Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kris stared up at the clock on the wall, tuning out Miss Alphys as she spoke to the class and wrote some words on the chalkboard. They normally would have reminisced back to when they were asked to go with Susie to get more chalk, maybe even make a quiet joke about it to Susie. Well, if they didn't fall asleep first.

Speaking of which, sleep was a very tempting prospect. However, as much as they wanted to close their eyes and drift off, they couldn't. It wasn't because they actually wanted to pay attention to the lesson, no.

It was because they were hiding how uncomfortable and run-down they were feeling.

They had woken up earlier with a dull headache and a sore throat. It wasn't anything too bad, so they had no problem hiding it from Toriel. Nothing would keep them from missing school, especially not a sickness like what they suspected themselves of having. Thanks to Susie, they looked forward to school more than they ever did before, so there was no way they were staying home.

Besides, they couldn't just admit they weren't feeling well. It was just a few non-severe symptoms; they'd experienced worse before. If they could journey through the Dark World and take on the role of a Hero of Light, they could survive something as trivial as a cold.

As time dragged by at the pace of a snail, their symptoms grew worse, and it was getting harder to hide what was wrong with them. They kept their focus on the ticking hand of the wall clock, hoping it would help distract them from how horrible they felt. They hugged their arms, shivering briefly as a cold chill coursed through them.

At one point, Kris was certain Susie was boring her eyes into the back of their head. They weren't about to look back and check, but it was something they didn't doubt at all. They stayed silent and hoped she would at least save her inevitable questions for after class ended, or even better, not ask any questions at all.

Relief flooded them as the bell finally rang. Their classmates packed up and filed out of the classroom as Alphys reminded them once again of their school projects. They barely paid attention as they slowly stood up, taken aback by how shaky their limbs were. They had to rest a hand on their desk to avoid losing their balance.

"K-Kris?" Alphys called out nervously, concern evident in her voice. "Is everything okay? You... don't look well."

Kris looked up at their teacher, mentally cursing. They took their hand off of their desk and straightened their posture. They nodded silently and started walking towards the door, eager to leave so they could get to the best part of every school day.

"A-are you sure? You can tell me if something's wrong... did you get enough sleep?"

They stopped, breathing a soft sigh. If they had a Dark Dollar for every time someone asked them that question, they could afford to go to college. With Azzy.

"I slept fine," they answered quietly. Their head pounded as they spoke, and although it hurt like hell, they managed to keep their pain hidden.

Alphys smiled awkwardly. "Well, that's good! Just... don't b-be afraid to let any of us know if you're not feeling well. We're h-here to help you."

They lowered their gaze. "Yeah... thank you."

With that, they elected to finally leave, nodding politely to Alphys as they exited the classroom and stepped out into the hallway. As soon as they shut the door behind them, they squeezed their eyes shut. Their vision blurred as dizziness began to set in, nearly stumbling as they took a few more steps forward.

Where did this virus even come from, anyway? they asked themselves, irritated at the situation. Mom wasn't sick, and I don't think I was around anyone who was sick...

"Hey."

They were jolted from their thoughts by a familiar voice. They turned to see Susie herself, leaning against a locker with her hands jammed in her pockets. A small smile lit their face.

"Hey, Susie," they greeted back, walking up to her. They didn't seem to notice how they dragged their feet as they moved.

"You were the last to leave the classroom, again," Susie noted, snorting. "Are you sure you're not a zombie in disguise, Kris?"

"Trust me, I'm not. You would be the first to know."

"Yeah. Listen, Kris... I've gotta be blunt here. You look like shit."

Kris frowned. She saw right through them. That was to be expected, but a small part of them was hoping her excitement for visiting the Dark World would help them avoid being interrogated by her.

"I'm fine," they replied monotonously, ignoring the sweat pouring down their face. Susie crossed her arms in response.

"Uh-huh, and I've suddenly got all A's. Have you even looked at yourself? You're shambling around like a total klutz, not to mention you're pale and sweaty."

They glanced down at their hands, now noticing how pale their skin had gotten. How did I not see this before?!

"It's… it's okay, Susie." Kris took a deep breath, allowing them to relax somewhat. "I'll be alright. I had a rough night, that's all. Let's just... let's just go see our friends now. We don't want to keep them waiting, right?"

They were both silent for a while, staring at each other with unreadable expressions. Finally, Susie relented, grinning down at her friend.

"Heh, you're right! Let's go!" she agreed, grabbing Kris's hand and dragging them down the hall. "You'll feel better in no time!"

They allowed themselves to be pulled along, struggling to keep up more than usual. They were dragging their feet, their movements unsteady and forced. Also, were there two hallways now? When did Susie multiply into two identical-looking Susies?

By the time the two reached the storage closet, Kris was shivering and clinging onto Susie's arm tightly. Their double-vision was no longer there, but it was blurry and difficult to correct. A sharp pain invaded their skull, and they had to keep themselves from whimpering.

"Uh, dude? Are you okay??" Susie questioned loudly, narrowing her eyes at them. "You're holding on really tight. Not that it hurts or anything, y'know."

They gave her a shaky thumbs-up. "F-fine!" they stammered. "I'm fine, please, let's just go now..."

Susie sighed deeply. "Okay, okay, we're going. Maybe Toothpaste Boy can work his magic and heal whatever the hell is wrong with you."

"Y-yeah. That. I agree... with that."

"Damn, you're even slurring your words," the monster murmured. She then spoke up, taking a step back. "You, uh, gotta let go now."

"O-oh."

Kris reluctantly released her, lowering their arms back to their sides. They glanced away from her for a moment, their vision clouding over as their face heated up. They quickly managed to snap themselves out of it before dashing forward and jumping into the closet with Susie.

Now that they were heading to the Dark World, everything would go smoothly, right?

Nope. Everything did not go smoothly, not at all.

Unlike every other time they visited the Dark World, Kris barely registered their transformation as they fell. They even failed to stick the landing at the end, crashing into the ground unceremoniously. They froze up, the resulting pain shocking them long enough for them to miss Susie laughing at them in the background.

When they finally managed to push themselves up to their knees, they looked up to see Susie standing over them, a wide amused grin on her face. "Kris! What was that landing?!" she barked. "Did you go splat the first time you fell down here? I wish I woulda seen it!"

Kris huffed indignantly, placing a hand on their knee as they went to stand. "Sh-shut up, Susie," they muttered, another harsh ache pulsing through their head. She punched them in the arm and grinned.

"Hey now, don't be a baby about it," she teased, grabbing them by the arm and helping them up before they could protest. A hint of concern shone in her yellow eyes for a moment as they didn't respond at all, shivering and hugging their waist with their free hand.

"Kris?" she asked, waving a hand in front of their face. They gasped and snapped their head up at the movement.

"S-sorry," they apologized quickly. "I'm... I'm okay."

They tensed up in an attempt to stop shaking so much. What they didn't realize was, since Susie still gripped their arm, she could tell what they were trying to do. Her smile vanished, replaced with a deep frown.

"Kris, if you're not feeling well-"

"Susie, I-I said I'm fine-"

"You wouldn't be shaking so damn much if you were fine!"

"I had a... I had a rough night, remember? Can... can we please just go now?"

Susie looked ready to question them some more, but she kept silent when they gave her a pained look. "Please," they begged quietly, their grip on their waist tightening ever so slightly. They kept their gaze on her until she gave a heavy sigh and reluctantly released them.

"Okay, nerd. Have it your way." The pink Monster took a step forward, casting a glance back at Kris. "But if you give out on me, I swear, I will not only thrash you every day for the next week and a half, but I will also break into your house the next time your mom makes pie and eat all of it. You got me, Kris?"

Isn't that a little superfluous...? Kris thought to themselves, amused and kind of scared at the same time. They weren't afraid of getting thrashed by Susie so much as they were of her not leaving them a single slice of pie left. That sounded like a cruel and unusual punishment to them.

Despite how they were feeling, they allowed themselves to smirk. "You got it, Suz..."

Susie grinned. "Perfect. Let's go already! They're probably getting bored waiting for us!"

She ran off before they could get a word out, leaving them by themselves. They reached out and opened their mouth to call out to her, only to be hit by a wave of nausea and dizziness. They grit their teeth and held their head in one hand. Even through their armor, they could feel how clammy their skin was.

They trembled feverishly as they took slow steps forward, barely able to lift their head. Groaning, they realized how scratchy their voice was starting to sound. Their limbs were getting heavier and heavier with each movement, and soon enough, everything started to sound as though they were underwater.

They stopped when they heard muffled voices, getting more audible as they edged closer to Castle Town. They couldn't recognize any of them, nor were they trying to pick any particular voices out. All they focused on was moving forward.

Black dots danced across their vision as both hot and cold sensations raced across their skin at once. Their knees were close to giving, but they held firm, gritting their teeth. I'm okay, they told themselves, in the hopes it would help at least somewhat.

I'm not sick, I'm not going to throw up, I'm not about to pass out, I'm not... I'm...

They lost their train of thought quickly, giving a weak moan. They barely managed to lift their gaze from their boots, bangs plastered to their forehead. The shapes in the distance were blurry and out-of-focus, prompting them to squint.

They instantly regretted it, for a massive spike of pain was jammed into their skull the second they narrowed their eyes, causing their nausea to increase to near-unbearable levels. Wincing deeply, they shakily reached out towards the pink, green and blue blobs in their flickering vision. They were rooted to the spot, unable to will their legs to move any further.

"H-h-help," they whispered, their voice ragged and strained.

Just as their friends noticed them standing there, extremely feverish and shaking like a leaf, their ears went cold as ice. The sudden sensation of blood flushing from their head caused sheer panic to course through their veins.

No!!

They stumbled forward in an attempt to run towards one of the blurry figures ahead. All three of them were getting closer now. They could hear shouting, but it was muffled to them, and they couldn't understand what any of them were saying. Even if they did, they wouldn't have been able to give a coherent response to any of it.

They tried to call for help again, only to let out a pained whimper instead. Their legs gave out at the same time their eyes rolled back into their head. They were out before they hit the ground.

"Kris?! Kris!"

Chapter Text

The first thing Kris registered when they began to slowly regain consciousness was a cold, damp cloth of sorts resting on their forehead. Their eyes remained shut, too heavy to open at the moment. Once they noticed how weak their limbs were, almost entirely sapped of strength, they realized the familiar weight of their armor was gone.

Their fingers twitched, brushing the soft mattress they were resting on. With each breath, their dry throat burned, and they kept from swallowing as much as possible to avoid making the pain worse. Their head pounded as cold chills raced down their spine.

Whimpering ever so quietly, they blindly grasped for the blanket covering the lower half of their body. When their clammy hands found the edges of the warm blanket, they somehow mustered the strength to yank it towards them, covering everything except for their head. The action, while providing temporary relief, also brought the intense nausea from earlier back in full-force.

They shuddered violently, ignoring how badly they wanted to throw up. They slowly turned over in bed, curling up under the covers. The chilly cloth on their forehead slid off, giving them the false pretense of relief from the cold. They weren't sure why it was even there. If they were freezing, why would someone put something on their head that would only lower their body temperature further?

Their half-asleep thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open. They managed to crack one of their eyes open somewhat, only to be met with dizziness and blurry vision. Wincing deeply, they immediately closed their eyes. They opened their mouth to say something, anything, but only a ragged, nearly inaudible whine came out.

"Kris?" a voice asked. Even through the fog clouding their mind, they recognized that voice. Relief flooded them as Susie made her way over to their bed, kneeling down next to them.

"Kris. Hey, look at me."

They attempted to open their eyes again. Despite the pain invading their skull, they managed to keep them open, looking at Susie through their bangs. They did their best to keep their focus on her and only her. It was a much better alternative to paying attention to their stomach cramps and rising nausea.

"Can you see me? I can't tell with your eyes being covered and all."

Kris gave a stiff nod in response, gritting their teeth. Susie sighed a little before moving a hand to their head, sliding it beneath their bangs in order to feel their forehead. They instinctively squeezed their eyes shut. They thought they heard their friend curse under her breath before she drew her hand back.

"How are you feeling? Y'know, after passing out and nearly cracking your head open," Susie inquired, one arm draped over her knee as she watched Kris's every move.

They clutched their stomach as tremors continued to wrack their body. They wanted so badly to be able to tell her they were okay. Unfortunately for them, they didn't have the energy to lie at the moment, and even if they tried, there was no way Susie would believe them.

"...C-cold," they stammered weakly, sharp razors sliding down their throat as they spoke. "Everything... h-hurts."

Susie nodded grimly, letting out a deep sigh. She grabbed a cold glass of water which had been sitting on the dresser next to the bed. It caught their attention as she held it out for them to take.

"Drink," she ordered sternly. "Obviously you caught a really bad bug. Water'll help with that."

Kris kept one arm wrapped around their abdomen, reaching out with their other hand. The moment they touched the glass, they shuddered intensely and immediately withdrew their hand. It was too cold. They didn't want to be cold anymore.

Susie frowned. "Did you not hear me? I said, drink. You shouldn't be acting so stubborn right now."

They whined in response, turning their head until their face was buried in their pillow. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't stop shaking, and it hurt. It was so cold, and so painful. They wanted nothing more than to pass out already, so they wouldn't have to feel anything anymore.

"Kris, do NOT make this difficult. I swear, I will force you to drink this if you don't do it yourself. Do you really want that to happen?"

They didn't doubt she would do it, not for a second. They slowly looked up at her and reluctantly held their hand out for the glass again. They managed to take it without issue this time. There were only a couple other problems; they weren't in the best position to drink water without possibly choking on it, and the chills weren't letting up.

Not wanting to sit up, they moved the glass to their lips and tilted it upwards. They couldn't lift it that much, but at least they were able to drink some water. The cool liquid soothed their sore throat, providing much-needed relief. A few droplets accidentally spilled down their chin due to how badly their hand was trembling.

Susie took the glass from them and set it back on the counter before they could spill it. "Geez," she muttered. "You're worse off than I thought."

They wiped their mouth, blurred eyes staring up at their friend with a spike of fear. Their foggy mind jumped straight to the worst possibility imaginable, causing them to panic. They shakily reached out and grasped Susie's wrist, fighting down the bile threatening to rise in their throat.

"Am I... am I d-d-dying?!" they managed to get out, voice scratchy and cracked. They sounded so terrified that it caught Susie off guard, rendering her silent for a good few seconds as she processed their words.

"No, idiot, you're not dying!" she insisted. "Listen to me, Kris! You're just really sick, that's all!"

They didn't seem to register what she was saying, looking away from her and squeezing their eyes shut. Their throat tightened, tears beginning to stream down their face. Their grip on her wrist loosened as their hand trembled more violently.

"I don't... wanna d-die," they whimpered hoarsely. "Please, S-Susie... it hurts..."

Susie grit her teeth before laying a warm hand over Kris's own quivering hand. "I know it hurts, but listen. You're not dying, okay?" she tried to reassure them. She hesitated as they lifted their head to look up at her, still not used to situations in which she had to comfort another person.

"Trust me, I get it. Being sick sucks, especially when it gets this bad. When you're ill, you're put in such a vulnerable position, being in that much pain and unable to take care of yourself. It's one of the worst feelings imaginable."

Despite the situation, she gave them a small smile. "Wanna know something, though? You're stronger than you think you are, Kris. If you can survive everything the Dark World has to throw at us, then I know you can beat this stupid virus."

Her smile widened. "I would, but unfortunately, viruses can't be punched out of people."

That last bit got Kris to smile ever so slightly, which was a win in Susie's book. They took a shuddering breath as they slowly began to turn in bed, stopping halfway and gagging. She gripped their shoulders and helped them the rest of the way, laying them down flat on their back.

They were still shivering fiercely, burdened with a high fever, painful aches and persistent nausea. Even with all of that, they were glad someone was here to help them, even if they wished they didn't have to rely on anyone to take care of themselves.

Susie picked up a nearby bucket and held it up for them to see. "There's a bucket right next to your bed, in case you have to throw up," she explained, putting the bucket back down and releasing Kris's hand before standing. "Your water's on the dresser there. Also, as much as I understand why you wouldn't want to, you really should keep that cloth on your head for now."

She moved the cloth back to their forehead as she spoke. An extra chill shook them, but they didn't try to take the cloth off. As much as their body hated it right now, they knew it was there to help, not harm.

"I'm gonna go get Ralsei and Lancer real quick. They've been worried about you the entire time you were out. Hang tight, alright?"

Susie turned and was about to leave the room when Kris squeaked in protest, stopping her. She turned to look at them, crossing her arms. "What is it?" she questioned. "Need something else?"

Kris gulped, wincing in pain. "Sleep..." they answered groggily. "I want... to sleep. M'tired..."

Susie stared at them, as if thinking her response over. She eventually sighed, walking back over to their bedside and patting their head. "Okay. You need rest, I understand that. Well, I guess you'll be seeing the others later then, yeah? They should be able to wait a few more hours."

They smiled gratefully at her, pulling the covers up until a majority of their body was covered. "Susie...?"

"Hmm? What's up?"

"I... just..."

Their face flushed slightly as they trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Th-thank you, Suz..."

At that, Susie huffed and turned her head, hiding a flattered smile from them. "Oh, stop it, nerd. You're lucky I don't actually plan on thrashing you for giving out on me. Just get some shut-eye and drink your water. I'll be back in a few hours to make sure you haven't thrown up everywhere or whatever."

With a glance back at them, she moved to the other side of the room, cracking the door open. She fully turned her head to look back at them, flashing them a wide grin.

"Oh, and you're welcome, Kris," she added quickly. She then exited the room and shut the door behind her, leaving them alone once more.

They lifted their gaze towards the ceiling after she left, doing their best to take their focus away from the symptoms ravaging them. Susie was right; they were strong enough to take on whatever virus they'd been infected with. Knowing their luck, it was probably the flu. It definitely wasn't a simple cold, that was for sure.

It took them longer than they would have liked to fall asleep. They still couldn't stop shaking and sweating, and the extra pain was keeping them wide awake. At one point, they weren't sure they would ever get back to sleep.

Eventually, their pounding headache was reduced to dull throbbing, and their exhaustion won out. Before they knew it, they were out once again, nestled comfortably in their soft bed while every painful and uncomfortable sensation faded away into nothing.