Disclaimer: I don't own the Fire Emblem Series
It was early morning when Asugi let himself drift into consciousness. He was an early bird by nature, which was only further cemented into his body by his ninja training. More recently, however, he'd been tempted to sleep in a bit by the sleepy bundle of warmth that was his boyfriend Dwyer. Dwyer also get up early for his butler duties, so it wasn't like he was going to wake up at noon or anything.
When he woke up this morning, however, Asugi quickly realized that the bed space beside him was cold, unused. Then he remembered that he'd gone to sleep first, which was also unusual as Dwyer tended to get his work done faster. Biting his bottom lip in worry, he plucked out a sucker from the bowl next to him. It was silly, but the candy brought him some small amount of comfort. Swiftly he got dressed, grabbed his candy bag and started out towards the medical tent. There was an illness going around that had taken down a good amount of their forces. Thankfully their enemies were also taking a significant hit from the virus, but it still left the remaining healthy forces plenty busy. Especially for the healers. If Dwyer hadn't come to bed last night, he was probably pulling an all-nighter. As his loving boyfriend, it was his pleasure - no, his duty to drag Dwyer to rest, or at least bring something to keep his energy up during these troubling times.
He knocked at the entrance flap politely before letting himself inside. All of the cots within the tent were full of feverish soldiers, some groaning and others complaining, but most were just sleeping. One in particular was vomiting loudly into a pot, and Asugi grimaced in sympathy. The majority of those currently down were foot soldiers he barely knew, but he occasionally spotted a familiar face: Laslow and Niles, despite their weariness, were still conscious enough to flirt with some of the healers that passed by. Hana, and Oboro were quietly discussing fashion through scratchy throats. Even his father had been dragged in, though he'd somehow managed to create a bubble of space between himself and everyone else. Uncle Kaze was in the bed next to him, seemingly having the opposite problem as the female healers were fawning over him. The healthy were hard at work though, so hopefully everyone was well on their way to recovering.
Finally in the distance, Asugi caught sight of a familiar poof of greyish white hair. Dwyer was shifting around from bed to bed, doling out water, medicine, and other various things to keep the patients comfortable. It was quite a difference from his usual slothlike behavior, so much so that Asugi stood mesmerized. He'd almost forgotten why he was there and spent a couple minutes just watching him in awe. Then Dwyer stumbled over his own feet, snapping the ninja back to reality. He walked into Dwyer's section of the tent, finding him distractedly surveying his supplies. Asugi took the opportunity to wrap his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders, nuzzling the healer's neck with his nose. The tired butler stiffened.
"Hey Naps."
Hearing Asugi's voice, Dwyer let himself relax into his boyfriend's embrace.
"Hey…" His tone was low, tired, maybe a little scratchy. He definitely hadn't slept in a while.
"You okay? You look wiped."
"'s been busy, no time to relax." Dwyer continued to absentmindedly gather supplies, allowing Asugi to cling.
"Had anything to eat lately?"
"Not really hungry to be honest…"
"Not even for a sucker?~"
"…"
"…"
Dwyer sighed. "What flavor?"
"I brought strawberry, lemon, and green apple."
"Strawberry." Asugi picked out a strawberry sucker from his bad, unwrapped it and stuck it into Dwyer's mouth. Neither was embarrassed about it, they'd done it in public and private several times before, though Asugi could feel Saizo behind him glaring at the display. His father wasn't exactly a believer in PDA, he rarely ever showed affection to his own wife when they weren't behind closed doors. He found it tasteless, so it was no surprise that he disapproved of such behavior from his own son. Asugi responded by flipping off the general direction behind him (probably confusing his uncle) before following after his boyfriend, who'd broken free to lend to his patients.
Asugi helped Dwyer with simple tasks, all the while monitoring his behavior. His skin was paler than usual, his eye bags darker and more prominent. He wasn't always steady on his feet, often tripping or stumbling. It was a miracle he hadn't knocked anything over.
"Maybe you should slow down a little…"
"Can't." Dwyer replied. "Not until we rotate shifts. Just another half-hour."
Asugi sighed, he rarely saw the sleepy boy so determined when he wasn't competing with Jakob. It'd be cute if he didn't look like he'd collapse at the drop of a hat.
So, with Dwyer's stubbornness to leave, Asugi did his best to help his boyfriend out while also preventing him from accidentally hurting himself. While he wasn't exactly a healer, he was pretty good at lifting heavy stuff and carrying it to where it was needed. Finally, a new group of healers began to rotate in. Asugi recognized Midori and Forrest in the crowd and waved them over.
"You guys here to take over?"
"Yeah! It was nice to have a little break." Midori cheerfully replied, turning to Dwyer. "Thanks for taking my shift last night. I didn't think I'd get sick that fast."
"No problem, you're better now aren't you?" Dwyer mumbled as he collected his belongings. His movements were weighed and sluggish, something the other two healers quickly caught sight of.
"Are you feeling alright? We can set up a cot for you if you need one." Forrest offered.
Dwyer shook his head, stifling a cough into his fist. "Too many people around. I'd never get any rest with all the noise."
"It'll be alright." Asugi chimed in. "I'll take good care of him."
"You better." The blond boy threatened, obviously defensive of his friend. "Or I'll never design an outfit for you again."
Asugi whined. "But you make the coolest stuff."
Forrest chuckled, moving on to begin looking after patients. Midori followed, slipping a small sack into Asugi's pocket. It was probably filled with medicine candies, because no one was exactly a fan of the liquid version.
Asugi wrapped an arm around Dwyer's shoulders, leading him out of the medical tent. As they headed back to their quarters, the butler's condition rapidly began to deteriorate. Without the judging eyes of the other healers around him, his shoulders slumped further than normal. He stopped stifling his coughs, every fit ending with a painful whimper. Asugi pulled him in tighter, keeping him grounded. Feeling the coughs wracking through the sleepy boy's lungs made him wince. Dwyer's eyes watered with exhaustion and strain, and his fever ridden mind was drifting in half-awareness. He was nauseous, tired, and freezing with chills. He huddled towards Asugi, the closest source of warmth.
The ninja always smelled of sugar and cinnamon, a scent that always made the healer relax. It reminded him of the past, the few visits from younger days when he and his father would spend the day just baking treats and brewing tea to enjoy outside in the afternoon sun. It reminded him of the present, when he and Asugi would make more cakes and candies than either could eat by themselves, swapping recipes and techniques. That was the scent of happier days, and combined with the fact that Asugi ran a little higher than most, it made Dwyer feel like he could fall asleep right there…in fact his eyes were just starting to droop when they made it to their tent.
Asugi made their bed while Dwyer changed into some loose pajamas. The effort made him dizzy, but soon enough he found himself pulled into their bed, both of their blankets wrapped carefully around him. A few medicine gummies found their way into his hand, and despite the nausea in his throat, he dutifully swallowed them with a flask of water. He laid down gently, a cool pillow granting him relief. The sounds of shuffling played at his ears, and before his boyfriend could sneak away, Dwyer reached a hand out and grabbed at his sleeve.
"Stay. Please, sweet cheeks?" Asugi looked surprised for a moment before giving a smile and laying down next to him.
"Anything for you, Naps."