Can You please do a fanfic where Remy is sick with a bad flu or cold but still wants to go out and is determined to do so Patton has try to handle a whiney clingy baby that is Remy?
It took me too long, but HERE IT IS, precious, patient Anon. Thank you for your patience. As per usual, I doubt it’s what you imagined, but. C’est la vie.
Warnings for Brief Remus mentions VERY BRIEF Deceit mention
• • • •
A single knock immediately followed by a bellowing, “Helloooooooooooooo, Sides!” shocked Patton from his quiet evening of binging Parks and Recreation on the couch.
“Well, you’re early today!” Patton smiled and stood to greet the embodiment of sleep as he burst into the MindScape, sipping from the reusable Starbucks cup Roman had conjured for him.
“Yeah, planning a big night.” Remy took a large gulp from his drink before continuing. “First I’m gonna go bug Little Wernicke to get him to tell me about language stuff.” Remy took another sip. “Then, I gotta go visit Ol’ Ponyo (he hates when I call him that) to get Logan’s whole ‘sleep schedule’ thing sorted, and then I’m-”
“Hey, Remy, are you okay? You sound like you ran here.”
Remy cut off his current sip and replied, “Whaddyou mean? I’m fine! Just excited for tonight is all.”
“Are you sure? You sound breathless-”
“So anyway, I showed up because I have nooooo idea when I’ll be back, and I didn’t want you sending the snake or freaky Rere to hunt me down for bed time.” Remy took another sip.
“We never sent them-”
“Well, relay the message anyway. Keep. Away.” Remy took multiple sips from the cup as he turned from Patton. “Tata, Papa-”
“Wait! Don’t I get a hug?” Patton reached out beckoningly and wiggled his eyebrows.
[[MORE]]
“Uh, sure, I guess? Anything for you, Peachy Pat.” Remy crossed to Patton and lightly wrapped his arms around the Moral Side who squeezed him in return before swiftly leaning up to kiss his forehead.
“Oooo you’re hot!”
“Well, I know, but I definitely didn’t expect-”
“No, literally, Remy; you’re sweating.”
Genuine confusion overtook Remy’s features. “But I’m freezing-”
“Have you looked in a mirror recently?”
Remy gawked.
“No, not like that. Wow. I’m sorry. You’re just very, very rosy cheeked, Remy, and not in a cute way.”
Remy gaped indignantly. “I am always cute-”
“Remy, are you sick?”
“No, of course not!”
“Remy.”
“Seriously, I’m Sleep. How could I get sick?”
“Look, I don’t know the fancy details of it, but I know Lo, Ro, and Vee have been sick before from like...working too hard, so I’m sure you could get sick, too!”
“That’s ridiculous! I’m not like the rest of you!”
“Remy. You’re sick.” Patton slipped around Remy to shut and seal the MindScape door. “You need to rest and get better. Stay in for a night.”
“Patton. I’m fine.” Remy bit out.
“Then why are you drinking so much? Thirsty? Or is your throat not doing so well?”
Remy swallowed thickly and pulled the straw from his lips. “I just...you know I love coffee.”
“You don’t smell like coffee. I don’t see anything dark coming up that straw. That’s pure water. You know you’re sick, Rem; please, just stay here!”
“I told you, Pat; I have plans tonight! Important ones to help our Resident Brain, too!”
“Cancel them. Logan will understand.”
“Patton. I’m going, and you can’t make me stay here.”
“Oh, you wanna bet?”
Remy had never seen such a dark, nearly wicked look overtake Patton’s features, but he had no time to process before the other was coming at him.
•••••••••••
Strangely enough, finding Patton forcibly wrapping Remy in a blanket wasn’t the oddest thing Logan, Roman, and Virgil had ever come across. They stared for a moment in a mixture of confusion, amusement, and concern from their various positions on the stairs, having been coaxed out of their respective rooms by Remy’s shouts of protest.
“Uh, Patton?” Virgil called from his spot on the topmost step, brow quirked and a frown on his lips. “What are you doing?”
“Why are you preparing a Remy Blanket Burrito, Padre?” Roman chimed in from the bottommost step.
“Guys!” Remy gasped dramatically, now fully wrapped and perched on the couch. “Thank GOODness you’re here! Save me from this MAD man!!”
“Oh, Rem, you’re fine.” Patton scoffed lightly as he pushed himself off of the embodiment of sleep, clapping his hands together in a satisfied fashion before giving Remy a light pat on what was probably his leg. “Well, actually, you’re not fine, and that’s why I had to get you all nice and swaddled up!”
“What is the matter with Remy?” Logan asked abruptly, eying Sleep carefully.
“Nothing!!!” Remy screeched indignantly; if he could, he’d likely cross his arms and slouch in pouting protest. “I’m perfectly fine, but your father figure over here has decided that I’m sick.”
“You ARE sick, Remy!” Patton cut in. “You have a fever!”
“That’s ridiculous! I’m Sleep; not human!”
“But you’re part of one!” Patton retorted while retreating toward the kitchen. “And you need to get better! I’ll be right back!”
“Is Thomas sick?” Virgil piped up in a tenser tone.
“Not that I am aware of.” Logan reassured him. “But I believe as we can experience illness due to burnout, Sleep could conceivably experience the same if Thomas is not resting adequately.”
“I definitely wouldn’t say he’s been chummy with the Sandman as of late.” Roman muttered, rubbing at his own eyes.
“I’m not sick! I can’t get sick! Thomas has adjusted to his...unique sleeping habits, and so have I!” Remy’s voice faded into a rasp at the end of his terse tirade, drawing looks from the three Sides.
“You sound rough, Rem.” Virgil gave him a soft, sad smile. “Please give it a rest and let Patton take care of you. Give me one less thing to worry about for once.”
Remy sighed loudly and threw his head to the side. “Fine. Only for you, my nightly nuisance. You keep me busy, but I’ll give you a break.” Remy huffed, side-eying Virgil.
“Promise?”
“Oh my god, are we five?” Remy’s eye roll and Virgil’s intense stare created a tangible tension, neither speaking as one finally cracked under the other. “FINE. Yes. Yes, yes, I can promise to let myself be sick and taken care of and whatever other junk.”
“Good.” Virgil turned back toward his room.
“What? You’re not going to keep me company?”
“Nah, man. Snarky you I can do, but this whiny version of you gets my heart feeling uncomfortable.” Virgil pats over his heart before climbing the stairs.
“But you don’t really have a-”
“Please take care of yourself.” Logan interrupted. “We need you in peak state to get Thomas where he needs to be. Especially since you finally agreed to the sleep schedule.” Logan leveled Remy with a look before following Virgil’s path.
Roman crossed to the couch and put his hands on his knees. “Do you need anything? I can conjure up whatever you want that isn’t coffee or anything else to keep you awake.” Roman laughed at Remy’s groan. “You need sleep, Sleep! So, again: need anything?”
“Not from you, traitor.” Remy snarked with no real malice; he winked before finally submitting and wilting into his blanket with a weak smile. “Actually, if you could help me out of this blanket bind and into some PJs, that would be great.”
“Absolutely.” Roman began untangling the enormous blanket and laughed softly. “Patton does go overboard, but only because he cares. He’s good at what he does, especially the father role, so let him love on you for a bit.” Roman whooped and grinned in victory as he freed Remy from his cocoon; the prince reached out and pulled his friend to his feet, snapping his fingers to trade Sleep’s typical leather jacket for a lightweight white pajama shirt and black pajama pants with sleeping moons.
“Appropriate.” Remy chuckled and collapsed back on the couch, provoking a cocked brow from Roman.
“Need anything else?”
“That’s it for now.”
Roman gave him a look.
“I’ll be fine. I’m sure PattonCake can handle anything I can come up with, but I’ll let you know.”
“Very well. Rest well, my friend. I will see you in sickness and in health!” Roman sunk out just as Remy coughed out, “uh, I do?”
Remy sat in the sudden silence for a moment, just breathing and taking in how he really felt. He’d spent most of the day avoiding Roman’s freaky brother and his endless stream of whacked out sleep deprivation experiments and disturbing dreams, as he had been for a little while now, and honestly it was becoming exhausting. Tragic was the day for him that the other half of Creativity was set free.
“Here we go!” Patton breezed into the room with a tray which he sat on the coffee table in front of Remy, who’d rearranged the blanket in a less restrictive fashion. “Cute jammies! Roman?”
Remy nodded as he eyed the food on the tray. “Tea? Soup? Pat, I’m serious; you know we’re not actually human, right?”
“So? Nothing wrong with some herbs and homemade soup for any type of being! It’s good for the soul!”
“Which, again, we technically don’t have.”
Patton ignored Remy in favor of settling in beside him on the couch. “So, what do you feel like watching?”
“I don’t really care. Whatever you were watching is probably fine. Parks and Rec for the 18th time, I assume.”
Patron shrugged happily and pulled up their favorite streaming service.
“My god. And you guys wonder why I go to the hippocampus for my entertainment.” Remy mumbled and settled in to the couch, slouching into himself a bit. “Way funnier stuff in there, especially from the teen years.”
“Ooooo any baby Thomas stuff in there? I’d love to see that.”
“Well, apparently the memory parts of the brain didn’t really figure out how to communicate properly until Thomas was at least 4 or 5, so Small Tom Tom is a yes, but Tiny Tom Tom is a no.”
“Aw, man. That’d be cute, too, though! Maybe I should go with you some time!”
“Mmm maybe.” Remy assented as he settled in to the couch; the familiar theme song played, and Patton stretched before settling in himself.
“Doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo doo, doo.” Patton sang along, waving a finger as the theme came to an end, and Remy chuckled lightly.
“You know the whole theme song? Even though it doesn’t even have words?”
“Sure. It’s pretty simple, especially when you’ve heard it hundreds of times.”
Remy just laughed again in response. After a few minutes, he eyed the tea and soup, eyes turning down at realizing Patton’s efforts for him, and he leaned over to pull the tray into his lap. He just caught Patton glancing at him with a small smile before he quickly turned back to the TV to give Remy some privacy while he ate. Remy’s own lips turned up as he brought the tea cup to his lips, his eyes widening at the taste; it was actually delicious. He’d never been a fan of tea that wasn’t green or the occasional black of the proper variety, but Patton somehow knew how to get the right taste for him. Roman was right; he was good at this. Remy scooped up some of the soup and couldn’t contain a small whine of relief as it soothed his aching throat the way his water hadn’t been able to.
Before long, Remy polished off everything Patton gave him, and he settled back with a contented sigh, his eyes drooping heavily.
“Good?” Patton murmured quietly so as not to startle Remy from his sleepy stupor.
“Great.” Remy mumbled with another sigh and hugged the blanket around himself tightly.
“Hey, Rem?” Patton whispered.
“Mmm?”
“You wanna snuggle?”
“Um who do I look like, Logan? Absolutely.”
“Well, I mean, you do...”
“Oh my god, Father of the Sides, cuddle me already.” Remy grumbled and thrashed out of the blankets to throw his arms around Patton’s middle, his head on Patton’s upper chest.
Patton just chuckled in return and pulled Remy in close, gently running his hands through Remy’s sweaty, slightly tangled hair.
Patton’s hold suddenly loosened, and Remy let out a discontented grunt. “Hold on. I gotta get something.”
“Noooooooooooo,” Remy moaned pitifully when Patton extracted him from his embrace; Sleep flopped down bonelessly as Patton stood and went into the kitchen. The Moral Side quickly returned with Remy’s cup filled with water and a damp washcloth.
“You’re still all sweaty and feverish even though you’re shivering.” Patton sat down and gently laid the cold cloth on the back of Remy’s neck, leaving his hand there to keep it in place. “I’m gonna help your body with getting your fever to chill out, okay?
“Bad pun.” Remy muttered and pulled Patton toward him; Remy let his head loll and fall to rest on Patton’s shoulder, the full body exhaustion finally kicking in now that he was settled and full. “...thank you for taking care of me. I’m sorry I was such a pain in the ass.” Remy breathed in Patton’s ear before moving to lay in Patton’s lap.
“Too tired to sit up?”
Remy nodded mutely in response, his eyes closed, and Patton rubbed Remy’s back under his shirt, his hands warm and providing a slight reprieve from the chills Remy couldn’t shake.
“You sure...I have a fever?” Remy mumbled sluggishly as he rolled over to get more comfortable, his nose now touching Patton’s stomach and his arms wrapped around the other’s torso.
“Pretty darn, but chills with a fever aren’t uncommon with something like this.” Patton kept his voice even and soothing as he explained, “Lo, Ro, and Vee all experienced symptoms like this when they were burnt out. That’s all this is. You’ve just worked yourself too hard, like a computer that hasn’t been turned off in too long.”
Remy hummed in acknowledgement of Patton’s speech, the other unaware if the sleepy being even heard what he said; Remy’s breathing, though raspy, was becoming heavy and even.
Patton turned on the subtitles and turned down the volume on the TV; he ran his hand over Remy’s back in time with his slower breathing, hoping to help lull him all the way to sleep.
Patton’s gaze snapped up when he heard voices and saw movement on the stairs; Virgil and Roman froze midway down, staring first at Patton and then at Remy before silencing themselves and tiptoeing the rest of the way down. They slipped in and out of the kitchen quickly enough, Roman conjuring a whiteboard to ask Patton if he needed anything before they retreated for the rest of the night.
Patton shook his head with a small smile and a mouthed “thank you” as the pair nodded and headed for the stairs.
Virgil flashed him a thumbs up and mouthed an exaggerated, “no, thank YOU” with a point at Remy and slunk up the stairs after Roman, the latter blowing kisses from his perch before vanishing as well.
Patton shook his head, trying in vain to hold back laughter at his boys’ antics. Remy shifted in his lap, groaning unhappily as he tried to settle back in to comfort; he hugged Patton closer, like a child to his teddy, and sighed one last time in contentment before fully slipping off to sleep.
Patton kept on hand on Remy’s neck and the other on his back, keeping Sleep in safety and comfort until he awoke hours later, every bit as sassy yet clingy as he had been, though the hints of gratitude were far more obvious than before.