You woke up unexpectedly in the middle of the night and slightly shivered, feeling chilly for some reason. You coughed harshly and groaned as you felt a pounding on your skull, pulling the blanket closer around you.

'Ugh, not a headache, too.' You thought as you tried to fall asleep.

It's been ten minutes though it felt like hours and you still couldn't fall asleep. You turned to the other side of your bed to see it was three in the morning, causing you to close your eyes and quietly whine.

Soon, the sun was beginning to rise and you haven't gotten any sleep all night which resulted in you being super tired the following day. You wore a sweater, sweatpants, a pair of your favorite fuzzy socks, and had your blanket around you. You were so damn cold and your outfit along with your blanket weren't helping you heat your body up.

You trekked down the hallway towards the kitchen, either coughing or sneezing as you did. You finally reached the room you wanted to be in and saw that some of the other operators were up already, drinking their preferred morning drink. You ignored them as you went over to a specific cabinet and took out your favorite mug, then went over to the coffee machine.

"Morgen, (Y/n), did you sleep well?" asked the familiar voice of Jäger.

You only groaned in response and sneezed before filling your mug with coffee. You heard footsteps approach where you were standing and felt a hand on your back. You tore your gaze from your mug and gazed up at Marius, seeing him widen his eyes.

"You don't look too hot," he said. "And it looks like you didn't sleep at all last night."

"I couldn't sleep and I'm fucking freezing." You grumbled, eager to get some warm fluids in your system.

You pulled your blanket tighter around yourself as you grabbed your mug and went to leave the kitchen, going back to your room. You heard someone quickly catch up to you and you immediately knew who it was.

"(Y/n), I think you should go see Doc." Marius suggested.

"No, I'm-" you were cut off mid-sentence by a harsh cough fit. "I'm fine, I just probably need a nap."

"I don't know, that coughing fit proved otherwise."

"I'm fine, Marius, really I am. I just need to sleep it off."

You finally reached your room and walked inside after saying goodbye to Marius, closing the door behind you. You coughed again and felt like you were going to throw up. You quickly yet carefully placed down your mug before rushing to your bathroom and kneeling over the toilet. Just as you suspected, you immediately threw up and you felt your stomach start to hurt. You rested your head against your arm as your headache got worse, causing you to almost cry. You stayed in the bathroom for a few more minutes before slowly standing up and walking over to your bed, grabbing your blanket in the process. You laid down and snuggled into the sheets as you closed your eyes tiredly, shivering as you felt chills wash over your body. Soon, you fell asleep feeling worse than earlier and hoped you'd get better when you woke up.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣ °․┈┈┈┈

You slowly opened your tired eyes and sniffled before turning over to look at your clock. It was now two in the afternoon and you still hadn't gotten better. You thought that you should've taken Marius' suggestion to see Doc, but too late for that. You whined as you felt your body get colder and weaker by the minute and hated every second of it.

"(Y/n), are you alright?" You heard Doc ask from outside of your door.

You groaned in response like earlier and turned away from the door as soon as it opened. You heard the door close and heard Doc's footsteps walk to the side you're facing then kneeled down in front of you. You forced yourself to open your eyes and saw that his expression was filled with concern and worry. You quickly covered your nose as another sneeze escaped your system, and you groaned.

"Why didn't you come to me?" Gustave asked, voice laced with concern.

"I-I didn't w....ant to both...er you." You said, your voice hoarse from coughing so much.

"Chérie, you never bother me when you come to see me."

You blushed at the nickname he gave you and watched as he took out a thermometer.

"Here," he said, moving the little tool to your mouth. "Open."

You didn't argue with him and opened your mouth before he placed the thermometer under your tongue, taking your temperature. After a while, it made a beeping noise and Doc took it out, his eyes widening upon seeing the number.

"Merde, your temperature is higher than usual for a fever." He commented and looked back at you.

You groaned as you curled up into a ball when you heard him say this and buried your face into your pillow.

"Did you throw up at all today?" You heard him ask.

You couldn't speak and only nodded your head as you shivered again. He thought for a moment before standing up and you immediately reached for his hand, not wanting him to leave.

"It's alright, aimer," he says. "I'm going to retrieve some medicine, I won't be long."

Hesitantly, you let go of his hand and watched as he walked out of your room to go get some medicine for you. As soon as he left, you let out a distressed whine because there was no one in the room to comfort you. You flipped over on your other side and locked your gaze with the door, hoping he'd come back like he promised. You were having trouble keeping your eyes open but let them close since you were really tired.

~~~~

After Doc had retrieved the medicine you needed, he headed straight back to your room. He waved to a couple operators as he passed them but his mind was focused on you. Once he saw your door in view, his pace slowed to a stop and he knocked softly.

"(Y/n), I'm back." He said, but you didn't respond.

He slowly opened the door to see you had fallen asleep, your soft snores filling the room. He smiled as he closed the door behind him and quietly walked over to the side of the bed, careful of your sleeping form.

'God, you look so cute and adorable.' He thought.

He realized what he was thinking and mentally slapped himself for it, his face turning bright red. Shaking his head, he pulled a chair towards the side of the bed you were on and sat down, still holding the medicine he had yet to give you.

~~~~

Your nose twitched slightly then unexpectedly sneezed, causing you to wake yourself up. You instinctively looked at the time and saw it was now six in the evening. You then noticed the sleeping figure on your bedside and saw that it was Doc; you figured he must've fallen asleep waiting for you to wake up.

'He looks so peaceful.' You thought and smiled, watching his chest rise and fall slowly.

Your train of thought was interrupted when you felt the sudden urge to throw up, and you hastily got out of bed. You rushed into the bathroom and kneeled next to the toilet like this morning then threw up, resulting in your stomach to hurt even worse. You groaned in pain as your headache worsened and couldn't bring yourself to move, your body aching. Tears slowly started to fall from your eyes as you heard someone calling your name. Someone came in the bathroom after you and immediately knelt down next to you, placing a hand on your shoulder. You ever so slowly looked up and saw Gustave next to you with a worried expression.

"C'mon, let's get you to bed." He said and tried to help you up.

"Ever...ythi...ng...hur...ts." You managed to say as you stayed on the ground.

His heart broke with the state you're in and didn't want to leave you in the bathroom. Carefully, he picked you up bridal style and carried you back to your bed, pulling the blanket over you. Then there was a knocking at your door and Doc went over to answer it. You heard some talking and heard the door close, then smelled something delicious. You saw that he had a bowl of soup, more specifically your favorite kind of soup.

"Jäger brought you a bowl of your favorite soup," he said and placed it on your nightstand. "I guess he was worried too."

You smiled at the thought of Marius' kindness and wanted to thank him for it later.

"Alright, take your medicine first so you can get it over with." He suggested, grabbing the bottle he had.

You sat up against the headboard as he opened the bottle and took out two pills. He handed them to you and you put them in your mouth, then was given a bottle of water. You took a drink of water and felt the pills go down your throat as you closed the water bottle.

"Here," he starts to say as he grabs the bowl from your nightstand. "This should warm you up."

He places it securely on your lap and you instantly sigh at the warmth being emitted from the bowl, eagerly placing your freezing hands in the sides. You then pick up the spoon and begin to eat the soup, drinking the broth here and there. The warm, almost scorching hot liquid went down your throat with ease and you sighed in content as the warmth spread throughout your body. Soon, you finished your soup and smiled as Doc took the now empty bowl and placed it on your nightstand. You carefully laid back down and wrapped the blanket around yourself, still feeling cold.

"I hate being sick." You stated, your throat still somewhat sore.

"I know, everyone does." He says reassuringly.

You sniffled as he began to stand up and your smile faltered, your hand reaching for his like before.

"Stay with me," you said, looking up at him sadly. "Please?"

He chuckled lightly. "Bien, only because you asked nicely."

He sat down on the bed still ahold of your hand as you smiled.

"I like the way your hand fits in mine." He commented, gently squeezing your hand.

You looked down and saw what he meant, his hand fit snugly into yours like pieces to a puzzle; it felt perfect.

"Yeah, me too," you agreed. "We should... do this more often."

You blushed when you said this and hoped he didn't find you weird.

"I'd like that." Doc said.

You looked up and saw a soft smile on his face. Then an idea popped in your head but you weren't sure if he would be up for it.

"Hey, um," you started, suddenly becoming shy.

"Hm? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if.... I was wondering if we could, like, cuddle."

The room was silent after you said this and you were starting to regret saying it.

"We don't have to-" you started.

"No, it's fine," he interrupted you. "We can cuddle, I don't mind."

Your face flushed a brighter red and scooted over to the other side of the bed. You slightly shivered due to how cold the side was as you watched as he got underneath the blanket with you. Immediately, you reached for him and pressed yourself against his body, desperate to feel warmth.

"Oh, uh..." He said, unsure what to say about your reaction.

"Sorry," you apologized. "I've been freezing all day and you're warm."

"Well," he pulled you closer by wrapping his arms around your waist. "If it means making you warm, I wouldn't mind sharing my body heat."

You blushed harder and buried your face into his chest, causing him to chuckle. He then used one of his hands to make you look at him and stared deeply into your eyes.

"You're cute when you blush." He complimented. "You're like a little berry."

He pecked your nose which caused you to scrunch it up; you weren't expecting him to do that. Then you suddenly yawned and you rubbed your eyes.

"Get some sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up." He says.

You don't argue and place your head back on his chest, his hand going back to your waist. Your eyes fluttered close and soon you were overcome with sleep, your hands slowly gripping onto Doc.

┈┈┈┈․° ☣ °․┈┈┈┈

You jolted awake and blinked a couple times to see that Doc was laying in bed with you. You took this moment to admire his sleeping face, blushing at how handsome he was. You never really noticed before because you never had the chance; now you were kind of glad you had gotten sick.

You were brought out of your thoughts when you felt him shifting and saw him slowly wake up. His eyes opened and he smiled warmly upon seeing your face.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi." You say and smile back.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, still freezing though."

You cuddled into him as he hummed lowly and pulled you closer. You two stayed like this as he ran a hand through your hair, detangling some of the knotted parts. He took a deep breath before gaining the courage to confess his feelings towards you.

"(Y/n), I..." He starts, making you look at him. "I like you, a lot."

You giggle lightly. "Aw, I like you too, Doc."

"Non, I mean..."

He stops talking as he sits up, bringing you with him and you look at him confused.

"I mean I want to be more than just friends." He said and looked away.

You stared at him in surprise as he removed himself from you.

"Doc, I..." Your voice trailed off, trying to think of what to say.

"It's okay if you don't feel the same, (Y/n)." He said, still not looking at you.

You reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look at you.

"But I do feel the same," you said. "I just couldn't bring myself to say anything because I thought it would ruin our friendship and-"

You were cut off by him placing his lips onto yours, hands pulling you closer. You closed your eyes as you kissed back and wrapped your arms around his neck. You both pulled back at the same time and saw that each other's face was red which caused you to look away. He lightly laughed at this before making you look at him and staring deeply into your eyes.

"You're so cute when you blush," he said just like earlier. "Like a little berry."

He nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck and started placing gentle kisses.

"Ma petite baie~" he purred.