Love Me Gently (Or not at all) // Special Chapter
this came from a prompt dozy gave me a few months ago and i actually had most of it done, k just needed the ending so here’s a short chapter on logan and the pack! (this was also written while my body was waging war against me :D)
Logan has a migraine, which given his situation, seems to be a constant thing now. The pain thumps with every breath, banging against his skull until he groans. The granite is cool against his forehead, not enough to soothe the vengeful migraine, but enough to ground him.
He can hear footsteps around him, but none of them stop to reach out, none of them check on him. He resigns himself to suffering in silence as he pushes himself up, a barely audible whimper escaping him as he shuffles out of the kitchen.
The walk to his room feels like it goes on forever, the hall extending out until he finally stumbles into his room. The curtains are pulled tight, his nest a half mess from earlier when the pups had clambered in.
He feels his stomach roll, a wave of nausea hitting him as he crawls into the nest. The onslaught of scents soothe the unease building in his chest, the tightly woven knot loosening. At some point he falls asleep, the pain holding onto the edges as he slept.
Luke is the first to show up, bag thrown off to the side as he toes off his shoes. He had felt something was off when he walked in earlier, the faint scent of unease twisting under all the other scents. Instinctively, he knew it was Logan.
When he crawls into the nest, he reaches to lay his hand on Logan’s forehead, frowning at the high temperature. He wiggles his phone out of his pocket, immediately calling Franco.
“What.” Is how Franco greets him, the sound of multiple voices greeting him.
“Do we still have pain killers?”
“Oh no, I was supposed to go buy some,” Gabi chimes, sounding closer to the phone, “Why? What happened?”
Luke makes a sound at the back of his throat, shuffling off the bed and heading to the bathroom, “Lo is sick, he has a fever and he just smells wrong.”
The other line is quiet before Lia speaks up, which somewhat surprises Luke as he finds the bowl they usually keep for situations like these, “We’re going to the store, send us a list of things you need.”
With another noise of agreement, Luke hangs up. He fills the bowl with cold water, grabbing a clean washcloth and carefully heading back to the room. Logan had shifted into his side, face twisted in discomfort and curled up, the occasional shiver wracking through him.
He sets the bowl on the side, glad that Logan had decided to keep his mattress almost at floor level. Carefully soaking the washcloth, Luke keeps an eye on Logan as he squeezes the cloth before carefully draping it over Logan’s warm forehead.
Luke’s instincts on caring for what his wolf considers his pack mom take over as he sits by Logan’s side. He knows he has a frown on his face when the others amble in, Franco and Lia heading towards the mini fridge to stock it up while Gabi hovers over Luke.
“Do you think he’s eaten?” Gabi asks, sitting on the edge of the bed. The walls of the nest have deteriorated, becoming flat and no longer smelling like Pack. It causes the unease they all felt to multiply a bit more. Logan hardly went a day without refreshing the nest, finding comfort in doing so.
Luke shakes his head, his eyes refusing to move from Logan’s chest, some child-like fear that Logan would stop breathing. The door is pushed open before they can say anything, an exhausted Jack stepping into the room trailed by Isack and Liam.
Just seeing Jack makes Luke’s nerves settle, his body relaxing as Jack steps forward. He instinctively scents Luke, dragging his wrist against the back of his neck as he looks over Logan.
“Isack, go ask Yuki if he can make some soup for Logan, and see if Checo has that one fever remedy he made Carlos drink that one time,” Jack instructs carefully, “Franco and Gabi, get fresh blankets from the cupboard and spread them out in the corner, we have to get him out of the nest. Lia, when the others come, build the nest back up so Logan can lay down better. It’s Courtney and Ollie’s turn with the laundry.”
“And me?” Luke asks, feeling like he needs a task, something to keep his hands busy. Jack smiles at him, soft and gentle, the younger Alpha, seemingly more in control than Luke was.
“Bring me another bowl of water, it’ll take a while for his fever to break.”
The pups work in tandem, Isack coming and helping with the makeshift nest and moving a still passed out Logan into it. Jack tends to Logan as the pups slowly filter into the room, wordlessly helping as time passes.
By the time they manage to get Logan back into the nest, Yuki comes trailing in, a tray in his hands as he’s flanked by the older members of their makeshift pack. Checo, as the oldest, ruffles Jack’s hair, a silent sign of approval as he checks Logan’s temperature.
“Well, it seems to have gone down just a bit from what Isack told me,” Checo says, “You guys won’t be able to share the main part of the nest, with all your body heat his body won’t be able to fight off the infection.”
“He has an infection!?” Paul asks, voice pitching in concern. The scents in the room shift into something more concerned and George sighs from where he had crawled over Logan to lay on his other side.
“It’s just a common fever,” He says quietly, “We’ll wake him up, get him something to eat, give him some meds and then let him sleep some more.”
“I’m sure we can make the rest of the room comfortable for you guys if you don’t want to go to your rooms to sleep.” Alex says, sensing the energy of the room he adds on, “You guys did a good job of taking care of him before we got home.”
“‘Was Luke,” Dino says, eyes drowsy from where he was curled up beside Tina, head almost half tucked under her, “He was home first.”
Checo smiles softly, his hand a steady weight on the back of Luke’s neck. The younger alpha feels his body sag a bit more until he’s pressed against Alex, Checo’s hand leaving a warm weight when he pulls away.
“The food is going to get cold,” Yuki says, stirring the bowl a bit, “We should wake him up now.”
It’s how Oscar finds them, having stepped into the house to a wave of noise, the sound of utensils against plates and the general sound of a usual dinner. When he offered to help Seb by visiting the smaller neighborhood packs, he didn’t take into account how much time the meetings would actually take.
“Oscar!” Lewis calls out, “How was it?”
He edges closer, the need to see his part of the pack becoming an itch under his skin as he shrugs, “Didn’t realize boundary lines were hard to understand.”
It causes a ripple of laughter, a fond look from Seb as he motions to the pots on the stove, “Eat, I know you’re exhausted.”
Oscar almost moves towards the food when he realizes something, “Where are the pups? And Logan?”
“Oh, we assumed Yuki made them something to eat,” Lando says, “He was in here making soup. Logan? I haven’t seen him all day.”
“Soup? In this weather?” Oscar asks, confused. It had been way too hot during the day for anyone to make soup even with the central ac on. Yuki only makes soup when someone is really craving it or if they’re sick— he’s backing out of the kitchen almost immediately, his backpack bumping against his back as he climbs the stairs.
When he gets to Logan’s room, he finds almost everyone in there, piled on top of each other while Logan sits in the middle of it, looking down at the bowl in front of him with a glum expression.
The lights of the room are dimmed, the only light coming from the TV as Oscar stares at Logan. He can see the faint sheen of sweat and the way his hands tremble from where he’s holding the spoon alongside the now noticeable twinge of sick in his scent.
“Oscar!” One of the pups shouts, their voice muffled and everyone’s head snaps towards him. Except his gaze is still on Logan who smiles tiredly at him, waving the spoon instead of his hand.
“He’s fine,” Checo says, laying on his back with Franco, Isack, Pepe and Yuki all over him. Oscar’s not sure how he’s breathing with all the weight but he ignores it in favor of crawling into the nest.
Logan had finished most of it, handing it off to Yuki who leaves with it, Alex and George behind him. His heart stutters a bit when Logan turns to him, sea green eyes glassy and lashes clumped with unshed tears. They’re not Mated yet, not fully at least, but their wolves recognize each other as partners and the strange ache in Oscar slowly ebbs away as Logan curls closer.
Lance scoots over, a bottle of medicine in his hand and a water bottle in the other, an apologetic expression on his face, “Sorry, man, but you gotta drink this before you go to sleep again.” He says softly, still holding it out for him.
With a tortured expression, Logan pulls away. He makes a face as he downs the medicine, washing it down with the water before immediately curling back into Oscar, a sad whine escaping him.
Oscar cards his hand through Logan’s hair, grimacing a bit at the icky feeling of his hair. Once the fever properly breaks, he’ll get Logan to take a shower before a bath, knowing his body needs it.
With Logan dozing off on his chest, Oscar feels the remaining tension finally seep out. The room has finally evened out, their scents properly mingling with each other and that’s how Oscar falls asleep, his mate in his arms and their pack surrounding them.
Just like it’s meant to be.
