The poll was tight, but a poorly Rei came out on top 🥺 He's very whumpable tho, ain't he? 👀
Summary: Sick fic. Rei starts acting strangely one morning, he's just not himself. Kazuki has to take on the role of nurse, knowing he's the only one Rei will accept help from.
Tw: Throwing up, delusions, long fic.
10/02/23
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Morning came once again. Time to get Miri off to kindergarten. Normally, they would all eat breakfast together, but something was off today. Rei took much longer than usual to rouse himself from the tub. Kazuki had to try and wake him several times, that at least was normal.
"Rei! Your food's getting cold!" Kazuki called, wiping Miri's mouth as she messily enjoyed her fluffy pancakes. Moments later, a very dishevelled-looking husk of a man made his way into the kitchen. He looked pale, even for him. His breathing was shallow, out of breath.
Kazuki watched him as he clumsily sat at the table, staring at his food for a moment before just resting his head on the cool table surface with a sigh.
"Hey, everything okay, buddy? If you don't want pancakes today then you can just say so." The blonde probed, trying to figure out what the issue was. Rei sat up, his head lulling to one side, seemingly too heavy for his neck.
Picking up his fork, he started taking teeny bites of his meal, struggling to swallow. Cringing slightly with each mouthful.
"Papa Rei, don't you like the pancakes?" Miri asked, sipping her orange juice as she watched him struggle. Kazuki wasn't sure what the problem was.
"Look, if you don't like them, don't eat them. Me and Miri will split the rest, no use in- R-Rei?" He paused in shock as Rei suddenly urged, dropping his fork and stumbling to the bathroom in a hurry. The concern within Kazuki was confirmed when he heard the unmistakable sound of gagging, followed by the contents of one's stomach hitting the toilet water. Sick.
Miri's lip quivered, what was wrong with her papa? Kazuki petted her hair, reassuringly. "It's alright, you go get your shoes on, okay? Go, go." He encouraged, lifting her from her seat before rushing to the bathroom.
"Rei? Hey, are you-" He was met with a very sad looking man, sat on the floor by the toilet, panting as he hugged himself, shivering as if he were freezing. "Oh Rei..." Kazuki sighed sympathetically as he walked over. "Hey, can you hear me, buddy?"
"Yeh..." The dark-haired man responded, his voice strained as his throat ached. "Sorry... 'Bout the pancakes..." He shuddered, glancing at the toilet bowl.
"Hehey now, you know that doesn't matter right now." Kazuki smiled, patting his friend's shoulder before flushing the loo for him. The sound made his head spin. He was presented with a glass of water, which he drank thankfully. "I'm going to get Miri off to playschool, okay? Will you be alright just for a moment?"
Rei nodded, groaning as Kazuki helped him to his feet. "Let's get you to the lounge. I'll leave the balcony door open, get you some fresh air." Kazuki held Reis's shoulders, supporting his wobbly frame as he sauntered to the lounge, practically collapsing onto the couch.
Miri watched from the doorway, worried about her papa Rei. Why was he all wobbly? Why didn't he like papa's pancakes? Rei spotted her, giving a soft smile. "M' okay, Miri. You have fun at playschool." He flinched as Kazuki pressed the back of his hand against his forehead, the blonde humming in thought.
"Temperatures a little high. I'll stop by the pharmacy on my way back." Now running late to get Miri to school, he hurriedly grabbed the bin from the corner of the room, setting it beside the sofa in case of an emergency. "Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can, Rei. You just rest up." He threw open the balcony door, letting the warm breeze into the lounge.
"Bye, bye papa Rei. Stay away from the pancakes! They're bad." Miri called with a wave before being scooped up by Kazuki and leaving.
Silence fell throughout the apartment. Rei was laying on his back, head propped on a plump cushion as he stared at the ceiling. "Cold..." He mumbled, turning on his side and curling up on himself. The shivering became unbearable. He wanted to be warm.
Fumbling for the throw blanket on the back of the couch, he managed to pull it over himself, tucking the fabric around his feet, bringing his knees to his chest as he cupped his hands near his mouth, desperately trying to warm up.
How long is Kazuki going to be gone? How long had it been already? Why was he taking so long? He groaned, his breath hitching, sweat starting to pool on his forehead, his hair growing sticky and damp. Still cold. Still so, so cold.
He squeezed his eyes shut as the room started to spin. God make it stop. Please. "Kazuki-..."
~~~
"Rei, it's me buddy. I managed to grab some Tylenol for you. And I thought you'd like some yoghurt, easier on your throat." Kazuki called as he set his shopping bag and keys on the counter, looking over at the couch. "I'm surprised you haven't turned the TV on." He chuckled, walking over, frowning with concern.
"Hey, you mustn't be bundling yourself up like that. You'll only make your fever worse." He pulled on the blanket, earning a grouchy humph in return as Rei peeked out from underneath.
"C'mon, I need you to sit up for a moment. I know, I know, it sucks, just whilst you take your medicine." Kazuki was ever so gentle towards Rei whenever he got sick. Although the man led a physicality healthy lifestyle, his lack of sunshine, continued smoking and excess junk food binges meant the occasional sickness would slip through his defences. And whenever that happened, Rei became frail. Very childlike in demeanour. Just wanted sleep, having a grump whenever he was disturbed and seemingly very dazed.
Kazuki grabbed his shopping bag, took out a brand-new thermometer, discarded the packaging and held it up to Rei's mouth. "Right, aaaah-" He instructed, sticking the end under Rei's tongue before gently guiding his mouth shut with a thumb on the chin. "Keep that in for a moment, okay?" He ordered, standing and folding up the throw blanket he had removed from Rei's frame, setting it on the end of the couch, out of reach.
The thermometer beeped, ready with the results. "... Geez, didn't think it was that bad." The little digital screen read '104'. Too high. Rei cringed, looking over his shoulder as if he'd heard someone. "Hm?..." He hummed, blinking in confusion before turning back to Kazuki, looking up at him with narrowed eyes.
"Not... Really..." He mumbled out of context. Kazuki raised a brow. "Not really, what buddy?" He crouched by his side, looking closely at his eyes.
"Um... Later..." Rei frowned, looking over his shoulder again. He wasn't making much sense. Kazuki looked in the same direction as Rei, figuring out what was going on. Auditory Hallucinations. He sighed sympathetically, holding Reis's hand. "Hey, there's nothing there buddy. It's just me and you. Okay? C'mon, let's get this medicine in you so you can have a nap."
He popped open the Tylenol bottle, shaking two pills onto his palm. He offered Rei a glass of water to take them with, but upon seeing his shaking, unsteady hands, decided he'd just hold it for him. "Alright, hey, can you put these in for me?" He asked, offering Rei the pills. The man cringed, leaning away. He did not want the pills.
"Pretty please? You can watch a movie afterwards." He smiled, giving his knee a reassuring squeeze. With a little persuading, Rei took the pills, put them on his tongue and, with Kazuki's help, swallowed them with some cool water.
"Nice job. Okaaaay, what do we wanna watch? Hm? Something fun?" He asked, gently taking off his friend's socks, knowing it was a good way to keep people cool, before helping him lay down on his side. Rei curled up again, tucking his feet under one of the couch cushions as he coughed out an answer. "Stitch."
Being deprived of a real childhood and now having to watch childish shows regularly, Rei had found comfort in watching old Disney movies. His favourite being Lilo and Stitch. Kazuki smiled, petting Rei's hair before putting the movie on for him.
Not ten minutes in and the gunman was out like a light. His breathing mellowed out slightly as he rested. Kazuki stayed in the room with him, sitting in the armchair and quietly working on his laptop.
~~~~
Only another ten minutes had passed before Rei stirred again. Unfortunately, as the laws of the universe go, things always get worse before they get better. Rei pried his eyes open, the light making them sting, his head pulsing in pain. He couldn't see properly. Everything was blurry and wouldn't stop dancing.
With quite a struggle, he sat himself up, sitting awkwardly on his knees, when Kazuki noticed. "Reiii, Earth to Reiii, go back to sleep buddy." He cooed from his seat. Rei looked around, puzzled by the voice he heard. Where was it coming from?
This was weird. And he didn't like it. Rei's breathing hitched as his eyes filled with tears. He had no idea what was going on. Kazuki noticed him sniffling and was by his side in an instant.
"Hey, heeeey, you're alright. You're okay. Shhh. Kazuki's here." He took Rei's hands, becoming more worried when he pulled away.
The gunman tried backing away, holding his head in his hands. "My head, I-I can't- It hurts-" His panicked state caused his heart to race, and his breathing became shallow again. His cheeks paled suddenly, another wave of sickness making him gag as he leaned over the side of the couch. Kazuki, quick as a flash, tucked the emergency bin up under Rei's chin, catching the bodily contents as he spewed.
Kazuki brushed Rei's hair from his forehead as the feaver stricken man started to cry, tears and drool stuck to his cheeks and chin. "I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry... S-Sorry-" There was some unspoken trauma behind this reaction. Apologising after throwing up. What the hell did his parents do to him?
"Shhh, don't be sorry, Rei. No one's angry." Kazuki reassured, rubbing his friend's back. He grabbed a tissue from the table, gently wiping the mess from his friend's face. "Deep breaths buddy, in.... And out.... In... And out. There we go."
Kazuki patiently breathed with Rei, eventually calming him enough to get him to drink some water. That's when he noticed the sick down the front of Rei's hoodie. "Aw buddy. Let's get this one off." He smiled, gently helping Rei out of the messy garment, also taking off his shirt and swapping it with a fresh, sweat-less, long-sleeved tee.
Once he was changed, Kazuki got Rei to lie down again, chuckling briefly at his sleepy expression. "Close your eyes, buddy. You're gonna be just fine." Rei didn't have time to protest, sleep washed over him like a wave. He was out for good this time now that the Tylenol was taking effect.
~~~
The next time the sick man woke, he was greeted with darkness. Much easier on his eyes. It was nighttime. Though he still felt like crap, he at least wasn't seeing or hearing things anymore, meaning his temperature had gone down somewhat.
He groggily lifted his head, not remembering anything that happened. When did he change his shirt? He looked at his feet, a pair of ankle socks had been put on, just so he wouldn't get too cold overnight. It was all a blur for him.
A fleck of glitter caught his attention on the coffee table. Waiting for him was a card. Messily strewn together, hand made and covered in glitter glue and stickers. Without needing to sit up, Rei picked up the card, squinting as he read the front.
'Get well soon, papa Rei'.
He smiled, setting the card down with a yawn, a snore from nearby making him jump slightly. Over in the armchair, Kazuki and Miri were curled up together, sound asleep. Neither of them wanted Rei to be alone.
Glad to see his family were near, Rei nuzzled back down into his cushion, letting his mind wander once again. The rest of the night went by peacefully. With only snores and sweet dreams to be found.
Everyone probably thinking about Husk helping Angel through a mental breakdown. It's great and all but when are we gonna see Angel help Husk through a sudden emotional meltdown and using all six of his arms to make him feel safe? 👀
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Alastor/Angel Dust
Additional Tags: Virgin Alastor, Flustered Alastor, Alastor is Bad at Feelings, Trans Angel Dust, Bottom Angel Dust, Angel Dust Being Angel Dust, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Desperation, Blood, Mating Bites, Masochism, Animal Instincts, Loss of Control, Teasing, Intimacy
Summary: Alastor is in a bad way, biologically. His instincts are making it difficult for him to be around others, but his efforts at self-isolation backfire when he finds himself alone with Angel Dust–and all the many temptations he presents.
HOW TO WRITE 20 PAGES (from one girl w/mental illness 2 the rest of u, but please keep in mind all of this is just personal Stuff That Worked for me n u might be different):
first of all, and probably most importantly, make that paper about something you actually give a shit about. if you can write an essay on how long shakespeare’s dick is when you’re talking to your friends, that’s a good topic. don’t choose something u don’t care about, you will Want To Die
“okay but the only topics are ones i don’t care about” talk 2 ur teacher 99% of the time if you’re like “here’s a well-thought-out thesis can i talk about this instead” they’re like “sure lmao i just couldn’t think of other paper topics to suggest”
“they said no” cool find the one u hate the least and try to tie it into something u like. for example i really hated this stupid paper i had to write about a stupid book so i ended up writing about the food inside the book and whether or not it was a historically accurate depiction of food. turns out i fucking love talking about food. i also remade some of the old recipes and brought them in as part of the presentation of my project and people went fuckken nuts bc BREAD. basically i thought about “what motivates me? uh food” and followed that. it was a 45-page book about bread and i looked like a really good student when really i just love bread (somewhere, oprah smiles over me)
the 20-pagers are the ones you Actually Cannot Do the night before. i know we all got real fuckken cocky back in hs when we learned how to do 5 pages in one night w/out trying too hard but 1. as a teacher now i can tell u for sure that teachers do know you rushed it, we just Don’t Care bc We’re Not Paid Enough and 2. twenty pages is not the same thing. you need to actually take the time to do it. this is the actual version of “you’re not in hs anymore” DONT lie to yourself and think “it’s fine i’ll do it in one day” you will !! Regret it!!!!
“raquel. raquel. listen to me. do you actually believe i’m capable of time management. raquel i have depression i barely manage to exist.” same. but the truth is that when i started like?? actually following the rules of timelines and taking my time etc it actually really helps mental illness. you don’t feel pressured all the time by a deadline, so your anxiety chills a little bit. small progress being acceptable means that on depression days, you don’t have to worry you’re fucking it all up. when it’s 15 minutes every day (even if it’s only 1 word a day) it feels a lot better.
ask the teacher what timeline they’d recommend. they actually Know.
always ask if it’s informal or formal (if you can use “I” statements or not). informal essays can rely on personal feelings and are so much easier and trust me if you find out on the day it’s due that you could have written 12 pages about your feelings instead of 12 pages of research, you will Be Very Upset
i lie to myself all the time and move the deadline up. i write it in my agenda as at least 2 days before it’s due. surprise!!! i tricked u, self!!! you can’t procrastinate!!
agendas/planners need to be what actually works for you. i liked to prioritize w/colors + keep lists. i really love crossing things off lists. it’s like… a balm. for me, i usually say i have to finish the first 2 things, start the 3rd thing, and “touch” at least half the list. if i finish the whole list i get a prize. also i get to cross off everything which is so satisfying i’m sure it’s someone’s idea of a rush. there’s so many “how to” documents on these that i won’t get into it but frankly?? if you don’t write it down you will not remember it. “yes i will” no you won’t greg. just do it. write it down. write it where u can see it. not there, greg. greg, somewhere good. my friend is smart af and uses a post-it on her laptop. that doesn’t work for me bc i can just? use my hand to cover the anxiety? so choose somewhere good greg.
nervous system, skeleton, meat, skin. nervous system is the thesis. skeleton is quotes/data. meat is the analysis of that data. skin is the fancy transitions + beautification. meat goes on both sides of bone, and skin goes all around. nervous system has to touch everything. do what your teachers have been begging u to do since 3rd grade and start w/an outline. do this while you read/research. i usually have a starter thesis like “lady macbeth is a feminist ICON” then take the quotes i think fit. but if while you’re reading u realize u wanna talk about the use of feminine language and how shakespeare parallels daintiness w/sharpness, u still have a bunch of quotes you can use or not use. this works also w/research papers. just pull what u think is something u wanna talk about. copy-paste it but leave a link to where u got it. then put a bullet point under that says roughly why u mention it
if you just write the outline like you’re keeping notes to yourself you’d be amazed how quickly you write the essay bc we get stuck in academic language but it’s easier to translate “this is why bees are the #bomb” into a paragraph. i mean you just rewrite your notes to yourself in academic speech. “The above passage illustrates the growing necessity of pollinators such as bees in an agricultural environment.”
keep track of your sources + label them. don’t just write “(SOURCE)” instead if you’re using multiple sources use the lazygirl way which is (SA1) or whatever shorthand u have for each source. then when you need to finish your sources you go to your little source document, find the one labelled SA1 and then “Find+replace” w/the actual source.
integrate quotes so it reads w/clarity which means don’t do this but if you’re running late on it and don’t have time to look up the quote u want to fit this situation, technically you can “use any” word you want (56). so yeah “there is” a moral question about it but you “can” make up quotes (79, 90). don’t “actually” do this unless you’re seriously in a crunch. which u shouldn’t be, bc u managed ur time, right?
running late part 2 (which again would never happen bc you followed my advice and made a little time table for yourself but anyway if it does somehow magically happen) i really recommend using school computers to do your work. ur surrounded by people who will hold u accountable + u will focus
running late pt3 on the day of it being due, around 5 PM, be honest w/yourself and see where you are. if you’re like “it needs 2 more hours” okay. but if you’re like “this is……… not started” email the teacher. they’ll be so much more receptive the earlier you do this in the process. it looks like “i’m genuinely struggling and i hope to finish this on time but i’m worried i won’t” instead of “i started this at 11:58PM and am asking for an extension”. please also just… be honest?
“my teacher won’t accept late work!” they all say that, he probably will, particularly if you have a note from the school therapist being like “lmao she’s got so many mental illnesses idek how to help her”
“no he really doesn’t, he doesn’t care” you can file for disability if you have mental illness, and, in fact, you should if it’s something that often stops you from completing work on time. i didn’t bc i found that it just let me procrastinate for a longer time, but having that on file means you can go to the dean.
“no!!! raquel you’re not listening i have 2 pages and he doesn’t take late work!!!!!!!!!” okay. yeah that’s bad. but nerves, skeleton, meat, skin. what is it that you’re struggling with? is it that your can’t find any quotes to back up your thesis? impossible, tbh, you need to be more willing to purposefully misuse quotes (don’t do that). but the better option is to just change the thesis.
“i don’t even have that!!” did you. do the reading? if you even just watched the movie, you probably have an opinion on something even if it’s “this is bad.” you can use that. use why you didn’t like it to write a hate-fueled examination on how whiny the main character is and why u think the author is trying to point out how miserable cis white boys are to deal with.
“i don’t have enough sources!!!” go to wikipedia’s page about it and look @ the sources. try to like actually read some if you have time but frankly in a hurry a student (me) might be compelled to just slap the source in there.
“how the fuck do i analyze this”. u know how ppl agonize over why an actor breathed in a scene. melt into that kind of thinking. you can literally force the words to mean whatever you want. i’ve talked about word choice so specific that i based a 12-page essay on three separate uses of the words “my dear”. i talked about the possessive “my” and how it developed for like 5 of those pages. and always repeat the thesis like a million times. after every analysis you should talk about how it links to the thesis. that is like a free 3 sentences every paragraph.
“i did all that and it’s still 3 pages too short” quick ways to Beef Him Up: definitions are great in research papers + essays bc you can talk about either word choice or like the definition of every process used in getting the data. also make the conclusion hella informative (it should answer “what does this mean moving forwards” most of the time, tie it into modern life or into the past). thicken ur intro with “here’s a quote from this guy about it and what he personally felt about acid-base titrations”, use a paragraph to talk about the history of the data/book, use a paragraph to talk about the modern reception of the data/book. also look for where you can use two words instead of one even tho like grammatically don’t do that.
worst comes to worst, brevity is the soul of wit. most teachers prefer concise over rambling and all over the place. if you choose to scoot under the page limit, tho, your writing etc needs to be exceptionally clean. frankly i’ve only done this once and it was terrifying
make computer read it aloud 2 u before u submit. “raquel….. i can’t look at it anymore”. you’re not looking @ it, you’re discovering you wrote “breath” not “breathe” and u need to change it
tutoring centers exist, i worked in one, and this is how i know they actually Help and have Good Ideas
ask about extra credit and do it tbh
good luck…. breathe. and remember u are astronomically more important than a grade could ever be.
Sitting alone in the dim lighting of the bar served as small lonely comfort to the reluctant bartender in attendance. The day was slow with him mindlessly shuffling his cards around and nursing several bottles of alcohol while Charlie blabbed about her dreams and how to achieve them with the hotel. Now, everyone had gone to their rooms for the night except him. Zoning in and out with mindless drinking had him only a little tipsy. By two in the morning he had registered that he should probably go to bed as well….. Or just sleep on the bar. Nah, maybe not this time. Whenever he did that he was rudely awoken by Al or someone else with a scolding. He decided that he’d go to his room.
“Fuck!” he hissed when he finally moved. His body cracked every which way from the sudden movement, but that wasn’t the concerning part; he was hurting in his gut. It really hurt and was very sudden. He held his alcohol well and it was now he noted that the pounding headaches usually came after drinking. Trying to shake it off, he went upstairs to his room.
He didn’t care what room he had so long as he could drink; however the sudden twisting in his upper abdomen prevented him from wanting to dive into that random whiskey bottle. Again, trying to shake whatever the feeling was, he crawled into bed and did his best to sleep it off. It normally didn’t take long to get comfortable, hell he never even paid attention to comfort! Tossing and turning was what he was left with tonight, and boy did it puzzle him. Lying on either side gave him an annoying pressure that he couldn’t quite place, on his back only made him feel nauseous while face down just wasn’t comfortable in general and he couldn’t breathe well. Finally, he grew pissed and swung his legs over the bed holding his head in his hands.
“Fuck is wrong in there?” he asked himself. Softly placing a paw over his stomach he ran his claws through the fur on his head. Sitting upright made his guts flip and he let out a pathetic groan. Why was it hurting? He didn’t think he had eaten anything out of the ordinary, he didn’t remember what he ate in all honesty. He just wasn’t hungry. He took a few deep breaths and swallowed a little before lying back down on the bed. Like it did any fucking good. Another 30 minutes of rustling around in his bed he shot up like a bullet and eyed the broken trash can in the corner of the room. He looked away, remembering what a former soldier told him when he went overseas during his human life.
‘If you think about it, it will happen.’
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Fuck it.
He got up and moved to one of the public restrooms down the hall; in not caring about his room, he failed to recognize that Alastor gave him the one without a bathroom. Each step had him sweating and at one point he even needed to stop and take a pause for the sake of not ruining the rug and waking everyone up. He heard a door creak open.
FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK
He immediately straightened himself out and tried to look normal. Footsteps sounded, trying to be as soft as possible. Were those….pink slipper boots? They were, and who better to own them than Angel Dust. Now he really needed to act normal!
“Oh, hey Kitten! What you doing here?” Angel softly purred as he caught eye.
“Minding my own business bitch, take a lesson.”
“Nah that don’t pay well. Wassup? You look like a shit had a shit.”
He rolled his eyes, “Thanks.”Angel cocked his head and stared at Husk, he looked green in the white of his fur and the grey was duller. Was that sweat? “What are you doing up anyway?”
“Well I got the day off tomorrow and I planned on stocking up on some junk food Veggie keeps hidden.”
“Isn’t it Vaggie?”
“Same thing.”
“Whatever just go away.”
Angel huffed, “You’re clearly sick though.”
“No I’m fucking not, just mind your own fucking business for once instead of barging in and ruining everyone!” his stomach clenched which left Husk fighting every muscle in his body from grabbing it and doubling over.
For a brief moment, Angel dropped, but picked right back up. “Come on. Let me help ya. It’s a sad sight right here, kinda funny too.”
“Can’t you take no for an answer? I thought whores understood rejection?”
Okay, that stung a little. “Did you drink perfume or some shit?
“Why don’t-” Husk took a pause, his stomach was churning. It hurt and he felt the acid creep up his throat. He could swallow only so much. “-you...fuck.”
“Husk?” Angel had a soft spot for the cat, he was hot and gave him drinks! He also knew what it was like to be under an overlord. They had talked about it one night. “Hey man you good?” Angel’s voice was like water: garbled and incoherent. Husk lurched and clasped a hand over his mouth. He pushed Angel away and dashed to the bathroom. Tossing a stall door open, he crashed to the ground and began to heave. The stomach inside him contracted, but after his second unproductive heave did he finally manage to bring something up. He coughed and spat out more of whatever had caused this. He slightly jumped when he felt a soft pair of hands rub up and down his back, another set massaging his wings that tensed up every time he puked or gagged, the last set of Angel’s arms kept his ears back while rubbing the nape. He didn’t even have the energy to push him away.
“There ya go kitten. Easy.” Angel softly soothed. Husk gagged and brought up more vomit into the toilet, coughing and sputtering. He thought his head was about to burst, the throb was so painful. Another wave of vomit, this time with tears mixing in. He spat the remainder into the bowl.
“Ugh, fuck.” he grit his teeth and tried to even his ragged breathing. An arm draped across the toilet, one was positioned carefully on his stomach. He had forgotten what it felt like to be so sick, the last time was when he had food poisoning in a camp somewhere. He had also forgotten that this was literal HELL. In hell, everything bad was doubled. Broken leg meant worse pain and longer heal. Stabbed? Well you’d heal faster but it would still hurt like no other. And sick? Well if anyone got sick in Hell it lasted longer than it would a breathing human. Part of punishment. Husk reached up to flush the contents down and placed his head on the cool toilet lid.
“Are you done kitten?”
“...Yeah.”
All that strain made Husk lethargic and apathetic. He no longer cared about what happened, that was fucking horrible. He just wanted the bad feelings gone.
“Come on.”
Angel helped Husk stand on his feet and had him rinse his mouth out in the sink as quickly as possible. They left the bathroom and went further down the hall.
“Where am I going?” Husk asked.
“My room.”
Husk tried to push Angel away, “Why?”
“It has a bathroom inside, your’s don’t. You also can’t spend all night in a public bathroom. Plus you can barely stand as it is. Don’t act as if Charlie wouldn’t have my head for not doing a thing.”
Husk wanted to throw Angel onto the ground and run back to his room so he could curl up and die again alone. Nah. That wasn’t going to happen and he knew it, the muscles and energy had all gone into making him feel like shit and left him walking on a tightrope with a tilting wheel above him. When the two arrived in the room, Husk wasn’t all surprised by the look of it. A stripper pole, soft furniture, different shades of pink and black, of course a vanity covered with makeup and a shelf of sex toys. He rolled his eyes.
“Mention this to anyone and you can kiss all the booze in the world goodbye you fucking pest.”
“Daw~ for me only Husky? Don’t mention it. I’ll tell Cha you’re sick and too drunk to tell whose room is whose. I’ll say I tried to throw ya out but you wouldn’t budge. Sound good?”
Husk had crawled onto Angel’s bedsheets, mmm…. warm and soft. He didn’t even reply to whatever the spider said, the sheets and mattress felt amazing, he started to purr and it was only when he caught Angel smiling down at him did he realize the situation. Shit! What the fuck am I doing? He made a sorry attempt to get out of the bed, he knew the slut would talk and he’d be humiliated. He didn’t want things to be worse than they already were. Quickly jumping off the bed made him double over in pain as a giant cramp rolled through his abdomen.
“Hey, watch yourself. I ain’t gonna tell anyone, I learned from Pa that snitches get ditches at five years old.”
“Fuck you.”
“Maybe when you’re better. Let’s go, come on! Back to bed kitten.” Angel guided Husk back into the bed, he noticed that his gut looked tense, he could practically see the muscles cramped up through the fur. “Jesus you’re tense.”
“I know. Now shut up. Why’re you even helping me dumbass?”
“You remind me a lot of my sis when she’d get sick. I’d always be the caretaker and she’d be mine. She’d fight me tooth and nail until I gave her something comfortable, then she’d melt like Mama’s garlic butter. Just a nice nostalgia feeling I guess. Besides, maybe you’ll owe me?” he ended with a tease of course, but after a warning glare from Husk, he backed down. “I’m kidding! Jeez! Here, just get on the bed, I’ll even rest away from ya.”
The bed felt amazing and warm, and it didn’t smell horrible in this room either. Angel had even been so kind as to place a bucket right next to him in case his stomach decided to abuse him again. Zoning back in, he realized that Angel had gotten into the bed and put considerable distance between them. Another cramp seized Husk’s body and he curled in harder on himself. He felt a gag coming on and groaned when he had to drag the bucket closer to his face.
Angel glanced over at the bartender and felt a pang of sympathy. He placed a hand over Husk’s back and tried to massage the muscles that were bulging out. Thankfully they did relax as Husk threw up again into the can. He felt a lot warmer than normal? Angel had no idea what the temperature for a cat was let alone a demonic one. He could only guess it was a fever high enough to cause discomfort. After throwing up the remainder of vomit from his mouth, Husk rinsed with the warm bottle of water Angel had sitting next to him (unopened) and then plopped back down on the bed softly panting. The spider stopped rubbing his back in order to take care of the bucket; the cat needed to bite back a whimper from the loss of comfort while the cramping came back. He felt ashamed when he let pained moans come from his throat when he wrapped his paws around his middle.
“Think ya got a stomach bug which means you got about four days until it’s gone.”
“Cool.”
“Molly liked it when I rubbed her back or stomach.”
Husk rattled as a shiver blew past him. Angel pulled the covers over his body. “Don’t fucking try anything or I’ll poison your drinks.”
“Please, a whore may know a lot about rejection, but they know more about consent and roofies.”
“Smartass.”
Angel shifted to where one set of hands massaged the back and only one hand went over Husk’s stomach, the other was used to scroll through his phone. Within minutes, the cat was out like a light and purring louder than a racecar. Angel smiled and snuck a picture or eight. When he started to feel a little drowsy, he noticed that Husk had moved in a way that made it to where Angel was basically holding him sideways. CUTE! A few more pictures saved onto his phone and he was set to sleep. His rest may have only lasted an hour or two since he was woken up by Husk bolting up to vomit. The cycle was repeated until there was literally nothing in his stomach. Angel continued to rub his stomach.
Come morning, Husk awoke to the sound of rustling. “Fuck is that?” he mumbled.
“Sorry babe! Just gotta get Fat Nuggets some food and then a walk, it’ll be thirty minutes. Charlie knows about the story I told her last night.”
“Fuck you what did you tell her!” Husk reared up with his wings fluffed up and defensive mode on. If only he looked as threatening; truth be told it looked more like a tiny kitten was trying to roar like a lion. Angel couldn’t help but laugh.
“Relax, I told her you got sick last night and were too drunk to notice you were in the wrong room. I told her moving you wasn’t an option and said you tried to claw my normal eye out. She said she’d give you the next three days off and sent up some ‘get well’ shit.” he gestured over to the nightstand next to the cat. Placed on the tray was a set of medications that would barely do anything, but it was better than nothing. After vomiting all night, the waters she gave him looked amazing.
“Hmm.”
“Do you wanna try to eat?” Angel asked.
A baby gag, “Ugh fuck that.”
Angel walked over and placed a hand on Husk’s forehead, almost astounded that he didn’t wack him back. “Definitely certain you got a rising fever.”
“In Hell, wow.”
“Shut up.”
Most of the day was nothing new. Charlie put Angel on caretaker duty (much to Vaggie’s concern) just to make things easier. Hopefully. It gave Angel bonus points, Husk got taken care of, Angel out of the way, the place would be quiet. In honesty, while Husk reminded him a lot of his sister when she was feeling down, he also wanted a chance to get closer to the cat. He was curious and also bored. Kinda wanted something to do. Being a sex worker meant that he had to care and cater to whatever the clients wanted, this time it was for something nonsexual. Sure he enjoyed sex, but it was nice to do something other than it. His day off would otherwise be spent wandering around and getting into trouble. Not looking to get chewed out was his aim.
“Shit babe how do you still have something inside you?”
“I’m not *huurk* babe you himbo.” Husk retorted with a pathetic spit. “Fuck. This is worse than when the boat was on the sea towards the battle….”
“Battle? What battle?”
PTSD WAR FLASHBACK TW
Whether it was the increased fever or what, Husk had no idea, but he had seen this many times before. Back in the war, not knowing which battle. He was instructed to shoot whatever came that wasn’t wearing US Military garb. A rustle among the trees, he turned, saw uncovered skin and lanky build. They were carrying something. A bomb? He shot at them straight in the head and they fell. Crying could be heard, but the person was dead, he went to inspect whatever was the sound and his heart dropped when he saw it was a toddler. The child ran towards him and then fell over as a fellow soldier shot them down. He turned and threw up right there, crying and praying it wasn’t real and apologizing over and over.
PTSD WAR FLASHBACK TW OVER
“Husk, hey, it isn’t real. Whatever you seein’ ain’t real. It ain’t real right now.”
Husk snapped his head back at Angel hyperventilating with wide eyes and then quickly bent over the fresh bucket that was being held in front of him. He gagged and spit and heaved and threw up whatever left he could. All the medicine, water, one single bite of toast was all gone; even then he still tried to bring up something until he was reduced to dry heaving.
“Hey now, in and out. Breath in, then out. There ya go. Va bene (it’s okay in Italian).”
It took a while, but Husk was back on track, the fever had definitely spiked and now he was experiencing shellshock again. “-ter.”
“Huh?”
“Wa-er.”
His throat had been puked raw by the acid he could barely speak, but Angel managed to understand what he said and gave him an uncapped water bottle which he gratefully gulped down.
“Hey go slow or you’ll-” the water didn’t stay in his stomach, “- puke it back up. Baby sips.”
By the time the bucket was cleaned out, Husk was cared for and Angel got him as comfy as he could, he noticed that the cat was clingy when he was sick. Angel was the big spoon whether Husk knew or not. Belly rubs and back massages felt great after the whole ordeal. Unfortunately, he had three more PTSD episodes after that.
***
“I gotta go to work or Val’ll have my head!” Angel sighed, trying to pull his many limbs out of the cat’s grip.
“No.”
“Husk.”
“No.”
Husk had reached his peak in the fever and acted like a kitten starved for attention. Angel knew sick clingy people made some of the best and worst patients depending on the situation. Eventually, the spider managed to pry the other off and set on for work where he spent the day modeling and having only one film session with a guy that loved being stepped on. He managed to avoid any conflict with the film crew and Val, so he finally left early with an abundance of praise. Quick and easy! Once he was back in the hotel, he went straight to his room where he found Husk sleeping bent over an empty bucket with fresh tear tracks along his matted fur lines. Angel gently shook him awake.
“Rise and shine moonpie! Get your head out of the bucket.”
Husk blinked up at the spider and turned away into the blankets. “Not now.”
“Well you can either lay your head in a horrible position that is sure to rattle yer neck to bits and pieces or you can-”
“Angel. I-....Can-” Husk was really struggling with what he was about to say next. “Can you…. rub my head a little?” he asked shyly.
Faster than a bullet, Angel was right there getting to pet the cat, he was amazed at how soft the fur was. Of course it was to make him feel better. “Think you’re stomach wants to stay inside ya?”
“Shh.”
“Okay babe.”
Husk did not throw up anymore after that night; by the time the four days were over, he pushed Angel away and got himself sorted out. He hated to admit that the spider was a good caretaker, and he would be a liar if he said he wasn’t comfy (sometimes) during the stay in Angel’s room. Once he was back working the bar, he handed Angel a free drink.
“Here.”
“Oh really Husk! Thank you!”
“Shut up.”
Angel winked at him and understood. The drink was a thank you, and he was happy to oblige. The two carried on a calmer setting around each other now. Husk still grumpy as could be, but with more sarcasm towards Angel rather than pure annoyance 100% of the time.
Oh my Lord you can tell where I gave up trying to write good. My brain was absolutely dead. But I've noticed there's a lack of sickfics in this fandom so I'm deciding to fix that as best I can. I haven't written in a long time so I am sooooo rusty. Oh well. ❤️❤️
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