literature

SRMTHFG: Susceptible Ch. 1

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                                                                   Susceptible

It started with waking drenched in sweat and unusually groggy. Chiro brushed it off as the result of a humid summer night and too much training the day before.

Making his way to the control room, he found Otto making repairs to the main computer.

"Hey, Otto," he greeted. "Where is everyone?"

The green monkey turned around and flipped up his welding mask to reveal his ever-present smile.

"Mornin', Chiro. Gibson's in his lab doin' science stuff, Sprx and Nova are in the trainin' room, and Antauri's meditatin'." His eyes widened as if he'd just remembered something. "Oh, and we put the leftover pancakes in the fridge if you're hungry."

Chiro smiled warmly. "Thanks, Otto. I do feel kind of hungry."

The mechanic gave the teen a thumbs up. "Don't mention it. Remember to drown 'em in syrup! That's the best way!"

Chiro laughed as he walked out of the room, tossing an "I will!" over his shoulder. But the second he was out of sight, he leaned against the wall and sighed. While he really was hungry, his stomach churned and his head felt incredibly light…and now that he thought about it, he was rather congested as well. He couldn't be coming down with something, could he? Not now….

"Chiro?"

The boy jumped and yelped in surprise at the unexpected voice, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who it was.

"Nova, it's just you. You scared me."

The golden monkey eyed the boy anxiously. Walking up to him without a word, she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead.

"Chiro, you're burning up! What have you been doing?"

The fourteen-year-old waved his hands in front of his person defensively.

"Nothing, I swear! I just woke up! I was goin' to get some breakfast when…" He trailed at the skeptical look she was giving him.

"Mm hm. And that's why you were slumped against the wall, huh? Sick with hunger?" She grabbed the boy's sleeve and began dragging him down the hall. "Come on. I'm taking you to Gibson."

Chiro stopped walking and yanked his arm away. "Nova, I feel fine! A little woozy and congested, but that's nothing a little rest won't cure! I promise, I'm fine. I'll tell you if I start feeling worse." With a small smile, he brought a fist over his heart. "Monkey Team member's honor."

She continued to stare at him worriedly, but her eyes drifted to the hand that lay over his chest. He had never broken a promise before, and he had always been in the practice of only making vows he knew he could keep….

With a sigh, she hung her head.

"All right, Chiro. You win." She whipped her head up to smirk venomously, a threatening finger poking his chest. "But if you lie to me or keep it to yourself to stop us from worrying," she cracked her knuckles, "let's just say you'll end up like Sprx." (The week before, the red monkey had played an accidentally-destructive prank on Nova in the middle of one of her training sessions—the wise-cracker'd ended up with a bruise the size of a coconut.)

Chiro, recalling the memory, absently rubbed his arm. "I hear you loud and clear. Thanks." The female of the team nodded and began to walk away. "And Nova?"

"Yeah, Chiro?" she asked, looking back.

"Do you think you could wait to tell the others? I don't want them to worry."

At this the simian looked about to protest, but when she saw the plea in his blue eyes, she found she couldn't resist.

"Okay, but if something happens—" though she swore she would prevent it at any and all costs, "—it'll be on your tailless butt, not mine."

The boy nodded gratefully, and the two went their separate ways.

Heading to the kitchen, Chiro prepared the pancakes and, as promised, doused them in syrup.  In reaching for his fork, however, Chiro paused.  Had it gotten colder in here?  He was shivering….

It was in this confused state that Antauri found him.

"Is something wrong, Chiro?"

Tensing in surprise at the unexpected entrance, Chiro clenched his fork in an effort to quell the shaking.  He looked over at his hovering mentor and offered a small smile.

"Morning, Antauri." He didn't feel like breaching the definition of 'wrong' just yet. "How's the city?  Any sign of an attack?"

The silver monkey eyed him curiously, but shook his head all the same. "No.  For the moment, Shuggazoom city appears to be safe from harm."

Chiro's expression turned serious. "Good, but we have to stay alert, Antauri. There could be an attack at any time."

The metal simian nodded, smiling softly.

"We always are, Chiro." Unexpectedly, though, his face took on a frown. "Are you sure you're feeling all right? I sense a disturbance in the Power Primate," his narrowed eyes clearly conveyed his suspicion, "and in you as well."

Chiro averted his eyes and bit his lip. He'd never been able to lie to Antauri…. His very heart trembled at the thought. Finally, he sighed, defeated. Looked like his pact with Nova about not telling the others had been made for nothing.

"Okay... I admit to waking up with a fever, but Nova already—"

"Nova?" Antauri echoed, surprised. The next part was said mostly to himself. "That would explain why she looked so anxious when I passed her just now…."

Chiro rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking guilty.

"Yeah, uh…I kind of made her promise not to say anything…" Antauri gave him a stern look, and he rushed to remedy the situation, "…but I only said that so you guys wouldn't worry! Besides, I swore to tell her the micron I started feeling worse!"

The monkey's intent stare did not let up, though Chiro thought he saw Antauri's eyes flit to scan his person.

"Chiro, as your teammates and more importantly as your friends, we always worry about your well-being." He smiled. "As you do ours."

The human grinned back. "Fair enough, Antauri. Let's go see Gibson." The boy made to stand, but his head swam and he raised a hand to his forehead, reaching out to grab the chair with his free appendage. He missed, however, and would have fallen had the silver monkey not shot forward to steady him. Chiro looked up and smiled weakly. "Thanks."

The disquieted simian managed a small smile in return before helping the boy to the sick bay.

Chiro sighed. Some day this turned out to be….
The basis of this fic might seem cliche to some of you, and in most respects I agree. However, I happen to enjoy 'sick day' fics (when they're done well, mind), and as I was watching a few episodes of the show earlier this week, I realized that never, in a single episode, has Chiro shown any signs of strain or illness (and a couple of those eps, he was in deep snow- even frozen- and got off with nothing? That's just not logical!). Thus, I've decided to rectify that, while also taking a different run than (hopefully) most other such fics.

This will only be around two to three chapters long, I think...but it all depends on where my muse takes me.

Thanks for reading, as always!
© 2010 - 2024 SonicTailsBros4ever
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PippalinaDream's avatar
I like sickfics too!