TW: Illness, RPF

With every movement sluggish and consuming the majority of the remaining energy his body possessed, Chris stumbled through the front door and into the bedroom. In front of him, was the double bed he had spent the whole morning craving, dreaming of spending the day wrapped in warm blankets while his body caught up on much needed sleep. He threw himself onto the bed, not even bothering to declothe himself but instantly regretted it as the sudden movement brought a new bout of pain running through his head. His fingers moved to the source where he rubbed against his temples, desperately trying to either grow accustomed to the pain or to eradicate it from his head, although preferably the latter.

He had woken that morning to find his head pounding and his throat aching in incredible discomfort. He should have been prepared for his body feeling run down, he knew the workload and the late nights would eventually catch up with him, he just hoped it wouldn't be quite so soon. They had a very important meeting with a company who potentially wanted to commission HatFilms to create a video for them, of what, no-one was entirely sure of. It would be a huge step forwards in their career and as the one who knew the most about their business aspect, Chris knew he would be unable to miss it. So instead, he tried to ignore the exhaustive state his body was in and pulled himself from the warmth of the bed and from the warmth of Alex's arms and tried to continue with the day. It just wasn't that easy...

As the day progressed, so did the feeling illness. Instead of just being his head and his throat, Chris found his nose begin to run almost constantly, his voice became almost non-existent while his mind grew fuzzy and unable to concentrate. He was in the worst state when he so desperately needed to be in the best. But with all these symptoms, Chris found it increasingly difficult to hide the way he felt from his two friends, especially as one was his boyfriend. It was inevitable that they would find out, Chris had only hoped he would be able to sit through the meeting without losing concentration. But it didn't go quite as he wanted after yet another coughing fit.

Feeling like a naughty school boy, Alex had sent the brunette back to their shared flat just before lunchtime, instructing him to climb straight into bed and that he would be back shortly. With Chris out of the room, they had both decided that a snivelling, coughing, headachy man would be more of a hindrance than a help, not to mention that Alex wanted his boyfriend to be alright which he certainly wasn't while at the office. So with little arguing, Chris had walked the short distance from Yogtowers to his flat and done exactly as he was told, only making a short stop on the way to seek painkillers to dull the throbbing situated in his temples.

Now in bed, Chris felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier as he struggled desperately to keep them open, wanting to be awake for when Alex came through the door. But as time passed, after being in the cosy comfort of his bed for no more than ten minutes, he decided to give in to his body's needs and to close his eyes. At least that way, his head would stop hurting. He pulled the duvet high around his neck and settled into unconsciousness.

The weight of someone sitting beside him brought Chris back to reality. He opened his eyes slowly, becoming accustomed once again to the sunlight streaming through the curtains and into the room much like it had that morning,

"Hey, how you feeling Chris?" Alex's familiar voice queried softly, not wanting to startle the smaller man.

"A little better now you're here..." Chris whispered at equal volume, his voice hoarse and croaky from a combination of sleep and illness.

Alex nodded, moving one of his hands to rest, palm down against Chris' forehead beneath his messy fringe, "You're a little warm still so I have you this." He took a steaming mug of something from where it had been resting previously on Chris' bedside table and offered it to the brunette alongside some more painkillers. Chris sat up curiously, taking the mug as he observed the contents within, chicken soup. He raised it to his lips, enjoying the satisfying taste it brought to his mouth, relishing in the warm as it passed down his sore throat.

"Sorry it took a while, we filmed a couple of videos before getting the ingredients to make the soup. Apparently it's the cure to all illnesses according to Ross. Don't worry, he cooked it so the kitchen's not a total mess."

Chris couldn't help the slow smile that spread over his face as he remembered the previous time Alex had cooked a meal in the kitchen. It had looked and tasted lovely but the mess in the kitchen had taken hours to clean. He had ended up with scattered pots and pans across the kitchen surfaces, sauce splashed against the kitchen tiles and mess on the floor. He was glad Ross had been there to help this time.

"Thank you, how did the meeting go?"

"It didn't. We rescheduled it, thought you'd better be there."

"What did you do instead then?"

"I told you we filmed a couple of videos, edited some as well so we're all set for the next few days which means you get to stay in bed and rest and I'm free to stay here and look after you."

"That sounds perfect."

Throughout the conversation, Chris had been sipping on the soup between his hands, enjoying every last drop of it. Once finished, he placed it back on his bedside table before settling back under the covers.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Alex asked, voice full of concern, desperately wanting to be able to solve the illness that his boyfriend to feel ill.

"There is one thing I need." Chris mumbled sleepily, pausing for a moment to cover his mouth as a yawn escaped from his lips, "You."

Alex smirked before happily obliging, climbing into bed beside the brunette and underneath their shared duvet, uncaring of whether he would become ill or not. Chris, happy for the company and the comfort of the warm body, moved his tired body nearer to Alex, resting his head against the taller man's chest, one of hands sliding to clutch at his waist. Now, as his head began to finally feel the effect of the painkillers, Chris felt himself become relaxed for the first time that day. He had felt considerably better since Alex had arrived home because when the redhead was near, everything felt better. He closed his eyes for the second time that day and fell asleep listening to the sound of a heartbeat beneath his ear, hoping that when he would wake, the tiredness and illness would be lifted completely from his body.

Credit to Daisyith on Ao3