Chapter Text
Feeling physically down wasn't something she was used to. Most people caught illnesses from hanging around others, an activity Alysa hadn't consistently done for years. Being out in the wilderness, accompanied by only her pokemon, was her primary way to spend her days prior to enrolling in the academy.
She catching something from other students in the academy's enclosed space was inevitable. Not that she assumed that to be the case, not right away.
The girl wore an expression of discomfort as she sat in the clubroom, malaise preventing her from contributing to the current discussion between her friends. Nor could she enjoy her miniature cuddle session with Drayton, who had her snug against his side - one of his hands rubbing her waist. He did notice her silence before long. The teen's white pompadour hairstyle bobbed as he craned his head down.
“Angel? You feeling alright?
His youthful, smooth tone somewhat lessened her internal unease.
“…Not really.”
This caused Drayton to fully lean back, spurring her to sit up straight. His slim eyebrows were knitted together as an uncharacteristic frown appeared.
“What's wrong?”
“I don't know.” A fact, and one spoken with a degree of weakness. “I just don't feel good.”
Drayton's frown deepened, at the sound of her strained tone and what surely had to have been a matching expression. He wordlessly brought a hand up to gently press against her forehead, shifting her bangs out of the way.
“…You're warmer than normal,” he stated, natural playful inflection absent. “You might be falling under the weather.”
That didn't sound good. She sighed. “I hope not…”
“It could be a passing thing,” Drayton commented, lifting his hand to rub her jawline.
“You wanna go to the infirmary, to check?”
That sounded unnecessary. “No. It's not a big deal.”
She registered an off sensation in her throat. It didn't help her feel any better, though it could just be an irritant she inhaled while out in the Terarium. The solemn look Drayton gave her was almost enough to change her mind. Almost. Having overheard their conversation, one of the other girls at the table interjected.
“Look at you. Being serious about something for once,” remarked Carmine, who was studying the couple. Crispin and Amarys now turned to them, attention caught.
Normally at Carmine's quips, Drayton would fire back with his own. Not this time. He dragged his thumb across Alysa's cheek.
“I don't play when it comes to my sweetheart.”
Heat flooded her face, and it wasn't tied to her likely ill state.
“Ugh. You're such a sap,” Carmine snorted whilst rolling her eyes.
“You are looking kinda sick, Aly.” Crispin frowned as he looked her over. “Maybe you should get some rest? It's getting late anyway.”
“Resting does sound appropriate at this time,” Amarys concurred. She hated to retire to her dorm sooner than she usually did, but it's not like she had a lot of energy. Alysa mumbled her agreement. Drayton grabbed her bag for her as they both stood, he of course choosing to walk with her back to her dorm. He did make a comment on staying with her, which she did feel guilty for. It was way too early for the time he preferred getting ready for bed.
“You don't need to-”
“I want to.” That was the common counter to the sentence she said a little too often. He squeezed her hand tighter as they passed through the halls, on the way to Alysa's residential wing. Eyes of gold shined under the lights, they and a soft smile from the boy helping to lift her spirits some. She relented easily.
༻❁༺
Waking up the following morning, Alysa realized something immediately.
She was, without a single doubt, sick.
The girl panted, wanting to muffle the coughs that desperately wanted to come out. Sitting up in her bed, she realized how hot and clammy her skin was. Sweat beaded up, despite how cold she felt. How fortunate was it that Drayton is a heavy sleeper. He didn't stir as she coughed repeatedly, and gasped as her lungs burned. That weird feeling in her throat had strengthened into a stinging ache. She took a moment to check the digital Jigglypuff alarm clock on her nightstand: slightly past 6am. The infirmary should be open, and it was her immediate destination. Maybe she should've followed Drayton's suggestion last night after all.
Slipping off of the bed, Alysa did her best to ignore the sense of weakness in her limbs and got dressed out of her nightwear into something more appropriate. Drayton continued to quietly snore. Coughing into her arm, Alysa mulled over trying to wake him up, but decided against it. Bothering him felt wrong, for a couple of reasons.
She exited her dorm room swiftly, keeping her mouth covered as she made a beeline for the infirmary. Getting there, all it took was a brief explanation for the nurse to sit her down for an examination. Her temperature was taken first, which resulted in a reading higher than the average for humans: a low grade fever. Next her breathing was listened to, to which it was highly disrupted. Proof that she was undergoing an infection, if her other symptoms didn’t also point towards that. Sore throat, rough coughing with mucus build up, pain in her lungs, and general fatigue all combined into a diagnosis of a chest cold. An illness not inherently dangerous, but an illness nonetheless. Alysa left the infirmary with a mere bottle of medicine designed to lessen the severity of her symptoms, instructions on when to take her doses and to up her fluid intake to help thin mucus in her airways.
Fortunately, the nurse promised that she’d write an official one week excusal to give to her teachers, allowing her to rest in her dorm room with a guilt-free conscious. She would need to catch up later down the line on missed assignments, but that was a worry for then. By the time Alysa got back to her dorm, it was just past 7am. To her surprise, Drayton was gone. Remembering she had her phone muted, a custom for her bedtime routine, Alysa pulled it out to see she of course missed a text message from him, received thirty minutes ago.
My Drayster 💗: [ did u go 2 class already? ]
Guilt gnawed at her. He must’ve assumed she did, and left to start his own day. Still, her thumb hovered over the touch screen, hesitating on whether to respond or not. Alysa ultimately turned the device’s screen off and put it on her nightstand, stomach churning and turning her weariness that much worse. She knew she should tell Drayton, but everything in her was against it. Against being a burden in any kind of way.
She was sick, and she was the one who had to deal with it. Why make it anyone else’s problem?
Alysa’s train of darkening thought was halted by another sudden coughing fit, almost crumpling over at the unexpected degree of pain radiating in her chest.
“H-Hah…..haah…..” The girl gasped for air, though more coughs following made it difficult. It was like someone had lit a bonfire in both of her lungs, the burn so intense that she involuntarily used her free hand to scratch at her chest in the futile effort to dispel it.
Now was a good a time as any to take her first dosage, and the girl did so after measuring it out using the bottle’s miniature cup. Downing it, she recoiled at the awful, bitter-sour taste. ‘Mixed berry’, right. If battery acid had a flavor, she would assume it was like this. She was glad to put the bottle aside, but then realized she had another task to do before she could crash into her bed. Feeding her pokemon. She couldn’t skip out on that.
And so, she slowly got to it. Getting out the appropriate bowls and pokemon food felt taxing, especially when she had to constantly stop to calm her coughing or to blow her nose that had begun to run. All members of her team sensed her illness, and each of them expressed their concern. She managed to convince them that she would be okay, all she needed was a little rest, for them to eat. In the end, her Altaria outright refused to go back into his pokeball. The plush, cottony dragon trilled in worry as he looked her over, gently rubbing his beak against her cheeks.
“I know, I look awful…” She stroked his neck. “I’m gonna lie down. Do you want to cuddle with me?”
Tari flashed a look that said 'like I’d rather do anything else' loud and clear. Yet, he paused for a moment, tilting his head.
“…Draaayton?” His squeaky voice draw out a giggle instantaneously. The dragon wasn’t as chatty as he was during his Swablu years, but it was still very cute - and funny most times. The levity was short lived, as her smile dropped.
“He’s…busy right now.” Hopefully in class, as he promised his grandfather that he’d start attending again. “I’ll let him know later.”
Probably.
The girl crawled back into her bed, with her Altaria hopping up to sit next to her. Taking her concentration off of standing allowed Alysa to full take in just how terrible she felt, from top to bottom almost. Her airway was totally inflamed, she could feel a general discomfort every time she inhaled and exhaled. The pain in her throat was like sandpaper was scraped along it, and her lungs would light on fire every time she coughed too hard - an easy task. But she was supposed to cough, wasn’t she? To help get out the vile gunk clogging up the organs. It’s unfortunate that it hurt so damn bad.
Alysa spent the next uncounted amount of time cuddled against Tari, who had enveloped her with his wings as a makeshift blanket, and quietly hummed a very soothing tune. It didn’t stop her pain, but it at least helped her to ignore it better. The medicine had kicked in somewhat as well, so she managed to sleep...
... ... ...
...Before a noise had awoken her later on.
She mindlessly grabbed her phone off of her nightstand and answered the call, with an extremely hoarse voice.
“Hello?”
“….Hey. Babe, you sound awful.”
Her pink, bleary eyes fully snapped open. Drayton did not sound too pleased.
“Where are you right now?”
She moved her phone away from her face just enough to check the time. Past 11am, meaning lunch has started to get served. He calling her suddenly made a lot of sense, he must’ve noticed she hasn’t come to the cafeteria yet.
“I-In my…dorm-” Alysa was cut off by a small round of coughing, which made her pant afterwards. A hand involuntarily clutched her chest.
“You’re feeling worse, I assume?” Drayton’s voice lost its trademark playfulness, and he almost sounded like someone else entirely.
“…Yes,” she responded after a pause of hesitation. “I’m sick.”
“Alysa-” she flinched. He never used her actual name instead of a pet name, unless he was in no mood to play around.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She went silent, save for her ragged breathing - which had to have been audible enough through the phone. Shame made her sore throat lock up.
Her lack of an answer was as good of one as any. There was loud shuffling on the other line, footsteps across linoleum flooring.
“I’m going over.”
He hung up. She wasn’t sure if it was her delirious state or the stress of it all, but she just wanted to cry. Even with the small amount of words said, Alysa could hear just how upset he was at her lack of communication. What was she supposed to tell him when he got here? Why she was so put off from expressing a need for help? Why it felt so wrong and invasive? Alysa clung to her concerned Altaria, who nuzzled her in the hopes of providing more comfort. Minutes later, there was knocking at her door. Resigned to her fate of no doubt having made Drayton mad, she slowly rolled over to sit up, and slip off of her bed. Her door felt yards away, rather than mere feet.
Unlocking it, she opened it to see the Elite Four’s Dragon Tamer standing with his arms crossed. There was a deep frown rooted on his face. As soon as she came into sight, Drayton opened his mouth to speak, but shock spread across his features.
“Aly, you look like you're about to keel over.”
Did she? It dawned on her that she hasn’t looked in a mirror at all so far today. Drayton stepped forward to press a hand to her forehead.
“And you’re burning up.” His brows knitted together. “Have you been to the infirmary yet?”
“…I went this morning.”
His eyes widened some, as he dropped his hand. “That’s why you weren’t here when I woke up… Why didn't you wake me up then and there?”
The girl’s expression turned…fearful, causing Drayton’s to turn terribly confused, but Alysa’s silence was broken by her body trying to eject all air out of her again. Incinerating pain caused her to crumple over, proving her boyfriend's observation before correct, only to be caught by him.
“Sit down, babe…” He helped her stay up as he guided the two of them over to her bed, that Alysa fell onto in a heap. Tari promptly inched forward on the bed to press his face against the area behind her shoulder, cooing softly. There was some kind of material deep in her chest, mucus buildup no doubt, that was partially obstructing her airflow. Her body wanted to get rid of it, there was an uncontrollable heaving motion over and over, but the girl cared more about actually getting oxygen.
She took the moment to focus on just breathing, as ragged and unsteady as it was. Gentle, repetitive motions to her back brought her back to the present. Drayton was rubbing it, and the way he regarded her caused unease to swamp her gut.
“…What did the nurse think of this?”
“She-” A suppressed cough, “-said it was a chest cold.” That was the simpler term she picked up on.
Alysa had never seen this kind of sour expression on Drayton before. The question he asked earlier was looming over the both of them, flaring the girl’s anxiety to life once more and tricking her mind to believing she wasn’t utterly exhausted. The boy remained silent as his gold eyes darted over her no-doubt weary face and even messier mane of hair, trying to think of what to say - she assumed.
“…I’m sorry…”
The apology came effortlessly. Drayton paused, the hand on her back freezing in place. His brow wrinkling as he squinted.
“For what?” he asked in return, incredulous. That response wasn’t fully what she expected, but her stomach continued to turn nonetheless.
“For keeping my illness secret. I knew it would upset you, but…” She really ought to explain why, however best she could with her brain feeling like it was in slow mode. “Being open about stuff like this. I’m not used to it.”
“Why?”
“…My parents. They wanted me to be…independent.”
“Huh?” Drayton was hopelessly confused, though he did shift to sit closer to her. “What do you mean? What does that have to do with this?”
“Whenever I would get sick, or injured, they-” A small bout of more coughing made her briefly pause.
“They wanted me to handle it. Take care of it myself.”
Drayton still looked awfully puzzled. Beginning to fidget with her fingers, Alysa wondered if it was possible for him to understand.
“So they wanted you to keep quiet about it all? Not…bother them?”
Maybe he could understand after all.
“Yes. My mother used to always tell me that I’m the only person who could truly have my own back in this world. No other people will be there to pull me up, I…had to do that myself-” Yet again another cough, and she clearing her throat, though it aggravated the severe irritation in it.
“She…She would yell at me if I came to her, crying or the like. My father never offered much support in general. I guess, after a while, I took everything to heart as I grew. I started….hiding myself more.”
Her wheezing was all that was heard for the next minute or so. Drayton gaped at her in sheer bewilderment.
“That….” he muttered. His face leveled out, hardening. “That explains…a lot.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but Alysa gasped at the boy suddenly tugging her closer. His arms enveloped her firmly - not tight, but with enough force to convey a specific message. One that invoked tears to sprung up in her eyes, as her face was pressed into the smooth fabric of his jacket.
“Alysa. I'm not mad at you at all, so don't apologize. I don’t know what was wrong with your folks for them to put those ideas in your head, but with me? Baby, you can lean on me. I want you to. You shouldn’t keep ANY discomfort or pain you feel under wraps.”
Was she getting so emotional because of him, or because of how unwell she was? It was likely both.
“E-Even if…it’s unimpor-”
“With you, everything is important. You know how crazy I am about you.”
He interjected. Drayton pulled away and pushed her back just enough to where he could look into her eyes. A hand came up to rub one of her cheeks.
“The idea of my girl suffering in silence…it hurts. I want to be here for you sweetpea. Hell, I NEED to be.” He gave a half-hearted chuckle, though it lacked humor. All she could hear was thinly veiled sadness.
“You have me now, and I’ll always take care of you if you let me. Habits are hard to break, but promise me you’ll remember this.”
He wanted her to understand, to feel his sincerity deep down to the interior of her bones. All of her emotions broke through at once. Her response was to sob, croaking out a “I promise I will…!”. Drayton smiled, half in amusement and half in relief. He pulled her close yet again, fingers digging into her hair cupping the back of her head while his other hand resumed rubbing along her spine. “Don’t cry. Your lungs are gonna go to war-”
Sure enough, in the midst of her bawling, hacking coughs burst out of Alysa. Drayton switched from rubbing to patting her back. Alysa deeply inhaled, the inferno within bad enough this time around that she released her boyfriend and unconsciously began clawing at her chest again.
“Hey hey! Easy there-” Drayton put a stop to that immediately, grabbing her wrists to drag her hands away.
“I-It…burns….” Remnants of tears dribbled down from a blink of her eyes.
“I know, but you’ll only hurt yourself doing that.”
Sugar coated his voice, and the feverish teen chose then and there to concentrate her energy on that - on him in general - versus fretting over this miserable cold. Movement on the bed behind the couple caught both of their attention. Alysa turned to see Tari holding the medicine bottle she was given before with his beak. He did a inquisitive cry and held it out for Drayton to take.
“You get this from the nurse, starlight?” He took the item, releasing one of her wrists. His other hand moved to hold hers.
“Yes. S-She told me to take a dosage every five hours…”
“When did you last take one?” His eyes narrowed. “You DID take one already, right?”
“Yes. Um…a few hours ago.” Her fever paled in comparison to how warm her heart felt. “And it tastes gross.”
“Heh. It wouldn’t be medicine if it didn’t.”
Drayton looked over the small note the nurse had stuck to the container. “Eh. I doubt taking another one now will hurt.”
She agreed, wanting her symptoms to get weakened as much as possible. The other teen popped the measuring cup off of the cap and poured a portion. He held it up to her lips, quirking a brow.
Groaning quietly, Alysa grabbed it and swallowed the foul syrup. Her resulting raspberry was a loud and clear message on her displeasure; she swore it tasted even worse this round. She handed the cup back to him.
Drayton chuckled. “Atta girl. You want some water? Tissues too?”
She nodded, and went to stand up, only for the Dragon Tamer to nudge her back down onto the mattress.
“Nuh uh. I’ll get them. Your gorgeous self should stay put.”
How could he still compliment her appearance when she looked like such a mess? Alysa hid her face behind her hair, instinctively sinking into Tari’s warmth while Drayton stood to walk into her kitchenette area. He rummaged around in her mini fridge, and returned with a cold water bottle along with a box of tissues, the latter being put onto her nightstand. Alysa was in some awe when Drayton even opened the bottle himself so she wouldn’t have to break the seal herself. Her expression of grateful came softly.
"Just doin' my job, dear," he grinned. The chilling water was oh-so welcomed now, able to help bring down her spiked body temperature. It also felt so soothing to the inflamed flesh in the back of her mouth. Alysa realized that she hasn’t drank anything all day so far, nor has she eaten. Her appetite was shot, but hunger would exacerbate her unwellness…
“You should lie down sweetie. You need to rest,” remarked Drayton, taking her bottle once she was done drinking for now. He put it down next to the tissue box. He was right, and how tired she was meant that Alysa had no objections. Tari backed up to huddle on the side of her opposite to Drayton, who leaned in to move strands of hair out of her face.
Her Altaria snuggling up to her felt good, and she knew it’d take very little for her to doze off, but first…
“Um…” she hesitated to speak, sniffling. Her boyfriend tilted his head, pompadour bobbing. His soft expression coaxed her to speak up fully.
“Could you get me something to eat? I don’t mind whatever.”
“Say less. I remember us buying those ramen bowls.”
He stroked his knuckles against her cheek in a caress, departing from her side with a wink before going back into her kitchen. Alysa leaned back against her pillows, taking tissues to blow her nose, then tossed the soiled items into her nearby waste bin. She absent-mindedly pet Tari’s soft feathers and listened to the sounds of Drayton ripping open a ramen bowl to fill with water, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier as the minutes passed. The rumble shaking her stomach snapped her back to wakefulness. The microwave opening and closing had her be overcome by a feeling of vulnerability, the fact that he was helping her out of the kindness in his heart and the pure devotion he had to her.
With it, happiness made her squirm. The boy soon returned to her side, balancing her steaming meal on a pot holder. He handed it, along with a fork and napkin, over. Her mouth watered at the sight of the food, but she was taken aback when Drayton slipped his jacket off and allowed it to fall to the floor. He went to grab his own bowl.
“Are you going to stay?” she rasped when he sat down next to her.
“Duh,” he snorted light-heartedly, as if the answer to her question had been written in bold text before her. He used his fork to stir the soup. “At least until my next class starts at like…three. It’s one right now.”
Her eyebrows dropped. “What if you get sick?”
“Then I’ll get sick. A problem for future me to deal with. My focus is all on you.” He flashed her a smile. “So, eat up sweetpea. Then we’ll nap together. Sound good?”
Suddenly, she didn’t feel so ill. Her fever and inflamed airways were like a distant memory, covered for the time being underneath springy noodles and warm broth holding an umami flavor bomb. It did wonders in suppressing quieting the ache in her throat, and filling the emptiness of her stomach. Drayton’s close proximity was the most satiating of it all; his nearest shoulder and leg brushing against her own while he slurped away at his meal. Tari was content to tuck his head in against her side, getting a head start on slumber.
The persistent fear from before had been vaporized, and she could laugh at how foolish it was. How could she feel so scared to be more open with her own boyfriend? To let him in, to let him love and care for her like she longed for deep down? It was lonely, to believe she had to carry all burdens on her own. That she could only turn to her pokemon for support, and it was unconditional, but even then they still weren’t human. They didn’t fill the same vacant gap.
Alysa was aware of the…issues she had. Baggage from a past, dark home life was heavy and persistent. Over time, maybe she could learn to let it all go.
Right now, she’d enjoy getting to nestle against the boy that she refused to ever let slip away.
"I'll see about getting you a humidifier later. Pretty sure I saw some on sale in the school store the other day." Drayton's comment was made offhandedly, midst his chewing. "Cough drops too."
"You're going to spoil me?" Her lips curved upwards.
"Always, angel."