Il libro di Jaylos

when jay gets sick and carlos helps him

taken from: bunny-lou on tumblr
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Evie sets down a bowl of soup on the wooden tray in Jay's lap, but he crinkles his nose at the smell. "It's mostly broth," she says quietly and Jay appreciates her gentle tone, "you just have to drink it. Maybe eat a couple of noodles."
He shakes his head and pulls the blanket on his shaking shoulders tighter.
"Please Jay? For us?" She smiles and looks at Mal behind her and Carlos who is tinkering with the thermostat in their room.
Jay scoffs, but picks up the bowl anyway and sips at it.
"How are you feeling, muscle man?" Mal sits on the bed next to him and pats his knee.
"Fine," Jay squints at the soup in his hands. Why is their room so bright?
"Throat hurt still?"
"No," which is a blatant lie but Jay is pretty sure he's the only one who knows it. His muscles ached and cramped - probably from dehydration, Jay knows that much from Professor Hamada's class - while his head pounded. It sucked big time.
But he's not about to admit it.
The heating vent rattles and Carlos turns back to his friends with a grin. "Got it!" He climbs on the bed to sit by Jay and takes the empty bowl from him. "We've got food in you, water here," he pushes a cool bottle into Jay's hands, "heat is going, what else?"
Cuddles and pain meds sound nice, but Jay shrugs and rubs at his head.
He misses Carlos blinking at him, but feels the mattress shift when the younger students stands. The room immediately darkens and the dull pain in his eyes fades. Jay sighs in relief, nearly whines, but cuts the noise off.
"Is that better?"
"It's fine either way."
Carlos hums and moves back onto the bed. "Drink some water," he insists, pushing the bottle towards Jay's mouth.
Water sounds as unappealing as the soup, anything in his angry stomach does.
"Please?" Carlos sings. "If you do...I'll maybe try that new thing we talked about. When you're feeling better?"
"Oh yeah?" Jay looks at him easily without the blinding light, he can even spot the little smile playing on Carlos' lips.
"Mm-hmm...but only if you drink the whole bottle before you fall asleep again."
Evie, who has taken a seat by the foot of the bed, looks between them. "What new thing?"
After a long swig of water (which, he can begrudgingly admit, is very soothing on his throat), Jay grins at her. "What's seventy minus one?"
"Gross!" The girls gag at the same time and Jay laughs quickly, but his humor turns to sharp pain and violent coughs. His chest is sore and the movement only worsened it.
Carlos' hands are on him immediately, rubbing Jay's quivering back. "Deep breaths," he mumbles, "you're okay."
It's as if he's comforting a child, Jay thinks as the pain dies, but he feels like a kid, unable to move and relying on those around him. It still sucks.
"Roll over," Carlos whispers and guides Jay onto his side. His fingers find their way under Jay's shirt and up his back, moving in little circles.
It hurts, but like a dull, bearable pain that is worth the skin on skin contact Jay is too self conscious to seek out on his own. He groans at the sensation, Carlos breaking apart the knots in his back and manipulating the muscles.
Jay's eyes close without him meaning to. He doesn't register the mattress shifting again as Evie and Mal stand to leave, whispering their goodbyes and reassurances that Dude would be happy in their room for the night.
In fact, the last thing Jay hears is Carlos' voice promising that he would stay like this throughout the night and that he would still be here when Jay woke up.