How to Fly with Broken Wings...

Chapter Eight

The morning came, the two of them having slept peacefully through the night. As the sun streamed through the window, Kairo stirred awake, blinking his eyes open. He looked down to see Loomis still curled up against him, his face buried in his chest. A soft smile spread across Kairo's face as he gently brushed a strand of hair away from the Umbreon's forehead.

Loomis slept soundly, not even twitching until it was time for Kairo to leave for classes. Kairo carefully untangled himself from Loomis, doing his best not to wake him up too soon. He took a moment to look at the sleeping Umbreon, admiring the peaceful expression on his face. With a sigh, he grabbed his bag and headed out the door, looking forward to the day ahead but also a bit reluctant to leave Loomis alone.

Loomis continued to sleep while Kairo left to attend his classes, and when the Miraidon returned to the dorm room hours later, Loomis was still in bed.

Kairo saw Loomis still in bed, and a pang of worry shot through him. He dropped his bag on the floor and walked over to the bed, gently shaking the Umbreon's shoulder. "Hey, sleepyhead... time to wake up."

Loomis let out a soft groan of displeasure, curling into himself.

Kairo's expression softened at the sight of Loomis curling into a ball, clearly not ready to wake up yet. He shook his shoulder again, this time more firmly. "Come on, Lou. You can't sleep the day away..."

Loomis mumbled something incoherent. He couldn't find it in him to care right now. He felt like he could sleep for days. His panic attack had sent his body into a state of exhaustion, the mental, emotional, and physical toll of overworking himself in full effect.

Kairo's expression softened as he saw how tired Loomis was. He knew that the panic attack had taken a lot out of him, and he couldn't blame him for wanting to sleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed, running his fingers through the Umbreon's hair again. "I know you're sleepy, Lou... but you need to eat something and take care of yourself. Can you do that for me?"

Loomis hadn't eaten since the night before, and he had thrown it all up, now going on two days empty. He hardly felt hungry, all he wanted was to stay in bed. "I'm... fine..." He managed to whisper out.

Kairo frowned at Loomis's mumbled response. He could hear the fatigue in his voice and knew that he was far from fine. He placed a hand on Loomis's forehead, feeling for any signs of fever or illness. "You're not fine. You haven't eaten anything since yesterday, have you?" He said, his voice laced with concern.

Loomis shivered at Kairo's touch, heat radiating from him in waves. He couldn't find the energy to respond, his lips parting and his breaths coming out in soft wheezes.

Kairo's frown deepened as he felt the warmth coming from Loomis's body. He placed the back of his hand on the Umbreon's forehead, confirming his suspicions. "You're burning up..." He murmured, his nervousness for the smaller boy growing by the second.

Loomis curled into an even tighter ball, pulling the blankets closer. He was still in his clothes from two days ago, snuggling into his leather jacket as though he was cold, when his body was on fire.

Kairo's heart clenched as he watched Loomis trying to make himself as small as possible. He knew that something was seriously wrong with the Umbreon. He gently pulled the blankets off of him, ignoring the protests and objections. "Lou, you're going to get worse if you don't take care of yourself." He said firmly, his voice filled with a mixture of worry and determination.

Loomis groaned again, this time more exasperated. "Why does that include taking off the blankets? It's freezing in here..." He huffed, his voice still groggy with sleep.

Kairo rolled his eyes at Loomis's complaint, clearly not buying into his claim of being cold. "You're not cold, you're running a fever." He said bluntly, grabbing Loomis by the wrists and pulling him into a sitting position.