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Ayumu groans, rubbing his neck in a futile attempt to soothe his sore throat. He’s been sick five times today, and his throat won’t stop burning. He sits hunched forwards as he tries to play Shogi, having escaped into the quiet tranquillity of the Shogi/Stride club room the moment lunchtime began. His stomach churns even though he hasn’t eaten in hours, and Ayumu realises he can’t even concentrate on his favourite game.
“Are you okay?” Hozumi asks.
His boyfriend is sat opposite him, having accompanied Ayumu to the room to play Shogi with him. Hozumi has been giving him odd looks all day, and Ayumu has a feeling that Hozumi has worked out that he is sick.
Although he doesn’t actually know what is wrong with him. He woke up this morning to a horribly churning stomach, and was sick the moment he stumbled into the bathroom. Since then, he has had to ask to leave class several times to vomit, leaving him with the burning throat he currently has. And a couple of hours ago he started shivering, which is very hard to suppress.
But he can’t tell Hozumi. He doesn’t want to worry his boyfriend any more than necessary, and if he admits he’s nauseated and shivering, then Hozumi will insist he skips training for Stride after school. But he needs to do the training; he is so far behind the others in terms of fitness, and he doesn’t want to end up further behind and making a fool out of himself.
So he smiles at Hozumi and says, “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
Ayumu nods and leans across the table to hug Hozumi (he doesn’t want to kiss him in case he’s contagious). “Yeah, I’m sure. Really.”
And Hozumi doesn’t look convinced, but he nods. “Okay.”
---
By the time everyone has gathered at the school running track for practise, Ayumu feels like absolute crap. He has to clench his muscles to stop himself shivering and giving away just how cold he feels, and his stomach churns worse than ever. He was sick three more times after lunch, crashing into the bathrooms and vomiting up what was basically stomach acid as his eyes watered. He just wants to go to bed, but he needs to do this. Why did he have to get sick on a practise day?
Hozumi won’t leave his side, nudging him and saying, “Still okay?”
Ayumu nods. “Yeah.”
But then they start practise, having to run around the track and improve their running times. And try as he might, Ayumu just can’t run very fast; not that he could ever run fast, but this is slow even for him.
His limbs are heavy and his movements uncoordinated, and he can barely keep his head up. Dragging his feet, Ayumu gasps for breath, drenched in sweat even though he’s so slow, and then bile starts to rise in his throat.
Ayumu stumbles, his leg giving way, and in the frantic attempt to stop himself falling he opens his mouth to let out a yelp—
And ends up with vomit spraying from his mouth. He hears the other runners swearing and Hozumi yelling his name, but he barely pays attention. Dropping to his knees, Ayumu braces a hand against the ground and presses the other against his churning stomach, hacking up vomit. His eyes stream with tears and he groans, retching again and again even though there is nothing left in his stomach.
“Ayumu!”
And then Hozumi is kneeling beside him, a hand against his back and his eyes full of concern.
“It’s okay, Ayumu. Just get it all up and then you’ll feel better. Come on, it’s okay.”
Hozumi brushes tears from his cheeks, rubbing his back as Ayumu vomits. Soon, the rest of the team are gathered around, offering comments like, “Did you overdo it?” or “I thought you looked sick.”
“Thank you,” Ayumu whispers, talking to his boyfriend.
Hozumi presses a kiss to the top of his sweaty head. “Don’t worry about it.”
When he has finally stopped throwing up, Hozumi helps him sit back and Nana hands him some tissues. Smiling gratefully, he slumps against his boyfriend and cleans his face.
“Uh, sorry for that,” he says, his voice hoarse from vomiting so much
“No, everyone gets sick sometimes,” Heath says. “We just wish you’d gone home sick and not pushed yourself. So go home, and we hope you feel better soon.”
“Thanks, senpai,” he says, smiling weakly.
“Can I take him home?” Hozumi asks.
Heath smiles. “Of course.”
Bowing gratefully, Hozumi helps Ayumu to his unsteady feet and they walk off of the running track, Ayumu slumped against his boyfriend and hoping he won’t be sick again.
“Thank you for this,” Ayumu says as they sit outside the school and wait for his mom to pick him up.
“It’s nothing,” Hozumi says. “I love you, and I want you to get better.”
And as he presses a kiss to his sweaty forehead, Ayumu smiles and knows he has a wonderful boyfriend.