Much love to all you followers and reviewers. Can I just say how much your support means to me?

Also, Larjus gave me a wonderful idea for an interesting scene...

In sickness

"Such a sad little sinner." The monster said, his voice high and unforgiving. He could feel the floor disappear beneath him. The darkness closing in around him, consuming him drowning him. It was a suffocating, humid heat that was all around him, all that he could breathe. A terrifying feeling of being squeezed from the inside out came over him as he flung out his arms, desperate to get a hold of something.

"I'm not a sinner!" He shouted back. "I'm a good person." his throat was constricted. The horrible sensation of being trapped in this hot, humid darkness overpowering all his senses.

"You keep telling yourself that, Christophe." The monster smiled at him. His grin a dazzling, terrifying white, multiplying until it was all around him. The monster reached out to him, claws surprisingly cool on his arms as he grasped Christophe.

"No! Leave me alone!" Christophe shouted.

"Christophe! Christophe!" The voice sounded familiar now, low and British. He knew that voice well and it pulled him up and out of his dream. His eyes flew open and he looked up into Gregory's worried eyes. He realized he was gasping and panting to get his breath back. The world around him seemed oddly bright and into focus after the misty reality of his dream. But what stood out the most was his bedside lamp that was turned on and Gregory who was leaning over him, grasping his shoulders and shaking him. The blond was wearing his usual pale blue pajamas and could he have paid more attention he would have noticed the way his hair was a bit ruffled.

"Are you all right?" Gregory asked. He found he couldn't answer right away. He still wasn't fully realizing he was awake and that this was real, and not the odd reality he had just come from. Gregory seemed to realize this and continued to talk to him, obviously trying to get him back with him.

"I heard you moaning and shouting from my room and I thought I would come and check on you. You must have had a terrible nightmare."

"Yes." He rasped. Gregory seemed relieved that he was finally talking. He was still leaning over him and not letting go off his shoulders.

"Want to talk about it?" Christophe shifted so that Gregory could sit down and he did. But he groaned when he realized what he moved into. Sweat. His whole bed was drenched in it.

"What is it?" Gregory asked. But then Christophe realized he was all clammy and slick with sweat, hot all over, and he threw the covers off of him. The moment he did, however, he started to feel colder than he had ever felt in his life. He shivered violently. He started when he felt Gregory's hand on his forehead.

"You're burning up." Gregory whispered. But Christophe grabbed the sweaty covers to cover himself again.

"No, I'm a bit cold." It was difficult to form proper sentences. Gregory's hand wiped away the sweat from his brow and his face.

"That's strange, because you feel very hot." Christophe felt oddly thankful for the Brit to be there and the attention he was giving him. So he wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying to him.

"Maybe you're getting sick." But that did have his attention.

"No, I'm not!"

"I think you are, Christophe. You feel all hot yet you say you're cold, that nightmare..."

"Stop eet! I'm not sick! Being sick is for ze weak!"

"You have been really busy and overworked these past weeks, maybe it's just your body's way of saying.."

"No, eet's not! My body ees not weak, eet's not saying zat. I'm not…" With horror he felt tears form in his eyes. And he saw, with a feeling of relief, how Gregory leaned in and hugged him. Christophe clung to him desperately, completely ignoring his own sweatiness.

"I'm not sick." He mumbled into Gregory's shoulder.

"Okay, okay." Gregory stroke his hair comfortingly. Even in his distressed state he noticed how Gregory's body felt against his and how his soft hair tickled cheek.

"Are you better now? Can I get you anything? Maybe some water?"

"Okay." He managed. Gregory moved away and Christophe snuggled back under the covers, desperate to get some warmth. Gregory came back and with shaking hands Christophe accepted the glass of water. Drinking it cost nearly all his energy and he fell back against his pillow, panting furiously. Gregory tucked him in, still looking worried.

"If you need anything in the night, just call out, okay?"

Christophe nodded weakly, already falling back to sleep.

He awoke the next time with Gregory once again leaning over him, this time in his suit, obviously ready for work.

"Hey, I left you another glass of water."

"Mhgn."

"I also left you some aspirin."

"I'm not-."

"I know you're not sick. But just take them." Some hesitation. "To humor me."

"Ughn, okay." He managed to pull himself up and swallow the pills down with some water, his throat all hot and tight.

"Maybe you should call in sick today. Just to rest from the night."

"Urgh, I don't know."

"At what time do you have to work?"

"Not until, not until." He was digging around in his mind. "8 PM"

"Get your sleep until then, okay?"

"Yes, yes. Okay."

He fell asleep before Gregory had even left the room, slipping into confusing and vague dreams. Sometimes floating near consciousness when he realized he was tossing and turning in his sleep, but never able to wake up from his dreams.

He woke up mid toss when someone came into his room. He panicked and wanted to shout out in warning but then his eyes flew open and he recognized Gregory's face as it came into view. Gregory's hand wiped some sweat from his forehead.

"How are you feeling?"

"Mmhm."

"Come on." He was pulled up and force fed some water. Gregory refilled the glass from a pitcher and gave him some more water and pills. He fell back against the covers, once again exhausted from moving. He noticed that Gregory had also brought him some bread. He was just about to reach over and grab a piece when Gregory pulled back the covers and started to tug on his boxers.

"What ze fuck are you doing?"

"I need to take your temperature." He held up a thermometer.

"What-NO!"

"Christophe.." Gregory sighed.

"Eet ees embarrassing!" He wasn't embarrassed at all. The other day he had taken his clothes off without thinking with Gregory there, but this was different. This could prove his body's weakness: being sick.

"I've already seen your ass in the shower! Don't be such a baby." And in his tired and sick state he couldn't stop Gregory from rolling him onto his stomach and have his boxers pushed down.

"I 'ate you." He growled out as the cold metal of the thermometer was pushed inside him fluently. Gregory had obviously applied Vaseline beforehand.

"You're a pervert." He grumbled into his pillow. Gregory ignored him and just extracted the thermometer after it beeped, indicating it was done taking his temperature. Christophe pulled his boxers back on and looked at Gregory, who was frowning at the thermometer.

"Christophe, this is not good."

"What does eet say?"

"100"

"Celsius, you stupid Brit."

"40, that's pretty high. You are sick. I'll call Tweek." This time Christophe didn't object anymore as Gregory got his phone and looked up Tweek's number. Christophe grabbed a piece of bread and took a bite. With a lot of difficulty he managed to finish the piece of bread. He nearly fell back to sleep as he heard Gregory talk on the phone, his English accent soft and soothing. Gregory returned to his side and stroke some hair out of his face, his fingertips cool against Christophe's hot skin.

"There, that is taken care off. And I hate this, but I have to get back to work." Christophe was confused and it must have shown on his face because Gregory clarified:

"I came over during lunch break, to check on you."

"You didn't 'ave to."

"I know I didn't. You get some sleep, okay?" Christophe nodded, too tired to do or say anything.

"And if anything comes up just call. I hate leaving you alone like this." Christophe managed to find a bit of energy to speak back.

"Don't worry, I'll call. Thanks." He whispered. Gregory stood up and petted him on the head.

"Go to sleep, I'll see you soon."

The dreams came back, confusing him and throwing him into terrifying worlds filled with old demons off his past: his mom dying or hurting and even new terrors: Gregory getting hurt or never wanting to speak to him again. Slowly he felt himself drift back to consciousness and he realized he was moaning and shouting in French. Random words off hatred, love, comfort and despair fell from his mouth. From afar he heard a voice, a strangely familiar voice say:

"He's been like this all day." And another voice reply:

"We need to calm him down, try to wake him up."

"Christophe!" He recognized that voice. Gregory. A pair of hands was shaking his shoulders. With a lot of difficulty he opened his eyes, meeting Gregory's blue ones. He stopped yelling mid-shout.

"Fils de p-."

He panted and tried to keep his eyes open. Gregory looked really worried and somewhat disheveled. His eyes big and worried and he was still in his suit from work. Christophe looked around in confusion, trying to find out who that other voice had been.

"Kyle?" The redhead smiled at him.

"Hey Christophe."

"What are you- what are you doing here?" It was very difficult to speak, let alone speak in English.

"Gregory called, he was worried about you."

"You have been asleep for nearly all day." The blond clarified. "I wanted to see if it's just the flu or maybe something else as well."

He permitted himself to be pulled upright, not able to protest against anything.

"Do you have any pain?" Kyle asked. Christophe could only nod. He was sore all over, and especially his neck and shoulders were killing him.

"Where?" He indicated to his shoulders and neck, not able to speak. Kyle's hands slid over his shoulders and neck.

"Hm, yeah, you're all stiff. Can I look in your ears and throat?" He nodded weakly. Kyle checked him quickly.

"I was afraid of that."

"What?" Gregory sounded really worried as he came back into the room, carrying a glass of water. Christophe hadn't even noticed him leaving, still too tired to do much.

"Ear and throat infection. He's got it bad."

"So what do we do?"

"Medication." Kyle scribbled something on a pad. "I'll go and get it for you, the pharmacy is right around the corner."

Gregory turned to Christophe and handed him the glass of water.

"Here, drink something." He took it silently, still not able to speak or think too much.

"Are you okay with sleeping in my bed with me for a few days?" Gregory asked, unsure. "I don't want you far away when you're sick like this." Christophe nodded weakly. Gregory's bed was bigger than Christophe's, big enough for the two of them to be able to sleep without bothering the other.

"Okay."

With some difficulty he got up from his bed, but he was shaking all over. Gregory's arm moved around his waist, permitting him to lean heavily on the blond. He was led into Gregory's bedroom and sat down on the bed, still shaking all over. Gregory left the room and came back with some bread and he took it and chewed on a piece with difficulty. He felt slightly more awake and he realized he needed to eat something. Even when swallowing was difficult and painful. Gregory sat down next to him and undid his tie and threw it onto his chair. He looked at the silently eating Frenchman next to him.

"It's weird to see you quiet like this." Christophe smiled a bit.

"Yeah well. English, right now. It's difficult."

Gregory laughed in relief, again he stroke away some of the sweaty hair in Christophe's face. It seemed as if Christophe's sickness made him rather touchy. Christophe didn't exactly mind. They looked at each other silently. The worry was still evident in Gregory's eyes, but also something else. Christophe's mind was just trying to find out what it was when Kyle came back in, obviously he had taken a key with him.

"Okay, I got the medication. It's a lot." He held up some boxes. Christophe listened to Kyle explain to Gregory about the medication and how to treat him. Pills, three times a day, washed down with a lot of water. In general giving him a lot of water, even when drinking hurt. Letting him rest a lot. Aspirin against the pain and fever, etc, etc.

"Oh, and his temperature should be down by tomorrow morning, if not you need to contact me again." Gregory nodded. Christophe just narrowed his eyes at the thought of Gregory trying to get into his boxers again, literally, when he was sick. He hated the confirmation of his body's weakness and only wanted Gregory to take off his boxers in a situation very different than to simply check his temperature.

Kyle got up.

"Christophe, feel better soon." Christophe nodded.

"Thanks for your help Kyle." He managed to say. Gregory got up and walked Kyle towards the door. Christophe watched them go and crawled back under the covers. Gregory came back and sat on the bed. He had grabbed some of the pills and gave them to Christophe with a glass of water. With a lot of difficulty he managed to swallow the pills.

"Do you want to eat some more?"

But Christophe just shook his head. Gregory nodded.

"You should get your rest then." Christophe smiled weakly and wanted to thank the blond, but he was exhausted and drifted off to sleep almost instantly.

He awoke a while later. It was dark and he noticed he was pressed against something warm. During the night he must have snuggled up to Gregory, as he lay with his head pressed against the blond's chest. Gregory was snoring very softly and had his arm thrown over him, trapping him against his body. Christophe shifted and managed to end up even closer. Gregory mumbled something in his sleep and pulled him against him.

"No, not the tea. The tea is sacred." He heard Gregory's sleepy voice mumble in his ear. Even in his sleepy and not quite healthy state Christophe couldn't help himself but find Gregory's mumbling adorable. He allowed himself to press his legs against Gregory's and felt a hand twitch in sleepiness on his back. Warm lips grazed his forehead as Gregory murmured again.

"I told you I didn't like Earl Grey." Was he actually dreaming about tea? The blond was just too British to be real sometimes. But he was pulled into his dreams again, and this time he slept peacefully.

He awoke with a warm body pressed against him from behind. He had moved onto his side and Gregory had moved with him, spooning him effortlessly, in a manner that suggested they did this many times. The feeling of his warm chest pressed against his back and their legs entangled under the blankets. Gregory jerked behind him when a loud sound sounded from behind them. It was Gregory´s alarm, Christophe realized.

The blond moved away to turn off the alarm. But then, to Christophe´s surprise, he moved back and snuggled up to Christophe. His eyes flew open as he felt Gregory nuzzle his neck and sigh contently. He must think Christophe was still asleep. His arm tightened around him, pulling him closer, and he let him. Gregory nosed his hair for a last moment before moving away and out of the bed.

Christophe was glad he did. Otherwise he would have felt his rapid heartbeat or worse, noticed his raging boner in his boxers.

XXX

Gregory had left, leaving him home alone reluctantly. But not before he had force fed Christophe more pills and some bread. Christophe swearing and cursing in the process. He hated being taking care off, even when it was Gregory who was doing it. Gregory, of course ignored him completely, taking his temperature even as Christophe called him every bad name he knew.

He had fallen asleep right after Gregory had left, he had only awoken when Gregory had called him on the phone during lunch. The blond had demanded he took some more pills and drank some water. Christophe was swearing and cursing him as he did exactly as the blond told him, listening to Gregory's calm voice on the phone.

But secretly he was still a bit glad Gregory had made sure he had gotten the right medication, he felt better already. When he awoke in the afternoon he could feel he was less hot than before.

He wanted to take a shower no matter what. He felt really sweaty and he had started to smell. Taking a shower, was claiming a lot of his energy however, and he just stood leaning against the tiles, completely tired.

He heard the sound of the door. Just vaguely. His mind too fuzzy to fully comprehend it. Until Gregory opened the bathroom door, that is.

"What on earth do you think you are doing?" The blond demanded.

"Taking a fucking shower." Christophe grumbled from his place against the wall. "You are a hygiene freak, you should recognize zis."

Gregory came closer, taking in Christophe naked and tired form.

"I know what a shower is." He said tartly, drawing even closer. "But you are too weak to take one."

"No, I'm not. I'm fine." Christophe growled, even when big black dots appeared in his vision. He had been standing up for too long.

"You are obviously not fine." Gregory was standing right in front of him, just outside of the stream.

"No!" He realized Gregory wanted to force him out of the shower. But as he made a move to get away from him he started to sway dangerously in his spot. In a flash, Gregory had his arms around him, holding him up. His suit getting soaking wet in the process.

"You are one stubborn French man." Gregory murmured in his ear.

"Your suit.." Christophe tried. All his willpower directed to not feeling too much of Gregory's body against his as he was pressed against the tiles. The wet suit clinging to his body in a way that was nearly filthy and clearly showing the firm chest and nice muscles underneath. He had never seen such an erotic sight as Gregory in wet clothes.

"Don't worry about it." Gregory murmured back. He reached beside him where a poofy bath sponge was. He started to clean Christophe´s shoulders and chest with it, who could only lean back and allow him to do it. Too stunned by the vision of a wet Gregory cleaning him and touching him so willingly.

"Below my waist also needs cleaning." Gregory's eyes met his. For a moment they were both silent. Then, without looking, Gregory reached down and traced the bath sponge over his waist, before dipping lower. Christophe blinked as Gregory started cleaning him between his legs. Not looking down or letting his fingers come into contact with him. He spread his legs and Gregory reached between them, cleaning him carefully with the bath sponge. He could have sworn he saw Gregory´s pupils grow big as he parted his mouth slightly in surprise.

He had to think hard about his mothers fat sister Claudine to not get aroused. Somehow, Gregory feeling he really, really liked what he was doing terrified him. But the blond was right there, all wet and terribly hot in his soaked suit, his smell so wonderfully in the air.

"There." Gregory concluded in a soft voice.

"What about my calves?" Christophe replied in an equally soft voice, his smile slightly crooked.

"I'm not going down on my knees for you." Gregory said, with a frown.

"Well zat's a shame." Christophe said and Gregory laughed.

"You're sick yet you're still being a pervert."

"Yes." Christophe quirked an eyebrow. "Even being sick couldn't stop zat." Gregory smiled and stepped away from him, turning off the shower.

"Come on." He permitted Gregory to lead him to his bedroom, where he was forced onto the bed and toweled dry by the blond.

"Stop zat, I can do zat myself." He grumbled as Gregory tousled his hair with the towel.

"'ave eet your way zen." Gregory said, mimicking his accent.

"Don't make fun of me, you stupid British person!" Christophe snapped, trying to copy Gregory's British accent but failing horribly. Gregory just laughed and moved to the door.

"I'm going to see what I can do about my suit." He said as he opened the door.

"Yes, you do zat." Christophe said as he watched him go, admiring for the last time how that wet suit left very, very little to the imagination.

He sighed in longing.