without even dropping his pack off at the barracks. He just needed to see that Søren was ok.

wasn't anywhere near okay. He was panting quickly, trying to get air into his lungs. He was even more pale than the last time the other saw him, and was running a fever. He had been doing well for the first

few days after the accient, but now his body seemed to be shutting down.

entered the tent that he had left just 4 days ago, a promise of seeing the Dane again lifting his spirit more than it really should have,

but the sight of the other made all of those hopes drop instantly, as well as his mood and his gut.

seemed to have a pained look in his face, eyes clenched shut and an occasional cough now and again. A nurse frowned when she saw the other and walked over. "I'm sorry, but no one is allowed to see him. There's

just been one person he's been wanting to see and-" She stopped talking when she noticed the name on the mans uniform and looked back to the Dane. "Please, don't do anything rash." She went back to attend to

the Dane after.

rushed to the other's side as soon as the nurse had moved aside, tossing his pack to the ground before falling to his knees and grabbing

his hand, clasping it tightly with his fingers. "You said you wouldn't die on me" he tried to joke, but his voice sounded too desperate for

it to be funny.

faintly turned his head to look at the other and squeezed his hand lightly. "I-I'm not dead... y-yet..." He tried hard to show the other a smile, but either way it looked pained.

frowned, gripping the other's hand tighter. "What happened, Søren? Four days ago you were fine, now.. This"

took a shallow breath as he brought the others hands towards his cheek again, though it was tiring for him. "T-they say the wounds got infected... And I-I've not been able to eat and s-sleep as easily, so my

immune s-system is shot..." He closed his eyes after, his lids feeling heavy to him.

closes his eyes for a moment, trying to take it all in at once. "Fuck, Søren, I mean--" he sighed, opening his eyes again to stare at the

Dane, not even quite sure what emotions he was conveying, he just knew they were strong. "Just... Don't die on me, ok? I'll kill you if

you do"

smirked faintly. "I'll... I'll try not to..." He winced a bit from the pain in his chest, trying to shift closer to the other. "T-this sucks..." He coughed again, trying to keep as still as he could. He was

still too warm for comfort, but right now he tried not to think of it.

shifted by the bedside into a more comfortable position, letting go of the other's hand for just a short second before clasping it again. "I can only begin to imagine..."

frowned when the other let go of his hand, but the moment it was again he relaxed a little, and squeezed it tighter. "D-... d-don't leave.... please..." He tried to turn onto his side so he could face the other

bettter, and be closer, but his chest wound just wouldn't allow it.

gritted his teeth, hating how weak the other sounded. He squeezed his hand back as tight, assuring the Dane that he was still there. "I won't... not this time.. not till they drag me out kicking and screaming"

smiled and brought his other hand over to put on top of their intertwined ones. "Godt..." He coughed again and kept his eyes closed after, though still was gripping the others hands tightly.

contemplated the other with a small frown on his features. He looked so pale, so weak... so far from the energetic young man he had met those weeks ago.

rested his forehead on their bundled hands, it being seemingly on fire. He took a shuttered breath, mumbling quietly in Danish about nonesense.

could feel the burning heat that was radiating off the Dane. He knew that it was just a fever, something that would die down if the other stayed in the medics' care, but he still couldn't help but worry as he

looked around for a wash cloth, something to dull the temperature at least, but he saw nothing, and the nurse seemed to have left the medic tent for some reason as well. He thought for a moment, before deciding

he could impovise, and let go of Søren's hand for just a minute, to reach into his pack, retrieving a clean bandage and his water flask, dampening the material before placing it on the other's forehead.

made a quiet sound and opened his eyes a bit when the others hands left his own, blindly grasping for them after. He settled down for a moment when he felt the cool cloth on his forehead,

closing his eyes and trying to relax again. He tried to take a deep breath, but just ended up shaking and coughing in the end. It seemed almost that he was losing his sense of reality.

took hold of the other's hand when he was done, grasping it tightly until the coughing fit had ended. When it had, he brought the other hand up to stroke at the Dane's cheek, mumbling soothing reassurances to

him in German, because that was the only way he knew how.

Did feel some reassurance from the others words, and it helped him calm down. His grip loosened on hs hand, and his head sunk more into the pillow. He was exhausted, but didn’t want to leave the other by

sleeping.

stayed where he was, stroking the other's cheek and smiling at him, even if it was only weakly. He could see the exhaustion on his face, and just hoped that eventually, maybe he would get some of the sleep that

would help him get better.

fighting sleep right now since he didn’t miss time with the other. He had wanted him for so long, and now that he was here he wasn’t going to let go so easily. Even if he was exhausted... the other

meant more to him than sleep.

kept looking at the other's face, even though he knew the other was too tired to look back. He studied his features, the curve of his eyebrow, the bend of his nose, and suddenly he found himself thinking about

just how beautiful the other really was. It shocked him for short moment, as he'd never thought such things about another man, let a lone a woman really, but it dawned on him that he meant it, the Dane really

beautiful, and he felt an urge to say it outloud, but repressed it, knowing that it would make the situation extremely awkward...

Doubted he’d really acknowledge the situation if the other did act on it or anything. He jerked himself awake, blinking sleepily at the other, giving him a faint smirk as he was looking back. “Don’t… l-let me

s-sleep…” He pulled the others hand closer towards his chest, even if he knew he had to be careful with it.

shook his head slowly, squeezing the other's hand tighter for just a moment. "You have to sleep, Søren... it will help you get better faster. I will be here when you wake up, I'm not going anywhere"

frowned at that, not wanting to listen to him. He took a deep breath and finally pulled himself onto his side, pulling the others hand against his chest. “Nej..” He was reluctant to leave the other now.

sighed. "Søren, please.... you-- You won't get better without sleeping or eating anything. Please, just try... for me?"

winced a bit and pouted. "But..." He was secretly worried that things wouldn't go well and wanted to spend as much time with the other as he could. Just in case.

knew that things still could turn for the worse if he fell asleep, but there was only really one way of it not happening, and he would be willing to sacrifice those last few moments together, just so he knew

that the Dane had at least tried to get better...

jerked himself awake again, cursing quietly as he rested his forehead on the others hand. “M’sorry, Ludwig... I can’t stay awake...” He lightly kissed the others hand, feeling the last bit of

comfort he could muster before his head sunk deeper into the pillow, his grip loosened and fell asleep.

murmered a quick "it's ok" before the other fell asleep, allowing himself to shift next to the bed again when the other was asleep, before pressing another kiss to his temple, whispering a quiet

" just please-- dear god, please don't die on me" before resting their foreheads together.

's breathing did ease up a bit, and he had a mostly peaceful look. There were a few moments of pain in his features, but a quick squeeze of the others hand and he'd be better.

fell asleep by the Dane's side that night, head rest on the edge of the mattress, not far from the other's, and still grasping his hand tightly, as though he was scared that if he would let go, the Dane

wouldn't be there when he woke up.

fortunately was still there when the morning came, but hadn't changed too much. Over the next few days though he had physical signs of getting better. He still had a fever, but he had a bit

more colour to his skin and took more confident breaths.

spent all that time right next to the Dane's bed, talking to him whilst he slept, smiling at him when he regained conciousness now and again, but mostly just looking at the other, wondering how it had come to

this - how he'd become so close to this almost mystery of a man in such a short span of time, to the extent that he thought he would die inside should the Dane succumb to his wounds.

would laugh at the other if he knew of the inner termoil he was in, mostly to make fun of him. He groaned quietly as he opened his eyes and looked up to the celing, staying concious for now.

smiled down at the other, glad to see that he was seemingly concious again, and also that he looked a lot better than he had a couple days ago. "hey"

smiles a bit. "H-hej..." He took a very slow, deep breath, smiling when he could manage to do it. He still felt pain, but it was something he could deal with right now. "How long was I out?"

looked down at the watch on his wrist, checking the time. "Just a few hours, not too long... you look a lot better than what you did a couple days ago"

hums as he brought up a hand to touch his forehead, glad to be able to do it without getting tired. "I still feel warm though... or is it just me?"

pressed the back of his hand against the Dane's forehead, before shaking his head slightly. "You still have a bit of a temperature, but it's hardly anything by now"

smiles at that. "Good..." He took the others hand before he could bring it back and idly played with his fingers. "How long have ye been waitin'?"

watched the Dane's fingers play with his own idly, not looking at the other's face as he replied, too embarressed to do so. "... the whole time"

raised his brow as he stopped playing, keeping a hold on his hand though and just looked at him. "... The whole time? This is yer time off. Ye should be enjoyin' it, relaxin', ye know. Talkin' to friends."

let out a breath of a laugh at that. "What friends? Søren.... you're the only one here I really see as a friend. The rest? They're just fellow men..."

smiled a little at that, feeling a bit of pride. "So what would have happened if I died, eh?"

's features fell instantly to a grimace as he gripped the other's hand tightly. "Don't even think about saying that again, Søren... You wouldn't have.... you can't"

's smile dropped a bit, hearing and seeing the serious tone of the other. He continued to play with the others fingers again, though a little slower. "It's... weird. At times I felt like my sister was here...

kissin' my forehead and comfortin' me."

froze slightly, continuing to stare at their hands. He coughed once awkwardly, "how so?"

shrugs a bit. "It was like she held my hand, and kissed my forehead at times... it was always nice, warm and... comfortin'... I liked it. And miss it.."

stayed silent for a long moment, still watching the Dane's fingers. He then grasped them to hold them still, and looked up into the other's eyes seriously. "Like this?" he asked, before leaning up and kissing

his forehead like he had so many times whilst the other had been unconcious.

blinked when his fingers were stilled before locking eyes with the other in his serious tone. He followed the others movement before tensing when the other kissed his forehead. "... Ja." Almost instantly a

blush appeared on his cheeks, and when the other moved back a bit he looked away. Though he didn't dare let his hand leave his.

didn't know what to say when the Dane looked away, he had done that because he thought the other would at least try and help him make sense of whatever it was that was going on... but apparently now

waited a moment or two before bringing the others hand closer and started to nibble lightly on his fingers.

raised an eyebrow at the other, deeply confused by the reaction. "uhhhh.... what are you doing?"

mumbled as he continued to nom on his fingers. "Punishment for makin' me blush, of course."

dropped his jaw at the other. "Punishment for-- mein Gott," he said with a small chuckle before pulling his hand away, wiping it in the sheets. "You are such a child"

smiles a little as he licked his lips. "Ye love me for it, though~" He joked before slowly trying to sit up. "Fanden, m'starvin'... Did I eat anythin' since the injury?"

shook his head. "Not much, the nurse said you managed somethings before the fever really took its toll, but... well, you can guess the rest. Hold here," he said, getting up and stretching his back from where

he'd been sat next to the bed. "I'll go get us something to eat, mess hall should still be open"

smiled as he winced, finally pulling himself up to a sitting position. "Sweet. I really appreciate it." His stomach growled at the mention of food, and now he was just eager to eat.

smirked at the other. "I'll be right back then" he said, before walking out the medics tent fetching the food.

watched him walk out, his eyes not moving from his back. He sighed quietly, leaning into the pillow at his back now. He hadn't felt so comfortable around another male before, and that was really something.

returned just a few minutes later with two bowls of stew, though it was only luke-warm as the kitchen staff were just about to close up. "Here," he said, handing one of the bowls and a spoon to the other,

"think you can eat well enough on your own?"

shrugs as he took the bowl an spoon, looking down at it. "We'll find out." He managed to get the stew on his spoon and lift it up, but when he leaned that bit forward to get it in his mouth he winced. He

swallowed it but was distracted by the pain and tried to figure out a way to eat without it hurting.

frowned and placed his own bowl down by the side of his pack, which still hadn't moved since he'd arrived. He propped up some of the pillows behind the Dane and took his bowl of stew. "Lean back, I'll help you"

pouts and shakes his head. "If anythin' I want ye to eat first. Ye gotta stay big and strong to take care of me, after all."

shook his head. "I've been eating twice a day whilst you have been here. You need it more than I do."

huffed. "Ye eat first, or else I won't. And I'm starvin'. So eat." He tried to cross his arms for emphasis, but it failed and ended up being a lazy attempt of one.

rolled his eyes, but took a quick bite of his food. "There, now you eat"

stuck his tongue out. "Ye're a dick. Now finish yer food."

shook his head, getting a piece of meat on the spoon for the other. "Not until you've had some"

puffed his cheeks at the other but gave in when his stomach growled again. "... Ye're lucky I'm starvin'." He opened his mouth a bit as he watched the other.

rolled his eyes at the other, but guided the spoon the the other's mouth, letting him eat without having to strain his wounds in any way

licked his lips after, eager for more food now. He quickly opened his mouth again and kept looking at the other.

laughed at the Dane, but still kept on helping him, taking a bite of his own food occasionally when the Dane had his mouth full.

continued to do that until his bowl was empty. "Tak, Ludwig..." He rested back against the pillows and closed his eyes, sighing contently.

smiled at the other and placed the now empty bowl next to his own on the ground. He took hold of the Dane's hand again squeezing it once or

twice, before sighing to himself. "I'm glad you're better now" he said, stroking the Dane's hand slowly.

smiled at that and let his hand be pampered. He actually really liked the attention. "Well, it's obvious I'd get better sooner or later."

felt a twinge in his heart at that, because what if-- what if the fever hadn't died down, and Søren had just gotten worse and worse? He couldn't imagine it. Didn't want to. So instead he smiled and nodded.

looked over to him again, smiling. "Ye should know I'm a fighter. I won't let a little infection get the best of me."

smiled at the other. "Right. How could I forget that you would never go down without a fight?"

nods as he held his hand tighter. "It would be embarrassin' for my family to know I died from an infection... my pride and ego would be ruined."

gripped back. "Technically you would have gone down with a fight though. Or are we completely forgetting the bomb that dropped you in the first place?"

chuckles a bit, putting a hand on his chest as he hisse quietly. "Ja... but still..."

winced slightly when he could see the Dane was in pain. "How much does it hurt?" he asked, moving the other's hand by grasping that one as well

sighs. "Probably a bit more than how bad it looks..." He took his hand back and lifted his shirt a bit, looking at the stained bandages.

frowned, running his hand over the bandages, barely touching with his fingertips. "We should probably get them changed soon, I think the nurse did it a couple days ago, but not since then"

twitched a little under the others touch, finding it a bit painful but also ticklish. "Ye know how to bandage then? 'Cause I think they're busy."

nodded. "If you don't mind, that is"

smirks as he looked the other in the eyes. "I'd rather yer hans on me than anyone elses."

stared at the Dane for a moment, eyes furrowed as he tried to understand whether the Dane really meant it seriously or not, and how he felt about it if it was real... It all seemed so complicated right now, not

knowing what the hell was going on with his emotions, so he figured it would be easier just to help with the bandage's instead. At least he knew how to do that.

just smiled in response to that. He leaned back in the pillows in the mean time, trying to conserve energy until he'd have to sit up porperly for the other to bandage the wounds. He was a bit nervous to see

for himself what his condition was like...

carefully started to undo the material that was wrapped around the other's torso, trying his hardest not to cause the other any further pain.

tried to sit as straight as possible, taking slow deep breaths while the bandages came off. Once his flesh was exposed he looked down at the damage, suddenly gripping the sheets on the bed with strength. His

breathing picked up at that and became more rapid. He wasn't really expecting what he saw.

kept his expression passive as the wounds were exposed, he'd seen shrapnel wounds before, but he couldn't help but think that these were some of the worst...

tried to be as still as he could, but there were a few times when he'd grab the others sleeve for some comfort. His breathing was still a bit sporadic, but nothing to be concerned about.

finished removing the bandages and took a moment to look over the wounds carefully, before he started reaching for the fresh ones. "You still holding up ok?"

nodded as he chewed his lip. The knuckles on the hand that clutched the sheets was white, while the other that kept going back to the other was loose, since he didn't want to hurt the other.

smiled wryly as he unfastened the bandage. "Take a deep breath, ok? This is definitely going to hurt" he warned, before starting to re-dress the wounds as slowly and carefully as he could.

flinched and cursed, tilting his head back as he breathed, expaning his chest more than he probably should. It was hard to keep calm and not yell.

gritted his teeth, hating seeing the other in so much pain. "Just keep breathing, I'm nearly done"

nods as he continued to cooperate. "Fanden..." He couldn't wait for the other to be done before he could fall back into the bed.

finished up, fastening the bandage again before leaning back and taking the Dane's hand, hoping that the pain would go away soon

mumbled quietly as he leaned back into the pillows. He pulled the others hand, wanting the German to sit closer to him.

did as the other wanted, perching on the side of the bunk, trying not to jostle it too much, in case he caused he other too much.

shifted to the edge of the bed and leaned against the other. "Hold me. M'cold."

frowned slightly, because the temperature of the tent wasn't particularly cold when the flaps were closed, but did as he was asked anyway,

slinging an arm around the others waist, just low enough so he wouldn't touch any of the bandages.

easily leaned against the German's chest, sighing contently as he closed his eyes. "Much better..." He was already feeling warmer and over all better.

realised that he suddenly felt entirely calm for the first time since he'd seen the other in the bed, here with the Dane leaning against him and his arm wrapped almost possesively around Søren's waist.

lightly put his hand over the others, interlacing their fingers. He couldn't explain why he was doing what he was doing, but he'd use the excuse that he was cold to get away with it.

would probably have used the same excuse, though it couldn't explain the surge of protectiveness he felt for the other, the need to keep him safe and out of harms way, which was pretty ironic seeing as they

were in the middle of a war.

hadn't been able to fully tell that that's what the other wanted to try and do. He knew once he was out of here he'd have to go on missions and other things without the other, and it pained him to think of

this.

looked down at the top of the Dane's head. "When do you think you'll be ready for action again?"

shrugged a bit. "Hopefully within a week... the food here is terrible, and I wanna be with ye more."

smiled at that. "I can't promise the food will get any better out on the front, but at least you won't be bed ridden... Bet you want to be outside running right now, or something, right?"

nodded at that. “I wanna feel the wind in my hair, the sun shinin’ on my face~” He chuckled before putting a hand on his chest. “Fanden... I want out of here.”

chuckled along with the other, but frowned at the last comment. "I'm sure you'll be out of here in no time, don't worry."

Pouted at that and kept his eyes closed, sighing quietly after. “Are ye gonna leave me?” He gripped the others shirt a bit, wanting him to stay until he got better, which was a bit of a stretch.

closed his eyes and took a breath. He didn't want to, he really didn't want to, but if the Dane didn't get better before he got sent out again, he couldn't exactly stay... He didn't want to tell the Dane that

though, he needed to keep the other's spirits high, maybe a good mood would help him recover faster, so he settled for a simple, "Not until you kick me out" as the hand that wasn't around the Dane clenched the

material of his trousers.

Smirked at that and nuzzled his chest a bit. “I’ll push myself to get better then. The sooner I’m better the sooner I can cover yer eyes and sleep with ye...” He smirked at that, tightening his hold on

the others hand.

smiled. "Just don't push yourself too hard. Overexhausting your body might not help your recovery so good"

nods an nuzzled a bit into the others neck to get comfortable. “Ja, ja… I just want to be better… to be with –Yawn- ye…”

shook his shoulder slightly. "If you want to sleep you, should probably lie down. It will probably do you some good as well"

mumbled quietly. "As long as ye're around I can sleep... now shush.... as long as I dream 'bout German sausage, I'll be happy."

's expression softened at the first comment, but he couldn't help but snort with laughter at the second. "Have you any idea what you are implying, or are you still delusional?"

tilted his head up a bit to look at the other, his eyes a little foggy. "What am I implyin'...? I just like food..."

chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it"

mumbled quietly in incoherant Danish as he fisted the others shirt before falling into a light sleep.

shuffled slightly further onto the bed so he could rest his back against the pillows that he'd propped up for the Dane earlier, but kept his arm around the other, letting himself relax for a couple minutes.

slept peacefully, glad to be this close to the other again. He was still freezing though, even though he was well covered.

looked down at their still intertwined hands smiling to himself, when he noticed the goosebumps on the other's arm. He quickly pulled up the blanket that had pooled around the Dane's lap earlier when he'd sat

up to eat, tucking it under his chin and around his side as best he could, without moving him too much in the process.

smiled faintly in his sleep as he nuzzle and cuddled into the other more. He felt perfect now.

couldn't help but smile to himself as the Dane nuzzled closer, his head basically in the crook of his neck. He felt his eyes starting to droop the longer he stayed sat there, matching his breaths with the

other's. He hadn't slept much whilst Søren had been out, but now the exhaustion was taking it's toll, and the warmth of the other's body mixed with it helped guide him into a sleep right there, perked on the

edge of the hospital bed with the only man he truly called his friend wrapped in his arms.