Eighteen Days Until Christmas
Eden
When she wakes next, blinding white light is pouring in through the windows and her alphas are all asleep in the nest around her.
She feels a small smile pull at her face at the sight of them as the memories of them holding her through her fever come back, although it all feels strangely hazy and disjointed.
She feels marginally better than she did yesterday, at least. She doesn't think she even had energy to smile yesterday. You'd think that after working with little plague rat school children for years, her immune system would be stronger than this, but apparently not.
'Tis the season (for colds and flus)...
She feels a disgusting glob of snot start leaking down her nostril as she huffs out a small laugh through her nose. Oh god, she could not let her mates see her leaking snot everywhere. They'd never look at her the same again.
She still hasn't mastered the art of wiggling out of the nest without waking them and she's definitely not at her peak right now, so the minute she starts trying to disentangle herself from the sheets, there are three sleep-tousled alphas sitting up and crowding around her, staring directly at her and the green alien life form dripping from her sinuses.
"Good morning, baby," Tenor says, reaching out a hand to feel her forehead. "Oh thank fuck, the fever's broken. You feeling better?"
She nods and holds a hand out in front of her face, trying to block them from seeing her slimy shame.
"I need a tissue!" Her voice still sounds hoarse and nasally. If anything, it was worse than yesterday, but that's not her problem right now.
Luke pulls a Kleenex out of nowhere and holds it up to her nose like she's a child. And sure, they might do some weird daddy roleplay, and she didn't mind when they bathed or dressed or fed her usually. But this?
No. No, no, no, no.
"Blow," Luke says then, furrowing his eyebrows at her.
"Just give me–"
"Absolutely the fuck not, Eden," he says. "Blow!"
She doesn't have the energy for this. Damn it, she blows.
He looks at the tissue after and she would growl at him if her throat wasn't still sanded raw.
"Damn, that's like day glow green," he comments. "Don't like that."
"Here," Tenor produces a tub of Vicks Vaporub. Had they stashed all of this in her nest? She was going to scream. "My mom always puts this on us when we're sick. Lemme' fix you up, ma."
She lets him rub it into her skin of her chest and he doesn't even try to feel her up. They must really be worried. It does help a little, she can admit. It feels like she can take a breath easier with the cooling menthol opening up her airways.
"Don't try to talk," Julius says, launching himself out of bed. "I'll get you some honey and lemon water."
???
"She needs soup, not more tea," Julius huffs later in the morning when her stomach grumbles. "The broth will give her a bit of protein and vitamins. Tea will just caffeinate her."
"My mom always made us tea when we were sick," Tenor argues, holding out a steaming cup of heavily honeyed tea in his hands.
Julius ignores him and carefully blows on a spoon of chicken noodle soup before offering it to Eden. "You want to try a little of this, sweetheart?"
She opens her mouth obediently, letting the broth slide down her throat. She can't even taste it because of how congested she is, and she only manages a few sips before her stomach rolls uncomfortably. She shakes her head at the next offered spoonful.
"You did really good, baby," Julius says as if she just ran a marathon rather than allowed him to feed her a few spoons of soup. "I'm so proud of you."
Tenor snuggles up in Julius' vacated spot when he takes the bowl to the sink and offers her a sip of the tea.
She accepts a few mouthfuls but mostly enjoys breathing in the steam. He doesn't seem upset by her low appetite at least. "We're gonna' take care of you," he promises, tucking her under his arm. "You just rest and focus on getting better."
She falls into another nap tucked against him as she is, lulled by the sound of his heart beating under her ear.
She feels them readjusting her and drifts in and out of sleep, but when she wakes again, one of them is always there, reassuring her with their warm bodies, rubbing circles into her back, adjusting the blankets in the nest around her.
She wakes up again just as the sun is setting. Luke is rubbing her aching calves while her head is cushioned on Julius' chest with his arm wrapped around her back. Tenor isn't in the bed, but as soon as he senses she's awake, he's there with another steaming cup of tea and a book.
They adjust her so she's sitting up, propped up by pillows. She's regained enough strength to hold her own cup of tea now, which makes her wiggle happily.
Tenor purrs as he looks at her and she feels relief radiating from him through the bond. Then he cracks open the book in his hands and she melts as his deep voice begins reading her favourite book.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that an alpha in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a mate."