Work Text:
As he stalks the halls of Hope’s Peak Academy in search of troublemakers to reprimand, Kiyotaka blows his nose for the fifth time in as many minutes. His gait is much slower than usual and his nose so stuffed up his sinuses hurt, but he will not let that bother him. After all, even though he and the others are stuck in a killing game, he is still the Ultimate Hall Monitor for a reason, and he has a job to do.
Anyway, Taka has never let illness affect him. Illnesses are irritating and make you feel dreadful, but Taka can always push through. And, besides, if he goes to bed, Chihiro will fuss over him whilst Mondo stares and tries to think of ways to help. His boyfriends are sure to worry about him, and Taka… he doesn’t like being fussed over.
He is strong and he will not let an illness beat him. And he doesn’t like assistance at the best of times; from a young age, Taka was taught to always look after himself (mainly because if he didn’t, nobody did), and he can’t quite shake this habit of desperate self sufficiency.
Still, he continues to wander around the school, slightly disturbed by his wobbly legs.
“Taka!”
Jumping, Taka turns his head to see Chihiro racing down the hallway towards him. His boyfriend smiles, although the smile seems forced and his eyes are red from crying. Chihiro comes right up to him and wraps his arms around Taka, hugging him.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Chihiro says into his chest.
“What for?” Taka says, suppressing a cough (his throat burns and he tries not to wince).
“I’ve been cooking with Aoi and Sakura and we’ve made something we think you’d like to try,” he says, smiling.
Taka frowns, studying his small boyfriend. “You aren’t trying to make me something medicinal, are you? Because I appreciate the effort, but that’s unnecessary.”
“No, nothing like that,” Chihiro says. “Just something tasty. Come on.”
Chihiro tugs on his hand, and Taka follows him through the school. Once they reach the dining hall, he finds Mondo sat at a table, whilst Aoi and Sakura sit together in the corner (those two are definitely dating).
“Hey, bro,” Mondo says, getting up. “Chihiro’s made us some special tea or some shit.”
Staring at the teacups on the table, Taka sits down beside Mondo. Chihiro sits opposite them, beaming.
“Here you are, Taka,” he says, pushing a cup towards him.
Taka smiles and picks it up, and smells it. He catches wafts of lemon and honey, and stares at Chihiro. For some reason, lemon and honey reminds him of things people drink when they have a sore throat… wait a minute.
“Chihiro?” he says. “Have you made this because of my illness?”
Chihiro glances at Mondo, and shakes his head. “Nope! I just thought it tastes nice.”
“And it fucking does,” Mondo says, grinning at Chihiro. “So drink up, bro. It’s good.”
And, to be fair, the tea is good.
But Taka has to wonder if this is all part of a plan to help him feel better.
Although, if this is as far as Chihiro and Mondo are prepared to go, he supposes this is okay. At least they aren’t fussing.