IL

                                    

                                          
After filming and recording "Cabbage" Brett felt awful. A nasty head- and stomach ache made sure to let him suffer through the evening and he simply fell flat on the couch and stayed there after they had put everything back in place. 
"Hey", Eddy said softly and sat down next to where Brett's head rested, "You feeling off again?"
Brett curled himself up like a hedgehog and groaned. 
"Can I get you anything? Do you want to go to bed?"
"I've been in bed the last two days! Let me stay here for a change."
"'Course! I'm gonna get you a hot-water bottle and your pain killers."
Eddy got up, quickly got his own blanket from his bedroom and covered Brett with it, before he went to fetch the promised items.
The warm blanket fully enveloping Brett in Eddy's scent helped a bit and took him back to the incident before filming: Him in Eddy's arms, Eddy looking at him like he was the most precious Stradivarius, Eddy's kiss on the side of his face...
Putting everything that had happened down as a friendly gesture like Brett had intended suddenly seemed impossible. 
But before he could analyze anything any further, Brett felt a sting in his stomach and could do nothing else than whimper in pain. 
Eddy came back with a filled hot-water bottle, a cup of tea and Brett's medication along with a glass of water. 
"Hey mate, sit up quickly and take the pills. Wait..." Eddy propped up Brett's upper body and handed him the pills and water. Brett quickly swallowed everything so he could lie back down again, but Eddy had other ideas. He put Brett's head on his lap and placed the hot-water bottle on the poor guy's belly.
"What...", Brett simply asked, too weak to articulate a full sentence.
"Isn't that more comfortable?", Eddy winked and softly brushed some hair on Brett's forehead away. 
"Mhmm", Brett made, inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. 
Eddy put on a random film on Netflix and opened his laptop on the side to send today's footage to editor-san, all the while letting Brett rest on his lap. It didn't take long for Brett to doze off, his mind perfectly at peace despite of what his body was experiencing. 
Brett eventually did manage to get to bed, his stomach empty, because there was no way he could bring himself to eat dinner. So when he woke up the next morning, he was so weak he just stayed in bed till half past ten when Eddy came to check on him.
"How do you feel?" Eddy placed his big hand on Brett's forehead, probably checking his temperature. 
"Like shit!", Brett groaned. 
"We have that among us video to film in the afternoon... What do you reckon? Shall I cancel?"
"No way! We already said it's not possible to reschedule. Just give me some time... I'm gonna be fine by then."
"Is there anything I can do?", Eddy asked for what felt like the thousandth time. 
"Can you bring me something to eat maybe?"
"Sure! Give me a minute."
Eddy left the room and came back with a tray, carrying a bowl of rice noodle chicken soup and ginger lemon tea.
"Eddy? How... When...", he asked, baffled.
"I put up the soup yesterday evening when you went to bed. I did the rest this morning. Figured you need good food after such a long time", Eddy explained, a proud smile on his face. 
Brett smiled back, the butterflies in his belly taking off in the meantime. 
"Thanks, man... That's... I don't know what to say."
"No need to say anything. Just eat."
He did as told. Everything was delicious, the noodle soup quickly helping him regain energy. 
"That's so good!", he munched.
"Right? My grandma's recipe", Eddy slurped. He had also gotten himself a portion and was eating next to Brett's bed. 
"Really?"
"Yeah! Called my mum for it, because she used to make something similar when I was sick."
"I remember the chicken soup thing too, with all the Chinese medicine thrown in."
"Yeah! Right? I have some in there too! That's so funny!"
"Like the ginseng stuff?"
"Yeah!", Eddy laughed. 
Brett gazed at him, gratefulness and an incredibly warm feeling flooding his heart. 
"See, Eddy?" 
Eddy glanced up, questionmarks written all over his face. Brett sniggered.
"That's what I meant yesterday! You're a master at taking care of me. All this", he gestured at the tray, "is beyond awesome!"
Eddy smiled broadly. "Thanks!"
They finished their brunch and Brett felt a whole lot better than before, with his head just feeling slightly off.
"Gonna do the dishes!", he declared, got out of bed and stacked Eddy's bowl on his.
"What? No! Let me!", Eddy protested and stood up, but Brett shook his head. 
"You did plenty, that's nothing!"
Eddy deliberated for a moment before he shrugged and slumped down on Brett's bed. 
"Alright then.", he winked at the other and crossed his arms behind his head like he owned the place. Brett's heart suddenly picked up the pace.
"Gonna rest here, if you don't mind?"
Brett gulped before he managed: "Not at all! Make yourself comfortable, I guess."
And before his brain could further develop this image of him straddling Eddy on his own bed, he turned around and fled to the kitchen. 
Was that guy doing it on purpose? Brett asked himself, as he rinsed the dishes before he put them into the dishwasher. Did Eddy somehow find out how Brett felt and was having fun torturing him now? He shook his head, scratched the back of it, decided against going back into his room and seeing that one particular person and went straight for a shower instead, hoping it would clear out his brain from that pink fog clouding his consciousness.