Work Text:
It had been a few days since Ray had woken up. In that time period, everyone was already awake and back to their antics. That included, in no particular order:
Parker cursing out anyone and everyone.
Barkovitch going in and out of flashbacks, where he'd bang his head on the nearest object right after.
Harkness suffering from extreme phantom pain while trying to write something down.
Olson clutching his stomach when his chronic pain got particularly bad.
Peter being mainly immobilized for the time being as his legs had been especially weak.
Stebbin's having bad fevers throughout the night and extreme coughing fits in the morning.
Baker would have loss of memory that would leave him disoriented.
And Ray, who was suffering from insomnia and had been for the last couple days.
Safe to say, everyone had been miserable.
"Stebbin's if you don't stop coughing, I'm shoving my fist down your throat."
The half honest fit came from none other than Parker. He'd been in a particularly bad mood today, snapping at almost everyone. Almost. For some odd reason, Parker hadn't snapped at Barkovitch. Which was odd in and of itself, considering the blonde wasn't known for being pleasant company.
That mystery though was for another day. Right now, the biggest concern was superman. Stebbins was hacking especially hard, clutching his abdomen as he doubled over. It looked painful, and tears pricked at his eyes.
"Geez, give him a break Collie." Olsen was the next to comment on the situation. He was sitting on the opposite side of Art's bed, the two playing a game of Uno. So far, Hank had lost every single round. But the stubborn jackass refused to give up, so the two continued.
"Parker, you need to calm down. You've been agitated all morning." Harkness was writing notes down in his journal. They were mainly about Stebbins, as his condition had been fluctuating more than anyone else's.
"Harkness has a point," Garratty said, pulling the blanket higher up on McVries back. The two had been attached at the hip for the past few days, and in all honesty everyone had been betting on them being a ship.
"Fuck!"
The arguement was quickly stopped as all attention was brought to Barkovitch. The blonde was smacking his head against his head, yelling out obscenities. It was most likely yet another meltdown, but every time they happened everyone became a little bit more on edge.
Collie especially so, as he immediately got up to grab Gary's hand. Barkovitch immediately stopped, yelling out a "I didn't kill him!" along with a few other of his usual phrases.
"I know. You didn't kill Rank. His temper did. Now cut this shit out, you're gonna hurt yourself."
If there was a greater word for the amount of shock everyone had, it would be used right now. Never did anyone think that Barkovitch would be getting treated the best by Collie of all people. But then again, life was full of surprises.
"How about this? If you stop hitting yourself I'll play some shitty game with you. Sound good?"
The other simply nodded, grabbing one of the stupid games the nurse had provided them all with. It was a card game, filled with colorful characters and symbols. Parker absolutely despised it. But if it got Barkovitch to stop, it was worth it.
"....Fine."
The two started playing, the game play occasionally interrupted by half-assed insults from both parties involved.
Now that Parker wasn't attacking everyone, the attention was diverted back to Stebbin's. He was still doubled over, left out of breath.
Harkness immediately jumped into action, feeling the tall man's forehead. "You got warmer. Maybe we should alert the nurse and get you a rag."
The two had been like this for days. Stebbin's would be feeling shitty, and Harkness would immediately react by trying to figure out how to fix it. In all honesty, it kinda pissed the blonde off. But he barely had enough energy to stay awake, let alone argue.
"M'fine Harkness. Sit down."
His voice was deep and raspy, small coughs accentuating every word. It felt painful, but he wasn't a socialite anyway so it didn't affect him too much.
The writer simply sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose and grabbing his notebook from his bed. "Fine, but I'm sitting on your bed to make sure you don't fall into another fever dream."
Harkness sat down at the edge of superman's bed, immediately writing down notes in his notebook. Worry was written all over his face, but it wasn't like he'd ever admit that.
Meanwhile, Garratty was laying McVries down onto his bed and pulling up the covers. He himself wanted nothing more than to just sleep, but his body wouldn't allow it.
Ray was about to go sit in his bed, when he felt a tug at his arm. "Lay with me....I know you're tired....." Peter muttered, pulling the taller boy down into his bed.
"Fine. But don't expect me to fall asleep."
He slowly laid himself next to McVries, letting the other curl up against him. It was warm and comforting. It was as if his entire body had just drunken a cup of hot chocolate.
He felt his eyes droop, and before he was even able to process anything, he was in a deep sleep.
.
When Ray woke up, it was dark out. The moonlight shined into the room, illuminating everyone's sleeping face. The groups were scattered in beds, covered in blankets and pillows.
Stebbins was sat up asleep, letting Harkness lean on his shoulder. The smaller man was dead asleep, his glasses drooping off his face and his notebook was strewn on the blanket
Art and Olsen were asleep, the small boy's head on the taller boys lap. Uno cards were everywhere, a few of them on Baker's lap.
Lastly, there was Collie and Barkovitch. Collie was laying flat and messily. Barkovitch was doing the same, the two in a mix of limbs. Cards were stuck in both of their hairs, tangled in the mix of brown and blonde.
Wind blew in, allowing a cool night breeze. Maybe there was problems now, but it was ok. They'd get over it. It just took time.
Garratty laid back down, allowing McVries to wrap around him as he shifted. He felt the warmth of sleep reinvite him, and he gladly accepted it.
One of their problems was officially solved. Insomnia, cured.