[He senses without needing to ask that this bothers Astre a great deal more than either of them will outright say, for the moment at least. Where they're each concerned, the other has grown to worry, too used to having each other around and too unwilling to let anything pull them apart again.]

[He lifts a hand and curls it around Astre, fingers resting between the boy's shoulders over the blanket.]

Oh, I wouldn't count on that being a possibility. You're already ill, and we can't rightly care for the other when we're both down. That would be quite the challenge.