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“Hh’kGXT!!”“Are you okay...?”Duncan sniffled wetly as he folded a black, goth t-shirt neatly into a paper bag, not really wanting to look at the client in the eye, who’d just expressed concern over his current state. Harold, on his side, eyed him.“Yeah, just allergies.”He finally gave the client the paper bag with a raspy invitation to visit them again, then they thanked him and left the store. Man, what an exhausting day that was being. Duncan pressed his irritated nose with a knuckle, leaning on the counter with his eyes closed. He didn’t even react when Harold spoke up some seconds later.“If you keep holding back your sneezes like that, it can make the congestion pile up and you’ll get an infection.”“Shut up...” He muttered, sighing.“You should at least get some tissues. I speak from experience, since something similar happened to me some years ago—”“I swear I’ll hurt someone if you keep on talking,” Duncan threatened. “And you’re the only other one here.”Harold sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m just giving you advice.”The punk guy rubbed his temples, half-listening to Harold’s last sentence, and he didn’t muster the energy to respond. He was feeling like shit. He was sure he didn’t feel so terrible when he arrived that morning to the store. He’d been working there for a while after Total Drama Island finished, given that they sold punk and goth clothing and he had quite the knowledge about the specific brands. Also, it was the only store willing to accept him as an employee, considering his juvenile record and all. Still, he’d been doing a lot better, that was for sure; he partially thanked Courtney, his girlfriend, for that.Though when he, by divine grace, got accepted to work there, the last person he was expecting to be his coworker was Harold, the nerdy weirdo who also competed in Total Drama with him. He later found out that was Harold’s secondary job and that he would quit after saving up to buy some geek shit Duncan didn’t really care to remember. They weren’t exactly on bad terms anymore, but they barely had enough chemistry to hold a conversation long enough without it getting tiring. That’s why he was grateful Harold just went to work every once in a while, and it would usually be very early in the morning, so Duncan didn’t see him much.Today though, they so happened to be attending the store at the same time, given that the nerd decided to go to work late in the afternoon. On a normal day, Duncan had enough energy to deal with him or even mock him, but today he was sure he’d caught some bug going around, so the usual mocking was missing. Harold, who’d gotten used to it, found it very odd, but he didn’t really make any comments aside from showing his extensive medical knowledge whenever Duncan stifled a sneeze into his fist.Duncan rubbed his tired eyes and left his palms resting against his eyelids; he just wanted to go home already. He eyed the clock and saw its pointy arrows signaling it was almost 8 p.m. His shift ended at 9, but he managed to convince Harold to cover for him, since he had a date with Courtney scheduled for 8:30 at a restaurant she’d picked herself, and truth be told, he was looking forward to it. She always managed to make him feel better, so he planned to go home, take a cold pill, then go meet with her. He had to be careful to not pass this stupid cold to her, but he was sure everything would be fine, or so he hoped.The doorbell rang and it made Duncan’s ears hurt as a customer came in. And here he was hoping he could leave a little earlier in lack of any new clients.“Gwen? What a surprise!”Harold spoke up to his side and Duncan’s eyes widened in surprise as he, too, looked at the client. In fact, it was Gwen, the goth girl that also competed with them in Total Drama and was strong enough to rank second place. She looked a bit more mature, but her style was the same. Now that Duncan thought of it, it was to be expected that she would go to that store someday.“Woah, Harold and Duncan?! Were you forced to work together or are you besties now?”“You wish,” Duncan spoke up first, mustering the energy to smirk at her. “You could say we’ve been forced to do this.”“I’m saving up for an extremely rare katana that I found in--”“And I’m saving up enough energy to shut you up,” said Duncan with a fierce look that was truly ineffective in the eyes of Harold.Gwen, on her side, showed a smile. “It’s cool to see you guys haven’t changed. I’ll have to visit more often.”“Please do, it would be nice to have some tolerable people around here for once,” Duncan sniffled wetly, gaining a stare from both Harold and Gwen. That had sounded too congested for it to be passed up as a casual sniffle.“Are you sick, Duncan?”“He’s been like this since he arrived, it’s like having a germ incubator next to me.”Duncan scoffed. “It’s allergies.”“If it were allergies, why haven’t you taken anything? I’ll have to disinfect the whole place after you leave.”That reply made Duncan stand up straight and look at him directly in the eye with his brow furrowed, and Harold did the same. Gwen eyed both of them, intervening before they actually started throwing hands.“Okay, stop. Let’s leave it as is, just allergies,” she said with both hands raised.“Hmph,” Duncan rested his chin on his hand again and looked at Gwen. Harold didn’t say anything. “What do you want to buy? We have some new boots that arrived yesterday.”“And a lot of skirts,” Harold added. Gwen nodded at that.“Yes, I’m looking for one of those black skirts with beautiful spider decorations on them, I saw them the other day and--”She was interrupted by a sudden blast of punk rock music coming from behind the counter. Duncan opened his eyes wide and took a phone from one of his pant pockets. When he saw who the caller was, he immediately made a move to leave to the staff room.“Sorry Gwen, I’ll have to take this one. Harold will take your order.”Harold rolled his eyes and turned to face Gwen. “I bet it’s his girlfriend.”Gwen blinked in surprise. “Woah, you and Courtney are still together?”“Are you kidding? He even has a wallpaper of her in his phone.”Duncan almost killed him with his stare. “I hope you have a really good excuse as to why you know that.”“It’s not like you have any discretion with it.”“I swear to God--”He missed the call and the music stopped. Duncan rubbed the underside of his nose and gave a final, fierce look at Harold before going into the staff room, listening to Gwen exhale through her nose in amusement. Once he was at peace, he took a good moment to recover from that situation. He wouldn’t have been so aggressive on a normal day, but shit, his head was killing him. He proceeded to call back Courtney and waited. She picked up quickly, as to be expected, and her beautiful voice came through the speakers.“Hello, Duncan. Were you busy before?”“Nah, it’s just Harold who’s driving me crazy over here,” he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke. “What’s up, babe? Something up?”He always asked that, but both of them knew they liked to call each other sometimes just to hear their voices after a rough day. Courtney hummed in agreement.“Yes, I just wanted to tell you I’m already getting ready for our date,” her voice sounded excited for the occasion, which made Duncan smile. “Do you remember the meeting hour?”“8:30, yeah? I’ll be there, I already asked Harold to cover for me,” he rubbed his nose. Shit, it was getting itchy. “I’ll pass by my apartment and get ready. I hope you’re prepared to handle all the girls that’ll be over me once I’m ready.”Even if he couldn’t see her, he knew she’d rolled her eyes at that. “Are you sure you won’t scare them instead?”“Who knows? I can be convincing,” he said in the most flirtatious voice he could manage at the moment. His nose wouldn’t stop tickling, and suddenly, his breath had started hitching and his nostrils flared demanding a much needed release. He quickly placed the phone on his chest to avoid Courtney hearing him, and placed a fist under his nose. “Hh’kGXxt!! Shiew...”He put the phone back to his ear with a resounding sniffle and closed his eyes to stop the pounding in his head. Maybe Harold was right about the stifling thing.“Duncan? I heard some sniffling, what’s wrong?” It was to be expected for Courtney to pick up on something as small as that, or maybe his sniffles really sounded gross.Duncan sniffled again. “’s nothing, this staff room hasn’t been cleaned in a while and it’s making my nose itch.”“Oh, then I’ll call you later so you can get out of work now,” she said. “Don’t forget or I’ll go looking for you!”“Uh-huh, be careful not to start a legend of a crazy girl running through the streets at night to find her boyfriend.”“You’re dumb, I’m leaving now,” she replied as Duncan smirked. “Bye!”“Later.”And then, she hung up. That small chat had been nice, at least it made Duncan feel better for a moment. Sadly, his little moment of peace and happiness got interrupted by Harold calling him from the store.“Duncan, where is the number of this skirt?”He sighed. He was so ready to leave right now. Once he got out, his nose was still itchy, and now it seemed like it wanted to start running. Harold was holding a very stylish
black skirt just like the one Gwen described a moment ago, and she was standing in front of him.“The number on that skirt fell one day and I saved it in the computer, it’s highlighted there,” he said in a hurry. “I’m off now, later.”“Later, Duncan,” said Gwen with a smile.“Don’t pass out in the middle of the street,” added Harold. Duncan eyed him.“You’re the one who’s going to be in the middle of the street if youhh-- you-- Hh’tZSHHh’iew!!”Both Harold and Gwen visibly jumped at Duncan’s sudden sneeze that seemed to sneak up on him. He pitched forward into his elbow with desperation, his eyes tearing up a bit with the force. That sneeze had been more desperate than usual as a result of him stifling them during all of his work shift. He groaned, his head pounding.“At least you aren’t holding them back anymore,” Harold said, going over to the computer.“Ndo,” he muttered, cringing at the congestion that had happily set inside his nose.“Bless you and your allergies, Duncan,” said Gwen with a concerned smile. “Get home safely.”He nodded and waved weakly at her before finally leaving the store. Gwen and Harold shared a stare.“That is not
allergies, is it?” She asked. Harold shook his head with a sigh.“He’s like a stubborn kid. At this rate, he’ll have to take tomorrow off.”Duncan arrived at his apartment almost out of breath and his face sweaty. His nose was irritated from being rubbed every minute, and his eyes could barely stay open. After that hellish trip he had to take from the store to his apartment, he was sure he’d started to run a fever. He took his shirt off in an attempt to cool his sweaty body, but it just made him start shivering. He didn’t realize he didn’t close the door and went to the couch located in his living room, until he collapsed there. Each breath felt warm in his dry mouth, and his foggy mind could barely understand anything happening around him.Then, at some point, the thought of calling Courtney to tell her he wouldn’t be going to their date crossed his mind. He knew she would be incredibly disappointed, but he just couldn’t force himself to stand up when his whole body felt like burning lead. With the last energy left in his body, he grabbed his phone and looked at his contacts; he had Courtney pinned so she would be the first to show up. He tried with all his might to call her, but his finger didn’t even reach the screen before he was taken by his body’s need to rest. He fell asleep right there, shirtless, phone in hand and with his door half-open.Courtney eyed the clock on her phone with concern brewing inside of her with each passing second, one foot tapping the floor repeatedly. 8:55 p.m and Duncan hadn’t showed up yet, not even a phone call. She crossed her arms, and looked at the sophisticated dining table with an elegant, red tablecloth on top. The other clientele would look at her for a moment and think she was mad and frustrated at her date for leaving her hanging, but in reality, she was more concerned than anything. She’d tried to call him around 3 times and he didn’t pick up, which just made her anxiety grow more. She knew Duncan would have tried to communicate with her, and he looked as excited about the date as she was, even if he showed it through sarcasm most of the time.After finishing her small cup of wine, she stood up and went to the door, her pale green, shimmery dress drawing more attention than needed. At the door, the guy checking the list of reservations looked at her with confusion, but refrained from saying anything. Even if he did, Courtney probably wouldn’t have answered, since her mind was barely functional at the moment. She took out her phone and tried to call him. Again. But he didn’t pick up. Again.She didn’t want to lose her mind just yet. She recalled Duncan mentioning he was going to his apartment earlier. There was no way he’d still be at work at this hour, so she took in a breath and started almost running on her high heels.Luckily for her, the way to Duncan’s home wasn’t that far, and once she managed to arrive, she took the elevator and quickly pressed the button. It had only been a 10 second wait, but it felt like ages to her. So many thoughts crossed her mind and were driving her crazy, and once the doors opened, she ran towards Duncan’s apartment. She audibly gasped when she saw the door open, because oh god, was he not there? Had he been forced to leave?When she came in, the first thing she saw was Duncan sleeping in an uncomfortable position on the couch. The sigh she let out felt almost inhuman at the feel of losing weight from her shoulders. She closed the door, which still had the keys attached to the lock; just what was he doing to not notice that?Still calming down, Courtney locked the door and walked towards her criminal boyfriend as many thoughts crossed her mind. Had he just fallen asleep and forgot to go to their date? While that sounded unlikely, it seemed to be what was happening right now. Though, once she took a good look at him, she noticed he was completely shirtless and shivering, and his cheeks were flushed. She also saw his phone still turned on and the screen showing her contact info; so he did try to call her. Her eyes didn’t pass up the little pink heart next to her name. She’d put it there herself as a joke one day, which just made it more surprising that he decided to keep it. A dubious hand reached out to tap his shoulder.“Duncan?” She nudged him, then a soft snore was heard. His shoulder felt warmer than usual, and she noticed his back was sweaty. She then placed a hand on his forehead just to test her theory, and in a second, all the questions in her mind were answered at once. “Oh my gosh, you’re burning up!”This seemed to have caught Duncan’s attention as he blinked, trying to open his eyes. He looked at his girlfriend with a hazy expression, almost like he was still dreaming.“Pri...dcess?” He asked in a raspy, congested voice. Courtney’s brow furrowed in concern. “Whad are... you doi’g here?”“You didn’t show up to our date! You had me so worried, so I came here and--... You shouldn’t be sleeping on the couch, no wonder you’re feverish. Come on, stand up.”After these words tumbled out of her, she tried to make Duncan sit down, pushing his whole torso upwards. His foggy mind understood what she was getting at and he stood up, almost falling in the process. She grabbed one of his arms and put it over her; even if she wasn’t the strongest support out there, it seemed to be enough for him to not fall. The sudden change of position made Duncan’s congestion try to creep out of his nose, so he placed a knuckle under one of his ticklish nostrils.“Let’s go to your room, okay?”“Yeah,” he managed to say. At least he was conscious enough to answer.They walked slowly towards his room, which wasn’t that far from the living area, and they arrived in no less than a minute. It was difficult to drag such a big guy while wearing a dress and heels, but Courtney managed to do it without much trouble. Gosh, she needed to take those heels off.Once they managed to arrive, Duncan went to the bed by sheer instinct and let himself fall. Courtney sighed, actually tired after all she’d gone through in less than an hour; at least now everything seemed to have calmed down. She took a look at Duncan’s room, which was the same as ever. The walls were full of small little graffiti and skulls, there were some photos of their previous dates on his desk, a guitar next to the desk and his closet on one side. Once she’d set up, her eyes turned to see the feverish guy now resting on the bed, who seemed to still be awake.“Duncan, have you taken anything for this?” She asked. The guy groaned, sniffling thickly.“Tried to...” He answered, rubbing his nose with more force than needed. “I have bedicide od the cabidet, but I could’t reach it od tihh! Od tibehh-- Hehh-hihh!”His breath hitched and Courtney saw in full detail the way his nostrils flared in irritation. He rubbed his masculine nose in an attempt to calm down the itch, but it fell futile, so he desperately buried his nose into the pillow, weak against his nose’s demands.“Hihh’gZSHHh’iew!!” His sneeze sounded tired, yet forceful. Courtney noticed a certain harshness to it that she’d never heard in Duncan’s usual sneezes. He almost gasped as he geared up for one more. “Hhh’atZSHHhh!! Nnn--... snf!”Once he was done, his head fell on the pillow. Apparently that was enough to expel all the energy he’d managed to muster in.“Bless you,” Courtney said with her arms crossed.“Thagks...”Courtney blinked. Had Duncan just thanked her for something as insignificant as a blessing? Normally, he would reply with a sarcastic remark, or straight up ignore it, so this meant one of two things: either the fever was playing with his mind, or the world was ending.“Please stay awake for a little bit, you need to take some medicine. And tissues.”Her only answer was a small groan. It was enough for her. Before leaving the room, she figured she had to cover him with something so he could stop shivering. She looked over at his bed; there was no blanket there, maybe he’d saved it somewhere? In the closet, perhaps?Her stare locked on Duncan’s sleeping, feverish face. So she really was taking care of him right now, it seemed unbelievable. Duncan was a difficult guy, and maybe a little stubborn when it came to doing things himself, so seeing him in such a miserable state was unexpected, to say the least. Courtney wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he almost looked cute with is nose all reddish and his peaceful face that made him seem more innocent than ever. It was like seeing a bad, snarky dog look cute while sleeping.She didn’t let her thoughts distract her any longer and proceeded to go towards the closet to search for a blanket or something, taking her heels off while she was at it. When she opened it, the first thing she saw was a collection of various shirts, with his signature skull one included, and some pants; they were all very... Duncan-like. She crouched and found some blankets, a duvet and, to her surprise, a little heart craved on the wood wall of the closet. The heart had “D+C” inside of it, and she immediately remembered that event on Total Drama Island when he carved the same thing at the back of a wooden head of herself. When she watched on live TV at Playa Des Losers, her face turned into a tomato, which immediately disappeared when she noticed her fellow campers were staring at her. Even if it had been kind of sappy, she found it incredibly endearing and couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the night; that side of Duncan would always leave an impression on her.A smile showed on her lips at the memory of that before she decided to grab the duvet, which would cover Duncan better than a little blanket. She hurried over to the bed and put it over her boyfriend, who shivered and groaned in response.“Duncan, don’t fall asleep yet. You need to take something for this fever.”He blinked groggily at her, not really processing that entire sentence. His nostrils flared and he rubbed them without much care. His breath hitched slightly, as if he needed to sneeze again, but after some seconds, he moaned and let his head fall on the pillow. He looked so exhausted. Courtney shot him a concerned stare before leaving the room.She went quickly to the cabinet in the kitchen and, just like Duncan said, there was some medicine there. A bottle of pills caught her attention and she read the label, which said it worked on high fevers. Perfect. She also grabbed a glass of water and filled it so Duncan could swallow the pill properly, and also because she didn’t want him to dehydrate. She eyed the kitchen for a second and her mind clicked; she should make him some tea too, a little pill wouldn’t be enough to bring all his fever down. Luckily for her, Duncan still had some chamomile left in one of the drawers. She started brewing some water and went to the bathroom to grab a box of fresh tissues, then she went to his room again.When she came in, Duncan was out again. Gosh, she really didn’t want to wake him up.“Duncan?” She called him, placing the tissues and the glass on his nightstand. “Please, you have to take this pill.”He opened his heavy eyelids with a tired frown, sniffling thickly. Courtney gave him the pill and he swallowed it at once, drinking some fresh water afterwards. He coughed a bit, but it seemed like the water had helped his dry throat.“Here’s some tissues so you can blow your nose.”Courtney offered them to him, and he grabbed one before adjusting his position so he was sitting down, then he tried to blow his nose. It was so blocked it only made a weird, squelching sound. Courtney cringed, praying that she didn’t make a face; she didn’t want to make him feel gross, or maybe he wouldn’t have noticed, given that he was barely conscious at the moment. He blew his nose again and, this time, some mess was expelled. This seemed to have triggered a resting itch in his sinuses, because his irritated nostrils flared just like before. He groaned under his breath.“Shit, I dod’t wadda sdeeze agaid,” he complained, pressing a knuckle under his nose. “Mbakes mby head hurt...”“I’m afraid you’ll have to clear all the junk in your nose if you want your head to stop hurting,” Courtney explained with her signature, smart tone. “It hurts because you’re so congested.”Duncan half-listened to his girlfriend’s explanation, his attention too focused on the tickle. His breath quivered in anticipation and he covered his nose with the tissue before it took advantage of him.“Hehh’tZSHHHhiEw!!” He pitched forward with a harsh, much needed sneeze. He stayed with his head down and his eyes closed as he waited for the next expulsion that didn’t take long to announce itself. “Hhh’itZSHHh’iew!! Hhh--! ‘atZSHHhh!! Snf! Fuck...”“Language,” Courtney said out of habit, even if there wasn’t any point in reprimanding Duncan for his potty mouth when he was all feverish like this.As to be expected, Duncan didn’t pay attention to Courtney’s words as he blew his nose more productively this time. It sounded like those sneezes had unblocked his sinuses and he could freely clean them now. Courtney made a move to check on the boiling water, but paused when Duncan grabbed another tissue with a set of experimental sniffles coming from him. His expression looked dubious, yet itchy.“Do you still need to sneeze?”“Nnn... Ihh-- I dod’t kdow,” he mumbled, sniffling again. “I... Hehh-! Hh’gZSHHh’iew!!”Courtney crossed her arms as she watched Duncan gear up for another sneeze. It was for the better anyway, and it sounded like he really needed it. How had he gotten so congested to begin with?“Hhh? Hihh-- iTZSHHHh!! Nnn...”A few seconds passed, it seemed like Duncan was done for the moment. Courtney took a look at his nose; it was very irritated and red from all the abuse, but, at last, she could hear some breathing through his sinuses.“Bless you. Can you breathe better now?” She asked, giving him another tissue.He harshly blew his nose, letting out a small, painful sound at the contact of the paper with his irritated nostrils.“Yeah, I think so...”“See? Now I can understand what you’re saying,” Courtney left the box of tissues on the nightstand again. “Let me bring you the tea now.”She went for the door, but before she could leave, Duncan spoke up in a weak voice, his eyes glassy.“You... --snf!-- look gorgeous.”This made Courtney remember she was still wearing a dress. With everything that was going on, that was the last thing on her mind. She couldn’t help but blush a little bit, but she also wondered if Duncan had just
noticed she had it on or if he just couldn’t find the energy to compliment her before.“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “Don’t fall asleep, I’ll bring you the tea.”It took him some solid seconds to nod in response, and Courtney left to the kitchen. The water was at an almost perfect temperature, but she turned it off a little earlier so it wasn’t too hot for Duncan. She poured the water in a black cup with a punk logo, put the chamomile in, twirled it with a small spoon, then blew a bit over it with care. She crossed her fingers, wishing this would bring his fever down.She went back to his room and found him still sitting down, this time with his eyes closed.“Here’s the tea,” she put it on the nightstand as Duncan opened his tired eyes again. “Drink it and you’ll be able to sleep.”Duncan went to grab the cup, but stopped in his place. His eyes closed as his breath hitched before turning away to bury his nose into his elbow.“Hh’itZSHHh’iew...” That had probably been more of a sigh than a sneeze, more proof of his exhaustion.“Bless you.”Duncan grabbed the cup tiredly, rubbing his nose with one hand. “Snf! You can stop saying that if you want...”Courtney’s eyes widened a bit. Who knew Duncan could get close to being polite while under the effects of a high fever?“I’ll keep it in mind,” she answered, crossing her arms. “I wonder if you’ll remember all of this after you get better...”“Hm...?”“Never mind. Drink your tea now.”Duncan obediently did what she said and took a sip. He made a face, as if it didn’t taste that well, but still made an effort to finish it all. In a moment, the cup was empty. Courtney was glad he wasn’t a baby about this stuff, even while feverish. He coughed a bit against his fist, sleep overtaking his eyes, which started to close on his own.“It’s okay if you go to sleep now,” she said with a soft smile. Duncan nodded and adjusted his position again, letting his head fall on the soft pillow. “I’ll be on the couch so you can rest well.”She started leaving, but was stopped by Duncan speaking up when she was halfway through the door.“Don’t go...” He muttered, his eyes still closed. “Stay... here.”Courtney could only stare at him, surprised. Was the fever speaking up for him? He sounded so... soft, like those fun moments were he showed his more romantic and even sappy side. She cleared her throat, unsure of what to say. Though, before she could think of anything, Duncan spoke up again.“Please...‘m sorry for not showing up tonight, wanted to see you. You feel like home for me, Princess...”She opened her eyes wide for a moment, then her cheeks burned. She’d never heard him say something so cute, yet so sincere; she knew he meant it, but wouldn’t say it under normal circumstances due to him trying to show his more fierce side all the time. Also because Courtney couldn’t help but smile at him whenever he said stuff like that, making him embarrassed. The fact that he openly admitted that, and apologized on top of it, didn’t leave her any other option but to stay.“Oh, Dunky,” she said, still recovering from the surprise. She got close to him and ruffled his mohawk, something she knew he loved. “You feel like home for me too, you dummy.”Her only answer was a soft, congested snore; he’d already passed out. She placed a little kiss on his forehead just as an extra detail, knowing full-well he wouldn’t remember it, then got close to the desk next to the nightstand. She sighed and sat down at the chair in front of it, taking her phone from her bra. She’d put it there in a rush after leaving the restaurant, then forgot about it until now; she knew Duncan would’ve smirked at that if his mind wasn’t all confused due to the fever. When she turned on the screen, the clock said it was already 10:35 p.m. Courtney decided to kill some time for now, and maybe order a burger or something, since she was craving for some food after missing dinner at the restaurant.She took her time to relax for a bit, letting her boyfriend have a much needed rest.At 11:43 p.m, Courtney saw Duncan shuffle on his bed a little too much, and before she could properly react, he opened his eyes. He groaned and placed his palms on his forehead, coming back to himself; she didn’t miss the sniffle and the muttered curse that followed the action. She left her half-bitten burger on the plate and cleaned her hands with a napkin, ready for the confusion that would inevitably hit Duncan once he noticed she was there.“Princess?” Called it. He rubbed his nose without even noticing and kept on talking. “You-- that dress-- what time is it?”“Around 11:40, I was wondering if you would wake up today,” she answered quickly with a concerned expression she wasn’t able to hide. Duncan eyed her from head to toe; she could visibly picture the gears trying to move in his brain. “Long story short, I came looking for you after you didn’t show up, then I found you here, all shivery and feverish.”Duncan put a hand at the back of his head, closing his eyes. Courtney found it kind of fun to see him so confused, and the medicine seemed to have worked, given that now he sounded less wobbly.“Shit, now I remember...” He muttered. “I tried to call you, but I passed out before I could.”“Yeah, I also found your phone when I came in, but I think it’s dead now,” she explained, standing up. “Duncan, you could’ve told me in the call we had earlier that you weren’t feeling well.”“It wasn’t as bad when we talked,” he sniffled, becoming aware of his ticklish nose again. “So you’ve been here all this time? I only remember drinking some tea that tasted like a public bathroom.”Courtney looked offended at that. “I’ll have you know, I make great tea! You just couldn’t appreciate it since you were running a fever.”Duncan blinked at her, surprised. “Uh, so the tea was your doing?”She sighed. “Let’s see, after I found you I took you to your bed, I gave you the duvet, a pill, then some tea and water. Nothing more,” she crossed her arms. “How come you hadn’t taken some medicine before getting to this state?”“I had work and I guess I forgot....” His already flushed cheeks blushed even more as he averted his gaze. “And you- you even covered me with this duvet? And brought me the tissues? I-- you shouldn’t...”Courtney couldn’t help the soft smile that showed up on her lips. Duncan never got embarrassed to the point he wasn’t even able of properly forming a sentence, it was kind of endearing to see it. And, even if she wouldn’t admit it openly, this side of him was one of the reasons she found him so cute.“I didn’t mind taking care of you. I mean, it was the only way, since you were running such a high fever you wouldn’t have done it yourself anyway,” she explained, trying her best to sound understanding. Duncan clicked his tongue, rubbing his neck.“Fuck, this is embarrassing...”“Language.”At last, he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He was surprised she really didn’t mind taking care of his feverish ass, but to be fair, Courtney had always had a certain caring instinct to her that she preferred to show with actions rather than words. Just what did he do to deserve this girl?Before Duncan had the chance of saying anything more, Courtney placed a gentle hand on his sweaty forehead. His eyes widened, but he refrained from moving.“You’re still a bit warm, but it’s better than your overheating from before...”“Was it that bad?” Duncan directed his gaze tot he floor. “I... I should’ve told you, and you were so excited for this. I was, too...”“I know, don’t worry. You apologized when you were still feverish,” she said with a smile. She couldn’t help but tease him a bit.Duncan looked at her. “What do you mean? Crap, was I saying stupid shit on top of you having to play nurse on me?”“Not really. You were very quiet, actually.”She really tried hard to not blush at the memory of him saying that she felt like home for him, she really did. Her cheeks felt hot and she turned away, crossing her arms and looking outside the window. Duncan sniffled before he made a face.“What did I say?”“Nothing,” she replied a little too quickly. Duncan stood up and made her look at him in the eye. She couldn’t hide her cheeky smile.“Courtney, tell me what I said.”“You said you wanted to kiss Harold,” she half-closed her eyes, playing with him. He clicked his tongue in response.“Right, did I also say you’re the worst girl I’ve ever met?”“Nope, you probably forgot to mention it,” she replied. “But it’s okay, you didn’t say anything bad.”He huffed through his nose and crossed his arms. “You’ll end up telling me sooner or later.”“A guy can dream.”They shared stares for only 3 seconds before Duncan’s breath hitched and he turned away to bury his nose into his elbow with a harsh:“Hh’tZSHHh’uh!! Ugh...”“Bless you,” Courtney offered, coming back to her nurse instincts. “Are you feeling better? You couldn’t even stand up from the fever when I found you.”“Snf! I want to take off my nose so I can finally stop snehh--- Hehh--!...” He rubbed his nose a little too harshly, his brow furrowing in irritation. “Ghh, that sneaky little guy...”“It got away from you?” She asked with a smile. “You’ll probably stop sneezing after you expel all the congestion. How did you get so clogged up?”“Probably from holding them back all day” he said matter-of-factly, gaining a surprised stare from Courtney. “Well, I couldn’t be sneezing in front of the clients, it was the only way.”“You’re lucky your ears didn’t pop off, Duncan!” She reprimanded, placing both hands on her hips.Duncan sniffled, staring at her hips for a moment. “Come on, it was only a few sneezes.”“What are you looking at?”“Princess, your dress looks gorgeous,” he said, taking her by her waist and putting her close to his chest. “Man, it’s making me feel worse about not seeing you at the restaurant with it. You look so hot.”“Really? Is it common for you to get horny after having a fever?”“Only with a girlfriend like you, sweetheart,” he winked at her and kissed her neck. Courtney rolled her eyes, though she was very flattered.“How romantic of you,” she said. “What were you going to wear, anyway?”“Probably the suit you gave me , though the collar doesn’t let me breath,” he sniffled, turning his head away to rub his nose.“You’re just not used to it. Next time we have a fancy dinner, you have to wear it,” he made at face at that, to which Courtney looked at him. “Speaking of dinner, let me go so I can finish my burger.”“Burger? No wonder the smell, I thought I was sleeping at a McDonald’s a moment ago.”He let go of Courtney, who went to grab the half-finished burger and took a good bite at it.“Well, I was starving! I had to order it while you slept,” she said before her eyes turned to look at Duncan. “You can smell it? That means you’re getting better.”“Yeah, though not much,” he got closer to the desk and rested his arm on it. “You didn’t order one for me?”“Sick people can’t eat burgers. I’ll make some chicken soup for you.”“What a treat,” he deadpanned, which his girlfriend ignored.Courtney finished the burger and cleaned her mouth with a napkin. “You can grab some fries if you want.”Duncan did as told and ate a fry, then made a disgusted face.“It tastes stale, where did you order this?”Courtney rolled her eyes. “They’re good, it only tastes like that because you’re still sick.”“Amazing, so I can’t even eat fries now?”“Have you never been sick before? Your taste buds get all sick, too,” she explained in her smarty tone.“I have an amazing
immune system, the germs run away from me,” he smirked as he crossed his arms.“Yeah, I can tell why.”She refrained herself from snickering upon seeing Duncan’s smirk disappear at her sarcastic remark. She stood up again, grabbed her plate, then made a move to go out of Duncan’s room.“I’ll clean this, then I’ll prepare some chicken soup. And I’ll make sure you finish it.”Duncan let out a sigh. “Man, this is worse than juvie.”“Hush, no complaints!” Courtney exclaimed, a hand on her hip. “Put on a shirt and come with me, we can sit on the couch while you eat.”“Yeah, yeah. Though you can’t deny you love seeing me shirtless,” he said in a flirtatious tone, raising an eyebrow. Courtney rolled her eyes.“And you have to take a shower. You’re sweaty.”“Oh, come on.”Courtney placed a soft kiss on his cheek, taking advantage of the action rendering him silent for some seconds.“Let’s put on a movie, ‘kay?”Duncan tried to hide his small blush with a smirk. “You got it, Princess.”