Astra's Criminal Case Galaxy

Even Lions Get Sick

A/N: This is a belated birthday gift for my favourite clock friend, MyFaceHasNumbers! I'm a day late (it's still June 20th where I live!) due to procrastination, but better late than never!

A while back, they had suggested a story about Aslan high on pain medication and Vuk having to babysit him. So, I thought they might enjoy reading a story about Aslan annoying Vuk for their birthday! I also threw in some angst since Numbers has a love/hate relationship with it and a little fluff to end on a happy note.

So enjoy, Numbers, and Happy Belated Birthday!🥳 You have now joined me in being 23! We will soon have to reserve our spots in our retirement homes... I think the gray hairs are starting to show...

Vuk sat in the chair at Aslan's bedside, reading a book while waiting for his friend to wake up. Why was he waiting for Aslan to wake up, you might ask? Well, his idiot of a friend had gone out on a mission, alone, might he add, and gotten shot when the criminal tried to escape. Sure, Aslan had still managed to catch the thief despite the bleeding hole in his leg, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Aslan had to have emergency surgery to remove the bullet after Vuk had responded to the distress signal and brought Aslan and the criminal back to G.I.A. HQ.

The surgery went perfectly, and the doctors removed the bullet without any complications. They predicted that Aslan would have no lasting damage if he took his recovery seriously and would be back on his feet in no time. Vuk was relieved to hear that, as Aslan was not capable of staying still for very long, as anyone will attest to. Aslan's parents had been contacted and were on their way to visit after picking up Heimdall and Adalet from New Asgard, so until they arrived, it was Vuk's job to watch over Aslan.

Among the sounds of the machines Aslan was connected to, Vuk heard a soft hitch in the sleeping man's breathing. Years of experience told him that Aslan was slowly weakening from his slumber, so the Russian slid his bookmark between the pages he was reading and set it on the side table. As he turns to the bed, he sees Aslan's face scrunch up as his head sluggishly moves from side to side. Vuk reaches out and pets the soft black hair on his friend's head.

"Easy, Aslan," Vuk whispers, "take your time; the doctors said it would take a while for the sedation to wear off fully."

Aslan groans as he pries his eyelids open. He immediately shuts them as the harsh lights above blind him. Vuk gets up from his seat and walks to the light switches, dimming them to a soft glow. As he returns to his chair, Aslan's eyes flutter back open while they adjust to the more manageable lights. The hazy brown eyes soon turn to Vuk's but are unable to maintain eye contact with his turquoise ones.

"How are you feeling?" Vuk asks.

"Like I was shot..." Aslan answers in a raspy voice.

Vuk reaches for a glass of ice water on the bedside table and holds the straw to Aslan's lips.

"Suck," Vuk ordered.

Aslan frowns his brows, "you know you're not my type, Vuk...."

His eye twitches, "the straw, Aslan, suck the straw."

"Oh..." he closes his lips around the end of the straw and sucks. The cold liquid was refreshing on his dry throat and soothed the scratchy feeling. Once he had drunk enough to satisfy his thirst, Vuk put the cup back on the table. He turns around to find Aslan picking at his hospital gown with a confused frown on his face.

"Vuk... Why am I wearing this dress?" Aslan asks, playing with its sides.

"It's not a dress, As; it's a hospital gown," Vuk corrects.