complaint, but didn’t contradict him, because Mouse was right. Earlier, before they’d gotten together, Jay absolutely was someone who wouldn’t call anyone when he was injured or sick. He would hide away and tend to his own wounds, ignoring any needs his body had for human comfort or companionship, opting instead to soothe himself. Now, though, Mouse wanted him. He wanted to be near Jay, and give him those comforts, and there wasn’t a cost to it. He was allowed to ask for help with no consequences for seeming weak.
It had taken Jay a while to get it, but he did. They belonged to each other, and that meant that no matter what, Mouse would be there for him, just as he was there for Mouse.
He rested his head on Mouse’s shoulder and sighed out a breath of relief.
“Thank you for showing me that I could.”
Mouse pressed a kiss to his forehead and muttered out, “anytime, baby.”