9. Sickness
It had been a few weeks since he allowed you into his inner walls, allowed you to see not only who he is not but who he had been in the past. The two of you had spent that night talking and you couldn't believe just how you had allowed him to break down your walls and your outer covering of your heart.
Something shifted that night and you were sure you both felt it as the two of you sat holding hands and just listening to stories of your childhoods, your teen years, the quarrels of college, and beyond. Each of you kept pieces hidden and while both of you would have opened up about them if asked, neither pressured the other.
The two of you had been dating for a few months, though neither of you had put a label on the relationship yet. While neither of you had rushed to move your relationship further, even though you both wanted to, neither of you wanted to rush the other. You both knew where you stood with each other, even if words had never been said.
As you made your way towards his apartment you couldn't help but stop by the coffee cart the two of you had routinely stopped on your way to campus each morning. The hot cups brought a warmth to your otherwise cold hands from the winter air.
He had been rather quiet the last few days and when the two of you spoke the night before you could hear the slight cough he had started. However, it wasn't until you called him that morning that you realized just how sick he really was, even if he refused to admit it.
After looking over your schedule for the day you were able to swing by to see him before your first meetings with students about their upcoming finals. As you knocked on his door you heard mumbles and a deep, wet cough coming from his apartment as he moved his way towards the door.
When he opened the door you had to stifle a chuckle at the man in front of you. Where a normally well-tailored and put together man usually stood there was now a very disheveled and ruffled boy.
His short hair fell in waves across his forehead from the lack of gel and mouse and you were sure he was still wearing the clothes from the day before seeing as the shirt was the same you saw him in yesterday morning.
"Y/N.." *cough.. cough* "Is it time to go already? Let me go get my briefcase.." *cough.. Cough"
As you followed him into the living room you felt bad for him. Piled high on the table was a mixture of used tissues, cold medicine packets, and what seemed to be a cup of untouched coffee.
"Rafael.. You are not going into the office today. It's right at finals so the only people that would probably be bugging you right now are frustrated students upset at us professors for their grades." You said as you moved to have him sit back on the couch.
"I have a budget meeting with.." *cough.. cough .. cough* "Ughh I am dying. Is this the end of the line for me?" He asked as he laid his head back on the sofa as he pulled his arms around himself.
As he proceeded to cough and blow his very red nose you dialed his office number hoping the administrative assistant was already in the office.
"Dean Barba's office."
"Hey Carmen, It's Y/N, Rafael won't be making it in today. Not sure if you can hear it or not -"
"Carmen, I will be in ASAP! I have never missed a day yet.." *cough.. Cough"
"Y/N, let Mr. Barba know I have already moved his meeting with the budget committee and that if he gets me sick a week before my Christmas cruise I will make his life a living hell." Carmen said and the two of you shared a chuckle much to Rafael's annoyance.
"You two will be the death of me.. I should have never introduced the two of you." He said before another round of sneezing and coughing.
He had introduced you to Carmen when she first started working with him at the college and had explained how the two of them had worked together previously. Since then, you and Carmen had become good friends and she had called you more than once to calm him down after a rough meeting and you had called her a few times to put him in his place, including when he was sick.
"Raf.. Why don't you go try to take a shower while I send a few emails to students? I am sure it will make you feel a lot better. If anything, you would at least smell better." You said with a wink as he rolled his eyes before moving to get off the couch.
As he made his way into the bedroom you brought out your phone and emailed the students you were planning to meet with to reschedule and move them to the following day. None of them had any issues with it and you were sure that none were prepared to meet with you to go over their final paper proposals so moving the meeting probably helped them anyway.
Once you heard the shower from the cracked bedroom door you got to work. Starting in the living room, you moved to clean up the piles of tissues covering the couch, floor, and table from where you imagined him dropping them as he used them. Once you gathered the trash and finished the living room you moved towards the kitchen doing the same.
The kitchen wasn't nearly as bad as the living room but there were still tissues across the table where his papers from work were located. You figured that is where the "ground zero" of the sickness was located and decided to wipe down the table twice just in case before cleaning the other surfaces of the kitchen.
You heard the shower turn off and after a few moments heard what you believed to be him laying on the bed. You had never been in his room but as you grabbed the hot cup of tea you picked up for him that morning along with your coffee and a book from your bag you moved towards the door.
"Raf.. can I come in?" You asked as you knocked softly.
"Mhm.." He mumbled before grabbing another tissue.
As you moved into the room you saw his eyes light up at the cup in your hand and as he went to grab his cup and take a sip you softly chuckled at his face. You hadn't had the chance to break it to him you did not bring him coffee and he was a bit shocked at the unfamiliar taste.
"You don't need to get sick too, Y/N. You should go." He said softly but you could see it in his eyes he did not mean the words he was saying.
"Rafael, I am not going anywhere. I have a clear day today and I have a new book and a good cup of coffee - no you are not getting any - I will just be in the other room while you nap, okay?"
"Stay." He softly whispered as his eyes started to close and he moved to take your hand.
You moved towards the other side of the bed and as you leaned back against the pillows and took a sip of your coffee before starting to read you felt him move closer. As he sleepily laid his head on your shoulder and you moved to kiss the top of his head you heard it, the words you had wanted to say but were too scared to do it first.
"I love you, Y/N. Thank you.."