Aerial Love- SetoMU

Chapter 8- Sick

"Hey... You awake?" Jason groaned, waking up coughing. "Woah buddy, you gonna hack up a lung." A whirl of white spun around Jason, making his eyes hurt.

"Ugh... Where..." Sunglasses dropped on his face, making the blinding lights a bit more bearable. Looking to his left, he saw Sky sitting there.

"Infirmary. You practically dropped dead on the floor when you landed." Sky smiled, replacing the ice bag on Jason's head. "It's really good that you woke up though. Drink up." Thrusting a cup filled with questionably-colored liquid over, Jason slugged it down. The bitter taste hit his tongue, Sky handing him a cup of water to wash it down. He groaned, sinking further into the bed. Sky shook his head. "What were you thinking, getting out of the plane in hail?"

"I wasn't out there that long, was I?" Slugging down a different liquid, Jason gagged at the thick, syrupy medicine. He wished for the bubblegum-flavored bottle at home. His dad always gave him that when he was sick, and man it tasted better than the cherry one,

"Dude, you flew for quite a bit on autopilot fixing that wing. Pure luck a mountain didn't pop up, you gotta be more careful." Opening up the patient outfit, Sky showed Jason the bruises that the hail left. "Seto thought you actually died. Bad news is, that plane is pretty beaten up."

"Aw..." Wincing as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position, Jason groaned. "And good news?"

"You're kinda of a role model for the others." Sky grinned, getting a new bag of ice ready. "And the mentors are pretty impressed too, though they are criticizing you for leaving the cockpit."

"What was I supposed to do, let the entire right wing snap?" Settling down, Jason reached for his amulet, tracing the edges. He smiled, resting his finger on the spaceship wing.

"That really is your good luck charm." Replacing the bag of ice, Sky smiled. "Keep it close, you deserve it." Fluffing the pillow and blanket, Sky closed the curtains around the bed. "Now get some sleep, and press the button if you need somebody."

"I'm going to miss training if I'm sick!"

"Dude, you put on a sick show with that mission. I think you don't need rookie training. Now sleep before I whap you over the head." Shutting the lights, Jason listened as Sky closed the last curtain, stroking the spaceship amulet.

Mother... I will become the greatest pilot ever. Just you wait and see.
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Jason looked around, sneezing as a light blue petal landed on his nose. He sat up, noticing the entire land was bathed in the same blue petals.

Forget-me-nots. His mother's favorite flower.

He remembered the garden near the front porch full of them... He would play in them, chasing the birds and squirrels.

Jason got up, walking around. He sighed and relaxed, looking around. The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight... The atmosphere was calm and quiet, a peaceful environment. It was a meditator's dream area. Jason, continuing his walk, sniffed the air. Peaches...

"Jason?" A familiar voice called. Jason blinked, turning to the voice.

"Mom?" Golden hair tied up in a neat bun, baby blue eyes, and freckles along the nose. An Air Force uniform, and a warm smile. Jason widened his eyes, grinning. "Mom!"

"Jason! My little boy!" Jason's mother opened her arms, Jason overjoyed to see her again. As he ran, the ground slowly began to wither. The ground became more barren, more monochrome. The forget-me-nots began to sink into the ground, decomposing. "Jason..."

"Mom, what..." Jason stopped his running, realizing he wasn't getting any closer. He heard a squish from under his feet. Looking down, he screamed, flinching.

Dead bodies, made of withered flowers. Sky. Jerome. Seto.

"Jason... You're in terrible danger..."

"M-Mom, what are you saying-" The ground cracked, the dead bodies of his friends grabbing his ankles.

"R-Run... J-Jason... R-Run..." As Jason saw the land crumble around him, he shook in terror, eyes locked on his mother. She was withering away.

"My son... My sweet Jason... Danger is coming..."

"W-What do you mean?" Jason tried to run again, but his feet were frozen in place. He watched in horror as the paradise he was just in crumbled into black dust.

"Jason... Save us..."

"M-Mom?" She continued to wither away, the ground cracking under her. "Mom!" Jason reached out as she fell into the black void, the last bit withering away into dust.

"MOM!" Jason screamed, sitting up straight in his bed. He heard a thump, looking to his right; Sky had fallen out of his chair.

"You alright, man?" Sky asked, getting up and dusting himself off. "You were whisper-screaming quite a bit there..."

"I-I was...?" Jason looked around, turning the lights on. Same infirmary... Same curtains... No forget-me-nots, no dead bodies...

"Maybe we should change the medicine, you looked like you were dreaming some pretty weird shit." Sky shuffled through the cabinets. "You want to share?" Jason blinked, trying to remember the dream. He remembered it so vividly a second ago... Something about flowers... and danger...

"I can't remember, man... Did I say anything in my sleep?"

"Well, you were calling for your mom a lot." Switching out the syrup medicine, Sky set down a different bottle.

"My mother..." Jason lied back down, staring at the ceiling.

She always wore her golden hair in a bun, but occasionally let Jason braid it. She had striking baby blue eyes, long eyelashes...

"I don't know, maybe I'll remember it another time." Jason shook his head, pulling the blanket up to his neck. "Must've been pretty bad if I woke up screaming..." Coughing more, he rubbed his throat. "Got anything for a sore throat?"

"Here." Filling a spoon, Jason slurped the liquid down and ignored the disgusting cherry flavor. It soothed the aching a little bit. Sky washed the spoon, setting it back. "Get better soon, cause Seto's going to have nothing to do if you're out of commission."

"Oh! What happened to those pilots I rescued?" Jason reached over to the lights, shutting them off.

"They're recovering and doing well. One is pretty sick though. We sent him to the hospital." Patting Jason's shoulder, Sky smiled. "Good job buddy, now go to sleep. And..." Taking Jason's amulet, Sky stuck it under the pillow. "That should ward off the nightmare."

"Thanks man... Maybe it'll let me get better quicker."

"You better get well soon, I have nobody to count how many butter packets I can eat in 10 seconds."

"That is pretty gross."

"Hey, my talent." Shutting the curtains once more, Jason listened to Sky's footsteps leave the infirmary, the door closing with a click. He closed his eyes, drifting to sleep.

You're in terrible danger, Jason...