"You look horrible."
Blaine rubbed his face, unable to find the energy to talk.
"No, Blaine. You seriously look horrible. Why are you here?" Adrian dropped his bag on one of the tables and put the back of his hand to Blaine's forehead. "You're burning up. You've got at least a 102 degree fever. You need to be in bed. Wes and AJ let you out like this?"
"They were already gone." Blaine said, his voice scratchy.
"No. You're not studying. You're going home. And I'm taking you because it's a miracle you didn't fall asleep driving with how dark the circles under your eyes are." Adrian grabbed Blaine's bag and then his own. "Come on."
"We need to study." Blaine argued. "I'm fine."
"We can miss group once. I'm taking you home." Adrian said as two other members of their study group came up. "I'm taking Blaine home before he infects the whole library. Can you guys send us the notes?"
"Sure." One of the girls nodded. "Feel better, Blaine."
"Thanks." Blaine mumbled, slowly standing up.
Adrian gestured in front of him. "You walk first. C'mon."
Blaine shot him a look.
"I don't care. I'll call Wes." Adrian threatened. He knew Blaine well enough by now to know Blaine did not like crossing Wes.
"Don't call Wes." Blaine groaned. "I'm going, I'm going."
"Bye, guys." Adrian waved and followed Blaine into the parking lot.
"I can drive. Seriously. My keys are in my bag. You can just follow me home."
"Nope. Sorry, but no. Get in my car."
"What about my car?"
"I'll pick AJ or Wes up later and they can drive it to your house. This is nonnegotiable."
"Adrian…"
"I'm serious, Blaine. You were too sick to drive here. Let me take you home." Adrian kept his voice very firm, something Blaine had never heard before outside of their actual mock trials.
"Alright." Blaine sighed and got into the passenger seat of Adrian's car.
"You didn't even say you were sick earlier. You said you were tired in class." Adrian got into the driver's side and then pulled a bag of trash and a windbreaker away from Blaine's feet. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Blaine pulled the car door shut, which took more effort than he'd admit, and sagged against the seat.
"Come on. Get your seatbelt on." Adrian put his own seatbelt on.
Blaine pulled it around him, struggling with the buckle for nearly a minute before Adrian helped him.
"You should not be out." Adrian repeated. "I could see you doing this for a lecture but study group? Come on, Blaine. Sometimes you have to miss stuff. That's okay."
"You never miss anything." Blaine moaned.
"Well if I was half as sick as you are now, I'd be missing classes."
"I already missed for the funeral."
"You've got the highest grades in our year and you're clearly really sick. I don't think any of the professors would penalize you." Adrian pulled out of the parking lot and turned in the direction of Blaine's house. "Nobody is home?"
Blaine shook his head and coughed.
"When does Wes get home?"
"I don't know. The sun hurts." Blaine covered his eyes.
Adrian reached over, pulling the sun visor down.
Blaine opened his eyes, relaxing back against his seat again.
"Do you want me to take you to the doctor?" Adrian asked.
"No." Blaine shook his head. "I'll just… I'll just sleep and feel better in the morning. But thanks."
Adrian pulled into Blaine's driveway and undid his seatbelt.
"I'm fine to get out."
"No. You're really not." Adrian got out of the car as Wes pulled up.
"What's going on?"
"He's sick. Like coughing, sun hurts, walks wobbly sick." Adrian said, going over and opening the passenger door. "He showed up for study group like this."
"Oh, Blainers." Wes shook his head. "He really is an overachiever."
"I'm not walking wobbly. You're being dramatic." Blaine got out of the car, reaching for his bag. He swayed a bit when Adrian handed it to him.
"See? He drove like this."
"I'm a very good driver." Blaine complained as Wes slid an arm around his waist. He then growled, "I can walk, Wes!"
"Say bye bye to your nice friend, Blainers." Wes teased.
"I hate you all." Blaine coughed into his own arm.
"Thank you for driving him home." Wes called.
"Any time!" Adrian opened his driver side door again.
"I could have driven myself!" Blaine called. He then hissed, "Just like I can walk!"
"Uh huh. And I don't watch TV or movies or Netflix." Adrian called right back. "Which, in case you're too sick to recall, is all I do when I'm not studying, running, or working."
Blaine whimpered as Adrian backed out.
"You, my friend, are lucky to have so many nice friends." Wes pointed out, helping him into the house.
"I think you meant annoying." Blaine muttered.
"Yep. You're sick. You've always been obnoxious when you're sick to everyone that isn't Kurt." Wes patted his head and sat him on the couch.
"Sometimes I'm obnoxious to him but I'd rather stand my ground to you guys over him." Blaine moved into a laying position. "Because he's scary when you don't listen to him if you're sick or hurt."
"That, and you are whipped. I've maybe seen you say 'no' to Kurt three times in my whole life. And two of those times were before you were even dating." Wes laughed. "Are you hungry? Want some medicine or something?"
Blaine fished in his pocket for his phone. "I want soup."
"Soup? Do we have soup?"
"We should have an emergency can. I hid it behind the bagels. Nobody ever eats the bagels."
"You have emergency cans of soup?" Wes raised his eyebrow. "What?"
"Well when I'm sick, Kurt would always make me that kind of soup. So I got a lot because if he wasn't here, I'd have to make it myself. Because I couldn't send you to get it because you wouldn't know which one it was and if I'm sick enough to eat it, I wouldn't go out. I haven't been sick, though. But after we broke up I would eat it and pretend we were happy and I was just sick instead of heartbroken." Blaine blinked. "That was way too much information."
"Alright. You sit there and I'll get your soup." Wes ruffled his hair and went into the kitchen.
Blaine unlocked his phone, going to his texts. David had sent him a funny picture of a dog in a dinosaur costume. Alex had texted him about Danny's new favorite word combo (piss ninja) which he was sure Blaine would find amusing. Lastly, there was also a picture of Melody sleeping on the stairs which he could see had been sent to Finn and Kurt as well.
But none from Kurt.
Hey, Blaine texted and sent.
Sup?
Blaine raised his eyebrow, making sure he'd texted Kurt.
?
I'm a horrible person. It's Alec. He's in my bathroom. Eric pulled the toilet paper holder out of the wall and apparently it takes more than two people to fix it because it's been an hour.
Blaine let out a loud laugh which turned into a coughing fit.
That or they're having an affair but that'd be pretty bold to do it right under my nose. And Eric can barely make it up stairs so I imagine he'd have a heart attack if they were going at it.
Blaine laughed again and whimpered.
"What are you laughing at?" Wes asked bringing his soup in.
"Alec stole Kurt's phone. Apparently Kurt and Eric—his fiancé—are trying to fix a toilet paper holder."
How long is long enough I should go make sure they didn't somehow fall in the toilet?
"I can't. I can't." Blaine coughed. "Take the phone away."
Wes shook his head, laughing.
Hey. While you're here, what can I get Kurt for Christmas?
Wes sat on the couch by him, looking over at Blaine's phone. He then snorted.
You say that like I ever have any clue, Blaine typed back. He likes cheesecake.
That's not a very good Christmas present, though.
Cheesecake. When in doubt, get cheesecake. He likes the kind with strawberries on it and he really likes the chocolate ones too. And the Oreo ones.
How is he so thin?
Beats me. I think he sold his soul to the devil. Because I'm telling you, when puberty hit puberty really hit.
Crap. Bye.
"Should I be alarmed?"
"I think that he's deleting the evidence before Kurt makes it back to his phone."
Blaine tossed his phone on the couch between them, figuring it would ding if Kurt answered. He then began to eat his soup. "Thanks, Wes. I owe you one."
"You owe me like forty." Wes corrected.
Blaine forced a grin but it came out more like a grimace.
"Don't worry. You'll pay up one day." Wes took a sip of the water he'd brought in for himself. "Do you need to go to the doctor?"
"No. No, it's fine. I think I'll feel better in the morning."
Wes shrugged. "I can't make you go."
"That was the last can of soup, wasn't it?" Blaine pouted.
"I already texted a picture to Alicia and she said she'd bring some home."
Blaine rolled his eyes, leaning his head on Wes' shoulder. "AJ."
"Alicia." Wes argued. "We should text David. Maybe he can diagnose you."
"I'm pretty sure something like that can't be done over text, Wes." Blaine coughed, making sure to lean away from Wes.
"Need anything else?" Wes asked once he was done coughing.
"No. Thanks, though." Blaine shook his head. "Ow, that hurt."
"I'm going to go grab my homework out of my car. I'll be right back."
"Okay." Blaine nodded, moving into a laying position.
By time Wes made it back, Blaine was fast asleep and tightly gripping his phone.
***LTC***
"I have to go to Oregon but if you want me to, I can stay." AJ said, bringing Blaine some Dayquill the next afternoon.
"No. I'm fine." Blaine rasped.
"You're not fine, Blaine. You need to go to the doctor. You're worse than you were yesterday." AJ sighed. "I never took you as the person to be this stubborn."
Blaine grabbed his water bottle and downed his pills.
"Please let me or Wes take you to the doctor." AJ kneeled so she was on his eye level since he was lying on the couch—where he'd been since getting home the night before.
"No. I don't need to go to the doctor."
"What is your middle name?" AJ demanded.
"What?" Blaine looked at her, bewildered.
"It's Wyatt." Wes said coming in.
"Okay. Blaine Wyatt Anderson, you are sick and you need to go to the doctor! So get up, go take a shower or change your clothes, and one of us will take you."
"Bahahaha." Wes laughed loudly. "This is great."
Blaine just blinked at AJ because snuggling up under his comforter.
"Blaine! You're acting 12, not 22."
"I'm 23." Blaine corrected.
"That's even worse!" AJ stared at him. "Get up!"
"No. Thank you, but no thank you."
Wes snickered.
"Wes, shut up! He's your best friend and you're letting him lay around here getting sick. He probably can't even make it to the bathroom himself." AJ exclaimed before turning to Blaine and trying a gentler approach. "You need medicine or you're going to get worse. Wouldn't it be easier to go to the doctor?"
"No. Thank you, but no thank you." Blaine repeated.
AJ turned to Wes. "Do something!"
"What? Do you want me to carry him kicking and screaming to the car?" Wes asked, throwing his hands in the air. "I've offered three times. He doesn't want to go."
"Maybe Adrian can get him to go. Adrian was able to make him leave study group."
"Okay, Alicia. I know your maternal instincts or whatever are kicking in but Blaine is stubborn. He will not go to the doctor unless he is throwing up or Kurt makes him."
"And Kurt's in New York." Blaine sniffed. "And, I'll have you know that I can make it to the bathroom myself."
AJ rubbed her face. "Please?"
"No. Than—."
"God, fine. Whatever. But you're being very childish. When you get worse just remember that I tried to talk sense into you." AJ sighed. "I still might text Adrian."
"Don't bother. He brought my homework two hours ago and basically tried the same thing. Although he didn't go as far as demanding my middle name." Blaine popped a cough drop into his mouth before rasping, "Have a nice flight."
"Thanks." AJ sighed and went to grab her bags, shooting Wes a look.
"What?"
"He's really sick. His fever has gone up to 103.7." AJ said. "It was 102.8 before he went to sleep last night. It's almost been 24 hours since he got home sick."
"I'm not going to let him die." Wes said impatiently. "I've got it under control."
"The last time you had something under control you caused an explosion and they had to call Hazmat. Sorry if I don't have much faith in you." AJ moved past him and walked upstairs.
"Wait. They had to call Hazmat on you?" Blaine asked from the couch.
"It was a miscalculation, okay?" Wes snapped before going into the kitchen.
"Grumpy pants." Blaine muttered before going back to sleep.
…
Are you busy?
Kurt, still half asleep the next morning, looked down at the phone. Blaine had texted him.
No, I'm just lying down. What's up?
Kurt watched as Blaine began typing out a response.
I'm sick. : (
Kurt sat up straight and pushed the call button. Blaine answered after the second ring.
"Hey." Kurt said. "What's up?"
"I don't feel good." He heard Blaine rasp on the other end of the phone.
"What's wrong? Did you make soup?" Kurt asked, concerned.
"My throat hurts and I threw up."
"Oh no. You're throwing up." Kurt frowned. "Honey, are you alright?"
"I just wanted to hear your voice." Blaine sniffled and then coughed.
"What is your temperature?" Kurt asked.
"I don't know. Wes isn't up yet and I don't know where he put it." Blaine began to cough more. He then stopped abruptly, said "I have to go!" and then hung up.
It was Friday. He had one class in two hours but after that, he wouldn't have class again until Wednesday. So if he went to Cambridge he could take care of Blaine, make sure he got to the doctor…
Kurt tapped out a text to Wes (it would have been rude to just show up) and went to pack a bag for when he got out of school.
…
"Oh, thank God." Wes said, opening the door. "Wait, is he okay with you being here?"
"I didn't really ask. I have four days off school and I don't have an internship anymore, so here I am." Kurt said, making his way into the house. "Is your roommate home?"
"No, she's visiting her family in Oregon." Wes said. "I have a big exam coming up but I've tried to take care of him and just thank God you're here. He's been puking once an hour."
"Where is he now?"
"I put him in his bedroom. It's easier for him to get to the bathroom."
"Second door on the left, right?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah." Wes nodded.
"Go study. I've got it taken care of." Kurt moved past Wes and went up the stairs to Blaine's room. The bedroom was open and the lights were all off. He inched in, seeing Blaine only in sweat pants on top of his blankets. There were Kleenexes everywhere, dirty medicine cups, and… two 'dirty' trash cans. Blaine must have been sick to live in a room with this. And yes, the vomit filled trash cans smelled.
Blaine groaned, rolling over and blinking at Kurt through the light from the hallway. "Mmmh?"
"Hey." Kurt came over and bent down, brushing some of his sweaty curls from his face. "How are you doing, Sicky?"
Blaine coughed, turning his head away from Kurt. He then gave Kurt a pitiful look and rasped, "No voice."
"Did you go to a doctor?" Kurt questioned, touching his face and then leaning over to press a kiss to Blaine's forehead.
Blaine shook his head, eyes on Kurt.
"Do you need some medicine?"
"Cough medicine?" he rasped. "Please?"
"Okay. I'll be right back. Let me wash one of these cups." Kurt gathered the medicine cups and made his way out of the room. "Wes, does he have a doctor here?"
"No. He hasn't been sick yet. I offered to take him to the hospital but he didn't want to." Wes looked up from the kitchen table where he was doing homework. "Both Adrian and AJ tried to force him too but you know how he is. You're the only one that can get him to go to the doctor."
"If he's not better in the morning, I'm taking him." Kurt frowned and washed the medicine cups before rushing back to Blaine's room with one. "Blaine, get back in bed."
"It's so gross." Blaine rasped, fumbling to pick up Kleenexes.
"Get in bed." Kurt repeated, voice firm. "I've cleaned up worse. Remember Melody's poop explosion?"
"Don't clean it." He groaned. "Please."
Kurt eased Blaine back into his bed. "Lay down, Blaine."
Blaine whimpered a bit but did as told, looking at Kurt pitifully.
"You'll feel better in no time." Kurt promised, squeezing his shoulder and grabbing the bottle of cough medicine off of his nightstand. He filled the medicine cup and handed it to Blaine.
"Thanks." Blaine rasped, making eye contact.
"You're welcome." Kurt smiled.
"No, Kurt. Really." Blaine sat back up. "I didn't want you to—I didn't— When I said—"
"No, no, no. Lay down." Kurt laughed, nudging him down. "I know you weren't hinting for me to come. I just wanted to. So lie down and let me take care of you."
Blaine relaxed against his pillows, watching Kurt clean the Kleenexes off of his floor and take the disgusting garbage cans into the other room.
"Smell better?" Kurt called, sounding amused.
Blaine opened his mouth to answer but all that came was a loud cough.
"Get some sleep." Kurt came back in, kneeling by him.
"Kurt—."
"I know. You're welcome." Kurt whispered, touching his cheek. "Shh."
Blaine gave him a small smile and then relaxed against the mattress, closing his eyes. Nobody could take care of him quite like Kurt could.
…
Blaine woke up several hours later, face buried in Kurt's chest. He took in a deep breath, not closing his eyes and instead taking in Kurt's scent. Well, what he could. He didn't have the ability to smell much. In fact, his head was killing him, he couldn't smell, and his throat was on fire. Regardless of that, though, it was all worth it because he was in Kurt's arms and that really was his favorite place to be.
Not to mention Kurt was so, so warm when he was so, so cold. It was glorious.
"Blaine?"
Blaine cleared his throat and then winced, cringing and giving up.
"Good afternoon." Kurt snorted.
Blaine rubbed his face and rolled away. They weren't dating. It probably wasn't wise to be all up in Kurt's space.
"How do you feel?"
"Throat's sore." Blaine rasped, cringing again when he heard himself.
"I made you an appointment for in two hours."
Blaine groaned and shook his head. "No. You said if I wasn't better tomorrow. It's still today."
"Blaine, your temperature has gone up a whole degree in the three hours I've been here. You're not going to feel better by tomorrow."
Blaine whimpered, burying his head in Kurt's chest again.
"I will call Carole. If she knew you were this sick and refusing to go to a doctor, she'd have Dad drive her here. You know she would."
Blaine shook his head.
"I'll carry you to the car and if I can't do it myself, I'll have Wes help." Kurt threatened.
"I can't. I don't have money to go to a doctor now or I would have gone five days ago." Blaine finally admitted.
"You've been this sick for five days?!"
"No. I've been this sick for three…." He glanced at his clock. "And a half. Only now I'm throwing up too."
"Blaine, Blaine, Blaine." Kurt frowned. "You can't do that."
"Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?" Blaine rasped and climbed out of bed.
"Where are you going?"
"Shower." Blaine said. "Can you cancel it?"
"No. I'll pay." Kurt watched him.
"No, Kurt." Blaine coughed.
"Come on. Don't worry about showering." Kurt led him back to his bed. "Just get some more rest."
"Kurt, you can't."
"Blaine, I already spent $100 just getting here and I'll spend that driving back to New York. I'll be damned if I leave and you aren't feeling better. I'm paying for the doctor visit." Kurt said, voice firm. "Pay me back if you want but you're going."
Blaine leaned over until his head was rested on Kurt's shoulder.
"You're sweating. I bet you've got the flu." Kurt's frown grew. "How is your head?"
He waited several seconds, getting no answer.
"Blaine?" he gently pulled back from Blaine but Blaine slumped over with him. He was asleep. Kurt sighed softly and pressed a kiss to Blaine's warm cheek. "And you say I don't take care of myself. Puh."
…
"Flu?" Wes asked from the couch as Kurt and Blaine came into the house a few hours later.
"Virus." Kurt responded, arm around Blaine's waist. "A really nasty one which would have been better dealt with if someone hadn't been sick for five days before going."
Blaine whimpered into Kurt's shoulder.
"It's the truth but I'll quit giving you a hard time." Kurt ruffled his hair.
"Don't. I haven't showered in like three days." Blaine moaned, voice still raspy.
"Do you want to take one?" Kurt asked.
"I don't think I can stand on my own for that long." Blaine then looked to Wes. "Don't even."
"You and Kurt could take one together."
"That's a good idea." Kurt said.
"Huh?" Blaine and Wes asked together.
"Not a shower but I can run bath water and sit in there to make sure you don't fall asleep and drown." Kurt said.
"You could also help." Wes wiggled an eyebrow at them.
"Please, Wes, stop!" Blaine whined, voice cracking. "I'm serious!"
"It's hard to take you seriously when you sound like that." Wes laughed.
Blaine buried his face in Kurt's shoulder, letting out a frustrated growl.
"Do you want to lie down or do you want to take a bath?" Kurt asked.
"I feel really gross." Blaine admitted.
"Sit in here and I'll run some water." Kurt sat him on the couch.
Blaine slumped over, dozing off until Kurt helped him up.
"Are you sure you don't want to just sleep?"
"I'm sure." Blaine sniffled.
"Okay." Kurt nodded and helped him into the bathroom.
"I hate being sick." Blaine moaned.
"I know." Kurt whispered and tugged Blaine's UK t-shirt over his head. "But you'll feel better in a few days."
Blaine lifted his arms, struggling to help Kurt get the tank top he'd had under his t-shirt off.
Kurt unbuttoned his pants, making eye contact the whole time. "Got it from here?"
"Yeah."
Kurt sat on the toilet, looking in the other direction until Blaine was in the water. "You've lost 15 pounds since last spring."
Blaine slouched down in the tub. "Can I live in here?"
"If you want to be pruny, sure." Kurt shrugged, watching him.
Blaine closed his eyes and let out a content sigh.
"I don't take it you're going to be washing yourself." Kurt laughed a bit.
"Mmmhno." Blaine agreed. "I just want to sit here."
Kurt kept his eyes on Blaine, who still had his eyes closed. "I… uhm, I talked to Eric."
Blaine opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Kurt.
"He gave me the name of someone to talk to. I have an appointment the Tuesday before Thanksgiving." Kurt continued. "He told me that he'd put me on medicine if I wanted but that it wouldn't help me near as much as talking about it will. He said he didn't so much like how freely people give out depression medicine."
"Oh, yeah. Eric's a doctor now, isn't he?" Blaine asked, voice sounding a little less raspy.
"Yeah. He's a resident at New York Pres. He's actually in a 5 year residency program. He mainly works in the ER. Well, did when he was working. He can't work until he's cleared of Active TB."
"He's got TB?" Blaine rasped, sitting up straight. "And you were around him?"
"It's fine. He's been successfully through his first round of medicine and they cleared him to be around people. He's not contagious anymore. I wasn't around him when I was."
"You were around Alec."
"They've tested Alec like six times." Kurt laughed. "He's been the only one around him regularly. And they were taking all the precautions. It's good. Don't worry."
Blaine relaxed against the tub again.
"Worry wart." Kurt smiled.
"Do you feel better?" Blaine sniffled and scratched at his nose with his wet hand.
"I do. I feel like it's a step in the right direction." Kurt nodded. "He made me feel better. He went and found one of his old text books that talks about it in depth and we looked at it together. I'm less scared now… He gave me the book to take home, too."
"He sounds nice." Blaine closed his eyes and sank down lower in the tub. "I'm glad you feel better."
"Me too." Kurt watched him closely, seeing his breathing begin to even out. "Don't fall asleep."
Blaine blinked a few times and then nodded. "The water is getting cold and I don't have the energy to turn the hot water back on or get out of the tub."
Kurt went over, sitting on the edge of the tub and turning the hot water back on.
"God I love you." Blaine mumbled, covering his face with his hand.
"I love you too." Kurt said gently, leaning over and ruffling his curls. "It's not burning your feet is it?"
Blaine swallowed and shook his head.
"Feel okay?"
"Not really." Blaine closed his eyes again, sagging down once again.
"Hopefully the medicine will work fast." Kurt said, reaching over and grabbing a washcloth. "Here. Sit up straight and we'll get you cleaned and back into bed."
Blaine pushed himself into a sitting position with Kurt's help.
"We've got to get you eating more than soup too so you'll be stronger." Kurt grabbed Blaine's soap—he knew which was Blaine's and which was Wes' since Blaine still had the same kind—and put it onto the washcloth.
"I tried but I just threw it up. At least soup doesn't burn as much coming up." Blaine gripped Kurt's arm.
"Do you need help?"
"Only if you won't think less of me."
Kurt laughed and ran the washcloth over his shoulder. "Never. You know, you're kind of cute when you're sick with your cheeks all rosy. And you're pale so your eyes really pop out."
"Well I'll make sure to be sick for you more then." Blaine joked. He leaned forward when Kurt started to clean his back.
Kurt smiled and shook his head. "Okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Blaine let go of Kurt's arm, shivering.
"If I turn the water up any more, it will burn you."
"I know. It's fine."
Kurt put more soap on the wash cloth before cleaning off his chest and arms. "Are we doing your hair?"
"It's probably really gross." Blaine warned.
"That's okay." Kurt got the soap off of Blaine and then reached for the shampoo. "Don't."
Blaine's eyes opened quickly and he sighed. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Kurt washed his hair and then rinsed it. "Okay. Where are the towels?"
"Little cabinet over there." Blaine pointed next to the sink.
Kurt went over, opening the cabinet and grabbing out a towel. He then pulled the plug out of the tub and turned the warm water off. "Do you need help getting out?"
Blaine stood and wrapped the towel around his waist.
"Okay." Kurt held his hands out when Blaine climbed out of the tub just in case he fell. "Got it?"
"Yeah." Blaine nodded and made his way to his room.
Kurt went downstairs to grab Blaine's medicine, mainly to give him time to get dressed in private—Never mind that he'd just helped Blaine bathe and had seen him standing up in the tub without clothes.
"Hey, Wes, are you hot?"
"Why, Kurt, you're the gay one. You tell me." Wes grinned.
Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled. "Can you turn the heat up? Blaine's shaking like a leaf."
"Yeah. And I'll take the space heater in his room." Wes nodded.
"Thanks." Kurt went into the kitchen. "Did I leave his medicine in your car?"
"Yeah. I got it out. It's on the counter by the fridge." Wes followed him in there, opening the closet and grabbing the space heater. "Hey, uhm… I know Blaine's not very uhm… talkative. But I know this means a lot to him. Nobody's ever taken care of him like you do. So thank you."
"You take really good care of him." Kurt grabbed the bottle of Blaine's pills. "David does too."
"David…"
"It's whatever. I don't care. Well, I care as in it sucks that one of Blaine's best friends hates me. But it's not keeping me up at night. Blaine is what I care about." Kurt reassured him. "And I know he does take good care of Blaine too. That's what matters."
Wes nodded and went up the stairs with the heater.
"You're amazing." Blaine cleared his throat, wincing, and then sniffled.
"I know." Wes grinned. "Cleaner?"
Blaine nodded, sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Lay down." Kurt said, coming in with his medicine.
"I will." Blaine stood.
"What are you doing?"
Blaine held a finger to his lips and then went into the corner of his room, bending down on the floor.
"Bla—."
"C'mon, girl." Blaine cooed. "C'mon."
Kurt watched as a dog hesitantly scooted out from under Blaine's desk, where there was a medium sized dog bed. How had he forgotten Blaine had a dog? The fact that she hadn't made a peep certainly helped.
"Don't." Wes said as Kurt moved to go forward. "You'll scare her."
Kurt stepped back.
"This, Kurt, is Winnie." Blaine rasped, pulling his rather large puppy onto his lap. He then looked down, petting her head.
Winnie backed against Blaine, shaking a bit.
"We're pretty sure whoever left her in the street abused her. She doesn't like guys." Wes said, although Blaine had already mentioned as much to Kurt before.
"Okay." Blaine set her on the floor and then crawled into bed. "I'm tired."
Kurt bustled over, opening the pill bottle and handing Blaine two. He then grabbed Blaine's water bottle from earlier and passed that over as well.
"You two need anything? I'm heading to bed soon." Wes asked.
"No thanks." Blaine downed his medicine. "Night, Wes."
"Night, guys. Blaine, get some rest and feel better." Wes walked over, petting Winnie, and then left the room.
"Will you sleep in here?" Blaine asked.
"Of course." Kurt laid down, still in his jeans and sweater.
"Don't you want to change?"
"I will later." He wrapped his arms around Blaine, pulling him close. "Get some sleep."
"I'll try." Blaine closed his eyes, relaxing.
Kurt looked up when Winnie jumped on the bed.
"Mmmh." Blaine moved out of Kurt's arms and reached back. Winnie inched over, licking his hand and then resting her chin on Kurt's leg.
"Hey, sweetie." Kurt whispered, scratching behind her ear. "You're adorable. You've got the prettiest eyes."
Blaine scooted back some so he could watch them, head rested on his pillow. Winnie stepped up, putting her paws on Kurt's shoulder and licking his face.
"Thank you, thank you." Kurt laughed. "You kiss like your owner."
Blaine laughed but it quickly turned into a cough.
"That was an exaggeration." Kurt reassured him. "Well, sometimes you kiss like that when you're drunk."
Blaine rolled his eyes and snuggled up to Kurt. "Lay back down."
"But Winnie is here."
"She wants to sleep with her head on your leg." Blaine coughed.
"Okay." Kurt lay on his side, opening his arms. "Scoot back."
Blaine did as told, letting out a content sigh when Kurt pulled him to his chest.
"I love you, Blaine." Kurt whispered in his ear, kissing his cheek.
"I love you too." Blaine whispered back before coughing a bit and falling asleep.
***LTC***
"Okay, Blaine. I got cough drops and—oh boy."
Blaine blinked his eyes open, wincing. "Hey, AJ."
"I'm sorry. I didn't. I mean, you don't have boys over and you're sick and—I am so sorry."
Kurt sat up, trying very hard not to look amused.
"Oh, God. Okay. I'm going to, uhm, go."
"This is Kurt." Blaine rasped. His voice wasn't as raspy as it had been four days before but he definitely still looked—and felt—very sick.
"Well I'd be depressed if he broke up with me too. Look at him." AJ blinked. "I just said that out loud. I'm really going now."
"Please don't!" Wes called from across the hall through his open door. "This is very entertaining to listen to."
AJ scowled, waved quickly, and bustled out.
"Was that…?"
"New roommate." Blaine burrowed under the covers, shivering.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I'm going to be sick to my stomach."
Kurt stood, going to grab the mini trashcan by his desk.
Blaine sat up and leaned over, gagging into it but not vomiting.
"There probably isn't anything for you to throw up. You wouldn't eat for me last night." Kurt sat by him, rubbing his back. "I think I'm going to take you back to the doctor."
"No. I haven't finished the medicine. I'm fine."
"You're not fine." Kurt sighed.
"It's only been four days." Blaine collapsed against the bed. "I'm so tired and all I've done is sleep. Sleep and puke and cough."
Kurt rubbed his thigh, something he knew comforted Blaine when he was stressed.
"You can go back if you need to. I'll be fine." Blaine took in a few deep breaths.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I'm not leaving. I don't have class on Monday or Tuesday, so don't worry. I can miss a day or two."
"But you missed for the funeral." Blaine protested weakly.
"I'm where I want to be, so don't worry about it." Kurt reassured him. "I want to be with you when you're sick like this. You'll be obnoxious to other people so they'll leave you alone. I'm not afraid of your grumpy butt."
Blaine smiled a bit and asked, "What day is it?
"What day is today?" Blaine asked.
Kurt couldn't help it. He lay down, hugging Blaine. "It's Tuesday."
"It's not cute. Stop." Blaine whined.
"It's not cute." Kurt lied.
Blaine clutched Kurt's shirt in his fist, head resting on his chest.
"Are you hungry? Do you feel like a shower?" Kurt asked, stroking his hair.
"Not yet." Blaine closed his eyes.
"Okay." Kurt nodded, reaching for his cell phone.
"What are you doing?" Blaine asked.
"I'm going to get Eric's phone number from Alec. This is your fifth day on the medicine and I know you should be feeling better than you are. You're even throwing up still."
"No. Don't bother him. He's sick." Blaine moaned. "TB is worse than this."
"He's had a few good days. If he sounds sick, I won't bother him." Kurt tapped out a text to Alec.
"Didn't you say he's a trauma doctor?"
"Well he doesn't only do trauma stuff. He works in the Emergency Room. They get sick people all the time."
Blaine rolled away from Kurt as the phone rang, pulling his pillow over his head.
"Hey, do you feel okay?" Kurt asked.
"Okay enough. Let me talk to him." Eric said.
"Blaine, he wants to talk to you."
Blaine sent Kurt a look and took the phone. "You don't have to worry about it."
"Okay, you sound horrible. How long have you been sick?"
"Almost two weeks. I can't remember." Blaine coughed.
"And you went to the doctor when?" Eric prompted.
"Friday night."
"Well Kurt told Alec what your symptoms were a few days ago and that doctor is a dumbass if he thinks you have a virus—Stop, Alec. I'm being rude at the doctor, not Blaine. Leave me alone, I'm working!" Eric cleared his throat. "Sorry. Your doctor is a dumbass, as I was saying, and you need to go to another one. You could have Strep or the Flu or Tonsillitis. But if you had a virus, you wouldn't be feeling this bad still. If it was a virus, it's morphed into Sinusitis or something worse. The goo going down your throat could be making you nauseous and that may be why you're vomiting. Sorry for that mental image, by the way. If it makes you feel any better, it made me sick to my stomach too." Eric said. "Anyway, if you leave Sinusitis untreated you could set yourself up for a slew of other problems."
"You're saying it could be a sinus infection?" Blaine echoed.
"Do one or both of your ears hurt?"
Blaine hesitated. He hadn't thought about it, but yes. "Maybe?"
"Your jaw and teeth?"
"Yeah…"
"I'd put money on it. A really bad one, too, if it's been this long. If you don't get antibiotics, you're going to be feeling a whole lot worse. They'll prescribe a Zpac and probably some Prednisone. Ask for some cough syrup with Codeine to help your cough and keep you asleep at night. Drink plenty of water, eat soup, and try to get some sleep. Alright?" Eric asked.
"Okay. Thanks, Eric." Blaine sniffled.
"No problem. Feel better, okay? And if this next doctor says it's a virus call me and I'll talk to them. If you weren't in another state I'd send you a prescription but a lot of states won't do out of state ones. So, I'm sorry." Eric sighed a bit. "And if you need anything else or have any questions, you can call me. If I don't answer, I'll call back as soon as I can."
"No, no. You've been awesome. Sorry to bother you. Thanks, though." Blaine coughed a bit. "And you feel better too."
"Thanks, Blaine. But you weren't bothering me at all. Trust me. I've been bored out of my mind and all Alec is doing is sketches for some project. You stop passing out and puking and all of a sudden you don't matter anymore—Ow! Stop it, I'm joking. God!— I'll let you go before your throat starts to hurt even more, though, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you. Really."
"No problem. Text me and let me know how you're feeling tomorrow night after getting some proper medicine in you, okay?" Eric asked.
"Alright. Bye."
"Bye."
Blaine hung up and handed Kurt the phone. "Doctor's a dumbass and we need to go get antibiotics."
"Okay." Kurt hopped up. "I'll find an office."
"He's really nice." Blaine burrowed under the covers.
"I know." Kurt smiled. "He reminds me a lot of you."
Blaine smiled a bit.
Kurt kissed the top of his head and went to get on Blaine's computer. "You can sleep some if you want. Or do you want me to get you some food before I try to find another office?
"I'm fine." Blaine reassured him, watching him carefully.
"What are you looking at, Blaine Anderson?"
"Some git."
Kurt grabbed a pair of socks off of the desk and tossed them at his head. "You can't start being obnoxious to me. I'll be obnoxious right back."
Blaine yawned and then rasped. "When a boy is mean to you, it usually means they like you."
"When they're in elementary school." Kurt smiled at him before turning back to the computer. He then added, "When they're older, they just serenade you with Katy Perry. Or is that only Blaine Anderson?"
"You loved it." Blaine nuzzled his pillow and closed his eyes.
"I did." Kurt agreed, sighing a bit. "I did."
…
"What's the verdict this time? Is he dying?"
"I feel like it." Blaine collapsed on the couch, half on Wes.
Wes snorted and patted his head.
"Really bad sinus infection. Now he's got the right medicine, though. If he doesn't feel better in five days we'll go back." Kurt held up yet another prescription bag.
"I owe you so much money that it isn't even funny." Blaine moaned, covering his face.
"Oh, stop. Think of it as payback for putting up with me stealing half of your bed." Kurt rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen.
"AJ is hanging out with Adrian. She said he was probably going to be dropping off assignment sheets." Wes was saying when Kurt came back in.
"Ugh, I know. He texted me and told me." Blaine groaned. "Apparently we have a mock trial next week. Which I'm probably going to fuck up since I haven't been to class in like a week."
"What did your professors say?" Wes asked.
"I've got doctor's notes so I'm fine. They just want my assignments and for me to be ready for discussion when I'm back. This doctor's note I got today is through the rest of the week." Blaine sat up straight when Kurt made it to them.
"Three of this one now and before bed. Then the white one once a day." Kurt said, holding out 3 pink pills and a small white one.
"Thanks." Blaine took the water bottle and pills, quickly downing them. He then took several more gulps of the cold water.
"You already look a little better, Blainers." Wes said.
"They gave me a shot. It hurt like a bitch too." Blaine rubbed his face.
Kurt sat on the floor, pulling his sketchbook off of their coffee table. "Did you really cause an explosion requiring hazmat at school, Wes?"
Wes glared at Blaine.
"I'm sorry." Blaine rasped. "It's funny!"
"It was a miscalculation, Kurtsie. It happens to the best of us. The important this is nobody died and that the college has really good insurance." Wes shot another look at Blaine.
"I love you?" Blaine questioned. "I'm sick. You have to say you love me too or I might cry."
Kurt snorted, grabbing his pencil.
"Sure, sure. I love you too. You always have to pull the pitiful card when I'm annoyed with you." Wes rolled his eyes.
"He knows how to work people." Kurt supplied. "When he's really sick he doesn't but as he starts to get better, he'll do it more."
"Oh, I know." Wes nodded. "Believe me, I know. Kind of like when his ankle was messed up and he milked it for all it was worth with you. Remember that?"
"My ankle hurt as badly as I said it did." Blaine protested.
"Yeah, maybe the first day." Wes smirked.
Blaine rolled over and then slipped off of the couch, going upstairs.
"He's such an ass when he's sick." Wes laughed. "And when he feels better and you tell him, he's like 'I didn't do that!'" Wes said and then yelped when an empty box was thrown on his head. "Really?"
Blaine walked away from the top of the stairs without a word.
"Think I'm getting on his nerves?" Wes laughed.
"I don't think it takes much to get on his nerves when he's sick." Kurt laughed too. "He doesn't handle being sick or in pain too well."
"He handled it better before you came along. You spoiled him and ruined it for the rest of us." Wes teased. "Then again, I don't know if he was actually ever sick…"
"Well his parents would just leave him alone and ask to not be bothered when he was younger." Kurt sighed. "That's why I stay right up on him. He couldn't bother them so I pester him. I just want him to know he's got somebody there that will get him things and take care of him. He deserves it… Plus, he's always taken care of me. On multiple occasions… And I'm not afraid of his sarcasm or grumpiness."
"I am. He throws things or growls. Or he'll ignore you. Be staring straight at you, unblinking, and not even acknowledging you're there." Wes shook his head. "Other times he just wants to cuddle."
"Oh, that's not a sick thing. Blaine would spend every second of his life cuddling if he could." Kurt stood with his sketchbook. "I'm going to go up with him in case he needs anything. I'll try to bring him down for dinner."
"Alright. Let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks." Kurt nodded and headed upstairs. "How you doing, Sicky?"
Blaine grunted.
"Scootch over." Kurt sat on the edge of the bed, smiling when Blaine wiggled over to the other side of the bed. He then sat, guiding Blaine's head to his chest. "Grumpy butt."
"I'm sick. I can be grumpy." Blaine made himself comfortable and closed his eyes.
"You feel a little better? You look better."
"A bit. It's not been that long." Blaine nuzzled Kurt's chest and relaxed, letting out a content sigh when Kurt began to stroke his hair.
"Do you want me to run any bath water?" Kurt asked.
"Do I smell?" Blaine moaned.
"No." Kurt laughed softly, shaking his head. "Don't worry. Just get some rest."
Blaine nodded, hand fishing around for Kurt's.
Kurt grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tightly. "Get some sleep, babe."
"Thank you for taking me to the doctor again, Kurt."
"You're welcome." Kurt smiled.
Blaine yawned, burrowing his head in the crook between Kurt's neck and shoulder.
Kurt squeezed his hand, smiling again when he let out a soft snore.
At least Blaine was asleep. Hopefully the rest would make him feel better.
***LTC***
"Oh boy. Blainers, you're awake and about by yourself!" Wes walked into the house two days later, exactly six days since Kurt had made it to New York.
"Meh." Blaine, who was sitting at the kitchen table half asleep, took a large gulp of coffee.
"How do you feel?" Wes asked, dropping down into a seat
"Better. I can actually talk without feeling the need to cringe." Blaine responded.
"Your voice sounds a lot better than it did yesterday." Wes looked surprised. "That's awesome!"
"Yeah. Adrian may come over tonight so we can talk about the mock trial next Friday… if I don't start to feel worse when he's out of classes, that is. Otherwise he'll come tomorrow." Blaine yawned once again, scrunching his nose up adorably. "I'm so tired."
"Kurt still asleep?"
Blaine nodded, pushing the coffee cup away.
"So… you've been pretty attached to him the last, oh, six days."
Blaine's eyes widened in shock. "He's been here six days?"
"Yes. He showed up Friday night."
"But what about school?"
"I told him that Alicia and I could handle it but he wouldn't leave because he's the only one you'll actually let help you and take care of you… which we both know is true." Wes gave him a smug look.
"What?" Blaine asked, coughing a bit and wincing.
"You and Kurt. Are you back together?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that we aren't back together?" Blaine sighed.
"He gave you a bath. He took you to the doctor twice. You two have said you loved each other at least five times in front of me. It sounds like you're back together. I even saw you kiss him once." Wes said, not looking away. "So if you are back together, you can tell me."
"We're not." Blaine looked down.
"But?"
"But I… I'm really close to being ready. And I think he is too." Blaine glanced up, almost shyly. "We've both already kind of talked about it."
"Really?"
Blaine nodded. "Yeah."
"You two must have had a really long talk when you went to New York last month."
"We did." Blaine coughed. "I'm going up in a few more weeks, I think. I'm going to… go somewhere with him."
"Where?"
"Nowhere special." Blaine lied, shrugging.
"I don't like this secretive side of you." Wes sighed.
"It's not my secret." Blaine stood slowly. "I'm going to get back in bed."
"Alright. Don't worry about your bowl and cup. I'll get it."
"Thanks, Wes." Blaine forced a smile.
"No prob." Wes waved.
Blaine made his way upstairs, rubbing his face. As he was about to open the door Kurt walked out.
"Are you okay? You weren't throwing up, were you?"
"No. I made oatmeal." Blaine gave a weak smile.
"You made it yourself?" Kurt asked, looking surprised.
"Yeah. I feel better. A bit better."
Kurt put the back of his hand on Blaine's forehead. "You're still warm but not as hot as you were last night. Oh my God, are you finally breaking this fever?"
"I didn't take my temperature but I hope so." Blaine groaned, lying on the bed.
"Did you take your medicine?"
Blaine nodded, curling on top of the covers and blinking at Kurt with big hazel eyes.
"Look at you. You don't even need me anymore." Kurt teased, sitting on the edge of the bed and fingering Blaine's curls.
"I always need you."
Kurt smiled. "I always need you too."
Blaine smiled a bit too. "Are you going to leave today?"
"Well, it's already Thursday. I could but I won't be ready for class tomorrow." Kurt laid down next to him.
"So you should stay through the weekend. Traffic will be better on a Sunday, don't you think?" Blaine nuzzled his pillow.
"Do you want me to stay through the weekend? To take care of you?"
"No… I want you to stay so I can spend time with you."
Kurt reached over, fingering his curls again. "I'll stay until Sunday."
Blaine smiled again, scooting closer. "Okay. Thank you."
"Don't thank me." Kurt leaned over, kissing his cheek.
"Okay." Blaine kissed his cheek and then closed his eyes. "I'm going to take a nap."
"Alright. I'll be right here if you need anything." Kurt slid his arms around Blaine's waist.
"Thanks." Blaine nuzzled his shoulder before drifting to sleep.
***LTC***
"I can't believe Winnie has been following you around. It's so cute."
Kurt looked up at AJ, who was sitting on the couch and doing homework.
She nodded towards Winnie, who had followed Kurt down the stairs.
"Hey, girl." Kurt bent down, scratching behind Winnie's ear. "She's a very cute dog."
"She is. You don't know how many times Adrian had to be over before she'd let him pet her without running behind Wes or Blaine." AJ smiled. "She must like you… Or maybe she just knows how much Blaine likes you."
Blaine came in, coughing loudly.
"Oh, shut up." AJ rolled her eyes. "You two are freaking precious. It's a bit nauseating how you look at each other. Why did you two even break up?"
"He's got horrible morning breath." Blaine joked.
"Oh, shut up." Kurt rolled his eyes, setting his bag on the floor.
"Aww, are you leaving?" AJ asked. "I was hoping to see more of your sketches. They're really good!"
"Yeah. If I don't make it back to class tomorrow, I'll take a hefty drop in my attendance grade." Kurt sighed. "Plus, my friend is practically begging me to come back. I think his fiancé is getting on his nerves."
"Alec?" Blaine asked.
"Yeah." Kurt nodded.
"Are you visiting again soon?" AJ asked eagerly.
Blaine rolled his eyes. "Are Adrian and I not gay enough for you, AJ?"
"It's more the fact that you need a little more gay in your life, sweetie." AJ looked to Kurt. "He's too sweet. You have to get back together with him. I mean, look at his cheeks."
Blaine scoffed.
"You should have seen them in high school." Kurt grinned. "Oooh, I have a picture!"
"Stop!" Blaine whined as Kurt whipped out his phone.
"No." Kurt waved his hand and walked to the couch. "This is us when we started dating. He was a senior in high school."
"Oh my God!" AJ squealed.
"He was adorable, wasn't he? I don't know what happened." Kurt teased, winking at Blaine.
"Weren't you supposed to be getting a bottle of water and leaving?" Blaine teased right back.
"Is that the way to treat someone who nursed you back to health?" Kurt laughed, putting his phone up. He looked to AJ. "Add me on Facebook. He has it to where you can't see pictures he's tagged in but I'm a little obsessed with keeping my photos together, so they're all there."
"I'll look you up on his Facebook." AJ laughed. "It was really good to meet you, Kurt."
"You too. Keep Wes in check." Kurt went to Blaine, who had picked up his bag. "I can get that, Sicky."
"I'm not sick anymore!" Blaine exclaimed, leading Kurt out of the house.
"As long as you're still coughing, I'm calling you Sicky."
As if on cue, Blaine coughed.
Kurt grinned and put his bags into the truck of his Navigator.
"Thank you again, though. Seriously." Blaine stepped closer to him.
"You're welcome." Kurt smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Wes really could have handled it…"
"I'm the only one you'll let take care of you. Carole you'll kind of let help. If I hadn't come, you'd still be stuck in bed next to vomit filled—."
"I was going to clean it."
"I know." Kurt smiled again. "Blaine, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"
"I'm having dinner with Wes." Blaine put his hands in his pockets. "But uhm… Maybe I can stop by?"
"I would like that. Everybody would like that." Kurt bit his lip.
"I was actually hoping to go to your doctor appointment with you. As moral support." Blaine admitted. "Maybe we could fly back to Ohio together?"
"Alright." Kurt nodded eagerly, eyes lighting up. "But you don't have to go with me. I'll be fine."
"I want to be there for you. This is… it's big. I know how big." Blaine bit his own lip. "But if you don't want me to go…"
"No. It's not that at all. I'd love for you to go." Kurt interrupted. "Thanks."
Blaine smiled. "Okay. Good. Great."
Kurt leaned over, kissing him quickly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Thank you." Blaine kissed him back.
"I better get going before traffic gets too heavy. I have to finish some homework still." Kurt frowned a bit.
"I'll miss you." Blaine hugged him tightly. "I'll miss you so much."
"You'll see me in two or three weeks." Kurt hugged him back.
"I love you."
Kurt beamed. "I love you too, Blaine. Call me tonight so I know you're still feeling okay… and for the next few days."
"I will." Blaine promised.
"And if you feel sick, you need to go back to the doctor. Or, at the very least, call Eric." Kurt continued.
"Okay." Blaine laughed. "I promise I'll take care of myself and if I start to feel bad again, I'll go to a doctor for more medicine."
"I'm holding you to that." Kurt unlocked his car doors. "I don't know what I'll do if you go back on it, but you won't like it."
Blaine laughed again and kissed him. "Bye, Kurt. Be careful."
Kurt kissed him back. "I will. Bye. Good luck in study group tonight."
"Thanks." Blaine opened the driver side door for Kurt. "Bye."
"Bye." Kurt pulled the door closed and waved before backing out of the driveway.
Blaine let out a little sigh, going back into his house and locking the door.
"You have got it bad, bad, bad." Wes sang.
"Shut up." Blaine mock glared.
Wes grinned. "Kurt and Blaine, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!"
"I hate you."
"Love you too, Blainers!"