It was Allison that had first noticed that something was amiss with Luther. It was the sound of shattering glass coming from the kitchen that drew her in, understandably concerned that someone had gotten hurt, or worse still, that there was someone with the intention of causing harm had gotten in. The latter was statistically more likely than the former was. But no, Spaceboy was crouched down awkwardly on the ground, trying his hardest to piece together the shattered remnants of what had once been a tea cup, what had been left of the chamomile tea having formed a little puddle on the ground.
"I didn't think the table was so low." was all that he offered as explanation.
It was Diego that had caught Luther sniffling. The taller of the two had tried to sneak off while they were exchanging friendly banter and The Kraken was not going to let him get away that easily. But the great lug was sniffling and coughing something fierce, fighting a losing battle against having this not be noticeable. As it often was with sicknesses, his head was pounding with the precise fury that would have come after being hit across the skull with a medium sized frying pan, and the way his face contorted with the pain suggest it must have been dreadful.
"I'm fine, Diego." came his only response when he realised there was still eyes upon him.
It was Klaus that had found Luther struggling with his coats. The astronaut would always don what seemed to be an excessive amount of layers at any given time, but it had reached an excess on that evening. Despite this, anyone could tell that he was not comfortable with all the layers than he had evidently deemed to be necessary. It seemed that he was wearing every single article of clothing with any warming capacity yet he was still shivering like a leaf in a brisk autumn wind.
"Were they always so heavy?" lamented the man wearing clothes that seemed heavier than the other's entire body mass.
It was Five who, upon hearing these concerns, decided it was high time they called a family meeting over this. If each an every sibling had noticed that something was wrong then there was absolutely something wrong, Five having come to the conclusion that his family was far from the most observant group of superpowered adults in the world.
"What was it like to see the earth while you were on the moon?" Five greeted the gigantic man when he happened to enter the room, sounding far more chummy than he would normally, a smile upon his face, patting at one of the empty chairs to invite him down. There was a second mug on the table, having been preemptively prepared, suggesting immediately this was not a spur of the moment question.
"It was sublime," came the response, the man thankfully taking the bait and sitting himself down, "Everything looked so small and insignificant from up there, watching the world and all the stars moving around it really did feel like I was just one little part of it all." he paused, resting his head on one hand, the other taking the tea that was being nudged closer and closer to him, "And the sunrises, I tell ya, there was nothing like it. Seeing everything glowing, it was like nothing I've ever seen before."
"And do you feel like you have adjusted to the Earth again?"
"What is this about, Five?" Luther asked, feeling just a tad suspicious over the specificity of the questioning.
"Can I not share small talk over a drink with my brother?"
"You don't do small talk." came the response, the quirk of his eyebrow audible in his tone.
The older of the two took a long sip of his coffee, mulling over the way he would breach the topic now the banter that he had been planning on using was tossed to the side. He had to be careful that he didn't immediately push his brother away with his concerns. Of this, the two were equally guilty but this did mean he knew how to go about it.
"You have been dropping and spilling things more than usual, based on what I have been told, and have been struggling to adapt to the forces of gravity, both signs of you having not fully adjusted to the Earth's atmosphere still, despite you having been back for more than the few weeks that it was expected to take," he began, pausing for a moment, but before Luther was able to speak up, he continued, "If that was not concerning enough, you have also been showing visible signs of being unwell."
Luther had gone to take a sip of his drink, but had fallen still, the warmth of the teacup brushing against his lip in a way that he found most agreeable given his current predicament of not feeling quite as warm as he would like. His core temperature had dropped during his time away, and he had not yet been able to bring it back up to a healthy level.
"Please," Five continued, gesturing to the drink, "Don't let me stop you."
"What is it?"
"Chamomile tea. I've noticed you have been drinking more and more of it lately. Wise. It serves as an immumobooster, which is precisely what a person would need when their immune system took enough of a shock that it would be weakened." Another smile, coming with the same sort of feigned cheer that a stage performer might adopt when the lights were on them. "As do citrus based fruits, which I have noticed the growing pile of peels of, which I could have passed off as a result of metabolic changes from your time away, and would have if the other factors did not all point to you being unwell."
"I'm fine." challenged the other, bringing his drink back down onto the table with a clink, remaining undrunk.
"And I'm not stuck looking perpetually like I should be in middle school."
Without replying, Spaceboy rose to his feet, ready to leave. The motion sent the chair skidding across the floor from the excess of force that he had not taken into account. The other was, of course, completely correct in each and every one of his observations and that bothered him far more than if it was exaggerated. He was Number One, he wasn't supposed to have anyone worry over him, he was supposed to be the one in charge. He was the Spaceboy, he was supposed to have been raised to go into space, he shouldn't be still experiencing issues from the one purpose he was supposed to have in life. If he was so durable, why could that not spill over into when his own body - what little of it was still his own - took it upon itself to fight against itself? His body still ached when he woke up, his very bones having shifted to accommodate the weightlessness, only to have everything forced back onto a frame that was not built for the extra bulk that it now contained. He wasn't sure if his joints would ever really feel normal again, if things would ever feel the correct weight again, not after spending so long in space. He wondered if he would be able to simply shake off what was supposed to be minor colds again, or if he would forever feel more unwell than he should. Luther wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answers to his wonderings, if he was being perfectly honest.
"If it was just me noticing it, I would not have mentioned it, but as it is, your whole family has been expressing their concerns for you."
"I'm tellin' you, you don't have anything to worry about." the man returned, though the rattling in his breath that could easily grow into a chest infection suggested otherwise.
"You don't have to deal with it alone, you know? We're here and we can help you, if you would just get that into your thick head and let us!"
"I told you, I'm fine," Luther stated stubbornly, "I don't need help."
It took a moment, but Five's coffee vanished completely and entirely, the empty mug brought down with an audible clatter. His teeth were gritted so hard it hurt. He didn't have the patience or willpower to deal with stubbornness, not from his brother, or from anyone at all for that matter.
"You have your family here to help you, willing to help you at the drop of a hat, Luther. Do you not think that every single g*d damned day I was away in the apocalyptic shell of the world that I was wishing that I could call on one of you for help? I missed my chance to ask for help and what did it get me? Shorts and enemies of the highest scale! Damn it, Luther, just ask someone for help when you have the chance! You don't know what the next day will bring! We could all be dead for all we know, so take your chance now and ask for help from your family!"
A prolonged silence followed this, Five having shared a little more of his own psyche in this than he had intended to. The smaller figure's breath was coming faster, more audible than it had been moments prior. His concern was understandable, of course, having seen the deceased remains of his family more than once made him hyper aware of the need to keep them alive at all cost. He'd sell his soul to whatever entity promised to keep them breathing the next day, had done this more often than he was proud of.
"Now, get to bed, mister, and don't even think about getting up until you're feeling better." Five ordered and, surprisingly enough, Luther went and did precisely that.
(Requested)