After Thace had been hired by the toy shop owner as someone to be at the front desk whenever he was needed, things had gone well and no one suspected him of being a Marmoran operative. Naok, the owner of the store, was a kind, understanding man who paid Thace well for his work and occasionally let him help build and paint some of the toys. Luckily Thace was able to still complete his duties without getting distracted and occasionally go work at the toy shop; and, of course, he had to bring up the subject of work with Kolivan who approved it before he actually got the job. Food and other supplies were brought to the base whenever they were needed and sometimes whoever brought them would stay for a few hours; (Y/n) and Thace appreciated the company, although when no one else was there and Thace didn't have to work it was business as usual. However, at some point Thace felt a little tickle in his throat and decided to ignore it, unfortunately that tickle in his throat led to him getting sicker.

Thace hadn't been sick since long before he met (Y/n) and he wasn't sure how to deal with it, and with him being a complete workaholic he kept trying to do his daily duties while he was sick. Naturally (Y/n) worried about her friend and took it upon herself to nurse him back to health even though Thace insisted that he was fine; he wasn't, and the more he did around the base, the sicker he became. Even when Thace was too weak to work he tried, then (Y/n) would have to go searching for him just so she could take him back to their bedroom where he could rest. She did her best to sanitize everything Thace came into contact with and she made sure he had everything he needed, she even fed soup to him, alas she ended up catching the space flu from him. Being sick sucked because it was hard to breathe and they both had to keep their fevers down, so they ended up taking care of each other.

Naturally they considered putting themselves in the healing pods, but they understood that it would be good for their bodies to go through the process of being sick as long as they took the medicine used to treat the space flu. If Ulaz hadn't been so busy checking in on another base with Yemi then they would have come to take care of Thace and (Y/n), although since they were busy it left them to take care of each other until they got better. If (Y/n) wasn't able to get out of bed then Thace would get her anything she needed and he would hand feed her soup as well, then if he couldn't get up then she would take care of him. Both of them being sick at the same time was difficult, nevertheless they somehow made it work. (Y/n) couldn't exactly remember the last time she got sick, and if it wasn't for the quintessence in her bloodstream then she would have been sicker than she already was; during that moment in particular she could barely move, so Thace was the one taking care of her.

“I'm back with the soup. I have medicine for us, as well.” Thace said when he slowly walked into their bedroom with the serving tray, a few extra items on it since it was time for them to take the space flu medicine.

“Nooo, I don't want to take medicine. It's disgusting.” (Y/n) complained despite feeling and sounding congested, scrunching her face up in disgust when she remembered how nasty the medicine tasted.

“You have to take it; we both do. I don't want to see you suffer more than you already have.” Thace responded, his voice sounding rough as he spoke; he felt weak and feverish, and yet he had the strength to take care of himself and (Y/n).

“But I don't like it.” (Y/n) whined despite her dry, scratchy throat.

“No buts, we're taking this medicine together.” Thace replied with a firmer tone, then proceeded to cough after he finished speaking due to his sore throat.

(Y/n) knew that he was right about taking the medicine, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Thace was careful when he sat on the bed whilst holding the tray, not spilling a drop of soup or juice the entire time; he had to maneuver himself carefully so that nothing would spill, and once he laid sitting up a little next to (Y/n) he put the tray over his lap. He brought two bowls of soup, two cups of juice, the bottle of space flu medicine and four spoons, two for the soup and two for the medicine. Even when (Y/n) tried to breathe as quietly as he could he could hear exactly how congested she was, and he felt really guilty for getting her sick so easily; to be fair, he didn't know that humans could catch the space flu and neither did anyone else, he was sure that Ulaz would write it down in his medical records. Thace handed (Y/n) a bowl of soup and a spoon first, then he gently blew on his soup to help it cool down a bit before he dipped his own spoon in.

“I never thought that we'd ever be sick together like this. We've been through a lot together, and now this.” (Y/n) mused while she waited for her soup to cool off, voicing how she couldn't believe that they were actually sick together; she was a little delusional due to being ill, but that was beside the point.

“I wouldn't have gone through any of it with anyone else. I truly enjoy having you with me, especially now that we're no longer in any danger. I hope- never mind.” Thace acknowledged, admitting that he was happy to be with her before he cut himself off before he could pour his heart out to (Y/n), promptly turning his attention back to his food.

(Y/n) wondered what Thace was about to tell her until she began coughing, nearly dropping the bowl of hot soup. Thace quickly put his own spoon down and took the bowl out of the young woman's hands before she accidentally dropped it on herself; she definitely needed his help to eat, and that was exactly what he would do. After (Y/n) finished coughing she let Thace take the spoon from her and watched him gently blow on the soup to cool it off, greatly appreciating his help. Thace dipped the spoon into the V'tet tomato soup before he carefully brought it to (Y/n's) mouth and carefully spoon-fed her, not wanting to accidentally spill any of it on her pajama shirt. He really didn't mind feeding the soup to the human woman even though it was a very intimate gesture, he just wanted to help her feel better.

With each spoonful of soup (Y/n) opened her mouth and drank it, not minding the little chunks of V'tet tomato in it; unlike regular Earth tomatoes, V'tet tomatoes were so dark red that they were almost purple, and they tasted like a tomato mixed with a pomegranate. She didn't mind Thace feeding her since he didn't seem to mind; it might have been slightly embarrassing for her, although at the time she was too sick to care. Every so often Thace would stop feeding (Y/n) so that he could feed himself before his soup got too cold, then he would begin feeding her again. If they were a couple, then she knew that Thace would take good care of her and she would definitely take care of him, alas she wasn't aware that he reciprocated her feelings. When (Y/n) needed a little break from eating, Thace put her spoon back on the tray in favor of picking his up so he could eat.

“Thank you for making the soup, it tastes really good.” (Y/n) spoke after a few short moments of silence, thanking Thace for making lunch that afternoon.

“I'm glad that you like it, and it was no trouble to make, but you still need to take your medicine when we're finished eating.” Thace replied with a smile, pleased with himself for making something they both could enjoy.

“Dang.” (Y/n) scoffed before she covered her mouth when she began coughing again; the space flu was definitely worse than the flu on Earth, unfortunately she had to take medicine and wait it out, for the good of her immune system.

Thace let out a short, rough-sounding laugh because he thought (Y/n) was cute, even when she was sick with the space flu. He genuinely wasn't exactly sure where he'd caught it since he hadn't been needed at work for a week before he originally got sick, he figured that he must have caught it from someone sick at the store when he went to buy some fresh groceries. Regardless of how Thace caught the flu, to make it up to (Y/n) for unintentionally giving it to her he would see to it that she got better and would be taken care of. The soup was delicious, but as soon as they were finished eating it was time to take their medicine again; the juice made it better, though, because it chased the nasty flavor away. For the time being, (Y/n) and Thace enjoyed their time in bed together while they ate, drank and rested.

___________

Being sick with the space flu was the absolute worst; not only were the symptoms worse, but sometimes those who caught it were sick for a little over two weeks. With the help of the medicine, tissues, soup and a lot of rest (Y/n) began to get better, the only problem was that Thace wasn't quite getting better as quickly as she would have liked. His cough sounded worse, his nose was runny and his fever seemed to linger for longer, which was why (Y/n) fully intended on convincing him to go into a healing pod for a couple of days. After a trip to the bathroom she thought that she would find him in bed like a few minutes prior, but lo and behold their bed was completely empty aside from the many blankets and pillows. (Y/n) was glad that she was feeling better, because Thace must have taken the opportunity to complete his daily duties when he really should have been resting.

Thace had always been a workaholic ever since he joined the Blade of Marmora and he always would be, even while he was sick with a high temperature, and if it wasn't for (Y/n) keeping an eye on him then he might work himself into a coma. (Y/n) put her fuzzy (F/c) slippers back on before she made her way to the bedroom door that slid open when the sensors picked up her presence, then she was on her way to search for Thace. During their time at the base nothing bad happened and no one found them, and even though there was always a possibility that someone could discover them at any time they needed to be prepared, nevertheless Thace needed to get better sooner rather than later and the only way for that to happen was for (Y/n) to take him to the infirmary herself; if she couldn't get him there on her own, then she would request Antok to come and help her. Despite not being in any danger Thace had the urge to do his duties which included monitor duty, sickness and fever be damned. Just as the young woman had expected, she found Thace sitting in the chair in the monitor room, staring at all of the screens as though he expected something to happen.

“You know that you should be resting.” (Y/n) sighed as she walked over to where Thace sat, standing next to the chair he sat on while facing him.

“I know, but I can't abandon my duties just because I'm sick. I don't want to burden you with them, especially since you're only allowed to fill in during emergencies or while I'm at work.” Thace responded with a stuffy tone, only glancing in (Y/n's) direction for a second.

“This is an emergency! You're sick and your fever is getting worse! You need to stay in a healing pod so that you can get better quicker. I- I don't want your condition to get worse or for you to- well, I don't want to lose you. Please, Thace, just go in a healing pod. If you don't, then I'll have Antok come here and put you in one himself.” (Y/n) exclaimed with near disbelief, informing him that she didn't want him to get sicker; towards the end her voice wavered a little as she whispered, then she cracked a smile when she brought up inviting Antok over just to put him in a healing pod.

Thace sighed in defeat; ultimately he was the one in charge at the base, although (Y/n) had a point about him needing to get better and he didn't want her to worry about him too much. He figured that she could handle his duties until he got better, and he'd already sent a message to Kolivan and Naok about him being sick. Thace took one last look at the screens before he stood up and began following (Y/n) to the infirmary; he felt really hot and dizzy all of a sudden, and it was then that he realized just how sick he was. The quintessence couldn't fully prevent him from getting sick or sicker, so every so often he would get sick and need additional help in order to get better. On their way to the infirmary (Y/n) walked alongside Thace to make sure he wouldn't sneak back to the monitor room, only after he got better could he return to his normal work schedule.

“How is it that you can be so convincing? I'm nearly twice your size and I could have stayed in the monitor room, and yet you've enchanted me somehow and I can't find it in myself to say no.” Thace queried pointedly while he slowly walked with a slight slouch, the bottom of his robe dragging along the floor; he didn't know how it was possible, but (Y/n) had some kind of power over him that he couldn't resist.

“I don't know, maybe it's because of my charming personality, or you have a thing for petite women.” (Y/n) answered with a slightly flirtatious tone, deciding to jest a little.

“Maybe… Regardless of how and why, I'm grateful to have you here with me.” Thace responded thoughtfully before he stopped to pinch his nose before he could let out a big sneeze; he did sneeze, only he didn't spray it everywhere or catch it in his palm, and he made a weird half-sneeze sound before he started walking again.

(Y/n) stopped walking when Thace did because she thought he was going to go back to the monitor room, luckily he only stopped to sneeze and they were on their way to the infirmary in no time. Back when they lived at the main Marmoran headquarters Yemi taught (Y/n) how to use a galra version of a healing pod in case anything happened to Thace, and she was glad that she remembered how to properly use one and how long to set the timer for in case of injuries or illness. It didn't take Thace very long to strip down to his underwear and put a medical bodysuit on, then he was ready to go into the pod. After (Y/n) completed the protocol she promised her best friend that she would be waiting for him to come out, even though he couldn't hear her. It wouldn't be long before she and Thace were all better, then they could go back to being completely oblivious to their feelings for each other.