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It was such a beautiful day out, families alike played outside, shops were bustling with people, delicious market food wafted through the air, and yet you were rotting in your bed at home. You didn’t even know what caused this gross feeling throughout your body… was it something you ate? Are you just really anxious that it’s making you sick? Who knew, surely not you that’s for sure. Piles upon piles of soft blankets and pillows surrounded your sickly form, trying to get as comfy as you could so you could try and get some rest, but no prevail. Your stomach churned with a nasty feeling that you could barely even explain while soft pants and whimpers left your mouth, your nails gripping at your hair in skin out of overwhelm. You hated being sick. It was the worst. Especially on a perfect day like this. You had plans with Tifa and Aerith to go out shopping, but you had to cancel due to the horrific situation in your gut… Maybe they’ll stop by… who knows.
You snuggled closer to your boyfriend’s side of the bed, inhaling his scent on his pillow as a way to stimulate yourself. He hadn’t left on any mission or anything, all he did was go outside to do some morning training, yet it felt like he was miles upon miles away.
“He’ll be back soon…” You assured yourself, your face paling even further the more you tried to ward off the thoughts of vomiting. But if anything, it made the feeling worse. You were so emetephobic, even just the thought of throwing up your breakfast made your stomach growl in a way that was more uncomfortable than it should’ve been.
You tried to get your mind off of it by closing your eyes and taking some deep breaths, though the fear and thought lingered at the back of your head. Maybe when Cloud comes back in, the sickness will settle and everything will turn out perfectly!
Wrong.
After a good solid hour or two of training, Cloud felt like he was due for a bit of a break. He stretched his slim, but toned, arms one last time before trudging inside his shared home with you. The front door creaked open as Cloud stepped inside, slipping off his boots and leaning his large sword against the wall. He moved towards the kitchen where he poured himself a cup of cold water for refreshments before freezing in his tracks.
Whimpering. Coming from upstairs. In the bedroom.
“Shit, you better be safe up there.” Cloud muttered under his breath as he practically threw his plastic cup into the sink, picking up his sword on his way up the stairs, ready for any being he had to fight to protect you.
The blond basically slid on his feet as he rushed down the halls to the bedroom, opening up the door with his sword at the ready. But seeing there was no threat to be seen, his eyes softened, especially when he found you huddled under the bed sheets, shivering and panting.
“Baby…?” He mumbled, his voice soft as he set his sword against the wall, walking closer to the bed until he was close enough to sit down on the edge beside your body. “Are you okay?”
Your eyes slowly fluttered open and looked up at your boyfriend. And before you knew it, you started bawling, tears streaming down your face like a waterfall.
“H-hey…” Cloud stuttered, taken aback by your sudden show of emotions. He slowly moved closer to sit up against the headboard beside you, an arm hesitantly making its way to wrap around your shoulders and pull you close. “Tell me what’s wrong…”
Feeling Cloud’s arm wrap around you made you move impossibly closer to him, wrapping both arms around his slender figure and embracing him tightly while your head nuzzled into the nape of his neck, causing his cheeks to flush a bit at the contact.
Seeing that you were not in the greatest shape to respond, Cloud let you cry any tears you had out against him. His hand travelled down to your waist to gently hold and rub, the touch soothing against your shivering body. You cried and cried for moments on end before finally calming down a bit, wiping away your tears and snot with the back of your hand as you sat up a bit to look at Cloud.
“I-I.. I hate being sick…” You choked out, hiccups from crying interrupting your words as your hands gently clutched at Cloud’s shirt. “My stomach h-hurts and I feel like.. like I’m going to th-throw up… It aches…”
Cloud’s eyes softened at your admission, letting out a quiet “damn…” under his breath. “Is that so…? Let me grab you a bucket for your bedside. I’ll grab some pills for you too while I’m at it.”
You quickly shook your head, clutching his turtleneck top even tighter as you felt something threatening to come up. “N-no… Don’t l-leave me alone…”
Cloud raised an eyebrow silently, sure, you can be touchy sometimes but you’re never this clingy. “I kinda have to if I’m gonna get a bucket…”
Just when everything started to settle, your hand shot up to cover your mouth while your back hunched over. Sensing something was definitely gonna come up, Cloud quickly picked you up and carefully brought you to the bathroom, where you were then hunched over the toilet seat, retching up saliva and previously digested food into the bowl. The blond sat by your side, pulling back any hair and rubbing your back. He knew how much you hated being sick, let alone throwing up.
When you soon calmed down and finished up, you felt a lot better. Your breaths came out shallow and scared, but feeling that anything you could’ve thrown up was already out calmed you down. You were done.
Cloud reached for some toilet paper and gently wiped your mouth and chin with it, gently mumbling to you. “Hey, you did good. You handled it well…”
You couldn’t even look at the wall behind the toilet, you were so disgusted with yourself. Your eyes looked down at your lap as your hands clutched the porcelain furniture, panting softly while tears continued to stream down your cheeks.
“Do you… feel any better…?” Your boyfriend spoke, reaching over to flush the toilet, the vomit draining down into the plumbing. “It’s gone now, no more. You can look at me.”
You nodded in response, your head tilting to look up at Cloud. He flashed you a small smile, reaching over and wiping your tears with his thumb. His arms moved a bit closer, hesitantly wrapping around your abdomen and slowly pulling you up to your feet. Seeing that you were still dizzy and icky, he let you lean against him as he reached to the bathroom counter, pouring you a glass of cold water under the sink.
You watched him fetch the water, your warm cheek resting against his chest as your eyes lidded with exhaustion. Cloud gently put the cup to your mouth and you took grasp of the glass, tipping it to sip from with a bit of assistance.
“You should get some rest. I’ll stay beside you.” Cloud spoke quietly, moving to pick you up, your arms and legs wrapping around him like a koala as you were lifted off the ground. The man carried you back to the bedroom, soon placing you down where you laid before, covering you up with the sheets.
“I think we might need more medicine. I’ll give you whatever we have but if we run out, I’ll get Zack to get some.” The blond mumbled, petting your head a few times before moving out of the bedroom to go grab some medicine for your nausea.
You watched Cloud leave the room, your eyes fluttering to slowly end up closing. The aggressive vomiting from earlier really tired you out. You hummed quietly, hearing Cloud’s voice quietly talking to someone on the phone in the bathroom. Your eyes relaxed as you soon drifted off to sleep, listening to your boyfriend speak.
The mercenary came back into the bedroom, holding a bottle of pills and a fresh cup of water, though he slowed down at realizing that you seemed to have fallen asleep during the few minutes he was gone. A light smile crossed his lips as he moved closer, placing both items on the bedside table beside you. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his hand caressing your hip as you slept under the covers.
“Tifa said she’d come by later tonight after her shift with some fresh medicine.” Cloud spoke quietly, speaking to you even though you were asleep, secretly hoping you’d hear. His smile grew a fraction at seeing your peaceful, sleeping face. He leaned down and lightly kissed your warm forehead, whispering softly to you.
“My sicky love… Get some rest.”