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Tae rolled over in bed with a grunt.  He groaned, reaching up to rub his head.  Then he sniffled.  And sneezed.  He groaned again.  He was definitely sick.  He’d felt a bit congested the previous night but had waved it off as simply a result of too much water getting into his nose when they’d gone swimming that evening.  But now he was sure this was not just from swimming.

He sat up shakily.  His body hurt.  And he was still exhausted.  But Aejin wasn’t in bed, which meant it was late.  He needed to get up.  He looked over at the clock.  And nearly flew out of bed when he realized what time it was.

“Eleven thirty-four???” Then he sneezed loudly, snot starting to drip down his face.  He dove for the box of tissues on the nightstand and quickly blew his nose.  Then he plopped back down on the bed.  He was even more exhausted now.

“Tae-Tae?  Are you awake?”

Tae looked up just as Aejin popped her head in the door. “Oh, good.  I made breakfast…well…it’s almost lunch time now, but you get the point.”

Tae moaned and rolled over in bed, pulling the blankets back around him. “I ‘hink ‘m gonna go back to sleeb, Aejinie.”

She didn’t respond, so he thought she’d left.  But a few moments later a hand was brushing back his bangs and feeling his forehead.  He sighed contently.

“Oh, Tae…you’ve got a fever.”

He nodded and sniffled. “I’b so tireb…I wanna sleeb…”

She kissed his cheek. “Ok.  I’ll be right back.”

He really hoped she wasn’t about to force him to eat.

A few minutes later when she returned, he was nearly asleep with his face buried in his pillow.  She silently set the glass of water and the bottle of pills on the nightstand.  Then she climbed over him and settled in next to him in bed.

Tae opened one eye slightly, closed it, and threw his arm over her waist.  He cuddled close to her, mumbling something as he buried his face in her hair.

“Tae…you should take the medicine I brought.  It will help you feel better.”

“Please don’t make me…” he whispered weakly.

“You need to, though.  You should eat something too.  It’ll strengthen you a bit.”

He moaned and shook his head.  It took quite the effort.

Aejin sighed and pulled the blankets up around his shoulders.  She could tell how weak he was by his loose grip on her.  Usually, he’d hug her so tight she felt squished.  Today it was more like he was draping his arm over her side.  His arm was getting increasingly heavier as he drifted off to sleep.  She didn’t bother fighting him.  It was clear that he needed sleep.  She simply scooted closer to him and wrapped the blankets around him.  It wasn’t long before he was sound asleep again.  And Aejin was starting to worry.  How had he gotten so sick?

——————–

Tae woke up nearly three hours later with a groan.  His head was pounding.  Maybe he should take that medicine Aejin had left out.  He looked down at her.  She was sound asleep in his arms.  He smiled faintly.  Then he rolled over towards the nightstand.

“Tae?”

He rolled back over to her.  He was really glad she was awake.  He didn’t want to get up.

“You’re awake?”

“Mhm.”

“Do you want to take that medicine now?”

“Yes please,” he replied hoarsely before closing his eyes again.

Aejin smiled down at him.  Then she climbed out of bed and headed out to the kitchen.  She returned a few moments later with a piece of bread.

“Tae, can you sit up?  I want you to at least eat this piece of bread before you take the medicine.”

He stared up at her blankly for a moment before giving in and sitting up.  He leaned back against the headboard before accepting the piece of bread and beginning to eat it.  Before he was even halfway through it, he handed it back to her.

“You’re full already?”

He nodded. “Can I have the medicine now?  I want to lay back down…”

Aejin nodded, taking one pill from the medicine bottle and handing it to him along with a glass of water.  He quickly took the medicine before handing her the glass of water back.  Then he lay back down and sunk into the mattress.

“Were you feeling ok yesterday?” Aejin asked.

Tae stared up at her blankly for a few moments. “Yeah…mostly.  Why?”

“Because you seem pretty sick today.  I’m just surprised it happened so quick.”

“Well…I felt kinda stuffed up last night…but I thought maybe I’d just gotten too much water up my nose.”

She nodded and collected the glass and medicine bottle to take back out to the kitchen.  A few moments later when she returned, Tae was already half asleep again.  He was curled up on his side hugging her pillow, his face buried in it.

She sat next to him in bed.  He looked so peaceful.  Besides the fact that his face was a bit pale.  She now noticed that his cheeks were flushed.  How had she not noticed before?  She’d known he had a fever.  She reached out and brushed her hand across his forehead again.  Earlier, he’d been burning up.  At least now he was only just warm to the touch.

“Come cuddle me…” he mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow in his arms.

She laughed. “You’ll have to give me my pillow back first, silly.” She ruffled his hair.

“Mkay…” he released the pillow and shoved it towards her.

She smiled and took it before placing it back where it belonged.  Then she lay down in the bed and scooted up next to him.  He pulled her into a hug, instantly burying his face in her hair.  She could tell he was already feeling better by how he’d pulled her into his arms.  She reached up and threw her arm over his waist before patting him on the back.

“I see you’re feeling better now.”

“Much.”

She could feel him relaxing.  He was clearly still tired, but he had a bit of his energy back.

“Go back to sleep.  You’ll feel better when you wake up next.”

“Hmm…” Tae grasped her wrist, dragging her hand up to his head. “Play with my hair, please.  It’ll help me fall asleep.”

She smiled and complied to his request, running her fingers through his hair.  He let out a happy hum.

“Now sleep,” she whispered.

“Ok…thank you.”

She kissed his forehead. “Love you.”

“Love you too…”