Chapter Text
Eiichi wasn’t one to admit he was under the weather, mainly because he never noticed when he had symptoms. Sure, he can remember being a kid and resting in bed after catching the flu, but over time the idol business (and his father) forced him to learn how to work through illness and other “inconveniences.” (His father further defined this as anxiety and exhaustion.) As a result, whenever something felt off Eiichi would brush it aside and go about his business.
So when he woke up around 8 with a sore throat and the inability to breathe through his nose, he assumed it was just allergies and pushed himself out of bed. He had errands to run with Kira, a meeting about Heavens’ next song, and a visit with Shinomiya and Kurosaki later on his schedule for the day.
But as he stood up, Eiichi’s head started pounding, and he felt the blood rush forward as gravity pulled him to the ground. His knees hit the hardwood floor with a thud.
“Shit!” He exclaimed, before he started coughing. Actually, it was more like hacking.
Eiichi grabbed his chest. Every breath came out ragged, no matter how he tried to steady himself. His throat felt raw and coated in phlegm. He gasped a few times, unable to catch his breath. What the hell was wrong with him?
He had to calm down. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. In- *cough!*. The steady pattern wasn’t working, causing Eiichi to panic as he wheezed. This couldn’t be normal. Had he ever felt like this before? He tried to remember when he was a kid, but he couldn't focus with the pounding in his head that moved behind his eyes.
Eiichi tried to breathe again. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. In, hold, out. He took a sharp breath, held it for a second, then exhaled. He did it again. In, hold, out . His chest was still heavy and congested, but at least he could feel the air returning to his lungs. Tears of relief pricked at the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away.
Eiichi tried to push himself to his feet, but his legs started to hurt and felt weak. Another wave of dizziness came over him and he fell back down. A chill spread through his body out of nowhere, so he grabbed onto the blanket on his bed and tugged it towards him. The muscles in his arms ached, but he managed to wrap the blanket around his shoulders. Eiichi curled up, trying to keep himself warm.
Suddenly the lights in the room were turned on. Eiichi groaned, the sudden brightness made his head hurt even more.
“Eiichi...Breakfast...is ready. Are you...okay?” It was Kira.
Eiichi pulled his head up to look at his bandmate, wincing as he felt the pressure build up in his head. He wanted to explain that he felt like shit and was going to lay down for a little longer, but the words wouldn’t come out. He couldn’t even think of the right words to say. Everything felt muddled in his head, and his body was so sore. And he still didn’t know what was wrong with him. All he wanted was to curl back up in bed and sleep for the rest of the day.
Eiichi opened his mouth to speak, but instead burst into tears.
He knew deep down that crying wouldn’t solve anything, or magically make him better. As a matter of fact, it only made him start coughing again. But he didn’t feel okay. Something was wrong with him and he didn’t know how to fix it, or even if he could fix it. And that scared him, so damn much. He felt frustrated and helpless and wanted to stop crying, but he gave in to the exhaustion and fear and just sobbed.
Strong hands gripped onto Eiichi’s shoulders, pulling him back into reality. He looked up and saw Kira’s golden eyes, filled with worry. He hadn’t seen Eiichi breakdown in months. Kira lifted his hand and gently pressed the back of it to Eiichi’s forehead.
“You...feel very warm.”
“I-I‘m cold and sore. What’s wrong with me?” Eiichi whimpered, pulling the blanket further around his body. The chills were so bad now that his teeth were chattering.
Kira’s eyes softened, gently drying the tears from Eiichi’s cheeks.
“You’re alright. It’s...just a fever. Let me...help you back...to bed.” Eiichi felt Kira’s arms move down to wrap around his waist. He fell forward into Kira, who pulled him up to his feet and carefully led him to bed. Or tried to.
They had only walked to the edge of the bed before Eiichi was clinging tightly to Kira, arms wrapped around Kira’s neck.
“Eiichi...You need...to lay down.”
Eiichi shook his head, a few more tears leaking from his eyes. He wasn’t normally this clingy. Sure, he ruffled Eiji, Nagi, and Shion’s hair, gave out a few hugs, and didn’t mind some light cuddling during winter. But right now the idea of close human contact was very appealing. And Kira was warm and comforting. He made Eiichi feel safe.
Kira, ever patient, held Eiichi for another moment. He rubbed his hands up and down Eiichi’s back, and the tension in the latter eased up.
Once Eiichi was calm enough, Kira helped him climb into bed. The leader of Heavens felt himself sink into his mattress, his sore muscles relaxing a bit. Kira pulled the bed covers up, then fluffed the pillows.
“I’ll be...back in...a few minutes. Just getting...some supplies and breakfast.” Kira assured, gently placing his hand on Eiichi’s forehead.
Eiichi nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat, wincing at how rough it felt. Kira walked toward the bedroom door and flicked off the lights before he left.
Eiichi slowly fell back asleep, too tired to continue pondering about what happened.