Work Text:
Spyder should have taken a day off. His nose was so congested, he could only breathe out of his mouth. The discomfort of chills wouldn’t go away. He was pretty sure he was running a fever. However, he had a job, and Spyder fully intended to do it.
“So, what’re we fighting today, guys?” Spyder asked as he entered the X-Deck with his friends, trying his hardest to not seem sick. There wasn’t much that could be done for the sickly pale of his face, though.
“Spyder, you feeling okay? Because you’re not looking great, no offense,” Ryan said, taking notice of said pale complexion.
“What’re you talking about? I’m totally fine,” Spyder lied just before loudly sneezing.
“Ah! Germs, germs, germs!” Harris exclaimed. “Do you know how wide the radius of a sneeze is? Use a tissue next time!”
“Yeah, Spyder, you don’t seem like you’re totally fine,” Mark said. “You can sit this one out, it’s okay.”
“No, really, I’m fine. Let’s go, guys. Don’t we have a monster to fight?” Spyder said, moving the group along. The truth was, he kind of did want to sit this one out, but he had to do his job. They needed Spyder to man weapons, and he wasn’t about to give in as if they didn’t need him. Because they did. They totally needed him. He was such a valuable member of the team. Even if his friends didn’t always act like it. Which was exactly why he had to help with the mission now.
Ryan buckled himself into the control deck, Harris got into his seat at the defense station, Mark and Veracity stood on standby, and Spyder slumped into his seat at the weapons station, rubbing his tired eyes. They felt so heavy, and he wanted to lay his head down on his control panel and take a nap, but he couldn’t do that. He had to complete the mission.
“Spyder, are you sure you’re up for this? Veracity can man weapons for this one,” Harris offered. It was nice of him, but Spyder couldn’t let that happen. If Veracity manned weapons now, what would stop her from doing it again? And again? Until the team liked her strategic style better than Spyder’s? He wouldn’t let them think he was replaceable, because he wasn’t.
“No, I’m fine. Let’s just get to monster hunting! Let’s be heroes, amiright?” Spyder said, adding in a smile for good measure.
“Okay, if you say so. We’re ready to go, Ryan,” Harris said, and Ryan began jumping forward. That certainly did not help Spyder at all. The constant up-and-down made his head swim and throb. He felt overheated and freezing cold at the same time, and his body felt dragged down. Spyder thought the adrenaline of starting a mission would pick him up, but it did nothing. He still just wanted to lay his head down. Well, they hadn’t reached the monster yet. Maybe he could, just for a few seconds.
When the robot reached the monster of the day merely a couple of minutes later, Spyder was already fast asleep.
“Plasma punch!” Ryan called, expecting his teammate to smoothly cooperate. He was surprised when he swung his fist only to land a normal punch. Spyder, despite other shortcomings, never missed a beat in battle. “Harris, shields!” Ryan directed, thinking quickly, as he crossed his arms over his head to block the monster’s attack. Ryan turned his neck to face his friends at their respective stations. “Spyder, what’s wrong?” Ryan shouted as he strained against the monster’s force. Spyder didn’t answer, but Harris spun in his seat to get a better look at his friend.
“He’s asleep!” Harris said.
“Asleep? How could he fall asleep in the middle of a fight?” Ryan asked in disbelief, letting his guard down for a split second- enough for the monster to find an opening. The Mech took a staggering hit, and the sleeping Spyder went flying out of his seat.
“Spyder!” Harris cried, immediately rushing to his friend’s side and helping him sit up.
“Maybe I am a little sick,” Spyder mumbled, his eyes half open.
“Ya think?” Harris said sarcastically.
“Mark!” Ryan called. “Come down and help Spyder to the X-Deck. Veracity, you’re on weapons for the day. Let’s turn this thing into ooze before anyone else gets hurt.” Mark and Veracity quickly followed the orders, and soon enough, the monster did indeed turn to ooze. Finally, the three could see how Spyder was doing. When they entered the X-Deck, Spyder was on the couch, just waking up from another bout of sleep.
“How’re you feeling, man?” Ryan asked, making his way over to the couch.
“Terrible,” Spyder grumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“You know, Spyder, if you’re not feeling up to a fight for one day, that’s okay. You could have just admitted you were sick today. We get it,” Harris said. “Don’t go holding the weight of the world on your shoulders, dude.”
“Yeah, that’s Ryan’s job,” Mark added, and everyone glanced at Ryan.
“Weren’t we talking about Spyder?” Ryan asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah, let’s take this one emotional issue at a time,” Veracity said. “If it’s worth anything, Spyder, you make weapons look easy. I’d have to sit down with those controls for a while before figuring everything out. I honestly can’t believe how adept you are with the strategy of the whole thing.”
“Backhanded compliment, but I’ll take it,” Spyder replied a bit suggestively, smiling at Veracity.
“Remind me to never compliment you again,” Veracity teased in her derisive way.
“Alright, guys, that’s enough,” Harris cut in. “Let’s give Spyder some time to rest. Then you’ll be ready for our next mission, right?”
“I’m always ready,” Spyder said through a yawn as he settled back into the couch, still feeling hot and cold and draggy and congested and aching, but a little happier. Spyder then drifted back into a nap, but this time, he slept much more peacefully than before.