Shelter

Jack woke up a few days after the Halloween party, coughing and feeling like shit. He groaned and rolled onto his back, rubbing his eyes as he picked up his phone to check the time. Two in the afternoon – maybe he should just stay in bed and sleep for the entire day. He opened his texts and cussed when he saw a text from Alex.

From: Alex
See you at the mall at 3! :)

“Fuck!” Jack groaned, sitting up and forcing himself to get out of bed. He was supposed to be meeting up with Alex in an hour. He trudged into the bathroom to wash up, frowning at himself in the mirror. His face was flushed and he looked like hell, which is exactly how he felt.

He sighed and got ready quickly, stuffing a poptart into his mouth as he walked out the door half an hour later. Alex had texted him again to make sure Jack was awake, and Jack had assured him that he was on his way. He made a quick detour to the drugstore on the way to the mall so he could buy some cough medicine, and by the time he got to the mall he wasn’t coughing so much and felt slightly better.

Jack walked into the food court, looking around. This is where he was supposed to meet up with Alex, right? He jumped as he was suddenly hugged from behind, and when he turned around his boyfriend was giggling at him.

“Hey baby,” Jack smiled.

“Hey,” Alex greeted, kissing him on the cheek. He frowned, tilting his head slightly as he looked at him. “You don’t look so great, Jacky.”

Jack shrugged, “I’m just a little under the weather. It’s probably just allergies or something.”

“You don’t have allergies, babe.”

“Well then it’s a cold or something. Do you want to stand here and debate over whether I have allergies, or do you want to shop?” Jack chuckled, reaching out to hold Alex’s hand. Alex shrugged and dropped the subject.

They walked around for about two hours, mostly just hanging out. Alex ended up buying a bunch of new beanies, despite Jack protesting that he already had enough. They headed back to the food court and bought some Subway sandwiches, sitting down to eat an early dinner.

“Mall food court. What a romantic date,” Jack teased, covering his mouth as he stifled a yawn.

Alex laughed, “Hey, it was this or ordering pizza again at your house. We’ve had pizza like twice this week already.”

“Pizza’s always good to eat,” Jack insisted, pushing a piece of lettuce around the table with his finger.

Alex nodded, watching him for a minute before speaking up. “Are you sure you’re not sick?”

“What makes you think that?” Jack asked, clearing his throat again to try and suppress a cough.

“You got a six-inch sub and you’ve only taken two bites of it. Usually you devour a footlong in five minutes flat,” Alex pointed out.

Jack smirked, “That’s what-”

“Jack,” Alex groaned, cutting off his joke. Jack chuckled, yawning.

“I should get going, Lex. I think you’re right about me being sick; I’m tired and achy,” Jack said, standing up and stretching.

“Okay. Call me if you need me, alright?” Alex said, concern in his voice. Jack pulled him into a hug.

“I probably just need a good night’s sleep to feel better,” he assured him, pecking him on the forehead before waving and heading out to his car.

--------------------

Jack fell asleep on the couch soon after he got home and didn’t wake up until late the next morning. He felt even worse than he had the day before – he was coughing, had a sore throat, and ached all over. He fumbled around for his phone, knowing that Alex was probably worried that he hadn’t heard from him since last night. He called him, coughing as Alex picked up.

“Hey baby, how you feeling?” Alex asked.

Jack groaned, “I feel like shit and I want to curl up into a ball and sleep.”

“Feeling worse, huh?” Alex chuckled.

“Way worse. I don’t know how I got this sick,” he moaned.

“It was probably from Zack’s Halloween party. A whole bunch of people were there and one of them might have given it to you,” Alex said.

“I hate parties.”

Alex laughed, “I’m going to come over. I’ll be there in a little while.”

“No, Alex, you’ll get si-” Jack began to protest, but Alex had already hung up. Jack sighed. His boyfriend was stupid.

Alex was there in about thirty minutes, just as he had said. He walked in the door and laughed when he saw Jack curled up in a ball on the couch, pouting at him. “You poor thing.”

“You’re so dumb. I’m gonna get you sick,” Jack said, turning away from him.

“Don’t be so stubborn, you’re not going to get me sick,” Alex rolled his eyes. “Are you hungry? Rian made me bring you some chicken noodle soup. That’s why I took so long getting here.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Well, whether you’re hungry or not you have to eat,” Alex said, standing up and walking into the kitchen. Jack heard him going through his cupboards and using the microwave. He walked back into the living room a few minutes later, holding a bowl of soup. “Here. Eat this.”

Jack protested, but somehow Alex managed to get him to sit up and eat some of the soup. He ate it reluctantly, sitting there with a bowl of soup and a blanket around his shoulders.

“You know, you’ve taken care of me with all my anxiety attacks and stuff for years. Now the roles have reversed,” Alex teased.

Jack chuckled, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“You’re so much more stubborn though.”

“Guilty.”

The two of them sat together on the couch for a while, Jack leaning against Alex once he finished his soup. He kept coughing and every time he did so, he let out a whine or a groan. He knew Alex was probably rolling his eyes at him, but he didn’t care. He was just happy to have Alex there with him.