Sick Day/Snowed In - Malcolm Albright (Patreon)

When I woke, Milo was no longer wrapped around me. The fire was blazing and the warm scent of earl grey tea filled the air. My stomach rolled in protest, wanting both food and wanting to snuggle back down into the blankets and ignore the world forever.  The clanking of porcelain was forbidding me from sinking too far into my dreams, however. And with Milo next to me, snoring softly, there was no reason for the sound.

Forcing my sticky gaze to focus across the room, my breath caught in my throat. Malcolm leaned against the kitchen table, a warm mug of tea in his hand, looking completely unruffled given the snow pile up he would have had to walk through to get here.

“Good morning,” he whispered, sipping his tea.

“Malcolm?”

“I hope so.”

I glanced towards the windows. The ones that were situated on either side of the fireplace. The snow had reached the top, giving us a wall of glowing white. It felt like the closest we would get to daylight.

“How did you even get here?” I asked.  Milo and I had come to the small cabin ahead of him.  We were getting the place set up for a small trip away from it all when the storm hit. And I got sick. A fever took me so suddenly that we had no way of getting back out and had become trapped here. My fever had gotten high enough that Milo had to stick me in a snow bath.

“I was close when the snow started getting really bad,” he said with a shrug. “Stopped off at a small little enchantment shop when the flurries started and got a charm to melt my way through.”

“You walked here?”

“More or less.”  Setting his tea aside, he came over to my side, reaching a hand out to brush across my skull. “How are you feeling?”

I was better. Not great, but I was hopeful I was at least cognizant.  It had been touch and go there for a bit.  “Tired,” I told him. “And my throat feels on fire.”

He nodded, like he already expected as much. “You think you can get up and have some tea? Maybe a small something to eat?”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep food down.”

“We’ll start slow,” he told me. “I want you to keep your strength up.” His fingers laced within mine as he helped me untangle from Milo. The man just rolled over in his sleep, grabbing my pillow and holding it close. My heart felt soft towards him at the sight.

“Why are you naked?” Malcolm asked, going to pull out one of his sweaters.

“Snow bath,” I told him.

He paused, holding the black cashmere in his hands. His eyes traveled up and down my body, and I felt far more exposed than I was comfortable with. Despite it only being a look of concern on his face, I fought the urge to cover myself.  Seeing this, he walked over, tugging the shirt over my head. It fell right past the top of my thighs.  The room was thankfully warm enough that I didn’t feel like I needed much else.

“Your fever was bad then?”

“You’ll have to ask Milo about that.”

I was certain he would grill the man. As soon as he was awake.

Getting me settled at the kitchen counter, he went off, digging a pair of socks out of his bag. When he came back, he knelt in front of me, taking my foot gently in his hands and pulling on the black wool.  Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on my knee.

“I’m glad you are safe,” he murmured against my skin.  I felt my breath hitch as he looked at me from beneath his lashed. “I’m sorry you don’t feel good.”

“I feel better now that you’re here,” I told him, wincing at how corny it all sounded. There was a pleased expression that crossed Malcolm’s face however, and I couldn’t regret it too much.

Rising, he bustled around the kitchen, making me a cup of tea and some plain toast. “Drink this,” he told me. “It’s going to help with whatever is going on.”

I stared down at my food and drink, feeling the nausea roll again. Knives were buried in my stomach and threatening to race up my esophagus.

“Hey,” Malcolm soothed. I hadn’t heard the whimper that escaped my throat, and only became aware of it as Malcolm wrapped himself around me from behind. “Take it slow,” he told me. “Small sips, okay? Don’t push yourself.” His hand rubbed soothing circles on my back.  It helped ease the nausea.

“Is this what feeling sick is like?” I asked. “Like someone is taking a small hammer to the inside of my head.”  I wondered if someone actually was taking a small hammer to the inside of my head. There had been a lot of construction in the Night Market lately.

“I suspect that as you explore more of living you are going to find things like this to not be as pleasant. Especially because you’ve gone so long without experiencing it.”

“I hate it.”

“And yet, you are still a better patient than Milo back there,” he laughed.

Settling next to me, he kept a hand at the small of my back so he could catch me if I fell. I was staring at the steaming mug of tea with an angry frown. “This was supposed to be a vacation for us,” I told him.

“It is.”

“We’re snowed in. You had to brave certain death to get here. And I feel like crap. How is that a vacation.”

His lips were soft against the corner of my mouth. Malcolm never smiled wide. He never showed his teeth. But when he did smile, it was something you could just feel. “The snow is beautiful,” he countered. “We have plenty of wood and food to last us. So, excuse me if I don’t feel like this is a dire situation, given that I now have an extended amount of days with my lovers where I get to sit naked with them in front of the fire.”

I felt a small shiver at the way his words curled against me.

“And, I did not brave certain death. I went for a hike. Something I wish I could do more of.  However, I do feel bad that you don’t feel well. Which is why I demand to wait on you hand and foot until you are better.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I muttered.

He placed the back of his hand on my forehead, checking for temperature. “No, I don’t. But I want to.  Now, finish up, and we’ll go sit in front of the fire. You can lay your head in my lap, and I’ll either read to you or we can watch the snow if you want some silence.”

“The snow is piled up past the window,” I pointed out.

“I’ll go melt some of it then.”

It was then that it clicked with me. Malcolm could get us out of here. If he had that charm, he could at least get us back to a portion of the market not covered. Suddenly the situation seemed a little less dire and my shoulders relaxed.  We had a way out of here. But that didn’t mean anyone else needed to know that. For the first time since all of us were together, we would be able to settle down with each other without the rest of the world howling outside our door.

I leaned my head against his shoulder, coughing a little. “There might be some merit to your line of thinking.”

“I am known to have the occasional good idea. Now, I’m going to tell you to do the same thing I used to tell Hazel and Milo when they got sick.” He tipped my chin up with a single finger. “Tell me everything that’s wrong. Get it off your chest.”

I thought the action ridiculous. That is, until the words started bubbling out of my throat. “My head hurts. My throat hurts. Even my eyes hurt. I feel like I’m going to throw up. I’m tired. The thought of moving from here to the sofa feels like too much. And I just wanted to have a weekend with the two of you and while I know it’s not as bad as my brain is making it out to be,  I’m still upset.”

He rubbed his thumb across my chin before leaning forward and brushing a kiss against me. “That’s awful,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

Oddly, I felt validated. Like I just needed someone to listen.

“Would you like me to help you to the sofa? We can try the toast in a bit. Maybe you could nap on me?”

“I’d really like that.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

As he got me to the sofa, settling me against his side, I sighed deeply. There was a sense of comfort that came with Malcolm. A soothing balm. He was that quiet amidst the storm, and as I rested my head against him, I felt my spirit calm.

“Get some sleep, Lamplight. I’ll keep the fire going for you,” he whispered.

“You and Milo are very demanding about my sleep,” I yawned.

“We like watching you while you are all soft and curled up,” he teased.

“Creeper.”

“Get some sleep, and we’ll watch Milo and really freak him out when he wakes up. Maybe tell him we saw a bear outside the window.”

“Okay.”

And with that, I felt myself drift off again. With Malcolm’s fingers running up and down my spine, a soft hum filter through the room as he sat back to watch the fire and snow, holding me close.