One Month To Go! Are You Ready!?

One Month to Go! Are you ready!?

although i do also love, like, in general, when ppl have particular little things that let them know an illness is going to be Bad

and i dont mean like "oh i have a fever of 103 on day 1 this is gonna be Bad" - i mean specifically innocuous little things that might not seem like a big deal to an outside observer, like

oh, i'm losing my voice. this is gonna end up being a lingering chest cold - and then the person is Right. because they always get a lingering one when they lose their voice, every time, like clockwork

just - something about the predictability of it, and the person knowing their own body/experiences that well, and the kind of satisfaction of being correct, especially if someone doubted them, and the comfort in being prepared, just - s'good shit

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things that ~get~ me:

someone having to hide how sick they’re feeling because they’re at work or in public even though all they want is to lie down and have their stomach rubbed

someone who ate something chancy because they were in a hurry and thought it was fine until later on in the day when something begins to feel Very Wrong in their tummy

someone who’s had a stomach ache for a while but has been trying to hide it just unable to take it anymore and turning to their s/o or friend to say, “I don’t feel well,” or “My stomach hurts,” in the hopes they’ll get a belly rub

someone who’s stomach is really tight and bloated with gas and/or food who’s having Difficulties relieving the painful tension

someone whose shirt or pants is uncomfortably tight around their stomach but they can’t do anything about it because they’re not at home so they just sort of shift with discomfort

and then part two of the previous one: getting home and them feeling very relieved when they can finally unbutton their shirt/pants

Belly Noises™

someone arching into the caretaker’s touch when they find that magical spot that feels so nice, letting them know to please keep rubbing there

groans and whimpers of pain and then the ensuing sighs of relief as they’re comforted

Alright lately i’ve been having really bad migraines and I just started thinking about how good it is to read about light sensitivity when it comes to them— So i was wondering if maybe you’d write something with Dakota having a really bad migraine, light sensitivity and all that good stuff, and he’s trying to convince blair it’s not that bad but then he gets sick from the pain and well....she’s not so convinced anymore. I hope you’re doing good!!✨✨

Thanks for the request, I had a lot of fun with it! A while ago I wrote a fic with Dakota and Blair on a cruiseship, and this is the same trip. Takes place on a cruise :)

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When Blair returned from the bathroom, she found Dakota with his head on the table. He wrapped his arms around his head as a pillow and appeared to be sleeping. But he wasn’t sleeping. His back rose and fell quite rapidly from his heavy breathing. From within the cave that he created, he tried to block out the noise of the room. The music and chatter was overwhelming.

They were in a club-like room with a few tables against the wall and a dance floor in the center. It was loud and the lights were set up to beam around the space. Dakota stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the other vacationers who were laughing and grinding up against each other. It would have looked fun if Dakota were able to even spare a glance at the scene.

Blair put her hand on Dakota’s back. His shirt was damp with sweat which wouldn’t have seemed out of place if Dakota had gone up to dance at least once. But nope. Not long after arriving at the club, Dakota guarded their table with his life. He never left his seat even when Blair asked him to dance. “What’s wrong with you, Kota?” Blair raised her voice to be heard over the music.

Upon feeling a hand on his back and hearing his girlfriend’s voice, Dakota shot up. He had only planned on resting his head for a minute while Blair went to the washroom. The plan certainly wasn’t to look like a buzzkill when Blair came back. And the plan definitely hadn’t been to rest his head and forget about time and space. But that’s what happened. As soon as Dakota found a semblance of darkness within his arms, he started to drift out of his body.

He dragged his hand down his face and tried to pump life back into his body. The strobe lights made him wince as he spoke to Blair. “I have a bit of a headache.”

That was one hell of an understatement. Dakota felt like all the blood in his skull was pooling right behind his forehead and pushing against his eyes. With each sharp slash of the lights across his vision, he wondered when the blood was going to start bursting through. Already his eyes were bloodshot with how much he’d been rubbing them.

Dakota wasn’t usually prone to migraines, but he felt this one coming on even before they got to the club. But Blair wanted to try all the activities that the ship had to offer, so he let the man stamp his hand and walked into the rave. At the beginning, he hoped that the pain would go away. Now he just hoped that the pain wouldn’t get worse.

Blair seemed to wait a moment before speaking. Her attention got snagged by the song that started playing. “Uh…I might have…ibuprofen back in the room.”

“No, that’s okay,” Dakota said quickly. He could see that Blair wanted to stay. She hadn’t even sat back down at her chair because there was too much energy in her limbs. She’s so cute, he thought. He wanted to join her on the floor but the thought of getting up made his stomach turn. “Go dance. I’m going to get us something to drink. What do you want?”

“I want you to dance with me.” Blair was slowing inching closer to the center of the room. She took the question seriously when Dakota’s face remained neutral. “But I guess I’ll have whatever you’re getting.”

“I’m getting water.” There was no chance that Dakota would be drinking anything else. His stomach would surely team up with his aching head. Though he suspected that that was already happening.

“Oh…you sure? They have some pretty cool drinks here.”

Dakota didn’t have the energy or the mental capacity to have this conversation. “…Blair.” It sounded more exasperated than he wanted but there was nothing he could do. There was only so much fake-it-till-you-make-it that he could muster.

Blair’s face dropped. “Okay fine…get me a water too.” A pout came across her face for a second before concern took over. Dakota was already gone, but she knew that he felt worse than he was letting on. He wasn’t acting like himself. For the time being, Blair danced but it wasn’t as fun.

The lineup for drinks was extremely long. Dakota stood there for as long as he could. At one point he closed his eyes to get a break from the flashing reds and yellows. It wasn’t until a stranger tapped him on the shoulder that he realized that the line had moved forward. He was still so far away from getting the drinks. Eventually, Dakota gave up because every part of his body hurt. He felt his blood pumping in his ears in tune to the music. A wave of dizziness washed over him, but he managed to stagger to the bathroom.

As expected, many other people were in the washroom. Dakota wanted to splash water on his face but there were too many people at the sinks. There was an available stall however, so he hid in there for a while. The thumping of the music could still faintly be heard, but the lighting in the washroom was dim.

The momentary break from the light and noise was welcomed. Well, it was good until the lack of stimuli made Dakota realize just how bad he felt. His stomach was in turmoil. It churned in time with his heartbeat that could be felt under every inch of his skin. The most pressing throbbing came from his eyes. He felt a band of pulsing pain wrap around his head.

Dakota wanted to stay in the stall longer, mostly because he felt sick to his stomach, but people started knocking on the door. With no time to feel better, he swallowed a wave of nausea and left. It took a few minutes for him to gather the willpower to walk back into the club. The music and the lights got ten times worse now that he had a taste of silence.

By some miracle, their table was still free! And that miracle was Blair. She sat all alone, looking sadly towards the crowd of dancers. She perked up as Dakota joined her. She noticed his empty hands. “Where are the drinks?”

Dakota was just too happy about having a place to sit that the question didn’t register in his mind. He rested his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands.

“Kota?”

“What?”

Blair was going to repeat her question, but there was a more important one to ask. Actually, it was more of a statement followed by a question. “You don’t look so hot. Are you sick?”

“It’s just a headache.” His voice was muffled by his hands. “The lights…” he gestured around the room as if Blair could somehow have missed the seizure-inducing lights.

He didn’t bother with the rest of the sentence because the need to burp took precedence. He let out a long, wet belch that made him press his fist against his mouth. The food in his stomach sloshed around inside of him, making him shiver with nausea. Maybe it was time to ask Blair if they could leave.

“Hey, babe can you look up for one second?” Blair grabbed his arm and gave it a little shake. She was tired of looking at the top of his head all night, and trying to make sense of his mumbling.

Dakota moaned from the movement. Just then, a harsh hiccup caused his stomach to jump into his throat. A heave escaped his mouth just before a gush of vomit splattered onto the table. In his disorientated state, Dakota barely had the idea to lean over and let the next wave of puke hit the floor.

“Oh God, Dakota!” Blair jumped up from her chair, removing her arms from the table just in time. She came around to Dakota’s side and held onto his large frame. He was practically falling out of his chair with the force of each retch. “Okay, alright…you’re okay.”

Dakota squeezed his pounding eyes shut as his stomach contents splashed across the floor. He feared that if he opened his eyes, he would find himself hanging upside down. The world flipped onto its side, and Dakota no longer knew which way was up. His poor belly was getting rid of everything he ate that day. By some sick joke, the noises of the club were drowned out in his current state. Most of his senses abandoned him except for touch. He could feel Blair firmly rubbing his arm.

“I’m right here,” Blair said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

Blair wanted to move Dakota out of the club, but there was no stopping the flood of sick from pouring from his mouth. With another gurgle and groan of pain, Dakota coated the floor.

Even when he had a moment to breathe, Dakota didn’t dare open his eyes. He did righten himself though because he came close to falling in the mess he made. He slowly sat up, only to let his head fall into Blair’s arms. “Everything hurts, Bee.”

“Oh baby, I’m sorry,” Blair cooed as she brush his hair away from his face. “I’m getting you out of here. Can you stand?”

Dakota didn’t feel confident about standing, but no one would stop him from trying. He held tightly onto Blair’s arms for support as he planted his feet on the floor.

“Alright…” Blair mumbled nervously. “Let’s see if we can get back to the room without you crushing me.”

It took some getting used to, but eventually Dakota managed to walk in a straight line. He felt drunk, hungover, and possessed at the same time.

“We’re almost there,” Blair assured him as they turned down the hallway to their suite.

They were so close, but Dakota stopped. He braced himself against the wall and threw up again. “Ugh fuck…my head.” He burped which dislodged the last small wave of sick. It was a thin stream of stomach acid and bile. When he was finished, Dakota’s legs began to give out.

Blair felt the added weight of her collapsing boyfriend and accepted it. “Okay, okay this is a good spot.” She lowered them both to the ground, a few feet from the puddle of sick.

Once sitting against the wall, Dakota opened his eyes again. He hugged his middle and squinted. As he remembered all that just happened, a deep sigh escaped him. “Did I just puke everywhere?”

Blair couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah, you just puked everywhere.” She covered her mouth with her hand, but it didn’t stop the laugh. “And we just fucking left.”

Dakota half-heartedly chuckled at the thought, then he winced in pain and put his hand on his forehead. “I hope that never happens again.”

“Yeah, that was a migraine,” Blair said while looking back and forth down the hallway. “They aren’t fun.”

“No kidding.”

“Does your head still hurt?”

“Yes.” Dakota cursed at the lights in the hallway. At least they weren’t as bad as in the club.

Blair stood up. She reached out a hand to help her boyfriend. “I’ll give you meds to knock you out so you can hopefully sleep it off.”

Dakota sighed as he became upright. “You might just have to decapitate me.”

“That’ll be plan B.”

He's not even on speaker, you just hafta hold the phone like that to talk to him when he calls. I started this just intending to draw him with his hair pulled up but falling down and then it spiraled.