#simon's group die challege /j

[whumpbug]

whumperless whump event day 15: i'm going down (you're yelling timber) @whumperless-whump-event

passing out / exhaustion

see this post for character information!

caretaker: Archie

whumpee: Simon

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Simon, in fact, did not feel better when he woke up.

What started as a simple cold immediately made itself known as a raging fever and vicious chills. The only sleep Simon had gotten was the quick nap he took while stuck to Archie like a koala.

Now, it was 6:57 AM and there was no reprieve in sight.

His pajamas were completely sweat through. He felt disgusting. His head was pounding and he couldn’t stop shivering, and he absolutely couldn’t believe he was going to have to dress up in a stuffy suit and speak in front of a bunch of people in just a few short hours.

He groaned.

He debated calling Archie. He had gone home after Simon went to bed, but he also undoubtedly went on patrol for the better part of the night. He couldn’t wake him. He wasn’t even sure what he would have Archie do in the first place.

No, he just had to endure. He could sleep later. The banquet was only a few hours, and Simon was only required to be there for part of it. He could always make up some excuse to leave early, and no one would think anything of it. 

Right, that’s what he’d do. It’ll be fine.

He was suddenly startled by his alarm beeping loudly. 7:00.

Simon gritted his teeth, slammed the off button, and sat up, clutching the edge of the mattress when the change in position had him seeing stars. He let out a breathy groan and dragged his aching body to the bathroom.

He got ready in a daze. He brushed his teeth, took a quick shower (the warm water felt heavenly on his fevered skin, but he left feeling positively more dizzy than when he went in) and combed his hair all while feeling like he was underwater.

He gripped the edge of the sink and stared at himself in the mirror. Despite his efforts, he still looked like shit.

There were visible goosebumps scattered across his bare chest and arms. The shadows under his eyes were somehow deeper, and there were two maroon splotches high on his cheeks. He just hoped the banquet wouldn’t be too well lit.

He shut his eyes, silently cursing whoever thought a breakfast banquet was a good idea. What he would give to just have a few extra hours to lay down.

He was jolted a bit at the sound of a knock at his door. Archie.

He felt himself relax just a bit.

He pulled on a white undershirt, not caring enough to put on his dress pants yet, and opened the door to--

Simon blinked owlishly at Archie. He cleaned up nicely.

He was dressed in navy slacks and a well-fitting white button down with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His matching navy suit jacket was slung over his arm and his hair was pushed back in a neat quiff.

A blush that had nothing to do with the fever spread across Simon’s face.

“Oh Simon..” Archie frowned, reaching a hand up to rest on Simon’s cheek. “You’re burning up. You can’t possibly be thinking of going to the banquet now,” 

“I’m.. It’ll be fine. I’ll take ibuprofen. We’ll leave early, it’s only for a few hours.”

“But Simon.. you look exhausted.. I really really don’t think you should try to power through this one,” Archie pleaded, his hand coming to rest on Simon’s jaw.

Simon shook his head, but took a small moment to lean into Archie’s cool touch. God, how he wanted to just crawl into bed, nestled in Archie’s arms, and sleep the day away. But no. He had responsibilities. He’s pushed through worse.

“I’ll be fine. I’m gonna go finish getting ready, and we can leave.”

And with that, Simon turned and left, leaving no room for argument.

He finished pulling on his suit. It really was a nice suit, but the synthetic material felt horrendous against Simon’s fevered skin. It was a sleek black suit with a dark red button down. The jacket was itchy, and the shirt was slightly wrinkled, but Simon didn’t find it in him to care enough to smooth it.

Once he deemed his appearance acceptable, he took to rummaging through his medicine cabinet for some kind of relief. He popped a few ibuprofen and swallowed them dry.

When Simon returned to the living room, Archie was idly drumming his fingers on his leg, playing with the hem of one of Simon’s throw blankets. He immediately stood when Simon entered, closing the distance between the two.

“How are you feeling?” He cooed, adjusting the collar of Simon’s jacket.

“I’ll live.” He took this moment to lean forward and bury his overheated face into Archie's shoulder. He smelled of laundry and peaches. Simon reveled in it, just letting himself feel as crappy as he did for a few seconds.

Archie rubbed a hand up and down Simon’s spine, even as he pulled away.

“You ready to go?” He asked softly, smoothing back a stray strand of Simon’s inky black hair.

Simon simply nodded and headed out the door, dreading what was to come.

••••

The start of the banquet had gone, for all intents and purposes, decently well.

Simon was surprisingly good at keeping up appearances, despite how atrocious he had looked in the morning.

He smiled easily at everyone who came up to greet him. He shook their hands and made small talk and laughed at the right times, and to any outsider, he looked fine. Maybe a little pale, but fine.

Archie saw right through it.

He saw the way sweat was steadily dripping down the back of Simon’s neck. He saw the way Simon’s hands shook as he held his cup, and the way Simon’s blinks were becoming slower-- more drawn out.

Simon was feeling worse by the minute.

Archie helped how he could-- a gentle pat on the back, refilling his empty glass of water, interrupting conversations when they got too long. He was determined to help Simon see this through. 

When the main speaker of the event asked everyone to take their seats so the award ceremony could be underway, Archie was almost certain that Simon was going to make it through the entire event without incident. He took his seat beside his friend and gave his knee a gentle squeeze as if to say it’s almost over. Hang in there.

The first speaker seemed to drone on for eons, and it left Archie stifling yawns into his hand. Medical terms and procedure names flew over his head and he kind of stopped trying to keep up after a while. Instead, he took to fiddling with the hem of the fancy tablecloth and counting the tiles on the ceiling. 

It was sort of odd to be at such a high-end event. Growing up, the only award ceremonies he attended were the ones held in the school gym during elementary school. 

It filled him with a surge of pride that Simon was being recognized for his hard work. It was a shame he was too sick to enjoy it. He knew how much effort Simon put into his school work. The guy averaged 4 hours of sleep every night, if he was lucky. Archie knew he was partially to blame for that, but it didn’t stop him from appreciating how capable his friend was despite it.

The speaker finally finished her speech, and the crowd erupted in applause.

“Thank you very much! Now, please welcome the representative of our first place team, Simon Guevara! Please come up to the stand and explain how your research on pediatric oncology gained the attention of such well-known scientists across the board?” The woman called cheerfully.

Soft murmurs of anticipation filled the crowd. Archie’s heart skipped a beat.

And nothing happened.

“Ahem.. would Simon Guevara please approach the stage?”

Archie felt his heart sink. He turned to face his friend and-- oh. 

Uh oh.

Simon was out like a light, head pillowed in his arms. He was breathing evenly and slowly, and he looked somehow worse than he did before.

His hair was sweaty. His flush was even deeper. He looked utterly exhausted. And everyone was staring at him.

Archie felt his own face heat up at the situation. He shook Simon’s leg under the table, hoping his friend would wake up and behave like nothing happened, as he always did. 

Simon didn’t stir.

His entire group was staring daggers at him, equal measures anxious and furious.

“Simon,” Archie whispered, shaking his shoulder with a little more force this time.

Simon finally woke up, blinking blearily as he slowly lifted his head. 

“Wha..” He started, looking around groggily.

Archie stood up to block him from view the best he could. He was mentally kicking himself for not forcing Simon to stay home. He knew there was no way he’d be able to give the damn speech. He should have pushed harder.

“You're supposed to go up and talk now,” Archie murmured, wiping a little speck of drool from Simon’s cheek. “But I’m sure someone from your group can take your place.”

Archie shot a pointed glare at the others at the table, and then another at Simon.

Finally, one of the girls got the hint and stood.

“Um. It looks like Simon is a bit incapacitated at the moment. I’ll take over, if that’s alright.”

There was some whispering in the crowd, but it was quickly hushed when the girl went up to the microphone and began speaking.

Alright. Now to deal with Sleeping Beauty.

“Don’t feel good..” Simon groaned softly, scrubbing at his face with his fists.

Archie gently guided him up from the table and led him towards the door, keeping a steadying hand on his lower back.

“I know,” Archie whispered. “It's okay. I'm going to help you.”

Simon simply leaned into Archie, squinting at the sunlight as they left the building. Archie was starting to wish they had driven here. He didn’t want Simon to feel this miserable on a bus, but they really had no choice.

He half-dragged Simon all the way to a bus stop and sat beside him.

Simon gave a weak shiver and buried his face into Archie’s shoulder, whining lowly. Archie huffed a small laugh and wrapped an arm around Simon’s waist, drawing him closer and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“M’sorry.. for not listening to you..” Simon breathed, eyelids already drooping closed now that he was finally being held by Archie.

“Shh.. it’s okay. Let’s just get you home, okay?”

Simon nodded pathetically, letting himself finally drift off.

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