Work Text:
Imaizumi stifles a yawn as he stands in the kitchen, utterly exhausted. Who knew caring for a sick person could be so exhausting? He leans against the cupboards, waiting for the kettle to boil, and his eyelids start to flicker shut. How can be so tired? He cycles over a hundred kilometres most days, yet looking after his sick boyfriend is what exhausts him? This is ridiculous.
Still, Onoda is a demanding patient. Three days ago, he contracted a very nasty stomach bug, and has spent most of his time since then vomiting, crying or both at the same time (Onoda is still as emotional as he way the day they met, even though that was ten years ago). And all three of them have barely slept since then, explaining the severe fatigue attacking all three residents of their apartment.
“Oi, aren’t you supposed to be making that weird drink?”
Imaizumi jumps, eyes flickering open again. Nakuro stands in the doorway, an eyebrow raised (but his bleary eyes ruining any attempt at looking exasperated).
“Come on, Hotshot, it’s a simple task,” Nakuro says, wandering into the kitchen.
He glares at Naruko, before pouring the boiling water into a large cup. “Oh shut up. And what are you doing in here, anyway?”
“Sakamichi’s temperature’s gone shooting up, so I’m getting the thermometer,” he says, rummaging through the cupboard under the sink. “Wherever it is.”
Oh great, Imaizumi thinks; Onoda getting a fever on top of his bug is the last thing they all need. Still, he tries to focus on the reason he is in the kitchen in the first place: he needs to make the rehydration solution.
He did some research earlier, worried about all of this vomiting making Onoda dehydrated, and stumbled on some advice to making a drink to help rehydrate the sick person. Sure, he or Naruko could ride out to the pharmacy to buy some tablets for this purpose, but this is far cheaper and neither of them have the energy for a bike ride.
So he just makes the solution and blocks out the sound of Naruko rummaging through the perfectly ordered cupboard. Mixing the correct sugar and salt ratio into the biggest cup they have, he lets it dissolve and cool down. It will almost certainly taste foul, but the health benefit is the important part here.
In the meantime, his noisy boyfriend has found the damn thermometer.
“Success!” Naruko cries, striking a pose with a fist in the air that reminds Imaizumi far too much of a character from that painfully boring anime movie Onoda dragged them both to last month.
Imaizumi rolls his eyes and decants some of the sugar-salt water into a smaller cup. “If you’re quite finished making a scene, we should go and see Onoda again.”
Naruko grins and chuckles that distinctive laugh of his. “Good plan, Hotshot.”
They head through the apartment and Naruko slides the bedroom door open. Imaizumi has only been gone ten minutes at the most, but, if possible, Onoda looks even worse than before. His cheeks have flushed red, the sweatiness swapped for weirdly shiny, dry skin, and his eyes seem vacant.
“Come on, Sakamichi,” Naruko says, clamouring into the large bed beside their sick boyfriend. “Let’s check your temperature.”
Onoda smiles vacantly, slumping against Naruko. When the digital thermometer is pushed into his ear, Onoda giggles. Imaizumi stares at him; just how high is his fever?
“Heh-heh, Imaizumi-kun,” Onoda says, grinning at Imaizumi. His use of his family name and the honorific are jarring to say the least, as though they are back at high school.
The thermometer beeps and Naruko looks at it.
“Oh crap,” he says. “Sakamichi’s burning up. His fever’s one hundred and one. We need to cool him down.”
Imaizumi’s eyes widen and he dashes over, setting the cup on the sideboard with a thud. He helps Naruko pull the blankets off of Onoda, and unbutton his pyjama shirt. All the while, Onoda stares at them with wide, bloodshot eyes and a vacant smile, and Imaizumi wonders just how delirious he is.
“Naruko-kun, did I win…?” Onoda mumbles, not resisting when they both help him prop up against the pillows, head lolling.
Naruko glances at him, just as confused as Imaizumi. “Win what?”
“The inter… Interhigh?”
What the hell?
“Yeah, you’re pretty delirious, aren’t you, Sakamichi,” Naruko says.
“Just a bit,” Imaizumi mutters.
Onoda just grins, nuzzling his head against Naruko’s neck.
“Here, have some of this,” Imaizumi says, picking up the now lukewarm cup of water. “It’s a rehydration drink.”
“It tastes gross, but it’ll help,” Naruko says.
Wondering if Naruko can read his mind, Imaizumi helps Onoda take a few sips of the drink. He grimaces, but swallows it.
“Uh, gross,” he mumbles.
And Imaizumi and Naruko smile and snuggle up with Onoda, hoping to get some sleep – but mainly hoping Onoda will get better soon.