Archive of Our Own

The thing is, a cold's no big deal. There's no point in going to the doctor, and it's not even a good enough reason to skip out on work--especially when work translates to about a thousand people who don't have jack to do if you don't show up.

Jensen knows these things, but he knows the flip-side, too. A cold's no big deal, except for when you have one.

~~~

Jensen felt bad for the intern assigned to him, he really did. The kid was basically doing tissue duty, standing just off camera so that every time the director called cut Jensen could blow his nose and throw the uses tissue in the baggie the kid carried around. Then the makeup assistant would duck in to pat another layer of cover-up over the tissue-irritated red skin. At least he could blow his nose, thanks to the nose spray, but he'd overused the stuff in the past and now he was strict about only using it at the beginning of the day, only on the days he had to work.

By the time he and Jared headed home, Jensen's nose was clogged up tight again--no air going in, no snot coming out. He couldn't sleep for shit with his nose stopped up, but he knew that if he took a decongestant he'd end up awake and twitchy, and that wouldn't really help with being functional in the morning. Jared was nice about the whole thing, didn't kick Jensen out of bed for tossing and turning and coughing up his post nasal drip in the middle of the night, and his hand on Jensen's back as they walked into the house felt good. Somehow, despite how goofy Jared could act, he always knew just how to project calm and solid strength when Jensen didn't have the energy for anything else.

"So, I got you a present," Jared said while Jensen sat slumped at the kitchen table, poking his fork into some reheated takeout that he wished he could smell.

"A present?" Jensen looked up, trying to remember if he was missing some kind of anniversary.

"Nothing big, just my mom said something, and I thought, well." Jared shrugged and handed over a plastic drugstore bag that had been sitting on the kitchen counter.

Jensen tentatively pulled the bag open and found a clear-wrapped gift basket, the kind that was usually full of girly things like freesia body lotion and bath puffs or whatever. He looked back up at Jared.

"It's--just open it."

Jensen peeled away the crinkly plastic cover and pulled out the contents one by one. Cold & flu body wash. Cold & flu linen spray. Cold & flu aromatherapy candle. Cold & flu soothing balm. He unscrewed the lid off the little pot of balm and inhaled as best he could; a thread of the sharp scent worked its way up into his sinuses and he could taste menthol on his tongue. "Wow, Jay. You didn't have to get me this stuff."

"I wanted to." Jared came up behind Jensen's chair and put his hands on Jensen's shoulders, bent down and kissed the top of his head. They hadn't been kissing since Jensen got sick, Jensen's rule to keep from sharing his germs, but it was good to feel Jared's lips on him. On some part of him.

Jensen sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, now go take a shower with this stuff." Jared pushed the shower gel toward Jensen's hand and gathered up the rest of the basket himself.

In the shower, Jensen took his time, soaped himself up twice to let the menthol/eucalyptus/whatever-scented steam permeate the room. He sneezed six times in a row and then blew his nose again and again, letting the warm water of the shower take it all away. In clean boxers with his towel draped over his shoulders, Jensen walked into the bedroom to find most of the lights off and the aromatherapy candle burning on his bedside table next to a box of aloe tissues and the little blue pot of scented balm.

The covers were turned back and Jared sat on the side of the bed waiting. "Hey, how was your shower?"

"Good." Jensen smiled and drew in a breath, for once moving enough air through his nose to be able to smell the room. "I can smell that candle, man. Thanks."

"You being able to breathe without choking is enough thanks for me." Jared held out the pot of balm. "Here, put some of this on your poor, pathetic nose."

Jensen smeared it on over the sensitive skin under and around his nostrils, making his nose tickle enough that he had to sneeze a few more times.

"Come here, sit." Jared patted the bed beside him, right by the bedside table, and when Jensen sat Jared climbed around behind him. He took the towel from Jensen's shoulders and started rubbing Jensen's hair dry. Jensen just closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing in the scent of the candle, letting it work itself up though his nose and into his sinuses.

Jensen felt the absence of the towel, the small thud of it landing somewhere across the room, and then Jared's hands were on his bare shoulders. It wasn't much of a massage, not the kind of work Jared could do with his hands, pushing in deep to the point of pain and sticking with it until the knots in Jensen's shoulders and back opened up for him. Neither of them were up to that, but Jared's hands could be soft, too, a gentle rub that soothed away the tension of trying to stand up straight and do his job when he just wanted to curl up on the couch.

Jensen's head felt heavy on his neck, and he let it loll forward. "Okay," Jared said, kissing him on the back of his neck. "Time for bed."

Jensen laid down without even opening his eyes, and he felt Jared kneel up and lean over him, heard the puff of air as Jared blew out the candle.

"The sheets smell funny," Jensen murmured.

"That's the linen spray. Maybe it'll keep your nose open a little longer, let you sleep better." Jared laid down behind Jensen, his body warm and solid against Jensen's back.

"Mmm. You're awfully nice to me."

"Aw, babe." Jared's arm went around Jensen's chest, and his lips touched Jensen's neck again. "It's not hard. It's not hard at all."