A/N: Haha whoops... This hasn't updated in- like what?- a year! I am honestly so sorry. The last year had been a ball of writer's block and lack of motivation. I honestly had a few of these written and I want to continue this story more, but I don't have too many ideas at the moment. Well, I also honestly don't know if anyone still reads this or will know what this is when this goes up, but I guess I'll just go for it?

Enjoy!

Marco almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

It was a strange sight, really. Ace practically the picture of health; always running around, always smiling, and training. But seeing him shivering uncontrollably while pulling the covers over himself (and stealing them from Marco in the process) was unbelievably worrying.

He scrambled up and peeled the covers back a bit only for Ace to let out a whine. "No, Marco." Marco ignored this protest since he had to see how Ace was doing. He pressed the back of his hand against Ace's forehead, gasping when he made contact.

"You're burning, Ace!" he exclaimed as Ace pulled the blankets around him tighter than before, shivering violently.

"No…" he groaned. "I-it's cold."

"Your body is fighting off the fever, yoi," Marco explained, trying to note Ace's symptoms by listening and looking (but he was no doctor). It was easy enough to recognize the signs of a common cold, especially with the fever Ace was sporting.

"Hold on," he said. "I'm going to see if we have any medicine."

But as he stood to try and move towards the bathroom, Ace reached an arm out shakily. "D-don't leave, Marco," Ace groaned. He sniffed afterwards: the sign of a runny nose. He was sure to have congestion later.

Even though the sight was rather adorable, Marco felt terrible for thinking that. Seeing Ace so weak made a frown grace his lips. He leaned down and pressed a kiss against Ace's feverish temple. "I promise I'll be right back," he reassured.

Thankfully, the bathroom in their apartment was joined with their bedroom, so it was a quick walk. Marco yanked the medicine cabinet open, frantically looking for any sort of medicine that would help. He shifted past Ace's narcolepsy tablets, boxes of band-aids, and vitamin pills to find it, but unfortunately, he found nothing that would help pull Ace's fever down.

He cursed, trying not to slam the cabinet closed after his fruitless search. Breathing deeply, he tried to rationalize his thoughts. "I can call Crystal for the medicine," he muttered to himself. "I'll try to see if we have a humidifier too."

In the meantime, he grabbed thermometer and a cloth and ran it under some cold water. After wringing it out, he went back to the bedroom, laying it across Ace's forehead.

"I'm sorry, yoi," he apologized quietly. "We didn't have anything, but I'm going to make a call real quick, okay?"

Ace could only whimper since the thermometer was still between his lips, but Marco couldn't afford to comply to possible protests right now. He needed to take care of Ace (as indicated by the high number on the thermometer).

He pulled out his phone and stepped into the living room, not wanting to disturb Ace. Spade bounded up to him excitedly, but the beagle tilted his head when he did not see Ace.

"Ace can't feed you right now, buddy," Marco said, reaching down to pet the dog, whose eyes turned sorrowful as he let out a yelp. "I'll do it after I make a few calls."

Spade seemed satisfied with the answer for now, but he sat right next to Marco as he scrolled through his contacts.

"Hello, Marco," Crystal greeted. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah," Marco answered. "Can you bring over some cold medicine and a humidifier?"

"Okay? You don't sound sick."

"It's for Ace."

"Oh?" Now she seemed interested. "He doesn't seem like the type. Can't imagine it."

"Well, things happen, yoi," Marco sighed. "I'll try asking him what happened, but my first priority is to make sure he gets better."

"That seems best," Crystal agreed. "I'll bring the stuff you need in about 20 minutes. See you."

"See you. Thanks, yoi."

Once he hung up, Spade yipped again, pawing at Marco's ankles. "Alright, boy," Marco chuckled softly. "I'll feed you now."

He only returned to the bedroom once he had fed Spade and finished his calls. He found that Ace had not changed his position a bit, though he was still shivering. "Where did you go, Marco?" he breathed.

"Don't worry, yoi." Marco smiled. "I just had to take of some things. Fed Spade, called in sick for you, so just take it easy today, yoi. I'll take care of anything you'd like."

Ace smiled back, though it looked as if he was using all his strength to. "Th-thank you, Marco."

"Do you want me to get more water for your cloth?"

Ace nodded shakily, and Marco complied by taking the cloth back into the bathroom and running it under the water once more. He checked Ace's forehead once more before putting the cloth back on, and unfortunately, he was still burning. Hopefully, his condition would improve once Marco got everything he needed in order.

"I'm going to go see if we have any soup, okay? Call if you need anything, yoi."

Ace could only stare back at him with a weak expression, and that made Marco the slightest bit helpless despite his efforts. "I'll do whatever I can for you," he whispered, carefully running a hand through Ace's raven locks.

"Th-thank you, Marco," Ace breathed, and Marco could hear the congestion now. He gave Ace another comforting kiss, this time on his cheek, and stood to leave the room.

He let out a yelp of surprise though when Spade darted past him as he opened the doors. Marco was about to shoo him out of the room so Ace could have some peace and quiet, but the sight warmed his heart: Spade had jumped up on the bed, but instead of disturbing Ace, he decided to rest in head on Ace's chest. Ace himself smiled, somehow finding the strength to reach and pat Spade's head.

Marco chuckled softly. "Now you have some company, yoi."

"Y-yeah."

It was good that Spade was there to keep Ace company, Marco mused as he retrieved a pot from the cupboard. There wasn't much to do in their bedroom. Their TV was in the living room, and they kept their computers in the loft area. They had agreed that their bedroom would be someplace they could relax. They had the whole place to themselves after all.

Marco thanked the advice of one of the other nurses to always keep a few cans for emergencies when he found some chicken noodle soup in the pantry. Something store-bought would never compare to the amazing stuff that Thatch could cook up, but this would do for now.

The day felt more than strange, Marco thought as he started up the stove. Hardly any time had passed (though it had been rather time consuming to make sure all his calls went through correctly), but Marco already knew that this was going to be a long day. They never had a day where they just spent time together at home since they preferred to spend their weekends outside of the apartment. Still, he was willing to do anything to make sure Ace was well, as he already declared to him.

The soup was giving off a delicious-smelling aroma when he heard shuffling noises behind him, turning to discover that Ace, who had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, had entered the room. Marco turned down the heat and rushed over to him worriedly. "You shouldn't be up, yoi."

"I'm hungry though, Marco," Ace muttered, sounding weaker than his shaking legs. Marco guided him to the couch to help him, smiling to himself. Of course, even when sick, Ace still had an appetite.

"Wait here," Marco said. "I'll get you a bowl."

Once back in the kitchen area, he carefully spooned some of the hot soup into a bowl. It was steaming when he brought it back to Ace on a tray.

"Thank y-you, Marco." Ace smiled, reaching for the spoon, but Marco took it instead.

"Let me, yoi," he offered, holding it in front of Ace. "Be careful. It's hot." He was sure that in any other situation, Ace would've protested, saying it was embarrassing to have Marco feed him. This time, he must've not been processing the situation properly because of the sickness. His protests would've been adorable, but this was adorable as well, Marco thought as Ace took the spoon in his mouth.

Ace had eaten a considerable amount when Marco heard a knock on the door. "That must be Crystal," he mentioned, setting the bowl on the coffee table. "I'll be right back, okay?" He barely heard Ace's weak response as he got up to answer the door.

Seeing Crystal with a bag of medicine and a box with the humidifier was a pleasant sight. "Hey, Marco," she greeted. "Got your things. How is Ace?"

"He's okay, all things considered, yoi," Marco answered. "It could be worse, though I'm still worried about him. He was able to get up for a bit, but I'm planning to put him back to bed soon."

"That sounds good," Crystal agreed. "He needs plenty of rest. So no funny business, understand?"

Marco knew she was joking, but that comment (and the fact that she had slipped a safe-sex pamphlet onto his desk when he started dating Ace) was enough to elicit a groan from him. "We're not that bad," he defended, rolling his eyes.

"Tell that to poor Thatch," she countered, a smirk playing on her lips. "I think he could do without having to hear you two when you're at home."

Marco ceased arguing. She was right on that regard.

"Can you handle things from here, or do you want me to come in and take a look?"

He thought over these words for a few moments, and just when he was about to say yes (it was a good idea to have Crystal's professional input), Ace wrapped their arms around him from behind.

"Mine," Ace hissed stubbornly, obvious strain in his voice. His grip around Marco tightened possessively as he glared at Crystal. Said nurse trying to stifle a laugh at his situation didn't help in the slightest.

"It's alright, yoi," Marco coaxed, hoping Ace could let go and head back to the couch. "It's just Crystal. She came over to give us some medicine to help you get better."

"Mine," Ace repeated, almost squeezing the life out of Marco's poor ribcage this time. He seriously wondered where Ace found such strength, especially when he was sick.

Finally, Crystal released her laugh, Marco glaring at her as well. "I think that's my cue to leave!" she giggled. "Take care, you two!"

Marco was glad for Crystal's help, but she liked teasing him too much. He would admit that Ace getting possessive over him was too cute, though he was sure Ace would deny that situation later. "There, Ace. We're fine, see?" he reassured. "Now, do you want me to turn on the TV and find you something to watch or do you want to go back to sleep?"

"I w-want to stay with Marco," Ace answered, slipping back into whining.

"Alright," Marco said, kissing Ace's forehead. "Let me set things up so you're more comfortable, yoi. Take your medicine while I'm doing that, okay?"

He really did spoil Ace sometimes, Marco mused as he fluffed up the extra pillows and started up the humidifier. It was the one their family used when they were little; one that projected stars onto the ceiling, but it was too early to use the lights setting. There was still much time in the day left. What was he to do?

"C-cuddle with me, Marco."

Marco chuckled. Well, there was the answer to his question. Ace had already told him that he wanted to stay with him, so why not hold him in his arms? Even if the proximity would risk Marco catching a cold himself, sickness was a rare occasion for him, so he was confident. Besides, denying a request that was asked so adorably was no good.

He knew that they had a long day ahead of them and he was expecting to work hard, but he found it his job to make sure Ace was happy and healthy. And when they went to bed that night to the stars and colors projected onto the ceiling, he knew it would all be worth it.

I haven't been on this site on my laptop in so long that google forgot my autofill results... Please review?