Sick Day

"Can I do anything for you, my Warden?"

"No, thank you. Well," Alim paused to sniffle, "perhaps some tea?"

Zevran bent down and pressed his cheek to the mage's forehead. "I am happy your fever seems to have finally broken at least." He stroked a few tendrils of hair aside and kissed his brow. "You had me worried."

Alim smiled weakly. "There's no need to worry. It's only a flu and even magic can do little for it. I'll be up and around in another day or two."

"Yes, but you never worry about anything. So, I must worry twice, for both of us." Zevran stood up gingerly, having spent too many hours in the past days kneeling at Alim's side. "Now, I will fetch your tea and you will rest."

As he ducked outside the tent, Wynne seemed to swoop from out of nowhere, pouncing on him before he'd even reached the fire. "How is he?"

Zevran shrugged, rubbing his hand across his unsurprisingly gritty eyes. "He is better than yesterday, but still quite weak. I think we will need to spend a few more days here before he will be strong enough to travel."

Wynne scowled. "That is unfortunate. Arl Eamon is expecting us in Denerim in three days." She tapped a finger against her lips. "There is a courier outpost a few hours away. Perhaps we could send word from there that we expect to be delayed."

Zevran nodded, emptying a packet of herbs into Alim's mug. "That would be sensible."

"Excellent. Alim can go after he's had his tea."

"Yes, Alim can—Alim can what? Are you serious?" He very nearly dropped the kettle.

"Of course. You do remember the decision that all official correspondence to the Arl was to come from Alim, to minimize the risks of treachery on Loghain's part and certain other… undesirables." She looked pointedly towards Morrigan's shelter.

He must have been dozing by that point in their past meetings with Arl Eamon; long, tedious affairs that made him want to curl up under the table.

"But, he is sick." Zevran looked at her strangely. "If this message needs to be taken, I will do it."

Wynne shook her head. "No, that won't do at all. We have an agreement, and the rules need to be followed."

"But, surely you see that sending him off riding for most of the day is going to make him even sicker, no?" He had recovered sufficiently that he was able to fill Alim's mug with steaming water, swirling it slightly as the herbs steeped. "We will be even later getting to Denerim if he becomes more ill than he already is."

She followed as he walked back towards his tent. "I understand, but think of how the Arl is going to react if we're late."

Zevran paused at the tent's entrance. "With all due respect, Wynne, I do not give a flying fuck about Arl Eamon and his expectations. The man is already slavering about putting our poor templar on the throne, with more than questionable motives for doing so. While he sits in his estate and nibbles bon bons, we are out here killing darkspawn and raising an army. If he expects us to do that on some sort of predetermined schedule, then he is more than welcome to kiss my ass." He thought for a moment, relishing Wynne's stunned silence. "Well, perhaps not that. Regardless, Alim is not going anywhere until he has recovered and you and your nattering about rules will be staying far away, yes?"

Wynne managed a shocked nod despite the fiery anger in her eyes.

"Good. Now, I am going to go give Alim his tea and you are going to go away."

Zevran lowered his head and stepped inside, cradling the hot mug between his hands. "I brought you your tea, querido."

"Many thanks." Alim sat up slowly, his hands still shaky as he reached for the cup.

"Let me help." Zevran settled in behind him so Alim could lean against his chest as he drank. "Careful, it is still quite hot."

Alim sipped his tea, relaxing against the other man comfortably. "This is exactly what I needed. Thank you." He took another sip. "Did I hear Wynne? What did she want?"

Zevran kissed Alim's temple. "Nothing important. It is already taken care of."

Alim turned his head to kiss him gently. "What would I do without you?"

"You? You would be fine. The question is, querido, what would I do without you?"

A/N: For Enaid Aderyn. Huge hugs for having to deal with that ridiculousness today and hopefully this helps a little. :)