Their gaze flicked to the lotion, and he nodded faintly. He wasn't sure how much more of the soup he could stand to eat; his stomach hurt, and they knew putting food in it would just make it more likely for him to throw up, and they really didn't want to throw up. That…would not be fun. They ate a bit more soup, then set it aside.
Arquis, not wanting to be a hypocrite, did not ask them to have any more. They were quite ill. It was a miracle that he’d eaten anything at all. They did also look a tiny bit nauseous, and he was worried that he’d be sick. That could easily lead to dehydration.
He made sure the bowl was over an arm’s length away before leaning forward. His touch was gentle as he cupped their cheek. Their skin was so warm. He lightly brushed the cloth over the spot he’d been holding, then set it aside as well. With a sort of reverence, he kissed the corner of his mouth, wishing he could go further but knowing it’d be an awful idea. They were certainly not in the mood, and besides, he still didn’t want to catch his illness. That’d be a disaster.
“Alright, love. Tell me what you need right now.” He drummed a nail on the lid of the tin. “This? Or would you prefer something else?”
He shook his head faintly. "I don't…I don't know." he mumbled, swallowing faintly and frowning. He didn't feel great, but he wasn't sure what to do to make it feel better. What he could do or have that would help with this awful ache in his stomach and in his body.
Arquis frowned. Something in the way they responded reminded him of how Honey had been acting: disoriented and uncertain. He felt a surge of protectiveness that mingled with the ever-present sense of worry. His mouth tasted of metal. He leaned forward and stroked his partner’s hair.
“You really do not feel well,” he murmured sympathetically. His hand instinctively dropped to find one of theirs, knitting their fingers together. He brought the two hands to rest over their stomach.
He shook his head a little bit. "No." he agreed. "I don't." he snuggled close to Arquis again, closing his eyes sleepily. They really didn't feel good, but he didn't know if he could sleep again. But what else could he do? He didn't know. They just felt so ill, and they didn't know how to fix it.
Arquis smiled despite the situation. Using the hand that was still positioned against their stomach, he gently nudged him so that they were pressed further into the pillow. He then gave a featherlight kiss to each of their eyelids. That was all he did. Maybe if they felt better in the next day or so, he’d do more, but at the moment he could tell he was in misery.
“Let me know if you require a wastebasket, alright?” He gave their hand a soft squeeze, hoping that the words wouldn’t embarrass him. He wouldn’t be upset if they needed to be sick. He’d seen Honey throw up the previous day while hungover, and he himself had almost done so during his asthma attack. It did not disgust him in the way that it repulsed some, but even if it did, he still would take care of them.
Rin nodded a little bit, grimacing at the thought. He hated throwing up, even though he knew that they couldn't help it when they were sick. They still absolutely detested it, and he didn't want to throw up, even if Arquis didn't seem to mind all that much.
He noticed their grimace and made a soothing sound, giving his hand another squeeze. Their palm was hot and slick with sweat. “I know, I know. It is not an enjoyable experience, my love, and I would rather that you did not. Especially not after having just finished eating. Your body needs the energy. But if it is necessary, then it is necessary.”
He’d had quite of bit of experience with nausea due to his past. Hangovers had a variety of symptoms depending on the individual, but getting sick was a common one for him. That and light sensitivity. He was somewhat lucky in that he’d never had vertigo or exhaustion after a night of drinking. Still, he’d always felt incredibly unrefined whenever he’d been on his knees in the bathroom, shaking and sweating and heaving. Those memories weren’t fond.
They stayed curled close to Arquis, a faint sound leaving his mouth. "I'm just…I'm just tired." he whispered. "And…and everything hurts." in different ways, but everything hurt, and he hated it. They just wanted to feel better, especially since Ari could visit and they hadn't seen him in forever.
Arquis nodded and ran his thumb along their knuckles. “Perhaps you could rest some more? Though we should probably check your temperature again before you do. I need to know whether or not to keep an overnight watch.”
He didn’t want to continue that thought—not while they were distressed—but it was likely that he’d have to send for a doctor if the fever was high enough. The doctor would provide medicine, which Rin wouldn’t want. Perhaps he would send for Ari first, like they’d asked. That was an interesting idea. From what he’d gathered, it sounded as if they trusted Ari. Maybe if he brought medicine to The Cecilia Rouge, they would consider taking it.
Arquis decided to keep this plan a secret. It was an emergency plan, only to be used if things were dangerous. He shook himself out of his thoughts and swept his partner further into an embrace.
They nodded faintly, leaning their cheek on Arquis's shoulder. "M'kay." they whispered, closing their eyes and staying pressed up close to Arquis. He eventually drifted off, though it was less of true sleep and more just a light doze as he drifted in and out of wakefulness.
Arquis groaned quietly. They apparently hadn’t heard the part about waiting for the thermometer. He kissed him on the bridge of their nose before wiggling out from under them. It hopefully wasn’t enough movement to startle him. There was no real reason, he supposed, that they shouldn’t rest while he was out. He swaddled him lovingly in blankets before stepping outside of the room. With any luck, they wouldn’t wake until he returned. He hadn’t left a note. It wouldn’t have taken long to write one, but then again, he didn’t really think he’d be gone for more than five or ten minutes.
The hallways of the inn were even darker than before. Quietly, so as to not disturb anyone still awake, he crept through them. He arrived at Honey’s door faster than he would’ve expected. It was possible that he’d gone faster due to worry.
Lovey was the one to let him in. She took one look at his pinched expression and immediately gave him a hug. He returned it with one arm. The other was soon occupied by Honey, who smelled intensely of vanilla.
“Hey, lover boy. Didn’t think you’d be back today. What’s up? Something wrong with our bard?”
“Ah, yes, he is still quite sick. I am here for the thermometer.”
Lovey snatched it from where it’d been set earlier and passed it over. Arquis carefully slipped it into his pocket.
“Take a message to them for me? It’ll make him feel better.” There was a hint of mischief in Honey’s eyes. When Arquis nodded, the handsome blonde leaned in and briefly kissed his cheek. Arquis let out a strangled wheeze of a laugh and staggered to the door. Honey grinned. “Give them that and tell him to get better.”
“I will do exactly that. I am sure they will appreciate it,” he said, smiling in response. The kiss hadn’t meant anything, and Honey had hesitated before he’d done it, giving Arquis enough time to back away. It was kind of sweet, actually.
He gave the siblings his goodbyes and began on his way back to his room, the thermometer safely stored away.
Rin shifted faintly when Arquis left, a faint noise of protest leaving his mouth, but he soon settled back into sleep, curled up on the bed. They continued drifting in and out of a light sleep, time passing unmarked by them.
When Arquis returned, he settled on the bed beside them. He combed a gentle hand through their sleep-mussed hair. It felt like a heinous crime to wake him, but he supposed it had to be done. Otherwise, that small trip would’ve been for nothing.
In the softest, most adoring voice he could muster, he whispered, “Oh, come here, my love.” He slowly shifted them into his arms, which he wrapped loosely around their stomach. One of his hands eventually moved to pull the thermometer from his pocket. “I am sorry to disturb you, but I really must check your temperature. You can rest more in a moment. As for right now, however, I insist that you open wide.”
Well, that could certainly be taken in a number of ways. He’d make a joke about it or get flustered if they were in a better state, but his heart told him that it wasn’t the time or place. He held the thermometer up after uncapping it and waited patiently.
Rin whined faintly when he was shifted, their eyes flickering open to look up at Arquis. "Okay." he said faintly, complying with Arquis's request. They just wanted to rest, but he knew that letting Arquis take his temperature was important. Arquis was just trying to take care of him.
“Someone is in a bad mood,” Arquis teased, though there was no bite to it. Before they could answer, he slipped the thermometer in between their lips, then waited. After about a minute or two, he took it out and looked it over. His breath stuttered.
“It is worse than before,” he admitted quietly. That lighthearted quality to his voice had faded. He cleared his throat and tried not to betray his panic. They still weren’t at a high enough temperature to seize, thankfully, but the number was climbing steadily upward. “Over a full degree higher. I do not think what we have been doing is working, my dear. You have only gotten more ill.”
Everything he’d hoped to avoid was happening. That fever could very well be life threatening if left untreated, especially if it continued to grow overnight. He felt dizzy with the realization. What had started that morning as a minor concern was rapidly becoming a real issue. They could actually die.
He had to write that letter to Ari. There was no other choice. The stranger likely wouldn’t read it until morning, unless he was an insomniac. But perhaps he could be convinced to stray from his path and come to the inn early. Perhaps he’d even bring much needed medicine. Arquis could only hope.
“Love, where did you put the envelope?” he asked in an almost eerily calm tone.
Rin didn't, at first, register Arquis's tone, and when he did, he frowned a little bit, worried. "'s on the bedside table." he replied, snuggling back down into the blankets and letting out a soft, tired sigh. He just wanted to go back to drifting in sleep again, let it claim them so he could rest for a while and hopefully start to feel better. He hated how sick he felt, hated that this had completely stopped anything else that they could have been doing.
Arquis gathered the envelope, drawing pad, and a pencil as smoothly and quickly as possible. Before he began writing, however, he leaned over to wrap the sheet around his partner and fluff his pillow again. Fear clawed at his heart. Sleep was coming for them far too easily. That mental image of him from earlier battled its way to the front of his mind, and the nobleman winced, picturing them as emaciated and lifeless.
He had to get rid of that image or he wouldn’t be able to focus. Someone’s words surfaced in his thoughts. They dripped with a charming, lazy accent. A familiar accent. Honey had given him a task, and he needed to fulfill it. He very gently cupped and kissed his lover’s cheek.
“That was from Honey,” he whispered in explanation. “He told me to tell you to get better. And you will, of course. You will.”
Rin yawned softly, nodding at Arquis's words. "I will." they agreed in a soft, sleepy mumble. His eyes flickered open for a moment, and they looked up at Arquis, and then their eyes slid shut again as they tried to drift back to sleep. He was so tired, he really was. They just wanted to sleep.
Arquis finally began to compose the letter to Ari. His hand was shaking from nerves, though he was used to the feeling, so it didn’t mess up his handwriting. He wasn’t sure how much he should actually write. On the one hand, he wanted to give him enough information to understand the urgency of the situation. On the other, he didn’t want to write so much that the stranger felt swamped. He’d settle for about a page and a half of writing at a decent size.
The first paragraph was brief. It told Ari who Arquis was and why he was writing. He kept it short because Rin had supposedly already informed him of their relationship. What Ari really needed to know, after all, was not his identity but the dire nature of the scenario. That was what he worked on next. He described the rapid onset of his partner’s condition and their refusal to take any medicine. He listed all of the natural methods he’d tried—bathing them in lukewarm water, keeping him in thin sheets, letting them get plenty of rest, encouraging them to drink fluids, and ensuring that he ate—and was honest about none of them working. Rin was getting worse. They needed someone else there to help and comfort him, and there was no one better for that job than a best friend.
By the time he was finished, Arquis realized that his one and a half pages had turned into two. That wasn’t a major problem. What was a problem, however, was the fact that they were written in his native language. Not Kevran. He hoped that Ari either knew his language or had someone that could translate.
He signed off the letter, folded the papers, and slipped them into the envelope.
Rin kept drifting, buried beneath the blankets with them pulled up to their chin, bundled close around him in an attempt to keep himself warm. The fever was wreaking havoc with them, making it hard for them to tell if they were really cold or not, and they hated it. But they drifted through sleep anyway, though not deep enough to dream. Maybe it would have been better if he could dream, but he couldn't get deep enough into sleep to be able to.
Eventually, Arquis crashed as well. He couldn’t help it. All of the stress of the day had taken a lot out of him, and he’d barely eaten. He was running on fumes. While he gave staying up his very best effort, he inevitably began to dip closer and closer towards the mattress until he was fully gone. At least it had happened after the letter had already been sent. They couldn’t afford to waste any time; the sooner Ari read the letter, the better.
He unconsciously began to move closer to the biggest source of heat in the bed: his partner. His head rested against that space between their shoulder and neck. One arm slipped around midsection like earlier, making sure that the two of them stayed close together.
(timeskip?)
Eventually, Rin did fall into a deeper sleep, curling close to Arquis and snuggling up as close as they possibly could to him. They did it mostly unconnsciously, just seeking that warmth that Arquis provided.
(yep! but wait first is Ari going to have written back by the time Arquis wakes up, and is Rin going to be a lot worse? or will Ari write back later? you’ll have to describe what his letter says eventually because Ari is your character, but I’m wondering when you want him to arrive)
(I was going to have Ari write back in the morning, so we could skip to that? and yes Rin is going to be worse)