SUE: Save Yourself! (Oriel)

[Deleted]

Set June 6th

Happy birthday to meeee.... Phoenix sniffled miserably for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, reaching blindly over for another Kleenex to use and then add to his growing pile of other tissues beside the bed. He should be celebrating the fact that he had now survived nineteen years of life; instead, he was stuck in bed with a pounding head, dripping nose, watery eyes, and some early-morning vomiting that he was afraid might come back if he moved too much, given his nauseous stomach.

"You shoulb... Leb me go back to my room... So you don'b geb sick too!" he whined to Oriel, blinking up at his boyfriend through red, watery eyes. Phoenix had always had a weak immune system (probably no surprise there, given he was rather frail in general), but from the sound of things, there was a bug starting to spread throughout Hammel, and not just him. And he really, really didn't want Oriel to get sick because of him.

"I'b fine... Really... I feel bedder already, you don'b godda take care of me," he sniffled. Phen's throat tickled, and he covered his mouth with his arm as he coughed, a wet, hacking sound that gave away his obvious not-okay-ness. "Is nothink," he huffed.

[Deleted]

Oriel ignored every single word that Phoenix was uttering out from his mucous filled sinuses as he carted in a bowl of piping hot soup on a tray and set it over Phoenix’s legs while Oriel rested his ass on the edge of the bed. “Shut it,” he quipped, taking the large spoon and swirling it around the chicken noodles and the pulling up a generous portion. Oriel blew on it to bring the temperature down - he didn’t want Phoenix to burn his tongue, now - and lifted it up to Phoenix’s lips. “Eat.”

Once the bite had been taken, Oriel set the spoon down and readjusted his hygienic mask to ensure it wasn’t about to fall off. Oriel wasn’t worried about getting sick(he never got sick!), but it didn’t hurt to be safe. Phoenix could have Oriel’s bed all he wanted, Oriel would just make sure to wash the sheets once Phoenix was better. In the meantime, Oriel would either sleep on the couch or the floor. Probably the floor, Oriel didn’t want to be too far from his lover in case the poor, sickly boy needed him.

He picked up the spoon again and pulled the mask down a little to blow on it again. "Anything else you want to do for your birthday? You know, besides succumbing to a rhinoceros." Or whatever it was called.

[Deleted]

"Oriellll," Phoenix whined again anyway. Sure, Oriel was wearing a mask, but that couldn't be doing that much good, could it!? This was like, a horrible awful extremely contagious disease! (Or so Phoenix told himself). He hesitated when the spoon was offered against his mouth - his stomach was telling him this was a bad idea - but he obediently sipped up the soup and swallowed through a throat that seemed far more constricted than usual. He made a weird 'guh' noise as it went down.

"You look silly..." Phen didn't even want to think about how awful he must look, with fluids dripping from different places and his eyes red and skin shiny with sick sweat. "I'b gonna sneak away an' crawl t'my room if you don'b leb me go," he threatened. An empty threat, of course. There was no way Phoenix could get anywhere that Oriel didn't want him to go, even when he wasn't sick. "I don'b wanna steal your bed..."

He rubbed at his eyes and tried to sit up a little more, pouting as he snagged another Kleenex and sneezed into it. "I wanna be nod sick," he complained. But of course, that wasn't possible, so... ".... I wanna kidden." Of course, he couldn't have that either. Life wasn't fair!!! Phoenix pouted more and looked down at his wrist, the one with the little infinity tattoo carved into it with Oriel's name. "Can we do somethink fun when I'm feel bedder again?" he mumbled. "Like... Go rend a cabin in da woods and have a lodda sex?"

[Deleted]

Really, Phoenix was such a little whiner when he was sick…not that he wasn’t a whiner normally, but he was even more resistant to Oriel taking care of him than he normally was. At least now Phoenix was too incapacitated to go anywhere without Oriel knowing. “Right, right. In this state, I bet you wouldn’t even make halfway across the common room before you collapse.” Really, the boy could barely sit up. How did he expect to be able to do anything by himself? “I slept on the floor before.” Like for the whole first year he was at Hammel. “It ain’t nothing for you to be worried for.”

Oriel rolled his eyes. “Just got to ride it out, that’s what the nurse said, right?” Because there was no way that Oriel would have let Phoenix get this bad without forcing him into the infirmary. “Hush up. Eat your soup.” He slid the cooled spoon forward to Phoenix’s mouth. The boy could probably feed himself, but…this was more fun.

“A cabin in the woods? You mean all Friday the 13th style?” As Phoenix found out last month, Oriel did not like the creepiness of ghosts. But horror/slasher stuff? That shit didn’t count. Them shit was funny. “Maybe. I’d like that.” He really did, but…Oriel didn’t know if they’d be able to afford such a thing on Oriel’s stipend and Phoenix’s meager income. “Maybe over the break?” And maybe they could hit up that Junnie guy for some cash? Oriel had that modeling gig coming up soon, but he had no idea how much he was going to get from that.

[Deleted]

Phoenix whined because he could get away with it. Sure, Oriel teased him, but that only encouraged the pixie boy to do it more! So really, it was Oriel's own fault for making him do it. "Nu-uh!" he retorted nasally. "I could dodally make id to my room if I dried. You jusd watch!" He struggled to heave himself over to the side of the bed, but even the few feet scooting over made his stomach slosh uncomfortably, and his face went a little green. "... I could if I wanded, but I know you won'd led me anyway," he mumbled, slumping back down. Phoenix pouted with his big, red, watery puppy eyes. ".... Just isn't fair t'you..." he whimpered pathetically. He would feel bad about stealing the bed no matter what Oriel said.

"Yeah yeah, okaaaay..." Phen obediently opened his mouth and accepted the next sip of soup, not even bothering to say he could do it himself. He knew from experience how much Oriel liked to feed him; Phoenix didn't understand it, but he'd stopped questioning it. "I hobe I don'd throw this all up lader," he sighed. He wasn't sure, with his stomach feeling the way it was.

"Uhh.... No, I don'd thing so," he blinked. Phoenix didn't like horror movies; not because he was particularly afraid of them (at least the supernatural ones, slasher movies were a different thing), but they usually just sort of bored him. That was something he and Oriel didn't have in common. "You would?" he replied, eyes wide. "Yay!" His exclamation was weak, but still heartfelt. "Break sounds good. I can save up this month t'help pay, id can'd be too expensive, righd?" He had no idea. "'Sides, you're gonna be a model soon, thad's godda bring in da bucks!" Of course, he thought Oriel could go on to be a world-famous model with his looks, this was just a start! He reached out and clung for Oriel's hand, wishing he was well enough to give his lover an affectionate kiss, too. "You know, I'm s'posed t'go to graduation even though I'm still gonna be here," he mentioned. "Since I'm nod daking school classes anymore, I ged to walk, I guess. I hobe I'm nod sick anymore by then." It was still two weeks away, though, so he should be fine.

[Deleted]

“Uh-huh,” Oriel grunted, believing not a word that Phoenix was saying. “I’d like to see you try.” Which he did. Or at least, Phoenix tried to try, which ended up with him giving up before he even started. Oriel felt inclined to snicker and smugly smirk down at his sickly boyfriend as he quickly slipped and slumped back into the bed. “Yeah, that’s right. You make it to the door, guess who’s riding my shoulder right back here? Or would you rather I deposit you in the infirmary?” They were probably better stocked there to take in a short term cold patient like Phoenix.

Oriel was going to be having a hard time holding back his little laughs, because Oriel had not seen Phoenix this cute for a while. So utterly cute and hopelessly dependent. And it was true, Oriel reveled in taking care of his Squishy-squish, he’d sponge bathe him and everything if the situation called for it. It was just…so incredibly nice to be needed like this. “You ain’t. And if you do, I’ll clean it up, we’ll give you some ginger tea, and try again in a bit.” Oriel prepared another spoonful of noodle-soup for Phoenix to take in. “And that’s why…I ain’t gonna stuff you today.” Despite wanting to. “You’re little tummy can only hold so much before it gets sick, but you can’t get better if you don’t eat. So we’re going to go slow.” Oriel airplaned the spoon into Phoenix’s mouth, making a low little zooming noise just for lolz.

Oh, he looked so happy. Oriel liked it when Phoenix got genuinely giddy like that, especially over something that seemed so incredibly small. Though going out alone to spend the night in a cabin in the woods was not exactly a small thing. Oriel still had no idea how they were supposed to pull that off. “Yeah, I don’t know. I can probably look some things up.” On his brand new laptop that Gryphon had so generously given to the delinquent boy. Oriel still couldn’t believe he’d done that. “Yeah, I just don’t know how much I’m going to get from that. I mean, it’s a one-time thing. Can’t be all that much.” Oriel didn’t know a thing about how pay and salary worked in the real world. “You do? That’s cool,” he said, trying to be excited. Oriel had to convince himself not to get too worked up because while Phoenix was able to walk, that didn’t mean he was leaving. Phoenix wasn’t leaving, he told himself. “I don’t think you will be. You ever had a cold before? Has it ever lasted more than two weeks?” Oriel couldn’t say that his had.

[Deleted]

Phoenix whined vocally and grabbed his pillow, smothering it against his face for a few moments as he had his little whimper-fit. "I don'd wanna go t'the infirmary," he spoke, muffled, behind the plush object. "Don'd make meeee!" Phoenix was not a fan of any hospital-like place. He'd always associated it with him overdosing and ending up there when he was in his drug-addicted years; it wasn't a dislike that was easily abolished. Hospitals were creepy and too white and.... Nope, just nope.

Honestly, Phen might need a bath here in a little while, if he could make it to the bathroom - he was soaked in sick-sweat, and probably didn't smell all that great. In fact, a bath sounded amazing... Except the idea of walking or even being carried and sloshed around sounded like hell. "I don'd wand you t'have t'clean up after me too..." he sighed. Fortunately this morning, he'd been able to make it to the toilet in time to vomit there; he wasn't so sure he could now. Phen's eyes watered more, this time with emotion, as Oriel continued talking. "... You're so good to meeee," he cried, which quickly turned into a snort and a weak giggle at the airplane noises. Phoenix nommed the spoon and quickly swallowed its contents down.

The idea of going out alone with no one around but his precious Squish was almost too much for the pixie boy to handle. Had his wings been out, they would have been fluttering. "Please do!" he squeaked, sounding even more pitiful in his sick voice. "It'd be so fun!" He squeezed Oriel's hand before pulling away again. "Well... I mean, as soon as a modeling agency sees your face, they're gonna wanna hire you," he said knowingly. "'Cause... Look ad you." Phoenix reached up, as if to pat Oriel's face, but his arm didn't reach and he was too weak to lean forward, so he just flopped it back on the bed. "Yeah... Can'd believe I somehow god enough good grades t'finish," he mumbled. "Bud I'm nod goin' anywhere. They can'd gig me oud yed." He gave an awful, wet sniffle. "I don'd thing this is a normal... Oh, fug." His face went pale again, and he half-crippled over to lean over the bed, but managed to keep his food down... For the moment. "I thing I'm gonna be sig."

[Deleted]

“Oh quit whining, you’re going to make yourself worse,” Oriel scolded, removing the pillow and tossing back to the other side of the bed. “I’m not going to take you to the infirmary. I just want you to be a good sick little boy and let me take care of you so you can get better and all that shit, alright?” Oriel cleared his throat and went back to his feeding-spree. Yesss, thatsa good boooy!

Oriel would be happy to give Phoenix a bath! But only after he’s well enough to get there himself because then he’d just end up right back in this sweat-soaked bed getting it even more sweat-soaked. Oriel only had the one set of sheets too, so he’d have to wash those out before using them again. Washing would get rid of all the sick, right? He hoped so. “You know I’m happy to,” he snorted. The face mask was getting annoying. Oriel took a moment to pull it down around his neck before speaking again.

He smiled as Phoenix happily accepted the spoonful of soup. Really, such a kid. Oriel started to prepare another as they continued talking about summer. “Alright, I’ll do that once I’m not nursing you back to health anymore.” Oriel was starting to get really excited about this…actually, he didn’t want to wait as long as it might take for Phoenix to get better, maybe they should just get it over with now?

Oriel shook his head, a few stray tendrils of hair swaying in his face out from their pulled back position(he had his hair in a ponytail). “Yeah, I know I’m gorgeous.” But just because Oriel knew he was gorgeous didn’t mean that everyone else thought so. Ugh, that was so not like Oriel to think, but…fuck, he really was more insecure than he let on.

“Yeah, how did you manage that?” Oriel asked with a laugh. If there was some trick Phoenix used(hint: it was Oriel), then Oriel wanted in on that. Oriel himself had improved on his grades as well, but at this rate Oriel might not make it to graduation next year. He wondered if there was anything he could do about that.

Oriel started when Phoenix suddenly went pale. “Your stomach again? Shit, think you can make it to the bathroom?” Though that was such a long way away. Oriel pulled the tray away from Phoenix and set it on the nightstand, then leaned over to grab the plastic trash-bin next to the desk, pulling out the liner and holding it at the ready. “Here, use this.” That way he didn’t have to worry about not making it to the bathroom.

[Deleted]

Fine, Phoenix would stop. He knew Oriel was only doing his best to help him get better, and Phen was grateful for it. He just hated being sick! "Okaaay," he whimpered, looking up pitifully at his Squish. "Thang you, hunny..." It was so mucky and gross, Phen didn't know how Oriel stood to be around him like this. Then again... He would be doing the exact same thing if their positions were switched (heehee), so he guessed he could see why. "I love you so so so so so much," he declared with a sniffle. "You're da besd boyfriend ever."

He nodded as enthusiastically as he could (not very much) at Oriel's promise. "Jusd thing of how much we could ged away with oud there," he fantasized. Not that either of them were particularly subtle here, but... At least they wouldn't have to worry about getting complaints. "I mighd have t'look for more toys on the inderned," he gleed. Special occasion, and all!

His smile softened and Phoenix's hand found Oriel's again, wiping his free hand against his watery eyes for the millionth time. "I don'd know whad someone as preddy as you sees in me," he pouted pathetically. Especially now, looking as awful as he was. Oriel should be on magazine covers, in his opinion.

"Magig," he replied with a weak giggle. "And... Id helbs thad I'm nod doing drugs anymore." Phen had actually been a pretty smart kid when he was younger, before his gang days. He'd messed himself up and permanently damaged his brain with his habits, though; so while he was better than he used to be, he still was missing the sharpness he could have otherwise had.

Phoenix shook his head at Oriel's question, lips firmly clamped shut as he tried to hold down the contents of his stomach. He kept still as his boyfriend maneuvered stuff around, feeling the bile in his throat just as the trash bin was put in position. And then he keeled over and vomited, fortunately hitting the bin. It burned and tasted horrible and he hated every moment of it; as soon as he was finished, Phoenix flopped back against the bed, feeling both better and worse. "I'm sorrrryyy!" he whined.

[Deleted]

“Of course I am,” he said smugly. “There’s nobody else in the world as awesome and wonderful as me.” Oriel had to keep himself from leaning forward and following up with a kiss…but he didn’t want to get sick either. Well, Oriel probably wasn’t going to get sick. “Except for maybe you,” he said, pulling Phoenix in to kiss him on the forehead.

Oriel laughed. “Yeah, wouldn’t have to worry about some stupid emo guy coming in to make us shut it or something.” Really, what was that guy’s problem? Was he supposed to be British or Asian? Seemed like he couldn’t make up his mind. “Fuck…could we even afford to do both? Get more toys and go out in a cabin?” Now that sounded expensive. One at a time the toys weren’t all that much, if you knew where to shop, but it still added up, especially when you were going for quality.

“I ain’t that pretty…..okay maybe I am, but have you looked at yourself?” Seriously, Phoenix was pretty. A different kind of pretty, girl-like pretty, but he wasn’t the least bit unattractive. Well, Oriel still wasn’t much for Asians, but Phoenix was the exception because…because there were feelings involved and that made the best looking thing in the world!

“Yeah,” he said softly. Phoenix really had made so much progress…it was only because of how far Phoenix came that Oriel was trying to hard himself, like he was trying to keep up. Oriel still felt like he was going nowhere with anything. “You know I’m proud of you, right?”

The vomit, honestly, stank about as much as expected. Oriel was just glad that he’d seen(and smelt) a whole lot worse back in his younger days. “Don’t you be sorry and don’t you fucking worry, that’s why we wash things!” Which was how Oriel was rarely disgusted with anything, like someone shitting on his bed(he did, in fact, kill McCarthy for that, and threw his body in the lake. Yup, that’s why he hadn’t been showing his face around for a while, totally not because he was a wuss). Oriel stood. “I’m going to get you some ginger ale or something. You just sit tight, and use the bucket if you need to again. He smiled and left the room for a few minutes.

[Deleted]

"Nobe, no one," Phoenix agreed, deadly serious. Who else had managed to pull him out of his dangerous addiction and get him on his feet again? No one. He giggled and squeed despite his sickness as Oriel kissed his forehead. "Noooo, nod me," he argued. Then again, he was a little biased.

"Yeah..." Phoenix knew that guy probably hated them. He was always so cranky... Honestly, he sort of scared Phen, but Oriel usually seemed unfazed by his interruptions. Hell, Phoenix was fairly certain Oriel would shamelessly continue their 'disruptive' activities no matter who interrupted. "I god money!" he chirped. "And I haven'd spend much since your birthday." Surely he could splurge some, right? It wasn't like he needed to pay bills or anything. "I saw some sduff the other day I wanna ged," he whispered secretly. He might just have to buy what he'd been looking at and make it a surprise.

He giggled again and even managed a blush at Oriel's compliments. "I god fad lips," he argued. "And I need t'ged my hair cud again." It was getting long again, like it had been before he'd gotten it cropped short. Phen just seemed to have the kind of hair that grew really fast. "Id isn'd coincidence thad all the girls ged crushes on you and nod me," he teased. Then again, Phoenix was pretty much a girl himself, so there was that.

Phen went quiet and his expression got softer and poutier at Oriel's praise. "Thangs, Squishy," he murmured. "I blame you." He weakly lifted a hand to barely poke Oriel's nose. "You're gedding bedder too. I bed you'll graduade on time, no broblem." That wasn't necessarily true, but Phoenix was going to focus heavily on helping Oriel with his schoolwork now that he was done with his own.

He still felt awful about Oriel having to deal with all this stuff, no matter what the younger boy said. "Thangs, Squish..." he mumbled with watery eyes. He wanted to apologize over and over, but he knew Oriel would just wave it off. At least his tummy did feel a bit better now. "Okay..." he murmured, swallowing and grimacing at the bile. His throat burned. "I love you, honey..." Phoenix closed his eyes and tried to relax, and eventually he was dozing a bit, half-asleep and half-awake. Sleep was the only thing he could do to escape the misery of being sick, but his fever was keeping him from getting any really solid slumber.

[Deleted]

“Yes, you,” Oriel insisted, planting another kiss on his forehead. Then his temple. Then his cheek. Yeah, fuck it, Oriel didn’t care if he got sick. Oriel touched their lips together briefly before sitting back on the edge of the bed.

“Really?” Oriel asked skeptically. “How much you actually saved up, anyway?” Phoenix had only been working since February. He couldn’t have racked up that much cash in such a short amount of time, could he? Oriel assumed that he was spending all of his money on Oriel’s danishes and extra toys. Maybe a few other necessities. Oriel tended to use his stipend for meals. “Really?” Oriel asked with a grin. “What kind of stuff?” Oriel leaned in as if they were sharing some sort of secret.

Oriel snickered as Phoenix tried to counter him with something that was actually quite endearing. “Hey, I love your lips. I wouldn’t keep kissing them if I didn’t.” They were plush and plump. Soft. “And yeah, maybe you should get your hair cut, but one thing at a time, Squish.”

“Hey, you got plenty of girls who think you’re adorable!” Like Dani. Whom Oriel still thought something was wrong with the way she reacted to seeing the two boys together for the first time. Why did girls find that kind of thing amusing?

Oriel snorted, dismissing Phoenix’s compliment somewhat. “Yeah, improving. Not nearly enough though and that means it don’t mean shit to people.” People only cared when you reached the mark, not when you almost reached it.

“Of course,” he said with a smug smile. “I love you too. That’s the only reason why I do all this shit.” Oriel might not put up with it otherwise or for anyone else. Oriel spent maybe five minutes away from the room as he grabbed a ginger ale from the machine downstairs(it wasn’t something they normally had stocked). When he came back in, Oriel popped open the can and handed it to his love. “Take it slowly, alright?”

[Deleted]

"Hey..." Phoenix wasn't complaining about the kisses, but he didn't want his boyfriend to get sick too! "Sdob, you're gonna catch whad I god..." Still, he couldn't help but giggle despite his worry.

"Uhhh... I dunno. Some." Most of that was being put away and saved for when Phoenix inevitably moved out and had to support himself, but he set some aside for splurging. He was going to ask for more hours and/or look for another job once he was done with classes. He smirked knowingly at the question, and gestured Oriel to come closer to whisper about the huge not-suitable-for-Proboards thingies he had stumbled upon online. "I'll have t'show you somedime," he giggled, holding his hands out for size reference.

He puffed out his pufferfish lips in protest, then laughed weakly again. "You're luggy I don'd ged suction cubbed ondo your face," he retorted, making a sucking sound. How horrible that would be! "I wanna ged id cud again so I can see you go crazy like you did lasd time," he grinned. Talk about a power trip.

"Yeah, adorable, bud nod hod and sexy like you," he pouted. Granted, Phoenix wouldn't return any sort of feminine lust anyway, but... "How do I ged hod and sexy?" People seemed to dig bad boys so much these days... Hell, he'd gotten way more girls (and boys) when he'd been an apathetic dust-head.

"I'm gonna keeb helbin' you," he said softly, patting his squish on the hand. "Jusd you waid. You're gonna pass this nexd year with flying colors." Phen wasn't sure how he would accomplish that, but he'd try his best, dammit!

He smiled weakly as Oriel spoke and left, missing him every moment that he was gone. Phoenix did feel a lot better now that he'd gotten that out of his stomach, though. He stirred a bit as his lover returned, squinting up at the offered drink. "This's s'bosed t'helb?" he asked, taking a tentative sip. It wasn't unpleasant, at least. Phoenix managed to sit up a little more, taking it slow as Oriel suggested. "I feel a lod bedder," he assured the boy. "I'll be ready for fuggin' and goin' t'dances in no dime." Probably not in that order.

[Deleted]

“I told you, I don’t get sick.” Oriel will still be boasting about that long after this day was over. No fucking was was he going to get sick from a couple of little pecks on the face.

Oriel snickered, a hint of lechery appearing on his smile. Those “things” sounded good, especially the size. “Fuck…tough decision, though. We want more of that shit, or we want to go kick it up somewhere in the woods, alone.” Because Oriel was still certain that that retreat idea of Phoenix’s was going to cost quite a few bills.

“Naah, ain’t as bad as you think, though I can think of a couple places I’d rather you latch yourself on.” Oriel chuckled. “Like a fucking leech.” He ruffled Phoenix’s lengthy hair. “Fuck, no way are you going to see that again, I promise you that!” Well, he might. Phoenix could do a few things that drove Oriel crazy, he just need to figure out what they were. And Oriel wasn’t even sure what they were either, the hair thing had caught him by surprise, so wasn’t likely to happen again, nope.

“Ohh, I don’t know…eat your vegetables? Broccoli? Drink lots of milk?” Because those weren’t terrible. “You still eat like a fucking mouse.” And the fact that he was ill wasn’t doing anything to help Phoenix’s lack of weight gain.

“I don’t need help,” he lied, looking off into the distance.

Oriel nodded as Phoenix took the drink and tried himself a small taste. “Yeah…not sure where I heard it before, but heard it’s supposed to calm your stomach or something.” Really, Oriel remembered the strangest things sometimes and never really remembered where he heard them from. “One thing at a time,” he said with a laugh. “First you got to be able to make it to the door by yourself. Then we’ll talk about going to that dance.” He was looking forward to it too, but he held no delusions that they’d actually be able to go. If Phoenix could barely walk, then they weren’t going anywhere.