As soon as Marik woke up, he knew that today would be a long, stressful day. And it was all because of what he saw next to him.
"Ryou is still asleep," he murmured, still half-unconscious himself. Ryou never sleeps in- wait, what time is it, anyways?" He rolled over and groped the table next to the bed until his hand landed on top of his clock. Marik had an idea of what he was going to see already, based on the rays of light streaming through the curtains. But even he had to do a double take when he saw just how much Ryou had slept in.
"How the hell did it get to be 10:00 without me knowing about it?" he muttered. "When I wake him up, he's going to hear about this." Marik grabbed Ryou's shoulder and turned him over so that they were facing each other. Upon seeing Ryou's sleeping face, he started shaking the boy rather violently. "Hey, Ryou. Get up; you've slept too much already. We were supposed to go out today, remember?"
Ryou's eyes opened only halfway before any progress ground to a halt. "…Don't feel good," he murmured. "'M goin' back to sleep."
"You aren't getting off that easily," Marik said, continuing to shake his lover. "Don't tell me I have to do something else to get you-" he stopped, however, when Ryou curled into an even tighter ball and began coughing so hard his entire body shook. The fit lasted for around twenty seconds total, and when it finally subsided, Marik moved his hand from Ryou's shoulder to around his waist, pulling the boy closer to him. His other hand moved to Ryou's forehead, brushing thick white locks out of the way to get a better idea of his temperature.
"…You have a fever again," Marik sighed, unwrapping himself from his portion of the blankets and standing up to fold them over to Ryou's side. "How many times does this make since we started going out? Five?"
"Sorry," Ryou muttered, his voice pained. "I've always... been like this…" he was interrupted by another set of long, hard coughs. Marik sighed again, and rubbed his back for him until it stopped again. He took a longer look at Ryou's face, and noticed the redness and sweat he had somehow failed to see before.
Marik knew he had to soften his tone if Ryou was like this. He always felt so bad whenever this happened, even if it wasn't his fault. He just hated seeing his lover so run down and weak, and he always wished there was something he could do to, at the very least, make it happen less often.
"It can't be helped, so don't worry about it," he finally said most of the roughness forced from his voice. "Just stay in bed for right now, and call me if you need anything, like usual. I'll go get you something for your fever and your cough, to start off with. Is there anything else you want?" It was the same thing he said every time the boy got sick, and he was sure Ryou could mouth the words right along with him.
But instead, Ryou whispered, "Something for everything. Everything really hurts. Also, could I have some tea?" Marik nodded. He didn't even need to ask which kind he wanted, as he asked for the same thing each time anyways. He headed out of their shared bedroom and into their even tinier kitchen. He grabbed the exact amount of pills he knew he would need, and put a kettle on the stove to start boiling the water for peach tea with extra sugar.
He barely had a chance to sit down and wait for the water, however, before he heard an especially loud groan, followed by hurried footsteps down the hallway. He sighed yet again, and rose to head to the bathroom, where he found his lover doubled over next to the toilet, his entire body heaving. It was Marik's least favorite part of dealing with Ryou's little sick days, but he knew it had to be done. He sat down next to the boy and swept his long hair out of his face, rubbing gentle circles on his small back.
"You're okay," he murmured into Ryou's ear as he gasped for fresh air. "You're okay." Finally, even the heavy coughing subsided, and Marik wordlessly handed Ryou a bottle of mouthwash that had been sitting on the sink. Ryou took a small amount into his mouth, spat it right back out, and fell against Marik's side. Marik helped him stand up and walk back to his bed, and when he was sure that Ryou was comfortable again, he said, "I'm going to go get your things. I'll be back in a couple minutes, so try to stay awake until then."
He all but rushed out to the kitchen where he was greeted by the harsh whistling of the tea kettle, along with Ryou's medicine scattered about the kitchen table. He silently poured a small amount of steaming water into a mug, put the tea bag inside, and piled up the pills in one palm, with a glass of water in the other. He figured he could bring this to Ryou first, followed by his tea when it was ready.
"Ryou," he called softly to the boy in the bed, who was barely managing to keep his eyes open. "Your tea will be ready in a minute, but here's your medicine while you wait." Ryou said nothing as he took the pills and swallowed them one by one with a grimace. He didn't even say anything besides a quick "thank you" when Marik arrived with his tea, which only received a couple sips before he fell back against the pillows, dead to the world around him, as well as his current, feverish state. Sighing yet again, Marik pulled a chair into the room from the kitchen and sat down next to his sick lover, as though keeping watch as he slept.
Even though it had only been around half an hour since the two of them had woken up, Marik found himself stifling a yawn as well. To distract himself, he played with a strand of hair on Ryou's forehead, brushing it out of his eyes. These days weren't only tiring for the sick one, but for the caretaker as well. But he knew he wouldn't be able to complain about it, especially not to Ryou. He had tried that before, and was met with a barrage of apologies. Apologies for being weak, for being unable to take care of himself. And as much as he disliked admitting it, it broke Marik's heart. Which was why he would continue to do this for the one he loved, without a single complaint.
Xxx
Ryou slept for a good two hours before he awoke to find Marik, fast asleep by his side. His hand brushed unconsciously against his own forehead, noting the much cooler temperature than before. Not normal, by any stretch, but at least he no longer felt like there was an all out war raging in his body, even if it was only because of the load of medicine he had taken.
His hand moved its way down to where Marik's was resting, taking it and giving it a small squeeze. Marik stirred, and although he was asleep for a few extra moments, his eyes eventually opened and focused in on their intertwined hands.
"Hey, Ryou," he yawned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Are you feeling any better?" When he nodded, a look of relief crossed over his face. "You'll probably need to take some more medicine soon, but that's fine, we have plenty. And if you're hungry, I can go make you something. Or do you need more blankets? Because if you're getting too cold, I can-"
"Just stay with me, Marik," Ryou interrupted, tightening his grip on the other man's hand ever so slightly. "That's really all I want right now."
Marik smiled, and put his free hand over their intertwined fingers. There was a long silence between the two, and yet it didn't matter. They were there for each other, and that was what mattered.
"Hey, Marik," Ryou said. He was the one to break the silence. "Why do you do it?"
"Hm?" Marik looked at Ryou, a puzzled expression on his face. "Why do I do what?"
"Take care of me like this." He stared down at the thick blanket that covered him. "You don't have to do it. You don't have to stay with someone like me, who always gets sick. Why don't you go out and find someone else? Someone stronger? It has to be tiring doing all of this all the time, after all."
Ryou could have gone on rambling for hours. But he was silenced by a kiss from the one next to him, the one that he loved and appreciated so much it hurt sometimes.
"Because," Marik breathed as he pulled apart from his lover, "That 'someone stronger' wouldn't be you."
Ryou tried not to cry at those words. He also, at that moment, failed miserably. Tears ran down his flushed cheeks as he wrapped his arms around Marik's neck, pulling him closer again. But he refused to initiate a second kiss.
"I don't want you catching whatever it is I have right now," he muttered. "It's pretty brutal."
Marik smirked. "If I do catch it, will you return the favor by taking care of me?" Ryou laughed.
"OF course I will. I would do anything for you."
"You already do everything you need to do for me, Ryou." And forgetting completely about Ryou's sickness, they kissed a second time.
Xxx
I admit it- I have a huge soft spot for stories like this one. Ever since I deleted Sickly from here, I felt the need to write another Angstshipping story like it. By the way, I'll probably be writing more oneshots for this pairing and putting them in here, so if you have a "soft spot" for a certain type of story, just tell me- it may end up being used in a future chapter! Thanks for reading, and don't be afraid to leave a comment on the way out!