Some say doctors make the worst patients. Nagi disagrees, and whoever came up with that saying clearly has never had to look after a sick Vandham! But he did promise, in sickness and in health.

It's been so long since I've played Xenoblade X, I had to watch some of the cutscenes to help me write the characters better, so hopefully it worked. Also, I had completely forgotten how much Vandham swears!

I originally got the basic idea for this like a year ago from NullNoMore (who writes amazing Xenoblade X fics!) So, thank you!

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

In sickness and in health

"I hate everything!"

It's been a horrible few days for Jack Vandham. After managing to dodge it for quite a while, and even congratulating himself on managing so well, he has finally and inevitably caught the illness that has been sweeping through NLA for the past several weeks.

It's not a deadly, or an otherwise particularly dangerous one, leaving no permanent damage to those who go through it. It's just highly unpleasant, with the effects varying from a mild cough and fever to high temperatures, heavy coughing, and vomiting.

People started reporting in sick first a few at the time, then more and more, and it's been estimated most people have had the illness at some point at least. For some reason, it seems to only effect humans, and thanks to all the non-human inhabitants and allies of NLA they have managed to keep things running far better than if there were only humans living there.

Vandham and Nagi have been two of few who have avoided getting ill, either through luck or convenient working schedules. Until now.

"You know, it's quite a sign of resilience that you didn't get sick until now," Nagi tells him as he heaves himself back on the bed after making it back from the bathroom where he's spent the past ten minutes puking his goddamn guts out, as he calls it. "Especially when you've spent so much time in the company of those who you knew had the illness."

"Not helping," Vandham groans as he tries his best to bury himself in the blankets to escape the cool air of their bedroom. Their cat, Leia, crawls out from where she had hid under the bed when he yelled, and meows at him questioningly. Nagi pets her briefly, while Vandham doesn't seem to even notice, too busy wallowing in misery.

Because Vandham being Vandham, he of course had to get one of the worst cases of the illness in all of NLA, and in addition to the vomiting is also suffering a high fever, sore throat, coughing fits, and a headache. The worst thing, in his very loudly expressed opinion, has been the cough and vomiting, which have teamed up against him in what feels like a never-ending loop, where coughing makes him throw up, which irritates his throat and makes him cough again.

"Jack, get out from under those blankets," Nagi says as he comes to sit next to him on the bed, which dips slightly under his weight. The only part of Jack he can see is the top of his head, peeking from underneath the mountain of blankets. Even Leia hops up on the bed and swats at him, but still getting no reaction. Nagi lightly runs his fingers through the sweaty, greasy strands of blond hair, thinking.

Maybe a warm bath later, he thinks. Might help some.

Luckily, Nagi has not gotten ill yet, partially due to luck, partially because he hasn't spent much time in close proximity to other people, working mainly from his and Vandham's office and sometimes out in the field, helping to look for provisions and medicinal plants to help the ill. Which means he now also has the honour of caring for his sick partner, who is too weak from the illness to do much of anything.

"Jack, do sit up for a bit," he repeats as Vandham shows no signs of moving anytime soon. "I have something for you."

"Whassit?" Vandham asks groggily as he carefully pokes his head from under the covers, wincing at the lights, probably due to headache.

"Medicine, and soup," Nagi informs him as he places the bowl of soup on the nightstand, well away from the edge to make sure it doesn't spill, and holds out the medicine, along with a glass of water, to Vandham.

"Is it that shitty stuff that makes me want to wash my mouth with bleach?" Vandham asks, eyeing the offered medicine with clear suspicion. The same kind of medicine he was given last time he was sick, back on earth, what feels like ages ago.

"Yes," Nagi tells him, refusing to budge when Vandham tries to push at his hand to get the medicine away from him.

"Fuck that shit," he grumbles, making a face at the medicine. "I think I'd prefer to do paperwork, tired of being stuck here day after day," he mutters, and makes a valiant effort of getting out of bed, almost pushing poor Leia on the floor in the process, but only manages to touch one foot to the floor before Nagi is pushing him back down into the pillows.

"Take the medicine," Nagi tells him, putting on the commanding tone he usually saves for his subordinates. Leia is not a fan of it at least, as she jumps from the bed and wanders off somewhere else. "Then you need to rest, to get better. I will tie you to the bed if I have to," he adds, noting how Vandham looks moments away from trying to get up again.

"That would sound like a fun night, but maybe some other time," Vandham grins and winks at him, before having to struggle to suppress a coughing fit. "You have anything else planned?"

Nagi rolls his eyes at that, wondering not for the first time how he actually came to marry this man. Then he reminds himself they are married, and that he's going to help Vandham recover from this illness, a task not made easy by the man clearly not knowing what's good for him.

"If you don't stop being stubborn, I'll call Chausson here and have him recite the regulations about the welfare and economics of NLA," Nagi says, crossing his arms and giving Vandham a look to let him know he will actually do this if that's what it takes.

"Which ones?" Vandham asks with a worried look. Good.

"All of them." Vandham lets out a groan and tries to burry himself back into the blankets. Nagi thinks he can hear the man muttering something along the lines of just kill me and get it over with.

Time to try a new tactic, then. Nagi takes a deep breath and peels back the covers from where Vandham has pulled them tightly around himself.

"The medicine doesn't taste good but remember that it also helped you get better much sooner than normally last time," Nagi reminds him. Vandham had, indeed, recovered from the illness back then in only a few days, as opposed to the week or more it might have taken. "The soup will help get rid of the taste," Nagi reminds him, gesturing to the bowl he brought with him. "Your attempts at flirting also work better when you're not ill," he adds, as an afterthought.

"That soup the good stuff you have a secret recipe for and all?" Vandham asks, visibly perking up at the mention and ignoring the comment about flirting. Nagi almost laughs at the sudden change in attitude but settles for a smile. If there's one thing that gets Vandham to take his medicine, it's the promise of Nagi's cooking.

"Yes," Nagi answers. "Though I had to substitute some of the ingredients, as the ones I normally would have used aren't available on Mira." He offers the medicine to Vandham once more. "But you won't get any of you don't take your medicine first."

He's not sure how to feel about having to bribe Vandham like he's a child, though it is a bit silly. But, if it works, it works. And it does work, amazingly enough, Nagi notes as his partner now sits up and leans against the headboard, letting the blankets pool around his lap.

"Fine, damn you!" Vandham grumbles, then snatches the medicine from Nagi's hand and downs it with a gulp of water, clearly trying to get the unpleasant experience over with as soon as possible.

"Blegh," he grimaces, sticking his tongue out with shudder. "That was disgusting. There are trees in Sylvalum that taste better than that shit!" He gulps down the rest of the water in an attempt to get rid of the taste. Nagi raises a brow.

"Do you spend a lot of your free time licking the trees in Sylvalum?" he asks as he takes the now empty glass and places it on the nightstand, handing Vandham the bowl of soup.

"Why, is there something else you'd prefer I lick?" his partner asks with a wink and what's probably supposed to be a seductive look, but completely fails as he starts coughing in the middle of it all. Amazingly enough, he manages to not spill a single drop of the soup. Or throw up, thankfully for both of them.

"Right now, I'd prefer you eat your soup and get some sleep," Nagi tells him with an annoyed huff, thinking about getting some more water for Vandham, when the man suddenly grabs him by the arm and yanks him down. As he hadn't expected this, he ends up sprawled over Vandham's legs in a somewhat awkward position.

"Was there something else you wanted?" he asks Vandham, shifting slightly to make himself more comfortable. He still has to tilt his head back to look his partner in the eyes, but that's fine.

"You, Kentaro Nagi, are better than anything in the world. This one, or any other." Vandham reaches down and cups Nagi's cheek in one hand, gently stroking over the scar on his chin with his thumb. "Simply the best there is. I love you."

"Well, I love you too, Jack," Nagi tells him with an amused smile. "But there's no need to exaggerate." It's been some time since his partner has talked to him like this, and he finds it quite lovely.

"Not exaggerating," Vandham insists, now stroking his hair like he's petting a cat. "You're amazing, taking time to keep me company and make your special soup and everything. Even though you're also all busy with work and- Wait a moment!" he shouts in the middle of his lovely little speech about how amazing Nagi is. "It's the middle of the day! You're supposed to be at work!" The look he gives Nagi actually makes him laugh this time.

"It's alright, don't worry," he assures his partner, grabbing and squeezing his hand. "I delegated our work a bit, so I'm just doing paperwork from home at the moment. Let's me spend more time with you." He extracts himself from Vandham's hold and gets up from the bed. "Now eat the soup before it gets cold."

"Oh, all right," Vandham calms down and finally starts eating the soup with an appreciative groan. "This stuff is so good," he says. "Who did you delegate my work to, anyway? Because you better not have given it to that snot-nosed little know-it-all! I won't have a job left when I go back!"

"No, I'm doing your job," Nagi tells him. "Like I said, it's just paperwork at the moment. Elma and Kiba are handling my tasks."

"Oh, alright then." Vandham finishes his soup by slurping it all directly from the bowl, which he then places back on the nightstand. "What about Lin and the tater?" he asks, apparently noticing Nagi hadn't mentioned them.

"Miss Koo has managed to get ill as well, and is getting some well-needed rest. Tatsu apparently insisted on staying with her and making sure all is well," Nagi informs him.

"Well, damn," Vandham sighs, running a hand over his face as he slumps down until he's lying on his back. "Kid does not deserve to go through this shit," he grumbles as he pulls the covers over himself, apparently getting too tired to stay awake for much longer. Leia, seemingly sensing things are calming down, returns to the bedroom, announcing herself with a loud, drawn out meow.

"Don't worry," Nagi tells him, lifting Leia and placing her on the bed, stroking his hand over her to settle her down. "Her case is not nearly as bad as yours. She just has a mild fever and a sore throat. She'll probably be fully recovered before you." Knowing the kid is not badly ill and is going to get better soon seems to let Vandham relax further, as he practically sinks into the mattress with a yawn.

"Hmm... that's good," he mumbles, closing his eyes with a stretch and a long yawn. Moments from falling asleep, it seems. Looking the most comfortable and content he's been since falling ill. And Nagi seems to become sleepy just watching him. Leia apparently thinks so too, as she moves from her spot at the foot of the bed and curls up at his side, going to sleep herself while purring softly.

"Move over a bit," Nagi says, moving to the other side of the bed. "Watching you yawning made me tired, so I'll stay with you for a bit before starting all that paperwork you let pile up before getting ill." He slips into bed and presses himself against Vandham as best he can, wrapping his arms around him and pulling the covers over both of them.

"Hmm, sorry," Vandham hums contently, and not at all sounding sorry as he seems to sink into blissful unconsciousness. "What if I get you ill?" he asks sleepily, seeming to struggle to stay awake enough to ask the question.

"Then," Nagi says as he shifts to get more comfortable, pressing up closer to his partner in the process, "you'll get to feed me soup and disgusting medicine and threaten to tie me to the bed if I try to work when I should be resting. Or we'll both be ill together, and Leia will have to look after both of us."

"Sounds great, let's do that," Vandham mumbles, voice barely audible as he's already asleep.

Next to them, Leia starts purring even louder.

Headcanons!

Vandham doesn't get ill much, but when he does it gets pretty bad. Goes straight from zero to a hundred on how bad. He hates being sick, and it's probably the only time he'd voluntarily do paperwork, if only to have something to do. One of the few things he hates more than paperwork is laying in bed, unable to do anything but sleep and be bored.

Nagi cooks sometimes, and has like a handful of special dishes he's amazing at making, but he doesn't make them very often, usually saving them for special occasions. They have secret recipe and everything, which he never shares with anyone.