Demyx crept back to consciousness very slowly - he was so warm, very warm, and very comfortable. If he had to get up and crawl out of bed, he'd get cold again, and he didn't want to get cold...he'd been so cold...so cold...and now he was all warm and buried in blankets, and still so sleepy...
And his throat hurt so much...
And there was something else in bed next to him. Or someone. All of a sudden, the all-encompassing sensation of comfort, warmth, and well-being vanished to be replaced by bleak horror - he knew what sharing a bed with someone usually meant for him. He tried to scream, but it came out a cough, which made his throat hurt even worse.
"Huh - are you okay? What's wrong?" It was Axel, who was apparently only just waking up himself. And he was lying on top of the blankets, not under them. Still, what the hell excuse could he have for sleeping on or in Demyx's bed in the first place? Demyx just gave him a reproachful look and tried to ask him what the hell he was doing - but no words came out, only a thin, cracked hiss. Axel looked down at him with concern. "Lost your voice?"
"I...guess..." Demyx could barely hear himself try to talk, and just the effort was painful as hell.
Axel put a hand to his forehead. "Huh...guess I did too good a job of warming you up...that or you're running a fever..." He climbed off the bed and tried to peel some of Demyx's blankets away, but Demyx wanted none of it - the blankets were just fine where they were, thanks. As soon as Axel let go of them, he pulled them right back up where they belonged. "Don't do that. I'm trying to cool you down."
"Meh," Demyx croaked - it was about the best he could manage. Every joint in his body was aching. Right then, he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in blankets again and go right back to sleep. Unfortunately, he started coughing again.
Axel sighed. "Great." He looked at the clock on the desk. "The time is now...4:00 in the morning...I'll bet anything the kitchen is nothing like open at the moment...but I bet I could still sneak down long enough to make a cup of hot chocolate or something. You sound like you could use one - or tea, if you'd prefer," he added doubtfully.
"Nghh..."
"I guess you have a point...tea would probably be better...you like sugar in it?" Demyx nodded and held up two fingers. "Two sugars?" He nodded again. "Awesome. Decaf, I presume, since you look like you're in a hurry to go back to sleep anyway if you can stop coughing long enough. Back in a bit."
As soon as Axel left, Demyx curled up under the covers again, trying to regain that sense of pure comfort and well-being he'd woken up with. His sore throat kept coming between him and it, and by the time Axel came back with the hot tea, he was about ready to give up anyway. "I couldn't find where Xaldin kept the sugar, so I used honey instead - tea with honey is supposed to be good for sore throats, isn't it? I wouldn't know, I don't drink the stuff..."
"S'fine..." Demyx mumbled. After a few minutes of careful sipping, whatever crud had been sealing off his vocal cords had melted away enough to let him talk coherently. "Not bad...thanks..." His head still felt like it was in a fog, and for some reason, his nose was now running like a faucet. "Got any Kleenex?"
"I have a box back in my room..." While Axel went to retrieve the Kleenex, Demyx started drinking the tea a little more quickly - it was cooling off now, and he really wanted to finish it and go back to sleep. There was still half of it left by the time Axel returned.
"Thanks..." Demyx grabbed a Kleenex and blew his nose, then looked around helplessly for a trash can to put it in. Axel quickly brought it over from the other side of the room and set it next to the bedside table, and Demyx gratefully dropped the dirty Kleenex in it. "Thanks for that too...were you a nurse in your past life?"
Axel burst out laughing. "Oh, hell no. What gave you that idea?" Demyx shrugged and went back to drinking tea. When he was finished, he had to remind himself to set the empty cup back on the bedside table instead of going back to sleep with it still in his hands. His throat didn't hurt so badly now, and he was almost asleep by the time he got the blankets where he wanted them. "Guess you're going right back to bed?" Demyx nodded wearily. "Fine...stay warm...hope you feel better in the morning, but if you don't, I'll hassle Vexen on your behalf...and I'm going to go sleep in my own bed now."
"Wait...what were you..." Demyx didn't even have the energy to finish the sentence. Keeping his eyes open was a lost cause.
"Because when I dragged you back from the frozen wastelands, you were shivering so pathetically even under two feet of blankets that I just had to try to help you warm up. And then I fell asleep there. Does that answer your question, or was that not what you were trying to ask?"
"Mmph," was all Demyx could manage as he buried his face in his pillow. Axel sighed and turned out the lights; by the time he shut the door behind him, Demyx was already out for the count.
AN: Aww. Poow wittwe Demy.
Demyx: Mmh...go 'way... (snore)
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, got it memorized?