[Gift] Fever dream boy

The fever that took hold in his body made its presence known slowly—Celestite felt it creep up his throat at first, dismissing it as being sore from the cold. Another day passed and he carried on as usual, feeling no more different other than a small tickle in the back of his throat.

Then, midmorning, as he sat working away on a chunk of quartz, a wave of exhaustion settled over him.

“Dammit,” he murmured to himself. He cursed out of frustration that he would have to take a break, then realized as a chill ran down his body that it would be more than just a short break. 

Celestite didn't get sick often but it made him nervous when he did. His home was isolated and if he wasn't able to find anyone willing to come check on him, well… he shook his head to dismiss the thought. Maybe it would pass after a nap, no need to stress himself out about it.

He put his tools away as fast as his fatigued limbs would allow him to before making his way back to the bedroom. A thick comforter already occupied the bed but he retrieved a quilt from the closet too, just in case the chills persisted. Celestite heard the scuttling of imps coming to join him once they woke from their various napping spots. He turned to see Jasper and Goldstone already on the bed, while sapphire stuck her head in the closet. Moonstone and Sodalite flew low around the room, making Celestite duck when they came closer. 

“Hey, come on, settle down. I don't feel well.” He huffed at the imps, knowing they wouldn't understand. Despite the disruptions from his pets, soon he was settled into bed and drifting off.

Unfortunately, Celestite woke later feeling worse.

His body was sore and he was curled up shivering under the two layers of blankets. 

After a moment he realized the room was darker than it had been earlier. He worked himself up to the task of rolling over to check the clock—only to squint in confusion. Something was blocking the glow of his clock on the side table. Sitting upright to turn a lamp seemed like a herculean task, and he spent several more minutes trying to gather the will to do it.

Once warm light filled the room, he found a tray on his desk with a bowl of some kind of soup, a sleeve of crackers, and a water bottle. 

He stared at the food and tried to process what he was seeing. 

Celestite didn't remember setting out anything on his desk before going to sleep—he had meant to, in hindsight, though. Maybe he woke up and stumbled into the kitchen. But the fact that his imps hadn't eaten out of the bowl…his gaze drifted over to the handful of creatures still asleep in his bed, some only now stirring. By this time of night they usually were clamoring to be fed. He hoped he had done that in his half-asleep state and they didn't break into anything. 

Another shiver ran down his chest and decided then that he was too tired to care about the logistics of his dinner. He had a few spoonfuls of soup, some of the crackers, and washed it down with the water before going back to sleep. 

From that point on, time passed in a hazy blur. Celestite slept most of the next two days, but vivid dreams bled into his waking moments and he wasn’t entirely sure how to untangle them in his state. He remembered getting up to check on his imps and their food, to use the bathroom, seeing a vast meadow in front of him, his living room blending into the Church of Sulfur, and more. He wanted to say he had checked his phone at some intervals and maybe responded to some texts? But it felt as if every time he tried to reach for it to check never followed through, just stared at it until he passed out again. 

At one point he woke and nearly drifted off again, until he felt something cool press against his forehead. Celestite cracked his eyes open to see a figure above him, silhouetted by a light turned on in the hallway. He struggled to focus on the details of the person, or the shapes floating around them, only to relent and close his eyes again. 

“It’s okay,” a soft voice soothed him. “I’m taking care of you…” 

And he believed it, as he felt his blankets pulled up to his chin, and what he could have sworn were lips pressed against the top of his head. 

He wanted to stay awake, or what he thought was a waking state, to see who the person was—if they were anyone at all. Another few moments of resting and he would open his eyes to try again.

So he did. He opened his eyes to daylight, and an empty room. 

For the first time since falling ill Celestite realized he was fully lucid, and felt…not great, but well enough to sit up and collect himself. Nothing was out of place around his bedroom, no signs of the strange dreams that had haunted him (nor signs that his imps had gotten into trouble, thankfully). He picked up his phone and scrolled through the recent messages. There was some nonsense he’d texted Sable, though apparently he’d had enough sense to reply to her confusion with “sodrrggy I’m sick.  Talk to your later”. That seemed to only prompt more confusion and concern from Sable, so he sent a quick update on his recovery before getting out of bed.

His imps swarmed around him excitedly as soon as he was on his feet, forcing Celestite to walk carefully to avoid tripping over any of them. “Hey! Hey—calm down! Hells, ok, ok, you’ll get treats!” As he spoke he scooped Sapphire into his hands as she seemed the most determined to be stepped on. Treats from the top shelf lockbox of the pantry were distributed among his rambunctious entourage and he sighed with relief knowing he could have a moment to make himself something to eat. 

Glancing around his kitchen, Celestite was struck by how clean it was. Sink empty, counter cleared off and wiped down, it wasn’t like that before, right? He shook his head. Maybe he’d gone on a fever-addled cleaning spree. 

He steeled himself and went for the fridge, knowing what little he had left for breakfast ingredients was likely out of date by now. If he could at least scrounge together something to tide him over, he could make his way into town and get a proper meal—except the shelves of his fridge seemed fully stocked. Celestite stood, blinking and slack-jawed. Fresh oat milk, bread, berries, tofu, and more he was sure if he moved things around and took proper stock. Most of this he’d been out of before falling ill, he knew because he’d left a list on the door. Celestite leaned back and closed the fridge partially to double check if he was losing his mind. Maybe he was, because the grocery list was gone. But something else was there he hadn’t noticed before.

Stuck to the door was a simple, folded card with a rose imprinted on the front. Slowly, he pulled the card from beneath the magnet holding it in place, and read the note inside. 

“Hope you feel well soon, my love.”

The image of the figure standing over him in bed the night before came to mind. 

There had been someone in his house.

Someone who had taken care of his imps, brought him food, tended to his fever, even cleaned and brought him groceries, before leaving a kind note for him. 

Celestite found himself smiling at the card in his hands. 

Who would do something so sweet for him? Of course he had regular visitors, but no one he could think of who would go to such lengths, nor who would address him as their love. He leaned against the counter for a long while, turning the paper over to see if there were any indicators of the sender. Eventually Moonstone floated over and he held the card up to them, saying out loud, “I bet you know who left this, huh? I wish you could tell me…”

After another minute, Celestite resigned himself to not knowing at that very moment, and needing to eat something before he investigated further, if he could.