Gary didn't seem to be acting like himself, he seemed... out of it.
And Avocato had noticed it.
He had caught him just as the young man was headed for bed, much earlier than when he usually went. "Gary?" he froze.
"Hmm?" his voice sounded odd as well.
"You don't usually head to bed this early, you alright?" he approached, noticing Gary's discomfort. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be-" he gets cut off by a sudden cough. Avocato's eyes widen, "Um... I don't think your alright man. Looks to me like you might be sick."
Gary tried to snicker in disbelief, but it just caused another cough. "Come on Avocato. Would 'The Captain' get si- *COUGH*" the Ventrexian simply raises an eyebrow.
"Gary. I've told you plenty of times already. One. You are NOT 'The Captain'. Two. You are clearly unwell." Avocato's expression turned into one of shock, "Wait- you KNEW about this H.U.E?"
"My apologies, Avocato. I was meaning to inform you of this-" Avocato shook his head, "Well... you didn't." he wanted to keep going on, but Gary suddenly leaning onto the door frame made him stop there. "Woah. You alright?" Gary tries to give him a simple 'Uh huh' but all he could manage was a weak mumble.
That's it, he couldn't take this anymore...
"Alright Gare... your going STRAIGHT to bed." Avocato said strictly as he put an arm around the human's shoulders, who almost collapsed right into his side.
'God... he can barely even stand on his own damn feet...' he groaned as he ended up lifting the sick boy into his arms, and carrying him bridal style to his room.
Gary fidgeted a little, but quickly nestled into the Ventrexian's soft chest. Avocato could feel the heat radiating off of the boy's body, 'How the hell did you think you were gonna hide this from me baby...?'
He didn't have far to take him, so they quickly made it to his room. It was mostly dark inside, but Avocato figured he'd keep it that way, to keep it easy on Gary's eyes (and possibly head). He gently set the sickly human down onto his bed, before taking a seat next to him. He gently lay his hand on the blonde's forehead, who flinched at the touch, but settled down quickly.
'God... no wonder he feels so terrible... he's practically on fire...' he gently began to stroke the human's head, who relaxed as he did so.
"I apologize for not informing you about this, Avocato." H.U.E's voice came softly through the ship's speakers. "It's alright, H.U.E. At least I know now... And I can be here for him..." he sighed.
"So... How bad has this been?" he asked looking up at the ceiling, "This is the worst it's been, actually. And he's been in this condition for nearly 36 hours."
'36 hours...?! why didn't he SAY ANYTHING...?!' Avocato thought as he stopped stroking the boy's skin, causing him to fidget and look up at him weakly.
"Gary... Why didn't you tell me you were sick man? I could've helped you. Then maybe you wouldn't be feeling THIS horrible...!" The human broke eye contact, seemingly shamefully, before responding with a very shaken voice, "Your going through enough trouble looking for- *COUGH* your boy... I know I would just sl-*COUGH COUGH* slow things down more than I-*COUGH* already-" he got cut off with a coughing fit before he could finish, but he'd said enough for Avocato to get what he was trying to say.
And he felt bad about it.
"Gare... Believe me, I want to find my son as soon as I can. But, I care about you to, alright? I've kind of made you like family to me since you went out of your way to help me get him back." Avocato said comfortingly, continuing to stroke the boy's head. "-and right now, you don't have the strength to do anything, much less help me find my son. so I'll take care of you until then. Got that, Baby...?"
Gary lay there, slowly giving his friend a weak smile, before resting his head back onto the bed. "I've already had the S.A.M.E.S do all they could. Gary simply has to rest." Avocato sighed, mostly in relief.
"You need anything, Baby...?" he said softly, Gary opened his eyes slightly and shook his head, since he couldn't really give a verbal answer anymore.
The Ventrexian sighed again, "Do you... want me to stay here with you...? Keep you compan-"
"C-could you...?" with any hesitation, Avocato gently picked the boy up, and got them both comfortable in the human's bed. "... what if you get sick from me...?"
"We Ventrexians don't catch things easily. Don't worry about it, Baby..." Avocato said reassuringly as he started stroking the boy's hair, who was snuggled against him now with his head on the Ventrexian's chest.
"Just rest easy... I'll take care of you, and you'll feel better in no time, Baby..." Avocato said comfortingly. Only to find that Gary was already out like a light. He didn't stop caressing the boy's hair however.
Only a few minutes pass, when a noise in the hallway catches his attention, hoping to God it wasn't K.V.N trying to intrude on Gary. Thankfully, it was just Mooncake, who floated over looking at Gary with a worried look.
"He's just caught something. He'll be fine in a few days bud." The green alien gave a worried whimper before gently nestling into Gary's side, who smiled in his sleep seemingly knowing that he was there now too.
Avocato was beginning to feel the tiredness taking him over as well, and before he knew it he was fast asleep with Gary still in his arms.
