WARNING: descriptions of vomit below!
read the warning!
read the warning!
read the warning!
okay, you’ve been warned! please enjoy the fic!
“Boy,” Phichit said as he walked with Yuuri to the rink one day. “It’s cold in Detroit! It never gets this cold back home!”
Yuuri responded to his friend’s comment with a strained smile. Phichit had been talking about home non-stop recently, and it was putting Yuuri a bit on edge. Not because Phichit ever seemed upset, but because he actually never seemed upset. Which didn’t make sense to Yuri who, when he’d gone overseas at the age of 18, had experienced crippling home sickness starting just a few months after he’d arrived in the U.S. Only now, just over a year later, he was finally past it. The younger boy, however, having arrived no less than half a year ago, showed no signs of sadness. Yuuri sighed, and wondered if perhaps talking about his home country was Phichit’s way of dealing with missing it.
“Phichit, does it snow in Thailand?”
“Oh, no! Not like it will here!”
Yuri smiled, genuinely looking forward to seeing his friend’s reaction to the white substance. “You’ll love it.”
Phichit grinned back, but soon frowned as a chill ran up his spine and made him shiver. He looked eager as he pushed open the doors to the rink. The two boys walked inside together. They chatted a bit more, but soon fell silent as they started to practice.
It was a rough day for both of them, with a lot of endurance training as well as technique, but Yuuri couldn’t help but notice the way Celestino scolded Phichit far more than normal. When they took a break, Phichit’s face was flushed.
“You okay?” Yuuri asked him as he grabbed some water.
“Hm?” Phichit put his water bottle down and raised an eyebrow. “Sure, why?”
“Oh, you just…” Yuuri struggled to put it into words. “Your cheeks are pink and it seems like you’re struggling more than normal. Not that you’re doing bad!” Yuuri rushed to amend any offenses he may have committed, but Phichit waved him off.
“Nah, you’re right. My cheeks are just red from the exertion, but I really haven’t been at my best today.” Phichit smiled, and Yuuri thought it looked a bit forced, but thought maybe he was just being paranoid. “Don’t worry about me, Yuuri, everyone has bad days, right?”
“Y-Yeah, just- let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, alright?”
Phichit nodded gratefully, gave a thumbs up, and headed back out to the rink. Yuuri followed soon after.
Unfortunately, Phichit’s skating got progressively and almost exponentially worse as the day wore on. Not only that, but Yuuri’s capabilities went down hill as well. Phichit may have been his opponent, but he was also Yuuri’s best friend, and he couldn’t help but be preoccupied and concerned. He’d never seen Phichit falter this badly, and it scared him a little, mainly because somehow, Phichit was still smiling.
Eventually Celestino told them to go home early for the day. Both boys tried to convince their coach that they were fine, but the older man just shook his head and huffed out a laugh as he practically pushed them out the door.
“You two,” he handed them their skates. “Deserve a break. Take it for what it is and enjoy your night off, okay? Maybe it’ll snow and we can call it a snow day,” he said with a wink, just before he closed and locked the doors to the rink. Both boys looked at each other and dissolved into laughter. Phichit’s, however, cut of quickly.
“Phichit, are you-“
“I’m fine, Yuuri. You don’t need to worry about me! Really,” Phichit insisted, walking ahead as the older boy hesitated. Yuuri jogged to catch up, only to freeze suddenly to avoid running into his friend, who had come to a sudden stop.
“Phi-“
Yuuri watched Phichit’s back as the younger boy’s shoulders jerked, hands over his mouth. For a moment, Yuuri wondered if his friend was crying, and his heart skipped a beat at the thought. He had never seen Phichit show any real signs of being upset, and the thought that he might have been containing sadness for all of these months made it hard for him to think clearly. Hesitantly, but too concerned to stop himself, he stepped forward so that he could face the trembling boy.
He wasn’t crying, but he did look more upset than Yuuri had ever seen him. For a moment, all he could do was stare at the broken expression on the his friend’s face.
“Phichit, what’s wrong?” He finally asked, with all of the feeling and sincerity he could convey.
Another handful of seconds passed as Phichit stood, trembling, eyebrows fumbling on his face with conflicting desires to open up and stay closed. Yuuri waited, and waited, and waited, until, at last, Phichit let out a small whimper.
“Yuuri!” Phichit whined, and spread his arms wide for a hug. Yuuri readily returned the gesture and allowed his friend to fall into him, and began rubbing his back soothingly. Phichit shuddered, and whispered after some time, “Yuuri, I - hic - I feel sick.”
Yuuri tensed momentarily; it wasn’t what he’d expected. Still, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do all he could to help. He took a deep breath and pushed Phichit away, taking in his washed out appearance, and nodded.
“Okay,” he said firmly, one hand gripping Phichit’s shoulder, “first things first, let’s get you home.”
Phichit made a noise of dismay, but nodded.
“Hey,” Yuuri said gently, giving Phichit’s shoulder a squeeze, “if you’d rather, I can call a cab to come pick us up.”
Phichit shook his head. “’t’s not that far. I can - hic! - make it home.”
Yuuri examined the sick boy one more time, and, finding that he didn’t look like he was in danger of passing out, nodded again. He took Phichit’s hand and gave a slight tug. Phichit followed behind, complacent and scarily listless.
“Squeeze my hand if you need to stop, okay?” Yuuri instructed, turning back for a moment after a particularly strong wind assaulted them. He saw Phichit agree with a nod and forged on, trying to ignore the occasional muffled burps and nearly constant hiccups coming from behind him until Phichit gave him a reason to do otherwise.
They were only about a hundred feet from their apartment when Phichit squeezed Yuuri’s hand. Yuuri turned around immediately, just in time to see Phichit swaying on his feet, just in time to catch him before he fell.
“Woah, hey,” Yuuri mumbled, lowering his friend to the ground gently and trying not to panic. “Phichit. We’re so close. Come on.”
“S-So c-cold,” Phichit mumbled, eyes closed. Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief. Phichit hadn’t passed out, his legs had probably just gone numb and become too weak to support the rest of his body. Yuuri took off his own jacket and wrapped it around the sick boy, who, never having had need of one, didn’t even own a winter coat. Then he helped Phichit to his feet, and wrapped an arm around him.
“We’ll be there in just a minute.”
“Feel so - hic! - sick. Don’ wanna - hic! - be sick,” Phichit replied, his trembling worsening as tears pricked his eyes. Yuuri scowled, caught in an internal debate. He eyed their apartment. He could see it from where he was standing. He eyed Phichit, who was short and thin, but packed with muscle. He was also shaking like a leaf and on the verge of a breakdown and looked halfway to death. Yuuri shook his head.
“Hang on,” he mumbled, and scooped Phichit up in his arms. The boy made a small noise of surprise, but didn’t protest.
By the time they reached their apartment, Yuuri was ready to collapse and his fingers were frozen, but they made it. He set Phichit down, jolting him out of a light sleep, and fumbled with the key until the door flung open. He nudged Phichit inside and followed in after.
“Ah,” Yuuri muttered. “The heat feels amazing, huh?” He kicked off his shoes. When he received no response, he looked up. Phichit was standing just past the doorway, looking for all the world lost in his own house. Yuuri sighed.
“Phichit, how about you sit down on the couch for now and I’ll bring you some water and blankets as soon as I can.”
Dazedly, Phichit did as he was told. Yuuri gazed after him with worry momentarily before rushing to gather some supplies. He also called Celestino to explain the situation, and the coach, who’d had his suspicions to begin with, said that he would be over to help out soon. By the time Yuuri got back to the couch, Phichit was curled in a ball, sleeping. Yuuri smiled softly and sat in the chair next to the couch. He’d only just relaxed into it when Phichit jerked awake, one hand on his stomach, and the other on his mouth. Yuuri didn’t waste a second in grabbing the plastic bowl he’d retrieved and pushed it into Phichit’s hands.
“I don’t-“ Phichit cut himself off with a gag, but nothing came up and the bowl tumbled from his hands. “What’s-“ Phichit gagged again, and Yuuri sat beside him to help him stay upright and to old the bowl steady.
“Yuuri? What are you… Thailand? Where am I?” Phichit looked around disconcertedly, and Yuuri put a hand on the boy’s forehead. It was a bit hot, but not hot enough for him to be hallucinating. Phichit rubbed his eyes blearily, and Yuuri frowned.
“We’re in Detroit, Phichit, where did you think you were? This is where we met. We just had practice today-“
Yuuri stopped talking when Phichit let out a strangled sob. He ducked his head into the bowl as tears spilled from his eyes.
“I thought - hic! - I had a dream, that I was back- back in - hic! - Thailand.”
Yuuri rubbed his friend’s back, not knowing what else to do. “Aw, Phichit. You miss home?”
Phichit nodded and then shuddered before gagging, still unproductively. Yuuri worried that he was holding back. He hoped Celestino would arrive soon. In the mean time, he decided to do what he could to distract his friend from his ailment.
“What’s Thailand like?” Yuuri knew from experience that there was little that could be done to help with homesickness, but he’d always appreciated having someone who would listen to him talk about Japan. Judging from the way Phichit’s face relaxed upon hearing the question, his friend felt the same way. Phichit looked at Yuuri for a moment before staring off wistfully into the distance.
“It’s warm. And - hiccurp! - the food is the best. And…” Phichit blinked and turned back to Yuuri with his tears renewed. “And the people - hic! - there are people who love me. They’re warmer there. They’re… home.”
Phichit’s lip quivered as he finished, and Yuuri tried to process this new information. Somehow, he understood. Phichit was, himself, a very warm person. Yuuri was not. The thought that he couldn’t be home for his friend because of that made him sad, but he didn’t know how to be anything else than frigid.
“I just-“ Phichit broke Yuuri’s train of thought with a sob. “I don’t want to be sick - hic! - here, alone, I don’t-“ He doubled over with another unproductive heave and Yuuri’s eyes shot up.
“Wait a second, Phichit,” Yuuri said, brushing the sick boy’s hair out of his face. No, Yuuri did not know how to be warm. But being there for a friend when he was sick so that he didn’t feel like he was all alone? That much he could do. “You’re not alone. Hey. Listen.”
When his stomach settled, Phichit looked at Yuuri.
“I am here. I promise. I don’t know about warmth, but I won’t leave you. And Celestino is on his way here. I know it’s not the same, but just- just give us a chance to become a second home for you, a different one. Please?”
For a moment, Phichit looked like he’s going to start crying again. Then he lurched over the bucket in his lap with a belch, and heaved, finally bringing up a mouthful of vomit. Yuuri flinched unconsciously, but pressed a cold washcloth to Phichit’s neck and told him that everything would be okay.
The doorbell rang, and Yuuri didn’t move, but opted instead to shout permission for the guest to enter. When Celestino walked in to find his two skaters in such a vulnerable position, he immediately took control of the situation, telling Yuuri to give Phichit some space so that the older skater wouldn’t catch the bug and taking Yuuri’s place himself. Before he got up, Yuuri whispered in Phichit’s ear in a pause between heaves.
“I’m here, I promise. Let me know if you want me, and I’ll be here.”
Phichit nodded minutely, and Yuuri got up, somewhat grateful for the opportunity to get away from the potent smell of vomit. He looked out the window and tried to tune out the disturbing sounds of his best friend puking up his guts, but that was easier said than done when each watery belch, each painful retch, each splash against plastic only brought memories of seeing his best friend being sick. He squeezed his eyes shut and focused on Celestino’s steady stream of reassurances. When the last of Phichit’s dry heaves (at least for the moment) tapered off, Yuuri opened his eyes again. He could hardly believe what he saw. He turned around to face his coach and his friend.
“It’s snowing,” he said quietly. Then, louder. “Hey, Phichit, it’s snowing! Huge flakes. It’s…” He trailed off when he saw Phichit looking out the window with wide eyes.
“It’s beautiful,” Phichit said. A smile graced his face, then, for the first time in what felt like days (though it had been only hours), and Yuuri felt as though his entire body sighed in relief. A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up to see his coach at his side.
“Nice job, kid,” Celestino said with a smile.
“Oh, no, I don’t think I was able to do that much! Thank you for coming! Phichit was freaking out before you got here, telling me about how warm the people in his family are, and I just- well, you’re much more warm than I am, and-“
Celestino raised his hand from Yuuri’s shoulder to cut off his mumbling.
“He wasn’t freaking out when I got here,” he said pointedly, raising his eyebrows. “Calming him down- that was all you. I’m just saying, don’t sell yourself short, alright? Who to say you don’t have a wealth of warmth hidden inside you? Maybe you just need the right kind of person to show you it matter and to bring it out.”
Yuuri thought about that as he walked his coach out, and glanced a Phichit, who was sound asleep, remnants of a smile on his face. It was how he usually slept. Smiling. Waving goodbye to Celestino, he wondered if the older man had a point.
Phichit mumbled in his sleep, and Yuuri walked over, leaning in despite Celestino’s warning.
“Hmrrrmp, snow… snow man, mmm, sled,” Phichit mumbled before rolling over and falling silent. Yuuri grinned.
He hoped, at the very least, that he’d been able to teach Phichit how to appreciate something about the cold. If Phichit could do that much, then maybe Yuuri could meet him half way after all.
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