"Hi."
"Is it morning?"
"Hmm just about."
"Did you sleep too?"
"I slept for a while,” Cavan said. “How did you sleep?"
“Hardly at all, none of it well.”
"Why not?" Cavan frowned.
"I don't really sleep, remember."
“Lucas that's not okay …"
"Sorry to disappoint."
"Should be …"
Lucas huffed, shifted against his pillows. “Ah, fuck … everything aches.”
“I was actually coming to get you so I could help with that,” Cavan offered lamely. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “I er … ran you a bath.”
“A bath?”
“Yeah … To bring your temperature down.”
Lucas pinched the bridge of his nose and winced. “Fine. Help me up.”
Taking hold of Lucas’ arm, Cavan hooked it around his neck and looped his other arm around the man’s waist. Together they awkwardly hobbled to the bathroom where Cavan sat his companion down on the toilet seat and stepped back.
“Can you … uh … g-get in by yourself?”
Lucas gave him a deadpan look. “What do you think, brat?”
Pressing his lips together, Cavan tried to keep his eyes from straying as he gingerly helped Lucas peel the sweaty vest from his torso. Helping the man to his feet he allowed Lucas to lean against him whilst he wriggled out of his bottoms. Cavan somehow managed to get the shorter man into the bath without looking below the waist. He deserved a bloody medal for that!
Lucas gasped and tensed as soon as he started to sink into the tepid water, his arms quaking as he struggled to support himself. Cavan held him firmly around the chest, taking as much of the man’s weight as possible. A string of mumbled curses filled the air between them, and he tried his best not to smile at the profanity. Once Lucas was as submerged as possible, his form hunched over amidst the bubbles, Cavan gently let him go and settled down on the floor of the bathroom.
“Sorry, I know it probably feels horrid right now, but it will help, I promise.”
Lucas shot him a dark look but didn’t say anything else. Whenever he did move it was with a hiss of discomfort or a gasp of pain. Cavan let the man adjust a little, never letting his eyes stray far, before he boldly took a flannel from the side and held it up between them.
“Do you want me to wash your back for you?”
Lucas gave a shudder before nodding, his head lulling forward. Being as gentle as possible, Cavan dipped the flannel into the lukewarm water and started to swathe Lucas’ back and shoulders. The man gasped, pressing against Cavan’s chest but otherwise didn’t protest. The water ran in rivers down the man’s pale skin and Cavan had to force him to focus on the task at hand. It took a little more convincing Lucas to let him wash his hair, which he was able to do after about three minutes of vigorous headshaking that left the older man dizzy and nauseated.
After he was sure Lucas was as clean as possible, Cavan helped the man out of the bath, wrapped him in a clean towel and dried him off as the water gurgled down the drain. He’d forgotten clean clothes and had to go and rummage around in Lucas’ drawers until he found some comfortable looking tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt. Once dressed under the towel, for modesty’s sake, Cavan gently dried the man’s hair on a barely-warm setting.
“How do you feel?” he asked, once he’d replaced everything the way he’d found it. He felt Lucas’ unfocused eyes trailing on him, watching his every move. Cavan winced, fully knowing that he was poking at Lucas’ OCD. “Sorry, I know you like things a certain way, but that can wait until you feel better.”
“Feel fine,” Lucas grunted.
Cavan checked his temperature. Still hot, but not as bad as he’d been before. “Do you want to lie down on the sofa? I can make you something to eat?”
“M’Not a baby.”
“No, you’re not. You’re sick and I’m trying to look after you,” Cavan replied gently. “Come on, let’s get you settled and then I’ll strip your bed.”
“N-no … Bonnie did it …”
“And you’ve sweated every day and night since,” Cavan grunted, helping Lucas hobble down the hallway and into the living room. He settled the man on the sofa, draped a throw blanket over his body and propped him up with some cushions. “TV, on or off?”
Lucas shrugged.
“Okay, do you want some tea?”
Another shrug.
Cavan resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he went into the kitchen and filled the kettle. Tea and plain toast was what his mum always made him when he was feeling rotten. He managed to find what he needed relatively fast and set about making them both some breakfast.
Cavan settled on the sofa next to Lucas’ feet. The TV was on with the volume down low as they ate and drank in silence. Cavan didn’t mind, his throat still felt a little raw from the previous night. Lucas managed to eat and once his tea was finished, he seemed to be a little more alert to his surroundings. He felt stiff and awkward as he sat there, Cavan at his feet with his gaze trained on the TV. He still felt as though this was the dream, but if it were, the bathwater would have shocked him awake. It had felt like ice, although a little voice at the back of his brain had snapped that he’d simply been too hot.
He tried to pay attention to whatever was on the TV, but he was hyperaware of Cavan’s presence.
Leaning back against the sofa, Cavan turned his bright green eyes towards Lucas and frowned a little. He tried not to visibly tense, knowing that Cavan would pick up on it.
"You look different without your glasses," Cavan murmured.
Cocking an eyebrow, Lucas said, "Is that so?"
"Mmmm," Cavan frowned before he leaned closer to the older man. Lucas tensed as Cavan's warm palm cupped the curve of his smooth jaw. "I like being able to see your eyes …"
"Really now?"
"Yeah … they're um … they're beautiful."
"They're grey, kid."
"They're beautiful, Lucas."
"Brat."
Cavan pouted a little, sitting back. Then his face split into a grin. "How bad is your eyesight? Can you even see me properly?"
Lucas glowered at him. "Of course I can shithead. I'm not blind."
"What do I look like to you now?"
"A slightly blurry brat with a big mouth?"
Cavan leaned closer, "Now?"
"A cocky pink splotch?"
Closer. "Now?"
"Cavan –"
"Lucas …" He was so close Lucas could feel the breath ghosting his lips when the older man turned to his to the side. Cavan froze, fear spiking through him like lightning. “Shit! I -I’m sorry!”
Lucas closed his eyes, as though sound itself caused him pain. Reaching out blindly, he took hold of Cavan’s hand and squeezed. “Don’t misunderstand me,” he mumbled. “I don’t want you getting sick. And I want you on the first train back home this evening, do you understand me?”
Cavan frowned. “You don’t want me here?”
“Of course I do, that’s not what I’m saying,” Lucas sighed. “However, I know your parents don’t know anything about me or where you are right now. I don’t like the idea of that becoming an issue between us.”
“Sophie told them I’m with Arthur, they won’t ask questions.”
“Cavan –”
“Lucas, please? Just -let me just stay tonight, okay? I’ll go home first thing in the morning.”
They stared at one another for a few moments; Lucas’ expression barely changed but Cavan could feel the hot swell of tears threatening to creep over him. Eventually, Lucas clenched his jaw and nodded.
“Fine. One more night.”
Cavan gave a small, grateful smile. “I just want to make sure you’re okay,” he said quietly, before pressing a chaste kiss to Lucas’ cheek.
They settled back as a sitcom played out on the TV. Cavan acted as though nothing had happened, just reclined on the sofa as though he owned it, a
nkles crossed, and a mug of tea balanced in his lap. Lucas chewed his tongue, feeling his insides knot together whenever Cavan shifted and nudged his feet. He was playing with fire, they both were, he just hoped that neither of them got burned.
Later that evening they were watching back-to-back movies on TV as Cavan finished dishing up a basic risotto for dinner. It had been the only thing he could fashion with the available contents of the kitchen, but it tasted good, which was all that mattered. He assured Lucas that he could more that just risotto, to which Lucas smirked and shook his head in disbelief.
Once they'd eaten and Cavan had successfully changed the bedsheets and as soon as Lucas’ eyelids started to droop, he’d helped the man disentangle himself from the cocoon on the sofa, and helped him to the bedroom. Cavan felt himself buzzing as he slid into the large bed beside Lucas; under any other circumstances, he could just lean over and kiss the man. He desperately wanted to, and he could feel that Lucas wanted it too.
He had to be respectful of the man’s wishes, though.
Lucas’ eyes were closed as he curled up onto his side, the cover draped loosely over his waist. Cavan could still feel the feverish heat radiating against him, but he hoped that getting into a better routine of cleansing and eating would help Lucas fight fitter in the next few days.
Leaning over, he pressed a soft kiss to Lucas’ forehead. “You’re wonderful …”
“Go to sleep, Cavan.”
Pouting he said, “No, I don’t like that.”
Lucas cracked an eye open. “What? Sleep?”
“No, I don’t like when you use my name.”
“-the hell am I gonna call you then?”
“Call me ‘kid’ or ‘brat’ or any variation of those two.”
“Idiot.”
“That’s better,” Cavan grinned, wriggling a little closer. The heat was positively stifling, but he wanted to be as close to Lucas as he could bear. “Lucas?”
“Hm?”
“Can I kiss you?”
“No, Cavan. Sleep.”
Moving closer, Cavan gently rubbed their noses together, his heart jolting when he felt Lucas’ hot palm press against his thigh. He dared to rest his hand in the small of Lucas’ back and was rewarded with a gasp, Lucas’ chest bumping against his own. Finally, the man opened his eyes to frown up at Cavan.
“You’re a relentless little shit.”
“I know.”
“Reckless git.”
“I know.”
To his surprise, a flicker of a smile twitched Lucas’ lips. “Come closer.”
Cavan obliged. He froze as soon as Lucas’ lips met his in a delicate, whisper-like kiss. It was such a tentative touch; he almost wasn’t sure it’d happened at all. Grey eyes met green, and both men felt a spark zip through them. Lucas kissed him against, a little surer of himself this time. There was no rush, no urgency, just lazily kissing and letting their hands stroke one another as they lie in bed.
When Lucas pulled away, Cavan bit his lip to stop himself from protesting. Lucas smiled tiredly up at him, his eyelids already drooping. Pressing a kiss to the hand that had found its way into his own, Cavan readjusted himself, turned the bedside lamp off, and tried his best to relax his mind enough to go to sleep. As soon as his eyelids shut, he replayed their first kiss in his mind until he succumbed to exhaustion.
Sunday PM
True to his word, Cavan was up, showered and dressed in record time, for him, the following morning. He’d been reluctant to leave at all but there was only so much wear in his party clothes. His phone had blown up that morning with texts and calls from his sister, Arthur and even a voicemail from his mum asking where he was, to let them know when he'd be back and that she hoped he had a good birthday. He'd made sure to text everyone to let them know that he was safe and would be home later.
He had been happy to see Lucas up, washed, dressed and drinking tea on the sofa. He’d only required a little bit of help from Cavan, and it seemed as though his fever was breaking. They hadn't spoken too much as Cavan washed himself, rinsed his mouth out with mouthwash and dried before changing for the last time into his clothes from his party.
He grimaced at the faint odour clinging to them.
He hoped Lucas would tolerate it.
They'd eaten the breakfast Cavan had insisted on making before he went to get his train. It was nothing spectacular, but Cavan had demolished his pancakes so fast that he'd ended up choking. Lucas had smirked and Cavan had to blink back a tear or two before he was able to finish. Lucas had tried to encourage him to have some fruit, but Cavan had stated that he only ever ate strawberries with his pancakes, but there hadn’t been any in the fridge.
Lucas narrowed his eyes but hadn't argued.
Eventually, it was time for Cavan to go. He didn’t have any bags with him, so as soon as his shoes were on there wasn’t much left to do. Shifting inside his coat, Cavan bit down on his bottom lip. Lucas stood beside him, stiff and stoic as usual, his black hair twitching into his eyes. Luckily, his glasses protected them. Cavan had the urge to take those glasses off so he could look into those grey eyes properly one last time. Maybe even kiss him one last time –
“You’re going to miss your train,” Lucas groused, adjusting the blanket around his shoulders.
Cavan grimaced. "Okay er … I’m glad you’re feeling better."
"I appreciate you coming all this way," Lucas said, his words sincere. "Now go. You don't want to miss it."
Cavan nodded. "I'll text you?"
"Sounds good."
Cavan suppressed a sigh. He turned and walked towards the door. 'Go back!' his brain screamed. 'Go back to him!'
Lucas tugged him around and pressed a sharp kiss to his mouth. It was over in a flash, but the imprint of his lips had a bruising effect, leaving Cavan reeling as the older man smirked and shoved him towards the door.
Cavan barely made it onto the train on time, hopping on just as the doors were sliding closed. He felt stupid and giddy as he found a seat and settled into it. His face split into a huge grin as his phone buzzed. Taking out he saw a new text from Lucas.
(15:28) You're adorable when you're taken by surprise.
(15:31) You're hot when you take charge.
(15:35) A VERY good thing you're not my student, then.
(15:37) Oh yes. VERY!
Before he'd even reached the next stop his phone buzzed again, only this time it was Sophie asking him to call her. With a sigh, he pressed the CALL button and waited for the dial tone to end.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Are you on your way home?"
"I might be."
"Great. Now give me the dirt."
Chapter 15
Thursday AM
It took about another week before Lucas was feeling like his usual self. He was almost positive that seeing Cavan over the weekend had been some strange, lucid dream, however the complete disarray of his bathroom and kitchen cabinets was proof enough that he’d been there.
Bonnie had been absolutely devastated that Cavan had been and gone without her having been told. She declared it was a betrayal of their friendship, although now Lucas was well enough to evict her out of his flat simply because he could. He called Rodrick on Wednesday afternoon and was told to come back the following Monday as they’d gotten a supply teacher in. Lucas didn’t mind, it meant he had a few days to restock his kitchen and tidy up the mess that Cavan had left behind.
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