Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/places/anything mentioned from Zone of the Enders and everything belongs to its respective owners.


Illness

"Alright, that's enough for today," Rock Thunderheart's voice came through the intercom of the Vic Viper, causing Leo to let out a sigh. He felt relief, but he could also tell that they were ending practice earlier than usual.

Ever since he had woken up, Leo could tell that something was off. He didn't feel like he normally did; instead, he had several 'distractions' to work through. He had made a mental checklist in his head: the back of his head strangely hurt from time to time, he felt kind of warm (the air conditioning in the Orbital Frame had only cause him to shiver though), and he felt like he hadn't gotten any sleep. The symptoms made him come to the only possible answer: he was getting sick.

Despite all of this, he didn't want to cancel practice. He could have always requested that they use the simulators today, but he felt like a burden if he would change the schedule, so he didn't say anything. He could tell that his mentor knew something was off though.

"Your reaction time is a bit slower today. Everything alright, kid?" he looked over at the older man as he got out of the cockpit, noticing how his movements were less organized than usual as well.

At least I don't have ADA ranting about my mental condition, he felt his mood drop a bit at the thought, knowing that it was exactly what ADA would have been doing if he had been piloting Jehuty. 'She' maybe would have even forced him to quit practice, but the fact that he wasn't piloting Jehuty, and that ADA wasn't constantly with him, made it impossible for 'her' to know.

"Yeah, I'm good," he answered, giving a half-nod. His body felt a bit heavy, but he tried to maintain a normal posture despite this. The older frame runner gave him a suspicious glance before turning to leave.

Leo turned to follow, but stopped as the heaviness seemed to spread through him. He caught himself by leaning on the wall. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep his 'act' up for much longer.

"I'm going to head to my room and get changed," he stated quickly, walking off in that direction before his friend could ask any questions.

The hallways were strangely quiet, making him wonder what the rest of the crew of the Atlantis did. He shook his head, not able to come up with answers.

Trying to ignore the pounding in his head, he finally made it to his room. The door closed automatically behind him as he removed his jacket. That was as far as he got, however, and he collapsed onto his bed.

He almost wished that he could talk to Celvice. He didn't want to dump any of his problems on her, but being able to talk to one of his 'friends' would have been nice. The problem was that she had gone back to Antilia the week before, planning on visiting her friends and family. He smiled a bit, feeling glad for her but realizing that there wasn't much left at his old home for him to go back to.

Not one of the best times to get sick, he mused, trying to remember the last time he had been sick. It wasn't too long ago, maybe a little over a year and back when he had been living in the S02 residential unit with his father. Since his father was normally out of the house and had little interaction with his son, Leo had always just learned to wait out the sickness.

"I don't have all day to wait it out though," he muttered, staring at the digital letters floating on the wall that signified the time. He had studies to go to in a few hours, but maybe that would be enough time. The rational part of his mind told him that with the way he was feeling, he would need longer.

Resting sounds better than going to the cafeteria anyway, he thought, drifting off into sleep.

When Leo woke again and stared at the clock, he realized that he was long overdue for classes. He jerked upwards, realizing that his body didn't feel as heavy as before. His head still pounded and he was still shivering, but he felt as though he was getting a bit better.

When he had sat up, he hadn't realized that something had fallen off of his head. Staring down at the object, he realized that it was a slightly wet rag. He looked around and noticed that his blankets had been pulled back as well, and a tray of soup and water was on the table beside his bed.

When did all of this get here? He wondered, staring at the soup for a moment before shaking his head. He was debating whether he should get up and go to his classes despite being late, but stopped when the door to his room opened.

"How are you feeling, Leo?" Elena walked into the room, soon followed by Rock Thunderheart. Leo gave a weak smile, feeling kind of embarrassed.

"A bit better," he wasn't going to lie to them, "but how did you-?"

"It's not hard to tell when someone feels under the weather," Rock answered this time, making him look down at the ground. So he hadn't been very successful in hiding it then…

Elena noticed his actions. "Everyone gets sick from time to time. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

He hesitantly nodded, not quite sure how to deal with the situation. He never really had anyone taking care of him when he got sick, so the fact that they were helping him seemed foreign, but nice.

"You go ahead and get some rest," his mentor's voice made him look up again, "We'll catch up on what you missed tomorrow."

"Alright. Thanks," he nodded, watching as they left the room before lying back down on the bed. Staring at the ceiling, he realized how similar the situation was to the last time, but this time there was a difference: he had people that he could rely on.


Quick explanation: this is going to be a series of one-shots based in between Zone of the Enders and the Second Runner (the summary is sort of self-explanatory). I have a few ideas already, but if you would like to see something, I could try to fit it in :) Please tell me what you thought in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9