...I just wanted to make a cute story with Jet, okay?
All this is, really, is a short story I made with the marvelous Babylon Rouges, and our favorite blue hedgehog. Originally I planned for this to be a oneshot, but my final decision rested on making it two – maybe three – chapters long. We have some JetXWave teasing going on here, as well as some SonJet fluff (we'll call it that for now…) later on. The rest you'll have to find out by reading. Of course, if you're not interested - this would be your cue to leave.
Otherwise, please do enjoy.
Throughout most of the night Jet lied in bed, tensed as he had tussled with a restless sleep. It was hard to greet with slumber, with his sinus as clogged as it was, and the excruciating pain in his throat and chest. Preventing a coughing fit – or attempting to – from occurring often went in vain, thus enhancing his headache even further. As much as he wanted to say otherwise, he was still sick… At least his illness isn't as bad as it was the previous few days.
It wasn't until yesterday when he was able to hold down his food once again…
Wave and Storm served him hand and foot, much to the point where it grew annoying at times… The albatross' gesture to massage him was always nice, but he would always end up shooing him off when he went too far – which for the most part would be him constantly trying to hand feed Jet crackers. And Wave… while her concern was well appreciated and she did all she could to help him recover; it often became overbearing. As if her forcing him to take his medicine – by of which meaning her literally spoon-feeding him the liquid – wasn't bad enough, he shouldn't dare be caught out of bed by her. After being blasted by the swallow, the hawk would be bullied back into bed.
And yet they would wonder why his temperature continually rose…
But perhaps, he thought, he should have let the swallow give him his meds for the night. Maybe then he would have gotten better sleep.
As soon as first light crept through his bedroom window he jumped out of bed, eager to discontinue his restless sleep. He had been too quick to dress, putting on his boots and sporting gear – things he wasn't able to wear for the past few days. Putting these things on was like piecing himself back together, as being unable to merely step out of bed was starting to take a toll on him. Flying out of bed like a bat out of hell and dressing so quickly nearly made him dizzy.
Of course, not that he minded napping so much. Just only when he was bored and wasn't even tired – much like the current situation.
But in spite of everything, Jet was all too eager to get back on his Extreme Gear; feeling the wind rush through his feathers as he soared through the air… It became a craving to taste that feeling once more, as he had been unable to taste anything while he laid sick in bed. He shuddered at the memory, all while resisting the sudden urge to cough. Yes, he was still – quite – sick, but he wasn't about to let that stop him.
All he wanted was to be out there again… riding amongst the winds.
The problem, however, is that they were still airborne.
He wanted to move around, and not stay in bed all day. He knew Wave would not stand for it… but he is still the leader of the Babylon Rouges. He should do as he pleases. And he wanted to ride his Extreme Gear. But getting them – yes, Storm included – to have them land the ship so he could ride would be its own battle, one in particular that he wasn't likely to be able to win.
When push comes to shove, they're not such pushovers…
At least he could still walk around the ship… even if there wasn't anything else to do. He could at least go to his office, or find something light to snack on. Just when he pulled the bedroom door open did he find the swallow standing in the doorway, her hand positioned as if she was about to knock.
In surprise, he jumped back with a yelp.
Narrowing her eyes, Wave stepped into the room, her hands firmly placed upon her hips. "And just what do you think you're doing out of bed?"
"I'm fine, okay?" the hawk huffed, folding his arms as he faced the other way. "I'm not even tired…"
"But how are you supposed to feel better if you're not getting all the rest your body needs?" she contended. "Speaking of which, it's time to take your medicine."
"I'll take it when I'm ready." he snapped, walking past her to get out of the room. His voice was raw as it still hurt to talk, and arguing was something he wasn't willing to do. "Besides, I'm hungry now… and I want to actually taste something."
She sighed, following him out of his bedroom and into the hallway. "Then I suggest you take it easy… You weren't able to hold your food down until noon yesterday… and you only ate lightly at that."
"It was just for one day!" he exploded, thus straining his voice even further.
"Which could have been two!" she shot back.
"So what? I lived, here I am still!"
"Honestly Jet…" she paused when his coughing fit suddenly took place. She leaned over the hawk with her hand on his back as he was bent over, hacking and wheezing. During a moment of discomfort, it felt as if his stomach would turn on him… that is, until he was able to pull himself together. As he took deep breaths, Wave slowly helped him stood upright.
His cheeks burned a slight red; perhaps from high temperature, or embarrassment – maybe both. He looked the other way to avoid her gaze… bashful and shamefully desperate to hide the defeat in his eyes.
"You were saying…?"
The hawk's right eye twitched as his hands shook… before he covered his beak with his arm to sneeze. "Just give me my medicine…"
"Uh-huh…" She brought him back into the room, much to his dismay, and sat him back onto the bed. In her hand was the bottle of the sickening liquid. He grimaced, a groan emerging deep in his throat.
The corners of her beak rose slightly as she came to him with the medicine and a spoon in hand. "You'll thank me for this." she spoke gently, carefully pouring the liquid onto the spoon. "This should make it easier for you to sleep a little longer…" She held the spoonful up to his beak.
Jet defiantly turned his head away, a low growl vibrating within his sore throat.
Wave lightly pulled the spoon away, annoyance within her tone as she spoke. "Come on! Don't you want to get over your flu?"
"I can give myself medicine!" he barked. "I can even get into bed by myself!"
"You need to take this medicine!" she yelled, forcing the spoon in front of him once more.
He lashed at the spoon, taking the whole thing into his mouth, before throwing it onto the floor. "There! Happy?!"
"Jet the Hawk!" Wave screamed. "I am trying to help you out, but it's like you're working against me!"
"BECAUSE IT'S UNBEARABLE!" he screamed atop his lungs, hence rasping his voice even further. "You're smothering me to the point where I just wanna bash my head in! I know what my body needs! If I don't attend to it, then that's my problem! So GET OFF MY BACK-"
His sentence fell short once an open palm connected to his cheek, knocking him down onto the bed. The hawk's eyes were widened with shock as he stared up into the swallow's livid gaze.
She leaned into his face, snarling viciously. "Get your head out of your ass. You're getting so close to losing your voice, your last coughing fit made it sound like your lung was about to collapse, and as far as we know – you're only able to hold down light nourishments. Whether you like it or not, you're sick. Very sick." she picked up the spoon and placed it on his nightstand beside the medicine bottle.
Nursing his cheek, he stood back on his feet. He took a deep breath, slightly calmer than before. "Yeah… but Wave, it's like you're treating me like a baby. It's ridiculous."
Her beak parted to say something, only to close instead. She sighed, gazing at the ground for a moment, before looking back into his cerulean eyes. "Yeah… I see what you're saying."
"You need to relax. Not like I'm going anywhere, right?" He flashed her a swaggering grin, only for her eyes to wander away and her cheeks to illuminate a light pink.
A soft chuckle escaped the swallow. "Of course."
Prompt and heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway, increasing in sound within each step. Minutes later the bedroom door slammed opened, causing both birds to jump, as a grey albatross stormed into the room.
Storm, bent over huffing and puffing, looked up with utmost urgency in his eyes. "I… ha… heard a bunch of screamin'… Everything okay in here?"
Before Jet could respond, Wave beat him to it, closing the cold medicine bottle as she began to exit the room. "Yes, yes. Everything's fine…"
"Not you! I meant da boss…" he paused, turning to Wave once again as she had her beak parted to retort. It seemed defused once he asked "And whaddaya think you're doin' in here anyways?"
For a moment she froze in place. Her cheeks became a bright red as she angrily exclaimed, "Do you not see the medication I'm holding?! And what's it to you anyway?"
"But I saw how close you two were. So you're telling me you weren't trying to…"
"NO!" she exploded, her face gaining a reddish hue as she – in her mind – began sweating puddles. "D-don't be stupid… How dare you imply such a thing. Honestly…"
"You're right… He's way outta your league!" the albatross bellowed with laughter, falling to the floor while clutching his sides. He kicked and rolled about on the floor, and appeared to be running out of air. His laughter, however, was cut short when the swallow jumped on topped on him and held him in a chokehold. The two rolled and tussled on the floor – once knocking Jet onto the bed as he so happened to be standing in the wrong place.
Stifling another cough, the hawk watched as his comrades wrestle with each other, knocking down whatever stood in their path. His blood boiled, and he suddenly felt hot, Jet took it upon himself to stop the ruckus… and before they broke anything of great value.
When they finally stopped rolling about, Wave was on top of Storm's back, pinning his arms behind him. The albatross kicked and wriggled to free himself as they both argued. Jet came between his companions and tried to push and/or pull Wave off of Storm. The two still argued with the albatross wobbling beneath the swallow. As this still went on the hawk bared his gritted teeth, his headache worsened as he did so.
"KNOCK IT OFF!" another coughing fit started, which he tried to muffle. Finally he was able to pull the swallow off her opponent, although not in time to avoid Storm's jostle to free himself.
Jet and Wave were sent flying into a dresser, the hawk having his back collide with the hard wood and the swallow's body crashing into his front. Storm, realizing what happened, scrambled to his feet as sweat appeared on his forehead. "S-sorry!"
The swallow came to her senses as she realized something on her own… He sat behind her, seeming dazed as his eyes swirled and stars danced around his head. However where she sat – which so happened to be between his lap – was what made their positions awfully questionable… Her face became as bright as a tomato as she quickly crawled away from their stunned leader, and directed a death glare up at a guffawing albatross.
Blinking rapidly, the hawk finally came to, lethargically pulling himself to his feet… only to nearly fall flat on his face. The quarrel between his companions came to an end as they both gazed upon their leader with concern. Feebly with one hand he pulled himself upward, only stopping to sneeze in his elbow. Upon rubbing his nose with his wrist, however, a blotch of crimson was left in its wake.
Several minutes had passed since an air of silence engulfed the trio.
Finally Jet spoke, his voice – endeavored to – sounding dauntingly low, in spite of how frail it was at that point. "Get out of my room… Both of you…"
Both Wave and Storm gaped at their leader, the albatross nearly at a loss for words. "B-b-but boss…"
"GET OUT!" he screeched, then having to release a harsh cough afterwards. Quickly yet silently both comrades left the room, closing the door on the way out.
Once he finally managed to pick himself off the floor, Jet slowly made his way back to his bed. He undressed completely and grumpily tossed everything into a pile on the floor, before sliding beneath the covers.
As of right now, a nap was just what he needed…
…
From what he could tell, by glancing out the window, he had been asleep for hours. Were it not for a need to eat – a small percent of his appetite he had recently acquired – he would have stayed in bed.
On his way to the kitchen he ran into the albatross, who was twiddling his thumbs and looked rather nervous. He merely crossed his arms with his eyes half lidded into a testy pout. Storm, with his forehead glazed with sweat and his hand running down his neck, motioned with a thumb behind him.
"So Wave and I were talking… and we wanted to show you something." Jet raised a brow at this, slightly tilting his head in curiosity. "C'mon! I'll show ya!" he took off down the hall with a screeching hawk in his grasp.
The hulking bozo had brought him to his office – for a reason he's yet to find out. He bolted into the room, where Wave stood in front of the desk. She had her hands behind her back, as if she was keeping something hidden. And to think, the hawk thought, how quickly the day went from horrid to completely bizarre. Just how hard did he hit his head?
Clearing her throat, the swallow revealed a brochure of a tropical resort. "We figured you could use a real vacation. Something to get your mind offa things, y'know?" he herd the albatross gabbed.
Jet took the pamphlet and began to read to himself. "But how can I go on vacation when I'm too sick to enjoy it?"
The grey brute took a moment to scratch his head. "Spend a lot of time in the hot tub?"
"Or just take the time to relax?" Wave mildly stated, glaring at the albatross.
"I can't even breathe properly, and you expect me to relax?" He slammed the brochure on the desk, turning his head away as if it was something revolting. "What else you got?"
Storm and Wave exchanged looks, before the albatross slid the booklet towards their leader. "That's it boss. We was sure you'd be interested…"
"Look, it's bad enough I'm sick with the flu. I don't want to be responsible for spreading some disease." he slid it across the desk, which the swallow swiftly caught.
"What can we do for you, Jet? I think we've literally tried everything, but you seem to have something particular in mind." she slid it back towards the hawk.
"If you want an honest answer, then you really don't want to know." Exasperated, he crumpled the booklet and tossed it on the floor. "Do whatever you want, I don't care. I'm done arguing." he turned around to leave…
…and felt a soft grasp atop his shoulder.
"Just wait a minute, okay Jet?" tiredly, he turned around to fully face the swallow. "We want you to be happy, alright? I…" she caught herself. "…we want to see you smile again." To her dismay, the hawk merely turned his head away from her – as if there was something more of interest beyond the doorway.
Her hand slid down his arm to take his hand in her own. Only then did his gaze return to her, once again captured by her cobalt orbs. She smiled, satisfied to have his undivided attention once more. "Tell you what: we'll go on this vacation once you start to feel better. Then you'll fully be able to relax."
It only took a moment for Jet to reconsider the idea before the corners of his beak curved into a small grin, his grip seemed to have tightened slightly in her grasp. "Alright, vacationing it is. We'll start packing in a couple of days." Wave's smile brightened as her own hand tighten around his, Storm gave a slight cheer from hearing the news.
The excited bruiser pumped his fists, his voice booming with enthusiasm. "In the meantime, I can still give you my massages while you take your vapor bath. And since you're ready for it now, I'll go run the water!" the last sentence reverberated in the hawk's mind as Storm's large footsteps were heard thumping down the hall.
He looked at his hands to find them bare… He felt atop his head to feel nothing there… He glanced at his feet only to see his toes…
It was apparent that he had forgotten to dress himself after getting out of bed.