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It was the night of the launch of the Discovery, and Paul had come down with some kind of nasty illness. Paul had tried to duck out of the party, but nobody was having it. He had himself half convinced it was just nerves anyway, and just needed to push through the night. It would have been easier if Hugh was going to join him, but he had messaged Paul to let him know he was running really late on account of shuttle issues. Best case scenario, it seemed that Hugh would be there in time for the launch and that was it.
Paul slowly made his way down to the bridge of the ship, where the party for the crew was being held. He tried to be as pleasant as he could, smiling and interacting with people who came his way. It was difficult though, especially with how he was feeling. His skin crawled and he felt like he was sweating through his uniform as his fever began to spike.
Someone handed him a drink at some point, and while he took a sip or two to be polite, it really just made him feel worse, turning his stomach.
He fidgeted with his too-tight collar as Tilly came bouncing over to him, talking his ear off.
“This is so incredible, being a part of the crew like this. I can’t thank you enough for taking me on as part of this project, it’s really so interesting and I can’t wait to work on this in space and oh man, this is going to be so cool -”
Paul forced a smile and nodded along. Tilly really was a brilliant kid, but he could not deal with this right now while his head was swimming. Nothing was really processing anyways. His head felt like it was stuffed full of cotton balls.
When Tilly ran out of steam talking to him and waved goodbye, Paul tried to move to a quiet corner of the room. He was quickly cornered by a few people whom he didn’t know. They each took turns gushing about how incredible being there was, and how excited they were to meet him.
Paul nodded and smiled along, trying to match their enthusiasm but failing miserably. Once he started feeling woozy though, he knew he was really in trouble. The room was spinning around him and he felt his knees growing weak beneath him. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to pass out soon. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other; his whole body ached and his muscles were screaming in protest at him for standing this long. Everything was awful and he just wanted to leave.
Where was Hugh when he needed him?
As if the universe were listening to him, his eyes found Hugh across the room. He gave Hugh a weak smile and Hugh frowned, then made his way over to Paul’s side. Before he could talk to Paul, introductions were made, hands were shook, and then the people that had been talking to him moved on to find other people.
Once the two were finally alone, Paul turned to fully look at Hugh. “Are you really here? Or is my brain messing with me,” Paul asked.
“Yeah I’m here,” Hugh said. “I didn’t think I would make it to the party but I did.” He moved to pull Paul against his side, but Paul pulled back as the slight contact burned. His skin always got really sensitive when he was sick, and it was never pleasant.
“Overstimulated?” Hugh asked softly.
Paul shook his head, then stumbled when everything spun around him.
“Whoa okay, easy,” Hugh said, steadying Paul. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked, noticing how flushed Paul’s cheeks looked against his paler than usual face.
“I feel really sick,” Paul said weakly as he swayed on his feet.
Hugh pressed the back of his hand to Paul’s cheek and then to his forehead. “Okay, you’re burning up,” Hugh said, a concerned edge creeping into his voice. “Why haven’t you left yet?”
“Because I can’t,” Paul said. “Tonight is such an important night, I can’t just leave.” He closed his eyes for a moment as things began to spin again, and Hugh rested his hands on Paul’s shoulders to keep him upright as he began to sway to the side.
“I don’t want you to pass out though,” Hugh protested, pushing a few stray hairs off of Paul’s forehead that had gotten tamped down with sweat.
“I’m okay,” Paul said. “Just have to hold out a little longer.”
“Okay,” Hugh resigned. “Will you rest once we leave?” he asked.
“Hm?” Paul asked, squinting because the lights were starting to make his head hurt.
Hugh paused and sighed. “Foggy brain?”
“Mm,” Paul hummed in confirmation. It was something Paul said, often when he was overwhelmed or too tired and didn’t have the energy to think or speak properly. Hugh had picked up on it, and it was now a common phrase used between them.
“Okay,” Hugh said. “I can do all the talking if you want?”
“Can you?” Paul said, voice small.
“Of course,” Hugh said. “Do you want touch, or not right now?”
“I can only handle a little bit. It hurts, but I do want it.”
“Alright, I can do that,” Hugh said, pressing a quick kiss to Paul’s forehead. “Lean against me if you get dizzy, I’ll keep you steady.” Paul wanted to cry in relief as he leaned back against Hugh’s chest.
The two tried to stay away from as many people as they could, mostly just hanging back and swaying back and forth together, but occasionally they did have to go mingle.
Paul only got worse as the night dragged on. His fever spiked, and the dizziness persisted. Hugh kept his promise and supported Paul’s weight every time his knees went weak or his vision swam. Paul thanked the stars for Hugh. He would have never made it through the night without him.
Then everything reached its height all at once. Paul began to shake, and the blood drained from his face. The floor pitched violently beneath him and he had to hold onto Hugh to support himself, which caught Hugh’s attention. They excused themselves from the group they were interacting with, and Hugh checked over Paul.
“You're feeling worse, aren’t you?” Hugh asked in concern.
Paul nodded slowly and closed his eyes. The dizziness was making him incredibly nauseous. Reaching a shaking hand up, he tried to tug the collar of his uniform away from his throat, but was unsuccessful. It was too tight, the uniform didn’t breathe, and why was everything so loud? Black spots danced around his vision, but he was able to blink them away as Hugh spoke again.
“Here, I got it,” Hugh said softly, unzipping Paul’s uniform a little so that Paul wasn’t as constricted. He felt Paul’s forehead again to check on his temperature, brushing away hair that was plastered down from sweat. “Yeah, you’re getting worse sweetheart. I think it’s time to leave.”
“I’m fine,” Paul protested weakly. He was not going to ruin this for Hugh. Despite how awful Paul felt, he saw how much Hugh was enjoying himself. He closed his eyes again and took in a shaky breath as his stomach turned again.
“What’s wrong?” Hugh asked, cupping Paul’s cheek in his hand. “You just went really pale.”
Paul swallowed and took in a deep breath. “I feel really nauseous.”
“Okay. Deep breaths,” Hugh said. “Just breathe.”
Paul took in a few deep breaths, but it made him lightheaded, and in turn made him even more nauseous. Saliva flooded his mouth and he swallowed thickly, but he realized he was fighting a losing battle at this point.
“Hugh,” he said weakly. “I don’t feel good.”
“Okay, I got you,” Hugh said. Paul tried to retreat further from the crowd of people, but didn’t get very far before he doubled over and threw up what little was in his stomach.
“Easy, you’re okay,” Hugh said, rubbing Paul’s back reassuringly.
Paul leaned back against Hugh, his cheeks flushed a brilliant red from mortification. Much to Paul’s dislike, people had noticed that he had gotten sick at the party.
“Hey, are you okay?” Tilly asked as she ran over to check on Paul. “Oh shit, did you throw up? Sorry, I shouldn’t swear, but are you feeling okay?”
Paul closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “I’m okay Tilly.”
“I’m gonna get you some water,” she said, then ran off once again.
“I hate this so much,” Paul whimpered as he fought down another wave of nausea. “I want to go home.”
“Okay sweetheart. Let’s go home then,” Hugh said. He flagged Tracy down and she came running over to them.
“Hey, are you guys okay?” She asked.
“I need to take Paul home. He’s really sick. Do you think we’re okay to just leave?”
Tracy smiled sympathetically. “Yeah I think you’re good. I’ll fight anyone who thinks otherwise. Paul, go rest, we’ll clean up, okay?”
“Thanks Trace,” Paul said weakly.
Tilly came back with some water for Paul, and wished him well. Hugh thanked her for on Paul’s behalf, then they finally left the party with Paul leaning heavily against Hugh.
“I’m so sorry I wrecked the night,” Paul said softly as they walked at a snail’s pace in the hallway. Paul could barely hold himself up, and his vision was beginning to swim again. “You should be mingling with people and having a good time, not taking care of me.”
Black dots creeped up on his vision, and no amount of blinking was getting rid of them. Paul thought Hugh started to say something, but couldn’t be sure. Everything got really fuzzy and his ears began to ring as he slumped in Hugh’s arms, falling unconscious.
When he came to a few moments later, he found himself on the ground, his head resting on Hugh’s leg for support.
“Take it easy,” Hugh said, gently stroking Paul’s hair. “You just passed out.”
Paul groaned and blinked the lingering fuzziness away.
“You’re really having a rough night, huh?” Hugh asked but not unkindly. “Whatever you’re sick with is pretty nasty.”
Paul closed his eyes and gave Hugh a small nod. “Can you take me home?” He asked in a timid voice.
“Of course sweetheart,” Hugh said. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Paul’s forehead before scooping him up in his arms. “I got you.”
Hugh carried Paul all the way to his quarters, then helped him get situated. He helped clean Paul up, got him into comfortable clothes, then situated in bed with a mug of warm honey lemon water. “Everything is going to be okay,” Hugh murmured, pressing a gently kiss to Paul’s forehead. Hugh then curled up next to Paul, and Paul leaned back up against him.
“Why are you still here?” Paul asked softly after a few minutes.
“Well, did you really think I was just going to leave you?”
Paul laughed softly. “No, I guess not. But don’t you have your own quarters to go to?”
“Actually, I requested shared quarters with you. It was meant to be a surprise, but I think this works just fine,” he said with a smile.
Paul smiled back. “Really?”
“Really.”
Paul set down his half finished drink, then nestled up close to Hugh. “You’ve been amazing tonight. Thank you.”
“Of course my love,” Hugh said. “Now get some rest. You’ve had one hell of a night.”
“Mkay,” Paul murmured, already slipping into unconsciousness. As long as he had Hugh, everything was going to be okay.