Fic: Aegis, part 2/4

[kalimyre.livejournal.com]

Aegis

By kalimyre

Rating: PG

Pairing: Ryan/Colin

Summary: In which that fainting on stage thing isn't actually funny when he's not kidding.

Notes: Still Clay's fault. And I still get a kick out of Indy, who cheerleads on the side.

Part One

Part 2

For about half an hour, Colin thought he would be fine. The cough and chills were unpleasant, but livable, and the sense of heavy pressure on his chest making it harder to breathe was a little unnerving, but he could handle it. It wasn’t until a game of Let’s Make a Date that had him running an obstacle course using the other players and the stools as obstacles that he started to get lightheaded. He wasn’t sure if it was lack of food or his inability to take a deep breath that did it, but by the end of the game his head was buzzing and his hands felt half numb.

Ryan shot him a sharp look as they returned to their seats, and Colin ducked it, fiddling with his microphone and looking away. It would be fine. There was twenty minutes left to the taping at most, and he wasn’t in every single game. Even now Wayne was out there alone, doing Song Styles, which gave the rest of them a break. Sitting down was helping and he could already feel the sense of floating grayness fading.

“Colin,” Ryan said quietly, a low warning tone in his voice.

“It’s okay,” Colin said, not looking at him. “We’re almost done.”

“If I see you stagger like that again, I’ll cut the taping short myself,” Ryan replied, laying a hand on his arm.

Colin blinked, frowning at him. “I didn’t stagger.”

Ryan’s jaw tightened, the muscles moving visibly. “You did. I mean it, Colin. I’m not letting you do this to yourself.”

“You’ll see,” Colin insisted, dredging up a smile. “I can handle it.”

Ryan looked ready to argue more, but it was time for a game of Press Conference and he got up there with the rest of them, keeping a steadying hand in the crook of Colin’s elbow and carrying the little podium into position for him. Colin sighed and let him do it, knowing if he allowed Ryan this small thing, he’d avoid the bigger argument about whether to continue the taping at all.

The game went off without a hitch, mostly because Colin could brace his hands against the podium, but that wasn’t obvious to anyone watching and he managed to guess his identity despite his wavering concentration.

“See?” Colin murmured once they were back in their seats. “No problem.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Ryan said skeptically. “I hope you’re right.”

Colin nodded, patting Ryan’s shoulder. “I’m Canadian,” he said. “We’re always right.”

Ryan snorted and smiled at him, but the expression slipped away when Drew announced the next game as Action Replay. “Let me take Wayne,” Ryan said immediately, giving Colin a hard look. “You’re not up for his acrobatics right now.”

“Okay,” Colin sighed, affecting a put upon expression. He couldn’t keep it for long in the face of Ryan’s steady, patient smile, and he slipped a hand along Ryan’s back as they walked over to stand beside Drew’s desk. “Thanks,” he murmured, just before putting the headphones on.

Colin winced a little at the loud music, aggravating his headache, but did his best to block it out and concentrate on remembering Greg’s movements in the game. It looked easy enough at first, Greg standing still in the middle of the stage, looking nervously at Wayne, who was stalking around him in circles with a movement vaguely like a dance. Then Wayne stood back, his arms folded, a stern expression on his face, and Greg hung his head. He dropped to his belly and started doing pushups, ragged and sloppy, but fast. Colin shifted his weight and rubbed his temple with two fingers, sighing.

Wayne stood over Greg, shaking one finger as if he was lecturing, and then jumped over him, spreading his hands like a bird. Greg rolled onto his back and hoisted his legs in the air, waving them, his hands braced under his hips to hold them up. Then he kicked out and managed to flip himself to his feet in one motion, although he stumbled a bit on the landing. Colin could see the crowd cheering, even if he couldn’t hear them.

Greg put his hands on his hips, grinning proudly, and Wayne dropped to his knees, covering his face with both hands. Greg leaned over and kissed him briefly on the forehead, and Colin smiled a little. Wayne blinked up at him, wide-eyed, and then wrapped his arms around Greg’s legs, pulling hard enough for Greg to land on his ass in a controlled fall. They finished with Greg sitting on the stage, hands braced behind him, and Wayne’s arms still loosely wrapped around his shins. Then they stood and beckoned Ryan and Colin over.

Colin took the headphones off, rubbing his ears. It occurred to him as they walked out there that Greg had probably told Wayne to take it easy, assuming that Colin would be following his actions as usual. They’d managed to outsmart themselves by switching and he hadn’t watched Wayne closely enough to switch back now.

He stood in the center of the stage, shaking his head slightly when Ryan gave him a questioning look. He had no idea what they were going to make the scene into; Greg and Wayne’s movements had seemed utterly nonsensical to him.

“Okay, take it away,” Drew said, waving them on, and Colin took a deep breath. If he could get through this, he could do the rest of the taping easily.

Ryan began dancing around him, waving his arms dramatically. “You see?” he asked, his voice sharp and demanding. “You see how it is done? You will never learn ballet if you do not pay attention!”

Colin watched with an anxious expression, clutching his hands together as he remembered Greg doing. “Yes, teacher,” he said, pitching his voice high. “I’m trying, I really am.”

“You have no discipline! Get down and give me twenty,” Ryan told him, standing aside with his arms folded.

Colin dropped down and began doing the pushups, alarmed at how quickly he ran out of breath, his trembling arms threatening to drop him on his belly. Ryan stepped in after only a few pushups, shaking a scolding finger. “No, no, no! You must be light, like the bird.” He jumped awkwardly over Colin, hands outstretched. “You see? Dainty, like me.”

Colin couldn’t help laughing along with the crowd, although he was cut short by another series of coughs in rapid succession. His body flatly refused to do another pushup and he rested on his chest, closing his eyes for a brief moment, the carpet scratchy and cool on his face.

“You must defy gravity,” Ryan said, nudging his side gently with one foot to encourage him to roll over. “Your feet should be so light they float in the air.”

Colin flopped onto his back and managed to get his legs up, waving them a little, his hands propping his hips up as Greg had done. He was aware of his breathing rasping in his throat and his ears and fingers felt strangely cold, almost numb. Ryan was a blurry form standing over him and Colin squeezed his eyes shut for a second, trying to clear his vision. His feet were heavy blocks on the ends of his legs, and Colin thought it was probably bad that he couldn’t feel his toes.

“Now spring!” Ryan called, lifting his arms in the air. “You are a frog! Leap like the frog.”

Colin drew his legs in close, his knees nearly touching his chest, and then kicked out as hard as he could, throwing himself upright. For a moment it was perfect, his feet landing squarely and his body following like a magic trick, everything in order. Then the blurriness swarmed in so fast he had to close his eyes and his knees buckled, sending him stumbling for a step before he dropped gracelessly to the floor.

He could hear the uncertain laughter of the crowd, trailing off to worried murmurs when he didn’t get up right away, and Ryan was speaking to him, one hand on his face, patting him gently, but those things were secondary. He’d landed hard, flat on his back, and had the wind knocked out of him. He couldn’t seem to get it back, his chest aching with each shallow breath, his head spinning.

Hands lifted his shoulders, helping him to sit up, and that eased his breathing considerably. Colin coughed hard, trying to clear the relentless weight from his chest, and gasped for air, calming as he finally started getting enough. Ryan’s arms were right there, bracing him, and he leaned into Ryan’s chest gratefully, unable to keep his eyes open. He felt wrung out and feather light, as if he might float away again at any moment, and he was distantly aware of his whole body shaking.

The dizziness faded but didn’t go away entirely, and he lifted his head, taking a cautious look around. He was sitting on the stage, hunched over with his legs sprawled out messily and Ryan was crouched at his side, holding him up. Wayne and Greg stood over him, leaning close and asking if he was okay, and Drew was approaching as well, saying something to the crowd about holding on a few minutes and he’d let them know.

“Colin?” Ryan asked softly, his voice tight and worried.

“It’s okay,” Colin said. “It’s getting better.”

“Shit, Col, you’re white as a sheet,” Greg said, kneeling awkwardly at Colin’s feet. “I thought you’d be copying Wayne. I wouldn’t have done all that if...”

“I know,” Colin said, waving a hand reassuringly. “Not your fault.”

“What’s going on?” Drew asked, crouching at his other side, across from Ryan. “Colin, are you all right?”

“No,” Ryan said sharply, before Colin could reply. “He’s sick, he’s been sick all day and I think he just passed out for a few seconds.”

Drew patted his shoulder, studying his face, his eyes wide and concerned behind his thick glasses. “You look like hell,” he said seriously. “How do you get sick enough to pass out and not tell anyone?”

“Good question,” Ryan growled, and Colin sighed, closing his eyes again. He still thought he would have been fine if not for that game of Action Replay, but arguing right now would be pointless and would also take way more energy than he had. His chest and head ached and he couldn’t stop shivering, his body soaking up the warmth that Ryan offered and demanding more.

“His breathing sounds really bad,” Wayne said somewhere over his head, and he felt Ryan’s hand on his chest, measuring each breath.

“Feels bad too,” Ryan observed, shaking his head. “All thick and wheezy.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Drew said, and Colin heard rustling to his side as Drew got to his feet. He still hadn’t opened his eyes. If he did, he’d have to face all his friends staring at him with various shades of worry on their faces, not to mention the murmuring crowd that he’d just fallen on his ass in front of. It was so much easier to rest his cheek on Ryan’s shoulder and focus on getting enough air to keep the dizziness at bay.

“Sorry folks, but it looks like we’re going to have to stop the taping early,” Drew announced, and the upset murmur from the crowd immediately gained volume. They quieted after a few moments, though, and Colin could picture Drew waving his hands. “Colin is trying to be stubborn, but he’s too sick to keep going. Don’t worry, he’ll be okay once he recovers from me kicking his ass for not telling us.”

There was scattered laughter from the crowd, and even more when Ryan jumped in with a gruff, “Get in line!”

Colin was aware of the bright overhead stage lights going off, leaving the set dim but far more comfortable, and he reluctantly opened his eyes. The crowd was beginning to shuffle away, but many were lingering, watching the little huddle of performers on the stage with undisguised curiosity. “We should move,” Colin suggested, although he wasn’t sure he could actually get up.

“You should go to a hospital,” Wayne countered, one hand on Colin’s wrist, feeling his pulse. “My brother is a nurse and I helped him do a lot of his studying, so I know a little about this stuff. I think you’ve got pneumonia.”

Colin shook his head, his eyes slipping shut until he forced them open again. “It’s just a chest cold. Maybe the flu.”

“What are your symptoms?” Wayne asked, and then held a hand up, ticking points off on his fingers. “Coughing, chest pain, difficulty breathing, high fever, rapid onset—you probably felt fine yesterday, right?”

Colin nodded and coughed again, then winced; his throat was starting to get sore. “Okay, yeah, but my fever isn’t that high.”

“Colin, please,” Ryan retorted, shaking his head. “You’re like an oven. I can feel it through my shirt.”

“But...” Colin swallowed, shifting uneasily. He knew people could die from pneumonia, and the thought sent something cold skittering through his belly. “You really think that’s it?”

Wayne nodded, exchanging a worried glance with the others. “I’m pretty sure. You’re at higher risk to get it because of the smoking, and you’re showing all the signs. Well, except nausea, but that doesn’t always happen.”

Colin shrugged and lowered his eyes, biting his bottom lip. He was surprised and grateful when Ryan didn’t rat him out, but instead slipped an arm around Colin’s waist and squeezed gently.

“I’ll take you to the hospital,” Ryan said. “Do you think you can make it to my car?”

“Sure,” Colin said, although he wasn’t. Getting up would be the hard part, he decided. If he could do that, he could lean on Ryan all the way to the parking lot. It was more than a little scary how he’d gotten so drained, so quickly. He’d been tired and shaky before, yes, but perfectly capable of walking on his own, and now he was questioning his ability to stand.

As it turned out, standing was quite easy, mostly because the other guys took nearly all his weight and held him upright until he found his feet. He wobbled a little, his vision going gray and blurry for a moment, but Ryan caught him and his head cleared after a few strained breaths. “Okay,” he said, one hand wrapped tightly around Ryan’s arm, keeping him close. “I’m okay.”

They moved off the stage as a group, Ryan’s arm looped around his waist and Greg at his other side, hovering. Dan met them in the hallway and reached out to gingerly pat Colin on the shoulder, offering a tight smile. “Let me know what the doctor says,” he said. “If you need some time off, I’ll rearrange the schedule, make it work. Okay?”

“Yeah,” Colin replied, nodding. “But I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Of course you are,” Ryan muttered, and steered him on down the hall, leaving Dan behind. It was early evening outside, the waning daylight muted enough to be comfortable and the heat a welcome change from the chilly studio. Colin felt his taut muscles relaxing a little with the warmth, and he rested his head on Ryan’s shoulder, closing his eyes and walking blindly.

There was a flurry of loose hugs and pats on his back next to the car, making Colin feel as if he was old, frail, and breakable, and then Ryan helped him into the passenger seat, leaving Colin to recline and soak up the baking heat of the car’s interior. He could hear Ryan talking to the guys, assuring them he’d call as soon as there was anything to tell, and then Ryan got in beside him and the engine rumbled to life.

“You doing okay?” Ryan asked, his cool fingertips brushing Colin’s cheek for a moment.

“Mmm,” Colin said, nodding sleepily. “Getting there.”

Ryan said something else as the car started moving, but Colin didn’t register it. He was asleep before they cleared the studio gates.

~~~

On to part three