The next morning Noah felt awful. His throat felt scratchy, his muscles were sore and he had a painful headache.
... he was sick.
'Great... this is exactly what i needed' thought Noah bitterly as he closed his eyes again, trying to concentrate on something else than his aching body.
All he wanted to do was to lie back down and sleep this off, but he knew he couldn't do that.
He could, of course, but not without John noticing something was wrong.
And the last thing he wanted was John to find out he was sick. He was sure that would earn him a comment like "deserves you right for running away", allthough John didn't seem like the resentful type of person. No, Noah wouldn't take the risk.
.... even though John would be right. It was his own fault that he was sick, so he should deal with it on his own too.
If he was lucky, he could hide his sickness from him.
Noah pulled himself into a sitting position and just this slight movement made him dizzy. He rubbed his face to get rid of the blurriness in his eyes, just as he pulled his hand away John entered his vision.
"Morning sleppy head, yesterday took its toll on you, hmm?"
"Huh, what... what time is it?" asked Noah, still a little dizzy.
"It's already noon, i let you sleep in. Come on, let's get you something to eat. I'm sure that will help you to regain your strength" John send him a gentle smile and stretched his hand out for the boy to climb on.
The sick teenager stood on shaky legs, the uneven surface of the pillow made it even harder not to fall, but after stumbling once or twice he managed eventually to take a seat on John's hand. He tried to come in contact with the flesh underneath him as little as possible, so the man wouldn't feel his rised temperature.
John brought him to the table where he quickly hopped off. As the giant turned away to get him some food he made his way to his little table, where also a matching stool stood now. A small smile crossed his face as he saw this. He sat down and slumped over the table, burying his face in this arms.
He only realized he dozed off, when something poked him in his side, he shot up and looked into the concerned face of John.
"Are you ok?" questioned the man in a hushed tone.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" lied Noah, putting on a fake smile. Though it looked more like a grimace.
Unfortunetly, John didn't look convinced.
"Oh, i can see that. If you are fine, i'm sure you won't mind to come closer and proof it to me." He tapped on the table with his pointer finger and looked at him expectantly.
Noah really didn't want to, but knew he had to, if he wanted to convince John. He walked on wobbly legs towards the edge of the table, where John waited. A wave of dizziness hit him and made him fall over.
Before he could hit the hard surface, warm hands caught him. The boy tensed as a thumb was gently pressed against his forehead. Then he heard a hiss.
"When were you going to tell me, that you have a fever?"
"Um..." Noah couldn't come up with a lie fast enough, before he heard the man sigh.
"Noah you have to tell me things like that." said John with a firm but gentle voice.
"Look i didn't want to bother you, besides it's not like i haven't dealt with a fever on my own before, i can take care of myself." argued Noah.
"I know, but i want to help you, ok?"
John pulled the small child close to his chest and walked over to his bed. A small part of Noah wanted to lead into the warmth of John's body, but he didn't want to come off as clingy, so he resisted the urge. He was too old to act like that anyway.
The giant lowered him on his pillow and pulled his little blanket up to his chin.
"Rest. I will check on you later again."
Noah kind of wanted to insist that he didn't need to rest. But he was too weak to argue and deep down he knew that John was right. He fall asleep, before he could say anything.
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John was overstrained. He didn't know how to take care of a sick child. Let alone a sick human child. What was he supposed to do in this kind of situation? What if he did something wrong? What if he accidentally makes it worse? John took a deep breath.
'Stop, now is not the time to panic.'
He glanced back at Noah and considered what he should do. Rather quickly he decided against leaving the kid alone. It wouldn't hurt to skip his patrol today. The boy's health was more important right now. Noah said he would give him a chance and John was determined not to mess this up.
'The kid still hasn't eat yet.' John was sure Noah shouldn't skip a meal, because he was already really light, even for a human. After a short moment of thinking he decided to make soup.
It didn't take long to make the soup, he filled a bowl and brought it to the table, then he walked over to his nightstand to get the child.
Noah was fast asleep and curled up into a ball. In this state he looked even more fragile to John. Like he would actually break, if he touched him the wrong way. With that in mind the giant picked up the whole pillow with Noah on top and carried it to the table where his meal waited for him.
The poor boy wasn't even aware of it. John sat down and tried to wake him with as much care he could muster. He rubbed his side with a single finger while whispering "Time to wake up, little guy. I made you something to eat."
Thankfully the sick child rolled over on his back after a short moment and looked at him with glazed over eyes.
A strange feeling blossomed in John's chest at seeing Noah like this.
"Hey there, i made you soup. I hope you are hungry."
Like to be expected Noah had no appetite. "I'm not hungry." grumbled the boy in a raspy voice and closed his eyes again. But John wasn't having any of it.
"Come on, you have to eat, if you want to get better."
John slipped his hand carefully under Noah's back and guided him into a sitting position, he didn't pull his hand away, because he knew the boy wouldn't stay like this, if he did.
He took the spoon in his other hand and scooped up some broth. Then he brought the spoon to Noah's lips, urging him to eat. But Noah just turned his head away.
"No... leave me alone."
"Please, just a little bit, then i will leave you alone." said John while subconsciously rubbing Noah's shoulder with his thumb.
Noah looked at him again. "Promise?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
Right at this moment he looked far more younger than fifteen. If John wasn't worried before, he clearly was now. The kid must be feeling really miserable.
"I promise." reassured the man and gave Noah what he hoped was a comforting smile.
After a moment of hesitation the boy opened his mouth and allowed John to feed him.
"There you go." whispered John, visibly relieved about getting Noah to eat.
The process continued for a few minutes, with John murmuring praises, before the teenager stopped opening his mouth, signaling that he had enough. Some soup dripped down his chin and John gently wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
By now Noah was too tired to stay awake any longer, he could barely keep his eyes open while he was eating.
John was about to pick up the pillow again, when a slurred voice stopped him.
"W-wait... can i... um... can i stay here? .... on the table?" It was obvious that he was embarrassed about asking.
The giant looked down at him surprised. 'He doesn't want to be alone, he must be feeling really awful, if he wants to be near me'
John took a moment too long to answer, due to the unexpected question, 'cause Noah quickly back-pedalled.
"Sorry.... forget that i asked."
"Hey, no, of course you can, i don't mind." It's true he really didn't mind...
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John spent the time finishing some projects, while watching over Noah, who was sleeping again. It wasn't the most entertaining activity, and he could probably do more useful things than sitting there, but he didn't have the heart to leave, even though the kid was sleeping, he wanted to be there when Noah woke up again.
The hours went by and John would glance over to the sleeping child from time to time. He would be lying, if he said he wasn't worried. He didn't know anything about taking care of children and he just hoped he was doing it right.
He had to admit it was nice not to be alone all the time, so even though he just sat there he wouldn't say he wasted his time. He was content with what he was doing.
When his eyes traveled over to the pillow again, he noticed that he was being watched.
"Hey, how long have you been awake?"
"... not long." mumbled the little spy in response.
"That cold hit you pretty hard, huh?"
"... Been worse." Noah lied again. He hadn't been feeling his bad in a long time, but he wasn't about to admit that. He was just glad that he was sick and it wasn't the other way around... for obvious reasons. He felt guilty enough already, because the man had to take care of him.
"You know that doesn't make it better, right?" said John in his typical joking voice. The giant reached for him and Noah unintentionally flinched, when the hand came closer.
"Shh, i'm just checking." He placed his thumb on the boy's forehead to feel his temperature. Maybe he was just imagining things, but to him it felt warmer than this morning... 'no wonder he sleeps so long'. Instead of pulling away he brushed his thumb over Noah's silky hair a few times. It was surprisingly soft to the touch, he kind of liked it. "See, i'm not going to hurt you."
After John pulled away Noah found himself missing the soft touch. It was..... soothing. But Noah instantly shook the thought off and blamed his current state for thinking like that.
"What would you normally do, when you are sick?" John asked out of curiosity, if he knew maybe he could help him to feel better.
"... working" answered Noah dryly.
"You are joking, right?" The boy's serious expression told him otherwise.
"But didn't you say you are fifteen? I know i'm not a human expert, but i'm sure children aren't supposed to work."
"Yeah.... but money at the orphanage was always tight, you know? ... I had to." The teenager closed his eyes again, too tired to hold a conversation for much longer.
John's face turned into a frown, he had the feeling there where a lot of things he still didn't know about his little guest.
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It was in the middle of the night and John was still awake. Noah had drifted in and out of unconsciousness for most of the day and finally seemed to settle in for the night.
John still sat beside him, keeping an eye on the sick child. Originally he planned on going to bed soon. But his worries kept him awake. Like he had already feared the boy's fever got worse.
Noah started to shiver a while ago. John already placed more wood in the fire, but that didn't stop the boy's shaking. He was running out of ideas, when a thought crossed his mind. He wasn't sure if it would help, but he had to try at least.
John rubbed Noah's arm gently to test if he would wake up. Luckily he was in a deep slumber due to his fever.
Still a little unsure, the man gathered the tiny boy in his hand. Very carefully, not wanting to disturb him, he laid Noah in the crook of his arm. Just as he pulled his hand away the boy started to stir, to John's relief he only rolled over so he was facing his torso, but otherwise remained asleep. The giant let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He waited a couple of minutes for Noah to stop shivering. When he still wouldn't stop he thought about a different strategy. Feeling bold enough, he began to rub Noah's back, hoping that in addition to his own body heat would work.
His lips curled into a smile, when it actually did. After a while the shivering decreased 'til it came to a stop. John knew the kid would never let him do this if he was awake, so he prayed that he wouldn't suddenly wake up, knowing he would freak out if he did.
Because of this matter of fact, it shocked him even more what Noah did next.
The boy stirred again. John wanted to curse himself for taking it a step too far, but he didn't get the chance to do so... there was no reason for it.
Because Noah didn't wake up. He did the quiet opposite. When John looked down he was surprised to see that Noah nuzzled into him in his sleep, soaking up the warmth, and a minuscule hand was grabbing his shirt...
And if that wasn't enough the troubled expression on his face, that he wore the whole day, molded into a little smile.
John's shocked face changed into a fond smile, while he continued to stroke Noah's back.
There it was again, the strange feeling he felt before, but it was stronger... more intense. It wasn't a bad feeling... not at all.
Then it clicked.
'You got attached, you fool.'
But that didn't have to be a bad thing, right?
John leaned back in his chair with Noah in his arms and got more comfortable, he guessed he would sit there a little longer.
And as he did he decided that he liked the new feeling in his chest.
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I love sickfics, of course i had to include a chapter like this!
I have no idea, if what i wrote is good (and fluffy enough), so please leave a comment :)