The empty side of his bed his cold. Zach grumbles before his eyes are open, the heat of the light that pours into the dormitory stirring him in his in between state of asleep and awake.
He pushes the sheets back a little, peering blearily up at the ceiling when he's lying on his back, frowning. Two different kind of aches plague his body; the muscles of his shoulders and abdomen from the last Quidditch practice, and the pulsing ache in his forehead and burning in his throat from the incoming winter, threatening Zach's body with a cold. The dormitory is empty, the students filing out to Hogsmeade on the busy Sunday or heading to the Quidditch Pitch for extra practice, both of which Zach had skipped out on due to his illness, leaving him alone as a means to get well.
It takes him several moments to notice the steaming mug of tea on the bedside table, and a tiny dragon balled up within itself, snoring as small wisps of smoke leave it's nostrils.
Zach reaches a gentle hand out and strokes the end of Puff's tail. The dragon lifts its sleepy head up and blinks warily at him before groaning, curling away from him in an attempt for more rest. A smile tugs at the corner of Zach's mouth.
The door opens then, a disheveled Vannah Reyes pushing past as she carries a tray in. A rather large bowl of soup is steaming as she maneuvers through the room, closing the door shut with her foot. Zach blinks at her, moving out of bed to assist her.
"No," she drags out and the smile that had pulled at Zach's mouth finds it's way onto his lips as he crosses the room, taking the tray away from her. Her arms fall to her sides, defeated yet her brows knit together. "You're sick, I'm the one that's supposed to be helping you." She pokes him in the chest, blushing a little when she realizes she had just touched his bare chest with her forefinger.
Zach pretends not to notice, laughs a little hoarsely at her and brings the tray to the bed. "You don't have to, I can take care of myself." If he had been well, his tone would have been clipped, but Zach doesn't seem to have the fight in him when he cups the mug of tea in both his hands, blowing on to the piping hot liquid. Chamomile with a hint of honey and lemon.
Vannah humphs as she crosses the room to his bed and takes a seat next to him, reaching for the tray and pulling apart a slice of toast.
"I'm surprised you're still here," Zach tells her honestly, putting down the tea and reaching for another slice of toast, tearing it into two and handing a slice to Vannah on a paper napkin. She hesitates before taking it, smiling sheepishly when her stomach growls. "I thought you'd be with your friends."
There's a pause and Vannah doesn't meet his gaze. She chews slow, stares into the chicken noodle soup abyss and Zach doesn't know what to make of her silence. Instead, he eats a spoon full of chicken bits and yellow broth, that of which seems to snap her out of her stupor.
"They're a little busy," she tells him and Zach has known resentment long enough to recognize it in another.
He does not comment on it; finishes his soup and tea, and gives Vannah the rest of his toast despite her refusing to take it at first. Puff stirs and crawls away from the night table, venturing onto the bed and snaking around Vannah's wrist as they eat.
"Thanks," Zach says, voice a little better after the tea had soothed the scratchiness in his throat. "For the soup. Both yesterday and right now."
Her cheeks flush as she smiles, the tug on her mouth kind and it warms Zach's insides. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, bashful, and her eyes avert to look away from him. A chuckle resonates within his chest and he tries to get her to look at him again, brows raised and a laugh of her own falls from her mouth.
"It's not a big deal," she waves the weight of his appreciation away with her hand. "I told you that I used to make this for my sister all the time when she was sick."
He recalls the conversation in the kitchens not even twenty four hours ago. There's another pause, the same one that stretched the silence when her sibling was mentioned the first time. The question tickled at the inside of his brain, Do you have any siblings? It feels a little like amnesia, that the deep depths of his heart knows something but keeps it locked away inside.
Zach doesn't mention it. Instead, he takes the tray and places it on the floor to pick up later. "Still," he says, stretching and leaning back against the sheets, warm from sunlight and body heat. "You didn't have to," He presses his lips into a pause, almost tells her she didn't have to stay the night either.
The corner of her mouth twitches and amusement sparks behind her eyes. "Actually," she begins, stroking Puff with her forefinger. "I kinda did. Did you know that you're very persistent when you're sleepy?"
Zach's grin falters, quivering out into a frown and he groans into the space of the room, covering his face in mortification while Vannah's laughter fills the room.
"I didn't take Zacharias Smith as a cuddler."
"I'm not a cuddler." He insists behind his hands, but even he isn't convinced by his muffled words.
Her hands are soft on his and she barely has to tug on them for Zach to remove them from his face, resting them on his chest as he looks at her. Vannah is closer now as she lays on her stomach, facing him.
Resting her head in one of her hands, she lets the other linger, their fingers brushing. Puff untangles himself from her wrist and crawls about Zach's taunt middle, resting at his belly button as he once more curls within himself.
Zach doesn't watch the tiny dragon. Instead, finds himself immersed in Vannah's gaze, the touch of her hand. His fingers twitch underneath hers and he wonders if the desire to lace their fingers together is genuine or out of the need for affection due to his illness.
"Are you sleepy now?" She asks him, her voice low and teasing and Zach has to roll her eyes at her.
"Don't make me kick you out, Reyes."
Another pause. She presses her lips together to conceal her grin, but Zach can see it in her cheeks and eyes. A bite of her lip before, "Are you always the little spoon or is that only when you're sick?"
He closes his eyes, exasperated and Vannah bursts out laughing again, deep in her gut and echoes throughout the room. Zach gently scoops Puff up in his palm and sits him onto the pillow above their heads.
"Turn around," he means it as a demand, but it doesn't come out quite as rough as he would have liked it to. Vannah, still in a fit of giggles, turns on to her other side as Zach pushes at her shoulders. He wraps an arm around her middle, pulling her close for warmth and comfort. For something stable. Forehead pressed to the back of Vannah's neck, his eyes flutter closed.
She is still giggling when he falls asleep.
