A/n: Not me saying last month that I wouldn't be able to post for TyHil until September and yet here I am in July.

This one is written for Cutetyhil and Velox being a Knight, the prompts they suggested were "moving closer in bed" and "person A sneezes scaring person B", and while the prompts aren't directly included, the theme and gist of it is there. I hope you guys enjoy reading this, thank you for your request!

You could say that Tyson and Hilary have just started dating in this setting, so that's why intimacy is still new to them.

Tale 24

- x -

"I'm fine."

Hilary folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at Tyson, she had known from the moment that he had wobbled his way over to her from across the road that there was something wrong with him, but he was refusing to admit the truth. His face looked much pale, almost a sickly shade of yellow and there were beads of sweat forming on top of his forehead despite of them sitting inside an air-conditioned ice cream parlour. His movements were slower than usual, he had her waiting for almost an hour, which wouldn't have been much to bat an eyelid over, but he had already texted her that he was on his way and the place they'd decided to meet at was no less than thirty minutes from his house. She tried to recall when was the last time Tyson had fallen sick, but somehow her mind came up blank, was it really that rare an occurrence that she had no memory of it?

"You look terrible today." She said, turning her eyes towards the menu even though she had no plans of placing an order anytime soon.

"Which means, you think I look good on other days?" He tried to smirk at her, but with the state his face was in, it looked more like a creepy smile.

"Oh, so you still have the energy to joke around."

"It's because, I'm fine." Tyson stretched out the word fine once again, frowning at her for bringing up the same thing again and again, "Now can we please order? I don't want them running out of the limited flavour before I get my - ahem – hands – ahem - on it."

Finally, Hilary's eyes lit up with glee at the cough that Tyson couldn't cover up, some proof, she thought. Flipping her hair back, she locked her eyes with him and smiled when she saw panic reflected in his before she even said anything, "You're sick."

"No, I never fall sick." He attempted to defend himself, though his voice a bit more hoarse than before.

It was difficult to counter that statement when Hilary too couldn't remember the last time Tyson had fallen sick, sure he was in and out of the hospital over minor injuries and the occasional broken bone, but he had never really missed school or any other training on account of being unwell. Which made her realise that there was a slight chance that he just didn't know that he was sick, it sounded ridiculous but then that's how life was with Tyson most of the time.

"You really mean that, you've never fallen sick?"

"Yep! Not even once." Tyson replied so quickly, puffing out his chest with pride, which only made him go into a mini coughing fit that raised eyes all across the parlour.

"Are you willing to admit that since you've never fallen sick, you don't actually know what it's like?" She raised her eyebrows at him and saw the remaining confidence drain from his face as he realised that Hilary was right, as always.

"Maybe…"

Hilary shook her head and leaned forward across the table, resting her palm against his forehead she almost let out a scream, "You're burning up."

"Well, it's August and it's pretty hot outside so isn't that normal?"

Had touching his skin not felt like laying one's hand in a sizzling frying pan, Hilary could've swore that she would have tightly wrung his neck then and there. But she had to focus on taking care of him instead, since he obviously couldn't be trusted with that menial task.

"We need to get you home, so that you can rest and-"

"No! I'm not going to rest during summer vacation!" Tyson whined slouching across their table like a little kid, he looked up at her with big pleading eyes, "I'm telling you, I feel fi-ne."

"I swear if you say fine one more time." The warning tone in her voice must've had some effect on Tyson as he managed to stay quiet for the next few minutes, the pout however, never left his face, possibly an attempt to wear her down, but since Hilary's mind had already shifted into problem solving mode, it was a wasted attempt on his behalf.

It wouldn't be easy to convince Tyson to drop their plans for the day and just go back home and sleep, it was weird how difficult it was to get him to rest but at the same time getting him to wake up was equally bad, if not worse. She could always nag him into doing what she wanted, but arguing might make both of them tired and she couldn't afford that for either of them right now. Hilary needed an incentive, and not just any incentive, a damn good one, something that would have Tyson running towards a bed at the speed of light without any bickering or any whining, in short she needed a miracle.

Luckily she had basically written the operating manual for Tyson and had just the right trick up her sleeve.

"I don't even feel like eating ice cream anymore." She said causing him to open his mouth in protest but before he could get a word in, Hilary leaned in towards him and tilted her head with a smile, "Wanna go back to my place instead?"

"Yes. Of course, yes." Tyson sat up straight at a speed that she didn't think would be manageable for him in his current state and looked at her with the most sincere expression on his face, "If I ever say no to that question Hils, just shoot me because an alien probably took over my body."

"Let's go then."

She wasn't sure where Tyson was getting this sudden burst of energy from, but was grateful that he could be so easily manipulated into doing her bidding. He started to walk towards the direction of her house as soon as they exited the ice cream parlour, but Hilary looped her arm with his and dragged him towards the bus stop, claiming it was too hot to walk and the bus would only take a few minutes. Even if the thought of going over to her house had seemed to energise Tyson, she couldn't risk his condition getting worse by making him walk in this weather. Her concerns were validated when he dozed off during just a ten minute bus ride and had to be shaken awake when they reached the stop near her house, which made for an embarrassing apology to the other passengers and the bus driver. As they walked towards her house, Tyson did attempt to claim yet again that he was feeling much better after the nap, but she could still feel the heat radiating off of him and didn't pay heed to his chattering.

Once they were inside her house and Hilary closed the door behind them, she decided to move onto the next part of her plan.

"Did I mention," she began in a low voice that had his interest piqued instantly, "that my mother won't be home until very late?"

It was as if Tyson had won the lottery, looking at her expectantly like he was waiting for her to announce what the prize was.

"So, if you promise to go upstairs and lie down in my bed, I'll give you a kiss."

For a moment doubt flickered through his eyes, maybe he had caught onto the fact that Hilary had an ulterior motive, after all everything was feeling too convenient, but it could also just be his lucky day, so instead of being on guard he asked her, "Do I get the kiss before I lie down or after?"

"After."

"And do I get to pick where you-"

"Of course not!"

Tyson pouted at her adamant reply but his disappointment lasted only for a few seconds as he wasted no time in bounding up the stairs towards her room. Sighing with relief, Hilary made her way to the kitchen, putting the kettle on so she could prepare some ginger and honey tea for Tyson. While the tea was brewing, she looked through the cabinets to find the medicine box and put aside the required tablets on the counter. She wondered if he had eaten lunch yet, she didn't want him taking the medicines on an empty stomach after all. Seeing as some minutes had passed since Tyson had moved upstairs and he still hadn't called for her, Hilary figured that she could spend some more time in the kitchen and cook up a little bit of rice porridge for him.

By the time she was taking up the tray filled with everything she had prepared up to her room, Hilary was already in a good mood, humming a happy tune to herself as she was confident that her plan for tricking Tyson into taking care of himself would succeed beautifully. Thankfully he had left the door to her room open so all she had to do was enter and set the tray on her bedside table. When her eyes fell on the lump that was supposed to be Tyson on her bed, she grinned, the exhaustion must've gotten the better of him and his eyes were barely open.

"Finally." He managed to murmur to himself as he stretched his arms above his head with great difficulty and attempted to lie down in a straighter position.

"Here's some tea for your throat, and some porridge as well. You have to take the medicines, so you better eat the whole-"

"Kiss! You owe me a kiss!"

Hilary stopped looking over the contents of the tray and eyed Tyson. While she had assured him of a kiss voluntarily, looking at the state he was in, she didn't want to go ahead with it, the last thing they needed was her catching whatever bug had gotten hold of him. But bargaining with Tyson would become next to impossible if she didn't follow through with her first promise. So she bit her lips and braced herself, looking him over once again, Hilary decided to go ahead with the safest option which was his forehead. She could feel the excitement overpower the drowsiness within Tyson as she got closer to his face, but as she moved forward and her lips touched his forehead, he let out an annoyed huff, completely dissatisfied with her choice.

"Great, now you expect me to drink that tea and porridge in exchange for what? A peck on each cheek?" He asked her dryly, pushing his elbows against the mattress, Tyson managed to prop himself up appropriately enough to be able to drink and eat.

"That would be underhanded," Hilary said, smiling as she saw him take careful bites out of the porridge, she added, "even for me."

Of course she had to raise the stakes, since she knew from the beginning that getting Tyson to eat porridge or drink tea wouldn't be difficult, he'd do that on his own accord without so much as a push from her. No, what required her attention were the medicines. His aversion towards taking medicines or even his slight fear of needles were known to all, and despite of him devouring the rice porridge and happily slurping down the ginger and honey tea, both well known home remedies for the common flu, Hilary knew that if she asked him whether he was feeling better right now, he would maintain that he hadn't been feeling sick to begin with and refuse to take the tablets. But it wasn't a struggle for her, to come up with the perfect bargain that would once again make Tyson gullible to her manipulations.

She waited patiently for him to finish with the tea and porridge, and once he'd set down the tea cup back on the tray, Hilary met his gaze earnestly, "You need to take the tablets too."

"Not happening." Tyson replied in a flat tone, already getting ready to settle back in his previous position.

"That's a shame because, I was planning to lie down next to you if you did take them."

He stopped midway in the process of lying back down and looked at her with eyes that were now wide awake, "You really mean that?"

"Yes."

"Will you take your top off too?"

"Tyson!"

"Okay, okay. No need to get so upset, can't blame a guy for trying."

He eyed the medicines dejectedly for a while, then after letting out a sigh of defeat, Tyson scrunched up his nose and swallowed the tablets, drowning a full glass of water afterwords with a disgusted look on his face. This time he didn't need to remind her about the bargain, after taking a deep breath, Hilary climbed over him and snuggled into the vacant spot next to him on her bed. Lying there for a little while shouldn't be a problem, she reassured herself mentally, the minute the medicines would start to take effect Tyson would probably doze off soundly. After that all Hilary had to do was carefully get out of bed, take a shower and changer her clothes to get rid of his germs, then go into her mother's room and find the immunity boosters and supplements she kept in one of her drawers and take them with the hope that she'd be able to avoid falling sick.

"Maybe there is something wrong with me."

Hilary turned on her side and faced Tyson with a curious look, his eyes had pretty much drooped shut so she found it surprising when she heard him murmur to himself.

"What makes you say that now?" Hilary asked out of curiosity.

"You're lying next to me and I can barely manage to keep my eyes open."

She didn't want to laugh when he looked so genuinely disappointed in himself, but the sight of him trying to fight the exhaustion that was so visibly overtaking him just so he could make the most of Hilary being so close to him was unbearably cute and she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She had always been around to wake him up but rarely got a chance to see him fall asleep, and was surprised to see him look so vulnerable, an expression that Tyson was exceptionally good at hiding. She realised that she'd made a mistake by turning to face him, as it now became almost impossible for her to tear her eyes away, his face looked so calm and peaceful, completely devoid of its usual stubborn features, all Hilary wanted to do was reach out a hand and brush away the messy strands of midnight blue hair that were scattered across his face so she could get a better look at him.

Before she knew it, her hand moved on its own but just as her fingertips touched his hair, Tyson grabbed her wrist and with a newfound burst of energy pulled her closer towards him. Their foreheads now resting against each other, his eyes shot open and he looked at her with a burning emotion that Hilary couldn't recognise.

"Promise me that this won't be the last time." He said, voice heavy from trying to fight against the dreariness surrounding him.

Hilary felt herself turn red from head to toe, even though Tyson was the one with the fever, as she realised what he was trying to hint at. But with his hand wrapped around her wrist holding her steadily close to him, it became difficult for her to turn her eyes away till she collected herself and came up with an appropriate response. So she decided to go ahead and give him what he wanted, her conscience wouldn't allow her to be mean to a sick person anyway.

"I promise."

He managed to grin from ear to ear, sliding his hand down from her wrist so he could wrap it around hers, he sighed contently and said, "You probably think that I won't remember any of this because of how I zonked out I look right now, but I have excellent memory Hils, I'm going to make sure you follow through."

"If you had such an excellent memory, you'd do better at school." Hilary rolled her eyes, she could always trust him to ruin a delicate moment.

"Not everyone wants to use their strengths to get better at school."

"Not everyone can." She taunted him, her own lips curling upwards at the sight of him finally looking relaxed.

Hilary was unsure whether Tyson had just pretended to take the medicines or that he hated them so much that his body was actively trying to resist its effects, because she slowly lost track of time as they continue to talk softly, whispering and giggling in each other's ears. Not that she was complaining, since it was rare for the two of them to be so close to each other, in every sense. At the back of her mind, she kept thinking of about how they needed to stop so Tyson could sleep and rest up well, but it was almost as if he had cast a spell on her that kept her from keeping her mind on the right track.

So it took a while before his laughter was reduced to low rumblings and his sentences to gibberish, but finally it seemed to her that Tyson had fallen asleep. Just to make sure that she wouldn't get caught while making her escape from the bed, Hilary moved further closer towards him and peeked at his face as carefully as she could. His eyes were shut peacefully and his mouth was slightly ajar, which she fixed, as if he had fallen asleep mid sentence.

And it happened then, when an uncontrollable urge to just bend down and kiss him on the lips knocked any rationale out of her mind. It was as if her body moved on its own and no matter how much the tiny voice in the back of her head tried to remind her all about germs and hygiene and her own well being, Hilary couldn't stop herself from leaning over Tyson until her nose was touching his. She felt her own breathing become ragged and was just a little bit afraid of waking Tyson, but her whole body was itching to just to get a taste of him, no matter the consequences.

As she decided to take the plunge, Hilary's eyes fluttered shut as soon as her lips lightly brushed against Tyson's. Had she managed to keep them open, she would've rightfully avoided what happened next.

The minute she fully pressed her lips against his, Tyson sneezed.

- x-

A/n: I don't even want to imagine the aftermath of this, would Tyson even get out of this alive? Too scared to even think about it xD

Also wanted to let everyone know that I'm in the middle of writing a murder mystery for Digimon right now, and am planning to use Takao and Hiromi as background characters (with a considerable role) in it! They are going to be married and running a traditional hot springs inn together. The chapter featuring them will be up within this month so I hope you guys will read that too.