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When Yuri woke up one morning, he woke up with the worst headache in existence. It was like something had slammed down on him and the pain kept pressing against his forehead. It made him forget where he was for a few seconds and stared up at the ceiling fan, wondering why he was asleep when it was so bright out.
Fuck, I forgot. We’re in India. That explains why my sleeping schedule is weird. We haven’t been here for long. He remembered. They had come here for a competition and they happened to arrive during one of the worst heat waves that the country had seen. There wasn’t a sign of a cloud in the sky and the land was very dry. However, this was not what bothered him the most. He didn’t feel well.
“What’s wrong with me?” He wondered out loud. The headache pounded against and he felt around his body. Everything was warmer than usual. It had nothing to do with the weather because the air conditioner was on as well as the fan. If anything, he was feeling cold and was wrapped up in blankets.
Don’t tell me I’m sick! I can’t get sick now! How the hell did I get sick? He wondered, looking at his arm. This was another thing he was dealing with. Eight new red bug bites were all over his arm and were crawling up it like a snake. Great. I can add these bug bites to the twenty bites I received last night. Altogether, I think I’ve been bitten at least fifty times here.
Outside, he could hear people talking and laughing but he was in no mood to join them. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be in another country. On the contrary, he was excited to visit India because they had made so many plans. There were a lot of beautiful places to see and plenty of things to do in between practice. He and Otabek had been planning on traveling together and doing some things without the rest of the group. They had been ready ever since they touched down in Mumbai and made their way to the hotel where they were staying.
The first few days had been great and they had been doing a lot of of things together. The only annoyances were mosquitoes but even they could warded off with some incense, lotion, and just plain slapping. Today was different though. It was a very hot day to go outside, about 32 celsius and no wind in sight. The dry air wasn’t going to be good for anyone. It was only morning and the temperature was going to rise from that point on. Yuri didn’t see any reason to go out if it meant having to be out in the hot sun. It was better to lying down in bed and under the fan that was going at the highest speed. This felt better than going out with anyone and seeing the sights. He could feel his stomach turning and the very thought of food was making him sick. As long as no one came in and ate something in front of him, he would be fine.
Why couldn’t we do this tomorrow or the day after? He wondered, feeling more miserable deep down. His body was very hot right now and he coughed. Tell me I’m not getting a cold here too! I can’t afford that!
Unfortunately, he struggled to hide all those coughs. The harder he tried to stop them, the more they kept coming. It wasn’t until he buried his face into the pillow that they were finally muffled. They stopped but his throat felt like it was clogged. He hoped that no one would come in and try to pull him out of bed. He had no desire to go anywhere with how disgusting he felt deep down.
“Yuri...Yuri…” Otabek nudged him and tried to take the blanket off. He had come in when he noticed Yuri hadn’t come out to eat. It wasn’t like him to lie around at this hour. “Come on. It’s time to get up. Everyone else is already awake.”
“So what? We don’t have anything to do today. I can stay in bed.” Yuri rolled to his side. “Go do stuff without me.”
A part of him didn’t want to admit that he wasn’t feeling well. He had been sick the whole night but he didn’t want to take any medicine. If he told anyone, he knew what would happen. Everyone would run to his side, try to dote on him, ask him if he needed anything, or drag him to the nearest doctor.
“Can you at least get out of bed?”
“I don’t want to get out of bed.” Yuri grumbled, burying himself into the pillows and blankets around him. “It’s too hot to do anything and I’m itchy.”
“Itchy?”
“Eight damn mosquitoes bit me last night. That wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t bite my ankles and toes!” He complained, showing off all the little red welts and bite marks on his feet. “I thought they wouldn’t bite me at night but I was wrong.”
“Didn’t you use any of the spray on yourself?”
“Yeah, I did! They just got the parts that I didn’t spray!” It was hopeless to try and argue. All he wanted to do today was lie in bed and complain about everything. “Anyway, I can’t go. I can’t feel anything inside of me. In fact, I just feel stuffed up and warm.”
“Is that so? Let me see if I can find a doctor.”
“No, no! I don’t need anyone to look at me!” He coughed and sat up, trying to cover his mouth. “Aw, shit! I feel so gross! But if you really want me to get up and_”
“You shouldn’t.” Otabek stopped him from getting out of the bed. “You are in no shape to go anywhere. I will see if I can find someone who can see what’s wrong. For now, all I want is for you to stay where you are.”
“It’s not like I can move anyway.” Yuri grumbled, scratching some old bites on his arms. He had gotten on the very first day and they were still very itchy. The topical medication that he had been given helped out but the itch didn’t go away. After a few hours, it would be back. “I guess there’s one good thing about this. I don’t have to spend too much time with some of these idiots. I don’t need hear them talking and taking pictures and getting themselves into stupid shit.”
“I’ll stay here with you then.” Otabek suggested. “Someone has to look after you.”
“Seriously? I’m going to be fine. You don’t have to babysit me.”
“I’m only staying just to see what the doctor says. You should have someone look after you in case things get worse.”
“Things get worse?” Yuri couldn’t believe what he heard. “It’s probably just a cold or something. I don’t think it’s going to get worse than this.”
He coughed some more and Otabek decided he couldn’t go out to do anything. It wouldn’t be as fun if Yuri wasn’t there. It wasn’t the same if the two of them weren’t riding around, seeing the sights, trying out all the food, and taking in the views together. Otabek couldn’t take it anymore and decided to call up the doctor that was near their hotel. He agreed to come up and give Yuri a check up to see what was going on.
It turned out that things were much worse than anyone expected. Aside from bug bites, Yuri had a terrible fever, a stomach virus, and cold to match. He couldn’t understand how he managed to get that cold given how hot it was but he had it. Everything inside felt like it was stuffed up. His body was hot and the nausea was not going away. Nothing felt good. He didn’t want to get up, move around, or even say anything. To top it off, the medication that he had been given tasted incredibly bitter. He accidentally bit down on it and the aftertaste in his mouth was awful. It wasn’t until he got some fruit to eat that the taste went away. Unfortunately, after he ate something, he promptly felt ill and threw up. All he wanted to do was lie there.
“You stay here forever.” Otabek told him when Yuri refused to take his medicine. “This is something you need to have. It will make you better.”
“Have you tried it? It’s gross.”
“You bit down on it. You’re supposed to swallow it whole.” Otabek held out the bottle and a glass of water. “Take it. You’re able to take the malaria medication with no problem.”
“I only have that once a week. I have to take this stuff three times a day.” Yuri grumbled. “Is this really necessary? You don’t have to stay here.”
“I know I don’t. I want to.”
“Seriously? I’m not going to be much because I’m lying in bed. You’re better off going to see stuff with the others.”
“I can see them tomorrow. Instead, I want to see you take your medicine.”
“What?!” Yuri sat up at that. “You’re staying here just to watch me swallow that garbage?!”
“You have to do it or I’m not leaving your side.”
“Beka…”
“Take it.” Otabek had gone back into his usual stoic self. “I want you to get better.”
“Why? You know I hate taking medicine.” Yuri muttered. “I hate swallowing these things. The pills are way too big. Who made this? It’s hard to get them down my throat!”
“That’s because you’re trying to force them down. It won’t work like that. Do you want me to help you?”
“No! I’ll...I’ll figure this out. There’s got to be an easier and better way than this.” Then he came up with an even better idea. “I know! I’m going to get better without ever taking one of these!”
“Really now?” Otabek was trying hard not to look amused but it was difficult. There was no way Yuri was going to last long without those pills. He would try his hardest to act tough and pretend he was getting better when he wasn’t. If nothing else, this would be entertaining. “All right. If you get better, then we’ll go out later.”
“Fine then! You’ll see! I’ll get better within an hour.”
Otabek decided to sit back and see how long this was going to take. Although he had made plans earlier, he could take care of them another time. He wanted to see if Yuri was telling the truth and that he could get better without the meds. Right now, Yuri wasn’t even getting out of bed.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Pfft, I’m fine! I’m just lying down because I can! I can get up anytime!”
“All right.”
He was waiting for the moment when Yuri would sit up, demand to go outside, and be taken around town. The minutes were passing by and he was still in bed. Whenever Otabek asked what was the holdup, he insisted that he was just taking time on purpose.
“We’re not in any hurry and we don’t have to be anywhere. I can get up whenever I want to!”
“Okay.”
More time started to pass when JJ came over to give Otabek a bottle of soda and some tomato-flavored chips from the nearby store. He took a look at Yuri was still groaning and slumped in bed. “What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s sick but he will get through this. He’s strong enough not to need medicine. Isn’t that right, Yura?”
“Yeah…” Yuri muttered in his pillow. “I’m starting to feel better already.”
“If he’s feeling better, why is he still in bed?”
“Ugh, I don’t want to get up for you! I’ll get up when I want to!”
JJ looked at Otabek and shrugged. “Okay. Well, I’m downstairs if anyone needs me.”
“I highly doubt anyone does.”
Otabek waved him off. “I’ll see you in the evening. Thank you for all of this.”
As he ate, he kept his eyes on the clock and then back on Yuri. He wanted to ask if he needed the medicine but opted not to. Yuri was stubborn and would continue to say no. He rolled around in bed and tried to get comfortable. Unfortunately, that only made him feel worse inside and he groaned.
“When will this end?!” He demanded.
“When you take your medicine.”
“No!” Yuri snapped. “I’m not putting that crap in my mouth!” He covered his mouth. “Ugh, why did I say that? Now I feel worse. Quick, Beka! Tell me something that can take my mind off things!”
“All right. I, uh…” Otabek froze and looked down at what he had. The chips and soda were just too good but he couldn’t talk about them. Yuri would vomit at the very sound of food. “It’s nice weather we’re having.”
“Seriously?! All the things in the world and you talk about the weather?!” Yuri complained. “It’s not that nice anyway. It’s hot as hell outside and I can’t go anywhere!”
“Okay, then...let’s talk about where you want to go when you feel well. I know of a little place where…” He stopped when he realized that the place he was talking about sold ice cream. “Never mind. Tell me what you want to do when you get better.”
“Well, first...I want to kill some mosquitoes for all the bites they gave me. Second, I want to get outside and see some stuff at night. Third, I want to…” He groaned. “I want this headache to go away. Why can’t it go away?!”
“It would if you took the medicine.”
“I’m not taking the medicine! In fact, I feel a lot better not taking the medicine. I’m great! I’m healthy! I’m…” That all changed the moment he sat up and saw the chips that Otabek was eating. “I’m...I’m…”
“You are…” Otabek prompted.
“I’m gonna hurl!”
Without waiting for anything, Yuri ran over to where the bathroom was, lifted the toilet seat, and promptly threw up. All his strength was gone and he knew he needed the medicine. Big pill or not, he couldn't go on like this. Otabek finished his food, threw everything away, and waited for his friend to return. He knew exactly what Yuri wanted and that he was not going to go through this anymore. It had only lasted forty-five minutes. Now that he finally got everything out of his system, he would take the medicine.
When Yuri came out, he saw the bottle in Otabek’s hand. “Fine! Give me some water and I’ll try one of these stupid things.”
“You will thank me in the end for this.” Otabek handed a water bottle and the pills over to him. “Once you’ve swallowed it, you will start to feel better.”
Yuri grumbled as he looked at one of the giant pills. The idea of this thing going down his throat wasn’t pleasing but if it helped, so be it. “You knew I wouldn’t last, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I was just waiting.”
“Asshole.” Yuri muttered as he swallowed the pill. It took a few seconds but he finally got it down. The bitter taste didn't last long and it was done with. Hopefully, it would be the only time he would have to take this pill today. “Are you happy now?”
“I’ll be happier when you’re feeling well. Is there anything you want me to do?”
Yuri thought about it for a second. “Yeah, can you stay here for the rest of the day?” He saw the look in Otabek’s face and was quick to add. “Don’t get all mushy on me! I just want to show you that I am taking the medicine now. That way, if it doesn’t work, you know I tried it. Besides, I don't feel so well right now and I can't do anything.”
Otabek smirked and sat down on the bed with him. As they cuddled up together, he decided to turn on the TV and let Yuri rest by his side. “Then I’ll stay. It’s too hot for me to go outside anyway.”