Feverish, sick Leo who really wants to compete even though he feels horrible and someone notices how bad he looks and stops him from skating
woah look i actually wrote and posted a thing!!! and this has been in my inbox forever! sorry it took so long; also, i don’t really like people forcing others to do anything so i changed it from the prompt a bit?? hopefully this is still alright! and hopefully you’re still reading my stuff hahaha
“Leo, I swear to god, if you skate today, I will forfeit.”
The words were quiet, but held within them a strange and terrifying combination of sweetness and complete seriousness. Leo opened his heavily lidded eyes and attempted an eye roll. That didn’t work, but he did manage to brush Guang Hong’s hand away from his forehead.
He only regretted it a little bit when his shivering intensified without the additional heat.
“I’m not kidding,” Guang Hong said, making a face that was, once again, a disturbing combination of cute and scary. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I’m fine,” Leo said, keeping it short because in all honesty, he was not fine. Still, he had to keep telling himself that he would be in order to get through this competition. “I’m fine,” he repeated, almost inaudibly this time, in a self-reassuring way as his stomach continued to churn. He avoided looking at Guang Hong’s eyes because he was afraid of the fire he’d find in them. Beneath all of his innocent charm, Guang Hong was actually the most stubborn person Leo knew. The fact that he was the only one who seemed to have noticed Leo’s illness was incredibly unfortunate.
Rather than immediately continuing to press the issue, however, much to Leo’s surprise, the younger boy sat down next to him and wrapped him in a gentle hug. Leo allowed his posture to slacken and eyes to flutter closed as he relaxed slightly. Guang Hong played with Leo’s hair before sighing.
“I’m not going to force you to sit this one out,” Guang Hong said with a slight smile, “as much as I’d like to.”
“I have to compete,” Leo replied, tiredly. Even warm-ups had been a struggle, and now he was feeling exponentially worse with 3 skaters to go before it was his turn. Not to mention, this was only the first day of the competition and his stomach was already on the verge of hurtling up his throat at any given moment. There was just no way this could work. He didn’t even notice that he was crying until Guang Hong wiped tears from his face.
“Not if it’s going to compromise your health,” Guang Hong said, deliberately making and holding eye contact. There were flames in his eyes indeed, but rather than being burned, Leo simply felt a comforting warmth. His shivering had gotten even worse. “What do you think about us finding you somewhere more comfortable, somewhere warm, where you can lie down?”
Leo weighed his options. If he gave up, he’d lose his chance at this year’s Grand Prix. There’d still be next year, but he wasn’t getting any younger, and the younger skaters were always getting better. There was no guarantee that he’d be able to keep up.
If he didn’t give up, though, he’d most likely lose anyway, with the way he was feeling, and he’d hate to worry Guang Hong. Worst case scenario, he’d throw off the younger skater’s game by shaking his focus.
No, Guang Hong would not force him to forfeit, but how could Leo refuse those pleading eyes?
“Okay,” Leo said, his voice cracking as he allowed Guang Hong to help him to his feet.