Why Don't We Sickfics

Cancer

●{there is a little-- just a little-- just a tiny, tiny bit of a ship in this }●

Jonah clambered out of bed, letting out a deep groan as he felt the familiar ache deep within his joints.

He missed feeling normal.

Just about a month after the band's two-year anniversary, he'd started to notice he wasn't the same as he used to be. He would go for a hike with the boys and his joints still wouldn't feel better after a night's rest. He'd barely tap a limb, or not even do anything, and find bruises on his skin. He felt awkward whenever they went to the pool and the dark purple spots on his limbs were plain to see.

He started feeling more and more tired as the weeks passed. He would go to bed early, and wake up at a reasonable time, but Jonah was still exhausted every single day... as he was right this very morning.

He walked gingerly to the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee, leaning against the counter in an attempt to rest his aching knees.

"Good morning, Jo." Daniel said brightly as he bounced into the room.

"Morning." Jonah sighed, tapping his finger on the coffee machine impatiently.

Daniel grabbed his watermelon slices from the fridge and sat down at the table. He pulled out his phone and ate in silence.

Jonah took his finished coffee and turned to sit with Daniel, grunting slightly at the pain in his hips. He gazed out the window at the forested backyard, remembering a time when he was still strong enough to hike the trails every week.

"Hey." Daniel said suddenly, frowning at his phone.

"Hm?" Jonah murmured as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Have you lost weight?" Daniel asked, his voice sounding more confused than anything.

"What? No." Jonah said defensively, adjusting his hoodie.

"Dude, hear me out." Daniel said. "Here's a picture of you from when we first started the band. I never thought about it, you were always the muscle-y one, but you don't look the same at all."

Jonah glanced at Daniel's phone, taking it gently from the younger boy's hand.

Some fan had taken shirtless pictures of each band member when the band first started out, and put them right beside pictures they'd taken the last time they went to the beach, probably a week or two ago.

Jonah scrolled to his "transformation".

Did I really lose weight?

2016 Jonah had looked healthy. He remembered liking the hardness of the strong muscles in his back every time he stretched, the way the outline of his biceps grazed the edges of his shirt.

2019 Jonah looked horrible in comparison. His face was gaunt, his skin pale. The bags under his eyes were darker. His muscles were barely defined, he could nearly see his own ribs. For a while, he had thought his clothes were starting to stretch. Maybe that was why his jeans were all becoming baggy.

Daniel gently took his phone back. "Jonah... are you okay?" The blue eyes delved into the older boy's soul.

Jonah swallowed, a "yes" on the tip of his tongue. He had to be okay, right? It wasn't like he had been doing anything wrong. Had he been feeling weird? Maybe it was because he didn't play baseball anymore? Well--

"Jo?" Daniel pleaded.

"I-- don't know." the older boy muttered, uncertain.

"What's going on?" Corbyn asked as he joined the table. "Why do you guys look so concerned?"