Work Text:
Something was wrong.
Gary's suspicions had started in the morning, watching Goh absently pick at his breakfast. He hadn't even risen to Gary's attempts at needling him, and that was what got Gary really worried. But of course, Goh was having none of that either.
"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep well," was his response to Gary's concern. "Don't waste your time worrying about it."
As if worrying about him was a waste of time. That dumbass.
"I'll be the judge of that," Gary responded. "At least let me check your temperature."
But by the time Gary had retrieved the thermometer from the bathroom, Goh was gone.
"Stubborn idiot," Gary sighed to an empty room. Nothing to do now but catch up with Goh before whatever he was hiding did.
Fleeing his own home and heading to the lab without Gary had seemed like a good idea at the time, though Goh couldn't explain why. It was like what bird pokemon felt before migration—an instinctive compulsion to take flight. And it had worked. He was away from the startling unfamiliarity of Gary's fussing and instead was organizing data in peace, periodically wiping sweat off his brow and brushing aside the hair that kept falling into his face (he'd forgotten about tying his hair back in his haste to leave, he realized entirely too late).
It seemed less like a good idea when Gary arrived twenty minutes later, out of breath and irritated. It was only then that it crossed Goh's mind that because he'd taken the car, Gary had to walk. "What the fuck, man? What was that?"
"I told you, I'm fine," Goh said.
"Then why did you run off while I was getting the thermometer?" Gary stepped closer to Goh's desk, looking him over with a sharp, critical gaze. "You're sweating."
"So are you," Goh pointed out.
"I walked here!" Gary pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Okay, since you're clearly not using your brain right now, there's no sense trying to reason with you. But if I see a single sign you're getting worse, I'm dragging you all the way back to bed."
"Fine," Goh said, avoiding Gary's searching gaze and returning to his work. Gary wasn't going to see any sign of him getting worse, no matter what. He'd make sure of it.
To Goh's credit, if he was feeling any worse, he was hiding it unsettlingly well. He actually seemed to perk up over the course of the day, cheerful with everyone except Gary.
But then they got into the car (together this time, Gary made sure, by picking Goh's pocket for the keys and insisting he was driving) and Goh dropped into the passenger's seat like a puppet with its strings cut. He rested his head against the window with a sigh, eyes closing.
"You look like you feel like shit," Gary said.
"Shut up," Goh replied tiredly, not even bothering to fire a glare Gary's way.
"I love you too," Gary deadpanned. He turned the key and saw Goh wince at the sudden noise. "Just take it easy now. We'll be home soon and then you can get to bed."
Goh was quiet the whole way home, which was entirely unlike him. Gary was pretty sure he dozed off after a while.
Then they were home. Gary parked the car and gave Goh a nudge—Goh definitely felt too warm, but that was all the more reason to get him to bed as soon as possible. "Come on, up we go. Time for bed."
Goh groaned softly in protest, but his eyes fluttered open, looking hazy and unfocused. As Gary got out on his side, he saw Goh do the same, slow and shaky.
Goh should not have gone to work today, but now wasn't the time to scold him about it. Instead Gary went to his side with the intention of keeping him steady. "Lean on me if you have to, okay? Let's get you to bed."
To his surprise, Goh actually leaned on him, but he didn't dare comment on it. Instead, he wrapped his arm gently around Goh's waist and walked them inside.
Still, Goh remained eerily quiet. He really must've been feeling shitty. It was only when they'd made it to the bedroom that he said, so softly it was barely audible, "You don't have to do this."
"I want to, dumbass," Gary said. "How long's it gonna take you to understand that?"
Instead of answering, Goh crawled into bed, curling in on himself. Gary didn't hesitate to join him, or to run a hand through the length of his hair with a fondly exasperated sigh.
"You don't have to do things on your own anymore, you know. The point of this whole relationship thing is we're a team now, so I'm gonna annoy you forever."
Goh still didn't respond, and Gary felt a pang of worry at the sound of his shallow breaths. "Goh?"
Suddenly Goh was retching hard, vomiting on the sheets. Gary bit back a startled curse and held Goh's hair out of the line of fire as Goh retched painfully, over and over, decidedly ignoring the hot sensation very unlike disgust that stirred in the pit of his own stomach. That was something to analyze later, or possibly never.
When the retching subsided, Goh was left staring at the sheets in horror as he caught his breath. There was a bit of vomit on his lip. "Dammit. Hang on, I'll change the sheets, I'm so—"
"No," Gary said, gently but firmly, turning Goh away from the mess and pulling him into an embrace. "I'll change them in a bit, but you're what's important right now. Whether or not you think you deserve it, I'm taking care of you."
Goh froze for a moment before melting into the contact, burying his face in Gary's chest. He was burning up. Gary shouldn't have let him go to work today, should've dragged him home immediately even if he would've fought like a feral meowth the whole way.
But there was no changing the past. He couldn't undo his past mistakes, just like he couldn't undo the mistakes Goh's parents had made to make him believe he had to face everything alone. All Gary could do was look after Goh now, holding his trembling body close and running fingers through his hair the way he always liked.
"It's okay," he said. "I've got you. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. Trust me."
He felt Goh nod against his chest. It was a small concession, but it was progress.