By The Way, Danplan Oneshots

Sickness Ruins Everything (2)

Hosuh woke up slowly to a soft hum of an engine, and at first he thought the noise had dragged him out of his sleep. But his stomach flipped and Hosuh let  out a small groan, opening his eyes. It was then he realised someone was actually talking to him, but his mind had pushed the noise away in an attempt to soothe his migraine.

"Hosuh." Stephen's blurry image was coming into focus. Hosuh tried to talk, but when another roll of nausea hit him, he decided it was best if he kept his mouth shut.

If he had felt horrible before, he was almost in agony now: his limbs were aching at every move, his migraine pulsed through his head and he was shaking from the cold, despite being covered in a sheen of sweat. He really just wanted to fall asleep again but car jolted, engine dying.

"Hosuh, we got you home." Hosuh was touched at how his friends had brought him home, and even more so that Stephen was taking the time to explain what was going on, but his mind really couldn't process these feelings. Instead he let out a whimper, panting he suddenly grew overly hot.

"Dan, he's looking worse!" Stephen called over to the driver's seat. Hosuh hissed at the loud noise. "Sorry Hosuh." Stephen whispered to him. Hosuh gave a weak nod.

There was a click and the car door closest to him opened. Hosuh sighed as a gust of cool air hit his face. He let his eyes slip closed as his friends talked over him.

—

"I don't want to hurt him." Stephen sighed, watching as Hosuh turned away from him in the car.

"Yeah but we're going to have to yank him out if he doesn't have the strength." Dan sighed, running a hand down his face. There was a beat of silence. "I didn't imagine this day would go like this."

"Me neither." Stephen scrambled back in the car, pulling some hair from his damp brow.

"He looks rough." He heard Daniel comment. Stephen hummed in agreement. At the airport he thought Hosuh looked bad, with his pale complexion and dark eye bags, but now he looked almost dead. He knew that the bumpy, stuffy car ride was to blame but they really had no other option – when Hosuh collapsed in their arms he stayed unconscious, and it was hard enough carrying out of the airport.

"Hosuh." Stephen called out to Hosuh again. Hosuh opened his eyes blearily, glassed and clouded.

"Yeah?" Hosuh whispered. Stephen tried to smile at him, but it looked like he had bad toothache.

"We've got to move you now." Stephen told him. Hosuh tried to reply but it was slurred and broken, so Stephen hoped it was some form of agreement. The purple-haired grabbed Hosuh's arm, gently tugging it.

Hosuh seemed to be more awake now. The silver-haired slowly shuffled out of the car, swaying dangerously once he stood up. Both friends lunged and caught him before he fell.

"Ok, you think you can walk to your bedroom?" Daniel asked Hosuh. Hosuh looked around, apparently only just aware of Dan's presence. He didn't answer the question though; he just continued to lean heavily on the green-haired's shoulder.

"Let's just try to walk." Stephen suggested. Dan nodded.

Stephen didn't supervise Hosuh and Dan, instead moving ahead and opening the doors. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the stairs leading up to Hosuh's bedroom.

"Stephen, I don't think he can walk up there." Dan said from behind him. There was a low groan and Stephen spun around. He cursed at the sight of Hosuh literally collapsing in Dan's arms, his body trembling. Daniel was holding him up the best he could, but it was obvious that they would both soon fall to the ground. Stephen rushed over to the two, and placed Hosuh's other arm around his shoulder.

"The couch, maybe?" Daniel suggested quietly. Stephen nodded, and they both slowly made their way over to the living room.

"Ok...gently..." Dan muttered when they reached the couch. Stephen loosened his grip on Hosuh, and gently lowered him onto the soft cushions. Hosuh groaned, and his eyes fluttered open.

"Where am I?" Hosuh asked. He tried to get up but Stephen pushed him down, keeping his hand on his shoulder.

"You're at your house." Stephen felt Hosuh relax under his hand.

"Ok..." he murmured. He frowned, curling up.

"What is it?" Stephen asked. He heard Dan in the bathroom, probably trying to find any medicine.

"I don't feel too good." Hosuh muttered. He shuddered, swallowing thickly. Stephen moved to comfort him, but withdrew his hand when Hosuh shot up in his seat.

"I was meant to welcome you at the airport!" Hosuh cried out, taking his fingers through his hair. "I was supposed to have a party here, and some snacks and..."

"It's alright." Stephen gave his friend a small smile. Hosuh looked at him in disbelief. "Really! It would've sucked if you were sick when we were trying to have a rave."

Hosuh let out a quiet giggle, sinking back into the cushions.

"You're right..." he muttered. Stephen grinned.

"I am always right!" Stephen smiled as Hosuh giggled again, eyes closing. "Get some rest. We've got things here."

"Stephen, I got these, but it's all I could find." Daniel was next to him, holding out a few boxes of pills. "Painkillers mainly..." At his feet there was a plastic bin.

"Ok..." Stephen grabbed the ear thermometer, fiddling with it.

"I'll get some water." Daniel suggested. He pulled out a few tablets from the pack of Ibuprofen. "He's gonna need to take these if he wants to feel a little better."

"Yeah." Stephen carefully inserted the thermometer into Hosuh's ear, waiting for a beep. "I don't know how long he's had this, but it looks like some kind of bug."

Daniel hissed in sympathy.

"He's in for a rough ride." He said. Stephen nodded in agreement, reading the numbers on the device. He cursed.

"102!" He cast the thermometer aside, pulling off Hosuh's jacket. "Dan, I could use that water!"

"Got it!" Dan banded Stephen the tall glass, ripping some tablets out of the packaging. Stephen shook Hosuh's shoulder.

"Wake up time." Stephen ordered. Hosuh opened his eyes blearily.

"Oh –" Hosuh suddenly gagged, clamping his hands over his mouth. Daniel grabbed the bucket, shoving it under Hosuh as he threw up, coughing.

Stephen was at his side, running a hand down his back steadily as Hosuh retched, whole body shaking in effort. Daniel was holding the cup of water, watching in sympathy.

It took a few minutes for Hosuh to stop, and when he did he was completely exhausted – he would've fallen forward if Stephen hadn't caught him. The purple-haired held him soothingly, giving him a light hug.

"Hosuh have these." Daniel was crouched in front of Hosuh, his face mirroring Stephen's worry. "You'll feel better if you have these, and a drink too."

Hosuh, after a large pause, nodded hesitantly, grabbing the pills and the cup. The silver-haired swallowed them quickly, coughing weakly.

"A bit more water, Hos." Daniel coaxed. Hosuh sipped the liquid slowly, his hands shaking. When the cup was half empty, he handed it back to Dan, falling against Stephen.

"Good." Stephen smiled, but it looked like Hosuh wasn't quite focusing on him – his eyes seemed elsewhere, notably more glazed than before. Stephen hoped it was because he was exhausted after being sick, and not any other factors.

"Go to sleep, Hosuh." Stephen ordered. Hosuh murmured something that he couldn't catch, and himself be settled back down on the sofa.

Stephen and Dan watched as Hosuh closed his eyes and for a few moments longer, watching him breathe steadily.