character whoâs pleasantly surprised when their night owl partner agrees to go to bed early for once, only to find them shivering and feverish in the morning, chin tucked under the blanket
Thinking about colds in the summer ⊠popsicles for sore throats ⊠not being able to tell if theyâre sweating from the heat or a fever ⊠the chill of the air conditioner making them shiver âŠ
Fevers in places that are already either way too hot or way too cold for comfort đ
In a building or a vehicle that has the A/C cooling all the way up. Outside on a really chilly night. In a drafty house in winter. Woefully underdressed for the climate. They were already shivering a little from the fever, and theyâd probably shiver a little in this situation even if they didnât have a fever, so in combination theyâre shivering enough itâs making their teeth chatter. Itâs sapping every last bit of energy they had, really quickly and efficiently.
Dead of summer. Vehicle or building with broken A/C, or just A/C turned way too low. On a hike in the sun. In long sleeves or long pants when itâs too hot for something like that. Overworking and feeling way too physically warm from it. Maybe they can even tolerate the heat just fine normally, maybe they canât, but either way itâs putting them far over the edge and itâs making them flushed and sweaty and nauseous. Just maximum possible discomfort from this fever.
comforting you while you're vulnerable, running my fingers through your disheveled hair, placing a cold compress to your skin, flushed and hot to the touch, etc.
Oops hereâs roughly 1.8k of College AU sick!Ben from F/antastic F/our. You can read the background info about this AU here!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The incessant beeping of his alarm pierced through the thick cloud of sleep. Ben groaned and dug the heels of his hands against his eyes. It wasnât particularly early in the morning - it was almost 11 - but he was absolutely wiped.
It was the Monday before finals week of Fall Term at Empire State University and everyone pretty much had their heads down trying to study.
This was Benâs fifth and final year of working in his Aerospace Engineering degree. He had to pass his finals, finish one more term and then heâs home free. He coughed as he rolled out of bed, wincing slightly at the soreness that seems to have developed overnight.
The brunette brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face, making a weak attempt at taming the bedhead that was happening. He decided on black sweatpants and a white tee - opting for comfort over appearance.
Glancing the clock, he cursed under his breath. He was going to be late for his study session with Reed. His younger boy genius of a roommate, Reed Richards, was just shy of 21 and already partway through his PhD for applied mathematics and material science. They had some off time in the same building on certain days and were able to study together. Reed hates when Ben is late for things.
His face scrunched as he pitched forward into cupped hands.
âHâruSHH! isssh, tsh, tsh⊠hâaeTCH!â
He sniffed back the congestion and groaned. Reed would also hate that he just sneezed into his hands. He quickly washed them and pulled on a black hoodie before heading out the door with his backpack and sports duffel.
***
Ben jogged up to the math building, checking his watch. He was only ten minutes late, but Reed was set up at a table studying inside already.
âYouâre late.â He said, looking up from his papers. âAnd you look rough. You okay?â
Ben rolled his eyes, âYou sure know how to greet a guy, Reed⊠Iâm fine, just a little more tired than usual.â
Reed raised a skeptical eyebrow, not quite believing him. âOkay well, Iâm working on my presentation for multivariable calculus if you want to work on your final papers too?â
Ben nodded and took a seat, throwing his bags on the ground.
âYeah,â he scrubbed at his nose, sniffling, âI could work on my fluid dynamics paperâŠâ
For about thirty minutes they worked in focused silence, only the scratching of pencils and tapping of laptop keys filling the silence. That, and the occasional wet sniffle from Ben.
âI canât focus.â The older of the two sighed, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose.
Reed looked up from his laptop and looked his best friend up and down. He looked pained. âAre you okay?â
Ben nodded despite turning away as his breath hitched, burying his face into his sweatshirt sleeve.
âBen, if youâre sick you should go home and rest.â
âSâjust a cold. Have classes and football practice.â
Reed forgot about football practice. Personally, he thought it was a bit primitive to chase each other around a field with a ball (especially during Manhattan winter). But it was important to Ben, so it was important to Reed.
The younger man sighed and stood up, putting a friendly hand on Benâs shoulder. âDonât push it too hard. I gotta go to classâŠAnd donât get me sick!â
Ben closed his notebook and rested his head in folded arms, coughing again. He wasnât looking forward to the rest of the day.
***
Football practice snuck up on him way too quick. Itâs been a long day already, heâs feeling worse, and his whole body ached. Warm ups felt like he was running with fifty-pound weights on his legs.
Heâs been in and out of focus for a few hours now, and his teammates and coach are starting to get frustrated with him.
Theyâre in the middle of running drills when Ben goes down. Itâs his turn to run down the field, catch the ball, and get as close to the end zone as he can.
He gets the signal and sprints down the field, turning around to look for the ball. It comes right to him and he catches it no problem. Itâs when he keeps running that his nose starts buzzing with that insane tickle again.
He tries to hold it back, but itâs no use. He sneezes once, openly spraying his helmet. When the usual fit hits him, he canât do anything but stop in his tracks.
Heâs bent over, one arm cradling the football and one hand on his knee.
Heâs in the middle of sneezing desperately when one of his teammates slams into his ribs and tackles him to the ground.
For a moment, the wind was totally knocked out of him. Blinking past the pain, Ben let out a pained groan, head bobbing off of the grass as he coughed against his wrist.
âWhat the hell is wrong with you today, Grimm?? Youâre playing like ass, youâre not focused, you stopped in the middle of the field!!!â
Ben sat up slowly, still coughing as he took off his helmet. âSorry coach. I donât know whatâs wrong with me⊠nâdot feeling so hot.â:
Coach softened a bit, taking in his star playerâs appearance. His cheeks were flushed and he was breathing hard. Eyes glassy with fever.
âYouâre done, Grimm. Hit the showers and get out of here. Rest up.â
Ben wiped his nose on the back of his hand and nodded, slowly getting back up on his feet.
He was showered and back in his sweats not fifteen minutes later. Itâs times like these that heâs glad he and Reed only live a few minutes off campus.
The keys jangled as he unlocked their front door. âReed? Iâm home early⊠Reed?â
The younger man must still be on campus - probably either finishing his presentation slides or at the library.
Ben grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and held it to his ribs, turning the tv on low volume. Too weak to do anything else, he sits on the armrest of their couch and slumps over, closing his eyes for just a minute.
***
Reed got home about 9pm, just a few hours after Ben had gotten home. When the younger man entered their apartment, he saw Ben sprawled out on the couch asleep. There was a now melted ice pack near him, and congested snores echoed through the living room.
Reed grabbed a fresh glass of water and a box of tissues from the closet, putting both on Benâs bedside table before hovering over the man asleep on the couch.
âBen.â He hissed. Nothing.
He gently shook Benâs shoulder, pulling back at the shocking amount of heat radiating off of him. Reedâs hand trailed up to Benâs forehead where it rested for a minute. He was in a t-shirt and yet was burning up.
He shook Ben a little harder, âGrimm!â
Benâs eyes slowly opened, but there was no thought behind them.
He squinted one eye, trying to make out the figure in front of him, âHey kid.â
âBen, I think youâve got the flu. You have a crazy fever, is that what the ice pack was for?â
The older man looked confused, looking down to the melted ice pack, âoh that⊠took a hit in practice. Sent home earlyâŠâ
âWell. You should probably go to bed, get some real rest, huh?â
âYeah I guess.â Ben mumbled in agreement but didnât actually make any effort to move.
Reed helped him up and to his bedroom. Ben was barely standing to start with, and collapsed into bed with his eyes closed. The boy genius ran a washcloth under cold water and wrung it out before putting it gently on Benâs head. He turned off the light and closed the door.
He quickly grabbed some Lysol spray from out of his bedroom and sprayed the couch and kitchen before washing his hands and starting late dinner for himself.
*****
Both boys had gone to bed hoping Ben would feel better after a nightâs rest. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The 25 year old was restless most of the night, tossing and turning in the throes of fever. At some point in the night, he had woken up just long enough to down the glass of water Reed left on the nightstand before passing out again.
When his alarm finally went off, he felt awful - achy, cold, congested and confused. The young man sat up, immediately coughing into his elbow. It was a harsh, chesty cough that brought Reed knocking on his door.
âCome in, Reed.â He choked out between coughs.
The door cracked open, and Reed - dawning a mask - poked his head in.
âYou are not going to classes sounding like that Benjamin.â
Ben grabbed a tissue from the box on his table.
âWasnât pl- eh ihâTSCH, tch, tsch ughhh. Wasnât planning on itâŠâ he leaned back into his pillows.
The younger man walked over and put his wrist against his friendâs forehead.
âYou still have a fever⊠and you sound miserable. Iâll make you some soup and toast.â
Reed had disappeared to the kitchen and returned about 20 minutes later carrying a tray with soup, toast, another water and some Tylenol.
âThanks, point Dexter.â
âAnytime,â Reed replied from behind his mask, âhey can I practice my final presentation on you?â
***
Ben blinked past the fever in his eyes, trying to stay awake. Reed has been rehearsing his presentation for the last 36 minutes, fixing certain parts and restarting. Ben had stopped paying attention some time ago, and was just focusing on staying awake and not interrupting too much with his coughing or nose blowing.
He figured heâll just take slightly longer blinks because it felt nice. As long as he kept it to blinks, Reed likely wouldnât notice. At least, until his eyes didnât open again.
Ben was sat up, slightly slumped against propped up pillows, blanket pulled around him and empty soup bowl with half eaten toast on the night stand. His lips were parted just slightly and he was snoring again, out like a light.
Reed stopped mid sentence realizing the snores coming from the corner of the room. He pocketed his note cards and sighed to himself.
âWell if it was boring enough to put you to sleep, I think Iâm doing something right⊠get some rest, Grimm.â
give a woman some guy and she'll be entertained for a day. teach a woman how to put some guy in situations and she'll be entertained for the rest of her life.
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