Illness Dan and Phil ficlet - (Youth Board) Secret Santa for LuckyLeprechaun!

[MoonDuck]

Hey @luckyleprechaun! I "got" you for the Youth Board Secret Santa, and this is what I came up with. Shoutout to Sophie<3 for being my beta. I hope you like it!

 

Phil blinked his eyes awake, glancing at the clock. It was already ten in the morning. He suddenly remembered that he and Dan had been planning to go Christmas shopping, and with this he sprung out of bed, ready to get on with the day. When he got out of bed, though, he found that Dan wasn’t up yet. His bedroom door was still closed. There were no dishes in the sink, no sign that he was awake. Phil had wanted to get an early start to their day, but it looked like they’d be heading out to the rainy streets of London a little bit later than expected. No matter—there was still plenty of time left. 

He headed into the kitchen, pulling out the cereal to get the two of them breakfast. At that moment, Dan emerged from the hallway, barely awake. 

“Good morning!” Phil piped cheerily, inspired by the holiday spirit soon to come. 

Dan grunted in response. “Is it really?” 

Phil frowns. “Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.” 

“Oh, shut up.” 

Phil had grown used to Dan’s rude, snapping retorts over the years, so his grumpiness didn’t bother him much. He didn’t listen to Dan’s command. “When do you want to leave for downtown?

Dan’s breath hitched, before he could say anything else, and he turned to the side, cut off by a sneeze. “Heh’IPTCHhoo!”

“Bless you!” Phil offered, still awaiting his flatmate’s answer. 

There was a way to solve the “wrong side of the bed” problem. Dan mumbled, “I’m going back to bed.” He rubbed his forehead, which had started to pound harder, growing more intense from the dull throbbing he initially felt in the morning. 

“But what about Christmas shopping?” It wasn’t until Dan turned around and headed back to his room that Phil realized he wasn’t kidding. “Where are you going?” 

“Back to bed!” Dan shouted, irritated, though his raspy voice nearly gave out at the end. His temper had been cut particularly short today. He nearly walked into the wall as he journeyed to his room. 

Phil set the cereal down, following after his flatmate. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing a little more sleep can’t fix.” It was clear he wanted Phil to leave him alone for the time being, though he tried to keep his tone light. He pushed open his bedroom door. An airiness to his voice was unusual, but maybe if he kept on as if things were fine Phil would stop bothering him and let him get some more rest. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” The care in his friend’s voice was evident. Phil had no intention of leaving his best friend alone. 

Dan snapped. “No, I’m dizzy, and my throat and nose are on fire. I’m dying from the inside out.” He plopped onto his bed, but that just caused the room to spin and his head to ache harder. He laid back slowly, positioning himself amidst his cozy covers and pulling them up over his face. 

Phil followed him into the room, entering his personal space. “Are you running a temperature?”  

After a moment Dan pulled the blankets down slightly, revealing his head. “H-hold on…” His eyes scrunched up, and his mouth was agape. He quickly brought the blankets up, back over his mouth, and sneezed into them, jerking forward. “HIh’CHOO! Ehp’tCHOO!” 

“Dan!” Phil reached over and felt his forehead, unable to help himself. It was burning, as he had expected. 

“You didn’t even bless me,” Dan complained, swatting Phil’s hand away. It was a vain attempt to change the subject and distract Phil. 

“You’re burning up!” Phil countered. There were more important things to worry about than polite exchanges. 

Dan simply pulled his blankets back over himself and rolled over, facing the wall away from Phil, too tired and annoyed to further deal with him. 

Phil knew there wasn’t anything he could accomplish through talking to Dan, so he left the room, determined to find another way to help his best friend feel better. Phil could hear coughing from down the hallway. He searched for some Ibuprofen, finally finding a box of Motrin, and then he picked up a couple of loose cough drops he found laying around the cabinet. 

The bedroom door creaked open. Dan turned to see Phil had come back to bother him. He blinked, groggy. “What?” 

“It’s just medicine. Take it.” He fumbled with the child safety cap for a moment before popping open the bottle, dumping out a couple of pills for Dan. 

“I have a lump in my throat the size of Jupiter. I’m not swallowing that.” 

Of course Dan had to be difficult. He was always fickle like this when he was ill. Phil sighed. “I’ll get you some water.” 

When Phil returned with the glass, Dan took the pills wordlessly, then said, “thanks.” 

This response caught Phil off-guard. Dan must have been exhausted if this was how he was behaving. Phil nodded. Their plans to go Christmas shopping may have been ruined, but Phil would always be there for Dan. 
 

[Sharkylemon]

Omgs I just watched some Dan&Phil recently~. Aaa this is rlly great, I love your writing

[luckyleprechaun]

Yay! You wrote Dan and Phil!

On 12/27/2016 at 0:42 PM, MoonDuck said:

After a moment Dan pulled the blankets down slightly, revealing his head. “H-hold on…” His eyes scrunched up, and his mouth was agape. He quickly brought the blankets up, back over his mouth, and sneezed into them, jerking forward. “HIh’CHOO! Ehp’tCHOO!” 

I don't know what it was, but something about this part was just perfect.

Dan is the perfect sickie-- overdramatic and cute. Phil is really in character as well! I can totally see all of their actions being things that they would do, which just makes it amazing.

Thanks so much Moon!

[LastHope]

This is sooo cute, I love it!!