#ailesswhumptoberday17

[shion-yu]

Day 17 - "You Look a Little Pale"

Love at first flu sight. Whumptober 2023! I’m using the @ailesswhumptober's prompt list. This story is about my OC Shumei - here’s his profile if you’re so inclined: https://toyhou.se/23743470.shumei-tw 

TWs: Medical abuse!!

Julian had been planning this for a long time: the day when he would finally be able to recreate the most pivotal experience of his teenage years. The time that Shu had had the flu. But back then, it had been a surprise; Julian had shown up to play only to find his next door neighbor Shumei red faced and stumbling at the door. His mother was out of town for the first time ever, only for Shu to wake up that morning alone with a high fever.

As soon as Julian had seen him, he became addicted to this weaker and more pitiful version of his best friend. He’d taken it upon himself to nurse Shu back to health for those days that his mom was away, going as far as to look up how to take care of a sick person in the library. He’d warmed Shu up soup from a can, mopped his face with a cold towel, correctly timed doses of tylenol and ibuprofen for his friend... Only to find it was over too quickly.

Shu was embarrassed about it and pretended it hadn’t happened, but Julian couldn’t get it out of his head. For the first time he’d felt truly relaxed and satisfied with the exact moment he was living in. There was no way he was ever going to let himself stop trying to feel that way again.

He studied to become a doctor, thinking that perhaps taking care of sick strangers would fulfill his passion. That’s really what he thought it was back then - a passion, and one he was proud of. But the further along he got in his schooling, the more he realized that even emergency surgery still left him feeling empty. Caretaking wasn’t his passion - Shu was. Every face he saw contorted in pain, crying, drawn with fever... He couldn’t help but imagine Shu in that situation, and then his heart would stir. Imagination could only go so far though; he needed to find Shu again.

It was a stroke of brilliant luck that Julian ran into Shu after so many years in that coffee shop. Well, Shu thought it was luck - Julian had been learning his habits for some time now. They happened to sit down and talk, and Shu would find that his once brooding and socially challenged best friend was now a successful and beloved doctor. Shu was looking for a new place to live; Julian had a spare room. 

“Come stay with me, just for a bit. It’s no trouble.”

No, no, he couldn’t, it was far too much of an imposition, Shu tried to say. But Julian insisted, and it was hard to say no to those striking dark eyes. “Well, maybe just for a week or two.”

By day two, both of them knew Shu wasn’t going anywhere. He ended up in Julian’s bed instead of the guest room, Julian’s naked form spooning him from behind as they slept. When he woke up, it was the best sleep he’d had in so long... Was that what was always missing from his bed before during all those sleepless nights? Someone to hold?

For the first few months, things were amazing. Shu couldn’t remember when he’d last had so much fun; if he’d ever clicked with someone like this before. Julian was funny, he was kind, he never put Shu down like his ex-boyfriends had... The sex was incredible, and boy was there a lot of it. It felt like his life couldn’t possibly get better.

Julian felt the same - except the part where things couldn’t get better. He knew the best was yet to come and the anticipation of it made every blissful day with Shu even more exciting. Finally, though, today was the day. He had a long, thin pipette of live influenza virus to drip directly into Shu’s nostrils while he slept. He had already vaccinated himself with a high-dose flu vaccine; meanwhile, Shu hadn’t gotten to getting his shot yet which was perfect. As smoothly and quickly as possible, Julian hovered over Shu’s sleeping form and did the deed. The tiny droplets of liquid went right where they were supposed to and now all Julian had to do was wait.

Julian told himself not to expect much for the first twenty-four hours, and indeed nothing did seem to come from it. Don’t be disappointed, he told himself. You’re a doctor. You know it takes time to manifest symptoms post-exposure.

The second day, Julian was hypervigilant. But he still couldn’t tell if anything was amiss - that was, until they were picking up dinner and he noticed Shu leaning his face on his hand rather heavily. “Are you tired, darling?” Julian asked him, forcing his tone not to seem too eager.

“Hmm? Oh, maybe a bit,” Shu said. He cleared his throat, Julian watching his Adam’s apple bob up and down slowly. Was he just imagining things, or did Shu look ever so slightly paler than usual? 

“We’ll go to bed early, how about that?” Julian suggested. The sooner they could sleep, the sooner Shu may or may not begin to show symptoms. Shu agreed easily and Julian could barely fall asleep with the excitement fluttering around in his stomach.

And then, in the morning, it happened. Like any good flu did, Shu “unexpectedly” woke up with a sudden high fever and the aches and chills that went with it. Julian gave him the utmost sympathy as he held a thermometer under Shu’s tongue. Shu couldn’t keep his lips sealed with how hard his teeth were chattering, but the reading was still high. 102.1.

“Tch. You’re running such a fever,” Julian cooed sympathetically. 

Shu groaned. “Just mby luck ond a holiday weeke’d,” he sniffled, his words blunted by congestion. Talking caused him to wince at his sore throat and he let out a sharp series of harsh coughing. Julian could hear exactly how the congestion was weighing his breathing down.

“I know. It’s terrible timing,” Julian hummed as if he hadn’t planned this exactly. “But I’ll just have to take care of you. You know, like when we were kids.”

Shu cough-laughed in response, but by the end it was mostly coughing. “That was one d’ove the worst weeks ind mby life,” he said. 

Julian smiled. “Not mine.”

Shu blunked at him, red-rimmed and watering eyes brighter than usual with fever. He looked younger like this - disheveled and wrapped in two thick duvets. To Julian, the sight was precious. “Really?” Shu asked incredulously. 

“Really,” Julian said. “I fell in love with you that week.”

“Stop it. Itd’s dnot nice to mess with a sick person,” Shu said. He was either blushing or his fever was going up. Julian hoped it was both.

“I’m not messing with you. I’ve loved you since then.” Then he leaned down to kiss Shu, only to get a panicked hand shoved in his face.

“Are you crazy?! You do dnot want this.”

Julian hummed. That was true. Flu shot or not, there was always a risk. But he planned to hope for the best - well, the best and what all the multivitamins and antivirals available to him could do. “We sleep together. If I’m going to get it, I’ll have already got it,” Julian pointed out. “But I see your point. Air kiss for now, then.” He blew Shu a goofy little kiss, making his boyfriend wheeze in what he was pretty sure was supposed to be a giggle.

“You are crazy,” Shu said.

Julian smirked, leaning forward so his head was hovering over Shu’s intently. He was so beautiful like this, Julian thought to himself. He already didn’t want it to end. “But you love me,” he said in a deep voice.

Shu nodded, resting one slightly shaky hand on Julian’s cheek. “I do,” he said. “I really do.”

[actualdickgrayson]

Was slammed at work the last two days so I combined day 17 and 18 into one story for @ailesswhumptober

Prompts: You look pale and warm soup

[auroragehenna]

Venom

Introduction post

Chapter 1 / Day 17 Hypothermia, Heat stroke, "You look a little pale"

CW/TW: Angry whumper, threats of torture, cutting by rapier and dagger, defiant whumpee, seasoned whumpee, sarcastic whumpee, hypnosis whump, mentioning of (eventually) deadly curse, mind control whump

Words: 1'130

Zestia opened her eyes, looking at yet another wooden ceiling nobody knows how it kept standing. She hated this town. She hated their stupid quest. At least this one was over now. Now she just had to get out of here. She got up, got dressed, and paid for her room. When she stepped outside a man nearly collided with her.

“Watch where ya goin’, girl.”

Zestia had the strong instinct to stab him but she got distracted from the mass of people in front of her. Packed into the narrow streets and making it impossible to just walk away. She took a deep breath and looked around, scanning the area for the best way out until she saw one turn-off that looked less cramped than the rest. She fought her way through and eventually halted in front of another girl. She was blocking the best way through the people. “Let me through.”, she demanded.

“How about a “hello”? Or just a “please” ?”, the other one retorted.

Zestia’s hand subconsciously went to clamp around the handle of her rapier, though there was hardly enough space for it here. “I will only ask you one more time. Let. Me. Through.”

“If you can say it politely like a normal person, then sure, no problem.”

In the span of seconds, Zestia had drawn her rapier and delivered two cuts over the other girl's legs. Blood slowly started to quill out of the wounds.

“Wtf lady!?”

Zestia closed in on her, blade now to her throat. “Are you really gonna make me waste even more of my time on you?”

“-Hey, hey, what do we have here, trouble?”, a new voice sounded from behind Zestia.

Seconds later another girl, apparently a Tiefling, appeared in Zestia’s peripheral vision.

“You don’t have to threaten people, if you can climb a bit I can show you a fast way out.”, the Tiefling said.

“Finally, somebody with brains.”, Zestia grumbled. She wiped the blood off her rapier and put it back into its sheath.

“Follow me!”, the Tiefling advised her.

They climbed up and then behind a bunch of wooden boxes on the side of the walk and that way easily came through the alley.

“There, now you’re out.”, the girl said and put her hand on Zestia’s shoulder. “And next time, just keep calm. No need to hurt people just for your own entitlement and short temper.”

Zestia felt something like cold dread sink into her shoulder, instinctively grabbed the hand on her shoulder, pushed the girl backwards against the wall of a house and drew a dagger. “Who allowed you to touch me?”, she hissed and pressed the dagger against the Tiefling’s throat.

“I did. And who allowed you to hurt that girl? And enjoy it!”

“Well by your logic, I did. And you’d do better to never touch me again, hell-spawn.”

“Sure thing Snakey. My work is already done anyway.”

Briefly Zestia wondered how the Tiefling knew her race but her rage over toned the thought. She slashed her dagger horizontally over the other girl’s collarbone. Blood started to push out of the cut. What do you mean?! Talk!”

“The other girl just laughed. Oh, ouch, scary. Listen, I know people like you. I saw it in your face, your body language, everything. You were enjoying hurting that woman. You don’t feel remorse and you would do it again. So I cursed you, and I’m the only one who can revoke the curse. But I am not going to.”

“You think you’re the only one who can do damage?”, Zestia asked. She raised the bloody dagger and wiped it on the Tiefling’s face before storing it back into the folds of her clothing. Then she hovered her hand over the girl’s chest. Slowly a thick green fluid started to drop out of her fingertips landing on the bloody cut. “That’s gonna kill you too, you know. But slowly and excruciatingly painful.”

“Oh, is it?”, the girl asked, cocking an eyebrow. Suddenly Zestia heard a sound like the sizzling of something cooking. She looked down again and saw that her poison was being evaporated by tiny flames dancing on the Tiefling’s skin and over her blood.

“Yeah, that’s not going to work either.”

Zestia hissed. But then her demeaner changed. She smiled/snared at the other, showing off sharp shining fangs. “You think you’re invincible, don’t you?”

“As a matter of fact I know I’m not.”, the Tiefling answered dryly.

"Yeah...You really aren't.", she drawled out, watching the Tiefling in front of her. She moved her right hand off of restraining her and grabbed her jaw instead. Forcing eye-contact.

Tierney felt weird. Like everything was muffled somehow. Oh shit. „Fuck no!“, Tierney spat out and tried to jerk her head away but Zestia held it in a bruising grip. And somehow she couldn‘t muster up all her strength. “No, no, no, stay here. Talk to me. What did you do to me?”

“I cursed you. You’ll die.”, Tierney answered, half enthralled.

“And what are the details of this curse?”

“I…won’t tell you. I’m the only one that can do it and you need more magic than you can muster up here. Alone.”

“Fuck.”, Zestia cursed and took a few moments to think. “Fine then. Give me all your weapons. Now.”

Tierney couldn’t help herself as she timidly handed over her daggers and darts.

“Good. Now let’s get out of here!”, she said and grabbed Tierney by the throat before shoving her towards the rough path into the woods. The mind control wouldn’t work much longer, especially on such a strong will, so she wanted to get the Tiefling isolated as soon as possible.

---

When Tierney came to she saw light shining through leaves and branches. The forest. She slowly regained full control over her conscience and stopped walking. Only then noticing that she even was walking.

Zestia walked a few more steps before stopping too and sighing. “So, you’re awake again, huh. Do you think you can manage to not be so much of a pain in my ass or do I have to lull you in again?”

Tierney gulped; it hadn’t been uncommon for her to encounter torturers with such skills but usually she was fine. She had practiced a lot to withstand it. It only worked when she was…scared.

Zestia turned around and inspected her kidnappee. A small smirk spread across her face as she took a few slow steps back to Tierney. “You look a little pale, Tiefling. What’s wrong, hm?”

“Nothing.”, Tierney matter-of.factly replies, raising an eyebrow. “But I don’t think another usage of mind control is necessary.”

“Hmm. If you say so. But one. Wrong move and you’re done. You understand hell-spawn?!”

“Yes. I heard you.”

“Good. Now move!”

Taglist: @yourlocalgaefae33, @princessofhe11, @greatkittencloud, @bisexuawolfsalt, @ailesswhumptober