Foreigners

Chapter 5
-caring-


Niko was woken by the morning light.He shifted on the bed, opened his eyes and smiled at the sight of Kamil lying by his side. All of last night came rushing back to him and he still found it hard to believe that it had happened, but it had, he could feel it had; his body couldn’t lie. He brought his hand to touch Kamil’s bare arm, drawing small circles on his skin.

Kamil woke to the strange feeling, the bed seemed oddly small and someone was touching his arm. He cracked his eyes open, finding himself looking into the green eyes of his flat mate. He remembered, everything, even the doubts he had had, the doubts that were still not gone, but he smiled at Niko, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable.
"Did you sleep well?" he asked.
"Yes, I did," Niko answered smiling back, "Did you?"
"I guess so, I was tired," Kamil smiled again. "But now I have to get up, and so do you."

"I wouldn't want to get up, I could stay in bed forever, well the rest of the day anyway." Niko grinned, giving a light kiss on the side of his neck.
"Come on, Niko, up," Kamil laughed softly and stood, realizing that he was naked. It was not the time to play modest, so he tried not to think of it. "Going to shower and then make some breakfast."

Niko sat up, looking at him, taking in the sight of him naked, noting to himself that he really did like what he saw.
"Don't use all the hot water," he grinned, "I need a shower as well,"
"Will shower very quickly," Kamil picked his pants from the floor and put them on. He then walked into his room where he took out fresh boxers and a T-shirt and went to the bathroom.
After a quick shower, just like he had promised to Niko, he got dressed and walked into the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.

Niko picked up fresh clothes from his wardrobe and went into the shower to wash himself. He had an odd feeling, like… something was not right, but he shrugged it off and went into the kitchen. Kamil had made them sandwiches he took the note as he walked past him, touching his shoulder briefly and smiling. He took the juice carton out of the fridge and poured some for himself.

"Do you want some?" He asked.
"Yes, please," Kamil sat down, starting to eat, seeming to be lost in his own thoughts. Niko felt an odd pinch in the bottom of his stomach as he sat down on the opposite seat. Kamil wasn’t looking at him.
"A penny for your thoughts," He couldn’t help but ask, hating the words as soon as they escaped from his lips, he felt insecure now.
"They're not worth this much, just some boring stuff, things I have to do today," Kamil mumbled around the bite of sandwich.

Niko nodded even though Kamil couldn’t see it, of course he couldn’t, because he wasn’t looking. He ate slowly, suddenly not feeling all that hungry. He felt confused; would it be alright if he touched Kamil? Shouldn’t it be alright? And what if he would kiss him? He wondered.

Kamil finished eating and got up, he washed his glass and gave a brief smile to Niko.
"Ok, now I have to do the laundry, lots of dirty clothes!" He left the kitchen, went to get the laundry back from his room. "See you later!" he shouted from the door, before it closed.

Niko sat there, the half eaten sandwich in front of him, the closing of the front door had left a hollow, lonely feeling. He was far from stupid and he knew the signs, he knew how to take the clue, he knew even though… He lost his appetite, maybe he could finish the sandwich later? He thought as he wrapped it in plastic and put it in the fridge.

There had been no kiss, no touch, not a word of what had happened between them last night and… maybe Kamil regretted it? Maybe it had been only sex to him? Or maybe he had just been tired and in a hurry and the evening would correct everything? His hopeful self thought, but he shook his head at this. No, he had seen this same thing often enough to know better.

He went to pack his school bag and left the apartment, no matter what, last night would stay in his memories as a happy one, he could not regret it, he would not regret it, it had been far too enjoyable.

At school there was no sign of Matt; he was probably at home hiding the damage of his face, Niko thought to himself and couldn’t help but to snicker at the thought. But he was still being watched, did Matt’s friends know about the hit? Were they mad at him? Plotting revenge? He couldn’t be sure, nor did he want to think about it much.

He got back home. There was a note on the kitchen table.
'Niko, I made you salad. Fridge. See you in the evening.' It made him smile, it made his hopes wake up again, as silly as it might have been. But Kamil had prepared salad for him, thinking of him and many times actions spoke louder than words. He took the salad from the fridge and sat down to eat, deciding to paint after eating.

Kamil came home pretty late, which was usual on Mondays. There had been some rumours about him, and of course he should have expected them, after coming out like that. The house was lit and he knew that Niko was home, probably painting or cleaning.
“I’m back,” he shouted as he entered the flat, he went into his room to leave his things there and then walked into the kitchen to fix some food for himself.

“Hi,” Niko’s voice greeted him, Kamil turned his head to look at the other, who stood at the kitchen doorway. Kamil smiled at him, greeting him back, before turning his attention back to finding food.
"How was your day?" Niko asked.
"It was ok. How about you? Did our trick work? Did this stupid groper leave you?" He asked as he checked the content of the fridge.
"Yeah, no signs of Matt, I guess he's at home licking his wounds or something." He laughed. "The others left me alone too... All in all, I had a great day and I owe it to you,"
"No problem Niko, I already told you you're my friend and will gladly help you," he finally decided to prepare some rice with meat and vegetable sauce. "You're up to some supper?"

Friend? Niko’s doubts were confirmed, the word was left to repeat in his mind and it left him confused again. Nothing had changed, not to Kamil. He swallowed, walking quietly to the table and sat down.
"Well, I could eat a little." He nodded, still looking at Kamil and hoping he'd... just... look at him back and say something, touch him... like he had on the previous night.

The dinner was prepared and a plate was placed in front of him.
"Here, and smacznego." Kamil said before starting to eat. Silence, it was so silent and again Niko could hardly force the food down. Not that it tasted bad, not that he… he knew he should eat, that he should feel hungry by now but he didn’t, it was tasteless to him. It was dark outside, he noticed as he finished his supper in silence, forcing himself to empty the plate. He got up and washed it.
"I'm going for a walk..." he muttered as he walked to the hall, dressing his jacket and putting his shoes on.

"OK, just don't stay outside too late," Kamil told him, watching him; he was dressing his lighter jacket on and Kamil thought he should have picked up something warmer, but Niko was an adult and could take care of himself. He walked into his room when the front door closed after his flat mate. He picked up some comfortable sleeping clothes, went into the bathroom and took a long, hot bath. After the bath, he took out his homework and got to work, he checked the time; it was 8 pm, he had a good 3 to 4 hours to spend learning, before it would be time for sleep.


Niko felt almost as if in a dream, it was chillier outside than what he had thought, but a stubborn thought was the reason of why he didn’t return home; winters at home had been chillier than this, so he could manage just fine. He shoved his hands in his pockets, million questions filling his mind. The wind blew past him, it made him tremble, there was a funny feeling in his throat, almost like he was choking.

He couldn’t understand Kamil, he wanted to, but he couldn’t, it was almost as if the other boy had a wall around him, a wall he thought he had broken last night but it was obvious now that he hadn’t. Kamil was gay, he was gay… they had slept together, they shared the same flat, then why did he insist on them being just friends? What was it that was holding him back?

Niko didn’t think that he was asking much, he didn’t need for Kamil to be in love with him, he didn’t need promises of forever because he knew that those kind of promises hardly ever worked. He had never been the one to ask much, things changed fast, situations changed fast, all he wanted was the truth and someone to hold, someone to stand by his side, someone, who would understand that he was not perfect, who was perfect anyways? - No one.

In Niko’s mind, Kamil planned too much, he probably had his whole life all planned out, and as for Niko himself… Well, he went with the flow, where would he be in five years? He wasn't sure, but he didn’t need a firm plan, plans usually seemed to fail anyway.

He did believe in love, he did believe that it was possible to spend a lifetime with one person and that was what he wanted, someone who would travel by his side; who would face the world with him and all the twists and turns that life brought.

But his past relationships had already disappointed him, they had already left him confused, his heart had already been broken once… He had been determined to stand back up again and continue with the pieces left, but it wasn’t easy, it had never been.

He had been seriously in love, he thought that he had been in love with him as well, but he had fallen for someone that, in the end, had proven fake.

They never really even broke up, he, his lover, never said the words; it’s over. One day, he just disappeared from his life, one night had been the most romantic one in his life and the next morning; a soft kiss that had been planted on his lips, a smile on his lovers face; ‘go back to sleep Nikolas’, he said, ‘it’s still early,’ and he watched him leave, he closed his eyes, fell back to sleep, not knowing, that it would be the last time that he’d see him. And no, Roni didn’t die, like he feared at first. No, the bastard had just come to fuck him one last time, before leaving him without a word, without a reason, without a goodbye.

He was broken for weeks, for months, not knowing what had happened and then later learning that Roni had just decided to go on a long trip across Europe with some of his friends. His depression left his mother worried, his own partying had increased, then came the meaningless one night stands. There weren’t that many, but it was still stupid and he always regretted them. He wanted to escape from the pain and then came the opportunity to move to Colorado, he jumped at the chance head first. And here he was now.

He felt tired and disappointed of the men in his life and of himself for falling into the same traps. Wouldn’t he ever learn?

It started to rain slowly, he didn’t care, he loved rain, he welcomed it. He was tired of all these confusing relationships, of people that were so hard to read.
The rain grew heavier, a winter rain, he was trembling, his lips were trembling, his hair was wet, he turned back, but he had already walked quite far, it would take him time to get back home.


Kamil heard as the rain stared to pour, and at the beginning it was just a shower, but then it turned into almost a downpour. He hoped that Niko had found a shelter for himself, but as the time passed, he knew that he would want to come home, he couldn’t stay outside forever.

After a time that had seemed like forever, he heard the door open and immediately got into the hall. He saw Niko, who was dripping wet.
"Niko, you're wet, and cold," he noted as he walked over to him to help him take off his jacket. The other boy was trembling all over, even his wet lips were shivering. "Come with me..." he sighed and walked him into the bathroom where he started undressing him. Niko was too cold to even help him and it was quite difficult to dispose of his wet clothes that were clinging to his pale, almost bluish skin. When he was finally in his boxers, Kamil wrapped a bathrobe around him.
"Now I'll prepare you a hot bath, OK?" he told him, and saw as the other boy nodded. Then he heard as Niko sneezed.

Kamil prepared the bath, making sure it was of right temperature, he poured some bathing foam in and watched how the bubbles formed, when the water hit the bottom of the tub.
"Come, we need to put you in the water," He said, looking at Niko again. He helped him take out the bathrobe, hesitated for a second before removing the boxers; hadn’t he already seen what he had? Kamil thought. The sight was still worth looking at, but never the less he took his hand and helped Niko’s shivering body into the bathtub.

Niko drew his knees close to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, it was getting better, warmer, but then he sneezed again and his head started to hurt.
“Thank you…” he muttered quietly.
"No problem," Kamil responded, realizing that the line was slowly becoming his everyday vocabulary with him. He reached for the sponge, dipped it in water and squeezed it over Niko’s back, watching as the water ran down, leaving a wet path.

"A shame we don't have sauna for you," he took the note. "This would get you warmer much faster."
Niko closed his eyes, smiled faintly and nodded his head.
“I miss home.” He whispered, enjoying the feeling of being washed, maybe Kamil cared after all, even if just a little? He was getting hopeful again and he knew he had to stop himself.
Kamil started to rub the sponge against Niko’s skin, wanting to quicken his blood circulation, it would get him warm. He dipped the sponge in the water time and time again, bringing it on his upper body. He couldn’t help but to notice, that Niko had a really nicely shaped body, not very muscular, lean, but not feminine.
"OK, you finish bathing and I'm gonna make you some hot tea," He said as he left the bathroom.

Niko stayed in the bathtub for a while longer, he didn’t feel like getting up, he felt uterly exhausted and it felt like huge effort to him to even try and lift himself up, but finally he did. Dressing on the bathrobe once more, he was sniffing and he felt dizzy. It was cold again.

He walked into the kitchen where Kamil was waiting with the lemon tea.

Kamil was almost positive that Niko was getting down with something and he hoped silently that it would be nothing more than a cold. He placed the mug in front of Niko when he sat down.
"Have it. It'll make you a bit warmer."
"Thank you," Niko whispered. "I'm always thanking you," he took the note then, speaking more to himself. He took a sip of the tea, still shivering, waves of cold running through his body.
"And I always say it's not a problem, we both should stop," Kamil smiled.
"We should," Niko agreed smiling into his cup.

"Think I'm going to bed, need to lie down." Niko told him after drinking the tea. He stood up, going towards the sink to wash the cup and sneezed again.
“Sleep well,” Kamil told him.


**^^**^^**^^**

Niko woke at 2 am, feeling dreadful, he felt like he was freezing, like he was caught in a freezer almost. He checked the window to see if he had left it open, but he hadn’t. Shakily he got up to find himself another blanket and when he had, he burried deep under both. His sleep was restless, broken, he was sweating, cold sweat on his forehead, he tossed and turned, not able to fall back to sleep, no matter what.

Clock ticked to 7am when he tried to get up, he was, however, far too exhausted for it. Hot and cold, the sweating hadn’t stopped. He closed his eyes, this truly was the worst he had felt in ages. He rarely got sick, but when he did, it hit him hard. He guessed that he had gotten over the virus days ago, but getting soaked in the winter rain really did it.

Kamil had fallen asleep with his head full of worry over his flat mate. When he woke, rather early, he remembered Niko and how ill he had looked the previous night. He walked into the kitchen to boil some water for tea after which he got into Niko’s room, to check up on him.


“Hey Niko,” He whispered, seeing as the tired green eyes peaked at him from under the cover that hid almost half of his face. The cover moved down and Niko lifted his hands on top of it.
“Hey…” he whispered, with a hoarse voice, his face was pale and sweaty. He needed help.

"I'm going to make you some tea and then I'll go and buy some medicine for you, you look like you need it. You didn't sleep too good?" it was a question, but Kamil was more than sure that he would
confirm.
"No..." he answered, "No sleep..." he tried to shake his head that felt like weighting a ton, his muscles felt sore as well. "I weight a ton." He told him quietly, his eyes falling shut.

"Ok, stay in bed, don't get up if you don't have to," Kamil quickly thought of what he needed to do. Niko looked worse than what he had expected and obviously needed help. "Now, I'll make you the tea and later the meds." He didn’t wait for an answer, just went back to the kitchen to get some tea for his friend. He fixed it with lemon and honey, stirring it and waiting for it to cool enough to be drinkable.

He then returned into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
"The tea has arrived." He smiled. Niko tried to sit up, tried to support himself with his elbows.
"I might need a straw to drink it," he tried to laugh, but it was weak and he fell back on the bed.

Kamil placed the mug on the table, next to Niko’s laptop and went to get him a straw. When he found one, he returned and placed it into the mug. He helped Niko to sit up, and took the mug in his hands.
"OK, now drink, slowly." He watched as Niko took the straw in his mouth, slowly drinking from it.
“You are a good man Kamil…” Niko whispered as he laid his head against the pillow once more. Kamil wasn’t sure what to answer, he gulped down placing the now empty mug on the table

"Do you need ... to go to the bathroom? Or something?" he asked, the other boy looked terribly weak, he didn’t seem like able to stand up by himself.
"Um, yes bathroom... I'm all sweaty Kamil..." Niko pouted. "But it's so cold in here, why?"
"Because you have fever," he informed him, "OK, I'll help you stand up and go to the bathroom, you're up to it?"
"I’ll try, I don't want to wet myself." Niko tried to joke, he found soon that laughing just wasn’t a good idea. He tried to get up by taking a hold of Kamil’s shirt and his thigh, just randomly taking a hold what he could reach to get up.
"Wait, wait," Kamil laughed a little, seeing his attempts to lift himself from the bed. He reached with his arm to wrap it around Niko’s midsection and then help him to stand.

Niko’s legs felt like jelly.
"My legs are jelly," he complained to Kamil, holding onto him tightly, trembling from cold. Kamil strengthened the hold on his waist, feeling how hot Niko’s skin actually was. He slowly led him to the bathroom. When they were inside, he felt lost for a second.

"Um ... should I help you with this, too?"
“No!" Niko responded quickly, bathroom stuff was private, at least to him it was, especially when… Well, he just didn’t want Kamil there.

"If you ... need any help, I'm right outside." Kamil said before leaving the bathroom. Niko waited until he was out before he dared to pee. He knew he was silly with this, but that was just how he was. When he was done he flushed the toilet and washed his hands.

“Kamil,” He called him weakly once realising that he was drained of energy, he didn’t think that he could reach the door without falling. He really hated being sick like this. "Can you...uh... help me?"

Kamil got inside as fast as he could, hearing his voice, weaker than he would have expected. He got inside, Niko looked pale and weak, he was swaying on his feet. He immediately caught him, his arm going around him for support.
"Now we'll put you in bed again." He said leading him back to his bedroom and helping him on the bed. He covered him with his blanket.

"I think you need more covers." He said then and went into his room to get his own duvet; that was the one thing that one should cover oneself if ill, Kamil thought. He placed the duvet over Niko’s blanket."Let's hope this will keep you warmer, at least it should."
"Thank you..." Niko whispered weakly. "Will get better soon, have school work to do..." he muttered, breathing through his mouth as his nose was stuck.
"Do you want more tea?" Kamil asked, to which Niko only nodded, it hurt to talk.

Kamil returned into the kitchen to make more tea and then returned to his friend, helping him to drink it.
“You should sleep now, I’ll go get you some medicine.” He told him with a gentle voice, his hands reaching to stroke his hair, he watched Niko closing his eyes and slowly falling to sleep.

Kamil ate a quick breakfast, the more he thought about it, the more he felt Niko shouldn’t be left alone in such a condition. He took a shower, dressed and left the house to find the nearest drug store. He asked the pharmacist of what to get to Niko and she suggested him the same things he himself had thought of; aspirin, nose drops and vitamin C and he also chose to buy some cough syrup.

Then he went shopping, he needed to cook something that Niko could eat and that would make him stronger. Chicken soup was something his mother had always cooked, so he bought a small chicken and some thin noodles before getting back home.


When getting into the hall, he heard some noise coming from Niko’s room and decided to check up on him.

He found him sitting on the floor, obviously struggling to stand back up, but with not much success.
“I fell,” he whined pitifully, looking up at him.

"Niko..." he sighed, carefully took him by his arm and lifted him onto his bed "Stay in bed. I'll bring you the medicines."He covered him once more and went into the kitchen to get him tea and medicines.

Niko sighed, he didn’t like that Kamil saw him this weak, he had already helped him with so much… and now this and he was lying there helpless, sick and quite unattractive in his own mind… And yet there was a part of him that enjoyed greatly the care that Kamil was showing him, staying home, missing both work and school for him. How many others would do that?

"Take the medicines," Kamil told him, when returning into the room, he gave him the pills and the tea to drink, which Niko took.

Niko swallowed the pills down and drank his tea, which spilled, he sniffed his nose and looked miserable.
“I’m sorry,” he felt like he had really ruined Kamil’s day.
"You don't have to be," he smiled as he handed him the nose drops. "This is for your nose, drop a few drops inside, it should make breathing easier," then he took the tea mug and wiped the spilled tea with a napkin.
Niko took the nose drops which he seriously hated taking, but they did instantly ease his breathing. He wondered how afoul he must have looked and started to worry about it. He knew it was stupid, but couldn’t help himself. He brought his hands to touch his cheeks that still felt like burning, he chewed on his lower lip.
"Now I am going back to the kitchen to prepare the chicken soup for you. You try to sleep, if you can," Kamil smiled at him and left the room. He felt sorry for Niko, who looked so miserable and weak at the moment, but strangely, he still had this…boyish charm in him. He smiled to himself remembering the previous night, of how good it had felt to be inside of him.

After an hour and a half the soup was ready and he returned to Niko’s room, carrying a tray. The other boy was lying in bed, a comic book resting on top of his chest.
“I tried to read but…” He explained weakly, Kamil nodded, placed the tray on the table and sat on the edge of the bed like before.
"Do you think you're able to eat, your throat doesn't hurt that much?"
"I can try... to eat" he told him, looking at the soup bowl, chicken soup, he remembered his own mother making it too when he had been sick and smiled faintly. He moved his legs to give more room to Kamil.

Kamil moved to sit more comfortably, took the bowl and dipped the spoon in, he brought it in Niko’s mouth.
"The plane is landing so open up," he joked. Something his mother had used at times when he didn’t want to eat. He had been a fussy eater as a child and she had to use many tricks to persuade him to eat, strangely the plane had worked the best.

Niko would have laughed if he had been able to, but he could only produce a strange sound that might have resembled laughter. He smiled none the less and opened his mouth for the ‘plane’ He swallowed it down, which hurt a little, but the warmth also soothed his throat.

Kamil continued to feed him, which felt strange, but it was more of a pleasant strangeness, it felt nice to be useful and… helpful. It was almost as if he had been lacking something all this time in America and now he had found the thing that he had been lacking.

At home, Kamil had been taking care of his younger sister a lot and helping with things at home, even if he seriously hated cleaning, other things had been OK. Here in Colorado, he had suddenly been left all by himself, without closer human contact and Niko… Niko had made him realise what it was that he was missing.
"Does it taste you?" He asked when half of the soup was gone. Niko nodded.
"Shgoog" Niko sputtered and licked his lips, feeling slightly better with having something to fill his stomach. "Another plane..." he joked, opening his lips, enjoying this feeding a lot more than he probably should.

Kamil snorted and resumed feeding him until the soup was gone from the plate.
"Now sleepy time again, Swedish kid," he said standing up. "Do you still feel cold?"

"Getting cold," Niko nodded his head.
"What would you say if I helped you get another hot bath?" he suggested.
“I’d like it,”
"Then wait here, I'm going to prepare one."


After the bath was ready, he went to get Niko.
"Ready for a little cleaning?" He asked, Niko nodded, reached his hands towards him for help. Yes, he liked it way too much than he should.

Once in the bathroom, Kamil helped him undress, until he stood in front of him naked. He gave him a quick look and helped him into the tub.
"Not too hot?"
"No," Niko shook his head and sat down."it feels good, warm" He played with the bubbles, until feeling exhausted again. He thought he should wash his hair too so he reached out for the bottle of shampoo.

Kamil didn’t think that it was a good idea for Niko to wash his head, but if he felt like it… He shrugged and took the shampoo that Niko hadn’t been able to reach. He placed it on the edge of the tube. He then took the sponge, wetting it generously and brought it over the top of Niko’s head, squeezing and letting the water wet it. He repeated it a few times until his hair was thoroughly wet. He put the sponge away, took the shampoo and squeezed some on his hand. He added few droplets of water and finally brought it to Niko’s hair. He started to massage his scalp, enjoying the feeling of his soft hair and the sensations that the foam produced on his skin. He would have never thought that washing someone’s hair could be this pleasant. There was a small, “mmm…” that escaped from Niko’s lips, his eyes were close and Kamil noticed himself watching him with some sort of strange fascination.

He continued for some time, then rinsed his hair, repeating the washing, the movements of his hands slow and delicate, he didn’t want to make him feel dizzy or anything and the truth was that he did enjoy washing Niko’s hair all too much.

“Thank you,” Niko whispered softly when Kamil was done with the washing, "I... sleepy..." he told him with a yawn and then sneezed. Kamil snorted, took a piece of paper and wiped his nose as if he were a small child.
"Ok, now let's get you out of water. Don't fall asleep just yet, I need to dry you." He took a towel, dried him with it, dressed his bathrobe on him and then dried his hair with a fresh towel.
"OK, now sleepy, for real this time." He said, which Niko only nodded to.

**^^**^^**^^**^^**

Kamil sat in Niko’s room, trying to do his school work. He had called in sick at work as well. Niko had been sleeping the bigger part of the day and Kamil had decided to use his laptop to help him with his homework, he knew that Niko wouldn’t mind.

Then it got dark, and late and he noticed that Niko’s sleep became restless. He was tossing and turning, mumbling words in his own language, language that sounded strange in his ears and made no sense to him. He got up and approached the bed insecurely, maybe he should wake him and give him some aspirin?
"Niko …" He spoke softly, but all he got was more unclear mumbles. Niko opened his eyes for a moment, but Kamil could see that he wasn’t completely conscious. "It's OK, Niko, I'm here." He checked his temperature, touching his forehead; it was hot so he must have had high fever. "Wait here, I'll bring you medicine."

Kamil watched as Niko trashed a little on the bed, so weakened by the fever that he couldn’t even sit up. He quickly got in the kitchen, poured some water from the kettle, sweetened it with honey and added a dash of lemon. He took the aspirin and a glass with the water and returned into Niko’s room.
"You need to take aspirin," he said softly, unsure if Niko even recognized him.

Niko nodded his head carefully and accepted the pill that was placed in his mouth, he swallowed it down, then drank from the glass that was brought to his lips.

Niko was shivering violently, even though his forehead was burning, there was a miserable moan when he lay back down. It seemed that he couldn’t get warm enough, so Kamil decided to lie down next to him, to share some of his warmth. He took off his jeans, leaving his T-shirt and boxers on. Then he slipped under the covers next to him, bringing Niko closer to him.

He felt as the other snuggled even closer and Kamil brought his hand in Niko’s hair, stroking him gently, he really felt hot all over. Something in him was waken, the body he held close to him… he wanted to protect him, he wanted to make him well again.

**^^**^^**

Niko woke up. His throat was still sore, he was surprised to find Kamil next to him, he didn’t remember going to sleep. He felt like he was about to sneeze, he raised his head up to try and locate some paper to blow his nose with.

Kamil woke to the incessant shuffling on the bed next to him and opened his eyes, he saw Niko’s red nose, but he actually looked a lot more conscious than last night.
"Hey, feeling at least slightly better?"
"Yes..." He answered with a nasal voice that almost made him giggle. "nees tissue..." he explained to him.
"A moment," Kamil stood up, cursing his morning erection. He went into the bathroom, where he carefully peed and then after washing his hands he took tissues to Niko’s room. "Here you are."

Niko took one and blew his nose. He was sweaty all over, his T-shirt clung to his skin and his boxers… “I’m all sticky Kamil,” He pouted and had to cough.
"Need a bath?"
"Yes... think I do..." Niko nodded and tried to pull himself up, his throat was really tingling. "Blackcurrant juice... Do we have?" he asked with a hopeful tone, it had also been something his mother had given to him when he was sick.
"No blackcurrant juice but I have raspberry juice, from Poland," Kamil smiled, it was one of the things that he had brought with him, his mother had really insisted on him taking it, saying it was in case of a cold.
"Raspberry? You do?" Niko asked. “I love raspberries… vadelma, at home we call them vadelma.” He smiled.
"I can make you some hot raspberry juice?" Kamil asked to which Niko nodded.
"And a bath...?" He added carefully, he felt like he was bossing Kamil. "Please? You don't have to though." Again he had to blow his nose.
"I'm at your service," Kamil offered him with a smile. "What first? Maybe breakfast? And then the juice? What would you like to have?"
"Hm… an omelet?" Niko suggested nibbling on his lip.
"OK," Kamil left the room to prepare the breakfast.

After 20 minutes Kamil returned with the breakfast.
“Here you are,” he placed a tray with the plate and the drink on Niko’s lap, "Smacznego."

Niko frowned at the word.
”Smasu whazu?" he almost giggled, he thought there must have been some snot in his ears as well.
"Smacznego," Kamil repeated with a smile. "English doesn't have an expression which would be used before a meal. 'Smacznego' means more or less 'May your meal taste you."
"Oooh, Smacznego..." Niko tried to mimic and nodded quite satisfied with himself because it did sound almost right. He started to eat then, taking small bites of the omelet, he knew he needed to eat even though his appetite wasn’t quite there yet, but he needed food to get his strength back.

Kamil watched Niko eating his food, he watched how slowly he ate, with small nibbles and bites, he couldn’t help but to think that he looked cute and…

"Is good," Niko told him. "Thank you Kamil..." he smiled and then brought his hand on his forehead. "I'm doing it again?" he shook his head.
"Yes, you're doing it again," Kamil nodded as he took the last forkful of omelet. "You eat, then, when you're ready, call me. I'll prepare the bath for you."
"We could get me a little bell?" Niko tried to joke.
"A bell?" Kamil asked, rasing his eyebrows. Niko snickered.
"Yeah, I ring the bell and you come... and you’d probably had me dead by the end of the week,” he grinned.
"I come?" Kamil snickered in return. "That would be interesting." Niko blushed with the sudden images that filled his mind. He tried to think of something else, anything else.
"Berries," he blurted out, a moment of silence… ‘What berries? What?’ he thought to himself, blushing even more.

Kamil could see his nervousness and he suppressed laughter, it was precious to see Niko flustered like that.
"Raspberries, Niko. Drink your tea." And he left for the bathroom to prepare him the bath.

Kamil found himself smirking while preparing the bath and he couldn’t help it. When he walked back into the room, the teasing streak was blossoming in him once again.
"Bath is ready, are you… coming?"

Once again Niko blushed, he couldn’t believe that he actually had the energy to think sexual things while he was this ill. He hoped that Kamil would just think that it was the fever that made his skin flush like that.
"Yeah I'll ... come..." He answered slowly and tried to lift himself from the bed. He wasn’t feeling as weak as the day before, but still a bit shaky on his feet.
"Whoa, you're not that strong, let me help you get to the bathroom," Kamil’s hands immediately went around his waist. It felt good to hold him, he noticed. Maybe… maybe they could really make it work as more than friends?

Once again Kamil undressed and bathed him, a routine that he found himself enjoying, too.

After it was done he helped him out, dried him and dressed him in a bathrobe.
"Fresh, clean ..." he sniffed him, "Yummy," he grinned and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Now go, take your medicine and off to bed! I must soon leave for the uni."

Niko was surprised by the kiss, his hand rose to touch the skin where he still felt the kiss and he smiled.
"Yes sir," he grinned and after going to the kitchen to take his medicine he climbed back to his bed, he felt much better already.

**^^**^^**^^**

Four days passed like this, with Kamil taking care of Niko, going to school, work and having to do all the household chores as well. At nights he had slept next to his flat mate who seemed to get really cold when with fever. It was to keep Niko warm, it was just sleeping, not doing much else and every morning Kamil had woken with a terrible morning erection… it was kind of… frustrating…

It was Saturday, Niko’s health had improved majorly and it was a day to relax, even for Kamil.
It was afternoon when he walked into Niko’s room to check up on him. The other boy lay on the bed reading comics.
"Niko, what about this evening?" He asked him. Niko lifted his gaze up from his comics.
"Would you.... like to do something?…Watch films perhaps?" he suggested.
"Yeah, I think we both deserve an evening of relaxation," Kamil smiled. "Do you have any comedies? Or should I go and rent one?"
"I don't have any new ones," he told him, "Just some, but... If you'd like to rent then?"
"OK, any suggestions?".
"Hm...." his mind felt blank. "I like parodies," he told him then, "But just rent something you'd like, I pretty much like any comedy at all.

"Parodies ... ever watched the parody of Dracula, the one with Mel Brooks?" Kamil asked putting his jacket on. "What's the title again?" He asked himself.

Niko remembered seeing it years earlier.
"I'd love to see it again! It's almost, gods don't even remember how many years since I saw it! Dracula....um... ‘Dead and loving it’?" He snickered, more excited than what was probably healthy, he bit his lip.
"Well, I ... don't remember the English name, in Polish it was entitled 'Dracula - vampires without teeth." Kamil grinned at Niko. "Polish translations of titles suck big time. Have you ever watched 'Dirty dancing'? It was translated as 'Spinning sex' in Polish," he snickered. To which Niko laughed.
"Really? That's funny....I've heard of that film, never seen it, my mom loves it to bits though! Oh, and you know... the Dracula... its Finnish title was..." he tried to remember. "Oh yes: Florid dead man... so..."
"OK, so bringing us a Mel Brooks parody, whatever I happen to find!" Kamil promised him and left the flat.


After Kamil was gone, Niko decided to take a shower, washing himself carefully. He used some cologne, making sure that he didn’t use it too much. Then he checked himself in the mirror, to see if he looked good enough. He changed his best underwear, snickering to himself at this point, honestly it was like he was preparing himself for a date.
“Oh Niko, you’re dreaming.” He sighed to himself, returning to read his comics and wait.

When he heard the front door opening he got up and went to the hall.

“Did you find it?” he asked with curiosity.
"Yes!" Kamil grinned and showed him two films. "I even found 'Space balls' a parody of 'Star Wars'!"
"Space balls?" Niko asked with a laugh. "Now is it just me or does that sound like a title to some cheesy porn?" he grinned at him, leaning against the wall, suddenly wondering what it would be like if they were to watch some... he quickly got rid of the thought. "You and your star wars." He continued with a smile.
"It does!" Kamil laughed. "It's a parody, so ... well, in Polish it was 'Space eggs' but then again, we do call testicles eggs." He laughed again. "OK, now I need to take a shower, I can see you already had one so ... did you leave me any hot water?"
"I did leave you hot water and you know the egg thing goes in my language as well, it's funny." Niko smiled, "I'll make some popcorn for us."
"OK… Make it good and salty." Kamil got to his room, taking fresh boxers, a T-shirt and his favorite gray sweatpants, freshly washed this morning when he was doing the laundry. Then he was ready to take a brief, hot shower…

Niko prepared the popcorn and took the bowl and some soda in his room. Then he got his computer ready.
"Which should we watch first?" He asked when Kamil walked into the room.
"I think Dracula should go first," Kamil said and sat on the bed.
"Ok Dracula it is," Niko smiled got up and put the DVD on. When he sat back down, Kamil noticed the slight smell of cologne. Had he… done it for him?

Niko wanted to cuddle, but he was unsure if that was what Kamil wanted. They had slept in the same bed for the 4 previous nights and… Kamil had bathed him tons of times, seeing him naked. This gave him the courage to move closer.

Kamil felt him moving closer and he didn’t mind it one bit, he had gotten used to having Niko close, even closer than what he was now. He reached for the bowl with popcorn and put it between them, so that they could both reach it easily.
"You remembered to make it salty?"
"Yes, lots of salt," Niko grinned, took some and ate. He took some soda and placed the glass on the floor. He got comfortable again, close to Kamil.
"That's the bug eating man," He took note at the beginning, he just found the guy so amusing already. He laid his head on Kamil’s shoulder taking some popcorn again.
"I know, and I love it how he eats the bugs and gets enema all the time," Kamil reached for some popcorn as well and munched it. Salty, just the right way, he thought to himself. Then he noticed that Niko had eaten his popcorn, so he reached for it again, this time feeding him.

Niko smiled, opened his mouth and took what Kamil offered, carefully licking his finger while he was at it. Naughty thoughts were already waking in him and he knew that he probably should try to control himself.

The touch of the hot, wet tongue was brief on Kamil’s finger, but it was electrifying enough for him. He took his hand away, reaching for more popcorn and putting it in his mouth. He tried to concentrate on the film.
"You know, I really find it funny, this scene in which Jonathan has to stab this vampire woman with a stake and gets sprayed with gallons of fake blood, all over him." Kamil spoke, Niko snickered quietly.
"Yes, it is funny," he agreed. "But this bug eating guy cracks the hell out of me: 'I'm coming master'," he mimicked one line from the film and laughed.
"Are you?" Kamil teased, with a snicker.
"Maybe later... who knows?" Niko grinned, and fed him some popcorn, his gaze however, was turned to the screen.

Kamil smiled and returned to eating popcorn and watching the film. Sometimes he burst out laughing at the scenes, and Niko was right; the bug eating man was the best, especially when he tried to fly and hit the ground. "Haha! The idiot thinks he lost the men following him by randomly running around, God I love this film!" he burst out and Niko joined him in laughter.
"I know, me too, it's so silly," Niko brought his hand on Kamil’s thigh, getting even more comfortable.

Finally the movie ended.
"Should I pop the other in?" Niko asked, stroking Kamil’s thigh.

Kamil knew that he should say; 'Yes, let's watch 'Space balls'’ but at the moment, he couldn’t care less, feeling Niko’s hand stroking his thigh. His breathing hitched in matter of seconds, four too many nights in his bed, doing nothing except sleeping.

"Maybe later..." he murmured, as he put his hand over his, interlacing their fingers and bringing Niko’s hand on his lips, lightly kissing every knuckle.
“Later…” Niko replied breatheasy, looking deep into Kamil’s eyes, looking at the hand that he was currently kissing and when Kamil lowered it, looking at Niko with a question, with wonder of how and where to touch him next; there were so many possibilities, equally as pleasant.

Niko breathed out slowly; how could such a simple touch make him feel so much? Finally he brought his lips on his, moving his one leg over Kamil’s.
“Oh God, how much I want you…” He breathed out, starting to kiss his neck, his jaw line, his cheek and moving once again to his lips. Kamil couldn’t have agreed more.

The kiss soon turned into hunger.


Kamil moved his one hand behind Niko’s butt, as the other arm wrapped around him. Niko’s position couldn’t be that comfortable at the moment, his body twisted at an odd angle, so Kamil decided to change it, flipping the other boy down on his back, moving on top of him. They were wrapped around each other, the heat continuing, the kiss continuing.

Something hidden was now released, the desire burning in between them.

Kamil’s hands on his sides, shirt moving up, hot, moist lips on a waiting skin.
It was that moment, both lost in their passion, tomorrow forgotten, everything else grew meaningless. They were together, both wanting the other, it was all that mattered. No words were needed.

They fought of who could be on the top, a battle that Niko would willingly lose in the end, but a game that he wanted to play. Kamil’s hand moving inside of his jeans, teasing the skin between his butt cheeks, he bent his head and moaned. Hard, needing, wanting to get rid of the clothes that were only in the way.

And even now, no words were needed, they knew what they would be, naked skin finally touched the other, burning, they were burning, holding onto each other almost desperately, wanting to get as close as one could get.

Kisses, Niko couldn’t get enough of the kisses, neither could Kamil. Passion, Niko was sure that it had been ages since he had felt this kind of heat with someone. The wait had been too long for them both, the nights of being so close and yet not enough close had done their job and now it was too much to take it slow.

The final preparation was quick, it was Niko’s choice, he simply couldn’t wait to feel him. Kamil lay down on his back and Niko sat on top of him, slowly taking the hard, ready organ inside of him. He breathed out, close his eyes, panting. Kamil’s hand came to rest on his hips, reassuring hands that wanted him to feel good, comfortable, hands that wished him no pain, the person who wished him no pain.

Niko waited until his body relaxed more and got used to the feeling, before meeting Kamil’s eyes, smiling; I’m alright, he wanted to tell him, but believed that his expression told it better than what his words ever could. And he began to move, slowly at first, leaning down to capture the lips of his friend.

Kamil held him, moving his hips up, unable to control himself, wanting more of Niko, getting lost in the sensation of being inside him, it had never felt quite so good, it had never felt like this with his last boyfriend. And they moved together, as one, kissing, no words, not now, not to break the moment.

They almost hoped it could last forever, but the heat was too strong to hold back, the want was too strong to conquer. The climax moved past them, through their bodies, leaving them relaxed, satisfied and sweaty.

Too exhausted to move, they laid there naked, side by side. Niko’s head resting on his chest, while Kamil’s hand gently stroked the soft, golden, chestnut hair, placing a kiss on top of the crown.
‘I’ve never met someone quite like you before.’ Kamil thought to himself, as his hand moved along Niko’s arm. ‘Beautiful…perfect…’ he thought, but did not voice it.

It felt right for Niko, to lie there, to feel Kamil’s touch, to hear him breathing. He felt relaxed and perfect; he thought this moment might break if he were to say something, maybe Kamil would get scared again, maybe he’d say that he wanted to continue as friends and nothing more. He didn’t want to hear it then, he wanted to keep this blissful feeling as lon as he could.

Kamil’s hand slowly and gently touched his cheek, urging him to look up; he did, carefully looking into the others eyes, lips came in contact with his own; a slow, gentle kiss.
“You feel good,” Kamil whispered, “really good.” Niko smiled, glad that the silence had been broken.
“So do you Kamil, I really… enjoyed… as you well saw…” Niko grinned, laying his head on the pillow next to Kamil, giving him a light kiss on the lips once more. Kamil smiled, gently touching the tip of his nose.
“Sleep well Niko,”
“You too Kamil, see you in the morning,” Niko grinned, his eyes already closing.

Maybe it really could work?

TBC.


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Nathaniel; Hi there! It's so nice to read we managed to surprise you at least a bit ^__^ *loving surprises here* Anyway ... still hoping you like this chap (Kolgrim wrote it, and oh boy, she's PERFECT! You'll see it for yourself! ) and thanks for the review! *my preciousss* *snickers* See you hopefully soon ^__^