That evening Atlas wanted to talk to his mate. The things Niel had said to him made him think. Atlas felt as if he made many sacrifices. He had to wait and wait and wait until his mate would be fine enough to be in his presence, let alone be close to him. Never had he thought about the life Niel had left behind.
Maybe he needed to do some research in mated couples where one of them was human, the Alpha thought.
When Atlas entered their shared bedroom he could hear Niel already in the bathroom, readying himself for bed.
The human was not aware of the presence of the Alpha yet. Niel had taken a shower. He didn't feel so well and had hoped a steaming shower would do good to him. After he was done brushing his teeth he made his way over to the bed.
Niel was startled when he saw Atlas sitting on the couch. "I am sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Did you have a nice shower?"
The teenager slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, I did. Is something wrong?" Niel asked as he got comfortable in bed.
Atlas stood up and followed him. "I... I wanted to talk."
"About?" Niel quirked up a brow.
"I will first get ready for bed, then I will answer."
Niel shook his head. He thought the werewolf was acting strange. Before he wanted to question him further he started to cough. 'Please I don't want to get sick', was all Niel could think of. He was already injured enough in the last couple of weeks. For once he wanted to get on with his life without thinking about his health.
Niel had another coughing fit when Atlas exited the bathroom. "Are you alright Niel?"
"Yeah, yeah, I am fine... I think. So what do you wanna talk about?"
Atlas got in bed as well and moved closer to his mate. To his surprise, Niel didn't move away. Atlas tried his luck again and scooted a bit closer, bodies not touching but almost.
When Niel didn't make a comment about their closeness, the Alpha answered. "What you said last night, about sacrifices you have made... I never truly realized and I am sorry for that. I, honestly, thought I made many sacrifices too because of how our mating process was progressing so slowly and it was hard for me to accept that... I couldn't see what you had given up and left behind. I am sorry."
When Atlas was done speaking a silence fell between the two of them. The only thing that was heard was the few warriors outside changing shifts. Then Niel started to cough again. He cleared his throat when he was done and responded. "I don't know what to say. I guess I am happy you finally got to see what I am going through."
"It's fine, you don't have to say anything at all if you don't want to," Atlas gave a small kiss on Niel's forehead. It was then he noticed his forehead was burning.
"You are burning up. Are you sure that you are alright?"
"I am fine. I just need some rest." The teenager sighed.
Atlas was skeptical but let it rest as he, too, needed some well-deserved rest. They wished each other goodnight and went to sleep.
Early in the next morning, Atlas was woken up by unsettling sounds coming from the bathroom. With one glance to the left, he noticed Niel was gone and that his mate must have been the source of the sounds.
Quickly the Alpha made his way across the bedroom into the bathroom. There he saw Niel hanging above the toilet emptying the insides of his stomach. Atlas snatched a towel from the rack and wet it. "It's alright, I am right here." He soothed his mate while cleaning Niel's face.
"I think I might be sick," Niel commented when he was done.
"Yeah no shit," Atlas chuckled. "Come, I got you. Let's get you back into bed." The Alpha lifted him up in his arms. Niel was cold and snuggled into Atlas' chest for every bit of ounce of warmth the werewolf could give.
The teenager hated he was sick. The last time he was this sick was when he was fourteen years old. His mother was there by his side, washing him, and feeding him. The memories flashing through his mind made Niel miss his mother.
It felt so long ago. It was the last time Niel and his mother were close to one another. After that anytime he got close his father would say Camilla was coddling Niel.
"Here we go," Atlas put Niel under the covers. "Give me a minute to dress and then I will get the doctor."
Niel shook his head and tugged at Atlas's shirt. "It's not necessary, I just got a cold, or flu, or both? Or is it the same? Anyway, it's nothing serious..."
"I will let the doctor decide if it's nothing serious. Just stay put." Atlas didn't need to say that twice to Niel as he closed his eyes again, staying much rather in bed than go outside.
Minutes later the teenager was gently nudged by Atlas. "Niel wake up."
Niel disagreed by turning away. "You can sleep further after Dr. Laura has looked at you."
He turned back around and let the doctor do her thing. After his temperature was taken, and a look at his throat Dr. Laura came to the conclusion of the common flu.
"Flu? Is that dangerous?" The Alpha asked. "What should we do?"
Dr. Laura sighed. "It's nothing serious, I assure you. He just needs to drink plenty of water and rest. I will have some medicine to reduce his pain and make him a bit more comfortable. But there is nothing for you to worry about." And with that she left, leaving a helpless Atlas.
"Should I stay here with you?" The Alpha whispered. He tucked Niel in, making sure he would be warm enough.
"I will be fine," Niel muttered. All he wanted was some sleep.
"I think I will send up Rain. She can keep an eye on you and if you need me just let Rain know, okay?"
The teenager nodded his head and fell asleep.
In the following days, Niel was slipping in and out of reality. The high fever made him hallucinate when awake about past memories and during the night they continued in his dreams.
"Come on Niel!" Arabella whined. "Please?"
"Not now. I have homework to make," I muttered. My eyes never left the equations. Ugh, I was so bad at physics. I tried to continue but my little sister was making it very hard for me.
Arabella tucked once again my arm. "But we need sibling bonding time and you are never there. Come one... You know I make you a deal, if you sit with us I will make whatever homework you are trying to do now, deal?"
Before I could comment our brother stepped in. "You know he will never learn it if you do it for him. Homework is there for a reason Bella," Florian chided teasingly.
"Don't you think I know that? I just want us three to spend some time together." Arabella pouted, her arms crossing in front of her stomach.
"You know it wouldn't hurt, Niel, to sit with us." Florian looked me deep into my eyes. I turned around on my chair, facing them now fully. "But I am not interested in-in... whatever it is you two are doing," I complained while gesturing at their stuff laying on the ground in Florian's room. Both bathroom doors were open and the feminine products were on full display.
It was a couple of months that it was known between the siblings that Florian wanted to take a different path in life.
I let out a long exaggerated sigh. "Fine. What are we doing exactly?" I asked while standing up.
Arabella squalled and clapped her hands. "We are doing some skincare and makeup. If there is still time left we also want to do our nails. And of course, we can't forget watching Grey's Anatomy." I groaned. This was going to be a long afternoon.
To my surprise it was fun. Florian and Arabella managed to get me to try one of their facemasks. They tried to explain to me where it was for, and what it did to my skin. But I couldn't really follow.
When another episode was over and silence fell in Florian's bedroom, Arabella spoke up.
"So Flo, have you thought about a new name?"
I could see how my older brother got flustered. "Uhm, no, I don't want to think about it yet until..."
"Until when?" Arabella immediately asked. She left no room for Florian to breathe.
I carefully nudged her. "What?" Her eyes widened with confusion. "Give some space, will you?"
"Oh, I didn't mean to... I am sorry Flo. I am just excited, is all." She shrugged.
Florian stood up and set next to our little sister, taking her hand in his. "It's fine Bella, really. I just want to wait until I have my things in order. Until I have my own place and can live the way I want. I don't want you two to make a mistake in front of mom and dad, that's also why I want to keep he/him pronouns. I want to wait until the right moment."
It was a great moment we shared then. The warm fuzzy feeling it gave me stayed then for another half hour, it was then our mother had arrived and we quickly had to clean up.
Three months later, the evening before the incident happened, Florian came to my room. It was then she told me her name, Florance.
"Florance... Florance..."Kept Niel muttering in his sleep. Rain and Atlas both concerned watched the teenager.He was now sick for over a week and his mate became worried.