PJO/HOO Sickfics and Prompts

Can't. Stop. Sneezing

Synopsis: Frank is stuck at home with a particularly sneezy head cold. Hazel helps. Requested by KeilaMarie102

After the first sneeze, Frank didn't suspect that anything was wrong. He didn't even think anything of the second or third sneeze. With the fourth sneeze, he thought something was amiss.

By the fifth sneeze, he knew that he was getting sick. Schist.

---

Frank had known that a cold was coming on, but he'd had no idea it was going to be this bad. From the moment he woke up, his head felt heavy and had the sensation that it was stuffed full of cotton. His sinuses pounded, and his throat burned with every swallow.

On top of that, he just couldn't. stop. sneezing.

Frank dragged himself out of bed, sneezed, and fumbled around for a tissue as his nose began to drip. Finding the tissue box on his nightstand empty from last night's constant sneezing (the announcement of a cold coming on), he groaned frustratedly and shuffled downstairs to the living room area. A box of tissues sat on the coffee table, while Hazel sat on the couch. She was grinning at first, then her smile faded into a look of concern when she watched Frank grab a fistful of tissues and blow his nose.

"You alright?" She asked hesitantly.

Frank sneezed. "Cad't stop sdeezing." His voice was rough and his speech affected from the congestion.

"Are you sick?" Even in this state, he noticed that Hazel was adorable, perched on the edge of the couch in his Praetor's villa, eyebrows scrunched together in concern.

Frank waved his hand. "Jus' a cold."

When he sneezed again, he found himself continuing to sneeze in a full-blown sneezing fit, and then, much to his annoyance, he had to blow his nose again. Hazel pursed her lips, then got up from the couch and stood on her tiptoes so that she would be able to reach his forehead. Placing her palm on his forehead, she sighed.

"I don't know for sure, but I think... I think you have a fever." Hazel frowned. "Maybe you should go to the infirmary, just to be sure."

"Good idea." Frank said, between sneezes. "Maybe they can do something to get rid of this cold."

---

Spoiler alert: they couldn't.

Frank had been sent back to bed with orders for bed rest and plenty of fluids. Once the couple reached Frank's villa, he turned around to say goodbye to Hazel, and thanks for taking him to the infirmary, but the daughter of Pluto made her intentions clear.

"Oh, no. I'm staying with you." She said. As tiny as she was, she was really good at being assertive.

"You... You are?" Frank stammered, sniffling.

"Of course. Someone has to be here in your time of sickness." Hazel told him. "And personally, I think I can be a really good nursemaid for the day."

"You might catch this." Frank warned, referring to his illness. Hazel, being from the 1940s and the underworld, did not have a strong immune system.

"I don't care." She argued stubbornly. "You need me."

"Probably true." Frank sneezed, then smiled. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, what do you need?"

"Could you go track down some more tissues?" He asked. "I have a feeling we'll need a lot more of them, the way things are going right now."

Hazel laughed. "Of course. I'll be right back." Go back to bed and try to get some rest. Something tells me you were up all night sneezing."

Frank chuckled, which turned into a cough. "How did you know?"

He trudged back up the stairs to his bedroom, changed into a fresh pair of pajamas, then crawled back into his bed, getting back under the covers with a sneeze and a cough. Now that he was back in his bed, he realized exactly how tired he was, and his eyelids grew heavy. With a yawn and another sneeze, Frank rolled over and closed his eyes. He found that he was out like a light.

He woke up sometime later to his nose running ad a sneeze coming on. He sniffled and sneezed loudly, then became aware of Hazel's presence in his bedroom.

"Hey." He croaked, flashing her a smile, which he was sure he looked awful, with his runny nose and watery eyes.

"Hi, Frank. I have your tissues." She padded softly over to his bedside and handed him the box. 

"Thanks." He sneezed, tearing open the packaging and grabbing a few tissues so that he could blow his nose.

"I also got some cold medicine for you." Hazel said. "I"ll be right back." she went downstairs and returned with a glass of water and two pills, along with a small cup of syrup.

"Thanks, Hazel." Frank sniffled, taking the water and pills from her, while she held on to the cup.

"The pills are just for your fever and headache." She explained. "Take those, then the syrup is for the sneezing and coughing."

Frank swallowed both pills with a gulp of water, which made him painfully aware of the sore throat he had, then took the little cup of the syrup from his girlfriend. He made a face at the sickly sweet taste.

"That is not grape." He said, staring at the empty cup accusingly.

Hazel laughed. "This will probably make you sleep for a while."

She climbed up in bed next to him, and sure enough, Frank felt his eyes growing heavy.

Anyone have any other requests for stories or prompts?