Me
What’s wrong? Symptoms?
Cotton Candy
Throat hurts. Eyes hurt. Head hurts. Fever. The plague, I’m telling you.
Me
Those aren’t plague symptoms, Cotton Candy.
Cotton Candy
Let me live in delusion. Or die.Either works.
Landon and I exchange another glance. Leaving them alone is going to be harder than I thought. Especially when all I really want is to beat down their door and force them to let us take care of them.
I’ve been told before that I’m a bulldozer, and it wasn’t always said positively, so I’m gonna follow Landon’s lead here. He seems to be more… careful.
“What should we do?”
Landon raises an eyebrow. “We should go take care of them. How is that even a question?”
A surprised laugh flies out of my lips. “You’re supposed to be the voice of reason.”
“Yeah.” Landon shakes his head. “No. Reason doesn’t exist where you and Park are concerned. Let’s go.”
Dammit, I can’t argue with that logic. I can only hope Parker doesn’t get pissed and kick us out.
Thirty minutes later, Landon and I are stocked up on cough drops, fever reducer, cough syrup, and enough snacks to feed a small army.
“I don’t think we needed most of this,” he says, trying to shuffle things around so he can knock on Parker’s door.
He doesn’t manage it, and my arms are just as full, so I kick at it with the toe of my shoe.
A few seconds later, the door swings open, and Parker blinks at us. “Knew you wouldn’t stay away.”
“Yeah, that was a big ask,” I say, stepping past them and into the living room.
There’s a blanket nest on the couch, tissues strewn across the table, and what looks like an empty bottle of Tylenol. “Damn, Park. How long have you been feeling bad?”
They sniffle. “Since last night.”
“How long have you been wearing my hoodie?”
I turn on my heel to really look at Parker. They are indeed in Landon’s hoodie, and my fucking God, do they look stunning. Even their red-tipped nose, watery eyes, and messy hair take nothing away from how gorgeous they look in Landon’s clothes.
“It’s warm,” Parker says, then leans over and dissolves into coughs.
Landon steps forward, hooking his arm around Parker’s waist. “Alright, Lovebug, back to the couch you go.”
Parker starts to groan but cuts themself off before they can go into another coughing fit. Landon leads them to the couch, and when they’re settled, he pulls the blankets up around them, closing them up in a little cocoon.
My heart swells to a near breaking point. Landon is so gentle, and I love seeing it. I love seeing how soft and sweet he is with Parker. I think Parker really needs that.
Parker seems just as shocked as me when Landon leans forward and presses his lips to their forehead. He holds them there for a second, and Parker’s eyes fall shut.
When Landon moves, Parker’s head follows like they’re chasing Landon’s lips. “Jesus, Lovebug, you’re burning up.”
