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Josh squints his eyes against the light peaking though the curtains, his head pounding like his brain was trying to escape from his skull though his eye sockets. He lets out a low groan, rolling away from the window, which happened to press him into Tyler’s chest. Tyler stirs slightly, his hand instinctively coming up to Josh’s head now pressed into the center of his chest.
“Hmm, you okay?” Tyler mumbles, barely coherently.
“Head hurts.” Josh manages to reply, every word feels like dragging sandpaper across his vocal chords.
“Mmmmm,” Tyler hums and Josh feels the rumbling of his chest under his head which feels surprisingly soothing considering his condition, “I’m sorry, babe.” Tyler whispers quietly, scratching lightly at Josh’s scalp comfortingly.
Josh hums back, nuzzling into Tyler’s shoulder to block out as much light as possible. Now that he’s waking up, he’s also aware of the ache radiating through his entire body, his muscles feeling like he ran a marathon yesterday despite doing literally nothing. He feels a shiver run from his head to his toes, making his body tremble against Tyler.
“You feel warm, J.” Tyler says, laying his hand flat on the back of Josh’s neck, “C’mere. Look at me, baby.” He gently pushes on Josh’s shoulder until he’s flat on his back again. Tyler lays a hand on his forehead and then his cheek, his expression getting more concerned with every passing second, clearly unhappy with his findings. “I think you’re running a fever.”
“Don’t feel good.” Josh says, rolling into Tyler’s chest again, another shiver racking though his body, “Hurts.”
“What hurts love?” Tyler says softly, running a hand down Josh’s spine, pulling the drummer closer to his body.
“Everything.” Josh complains, tucking his face into Tyler’s neck, “Throat. Head. Body.”
“Oh my sweet guy, I think you’ve come down with something. Let me call Jenna and see if we have anything to help.” Tyler says, rolling away to reach his phone.
“Where is she?” Josh mumbles, his lips ghosting across Tyler’s skin.
“She met her mom for breakfast this morning but she’ll want to know if you’re sick.” Tyler says, holding his phone to his ear. Josh can hear the faint sound of ringing on the other side of the line. He wants to argue, wants to tell him not to bother her, but he just can’t force the words past his lips. Every time he swallows he feels the ache in his whole body, his head is pounding even worse now from the short conversation with Tyler. He shivers again and Tyler pulls the blankets up to his neck and pulls him closer to his body.
“Hey babe, I think Josh is sick. He’s shivering, super warm and he says his head and throat hurt really bad. Do you think we have anything here at the house to help him?” Tyler says into his phone.
Jenna must give him a bunch of instructions or advice of some kind because Tyler is quiet for a long time, only responding with short answers of “mhm” and “okay”. He asks a few clarifying questions and patiently pays attention to her answers.
“Okay, thank you. I’ll see you soon. I love you too. Okay, bye.” Tyler says before hanging up the phone.
Josh hums from his place in Tyler’s neck, not wanting to move or think too hard to avoid aggravating his symptoms further.
“Here’s the plan, handsome.” Tyler says, scooting back down in bed, covering them both with blankets, “Jenna’s on her way home.” Josh opens his mouth to complain that he didn’t mean to ruin her morning but Tyler doesn’t give him the opportunity, “She was almost done with breakfast anyway, her mom had an appointment to get to. Jenna’s going to come home and check on you, then she’s going to run to the store and pick up a few things and we’ll get you feeling better. Sound like a good plan?.”
“You’re gonna stay with me?” Josh says softly, his voice low to avoid as much pain as possible.
“The whole time.” Tyler says, smiling softly at him, “We’re not going to leave this bed until you’re better, baby.” Tyler runs his hand though Josh’s hair, making him hum and close his eyes, leaning into the touch.
Josh must drift off to sleep again because next thing he knows Jenna’s hand is on his head as he’s pressed against Tyler’s bare chest. The curtains have been pulled completely closed and a warm lamp on Tyler’s side of the bed has been turned on instead. The light still makes his head hurt but not nearly as much as the harsh sunlight earlier had. Seeing Jenna makes him feel just a bit better, he tries to smile at her but he’s not sure it’s completely convincing.
“Hi, honey. How’re you feeling?” Jenna coos, petting the top of his head, smiling softly at him.
“Not great.” Josh croaks, pulling away from Tyler slightly to look at Jenna, his hair is sticking to his forehead and he can feel the ache deeper in his muscles now.
“Oh my poor baby.” Jenna says, pouting a bit, “Well, you’re definitely running a fever. I need to look at your throat, and I want you to drink some water while I’m here.”
Josh nods, rolling onto his back fully, with a groan. Tyler slips out of bed next to him, as Jenna turns on her phones flashlight. Josh sits up a bit, opens his mouth and sticks his tongue out, letting Jenna see into the back of his throat. He feels Tyler climb back into bed next to him, placing a cold washcloth on his forehead, making his eyes flutter shut in relief.
“Okay, well, it’s red and quite irritated but I don’t see any blisters or anything so I don’t think it’s an infection.” Jenna says, guiding him to lay back down, “I’m still gonna get some tea to help and in the meantime I want you to drink water and try not to talk very much. If you’re not nauseous or anything I bet it’s just a head cold that will pass soon. Do you feel nauseous?”
Josh shakes his head gently, scooting back towards Tyler. Tyler takes the washcloth and wipes across Josh’s face, soothing his warm skin, making him hum.
“That’s good.” Jenna says, rubbing his leg comfortingly, “I bet it’s just a cold that you picked up somewhere, since the weather’s getting colder, sicknesses are starting to spread. Don’t worry about it sweetheart, we’ll get you feeling better in no time.”
Jenna stands from the bed and pecks his forehead softly before leaving the room.
“She’s so much better at all of this than me.” Tyler says, laying the washcloth on Josh’s forehead again, pulling the covers up to his shoulders again.
“I’m cold.” Josh shines, pushing the washcloth off his forehead, shivering and rolling into Tyler’s warmth.
“Come here.” Tyler says softly, “My poor baby. I hate seeing you like this.”
Josh sighs as Tyler gently drags his nails up and down his back under the blanket. He fades in and out of consciousness for the next hour. Waking up only when Tyler shifts in bed or he gets uncomfortable or starts sweating again, and has to roll away from Tyler, which is followed by quickly freezing again and curling back into Tyler’s side to warm back up. He huffs in frustration a few times, pushing Tyler away and rolling onto his other side only to quickly miss his touch and roll back into him. Tyler simply lets him, wrapping the older man in his arms when he wants and letting him push him away when he needs to. Making him sip on water every few minutes and occasionally wiping his forehead with a rag. He runs his hands though Josh’s hair and down his back, carefully comforting him in any way he can. Josh is normally quite a physical guy, he loves hugs and cuddles, back scratches and being touched in someway, so Tyler does all he can to comfort him while he tries to stay comfortable and rest.
“So uncomfortable.” Josh mumbles, rolling away from Tyler but scooting his butt back far enough to touch Tyler’s hip.
“I’m sorry sweetie, Jenna should be back with your medicine soon.” Tyler says, rubbing a hand down Josh’s back, “Take another sip of water for me, please.”
Josh does, rolling over enough for Tyler to bring his straw to his mouth. His head falls back onto his pillow with a sigh, “My head hurts, can you turn off your lamp?” He huffs pulling the blanket over his head.
He feels the bed rock behind him, and then the room gets darker, Josh stays under the covers until he feels the bed settle and can feel Tyler’s warmth behind him again. He pulls his head out, rolling over again, curling into Tyler’s side, his head resting over his heart. He lets the soft thumping of Tyler’s heart lull him back to sleep.
The next time he wakes, Tyler’s lamp is on again and Jenna is home. She bustles around the room, messing with something on his bedside table.
“Hi Jen.” Josh croaks, his voice hoarse from disuse.
“Hi, my love.” Jenna coos, smiling softly at him, “How are you doing?”
“Ugh.” Josh groans, stretching his limbs and regretting it immediately.
“I know baby, but we’ve got it covered now.” Jenna says softly, cupping his cheek in her hand, her thumb tracing shapes on his cheekbone, “We’re going to take some medicine and then you can go back to sleep if you want, okay? So take one of these and one of these and then you can rest.”
Josh sits up just enough for Jenna to hand him two pills, Tyler holds his cup up to his mouth again, helping him swallow the pills. Jenna runs a hand across his hair, scratching the back of his head lightly, as he swallows thickly before falling back onto his pillow gently. Jenna smiles at him before heading into the closet attached to the bedroom.
“Good job, Joshie.” Tyler says softly, scooting further away from Josh to his side of the bed. Josh pouts at him, making Tyler chuckle under his breath, “Come this way baby, Jenna’s gonna get changed and join us for a group nap.”
Josh scoots closer to Tyler resting his head on his chest again, humming in satisfaction as Jenna comes back now dressed in one of Tyler’s t-shirts and no pants. She climbs in behind Josh, slinging a hand across Josh’s middle, pressing a kiss to Josh’s shoulder before settling on the pillow, behind him.
“Get some rest, sweetie. We’ll be here when you wake up.” Jenna says quietly, her hand tracing comforting shapes on his stomach.
“Love you baby.” Tyler says, kissing the top of his head and pulling the blankets up further.
Josh hums, feeling so overwhelmed with love and attention. He fades into unconsciousness with Jenna’s breath along his back, Tyler’s heartbeat under his ear, and a fullness in his chest that almost outweighs the aches and pains in his body.