As soon as David woke up, it hit him like a semi truck.
The fatigue, the nausua, everything hurting…
Even rolling over onto his back made everything so much worse.
He managed to yank his pillow out from under his head and smack it to his face, groaning out a long sigh. He could already tell the day was going to be absolute hell.
Without looking, his arm plopped over to try and reach for his mate, only to be met with an empty space next to him. That got him to move, albeit sluggish to not stir something up.
The pillow got moved off his face so he could look over, then around. That's… odd…
"Angel…?" He absolutely despised how croaky and dry his voice sounded, it never gets any easier…
Taking it slow, he managed to sit up and drag a hand down his face. His hair was a mess, his skin felt both clammy and sweaty… yeesh…
He didn't even bother getting a shirt on, the effort was not worth it, as he lazily slid himself out of bed, having to catch himself against the nightstand before he fell back over. He's supposed to this big and tough, rough and tumble leader and here he was, being taken out by the fucking Solstice.
Using the walls to his advantage, he got down the hall. The further he went, the louder some music was going and the sound of someone going about the kitchen caught his attention.
The lights weren't on, thankfully, just the little ones under the cabinets and over the stove. He took notice of the curtains being closed, even the patio door.
His eyes narrowed in thought, there's no way they got up this early to do all this just for him, right? It was considerably later than he likes to get up, but hey, cut him some slack here.
"I was wondering where you went off to," he spoke up, his words sounding awful, only emphasizing how he felt.
Angel glanced over their shoulder for a moment, then took a second to do a double take, "Hey! You weren't supposed to get up!!"
The laugh he attempted was promptly cut short with a grimace, "I think I can get up if I so please, Angel, thank you."
"Nope! No, no, no! Get," they turned the heat down on the stove of whatever they were making, and went over to gently pull him back to bed, "your ass back in that bed! Right now! No ands, ifs, or buts about it."
"Was I this pushy when you were sick?" He joked, stumbling a little over himself before Angel caught him.
"No, but I'm going to be this pushy because I've gotten enough experience with this Solstice to know what to do. And you are staying in bed. I'll handle everything."
"Not exactly all that comforting, I won't lie."
"Ye have little faith in your own fucking mate and spouse here, baby," they kept pushing him along, even promptly smacking his ass to get him going faster… which, if he felt any better, would have gotten some karma back at them.
"You're lucky right now, angel," he looked back at them, "but don't think I won't remember this tomorrow when this has passed over."
"Ohh, I'm so scared," they mused, getting him to sit back once he was at the edge of the bed, "you think that's all that much of a threat to me? Hm? Maybe I want that, have you ever thought about that?"
He huffed a breath, an attempt of a laugh, and got back under the covers, "You're insatiable, y'know that?"
"And yet?" They leaned over to kiss his cheek, "You still married me. So who's really to blame here, hm?"
They were about to leave the room, only to have a hand holding their wrist to keep them.
They sighed, looking back, "I'll be back, I'm just gonna be in the kitchen, baby."
"…Do I want to know what you're attempting to make?"
That earned a smack to his arm, a light one since they knew he didn't feel well, "I have gotten better at it, y'know. You're the one teaching me all these recipes, I've picked some up from Milo and his mate too. I'm not that helpless, baby."
"I-" he trailed off as he sighed, "I know, angel… I know. I'm s-"
A kiss to the corner of his lips shut him up.
"I know, Davey, you're just teasing," Angel took the hand that held their wrist into their own hands, running their thumbs over his knuckles, "just let me do this for you, okay? You're not feeling good, you're always helping me when I'm sick, just let me return the favour… please?"
Tired eyes glanced between their eyes and their hands, then back again. He needs to be doing things. He's got some paperwork he needs to get done, he's got the talk with William on his mind and he needs to tell the others… he hates just… sitting.
But that concerned look in his mate's eyes, that flash of determination to care for him the way he's always doing for them… he couldn't tell them no.
"Thank you," they brought his hand up to kiss his palm before they set it back down, "I'm almost done, okay? I just hope that it's up to your little standards" they mused, giving him one last kiss before they started back.
"What are you even making?"
He watched as they rounded the corner. Another breathy laugh, "Not comforting, hope you know that…" He trailed off as he sat back, getting his phone.
Checking with the others, apparently he was the better of them all, he was the most upright one.
Asher had ended up getting sick the second he tried standing up, his mate used to it by now and had prepared the night before apparently.
Milo and Sweetheart were both down for the count, his mate fading in and out of visibility and him unable to even move.
Sam wasn't much better, but the vamp's focus was more of Darlin' than his own discomfort.
David even checked in on Vincent and his partner, both not even bothering to do a damn thing. Lovely was on a better end of it all, given their Electro energetic core fighting against the vampiric one to keep them with nothing more than just a mild headache. Lucky son of a…
A knock on the door frame got David's attention again. He set his phone back on the nightstand as he looked over, seeing Angel holding a little tray of something.
He raised a brow at it, "Ohh, going fancy with it, hm?"
"Hey, this is easier and I'm gonna take advantage of this since I was the one that bought this thing," they teased as they came into the room, "you were the one that got on my case about it, but it's coming in handy now, huh?"
He rolled his eyes, watching them round the bed to sit up on their side, and setting the tray down. That's when he saw what they made. Pancakes on one plate and some sliced fruit in the other.
Angel stuck their tongue out at him, "Hey! I even made them chocolate chip! I know you're not feeling up to much, so I figured this was something simple enough to convince you."
Okay, after that, the gesture seemed sweeter. What did he do to deserve them…
"I got you some water and something that'll help your stomach," they held a water bottle and a little pill bottle over, "I know it's not much but… I hope it'll help at least some."
He reached over to take the offer, giving them a tired smile, "Just you being here doing all this helps more than you know, angel."
"You're just saying that, I know you are," they muttered, moving the tray over closer to him so they could get up and sit with him.
"I'm not just saying that," he set the water bottle over in the nightstand after taking some of the medicine, "I… know it can't be the easiest thing to deal with when I'm stuck like this every year-"
"David," they cut him off. "I would do anything for you, you know that. You've put up with my bullshit for years, you dealt with me when I'm sick-"
"That's because I fucking love you."
"And I'm doing the same thing, that's where I was going with this. I love you, you know that. Just let me help you the way you've done for me. Okay? Please? I don't have magic, I know, I can't heal you the way Marie or Sam could — though they're in the same damn boat anyway — so I can't do much, but…"
Their words trailed off when he reached over to cup their cheek with his palm, "Hey… this is perfect, okay? I'm more than grateful. I…" a long sigh as he leaned over to laid their forehead against his "Sometimes it's just… hard to show it. I got used to doing everything myself, being the leader after…" His words got choked back, "after Dad died… I still have to get used to this- to having someone to care for me in return. Even after the years with you, I just… it's not my thing, I guess."
They laid their hand over his, moving it so they could kiss the back of it, "Everyone has their vices, baby. There's nothing wrong with that. But you've got to allow yourself this, allow yourself overall to let that so-called weakness show, or you'll break under that pressure. I don't ever want that to happen to you, baby… I just want to help… please?"
As much as he kept wanting to protest it, the energy wasn't there. He sighed, giving in as he kissed the back of their hand in return. "You're lucky you're cute."
"One of my shining attributes," they grinned with a playful bobble of their head.
"Among other things," he added, though trying to sound flirtatious when his voice is stuck like a broken squeaky toy, all it did was make him groan in annoyance and them laugh in amusement.
"Okay, okay, enough of that," they mused, still grinning like a goof, "get your breakfast or I'll get it for you."
"I'm not a child, angel, I'm capable of feeding myself, thank you so very much. I'm not that decrepit like this."
"Ah-ah, you promised to let me take care of you, baby."
"I don't think I formally agreed to anything-"
"Shush," they booped the tip of his nose, "accept it, Davey."
He sighed dramatically but let them still, even if he thought this was dumb. He probably looked like a fool, the only saving grace was that the others weren't there to see it. He'd threaten to kill them if Milo or Ash found out about it.
It wasn't… much but he handled the fruit a tad better. There could always be leftovers to be reheated later, Angel had a few doubts that he'd be having all that much today. After the years of experience and him going into detail of what it felt like for him and the others, they had a decent idea on how the day was going to go.
The way he had them lay when they were sick, he ended up laying back against them, their legs on either side of him, as they held their arms loosely around his waist. They had offered to start up one of his games but he didn't feel up to it.
A few quiet minutes passed by. Every time he asked what they had planned later, they passed by the question with a vague answer. They had something planned but they wouldn't tell him what.
"You're acting weird," he commented, looking up at them, "what's going through that pretty head of yours, hm?"
"Well I was going to wait until tonight to give you this," they began as they leaned over to their nightstand, "but since you're so insistent on it…"
What they brought out was something wrapped, even with a little bow. What do they have planned…
He sat up a little when they held it to him. He gave them a confused look but they didn't move it other than holding it closer to him. They gave him a light nod, telling him it was okay.
He mumbled a quiet, "O…kay…" before he took it and carefully tore the paper off. He got to the back of whatever it was, seeing a stand on the back. More paper off to see it was a frame, a black one with scrolling on the sides…
And a picture of his father behind the glass.
As soon as he saw it, he could feel tears welling up in his eyes, his thumb lightly brushing over the glass.
His face scrunched up in confusion, "I… don't remember this picture of him."
"I know," Angel leaned down to prop their chin on his shoulder, "I asked Ash to get his dad to go through some pictures and send a copy over that Ash knew you didn't have…"
"Ash, you son of a…" The words got choked out by a held back sob, the tears fully flowing down his cheeks. "So he's in on it too?"
"It was Milo's idea, really. We all kind of came together to get something, and Milo suggested this. So it just took off from there."
He didn't know what to say, he couldn't say anything. "Is that… is that why you cleared that space off on the mantle?"
They hummed, "Yeah… I was hoping you didn't notice that before I gave you this."
Through the tears, he managed a soft laugh, "You… are such a brat…"
He got up enough to turn and give them a hug, burying his face against their neck. He tried to hold the tears back, but when they started rubbing over his back, he gave up on it.
"I know it's not much, but-"
He shook his head, holding them tighter.
"It's more than you'll ever know…"
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