Chapter Text
Waking up in the middle of the night feeling cold sweat trickle down his back is not his idea of fun.
They’re supposed to get a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow they’re flying to Paris for another concert, but Paul’s feeling miserable and nauseous all of a sudden. Maybe it’s something he ate earlier.
He tries to postpone the inevitable but he can’t get his stomach to settle down and at the end he has to run to the hotel room’s bathroom. He thinks he should feel a little better afterwards, but he doesn’t. He’s shivering and his teeth are clattering when he climbs back under the covers.
“You okay?” Art sounds very sleepy still.
“Not really,” Paul whispers. Before he closes his eyes and lets his head fall back into the pillow, he makes out the shape of Art pulling back the sheets on his bed and climbing out of it in the dark. The next thing he feels is a cool hand on his forehead.
“You don’t have a fever, I think,” Art states. “But you’re sweating.”
“Cold sweat. It’s my stomach,” Paul rasps. His throat hurts and even though he brushed his teeth, the bad taste still remains.
Art goes to the bathroom and comes back with a wet and cool washcloth that he puts on Paul’s forehead. “Here,” he says, “this should feel a little better.”
It does.
“Thanks,” Paul says.
Art sits down on the edge of Paul’s bed.
“No problem.”
They’re silent after that. Paul tries to fall asleep again but he still feels sick and dizzy and he can’t stop shaking. He has to run to the toilet a few more times. But each time he comes back Art’s there to take care of him. After the second bathroom visit Art gets under the covers with him even though the bed is actually too small for the both of them. He throws his arm around Paul’s shoulders, and Paul can’t help but snuggle up to Art to get warm.
Eventually he falls asleep, wrapped around Art’s waist.
They get woken by the alarm clock.
“You okay?” Art mumbles sleepily while he softly runs his finger over Paul’s arm.
Paul’s still not feeling 100% but he’s getting there. He smiles weakly. “Yeah, I am now.”