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 Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2017 9:14 am
Prompt It’s fall and pumpkin spice is everywhere. A local coffee shop has some great new recipes and there’s been a lot of buzz about it—only, if you’ve indulged you may find yourself with some unusual side effects. Due to some very defective pumpkins (and who knows what else), pumpkin spice lovers are suffering from nausea, vomiting and—perhaps worst of all—your skin has turned orange on top of it all. Thankfully the discoloration and illness seems to wear off within a few hours, but you probably shouldn’t go back for a second cup.
The day had started off wonderful.
Fall had arrived at Destiny City and with it, the cool breeze and autumn colors. He'd gotten to wear his new scarf, the lesson plan was even easier to plan for with the children leaving for Fall Break soon and his girlfriend had surprised him by stopping by the apartment before work with one of his favorite drinks.
It was going to be a perfect day.
At least, that's what he told himself as he made it into work. He'd gotten through the first class well enough, but in between the first and second, he'd felt his stomach grow queasier and queasier.
Second class was shortened into a study hall (which was more or less chatter time, for a bunch of seven year olds) as Mr. Yoshida took his seat at the desk and attempted to dab the sweat spreading across his forehead and neck. He didn't feel good. He didn't feel good at all. Maybe one of the kids had given him a sickness? It was the start of flu season, right?
With the end of second period brought his first vomit spell. After washing his face (which was growing odd in color - he was definitely, definitely sick), he made arrangements with the principal to take the rest of the day off, one of the other teachers willing to sub in for his remaining three classes.
The walk home felt like forever, shoes practically dragging himself the entire way. He managed to shoot a text off to Aurora, a quick please take care of yourself, I think I may have come down with something before fumbling the key into the lock and making his way straight to the bathroom.
Once the entire remains of his breakfast had been surrendered to the toilet, he managed to peel off at least the first layer of clothing before flopping his sickly butt into the bed, keeping the trash can close by just in case.
It turned out to be definitely not the most perfect of days.
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:24 am
The moment Rory had gotten Akio's text she had been worried.
Sure, it was more likely that he boyfriend would get sick than her simply because he was surrounded by children all the time and she felt like she had a pretty good immune system but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to fret about it.
Her shift ended about an hour after her last break, where she'd checked her phone and seen his message, and she had already decided that she was going over. She'd make a simple soup that wouldn't upset his stomach going down and she'd bring tea. There was not a doubt in the teenager's mind that if their roles were reversed that her boyfriend wouldn't show up and dote on her until she was feeling better.
So she didn't even bother telling him she was coming until she was just outside his door. Then he'd get a text that said I'm using your spare key to let myself inside so he didn't panic when he heard the door open.
"Akio?" Her voice carried in the apartment when she stepped in holding her cup close to her chest as she made her way to his bedroom.
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 9:30 am
Akio had almost fallen asleep when the sudden ping on his phone had his groggy eyes opening up. Reaching for the device, his thumb had enough time to slide open the message before he heard the apartment door opening, his name soon to follow.
As badly as he wanted to get up to greet her, every shift of his body sent another wave of nausea through him and he didn't want to do any lurching for the wastebasket if he didn't have to.
"In here." He wasn't even sure if his voice carried far enough for her to hear it, but it didn't matter. She'd probably figure it out soon enough, clever girl that Aurora was. "Turn on the light, I don't want you tripping over anything. I'm sorry this place is a mess."
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:37 pm
It didn't take her long to make it to his bedroom door, where she leaned against the frame and stared inside the dark room with a twisting in her heart.
"My poor boyfriend," she sighed when he called for her. Despite his suggestion, she did not turn on the lights as she didn't want to aggravate his illness further. "What happened handsome? You were just fine when I saw you this morning."
Whatever he had hit him hard and quick, which was probably the most concerning.
She stepped over the things on his floor carefully until she could make it to his bed where she set the tea down and took a seat on the edge of the mattress. "I brought you some tea, if you think you can keep anything down." One hand gently smoothed brown locks out of his face so she could check his temperature.
"I'll make something light to eat later, but if you're going to tell me to leave I won't." That was non-negotiable. She was going to take care of her man.
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 3:16 pm
He murmured something incoherent at her comment, hand slipping up to steal hers away from her forehead.
Akio Yoshida wasn't used to falling ill. No, he was supposed to be strong and healthy like an ox, someone who could depend on him if they fell ill, not the other way around.
Pressing her palm to his cheek, he snuggled close to her cool skin, enjoying the feel of it. As much as he wanted to warn her away, he wanted her there even more - selfish, selfish that he was. His face turned to press a kiss against her palm.
"Please don't leave," he murmured weakly. "I'll drink the tea, I'll eat whatever. Just.. please don't leave me."
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:35 am
Despite knowing he was sick, Rory looked at her boyfriend with adoration. Her hand was snatched up by his and moved to his cheek, where her thumb ran along his cheekbone. Leaning forward her lips brushed his sweaty forehead.
"I'm not going anywhere Akio," she assured him. Fingers slipped between his and she squeezed their joined hands. "Think you can sit up for me a little? I'd like to get some liquid in you before you sleep." Then, she'd grab a rag and run cold water over it so she could help with his heated--- wait a second.
"Akio...are you orange?" The question spilled from her lips before she could get a proper look at him.
Rory hoped that her eyes were playing tricks on her but...in the sliver of light that speckled through the room the girl was almost positive that her boyfriend had gone orange. "What, did you binge on carrots or something?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:40 am
She was looking at him strangely and it was making Akio rather uncomfortable. Had he... had he not wiped his face properly, after the last unfortunate visit to the bathroom?
At the mention of the orange coloring, brown eyes widened in alarmed.
"W-What? What are you talking about?"
He knew he should stay in bed but... well, hell. He needed to see this for himself, if what she was saying was true. Maybe it was just the light, maybe it was just the reflection off of something in the bedroom?
Wearing feet found their way to the carpet and the young man dragged himself towards the bathroom, stumbling and catching the wall for support until he finally made it to his destination. Flipping the switch, he forced his groggy eyes to stare......right into an orange reflection.
He was orange.
He was orange.
"Aurora..." There was a tinge of panic in his voice, maybe even a little bit of downright fear, "Aurora what's happening to me??"
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:14 am
When Akio began to panic, Rory knew that she had said the wrong thing.
Shoot.
"Akio I don't think--" Her protests fell on deaf ears because the man was already clambering out of bed and stumbling into the bathroom. His worried girlfriend followed after him, wringing her hands while she stood in the doorway.
"Akio, please--" Rory tried to coax him back to bed but he was busy freaking out about the fact that he'd gone orange. "Hey, hey,' she said in her most soothing voice. Stepping into his space was easy but she had to stretch to gather his face in her hands. "You're a little sick, maybe it's a side effect."
She only hesitated for a second before she drew him down and pecked his lips, then her hand was in his and she was tugging him back. "Come on handsome, back into bed. I'll crawl in with you okay? Let's get you some rest."
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 8:20 am
His heart was racing. Orange. His handsome, tan skin had turned a pumpkin orange and he didn't have the faintest clue how or why it could have happened. He'd never even heard of a sickness that caused such a side effect - what if it was a disease? What if he was going to die in the next few hours???
Soft hands brought him crashing back down to Earth, his attention dropping down to the woman encouraging him to calm down. Forcing himself to take a deep breath, he allowed her to lead him back to the bedroom.
Surely she was right. Surely it was just some... weird side effect to something. Maybe something he'd eaten? But he'd had the same cereal three mornings in a row and the frozen meal he'd brought from....
.... the drink!
One foot slid into bed, obediently listening to his girlfriend's request when Akio couldn't help but ask, "Do you think it was the drink, beautiful? I.. I don't think I had anything else out of the ordinary today..."
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:22 am
Rory had been occupied with making sure her dramatic boyfriend was tucked into bed properly before she crawled onto the other side. She paused, frowning at him and the suggestion. They had gotten their shipment from an unusual vendor this go around but she wasn't a manager, she hadn't thought.
"Maybe you're reacting to something in the sauce." The idea perturbed her, but she didn't let it show. "Drink the tea I brought, please, then we're going to bed." Her tone implied there would be no arguments.
More quietly she said, "I'm sorry if I got you sick."
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 9:39 am
He sipped on the tea like a dutiful boyfriend but her quiet apology didn't go unheard. Immediately, he regretted having even brought it up as a possibility - Aurora wouldn't have given him anything if she'd known there was something wrong with the formula. Pointing it out wouldn't do anything but make her feel bad...which he'd clearly done.
Crap.
Setting the remainder of the tea down (mostly consumed, don't worry Rory!), he turned and drew an achy arm around his girlfriend and pulled her close. He'd curse himself if he got her sick by association, but right now she needed reassurance and, well, he needed her attention.
"I'm sure it wasn't the drink, baby. Just a bug or something." Kissing her forehead, he snuggled in close and attempted to close his eyes. "You're wonderful and thoughtful and the best girlfriend a guy could ever ask for, okay? Now let's take a nap, so I can get some energy to harass my cute little nurse with later."
Another kiss found its way to the tip of her nose before he allowed his weary body to succumb to the lure of sleep.
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Posted: Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:24 am
Allowing herself to be tugged against him, she burrowed into his side and tried not to let worry get the better of her. "When we get up, I'm making you soup," she asserted.
It took some finagling but she was able to press a gentle kiss against his jaw as her small body curled around his and she let the sound of his deepening breathing lull her into a sleepy state.
"Okay, okay," she mumbled, her own eyes closing and sleep getting the better of her.
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