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All-in-all it was quite amazing that everyone didn't get sick more often with how many different atmospheres and lifeforms they interacted with on a daily basis. But, that didn't mean they still wouldn't catch something from time to time. It was inevitable at some point for all of the organic lifeforms on board to get sick.
This time it happened to be Naga who was sick. He had been acting a bit weird since the night before and only realized why when he woke up the next morning. He was drenched in sweat, despite having apparently forgone any blankets at some point in the night. The room wasn't hot itself. He was just really hot for other reasons then.
He hadn't wanted to try and get out of bed with how bad he felt. Even just rolling over to lay on his side made his bones ache. A shiver ran through his body despite the heat he felt. He curled up and hugged himself tightly.
There was a knock on the door. "Naga? You coming out for breakfast?"
Lucky was at the door. Naga tried to answer, but found his voice was barely a whisper. His throat was dry and sore. He felt tears wanting to come out. He didn't like this.
"Naga?" Lucky called again at his silence.
The door opened moments later. Naga was turned facing away from the door. He didn't have it in him to try and turn around. He just stayed in place and waited for whatever Lucky would do next.
Lucky walked over to him. "You okay?"
Naga shook his head.
Lucky frowned and knelt down in front of him. "What's wrong?"
Naga didn't know how to explain when his voice wasn't working. He reached out and grabbed Lucky's wrist and pressed his hand to his forehead.
"You're burning up." Lucky pulled away not long after. "Sick, huh?"
Naga nodded.
"I'm guessing you aren't up to eating then?"
He shook his head. He didn't feel hungry and wasn't sure if anything would stay down.
"Let me go get you some water at least. See if there's anything you can take as well." Lucky stood back up. "I'll be right back, okay?"
Naga just nodded again. Lucky left the room. Naga curled up tighter. Now he was starting to get cold. Where did he throw his blankets? On the floor, apparently. He forced himself to move and grab the blankets scattered on the floor. He pulled one tightly against his body and tried to retain as much warmth as he could.
The door opened again not too long after. Lucky returned with a glass of ice water and a wet rag.
"Unfortunately, judging from what you look like, there isn't much medicine can do." Lucky said. "Can you sit up?"
Naga forced himself up and Lucky handed him the glass of water. The coldness of the glass made him wince, but he still took it and gulped it down. His throat still hurt, but it didn't feel as dry now. Maybe he would get a little bit of his voice back soon? He hated having to play charades to explain anything right now.
Lucky set the glass aside once he was done. Naga curled back down on the bed. Lucky knelt down again.
"Can you lie on your back so I can put this on your head?" Lucky asked.
Naga obliged as much as he wanted to stay in his little ball. Lucky placed the rag on his head. Naga closed his eyes. It felt nice. It was soothing the slight migraine that was coming on.
"Get some rest. I'll come check on you a little later, okay? I'm sure Stinger will come by too." Lucky patted his head.
Naga nodded. He would prefer Lucky stay, but he had things to do first. He'd have him and Stinger all to himself later. He just needed to be patient.
He heard the door open and close again, signaling Lucky had left. Naga took in a few deep breaths. He tried to go back to sleep. Now that he had done some movement, he was starting to feel worse.
...
Naga woke up sometime later a bit disoriented. He blinked open his eyes. The rag on his head had fallen onto he floor. He was laying on his stomach now. He must've moved in his sleep.
He rolled back onto his back and looked around the room. It was just him. That made him a little sad. He had hoped when he woke up he'd have someone in the room again. Unfortunately, looks like neither came to check on him yet or they left when they saw he was still asleep. Naga had no reference for how long it had been since he had first woken up. He hadn't exactly looked at a clock at that time. Who knew how long it had been?
He didn't feel up to going out of his room. He'd rather just stay here. Less chance of accidently spreading whatever it was that he had. They didn't need the whole ship to get sick because of one of them.
Naga got out of his bed and decided he was going to get a shower. Try to get rid of the sweat still clinging to his body. Maybe by the time he was done one of his boyfriends would show up? He hoped so. He wanted them.
He took a long shower. The warm water felt nice. Eventually he finished up and stepped back into the bedroom. Still no one was there. He sighed a little and sat back down on his bed. His legs ached after standing for that long.
Should he go find them? Just wait till someone decided to come check on him? Maybe he could call them on his blaster? But what if they had ended up going somewhere for something important? He didn't want to bother them as much as he wanted someone with him.
Thankfully, he didn't have to make a decision. The door to his room slowly opened and both Lucky and Stinger were on the other side. They both entered.
"Finally up?" Lucky spoke first. "You've been dead to the world for like 5 hours now."
"That long...?" Naga said quietly, grateful to find his voice was working a bit now.
"Yeah. You hungry?"
Naga nodded.
"I'll go grab some leftovers and bring them back." Lucky left the room.
Stinger watched him leave and then moved to come sit beside Naga on the bed. He kept his distance. Naga understood, but he didn't want to have to put distance between them.
"Cuddle?" Naga questioned.
Stinger blinked at him, seeming surprised by the request. Naga didn't often voice his desires. He was more content to let one of them lead.
"I... guess." Stinger agreed.
Naga scooted over to his side and rested his head against Stinger's shoulder. Stinger cautiously wrapped and arm around his waist. They sat there in silence. Stinger reached over and felt his forehead.
"You're still quite warm." Stinger commented. "Do you feel any better than this morning?"
"Dunno..." Naga mumbled. "Can't remember."
"I'll take it as a no then."
"What were you guys doing...?"
"Just hanging around. Balance was trying to show everyone a game he found on one of the planets we'd been on recently." Stinger replied. "Lucky came to check on you a few times but he didn't want to bother you."
"You better stay now..." Naga said.
"Oh?" Stinger didn't know what to say.
"Want cuddles. Don't leave."
Stinger let out a fond sigh. "Clingy when you're sick, huh?"
Naga had nothing to say in his defense. He had never acted this way before when sick, even with Balance. But, right now, he wanted his boyfriends and got upset at the thought of them leaving him alone.
Lucky returned not long after with food. He didn't say anything about the scene he came back to, but a smile found its way onto his face. He handed Naga a bowl of soup and then took up a seat on his free side. Naga slowly ate the soup. He didn't feel that hungry, but knew he should probably try to eat something by now. Maybe having something in his stomach would make him feel better?
"So, what are we gonna do for the rest of the day? The commander said we're exempt from duty for today." Lucky said.
"Cuddle." Naga stated firmly.
Lucky glanced at Stinger.
"He's very adamant we aren't leaving." Stinger simply said.
Lucky chuckled a bit. "I see. Don't worry, Naga. We can cuddle as much as you want for today."
That sounded very good to Naga. All he wanted was them right now.
"If we get sick, I'm not to blame." Stinger stated.
"It'll be fine." Lucky replied.
Stinger shrugged at him in reply. Lucky just gave a lopsided smile.
Naga finished eating and set the bowl aside. He crawled back into his bed and waited. Stinger and Lucky moved to join him. Naga pressed up against Lucky this time. Lucky kissed him on the head and wrapped an arm around him. Stinger moved against his side.
"We get to spoil you for once." Lucky said.
Naga buried his face against Lucky's neck in reply. He was a little embarrassed by how needy he was sounding, but he wasn't going to stop. Maybe it wasn't so back to get spoiled for once. He had always been curious about what it would be like. He just never had been sure how to go about it before.
He liked it though. Having his two boyfriends doing as he asked without complaint. Being the center of attention. It was weird but a nice change. Maybe he should start trying to be a bit more bold and ask more of them? They wouldn't mind if he tried to be more selfish, right?