Request fromSkymuse (fanfiction)
Warm or cold?
Thor notice the small things first, a suppress cough, a sneeze. By the third day he knew that Jack had caught something that had made him sick. He immediately went to find Loki.
"Thor? What's wrong?" Loki asked looking up from his book. They were somewhere in Western Canada. Loki was sitting and under an extremely tall tree reading another book. It was hard to find him without a book.
"Jack is getting sick." Thor said. Loki snapped his book closed. There was nothing worse than a sick Jack since they can't give him any earthy medicines. "He's been coughing and sneezing. He's trying to hide it."
"Great." Loki grumbled. "Where is he now?"
The brothers would need to get what medicines they could into Jack before the sickness got worse. "He went to Russia, to cause a blizzard. Then he was going to the warren to meet Bunny to have a race." Thor said. Loki was gone in a flash of green light.
-"Love is like a fart, if you have to force it it's probably crap."-
Loki spotted Jack just below the cloud line. His blue sweater stood out in the white snow clouds. The mischief God whistled up to his younger brother. Jack smiled and waved down at him. He finished guiding the storm to where it can continue alone. The boy flew down to meet his brother.
"Hi Loki! What's up?" Jack greeted happily. Loki looked into Jack's brilliant blue eyes. They seemed off, clouded. His cheeks were lightly flushed and barley noticeable. His knuckles were white. His hands clutched his staff like a life line. Loki suspected that he was in pain.
"Not much. How are you feeling?" Loki asked narrowing his eyes.
"I'm fine." Jack said quickly faking a smile.
"Jack, you can't lie to me. I know you're sick." Loki said.
"No I'm not!" Jack gasped his voice cracking. Then he sighed. "It's just a warm."
"Still sick. You're coming with me." Loki said. Before Jack could react Loki grabbed his arm and teleported to New York in the Stark Towers guest wing. He pulled Jack into one of the empty bedrooms. "Lay down. I'll go make your medications."
Jack grumbled something unintelligible and complied. The blind boy leaned his staff against the wall and pulled the covers down before crawling into bed. Loki went into the bathroom and filled a cup full of water. He set it on the bedside table. "Thanks." Jack grumbled. Loki could tell his throat was sore from the tone.
"I'll be back. Stay in bed." Loki said emphasizing each word. His little brother sighed and snuggled into the covers. The mischief god turned the thermostat down as he left. He walked into the living room were Tony was watching TV.
"Hey reindeer games, what's up?" Tony asked looking over his shoulder.
"I need you to watch Jack." Loki said.
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Okay, why?"
"He's got a warm." Loki elaborated.
Tony stood up and walked over. "A warm?"
"His version of a cold." The frost giant explained. "Keep him in bed, keep the room cold and don't let him eat anything with dairy. Oh and remember no medicine."
"That's a lot to remember." Tony took a deep breath. "Where are you going?"
"Find some herbs." Loki said as he teleported away. He looked through the tunnels of the warren until he found the pooka. "Hey Bunny, I need your help."
-"Twenty five drivers start every season in formula one and each year, two of us die. What kind of person does a job like this?"-
AN: Jack's Pov
His head hurt, his throat burned, everything ached. Jack was trying to play it off as nothing. He pulled the cover over his head to keep the cold in. He knew Loki turned the temperature down, but to Jack it still wasn't cold enough.
"Jack?" Tony asked. Jack didn't hear him coming. The winter god peaked out of the covers. "Do you need anything?" The blind boy shook his head. "Are you sure?"
Jack let out an annoyed growl and a whimpered. His throat felt like it was on fire. He created a hand full of snow and ate it. It soothed his throat. Once it melted Jack made a disk of ice the size of a nickel and stuck it in his mouth.
"Your version of a throat lozenge?" Tony asked. Jack nodded. The ice was soothing and cold on his burning throat. "Loki should be back with some plants or something soon."
The blind boy could tell that Tony was unsure. The Billionaire walked into the room and sat in one of the arm chairs. If Loki was going to go get plants that would mean he was going to make his medications. He'd never said anything to Joro, but the drugs did still slow time down. The only reason he never said anything was because it did take the pain away.
His mother found some herbal concoction that worked for Jack the first time he got sick and used it ever since. She must have taught Loki how to make and use it.
Loud footsteps thumbed down the hallway. The door to the room burst open. "Hi Jack!" Thor greeted happily. "I brought you some snow!" The thunder god dumped the snow on the bed. Jack smiled, but didn't say anything. "Where's Loki?"
"Right behind you." Loki said in a French accent. Jack could already smell the herbs. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. The winter god tuned out the bickering adults and pulled the covers over his head. He was just falling asleep when the talking caught his attention again.
"He's sleeping. Don't wake him up. Sleeps good for co-warm." Tony said.
"He's not sleeping." Loki said. Jack could hear some metallic clanging and someone flicking something. "Besides he won't even notice." Jack felt something poke his arm, but he didn't bother to move. He was too tired. "Didn't even stir."
"Go thing mother invented a serum that would inject by needle. He fights hard when it comes to taking any medicine." Thor said. Jack froze. He hated needles.
"How long do you think the kid will be out?" Tony asked.
"Not too long." Thor said. Jack was already sleeping by the time the drugs kicked in. After what seemed like days the boy woke up. He could still feel the heat of the sun on his face. He groaned and rolled over. He grabbed an armful of snow and cuddled into it. "See I told you 2 and a half hours right on the dot. You owe me 50 bucks."
"Really?" Jack grumbled groggily. His voice was scratchy, but it didn't hurt to talk anymore. He was surprised that it had only been two and a half hours. It felt like at least a day. 'I hate medicine. I hate being sick. I hate needles. I hate everything.' Jack thought with an annoyed huff.
"How are you feeling?" Loki asked. Jack glowered at him. "Jack."
"Horrible." He snapped. Loki ruffled Jack's hair. The boy smiled. "Sorry."
"No worries. We all get sick and grumpy." Loki said. Jack could hear the smile in his voice. "Do you want something to eat?" The mischief God asked. Jack quickly shook his head. "You really should eat, it'll help." The winter god continued to shake his head. "Fine. I won't make you."
"Story!" Thor said. He sounded like a little kid.
Jack smiled. "Thor cross-dressing for his hammer?" He suggested.
"Wait, what? I gotta hear this." Tony said.
Loki sat on the bed beside Jack facing Thor and Tony. He started to tell the story. Jack would laugh which would turn into a coughing fit. He would drink almost a whole glass of water each time. Jack could feel the heat of the sun slowly dissipate and he knew it was getting pretty late.
"Bed time." Loki said once he finished the story. Jack, Thor and Tony all groaned. "Sorry, but Jack needs his sleep."
"Night snow-cone." Tony said as he stumbled out of the room. He must have had a little too much to drink. Thor laughed at his friend's drunken state. Thor ruffled Jack's hair and said good night before leaving. Loki refilled his water and also ruffled his hair before leaving. Jack sighed and burrowed into the covers with an armful of snow.
The blind boy had woken up multiple times during the night. He had a stuffed nose and couldn't breathe through it. He breathed through his mouth. His mouth got dry and he would wake up coughing. Jack had drunk a lot of water and went to the washroom several times during the night. What seemed like ours was really minutes. Time was his enemy as he tried to fall asleep again, but waking up soon after.
Jack heard loud footsteps coming towards his door. The door quietly squeaked open. He groaned. "Didn't have a good night?" Thor asked. The winter spirit nodded. He could barely keep his eyes open. Thor walked in and sat on the bed beside his sick younger brother. He put a hand on Jack's head. "You're warm. You've got a fever. I'll go get Loki." He said before leaving.
Thor returned with Loki. The mischief god felt Jack's head. The boys head ache had returned and his throat was starting to burn again. "Yep definitely has a fever."
"Time?" Jack asked.
"It's 11:30 in the morning." Thor answered. "What are we going to do?"
"More medicine should help. Turn down the temperature too." Loki grumbled. Jack had tuned out going into his own little world.
"I'll go get more snow!" Thor announced and left to do his task. Loki went over to the corner where Jack knew there was a table from his exploring. He heard a bit of clunking and more metallic clicking. Thor came back and dumped the snow onto the bed.
Loki asked if he wanted anything to eat and Jack still wasn't hungry and refused to eat. Thor wrapped his arms around Jack and hugged him tight. "Jack, time for more medication."
Jack's eyes went wide and he tried to get away from Thor who still had a firm grip on him. He struggled desperately trying to get away without hurting his brother. "Come on Jack. It's just a small prick." Thor tried to convince him.
"No!" Jack gasped struggling harder. The thunder god kept an iron grip on Jack and refused to let go.
"Where's Sandy when you need him?" Loki grumbled. He grabbed Jack's wrist. "It'll help you."
The blind boy knew he wasn't going to get out of this and gave up. Jack winced at the sharp poking pain in his arm.
"See that wasn't so bad." Loki said in a baby voice.
Jack narrowed his eyes and frowned. "I hate being sick." He grumbled. Thor set him back into the snow covered bed and covered him up.
"Don't worry Jack, you'll get better soon." Thor said petting his younger brother's head. Jack signed. He really hoped so.