Delirious Confirmation

Alice took the empty bowl from his hands to set it on the table. He may seem like he was okay when she first came, but it didn't take long for the high fever symptoms to come kicking in full swing again. Noah's face was extremely flushed, and Alice was glad that she got him to eat before he got to the point where he couldn't get down water.

He needed to stay hydrated. Noah was already losing too much water by sweating as it was. Wiping his forehead with the towel, she came back with a large bowl of water. Hopefully, he didn't mind that she was touching stuff around the house without his permission for his own well-being. 

His cold was nasty, but at least he wasn't getting sick in the stomach. He lost his voice, but luckily wasn't coughing regularly. There were weak coughs here in there, but she made him drink some cold medicine anyway. She wasn't too sure what he liked to use, but he wasn't in the position to choose.

Alice couldn't find a thermometer no matter where she looked, and as she carefully shook Noah awake, his hazy eyes fluttered open. It was hard to hold his attention because he was veering off into dreamland. If it got to a bad point where she couldn't do anything else for him with the dangerously high fever, there was no other option. 

She would bring him to the hospital no questions asked. Thin pajamas and wet towel in total. He wouldn't answer her questions since he couldn't keep his eyes open for too long. Alice didn't want to disturb his sleep either, but as the hours ticked by, she got him to take more medicine while trying to coax an answer out of him.

Alice brushed the back of her hand to his cheek, and he leaned into her touch. "It's cold."

Alice ran her fingers through his hair. "Is there a thermometer?"

"What?"

"Thermometer."

"I lost it earlier?" 

Alice snorted. "So you have one."

"I don't know where it is."

She pinched his cheek. "It's fine. Go back to sleep."

Alice needed to go stock up on a lot of stuff that wasn't in the house, so she finally decided to leave to try and find a nearby store. Noah had to have a thermometer considering he talked about it, so she would leave it for him to find in the morning. But she wasn't going to eyeball it like how mothers did. 

Another one in the bag it was. Slipping on her jacket that she took off on his desk chair, she tapped his shoulder. Noah rolled toward her, and he buried his face into her side. Alice hesitantly brought her fingers to his hair once more, running her fingers through the soft and dampened hair that was sticking to his forehead.

"Can you tell me your house code?" Alice asked gently.

She needed a way back inside. Alice didn't want to ring the doorbell since he should get as much rest as he could. In the end, she hoped that there was a way to not disturb him. Noah mumbled something into her skirt, and Alice laughed since could feel the vibrations on her side unable to decipher the words.

"Turn towards me," she said.

Noah slid his face toward the outside of her thigh and mumbled the four-number code, and she patted his cheek happily. As she was about to leave, Noah grasped her wrist. Alice turned back confused and leaned down to listen to the words that he was whispering. He was shaking, and Alice ran circles around his back to calm him.

"Don't... leave..."

Alice tried to pry his hand off of hers, but he only gripped her tighter with an unhappy expression on his face. "Noah, please."

"Don't..."

She leaned down to press her forehead to his. "I'll be right back."

With their breaths together and the harsh warmth of his feverish skin on hers, she felt his grip slacken. She only hoped that he was able to feel the sincerity of her actions.

Alice didn't think that she would get used to the skinship so quickly, but the sudden confirmation that she liked the feeling of them touching was something she couldn't shake off.

Alice paused, her breath short as she searched for the confirmation that he wasn't too delirious. "Who am I?"

Noah's gaze was warm. "Alice."

Not wanting to think too deeply about it, she pulled away from him as her chest hurt. He lay in his bed content with a slight smile on his face that made her want to laugh despite the uncurling feel in her stomach

Alice glanced back at him one last time before walking out the door, her feet stuttering out the doorway after drawing a thinner blanket over him.