#but at the same time no. i'm 100% sure the hate increased considerably after he was shown to be alive in the Remake

[priceofreedom]

funny how everyone seemed to adore Zack until he started having more screentime...

[justmeandmysickies]

@angstyaches I'm still not 100% satisfied with how this turned out but I hope it's still enjoyable. As always thanks for your request.

He isn't scared, just a little worried

characters: Nick and Joe warnings: emeto, panic attacks

"Babe, you need to calm down."

"Calm down, my ass! I'm about to get on a plane! Do you know how slim the chances of survival are in the case of a plane crash?“

"In fact, I do. They are at about 95%. So you'll be fine. Whether we crash or not."

Joe was stuck somewhere between anger and having a panic attack. He had gone from claiming to be fine to snappy and annoyed; and a while ago he had announced that he was feeling nauseous so the two of them had relocated to the bathroom. Instead of sitting down however, Joe simply started pacing around the small room.

Nick really wanted to help his boyfriend, but the problem was: nothing he said or did seemed to do the trick.

"Great, smartass. That makes me feel better." Joe stated sarcastically, stopping for a second to glare at his boyfriend.

"It should."

"Well it doesn't!" Joe snapped, his breathing picking up in pace. This was exactly why he never flew. Even the hours before the flight sucked ass and he never knew how to deal with himself in these situations. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

"I think I'm sick." He said, trying but failing to take a deep breath.

Nick was confused at the sudden statement. "Sick? Why do you think that?“

"I feel nauseous and it's hard to breathe. Maybe I caught a bug."

Nicholas couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.

"What the hell is so funny?"

"You being oblivious." Joe raised an eyebrow at that. "You're not sick, babe. You're panicking. It's no secret you're scared of flying so I'm not surprised you're feeling this way."

"I'm not scared, I'm just a little worried that's all." Nick wasn't sure if Joe was trying to convince him or rather himself.

The pacing helped a little bit, it took Joes mind off the thoughts racing through his head. Unfortunately he was getting considerably dizzy. Enough to make him stop walking for a second as he felt the room starting to tilt. He held onto the sink with one hand and pressed the other to his mouth as he started salivating. The nausea increased overwhelmingly and he repositioned himself so that he was leaning over the toilet.

"I'm gonna puke."

Nick sighed. "No, you're not. Will you please just relax? You'll be fine, I promise."

"No, I'm actually gonna puke." He'd just finished his sentence when a harsh gag forced it's way out of his mouth. His knees buckled and he would have hit the floor if it hadn't been for Nick who caught him just in time. He'd grabbed him under his arms and lowered him to the ground gently.

"Relax, let it happen. You might feel better after." Nick was a little taken aback by the fact that his boyfriend was actually going to vomit. He’d thought the brunette was just being a bit dramatic.

Joe however, had no intention to 'let it happen'. He fought down the next gag, forcefully swallowing against the feeling.

He had been sitting on the bathroom floor for almost 20 minutes now, doing nothing but spitting nauseously into the toilet every now and then.

"I can't believe you actually convinced me to go to Australia." Joe moaned, leaning back over the toilet. It was getting harder and harder to fight the nausea.

Nick was really trying to help but he was simply at a loss for what to do. He had never seen his boyfriend freak out like that before and if he was being entirely honest, he was a little overwhelmed with the situation.

They still had almost two hours before they had to leave for the airport, but Joe was a nervous wreck already.

"Seriously, how did I let you talk me into flying? I hate this." Joe groaned, carefully putting a hand on his stomach. His nausea was increasing with every passing minute.

Nick had heard that exact same sentence over and over again during the last few hours and he was getting irritated. It seemed like his boyfriend wasn't even trying to be reasonable. He was still obviously fighting being sick, not even considering the fact that it might make him feel better.

"Fine. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. I'll just visit my parents by myself and I'll see you in a week." Nick said, tone uncharacteristically serious.

Joe was quiet for a moment before he sighed heavily. He knew how much Nick hated visiting his parents, especially alone. He would never admit it but he would choose his own pain over his boyfriend’s any time.

"No, I'm coming." Initially he was going to add 'I'll be fine' but Joe honestly wasn't so sure about that. Even if they could survive a plane crash, they would probably end up paralyzed. Or even worse, what if only one of them made it out alive? How would the other live with that for the rest of their life? And just the thought of the plane going down-

He hadn't even realized his breathing getting out of control until Nick put a hand to his chest.

"Baby, stop. Seriously. You need to take a deep breath, okay? Get that breathing under control." All anger Nick had felt just a few seconds ago immediately made space for worry as Joe started to hyperventilate. Seeing his usually so composed boyfriend in this state was actually giving Nick goosebumps.

Joe tried to take a breath, tried not to think about everything that could happen, but his mind kept wandering to the picture of a crash. The feeling of the plane going down - diving straight to the floor.

As the plane in his thoughts dropped, his stomach followed suit. He gagged harshly at the feeling, making Nick jump a little.

"Babe, can you try to take a breath for me, please?" Nick tried but Joe wasn't having any of it.

"I don't need help breathing Nick, I'm not a child." That statement sounded quite ridiculous coming from someone who was panting harder than he would after running 10 miles.

It didn't matter though if he accepted his situation or not. He couldn’t fight his body any longer - it was taking control and Joe had no say in it.

His panting turned into retching. Dry at first but soon a particularly nasty sounding retch finally brought up a wave of foul-smelling liquid.

Nick cringed as his boyfriend gasped for air before heaving up a second round of vomit.

In between waves of sick, Joe was fighting for every breath. His face was ashen, and Nick was seriously worried the younger was going to pass out right then and there. He put an arm around Joe, so that he wouldn't fall forward and hit his head on the toilet seat, just in case.

This went on for three minutes and by the time Joe had finished being sick, black spots were dancing in his vision.

"What the hell just happened?" Joe breathed out, wiping his mouth with a piece of toilet paper.

"You freaked out and made yourself puke. That can happen when you panic, it's usually no reason to worry too much." Nick answered honestly as he carefully rubbed circles on his boyfriends back.

"So did I just have a- like a panic attack?"

Nick felt a pang of sympathy at the question. Joe wasn't used to feeling like this. Back when he was living on the streets, he had learned to lock away his feelings. All of them. Even his fears. And something as simple as flying leaving him this vulnerable must have felt horrible.

"Yeah, something like that. You worked yourself up babe, it happens. Don't overthink it. How are you feeling now?" Nick asked, noting how Joes breathing seemed to have calmed down significantly.

"Better, I think. I can breathe better. Not as nauseous." Exhaustion was evident in his voice, but Nick was still relieved to see his boyfriend slowly return back to normal.

"I still don't want to get on the plane." Joe mumbled almost non-audibly as he got back to his feet. It wasn’t like him to whine like that, but he couldn’t help it.

Nick sighed. "Josh, when I said you could stay here, I meant it. I'll be fine."

Once again Joe shook his head at the offer. "I'm afraid you might take your mom's head off if I'm not there to supervise you."

"Well, I'm not making any promises and I'll be sure to make you an accomplice so we can go to jail together. I wouldn't want you to miss an adventure like that." Nick said sweetly, giving his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek.

The latter rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. I guess I'll have to go with you then, to make sure you stay out of trouble."

Nick smiled but he was still worried. "Are you sure? It's a 15-hour flight after all."

"I'm not sure at all but backing out is not an option. It's not like I haven't flown before, I don't know why this time is so bad."

"You're just having a bad day, that's all. We still have about 15 minutes left before we have to leave for the airport. Do you wanna cuddle on the couch like a real domestic couple?" Nick suggested it in his usual silly manner, but he meant it.

Joe scrunched up his face. "Ew."

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Yes."

Nick smiled like a dork as he led his boyfriend to the couch. Joe would be fine. He always was.