I’ve Very Into Various Symptoms Interupting With Sleep Lately. You Know, All The Basics Like Bad Congestion

About the chest:

Placing one's hand on the chest of someone who has a bad cough, in a soothing, warming, protective gesture. They might put their own hand over it, giving it a slight squeeze as they keep coughing, holding it like a talisman, a life line

The chest of a character shaking violently with sobbing. OR with a frantic buildup to a sneeze. Or both

Collarbones and neck glistening with feverish sweat, chest rising and falling a bit too fast with troubled breaths

Putting something warm, like a warm water bottle, a warm towel or such against the chest of a sick character who has a bad cough

Feeling the hard, loud heartbeat of a feverish person when hugging them

A sick character falling asleep with a hand holding a handkerchief on their chest

Shirt pervert bonus: just the look of a shirt covered chest when someone is sick in bed. A nightshirt, a pajama shirt (light pinstripe on white, or such), just... shirt !!!

Tired Whumpees...

drifting in and out of consciousness every few minutes.

Getting emotional.

Falling asleep on uncomfortable surfaces.

Sleeping with their favourite stuffed animal/blanket/etc.

Talking/mumbling incoherently in their sleep.

Dozing off in Caretaker or Whumper's arms.

Forcing themselves to stay awake.

Curling up into a ball in their bed.

Scared of falling asleep due to nightmares/night terrors.

Falling asleep the moment they're safe in their favourite person's arms.

Whining/wincing at the bright lights.

Unable to recognise their caretaker when they see them.

Passing out from exhaustion.

Sleepily reaching out for Caretaker in hopes that they'll hold them.

Caretakers of tired whumpees...

Hushing someone who's being too loud whilst Whumpee is trying to sleep.

Brushing whumpee's hair out of their face to kiss their forehead as they doze off.

Promising they'll be there when they wake up.

Gently rocking Whumpee in their arms.

Bridal carrying them to their bed.

Watching over them as they sleep.

Tucking them in tight.

Humming soothingly to them.

Turning the air-con/heater on to help keep them cool/warm.

Reading a book/watching a movie beside them to make sure they're okay.

Lying on Whumpee because it helps them sleep.

Resting their hand on Whumpee's forehead every now and again.

Admiring them as they sleep.

Getting emotional the moment Whumpee isn't awake to see them.

Giving them an extra pillow to keep them secure.

hugs all around!

Bugtober Day 30: Nightmare

he needs a hug

The team having a long night’s rest by the campfire. Looks comfy

I still thrive off these three regularly.

Glitchy

Celebrating the 400 followers milestones. Thanks y'all!

Thanks as usual to my precious @vcepsis for beta reading, you’re incredible! ❤

———-

It was the smell that woke him up.

Like every individual of his species, Keith had an incredible sense of smell. Every little change, every little difference hit his sensitive nose like a punch.

And Keith was sure, in the whole year he had spent on Earth after his disastrous crash landing, that Shiro had never had a smell like that.

To Keith, Shiro smelled masculine, but sweet at the same time. Aftershave, clean clothes, a pinch of honey. A smell that Keith had loved since the very first moment, when Shiro had extracted the young Galra from the pile of twisted metal that was his ship.

Shiro smelled like home, love and safety.

But this time, Shiro’s scent wasn’t comforting at all. Keith wasn’t sure what it was, but he could definitely sense something that made alarm bells sound in his head. The smell of danger.

Immediately awake and alert, Keith shook Shiro’s shoulder. Under his hand, the bigger body was shaking, and Keith felt his throat constrict out of concern.

Shiro was a war veteran, and he often had terrible nightmares which left him waking up gasping, soaked in sweat and trembling.

Keith tried to shush him down, but as soon as he started carding his fingers through Shiro’s hair, he froze. An abnormal, dry heat was coming in waves off of Shiro.

Keith still knew very little about humans, but he could recognize pain and discomfort when he saw it, and Shiro was definitely in pain.

He shook Shiro’s shoulder more firmly, and the human groaned, his glassy eyes barely opened.

“Ke…ith…?” Shiro tried to moan, but his tongue felt like dry wool, and his mouth felt so sore.

“Shiro? I think there’s something wrong with you… ”

Shiro’s expression suddenly changed, his eyelids fluttering desperately, his breath hitching. After a few seconds of agony, Shiro sneezed into his hand, scaring Keith.

“Just a cold, I think…” Shiro sniffed pitifully, reaching onto his nightstand for tissues, his hand still in front of his face.

Keith gave him a confused look.

“Cold? But… how is that possible? You feel really hot.”

Shiro sighed, pulling a few tissues out of the box. Before he could reply, he sneezed again, and blew wetly into the tissues.

Keith gasped in disgust and backed away.

“Shiro, your brain is leaking out!”

Shiro chuckled tiredly.

“Don’t worry, my brain is still in its place. I’ll probably be doing this a lot for a few days. It’s normal.”

Keith furrowed his brows. Nothing of that seemed normal. Shiro was too hot, he was leaking weird fluids. And his husky, congested voice was not normal either.

Keith bit his bottom lip, fangs showing slightly.

“Do humans do this a lot?”

Shiro coughed into his elbow, lowering himself back down.

“Not really. Only when they’re ill. I might be a little tired for a few days, but I’ll be okay. Besides, I think Galra are immune to this. You don’t have to worry.”

Shiro yawned and smiled tiredly, but Keith still wasn’t convinced.

“Is there something I can do for you?”

Shiro shook his head, burrowing his head into the pillow.

“I’ll feel better after a good night of sleep. If I still feel bad I’ll take some medicine, but I don’t feel too bad just yet. Come back to sleep, Keith. I’ll be okay.”

Keith eyed Shiro suspiciously, but he decided to let his worries drown and he cuddled against Shiro’s muscular chest once again.

They both fell asleep in a short time.

…

Their house was on fire, and Keith was trying to crawl out of the burning building. He could hear somebody coughing, in that ocean of fire and smoke. Shiro! He had to go back and save him. But just as Keith turned around in search for Shiro, a burning door fell on him, and Keith woke up with a gasp.

His skin and t-shirt were damp with sweat, but Keith realized that it wasn’t his own. In his arms, Shiro was absolutely soaked. And way too hot.

Shiro was radiating heat like a stove, yet somehow he was still shivering. It was almost impossible for Keith to stay so close to him.

Whatever it was, this was not normal. Gently, Keith tried to shake Shiro awake.

“Hey… wake up…”

Shiro opened his eyes, but barely. He clearly wasn’t conscious, and the absent look in his fever-bright eyes scared Keith to death. Ragged breaths escaped Shiro’s chapped lips, and Keith pressed his cool hands on his angry red cheeks.

Burning.

Shiro gasped in pain, a sound that broke Keith’s heart. He had to do something, but what? He had never seen such a violent reaction in Galra people.

Then, for some reason, his brain reminded him of the time when Shiro had taught him how to bake an apple pie. They had put it on the window sill, “to cool down”, like Shiro had said.

Maybe it worked for humans too!

Keith tried to lift Shiro, not without difficulties.

He was really tiny for his species, and the human was a heavy, tall mountain of muscles.

Huffing and sighing, Keith managed to drag Shiro to their backyard, and deposited him under their oak tree.

Shiro didn’t look any better. He was barely conscious and the cold night air only made his chills worse.

He mustered all his energy and managed to rasp “Keith… c-cold…” before passing out again.

Keith almost screeched in frustration, at loss of what to do.

He left Shiro under the tree, and crossed the garden to call their neighbour. He needed help.

He banged on the door, calling loudly.

“Hunk! HUNK!”

After a few minutes of calling and shouting, a sleepy boy appeared at the door, rubbing his tired eyes. He was still in his pajamas, and he didn’t seem happy that his sleep was interrupted.

“Keith? It’s three in the morning, I hope you have a good explanation for this.”

“Shiro is glitchy!” Keith screamed, breathless.

Hunk blinked at him, not sure he had comprehended.

“Shiro is what?”

“Glitchy!”

Hunk stared at him in silence for a few seconds, confusion written all over his face.

“Keith, what are you talking about? Are you sleepwalking? Go back to bed, let’s talk tomorrow…”

“NO!”

Keith grabbed Hunk’s shoulders, urgency in his voice.

“You have to help me! He’s hot, in pain and he can’t wake up! There’s something wrong!”

Something finally clicked in Hunk’s head. He hurried to grab his coat and he asked Keith to lead the way.

They found Shiro in the same exact place where Keith had left him, still and pale as a sheet save for the red flush on his cheeks and ears.

Hunk knelt down, palming Shiro’s face and neck and hissing at the heat. He was on fire.

Hunk tried to shake him, gently.

“Shiro. It’s Hunk. Come on, man, open your eyes.”

Shiro slowly came to, trying to say something, but Hunk shushed him down.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.”

Hunk lifted Shiro with less difficulty than Keith had, being larger and stronger, and carried him inside, depositing him on the couch.

Without a word, Hunk went to the bathroom to fetch a washcloth and some water.

When he came back, the scene in front of him almost brought him to tears. Keith was sitting on the ground in front of the couch, his yellow eyes full of sadness and worry, and his big furry ears were lowered in such a way that it was just painful to see. Hunk carefully deposited the cloth on Shiro’s forehead, and scratched Keith’s head affectionately.

“He’ll be okay. It’s just a fever. He’ll be up and about again in no time. Don’t worry, Keith.”

Keith looked at Shiro with apprehension.

Pale, sweaty and unconscious, his love looked anything but okay.

At loss of what to do, Keith leaned his head on Shiro’s chest to comfort him, but ended up counting his heartbeats. Fast, but steady.

A rhythmic lullaby that he loved so dearly.

Keith closed his eyes. Shiro felt so alive underneath his touch. Before he knew it, Keith was lulled to sleep by the heartbeats of his soulmate. Hunk chuckled, and sat in the armchair next to them. It was going to be a long night.

A12 with Heith for the pairing thing?

Here you are my dear! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Keith groaned in his sleep, burrowing his face into his boyfriend’s blanket-covered lap. He’d been stubbornly denying his illness during his waking hours, but had surrendered himself to sleep during their flight, covering as much of himself as he could with the airline-provided blanket that Hunk had requested. Hunk actually felt like he was baking in his own skin, but he hadn’t wanted Keith to to feel singled out and go on the defensive by asking for a blanket just for him. Plus, he was helping his poor, definitely feverish boyfriend keep warm on their twelve hour flight to visit Hunk’s family.

Keith stirred again, this time snuffling tiredly as his eyes fluttered open. Hunk smiled down at him, rubbing a hand through his rumpled hair,

“How did you sleep, baby?”

He resisted the urge to comment on the feverish heat he felt emanating from Keith’s forehead and instead continued to stroke the messy locks out of his face.

Keith yawned a bit and sniffled deeply before speaking,

“I slept okay. It’s hard to get comfortable when I can’t lay all the way out but it helps to have you to lean on.”

Hunk glanced surreptitiously at the man sitting on Keith’s other side by the window, he had already seemed annoyed by Keith’s sniffling and sneezing, and had gone quite red in the face with barely suppressed anger when Keith began kicking him in his sleep intermittently.

“Hih! H’KSCHH’SH!”

Keith seemed startled by the sudden sneeze, as if he hadn’t noticed that his nose had been twitching since he’d woken up. He barely had time to cover, spraying Hunk lightly in the process. His face turned beet red and he desperately scrubbed at Hunk’s shirt with his sleeve, while his other hand scrubbed at his still-twitching nose in an attempt to stave off the sneezes he felt tickling inside.

Hunk delicately pulled him to his chest, hoping that Keith was too out of it to have heard the man on his other side’s noise of disgust at the sneeze, and felt Keith’s hot breath hitching against his shirt.

“Shh, it’s okay, darling. Just let it out,”

Keith whimpered, breath still hitching,

“B-but… Ehhh’hih! People are gonda h-hhhate mbe!”

Hunk thought back to what little he knew about Keith’s past, and recalled that one of his longer periods living in one place had been with a foster family that was extremely germaphobic. Keith would be banished to the basement if he so much as sniffled. No wonder the poor guy was so terrified of letting his fit go.

Hunk rubbed his back comfortingly before taking his hands into one of his own, readying a handful of tissues from his bag in the other.

“Just sneeze, baby. I won’t let anyone say anything to you, okay?”

Keith couldn’t hold the sneezes back any longer even if he wanted to. His tear-filled eyes shut and he sneezed and sneezed until Hunk could feel the wetness of the mess seeping through the tissues into his hand. That wouldn’t do. He quickly placed the index finger of the hand that had been holding Keith’s hostage underneath the dripping appendage and rubbed hard to prevent more sneezes from slipping out, switching the soaked mess of tissues for some fresh ones.

There was something strangely beautiful about Keith in that moment, breath hitching dangerously as the sneezes struggled to escape, his eyes glistening with unshed tears, and his face flushed with fever and exertion.

“Hah-Huhhnk. It t-tihhckles so bad.”

Hunk shook himself from his trance and removed his finger from the frantically twitching appendage, immediately thrusting the tissues to cover the impending sneezes.

“AahtCHTSShyew! Hh’CHTSshuh! HuhNGTChuh! HP’NGKshh!”

Keith panted in the aftermath of the fit, looking about ready to collapse. Just then the pilot came on the intercom and announced their descent. Hunk glanced down at his dozing boyfriend and smiled warmly; they’d made it. His family was going to spoil Keith rotten and make him feel so much better.

I love when characters have tells when they’re sick. Like specific tells unique to them, like one character has really messy hair when they’re not feeling well. Another wears one certain t-shirt because it’s the most comfortable thing they own. Another falls asleep at exactly 8:00 every night when they’re getting a cold. Another is more enthusiastic and energized and everyone noticed because it’s the exact opposite of anyone else when they’re sick.