Chapter Text
It was so, so cold, Mason thought as he pulled his scarf up to his nose and pulled his jacket tighter around himself. Whenever he’d sigh, he could see his breath. Sometimes he and Axel—mostly Axel—would pretend they were smoking to seem ‘cool’ and older. Mason didn't see the appeal in smoking, but Axel thought it was cool, and he trusted Axel. Despite his love for Axel, however, he didn't particularly want to hang out at the park with him right now. It’s not that Axel was annoying or anything, but he could feel himself coming down with a bad cold or maybe a fever. He would have cancelled their plans, but his dad forced him out the door before he could call Axel and tell him.
Padding towards the spot they had agreed on, he rubbed at his nose before he was in Axel’s line of vision, hoping the other boy wouldn't be able to tell he was sick. If he were going to hang out with Axel, he would make the best of it, and he knew Axel would only yell at him to rest if he found out Mason was sick. So, Mason trudged forward, sniffling as quietly as possible and greeting Axel with a smile. His throat hurt and talking seemed much too hard, so he settled for a small wave. It wouldn't seem suspicious since he didn't talk much, anyway. The only person he ever got talkative with was Axel, and that’s because Axel was the only one who wouldn't bully him when he forgot how to say a few words or a sentence in English. Axel had been helping him learn more English recently.
“Mason!” Axel greeted him with his usual stupid, huge grin. He ran towards the shorter boy and flung his arms around him. Axel flinched, his mind instantly wandering to the thought of accidentally getting Axel sick. He pulled his scarf up further. Axel wasn't dressed as warmly—only bearing a pair of shorts and a plain T-shirt—and Mason couldn't help but wonder who allowed him to leave the house like that. Mason often wondered who had let Axel leave the house. They were both only 10, and it shocked Mason that Axel’s parents never seemed to care where he went so long as he returned by 7 PM. Mason’s parents also didn’t care where he went, but that was different. They didn't care much for him at all
“Mm..” Axel pulled back from the hug and put his hands on Mason’s shoulders, studying him carefully. Mason cocked his head to the side, giving Axel a confused look before sneezing softly into his scarf. “Bless you. Are you sick?” Mason grinned nervously and shook his head no, hoping Axel wouldn't pick up on the lie. Axel stared at him for a moment longer before shrugging and running off to climb a tree. Mason followed close behind, his hands jammed in his pockets. He was shivering. Luckily, Axel was too invested in climbing and getting as dirty as possible to notice much. Sometimes, Mason was quite grateful for his friend’s lack of attentiveness.
“Hey, M! C’mon! I wanna get to the top!” Axel shouted in Mason’s direction, scraping himself on a branch of the tree. The cut started bleeding, but that only made Axel grin wider as he headed further up the tree. Mason sniffled again and pretended he didn't know what Axel was saying. He could blame the distance and his lack of English on that—it really came in handy sometimes. He cocked his head to the side and watched as Axel huffed and rolled his eyes, jumping down from the tree. “Okay, I get it, no tree.” He scoffed, but Mason could tell he wasn't truly upset. After a moment of silence, Mason suddenly felt a rough hand on his wrist as he felt himself being pulled. The pair ended up sprawled out on the grass, Axel giggling loudly as Mason heaved heavy, dry coughs into the sleeve of his jacket. “Are you sure you aren’t sick?” Axel questioned, poking Mason in the ribs.
“Yeah, estoy perfectamente bien.” Mason insisted, huffing out a breath of visible air. He was starting to feel worse and he knew that sooner or later, Axel would eventually find out. Maybe he should just confess now? No, too soon. Not now. Axel just stared at him, trying to make sense of what the other had said based on both context clues and his minimal knowledge of the language. Mason had taught him a bit of Spanish in exchange for the English lessons he was giving the other.
“Something, something, good..? Are you good..? Like, as in okay..?” Axel hesitantly muttered, cocking his head to the side. Mason moved his hand in a so-so motion, leaning his head on Axel’s shoulder. Axel accepted the act, pulling out a granola bar from his pocket and beginning to snack on it. He offered a bit to Mason, but he declined, worried he’d get the other sick. They sat like that for a while before Axel got up and sprinted toward the play structure, rushing up the stairs to the slide. Mason followed with much less energy. He wasn't sure how much he could last, truth be told. It was really disappointing. He hadn’t been out for long and he certainly hadn’t done much. How was he already worn out?
Unsurprisingly, Axel had noticed his friend’s condition, quicker than he knew the other would enjoy. He had already been suspicious when he heard Axel’s coughs and his sneeze earlier, but his suspicions were confirmed when Mason leaned his head against him and he could feel how hot the other was. He was burning up! Flooded with concern, Axel was unsure what to do. Should he confront him? Act like he never knew and just go on with plans as usual? It seemed that was what Mason wanted, anyway. Axel decided then that he wouldn’t make them do anything too strenuous, and playing on the playground wasn't too difficult a task, right? Well, it must have been for Mason. When Axel turned around to see why the footsteps following him had suddenly gone quiet, he saw Mason passed out on the floor.
Immediately rushing to his side, Axel pulled Mason into his lap. Damn it. What was he supposed to do in this situation? They were two kids, alone in a park, and one of them was now passed out. He could call for help, but that would involve leaving Mason unconscious and alone. Yeah, no, that wasn't an option. He was much too engulfed in his thoughts to notice Mason shifting in his lap, waking up. He looked up at Axel, his breathing labored and uneven. Axel was surprised but oh, so relieved when he felt Mason tugging on his shirt. Oh thank god, he thought to himself as he helped Mason sit up. He immediately pressed his hand up against Mason’s forehead to gauge about how bad the fever was. “C’mon, we’re going home to my house. You shouldn't be out here with a fever this bad.” Mason squirmed in his grasp
“No.. No quiero!” The park was fun. He didn't want to leave the park, nor did he want to burden Axel with his fever. He could manage it on his own, he was sure of it. Axel, on the other hand, wasn't so sure. He kept on whining at Mason to go home until Mason eventually got too tired to keep up and just gave in. The walk home was short. Axel lived about 2 blocks away from the park, and you could see his house from it. Mason always enjoyed the sight. He always saw it at sunset, and it always had this comforting vibe to it that he could never get from his own house. Somewhere along the line, Axel’s house had become his own as well. Axel and his whole family knew it, and they encouraged it.
“Mas, you should lie down. D’you wanna go upstairs to my room or the living room?” Axel did his best to ‘nurse’ Mason, but alas, he was only 10 and didn't even fully know what a nurse did. Mason giggled at many of his attempts, smiling at the intention. Tiredly, he sighed and buried his face into Axel’s shoulder. He wanted to go upstairs, but he was too tired to communicate that right now. He honestly just hoped Axel would make an executive decision and take him wherever he thought best—going upstairs didn't mean all that much to him when he was this tired.
Eventually, Axel did indeed make an executive decision and laid Mason out across the couch since it was closer. He figured it’d be easier on the boy to rest on the couch than to walk a whole flight of stairs and then some just to lie down. Ultimately, Mason was grateful for his decision, immediately melting into the couch cushions and closing his eyes. Axel snickered, knowing the other would be knocked out cold soon. Quickly, he threw a blanket over Mason. He followed the action with a few more he’d seen his mom do for his little brother whenever he got sick, dampening a towel with cold water and laying it across the sick person’s forehead, getting them water, making sure they were comfortable.
“M, do you need anything else?” Axel poked him in the ribs a couple of times before signing as he realized the other had already knocked out. His parents weren’t home at the moment, so he was dealing with this completely alone. Oh well, he would get through it somehow. So would Mason, under Axel’s care. After checking the bathroom cabinets for medicine and discovering there were either none or they were expired, Axel considered himself done with his caretaker job—for now—and set himself to rest beside Mason. Subconsciously, Mason pulled him closer, and soon Axel drifted off as well. It was very comfortable in Mason’s embrace. Probably more comfortable than being with anyone else he knew.
When Mason woke up, he could feel someone or something on top of him. Prying open his eyelids, he could see a faint blurry figure whom he could only assume was Axel. He quickly screwed his eyes shut, a massive headache beginning to form from both the fever and straining his eyes in an attempt to see. God damnit, where were his glasses? Axel woke up shortly after, blinking awake slowly before turning his head up and staring at Mason. Mason stared back, and the two stayed like that for what one could only assume was at least 5 minutes. Eventually, Axel spoke up again, interrupting the silence, “G’morning. How are you?”
“Good..” Mason murmured, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he reached around the coffee table for his glasses. Axel handed them to him, watching as he carefully slid the half-broken frames onto his face. One of the temples was broken and being held together with tape, since Mason’s family couldn't afford to buy him a new pair. Axel’s family had offered many times, but they didn't know what kind Mason needed, and neither did he. His family was always too busy to ask, and even if they were free, you couldn't exactly be certain they would answer.
Axel readjusted himself to sit comfortably on the edge of the couch instead of lying on top of Mason, allowing the boy to actually breathe properly. “Want soup?” He offered, knowing they had leftovers in the fridge. It was very convenient, and he was sure his family wouldn't mind. Mason nodded softly, finally getting a bit hungry. He felt bad taking from Axel, but he knew somewhere inside that if Axel’s parents were here they would insist he eat some anyway. He pulled the blanket further up and over himself, sniffling softly as the low sound of something playing on the television rang in the background. It was nice background noise, and Axel had even made the effort to lower the brightness. The thought made Mason giddy, knowing someone cared about him enough to do all this for him.
“M, c’mere, the soup is done. How much do you want?” Axel called out from the kitchen, grabbing two bowls and two spoons as Mason slowly walked over. He chose a bowl and an amount of soup and then migrated to the kitchen table, waiting for Axel, who arrived shortly after with his own bowl of soup. Axel scarfed down his bowl, surprised at how slow Mason was eating. It wasn't just the illness—Mason was never a fast eater the way Axel was even when he was feeling fine. Axel would never understand how he could just.. Not?
Mason noticed Axel staring at some point, looking up at him quizically to counter his stare. He murmured a small “What?” before Axel shouted at him for speaking with his mouth ful. Mason quickly apologized, and after a quick forgiveness, the two launched into a conversation about whatever Axel wanted to, since he was the one leading it right now. Of course, if Mason had brought up a topic he was interested in, Axel would force himself to listen to the best of his abilities. But right now, Mason was perfectly content just listening to his friend yap about whatever. That was the usual dynamic between the two, and it would likely stay that way. It didn't seem like Mason had any plans or wishes to become more talkative—not like Axel would be able to understand him if he did talk beyond the few Engush words and phrases he knew. He could understand pretty well, but speaking was a whole different challenge.
That was okay, though. Challenges were what they did. They always got over small hurdles like these, and as long as they were together, there’s no way something as small as a language barrier would get between them. It’s not like anything would get between them at all, honestly. Axel couldn't imagine something causing them to have a falling out or some scenario where they drifted away from each other. It just seemed impossible.
That’s what he hoped, at least. Deep down, Axel knew there was no way to guarantee the future, and all he could do was pray. Pray and cherish moments like these. So that’s what he’ll do, he decided that a long time ago. He reminded himself of that promise as Mason finished his bowl and dumped it in the sink before guiding Axel to the couch to either cuddle or watch cartoons—or both.
Yeah, this was okay for now.