Getting food poisoning by plane food and stuck on a long flight? Any couple you want :))
The flight was 18 hours long. Dinner was served at the four-hour mark, leaving plenty of time for the tainted food to turn everyone’s stomachs. Micah was excluded from this pain however because he didn’t order the chicken dish. Alexi did and he was suffering for it.
The plane’s cabin was dark when Alexi opened his eyes, save for a few lights that the other passengers kept on. He didn’t know why anyone else would be awake at 2am but he knew why he was awake. The weight on his shoulder from his sleeping boyfriend was nothing compared to the weight that settled in his stomach. Alexi grimaced as he shifted around in the small space, trying not to wake Micah who always had a hard time falling asleep in anything that wasn’t his bed.
But Alexi couldn’t help it. He woke up with such discomfort in his whole body that he couldn’t help but fidget. It was the nausea that made him the most restless. He was beyond grateful that his only neighbour was Micah. They specifically chose a row with only two seats because the flight went through the night. Alexi thought he’d be happy to not have a snoring neighbour, but he was actually relived that no stranger would be disturbed by his growling stomach.
And it was growling so loud, but not out of hunger. He could still taste the spices and the sauce from the chicken in his mouth. He was absolutely not in the mood for a midnight snack.
The nausea got worse as he struggled to fall back asleep. His gurgling belly wouldn’t let him finish his rest. The discomfort made him lean forward with his arms wrapped around his middle. As Alexi bent forward in pain, Micah’s head fell from his shoulder.
“Mm?” Micah mumbled as he caught himself. It almost wasn’t enough to disturb his sleep, but then he heard Alexi moan. Seeing Alexi bent over in pain also roused him from his sleep rather quick. “What’s wrong?” His voice was beautifully rough. Micah did always like how his voice sounded first thing in the morning.
“Sorry,” Alexi whispered. He’d be lying if he said that he wasn’t a little happy to have company again. “I can’t sleep…Feel sick.”
Micah turned on the light above their heads. Harsh yellow light rained down on them, giving Alexi a sickly complexion. Or maybe he already looked like that. Funnily enough, a few other lights also clicked on throughout the cabin. It seemed other passengers weren’t having the best night either, but Micah didn’t care about the other passengers.
“You’re very pale, baby.” Micah put his hand on Alexi’s warm back. “Are you nauseous?”
With his head in his hands, Alexi nodded slowly. “I really don’t feel good.” A wet burp ended the sentence.
“Do you want to put your head on my shoulder and try to sleep?”
This time Alexi shook his head a bit more frantically. A long gurgle rumbled through his belly as he let out another belch. He shivered from the nausea. “Ugh, I’m so full. It’s like my whole dinner is just sitting in my stomach, rotting.”
Alexi wasn’t far from the truth. It wasn’t long before a flight attendant came over to their seats and confirmed both of their suspicions. The man had been apparently going to every passenger with their light on to say the same thing. “I’m guessing there’s someone feeling sick over here as well. Am I right?”
“Yes, sir,” Micah said, trying to match the man’s loud whisper. “My boyfriend is sick to his stomach.”
“It appears that the chicken dish has given many people food poisoning. I’m sincerely sorry,” the man said, looking around nervously. “Someone will come by with extra bags and ginger ale.”
Alexi groaned upon hearing this. He suddenly felt like the food in his belly was no longer sitting still. He slapped a hand over his mouth as another wet belch reminded him of the taste of dinner. “Micah…let me out. I’m going to puke.”
“There’s probably a crazy line for the bathroom. Just throw up in this bag.” He handed Alexi the barf bag from the seat in front of them.
Alexi sat on the edge of his seat, bouncing his leg so hard that other people might have thought it was turbulence. “I can’t. There’s so much in my stomach. I want a toilet.” His voice cracked as he tried to hold back tears. “…please.”
The tears that finally fell onto Alexi’s cheeks made Micah move. “Fine, but I’m coming with you and I’m bringing this bag.”
With unsteady legs, Alexi jogged down the aisle. He felt Micah’s hand on his shoulders the whole way there. They passed other people who looked as bad as Alexi felt.
Just as Micah guessed, they stopped before getting to the bathroom. The line was so long that they still stood in the aisle, awkwardly waiting next to passengers in their seats.
“Oh God,” Alexi whimpered. There was no more time to wait. He tried to hold back burps that he knew would set everything off.
He turned around and looked at Micah with pleading eyes. “What do I do? There’s all these people. What do I—” A low wet burp escaped while he spoke. Honestly, it was more of a gag than a burp because it splashed the back of Alexi’s throat with something thick.
“Okay,” Micah said worriedly, “I’m sorry, Lex, but you’re doing this here.”
Micah hurriedly opened the barf bag and held it open under Alexi’s chin until the boy held it himself. He pulled Alexi’s closer as if he were giving him a hug. This wasn’t a hug; it was the best privacy that Micah could give his boyfriend.
“Let it out, Lexi.” Micah wrapped his arms around his boyfriend while Alexi gagged against his chest. “Come on, let yourself be sick now.”
Alexi gave a miserable whimper before parting his lips. His whole body shuddered as the vomit came pouring out of his mouth with a harsh retch.
Once he started, there was no stopping. Tears streamed down his face while his stomach continued to purge itself. It came out in a thick stream of orange that burned his nose and throat.
“There you go baby,” Micah cooed as he rubbed the boy’s quivering shoulders. “I’m right here. You’re fine, just keep going.”
Alexi breathed a deep sigh as he got a second of respite. “Oh, my belly…it hurts, Micah. I’m so –uh– full.” He hiccupped from inside Micah’s embrace. He could feel the organ about to send up another gush. “Am I being loud?”
“No, shh, don’t worry about that.” Micah blocked Alexi’s view of the surrounding area. “You’re doing so well. I know it hurts, just keep going until there’s nothing left.”
That point was very far in the future, but Alexi got ever closer to the end as he heaved again. He was too sick to think about the fact that the bag was getting full. He was only focused on aiming and suffering. He was very good at suffering.
Micah on the other hand was aware of how full the bag was getting. They also hadn’t moved very far in the line. He wanted Alexi to feel empty, but he also wanted to not have puke on his shoes. The smell and sight was already invading his senses. He didn’t need a reminder on his shoes.
But Micah kept holding Alexi. He kept rubbing and blocking him from the other passengers. He did this for him even when he got to his second bag. Thankfully a flight attendant arrived in time with the bag. With another ten hours left to the flight, Micah wondered just how many bags Alexi would go through.
“Is it almost my turn?” Alexi asked as he came up for air. His face was sweaty and grey.
Micah wanted to pull him into a real hug, not give him bad news. So that’s what he did. He hugged him and said, “Almost. But you’re now a pro at aiming in this bag, so who cares?”
“Well, there’s another reason I wanted to get into this line, but it’s not urgent…yet.”
“Oh babe,” Micah said, wishing that he could get his boyfriend off this plane. “It’s going to be a long ten more hours, isn’t it?”
“Yep. I’m really gonna need this vacation.”
