Duo was in agony. His head throbbed to the beat of his heart making even the slightest movement painful. His eyes were sensitive to light, causing him to sit alone in near darkness. His nose was raw from constant wiping and felt more like a sunburn than anything else. His throat was raw and burned, and felt like a flamethrower was burning its way up and out his sinuses. His chest ached from constant coughing and felt like an elephant was sitting on it, making it difficult for the former Gundam pilot to breath. Overall, he was miserable and would much rather have been taken prisoner by OZ and beaten than have to suffer from this illness. He hated the flu.
Just as he thought that his stomach gave a weird little gurgle and he just got the bowl under his mouth in time. He threw up for, how many times he really didn't remember anymore, and glared down at the yellowish-clear liquid in the bowl before him. There was nothing left in his stomach anymore, he hadn't been able to keep anything down since yesterday morning, and he had given up trying to eat after an hour long bout of retching. Now he glared down at the foul smelling substance, knowing full well that it needed to be poured out and the bowl cleaned but not really having the energy to get up and do it. He lay back on the bed, hoping that if he closed his eyes long enough the bowl would clean itself.
He had no such luck, however. After lying back with his eyes closed for nearly five minutes, the smell of his own bile had started to get to him and he could no longer take it. Mentally cursing himself for getting sick in the first place he pushed up from the heap of pillows on the bed and held himself still as he waited for the room to stop spinning. After a moment the dizziness subsided and he was able to, albeit gently, swing himself out of bed and slowly make his way down the hall towards the small kitchen.
He never quite made it there, though. About halfway down the hall a wave of nausea hit him and it was all he could do to aim his retching into the bowl. He was left exhausted once the dry heaving ended and he curled up into a ball of misery in the hallway, not caring about the smell anymore or if he ever moved again. His head felt as if a Gundam battle was going on inside it and even his breathing made it worse. His throat was beyond raw now and he vaguely wondered if he'd ever be able to talk again. He lay there shivering, hoping death would be merciful and take him soon.
Duo was brought out of his tired drowse by cool hands on his forehead. He tried to move his head to see who it was but the throbbing intensified and even the small amount of light coming from the living room caused his eyes to burn. Almost surprisingly gently, strong arms lifted him up and carried him to his bedroom where he was gently laid on the cool mattress. The blankets were brought up to his chin and one broad hand smoothed his unruly bangs back from his forehead before leaving him. Vaguely he wondered who had helped him but as he curled into a shivering ball under the sheets, he realized that it didn't matter and he really didn't care. He was sick and he was being taken care of, that was all that mattered.
The hands returned some time later; Duo wasn't sure how long since he'd almost drifted off again. A cool, wet cloth was placed on his burning forehead and Duo sighed in contentment.
He had to say, the worst thing about being sick, other than the vomiting of course, was the contradiction between being cold and hot. You were cold because of the fever, which in itself was a contradiction, so when you pile on the blankets you become hot. But when you take them off again you were cold. There was really no middle ground between the two and at the moment Duo was suffering heavily from this problem. He was so hot he was sweating yet at the same time he was cold. It didn't make sense but when that cool cloth touched his forehead he immediately felt better, the battle over his body temperature seemingly settled for the moment.
He groaned in pain, however, when a tissue was gently wiped over his red and raw nose. He tried to turn his head away but was easily held in place by a smooth hand cupping his cheek. He groaned in pain again when the tissue was again brought over his sensitive flesh but the move was gentler and didn't hurt as much.
His head was tilted up and a cup brought to his lips but he refused to drink. It smelt like orange juice, one of his favorite beverages, but the smell alone was enough to turn his stomach and he really didn't want to throw up yet again.
"Duo," a familiar voice said near his left ear, "you need to drink this or you'll never get better."
"'Fei?" Duo whispered, unsure if he was hearing things or not.
"Shh, be quiet and drink. You need medicine." The cup was tipped towards his lips again and tentatively, Duo took a sip. The citrusy liquid coated his burning throat and immediately he took another sip. The cup was pulled back for a moment and a small pill held to his lips. Without complaint he took the medicine and hoped to god that it would work quickly.
He was gently lowered back to his nest of pillows and sighed as the throbbing in his head subsided. A small weight settled on his pillows and soon his ear was filled with the quiet sound of purring. Apparently his cat Shini wanted to help as well. A small, tired smile formed on his lips as he began drifted off again. He was safe, he was comfortable, and even though he felt miserable he knew it was ok because Wufei was watching over him. Now, if only he had the courage to tell him how he really felt.
Yay! First thing I've written in a while. I'm sick now, only with a cold mind you, so I thought that Duo should share in my misery. Like him, I'm at home alone with my cat who seems to want to use me as her personal pillow, but unfortunately I have no hunky bishie to take care of me. If you haven't realized by now 5x2 is my favorite paring from the show though I will willingly accept 1x5x2 or 5x1x2. So long as Duo is Uke I'm happy, don't know why but I'm happy. Anyway, its just something I thought of doing while I'm sitting here sick as a dog and bored out of my skull. You like it, great; you don't, I really don't care. Hope you all enjoy it!
BTW, Sherry, this is what you're supposed to do when you play hooky from school.