It was getting worse: the cough. 

Pacer’s throat was sore and irritated, now. And every once in awhile when he wasn’t expecting it, he would have a fit and cough for minutes at a time, nonstop. Each time that happened it left him feeling exhausted and painfully sore. 

“I wish I could do something to help.” Wyatt had knelt down beside him while he was wracked with coughing. He usually kept his distance while Pacer was having an attack, but this time it set upon him as he started chopping some wood. 

“I’ve chopped enough wood to cook with tonight, I think. I was just hoping to get a headstart on…” Pacer’s voice was hoarse. 

“It’s ok! I can do it.” Wyatt offered and lent a hand to get Pacer to a spot nearby to rest. The older boy was drenched in sweat and looked pale.

Wyatt proceeded to finish chopping some more wood, while Pacer supervised and offered a few pointers. The blonde teen wasn’t as accurate or as quick, but he was definitely determined with that old ax. 

“Ok, that’s enough Wyatt! You can stop.” Pacer called over to him after a good portion of an hour.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

Pacer made an attempt to stand and after a moment of dizziness he was confident to walk. Wyatt shadowed him closely, though he kept checking his hands. He must have developed a few blisters. 

“I think that’s enough to show them we’re grateful for their help.”

“Ok,” Wyatt nodded automatically and kept close to Pacer as he made his way up the slope to the small cabin was. He was talking about Avery, Ulysses, and Jasper. The three of them left early in the morning to patrol the area nearby. Apparently there are a few spots like this that members of their tribe often used for layovers on their patrols. 

“Hey, you were pretty quiet last night around the fire.”

“Yeah?” Wyatt remembered sitting around the fire sharing a meal with the others. It was hearty and satisfying but he and Pacer were sat opposite the others and not much was said for a while. When Jasper brought out a flask of whiskey he shared with his cousins. After a few a few sips, Avery had passed the flask over to them. Pacer had gladly received it and took a drink by carefully tipping back his head and pouring the flask into his open mouth without putting his lips onto the flask itself. When it was Wyatt’s turn he failed miserably and spilled it over his face. 

They all had a good laugh, but that’s not what bothered Wyatt. 

Avery spent a lot of time last night gazing into the small campfire, dark eyes reflecting the dancing flames and glowing embers. The fire was just enough to light up everyone’s face with the same flickering light. Faces and bodies. Wyatt was the only one who wore a shirt the whole night. It was obvious that Ulysses was very comfortable with his body, muscled and tattooed. Jasper was athletic and charismatic, at ease in the group setting. Avery was quieter, and as the night chilled later on, donned the same vest from earlier in the day. Pacer often rested his chin in his hand and Wyatt caught him a few times idly poking and prodding at his lips. 

“I’m just saying. You were quiet. Avery was quiet too.”

Wyatt glanced over at Pacer as they both settled down on the steps at the front door. The smirk told him that the older boy was definitely alluding to something. 

“What?”

“Ok, so I don’t mean to tease you! But I saw from the camp you drop trow in front of Avery. Even Jasper noticed but he didn’t seem all that concerned. He’s pretty laid back actually.”

“And your point?”

Pacer shot him a knowing look for a moment before continuing, “It looked suspect. But I know Avery was treating your wounds!”

“That’s right.” Wyatt confirmed quickly. He was getting flustered with the topic and he felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. 

“Look you don’t owe me any explanations, I just thought it was—” all of a sudden, Pacer coughed hard. 

The sound made Wyatt cringe because it sounded like the older boy was going to lose a lung. He placed a hand on Pacer’s back to signal some sort of support though he didn’t know how else to provide it. Pacer’s body convulsed as he hacked violently. The sweat coating Pacer’s skin stung Wyatt’s hand where a blister had formed and broken open. He briefly felt a pang of guilt after Avery had spend some time tending to his wounds yesterday, only to add to them today. 

“Oh my fucking God that hurt.” Pacer managed a hoarse whisper after he caught his breath again. His eyes were watering and he looked even paler now. 

“You should lay down and rest. I can try to find something to smooth your throat maybe.”

“Nah, I feel nauseous after that. I doubt I could swallow anything anyways. But lying down sounds fucking great though!”

Wyatt helped Pacer up and inside. The small cot looked cozy enough, though last night Wyatt slept on the floor so Pacer could be comfortable. He had to insist even though as the night wore on his cough had been worsening. 

Crawling onto the creaking cot, Pacer groaned as he just sorta fell as he was. Wyatt grabbed the blanket he had used and spread it over Pacer’s sprawling form. 

“Thanks! That’s nice,” Pacer muttered. Then he shivered quite noticeably and tried to pull his limbs close and curl up his body under the blanket. 

“Are you cold?” Wyatt asked. 

“Actually, yeah,” Pacer shook with another couple of coughs and then groaned. “Even with the blanket I still feel cold.”

Wyatt reached over and touched his forehead. Sweaty and warm. He remembered that Avery had told him there was some honey that might soothe the cough if needed. 

“Hey, I’m going to get something to help, ok? For the cough.”

In the far corner of the cabin were some cabinets. He looked through the shelves and found unmarked food stuffs but nothing that looked like honey. On the small counter were some jars. He moved some of them around and even lifted a few of them up to the light. He brought the third one he inspected to the door and opened it. It was half full of a thick viscous liquid. He dabbed a finger into it and tasted it.

“Mmm,” that was honey alright!

He turned back to Pacer and knelt beside the cot. 

“How the hell…” he watched Pacer laying there looking miserable and shivering and trying to hold back his coughs. He groaned whenever he had to exert any effort. 

“Pacer,” Wyatt called out tentatively. 

A weak grunt was his response. 

“I’m going to give you some honey. Can you turn over?”

Pacer sighed slowly turned his head away from the wall and stopped when his face was upturned, facing the ceiling. Wyatt could tell from his breathing that Pacer hadn’t the energy to move any further. 

“Ok, that’ll have to do.”

Wyatt dipped just the tip of a finger into the honey and he slowly lifted it out. The honey was super sticky and he had to wipe the excess off on the rim of the jar. He then brought his finger over to his lips and hovered there. 

“Umm, o-open your mouth.”

Pacer’s jaw was somewhat slack already but he obliged and opened it a little wider. Wyatt hesitated not sure if this was the best way. He then slowly brought his finger just beyond his lips and grazed the tongue. At that moment Pacer’s mouth instinctively closed around Wyatt’s finger and his tongue slid against his finger tip.

Wyatt retracted his finger a bit and froze, not knowing what Pacer would do. He watched as the other’s mouth worked slowly. The whole time his eyes remained droopy and nearly closed. 

“That was your finger right?” was a ragged whisper. 

“Of course it was!”

Pacer winced at Wyatt’s vocal objection who then whispered, sorry.

“That actually tastes good.”

“Do you think it’ll help your throat?”

Pacer worked his tongue a little more and swallowed. He nodded slightly. “Yeah, I think it does.”

“Should I give you more?”

“Oh, yeah. Give it to me.” Pacer managed a grin.

In spite of himself Wyatt smiled too. He dipped another finger into the honey, this time he left a little more honey on his digit. He placed his finger just against Pacer’s bottom lip who then opened his mouth and clamped onto his finger gently with his teeth. His tongue darted out and searched for the honey. Then to his surprise those lips closed around his finger as it was sucked further into Pacer’s mouth. A tongue swirled around Wyatt’s finger tip and the honey was quickly gone.   

“Ogay you dan bull out mow.” 

“Sorry!” Wyatt removed his finger and realized that he was momentarily distracted by the sensations.

“You okay?” Pacer was blinking and straining to give home a sidelong glance. 

“Yeah.”

“I think that’s enough of the honey for now. My throat does feel better but I’m beat.” Pacer took a deep breath and rolled slowly back onto his side.

“Ok,” Wyatt closed up the jar and set it down nearby. He didn’t move from his spot because he was now sporting an awkward erection. If he stood up now Pacer may not notice but it was still embarrassing. 

“What are you doing?” Pacer groaned.

“Um, I’m just staying close in case you need anything.”

“Well…” he sighed deeply. 

“Well, what?”

Pacer shivered noticeably and grumbled, “I’m still cold.”

He seemed annoyed. 

Wyatt looked at the space on the cot and saw how Pacer was curled up and there was no other blankets in the cabin. He could probably grab a blanket from the camp site but that would be asking for trouble.

“Either start a fire in here or give me some cuddles. I don’t care how you do it just keep me warm. I’m tired and I just wanna sleep for the rest of my life I think.” Pacer was starting to mumble but his voice was transforming into a proper whine. He was getting grumpy.

Wyatt wasn’t sure how to act but seeing Pacer shivering over and over again tugged at his heart. Finally he stood. He undid his overalls and peeled off his shirt. If it was body heat that Pacer needed then the fewer barriers the better, right? As he attempted to settle onto the cot beside Pacer but was incredibly awkward. 

“There’s not a lot of room.”

Pacer huffed and groaned. He straightened his body out and he turned so that his back was against the wall. 

“Better?”

“I think so.” Wyatt couldn’t straighten out completely because of his height. He did the best he could without falling off the edge of the cot. He then tried to reach and pull the blanket over to cover the both of them and suddenly Pacer adjusted his position, rolling into and nestling against Wyatt. To be more comfortable himself, Wyatt had to move his arm out from between their bodies to under Pacer’s neck and around his shoulders. During this shift, Pacer leaned into Wyatt even more and draped an arm across his chest and slid a leg in between his. At every point of contact between their bodies pacers skin was cold and clammy. 

Surprisingly, Pacer seemed to fall asleep quickly after that. Wyatt on the other hand was still tense and anxious. His breathing seemed to intensify the heat between their bodies and his heartbeat quickened for quite awhile before he could rein it in. All the while, his erection had not relented, Pacer’s knee was snug up against his groin. Though, once Pacer seemed to be sleeping deeply in his arms Wyatt readjusted the blanket and his own position to get more comfortable. He was also quite conscious of his body odour. While both of them had broke into a sweat recently Pacer’s scent didn’t bother him. It was somehow more mild than musky, while is own seemed stronger, even with his own nose. 

Eventually, he found the rhythm of Pacer’s breathing near his ear was calming and the warmth of their bodies was comforting. Wyatt realized that he was providing Pacer with care and attention that he had never been able to show anyone else before, he somehow felt proud and content with the situation. He began to relax and calm himself to the point where he dozed off.

“Wyatt,” a muffled voice reverberated against his shoulder. 

“Hmm?” Wyatt felt warm and sticky. He also felt the body tangled up in his limbs shift slightly. Pacer’s skin still felt clammy while his own was slick with sweat. 

“I’m hungry.” Pacer whispered hoarsely.

“Ok.” Blinking away the grogginess. 

“I really want more of that honey. Can you get it?”

“I think so.”

Wyatt craned his neck and used his free arm to feel around. As he stretched to grab the jar, his body started to pull away from Pacer’s. When the space widened it let some fresh air alongside Pacer and sent him into a full body shiver. Judging by the light outside an hour might have passed. 

“No…” Pacer held on to Wyatt and pulled himself closer. “I’m so comfortable right now and you’re so warm.”

“Got it!” Wyatt’s finger closed around the lid and he snatched it up and relaxed again. Pacer weakly moved his arms and legs to seek out more body heat.

“Sorry, you must think I’m such a pain right now, making you do all this for me.” Pacer turned his head quickly cough, essentially right into Wyatt’s armpit. 

“You just need some time to get better.”

“Yeah,” Pacer groaned as the last cough seemed especially painful. His breath felt hot against Wyatt’s underarm as he spoke further,  “hopefully this is the worst of it and I start feeling better soon! I hate feeling like this.” 

“Yeah!” Wyatt echoed the sentiment. He settled into a better position and opened the jar, struggling to open without spilling it or dropping it. 

“Did you want to sit up?”

Pacer shook his head and groaned. 

“Did you want me to do what I did before, with the honey?”

Pacer turned his head finally and nodded. He also adjusted his position against Wyatt, his arm sliding down across the bare belly, his hand grazed down his side. 

Wyatt twitched and tensed up from holding back from his ticklish response. “Shit!”

“Oh!” Pacer croaked when the jar Wyatt was holding fell onto his arm and rolled across Wyatt’s chest. 

Wyatt fumbled a bit but caught it before it rolled into Pacer.

“Oh no…” Wyatt sighed. The honey was thick but a few globs managed to spill out during the commotion. Holding the jar in one hand and having his other wrapped around Pacer, he wasn’t sure how to clean up the mess before it started to drip down his side.

“Just a sec,” Pacer shimmied alongside Wyatt and groaned with the effort. He tilted his head and suddenly his mouth was around the spot where the honey had landed, just below Wyatt’s right nipple. 

“Woah!” Was the first thing out of Wyatt’s mouth but as Pacer lingered and thoroughly consumed the spilled honey, the surprise warmth and wetness of Pacer lips and tongue began to ignite more than his ticklish response.

“Unhhh, ok!” Stifling a giggle he almost dropped the jar again. He pulled away and sat up a bit, looking down at Pacer wide eyed. 

“Don’t get any ideas, mister! I just wanted the honey.” Pacer lay back languidly, fatigued. His eyes were watery and his face started to pout. He turned to curl up away from the other boy. 

“It’s ok! I can still give you more honey if you want. I just didn’t expect that.” Wyatt gently pulled the clammy shoulder back towards him, sensing a lot of emotion. Pacer was definitely crying now. He tried to cover his face but Wyatt fought him off. 

“Pacer, I just want to help.”

“I know!” He gave up and just laid there. “I’m just so sore and tired.”

“And hungry?”

Pacer nodded and sighed.

“Just lay there and open your mouth.” Wyatt dipped a finger into the honey like before. Pacer obliged though a chuckle escaped just was Wyatt lowered the honey to his mouth. 

“Don’t laugh! This isn’t funny.” Wyatt shot him a look. 

Pacer made short work of that serving but started to chuckle again, even though he was still teary eyed. The second helping Wyatt dipped two fingers hoping to feed him more honey. Pacer opened his eyes a little wider and took a little longer to savour the honey. 

“Two fingers…” Pacer shook his head slowly and grinned.

“Are you really sick? Or are you just teasing me?”

“No! Please, just one more. After that let me starve if you want.”

A third time Wyatt dipped into the honey, even a little more than the second. That was a mistake. A drop of honey landed high on Pacer’s chest and a little dribbled on his chin. He started to chuckle again but then when Wyatt sighed, he subsided.

“Ok, the feels much better. I’m done now.”

“But I spilled some on you.” 

“That’s your mess, I wanna sleep now.” Pacer had already closed his eyes. 

Wyatt wiped the small trickle on his patient’s chin with his thumb but some of the honey still stuck to the dozen or so thick black hairs below the thick bottom lip. He then saw the droplet of honey slowly cross the collar bone. He licked his thumb to take care of that but still hesitated, watching the golden droplet trace and shiny sticky trail around Pacer throat pushing past droplets of sweat. 

Pacer actually started to snore before Wyatt acted. 

With blood rushing through his ears and heart beating out of his chest, Wyatt leaned close and felt like a vampire seeking an artery. His mouth opened wide and his lips pressed against Pacer’s skin. Wyatt’s tongue did a sweep and picked up the sweetness of the honey mixed with the saltiness of sweat but it was the honey that was stubborn and needed more attention. 

In the moment Wyatt felt such a rush of excitement and fear and happiness he forgot to breath. When he regained a little sense, his deep breaths rushed through his nose the scent of the honey and Pacer’s skin made him dizzy. 

Wyatt’s mouth cleaned up all traces of the honey but he felt clumsy and awkward the whole time. He froze when Pacer moaned and laced his fingers through Wyatt’s tousled blonde locks. A content sigh escaped Pacer in that moment. Nervously, Wyatt swallowed and began to withdraw but Pacer’s fingers moved to idly caress the back of his neck.

Wyatt felt like he was going to explode but he continued even though the honey was all but gone. Pacer’s sweat was all around his mouth and it was now what he was after. Wyatt licked and sucked up near his ear and then down along his shoulder. When he moved along the collar bone to the other side he considered just simply kissing Pacer full on the mouth.

“Serenity….” Pacer breathed.

Wyatt sat back.

Pacer was groggy but the sudden change prompted him to blink his eyes open and find Wyatt’s face—wide eyed and chin quivering. 

“Huh? What—wait!”

Torn between multiple urges, Wyatt couldn’t look at Pacer. He turned away and wanted to leave the cabin but couldn’t bring himself to risk having Pacer get cold again. Instead he rested and remained there beside him.

“Don’t worry about it.” Wyatt frowned with his back turned. “Rest, and stay warm.”

Though Wyatt was on the edge of the cot there wasn’t much room for Pacer between his back and the cabin wall. At first Pacer didn’t move much, but he shifted around under the blanket when he shivered again.

“Wyatt… Can I still—?”

“Uh-huh.”

Pacer moved in closer and his torso pressed up against Wyatt’s slightly broader form. The older boy brought and arm up and around Wyatt’s chest just below his armpit and nestled his forehead against the back of the blonde boys head. Their legs slid and settled into comfortable alignment. 

“Is this ok?”

Wyatt didn’t respond right away. He was hyper aware of Pacer’s body behind him and overcome with a confusing melange of feelings. His eyes had begun to water slightly and he was biting his lip. All he could manage was a nod. Pacer’s warm breath filled the crevice formed by their bodies and the blanket draped over them retained the moisture alongside the warmth. 

“Thank you, Wyatt.” Pacer breathed, sending a slight shiver along his spine. 

Wyatt, for the lack of anything else to do, squeezed his eyes shut forcing out the build up of tears. 

All Wyatt could replay over and over in his mind was that question.

Is this ok?