The chair
was empty, pushed into the desk, having not been vacated for going on two days.
And today was going to be another long, lonely day for Dee Laytner.
Dee heaved a heavy sigh and moved for his cup of coffee.
Unfortunately, his fixation on the still-empty chair had caused him to forget
the actual placement of his cup and his hand knocked into it. It tipped to the
side, spilling a bit despite the plastic top with its tiny little opening.
Dee
scrambled for the napkins. For some reason, the coffee stand on the corner
outside the building always gave far too many napkins with each cup. Usually he
stuffed the lot in his pocket on his way in the door,
then dumped them all in the bottom drawer of his desk for an emergency. And
this apparently constituted an emergency. He plunged his hand into the drawer
and extracted several. He blotted the papers and files on the desk, wiping up
the hot coffee before it could cause any serious damage. Then he sighed and
slumped in his chair.
As Dee
again gazed across the back-to-back desks at the empty chair, he made up his
mind. He heard a sneeze carry over the partitions dividing up the precinct
floor. With a deep breath and both hands flat on the desk, he rolled back and
rose out of his seat. He didn't need another sneeze to help him follow the
sound; he was pretty sure who it had been and now he was resolute in what he
needed to do.
Since early
December, a rather rotten cold had been making its rounds. It had targeted
pretty much everyone except for Dee. Dee
never got sick. At least, hardly ever. Unless he wanted to.
As he
walked down the isle, Dee rehearsed what to say. He'd be
charming and sympathetic, then he'd take what he
wanted. All it would take was a kiss. And JJ certainly would not say no to a
kiss. He smiled and turned the corner. "JJ!" he exclaimed. "You... look awful..." He trailed off, eyes softening. JJ really did look awful. Pale
face, pink nose, bloodshot eyes. And Dee suddenly felt terribly guilty
about what he had planned. "Why don't you go home and get some rest?"
JJ shook
his head, stood, and pulled a tissue out of the box on his desk. He curled the
tissue and his hand around his nose. "ihhhChooo!" He blew his nose. "Cad't," he said, shaking his head again. "The odly way I could get Drake to go hobe
was to brobise I'd fidish ub these case files." He gestured to the small stacks of
folders and papers on his desk. "But I'b albost... doh... dode..."
His eyes closed and he reached for another tissue out of the box. However, he'd
just taken the last one. He peeked and groaned just as a sneeze seized him more
quickly than he could cover. "ihhhChShhhhh!"
Dee
blinked out of instinct, feeling the light spray on his face. Then he shrugged
to himself. That might work. "Bless you." He searched his pockets for something
he could offer and found the extra napkins from this morning's coffee. Another emergency to be averted.
"ihhhChishhhhhh!" Dee felt that
one as well and, as JJ leaned over his desk, Dee held
the yellow, square napkins to his nose for him. JJ rubbed his nose into them
and sighed. "Thags. Sniff!"
Dee
patted JJ's arm and wiped his nose for him, feeling
genuinely sorry for the man. For JJ not to be fawning all over Dee
at every look and touch must have meant he felt much worse than he was letting
on. "Take it easy. Take care of yourself for me, would you JJ?"
JJ sat down
at his desk and nodded wearily. "I will, Senpai. For you."
Dee
smiled sympathetically and ducked back out, hoping JJ was too sick to wonder
what Dee had been doing there in the first place.
* * *
An hour before
the end of his shift, Dee realized he felt run down.
Only a minute after this realization, he let out two rather strong,
unrestrained and uncovered sneezes. "WAH-SHOOOH! HAHShoooo!" He rummaged around in his desk
for a moment, then got up and rummaged around in Ryo's. Finally he produced a
tissue box that was relatively empty but for a few remaining tissues. He
considered blowing his nose, but decided just to rub at it.
Then he
made his way to the chief's office. "Chief?" The man
looked up from his work. "I deed to go hobe," he said
stuffily. "I'b sick."
The chief
sighed in frustration and threw his hands up into the air. "I'm going to have
no officers left at this rate!" He shook his head. "No, Dee,
no. You can't. Half the station is already out and I can't afford to
lose anyone else."
"But
Chief!" he whined, putting on his best puppy dog face. That usually worked with
the man, who was really just a big teddy bear at heart anyway. And, failing his
pitiful look, usually annoying him to death worked. "I never take sick days. I've got a year of them saved up by now and
I'm reeeeeeally
sick! I need to go home." Before the chief could again refuse, Dee
felt a sneeze coming on and made no attempt to cover it. "whahhhh... HAHShoooohh!"
"Gah!" The chief rolled back in
his chair, cringing at the uncovered sneeze. "Don't do that! I can't afford to get sick now!"
Dee
sniffled pitifully, then blew his nose thoroughly.
"Please, Chief?" he asked again, pouting. "I'm really sick. All I'm going to do
here is get everyone else sick, you know."
The man
sighed and looked like he was either going to explode from stress or pull his
hair out. Or perhaps both. "All right," he conceded.
"Just try not to sneeze again until you're out of the building. And don't come
back until you're better!"
Dee
tried not to look as pleased as he felt. He nodded and sniffled again. "Thanks,
Chief."
The chief
crossed his arms on his desk and buried his head in them. "Don't mention it."
* * *
Dee
walked quietly through the apartment, trying to hold back his sniffles as best
he could. He rubbed his nose into his scarf and shoulder and tried to use his
keen detective senses to determine whether Ryo was asleep or awake. The bedroom
door was wide open, and he poked his head in to end the mystery.
"Dee?
What are you doing here?" Awake. Definitely awake.
Awake and sitting up in bed with a book propped up in his lap and a sea of
balled-up tissues littering the bed. And his dark eyes
blinking curiously at Dee.
For a
moment, Dee considered backing up and backing out of his
plan. But he was already starting to feel the full effects of the cold and the
bed looked so comfortable and Ryo so irresistible and... Dee
took a deep breath. "Ryo!" he said brightly, grinning. "I've brought extra tissues
and extra-spicy Indian take-out!"
"That's
great," Ryo said, smiling weakly. "But I've told you, Dee, I don't want you
over here. You really should just go. This is a horrible cold and I'd hate for
you to catch it."
"Too late,"
Dee replied. He sniffled wetly to demonstrate the
stuffiness of his nose at present. "Caught it anyway.
Chief gave me the rest of the day off. And I couldn't think of anyone I'd
rather spend it with."
Ryo's weak
smile turned into a nervous one. He wasn't exactly in the best of health and if
Dee tried anything... "Dee..." he
started uncertainly.
Dee
shook his head. "I just thought we could take care of each other," he said
quickly. "We've done that before, right? Just not at the same
time." He paused, his nose twitching slightly. He lifted his arm and
buried his nose in the crook against his thick coat. "HAHHShhuhhh! WahhhhhShuhhhh! Hahhh...
HAHSchhhhhh!" He lifted his
head, sniffling pathetically. "Please, Ryo? Sniff,
sniff! I need someone to look after me. Sniffle,
sniffsnufff! And now there's no worrying about
you giving me your cold now, right? Sniff!
Sniiifffff!"
Ryo sighed
and pulled down the blankets beside him in bed. "Yeah.
Okay. Hop in before you collapse. I don't have the energy to drag you into bed
this time."
So eager to
get into bed that he let that comment go without a witty retort, Dee
kicked off his shoes. He stripped off his dress shirt, leaving only his
undershirt and slacks on. He started to get into bed when Ryo pointed to the
dresser. "Might as well make yourself comfortable. PJ's are in the second drawer. I have a few with drawstrings
that might fit you."
Dee
set down the takeout and changed. There was a pair of striped cotton pajama
bottoms that fit him perfectly, and a blue top that he put on over his
undershirt. It wasn't exactly the way he'd have liked to have been getting into
Ryo's pants, but it was definitely a start. When he finally climbed into bed,
he had to admit he was much more comfortable. Though that
might have been because he was in bed with Ryo as much as anything else.
"How're you
feeling?" Dee asked softly, lounging on one side so that
he could properly look at Ryo. "You look about as good as you did several days
ago when I last saw you."
Ryo
shrugged. "This is a horrible cold. I feel rotten." He rubbed at his nose. "How about you?"
Dee
smiled. "Not so bad."
"Give it
time," Ryo said wisely, chuckling. Then he reached for the tissue box Dee
had brought with him. "ehhh... ahhhChshhhhhh!" he sneezed wetly and
blew his nose hard several times to try to keep it from tickling further.
Dee
watched with empathy, and could not resist reaching out and stroking Ryo's
forehead. Not to feel for fever, just to touch him, soothe him. And when Ryo
lowered the tissues, he was smiling again. "Hypothetically, Dee,
if I were to move a little closer to you for your warmth and all, would you try
to have your way with me?"
Dee
smiled back, and shook his head. "I don't feel horrible, but I don't feel that
good, either," he explained. "And I'm feeling a little chilly right now as
well." He sniffed a few times and retrieved a tissue for himself, so he could
rub it at his nose. "I promise to be on my best behavior." Ryo coughed, and Dee
knew it was too well-timed to be a coincidence. Dee
rolled over onto his back with a sigh. "I mean, I promise to be on your best behavior."
Ryo nodded.
"That's better." Then he scooted up right against Dee's
side and, almost cautiously, rested his head on the man's shoulder and
collarbone. Dee gently wrapped an arm around Ryo's
shoulders. They were both warm and comfortable, and Ryo was just as pleased as Dee,
though he wouldn't admit it.
But the
moment did not last long. "HAHShoooo! HehhhShooo!
Hah-HAH-Shoooo!" Ryo grabbed the box and set it on
Dee's chest, and Dee took a
tissue from it and rubbed at his nose. "You tired?" he asked Ryo, tightening
his grip in the form of a hug. "Because I may be sneezing too often to let you
fall asleep." He hated to admit the almost-snuggling was a bad idea, but he was
prepared to go if Ryo really needed his sleep.
However, Ryo
shook his head, his slightly messy light brown hair swaying with the motion. "Actually...
you mentioned something about Indian takeout?"
Luckily, Dee
had brought the bag over to the bed, and he reached down to the floor where
he'd set it. "The guy there told me the extra spices were supposed to help
colds," he explained, taking out a few cartons, some plastic forks, and some
napkins. "Napkins," Dee chuckled to himself.
"What?" Ryo
asked, sitting up but remaining rather close to Dee
nonetheless.
"Nothing," Dee
shook his head. "You're in good hands, is all."
Ryo smiled.
"I think I knew that already."
Dee
smiled back, but suddenly his smile faded and eyes started to narrow. Then they
closed. "Oh..." He could not continue and, instead, blindly reached for the
tissues. His hand did not quite make contact with the box. Quickly, Ryo,
napkins in hand, covered Dee's nose and mouth. "HahhhSchhhhh! WaaShhhuhhh! Sniffle!" Dee
opened his eyes and looked at Ryo apologetically. "You did't hab to do that."
"It's
okay," Ryo said softly, still holding the napkins in place. "I just wanted to
save you the embarrassment of sneezing on the food." He did a combination wipe
and fold of the napkins, then dropped them over the side of the bed where he
usually discarded his tissues. The trashcan there was overflowing.
"Sniffle! Thadks,
Ryo." Now able to see them, Dee's hand made it to the
tissues and he blew his nose into a handful, sounding miserable.
Ryo waited
for Dee to finish, then he
leaned to the side and placed a soft, empathetic kiss on Dee's
cheek. "I'm sorry you're sick, but I'm glad you're here." Then, careful not to
be too sentimental, he added, "And that you brought food, of course."
"Of
course," Dee echoed. Food... and plenty
of napkins. He popped open a container and hungrily eyed the steaming chicken
curry. Before he could offer to get up for plates, Ryo stuck his fork in and
helped himself. It was a move Dee was sure Ryo would
never have made even if they had both been well. And it was a very good sign
that this was going to pay off. Now all he had to do was figure out a way for
them both to not feel quite so sick while in bed together and everything would
be perfect.
"ahhhShooo!" Ryo had managed to swallow and cover
his nose and mouth before sneezing. But he welcomed the tissue Dee
brandished in front of his face after the fact. "Thanks," Ryo said softly and
rested his head on Dee's shoulder as he took another
bite.
Dee
slipped his arm around Ryo again and squeezed comfortingly, deciding that he
could postpone his planning until after the meal. Right now, he just wanted to
enjoy this. Or at least enjoy it as much as he could with a growing head cold.