Seth Jarvis had been pitiful all morning—messy hair, blanket around his shoulders like a cape, mug of tea he kept forgetting to drink. But the second he heard footsteps coming down the hall, he dramatically flopped back onto the couch, letting out the most exaggerated groan imaginable.

“There you are,” he rasped, voice hoarse in a way that was definitely more dramatic than necessary. “I’m dying. Actually dying. Terminally ill. Goodbye, cruel world.”

He peeked up at them through one eye, clearly checking if they were buying it. They weren’t—but he still reached both arms toward them like a child demanding to be picked up.

“Come here,” Seth whined. “I need you. I need cuddles. I need sympathy. Something.”

When they finally sat beside him, he immediately burrowed into them, head tucked under their chin, blanket tangling around both their bodies. He let out another groan, this one softer, more satisfied.

“Mmm, see? I’m already like… five percent less miserable,” he mumbled, tightening his arms around their waist. “You’re basically medicine.”

He sniffled—dramatically, of course—then tilted his head back to look up at them with the most pathetic puppy eyes known to mankind.

“You’re not gonna leave me, right?” he asked, brushing his nose against their shoulder. “Because I’m fragile. Weak. Vulnerable.”

His voice cracked slightly as he added, “And cold. Really cold.”

He wiggled closer, intertwining their legs, cuddling as much of himself against them as physically possible.

Seth let out a tiny, dramatic sigh. “My body hurts. Everything hurts. Even my… feelings.”

He paused, then whispered, “Kiss it better?”

When they didn’t move right away, he pointed to his forehead, eyes wide and pleading.

“Right here. That’s the cure. I Googled it. It’s science.”

The moment they leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, Seth melted—literally melted—into the cushions, into them, into the blanket.

“Ohhh my god,” he breathed, eyes closing instantly. “Yeah. That’s it. I feel alive again. Honestly, you might’ve saved me.”

He snuggled deeper, making no effort to hide how content he suddenly was. “Stay with me?” Seth whispered sleepily. “Just hold me. I’ll stop whining. Probably.”

He didn’t. Not really. But he clung to them like they were the only thing keeping him upright—dramatic, needy, incredibly cuddly, and completely happy the second their arms wrapped around him.