Title: Best Friend
Author: Rachael Keane
Pairing: Blink/Mush
Genre: Friendship/Romance
Rating: T
Summary: Blink tends to a sick Mush at the Lodging House one cold night.
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Blink's POV

Damn! What a night! I'm supposed to be at a party at Irving Hall right now with my best friend Mush. It was gonna be a really good party from what I heard from everyone else. But instead, I had a change of plans suddenly.

Instead of going to that party tonight, I was back at the Lodging House taking care of Mush, who had caught a cold the other night. I sat in the bed below him to watch out for him. Right now, he was half asleep.

Once in a while, he would wake up and I would have to wipe his forehead with some cool water. Mush had come in the other night after sellin' papes, and he had caught a fever. It was pretty bad for a while, but it went down a bit, but he was still sick.

As I sat to read, I heard a faint moaning coming from above me. I got up, and put my book down. I went to the basin, and got the washcloth. I went up to Mush's bunk only to find him awake, and sitting up.

"Hey Blink...what's going on?" Mush asked me with a small smile.

"Not much, Mush. How're ya feeling?" I asked, wetting his head with the cloth.

"A little better. I still feel hot though." Mush sighed.

I dabbed his head with the cloth some more before putting it back in the basin. I smiled at him, and patted his stomach gently "So how're you feeling?" I asked him.

"Put it this way...at least the puking stopped." Mush told me with a smile.

I chuckled at that. Even in the most dire situations, Mush always had a smile on his face. "Well that's good to hear. You're still pretty hot." I said, feeling his head.

Mush looked up at the ceiling, he took a deep breath and sniffed "Hey Blink?" He called to me in a whisper.

I looked at him "What is it, Mush?" I asked him.

"Do you like me?" Mush asked me.

The question took me entirely by surprise. I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out at first. Then I finally found my voice "Of course I like you, Mush. You're my best friend." I said to him.

Mush sighed heavily, and reached up to touch my face. I froze at the feeling of his touch. He smiled at me "Good, cause I like you too, Blink. You've always been my closest friend." He said.

I smiled, grabbed a hold of his hand, and pressed my lips against his open palm. Then I looked over at him, his deep brown eyes sparkling with a dull brightness. I locked my only good blue eye with both of his eyes. "So have you, Mush...To me, I mean." I whispered to him.

Mush sat up a bit to decrease the distance between us "Blink, I have a confession." He said.

My heart began to race uncontrollably as I silently awaited Mush's confession. I was slightly scared of what he was gonna tell me.

Noticing my silence, Mush continued to speak "Blink. When I said I liked ya, I meant as more than a best friend." He sighed.

I smiled suddenly. I could see right through him, and I knew he would never lie to me. I then leaned forward towards him, closing the distance a bit more.

"I had a feeling about that, Mush. But you wanna know somethin' really funny?" I asked him.

"What's that?" Mush asked with another smile.

"The feelin' is mutual." I said to him.

Mush chuckled deeply. Then the next thing I knew, he grabbed me by the back of my neck, and pulled me down to close the distance between us entirely as his lips found mine in a sweet kiss.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid down next to him as we continued to kiss. I felt Mush's arms snake around my waist. I had never considered myself a 'boy kisser' a day in my life. But since it happened, I'm glad it was with Mush.

As we broke the kiss, I smiled at him and pressed my forehead to his "So, does this mean we're together?" I asked him.

Mush smiled and shrugged "I guess it does. But we can't tell the others yet. They wouldn't understand." He said.

I nodded "Okay...it'll be our secret." I said.

Mush nodded back and kissed me "Yup...Our little secret." He said.

With that, I climbed down off the top bunk and back down to my own "Get some sleep, lover. See you in the mornin'" I sighed.

"Okay... Good night." Mush said.

"Night." I told him before shutting off the light.

I had the best night ever taking care of Mush...and it was a night that I'll remember for a long time.

(The End)