@fus-ro-nah may this short soft snippet bring you some joy~~
Eskel/OC, hurt/comfort, Sho is Sick and doesn’t feel well and gets cuddles
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It had been quite a long while since Shokashi had felt quite so icky. His body ached, his eyes refused to open despite the beautiful and warm sunshine that shone through the spaces in his blinds. Instead of shushing his alarm and stretching and getting up like normal he just groaned, face still pushed into his pillow, blindly patting around to find his phone and discovering it had fallen off the bed in his slumber.
Wow but it took a lot of energy to find it. He ended up having to lift his head up and whimpered at the sudden pounding that came from the movement, the pressure just right inside his forehead, hot and constant and throbbing. In the end he found the phone cord and tried to pull his phone up, the soft chimes and piano that usually helped him greet the day happily just making his eyes tear up because he wanted to sleep.
Maybe he didn’t want to sleep exactly, but he certainly didn’t want to be awake. Not when existing felt like this.
After his phone charger just unplugged from his phone and he had to lay half off the bed, trying his best to find his phone without getting up, Shokashi decided this day was very very much not for him. But he at last got his phone and turned off the alarm - not even hitting snooze, just turning it off all-together - and promptly pressed his face right back into his pillow, squeezing his eyes shut tight and hoping to drown out the light that he usually loved to bask in.
His face was still squished into the fluffy pillow, another pressed on top of his head and held down with both of his hands, when his phone went off yet again. It hadn’t felt like more than three minutes since his alarm went off and Shokashi felt like crying that he wasn’t allowed to rest (though he knew he was just being a bit of a baby about it; he’d never been able to handle any sort of pain). But it wasn’t an alarm this time, it was the distinct, not soft chimes or piano sound that told him he was getting a phone call.
Peeking out from his shelter of pillows, he just pouted pitifully at his phone for a few seconds, wondering if he could really handle answering it. At least his throat didn’t feel sore so he should be able to talk - if, and only if, he could gather up the energy to answer his phone to begin with.
And that took almost every single ounce of his energy to do, but he did it. He was rather weakly proud of himself for that.
“Hello?” Not even having bothered to look at who was calling him, or, rather, not having the energy to, Shokashi had just fetched his phone and brought it back to his pillow shelter, hiding from the sunlight yet again as he did.
“I’m, er…guessing you’re not coming in today?”
The voice sounded familiar, but Shokashi was really really bad at putting faces to names over the phone. He had to take the phone away from where it was pressed to his ear, squinting at the screen and feeling his head throb at the soft light coming from it.
Oh. Oh.
“I’m sorry!” He winced at his own voice, squeaking as it was, and scrambled to get out of bed. But as soon as his feet touched the ground his whole body very much said no, his butt dropping right back to the disheaveled comforter and sheets he’d tried to escape. “Forgot the day, time, I’ll- give me 10 minutes?”
“Sho, you live half an hour away.”
“Right. Yeah.” Shokashi held his head with one hand, whining very quietly, rather upset with himself for forgetting he’d set up a meeting for this morning. Of course he’d feel awful on the day he’d been supposed to meet his mother for the first time in three months. Of course. Just his luck.
“Sorry, mom, I’m just-”
“Go back to bed, sweetie.” Her voice was like a balm even if it didn’t touch his pain in the slightest, and he whined a little more audibly this time. “Do you need me to bring you anything? You don’t have work later, do you?”
“No.” Shokashi crawled right back to his shelter, this time managing to burrito himself into his comforter while he went. Might be too hot for one but there was just something comforting about feeling something wrapped around him. He pouted, wishing it was someone instead. “’ll be okay.”
“We can meet next week instead, love. If you’re okay, if you’re up for it.”
It hurt that she felt like he wouldn’t be. He swallowed the emotion threatening to bubble up, his throat tight and his eyes watering from both physical and emotional pain. “Love you, mom. Lots. I’ll see you next week.”
He swore to himself that he’d very much make it up to her - spending all of those years apart had just…worn on the whole family, and he hated that he couldn’t see her now, like he’d promised. But he hung up the phone and would just make sure he absolutely, no excuse, not one single doubt would meet with her next week.
Most of his day past in a bit of a haze. Every once in a while he braved the outside world just enough to check the time, not really able to get a grasp on how fast or slow it was passing. Sometimes minutes felt like hours, once he lost two hours in the blink of an eye, and the entire time his head hurt like it was trying to cave in on itself.
Didn’t help when his entire body started to ache with it. Shokashi groaned, starting to fidget because laying still felt awful but the movement felt just as bad. Had he caught something? He hoped it was just a bug but he really wasn’t sure, just thankful for the blessed few minutes sleep took him down enough to not feel anything.
At some point, his phone went off again. Or maybe it was a couple of times, he really wasn’t sure, just whimpering and squirming further into his shelter and hoping the noises would stop. They did, eventually, though a car alarm very rudely set off next door and went on for what felt like an eternity, haunting his every breath with its blaring.
He wanted a hug. Or for someone to lay on him. Or both. A few tears leaked out, wetting his pillow as he squeezed his eyes even tighter.
It didn’t even register past all the pain - the sound of his front door opening, shoes being taken off in the doorway, shuffling through his house. What did register was a soft voice calling out his name, and everything in Shokashi reacted so pitifully at the same time he whimpered at the sound.
“‘m in here.”
Another wince at his own voice, and Shokashi curled up tighter in his burrito blanket, hearing footsteps coming towards him. And oh, despite how awful his whole body and the whole world was it was blissful, the feeling of a gentle hand barely touching his shoulder, just a weight against his skin.
“Was worried when you didn’t answer. You alright, honeybee?”
“Did I miss something?” Shokashi peeked out and pouted at the creases that brought Eskel’s expression down - he hated it when he made him frown, always doing his best to hear him laugh and see that face light up. Eskel deserved the world not a pile of painful and whimpering goo.
The fingers that reached out to brush against his cheek were so gentle and everything Shokashi needed at that moment. It hurt to see the sun but he didn’t want to hide with Eskel there to brush the sweaty hair out of his face and stroke his jaw in just the right, soft way that always made his eyes flutter. “No, I just wanted to hear your voice. ‘s’alright that I came in, right? Don’t wanna intrude but you usually answer, and I knew you were travelin’ today.”
“It’s okay.” He grabbed onto the hand that cupped his cheek and held it there, nuzzling into the palm and closing his eyes.
“You need anything? Have you eaten today?”
Shokashi shook his head - all he’d gotten up for was a single bathroom break and he’d crawled right back to his sick bed, determined to never leave it.
The sunlight was suddenly blocked from his eyes, and Shokashi cracked them open just as Eskel brushed his lips against his forehead. He paused there for a soft kiss, then rested against Shokashi’s sweaty hair as if it wasn’t gross, thumb still gently caressing his cheek.
“I’ll get you some breakfast,” he said softly, as if he knew the pain Shokashi’s head was in - and even that soft soft voice still made him wince, no matter that he loved hearing it. “Something easy on your stomach. Does your throat hurt?”
Shokashi shook his head no.
“Alright. I’ll still make you some tea. Just rest for now, honeybee, I’ll take care of you.”
It was pitiful, the noise he made to that, but Eskel didn’t comment on it. Just gave him one more soft kiss to the very top of his head before removing his hand and getting up, and without even being asked shutting the blinds properly to keep the sun at bay.
Shokashi didn’t deserve him. He whined in his own head as he buried it once again, readjusting his burrito to hold him while his boyfriend went off to take care of food and tea. The world didn’t deserve him. He was just too soft and sweet and good.
And perfect for cuddling when one didn’t feel well. For now, he’d accept the pillow and blankets, but the moment Eskel was adequately satisfied with Shokashi’s basic needs Shokashi was dragging him down to snuggle straight into his chest and hold him and never let go.
