Fifth story for the Alphabet Soup Challenge and this time I'm torturing Lalli a little instead of Emil!

Warnings: None!

Also I'm not really sure when this story happens. I'll let you chose for yourself if it's when the crew is back at HQ or if Lalli and Emil has gotten an apartment together or if Lalli is visiting Emil in Östersund. It doesn't really matter for the story :P

"A-tchi."

Emil blinked, shifted his gaze from the book he was currently reading to the thin figure lying under his bed.

"...Did you just sneeze?"

The figure didn't look at him, acted like nothing had happened and Emil smiled before returning to his book.

"A... a... a-tchi."

Emil put the book down, looked at the figure. He smiled, but the other still acted like nothing had happened. Emil slid closer, poked the other's side.

"You sneezed."

It wasn't a question this time, but the thin gray-haired man still ignored it. Emil placed his elbows on his legs and rested his head ontop of his hands, watched his friend. He waited patiently and then...

"A-tchi."

Emil did the most manly thing he could think of.

Emil squeed.

"Gudars skymning, you have the cutest sneeze ever!"

Lalli glared at him. A glare that would have gotten the bravest to back off if it wasn't for...

"A-tchi."

...the sneeze. Emil squeed again, then quickly apologized.

"I've just never heard it before! I didn't think it'd sound so... so..."

Lalli glared again, dared him to finish the sentense.

"...so cute", Emil concluded.

A pillow hit Emil's face and he laughed, apologized again.

"I'm sorry, I'll stop making fun of you. Do you need anything?"

He gave the pillow back and draped a blanket over Lalli's thin frame. Lalli shook his head, closed his eyes and buried his face into the pillow.

"Just sleep."

"Alright then. I'm right here, just let me know if you change your mind."

"Won't happen."

Emil went back to his book, but didn't open it. Instead he looked at Lalli, watched as his body moved as he breathed. He had never seen Lalli getting a cold before, yet here they were. He smiled. Clearly Lalli wasn't as invincible as Emil sometimes suspected. Lalli sneezed again and Emil had to bit his hand to keep himself from squeeing.

"I'll make you some soup."

He put the book down, left Lalli and went out to the kitchen. Lalli wasn't very fond of letting others care for him, but Emil wasn't the one who let that stop him. He fired up the stove and quickly threw together the same soup his mother had always given him when he was sick. Surely it should be able to help the Finn as well.

Emil hummed quietly as he poured the soup into a bowl and returned to the bedroom. Lalli ignored him, but that hadn't stopped him before and he gently shook the other.

"You should eat some."

"...not hungry."

"I know, but it's mostly fluid. I'm not letting you get dehydrated on top of the cold."

"'s not a cold."

"I know a cold when I hear one. Come on, just a little."

Lalli grumbled, then slid out from under the bed, sat up and leaned against the wooden frame behind him. Emil handed him the bowl and watched as Lalli finished it, then put it down. Emil smiled, but when Lalli attempted to lay down again Emil stopped him, forced him into the bed instead.

"It's not healthy sleeping so close to the floor."

"Never bothered you before."

"Then you weren't already sick."

Emil could tell Lalli was getting ready to protest, could see the exact moment the other decided it wasn't worth it. Lalli laid down in the bed and Emil fetched his book before lying down next to Lalli and pulling the Finn closer.

"It'll keep you warm", he said as he placed himself and Lalli as comfortable as possible.

"I'm not cold."

"You'll be soon enough", Emil stated and wrapped the blanket around his friend.

Lalli was about to form a protest, but Emil patted his back and opened the book. There wasn't anything else to discuss.

Xxxxx

Lalli had gotten better pretty quickly. He had neither coughed nor sneezed for a couple of days, he was no longer freezing as soon as he left his protective blanket and Emil even let him out of the bed. Relief filled him as he prepared his own breakfast while waiting for Emil to wake up and he quietly hummed songs his mother had sung when he was a child.

"A-TCHO!"

Lalli jumped, dropped the bread he had been holding and looked towards the bedroom. Was it...

"Urg..."

He sneaked closer to the door, waited as Emil moved around in the bed, watched how he stopped moving and then...

"A-TCHO!"

Lalli jumped again, pressed his hands against the doorframe to keep the walls from falling down over him. Emil wiped his nose on his sleeve before he sat up. He laughed when his eyes fell on Lalli, a laughter that quickly transformed into coughing and Lalli ran up to his friend.

"Sorry", Emil said when the coughing stopped, "but you looked pretty funny."

"You okay?"

Lalli sat down on the bed and Emil nodded, smiled.

"Caught your cold, I think."

"Sounds terrible."

"Not all of us ca... a... a..."

Lalli looked towards Emil, waited for him to finish the sentence, but...

"A-TCHO!"

Lalli almost jumped again and Emil almost laughed.

"Sorry, my sneezes aren't as cute as yours."

"You fine?"

"Feels like my nose is falling off", Emil sniffled and fell back into the bed. "Guess I'm dying and stuff."

Lalli smiled, leaned down over Emil. The Swede shivered slightly and Lalli wrapped the blanket over him.

"Guess I'll take care of you 'til it happens."

Emil placed the back of his hand against his forehead in a dramatic pose and was about to say something, but another sneeze shook the bed. Lalli thanked his gods for the quick reflexes he had been blessed with and Emil groaned beside him, pulled the blanket over his head.

"As long as the cure isn't worse than the disease..."

"Don't know", Lalli answered and slid down under the blanket as well. "How does rest and soup sound?"

"Depends", Emil laughed as Lalli pulled him closer. "But I think I can survive that."

A/N: "Gudars skymning" means something like "Dusk of Gods" and is an expletives (?) in Sweden. Not a curse, so feel free to use it! It is a little old-fashioned though... I couldn't figure out anything that would fit Emil to say there, so let's just say he picked it up from Helga who picked it up from her parents or something!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my silly little thing!