Chapter Text
Nath's head pulses painfully as he stirs, burying the side of face into his pillow. The rough cotton is, regrettably, soaked in sweat, and the feeling makes him wince with disgust. He runs warm. Far too warm for it to not be a fever, unfortunately for him. That should probably get taken care of.
It takes a few minutes to really get up and out of bed, much to his annoyance. His body aches in all the wrong ways, and he vaguely considers calling in sick for once, with how shitty he feels. Though the thought is quickly shaken. Don't they have an upcoming performance soon? It'd be an asshole move to not show up at practice now of all times.
Guess he's going, then.
He swings his legs over the bed in one swift motion, standing and padding over to his kitchenette to pop an Advil and get on with his day. He can't afford to miss practice, damnit. But when opening the white medication bottle, his gaze is fixed on its contents. Or rather, its lack thereof. He must've forgotten to throw the bottle out yesterday. And he doesn't have anymore, that was the last of his painkillers. Fuck.
He’d buy more, but he's got no money to spare. Not with his rent due just around the corner. His headache grows, pressure incessantly pounding behind his eyelids. He mentally resigns himself. Ah well, what to do. He chucks the bottle into the trash can without a word, before swiveling back on his feet to get a glass of water. Come on, Nath. Just get through today. All he has to do is drink enough and not overwork himself— he'll be fine.
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A shower and train ride later, He isn't quite sure he can keep this up. The walk from the subway to Leo's shop was fine, but the moment his hands hover over the band room's handle, he hesitates. There's no doubt he looks like shit, especially with the dark circles under his eyes. Night shifts are a bitch. Hopefully he'll be able to play it off, though. It really isn't that bad, he doesn't think. His fingers wrap around the cold metal and he pushes the door open.
“You’re late,” Mave's clipped tone greets him, not looking up from where he's tuning his guitar. Still a stickler for tardiness, it seems. Not cutting him any slack despite being together. It almost makes his lips curl into a fond smile. Nath rolls his eyes as he sets down his bass case to start fiddling with the zipper. “Yeah, by five minutes. It's the weekend, cut me some slack.” He easily shoots back, pulling out his bass and slinging its strap over his shoulder.
A wave of dizziness washes over him and he bites his lip, trying to focus on staying upright. Right. Take a deep breath, drink some water. He can do this. He can get through today. Just a couple more hours.
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His fingers slide across the fretboard, the motion ingrained in his muscle memory. There's a pretty wide key change between the songs in their line up. Not that it's a large deal, but more than once has he caught himself close to slipping up. It's annoying. Frustrating, even. A bead of sweat drips down his forehead, sliding to his chin before eventually dripping onto his jacket.
He feels far too warm to be wearing layers right now. His brows furrowed in concentration, plucking the bass strings with practiced motions. In his peripheral vision, he can see Mave lean in and grab the mic stand, no doubt pouring his all into the lyrics. But then there's a loud ringing in his ears that throws him off guard, causing him to miss a bar. He winces when he sees the others send him a concerned glance, but shakes his head in response.
That might not have been the best idea though, his headache worsening at the quick motion. He ends up losing his footing with his lack of balance, but in trying to steady his stance, his foot gets caught on one of the cables. It sends him shoulder first into the wall, without much warning.
His right arm bursts with pain. The whole world goes silent for a second, before a cacophony of voices assault his poor head. Shit, his bass— it's not damaged, is it? He pries his eyes open to take a look, but is instead greeted with the sight of Mave, holding him up. Leo, Walker, and Roy seemed to have come closer too, all of them looking at him concerned.
“I’m—” Wow, his voice sounds hoarse. “—fine, guys.” He grits out. Mave shoots him an unimpressed look.
“ ‘Fine’ my ass. You could've gotten injured just now, idiot. Why didn't you say anything?”
Nath scowls at the redhead, using his admittedly hurting arm to swat away Mave's hands. He refuses to meet the other's eyes.
“I just tripped . No biggie” He bites back, fingers flitting over his bass. Just assessing any possible damage. From the side, he can see everyone else's concerned gazes.
Eventually, one of them speaks up.
“You're obviously under the weather, Nath.” Roy says apologetically, fiddling with his drumsticks.
“I agree with Roy, Nath. If you need a break, just tell us.” Leo pipes in, gesturing with his hand.
Nath wants to scoff at that.
“Just because I'm a little sick doesn't mean I can't practice.”
This time, it's Mave that scoffs. “No.”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘no’?” Nath looks at Mave incredulously.
“It means you're sitting out the rest of practice.” Mave says matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.
“Hey, who are you to decide that?!”
He tries to step forward into Mave's space, but his balance decides it doesn't want to work anymore. Sending him buckling to the floor. Fortunately, Mave catches him again. The redhead looks at him unimpressed.
He glances over to the others, but they're all wearing the same worried expressions.
“ ..fine. ” Nath begrudgingly agrees, sending a chorus of sighs (of relief) from around the room.
Nath relegates himself to sitting off to the side, bass placed in his case. A part of him is fuming, in all honesty. His bandmates telling him to sit aside stings. But deep down, he knows they're right. Might as well try to pay attention to the others. Maybe he'll be able to give feedback— so he isn't just sitting around doing nothing.
And yet two songs in and Nath is already losing focus. His headache pulses painfully behind his eyes, the pressure making it hurt. Not to mention he's dizzy out of his mind, too. He brings a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose, but it doesn't do much for him. Eventually he just lets his arm fall away, limbs too heavy to keep in place. He'll just close his eyes for now, since he feels rather drowsy. It's sudden when the all encompassing exhaustion pulls him under.
He's out before he can hit the floor.
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The first thing he registers when he wakes is the bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling. It has him shutting his eyes just as they open, the white light making his head hurt.
Wait. Where the hell is he?
He scrambles through his memories, trying to remember what happened. What was he doing? He can remember waking up and heading over to Leo's shop, and starting practice… he can't remember anything after that. Something happened during practice, but he can't put his finger on it.
His right hand feels warm. Why on earth is it warm? He peels his eyes open again, this time actually processing his surroundings. There's a teal curtain around him, and he's on a stretcher. The hospital? That alone is raising alarm bells in his head. Looking at his left arm, he's still wearing his jacket at least. So maybe he's not admitted? It's hard to make sense of anything when he can't remember how he got here.
Looking over to his right, his sleeve is rolled up, an IV needle placed in his upper arm. And… a mop of red hair?
That’s when his memories finally click. He jolts up right, or at least tries to, before letting his head fall back onto the pillow. His head hurts far too much for this. The movement must've startled Mave awake though, the figure stirring from his sleep. Still holding onto his hand. His cheeks grow warm.
Mave looks at him with something akin to surprise and relief. Meanwhile, Nath is internally freaking out.
“How long have I been out?” He croaks out.
Mave blinks. Once, twice. Then he glances at the wall above him, presumably where a clock hangs, before he answers.
“Four hours.”
“Four— Four hours? ” Nath parrots back in disbelief, brows knitting into a frown. Mave nods.
He tries to sit up again, this time less disoriented. The other gently pushes him back down.
“Don't do that. You'll only strain yourself more than you already have.”
Nath's frown grows deeper.
“I'm not some damsel in distress. It's just a cold.”
“Just a cold that landed you in the hospital?” Mave quips, raising an eyebrow.
Instead of gracing him with a proper response, Nath averts his eyes and grumbles. Mave's right. God, why didn't he just stay at home, damnit? This mess could've been avoided. And the bills . He's already struggling with rent, how the hell is he gonna pay medical debt—
“—Hello? Nath?” Mave's voice cuts through his thoughts. “What's going on in that brain of yours?”
It's phrased as a casual question, but the concern behind it is palpable. Nath's mouth opens and shuts, unable to get any words out.
“Leo's covering the expenses, by the way.” The other easily stated after his lack of response.
“Oh.” Well that answers Nath's question.
A newfound guilt starts to bubble within him. He really thought he could get through today just fine. Obviously not, considering his current state. He must've worried the others sick. Mave must have been waiting here the whole time too. Then there's the ridiculously expensive health care bills in this god forsaken country— bills that Leo is paying. He'll have to make it up to the older man, eventually. Maybe he can work extra shifts and pay him back? That doesn't sound too bad.
Mave flicks his forehead, dragging him out of his thoughts.
Nath looks up at Mave expectantly, waiting for him to speak. It never comes.
“Aren't you gonna say something?” Nath grumbles after a few seconds of silence.
“Nah. You should feel bad about passing out on us” Mave responds unceremoniously, not missing a beat.
“Hey, what the hell?! You can't just say that!” Nath almost shouts as he tries to sit up again, annoyance coursing through him. The other easily pushes him down. Again. Man, his partner is blunt, but the crass phrasing ticks him off. Mave gives him a critical look before continuing.
“But you shouldn't feel bad about Leo covering your bills or me waiting for you.”
..Huh?
Nath looks at Mave a little dumbfoundedly, no doubt his expression betraying his thoughts. Where's this coming from?
“You're..” Mave hesitates, seeming to consider his words carefully. “You're not a bother to us. Or to me. Can you get that through that thick skull of yours, dumbass?”
He almost wants to gloss over the genuine words to shoot back an insult at Mave calling him a dumbass, but he sees a different opportunity arise.
“Awww, Mavey's going soft on me? How sweet.” Nath ends up replying coyly, hoping to draw out a reaction from the redhead.
Mave only looks at him unaffected, gaze unwavering.
“I meant what I said.” He mutters gruffly, averting his eyes from Nath's. There's a growing red hue spreading across Mave’s cheeks, and the fingers around his right hand tighten. It makes a smile tug on his lips. Nath doesn't know why, but instead of fighting it, he wants to embrace it. Maybe it's the medication they put him on— no way he'd say what he wants to say sober.
“...Thank you.”
Nath can see the way Mave's eyes grow wide at his words, and the reaction draws a chuckle out of him. Ha. Caught him off guard.
They sit in comfortable silence for a while. That is, until Nath realizes he's forgotten to ask something.
“How much longer till I can leave?”
Mave looks startled at the sudden question, before staring at the clock above him.
“One more hour. Just sleep. I'll give you a ride home later.”
Nath hums in response, letting his eyes fall shut. He'll let himself have this, just this once, drifting off with his hand intertwined with Mave's.
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