bigapplesauce | the cure for what ails ya [open]

Current Location: gabe's place
Current Music: October 2nd

Entry tags:

the cure for what ails ya [open]

(slight sickness related grossness in the following)

He wakes up sore, and not in a fun way. He groans, and every muscle in his body protests as he swings his legs around the edge of the bed and sits up. What the hell is this? He stomach feels wrong and his head is pounding like he's got the worst hangover imaginable. Actually, worse than imaginable because when he attempts to heal himself, nothing happens.

There's something on his face- he lifts a hand and "Ughh-" that's definitely snot on his face. There is snot where it definitely should not be. At least when he goes to wipe it away, it disappears.

Whatever this is, he clearly needs help. A moment later, he arrives lying face down on Johnny's bed.

He groans. "Johnny, I've been cursed. Probly the rift. You need to-" He waves a hand vaguely then coughs, and for a moment he feels like he might just keep coughing forever, but it passes. "-call Aziraphale. He needs to come'n do something." He's ill. Surely this is what it feels like to be deathly ill, and if Aziraphale can't heal him, maybe he can reverse whatever curse the rift or whoever has put on him.

(He'll be with Johnny for a while, but later he'll be up at his place again, likely flopped in bed. Anyone is free to visit then)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gabriel opens his eyes when he hears Johnny's voice, and it's a relief when he comes close enough to sense him again.

"Johnny, you were gone for hours." Reluctantly, he lets Johnny help him up and, after a moment to steady himself, he nods toward the couch. If things are going to be happening out here, he doesn't want to be stuck in the bedroom by himself. "I was worried you got hurt and Mako wouldn't let me see if I can still heal humans." He pauses halfway to the couch and leans heavily against Johnny. "Then she wanted me to eat soup."

"Oh my god," says Johnny, halfway between exasperation and amusement, as he aims to steer Gabe into the bedroom. He stalls out both at Gabe's silent request for the couch, and at the sight of the other presence on the floor by the bed.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he says. "I see Aziraphale was super helpful."

Scout lifts his head, his tail wagging gently like he wants to come over and greet Johnny, but ultimately he seems unwilling to forsake his apparently very comfortable spot on the unconscious angel's back.

"Jesus, can't let you outta my sight for a minute," he says lightly, helping Gabe to the couch, setting him up with a pillow and a blanket. "I'm fine, see? Just went to get some stuff for you, like I said. Mako's right about the soup. That's why I got some." He reaches into his bag and pulls out a can of chicken noodle, waggling it at him. "Look, whatever this is, I think it's safe to assume it's just folks like you and the argyle avenger in there who are being affected. That means you're gonna have to take the advice of us lowly humans today. We know how to deal with the flu, all right? Just sit tight, let us help you."

He turns away, giving Mako a look as he heads into the kitchen. "Thank god you're here," he mutters. "Sorry about all this. I mean, I could... probably use an extra pair of hands, if..." He shrugs. This is not exactly prime hang-out material, but she's here, and she's already heating water. That's a good sign, right?

He lays out his purchases on the counter: soup, cayenne, ginger root, and NyQuil. "Last resort," he says softly, pointing to the latter. "What're you making?"

She's intensely relieved when Johnny answers, and even more so when he enters not a minute after and confirms what she's been speculating; symptoms as inconvenient as a sore throat and a fever levered upon beings unaccustomed to coping with such things would take them off guard. Whatever concern she had been steadily nursing dissolves upon contact with Johnny's good-natured levity. Clearly he has been dealing with this sort of occurrence - and Gabe - for much longer than she has.

She bites her lip and turns to the kitchen counter in an attempt to stifle her amusement.

"I was going to make tea," she says, surveying Gabe's selection beneath a furrowed brow. "Though honey with lemon might be better. Everything he has is caffeinated." And while Aziraphale's untidy sprawl over the floor may not be very helpful, it certainly would be the right idea in terms of getting rest.

Gabriel balks a little about the blanket, and he's extremely unenthused about the idea of eating anything, but he is glad to be off of the floor and onto a softer surface. He snorts a laugh at argyle avenger, then curls up on his side as Johnny wanders off back to Mako and the kitchen.

"I don't want soup," he says, though probably not loud enough to be heard at the other side of the room.

"Mm." Johnny nods at her assessment, gets her a mug and the bottle of lemon juice they have mostly for drink mixing. "Yeah, that'll be good. We can sprinkle a little of this in there, too. Clear out the sinuses." He unearths a cheese grater, meaning to start on the ginger, then changes his mind and pulls out a pot and a can opener. Soup's more important.

"How you been?" he asks Mako conversationally, like this isn't totally weird.

Johnny, for his part, seems to have adjusted to the situation nicely. It's helpful to have another human around, and she smiles slightly as she sets the water heating.

"It's been an interesting day," she says, completely truthfully. "I take it this isn't normal."

Not if Gabe's reaction is any indicator.

"Does he usually not eat?" she asks with a faint frown.

Gabriel lies with his head half-covered by the blanket. He can't seem to regulate his own internal temperature, which is extremely annoying. That, and he can't decide whether he's hot or cold. A moment later, he pushes the blanket down to his waist.

He frowns at Mako's question. He may be all the way on the other side of the room, but he doesn't appreciate being talked about like he's not here at all. Maybe she just thinks he can't hear her.

Well, he can solve that. He raises his voice loud enough to be heard. "He eats plenty, thank you." Sure, most of what he eats isn't really enough to construct a food pyramid, but it's still food.

"Plenty of candy," Johnny adds, raising his voice right back at him. He empties the can of soup into the pot and then turns to Gabe, gesturing at him with a wooden spoon. "Be nice to Mako. She doesn't have to be here."

He starts the soup on a low heat and gives it an occasional stir.

"You can't have candy right now," he says. "Sugar'll make you feel way worse. Trust me."

She looks between them uncertainly. She had not meant for Gabe to overhear, though perhaps she should have accounted for angelic hearing, assuming that is not malfunctioning as well.

Maybe she does not have to be here, but she doubts Johnny would like to handle Gabe's affliction on his own, so she aliquots a fair amount of lemon juice and honey into the mug.

"Is honey good for now?" She adds the water and stirs as she carries the steaming mug to Gabe.

Gabriel pushes himself up with some effort as Mako comes closer. He does feel thirsty now, and anything honey flavored sounds good.

He hums in agreement and reaches out for the mug. Though instead of drinking it right away he just hunches over it and feels the warmth of it through the mug.

He thinks, how did this happen? Logically he knows that the rift can pull any strings it wants to, but somehow he had still thought he'd be above something like this. For something like him to be reduced to this state is just inconceivable in some way. He should be exempt from fevers and coughs and runny noses. He's an angel. Surely that's one of the major benefits.

"I was a God, y'know" he says after a moment, still staring into the mug but not drinking from it. His vision blurs. Softly, he continues, "People used to leave me jars of honey. Offerings. I liked that."

Johnny softens a little when he hears that. He leaves the soup for now and steps over to the couch and squats down beside him, resting a hand on his sweaty forehead. He's never seen Gabe like this before, it's weird, and weirdly comforting. Like they're on the same level for once.

"You want me to start leaving jars of honey around the house?" he asks with a little smile. "Though I guess we could say I've offered you plenty at this point."

Is that weird to say in front of Mako? Probably. Whatever. She'll have to get used to them one way or another.

He was a god, but he also said he was an angel. Mako may not be well-versed in Christian theology, but it's her basic understanding that the two are not the same thing. He says it wistfully while Johnny with the air of a private joke, and she isn't sure if she might be missing something personal.

Instead she wordlessly lets him accept the mug and offers a small smile.

"It should pass in a few days," she says. An inelegant shift of subject, but she already feels as though she is interrupting.

He leans into the coolness of the hand on his forehead and sighs.

"Yes," Gabriel says to Johnny, intoning the word with far more seriousness than he'd intended. He knows that Johnny is joking with him, he doesn't miss the innuendo, but at the same time- yes. Johnny has offered him so much that he doesn't really deserve.

That, and he really would like it if he brought him jars of honey.

Mako's voice pulls him up and away from Johnny's hand, but it takes him a moment to process what she's actually said.

"Days. A few?" He cringes. A few days of this seems like too much. One day of this is too much. He groans and, in quick succession, teleports the drink to the coffee table, then tips over onto his side and buries his face in his pillow.

It takes him a few moments before he remembers that he's supposed to be maintaining a persona here. Now that Johnny is back, things seem less dire, more manageable. Johnny may know how much of the usual persona is bullshit, but Mako certainly doesn't. He's done a lot of damage here, he knows, but maybe it can be salvaged.

"Thanks," he mumbles into the pillow, then he turns his head enough to look at her. "Good to know. Dying for a week max. Ugh."

"An'-" he he sniffs inelegantly, then reaches out to clasp Johnny on the shoulder, which ends of more as a weak slap to the chest and then his hand clinging to the front of Johnny's shirt. "You don't have to stay now, Blue. We'll go paint the town neon later, you'll see."

Johnny grins at Gabe's quick answer. Adorable. Also weird, if he thinks about it, like - obviously Gabe isn't entirely kidding, and that's just a big huge neon sign reminding him YOU'RE DATING A GOD, but... it's cute.

"Hopefully just a few," he says evenly, stroking Gabe's back. "I mean, that's how long it takes for humans. We'll see if the Rift decides to let you off the hook sooner."

He glances at Mako when Gabe gives her permission to leave. He doesn't really want her to leave - not that he wouldn't mind being alone with Gabriel, even a pathetically ill one, but it's nice, too, having a sane normal human around. Something to do with how much he misses Seth, probably.

"I mean, I could also probably use your help," he says, trying not to sound like he's saying please don't leave me. "It's a full time job caring for this one. I mean, provided you don't have anything better to do, which..." Ha ha oh god. He wouldn't blame her if she headed right out the door.

"It should get better with each day," she reminds him. "You'll know when you start feeling better."

She smiles faintly. It sounds a bit too much like a thinly-veiled plea for help, which, given Gabe's current state, she can understand.

"I'm not doing anything else today," she says with an even shrug. "I don't mind it - if you don't mind, I mean." She directs the last half of the statement at Gabe, as if asking permission. It feels practically required, still, the habitual defaulting to authority, and an angel landlord feels like the nearest thing to it.

Gabriel considers this for a moment. Johnny very clearly wants Mako to stay. Part of him doesn't want to embarrass himself any further in front of her, but once someones seen you face-down on the floor begging for a pillow maybe the embarrassment just lasts forever. Also she made him tea. That's nice. Mako is nice.

"Meh," he says, and gestures vaguely with the hand not currently fisted into Johnny's shirt. "Okay. But. No soup." Soup sounds like the worst.

"You're having soup," says Johnny sternly, and looks at Mako again. "It's probably ready by now, but I don't think he's gonna let me go." He pats Gabe's hand gently. "I promise it'll help, okay?"

He can already tell there's going to be bargaining and extensive cajoling involved in this. He's morbidly delighted by the thought, as well as immensely relieved Mako is going to be sticking around.

"It's not sweet, but it's good for you," she says, quietly insistent in a tone she hopes is adequately far from directly scolding. She retreats to the kitchen to switch off the stove and obligingly dish up the soup. Johnny must not be that bad a cook; it smells very good, and hopefully Gabe will agree.

She returns, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at the faintly ridiculous panorama that greets her. Gabe hasn't seemed to have relinquished his grip on Johnny. She offers the bowl to the pair of them, spoon and all, uncertain whether she should be presenting it to Johnny or to Gabe directly, as the angel still seems rather adamant upon not eating it.

"I'm not human-sick, I'm rift sick. You don't know if anything'll help." Still mostly horizontal, Gabriel looks up at the soup with a frown, then slowly makes his way upright, losing his grip on Johnny's shirt along the way. Once he's sitting up, he grabs for the tea from the coffee table instead of the soup.

"Johnny can eat his soup. I'm having this." He still has yet to actually drink any of it, but he's taking baby steps here. The important bit is getting Johnny to sit down next to him so that he can lean against him while he thinks about drinking the tea.

Johnny gives Gabe a truly unimpressed look and takes the soup from Mako. "You're eating the soup, Gabriel." He sets the bowl briefly on the table and pulls himself up onto the couch, nestling himself in alongside Gabe's legs. He picks up the bowl again and dips the spoon in, blowing gently on the spoonful before holding it out expectantly. "Are you going to make me feed you or are you going to behave?"

He's doing this partly to tease and piss Gabe off, because it's fun, and partly because he hopes it will actually work. Poor Mako continues to get a really weird window into their relationship. He never thought he had this much natural domesticity in him but having a god who is acting like a toddler for a boyfriend will do that, he supposes.

He feels momentarily caught up by the idea, again, that he's dating a fucking god, that he's dating period, that.. this is a moment that is happening in his life. Who could have seen this shit coming, that he'd go from emaciated city rat to whatever the fuck this is.

Okay he's not getting emotional while trying to force-feed an archangel chicken soup. He's not. This is so stupid.

"You could probably drink it," she suggests, again feeling sorely out of place in relation to the pair of them and their easy familiarity despite Gabe's plight. She hovers at their periphery, unwilling to settle in to witness such an intimate scene but equally unwilling to simply leave when Johnny was so openly relieved to hear she would be staying. "Like tea, but instead, soup."

She compromises. She sits on the floor across from the couch with a safe distance stretched between herself and the pair.

"You will feel better once you eat it, you know."

When Johnny uses his full name, the sense of him being called plus Johnny's closeness feels like a chime going off in his head. He closes his eyes for a second, and when he looks back up, Johnny is holding up bowl and spoon like he's going to start making airplane noises at any moment.

He glares in Johnny's direction while he lifts the mug to his lips and takes a sip. It feels alright- the warmth is good. It could be sweeter, but it'll do for now. He doesn't want to test the theory that more sugar will make him sicker. He can't even imagine what 'more sick' would feel like. "I know how soup works," he says to Mako. "I'm drinking the tea. You wanted me to drink the tea. If this even counts as tea."

He takes another sip, slowly getting used to it. "An' dont-" he gestures vaguely at Johnny with one hand. "Don't do the name thing. Normally I'd be over the moon but now it's..." He's not entirely sure how to describe the feeling of his name being said with intent. He tips his head to the side a fraction, as if he's still hearing his name being called. In a way, he is. "It echoes. It's noooo good."

"Gabe," says Johnny in exasperation just as he registers 'the name thing', which gives him immediate pause. He hesitates, looking at him in mild confusion. "What are you talking about? You mean like... when I call you Gabriel? It echoes?"

He knew that he had to use that name specifically to pray, but he didn't know it actually sounded different all the time. This is turning into a big damn learning experience. For him and for Mako. Lucky Mako.

He's finally drinking the tea, which certainly counts as progress of a sort.

Mako's knowledge of angels is desultory at best, but the power of a name is a more universal concept. She only ever referred to him as 'Gabe,' mimicking Johnny. It raises an interesting question.

She says nothing and chews on the inside of her lip as carefully avoids looking at either of them, but simply thinks very slowly and deliberately: Gabriel.

Gabriel grunts when Johnny uses his full name again. "Echoes is...I can't think of a better way to say it. You don't have the sense for it. Maybe like-" He coughs suddenly, and it surprises him enough that he nearly drops his mug. After a quick moment of making sure it's alright, he settles back again. "-like a ping. Doorbell. Handshake." He shrugs, giving up on trying to find an appropriate metaphor. "S'Angel thing."

When Mako thinks his name, it comes to him as clearly as if she had said it aloud. It's a bit better than when Johnny had said it, maybe because it was only in her mind. He didn't have the jumble of hearing his name aloud at the same time that he heard it in her mind.

"It's usually... It's nice. Sick ruins everything." His gaze slides over to her, and he gestures to her for Johnny's sake. "Do like Mako. That was better."

the cure for what ails ya [open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

my hand slipped

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)