Secret Needs (Cleverfox)

[Kitten]

Steve brushed cold water into the others hair and let it run over his face, hoping to cool him down. "I can't promise that buddy. We'll just have to try the medicine and the bath. If your temperature is below one hundred in the morning then no doctor."

He hummed a soft tune as he continued to cup the cold water in his hands and brush it over the mahogany hair and flushed face.

"There we go Wolfie. You're starting to look a little better." Blue eyes finally looked a little more relaxed as Steven leaned down to kiss the other's forehead. He let Rafe lay in the water until it was room temperature and stood to get a towel.

"Let's give that movie a second try now. What do you think?" The dark haired man smiled lightly, trying to look happier than he felt at the moment. He opened the towel in his lap and sat on the toilet, reaching a hand out for Rafe to take since he couldn't pull the other up out of the tub.

[CleverFox]

"Uh huh, you could promise that," Rafe countered, thinking that it was a very easy thing to promise. Mainly because in his mindset he didn't understand how dangerous a high fever could be. The 'old' Rafe would have known in a heartbeat because of his training as a paramedic but right now he wasn't a trained medical professional.

He was just a little boy who didn't want to go to the doctor again.

Rafe relaxed in the bath as Steve poured the water over his hair and let it trail down his face. He was actually feeling a bit better by the time his other half decided that it was time to get out of the bath. He watched what Steve was doing as the man got the towel and then he carefully stood up and stepped out of the tub.

"I don't feel as icky now...not so hot," Rafe said as Steve went to work drying him off with the towel. "I need a clean shirt," he added after a moment since the other was all sweaty and gross. "Okay Daddy?"

[Kitten]

"A new shirt. I can do that sweet boy." Steve finished drying the other off and kissed his nose. He wrapped Rafe up tightly in the towel and picked him up, now having a better angle. The black haired man set his smaller lover on the bed and quickly redressed him in a fresh shirt and boxers.

"Okay, lay down and I'll be right back. I think you're a little cooler now, we'll take your temp again before bed."

The blue eyed man grabbed the mostly full sippy from the bedside and headed back downstairs. Having a sick little boy was definitely good cardio from all the trips up and down the stairs. Steve quickly dumped the medicated juice into the bottle he'd bought, wanting Rafe to finish the medicine up quickly. He filled the cup back up with water and ice, put two small scoops of ice cream in a bowl, and was back upstairs in a flash.

Steven was not above bribing right now.

[CleverFox]

Rafe felt a little bit better once he was all dry and had a clean shirt and underwear, the young man nestling down on the bed when he was told to do so, his arms going out so that he could pick up the stuffed wolf that had once again been discarded on the bed. He remained where he was while he waited for Steve to come back, the mahogany haired young man ending up rolling over onto his side and sticking his thumb into his mouth.

He looked at the TV and after a moment he became interested in the cartoons that Steve had turned on earlier, his gray-blue eyes remaining focused on the screen as he waited.

When he heard the sound of footsteps he gazed toward the door and saw his daddy coming back with his hands full of stuff.

[Kitten]

Steve felt his heart melt when he saw Rafe all snuggled in with his wolf, thumb in his mouth and looking very sweet. This was a moment he'd love to relive over and over if he could. "Hey pretty baby," the man said softly. "You look a tiny bit better. Maybe better enough for ice cream? I brought some to share."

He sat down on the bed and emptied his arms of his load. "Daddy wants to make a little deal okay? Come and lay with me, finish your medicine," he held up the bottle. It didn't look like much in the taller container. "Then you can have some ice cream and we'll watch TV until you fall asleep."

The blue eyed man smiled at his gray-blue eyed lover and held his arms open for the other to crawl into.

[CleverFox]

Rafe was curled up into a tight ball and still watching cartoons, his thumb in his mouth, when Steve came back into the room though his gaze shifted to the man as he spoke. "'m okay," he said from around the thumb in his mouth when told that he was looking better, his gaze remaining focused on his daddy as the man said that he wanted to make a deal.

Curious as to just what that deal entailed Rafe looked at him as he explained it to him.

And even though he had said more than once that he didn't want the ice cream earlier that did serve to get his attention. After a little bit of thought he crawled over to the spot where Steve had settled and without hesitation crawled into his arms.

"Okay," he agreed softly as he nestled against the larger man, his skin not quite so unbearably hot after the cool bath and the meds.

[Kitten]

Blue eyed looked into grey-blue as Steve cuddled the other close. He brought the bottle up for Rafe, pressing the tip into his mouth with a soft noise. The whole act was incredibly intimate to the man, almost as powerful as some of their nights spent making love to one another. He brushed mahogany hair out of the others eyes and rocked Rafe gently as the other finished his bottle.

It was something else about this terrible event that the black haired man would hold close to his heart, simply being allowed to care for his lover in this very personal way.

"All done now. Good job Wolfie, Daddy's very proud of you." Steven said with his warmest voice and a bright smile. "You feel a little cooler now too."

The larger man helped his little lover sit up fully and fluffed up a second pillow so that Rafe could rest against them as they shared their ice cream. There was a lot that he wanted to say and ask about, but Steve didn't want to frustrate the other now that they had come to a sort of understanding.

The black haired man took a bite of ice cream first, handing the bowl and spoon over, before speaking. "Do you need help?"

[CleverFox]

Rafe just nuzzled against Steve as the man held the bottle for him, the young man not protesting either of these acts despite the fact that he wasn't a cuddly type by nature. Or at least he had never been before the accident. Now he seemed perfectly content to let his lover and new daddy hold him and rock him, the mahogany haired youth draining the bottle and then looking up into Steve's eyes.

The praise gained a small smile from him.

Despite the trouble that had taken place earlier between the two of them they seemed to have reached a certain understanding at this point. Rafe sat up and leaned back against the pillows, his gaze going to Steve as the man took a bite of the ice cream and then offered it to him. "I can do it," he said as he took the bowl and the spoon, holding them both very carefully so that he didn't drop either one.

It was a little questionable at first but Rafe did somehow manage not to make a mess of it, the young man taking a bite and then offering the bowl back to Steve.

The two of them shared the ice cream while watching cartoons, Rafe's eyes growing heavy both because it had been an exhausting day and because of the medicine that he had been given. The pain meds that he was taking caused drowsiness as a side effect and it appeared as though sleep was soon to claim him.

[Kitten]

Once the ice cream was finished, Steve set it aside to take to the kitchen in the morning. Rafe was looking very sleepy so the brunette clicked off the light and lowered the volume on the TV. It had been a very difficult but very rewarding day and he'd only had to be Daddy for a few hours.

The blue eyed man reached across his smaller lover to place the sippy cup full of cold water where the other could get to it if he woke in the night and needed a drink.

"Goodnight baby boy." The dark haired man said as he pulled the other in close. Rafe looked too peaceful to bother so he would check the others temperature in the morning. "Love you," Steve murmured as he lightly kissed the others lips.

[CleverFox]

Even though he had been cranky earlier Rafe was feeling better about things now and he was snuggled up against his daddy, almost to the point of being asleep but not quite passed out yet. He opened his gray-blue eyes a bit when Steve told him good night and said that he loved him before kissing him lightly on the lips.

"Ni-ni Daddy, love you too," Rafe said softly before snuggling closer to his daddy and going to sleep.

He did end up waking a couple of times during the night to get a drink from the sippy cup that was on the nightstand beside him but other than that Rafe slept peacefully through the night. But because of all of the water that he had ended up drinking he woke the next morning with a pressing need, the young man's eyes popping open and he immediately scrambled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom.