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He had hit his stride. After weeks of frustrating dead ends and wasted hours and barely enough clients to keep them afloat, Reigen had solidified his half-formed ideas into a plan and he was loathe to stop working on it right now, not when he’d made so much progress and was getting so close to the next step. Excited, he’d skipped breakfast in favor of getting to the office early enough to work without fear of walk-ins (no matter how few and far between they’d been lately) and told Serizawa he could take his time coming in. He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed, replaced his hands on the keyboard and began typing anew, frustrated when he made simple mistakes, shaking out his limbs in a futile attempt to get them listening to him again. It was useless, at least for now. He was too riled up, irritated with his body for getting in the way like this when he had so, so, so much work to do. Lifting his eyes away from the screen, Reigen closed them against the wave of dizziness and breathed deeply, feeling as though none of it reached his lungs. He was left hungry for it, fingers shaking so badly he could barely keep them on the keys.
Standing, intending to get some water to try and settle his nerves, Reigen instead found himself incredibly lightheaded, vision fading in and out as a rush of warmth spread from his feet to his face and he felt sick, holding a palm to his rolling stomach in an attempt to steady it. Serizawa looked up from his studies and Reigen tried to make his voice work but it was as if everything was deep underwater, distorted and muddied, farther and farther away until there was nothing at all.
Reigen caught himself on the edge of his desk, the quivering hand not even reaching his temple before his brown eyes rolled up behind lashes flickering like a pair of ladybird’s wings. It was in slow motion that Serizawa watched the life drain from his vacant stare, his knees fold beneath him like wet paper, his jacket unfurl around him in an iridescent gray pool. It was a wonder he didn’t hit his head and the esper was at his side seconds later, checking for a pulse, for injuries, and finding only a galloping rhythm beneath clammy skin. Still far too thin, Reigen was like spun glass in his arms, delicate and small as Serizawa lifted him off the floor and pressed his lips to his forehead before settling him on the couch to go rummage in the small kitchenette for anything the man could eat and finding only tea. He should have known. Should have made sure he’d had breakfast, a snack, lunch, anything. Reluctant to leave him alone like this, Serizawa flipped the sign to closed and set about making tea, stirring in a liberal spoonful of honey and watching it dissolve in gauzy threads.
The slow rise back to consciousness took long minutes, an eternity measured in slow blinks and shallow breaths, in disoriented murmurings and uncoordinated attempts to sit up.
“Whoa, not so fast.” He’d only been out for a bit, but it was enough to have him struggling to figure out what had happened, swaying like seaweed in the current as he tried and failed to find his bearings. “I’ve got you, relax, relax.”
“Mm…” non-committal and drowsy, it almost looked to Serizawa that he was on his way out again, being tugged into the deep by exhaustion and overwork.
“Did you eat today?” A distracted negative confirmed the esper’s suspicions.
And not eating, apparently.
Getting the man to eat while he was so busy had proven a challenge and he was still suffering from dizzy spells. Serizawa made a mental note to stock the office with easy snacks and insist on eating with him in the morning, even if it was something small. But that was a challenge for a later time. He pushed the tea on him, assuring Reigen that it was fairly cool by now, since he’d taken his sweet time coming around. A confused look answered Serizawa’s attempt at levity and he sighed fondly, wrapping those smaller palms around the cup. Reigen’s hands shook as he gripped the ceramic and lifted it to his mouth, making a face at the overly sweetened tea and Serizawa couldn’t help but steady those trembling fingers, carding his own through auburn hair while he waited for the sugar to do its job. Reigen slouched against him when he was finished, quiet and still, soft breath evening out when he dozed off on the older man’s shoulder and almost dropped the empty mug. The esper plucked it out of the air, like he should have plucked Reigen when he fell; he could have seriously hurt himself.
This wasn't the first time he'd fainted, still so careful about the money he spent, the money Serizawa wanted to spend on him, that he ate as little as he could, thinking foolishly that no one would notice.
“I could eat you out of house and home!” He'd brushed off the esper’s concerns with an off hand comment punctuated in a laugh, sobering at Serizawa’s serious reply.
“I wish you would.” Reigen chuckled then, glancing away and running a hand through sleep mussed hair. “Really, you need to take better care of yourself.” At the firm palms on his shoulders, Reigen looked up, met his eyes, and the fear Serizawa saw in them was heartbreaking. “I made breakfast, and you're going to eat it, or you'll be insulting me.” With a grin, Serizawa turned the younger man around and marched him to the table, brushing a sweet kiss to the back of his neck to let him know all was forgiven, glad to feel the tension slough off him like a snake’s skin.
“How could I ever refuse?” And Serizawa made sure Reigen tucked in first before lifting his own chopsticks.
“Sorry Ka’su…” Small and tired, Reigen’s whisper drew his full attention and Serizawa leaned away to cup his jaw in both hands, examine his face properly and give him a once over. The groggy compliance was worrying him the most, but it was probably just taking a bit longer for him to come fully around this late in the afternoon. His hands were no longer trembling so badly and the color had returned to his skin, doing nothing to hide the dark circles beneath his eyes. The esper knew those small benefits from the honey wouldn't last long.
“You need to eat something.” A shaky exhale followed the resigned nod. “Want me to bring it back here? So you can sleep a bit longer?”
“No, want to come with you.” Reigen had fallen against Serizawa’s shoulder again and while he had his doubts he really did want to keep him close.
“Alright then.” Tugging him to his feet and relieved that he kept them, he caught his mouth in a gentle kiss, the faint taste of honey and green tea still on Reigen’s lips. “You can choose, my treat.”
They walked slow, Serizawa’s arm linked with Reigen’s elbow, fingers tangled together and for once, the esper doing most of the talking. Reigen hummed responses and chuffed low when Serizawa said something particularly witty, coming more and more back to life with each step they took. He chose their regular ramen place, familiar and comfortable, surrounded by memories of celebrated exorcisms and life lessons hard won. They ordered their usuals, and with each bite more of Reigen returned until he was brandishing his chopsticks in one hand and motioning wildly with the other as he told Serizawa what he'd been working on today that was so important through a mouthful of noodles. Together they laughed, and talked, and joked, and the earlier scare was filed away in Serizawa’s mind. Reigen sat back with a sigh, face split with a grin.
“I guess that's all I needed.” Serizawa rolled his eyes.
“I guess.” Reigen’s smile turned sheepish.
“What do you think about picking up some stuff for the office? You know, just some small things to have around, in case one of us needs a pick me up.” It was probably the biggest concession Serizawa was going to get and he left the bills on the counter to take both of Reigen’s hands and place a kiss between his brows.
“I think that's one of the smartest ideas you've had yet.”