A Foreign Realm (Mianite One-Shots)

You're Not Fine (Syndisparklez)

((College AU. Jordan gets sick and lies to Tom about exactly how sick he is...))

"Hey dude, how'd your day go?" Tom asked, dropping his backpack onto the ground heavily and flopping down on the bed.

"Shitty as hell." Jordan coughed, tossing a tissue into the trashcan by his bed. "I bailed out of my last lecture because my brain decided to pour itself out of my nose."

Tom made a face. "Nice mental image there. Thanks dude."

"No *cough* problem." Jordan replied. "Glad I could help."

"Forreal though, dude, are you okay?" Tom asked, his facial expression morphing into a serious one. "You sound absolutely awful."

"It's just a cold." Jordan waved him off. "I'll be fine."

Tom eyed his dark-haired roommate doubtfully. "Dude, it doesn't sound like just a cold. Do you need anything? Meds? Tea?"

"No offense dude, but why do you care?" Jordan asked, and Tom's face flushed. "If I were you, I'd get the hell out of here before I got you sick."

"Aww c'mon, I can't leave my best... friend alone in the room, helpless." Tom replied, even though his head was screaming at him liar! liar! massive fucking liar!

"I'm not helpless." Jordan tried to protest, but he launched into a coughing fit. Well, Tom certainly wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to take care of Jordan, that's for sure. Most times Tom had to be careful about hiding his sexuality around his peers, especially since their college was affiliated with the church. If he came out, it could jeopardize just about everything- the most importantly of which was his relationship with his roommate.

"C'mon, I'll make you some tea. My mum's favorite."

"Fuck you, you idiotic Brit." Jordan teased. "You and your damn tea."

"You won't be saying that when you feel ten times better afterwards."

For the rest of the day, Tom messed around their room tending to Jordan in various ways. The American dutifully drank the tea and despite the faces he pulled, he thanked Tom. Tom was more than happy to take care of his roommate now that he had an excuse to spend time with him.

Tom never left the room for long that weekend, taking a few trips to the grocery store for some supplies or other various things he or Jordan needed. Tom watched his roommate with a close eye, trusting that if something started going pear-shaped, Jordan would let him know.

"Thanks dude." Jordan said as Tom handed him yet another cup of tea. "I can't get enough of this stuff apparently."

"You're pretty much an honorary Brit at this point." Tom said. "You've drunk more tea than anything else for the past few days. Are you sure you're ok going back to classes tomorrow?"

"I'll be fine dude. Don't worry." Jordan assured him, sliding his headphones on over his ears. Tom had learned a while ago that that was a cue for him to stop bothering Jordan and to stop worrying. He'd learned not to take it personally, people needed their personal space sometimes.

Still, as he tried to fall asleep listening to Jordan's muffled coughs that night, he couldn't help but worry. He hadn't been getting better despite having been sick for the better part of a week. Tom had proposed the idea of going to the doctor on Friday, but Jordan had dismissed it almost immediately.

If Tom had a dollar for every time Jordan had told him "I'm fine," he'd have more than enough to pay off his student loans.

Sure enough, the next morning, Jordan didn't seem any better. "Dude, I'll cover for you. You can copy my notes. Just get some rest." Tom tried to tell him. Jordan gave him a glare.