Work Text:
Shortly after the New Year’s celebrations subsided, Aoba found himself coming down with the flu.
He had ignored it at first, going about his day while trying not to think about it, but that hadn’t been the most difficult part of the situation – when Clear saw him sniffling and coughing when he returned home after work, naturally the android had immediately panicked. “Aoba-san, something is definitely wrong,” he insisted firmly (yet gently at the same time), hands cupping Aoba’s face. Aoba assured him he was fine, swatting at his hands and shaking his head.
It seemed that Clear was convinced Aoba was going to die. For the rest of the night Clear practically clung to him, insisting on helping him with even the tiniest of tasks and making sure he wasn’t pushing himself. Aoba eventually stopped trying to convince the white-haired man that he wasn’t actually dying, mostly because every time he tried he was interrupted by, “Aoba-san, you should save your energy! Don’t talk any more, okay?”
The next morning, it was a little more difficult to convince Clear that he really wasn’t dying. He awoke in Clear’s warm embrace to the sound of, “Good morning, Aoba-san,” but had immediately ripped himself out of his grasp, dashing for the bathroom and emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet. After a few moments he could feel Clear’s hands on his back, rubbing soothing strokes into his spine as he whispered, “It’s okay,” “I’m here,” “Don’t worry.”
Aoba groaned and leaned away from the toilet, glancing behind him at Clear. “Sorry,” he mumbled, lacking the strength or motivation to offer anything else. He ran his fingers shakily through his hair, pulling it away from his sweaty forehead. He didn’t even manage a scowl of disapproval when Clear scooped him into his arms, cradling and carrying him back to bed.
He relaxed instantly when he felt the bedding beneath his body. Clear didn’t remove his arms, instead curling up by Aoba’s side and burying his face into the blue-haired man’s chest. “Aoba-san,” He whispered, frame and voice both quivering. “I-I don’t want you to die!”
He didn’t bother waiting to whack him over the head, the gesture weak and really only succeeding in grabbing Clear’s attention, which was good in its own way, at least. “Ugh, I’m not going to die, idiot.” Clear still looked worried, and Aoba patted his cheek reassuringly. “It’s just the flu, okay?”
“Oh.” Relief washed over the android’s face and he sighed heavily. “Alright, Aoba-san.”
It took a few seconds of silence, but Clear’s expression lit up, and he clutched intently at Aoba’s arm. “Well then, I’ll make to take good care of you until you get better!”
A small jolt of concern flowed through Aoba at the sound of that declaration but he paid it no mind. He felt much too ill to bring himself to worry too much about what sorts of things would happen with Clear left in charge of the house.
Tae left the house early that morning, rather reluctantly when she heard that Clear would be have free reign inside today, but Aoba promised to do his best to keep an eye on him. As soon as she left Aoba was forced back into bed, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and pillows and fed some kind of medicinal concoction Clear had created that he almost immediately wanted to wretch back up again. Upon learning it was just regular flu medicine mixed with honey, he decided that his stomach was just being disagreeable.
“If you need anything at all,” Clear promised resolutely, “please just call me, Aoba-san. I will be right downstairs.”
He pressed a soft kiss to the side of Aoba’s head before turning on his heels and just about dancing out of the room, calling behind him, “Please get some rest, Aoba-san!”
Aoba wasn’t sure if he should be concerned or not.
It was surprisingly easy for him to fall asleep, surrounded by his nest of pillows and blankets, and as soon as he closed his eyes he was out like a light. Ren curled up on his chest, only asking permission to make himself comfortable before doing so and not uttering another word after that; he was grateful for the Allmate’s company, soft fur warming his chest and making sleep a lot easier to find. Occasionally, Aoba found he was woken by loud noises coming from downstairs, but they didn’t appear to amount to any trouble, allowing him to quickly drift off again. He didn’t dream at all, though he was sure that Clear had come upstairs on more than one occasion to check on him, as he vaguely remembered being woken by a hand on his forehead or lips on his cheek, but nothing really stuck in his mind.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sleeping for when he was woken by an ear-splitting shatter, resonating through the small house. His eyes snapped open, startled and scared, and he stumbled out of bed (not even remembering Ren’s presence on his chest, but luckily the small dog had since relocated himself to the foot of the bed and out of harm’s way) and down the stairs to find out what had happened. He rounded the corner into the kitchen, clutching at the doorframe to keep himself upright. “Clear, are you okay—?”
Clear, kneeling on the floor in front of a pile of glass, looked up immediately. “A-Aoba-san!” He stuttered, rising to his feet and quickly making his way towards the ill man, placing his hands on Aoba’s waist to help him keep his balance. “You shouldn’t be out of bed.”
“I heard something break,” Aoba argued gently, bracing one hand on Clear’s chest. Not meeting his pale pink eyes, he continued, “I thought you might’ve hurt yourself or something…”
Clear was quiet for a moment, and when Aoba looked up at him his was smiling gently. “I’m okay, Aoba-san, no need to worry.” His expression then fell a little. “I was just putting the dishes away when I dropped that glass… It was an accident, I really didn’t mean for it to happen…!”
Aoba had to admit, Clear was rather cute when he was upset. “I know, I know.” He reached up to pat Clear’s cheek gently, reassuring him that it was okay. “Do you want any help cleaning that up—?”
“No!” The instant response startled him a little, but Clear just wrapped his arms around Aoba’s middle before sweeping him into his arms again. “No, Aoba-san has to go back to bed. I can handle it!”
Aoba didn’t protest, simply let the android carry him back to his bedroom.
Once he was tucked into his blanket-cocoon again Aoba nearly drifted off immediately. If it weren’t for Clear softly informing him that lunch would be ready soon he probably would have, but he forced himself to stay awake, shuffling around on the bed until he was sitting upright with his arms freed from the makeshift prison. Clear returned not long after, carrying a tray sporting two small bowls of what smelled like pumpkin soup. With all of his blankets and pillows Aoba managed the balance his bowl securely in front of him, making the task of eating much easier – Clear watched him silently, his expression caught somewhere between worry and amusement, and Aoba just smiled at him, thanking him for the meal.
“So what have you been up to down there?” He asked after carefully spooning a small amount of the soup into his mouth and managing to keep it down. Ever since he’d walked in on the scene with the broken glass he had been insanely curious.
Clear crossed his legs, settling himself on the bed before replying. “I’ve just been doing Tae-san’s chores for her!” He explained excitedly, face lighting up as he spoke of his accomplishments and listing them off on his fingers. “I cleaned the kitchen and living room, prepared lunch and washed the dishes – I even managed to tidy up a little in here, Aoba-san!”
Astonished, Aoba’s eyes scanned the room around him; it was indeed a little neater, more orderly than he was used to. He blinked slowly, turning his gaze back to the ecstatic android in front of him. “Wow… Impressive.” He nodded approvingly, smiling when Clear beamed with pride. “Granny might get you to do her chores for her more often now, y’know.”
The idea seemed to excite Clear far more than necessary, but Aoba didn’t mind. It was actually nice to see Clear so excited about household chores, something that only he could be enthusiastic about. They passed light conversation between them as they finished their meal; once their bowls were emptied, Aoba tentatively asked, “Can I come downstairs for a while?”
When Clear didn’t respond, fixing the man with a serious and worried stare, he added, “I promise I’ll behave myself,” which only seemed to deepen the frown on Clear’s face. “I feel much better,” he continued earnestly, mirroring Clear’s serious expression until the android finally caved in with a sigh.
The movement was treated like some kind of expedition; Clear wrapped a blanket around Aoba’s shoulders and lifted him into his arms again, despite Aoba insisting that he could walk just fine. Apparently, this was one of the conditions of being allowed out of bed. They practically flew down the stairs and into the living room, where Clear gently placed him on the sofa. “No moving,” he ordered, the tone shocking Aoba for a moment.
He nodded silently, like a child being scolded by their parent, and as soon as Clear left the room to finish more chores his face broke out into a wide grin. This motherly side of Clear was certainly new and different, but if nothing else it was offering him a great deal of amusement. He settled himself back into the couch cushions, closing his eyes and letting his mind flood with images of Clear.
He was certain that he hadn’t been asleep for long, but when he woke the sky outside was already turning yellow as twilight set in. Momentarily dazed he sat up slowly, surveying his surroundings – the first thing he noticed was the white lump curled up beside him and he felt his whole body melt at the sight of Clear sleeping soundly, chest rising and falling in soft motions. He had never been sure if Clear slept or not and honestly still wasn’t, but that didn’t matter; smiling tenderly he leaned his head against Clear’s shoulder, pulling his blanket out from behind his back and throwing it over them. Clear stirred a little, shifting so that his own head was resting on top of Aoba’s and murmuring something that sounded a lot like, “Aoba-san…”
Aoba’s eyes slipped shut again, comforted by the presence beside him and quickly drifted off to sleep again, thoughts consumed by this adoring man he had come to love so strongly.