Next time Levon woke he found Joe in his tight embrace. It was early evening. Joe was fast asleep but his T-shirt and boxers were drenched with sweat. Levon let go of Joe and slipped out of bed. Rummaging through the content of his partner´s bag he finally pulled out another T-shirt and a pair of boxers. Levon looked down at Joe. Changing his partner´s clothes while he was asleep would be difficult. He bent down and shook Joe´s shoulder.
"Joe, wake up, I want to change your clothes."
"Mmmmh?" Joe turned his back on Levon.
Levon shook him again.
"What´s the matter, do we have to leave?" Joe sat up and looked a bit sheepish.
Levon sat down beside him. "No, I just want to get you out of these wet clothes." He got hold of Joe´s shirt and pulled it over Joe´s head. He rubbed Joe´s chest and back dry with a towel and helped him put on the new shirt.
"Can you get up?" Joe did, but swayed and held on to Levon as he got out of his boxers. Levon handed him the towel and Joe dried his buttocks and thighs. He stepped into the dry boxers and sat back down on the bed with a sigh. When he wanted to lie down again Levon held him back and offered him the bottled water.
"Joe, you gotta drink some. You lost a lot of fluid because of the fever."
Joe nodded and took the bottle. He drank half the bottle and handed it back to Levon. Though he was still sitting up on the bed his eyes had closed again. Levon felt Joe´s cheeks. They were still warm with the fever but not as hot as before. Then Joe reclined back onto the bed with a sigh.
"Levon?" Joe reached out, his hand searching for his partner.
"Yeah?" Levon put his hand into Joe´s, let himself be pulled down onto the bed. Joe snuggled up to him again, his pouting lips invitingly turned towards Levon, yet his eyes closed. Levon lost all his defenses. Cupping Joe´s face with his hand Levon moved closer, so close that finally he was able to tenderly place his lips on Joe´s. They were incredibly soft. Joe seemed to be a bit out of it. He did not react at first. It seemed rather that he had already fallen asleep again. But then his face lit up with a blissful smile.
Levon was stunned. He could not avert his eyes. Joe looked like a little boy, a little boy who had just unpacked the Christmas present he had wished for and who had afterwards fallen asleep under the Christmas tree.
