All The Things I Hate About You, Part XXII

Rating: M

Summary: All The Things, continued. Kate Advent, Day 22.

#22 When you got me sick

"GRAAAAANGER,"

No response.

"GRAAAAAAAANNNNNNGEEEEEEEERRRRRR,"

Stomping, getting closer. A door slamming against the wall.

"BLOODY HELL, MALFOY," Granger shouted, emerging in his blurred vision. "What is it now? What do you want?" Her hands rested on her hips disapprovingly and he grimaced.

"Hey," he said, his voice morphed into some muted and obnoxious ruin by the amount of mucus setting up camp in his sinuses. He sniffled a few times, trying to regain his breath before he went on. "You are the one who got me sick."

Her eyes narrowed, but he could see the rest of her posture had softened. Her hands even left her hips, crossing lazily over her chest instead. Draco was momentarily distracted by the v-shape of her t-shirt before shaking his head and refocusing.

"You got me sick," he repeated, sniffling. "I would think, Granger, the least you could do is tend to the man you got so severely ill."

She rolled her eyes.

"I am taking care of you, Malfoy!"

He tried to sit up in his bed, reaching for the bottle of water. She watched him struggle for a few seconds before sighing and sitting at the edge of his bed, taking the bottle and tipping it between his feverish lips.

"Godric," she breathed. "Why are men such BABIESwhen they get sick? It's bloody ridiculous."

He pouted. "Not nice, Granger."

"Then, don't be a pussy, Malfoy," she countered.

"A what?" He blinked, unsure if his ringing ears had heard her correctly. "A cat? Is that meant to be derogatory?"

"Fuck," she sighed. "Yes. Yes, it is. But – Never mind – The point is that you should really toughen up about being ill. It's pathetic."

Granger accio'd a damp cloth and began wiping at his burning, sweat-soaked forehead and bare chest. Draco, feeling cold – always so, so cold – shivered and reached desperately for another layer to cover himself.

She tucked him back into the several throws and duvets sitting on top of him, then leaned back against his bedframe and brushed away his damp blond strands.

"I'm just saying," she went on. "When I was sick with the flu, I bloody went to work. I SUCKED IT UP AND I WENT ON WITH MY LIFE INSTEAD OF," – she paused arching a brow at his childish, snitch-patterned throw he clutched to his cheek, "Whatever this is."

He slipped off to sleep and woke hours later in the dark with a fire burning all over his body. Draco kicked off his blankets and covers and everything to try and get some cool air over his feverish, sweaty body. He huffed and huffed, coughing up unspeakable amounts of phlegm.

"Hey!" Granger shouted, barely managing to right herself as she fell off the bed. "Watch where you're kicking, would you? I can't very well take care of you if I'M INJURED."

Malfoy blinked, staring at the bushy-haired witch coming into view as his eyes adjusted to the dim-lighting.

"Granger," he sputtered, tilting his head as he forced himself into a sitting position. "What the fuck are you doing all curled up at the end of my bed? Bloody weirdo,"

"Bloody wei - " She blinked, her lips twisting into a disapproving line. "I WAS ONLY TRYING TO KEEP A BLOODY EYE ON YOU TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T CHOKE ON YOUR MUCUS AND DIE IN YOUR SLEEP, MALFOY!"

"But why - "

She shifted to shove him over to one side, then sat beside him and opened a salve. "Because you wouldn't stop bloody swatted me or sneezing in my face and I would very much like to not find out if this illness would rather return to my wonderfully accommodating host of a body."

"I – Oh," he replied dumbly, his head groggy and heavy.

Draco tried to find the will to come up with a valid response to her small rant but found he could not with the weight of his head. His head fell back against the headboard and took a long, laboured breath.

Granger wiped at the sweat over his chest, then dipped two fingers in the salve and began rubbing it carelessly around his torso.

"WHOA," he protested, swatting away her hand.

"MAFOY," she screeched, reaching out to him with her medically coated fingers. "YOU NEED THIS EVERY FOUR HOURS IF YOU PLAN ON CLEARING YOUR LUNGS ANY TIME SOON."

He pouted.

Granger huffed, "You do enjoy breathing, don't you?"

Draco swatted away another advance and choked out, "You're bloody doing it wrong!" between bouts of poorly timed, mucus-filled coughs.

"What?" She snapped, glancing at the instructions written on the container. "No, I'm not." Her eyes narrowed as she read them again. Then twice more. "Malfoy, what are you – Wait – HEY – HOLD STILL FOR FUCK'S SAKE, MALFOY,"

"You have to rub it in clockwise, Granger!" He protested, taking hold of her wrist with what little strength he could muster. Another bout of throaty coughs. "You have to rub it clockwise, and you have to sing the song."

"Sing… the song?" She echoed, blinking profusely. "What song?"

"Here," Draco sighed, "I'll teach you," he said, letting go of her wrist and letting his head fall back against the headboard.

Granger, meanwhile, shifted from her position straddling him to make herself more comfortable. "Go on," she replied tentatively.

"Brave wizard, fair wizard, which will it be?" he paused to take a deep, laboured breath. "Clever wizard, ambitious wizard, the Hat will see," then he sighed, his grey gaze falling on the witch above him.

"Got it?" He asked her, arching a silver brow. "Do you think you can," – a paused to cough up half a lung – "handle that simple rhyme?"

"Are you – Are you bloody kidding me? You must be joking," she blinked.

"No," he pouted. "Absolutely not. Sing the song, Granger,"

She scoffed, "Have you always been a spoiled prat? Showered with magic and riddled with privilege?"

"Have you always been an insufferable swot?" He countered.

"You're incorrigible," Granger ruled after a beat of silence.

He glowered, but she took up more salve and began rubbing it into his chest in a clockwise motion with the precision he was used to seeing her display when she was put to a task.

She sighed, catching his expression, and rolled her eyes, taking up the silly rhyme his mother used to sing to him when he got sick (and when his father wasn't around to ridicule them for it).

"Thank you," he choked out, spewing mucus into a handkerchief.

Granger took another tissue from the box beside his bed and dabbed at the sides of his mouth, before tossing it in the bin and adding, "Kobe!" under her breath.

Draco chuckled, feeling drowsiness settle in his veins once again, pulling back to sleep.

"One day," he said, muttering the words into the space between them as she curled up against his scorching body. "You are going to have to tell me what that bloody means."

She laughed, stroking his hair away from his eyes, "One day," she promised, falling asleep with him.

A/N - How is it already Day 22!? Dedicated to chuzziewuzzie xx