It was a simple mission. Go to the drug store, get the flu shot, and enjoy the rest of the day. This is what Paulo and Mike were tasked with by their parents. Individually, of course, but once Mike and Paulo let slip they both needed to get it done, they agreed to go together. That way, they'd at least have someone to talk to if there was a wait. This was a reasonable assumption since most of Roseville needed to get the vaccine.

But just because something is simple, doesn't mean it is easy. Mike was gun-ho about getting his done whenever, but Paulo seemed oddly busy all of a sudden. Even more so than he usually was. If Mike could even pop the question of when they would go without Paulo pretending like he didn't hear it, he would always give vague, non-answers that only pushed the issue away.

"Paulo. Paulo!" Mike would call to him, waving a hand to get his attention.

"Mm? What?" He would respond, a little annoyed.

"When are we going to get our flu shot? You haven't given me an answer." The korat would say, getting a little annoyed himself. Mike was a very patient guy, but having to deal with Paulo dodging the issue was starting to wear thin. He even considered just going by himself to get his done. By the time Paulo agreed, flu season would be over!

"Eh… soon. Real soon. I think I got work this week after school."

"And the weekend?"

"Yeah, then too."

Not entirely convinced, Mike took it upon himself to go to Burger-Tron to ask his coworker James when he was free.

"Looks like he's off this Friday." James said, going over their work schedule.

"Thank you." Mike said.

When confronted again, Paulo ran out of excuses, and had to resign to Mike. That Friday, after school, they two would head on over to the local drug store and get their shots.

For everyone, Friday dragged. One final obstacle before the freedom of the weekend. For Paulo, it didn't drag enough. In truth, he was dreading getting his shot. He never was fond of needles, due to an incident at a young age. His mother had brought him to their family doctor to get his immunizations, but didn't even bother to sit in with him while it happened. She opted to take a business call instead, letting the doctor take him back and get the job done.

Little Paulo did not understand what was going on, but quickly learned that whatever it was, it was highly unpleasant. The first needle put him in shock, the second one made him cry, and by the last he was full blown bawling. The doctor did her best to calm the wailing somali, but he couldn't calm down. When asked to come assist with Paulo, his mother gave the doctor an annoyed look and hung up the call.

When Paulo's dad questioned what happened, why Paulo was crying so much, his mother snapped at him. She berated him and Paulo for being so weak.

"He's just a child!" His dad defended.

"I don't care!" His mom shot back.

Ever since that day, Paulo dreaded needles. And now he was going to have to get one with Mike.

Friday afternoon, Mike waited outside his house, a little longer than he'd have liked too. He was just about to knock on the door again when Paulo came out. "There you are!" Mike said. "I was beginning to think you were going to flake on me."

"Let's just get this over with." Paulo said grumpily.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked, easing up on his friend."You've been acting weird all week."

"I'm fine. I just have other things to do." Paulo deflected.

This made Mike a little upset. He began to wonder if maybe it was him that was the problem. Did Paulo just not want to hang out anymore? Was he being too pushy before? "Oh. We'll get this done quickly then."

Mike drew back into himself, and the boys walked silently to the store, both feeling terrible in their own ways. Paulo's nerves only ratcheted up the closer they got, with every fiber of his being screaming at him to run away, but he kept a cool head. He looked at his friend. 'Gotta keep cool for Mike.' He thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Mike kept glancing over at Paulo, who was increasingly becoming visibly uncomfortable. Mike put a comforting hand on his shoulder. The touch sent tingling feelings throughout his body. "Hey. Really. Is everything okay?"

The two of them stopped in front of the store. "I'm fine, don't get all fruity on me." Paulo said, attempting to hide the waver in his voice. He pulled himself away and walked inside. "Let's just get this over with."

Mike looked on, worried. Something was definitely off, even if Paulo wouldn't admit it. He followed his friend in, and both made their way back to the pharmacy area. Paulo felt as though he were walking to his own funeral. Every step one closer to his demise. By now, Mike had caught up with him as he had a fast stride. To lighten the mood, he tried talking about movies and games again, but still he got little response from Paulo.

Even as they sat down to fill out their personal information on the vaccine forms, Paulo lagged far behind Mike. He looked around, very distracted, and his hands trembled as he wrote. His handwriting was messy on a good day, but here it was nearly unreadable. Mike decided to keep his observations to himself, not wanting to keep prodding his friend for information on a subject he clearly didn't want to talk about.

Mike took both of their papers up to the clerk, who informed them the nurse would be out to get them soon. Mike thanked him and went back to sit next to Paulo. The somali looked rather agitated, a leg bouncing up and down, head darting from place to place. His sitting position shifted several times. Mike was fighting off the urge to ask him if he was okay one more time when the nurse called his name.

"Michael!" She said. "I'll see you now."

Mike looked at his disturbed friend and sighed. "I'll be right back." He told Paulo, who made a vague head gesture that Mike took as a nod. He let the nurse lead him back to the little room next to the clinic and he took a seat in the chair. Looking around, Mike saw it was much like a regular doctor's office, just resized down. There were some small baskets with bandaids on a counter and cabinets above and below. The chair he sat in had scant padding, but it wasn't too uncomfortable.

The nurse made small talk with him, minding her bedside manners as she got the needle ready. She cleaned off the area, and just like they both had done many times before (though not together) the shot got administered. A bandaid was placed gingerly over the spot, and she sent Mike on his way. Clean. Simple. Easy.

But now that Mike's turn was over, Paulo really began to show signs of weariness. Mike slowly walked over as the nurse called Paulo's name. Paulo hadn't made any effort to move up, and Mike stood next to him. "Paulo?"

Paulo looked up, deep discomfort in his eyes. "Y-yeah, man?"

"The nurse called you. It's your turn."

Paulo leaned around Mike to see the nurse waiting patiently for him. "Right. Yeah! I- I'll be right back…"

He slowly stood up and Mike's mind whirred. It's not like they were going into surgery or anything, this was just a simple yearly flu- Mike's train of thought stopped there. Shot. Was Paulo? No, he couldn't be… But as he watched his friend slowly shuffle to the nurse, he saw his ears pinned back, tail flicking about agitatedly. Maybe… "Wait!" He said, running to catch up. "Is it alright if I go in too?"

The nurse smiled. "Sure, I don't see why not!"

"What are y-you doing?!" The orange cat hissed under his breath.

"It's okay, Paulo." Mike said warmly. "I won't make ya go through this alone."

Paulo wanted to protest more, he wasn't a baby, he didn't need Mike, but deep down he was grateful for his friend's support. Paulo entered first, took his seat in the patient's chair, and Mike sat on a little stool next to him. The nurse turned around to get the vaccine ready. Mike put a reassuring hand on his arm. Paulo looked at him, face completely on fire, and the korat smiled up at him. His heart raced, not because of the shot, but because of the way Mike's smile was making him feel.

"And we're done!" The nurse said, applying the bandage.

Paulo looked over at her, bewildered. That was it?! He let out a sigh of relief. "Awesome. Great." He stood up and Mike followed his lead. "Well, we better get going."

"Have a good day!" The nurse said sweetly. "You're very lucky to have such a caring boyfriend."

"I- he- n-" Paulo stuttered, tail on end, and Mike laughed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go, HONEY." He joked, pulling the somali along.

The nurse waved goodbye as Paulo failed to find the words to excuse his blushy face over Mike's sweet smile.