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fluentmoviequoter · 7 months ago

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Ailing at Lockland

A Victor Vale sickfic for @boozy-the-ghost! Thanks for sharing this amazing idea!!

Characters: Victor Vale, Eli Ever, Angie Knight (Lockland era, of course)

Summary: When Victor gets sick and tries to hide it, the people closest to him help him get better.

Warnings: sickfic, spoilers for Vicious, comfort, cats

Word Count: 1.7k+ words

This beautiful art is from Pinterest!!

The worst part about sleeping is that it involves your brain. The SCN and the thalamus keep you awake and alert; for someone whose brain doesn’t seem to quiet, however, sleep becomes practically impossible. As Victor lies awake, thumbing through a textbook he’s already read, he wonders what sleep is like for average people. Or to be normal in any other way. When his eyelids grow heavy, he pushes the book away before he falls asleep, without time to realize how unusual it is for him to fall asleep so early in the morning.

Three hours later, the sun has yet to rise over Lockland. Victor blinks his eyes open, and they feel heavier than just before he went to sleep. Victor quickly notices his scratchy throat and runny nose as he wakes. Usually, his lack of sleep provides what Eli calls his “sunny disposition." Today, his restless sleep and the beginnings of a cold work together to make Victor Vale miserable. He dresses slowly, grateful that his style requires little thought to create an outfit. His mind is racing, as usual, but the congestion in his head and pain in his throat distract him from any meaningful thought. Once he’s ready, Victor drags his feet as he exits his room.

Eli’s back is to Victor as he falls heavily into a chair. Victor hums as Eli slides a bowl of cereal before him. He doesn’t pick up the spoon as he fights to keep his eyes open and leans toward the table.

“I don’t understand how you eat that stuff,” Eli says from their small, shared kitchen. “It’s just carbs and sugar.”

When Victor doesn’t argue or even acknowledge Eli’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch Slander, Eli turns to look at Victor. He seems dead on his feet (or, seat), half asleep, like he’s about to collapse into his favored Cinnamon Toast Crunch that is absolutely soggy now.

“Vic, you alright?” Eli inquires.

“Yeah,” Victor answers quickly.

He sounds different - stuffy - but Eli decides not to ask any more questions. They may not always see eye-to-eye, but Eli feels bad for his roommate and friend. He makes coffee; the strong, bitter-smelling kind Victor prefers, and puts a full mug beside his cereal. Victor nods his thanks and pulls the hot mug closer, keeping his hands and face close to it between sips.

After finishing his coffee, Victor tosses his cereal, though he wishes he had been able to eat it because it’s his favorite. He gathers his things and prepares to go to class but is stopped by Eli extending his hand, with a cereal box in it, to block the path to the door.

“You’re sick,” Eli points out.

Victor rolls his eyes and pushes the healthy, flavorless cereal back toward Eli. “I’m fine,” he lies. “Bye.”

Victor Vale is willing to do a lot of things, many of which are immoral, but missing class for a mild case of the sniffles that will probably pass by lunch is not something he will do. By the time he reaches his class across campus, his throat has begun to burn and is scratchy, like it needs to be cleared. Victor feels a sneeze rising and does everything he can to stop it: holding his breath until it passes, pushing his tongue to the back of his tongue, and simply covering his nose so he can’t. It will be a long day, Victor knows, but it's just the sniffles. He has to tell himself more than once before he believes it.

Someone taps Victor’s shoulder before extending a pack of tissues over his shoulder. He takes them quickly and without thanks. If the people sitting around him in the lecture can tell that he’s stifling sneezes, sniffing silently, and trying not to clear his throat every other second, then it is probably obvious that he’s coming down with something. Refusing to admit it and hiding the cold won’t help it pass, but Victor has more important things to do. So, he keeps the tissues close and thinks about what he could do for his thesis rather than the anatomical diagram he’s supposed to be studying.

Victor throws away the empty tissue package as he walks to Lockland’s obnoxiously large cafeteria for lunch. Eli already knows he isn’t feeling his best, but Victor refuses to let him see that he’s feeling worse now.

“Hello, boys,” Angie greets as she walks behind them.

“Hey,” Victor answers.

“You’re sick.”

“I knew it,” Eli exclaims quietly. “Why didn’t you just stay home?”

“I’m not sick,” Victor argues.

“Your voice is distorted, you’re stuffy and stiff… How bad do you feel?”

Angie presses the back of her hand to Victor’s forehead. His blinks grow slow at her touch, and when she flips her hands to card her fingers through his pale hair, he leans toward her.

“I know you better than him,” she whispers, pointing to Eli. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Victor wants nothing more than to ask her to keep doing what she’s doing and to accept her fussing and care. He has an image to maintain, so he can’t let her see that he likes being cared for. Not that he’s used to it, of course, but based on the gentle touches and soft questions, he thinks he’d like it.

“C’mon, there’s a restaurant over here with the most amazing soup. We’ll meet you at the usual table Eli,” Angie says.

“Got it,” Eli answers.

Victor lets Angie wrap her hands around his arm and lead the way to one of the countless restaurants. He leans against her, just enough to let her know that he appreciates her but not enough that anyone else can see him vulnerable. Unfortunately, lunch passes too quickly, and Angie’s soup and care have an expiration date. She leaves first to make a lab across campus, and Victor walks beside Eli to their last lecture of the day. Eli doesn’t ask Victor anything about how he feels but glances over every few minutes and swears Victor looks sicker each time.

Less than halfway through the hour-long class, Eli leans toward Victor and takes his pen before he falls forward onto it and pokes his eye out. Victor blinks slowly before turning toward Eli.

“Go home,” Eli demands quietly. “I’ll take the best notes I’ve ever taken, but you’re not even paying attention.”

Victor stares at him for a moment before nodding. He picks up his bag but leaves his notebook and pen behind for Eli. Despite his jumbled thoughts and lack of clarity, Victor’s muscle memory gets him home. He changes into his most comfortable black outfit and makes himself comfortable curled in a bundle of blankets in the center of his bed. For once, Victor falls asleep without a problem and doesn’t worry about the notes Eli will take for him.

“Vic?” Eli asks.

He nudges the door closed and walks toward Victor’s closed bedroom door. There’s no sign of him in the common area, but as Eli opens the door, he sees Victor, or at least Victor’s face protruding from a nest of blankets. Victor’s nose and cheeks are pink, and he’s sleeping deeply. Eli blows out a concerned breath; Victor never sleeps in the middle of the day, and the symptoms he witnessed earlier, combined with the evidence he sees now, convince Eli that Victor is sick.

He sets the drugstore bags on Victor’s desk and lays a hand on Victor’s shoulder. Victor moves under the blankets but doesn’t wake until Eli says his name and shakes him gently.

“Eli?” Victor asks.

His throat is scratchier than it was earlier, and his voice sounds rough. He coughs to clear it but only succeeds in making himself sneeze. Eli moves the bags to Victor’s bed so he can reach them. He dumps the first bag out, and Victor takes the Kleenex while Eli rips the bag of cough drops open.

Eli retrieves the small trash can from under Victor’s desk, and Victor sets it on his nightstand for easy access. The second bag draws his attention, and he reaches for it before glancing back at Eli.

“It’s all yours,” Eli says.

Victor looks down before pulling a bottle of apple juice and a box of crackers out of the bag. There are a few other snacks and an electrolyte drink, but since the only thing he’s consumed today is coffee and soup, the apple juice and crackers are the most appealing.

Victor holds the apple juice to his chest and looks up at Eli. He turns around quickly and returns to his nest of blankets.

With his back toward Eli, Victor says, “Thank you,” before sneezing several times.

“No problem,” Eli replies. “Do you need anything else?”

Victor considers for a moment. He’s never had someone take care of him, let alone when he was sick. It makes him uncomfortable knowing that Eli is so close while he’s in such a state, but he’s also touched that Eli cares enough to take notes and buy him things to make him feel better.

“Actually, can I use your desk to copy the notes I took for you?” Eli asks.

Victor quickly agrees. He likes the idea of company and more attention but he’s also internally questioning why Eli is being so kind to him in his time of need. Eli turns on the television over Victor’s desk and switches to a cat documentary on Animal Planet.

Victor turns toward the screen and indulges in the apple juice and crackers while he watches. Eli looks up occasionally but remains focused on the notes rather than Victor. When he’s finished and Victor begins a sneezing fit, Eli exits the room suddenly. Victor watches the door until he returns.

“I got punished for being sick,” Eli says as he sits in Victor’s desk chair again. “So, I can understand not wanting to tell people you’re not at 100%, for whatever reason.”

“God wouldn’t have made you sick if you were good?” Victor guesses.

“Something like that.”

“I just got ignored. Learned to deal with it myself long before I should have.”

“If you need anything else, just let me know,” Eli offers.

“I will. Thanks, Eli.”

Eli sets a new box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch on the bed as he stands. “I ran out of my cereal, so I ate yours. Here’s a replacement.”

“It’s good isn’t it?” Victor asks before sneezing.

“I can feel my arteries closing,” Eli deadpans. "Diabetes will claim me soon."

Eli closes the door behind him, and Victor shifts into a more comfortable position to finish the documentary. He feels better already, and despite not being sure if he wants company or complete privacy to be sick in peace, he’s thankful that he’s not alone anymore. Even if it’s only until he heals.

#victor vale #vicious #vicious ve schwab #eli cardale #eli ever #angie knight

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