i know asher’s going through it already, but imagine him coming down with a tummy bug. he’s feeling so sick and extra miserable cause he can barely afford to feed himself and his puppy and now he’s puking up his one indulgence for the week and god, what a waste. he doesn’t wanna put anything else in his tummy until he was sure it’ll stay down. he ends up making himself feel worse cause he’s been empty for so long that he’s not sure if he’s still nauseated from the bug or if he’s just that hungry
at first, my brain was just: tummy. like maybe ash tries to fill himself up a little with water before he actually eats anything and it makes his tummy all sloshy and grumbly but when it doesn’t come up, he nibbles on a slice of bread or some crackers… something to soak up a little of the excess liquid gurgling around in there
and then i was like: that’s not angsty/plotty enough. plus if i’m gonna daydream abt him interacting with payton, i better figure out how they meet. so then i thought he’d probably be so stressed if he had to miss work that he’d end up not taking off as much time as he really should to feel better. so he goes in and somehow gets through the day, and he’s walking home (cause he can’t spare any money for public transport) when he starts feeling shaky and lightheaded. he stops at a cafe for a quick break, sitting at a table in the corner because he doesn’t wanna get in the way and cause trouble. eventually someone comes over and he braces himself to be kicked out only for the sweet barista to offer him a glass of water and ask if he’s okay
I enjoyed reading all of this so much that I had to just post it for others to potentially enjoy, too. It makes me so happy when people take my OCs and make such lovely, detailed scenarios 🖤✨
"he can barely afford to feed himself and his puppy and now he’s puking up his one indulgence for the week and god, what a waste" - Ugh, he would feel so horrible!
"he’s not sure if he’s still nauseated from the bug or if he’s just that hungry" - this is one of my favourite sickfic/whump tropes. His belly is rumbling and churning around excess stomach acid, but what does it want?
That whole second ask is perfect. I can picture him sitting, curled up on his bed, one hand resting on Sparks' head for comfort, the other holding a cracker that he occasionally takes a small nibble from.
"he starts feeling shaky and lightheaded. he stops at a cafe for a quick break" - ooh, I love this! He might also be craving some meaningful human interaction after being chained to his desk all day (he's a receptionist at a dentist's office, so his conversations are brief), and he thinks that maybe he'll bump into Jayden there. He goes in, and even though he can see that Jayden is not there, he feels so drained and woozy that he just slumps down in a chair.
And yeah, I could totally see Payton noticing him over there, realising it's the same guy who didn't look too good last week/the week before. They'd be so nervous, but they'd work up the courage to go over and talk to him, just to check that he's alright.