In Sickness, Confessions Lie

Erik ended up getting a fever that night. Christine wasn't pleased and Raoul blamed the 'damn cat.'

She should have known that Erik was going to get sick when he came back to his apartment appearing exhausted enough that he looked like he was going to fall over any moment. He practically collapsed onto his bed. He laid face down on the bed for a few moments then he reached down into his pocket and took out his phone. He sent a text to Antoinette and Nadir, letting them know that he was back. He placed the phone face down on the mattress next to him and when it buzzed to tell him that he got a message, he ignored it. With a sigh, he turned his head and pressed his face into the pillow.

"What is he trying to do? Suffocate himself?" Raoul remarked with an amused spark in his eye when Erik didn't move for a few moments.

Christine rolled her eyes and went to sit on the floor next to the bed. "He's tired."

She saw the Erik's phone buzz again and then again a few moments later. With an irritated huff, Erik turned his head and grabbed his phone, unlocking it to view the messages. Christine watched Erik squint at the screen after reading the texts and replied to them. He placed the phone back down and closed his eyes with a sigh.

As the hours passed, Christine could tell something was wrong as Erik fussed in his sleep. It was like he was too hot and cold at the same time. At one point, Raoul used his 'angel' guardian abilities to influence Erik. Raoul came to stand by the bed on Erik's other side and placed his hand over his forehead. A few moments later, Erik's body relaxed, his body letting out a large breath through his nose, and he appeared to have fallen into a deep sleep.

"What did you use?" Christine asked, curious.

Raoul took his hand away from Erik. "Patience. It can sometimes bring about a sense of peace, depending on how I use it. I'm surprise you didn't already use sloth on him."

"If he gets too sick, I didn't want the sin to cause him to not be able to get help." Christine explained, reaching forward to stroke the air above Erik's face as she had often done when he was a child.

Raoul nodded in acceptance. "I think it's just a fever, he'll be fine once he gets some rest."

He sat down on the floor and the two of them stayed there to watch over their third in case he needed them again. As the sun dipped into the horizon and the sky got darker, Christine used sloth to keep Erik asleep. He wouldn't get better if he constantly woke up and she had used that particular sin enough times while Erik had been sick in the past to be confident in her ability. She hadn't used it until he was asleep because if he had been conscious, the sin might have influenced him in the way she had told Raoul. However, sleep was another matter. With Erik's mind lost in his dreams, Christine was able to directly focus on what she wanted the sin to do without having Erik's conscious there to changed it to fit its interpretation.

The evening arrived and Christine abruptly heard the apartment door begin to unlock. She looked up from a slumbering Erik and met Raoul's eyes. Raoul stood up and left the bedroom to go check who had entered.

"It's Nadir and Antoinette." Christine heard Raoul's voice call out from the living room.

Christine released her hold on Erik's mind and immediately Erik's eyelids began to twitch at the sound the two siblings were making in his apartment. Erik's golden eyes blinked opened and remained unfocused. He blinked again and noticed the noise outside his bedroom. With a squint of his eyes, Erik slowly sat up, pressing his hand to his forehead for a couple seconds.

Erik sighed and got up from his bed and made his way to outside. Christine followed him and saw that the two siblings were in the kitchen. Antoinette was searching through the cabinets while Nadir watched with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What are you doing here?" Erik asked. He stopped at the entrance and leaned against the frame.

"Well, since you didn't bother to answer our texts we decided to come check up on you. We figured you might not be feeling well." Nadir explained, turning his head to look back at Erik.

"And by the looks of things, we were right." Antoinette concluded. She had paused in her search and was scowling.

Erik sighed. "I'm fine. I have a small fever, I just need sleep."

Nadir snorted. "You look like you're going to fall over if it wasn't for that wall. Doesn't look like a small fever."

"What about Meg and Darius?" Erik countered.

"Rook's taking care of them." Nadir answered easily with a look that dared Erik to keep going.

"I can't believe you don't have chicken noddle soup." Antoinette grumbled. She opened a cabinet, peered inside it, and then closed it with a huff.

"I'm not hungry." Erik protested.

"You're eating whatever we are going to feed you." Antoinette scowled. "And you are going to like it."

Erik and Antoinette stared at each other, silently battling with their wills. Eventually, Erik was the one to break the eye contact, rolling his eyes with a sigh of irritation.

"Someday, I going to take away your key." Erik mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Antoinette chimed with a fake cheer that expressed that she had heard Erik.

"Nothing." Erik replied clearly.

Antoinette nodded once with a small smirk and went back to probing the kitchen in search of food.

Nadir came up to Erik and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Come on. You shouldn't be standing for very long."

"I think you two are exaggerating how sick I am." Erik objected, but allowed Nadir to steer him into the living room where he was placed on the couch.

"Erik, you feel like you're burning up and that was your arm." Nadir countered. He raised his finger to stop Erik from talking. "Stay there. I'll be right back."

Nadir left and came back with a thermometer in hand.

"Don't even start, open your mouth." Nadir ordered before Erik could say anything.

With a huff, Erik did as he was told. He grabbed the thermometer when Nadir placed it in his mouth and held it still. They waited for several moments, then it beeped. Erik pulled the thermometer out and looked at the reading.

"Yeah okay, maybe you're not exaggerating like I thought." Erik stated, suddenly sheepish.

He handed the thermometer to Nadir, who raised his eyebrow upon reading the temperature.

"103. Well, it's no hospital visit, but we got proof and you have to do as we say."

"And if I refuse?" Erik questioned.

Both of Nadir's eyebrow went up at that. "Do you really want to do this the hard way?"

"Sheesh, Nadir, I was playing." Erik answered softly and looked away.

"Nope, no time for playing." Antoinette declared as she came out of the kitchen with a steaming bowl in her hands. She forced the bowl into Erik's hands and patted his head, causing the younger to squint at her. "Eat."

The tone she had left no room for discussion. Erik ate the soul and tried to ignore the two pairs of eyes that were focused on him to make sure he finished everything. He did and Antoinette took the bowl back.

"Now, go change. I can't believe that you spent all this time in the same clothes. How was that comfortable to sleep in?"

Erik shrugged and grabbed Nadir's offered hand. Nadir pulled him up from the couch and let go. "You know how I get when I'm sick. I become a heavy sleeper."

"I know that's the truth." Nadir confirmed. "You are completely lost to the world. An earthquake wouldn't wake you."

"I wouldn't go that far." Erik disagreed.

While Antoinette went to clean up the kitchen, Nadir helped Erik get back to his room, where he was able to change into his pajamas. This is usually the time concerned family members would leave their sick relative to rest, but the trio were different than other families.

Erik was settled in the middle of his bed and Nadir and Antoinette laid on either side of him. They gave Erik enough room to not feel suffocated between them, but close enough to bring comfort.

"Erik?" Antoinette whispered.

Erik hummed but didn't open his eyes.

"How are things going with the couple?" she asked.

Erik's golden eyes peeked through his eyelids as he looked at his sister. "What? Trying to take advantage of my weaken state?"

Antoinette gave an amused smirk. "No. I wish I had thought of that earlier. Maybe I'll do that next time."

When Erik gave another hum in reply she continued, "And no I'm not. I'm curious, you don't talk about them."

"I talk about them all the time." Erik countered calmly, closing his eyes again.

Nadir snorted. "It doesn't count when it's only about work."

"Fine." Erik conceded. "They are both lovely. There."

"While that is a high praise coming from you, you cannot expect us to be satisfied with that." Nadir stated.

Erik opened his eyes again to squint at the older man. "The two of you are way too interested in this."

"Did you really think otherwise? I'm disappointed." Antoinette teased softly. "Now talk."

"I don't know what to say." Erik protested in a whisper. "They are lovely. Do I get flustered at their mere presence? No. Do constantly have them in my thoughts? No. Am I in love? Heck no."

"Ouch. I kind of wish that we weren't his guardians to have to hear this." Raoul stated playfully enough but Christine could hear the slightest bit of hurt in his tone.

She knew how he felt. Christine didn't think that Erik would fall for them easily, but it still hurt to have confirmation. As long as Erik didn't cut ties with them completely, she was willing to be patient.

"But…" Erik trailed off for a moment with a thoughtful expression. "The world does seem to be the tiniest bit brighter when they are around. They make me laugh and show such beautiful love towards each other and everyone around them. They do and say things that make me feel like they came into my life for a reason. In a way, they almost seem familiar, like there is something different between us. A connection of some sort, but I can't put it into better words."

"You might not be in love, but it sure sounds like you're falling." Antoinette suggested with a small grin.

"Maybe." Erik acknowledged. "I suppose, for now, I'm fine with that."

Christine knew that if she was in her solid form, her heart would have skipped a beat. Erik felt something for them, even if it wasn't love yet, it was more than she had hoped for at this point.

"That's enough." Nadir concluded. "No more questions, Antoinette, Erik needs to sleep."

Antoinette rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. The three siblings were soon all fast asleep. Christine and Raoul would spend the night watching over all three of them.

This was a chapter more for the siblings, but I hope everyone enjoyed it nonetheless. If you did, be sure to leave a review! They make me super happy. The fic is almost over. Just a few chapters left, wanted to give a heads up on that. Next chapter will be in Raoul's POV. See ya next time!