The man returned in no time, with a drink in a mug on a tray.
Caspian was pleasantly surprised that they had warm drinks at the club, taking a sip of the drink without studying it, too eager to get warmer.
The gulp he took burned on the way down, his eyes watering. "That’s alcohol," He spluttered, the taste difficult to handle.
"With ginger ale," The man supplied helpfully. "It’ll help warm you right up."
"Can I get one without the alcohol?" He asked plaintively.
Caspian would admit that the drink warmed him right up, but it also made his head cloudy, and he didn’t like that side effect, nor did he appreciate the taste.
"You don’t want the gin? I could get you whiskey instead, or vodka..."
Caspian knew he was just trying to be helpful, "None of that please, just ginger ale and maybe lemon."
Caspian watched him hurry out with the tray, wondering how they managed to get their hands on a mug at the bar only to fill it up with gin.
He sighed as the room grew silent, he had just wanted to make sure Asher and Jael didn’t come back home sunburnt again, and all he managed to do was get himself drenched.
He couldn’t tell if it was because he was starting to warm up or the sip of alcohol he had that was making him feel drowsy.
He did get his mug of ginger ale and lemonade, the taste a pleasant change from the alcoholic drink he had originally been served.
Caspian was already nodding off by the time Asher showed up, lying in bed wrapped in Asher’s coat and covered up like he was on death’s door.
"Hi," He smiled at his mate who immediately came to his side, wincing at how hoarse his voice sounded.
Asher’s concerned look changed to one of dismay. "You’re sick?"
"No, no," Caspian denied in a hurry. "Your men gave me gin to warm up, and it burned my throat, it’ll get better soon."
"Why were you out in the rain?"
"I wanted to bring you sunscreen and it bloody started raining out of nowhere." Caspian complained like he expected Asher to do something about it.
Out of spite, another rumbling thunder hit at that moment, and Caspian couldn’t hide his scowl.
He really liked the rain but the weather that afternoon seemed to have a vendetta against him.
"Don’t worry about me, I’ll leave when the rain stops."
Asher stared at him bemusedly for a few long seconds, enough to make Caspian squirm a little.
"What’s wrong?" He had to ask, curious about the Alpha’s thought process.
"Your nose is bright red," Asher said bluntly.
Caspian immediately hid his nose behind a small hand, "No, it’s not."
Asher rose to his feet, taking out a scrunchie from his pocket to tie his hair back. "Did you take your wet clothes off?"
Caspian sat up a bit as he watched Asher wander off to a connecting bathroom. "I wasn’t even that wet," He defended, noticing for the first time how nasally his voice sounded.
"Right," Asher walked right back out with a towel, taking out his phone to make a call.
Caspian tried to dissuade Asher from fussing over him, but his mate wasn’t having it, needing to wrest the coat off him because he wouldn’t let it go.
And just as Asher claimed, his clothes were still wet underneath the damp heat the fur coat provided.
After he was properly dried off and dressed in the new clothes Asher had gotten, Caspian realized that most of the warmth he felt was coming from within...
And that was because he was running a slight fever.
Caspian was propped up against the headboard of the bed, now wearing completely dry clothes and clinging to Asher’s slightly damp coat.
He had fallen sick...
"Fuck..." He muttered hoarsely.
"You’re cute when you curse," Asher leaned close to steal a kiss.
Caspian averted his head, "Don’t try to kiss me when I’m sick."
"I’ll take you home when it stops raining," Asher decided, a disappointed look on his face when Caspian kept stopping him from giving him a kiss.
Caspian sank deeper into the pillows, sliding down to the bed. "I probably just need to sleep the cold off, I’ll be fine."
"Right," Asher agreed, taking his shoes off.
Caspian ducked under the blanket, only his eyes peeking out the top as he watched him, "What are you doing?"
Asher got right under the covers with him, getting comfortable. "Playing nurse," He said seriously, "I never get to do this."
Caspian couldn’t tell Asher to go back to work, not just because his mate wouldn’t do any of that but also because he wanted him close by.
He was worried about passing whatever he had to Asher but when the Alpha got under the covers, he was the one to close the distance between them.
He slept off in mere minutes after clinging to Asher, beyond comfortable despite shivering while being uncomfortably warm and feeling the first twinges of a head-splitting headache.
Caspian woke up when he felt himself being moved, groggy and wincing from the headache he had felt the beginnings of.
His mate’s face was right in front of him, and it felt like they were moving, Asher’s coat held fiercely in his arms.
He voice was a croak now, and he couldn’t even blame it on the gin and ginger ale because there was a very obvious itch at the back of his throat now.
"Go back to sleep, we’re heading home."
As Asher spoke, he stepped out of the club, and although it was already sundown, the smell of rain in the air, Caspian squinted.
The light hurt his eyes, and trying to keep them open compounded his headed, so he just closed them, drifting back to sleep because it was the easiest thing to do.
He did wake up a couple times in the car, Asher kept him in his arms the entire time, and he could have been hallucinating it, but he could swear he heard Jael’s voice.