Au: Modern Minecraft

WC: ~2.3k

Inspired by the fact that I either get sick on Thanksgiving or Christmas every year :') I'm also not too sure about the pacing on it because it was written sporadically and during some stressful weeks at school lol

Warning for mentions of vomiting

-

"So, you excited for the upcoming holidays?" Zedaph eagerly asked.

He kept his hands warm by cupping the hot cup of coffee that sat in front of him on the table outside the coffee shop. His date that was sitting across from him shrugged as he took a sip of his drink. "I guess? I mean I've never been a big fan," Beef admitted, setting his cup down and idly tapping the side.

Zed frowned. "But I thought you liked Christmas movies? What's wrong?"

With a sigh, Beef sat back in his chair. "Don't get me wrong, I do love a good holiday movie, I like Christmas, in theory. But I can't remember the last time I properly celebrated it. It's never been a big deal for me," he explained when a gust of freezing air swept by them, leaving the bitter winter atmosphere even colder.

To compensate, Zedaph risked burning his tongue by taking a large gulp of coffee. He then leaned forward, tilting his head to the side. "Can I ask why it's not a big deal?"

"Well ever since I was pretty young, I'd always somehow end up sick around the holidays. And since I didn't want to make my family worry about dealing with a sick kid on Christmas, I just kinda... Stayed out of it all, so no one else would catch whatever cold or flu I might've gotten," he elaborated. "I guess my family got so used to not celebrating with me that when I moved out I was never invited to any Christmas-related celebration."

Zedaph reached over to take his hands, tightly squeezing them. "Oh Beef, that's awful! I'm so sorry." However, his boyfriend quickly shook his head.

"No no, it's okay! I would've declined every time anyway because I still manage to end up sick for Christmas," he laughed.

Slumping in his seat, Zed sighed. "I still don't think that's fair," he mumbled, fidgeting with Beef's hands.

"I'll be just fine." His boyfriend insisted, squeezing his hands back.

He shook his head. Zedaph had made up his mind. "No. No, it's not fine. Because you know what? I'm going to make sure you have the best Christmas. Sick or not I'll give you the fun holiday you deserve!"

However, his boyfriend didn't seem as eager. "Are you sure? What if I end up making you sick? Or- don't you spend time with your parents? What about them?" He protested as he pulled his hands free.

"Well, typically I spend time with them, yes, but this year they won tickets for a cruise, so it'd just be you and me. Besides, I can handle getting sick, I'll manage! It'll be worth it after all."

Finally, Beef seemed to realize there'd be no convincing him otherwise and agreed.

With their coffee finished, it was time to leave.

"So, first things first; I want to get some decorations for your apartment!" Zedaph explained, grabbing his hand again.

Beef laughed. "Oh, so we're doing this at my place?" He teased.

Zed nodded and began leading him down the street. "And whether you like it or not, I'll be staying with you for the whole time!"

"Oh no, the horror!" Beef laughed before kissing his temple.

-

Armed with bags and boxes alike, the couple placed it all in Beef's living room. He admittedly felt a little overwhelmed with everything, but he knew he could trust Zedaph to help him as always.

"I can't believe you made me spend so much on a tree," he lightly laughed when they began to unpack everything.

"Said it before and I'll say it again; those fake trees last a long time, so they're definitely worth the investment, I promise," Zedaph insisted. He piled the boxes of ornaments while Beef pulled out the wreath and garlands. "Oh! I know what else we need!" Suddenly he stood up and dashed around the corner to Beef's room. He returned, accompanied by Christmas music playing from a small speaker with his phone in his other hand. "That's more like it, right?"

The first thing they did was hang the wreath on the front door, then they moved to the balcony to wrap lights and garland around the railing. They set up the tree and once they plugged the wire into the wall, the lights pre-strung on the tree lit up a sparkling white. "Oh, that's so pretty!" Beef exclaimed.

"Now we can decorate it!" Zedaph began opening a package of red ornaments with two stripes of sparkling gold wrapped around them. When he handed over the first one, he pressed a kiss to his cheek.

His smile grew and Beef pecked his cheek in return. "Thank you, love. For everything, honestly."

As they began hanging up the first ornaments, Zed hummed. "We're just getting started," he promised.

Before he could grab another ornament, he turned away and sneezed. Then sneezed two more times. "Ah," he sniffled, taking a tissue from the box on the coffee table. "So it begins."

-

They made cookies and binged movies, and Zedaph only left to bring his wrapped gifts to put under the tree. However by the third day of their Christmas extravaganza, Beef wouldn't stop sneezing and his throat was sore after he started coughing so much.

So for that day, Zed had him sit on the couch and brought him hot chocolate. "You want to take a break from the Christmas stuff today?" He asked, kissing his forehead.

"No, we can still make the gingerbread house. But maybe for right now, we just watch those cheesy rom-com Christmas movies that we both like?" Beef took a long sip of his hot drink, his whole body growing warmer.

A blanket was draped over his shoulders and his boyfriend snuggled with them after firing up a movie. Despite having said it before, Beef warned yet again, "You're going to get sick from me."

"And I don't care because it's worth it," Zedaph sang.

Unfortunately, it only took twenty minutes of hot cocoa drinking and laughing with his boyfriend until he suddenly felt sicker than before. "Oh dear," Zed sighed, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead. "You're very feverish. Hold on."

He got up for a moment and Beef leaned back on the couch. Thanks to so much sneezing, he felt disgusting inside and out. His energy was depleting too, but he didn't want to sleep while spending time with the other.

When Zed returned, he brought a bowl of water with a cloth submerged in it. "Lay down," he instructed, patting his lap.

Beef lightly laughed. "You want me to use you as my pillow?"

"Why not, right?" How could he resist his sweet grin? So holding the blanket around him, he shifted around to lay on his back, gently resting his head on Zedaph's lap. Ringing out the washcloth, his boyfriend folded it and gently laid it over his forehead. With one hand, he combed through his hair, the other resting on his chest, moving with his breaths. "Let me know if you need anything else. Do you want me to turn the movie off?" He offered.

"No, I like the background noise," he assured him. The fingers lightly scratching his scalp were soothing and hypnotic, lulling him into a light sleep. A kiss was pressed to his head and he hummed.

-

When he was feeling a little better later that day, the couple spent about an hour building an army of mini snowmen on Beef's balcony, with what snow they had available.

As bitter cold as the air was, in a way, he felt like it was helping. Maybe it was a mix of the fresh air as well.

"Now we're safe from whatever old men try to break in," Zedaph teased, nudging his arm.

He laughed, building the last one. Since he had no sticks or small rocks, they were all simply bodies, but they still looked cool. However, he broke into a coughing fit, and with a hand on his back, Zed guided him back inside and closed the door.

When he stopped, his boyfriend offered a glass of water. "Would you want some tea with honey? Just honey? Cough drops?"

Beef gulped down a third of the glass. "No, not yet, but thank you." He looked over at the dinner table where the unopened box for the gingerbread house kit sat. "We should do that," he suggested, pointing to it.

Taking his extended hand, Zedaph led him over. "Alright! Let's crack this baby open!"

They laid out the pieces for the house, the icing bag, and candies for decorating. As much as they tried to be orderly and neat, the moment the walls wouldn't stick together and collapsed on top of each other, they erupted into laughter and gave up trying.

By the time they finished, the roof pieces were the walls, the front the new roof, and no piece where it should be. Icing and sprinkles were everywhere and not a single gumdrop was used thanks to Zedaph eating them all. The small gingerbread family that came with the box were completely mutilated; the children were hidden inside the house with their father's leg between them. The rest of the father was shoved in the chimney and the mother's head was attached with frosting to the side. Pieces of her were scattered around for decoration.

Yet as fun as their terrifying masterpiece was, Beef felt his heart thumping, and not simply because Zedaph was with him. The feeling rose to his throat and he mumbled an explanation as he hurried to the bathroom. He assumed Zed was worriedly trailing behind him but he wasn't sure as he hastily lifted the toilet lid and seat, leaning over the bowl.

While he dealt with... that, a hand gently touched his forehead and continuously smoothed his hair back. By the time he finished he was trembling and didn't want to get up after flushing the toilet.

"I'll go get you water so you can have it after you clean up." His boyfriend softly offered as he delicately kissed the back of his head.

He weakly nodded and stood with him. After washing his hands and face, he stared at himself in the mirror. Beef could tell he was paler than before. Even when Zedaph brought him water and guided him back to the couch, never taking an arm off of him, he didn't speak up.

Until his boyfriend kissed his head again. "You're going to get so sick from me," he warned with a strained voice.

Taking his shaking hand, Zed squeezed. "That's okay. It's completely worth it for your sake. Despite being sick, have you been enjoying the Christmas festivities?"

Beef nodded, cracking a smile before he drank his water. "It's been a lot of fun."

"Then me getting whatever you have is totally fine. I'll manage," he insisted.

"You say that like you don't know I'll be nursing you back to health whether you like it or not," he scoffed, leaning back on the couch.

Zedaph leaned against him, snuggling against his arm. "And you don't have to do that."

"But I want to. And I will."

-

Christmas morning, it was a miracle. Zedaph found Beef in an arguably better condition. His fever had gone down a good bit, and he didn't seem nauseous anymore. Although his coughing was still persistent. However, he was determined to give him the perfect Christmas day.

He made a nice, comforting brunch for them while festive music played in the background. They turned on the TV to let whatever classic Christmas movies were being shown play. It didn't matter as their focus was on the gifts.

Zed may have gone a bit above and beyond with what he bought for his lover. Regardless of his seasonal sickness, he was too excited to be spending their first Christmas as a couple together.

"What? No way, this is perfect!" Beef gushed as he opened a custom-made arena for his favorite card game. He had just opened a pack of cards with two guaranteed specials. When he opened his next gift, he laughed. He held up a keychain with a card of himself, in the style of the game he loved so much. It was sparkly and colorful yet durable.

Finally accepting the fact that Zedaph didn't care about his health, he was pulled into a big hug. "You are the sweetest, most caring boyfriend I could ever ask for," Beef gushed as he squeezed him. "Thank you not just for the gifts, but for being here, for taking care of me."

He buried his face in his shoulder. "Of course. I love you, Beef. I'm always going to do the most I can to look out for you," he assured him. But then he was held away at arm's length.

"And although I'm so careful, please keep your own health, physical and mental in mind. I love you so much and I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Zedaph's smile grew; how could he not find Beef's scolding charming?

Within moments, his boyfriend relaxed his expression as he reached back under the tree for a wrapped box to hand over. Zed eagerly ripped at the wrapping paper and opened the cardboard box. Pulling back the tissue paper, he laughed.

A fluffy, sheep onesie. "This is so cute! And so soft! I love it!"

As he lowered it back into the box, he quickly looked away and raised his elbow as he sneezed. And sneezed again, and again and again.

"Uh oh, someone's got my sick!" Beef teased.

"I'll be fine," he insisted, but he knew there would be no convincing him. And Zedaph wouldn't complain if it meant spending the last days of the year being cared for and nursed back to help.

Another box was placed in his lap. "But you're not allowed to be ill yet; you gotta finish opening my gifts to you!"