Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mikey wakes up two days before the next Devils game feeling like he’s coming down with something. 

There’s a tickly feeling in his throat, his nose is a bit stuffy, and his head has a dull ache. He takes a sip of water from the bottle on his bedside table, but the feeling in his throat doesn’t go away. Mikey sighs. He really must be coming down with something. Hopefully it’s just a mild cold, because he can’t miss any more games this year when the team is so close to the end of the season and relaxation. 

He rolls over in bed and curls up against Nate, shoving his nose into the area between Nate’s neck and collarbone. The skin is warm there, and it feels good against his own cool skin. 

Nate yawns and wraps his arms around Mikey. “Morning, baby.” 

“Morn--” Mikey clears his throat. “Morning.” 

Nate presses a kiss to Mikey’s left temple. “What do you want to do today?” He smiles against Mikey’s skin. 

“Can we just stay in bed all day?” Mikey knows he probably sounds like a petulant child saying that, but he doesn’t want to get out of bed and face reality. 

“Sure, whatever you want.” Nate rubs his hand up and down Mikey’s back. 

“Mmm, thanks.” Mikey presses a kiss to Nate’s neck. 

“You still tired?” 

“A bit.” Mikey yawns. 

“Then go back to sleep,” Nate says. 

“But then I would miss cuddling you.” Mikey pulls back a bit to look at Nate’s face. 

“Oh, you’re sweet.” Nate laughs. 

Mikey smiles before scrunching up his nose. There’s an itch there, and he rubs the appendage against the back of his hand. 

“Itchy?” Nate asks, smiling softly. 

“Mm,” Mikey drops his hand with a sigh. 

“Maybe if you leave it alone it will go away.” 

Mikey nods. He waits a few seconds, but the itch only gets worse. 

“Any better?” 

Just as Mikey opens his mouth to respond, he has to turn away to sneeze into his elbow. It scrapes his already tender throat and makes him groan in response. He clears his throat, “sorry.” 

“Bless you, baby. That sounded like it hurt.” Nate’s eyebrows pinch together in concern. 

“It did,” he doesn’t want to admit that something’s wrong, but he figures that little comment can’t hurt. 

“Poor baby.” Nate rubs Mikey’s back again. 

Mikey resumes his position, shoving his face in Nate’s neck. He sniffles and sighs. “Maybe I will go back to sleep.” 

“Go ahead, Mikey. I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

Mikey nods and snuggles into Nate before yawning again. “Okay.” He closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep within minutes. 

—

When he wakes up, he feels even worse. He’s absolutely certain that he has a cold. His nose is beginning to get stuffed up and his throat feels like knives are running down it. 

“How was your nap?” Nate asks him, brushing his fingers through Mikey’s hair. 

Mikey coughs lightly into his fist. “Good.” 

“Hmm,” Nate hums, looking at his boyfriend. 

“What?” Mikey looks up at him. 

“You sound like you’re getting a cold.” 

“Me? No,” Mikey says. He can’t admit that he’s getting sick, because then he’ll be taken out of the lineup when the Devils play again in two days. 

“You’re stuffy, baby. And your cough doesn’t sound the greatest.” Nate details. He continues rubbing Mikey’s scalp with his fingertips. 

“It’s just a fluke. I’m fine.” 

“Are you sure? It’s okay if you’re not. You know I’ll take care of you,” Nate says. 

“Nate, I said I’m fine.” Mikey mumbles. 

“Something’s being passed around in the locker room, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you caught it.” 

“Nate,” Mikey snaps. 

Nate sighs. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t assume.” 

Mikey sniffles, rubbing his nose gently against Nate’s skin. “It’s just allergies.” 

Nate doesn’t say anything in response. He just continues massaging Mikey’s scalp. 

“Right, baby?” 

Nate nods. “Yeah, I’m sure. Mine have been bothering me a bit, too,” he says softly. 

“See? Nothing to worry about.” Mikey sighs contentedly and wraps himself completely around Nate. 

“Can you get any closer to me?” Nate laughs. 

“I can try,” Mikey says. 

“I didn’t mean literally.” 

“Well, how was I supposed to know?” 

“I thought it was common sense, but maybe I should’ve second guessed saying that to you.” Nate shakes his head. “My little idiot.”

“Hey!” Mikey frowns against Nate’s neck. 

“You’re lucky I love you,” Nate says and presses a kiss to the top of Mikey’s head. 

--

Later that day, Mikey takes another nap while lying on top of Nate and taking in all of his body heat. When he wakes up, he peppers kisses all over Nate and tries to act like nothing happened before, even though his throat is killing him and he really needs to blow his nose. He sniffles as quietly as possible before crawling off the other man and heading to the bathroom without a word. Mikey knows that his voice will be horribly congested if he speaks right now, so he decides confusing Nate is better than giving himself away when Nate’s already onto him. 

He pulls a few tissues out of the box on the counter and blows his nose quietly before throwing them out and washing his hands. Mikey sniffs once and decides he’s not as congested as before, so he can get away with hiding this from Nate. 

“You okay, baby?” Nate asks, sitting up in bed with his back against the headboard. 

Mikey swipes at his nose. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

Nate nods, opening his arms. “Come here.” 

Mikey crawls into Nate’s lap and rests his head on Nate’s shoulder. He can’t help but sniffle a few more times, and he nearly cringes when he feels Nate turn to look at him. “Sorry,” he whispers. 

“Your allergies are that bad, hm?” Nate grabs Mikey’s hand and threads their fingers together. 

“I guess so,” Mikey says, closing his eyes and sighing at the idea that Nate’s believing his lie. 

Nate frowns slightly. 

“What?” 

“I don’t like seeing you suffer.” 

“I’ll be fine in a little bit,” Mikey says. “Besides, I’m better when I’m with you.” 

“Aww, that’s sweet, baby.” Nate smiles softly. 

Mikey smiles before yawning loudly. “Can we go to bed?”

Nate chuckles. “Sure.” He holds Mikey tight to his body before sliding down into a lying position with Mikey on top of him. “You’ve been really tired today.”

Mikey nods. “I guess I’m just taking advantage of being off today.” 

Nate makes a humming noise, but doesn’t say anything else. He holds Mikey close to him and closes his eyes. 

They both fall asleep within minutes of each other.

Chapter Text

When Mikey wakes up the next morning, he almost immediately has to muffle a fit of sneezes into his pillow. They scrape his throat and send a searing pain all the way down into his chest. He resists the urge to moan in pain, just hoping that Nate won’t notice.

“Mm, bless you,” Nate mumbles, voice thick with sleep. 

Mikey sniffles thickly. “Thanks.” 

Nate yawns. “How do you feel today?” He rubs his hand up and down Mikey’s back. 

He feels worse, but he doesn’t want to say anything. “I feel fine.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Mikey knows he doesn’t sound all too convincing with his congested voice, but like he said yesterday, it’s just allergies. As long as Nate thinks that, he’s fine. 

Nate nods and pushes himself up into a sitting position. He runs a hand through his messy hair before yawning again. “Do you want me to make breakfast?” 

“Can you?” Mikey asks quietly. He really doesn’t feel up to it today. 

“Of course, baby.” Nate smiles. “What do you want? Something easy on your throat?” 

Something easy on his what ? He mentally sighs. He just needs to get through the next few days without bringing that much attention to himself. 

“I guess,” 

“Oatmeal or eggs?” 

“Eggs,” Mikey says. He sits up and rests his back against the headboard. 

“Sure thing.” Nate presses a kiss to Mikey’s forehead before pushing himself off the bed and leaving the room. 

Mikey takes this chance alone to pull a few tissues from the box on the nightstand and blow his nose. Then he coughs a few times into his fist and sighs. This isn’t going so well. He needs to try to take something to get over this before he has to go to practice and play tomorrow. 

Ugh. 

Nate returns about ten minutes later with a plate of eggs and fruit and a glass of orange juice. He places everything on the nightstand before handing Mikey the glass first. Mikey takes it and eagerly drinks the orange juice, nearly moaning at the coldness against his warm throat. He sets the glass back down before looking up at Nate. 

“Thanks, baby.” 

Nate leans down to kiss Mikey softly. “Of course.”

Mikey smiles and grabs the plate of food with his fork on it, beginning to shovel eggs into his mouth. 

Nate laughs. “I guess you’re hungry.” 

Mikey nods. It feels so good to eat and not have the food hurt his throat. Nate knows exactly what he needs, as always. 

Nate sits on the bed next to him and places a hand on his back. “Do you want to take a bath after you’re done eating? The steam might help some of your congestion.” 

“Can you join me?” 

“Mm-hmm,” Nate hums. 

Mikey muffles a cough into his shoulder before continuing to eat. When he’s finished, he sets the plate down on the nightstand and looks at Nate expectantly. 

Nate presses a kiss to Mikey’s temple before getting up and heading into the bathroom to turn on the bath water. Once the water’s sufficiently warm, he calls out Mikey’s name, beckoning him to come get in the bathtub. 

Mikey stands and begins stripping down, shivering at the cool air against his naked skin. He sniffles and rubs his nose before heading into the bathroom. 

Nate looks at him for a moment. “You’re so beautiful, baby. I’m the luckiest man in the world.” 

Mikey blushes and rolls his eyes. “You flatter me.” 

Nate crowds in close to him and leans down to kiss Mikey’s neck before nipping at his earlobe. His left hand snakes down Mikey’s side and ends up on Mikey’s ass, grabbing one of his cheeks and squeezing it. “Mmm.” 

“Babe--” Mikey laughs before turning away to cough harshly into his elbow. 

“Hey, shh, it’s okay.” Nate pulls away and watches as his boyfriend recovers from the short fit. “That really doesn’t sound good. Are you sure you’re not sick?” 

Mikey nods. “I’m sure. Just some bad allergies.” 

Nate frowns. 

“I’m okay, baby,” Mikey says. “Now get out of these clothes so you can sit behind me in the tub.” 

“Alright,” Nate begins stripping down and dropping his clothes on the floor. 

Mikey smiles. “You’re not so bad yourself.” 

“Get in the tub, you degenerate.” 

“You need to get in before me,” Mikey says, “with your big body.” 

“You’re still trying to flirt with me?” Nate asks, settling himself in the tub. He pats the spot in front of him for Mikey to sit down. 

Mikey settles down in front of Nate and leans back, resting his head on Nate’s shoulder. He sniffles thickly and sighs. 

Nate rubs Mikey’s arm. “The steam should work in a few minutes.” 

Mikey nods. He closes his eyes and relaxes for a few minutes until he feels the steam beginning to infiltrate his sinuses. Before he can even react, his whole body’s shaking with the effort of a fit of sneezes. 

“God, baby. Bless you.” 

Mikey groans and coughs several times. “This was a bad idea.”

“It’s clearing you out?” Nate offers. 

“Ugh, I’m so gross.” 

“You could never be gross to me, baby.” Nate kisses the side of Mikey’s head. 

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Chapter Text

Mikey sighs and rests his head against Nate’s shoulder. “I might fall asleep in here.” 

Nate wraps his arms around Mikey’s waist. “It’s okay. I’ll keep you upright.” 

“You wouldn’t let me drown?” Mikey laughs softly. 

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you drown?” 

“Not a very good one.” Mikey laughs again. 

Nate kisses the side of Mikey’s head. “Well, I hope I’m a good one.” 

“You are,” Mikey says. He closes his eyes and relaxes his entire body against Nate. 

They remain there for another ten minutes or so until the water begins to turn cold. Then they get out and Nate wraps a towel around Mikey as he shivers and yawns. 

“Can we take a nap?” Mikey asks, putting his clothes back on. 

Nate nods. “Whatever you want, baby.” 

“It’s gonna be rough going to practice and playing again tomorrow.” 

“That’s why we’re using all the time we have now to do what we want,” Nate says. He grabs Mikey’s hand and drags him back to their bedroom. “Go lie down.” 

Mikey nods and flops down on the bed face first. 

Nate laughs. “I didn’t mean like that.” He sits down next to Mikey and places his hand on the other man’s back. 

“I think I’m gonna stay like this.” Mikey’s voice is muffled. 

“Roll over, baby. You won’t be able to breathe like that.” 

Mikey coughs harshly into the blankets. 

“See?” Mikey pats his back. “Roll over.”

He sighs softly and rolls over, facing Nate. A small smile tilts the corners of his lips upward. 

“Look at that beautiful smile.” 

Mikey blushes. He looks down at the blankets and fiddles with them for a moment. 

“Even sick you’re adorable.” Nate presses a kiss to Mikey’s cheek. 

“Nate… I’m not sick, remember?” 

“Sorry, baby. You just seem so miserable.” 

“I’m okay,” Mikey says, rubbing his nose. “Just some bad allergies.” 

Nate nods. “Okay, Mikey.” 

Mikey sighs and closes his eyes. “I’m going back to sleep.” 

“You’ve been really tired, baby. Are you sure there’s nothing more wrong?” 

“I would tell you if there were.” Mikey nearly snaps. 

“Okay, okay. Just go to sleep, babe.” 

“I’m trying to but you keep talking.” Mikey grumbles. 

“Sorry,” 

—

Mikey wakes up much later in the day, soaked in sweat and shivering like he’s just been outside in the middle of winter for an hour. He wraps his arms around himself and tries to gain back some warmth, but he can’t seem to. He looks over to find Nate fast asleep and snoring softly. Nate looks so peaceful that Mikey doesn’t want to wake him up but he has to. 

He calls out his name softly. “Nate,” 

The other man doesn’t stir. 

“Nate,” he calls again. 

Still, nothing. 

Mikey stifles a sob and rolls over, trying to conserve as much body heat as possible. He tries to go back to sleep, and he apparently does at some point because when he wakes up next it’s to Nate’s alarm for practice. 

He groans. He’s not ready to go to practice or play tonight. Mikey doesn’t even think his fever broke because he’s still sweating and freezing his ass off at the same time. 

The alarm stops blaring in his ears when Nate turns it off and rolls over to look at him. “Woah, baby. You’re soaking wet.” 

“I-I’m fine, I just--” Mikey has to quickly cover his mouth to cough for several seconds. 

Nate pats his back gently. “That sounds like it’s moving into your chest.” 

“I swear, I’m fine,” Mikey says. 

“I really don’t think you’re telling me the truth, baby.” 

“Nate,” Mikey snaps through chattering teeth, “I’m fine. Leave me the fuck alone.” He pushes himself off the bed and stomps out of the room. 

Nate sighs. 

--

When it’s time for practice, Mikey throws a shirt on and heads out to the car without changing out of his sweats. Nate’s already sitting in the driver’s seat waiting for him and tapping on the steering wheel. 

“Ready?” He asks as Mikey shoves his bag in the back seat and sits up front with him. 

“Mmm,” Mikey hums and doesn’t say anything else. 

The ride to the practice rink is silent except for Mikey’s occasional sniffling and coughing into his fist. When they arrive, Mikey hops out and grabs his bag before stalking into the building.

Nate sighs and shakes his head. 

The locker room goes silent when Mikey walks in. He goes to his stall and sits down for a moment before stripping out of his clothes. 

Everyone’s eyeing him like they don’t know what to do. Thankfully, the tension’s broken a bit when Nate walks in and heads to his own stall. He’s beginning to strip out of his clothes when he hears a muffled sneeze come from Mikey’s side of the room. He knows it’s Mikey, but he doesn’t want to upset him anymore, so he doesn’t say anything although he wants to. He finally decides to mumble out a “bless you” when the sound is repeated twice more. 

Mikey doesn’t say anything. He just sniffles and rubs his nose before continuing to dress in his equipment. Once he’s finished, he heads out to the ice silently and everyone turns to look at Nate. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Nico asks. 

“He’s sick and acting like a baby because I told him that he’s sick.” 

“Does he think he’s hiding it?” Nico furrows his eyebrows. 

“Apparently so.” Nate sighs. 

PK snorts from the corner of the room. “He looks sicker than a dog.” 

“Yeah, he looks really bad,” Dawson says. 

Nate nods. “I’m trying to get him to realize that. But he won’t talk to me, so I guess I’m talking to a brick wall for the rest of practice and maybe even the whole day.” 

“Do you want me to talk to him?” Nico asks. 

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll get him to talk eventually.” Nate finishes dressing himself and walks over to pat Nico on the back. “Thanks, though.” 

Nico nods. 

Nate shakes his head again as he leaves the locker room. It’s going to be a long day.

Chapter Text

After an entire day of Mikey ignoring Nate, it’s time for the Devils game and Mikey looks more exhausted than ever. He feels more exhausted than he ever has before, too. 

Nate calls his name to get in the car and Mikey comes stumbling out holding his equipment bag. “Let me take that from you.”

“I’m fine,” Mikey snaps and shoves it in the backseat. 

Nate sighs. 

Once they’re situated in the front, Nate drives them to the Prudential Center and Mikey hops out when Nate turns the car off. He stumbles a bit but catches himself before he hits the ground. 

“Mikey,” Nate warns. He walks around to Mikey’s side of the car and puts his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. 

“I said I’m fine,” Mikey spits out.

“Don’t talk to me like that, Mikey.” 

Mikey doesn’t say anything in return. He just grabs his bag and starts off toward the arena. 

Nate curses and grabs his own bag. He locks the car and runs off after Mikey. 

--

Mikey’s first shift comes a few minutes into the game. He skates off to center ice to take the faceoff and loses, notably slower than the other player. He makes it his entire shift out on the ice--a whole minute, but when he comes back to the bench, he’s hunched over and coughing so harshly down at the floor that it sounds like he’s going to cough up a lung. 

Nate taps the person in between the two of them and asks to move next to Mikey. Once he’s sitting there, he removes his glove and spreads his hand against Mikey’s back, patting to help him stop coughing. He’s loud, though, and Nate notices the rest of the bench looking over to see what’s going on. 

“Hey, hey… shh,” Nate says. “You’re okay. You’ll get through it.” 

Mikey doesn’t even acknowledge him, but after several seconds he stops coughing and nearly wheezes with his next breath. 

“You should really sit out the rest of the game, baby.” 

Mikey says nothing. 

“Mikey,” 

Mikey looks at him and shakes his head. 

Nate exhales a sharp breath. Mikey’s really getting on his nerves. 

“Do not go back out there.” 

What does Mikey do? He ignores him. Again. 

He wishes he could go on the ice without Mikey and blow off some steam before he yells at the other man out of concern and love. God, his boyfriend is so stupid. He just cares for him, can’t Mikey see that? Ugh. 

By the time their next shift comes around, Mikey’s hopping over the boards and acting like nothing was wrong in the first place. But when he comes back, the same thing happens. He can’t get a breath into his lungs. Nate has to do the same thing all over again, except he’s already sitting next to Mikey when it happens. 

Thankfully, that’s their last shift before first intermission. 

When they eventually do get in the locker room, Mikey makes a beeline for the bathroom as Nate sits in his stall. He rests his head back and looks at the rest of his teammates. 

Just as Nico opens his mouth, there’s loud coughing from the bathroom. 

Nate cringes slightly.

“He’s really fucking sick,” Nico says, wincing. 

“I’m trying to get him to sit out the rest of the game, but he doesn’t want to.” Nate can’t make Mikey do something he doesn’t want to do. He could always go to one of the trainers behind Mikey’s back, but that would only make Mikey even angrier with him. 

He guesses he’ll just have to pray their coach doesn’t put them out much during the rest of the game. 

--

By the time the third period rolls around, Mikey looks absolutely exhausted with his head between his knees, coughing harshly and sounding even sicker than before. Something’s seriously wrong with him, and he desperately needs to see a doctor before this turns into something worse. 

When their coach calls them for their last shift, Mikey can barely even make it off the bench. He’s nearly crawling his way to the middle of the ice for the faceoff. Nate watches him anxiously the entire time they’re out on the ice, hoping to god that he doesn’t get hit by someone. But clearly even the other team can tell something’s wrong and they leave him alone. 

They make it back to the bench with four minutes left, and Mikey rests his head on the edge of the boards. He looks so exhausted he can barely keep his head up. Nate wants nothing more than to pick Mikey up bridal style and carry him to their car. He has to wait at least twenty more minutes to do that, though. 

The buzzer goes off to indicate the end of the game, but before Nate can follow Mikey to the locker room, Nate gets tapped and told he’s third star, so he has to stay out. He watches Mikey leave the ice slowly before he waits for his name to be called. 

Once he’s going back into the locker room, Mikey’s coming back from the bathroom. He stumbles, though, and stops himself just in time before holding his head in his hands and leaning against the wall. 

“Baby?” Nate immediately rushes over to Mikey. He places his hand on Mikey’s back. “Are you okay? Are you dizzy?” 

“Dizzy,” Mikey mumbles.

“Okay, let’s get you back to your stall.” Nate grabs Mikey’s hand and leads him back to his stall. Then he crouches down and begins removing Mikey’s equipment. The faster he can get Mikey out of here the better. 

He gets Mikey dressed and crosses the room to change his own clothes before heading back to his boyfriend and grabbing his hand again. He leads him out of the locker room and the arena itself before picking him up bridal style and carrying him the rest of the way to the car. 

Mikey leans his head against the window once he’s situated and almost immediately falls asleep. Nate gets in the driver’s seat and sighs before driving them home.

Chapter Text

When they reach their apartment, Nate turns off the car and hops out before walking around to Mikey’s side. He opens the door and immediately grabs Mikey, pulling him into his arms in a bridal carry. Closing the door with his hip, he locks the car and carries Mikey up the stairs to their apartment. 

He places Mikey on their bed and removes his shoes, giving him a gentle pat on the leg. “Sleep well, baby,” he whispers. Then Nate changes out of his suit and shoes and lies next to Mikey on the bed, wrapping his arms around the other man. 

Sleep takes him in minutes.

--

Nate’s woken up several hours later to the sound of sobs intermixed with chesty coughing. He looks over at Mikey to find the man dripping with sweat, tears streaming down his face, and his fist almost permanently attached to his lips to cover his non-stopping coughing fit. The sight makes his heart clench in his chest and he immediately asks Mikey what’s wrong. 

He doesn’t respond at first--probably unable to hear him over all the noise. 

Nate calls Mikey’s name again and places his hand on Mikey’s shoulder. 

Mikey startles and looks over at Nate through teary eyes. He immediately reaches out and latches onto his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around Nate and shoving his face in Nate’s neck. His nose is streaming along with his eyes and he wipes it unconsciously against the hem of Nate’s shirt. 

“Baby? Are you okay?”

Mikey just sobs even louder in response. 

Nate rubs his hand up and down Mikey’s back. “Shh…”

Just as Mikey takes a deep breath in, the coughing returns and his whole body shakes with it. Nate tries to hold onto him the best he can, but it’s hard with his body shaking like a leaf. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Mikey gets out between coughs. 

“For what? Coughing? That’s not your fault, baby.” 

“No, for… my behavior.” Nate can barely understand him, but he hears enough to know what’s going on. 

“No, no… it’s okay.” 

Mikey shakes his head. 

“Shh,” Nate says. “You need to calm down.”

“I-I can’t.” 

“Take a deep breath in and let it out.” Nate instructs.

Mikey tries doing what Nate said, but he only ends up coughing more. 

“We need to get you to a doctor. Something’s really wrong.” 

Mikey chokes out another sob. “I feel like shit.” 

“I know, baby. I’ll bring you somewhere in the morning.” 

Mikey nods and curls even closer to Nate. 

“Just try to calm down and go back to sleep, okay?”

“Mmm,” 

It takes another twenty minutes for Mikey to calm down, but he finally does and falls asleep with his face in Nate’s neck and entire body on top of Nate. 

--

Mikey wakes up around ten the next morning and almost immediately has a coughing fit that rivals the one from the middle of the night. It’s completely in his chest and sounds like he’s smoked for thirty years, when in fact he’s never even had a hit of a vape. 

Nate cringes and rushes into the bedroom from the kitchen to rub his back soothingly. 

It takes a few minutes, but he finally calms down. 

“Baby, you can’t go to practice today,” Nate says. “I shouldn’t either. We need to bring you to a doctor.” He adds. 

“I can go,” Mikey whispers, losing his voice. 

“You are absolutely not .” Nate isn’t taking no for an answer. 

“But--” 

“You can’t go five minutes without coughing. It’s all in your chest and there’s something really wrong.” 

“It’s just a cold.” 

“It’s beyond a cold, Mikey.” Nate shakes his head. 

“Just go to practice. I’ll be fine home alone.” Mikey rubs his nose. 

“Are you sure?” Nate asks.

“Yes,” 

Nate sighs. “Okay.” He presses a kiss to Mikey’s forehead. “If you need anything, call me.” 

“I will,” Mikey says. 

—

After practice, Nate comes home to find Mikey still in bed, asleep, and curled up in a ball. He leans down to kiss his cheek and finds that Mikey’s burning hot, even more so than a few nights ago. 

He shakes Mikey’s arm to try to wake him up, and Mikey stirs while mumbling something unintelligible. 

“Mikey?”

“Mmm,” Mikey hums. He opens his eyes and they’re glassy with his fever. Almost immediately though, he closes them again and grabs his head. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Dizzy…” Mikey says. 

“You’re dizzy? Come on, sit up for me.” He helps Mikey sit up against the headboard. 

“Still dizzy,” 

“I know, I know.” 

Mikey leans down and places his head between his knees. He inhales a sharp, almost wheezy breath and coughs harshly into the open air. 

“Shh,” 

After a few minutes he stops coughing and looks up at Nate with watery eyes. “I-I… I can’t breathe.” He inhales a wheezy breath. 

“What?” All of the air leaves Nate’s lungs. 

“I-I can’t breathe, Nate,” he says, panicked. He inhales another wheezy breath. 

Nate grabs his phone out of his pocket and immediately starts dialing 9-1-1. When the operator answers, he begins explaining their situation, address, and asks when they’ll be there. The operator promises the paramedics will be there within five minutes and to keep Mikey talking. 

He feels like he’s going to lose his mind. Mikey is actively unable to breathe in front of him and he can’t do anything about it. 

And Mikey keeps coughing. The sound makes Nate want to cry. How did he let Mikey get this bad? How come he didn’t bring him to a doctor earlier? It’s all his fault. 

“Stay with me, Mikey.” Nate sits next to Mikey on the bed and rubs his back. 

He tries to stay calm, and within five minutes the paramedics arrive and knock on the door. Nate leaves Mikey to answer the door and let them in. They bring the stretcher in and get Mikey onto it and in the rig while asking hundreds of questions. Nate tries to answer all of them the best he can, but his brain isn’t working properly. 

When he’s sitting next to Mikey in the rig, he watches as tears stream down Mikey’s face. Nate grabs his hand and laces their fingers together. “Shh, everything will be fine, baby.” He doesn’t know if he believes it, but he has to keep everything positive for Mikey. 

He’ll do anything for Mikey. 

Chapter Text

When they get to the hospital, Mikey’s wheeled into the emergency room and situated in one of the rooms. They get him onto the bed and Nate sits in one of the chairs next to it, watching as nurses come into the room to figure out the situation. Nate explains that Mikey’s been sick for a few days, has a cough that’s in his chest, and has been experiencing dizziness and a high fever. The nurse says they’ll have to do an x-ray of Mikey’s chest, but it sounds like he has some kind of chest infection. Then they’re left alone until someone comes to bring Mikey to x-ray. 

Nate takes the time to reach out to the rest of their teammates via the grouchat and lets them know what’s going on. He doesn’t say much, just that Mikey’s in the emergency room and that they’re going to figure out what’s wrong. 

Responses almost immediately begin pouring in, asking if Mikey’s okay and if it’s related to him being sick. Nate sighs and sits back before responding that yes, he’s okay for right now and yes, it’s related to him being sick. 

Nico says he’ll be there in a little bit, and some of the others agree. A small smile crosses over Nate’s lips. He’s glad that their teammates care enough about Mikey that they’ll be there when something goes wrong. 

Nate puts his phone away and looks over at Mikey. He’s finally asleep and looks so peaceful with his lips parted and face relaxed. Nate wants to kiss his forehead, but he’s afraid he’ll wake Mikey up so he just sits in his seat instead. 

Hopefully a nurse will bring Mikey to x-ray soon. 

--

Someone comes in around two o’clock to bring Mikey to x-ray. 

While he’s gone for nearly fifteen minutes, Nico comes in through the curtain at the front and immediately wraps Nate up in a hug. “Where is he?”

“X-ray,” Nate says. “They’re looking to see if he has a chest infection or something worse.” 

Nico nods and sits next to him. “Is he worse than he was at the game?”

Nate sighs. “Yeah.” He runs a hand through his hair. “His cough is completely in his chest and he has a high fever. And he said he couldn’t breathe before. That’s why we’re here.” 

Nico shakes his head. “He could’ve gotten this from any one of us.” 

“Don’t blame yourself or anyone else. It was Mikey’s fault because he kept denying that something was wrong until it was too late.” 

Speaking of Mikey, Mikey’s wheeled back into the room just as Nico’s about to reply to Nate. 

“Hey, baby,” Nate says, smiling at Mikey. 

“Mmm,” Mikey hums. 

Nico pulls his chair up to the bed. He looks directly at Mikey. “Don’t pull this shit on us again. We can’t afford to lose you for longer than a few games, and now you'll probably be out for at least a week and a half.” 

“I’m sorry,” Mikey mumbles. 

“I know you are, but you can’t do this, Mikey. You can’t put yourself in danger like this.” Nico sighs. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just disappointed, okay?” 

Mikey nods. “I’m sorry, still.” He looks down at the bedding. 

“I know.” 

--

The next person who comes to see Mikey is P.K. He walks in with a big smile on his face and gives both Mikey and Nate a hug within the first five minutes he’s there. 

“How are you doing, man?” He asks, sitting down next to the bed. 

Mikey shrugs. “Okay, I guess.” 

Nate gives him a stern look. 

Mikey sighs and coughs into his fist. “Kinda shitty.” 

“Yeah, you don’t sound too good.” P.K. shakes his head a bit. “You had us all worried.” 

“I’m so--” 

“Mikey, no. I’m not your captain. I’m not here to scold you.” He laughs. “I’m here as a friend who cares about you.” 

“I’m still sorry,” Mikey says, “I shouldn’t have made anyone worry about me. I guess I’m just dumb.” 

“Well, I can’t really deny that one.” P.K. laughs again. “But for real, man, you gotta get better, okay? I need to see your ass out on the ice again before the season ends.” He pats Mikey on the shoulder. 

Just then the doctor comes in with Mikey’s x-rays. 

“I’m gonna head out, but I’ll be back later.” P.K. stands.

Mikey nods and Nate gives him a smile before he leaves. 

The doctor informs them that Mikey has pneumonia in one of his lungs, and it will take at least a week to clear up with antibiotics. They’ll want to keep him in the hospital for a few days to keep an eye on him, but after that he’ll be able to leave. 

Nate sighs when he hears the news. He knew something was wrong with Mikey, and all that Mikey did was ignore him. He resists the urge to kick his ass right in the hospital. He’ll have to save that for when they get home. 

Right after the doctor leaves, Dawson comes into the room and looks like a deer caught in headlights when he sees Mikey in the bed. 

“I’m okay, Merc,” Mikey says, urging Dawson to come into the room. 

“And I thought you looked bad the other day.” Dawson laughs nervously. 

Nate hides a smile behind his hand. He’s always had a soft spot for the kid. 

“Wow, thanks.” Mikey has enough energy to roll his eyes. 

“But really… are you okay?” Dawson sits in the chair next to the bed. 

“Gettin’ there,” 

Dawson nods. “I just kept thinking, like, what if I did this? You’d be mad at me, right?” 

“Disappointed,” Nate says. 

“Well, that’s how I feel about this,” Dawson says. “You should’ve told someone that you were sick, Mikey. I… feared the worst.” He swipes at a tear that forms in his eye. 

Nate wants to hug the kid and let him know that everything’s okay. 

Mikey grabs Dawson’s hand. “I’m alright, Merc. I promise. I’ll get a lot better being here.” 

Dawson nods. “You better.” 

“I will,” 

--

At the end of the day, Nate knows that he would do anything for his boyfriend. He loves Mikey with his whole heart, and he forever will. Nothing will get in the way of that. Nothing.