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WOOT this is actually the first sickfic i've ever written! i just really feel like ninjago doesn't have enough sickfics, figured I may as well throw my hat in the ring :]
might take this off anon one day but don't get your hopes up lol
edit: i found out i'm literally in a discord server with someone who kudos'd this fic and it gave me the confidence to take this off anon lol
Of all the ways to be woken up, Kai thinks his least favourite has gotta be to the sound of someone vomiting less than two feet away from him.
For a brief moment, he's transported back to a time when it was just him and Nya, and much of his life revolved around taking care of her. He's seen her through many illnesses, and she's returned the favour just as many times.
But when he opens his eyes and turns over, it's not Nya, but Jay. And- yeah. Kai's a ninja now. He shares a room with three other boys he doesn't know very well, and one of them is currently throwing up in a trash can.
He can't see much in the darkness, but he can just barely make out the tense line of his shoulders. Kai carefully gets out of bed, trying not to wake the others, but he can already hear Zane getting up. Cole seems to still be asleep- figures he'd sleep like a rock.
Jay startles when Kai puts a hand on his shoulders, but doesn't lift his head. He heaves one last time, and then lifts his head slightly to look at Kai.
Zane puts a hand on Jay's forehead, and after barely a second announces, "You have a fever of 101.4 degrees Fahrenheit."
I have got to figure out how he does that, Kai thinks, still rubbing Jay's shoulders.
Jay leans back and sits so he's no longer kneeling over the bin, and takes a few deep breaths through his nose.
"Hey, Jay. How're you feeling?" Kai asks.
"Like I just threw up in a trash can," Jay says dryly. "I was tryin' to get to the bathroom, but I didn't have time."
"I can see that. C'mon, I'll get you a glass of water." He carefully helps Jay to his feet, and guides him towards the kitchen. He hopes Zane isn't too peeved about having to deal with clean up, but all he has to do is throw out the trash bag anyways.
They arrive at the dining room, and Kai sits Jay down at the table before going to the kitchen to pour him a glass of water. He doesn't know where Wu keeps his medicine, or if he even has any (Kai just hopes he's not an anti-vaxxer), so he settles for a sleeve of crackers from the pantry and returns to the dining room.
When he does, Jay's eyes are closed, and he's shivering. Kai regrets not bringing a blanket along with them. With the light in the kitchen, he can see how is face is flushed with fever.
Kai gives Jay the glass and the crackers, and Jay sips on the water but ignores the crackers. Kai decides to let him, for now. He wouldn't wanna eat anything so soon after throwing up, either.
"Why didn't you tell anyone you weren't feeling well?" Kai asks. He's aware that seeing Jay sick is bringing out a rather... parental side of him that usually only Nya sees, but he can't help it. Maybe it's just in his nature to be the older brother.
"I felt fine last night," Jay says. "Maybe it's food poisoning, or somethin'."
Kai shakes his head. "We all had the same dinner, and you're the only one who got sick. You sure you didn't feel sick at all?" He wracks his own mind for anything that might've hinted towards this, but comes up blank.
Jay shrugs. "I'unno, sometimes I jus' get sick really fast, and I don't see it coming."
He takes another small sip of water. Zane walks into the room, followed by Cole, who barely seems awake and has a blanket over his shoulders.
Zane sits down next to Jay and hands him two pills. "These will help reduce nausea and fever. They work better when taken with food, so you should have some of the crackers as well."
Jay doesn't take the medication, he just drops the pills on the table. Kai is ready to start a lecture about the importance of medication when Jay suddenly stands and bolts from the room.
As Kai follows down the hall, all he can say is he's glad Jay made it to the bathroom this time. Though, Jay looks absolutely miserable- dry heaving is always worse.
He kneels next to Jay rubbing his shoulders and back. Jay's hair isn't long enough to need to be held out of his face like Nya's used to be. "It's alright," he says calmly, "just let it out, you'll feel better." Even if all Jay is letting out at this point is bile.
He hears Zane enter, but there isn't much any of them can do except wait it out.
Eventually, Jay stops heaving, and he leans back- against Kai.
Kai isn't expecting it, and doesn't really know what to do, so he just- loops his arms around Jay's chest and holds him. It's what he and Nya always did for each other, and if Jay wanted a hug, then he was entitled to one.
None of the ninja were quite... comfortable around each other yet. They didn't really do a lot of touchy-feely stuff, but Kai supposed anyone would want comfort after that.
After a moment, once Jay is calmer, Kai helps him stand. Zane has refilled Jay's glass from the bathroom sink, and hands it to him so he can rinse his mouth out and take a few sips.
After he's drank a bit, Jay says, "If you ask me to eat anything or take any medicine, I'm dying all your clothes pink again."
Zane frowns and says, "Your health should be your top priority. I know it is not pleasant, but you will feel better afterwards."
Jay glares at him, but gives in rather quickly. "If I throw up again, remind me to do it on Zane's bed," he tells Kai.
Kai just chuckles and guides him back to the dining room. Cole intercepts them on their way to wrap Jay's own blanket around his shoulders.
Jay takes a ridiculously long time to eat a handful of crackers and take two pills, but they get there in the end. Kai tells him stories about taking care of Nya growing up, and Cole occasionally chimes in with stories of his own. Zane claims to have never been sick, which the others don't believe- he's just never been sick that he can remember.
Once Jay's taken the medicine and Zane is pleased with the number of crackers he's eaten, all four of them head back to bed. Kai will never admit to pulling Jay's covers up to his chin, and no one has any evidence to the contrary.
Jay still isn't feeling well in the morning, and Master Wu excuses him from training. "For a healthy mind, one must have a healthy body," he says.
And, if everyone but Zane gets sick in the coming days, well, it's worth it to take care of their friend.
the title for this fic isn't great but the title of the document is 'jay has every disease' so like. could be worse?