A/N: And Nowaki is sick in this chapter haha I haven't written Nowaki being sick before in any of my fics so I might as well do it in this one. Now, Hiroki has no choice but to go into town to grab medicine. Although, Nowaki is a healer, he pushes himself to the point where he collapses. There was that one episode where Katara and Sokka got sick, Katara was too ill to heal them. I don't remember if she ever healed herself when she was sick so I left it so Nowaki couldn't either.

Yes, they kiss but Nowaki doesn't remember it at all. I am that evil lol

Thank you so much for your patience and tell me what you think.

-Lucicelo


Chapter 7: Fevered dreams...

Nowaki let out another cough as he walked through the threshold. His legs trembled from holding up his frame and he stumbled inside. The sudden loud thumps provoked Hiroki to run out of their bedroom. His eyes widened when Nowaki fell down onto his knees, the vegetables in his arms rolled onto the ground. Rushing to his side, Hiroki crouched down and felt his forehead. Hot to the touch. Taking his hand back from Nowaki's skin, he hauled an arm over his shoulder. He managed to get Nowaki on his feet and they trekked toward their bedroom. Hiroki groaned when Nowaki shifted his weight onto him. He kept him up due to his conditioned muscles. It helped that he didn't resume his old training regimen after remaining in hiding.

He placed him on the bed and Nowaki stared up at him with glassy eyes. His breathing grew ragged with each breath as his head turned away from Hiroki's view. A thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead. Hiroki bit his thumb as he assessed the situation. From the little knowledge of medicine he knew, Nowaki had a cold. A simple common cold. Nothing too serious and curable. Everyone got them and Nowaki's dips in the ice cold water probably caught up with him. He removed Nowaki's shirt with care and placed his head on the one pillow they both shared. He took off Nowaki's shoes but not his pants. Nowaki needed to remain comfortable.

Hiroki rubbed his temples. They had no medicine inside of their cabin. Their medicine stash ran out when Nowaki helped someone else in town weeks earlier. Nowaki was no certified medic but helped the family since they had no money for someone to come in. His water bending helped to an extent but the body needed herbal medicine to replenish the body. The one medic in town offered a high price for a simple house visit for diagnosis. Which was why Nowaki went to help when one of the family members approached him in town. They didn't think of buying more medicine after Nowaki returned. Both of them didn't get sick too often.

Hiroki gulped as a realization came to him. He had to go into town to get the medicine Nowaki needed to get better. He took a few steps and turned around to stare outside of the window. There was no other choice. The tea they had was for enjoyment, not to help cure sickness. Besides, Nowaki had some money stored in his belongings from the jobs he did around town. He even sold a good portion of his harvest which earned some good money.

He rubbed his face and bit the inside of his cheek. Peeking at Nowaki from in between his fingers, he saw him struggle to move on his side. This was all for Nowaki's sake. He couldn't sit outside of this room and ignore his coughing fits. That was insensitive and his trip into town might turn out very quick, returning fast.

Nowaki coughed and Hiroki placed his hand on his forehead. He needed to cool down first. Turning his heel, he went inside of the kitchen. Searching for one of the water filled jugs, he took off the top and moved one off to the side. He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet and placed it on the counter while he scooped the water inside. Holding it in his arms, he went back inside of their bedroom. He put on the desk near their bed and he grabbed some ripped up rags they had in their belongings.

"Nowaki?" Hiroki got close to Nowaki and pushed back his bangs from sticking to his face. "Shit...your fever is not going down at all."

Nowaki murmured some words and Hiroki made no sense of them. He thrashed on the bed and kept groaning. Moving Nowaki's bangs from his forehead, he wiped more sweat. He pulled back the hair he had so it wouldn't interfere with taking care of Nowaki.

Hiroki spent a while alternating between wet rags and tucked him into the light sheets they owned. He opened the window to let some air freshen up the room. Checking on Nowaki again, he saw him coughing. Hiroki groaned as he hurried and closed the window. Anything he was doing wasn't helping Nowaki at all. He had to admit, he was procrastinating on leaving their home to go into town.

He wandered around the room and kept sneaking glances at Nowaki. His coughs grew worse but Hiroki got comfort in the fact that Nowaki wasn't thrashing everywhere. He had seen worse sicknesses when he was in the army. Some soldiers were left behind in hospitals when it was evident their survival went low. He sighed as he rubbed his temples. The fact Nowaki got sick just annoyed him. It stressed him out because he honestly never treated anyone in his life. He only knew his own body and just drank disgusting tea to cure himself.

"H-Hiro-san..."

Hiroki snapped his head toward Nowaki as he went to his side. "Nowaki, you are actually talking."

Nowaki cleared his throat, his throat felt scratchy as he groaned. "I feel horrible."

"Not surprised." Hiroki went in the kitchen and switched the water before he came back into the room. "You got worse for a while there. Don't you dare get up from that bed, I barely managed to get you on it in the first place."

"I..won't."

"Good." Nowaki went into a coughing fit as Hiroki handed him a glass of water.

Nowaki took a long gulp which refreshed his dry throat. "Can I ask you of something?"

Hiroki placed a rag on Nowaki's forehead as he got handed back the cup. "Sure, anything you want."

"Go into town." Nowaki coughed into his hand. "Please..." He gazed up at Hiroki, it took all of his energy to keep his eyes open. "I know it's a lot to ask...but...we need the medicine..I can't bend to heal myself...It might take a day before this goes for me to get my concentration back. After this time...I won't ask you to go again..please..."

"I am going into town." Hiroki declared as he moved the rag onto the right place.

Nowaki sat up in shock, the wet cloth fell onto his lap. "Seriously?" He went into a coughing fit as Hiroki pushed him back down. "But you ..told me that..."

"Don't get up again! You just got your sense back!" Hiroki huffed as he grabbed a dry cloth and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The only reason I am going to go into town is because you are this sick. You were lethargic for the last hour, of course I got worried. You have never gotten this sick before since I have stayed here." He placed the cloth into the water and wrung it out.

Nowaki smiled with gratefulness. "Thank you...I'm so sorry... I had to get sick for you to go..."

Hiroki scoffed. "You have nothing to be sorry about, it's not like you got sick on purpose. I was bound to go there eventually, it just turned out sooner than expected."

Nowaki pointed to his discarded pants from the night before. "I have some money from when I fixed up that roof..."

Hiroki took out the small bag from Nowaki's pant pockets. "Alright...I'll be right back." He gave Nowaki one last look before he walked out of the room. "I better not catch you out of that bed Nowaki!"

Nowaki laughed a bit before he coughed. "Be safe.."


Finding the town was simple. Having remembered Nowaki's directions, Hiroki had no trouble bumping into it. It looked simple and plain. Nothing too significant like he huge cities Hiroki was used to back in the Fire Nation. Hiroki pulled the straw hat down to hide his face. Observing the area, he searched for indications of an herbal store or anything relating to medicine. The main marketplace had a variety of stalls which held different items. Most of them produce and clothing. He dodged the people who walked through the town with their goods in their arms. The coins bounced in the bag tied to his pants. His arm lay limp next to it in case someone tried to take it.

Hiroki bit the inside of his cheek, eyebrows furrowed. His eyes darted in each direction and he got frustrated with each wasted second. He couldn't find the blasted store anywhere in sight. He pushed up his hat with his pointer finger and he clenched his jaw. The apothecary was right in front of him. Hiroki sucked his teeth as he entered the place in haste. The smell of herbs hit him and he wrinkled his nose. He hated the taste of medicine but at least the herbs went away after a while.

He went to the counter and a young man with sandy blond hair was fiddling with some jars on the counter. Hiroki tried not to make himself too suspicious as he took off his hat. The seller had to look at him in the face. He stopped in front of the counter and his footsteps had made the young man turn to him. His flashing grey eyes assessed him and he looked annoyed. Hiroki bit back any commentary. All he had to do in there was to get herbs and run out of town. He couldn't argue with any of the people.

The young man hid his scowl when he asked. "What do you want?"

Hiroki's eyebrow twitched as he answered. "I need medicine to cure a cold."

"A cold?" The scowl made itself presentable as he leaned back against his chair. "Don't tell me an epidemic is starting around here? Because if there is, you better tell me now. I don't want to get sick."

Hiroki rolled his eyes. "There is no epidemic." If any other person saw this attitude they would go somewhere else. Or grow their own herbs in their own gardens. "I need medicine for my friend. We ran out of medicine last week." He might suggest a patch of medicinal herbs so he wouldn't meet this person again.

Groaning, the young man didn't make a move from his seat. He checked his flawless nails while his foot tapped the wooden floor. Hiroki noticed a young woman came out of the other room. Her long black hair was pulled back in a loose bun and she wore a simple blue dress. She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. She went to his side and whacked his arm.

This made Hiroki bite the inside of his cheek, he couldn't laugh. Well, not out in the open, he had to hide it inside of his head.

"Shinobu! How can you just sit here when we have a customer?!" She frowned, she smiled sweetly when she turned to Hiroki. "I apologize for my brother's rude behavior. He doesn't normally hold the store front often. I'm Risako, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I need some medicine for a simple cold," Hiroki explained. "My friend got sick and he needs medicine, cold water doesn't help."

Risako went through some of their stock, bumping Shinobu out of the way. "So, do you live around here? I have never seen you in town." Shinobu gave her a dirty look before ignoring them in favor of his scrolls.

"I live with Nowaki."

Risako turned her head and smiled. "Ah...I see. Nowaki finally got himself sick." She measured the herbs on the scale and then placed them in the mortar. "I see him all the time, why haven't I see you?"

Shinobu drawled. "Stop trying to bag yourself a husband, most of them run off from your ugly mug."

Risako growled. "Shut up, Shinobu. I am being polite, something you obviously don't do often."

Hiroki avoided his eyes from their spat as gripped his straw hat. Their bickering wasted his time. He needed to get away from this town before anyone caught on. His heart beat fast from the adrenaline. He stared at them and noticed they had not stopped arguing. This started to get on his nerves but he kept himself together. His usual method of breaking things up wouldn't give him the herbs he wanted.

Coughing hard into his hand, both siblings went silent. Their faces flushed red and Risako resumed making the medicine. A few more minutes passed until Hiroki saw Risako bagging two different forms of medicine. He watched her separate everything in their proper place.

"So...what are those?"

"Well, this first one is a powdered version which he can drink with water. The second is to boil into a tea form. This way his chest will warm up and he will sleep right after this one."

"Oh..." Hiroki arched a brow, he didn't expect two parts to this medicine. "How much?"

Risako explained the price before Hiroki gave her the right amount. He dismissed himself and started walking out of the store. Managing to hear them argue again, a chortle escaped his lips. He turned to the left and he hurried down the road. Then, he put his hat up on his head, holding the bag close to his chest. He followed the road down the market place and he saw a familiar set of clothes.

Stopping in front of the clothing stand, he stared at the items he saw. A good portion of them were outfits Nowaki bought for him. Different sizes and colors. Most of them were light, the ones he had in his wardrobe were darker shades.

"Welcome!" Terra grinned.

Hiroki jumped but hid it through fiddling with his hat. "Hello."

"I see you are wearing one of my outfits, are you here to buy some more?"

"No, I'm just passing through." Hiroki told her. "Besides, the man who is housing me is the one who bought this for me."

A look of realization came to her face. "Ah, so you're Nowaki's new lodger. You're uh..what was your name again..." Terra hit her palm with her first with a grin on her face, she exclaimed. "Hiro! That's your name, right? Good to finally see you." He tried peeking under his hat. "Well part of your face anyway."

Hiroki jumped, holding the small bag full of herbs tight in his hand as he turned to the woman. "Yes...You see, Nowaki is sick so I came to get him some medicine. We ran out a while ago." He obscured his face with his hat. "He insisted that I came into town."

Terra tilted her head as she moved some of her merchandise aside to place her hands on her stand. "You don't get out much do you?"

"Not really." Hiroki told her as he held the bag closer to his chest and gulped. "I am more of a solitary type of person. It's not in my nature to really talk to anyone."

Terra snorted, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You're talking to me just fine," She noticed Hiroki kept fiddling with the bag in his hands. "It's that serious?"

"What?"

"Is Nowaki really that sick? The kid looks strong to me."

"Yes," Hiroki answered as he tilted his hat up and stared at the woman in the face. "He just needs to drink this disgusting concoction and then he will get better." He turned to his right but still kept his eyes on Terra. "I have to go, thank you for the wonderful clothes."

"No problem whatsoever, it is my pleasure." She smiled, waving at him as he walked off.

Hiroki hurried faster when he was out of sight. He didn't know Nowaki's state but it didn't hurt to get away from town. There were three people who saw his face. He couldn't risk any more people having gotten a glimpse at his face.


Hiroki sighed when he watched Nowaki had gone back into his lethargic state. He hoped Nowaki was getting better due to the fact he talked to him before he went into town. It seemed this wasn't the case. Nowaki had sweat all over his body and he didn't say anything when he walked through the door. He placed Nowaki's bag back into his pants and then changed the rag on Nowaki's forehead. He wiped the rest of him with a dry cloth and tossed it on their dirty clothing pile.

He placed the teapot over the fire and waited for it to boil. Pouring some water into a cup, he took out the first bag which held the powdered version of the medicine. He knew it didn't take much so he placed an amount on a piece of paper. Going inside of their room, he noticed Nowaki panted harshly.

"Nowaki?" Hiroki inquired as he took another step inside of the room.

Nowaki groaned as he rubbed his body. "H-Hiro-san?" Hiroki placed the water on the counter and held the paper full of medicine in his hands.

Hiroki sat on the bed as he lifted Nowaki's head. "I brought some powdered medicine and some water." Nowaki just opened his mouth as Hiroki carefully put the medicine inside. Nowaki tried not to cough as Hiroki tipped the water to his lips. "There, there." Nowaki went into a coughing frenzy and Hiroki patted his shoulder. "Let me, check on that tea for you." He made sure Hiroki placed Nowaki's head on the pillow before he left the room.

He took off the teapot from the fire and placed it on the counter. Measuring the second bag full of herbs, he placed them inside of the water and covered the lid. Keeping an ear out for Nowaki, he remained in the kitchen and made himself something quick to eat. Sitting at the table, Nowaki coughs reached his ears and he stopped himself from checking up on him. Nowaki just had his first dose of medicine, he was going to fall asleep just fine. Moments later, there was silence and even breathing. Hiroki continued on eating his food.

He sighed in relief as he grabbed his scrolls and read his newest novel. Spending the next few hours on this story, he was interrupted through Nowaki coughing again. He got up, took the teapot off the fire and placed it on the counter to steep the herbal tea. Afterwards, he went back inside of their bedroom. He placed his hand on Nowaki's cheek and it still felt hot to the touch. Out of nowhere, Nowaki pulled him into his arms and held him to his chest.

Hiroki struggled to get out of Nowaki's grip as he whined. "Nowaki, let go of me!"

"Nooo." Nowaki drawled. "Stay here in bed with me..pleaseeee?"

"No." Hiroki stayed firm but Nowaki's hands gripped the back of his shirt, keeping him from moving away. "Fine." Hiroki groaned as he tried to get on the bed and he fell on top of Nowaki. "Shit..."

Nowaki wrapped his arms around him and kept him on top of his body. His usual charm was lost in the slur of his cold. He sighed as he kept giving him sloppy kisses on his cheek. Hiroki scowled as he moved to look at Nowaki in the face to tell him out.

Hiroki's eyes widened as Nowaki insisted on keeping their lips connected. His hands rested on Nowaki's chest, closing his eyes to relish on the contact. He sighed into their kiss and pressed against them. Despite Nowaki's sickness, his lips were still soft. They were not chapped at all, in comparison to his own lips. He didn't expect the feeling to cause such a bubbling sensation in his chest. To make him weak in the knees and place all of his body weight on top of Nowaki.

When Nowaki's hand rested on his lower back, this action snapped him back to reality. He broke their kiss which earned a whine from Nowaki. Scrambling away from him, he raked his fingers through his hair and watched Nowaki feeling around the air for him. Biting his lip, he remained standing and didn't dare go near Nowaki. He didn't want another kiss that Nowaki might remember.

Nowaki sighed and relaxed on the pillow. Hiroki let a sigh of relief as he fetched a new cup of tea and returned with it. He sat on Nowaki's bed as he felt him grabbing onto his legs. Gritting his teeth, he swatted Nowaki's hands away from him to prevent him from spilling the tea on him. He blew on the hot liquid and made sure it was tepid enough for him to tip it to Nowaki's lips. Nowaki took a few large gulps and Hiroki took breaks in between before it was finished. Nowaki made the most cringe worthy face the whole time. Replacing the wet cloth, he took the empty cup with him into the kitchen.

Hiroki placed it on the counter and leaned against the counter. This back and forth business was tiring him out. He didn't know how people managed to nurse the sick without getting too tired and dropping everything. Since Nowaki rarely got sick, this wouldn't happen on occasion.

Hiroki spent the next three days alternating in overlooking Nowaki's well being until he got better.


Hiroki lifted his head up from the bed and noticed Nowaki's breathing was even. Getting up, he placed his head on Nowaki's chest and didn't hear any blockage from his sickness. He breathed a sigh of relief. Removing his cheek from Nowaki, he got up and stretched up his arms above his head. The last few days, Nowaki went in and out of sleep that he had no clue when his sickness would subside. Although, Hiroki assumed that Nowaki was due on getting sick. All of those trips to the icy lake must had caught up with him.

He went inside of the kitchen and heated up a pot full of soup. Having made it the night before, the flavors set in just right. He stood right next to the fire pit and snapped his fingers. The logs sparked and flamed up. Rubbing his eyes, Hiroki let out a yawn. He just woke up but all he wanted to do was go back to sleep. The soft bed called to him. He closed his eyes, yes, he sounded just perfect.

Hiroki heard footsteps coming into the kitchen, Nowaki had woken up. "Hiro-san?" He turned and saw the warmest blanket they had wrapped around Nowaki's body. Shielding him from the cold of the morning.

Hiroki stirred the soup. "It looks like you are in better condition than a few days ago."

Nowaki smiled big. "Yes, I feel so much better. Thank you so much for taking care of me." He sat down on his seat and lifted his legs up to his chest. "The tea was disgusting but it really did help me sleep most of the afternoons that I had it."

Hiroki shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't let you lay there on the floor. You were that sick that I had to check up on you. Before you ask, it was a simple cold. I thought it was worse until you got through most of the heavy parts of it." He left the pot alone as he went to the counter and prepared some tea leaves.

"Well, that's good. I still felt horrible throughout the whole thing." Nowaki held his blanket closer to his body. "Did I say anything odd?"

Hiroki flinched as he fiddled with the tea leaves. "Gardening tips and wanting to pet some animal...you kept trying to hug me when you slept." His face reddened and it extended to his ears. "Mainly trying to get me to cuddle with you."

There was no way he was telling Nowaki they had kissed in his feverish state.

Nowaki scratched the back of his head, "Sorry about that, I am usually alone when I get sick and sleep it off. I never knew I talked about things when I was under a fever."

Hiroki added the tea leaves to the teapot, keeping his face away from Nowaki's gaze. "It happens to everyone, you can't control yourself."

Nowaki laughed as he cuddled into the blanket wrapped around him. "At least I didn't do anything too stupid."

"Yeah...of course." Hiroki humored Nowaki as he left the tea on the counter. "I'll look after the garden tomorrow morning. You are staying in bed." He turned in time to watch Nowaki about to object when he continued. "You won't get better if you leave the bed. Give it one more day. You will recover much better through your sleep."

Nowaki pouted. "Okay...I won't get out of bed for all day tomorrow."

"Good. I won't have to drag you back in here."

Nowaki whined. "Hey, I know when to listen to someone. I know you can take care of our garden."

"Your garden.' Hiroki snorted as he moved the pot away from the fire. He placed the pot onto the counter and placed the teapot over the fire. "I will pull out the weeds and water it. I won't touch anything else."

"That's all I can hope for." Nowaki smiled as he put his arms out wide. "Can you come here for a second?"

Hiroki made his way to Nowaki's side and got pulled into an embrace. Nowaki held him close as Hiroki had to crouch down so his legs didn't cramp too bad. The hug lasted a few seconds, then Nowaki loosened his grip. His face nuzzled Hiroki's cheek and he felt his skin warm up. Hiroki got up immediately and patted Nowaki on the shoulder.

"Thank you again." Nowaki said with content as he watched Hiroki heat up the teapot even faster with his bending. "When you get sick, I will heal you with my bending so you don't have to suffer."

"Whatever you say." Hiroki took off the teapot from the fire and added the tea leaves inside of it. "You might as well leave me to cough up a storm in my bed. And so you know, I almost never get sick. There is no way you will ever catch me getting sick."

"The offer is still open!" Nowaki pointed out as he got up and poured himself some soup from the pot.

He went back to his seat and began eating. Hiroki watched him from the corner of his eyes, replaying their kiss over and over again. His fingers brushed against his lips and then retracted them back. Placing his attention toward the steeping tea.

TBC