Steven rolled over onto his side, unsure what had woken him. He stared at the wall until his eyes came into focus. Wallace wasn't in the bed. He flinched when a sharp pain shot through his stomach. He felt his stomach burning and pushed himself up, staggering to the bathroom. He felt miserable and disoriented. He barely made it in time before his stomach sent him to his knees as everything he ate at dinner came up all at once as he was violently ill. After a few rounds of vomiting, he continued to gag until there was nothing left. He pressed his head against the cool tile in the bathroom, his stomach still turning. He hadn't felt the best when they had gone to bed, the beginning of a migraine throbbing behind his eyes, but nowhere near as poorly as he did now. If he didn't feel so miserable, he might have found the situation he was in ironic. He tried assessing what was wrong, but his stomach lurched and he brought up another mouthful of bile. Steven barely heard the door creak open and Wallace entering the room. Wallace knelt so that he was hovering just over him, rubbing small circles on his back.
"What can I do, Steven?" Wallace questioned once Steven sat back against the wall.
Steven didn't reply. Rather, he silently made a list of everything that felt off. If he could figure out what was making him sick, then he could take something and sleep it off. He first noted that, despite spending the past ten minutes vomiting, his stomach felt no better. His head also throbbed painfully as his migraine worsened. He was soaked in sweat but wasn't sure if that was due to a fever, he felt like his body was on fire after all. The last thing that immediately stood out was that everything felt foggy. Right. He could deal with this. Wallace brought him out of his thoughts by sticking a thermometer in his mouth. He had completely forgotten that Wallace asked him a question. He shot a look of confusion at his partner.
"You weren't saying anything and you are soaking through your shirt. You didn't feel too warm though." Wallace explained, taking the small device back "You don't have a fever."
Steven let this new information sink in. No fever was a good sign. He slowly got to his feet, using the wall for support as he swayed, and mumbled "Going to take a shower."
"I don't know if that is a good idea in your condition, Steven," Wallace warned as he got up off the floor to steady his partner.
"I won't be long. I just want to get clean." Steven promised. He meant every word of it too. He was exhausted. Another thought occurred to him as Wallace was leaving the room "Why are you up anyway?"
"I'm always awake around now. You, however, are not. It's six in the morning." Wallace explained gently as he picked up the towel that he had been using to dry his hair from the floor where he had hastily dropped it.
"I see." Steven's foggy mind finally connected the dots. It's morning. Right. Wallace always swims before breakfast.
"Don't take too long, okay?" Wallace left it at that and returned to the bedroom to get fresh clothes for Steven.
Steven let the cold water run for a moment before stepping in. It was blissfully cool and allowed him a moment of clarity. He knew hot water would help get his migraine under control, but he promised Wallace he would not take too long. For now, he settled on feeling less gross and returning to bed. He had taken the weekend off to spend with Wallace so he would be able to get a few more hours of sleep. He quickly dried off and changed into the clothes that Wallace had left for him. The uncomfortable twisting in his stomach foretold another bout of vomiting, but he decided it was safe enough to return to the bedroom. He crawled into bed and propped against the headboard. He considered for a moment if he should try to take something for his head, but he knew inevitably it would come right back up. He let his eyes fall shut and listened to the quiet around him. Wallace had disappeared somewhere else in the house. Steven could hear his faint footsteps echoing down the hall before he began to doze.
The next time Steven woke up was in a panic. He tried desperately to untangle himself from the blankets in an effort to get to the bathroom. He felt a hand grab him by the arm and felt something under his chin just before he began to dry heave. He was vaguely aware of Wallace sitting next to him, talking in a hushed voice, though he was unable to make out what was said. He wanted all of this to be over already.
Wallace felt his heart ache as he sat with Steven, pale and ill with sweat beading his forehead, leaning over gagging, unable to bring anything up from his empty stomach. "Shh, it's okay." He tried to soothe as he rubbed small circles on his back. His eyes widened in shock as Steven just leaned back whimpering quietly. "Feel any better?" Wallace pressed a cool cloth to Steven's forehead. A small sigh escaped his lips when all he received was a small shake of Steven's head. "Let's get you comfortable."
Steven let Wallace move him around without a fuss before he noticed the bottle of water on the nightstand. He could feel his body fighting between the desire for something to drink and the urge to expel anything that entered. If only his head would stop hurting. A glance at the clock told him it was a little after eight. He had only been asleep for two hours.
"Here. Sip on this so you don't get dehydrated. Even if you just throw up again it will help." Wallace uncapped the water and passed it to Steven who eyed it cautiously. "Do I need to call a doctor?"
"No," Steven mumbled in between tentative sips, "Probably just food poisoning or something"
Wallace thought back to dinner the night before. He had cooked for the both of them, though Steven had been running late, so they had eaten the same thing. Food poisoning didn't seem likely. Wallace replied hesitantly "Okay, but I'm not so sure that it's food poisoning. We ate the same thing, remember?"
"It's not helping that I have a migraine." He admitted with a grimace before putting the water back on the nightstand and burying his face in his hand. He couldn't win. The pressure behind his eyes and the growing nausea were fighting against him and his desire to sleep. If he took something for his head then he would just throw up again and make his stomach feel worse. He tried recalling if perhaps he had brought one of his "emergency" pain relievers. He wasn't a fan, but there was a reason his doctor at the league prescribed it. Did he? He genuinely couldn't remember. He could ask Wallace to check. He probably should ask him to check. Talking meant more pain. He felt the bed dip down and Wallace carefully pulled him to his chest. He hated being like this. He hated people seeing him like this, even if it was just Wallace. He couldn't help relaxing against the other man, the smell of chlorine somehow comforting, and dozing off into a restless sleep.
When Steven woke next, he was certain that he was going to die. He had forgotten how severe his migraines could get, generally heading them off before they could really start, and he groaned. His entire head pulsed with his heart and with each pulse the pain intensified. He felt as if would be ill again. He pushed himself up on his elbow, but almost immediately collapsed back down. His muscles ached horribly and the water from before sloshed heavily in his stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut and choked out a sob. This was horrible. He needed the pain to stop before his skull cracked under the pressure. He was only partially aware of Wallace brushing the tears from his cheek.
"Steven, we need to get something to help your head. You can't keep going like this. You were asleep barely an hour." Wallace pressed the back of his hand against Steven's forehead, careful to keep his voice low "Did you bring your medicine? At this rate, it's the only thing we can try. You can't keep anything else down."
"Dunno…" Steven mumbled. He couldn't focus on anything, but he had to try to convey it was up to Wallace to check "Bag…front pocket…"
"Okay. Let me look." Wallace made sure to jostle the bed as little as possible as he stood. He quickly grabbed Steven's bag and unzipped the front pocket. A small black case was tucked carefully exactly where Steven said it would be. Wallace was grateful that they had this, but a new wave of anxiety washed over him. He had never administered this before, but Steven had shown him once in case this exact thing happened. Steven was usually aware enough to do it himself. He didn't have a choice now though. Steven needed him to figure this out. He was beginning to spike a fever. He opened the case and pulled out a small, prefilled syringe. Thinking back to how Steven had done it previously, Wallace pulled back the blue blanket and lifted Steven's shirt. Carefully he did as Steven had shown him and administered the medicine. This was way more stress than he cared for on a weekend vacation. Now all he could do was wait. He picked up the book Steven had brought for him to read and sat under the window, opting to keep all the lights off.
Steven wasn't sure how long he had been asleep this time, but the light trickling in through the window indicated sometime in the afternoon. He felt much better than earlier in the morning. His head was manageable now, though he was still queasy. He felt much cooler as well, but the layer of dried sweat definitely made him want a shower.
"You're awake?"
Steven turned his head to the side, the movement not helping the pain. He would need to take something for that. "Yeah." He rasped painfully. He didn't miss Wallace's wince and Steven didn't blame him, he sounded awful. He propped up on his elbow and reached for the water as Wallace sat next to him on the bed.
"Think you can keep it down now?" Wallace asked hopefully
"Yes, I think so. Do you have any Tylenol?" Steven took a small sip and waited a moment to see if it upset his stomach and when it didn't, he gratefully drank the rest.
"Of course. Still have a headache?" Wallace handed him two small pills and a new bottle of water, watching cautiously as Steven finished that one within a few minutes.
"A little, it's not nearly as bad," Steven reassured with a small smile. He would definitely need to make today up to Wallace somehow. Neither of them had planned for this to happen.
"Yeah, you seem a lot better than before. I was really worried for a bit. You're pretty dehydrated, but we need to take it slow. If the water stays down then we can try something light to eat. You should rest until you're feeling better." Wallace started to move from the bed but stopped when Steven reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"Stay with me?"
Wallace chuckled and pulled Steven close "Of course. I will be right here."
