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He shoveled the rest of the vegetables into her nest and backed out, rubbing his wrist and arm across his sweaty forehead, then beneath his nose. Feeding time would have been so much easier if the dragons did not have a problem with magic being use around their nests. Which meant even the simplest jobs had to be done by hand.
But Charlie was done for the day, now, and he was much relieved. He'd been out all night arranging things with the vampires, in order for Gustov to officially work for the dragon reserve. And he'd been working with the dragons all morning. Apart from an hour and a half of behavioral study, his day had consisted of feeding breakfast, cleaning away waste, giving a bath, and feeding lunch. He was dead tired by now and just wanted to go home to sleep off his cold.
"aiiii-YISHhhhhh! ayChhhhh!" He sniffed hard and rubbed his nose into his sleeve. Then he closed the pen door behind him and headed from the barn. They called it a barn affectionately, but it was actually a recreation of the middle section of a mountain, with a rock and stone appearance both out and in, and with little caves where they dragons nested. Charlie had requested barn duty this morning when he came into work because of his cold. His usual job of working in the nursery, where things needed to be sterile and quiet, had not been a good idea considering all his sneezing.
He washed off his boots and collected his jacket. Then he headed through the one hundred feet tall gates and over to the main office building.
He stopped by one of the offices on his way out. "I'm off, Boss," he said, pulling on his jacket. "Was a copy of the document I signed for the vampires this morning sent over?"
Raising his head, the man nodded. "Got it right here. Everything seems to be in order. I'll send word over to Gustov as soon as our paperwork has cleared. You did well, Charlie-boy."
Charlie beamed. "Thank you, Sir." Feeling another sneeze coming on, he turned and buried his nose in the crook of his arm. "hah... excuse... hahh-AIShhuhhh!" He raised his head for a moment to sniffle, believing it was over. But he quickly lowered it again. "AIISHhhhhh!" He snuffled into his sleeve a few time and said a muffled "Excuse me."
"Now go home and get rid of that bug," his boss told him. "I've already dropped you from the schedule tomorrow and I don't want to see you back here until you're over your cold, do you understand? Take a few days if you need to. You have done well here and now you need to go get better."
Charlie nodded in agreement, thanked him, and walked slowly out of the office. The sneezes had made his head hurt more than the fatigue already had it hurting. A nice, long sleep was all he cared about now. Once outside the office, he snuffled into his sleeve a little and headed towards the racks that held their timecards.
"Clocking out?"
Knowing that voice anywhere, Charlie nodded without having to look up. He slid his card into its spot on the right-hand rack and, once there, the proper date and time magically appeared on the paper. "Yeah." He sniffed and rubbed at his nose as he looked up to see Barlov walking down the hall from the front entrance. "You're on now?"
"Ships that pass," he said, smiling. Though he was a rough, burly man, Barlov had one of those glowing smiles that seemed to make anyone he talked to feel happy. And it was impossible to feel badly once you heard him laugh. He took his timecard out of the right rack and put it on the left one. "You had barn duty today?" he said, pulling a face.
Charlie nodded again. "Do I smell that bad?" Barlov laughed, and Charlie couldn't help but smile. Charlie plucked at his shirt and sniffed. "I'm afraid I can't smell anything right now, but perhaps that's a blessing."
"Believe me, it is," Barlov agreed, making another face.
Charlie laughed. "Well, say hello to Mitch and Dalis for me. But tell them they'd better not even think about flying for the first time without me there."
Laughing, Barlov nodded and headed out of the building towards the nursery.
Charlie rubbed at his nose as he continued on down the hallway. It was rather unbelievable that he'd made it through the whole conversation with Barlov without sneezing, but his nose seemed to want to make up for that now. He leaned back against a wall and cupped a hand to his face. He had sneezed into the only handkerchief he had on him so many times that it was past the point of usefulness now. "hahh... aySCHHH! aiiiiKSchhhhh! aiYetchhhhh!" He wiped his hand on his pants and took a few deep breaths to clear his mind. He head throbbed and his throat was starting to hurt as well, but he pushed the symptoms aside in order to apparate home properly.
When he arrived home, his apartment seemed far colder than he usually kept it. The thermostat seemed set at the right temperature, however. He shivered as he shed his clothes on the way to the bathroom. One long, hot shower later, Charlie was slipping into a clean t-shirt and sweatpants.
He went straight to bed, burrowing under the blankets and curling up in the center of the bed with the blankets all around him. He always slept this way when sick, with the blankets in a sort of nest and curled in the center where he could be as warm as possible.
For a few moments, he felt a bit lonely. Brought up in The Burrow, he wasn't used to being alone while sick. There had always been family members around whether you wanted them there or not. Right now, he could have used someone, though. He had half a mind to owl Bill to ask him to come over. But, knowing Bill, the elder Weasley was probably off on a treasure hunt somewhere or trying to break curses deep beneath a pyramid where he couldn't possibly be reached for days.
So Charlie shoved the feeling away and not five minutes later, he'd fallen asleep.
*
Charlie woke to the sound of a kitchen pot falling to the floor. Not wanting to get up any time soon, as his nose felt full and his head still felt achy. The bed was warm and he did not want to leave it. However, the metal clank echoed in his ears and kept him from being able to fall back to sleep. "Roddy?" he called out. "Stay out of my cupboards!"
He had no idea how long he had been asleep, but as his symptoms seemed to be no better, he assumed it could not have been very long. There was another clank and Charlie winced, squeezing his eyes closed more tightly. "Roddy!" The bird frequently got into his things when left alone too long. Charlie began to call out again but a tickle in his nose silenced his words. "hahh..." He pulled a hand out from beneath the blankets and cupped it to his face. "ahhh-AYChhhhh! Sniff!"
There was a tissue box on top of his headboard, but he couldn't reach it from his current position. But when he tried to sit up, something heavy weighed him down. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes. Vlad was stretched out on Charlie's chest. "Oh great," he groaned. Vlad was heavy, but at least the dog had kept him warm. He carefully pushed the dog off him along with his blankets as he slipped from beneath and out of bed. The dog curled up in the nest of blankets to get back to sleep and Charlie patted his head. "I don't blame you." He took a few tissues from the box on his headboard and blew his nose thoroughly. Sniffling, he headed down the hallway to see how much of a mess had been made of his kitchen.
Shuffling over in his t-shirt and sweat pants, and with tissues held to his face, he called out, "Roddy... I told you to keep out of my..." He stopped as he reached the kitchen and realized it hadn't been Roddy at all. "Stephan?"
The broad-shouldered, dark-haired, and dark-eyed fellow dragon reserve worker turned away from the stove. "Sorry about the noise, Char. Did I wake you?" Sympathetically, he looked over at Charlie.
Charlie nodded heavily and gave a strong yawn into the back of his hand. "It's all right." He checked the time. "I should take some more pills now anyway." He headed over to one of his cupboards to get a glass of water. "So what are you doing here, man?"
"Heard you weren't looking too hot today at work and I was off this evening so I thought I'd come 'round and make you my mother's cold-busting soup. I let myself in after I knocked and you didn't answer. Saw you were sleeping." He gestured towards the counter which was covered in ingredients. "D'you mind?"
Charlie swallowed a painkiller and a decongestant, and washed them down with a whole glass of water. Then he shook his head. "Course not." He patted Stephan on the back. "I thoroughly appreciate it."
"It's the least I can do," he said, dropping a few pieces of chopped vegetable into the pot on the stove.
Charlie realized Stephan must be referring to the fact that he took care of Stephan's pets almost every day when the man had to work long hours. Of course, Stephan did the same with Charlie's pets. "I was going to call you as soon as I woke up," Charlie insisted. "About the animals--"
"Barlov said he'd look after my babies for me. So don't you worry about that," Stephan said, waving a hand dismissively. "I ran into him at work and he said you were a bit under the weather."
Charlie nodded in agreement and brought a hand to his face. "ahhh... ahhhIIShhhhh!" He sniffled wetly and wiped his hand on his thigh as discretely as possible. He was glad to see that Stephan had been too involved in his cooking to watch the display.
"You sound terrible. How're you feeling, by the way?" Stephan asked over his shoulder.
"Ill," Charlie replied simply. He rubbed at his nose. "And tired... and pretty sneezy all things considered."
Stephan looked over his shoulder. "Do you want to get back into bed, then? I could bring the soup over on a tray when it's done."
Charlie shook his head. "I'd rather just..." his words died away, however. "hahhh... ahhhHIHShhhhh! AyeKShhhh! Ugh..." He squeezed past Stephan to grab a napkin out of the holder on the counter. Using one hand, he folded it around his nose, pinched his nose through it, and blew. He wasn't sounding much better than terrible, he had to admit. He pitched the napkin into the garbage can and slid into a chair with a sigh. After one more rub of his nose, he folded his arms on the table. "I'd rather just sit out here for a little while. I could use the company. Is that all right?"
"Of course!" Stephan called over his shoulder. "After talking to dragons all morning, I know just how you feel." He deposited the rest of the chopped-up ingredients into the pot on the stove and accidentally dropped a piece of carrot on the floor for Vlad, who had joined them in the kitchen in order to beg for food. Preferring to just give him something rather than wait until the dog tripped him up, he was glad to see Vlad liked carrots. "It didn't distract him for long, did it?" Stephan asked, feeling the dog pawing at his leg.
Rubbing his nose, Charlie shook his head. He hadn't been paying much attention, and instead had been focusing on the ache in his head. It had seemed so much better when waking from the nap, but now it was back. Not quite as severe, but not enough for him to want to keep up his normal routine.
"I'll take him out for a walk for you before I leave," Stephan offered. He stirred the soup, then looked back over his shoulder for a response from Charlie.
One was not going to be forthcoming, however, as Charlie had turned to the side, a hand cupped to his mouth and pressed up against the bottom of his nose. "Ayy-IHSchhhh! aiii-Shickuhhh!" Tossed forward by the sneezes, Charlie straightened up with a strong, wet sniff, wishing he'd brought the whole stack of napkins over with him.
Stephan shook his head and sighed. "Accio tissue box," he called with a wave of his wand. A box from the living room coffee table zoomed over immediately. Stephan caught it and tossed it onto the small table in front of Charlie.
"Thags," Charlie managed with his stuffy nose. He plucked two, four, six tissues from the box and gave his nose a hearty blow into them. "Thanks," he repeated, sounding better the second time around. "I'm not too good at taking care of myself when I'm sick," he admitted.
Smirking, Stephan turned so Charlie could see his expression fully. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"Sorry?" Charlie shrugged and threw all his concentration into blowing his nose again.
"Well, you're not exactly set up for it at the moment," Stephan observed. "No handkerchief or tissues at hand. A fridge that's barely stocked. I suspect you came right home and crashed, did you? After dragging yourself to work when you were clearly sick and should have stayed home," he said disapprovingly.
"Working makes me feel good." Charlie tried to justify it, but found himself equally occupied by the tissues. "yihh... yahh-KShhh! Kkshhhhhh!" He pulled out another, muffling a third sneeze into it. "aihhhChihhh!"
Stephan turned away to stir the soup. Charlie was grateful as it gave him some privacy to blow his nose. When finished, Stephan said, "It is amazing how someone who takes such good care of magical creatures is so bad at taking care of himself."
With a shrug, "When I was young, my Mum always took care of me when I was sick. And when I was at school my older brother would look after me. Nice thing about being in a big family, I guess. Always someone to sit with you when you're feeling poorly." Charlie had made it a point to live alone when he settled in Romania, as he had never had a room to his own growing up. Though, instinctively, he'd surrounded himself with animals and close friends as well.
Charlie looked over to see Stephan turning down the burner and then ladling soup into two bowls. The one he brought over for Charlie had much more in it than the other, but Charlie was feeling hungry and certainly looking forward to the homemade food. "I've made enough for several more helpings, if you want seconds. Whatever you don't eat will heat up nicely, though." Stephan handed him a spoon and sat down at the table. It was a small, square kitchen table, shoved up against the wall in a way that eliminated a place setting on one side.
Charlie took a first bite and looked surprise at the mixture of tastes. He swallowed quickly, then pulled more tissues from the box. "hahh-Ehshhhhh! AyeKShhhhh! AhhhShhhh! Yahh-KUHShhhhh! Kehhshhh!" He wiped his nose and apologized. "Sorry about that. The spices caught me off guard."
"Spicy things are good for your cold," Stephan explained.
Charlie nodded in understanding and enjoyed the second bite more, knowing what to expect. It was certainly nothing like his own mother's soup, but there was a warmth to this soup that had nothing at all to do with its temperature. Vlad came over and settled on their feet beneath the table. He had either resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to be given any more of the meal, or was trying a reverse-psychology sort of thing.
When Charlie sneezed, which he did quite a few times during the soup-eating, Vlad jumped a little but settled back down on their feet again. Charlie appreciated the support, even if he knew Vlad was just trying to get on their good sides.
"I'll see you to bed and then take him on a walk," Stephan said, when Charlie had refused seconds. He had been yawning between bites, which Stephan had certainly noticed.
"You don't have to see me to bed," Charlie said a bit blushingly. He ran his hand through his curly, red hair. "I can get there all right."
"Nonsense, Char," Stephan said, depositing the dishes in the sink. He poured a glass of ice water from the fridge and patted Charlie's back. Then he guided Charlie down the hall. The clothes Charlie had taken off earlier still lay on the floor, and Stephan walked around them without a word.
Charlie had to admit how nice it was to have someone untangling the blankets for him and then tucking them around him tightly on all sides. Charlie curled up beneath them while Stephan moved a box of tissues and set the glass of water on the shelf beside the bed. Charlie smiled as the blankets warmed to him and his head sank into his pillows. Then Stephan patted Charlie's arm through the blankets. "I'm going to ask Marla and Jeffrey to stop by later tonight and look in on you," he said soothingly. Charlie closed his eyes and nodded gratefully before falling back to sleep.