ot4 - 98 (author's choice)
Title: karma repaid
'Verse/characters: ot4 (nash and daniel)
Prompt: 98 - author's choice - lucky
Word Count: 1673
Rating: g
Notes: kind of a sequel to karma points, and i'd like to say it's zero_pixel_coun's fault, because she said "you totally should" when i said i should write a sequel where daniel gets sick instead.
Daniel goes to bed one night with what he thinks is the beginning of a head cold, and wakes up the next morning with what he knows is a full-blown head cold with bonus cough. He makes some phone calls, canceling or postponing the few important things he had to do - including meeting Megan for lunch, sadly - doses himself with cold meds, and goes back to bed with a box of Kleenex and some cough drops.
He has transferred himself to the couch, blankly watched some TV, and is sucking down the last of a mug of Theraflu (which might be helping the congestion but isn't doing shit for the cough) when someone buzzes the apartment. He ignores it. Whoever it is buzzes again, and this time he hauls his ass off the couch to see who it is and why they're pestering him.
"Who are you and what do you want," he says into the intercom.
"It is your best friend bringing succor to the ill. You sound terrible."
Nash.
"Bringing what?" Daniel asks.
"Succor. Aid and comfort. I thought you were the linguist around here. Lillian told me you canceled your lunch date on account of the plague, so I thought I would come over and render aid."
"I'm contagious." What he really means is I'll breathe on you by accident and get you sick and I know how much you hate being sick, but the congestion in his brain has slowed his thought processes and made him feel kind of stupid and inarticulate, and "I'm contagious" will have to do.
"You came to my house when I was dying of the plague," Nash points out. "Are you going to let me repay my karmic debt or not? I come bearing drugs and liquid comfort."
Daniel is getting tired of leaning on the intercom button, and tired of standing up. He buzzes Nash in without another word, and then decides that while he's up he may as well take his empty cup into the kitchen. It occurs to him to get something else while he's there, but then he forgets what it is, and by this time Nash has made it to the apartment and let himself in.
Sometimes Daniel forgets that he gave Nash a key.
"You look terrible, too," Nash says, appearing in the kitchen and making a critical face. He reaches past Daniel to open the fridge and put what looks like a carton of orange juice inside, then takes Daniel's arm and leads him back to the living room. "Sit." Nash pats the arm of the couch. Daniel sits. He just now notices that Nash is wearing his laptop bag and carrying a reusable grocery bag from Whole Foods.
"You didn't bring one of those germ masks, did you?" He coughs.
"I did not." Nash starts pulling things out of the grocery bag and setting them on the coffee table. "But I do have Nyquil and Dayquil - your favorites - cough drops, Kleenex, sinus drugs, a box of peppermint tea - Lillian's idea - English muffins and marmalade - my idea - and orange juice, which is already in the fridge. What do you want first?"
"I don't want anything. I don't think I'm going to be very good company."
"That's ok, I'm company enough for both of us." Nash grins and plops his ass down on the couch next to Daniel. "And I brought my laptop in case you fall asleep on me. Do you want to lie down? I can move."
"No. My sinuses drain into my head and it kind of hurts. And I can't breathe."
"You can breathe now?" Nash grins brightly. Daniel turns his head and squints at him. "You sound like a congested linguist."
"Gee, I wonder why." He does indeed sound very nasal and stuffed-up. And his head feels like it's been packed with cotton balls. And he's tired. He appreciates Nash coming over, but at the same time, it's not as if they'll be able to hold much of a conversation.
Nash slings his arm around Daniel's shoulders, pulls him closer, and guides his head down until it's resting on his shoulder. "How's that?"
"Ok." It's actually not that uncomfortable. It doesn't hurt that Nash is a little taller than Daniel, so Daniel can lean against him without having to lean down.
"If you start snotting on my shirt I reserve the right to push you off."
"So noted." Daniel coughs again, wet and half-hearted, and follows it with a failed attempt to clear his nose. He can feel Nash rubbing his arm. He yawns. "You can talk to me if you want," he says stuffily, realizing that Nash will only be able to give him peace and quiet for maybe two minutes. "I can't guarantee answers, though."
"I know you only listen to me half the time anyway." Daniel can hear the teasing grin in Nash's voice. "And this time, if you fall asleep you have an excuse other than you just think I'm boring."
"I don't think you're boring."
Nash pats Daniel's cheek. "You're cute when you lie to me." But Daniel knows he's teasing.
They sit on the couch and watch TV and Nash tells Daniel about his research and his projects and the stupid things he read online that morning and his theories about local music trends and the cute salesman who fitted him for a pinstripe suit and more random things than Daniel can really follow. But his voice is soothing and he doesn't care if Daniel talks back or not.
Which is good, because Daniel is too tired and his brain is too stuffed-up to do more than occasionally make "I'm paying attention, keep going" noises.
And then he falls asleep anyway. Clearly leaning on Nash's shoulder is more comfortable than he would have thought. Either that or his body really, really does not want to be awake.
Nash wakes him up to say "I have to pee, I'll be right back," but now Daniel is awake, and he's kind of hungry, and Nash did bring him English muffins, which he thinks he can manage. He pushes himself off the couch and takes the English muffins and the marmalade into the kitchen. Maybe he should make himself some tea or something, maybe another dose of Theraflu, and he can take more cold and sinus meds now.
So he puts water in the kettle, turns the stove on, and manages to split an English muffin and stick it in the toaster.
"What are we making?" Nash asks, appearing behind him.
"Dinner, I guess. Or lunch, since I think I slept through it." Belatedly Daniel remembers his manners. "Do you want something to eat? Are you hungry?"
"Takeout would be excellent. Where are your menus?"
Daniel can't immediately remember where the takeout menus are, which is ok since Nash is now opening all the drawers to find out for himself and the English muffin is popping out of the toaster. Nash takes the English muffin away from him and spreads marmalade on it so Daniel doesn't have to. Well, he did open the silverware drawer and find the knives....
When Daniel's tea is done he takes that and his plate of English muffin back into the living room, and he sinks into the couch again and eats his dinner - lunch - snack - whatever, and listens to Nash ordering Chinese takeout, and he feels like shit but he also feels kind of lucky, because he wouldn't have expected Nash to be able to take care of him, and yet Nash is doing just that.
Maybe Daniel shouldn't be surprised. He knows Nash loves him, and he knows Nash was grateful when Daniel brought him soup and cold meds and kept him company when he thought he was dying of plague.
"Are you planning to stay all night?" Daniel asks later, after Nash's food has arrived and Daniel has discovered the order included an extra wonton soup just for him.
"I did in fact bring a clean pair of underwear."
"You'll have to sleep on the couch."
"I think I can manage. I'd sleep with you but, you know, germs." He makes what he clearly intends to be a scary monster type face, but Daniel just snickers. And that makes him cough. And Nash silently hands him the bottle of Dayquil.
Except for a couple of breaks to put Nash's leftovers in the fridge and brew more Theraflu, they stay on the couch watching TV and chatting - well, Nash chats, Daniel listens - until Daniel's roommate Ben comes home, and then Nash makes Daniel go to bed. He also follows Daniel into the bedroom to considerately make himself scarce until Ben has likewise gone to sleep and he can take over the couch. Daniel is impressed.
"I have manners," Nash says loftily. "I just never use them. Now go to sleep like a normal sick person."
"Yes, Mom."
"I do a good Mom impression, don't I."
"My mom wouldn't watch that much TV with me, but yeah, you're not bad."
"I do hope this getting sick thing doesn't become a habit with you, though."
"I'll try not to do it again."
"See that you don't." Nash leans over him and surprisingly kisses him on the forehead, then sits down on the floor. "I'll be down here if you need anything. But try not to need anything." Daniel rolls his eyes. "I heard that. Don't roll your eyes at me, McKenna."
"Ok, ok." Daniel reaches out to pat Nash on the head. "I'm sleeping, I'm sleeping."
It takes him a few minutes to find a comfortable position, and a few more minutes to adjust to the shift in sinus pressure, and a few more minutes after that to ignore the fact that the overhead light is still on - Nash must be reading a book rather than working on his laptop - but eventually, and without too much effort, he falls asleep.
'Verse/characters: ot4 (nash and daniel)
Prompt: 98 - author's choice - lucky
Word Count: 1673
Rating: g
Notes: kind of a sequel to karma points, and i'd like to say it's zero_pixel_coun's fault, because she said "you totally should" when i said i should write a sequel where daniel gets sick instead.
Daniel goes to bed one night with what he thinks is the beginning of a head cold, and wakes up the next morning with what he knows is a full-blown head cold with bonus cough. He makes some phone calls, canceling or postponing the few important things he had to do - including meeting Megan for lunch, sadly - doses himself with cold meds, and goes back to bed with a box of Kleenex and some cough drops.
He has transferred himself to the couch, blankly watched some TV, and is sucking down the last of a mug of Theraflu (which might be helping the congestion but isn't doing shit for the cough) when someone buzzes the apartment. He ignores it. Whoever it is buzzes again, and this time he hauls his ass off the couch to see who it is and why they're pestering him.
"Who are you and what do you want," he says into the intercom.
"It is your best friend bringing succor to the ill. You sound terrible."
Nash.
"Bringing what?" Daniel asks.
"Succor. Aid and comfort. I thought you were the linguist around here. Lillian told me you canceled your lunch date on account of the plague, so I thought I would come over and render aid."
"I'm contagious." What he really means is I'll breathe on you by accident and get you sick and I know how much you hate being sick, but the congestion in his brain has slowed his thought processes and made him feel kind of stupid and inarticulate, and "I'm contagious" will have to do.
"You came to my house when I was dying of the plague," Nash points out. "Are you going to let me repay my karmic debt or not? I come bearing drugs and liquid comfort."
Daniel is getting tired of leaning on the intercom button, and tired of standing up. He buzzes Nash in without another word, and then decides that while he's up he may as well take his empty cup into the kitchen. It occurs to him to get something else while he's there, but then he forgets what it is, and by this time Nash has made it to the apartment and let himself in.
Sometimes Daniel forgets that he gave Nash a key.
"You look terrible, too," Nash says, appearing in the kitchen and making a critical face. He reaches past Daniel to open the fridge and put what looks like a carton of orange juice inside, then takes Daniel's arm and leads him back to the living room. "Sit." Nash pats the arm of the couch. Daniel sits. He just now notices that Nash is wearing his laptop bag and carrying a reusable grocery bag from Whole Foods.
"You didn't bring one of those germ masks, did you?" He coughs.
"I did not." Nash starts pulling things out of the grocery bag and setting them on the coffee table. "But I do have Nyquil and Dayquil - your favorites - cough drops, Kleenex, sinus drugs, a box of peppermint tea - Lillian's idea - English muffins and marmalade - my idea - and orange juice, which is already in the fridge. What do you want first?"
"I don't want anything. I don't think I'm going to be very good company."
"That's ok, I'm company enough for both of us." Nash grins and plops his ass down on the couch next to Daniel. "And I brought my laptop in case you fall asleep on me. Do you want to lie down? I can move."
"No. My sinuses drain into my head and it kind of hurts. And I can't breathe."
"You can breathe now?" Nash grins brightly. Daniel turns his head and squints at him. "You sound like a congested linguist."
"Gee, I wonder why." He does indeed sound very nasal and stuffed-up. And his head feels like it's been packed with cotton balls. And he's tired. He appreciates Nash coming over, but at the same time, it's not as if they'll be able to hold much of a conversation.
Nash slings his arm around Daniel's shoulders, pulls him closer, and guides his head down until it's resting on his shoulder. "How's that?"
"Ok." It's actually not that uncomfortable. It doesn't hurt that Nash is a little taller than Daniel, so Daniel can lean against him without having to lean down.
"If you start snotting on my shirt I reserve the right to push you off."
"So noted." Daniel coughs again, wet and half-hearted, and follows it with a failed attempt to clear his nose. He can feel Nash rubbing his arm. He yawns. "You can talk to me if you want," he says stuffily, realizing that Nash will only be able to give him peace and quiet for maybe two minutes. "I can't guarantee answers, though."
"I know you only listen to me half the time anyway." Daniel can hear the teasing grin in Nash's voice. "And this time, if you fall asleep you have an excuse other than you just think I'm boring."
"I don't think you're boring."
Nash pats Daniel's cheek. "You're cute when you lie to me." But Daniel knows he's teasing.
They sit on the couch and watch TV and Nash tells Daniel about his research and his projects and the stupid things he read online that morning and his theories about local music trends and the cute salesman who fitted him for a pinstripe suit and more random things than Daniel can really follow. But his voice is soothing and he doesn't care if Daniel talks back or not.
Which is good, because Daniel is too tired and his brain is too stuffed-up to do more than occasionally make "I'm paying attention, keep going" noises.
And then he falls asleep anyway. Clearly leaning on Nash's shoulder is more comfortable than he would have thought. Either that or his body really, really does not want to be awake.
Nash wakes him up to say "I have to pee, I'll be right back," but now Daniel is awake, and he's kind of hungry, and Nash did bring him English muffins, which he thinks he can manage. He pushes himself off the couch and takes the English muffins and the marmalade into the kitchen. Maybe he should make himself some tea or something, maybe another dose of Theraflu, and he can take more cold and sinus meds now.
So he puts water in the kettle, turns the stove on, and manages to split an English muffin and stick it in the toaster.
"What are we making?" Nash asks, appearing behind him.
"Dinner, I guess. Or lunch, since I think I slept through it." Belatedly Daniel remembers his manners. "Do you want something to eat? Are you hungry?"
"Takeout would be excellent. Where are your menus?"
Daniel can't immediately remember where the takeout menus are, which is ok since Nash is now opening all the drawers to find out for himself and the English muffin is popping out of the toaster. Nash takes the English muffin away from him and spreads marmalade on it so Daniel doesn't have to. Well, he did open the silverware drawer and find the knives....
When Daniel's tea is done he takes that and his plate of English muffin back into the living room, and he sinks into the couch again and eats his dinner - lunch - snack - whatever, and listens to Nash ordering Chinese takeout, and he feels like shit but he also feels kind of lucky, because he wouldn't have expected Nash to be able to take care of him, and yet Nash is doing just that.
Maybe Daniel shouldn't be surprised. He knows Nash loves him, and he knows Nash was grateful when Daniel brought him soup and cold meds and kept him company when he thought he was dying of plague.
"Are you planning to stay all night?" Daniel asks later, after Nash's food has arrived and Daniel has discovered the order included an extra wonton soup just for him.
"I did in fact bring a clean pair of underwear."
"You'll have to sleep on the couch."
"I think I can manage. I'd sleep with you but, you know, germs." He makes what he clearly intends to be a scary monster type face, but Daniel just snickers. And that makes him cough. And Nash silently hands him the bottle of Dayquil.
Except for a couple of breaks to put Nash's leftovers in the fridge and brew more Theraflu, they stay on the couch watching TV and chatting - well, Nash chats, Daniel listens - until Daniel's roommate Ben comes home, and then Nash makes Daniel go to bed. He also follows Daniel into the bedroom to considerately make himself scarce until Ben has likewise gone to sleep and he can take over the couch. Daniel is impressed.
"I have manners," Nash says loftily. "I just never use them. Now go to sleep like a normal sick person."
"Yes, Mom."
"I do a good Mom impression, don't I."
"My mom wouldn't watch that much TV with me, but yeah, you're not bad."
"I do hope this getting sick thing doesn't become a habit with you, though."
"I'll try not to do it again."
"See that you don't." Nash leans over him and surprisingly kisses him on the forehead, then sits down on the floor. "I'll be down here if you need anything. But try not to need anything." Daniel rolls his eyes. "I heard that. Don't roll your eyes at me, McKenna."
"Ok, ok." Daniel reaches out to pat Nash on the head. "I'm sleeping, I'm sleeping."
It takes him a few minutes to find a comfortable position, and a few more minutes to adjust to the shift in sinus pressure, and a few more minutes after that to ignore the fact that the overhead light is still on - Nash must be reading a book rather than working on his laptop - but eventually, and without too much effort, he falls asleep.