Work Text:
Akechi harshly coughed into his arm. After he finished coughing, he could taste the thick liquid of blood in the back of his throat as an after effect.
'Great.’ he thought as he weakly crawled out of bed to wash the nasty copper taste out of his mouth. He also needs to grab some medication, water, and tissues. Best time to do everything at once he suppose.
Being sick is such a shitty feeling especially since the deadline was coming up soon. Akechi has been staying up longer than usual and combined with his horrible eating habits, this was bound to be inevitable. However, why couldn't he have gotten sick after the elections and Shido was locked away in jail?
He sighed as he grabbed the medication behind the mirror, left the restroom, and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water.
Akechi casually grabbed the box of tissues on his table as he walked back to his room. As he put his water and tissues on his nightstand and made himself comfortable on his bed, he heard a noise coming from his phone.
He should ignore it and try to focus on getting better but his curiosity won out. He pick up his phone and saw that he received a text message from the Phantom Thieves.
‘But of course.’ He sighed as he opened the group chat.
They wanted to do a last minute study session today since the Shujin exams will be starting tomorrow, but he knows how those eventually turns out. They study for an hour or two then slack off for the rest of the time. Makoto would try to get them back on track and it would work… for a few minutes before Ryuji would start zoning out and making small talk to Ann or Akira and will effectively distract everyone and the cycle would keep on repeat until they go home for the day.
Yeah… he definitely doesn't have enough energy to last half a day to put on a fake smile and pretend that he really doesn't want to cough out a lung every five seconds.
His fingers quickly typed his reply that he was busy with the paperwork from his detective agency and thus he couldn't make it this time and for everyone to enjoy themselves.
The Phantom Thieves were quick to respond. They told him to not work too hard and to come see them if he has time after he’s finished with all of his work.
He smiled a bit as he saw those messages, it felt nice to feel included. Akechi doesn’t know if their replies were just out of courtesy, but nonetheless, it made him feel warm.
He was about to turn his phone on silent when he received a private message from Akira.
Akira:
Everything okay? I saw that u didn't look
so hot a few days ago when u visited LeBlanc.
'Shit, he remembered.’ Akechi desperately needed some coffee on that day so he could pull another all-nighter to catch up on all of his homework. While he has permission to skip school for his job, he was still required to do all the classwork just like his other classmates.
He remembered clearing his throat a few times, he also might have coughed once or twice when he was there… but he didn't expect Akira to notice anything off about him on that day. Akira wasn’t the one who served him coffee that day! He came downstairs and talked to him for a few minutes before heading off to wherever he usually goes at nighttime. Maybe Akechi should follow him one of these days to figure out this mystery...but he digress.
Akechi tries to remember that night and can't recall if Akira asked about his health on that day or not… damnit, this illness is taking its toll on him and his memory.
He sighed before deciding to admit the truth to Akira. Akechi doesn’t want him to continue pestering him. Akira was pretty good at wearing down on his barriers and he doesn’t have the patience to try to brush him off like he usually does. Now Akechi has to find the right words to downplay his illness, but he can still use it as a good excuse to avoid seeing everyone. He doesn’t want to look weak, but he doesn’t have the energy to pretend in being strong either.
To be completely honest, I haven’t been
feeling well recently. I want to spend
today concentrating on recovering and
also, I don't want to potentially get
anyone else sick so I'm not going to be
joining you guys. Have fun in my stead.
Akira:
That sucks. I'll send u pictures throughout
the day so it won't feel like ur missing out
on anything.
...please don't, I need to rest and laughing at
the group’s silliness wouldn’t help with my
situation.
Akira:
:( ok…
Ill still take pictures though and show it to u
the next time we hang out.
>:3
...do as you like.
He turned off his phone and put it down on his nightstand before opening his medication bottle, taking out two pills, and quickly swallowing them with a long sip of water. He breathed out slowly as he put the glass down, hoping the pills could magically cure his illness so he could continue with his work. He waited a few minutes before sighing in defeat.
It didn’t work.
He shuffled underneath the sheets and placed his head on his pillow.
Akechi closed his eyes and tried falling asleep, however certain thoughts plagued his mind. He really hated getting sick. The same thoughts always sneak up on him when he's feeling weak and vulnerable.
Thoughts surrounding the circumstances of his birth and doubts if his revenge plan was going to work.
He usually manage to avoid thinking about these sort of depressing thoughts by being busy and overworking himself that he would just go to sleep instantaneously due to being exhausted. He never dreams if he goes to bed exhausted. It might not help with the bags under his eyes, but that’s what makeup is for.
Unfortunately, he can’t, or rather, shouldn’t do that this time if he wants to recover faster.
Akechi hopes that none of his nightmares, or even worse, memories comes to him today while he’s sleeping. His behaviour is usually more...volatile after those moments and there was one time where he actually lashed out at the SIU Director. They were having their typical one-on-one meetings about which television shows he should go on to discuss the Phantom Thieves and how to demote them and their actions. The Director subtly said that his only worth on the team was his charisma and young, pretty face.
Normally he would be able to use his fake laughter, act all naive, and pretend that those words don’t actually stung. Akechi would have hinted at the man that he would be able to prove himself if he was able to do more than the bare minimum. However, that day was not one of those days.
He was basically forced into being an errand boy most of the time by grabbing coffee for the older detectives and filing away all the paperwork. He has handled some of the cases and worked alongside some of the other detectives on the more challenging ones, usually by doing stuff they don’t want to do or have time to do. This didn’t really bother him though. This job doesn’t matter a lot to him because he was just using it to find dirt on Shido, but hearing those words, especially so soon after his mom’s death anniversary and him remembering all those times she would look sad and stressed out before she finally died, he blew up. The words just came out of his mouth. He didn’t think about the consequences of his actions for once and to be honest, he didn’t regret it.
Akechi also told the director that he knew about all the forging evidence and if he didn’t want Akechi to report it to the public, to essentially shut his fucking mouth.
The SIU Director might’ve turned pale and said something to defend himself, but Akechi didn’t care and turned to leave the room.
While they still make him do simple errands, at least the director doesn’t make those stupid little comments about Akechi’s usefulness anymore. He still pales every time if someone would make a remark about Akechi in a negative way. Akechi wouldn’t do anything other than smile, but the director always seem uncomfortable to look at him after that.
He was also easily able to be excused from work for a sick day now if he was feeling down after a particular bad memory or nightmare so something good came out from the confrontation, he smiled as he nuzzled his pillow.
Akechi could feel his eyelids becoming heavier as he drifted off to sleep.
He dreamt of his old house with his mom beckoning him over for a hug before his surroundings scattered into dust. As the dust slowly disperse, his home was replaced with the institutional home. While it looked newer and more modern compared to his home, it also looked colder. There was nothing that differentiate it from another building. Nothing about it represent home; it doesn’t have any stickers on the windows or doors, glow-in-the-dark stars on the walls, or scattered toys left out in the living room. There was no proof that there were kids had ever lived there.
Kids were quietly walking back to the home, looking down at the ground as they walked to the house. Everyone knows that this isn’t where they truly want to be. They rather be back with their abusive or neglectful parents instead of being with these volunteers who always leave them in a few years. Akechi wished that he also had another option. No one would want to adopt a ‘broken’ child after all and he never saw his uncle again after his mother’s funeral.
In the background, the sky was cloudy. It looks so dark, like it was going to rain soon. He wonders when the last time he saw the sun.
A kid bumped into him, muttering sorry as he continued to go inside the institutional home. Akechi focused his attention on his ‘home’ and began to follow the faceless crowd. At least this was better than having nothing...right?
After some time, he woke up to the sound of knocking on his door.
‘Shit.’ His eyes struggling to open as he felt his cheeks were wet. Akechi quickly wipe away his tears and yelled out “coming” as he left the bed. His shout caused him to burst into a coughing spell. He grabbed onto a tissue after it ended and wiped his mouth.
Akechi was confused. Who would bother to visit him at the moment? It’s Sunday, so he doubt it would be his school and he asked for the day off from work so no one from his department would stop by. Maybe Sae? He works pretty often with her and they actually spend time outside of work to relax during or between cases. While they weren’t on a case together at the moment, it doesn’t stop them from hanging out from time to time.
Akechi turned on his phone and took it with him as he went to the restroom to clean himself up. As he washed his face, he heard the sound of notifications coming from his phone. He quickly glanced at who texted him: the Phantom Thieves (Why are they on their phone? Aren’t they all right next to each other, studying?), Sae wishing him to feel better, and Akira, who said he was coming over. His latest message said that he have just arrived.
Well that solves the question on who’s here.
Akechi looked in the mirror, he fixed his hair and was glad that his eyes weren’t puffy from crying unconsciously. Akira would definitely question him about it acting all concern. He’s a good person like that. Someone that anyone could be proud to have as a friend...but, could their relationship be defined as friendship? Akechi doesn’t feel like he contributed enough for it to be called a friendship. He feels like he’s only taking and questions if he was just taking advantage of Akira’s kindness.
Akechi wonder what he wants. He already told Akira that he was sick, so why would he bother coming over? Was this related to the Phantom Thieves or was it a personal thing? They have been hanging out more often lately after visiting his mother’s grave.
It was strange though, why would he want to visit Akechi if he was sick? They couldn’t go out and if they stayed at his house, he wouldn’t be able to be a good host at the moment.
Oh god, what if Akira wants to watch a movie or something and he falls asleep in the middle of it?! Is there a way to politely deny someone entrance?
Akechi’s face paled as his hand slowly unlocks the door and paused stiffly, his fingers barely touching the doorknob. He was unsure on what to do.
“Hello?” A muffled voice can be heard from behind the door.
‘Shit. Ugh I can’t find a reason to not open the door, not after I announced that I was already coming to the door. Maybe I could make him leave after an hour and tell him it is because I don’t him to catch my cold. My answer will depend on what he wants to do. Please don’t let this be another movie marathon...’ He mentally groaned as he frowned.
Akira had been insistent on making Akechi watch all the popular movies from childhood ‘til now after Akechi accidentally blurted out that he never watched anything other than what the schools showed them, when he was in his mother’s home, and institutional homes.
The face Akira made back then was pretty funny. It was what he would expect from Sakamoto, well a more milder version of what Sakamoto would usually display to be exact. Akira’s mouth actually dropped a bit as he looked at Akechi in horror.
Akechi didn’t expect him to declare that they were going to have many, many movie marathons until he catch up on “life”. Sakura was there too and was already naming all of the movies that were necessary to watch.
They had a few already and it was quite enjoyable. He wished that movies in general were shorter though. He didn’t regret watching them per say, but he felt like it ate a lot of his time. He always felt like he could do more by trying to find more evidence of Shido’s crimes, but never having enough time to investigate all of the possible links. While he doesn’t think about this during the time he spends with Akira, afterwards when he’s walking home, he always has a mix feelings of happiness, regret, and frustration.
He shouldn’t be spending time doing such trivial things, but when Akira calls or texts to meet up with him. Akechi always find it hard to say no to him. He wonder why that is...
He will ponder over it later, but right now he should open the door for Akira.
Akechi took a deep breath before putting on a smile as he opened the door.
“Sorry for the wait. I turned off my phone so I wouldn’t get unnecessary notifications while I was sleeping.” Akechi makes a subtle jab at Akira, he wonders if he caught it. He spoke even softer than normal, not wanting to set off a coughing spell.
He couldn’t help but to feel a bit annoyed at him. Why does he want to come over when Akechi wasn’t feeling well? He just wants to recover in peace and quiet.
“Hm, I wonder who could that be? Sounds like a pest.” Akira replied.
“Yes, I guess you can call that person that.”
He grinned. “Anyways could I come in? I have some stuff for you.”
Akechi tilts his head, he looked to Akira’s hands that were holding his school bag. He hid his grimace. Was that bag stuffed with movies?! It looks pretty full too... he hopes Akira isn’t planning a whole day movie marathon.
“Sure, I just want to let you know that, while my illness isn’t severe, I don’t want to possibly infect you especially before your exams. I highly don’t recommend you staying here too long Kurusu-kun. I hope you don’t think that I’m just trying to make you leave because I don’t want you here.” He said with a regretful facial expression.
He turns his head a bit and tried to cough softly into his arm. Unfortunately, it only made him want to cough even harder and louder but he managed to hold the urge back. Akechi was a bit surprised that he managed to talk that long without coughing between his words. Go him.
‘Please leave so I can cough in peace!’ he mentally pleaded.
Akechi felt bad that he was lying to him, but technically he wouldn’t welcome anyone’s presence at the moment.
He moved to the side to let Akira into his apartment.
“I won’t stay long.” Akira reassures him as he walked in and took off his shoes, leaving them neatly in the corner.
“I made rice porridge for you. I would’ve brought over curry, but I don’t know if having something with a lot of spices will be the best idea if you have a sore throat. I also brought Pocari Sweat and shoga-yu (ginger and honey tea). I drank both of them before when I was sick and I believe they helped. Not sure which one you would prefer though.”
He was stunned. Akira….made something for him? It wasn’t surprising when Akira made him coffee (Akira asked him a few times if he wanted curry, but he always rejected it) when they were already at LeBlanc and all the ingredients were there already and ready for use. But this was totally different. He went out of his way to prepare something different and took the time to get to his apartment to deliver it to him. It was touching. He did not expect this and Akechi originally wanted him to leave too. He felt guilty for that thought and at the same time, he felt this sudden urge to bring Akira close to him and hug him.
His hands twitched as he resisted the feeling. It wouldn’t be nice to make someone who cooked for him sick. He needs to give him a nice thank you gift when he gets better.
“Th-thank you. I didn’t expect this.” Akechi stuttered as his face flushed lightly as he closed the door and followed Akira inside.
“Have you eaten yet? I made it just before I left LeBlanc so it should still be warm.” He said as they both walked towards the kitchen. Akira has been to his apartment before so he knows the basic layout.
Akechi briefly skimmed his memory for the day and can’t remember if he ever took the time to eat something. The only time he left the bed was when he had to go to the restroom.
“Ah, now that I think about it, I haven’t eaten anything all day.” He briefly checked the time on his phone. Crap, it’s already past 6 in the evening?
“Still have that bad habit? You’re not going to recover if you don’t take care of yourself properly. I don’t mind cooking for you until you recover. Maybe even after that too.” Akira grinned as he unzipped his bag and took everything out.
He hopes that his illness made his face flushed already because he definitely does not want to show Akira that his words affected him.
It was just a joke...right?
“I’ll think about it.” He said as he laughed weakly.
“Don’t take too long, I won’t wait forever.” He winked as he went into the kitchen for something. Luckily Akira didn’t see the dark blush Akechi had, which he was thankful for. He definitely couldn’t pretend that it was his illness that was causing it.
Akechi coughed and cleared his throat into his arm as he waited for his face to cool down.
“Hm, your illness must be more serious than you said it was if you still have your arm covering your face after you already finished coughing. Maybe you should go back to bed after you eat.” Akira said with a hint of concern in his voice as he returned from the kitchen. He carried a soup spoon and 2 empty mugs.
“I brought the food in a glass container. It’s still pretty warm, but do you still want to reheat it?”
“No, it’s fine. Thank you.” He was surprised his tongue was still working due to how dry it was when he saw Akira removing the lids from the containers. Everything looks and smells wonderful.
Akechi could feel his eyes get teary and it’s not because he is sad this time. He felt the warm liquid drip down his face as he smiled and he quickly turned while announcing that he was going to wash his hands. He hid in the restroom as he let out a watery laugh.
What did he do to deserve such a wonderful friend?
He took his time cleaning his face and hands again before heading out.
As he came back, Akira probably saw how red his eyes were and asked if he was alright. He laughed it off saying there was something in his eye (nothing was wrong, everything is perfect right now).
They both sat at the table. Akechi thank him for the meal and picked up the spoon. He dipped it into the soup, taking the top layer of the soup, lightly blowing on it before putting it in his mouth. While the taste has been dulled due to his illness affecting his taste buds, he could still taste the simple yet delicious flavors that Akira has put into it. Perhaps when he feels better, he could finally mustered up the courage to ask for Akira’s (mild) curry. It was sad that he has a food blog and he can’t handle spicy food.
“It tastes lovely. Thank you for taking the time to make this.” Akechi gave him a genuine small smile as his eyes light up when he took another bite.
Akira looked a bit flustered as he nodded silently while sipping his drink.
It wasn’t very long before Akechi finished his food.
“Which drink do you want, Pocari Sweat or tea?”
“I’ll take the tea since drinking something warm is suppose to be better for my throat.”
Akira poured the tea into the mug as he said, “Oh, that makes sense. I’ll just put the Pocari Sweat in your fridge then.”
Akechi was tempted to stop him. He doesn’t want Akira to see his almost empty fridge, but Akira moved too quickly before he could even say something.
Well, Akira didn’t comment on it when he came back, thank goodness.
“I almost forgot, how did your study session go?”
“It was...productive...kind of?” Akira squinted, trying to find the best words to phrase that they barely studied and spent more time trying to make latte art. Surprisingly, Yusuke had a harder time pouring the microfoam into the espresso drink. Well, maybe he was a fast learner but he was nothing compared to Futaba. She was meant to do art with coffee (or she might have watched too many videos relating to this topic). Akira has never done it before (like Sojiro would teach him something fashionably current) so he took awhile to pick it up. He was very proud of his fern art. Maybe he should train himself on how to make a heart symbol for Akechi the next time he comes by. Akira probably can’t be in the same room after serving it (his guts isn’t that high), but it sounds like a cute romantic idea.
“...what happened?” Akechi said in a deadpan voice.
Akira nervously chuckled as he explained his afternoon. By the time he finished his story, Akechi also finished his drink and set the mug beside him.
He let out a chuckled. “Figures. You guys never seem to stay ‘productive’. Poor Niijima-san.” He smiled as he shook his head.
“Did she give up this time and studied on her own?”
“Ha ha, the words giving up aren’t in her dictionary. She did cave in though to watch for a bit when we were practicing our artwork.”
Akechi smiled into his hand. That does sound like her. Trying to be stern yet she can’t stop her curiosity from peeking out.
“Since you’re finished, I’ll wash everything.”
“No, that’s alright—”
Akira already gathered everything and was walking to the kitchen.
‘Dang it Akechi, why are you so slow?’ He gritted his teeth in frustration at how slow his movements and thought process are. He would normally be on top of everything. Making his guest do his dishes, how useless of him.
“It’s fine, you’re sick.” A loud response came from the kitchen. Was he able to sense Akechi’s low self-esteem issues coming into play?
“But you’re a guest…” he argued weakly. He really needs to thank him for all this. It’s so awkward having nothing to do while Akira was cleaning up his mess, so Akechi kept his hands busy by fumbling with the napkin. He debated going into the kitchen and talking to Akira as he was cleaning, but he might be too embarrassed watching Akira do all the work while he just sit there idly and relax.
After a moment, Akira comes back out with his dried containers and snapped the lids back on before putting them back into his bag.
“I’ll be leaving now. I just wanted to bring you something to eat since you already don’t take care of yourself normally, I got worried that you might have forgotten when you were sick too.”
Was the after effects of the food and drink still there? His chest feels very warm throughout the whole duration of when Akira was here, but it seems to be affecting his heart immensely at this very moment. It didn’t hurt exactly, but it felt a bit uncomfortable. He ponders about this feeling as he stood up.
“Akira, I want to thank you for everything today. You didn’t have to do all this.” He said gently as he walked Akira out.
“It’s not as much has having to do it as it is to wanting to do it. Besides you’re my friend, of course I would want to help you get better. We still need to watch more movie marathons after all.” Akira grinned innocently.
Akechi felt warm, his chest felt like it was going to burst with all the warm feelings Akira was giving him...until he heard the last sentence. Cool, cool dread immediately replaced it.
“Ah... of course.” He opened the door of his apartment to let Akira out.
“Hm, your response doesn’t feel very excited. We don’t have to watch movies if you don’t really want to.” Akira said hesitantly as he frowned while putting on his shoes.
Those words. Akira was giving him a way out, but why does he have to look so disappointed while saying all that? Akechi felt guilty for putting that expression on his face and quickly said, “No no! It’s fine. It’s just...I’m not used to staying still for so long…”
He decided on telling a half-truth. He does prefer moving around and being active. They walked outside his apartment and Akira was thinking about what his said.
“Hmm, I guess watching 3 movies in a row is too much. I’ll decrease it to 2 movies per marathon then.”
“Ah...thanks.” Akechi guessed that’s a bit better? He’ll take what he can get.
“I know, I’m so nice.” Akira boasted as he puffed his chest up and crossed his arms, his facial expression looking satisfied before he ruined it by snorting and they both ended up laughing.
“Ha ha your acting skills is just as bad as Ann.” Akechi said as he chuckled.
“Woah, wow! That’s just harsh.”
“You’re right, I need to apologize to Ann, it’s even worse than hers.”
Akira gasped and grabbed his chest in pain. “Saying it once, it can be taken as a joke, but twice I might start believing that you’re serious!”
“Hm, who knows...I might be” Akechi returned the innocent smile that Akira gave him a few minutes ago.
Akechi wondered if he should give Akira a hug. Is that too forward? He might get him sick though if they are in such close proximities, but he wants to show that he appreciate Akira going out of his way and doing all of this.
Akechi closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath, trying to cool his nerves.
‘Actions speak louder than words’, he thought. He breathed out and opened his eyes. Feeling determined, Akechi’s hand reached out.
Akira looked confused when he closed his eyes, but his look was replaced by shock when Akechi took him by the hand.
“I am serious though, thank you for today. I’ll do something for you when I feel better, I promise.” He looked adamant about this as he covered Akira’s hand with both of his.
However, all Akira thought was, ‘ oh my god, he’s going to kiss me.’ So he was greatly disappointed when Akechi smiled and said night before heading back into his apartment.
‘I’ll take my reward now.’ He mentally cried outside the empty hallway.