Work Text:
Request from @mxnsterparty on Tumblr: “I… *burrrrp*… ohh. I don’t feel good” “Characters barely able to stand, getting sick in the shower”-For Elliot plsss
___
Elliott’s stomach turned as Felix brought the car to a lurching stop, though he wasn’t sure that those two things were related. He swallowed and looked over to see that Felix’s eyes were glued on the red traffic light. His right hand clutched the steering wheel; the knuckles of his left hand were turning white on the gearstick as he held the car in first gear while keeping his foot jammed on the brake. If he wasn’t careful, there was a real chance that he would pull the top of the stick right off, or that his fingertips would meet in the middle as they crushed it.
“Hey, ease up on the old girl,” Elliott mumbled, reaching across to pat Felix’s arm. “It’s a red light, not a crouching tiger.”
Felix hummed and kept his lips pressed together.
Elliott let his hands rest in his lap again, eyes falling shut just for a moment as a twinge of pain sprouted in the pit of his stomach. He turned his head in the opposite direction to Felix, lifting a fist to stifle a low burp. Just as the air grumbled up from his belly, the lights must have changed, because the car lurched forward again. Elliott winced as the sudden motion made his stomach flip again, sending up another – and much more nauseous – burp.
Luckily, Felix also winced at his own shaky start, and didn’t notice any of the unusual noises coming from Elliott’s body.
“Sorry, Elli,” he whimpered as he shifted into second gear.
“No, no. You’re doing really well,” Elliott assured him. He could hear his own voice being pulled downwards, deepened by the gas trapped in his stomach and chest. He couldn’t work out what the hell was making him feel so weird, but he was very glad that they were almost home. He looked out the side window and tried to keep his breathing steady, though he could feel his insides rumbling at every shift in his abdominal muscles. A permanent frown had etched itself into his face by the time Felix made one last stop and hauled the handbrake into place before killing the engine.
“Yes,” Felix hissed, making little fists with both hands. “Twenty minutes of driving and not a single person blew their horn at me.”
Elliott allowed himself a little smile. Felix always found a way to get excited over the little things, and it was impossible not to be infected by him. “Nice job, Fee. See, it’s not so bad when you’ve had some practice.”
“It’s nice having you here to keep me calm, too.”
“Really?” Elliott scratched the back of Felix’s head from across the seats, smoothing his thumb along the parting where his hair was pulled into two short pigtails. Watching his boyfriend’s face melt into a smile made some of the tension seep out of his own body. “I keep you calm?”
“Mmm, of course you do.” Felix looked a little surprised as he met his boyfriend’s gaze. “You look a little stressed, darling. Did my driving shake you up that badly?”
“Not at all. I’m looking forward to a shower and bed.”
If there was doubt in his mind, Felix smiled and kept it to himself as they got out of the car – after double-checking that the handbrake was, indeed, in place – and went inside.
The lights seemed to be on in the kitchen, and there was a low murmur of conversation that indicated that Ryan and Nancy were entertaining company, so they headed straight upstairs to stay out of the way. Elliott ended up holding a hand against his chest as they climbed the stairs, feeling the pressure building even higher as his stomach shifted around inside him.
Shit, he thought with a soft groan as he followed Felix into their bedroom. His entire body tensed as Felix pushed the door closed behind them and pulled Elliott towards him, pressing a long, deep kiss onto his mouth.
Shit, Elliott thought again, pulling his lips away and planting a hand on each of Felix’s shoulders to keep him from leaning in again.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, his voice deepened even further by the trapped gas bubbling in his oesophagus.
Gentle hands rested on Elliott’s waist. Alarm bells started to go off in his head, despite the blank expression that Felix could see from the outside. Nausea was building in his belly and throat, and with it, the need to retreat from physical contact.
“Fee, I…” Elliott hurried to cover his mouth, eyes widening as a deep belch rang out before he could make it. He saw Felix’s eyes widen too, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if Nancy, Ryan, and their guest had heard it through the floor as well. “Oh…”
“Elli?” A hand moved up to Elliott’s shoulder, his thumb rubbing just to the side of one of his suspenders, close to his collarbone.
“I don’t –” Elliott gave a shaky sigh as he relinquished his own hand from his mouth, placing it gently at the base of his ribs for a moment. “I don’t feel good.”
“You’re feeling sick to your stomach?” Felix sensed the shudder that Elliott had tried to suppress, and removed his hand from his shoulder. “Oh, gosh, was my driving that bad?”
“Mmph… No, I don’t think it was your driving, boo.” Elliott shut his eyes as his chest burned, feeling a wet burp die out at the back of his throat. The only thing more miserable than the nausea spreading through his belly was the idea of pushing poor Felix away from him. “Hey, Fee?”
“Yes, darling.”
“I know I usually wouldn’t…” Elliott cleared his throat, feeling heat gather on the back of his neck and around his ears. He lifted a fist and let his cheeks puff out slightly as a small rush of air slipped up his throat, making almost no sound at all. Instead of helping, these weak belches only seemed to make his stomach curdle even more. “Usually I wouldn’t be able to let you touch me right now…”
Felix’s lips parted, as though he was surprised without even hearing what Elliott was about to ask him.
“But could you rub my back?” Elliott frowned, pressing the heel of his hand against his breastbone, feeling for the point that was rumbling and aching. “This really hurts.”
“Of course. Do you want to move to the bed, or how do you want to –? Oh, okay.” Felix let out a soft laugh as Elliott stepped a little closer to him and lowered his head, tucking his forehead against Felix’s shoulder.
Elliott’s hand hovered by his own belly out of some kind of instinct, fighting the urge to apply some pressure and encourage the discomfort to dissipate. There was a gurgling sensation a little deeper in his gut, but most of the pain was rising up into his chest.
Felix alternated between rubbing wide circles into Elliott’s back, and just working the pressure up and down. The motions made Elliott close his eyes and lean in a little closer, lulling him into some kind of daze until his stomach and chest were pressed directly against Felix. He was sure his boyfriend could feel every rumble that came from his belly or behind his ribcage.
Elliott felt his face flush at the first soft burp that he muffled behind his own fist.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“That’s alright, darling, keep going,” Felix whispered, though his face was almost buried somewhere below Elliott’s collarbone.
As another rush of air was coaxed upwards, Elliott felt it turn his stomach over before vibrating through both his ribs and his back. The rumbles travelled through Felix’s chest, as well as the palm of his hand as he smoothed it up and down Elliott’s spine. The belch was low and drawn-out, a hollow sound followed by a deep sigh that Elliott couldn’t have held in, even if he’d tried to.
“Oh, wow,” Felix exclaimed, rubbing a little harder at Elliott’s back. “I bet that feels a little better, right?”
“A, uh, a lot better, actually.” Elliott let out another sigh that turned into a laugh as he lifted his head from Felix’s shoulder. The relief felt a little like giddiness, and he couldn’t keep a shaky smile from creeping across his face as he looked at Felix. “You’re the best, you know that?”
Felix smiled and smoothed his fingers over his hair in mock-embarrassment that Elliott knew was just a shade away from actual embarrassment. “Am I, truly?”
“Truly.” Elliott kissed Felix on the cheek, ignoring the way his own lips felt cold against his boyfriend’s skin.
“Want me to continue rubbing your back in bed?”
“Maybe,” Elliott sighed, running a hand over the back of his neck where his ponytail had started to cling to his skin. “But I still really want that shower first.”
“Okay, darling.”
As Elliott climbed into the bath, Felix was standing by the sink, alternating between brushing his teeth and leaning towards the mirror to check the roots of his hair for any strawberry-blonde invasions. Elliott still felt a little weird and shaky as he smiled to himself and pulled the shower curtain closed. He couldn’t wait to be clean so he could scoop that boy up and cuddle up in bed with him.
When the first wave of dizziness crashed over him, Elliott swayed under the flow of the water, hands shaking as they felt for the taps. He turned the hot down and the cold up slightly, thinking maybe he still hadn’t gotten used to his newly-adjusted body temperature. Maybe he just couldn’t handle hot showers like he could before, and that made a certain amount of sense, he supposed, but sense didn’t make the stars dancing in his vision any more pleasant to look at.
He gave in to the weakness that was plaguing his knees and his calves and crouched down. Now that he was closer to the taps, he twisted them until the water began to feel colder. The pain in his stomach, which had retreated to a dull ache and a vague pressure in the back of his throat, was suddenly nauseating all over again. Elliott tensed his abdominal muscles and tried to form a burp, thinking that if it helped him feel better before, it would work again.
What escaped his mouth was closer to a retch than anything else though, and the sound echoed against the drain and the tiled walls. It might have gone unnoticed by human ears, but not by a vampire’s. So, of course, Felix was prompted to pull back the edge of the shower curtain and peer past it.
“Are you okay? What are you doing down there?”
Elliott squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “Hosting afternoon tea for the Queen. What does it look like?”
“Alright, alright,” Felix complained.
Elliott realised he still had a trembling hand clutched to the cold tap and had been turning it without thinking. By now, the water pouring down on him was little more than lukewarm, but he didn’t care. His stomach felt like it wanted to turn itself inside out and then force its way out of him for good measure. He could feel it churning and squeezing, letting out sick grumbles that were drowned out by the sound of the running shower head. It was becoming impossible to know if the unpleasant tingling on the back of his neck was from cold sweat or the almost-cold water.
“Sorry. I still don’t, mmph…” Elliott pressed a palm against his mouth, a sinking sensation working its way down through his whole body. He gulped against the bile rising in his throat, the muscles in his shoulders rolling.
“You still don’t feel well,” Felix finished for him, setting the shower curtain just far away enough from the wall so that he had space to crouch next to the bath. “Don’t fight it so much, Elli. You might need to throw up to feel better.”
Elliott gave a deep nod, knowing that Felix was right. His stomach really did feel like it was fighting against something, and getting whatever it was out of him sounded much more favourable than keeping it trapped in there. Something bubbled about at the base of his oesophagus as his stomach flipped, as though it had read his thoughts and wanted to make its agreement clear.
“I know, I just –” A slight whimper escaped his throat as it clenched. “I don’t – I don’t want to, Fee.”
Felix whined back, resting his chin on the edge of the bath to get his gaze as close to Elliott’s as he could. “Is there anything I can do to make it better?”
“Can you… Can you rub my back again?” Elliott’s voice was thick with the rising queasiness, and he let out a shaky laugh as Felix’s hand touched the drenched skin between his shoulder blades. “I’m – I’m wet. Sorry.”
“Yes, you should be,” Felix droned, resuming the motions of his hand on Elliott’s back, but with a little less vigour this time. “How dare you get wet, in the shower of all places?”
Still holding onto the taps to keep himself steady as he balanced, crouched, on the balls of his feet, Elliott hung his head and focused on feeling the waves of nausea building and retreating in his stomach, falling a shorter distant each time. Eventually, he knew, the sick feeling wouldn’t sink back down, but would rush forward with a speed that always took him by surprise, always had him choking on air, always made his head feel like it was going to detach itself from his body, always –
Thinking about the process and trying to prepare himself for it did wonders to speed it up, and before he knew it, there was thick, hot liquid rushing out of his mouth and towards the drain, while his stomach convulsed like it was being punched over and over by some invisible fist. Elliott did his best not to focus too hard on the deep retches and grunts that accompanied the motion, and instead let his mind linger on Felix’s gentle hand and the calming stream of water that was still coursing through his hair and down his body.
Once it was over, he released a breath that felt like it had been sitting in his lungs for the duration of him being sick, and it very well might have been. To his immense relief, not much vomit had lingered by the drain, and not much had gotten into his hair, despite the fact that several locks of it were hanging – again, drenched – next to his cheeks. Then again, if he had gotten sick into it, the water might have already washed it out again anyway.
Felix was now dragging the tips of his fingers in soothing circles around Elliott’s trembling shoulders.
“I think I’m done.” Elliott was still shaky and out of breath, but it was getting easier to focus on Felix’s face though, easier to allow his soft gaze and touch to comfort him.
Elliott turned his head towards Felix and closed his eyes as the mint-haired boy took his face in one hand and planted a mint-scented kiss on his forehead. This time, the relief didn’t hit in the form of giddiness, but in the form of sudden, overwhelming exhaustion, and a warmth that began to thaw the chill in his flesh.
“You want to stay down there while I wash your hair?”
All Elliott could manage was a short nod, and a mumbled, “Yes, please.”