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“Marc, it’s time to get up,” Emmanuel called. Knocking on his son’s bedroom door to wake him up for school as Marc startled awake with a jolt. Hearing Nathaniel let out a tired grumble as he stretched out on his bed with a yawn, and turned his head a little to look down at him as he tried to hide under the blanket. Muttering about how it was ‘too early to get up’ as Marc let out a tired chuckle, and nuzzled the top of his boyfriend’s head. Burying his nose into the flaming red locks, and pressing a warm kiss to the strands before he realized that Nathaniel felt a little too warm for his liking.
“You feeling okay, babe?” he asked. Trying to coax Nathaniel out from under the blanket as he tried to think back to the night before. Because he honestly couldn’t remember whether or not Nathaniel had made any particular complaints about not feeling well, aside from being tired to the point that his mom had sent him off to bed early when she caught him dozing off on the sofa not that long after dinner. And the lack of response that he was getting from him now wasn’t exactly helping his growing anxiety as he moved his hand to grab his shoulder, and gave him a small shake. “Nath?”
“Mmm…” Nathaniel groaned. Trying to shrug his hand off of him as he picked up his head from where it had been nestled against his chest to look at him from under the blankets. His face twisted into a look of minor irritation as he glared at him through half-lidded eyes as Marc casually brought up his free hand to tuck his hair out of his face.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” he said. Trying to act like he didn’t just wake up his ailing boyfriend on purpose as he ran his fingers through his hair, and pressed another kiss to his forehead as he moved the hand that was still on his shoulder to rub his back. “You feeling okay? You feel kinda warm.”
“Hurts…” he rasped out. His voice nothing more than a hoarse and nasally sounding croak as Marc cupped his cheek and wiped away a tear from his eye with the pad of his thumb, it actually hurt him that badly to talk.
“Do you want me to make you a cup of tea, and see if that helps your throat?” he asked. Seeing Nathaniel nod his head before he reluctantly let Marc get up from the bed to get him something to drink. Laying his head back down on the pillows with a sniffle as Marc leaned down to press a parting kiss to his temple, and softly reassured him that he’d be back soon before he went out to the kitchen. Seeing his mom, Marlene, standing at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee, and still wearing her pajamas as she scrolled through her phone.
“Are you taking the day off today?” he asked. Grabbing his mother’s attention as he entered the kitchen to get the tea bags out of the cupboard.
“Yeah. I noticed Nathaniel was running a bit of a fever last night when I was putting him to bed. So I figured I’d keep him home,” she said. Taking another sip of her coffee as Marc turned the kettle back on. “How is he?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure his fever got worse, and his throat’s bothering him. So not too great,” he said. Turning off the kettle with a soft ‘click’ when the water inside of it had started to boil, and ripping open one of the paper sleeves that the tea bags came in before he heard Nathaniel’s hurried footsteps scurry off into the bathroom, followed by his father’s panicked shout as the door flew open, and the sounds of him throwing up into the toilet echoed down the hallway. “Ah, geez…”
Setting the tea bag to the side, Marc hurried after his boyfriend, and stopped in the bathroom doorway when he saw Nathaniel kneeling in front of the toilet. Sitting down beside him as he retched into the porcelain, and gently placing a hand on his back as he pulled his head up with a sniffle.
“You’re alright. Just get it all out,” he soothed. Rubbing his boyfriend’s back as Nathaniel let out a harsh, wet sounding cough that sounded like it came from deep in his chest before he retched into the toilet again, and more vomit hit the toilet water.
“Marc?” Marlene called out. Sounding a bit worried as Nathaniel retched into the toilet again. “Honey, is everything okay in there?”
“Not really,” Emmanuel called back. Hearing Nathaniel let out another harsh, phlegm filled cough as he hesitantly pulled himself away from the toilet for the time being, and leaned up against the cabinet that was under the sink with a groan as his wife appeared in the doorway.
“You all done?” she asked. Kneeling down on the floor with a grimace as her knees popped, and pressing her hand to Nathaniel’s forehead as he let out a sickly sounding groan, and stifled another cough into the crook of his elbow. “You poor thing.”
“Do you think we should take him to the hospital?” Marc asked. Giving Nathaniel a concerned look as he listened to the way the phlegm rattled around inside of his lungs every time he tried to take a breath, while his mom got back to her feet, and went into the medicine cabinet behind the mirror for the thermometer.
“No. But I can call Dr. Morris, and see if he can squeeze us in so we can get that cough checked out,” she said. Sticking the thermometer under Nathaniel’s tongue as Emmanuel turned the shower off, and reached his arm out from behind the curtain to grab his towel before pushing the curtain off to the side and stepping out of the tub.
“‘Scuse me, kid. I still have to get ready for work here,” he said. Nudging Marc with his foot to try and get him out of his way as Marc scooted off to the side with a muttered apology, and reached up to flush the toilet as his mom took the thermometer out from under Nathaniel’s tongue when it started beeping.
“Thirty-eight, on the dot,” she said. Squinting her eyes a bit to look at the numbers on the small screen before she turned her attention back onto Nathaniel. “Good thing I already decided to keep you home.”
“Come on, Nath. We should probably get you back in bed,” Marc said. Getting up from the floor, and holding his hand out so he could help Nathaniel back to his feet. Guiding him over to the sink so he could rinse out his mouth, and helping him back to his room as Nathaniel stumbled. His hand shooting out to steady himself against the wall while Marc tightened his grip on his waist to try and keep him upright as he all but dragged him over to the bed. Scooping him up into his arms to help him onto the mattress as his mom followed not too far behind. Stopping in the doorway as she watched her son tuck Nathaniel back in with the blankets, and softly reassure him that he’d be back soon as he pressed a kiss to his hair and turned to leave the room again so he could finish making his tea.
“He seems to spoil you a lot,” she said. Coming over to the bed as Nathaniel untangled himself from the blanket cocoon Marc had wrapped him in so he could sit up.
“Is that a bad thing?” he croaked out. Stifling another cough into his elbow as Marlene opened the bottle of painkillers she’d brought with her from the bathroom, and shook two of the tablets into her palm as he cleared his throat.
“Of course not. It lets me know his father and I did a good job at raising him,” she assured. Placing the pills into his hand, and offering him a bit of water so he could get them down his throat before Marc reappeared in the doorway.
“What are you guys talking about?”
“Nothing important,” Marlene said. Setting the pills down on the nightstand as Marc handed Nathaniel his tea, and headed over towards his dresser to start getting ready for school. “And are you okay with taking the train back after soccer practice this afternoon? Because your dad’s working late tonight.”
“I don’t see why I’d have a problem with it,” he shrugged. Pulling on a clean shirt as Nathaniel sputtered as his drink went down the wrong pipe, and broke out into a coughing fit. Almost spilling the rest of his tea as Marlene quickly took it away, and set it down on the nightstand as she rubbed his back and muttered reassuring words to him until the fit subsided and he was able to breathe again. “Just as long as you follow up on your promise to take him to the doctor later. Because that cough sounds horrible.”
“I’m fine…” Nathaniel squeaked out. Choking back another cough as he took his tea back, and took a much more tentative sip from it as Marlene started running her fingers through his hair.
“You’re still going,” she said. Gently running her thumb along the nape of his neck as Marc finished getting dressed and came back over to the bed to put on his boots as his father called out for him from the other room.
“Get the lead out, Marc! You’re gonna be late!”
“Coming!” Marc called back. Tying up his boots and getting back to his feet before pressing a quick kiss to his mother’s cheek, and several more to Nathaniel’s forehead and hair before grabbing his backpack and jacket from his desk chair. “I’ll see you when I get back. Feel better, Nath.”
Seeing Marc disappear into the other room so he could leave with his dad, Nathaniel sniffled and leaned up against Marlene. Sipping on his tea with a pout on his face as he felt her hand slide down to rub his back the same way Marc did all the time whenever he cuddled him. Her soft breathing and muffled heartbeat lulling him into a sense of security as the exhaustion from his fever started to creep up on him again, and he found himself struggling to keep his eyes open long enough to finish his tea until Marlene noticed that he was nodding off, and took his cup from him again before situating him so that his head was in her lap. Her fingers combing through his hair as he felt the throbbing in his head start to abate just a little as the medicine started to do its job, and finally let his eyes close to sleep.
“Nathaniel?” Marlene whispered. Waking Nathaniel up from his nap to see her standing next to Marc’s bed, balancing a tray in one hand while her other rested on his shoulder to gently shake him in case he didn’t respond.
“What time is it?” he croaked out. The fire in his throat reigniting as soon as the words left his lips as he once again buried his face into his elbow to cover up another cough. Grimacing at how tight his chest felt as the phlegm in his airways desperately tried to escape, and rattled around in his lungs as he caught his breath. His head throbbing in pain once again as he tried to push himself up onto his elbows, only for the room to tilt the second he picked his head up from the pillow as a sharp jolt of pain shot right through his right ear, and made him swallow back a heave as his stomach threatened to send up more bile as he flopped back down onto the bed, and tried not to visibly shiver as a bead of sweat ran down his temple.
“Little after two,” she said. Looking deeply concerned as she set the tray down on the nightstand, and helped him sit up a little so he could eat some food. “Figured you could use another dose of medicine and some lunch before it got too late in the day. How are you feeling?”
“Like total crap,” he rasped out. Choking back another cough as she propped him up with a pillow, and stuck the thermometer back underneath his tongue for a bit to check his temperature again before they both got sidetracked by someone coming into the apartment.
“Mars, I’m home!” Emmanuel’s voice called out. Shutting the door behind him as Marlene let out a sigh of relief at the realization that it was just her husband.
“What are you doing home? I thought you said you had to work late tonight,” she said. Taking the thermometer out of Nathaniel’s mouth as her husband appeared in the doorway.
“I do. I just never said I’d be working out of the office,” he said. Coming over to sit down next to Nathaniel as his wife glanced down at the thermometer and let out a disappointed ‘tsk’ before she turned to grab the painkillers from the bedside table. “How’s he doing?”
“Still running a fever,” she said. Flinching as Nathaniel let out another cough, and resting a hand on his back as Emmanuel got up to get the glass of water she’d set down on the bedside table. “And hacking up a lung. The earliest the doctor’s able to see him is sometime tomorrow morning.”
“Do you want me to take a run out to the store? Because I clocked out for a late lunch before I left the office. If you want, I can try and find something to help loosen up some of his phlegm before I have to check back in.”
“Please do. Because I’d hate to have to take him to the emergency room in the middle of the night because he stopped breathing or something,” she said. Taking the water from him, and carefully giving Nathaniel’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she helped him take a few sips so he could get some fluids back into his system. Watching him closely to make sure didn’t drink too much too quickly before he pulled himself away from the straw to stifle another cough into his arm. Leaning back against his pillows with a weak groan as she turned to grab the pain medicine from the bedside table, and once again shook two of the tablets into her palm as Emmanuel reached over to check his forehead.
“I might take him later tonight, if his fever doesn’t go down,” he said. Almost looking as concerned as his wife as Marlene gave Nathaniel another dose of medicine, and reached over to grab the bowl that was on the tray once he’d gotten them down his throat with a bit more water.
“What’s that?” he croaked out. Choking back another cough as she moved the spoon around the bowl.
“Just some porridge,” she said. Holding the bowl out to him so he could get a look at its contents as he eyed it skeptically. “I figured it’d be easy enough for you to stomach until the soup’s ready. And don’t worry, I made sure it was kosher.”
“What’s in it?” he asked. Still eyeing the bowl with a hint of distrust in his tone. Because while he knew in the back of his mind that Marlene wouldn’t poison him, and had gone out of her way to accommodate his dietary restrictions to the best of her abilities ever since he’d shown up on her doorstep three nights ago, he couldn’t help but think back to all the times his mom had given him porridge whenever he’d gotten sick in the past: Cold and almost gelatinous in a way, after having been left to sit out for a while because she’d deluded herself into thinking that he’d come out to feed himself when he could barely walk, with either too much salt, or some other herb or spice that would either send him running back to the bathroom, or cause him to vomit right then and there as his ailing stomach refused to accept it. Which would then lead to her scolding him for making a mess with one particular incident causing her to backhand him across the face so hard that she and his dad kept him home for an extra week until the bruise faded, and gave him the silent treatment for another month until his dad finally had enough and convinced him to apologize to her just to keep the peace.
“Just rice and chicken broth,” she said. Snapping Nathaniel out of his thoughts as she scooped up a spoonful of the porridge, and held it out to him to try and entice him to eat. Thin wisps of steam still rising up from the pale-yellow mush as he let out a reluctant sigh through his stuffed-up nose, and accepted the bite, if only to keep it from falling onto the sheets. “There. See? That wasn’t so bad.”
“Geez, kid. Your mom must have done a real number on you, if you can’t trust a simple bowl of porridge,” Emmanuel said half-jokingly. Trying to break up the mounting tension as Marlene got Nathaniel to take a few more bites before setting the bowl aside and fixing his blankets to tuck him back in when she saw him falling asleep again.
“Oh, trust me. You don’t know the half of it,” he mumbled. Choking back another cough as Marlene removed one of the pillows that was behind his head and started running her fingers through his hair again before the relative silence was interrupted by Marlene’s phone buzzing in her pocket.
“Hi, Marc,” she said. Already knowing it was her son as she brought her phone up to her ear to talk to him.
“Hey, mom. How’s it going?”
“It’s going okay,” she said. Quietly handing the tray off to her husband so he could take it out to the other room, and tucking Nathaniel’s hair out of his face as he struggled to stay awake. “How are things at school?”
“They’re alright. I just wanted to call and check in before I had to go to my next class,” he said. “How’s Nath?”
“He just dozed off,” she said. Lowering her voice a little as Nathaniel finally gave into his exhaustion again and fell back to sleep as she continued to play with his hair for a bit before Emmanuel came back in and placed a cool washcloth on his forehead. His breath catching a little as the shock from the cold touched his heated skin, causing him to choke back another cough before settling back down to sleep. His head tilting a little to lean into Marlene’s touch as she heard one of the teachers at the school scold Marc for being on his phone in the background.
“Sorry, Mr. Montegeau,” he apologized. Almost sounding a little embarrassed as Marlene got back to her feet and made sure Nathaniel was tucked in before ushering Emmanuel back out of the room so they could let him sleep. “Bye mom.”
Hearing her son hang up on her before she could say anything else, Marlene sighed heavily, and quietly shut the door to Marc’s room behind her before joining her husband out in the kitchen
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Marc was just calling to check in on Nathaniel,” she said. Squeezing past him to clean up the dishes from Nathaniel’s tray as he opened the fridge. “And since you’re going to be here. Do you think you can watch him for a while later, while I pick Marc up from soccer practice? I told him you were going to be working late, thinking you were going to still be at the office, and I don’t want him taking the train home if he doesn’t have to.”
“Yeah. Sure thing,” he said. Rifling through the deli drawer as Marlene rolled her eyes, because she knew by his tone that he wasn’t really listening.
“You know, there is a bit more porridge on the stove, if you want to finish that off instead of pawing through the fridge,” she said. Taking the lid off of the pot that had the soup in it, and giving it a quick stir as Emmanuel shut the fridge. “I didn’t make much, considering Nathaniel doesn’t have much of an appetite.”
“What’s in it?” he asked. Giving his wife a smug grin as Marlene shot him an unamused look.
“Don’t start, Manny,” she said.
“Nath,” Marc cooed. Waking Nathaniel up from another nap to see his boyfriend sitting next to him on the bed.
“You’re back,” he croaked. Choking back another cough as the fire in his throat reignited again.
“Yeah. Soccer practice let out early today,” he said. Tucking Nathaniel’s hair out of his face, and pressing a warm kiss to his forehead as he pressed the backs of his fingers against his burning cheek. “How are you feeling?”
“Everything hurts,” he mumbled. Biting back a sniffle as Marc took his hand away to take his boots off, and moved to lay down beside him. “And I can’t get the room to stop spinning.”
“How’s your stomach?” Marc asked.
“It’s a little better,” Nathaniel admitted. Scooting a little closer to his boyfriend’s warmth as Marc took one of his hands into his. “I’m not as nauseous as I was this morning.”
“Do you want me to get you something to eat? My mom made soup, if you want any.”
“Maybe later. I’m not really hungry at the moment,” he said. Feeling Marc press his lips to the back of his hand before he wrapped his arm around him and pulled him in close so that his head rested against his shoulder. Moving away the cloth that had been laying across his forehead as it flopped down onto his shirt, and pressing another kiss to his sweat-soaked hair as he moved his hand to rub his back.
“How about a movie then? I know you’ve been sleeping all day. But you’re bound to be bored by now.”
“Huh?” Nathaniel hummed. Picking his head up from his boyfriend’s shoulder to get him to repeat himself. Because he genuinely couldn’t hear anything out of his right ear at that point, and with his left having been resting against Marc’s shoulder and listening to his soft breathing and steady heartbeat, it was kind of hard to understand what he was saying.
“Nevermind,” Marc said. Almost sounding like he was underwater as he shifted around on the bed and gently coaxed Nath into laying his head back down so it was resting against his chest. His fingers combing through the freckled boy’s fiery red locks as he turned on the TV that sat across from the bed with his free hand, and aimlessly scrolled through whatever streaming service he’d picked out for something to watch as Nathaniel tried and failed to hold back a yawn as his body rose and fell with each of Marc’s soft breaths. The sound of his heart a soft lullaby as he struggled to keep his eyes open long enough to see what Marc was going to pick out as he felt him press another kiss to the top of his forehead before burying his nose into his hair.
“Go back to sleep,” he muttered against his temple. Making sure to say the words into his good ear as he moved his hand to rub his back. His fingers tracing random patterns between his shoulder blades as Nathaniel let his eyes close in his losing battle against his need to sleep. “I’ll be right here.”
Feeling Marc press another kiss to the top of his head, Nathaniel let out a tired sigh through his stuffy nose as he snuggled further under the blanket, and tried his best to keep his lip from quivering as he felt a tear roll down his face. Because he honestly couldn’t remember the last time his parents had given or even shown him the amount of love and affection that Marc and his parents had over the last couple of days. Even now, he could only remember a handful of times where his parents actually gave half a crap whenever he got this sick. And all those times were because he’d landed himself in the emergency room, and they were more worried about him saying something that’d make them look bad to the doctor than his actual health.
“Everything okay?” Marc asked softly. Snapping Nathaniel out of his thoughts as he brought his hand up to wipe his tears off.
Right. He should’ve known that Marc would be way too attentive to ignore that.
“I’m fine,” he said. Choking back another cough as he buried his face into Marc’s chest so he wouldn’t have to look at him. Because he knew that Marc would be staring down at him with those big, green, puppy dog eyes that would be so full of worry and concern that he knew he’d break down crying the way that he had the night his mom threw him out the second he saw them.
“No, you’re not. You’re upset about something,” he pressed. Pushing Nathaniel away a little so he could actually talk to him without having to crane his neck to try and talk into his good ear.
“I-It’s nothing, really. It’s just…” he trailed. Unsure of how he could really explain to Marc why he was crying. Because while Marc had already had an inkling into how his parents had treated him before his mom kicked him out. He didn’t know the full extent of it. He didn’t know about all the times his mom made him feel small and pathetic, or the times where she withheld affection from him and gave him the silent treatment, or all the times he had to cover up the bruises she gave him because she lost her temper.
“Does it have something to do with your mom?” Marc asked. Making Nathaniel nod his head as he bit back a sniffle.
“Yeah,” he said. His voice coming out in a hoarse whisper as he wiped his eyes, and leaned back into Marc’s arms as he hugged him.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. Feeling Nathaniel shake his head against his shoulder as he ran his fingers through his hair again, and let him cry for a few minutes before he calmed down enough to lie back down. Holding him close to his chest as he wiped away the last of his tears, and pressing another kiss to the top of his head as Nath shivered against him until he pulled the blankets back up.
“Marc?” he mumbled. Hearing Marc let out a hum of acknowledgement as he picked up his head to look at him again. “Are you going to give me back to my parents? If they show up on your doorstep wanting me back, I mean.”
“Of course not,” Marc said. Almost sounding horrified at the prospect as he set the remote aside again, and sat up on his elbows as Nathaniel stifled another cough into his arm. “Nath, your folks kicked you out without any regards to your health or safety. And even then, it was pretty obvious they didn’t care about you, or your feelings. If they want you back that badly, they’re going to have to go through both my parents, and the courts before I even let them look at you.”
“You really mean that?” he asked. Giving Marc a hopeful look as he leaned into his touch when he brought his hand up to cup his cheek and tangled his fingers into his hair.
“With all my heart,” he said. Pressing a kiss to his temple before he settled back down onto the bed with a sigh. “Now go back to sleep. You look like you need it.”