Chapter Text
”Take them, Wes,” Angel implored again as he held out two small yellow pills.
"Angel…" Wesley was losing patience with this conversation as he was losing time from it. He turned his wrist and looked at his watch pointedly.
"Please, Wes… for me?"
Wesley glared. Angel was stooping to a low level now. They both knew it. “They’ll put me to sleep and I don’t have the time to spend my day in bed!”
"Sure you do. Your boss is giving you the day off."
Angel likely thought his tone left no room for argument, but with Wesley that wasn’t the case. “Our line of work, even in Wolfram & Hart, does not follow such basic rules. It’s only the common cold.” These words came out with an embarrassing pitch brought on by a stuffed nose and hoarse throat. “And I’m a grown man.”
"Then act like one and take your medicine. But hey, if you wanna behave like a naughty little boy, I could have some fun treating you like one."
Wesley could feel warmth touch the backs of his ears. And other places. But he only sighed to continue his point. Except the long-suffering sigh he’d meant to give turned into a barking cough.
As soon as Wesley had himself under control, his body no longer in spasms, Angel’s face was right before him. The desk was technically between them, but Angel leaned all the way over. And his eyes were barely narrowed and not a single wrinkle of anger showed on his forehead, but he still managed to look menacing enough to intimidate any demon. And Wesley was only human.
"You got sick. That’s your business. I trust you," Angel said, each word softly spoken. Deadly soft. "But now you’re *really* sick. You almost *passed out* this morning. You keep pushing yourself and that puts you in danger. And that makes this my business too." Angel straightened up again and finished. "Because I love you."
Though Wesley knew every word even if true was also a tactic, it was one that worked too well. Maybe it was being sick. Wesley’s body’s defenses were all in use fighting off the virus that had washed Wesley in misery for the past week. But suddenly Wesley felt as if they should be standing back in a simpler office, in a simpler time. He should be in a suit and tie. Most importantly, Wesley should be explaining he experienced allergies from time to time and looking away.
Angel had won. Of course Wesley couldn’t refuse him this little thing to make his world just a bit less complicated and stress-filled.
At least, Wesley told himself, this might mean being back in the office tomorrow with renewed energy. He could wrap up the research for the cases most likely to cause Angel legal trouble in half the time it was taking him today.
"I love you, too," Wesley murmured his reason for giving in as he reached for the tablets and the glass of water.