Storm (G/T)

Sick of Being Sick

The least I can do while Austin's in his ill state is try to get him back to normal. It's been a few days now and he's been doing his best to stay away from me, but still being unsuccessful. Thankfully, in his illness he's been more reclusive, cutting his energy and activity in half. I truly do feel bad, but it helps me feel safer. With this lack of energy, I've been more willing to talk to him and gain his trust of me not leaving, as he's gained mine for not hurting me in a while. It's feedback loop that I can be content with. "Hey, can I do anything to help?"

"Probably not," the giant's back faces me as he lays curled up on the couch.

"Well, do you need anything?"

"I suppose I could use more water and medicine," his muffled voice sounds. "But I'm not going to make you-"

"Be right back." I already turn around and start walking when a hand stops me. My head turns to meet the bagged eyes of who blocked me. His bright orange hair, usually curly and full of volume, lays limp as a mop across his forehead, like a dying flame. "I thought you weren't going to get me sick," I smirk. He huffs, rolls his eyes and lifts his hand up, rolling back into his former position.

"I don't want you to risk getting hurt just because I'm thirsty."

"Well, I don't want you to be pissy all day because you're sick and I can't help." I continue on my way, trying to get to the kitchen. Austin simply sighs and gets up, walking slowly and loudly to retrieve it for me. "Hey, can you walk a little louder?" I ask, making fun of his lack of care for volume. "I can't really hear you."

He glares down at me, and stomps louder over to the kitchen. The vibrations are definitely enough to scare me, but I brought it upon myself, so I can't get upset. It's not easy keeping up with him, even at his trudging pace, so I just stand back and wait for him to return.

I hear a running faucet and the opening of a pill bottle. After a minute or so, he trudges back, still not worrying about sound but looking down to make sure I'm not around. He catches my eyes and his already lax nature gets even less tense. "I'm sorry about being loud," his voice is deep and raspy right now. "I'm just getting really under the weather. I'll be fine soon. Thanks for not being too upset about this." He flops back onto the couch, sighing once more.

"Well..." I try to think of something to say. "Just hang in there, I don't like to see you down like this." Did I really just say that? Never in a million years would I have cared about him before!

He smiles warmly, grabbing a tissue. "Thank you, Robin. That means a lot." He blows into it, squinting hard. "I hate this." He crumples the tissue and tosses it to a trashcan, barely making it in. "I can't do anything for you right now."

"I can manage myself, but I get it," I drop to the ground and sit there, legs out.

"Alright, fuck that," Austin bursts out. "You aren't going to just sit on the floor while I'm all comfy-cozy on here. You can come up on the couch, so long as you're away from me." The seats on the couch must be about twenty feet up. Well, it's worth trying.

I latch onto the couch's fabric, which is much harder to do since it's tightly woven against the frame of the furniture. He simply watches as I struggle to get up, but I notice he's holding back from helping me. It means a lot to me that he wants to make it easier for me, but I can handle this myself. My elbows finally reach to the seat of the sofa, and I roll onto it, scooting back a few feet.

"You did i-!" He comes so close to finishing his sentence before coughing into his sleeve. "Sorry. But I'm so happy you're as self-sufficient as you are," he sniffles. "It makes things easier for me in this state."

"I kind of prefer this. When you're super jumpy and active, I can never predict what's going to happen next. I think that's what made you scary, you had a lot of energy and I was a good outlet for it. Well, that and you being taller than a house."

His eyes widen, almost like he's as scared of himself as any human would be. "There is no way I'm taller than a house."

"You're much taller than that, I promise. Even a tall house must come up to about your elbow."

"Goodness, I really am terrifying," he half-smiles, clearly tired. "As for my lack of energy, you like me because of how lazy I am right now?"

"Maybe, but I also just... trust you a bit more I guess." We keep eye contact for a long second. "I know what sets you off and how to avoid it now, and I know you'd never hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it."

He laughs. "I would never hurt anyone intentionally, whether I think they 'deserve it' or not. Humans are weird. You get mad then get scared when you're confronted about it."

"Correction: We get mad then get scared when we're cornered by giants."

"Fine, that's valid. Still, you're a wild card." 

We just kinda stare at each other for a few seconds. Even when he's tired and sickly, his dark eyes have a glint of care and motivation in them. In any other instance, I'd be terrified, but there's something about his eyes that make me feel something. I feel warm. I feel safe. I feel at home.

"Well, since you don't want me getting things for you and I can't touch you or anything, I feel like dead weight, Can I do anything else to help?" I ask, not breaking eye contact.

"You're already helping more than you'll ever know." His lips form a small smile.

My heart melts.