Chapter Text
Rin was getting impatient. He was waiting outside the station where he had promised to meet Haru. It was really cold outside, his nose and cheeks were turning red. The snow had piled up quite a bit and wherever he looked everything was white and glimmering. Everything was so pure and innocent, whilst the bare branches on the trees did not give much sign of life. Although he didn’t want to really admit it, Rin really loved the winter. Every time the season was around the corner he’d say that he hated snow and that he didn’t want any, but in the end he got childishly happy when it piled up.
Though, just standing around in one place like this didn’t feel very nice. He breathed on his hands and rubbed them together to try and get them warm. In his excitement to meet Haru he had rushed out without thinking much and had forgotten to wear gloves. Shivering a bit, he pulled the muffler around his face tighter, as if that would make him warmer. Haru was really late though. Well, he usually was, but not this late. Getting a bit annoyed, he fished his phone out of his pocket to check if there were any missed calls or messages. None. Damn it, might as well try and call him, Rin thought. He dialed Haru’s number and waited, he got through but no matter how long he waited no one picked up. He frowned, Haru had gotten better at using his phone and would always at least pick up when he called. What if something had actually happened to him...? Shit! Rin thought and started to head in the direction of Haru’s house.
When he arrived at Haru’s house, instead of ringing the doorbell as he would usually have done, he just yanked the door open. Whilst slamming the door shut and taking of his shoes and jacket he called Haru’s name loudly. There was no answer. This was just way too strange. Something wasn’t right, he didn’t know what, but something was definitely not right. The pounding in his chest grew louder and louder. What if he had fallen asleep in the bath and drowned...? No, no, no. Don’t think like that! He thought to himself. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but it was actually really cold inside. Shivering a little, he walked to the stairs and headed straight for the bathroom, expecting the worst.
Expecting to find Haru asleep in the bathtub, since the door to it was even closed, he sighed with relief when he saw that it was empty. The worry didn’t go away completely, though. Panic was creeping into his veins. The bedroom it is, then, he thought and walked briskly to it.
As he opened the door, Rin thought to himself please, please, please let him be in here! And there he was. There was just a black mop of hair visible in the bed, but it was definitely Haru. Rin’s panic washed away in an instant and he called out aloud “Haru!” but there wasn’t even a slight movement from the bed. He walked over to Haru to see why he hadn’t even recognized his presence. When he got close enough and sat down on the side of his bed, it was when he noticed. Haru’s face was completely red and he was breathing heavily, almost panting. Small trickles of sweat ran down his cheeks and his bangs were plastered to his forehead.
Rin’s eyes widened at the sight before him. Haru was actually really, really sick from what he could see. He slowly reached out a hand and gently slid Haru’s bangs away from his forehead, and put his hand on it to check the temperature. It was burning. Oh god, what am I supposed to do now, Rin thought. It had always been the other way around, him getting sick and Haru nursing him back to health. “Haru” he said. No response, just eyes that twitched but didn’t open. It was quite weird to see Haru like this.Vulnerable and defenseless. There was always this composed and collected feel around him, and the face that still didn’t really show much emotion. Well, I can’t sit around here doing nothing. I should at least try and cool him down somehow, Rin thought.
He tried remembering what Haru had done for him the times when he had been sick. There wasn’t much recollection to go after. The times he was sick it was so bad he barely remembered anything. He got up from Haru’s bed and scratched his neck and sighed. Before leaving Haru’s room to get something to cool him down, he leaned down and kissed Haru’s forehead gently. Maybe an ice-pack will do, Rin thought as he left the room and started down the stairs for the kitchen.
He grabbed an ice-pack he found in the freezer and thought of taking a glass of water with him and medicine, but he had no idea of where the guy kept such stuff. Tch, how troublesome. The ice-pack will have to do, Rin thought. It wasn’t easy to take care of a sick person when he didn’t really know what to do. He thought that Haru probably hadn’t eaten, but what would the point be of cooking some food if he didn’t even get up? Not that he was really good at cooking either. He walked back to Haru’s room and sighed heavily. The worry still wouldn’t leave him, it had come back when he saw Haru’s weak form in his bed.
When he got back into Haru’s room, he was still as he had left him. He walked over and gently put the ice-pack on Haru’s forehead. That seemed to calm Haru down a little, his breathing became a bit softer after a while. Rin sat down on the side of Haru’s bed and idly wondered what Haru would do on the days he was sick. It’s not like there was anyone around to take care of him, well, there was Makoto of course. But he might not always have the time to take care of Haru. Makoto had two younger siblings already. It must have been lonely being sick in this big house all alone, Rin thought. He gently brushed his hand against Haru’s cheek, and at that his eyes fluttered open. They were glassy with fever. Rin gently cupped Haru’s face with his hands. “Rin...Sorry...” Haru said in a barely audible voice.”Shh. Don’t talk, just rest. It’s fine, you’re sick” Rin replied with a soft voice. At that Haru’s eyes fluttered closed again and he seemed to relax ever so slightly.
Rin watched as Haru’s features softened and the way he sighed before falling asleep again. Not wanting to leave the guy on his own, Rin made a quick decision and lay down on his side besides Haru. The bed was big enough and Haru just moved slightly but didn’t wake up from his deep slumber. Feeling a bit tired himself and lulled to sleep by Haru’s deep breathing he soon found himself drifting off to sleep. In a matter of minutes he was out like a light, sleeping heavily himself.
When Rin awoke and slowly opened his eyes, he found himself staring into dark blue eyes. Still a bit groggy from sleep, Rin just whispered “Haru...?”. Haru didn’t say anything and just silently stared at him. Then it hit Rin, he had gone to Haru’s house because he never showed up at their meeting place, and he had found him sick with a fever in bed. Slowly, he reached out a hand and held his palm flatly against Haru’s forehead to check if his fever had gone down. It had, and Haru’s face wasn’t covered with sweat either. He sighed with relief and withdrew his hand, only to be held back with Haru now grasping his wrist weakly. He watched as Haru kissed the back of his hand and mumbled “Sorry” whilst doing so. “Don’t say that, it’s not your fault that you got sick” Rin said. Haru let go of his hand and Rin wrapped his arm around him and drew him in a close hug and lightly brushed his lips against Haru’s. “Don’t, you’ll catch my cold...” Haru said. “No, I won’t” Rin simply replied. He then continued to shower kisses all over the other’s face. Absently, he thought that Haru’s face was still really hot, but not as bad as a few hours ago.
Rin let go of Haru and abruptly sat up. “Maybe I should leave” he said and looked at the clock at the bedside table. “Don’t...” Haru whispered hoarsely. “Huh?” Rin just replied, not sure if he had heard him correctly. “Don’t leave, please stay...Maybe I’ll feel a bit better tomorrow...” Haru said again, this time a bit louder. Rin hadn’t intended to leave anyway, but he wasn’t sure if he should stay either. He raked his hands through his hair and then said “Okay, I’ll stay with you...”. It still felt a bit weird to have Haru act like this and Rin felt his cheeks burning. He had averted his gaze from Haru but now glanced at him in the corner of his eyes, and aside from the tint of red that adorned Haru’s face from fever, there was a soft smile. Somehow, a sick Haru was more cute than he would have thought and he quickly put his hands on his face to cover the beet-red color of it.
There was a tug on Rin’s sleeve and he glanced down to see Haru tugging it lightly. Just one look at his face made Rin understand exactly what he wanted, and so he lay down beside so close that their noses touched. Rin could feel Haru’s hot breath against his lips, and then Haru surprised him by quickly brushing his lips against his. Wanting to hide his embarrassment, Rin put his hand behind Haru’s neck and drew his head to his chest. With his other hand he wrapped it around the others waist and entwined their legs together. They were now as close as they could be, and Rin couldn’t care less about the fact that he might catch Haru’s cold or the now really loud beating of his heart. He noticed that Haru sighed in satisfaction. Before long, both of them were in a blissfull deep sleep and Haru had put his hands against Rin’s chest.