a/n: This was written last year, long before covid, I just didn't know how to finish it.
Your throat was sour and you felt weak and hot but after the morning fight you had with the others, you preferred staying in your room. You still couldn't believe all the things the others said about you and you were glad Richard was out and didn't witness it. Knowing that all you needed was rest, you called Steven to take the day off.
Not feeling like going to bed, you covered yourself with a blanket and walked out on the terrace attached to your room. Sitting on the chair you inhaled from the chilly air and looked around. It was the beginning of autumn and the sky was covered with clouds. Small drops of rain were falling down the leaves of the trees that had already started turning yellow and the wind was tearing them off the branches, sending them flying to the ground. However the cold greyish scenery of the autumn's rain was your favourite and a small smile rose on your lips. You've always loved the bad weather, ever since you were very little. You closed your eyes deep in thoughts and before you knew it you started dozing off.
When Richard found out you took the day off he got really worried. The truth was during the few months he had to share the house with you and the others he had developed strong feelings for you. Those feelings were one of the reasons for him to break up with his former girlfriend. However during those couple of months you lived together, he got to know you and he knew that you've never skipped work, even if you were sick. That's why he couldn't wait to finish filming his scenes and check up on you. Once he was done, he quickly left the studio and climbing on his motorbike, he rode home as fast as he could.
He went straight to your room and knocked quietly.
“Y/N?” He called out.
Not waiting for your response he pushed the door open and walked inside. He frowned when he found out your room was empty but just as he was about to leave, the open door of the terrace caught his eye and he rushed in that direction. Walking out on the terrace he saw you on the chair with your eyes closed.
"Y/N, wake up." He said quietly.
You murmured something quietly but didn't wake up.
He reached to touch your hand but got alarmed feeling how warm it was. He immediately moved his hand to your forehead and frowned realizing how hot you were.
"You're burning up." He said and he quickly pulled the blanket off you, lifting you in his arms. Your head fell on his chest and you shivered slightly, snuggling further into him.
"I'm cold."
"I know you are. You're running a fever." He said softly and gently kissed the top of your head.
Walking back inside, he gently placed you on the bed and went to the bathroom. He quickly got back with a wet cloth, a thermometer and a bowl filled with cold water. He put the thermometer under your armpit and placed the wet towel on your forehead. You shivered at the coldness of the cloth and tried to reach for the covers, but Richard took your hands in his, preventing you from what you wanted to do.
"No, sweetheart, you can't do that, we need to take your temperature down." He said softly and kissed your hands.
"Why does it matter to you?" You asked weakly.
"Because I care about you."
"No, you don't. Nobody cares about me. They made it quite obvious."
He frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean? Did someone say something to you?"
"It doesn't matter." You said, closing your eyes.
He wanted to object but he knew you needed a rest so he thought against it. Instead of saying anything he took out the thermometer to check your temperature and his eyes widened.
"Your temperature is extremely high, I'm going to call a doctor. I'll be right back." He said, gently fondling your cheek with his fingers.
He walked out of the room in a hurry, leaving you to rest. You turned to the side so you could look out of the window and you closed your eyes. Richard got back as fast as he could but he immediately got alarmed when he saw you had drifted off. The doctor had given him strict instructions to keep you awake until he comes.
"Y/N, wake up." He said, gently turning you towards him. "Please, you have to stay awake."
Your eyelids trembled slightly and you slowly lifted them.
"That's right, sweet...um, I mean Y/N."
He took the towel from your forehead, dipped it in the cloud water and after squeezing it to get the water out, he placed it back on you. You shivered, frowning slightly.
"Why are you doing this?" You asked quietly.
"Doing what?"
"You're sitting here, taking care of me." You answered weakly trying to keep your eyes open. "Why?"
For a moment he looked lost for words but just as he was about to answer, the doorbell rang.
“I’m going to get this. It’s probably the doctor.”
You nodded slightly and he walked away to answer the door. When he came back to your room the doctor was with him. He checked you up, prescribed a couple of medications, recommended a lot of liquids to stay hydrated and after giving you an injection he left. Richard walked him to the door and the doctor explained that the injection will make you feel sleepy and he can buy the other medicines in the morning. Thanking him he closed the door and walked back to your room. He fixed your pillows and gently covered you.
“The doctor said you would feel sleepy from the injection so get some rest and try to get some sleep.”
He then pulled a chair sitting down next to your bed and took your hand in his.
“You didn’t answer my question.” You said sleepily, closing your eyes, feeling exhausted. “Why are you taking care of me?”
Richard hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer and gently removed a piece of your hair from your face.
“Because I love you.” He whispered in your ear and placed a soft kiss on your forehead before leaning back in his chair.
In the morning you woke up and blinked, adjusting your eyes to the morning light. You took a look around and slowly sat up in bed, the events from the previous night slowly coming back to you.
You remembered staying home and not feeling well. Then you remembered going out on the terrace and Richard finding you and...well everything else was still pretty fuzzy to you, although you’re pretty sure he called a doctor at some point. You pulled off the covers and stood up.
You could smell something nice from the kitchen so you went out of your room and walked in that direction. When you entered, you found Richard behind the counter, dressed in muscle top and the ever present ripped jeans and making breakfast.
“It smells nice.” You commented and he jumped slightly at the sound of your voice, turning around to look at you.
“Why are you up? You were with fever half the night, you have to rest.”
“I feel better.” You shrugged and sat on one of the chairs. “Sleep makes wonders for one's health.”
Richard smiled and gave you a plate with three big pancakes, one with chocolate, the other with cheese and yellow cheese and the third one with honey.
“Here, this is for you.” And he also gave you a glass of orange juice.
“Thank you, it looks delicious.”
“You’re welcome.”
When he smiled, you couldn’t help but smile back and warmth filled your heart. Ever since the first time you saw him, you had developed a crush on him and from then on getting to know him better you were slowly but steadily falling for him more and more because apart from being breathtakingly handsome he was the sweetest, most caring man you’ve ever met. But you’d probably never tell him because you loved him too much to become his girlfriend and drag him into your mess of life.
He took his own portion and sat down too.
“You better eat everything because after breakfast you need to take your medicine.” He pointed to the paper bag on the counter next to the fridge. "I bought it for you first thing in the morning so you can take it after you've eaten."
You made a grimace.
“Do I have to?”
“Yes. If you want to get better.”
"No, I meant do I have to eat everything?"
He laughed slightly, a warm pleasant sound.
"Not if you don't want to."
"I was just joking. I love pancakes so I'll eat them all, starting with the yellow cheese one." You said and took a bite. "Mmm, it tastes amazing! Even better than my mom's pancakes and now that is saying something."
"Well those are special pancakes."
“How so?”
“They were made for someone special.”
You pause just as you were about to take a bite again.
"What?"
Heat rushed to Richard's cheeks.
"Well you were sick so I made the pancakes in an attempt to make you feel better." He tried to explain.
For a few seconds you weren't really convinced.
"Right." You said eventually and looked back to your plate.
You had a feeling that you were missing something. It was like something important happened last night but you couldn't remember. You finished your breakfast in silence, trying to figure out what was that you didn't remember.
You reached for the glass of juice and smiled at Richard.
"Thank you for the delicious breakfast."
He smiled back.
"You're welcome. I like taking care of you."
Care...the word triggered something in the back of your brain. You took a sip from the orange juice and left the glass on the table when the memory finally hit you.
“Why are you taking care of me?”
"Because I love you."
Your eyes widened at the realization. Last night Richard had told you he loved you. You turned to look at him and your heart started beating faster. Richard loved you, he actually was in love with you and the realization was overwhelming. You were so deep in your thoughts that you jumped when you felt a warm hand on top of your own.
"Are you ok?"
You stared deep in Richard's dark orbits and you could read all his emotions. Your heart swelled with love seeing the concern in his eyes.
"Richard, last night...did you...did you tell me you love me?" You asked, not bothering to answer him.
Red color rushed to his cheeks but he never looked away.
"Yes, I did." He took a breath. "Because it's true. I love you, Y/N."
“I…”
“Shh, I don’t expect you to say anything. Last night you asked me a question and I answered you. I know you may not feel the same but I don’t want my confession to change what we have, because our friendship is really important to me.”
“Our friendship is important for me too but it is going to change.”
Your heart broke when you saw sadness taking over his face. He moved to pull his hand away from yours but you were quick to grab it. Then you put your free hand on his cheek.
“It’s going to change because I love you too.” You smiled warmly at him.
His eyes widened and he felt you squeezing his fingers in reassurance.
“You love me too?”
“Yes.” You nodded, never breaking eye contact. "I fell in love with you from the first moment I saw you."
His face finally pulled into a smile and he leaned in, pressing his lips against yours. The kiss lasted long enough for both of you to express your feelings for each other. When you broke the kiss you didn't pull away but both of you stayed close, looking at each other's eyes.
"I can't believe this is happening." You said quietly.
"You better believe it, because I'm not going anywhere." Richard told you, giving you a warm smile.
You smile back.
"Looks like there's a good side to being sick. You find out who truly cares about you."
Your words made him frown as he remembered something.
"Nobody cares about me. They made it quite obvious."
"Can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything you want."
"Last night when you said everybody had made it obvious that no one cares about you...who were you talking about?"
Your smile faded away and your expression turned into a sad one.
"Yesterday in the morning I had an argument with the others. They think that I'm too scared to let someone in and that's why I don't let anyone close. They said they thought I was their friend but they’re not so sure anymore.” You sighed slightly. “I just...I thought they were my friends and they got me, but I was wrong. It seems like for them I’m nothing more than an outsider.”
“Is that why you didn’t come to the set yesterday?” He asked softly.
You nodded slightly.
“Yeah. I really didn’t want to see anyone. Especially Holly." You then frowned slightly. "Where are they anyway?"
"They had to stay and film all night." Richard explained. "But when you didn't show up I knew something was wrong with you and I left."
"You just left?!" You ask your eyes widening in shock.
"Yeah, I did. I mean you never skip filming even when you're sick and I got really worried. I knew something very serious was going on and I just had to come home and check on you."
"But Steven and the others from the crew are probably pissed off. Who knows what they could do."
"I don't care. Filming can wait. You're more important."
Seeing the deep love in his eyes yours filled with tears. You leaned forward and kissed him. When you broke it for air you rested your head on his shoulder. Richard smiled and leaned to gently kiss your forehead.
“You’re really special. And if the others can’t see or appreciate that, then it’s their loss. Don’t let their words get to you again."
You moved your head up again so you could look at him.
"Thank you. I don't know what I did to deserve you." You said quietly.
He gave you one of his heartwarming smiles.
"I'm the lucky one to have you."
You couldn't help but lean forward and press your lips against his. You started to deepen the kiss when you heard someone unlocking the front door and you and Richard pulled apart seconds before Holly and the others entered the kitchen.
"I'll go back to my room." You told Richard, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and hurried out of the kitchen.
There was a look of sadness in Holly's eyes and she was just about to follow you when Richard's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Don't."
She turned around to look at him.
“I just want to --”
“If you’re just going to hurt her more than you've all already have then don’t bother.”
“Hurt her?” Holly’s eyes filled with sadness. “She’s my friend, why would I want to --”
“Your friend?! Didn't all of you tell her yesterday that you're not sure if she's your friend?”
“We made a mistake." Peter was quick to say. "We just want to apologize."
"She was with fever the whole night and has just gotten a bit better. Your apology can wait." Richard said, starting to walk away in the direction of Michelle's room.
"What? Fever? She was sick?" Holly's voice was filled with worry. "How is she now?"
"Better."
But it wasn't Richard who had said it, it was you. You were going to the bathroom when you had overheard their conversation.
"And it's thanks to Richard. If he hadn't found me on the terrace anything could've happened."
The other girl's eyes filled with wetness and she covered her mouth before running to pull you into a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry. I never should've said those stuff. Please, forgive me."
You hesitated for a moment before returning the hug.
"Just don't do it, again."
When you released from the hug Holly squeezed your shoulder in reassurance."
"I promise I won't, ever again."
"We promise too." Peter was quick to say, and Johnny and Dustin nodded their heads.
"We mean it." Johnny added softly.
"And we're really sorry that we hurt you so much." Dustin said.
You gave them a soft, tired smile.
"Apology accepted."
Then you turned to Richard, extending your hand to him.
"Come on, let's go to my room, I'm tired."
Richard was quick to take your hand and wrapping his fingers around yours he leaned in for a quick kiss. There was a quick gasp and when you broke the kiss you realized the others stared shocked at both of you. A bubble of laughter rose up in your throat and your eyes shined brightly.
"What!?" You asked mischievously.
"Nothing." Holly shook her head. "It's just...are you together now?"
"Yes."
"When did that happen?!" Johnny asked quickly and you could swear you saw a flash of disappointment mixed with hurt and jealousy in his eyes.
"Well you know what they say. In sickness and in health." You say and look deep inside Richard's eyes. "I guess in my case it was through sickness that I got together with the man I'm in love with."
Richard stared deep in your eyes with that painfully familiar and oh so passionate intensity before in one swift motion he lifted you in his arms. He pressed his lips on your forehead and turning his back to the others he carried you in your room bridal style.
When he saw the quizzical look in your eyes he smirked.
"What?! You were the one who said in sickness and in health."
"Yes, but…"
"To love and to cherish..", He interrupted you, never getting his eyes off from you.
"...From this day forward…" You continued.
"...'Till death do us part." Both of you finished simultaneously.
Richard lifted his hand to brush a piece of hair from your face before pressing his lips against yours in a deep kiss.
Indeed, there was a good side to being sick.
A very good side.