Toast and Custard

“Are you sure you want to come with me?” Mitch asked, doing his best to huddle under Amelie’s umbrella. It would have been a lot more effective if the rain was actually falling vertically rather than horizontally. They couldn’t use magic to shelter themselves either, not with the paths crowded with people who’d just finished lectures for the day and were determined to go home and cook dinner.

“Nikola always goes with you doesn’t he?” Amelie asked, using a touch of magic to stop the umbrella being turned inside out.

Mitch shrugged, “He brought me the first time.” He would have brought Nikola today as well but Nikola had been sniffling when they went to maths and feverish and headachy by the time it finished, note-taking abandoned in favour of dozing against Mitch’s shoulder. Mitch wished that he was surprised but Nikola had a tendency to get sick on the first day of class, and the last couple of days he’d reported that the Eternity War was being fought nearby.

Mitch had taken him straight home to bed rather than drag him into the Netherworld and risk another meeting with Rana. She’d been pleasant enough last time but there had been witnesses then. Nikola hadn’t even realised that they were heading home until they were halfway there.

“Well then I can come this time,” Amelie said, “it’s not as if this is making me any wetter than I would be if I just went home.”

“I guess,” Mitch said. With the wind blowing every which way they’d be soaked to the skin by the time they got home and he wasn’t about to suggest that she might have wanted to go home and check on Nikola. This would only take them an extra fifteen minutes. Mitch fished out his medallion and together they descended into the Netherworld.

“This one?” Amelie asked, pointing to one of the red doors.

“Other one,” Mitch shuddered. He had only educated guesses as to what happened in the vampire bar and he was in no rush to have them confirmed. The blood bank was enough. Amelie actually followed him in, something Nikola would never do, and watched curiously as the damphir on duty got his blood.

“You owe me a proper date,” Amelie said as they ventured back out into the rain. Mitch was sure that it was even more omni-directional than it had been before. “One with human food.”

“Sure,” Mitch said, “take out tonight?”

“Let’s order in,” Amelie replied, “anything we buy will be thoroughly water-logged by the time we get home.”

Mitch nodded and walked a little faster, if it rained any harder they’d be swimming the rest of the way home.

“Next time I’m calling a taxi,” Amelie said as they squelched inside.

“It’s that or grow fins and a tail,” Mitch agreed. He’d tried his best to keep his bag out of the rain, and between that and the plastic bag his books and notes didn’t appear to have suffered too much. Certainly not as much as his shoes. He left them by the heater to dry and changed quickly before putting his blood away and going to put the jug on. Amelie was already on the phone ordering pizza.

“What on Earth are you doing to that poor loaf of bread?” Amelie asked.

“Slicing it,” Mitch replied, wondering if there was a trick to slicing bread with uniform thickness.

“If you keep going like that you’ll slice off your thumb again,” Amelie said.

“I didn’t slice it off the first time,” Mitch said, double checking that his hands were nowhere near the blade. Nikola kept the kitchen knives hellishly sharp.

“I could see bone,” Amelie said, “we almost had vampire marinade.”

“So maybe I cut myself a little, once,” Mitch grimaced and shoved the slice of bread into the toaster. It needed a little jiggling but eventually he got it in and the toaster turned on. Bread slicing looked a lot easier when Nikola did it.

“If you weren’t able to heal yourself you would have needed stitches,” Amelie said. “You do realise he probably won’t touch that right?”

“He might,” Mitch replied. Nikola could usually be coaxed into nibbling a little dry toast and he would drink the tea. At least Amelie wasn’t criticising his efforts in that department. Of course, tea was hard to get wrong.

“Pizza should be here in twenty minutes,” she said, moving to the table to start on her homework.

“Cool.” Plate of toast in one hand and cup of tea in the other, Mitch went to see Nikola.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, settling everything on the bedside table and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Lousy,” Nikola croaked. He wore a bracelet of Faerie steel. Mitch assumed that it was the one that muted his sensitivity to magic, and grimaced, Nikola was sick enough already with the Eternity War making him feel worse.

Mitch’s lips twitched into a tiny smile. “You must be feeling dreadful if you’re willing to admit to that,” he said. Nikola usually insisted he was fine.

“You never believe me anyway,” Nikola croaked and struggled to sit up. Mitch looked pointedly at the mountain of used tissues in the bin. Fluffball whined at them from the foot of the bed. Mitch didn’t think the puppy had ever slept in her own bed but she seemed to know to stay away from the pillows so Mitch left her be.

“You’ll make Amelie jealous,” Nikola said when Mitch reached out to feel his brow, his magic telling him exactly how high Nikola’s fever was.

“Over toast and hot tea?” Mitch asked, lowering his hand.

“When did you last make her breakfast in bed?”

“Umm… You have the flu,” Mitch finally managed. Nikola rolled his eyes. “And she always gets up before me anyway. If she ever gets sick I’ll make her toast as well.”

“I’m cutting it,” Nikola coughed. Mitch patted him on the back and offered him the tea when the coughing subsided.

“Have you slept at all?” Mitch asked. Nikola shook his head between sips. Mitch sighed and scrambled onto the bed to sit on Nikola’s other side.

“You really will make Amelie jealous,” Nikola said, resting his head on Mitch’s shoulder. Mitch wrapped an arm around him and used a touch of magic to radiate cold. Nikola sighed and set the tea aside before pressing himself a little closer. His breath smelled suspiciously of tooth paste.

“Don’t worry about it,” Mitch said, rubbing his arm.

“But–” Nikola yawned.

“Hush,” Mitch ordered. “I’ll sign us up to a student association dance class or something once you’re better.”

“Amelie likes dancing,” Nikola mumbled. He coughed weakly and closed his eyes. Mitch smiled at him and waited as Nikola’s breathing slowed.

“Mitch, dinner’s here,” Amelie called.

Mitch started, half asleep himself, and Nikola groaned and covered his ears.

“Headache?”

Nikola nodded and sneezed, a tissue appearing in his hand.

“I thought you were asleep.”

“Not quite.” Nikola sneezed again and blew his nose, shivering. Mitch hastily dropped his freezer impersonation and shifted so that he could pull the blankets up higher around Nikola. “You should go eat.”

“And you should sleep,” Mitch said. “Dinner can wait.”

“But–”

“No buts,” Mitch cut him off, noting that for all his protests Nikola was still curled up against his side. “Just lie down and close your eyes.”

Nikola closed his eyes and Mitch waited until he was sure his friend was asleep before lowering him onto the pillows and going to eat.

#

“You should have called me,” Mitch said when Nikola shuffled out into the hallway. “I would have brought you anything you need.” He always made sure that Nikola had plenty of water and tissues when he came home between classes. Food too, though that went largely untouched.

“Can you bring me a new voice?” Nikola croaked, curling up next to him on the couch. Fluffball trailed along behind him and sat at their feet.

“I’ll get you a bell,” Mitch said, putting his book aside and wrapping an arm around him.

Nikola shook his head, “I’m almost better.”

“You sound as if your throat is desiccating,” Mitch said, tugging on one of Nikola’s curls. Though Nikola was getting better. His fever was down and he’d actually eaten an entire piece of toast today. Nikola made a small noise that might have been agreement and coughed. Fluffball whined.

“You’re staying down there,” Mitch said, the puppy was still too small to jump onto the couch on his own.

“So what did you want?” Mitch asked.

“Nothing, I was lonely.”

“Amelie’s room was closer.”

“You’re nicer.”

“She says I worry too much,” Mitch said.

“You did sleep with me,” Nikola coughed. Mitch rubbed him on the back.

“I didn’t want to wake you,” he lied. If vampires could flush he would have been bright red. He hadn’t meant to do it but Nikola found it easier to sleep when he wasn’t alone and it was usually the next morning before Mitch realised that he was falling asleep.

“Ah ha.” Nikola coughed.

“I should get you a drink,” Mitch said. He eased himself free and stepped over Fluffball. Nikola slumped over where he had been and pushed himself upright, his cheeks reddening as he coughed. Fluffball whined.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Mitch muttered, waiting for the tap to run warm to fill a cup for Nikola and hitting the button on the jug.

“Here.” He returned to the couch and held the cup for Nikola to sip between bursts of coughing. Finally Nikola was able to take the cup himself and return to resting against Mitch’s shoulder.

“Do you feel up to eating tonight?” Mitch asked. “You can have whatever you want as long as it’s take out.”

Nikola smiled, “Custard?”

“I’ll start looking up dessert menus,” Mitch promised, “Or I could try and microwave some…” Surely he could manage that much. It was just custard, there was minimal risk that he’d slice a finger off making custard though he was convinced that his bread slicing skills were improving.

“You’re spoiling him Mitchell,” Amelie said, emerging from the hallway and buttoning up her coat.

“With custard?” Mitch asked, rubbing Nikola’s arm when he felt him tense. He was the one who was being spoilt, he could afford to get Nikola a little custard if that was what he wanted.

Amelie sighed, “You should be in bed.”

“I–” Nikola began, his breath caught and he coughed.

“Where are you going?” Mitch asked, half turning to hug Nikola properly. He couldn’t tell if he was shivering or trembling, knowing Nikola it was probably both.

“Skating,” Amelie said, “I did tell you earlier.”

“Oh, right,” Mitch said. Amelie rolled her eyes. “Have fun.” Unlike them Amelie had actually made friends with some of her classmates. Mitch was still trying to figure out the finer points of being friends with someone who would double as food the instant that they got a paper cut. No one else was as distinctly not edible as Nikola was. The door didn’t quite slam shut behind her. Nikola shuddered.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “you’re always having to look after me.”

“Nonsense,” Mitch said, pulling him a little closer. “Who looked after me when I was chased by a zombie horse? Or when I went to the Dance with the Dead? Who was there for me when I became a vampire? You’re my best friend Nikola, if you want custard or chicken soup or a trip to the moon you can have it.”

Nikola sniffed and giggled. “Just custard.”

“Custard it is then,” Mitch said but he didn’t move. He could feel Nikola’s tears soaking into his shirt and there was nothing he could do to stop them.