#phan sick

Summer was supposed to be about sleeping in, hanging out, and wasting your days away without the worry of high school. Days were longer and so long as you didn’t have a job you could do anything with them.

They weren’t supposed to be about puking your guts out at 3AM because of some lousy virus, yet Dan found himself doing exactly that two weeks into summer vacation.

Dan was currently curled up miserably in his bed, bucket near his head and water on his bedside table as courtesy from his mom. He’d been sleeping fitfully, his stomach in knots and a fever making everything too hot and too cold at the same time. He finally gave up once the sun was well in the sky, accepting his fate to lay in pain.

He craved death.

The door to his bedroom creaked open, startling him. His family was determined to stay away, not wanting any of his germs, so he was a bit confused. Then Phil walked in, carrying a hoodie, and Dan groaned.

“Go away,” he mumbled, shoving his head under his blanket. He knew he looked awful with sweaty hobbit hair and flushed skin. It was nothing he wanted to show his boyfriend.

“Aw, is somebody not feeling good?” Phil teased, laughing at the lump of Dan underneath the blanket.

“I hate you.”

Phil rolled his eyes fondly. “I came over here to care for you like the good, loving boyfriend I am and this is how you treat me?”

Dan poked his head out to pout at Phil. His eyes were watery and he looked properly ill.

“I even brought you one of my hoodies cause I know how much you love them.” Phil sat down on Dan’s bed next to him and placed a hand on his forehead, feeling the unnatural heat radiating from it.

Dan grabbed the hoodie from Phil, slowly sitting up with his hand on his churning stomach the entire time. “I hate you a little less now.” He gently pulled the hoodie over his head, letting himself get enveloped in the smell and warmth.

Dan sighed, leaning back against his bed and closing his eyes. His body felt so heavy; why did he have to get sick during summer?

Phil frowned as he watched Dan shakily breath, obviously in pain. “What all is bugging you?” he asked softly.

“Head, tummy, my entire body. Fucking stomach flu,” Dan whined, rolling his head a bit to the side.

“Aren’t you supposed to get that in like, February? It’s June.”

Dan glared at him.

“Or not, I guess.”

Dan groaned dramatically, sliding down further in his bed and slowly rejoining the blankets. “I just want to fucking sleep but I feel too awful to even do that. This sucks.”

Phil knew what Dan was talking about, having been sick already that year. He knew exactly what Dan needed to.

He grabbed Dan’s laptop and moved the bucket off the bed, shuffling so that he was pressed up against Dan’s side. He pulled up Netflix on the Dan’s laptop, looking for a movie that they could watch to help distract Dan.

“I could vomit on you, ya know.” Dan leaned into Phil, drawn to his familiarity.

Phil smiled, knowing there was no bite behind Dan’s words. “Sure, asshole.” He started the movie and the two fell silent, eyes locked on the screen.

The two were at a famous candy shop in Manchester where one good sample candies available for purchase by buying a sample pass at the counter. Phil had made it his job to make Dan try every candy, knowing it would be a long time before Dan could come back again. Besides, who wouldn’t want to sample hundreds of candy? Dan certainly did. He practically begged Phil to buy the sample pass once he learned about it. Dan eagerly ate the candy samples; there was everything from chocolate bars to pure sugar to classic treats like lollipops.

Dan rated the candy after each sample, to which Phil teased him about being a food critic. Most candies received a high score, except for the occasional bitter ones or ones that were spicy. Neither noticed how Dan began to slow down, hesitatingly eating the candy. Dan didn’t think much about the sore feeling developing in his abdomen. He was standing behind Phil when the sore feeling increased into an ache he couldn’t ignore.

“Phil?”

Phil turned from the candy he was looking at to see Dan standing there with a hand on his stomach.

"My tummy hurts."

He had sad brown eyes and Phil almost cooed out loud. "Too much candy?"

Dan nodded, wincing as pain flooded his abdomen. 

"Aww you poor thing," Phil said, gently grabbing Dan’s shoulder. "How about I buy you your favorite candy and then we go back to my place. I'll make you some tea for your tummy and we can watch movies."

Dan nodded again. Tea sounded really nice with the way his stomach was aching right now. The two walked over and picked out the candy Dan had liked the best, Phil keeping a hand on Dan the entire time. The line to checkout was relatively short, thankfully, and the two were quickly out of there. Outside of the building, Dan grabbed Phil’s hand. The two began to walk back to Phil’s place, settling in a comfortable silence filled by the city noise around them.

Halfway there, however, Dan grabbed Phil's arm, stopping him. 

"Dan?" Phil stared at him, confused. He had a hand clutching his stomach and Phil could see clenching his jaw tight. 

"I-I need to sit down."

Worried that Dan might throw up, Phil guided Dan over near a trash can. Dan leaned on Phil as he slouched over, trying to ease his upset stomach.

"Do you want me to call a taxi?" Phil offered, putting an arm around Dan to help support him.

"Can you? Walking makes me nauseous."

Phil pulled out his phone and called the taxi, who estimated that they'd be there in five minutes. He hung up and turned to Dan. "Is the nausea still there?"

"Not as bad as it was when we were walking." He snuggled into Phil's side, relishing in the warmth. It was nearing the end of the year, meaning the days were getting shorter and colder. Both boys were wrapped up in their thickest hoodies to try to combat the increasingly cold winter air. Even though neither liked the cold, it made for a good excuse to cuddle.

Five minutes later, as predicted, the cab pulled up and the two headed back to Phil's place. During the ride, they playfully argued about who's fault it was for Dan's stomachache. The bantering continued even as the got out of the cab.

"You were the one fed me all those chocolates," Dan argued as they entered the house. “You should have been more careful about how much I ate.”

Phil closed the door behind him, the last gust of cold air ruffling up his hair. ”You were the one who was so eager to try each one," Phil countered, "Now go sit on the couch while I make you some tea."

Dan stuck his tongue out childishly at Phil but obeyed him and headed into the lounge. He flopped onto the too small couch with his feet pressed up against the couch arm. His stomach protested at the movement and he groaned, placing a hand on his stomach. He hadn’t expected to eat so much candy; he figured only a couple of pieces would be enough to satisfy his curiosity about the place. But his sweet tooth had gotten the better of him and he almost tried all the candy until his stomach reminded him that there was a price to pay for eating that much candy. It didn’t help that all the candy really was sweet like it had been advertised as. It had been too good to resist.

“Phil,” Dan whined, bored and trying to ignore his aching stomach.

“I’m coming, hold on,” Phil yelled from the kitchen. A moment later, he walked in the room balancing a cup of tea and some movies. 

Dan smiled, reaching out to grab the mug. He sat up a bit to drink it, enjoying the warmth as it settled in his stomach. It was peppermint that not only was supposed to soothe his stomach but also gave him wintery vibes. “Tastes good, thank you.”

Phil placed a quick kiss on Dan’s hair. “You’re welcome. Hopefully that’ll ease your tummy ache.”

Dan nodded in agreement, sipping more of the tea. 

“So which movie do you want watch first?” Phil asked, showing Dan the movies. They were ones that were easy to watch, like Studio Ghibli and Disney. All of them both had seen before, yet loved enough to watch repeatedly.

As usual, Dan choose a Studio Ghibli movie for their first one. Phil walked over to the tv and put it in, Dan continuing to sip on his tea. His stomach was still hurting, the tea having yet to take affect. Phil returned to the couch with the remote in hand. He lifted Dan’s legs and placed them on his lap. Dan snuggled into Phil’s side, relishing in his warmth.

Dan had finished his tea by the time Phil pressed play on the menu. He placed the mug down, settling in to watch the movie. He smiled as he watched the familiar first scene. 

Halfway through the movie, Dan turned to Phil. “Hey Phil?”

Phil looked at him, not bothering to pause the movie.

“Can you, um,” Dan mumbled, almost too quiet for Phil to hear, “rub my tummy? It’s still hurting.”

Phil smiled, heart clenching at how adorable Dan was.

“I mean, you don’t have to, it’s just something my mum would do and it always made me feel better.” Dan’s face was flustered, embarrassed that he sounded childish. 

“Of course I can, silly,” Phil reassured. If it would help Dan, he’d do it in a heartbeat. Not that he minded doing it anyway. He slid his hand under Dan’s hoodie, his stomach warm and soft. He began to rub gentle circles across it as Dan had asked.

Dan felt the pain ease up, warmth and comfort replacing it. He sighed, melting under Phil’s touch.

Phil giggled as he felt the younger boy relaxing. “Enjoying it?” 

“It feels nice. You should consider getting a career in it.” Dan let out a yawn.

Phil rolled his eyes, tickling Dan’s tummy a bit for that comment. He felt Dan’s stomach squirm against the ticklish feeling, a smile big enough to make his dimples pop appearing on his face. “I think I’ll pass on that.”

Dan yawned again, a hand coming up in a weak attempt to cover it. 

Phil giggled at Dan’s drooping eyelids. He was far too cute for Phil’s heart. “Is this making you sleepy?”

Dan nodded, blinking slowly. “It always does.” He remembered falling asleep mid afternoon while his mother was rubbing his stomach and waking up later to discover that most of the day had passed. Sometimes, his mother would rub his stomach to get him to nap or fall asleep at night. It worked without fail no matter how hard young Dan tried to fight it.

Phil cooed at the sight of his drowsy boyfriend. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Dan’s forehead, hand still rubbing circles on his tummy. Dan’s eyes fell shut at the sensation of Phil’s lips on his forehead.