route_1065 | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who:

usedtherapy
Where: Dave and John’s hotel room
When: Valentine’s Day, later in the afternoon
Summary: After delivering almost all her Valentine’s day gifts, Rose decides to visit John to give him his present and see if he’s feeling any better.
Rating: No higher than PG (and probably not even that…)
Log:
In addition to being dateless, John was also sick and had therefore decided to skip all the Valentine’s Day shenanigans in favor of staying inside to watch TV and play with his pokemon. However, unbeknownst to him, Slimer (his prankster of a Gastly) had decided it would be downright hysterical to switch his master’s daytime cough medicine with the stronger, sleep-inducing nighttime stuff. How he managed to do this is another story entirely, and probably one which will never be told.

So by the time three o’clock rolled around, John was out like a light on the couch, wrapped up in what was most likely every blanket in he and Dave’s hotel room. And that’s how he remained for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening. Casey, his Buneary, was asleep next to him because…hey, apparently it was naptime and she wasn’t going to complain about that! Before falling asleep herself though, she had taken John’s glasses off because he was just so silly and so tired that he had apparently forgotten to do so. And that was weird to her, because…~~daddy~~ John always takes his glasses off before naptime! It was just one of those facts of life!

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"Well just a little bit! It's really not oh, okay--"

He takes the glass and takes a drink.

"No he hasn't. He's actually been taking pretty good care of me. I was kind of surprised to tell you the truth."

Because, come on. It's Dave Strider. Who would expect that? And look at who raised him. Every time he thought about that, John found himself wondering how Dave even made it to age four, let alone thirteen.

Staring.

She is just staring at him, because come on. It's Dave Strider. Who would expect that?

"Really? I mean, the way he took care of us when we first arrived was pretty nice, but I wouldn't expect him to keep up with it. Huh."

Back to sitting and pressing a cool wash cloth to his head and generally taking care of him.

"I'm relieved to hear that though," she says with a smile that definitely says relieved, and maybe just a little affection is in there? Hard to tell though.

"Like I said, I was surprised too. But, I'm not complaining."

He closed his eyes and leaned forward into the washcloth a bit. It really was quite soothing. Was he drifting off again? Maybe a little bit. But mostly just enjoying the moment. It really was quite nice.

And she supported him as he did so, watching him a while.

"John, don't fall asleep. I will need to re-soak this eventually."

"I'm not, I'm one hundred percent awake. Nope, not falling asleep. Not me."

He is just so convincing isn't he? All kinds of convincing here. He is totally not about 30 seconds from falling back asleep here. Nope. Not at all.

And this is the face of her being completely convinced. After a while, she indeed need to soak it. Pulling the bowl closer, she wondered what to do with the surely sleeping John. She started gently pulling the washcloth away, laying him down in the process, head in her lap. With a shake of her head, she soaked the washcloth and places it back against his forehead, relaxing back against the couch.

She likely wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

If it weren't for the fact that he had once again (sure enough) slipped off into an easy sleep, John probably would have felt pretty awkward about this. But as he had very little idea of what exactly was going on, it didn't take much to get him into this position that might (to someone who didn't know any better) look like something resembling innocent intimacy.

Casey settled herself on Rose's other side, looking up at her with an adorable look on her face that just begged for pets and/or cuddles.

The little Buneary certainly got plenty of pets and cuddles from Rose's free hand. What had she allowed herself to get roped into? Still though, she sat patiently; one hand on the bunny Pokemon, one fiddling with John's hair, and eventually she drifted off as well.

How long did they stay like this? Hard to say. They probably would have remained this way for much longer had it not been for the small ping! from John's pokégear that finally caused him to stir. He opened his eyes groggily, about to reach for the small device when he realized that his head was laying on something that was distinctly not a pillow. Suddenly it didn't really matter who that message on the pokégear was from.

He sat up quickly, feeling incredibly flustered and several different kinds of awkward. He seemed to have missed something here...what just happened? And why was Rose asleep? Casey no help at all as she too was fast asleep, curled up on the couch next to Rose.

What was he supposed to do: wake her up or let her keep sleeping? On the one hand, it would be rude to wake her when she was apparently sleeping so peacefully...but on the other hand he couldn't just let her stay here all night. For one thing, this wasn't even his room, he was ~~freeloading~~ just here temporarily until he could afford his own hotel room. (Or at least pay for part of this one)

The result of this internal debate was a very half-hearted wake-up attempt. He gave her shoulder a tentative little shake, speaking in a quiet voice that sounded more like a rasp than anything else (stupid cold).

"Um...Rose?"

She made a small noise, but that was the only acknowledgment he was given, her hand that used to occupy John's forehead coming up to bat at whatever was trying to wake him up. It was a pretty weak attempt though, especially considering half way through she just pulled her knees onto the couch and curled up further.

Biting his lower lip, he tried shaking her arm a little bit harder. He felt really bad about doing this but it couldn't be helped. She just couldn't stay here, despite these invading thoughts that seemed to wish that she would stay. Brush those aside John, pull yourself together.

"Rose, wake up Rose. Come on...wakey wakey."

This time, Rose stretched with a yawn, rubbing at her eyes before blinking blearily in John's direction, obviously somewhat confused.

"What is it John?"

"You...um...fell asleep."

That's really all he has to say on the matter. Where was he going with this? Not even he knows.

"Well, I gathered that much, as I have just woken up." Even in her groggy state, she reaches forward to feel his forehead, checking for his fever.

There's a sharp intake of breath as she puts her hand to his forehead. His embarrassed blush is probably not helping with his already too-high temperature, but hopefully Rose wouldn't notice a differe-- yeah right, who does he think he's kidding?

"Um, yeah."

"...are you alright?" Hand to his cheek now. "Your fever seems to have gone down, however your cheeks are flushed. You aren't feeling feint or anything, correct?"

"N-No, I'm fine!"

He shakes his head vigorously, perhaps a little too vigorously because a moment later he's wincing and holding his head.

"Ow, I think I just...scrambled my brain."

She just woke up, John. It is too early to be taking care of you.

Standing, she stumbles a little before finding her way to the bathroom, painkillers on he mind for her poor friend. Once found, she returns, handing two pills to him.

"Take those. Make sure to drink plenty of water with it."

He sniffles. Man, he is just falling apart isn't he? After receiving the pills, he looks down at his knees and mumbles:

"Thanks."

He pops the pills into his mouth and look Rose, he even remembered to drink some water! Even though it's kind of warm at this point and that's just the tiniest bit nasty. He resists the urge to shudder and stick out his tongue with moderate success. His tongue stays in his mouth, but he kinda...cringes a bit.

Watching to make sure he takes it with success, she can't help but feel the slightest bit sorry for him. He looks like a kicked puppy. At this present moment, he had to be the most pathetic looking creature she had ever seen.

Sitting next to him, and with great hesitation, she tugs him into a hug, mumbling quietly.

"Look. I just want you to recuperate and feel better. It was my fault you became ill in the first place, and I would feel terrible if it were to get worse."

He just sits there in here arms, stunned...what? How could she possibly think this was her fault? It wasn't really anyone's fault. Well...maybe his, he probably shouldn't have fooled around in the snow as much as he did on the way up here. Rolling around in the snow trying to make yourself into a giant snowball had seemed like an awesome idea at the time, even if it did work. Lesson learned: if Gamzee thinks it's a good idea, don't do it.

"It's not your fault. And I told you: I'll be okay. But thanks for worrying anyway."

He wasn't sure if that was something you should say thank you for, but he was touched all the same. And he figured that was a good enough reason to say thank you as any.

"If I had been a better leader, rather than allowing you to frolic in the snow as you had, you likely would not be sick now. It is my fault."

A few more moments of hugging before she withdraws, sitting down to look at him with a slight smile.

"You had most certainly get better. If I have to stop by every day to ensure that, I will, though if Dave really is taking as good care of you as you say I likely won't have to, will I?"

He rolls his eyes and makes an exasperated tch noise. Only Rose would rationalize it like that way.

"I still would have done it anyway. Besides, you did just fine as leader. You managed to get us here in one piece after all."

He fiddles with the hem of his shirt.

"Well if you want to I won't stop you, but you don't have to. After all I wouldn't want to keep you from enjoying yourself as long as we're here."

Arms are crossing again.

"You would have done it anyway?" She is obviously quite disappointed with this answer, John. Her scorn melts away at his second response.

"John, as long as a friend is sick, I will not fully enjoy myself. I will simply have to drop in at some point."

Shaaaammmeeee! He can just feel the displeasure and scorn radiating off of Rose. He shrinks back a bit, lifting his arms in front of his face in a shielding reflex that is natural to all nerds. ~~Please don't hit me!~~

He's caught a bit off-guard when the scorn-waves stop though, and even more off guard by what she says. All he can think to say is:

"Um, okay."

Yeah he's just full of wit and charm tonight, isn't he?