Gary immediately reached for the water bottle on the nightstand and pressed it into Ash's trembling hands. "Sip, don't gulp," he instructed firmly, rubbing slow circles on Ash's back as the younger boy struggled to catch his breath.

Professor Rowan furrowed his brows, stepping further into the room. "He didn't look ill yesterday," the professor mused, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well, he does now," Gary muttered, shaking his head as he picked up his stethoscope. "And if he looks this bad, I don't wanna know how he's feeling."

Ash groaned, weakly pushing at Gary's arm as he tried to roll over. "Noooo, you don't need to do that."

Gary wasn't having it. He pressed a hand against Ash's shoulder to keep him still. "Tough luck, buddy. You know how this works."

Ash whined as Gary slid the cool metal of the stethoscope under his shirt. "You always do this..."

"Because you always get sick and act like you're not," Gary shot back, focusing as he listened to Ash's chest. The wet crackling sound in his lungs had him frowning. "You're congested. And that cough's nasty."

Ash sighed through his nose. "It's fine."

Gary gave him a look. "You just puked up everything in your stomach."

Ash groaned. "I said I'm fi—"

Another coughing fit cut him off, his whole body shaking from the force of it. Gary frowned deeper, rubbing Ash's back until it passed.

Professor Rowan watched the two with an impressed glint in his eye. "You're quite the caretaker, Gary."

Gary waved it off. "Somebody's gotta keep this guy from dropping dead."

Ash managed to glare at him despite how exhausted he looked. "Not funny."

Gary smirked. "Kinda funny."

Ash rolled his eyes before closing them again, clearly drained. Gary sighed, smoothing the blankets over him. "You're staying in bed today. No training, no running around, and definitely no pretending you're not sick."

Ash grumbled but didn't argue, too exhausted to put up a fight.

Professor Rowan chuckled. "I'll go let the others know Ash won't be coming out today."

Gary nodded in thanks before turning back to Ash. "Alright, let's get you feeling better, buddy."