True Purification: A Danvid Fic

Flashback

David sighed as he prepared for the long drive back to the camp, calmed by Max's kitten snores resonating from the back seat. Max looked exhausted. He was probably up all night acting mischievous. David had given up trying to discover every mishap Max caused. Besides, he told himself, if it wasn't major enough that he would be affected by it, it was probably nothing to worry about. David shifted about in his squeaky seat. He set the volume on low before turning the radio onto a country station. Usually, when Gwen rode in the car, she would turn her volume high up and listen to modern pop. David was the opposite. He preferred audiobooks and soft country. PG, of course. The two counselors constantly flipped the car's radio settings to fit their musical preferences. They never brought it up to each other though. David supposed it was just an unspoken conflict.
David leaned back in his seat, it squeaking in protest. He let his mind wander. Gee, David thought, Daniel is looking great. He considered his thought out of context and corrected himself. Compared to the last time I saw him, at least. The last time David had seen him was when he was crying in pain from the rat poison infested beverage. That was.. not an enjoyable sight. This brought him back to that very day..

    "Shit shit shit shit-" Daniel uttered as he started pacing back and forth in panic. David's smile immediately dropped.
     "What's wrong, Daniel? Did I say something wrong? Oh gosh, I was so careful not to be too harsh, just honest... I guess I did say something wrong! Daniel, I'll make sure not to say something that rude again-" David rambled.
     "No!" Daniel snapped as he turned to David. He placed his hands on David's shoulders to get his attention.
     "It's not any of that. I drank the koolaid, I drank the goddamn koolaid again-" he drifted back into muttering as he let go and began pacing once more. David stood in shock before speaking again.
   "..What's wrong with the koolaid..?" He sounded as innocent as a kid asking about why their fish ran away. Daniel turned to him, looking at him as if he just appeared out of thin air.
    "I- ugh, I need to- I need to sit down.."  Before David could offer him a seat, he sat rather abruptly onto the ground. He involuntarily leaned back onto the ground, one knee partially raised. David rushed to his side, kneeling next to him and sitting him up. Or, rather, attempting to. Daniel flopped back to the ground, growling in pain. He curled up a little, coughing quietly. David gasped a little and pulled Daniel into his lap.
    "H-hey, it's gonna be ok, what do you need?" David sputtered.
     Daniel mumbled something David couldn't hear through his violent coughing. David looked at him in concern.
    "Could you say that a little louder..?" David said, softer. It was painful just to see how much pain Daniel was in.
    "I need a hospital, you idiot.." Daniel forced out through gritted teeth. He coughed once or twice more, wracking both the young adults fear stricken bodies. Tears began forming in his eyes. David looked helplessly at Daniel.
    "Ok, we can get in the car, alright? Cmon, let's go-" as David began to stand up, Daniel snatched his hand. Daniel shook his head sluggishly, coughing again. This time, a little koolaid came out. With blood.  David crouched back down to Daniel's level.
    "Call an ambulance... I... I can't stand up..." David quickly pulled out his smartphone (thanking god it was on him at the moment), dialing 911 immediately. David cringed as he felt how tight Daniel held his hand with each cough. He hugged Daniel tight, avoiding his lower stomach area. He hugged him as tight as if he could make his pain go away. He didn't know how anyone could bear watching this happen to anyone. They must be insane.

    Over the course of waiting, David noticed Daniels grip becoming weaker as well as his cries being less... passionate. "Daniel, I need you to stay awake." David had a hint of strictness in his voice. Daniel weakly grunted, depositing a concerning amount of effort to wipe the blood and sweat from his face. The other pat Daniel's back gently as he sobbed into David's shirt, Daniel's coughs and sobs blending into a strange collection of new noises. They were both clutching each other like it were the end of the world. And it sure might've been. When will the ambulance get here? He thought concerningly.
   
Almost on cue, David heard sirens in the distance. David smiled in relief, and hugged Daniel tight. Daniels grip tightened as well in response. Daniel sniffled and coughed away from David. He pulled away from David with his best efforts and tried to glare at David, only resulting in David seeing his expression: a mix of sadness, fear, confusion, anger- the list went on. David pulled Daniel back into a hug, hoping he could at least somewhat drown out Daniel's muffled bawling. As the ambulance arrived, they picked the close to deceased lad up on a stretcher and asked David if he could go with them to the hospital. He said he couldn't, as he needed to attend to the campers. Even though his campers were being total angels and wouldn't do a thing if he left, it was still wiser to stay back and not leave them unattended. He stood back, watching in dismay as the ambulance sped off, sirens still blaring.

"Poor guy," David muttered.

The children, to David's dismay, reverted back to their original, noisy selves.  Neil was back to shooing away other campers to work on science projects, Nikki was back to tearing about the camp like a wild dog, and Max was back to mocking David and the camp in its entirety. He suddenly regretted letting Daniel go.

"Must've been some bad Kool-Aid."