Work Text:
A groan escaped Kiyotaka as he stared at the thermometer in front of his face, waiting for the number on it to go down. Alas, it didn't. He had no choice but to face the truth and admit that he's sick (as if the stuffed nose, migraines, sore throat and growing feeling of queasiness settling in his stomach wasn't a clear enough indicator).
With a heavy heart and pounding head, he quickly sent his best friend a text explaining that he wouldn't be in class today and left it at that; no need to bore him with the details. Everyone got sick occasionally, right? He'd be fine within a week. It didn't matter. He could very easily work alone in his own room until the fever passed. All he had to do was push through the week and study by himself as to not infect anyone else. Already preparing himself mentally for a day fraught with discomfort, he began grabbing his textbooks from his shelves and desk, setting out his equipment, and checking his timetable for the day. He may not be attending class personally, but he had already memorised the curriculum for the year and knew precisely what his classes should be covering for the foreseeable future. He was sick, but that didn't mean he was about to throw away his entire schedule, damn it!
Bzzzt!
Taka stopped reaching for the pencil his hand was hovering over and redirected it to his phone, picking it up.
It's probably Mondo saying 'okay' or something of a similar meaning, Taka guessed as he checked the notification.
...Huh.
The notification was from Mondo, that much was true, but the contents were, while not surprising in the least in hindsight, not what Kiyotaka expected.
What in the world does 'omw' mean? I'm certain I've heard it before, but I can't recall where...
Oh well. He could figure out the meaning of that cryptic string of letters after he practised the quadratic equation for the best part of an hour. Grabbing the pencil he had targeted earlier, he opened up his textbook to the right page and looked at the first question. Then he looked some more. He looked over it for a third time, trying to will the symbols on the page into some type of legible scripture. He wasn't even sure he was looking at numbers.
Then it clicked. He wasn't.
With a blank look, he slowly closed the English textbook and slid it off his desk and back onto a shelf, pulling out the maths textbook he had meant to and thought he selected earlier. He wasn't even supposed to have an English class today.
Okay. That's fine. No big deal. It's just a little bit of a slow start to the morning. I can handle it.
This time, he gazed over the correct book and was relieved when he found that he could make some sort of sense of it this time. It wasn't perfect with the sharp pain piercing his skull, but at least he could read it somewhat. Taking his notebook and placing it in front of him, be began to work his way through the questions.
Or, well, he tried to.
It was careless mistake after careless mistake. Every time he blinked he could swear that the '3' on his page turned into an '8'... Or was that an '8' morphing into a '3'? This was getting ridiculous. How many times had he restarted this question? Twice? Thrice? Ten times? Twenty perhaps? It was all becoming one big discombobulated blur. Taka clenched his teeth as he felt his temperature rise, not entirely sure if that was due to his fever or frustration. Quite possibly a mix of both.
"Yo, Taka? Earth to Taka? Can ya hear me?"
Taka turned around to find his door wide open and Mondo standing a few feet behind him.
Oh. Right. It means 'on my way'. I remember now.
"You didn't have to come and check on me, Mondo. Surely you could better spend your time before class elsewhere?"
"Didn't have to co- Dude! Ya were so out of it! I've been standin' here for five fuckin' minutes callin' ya name, and ya door was already unlocked!"
"It was...?" Taka blinked. He did recall feeling particularly exhausted before falling asleep last night. Had he simply forgotten to lock the door? It was hard to believe to be completely honest; he always made sure to lock it at least four times to make sure that it truly had been locked, so to think that he had forgotten was almost unthinkable.
"Yeah it was! So the fuck is goin' o-" Mondo paused as he looked at Taka's desk, spotting the thermometer.
"Mondo? What is it?" Taka asked as the man in question stepped forward, picking up the device and reading the number. 40°C, or 104°F if you use Fahrenheit. Quite a high fever.
"...Please tell me that ya weren't plannin' on workin' when ya temperature is almost as hot as the fuckin' sun?"
"That is quite the exaggeration, Mondo."
"Answer the damn question."
"I am still plenty capable of work, thank you very mu-AH!" Taka found himself unable to complete his sentence before Mondo had hoisted him up over his shoulder, carrying him over to his bed.
"Put me down this instant!" Taka cried, trying to ignore the searing pain behind his eyes.
"Are ya gonna get into bed and fuckin' rest or are ya gonna head straight for the damn papers again?"
"I can still work, damn you!"
"I ain't hearin' what I wanna hear, bro."
"MONDO!" Taka yelled, instantly regretting this decision as pain shot up into his brain.
"The heck is going on!?" A third voice rings out in the room as Aoi rushes in through the still-open door, looking frantic as she spots the pair. "Mondo!? Why are you holding Taka hostage!? Aren't you two supposed to be super-duper close!?"
"Hina! Thank goodness-"
"We are! This is why I'm holdin' his ass hostage and forcin' him to sleep!" Mondo exclaimed before presenting her with his evidence.
"A thermometer?"
"Mondo, put that thing down right now!" Taka protested, but it was futile.
"Check the damn temperature."
"...Do what you must, biker-boy. It's for his own good."
"Hina, I trusted you!" Taka choked out, the combination of being thrown over someone's shoulder and his illness becoming increasingly agonising for him.
"Dude!" Hina threw her hands up in the air, worry written on her face. "You have a high fever and you're starting to struggle to talk! What else are you gonna do? If your plan was to study all day anyway, I'm becoming the resident hall monitor temporarily and confiscating all of your books until you get better!"
"Hina, do not touch my books-"
"Hina, grab the books and fuckin' leg it!"
Aoi decided to listen to the latter rather than the former, quickly swiping all of the books in the room before dashing out the door, desperately trying to hold all of them in her arms as she ran. Taka wanted to scream out to her to tell her to stop, but at this point, he knew it would be a fruitless effort.
"...Are you happy now?"
"Not until I hear ya snorin'."
Well, his body was beginning to feel quite heavy, and he didn't think that was only due to gravity trying to pull him to the floor, and it's not like he could do his work now...
"Alright. Fine. I will sleep."
"Good to hear, ya stubborn bastard," Mondo said as he unceremoniously dropped Taka onto his bed, knocking the wind out of him slightly.
"Mondo..."
"Hm?"
"Never become a nurse."
"Wasn't plannin' on it," he grinned as he began walking out the room. "I'll be right back. Ya haven't eaten yet, right? I'll see if there's anythin' left in the cafeteria for ya."
"Don't you have class?"
Mondo chuckled. "Fat fuckin' chance I'm goin' in now, ya probably infected me!"
"Wh- I infected you? I apologise, I didn't realise that I demanded you come into my room and hold me captive while someone raided my room and purloined my belongings."
"Note-to-self; ya become more sarcastic when sick."
"Are you leaving or not?" Taka snapped, although it sounded too quiet to be considered threatening.
Mondo's laughter faded away as he stepped out the room, closed the doors, and walked down the halls, leaving the cranky moral compass to settle himself into a more comfortable position.
"Mondo? Class is the other way, remember?"
Mondo was stopped in the hallway by a smaller figure and a voice belonging to Chihiro Fujisaki.
"Yes Chi, I remember where class is. I ain't goin'."
"What? But you promised Taka that you'd go to your classes! And you're starting to do really well in maths too, and-" Chihiro stopped herself, noticing Mondo covering his mouth with his sleeve. "Uh... Mondo? Why are you...?"
"Didn't have time to grab a mask," he explained, although it sounded a little muffled. "Taka's sick. Seriously fuckin' sick. And I've been throwin' him around this mornin', so I probably caught it or somethin'."
"Is throwing a sick person around really a good idea-"
"I'm grabbin' him breakfast before it all goes," Mondo interrupted, "and then I'm gonna head back and make sure he ain't tryin' to study himself into an even worse fever."
"Did he try to-"
"Yeah he tried to study himself into an even worse fever."
"Why?"
Mondo shrugged. "He's a stubborn asshole. And a workaholic. Fuckin' terrible combination. Seriously, if ya let him, he'd study until he collapsed from exhaustion or somethin'. Maybe I should just move in with him or somethin' and keep him from overworkin' himself, y'know?"
Chihiro smiled to herself. "You sound like you really care, Mondo. I mean, like you REALLY care."
While his sleeve did a good job at hiding his blush, it was by no means a miracle worker. It took all of Chihiro's strength to not to snort at her friend's expression as his eyebrows shot up his face, eyes wide in mild panic. Mondo looked around frantically in case he had to remember a face to give amnesia to later. Fortunately, everyone else seemed to have disappeared to a classroom at this point. Still, Mondo couldn't help but be cautious.
"Chi, keep it down, would ya!? I told ya that in confidence!"
"Mondo, in case you haven't noticed, the only person in this entire building not to have worked out your complete infatuation with Taka is the man himself. And he's bedridden right now."
"Still, just... Shut the fuck up!" Mondo blurted out before rushing to the cafeteria leaving a giggling Chihiro walking to class.
"Bro, I'm back! They just had a couple cold bacon sandwiches left, and they're kinda greasy now... Still, better than nothin'!"
No response.
"...Bro? Ya here?" Mondo called out again, taking a step into the room.
Please don't have done a runner, please don't have done a runner, please don't have done a-
Mondo felt himself let go of a lot of tension he hadn't realised he'd been holding as he saw Taka's sleeping form under the covers, his chest gently rising and falling and his face flush with fever. For once in his life, Taka looked quite relaxed (despite the current assault on his immune system). His face seemed less intense and intimidating without those crimson irises visible, and he couldn't deny that he looked radiant without his constant expressions distorting the skin on his face, and now that they weren't moving, he could see just how soft his lips were...
Then Mondo slapped himself.
Mondo Fuckin' Oowada, ya better stop that shit right now, this is NOT the time damn it!
He looked over and Kiyotaka again, this time trying to focus on what he could do to help rather than think about if he'd allow him to kiss him gently on the forehead-
BRAIN. STOP THAT.
Deciding that just looking at the sick man wasn't helping, he made the executive decision to grab a wet cloth and put it on his face. That shit works, right? He knew Daiya used to do that to him, and it was shown in TV shows and that kind of thing all the time, so it couldn't be that inaccurate, could it? He headed to the bathroom and found an unused flannel. After wetting it, he wringed out the excess water and messily folded it into an unkempt rectangle before trying to centre it on Taka's forehead without waking him up. Not the neatest work in the world, bit it should help him feel a bit cooler. Mondo watched for a moment before noticing Taka smile in his sleep.
Okay! Good shit, that's a good sign right fuckin' there.
Mondo backs up a little bit and grabs a chair, sitting himself down and unwrapping one of the sandwiches. He takes a bite as he continues to watch over Taka, waiting for any kind of movement or sign of disturbance. While he certainly enjoyed the feeling that he was doing something useful to Kiyotaka, he couldn't help but gaze upon him with a mild melancholy. It hadn't been very long yet, and he knows his brain just screamed at him about how good Taka looked while relaxed, but he already missed those vibrant eyes, and he couldn't wait to see those expressions once more. To him, Kiyotaka was an unbelievably handsome man no matter what state he was in, sleeping or awake, but it was bizarre seeing him so calm. He was used to seeing Kiyotaka full of life! Not lying dormant under the covers. In some odd way, he supposed it could be considered some sort of blessing, being able to see this other side of him. He only wished it could be under different circumstances.
A few hours passed before Kiyotaka finally stirred, much to Mondo's relief. As his eyes fluttered open, he looked up to see Mondo holding a wet flannel in hands that were hovering above him, still cold and dripping slightly onto his forehead. However, this wasn't the most noticeable thing about the encounter.
That would be that Mondo's face was mere inches from his.
Both men froze, one unable to get up and the other too nervous to move; a rare case of an immovable object versus an immovable object. Whether Taka's face grew a few shades darker due to fever or the sudden closeness was debatable, but Mondo had no symptoms to hide behind yet.
"...Mondo?"
"YEAH?"
Taka recoiled back into his pillow at the noise, still not quite over his headache from earlier. Mondo immediately backed up and tried to calm down, dropping the flannel to the floor in the process.
"SORRY!"
Taka sat up after flinching again, his head oversensitive to everything at that moment. "It's alright, I know you can't help it, but... Please try to keep it down a little?"
Mondo, with his heart beating a million miles a minute, sharply nodded. He dared not speak, for he knew that the only things to leave his mouth would cause Taka further headache.
"Thank you."
Taka's face went back to his previous feverish pink while Mondo (somehow) managed to get his heartbeat under control. They sat in silence for a while, both unsure of how to continue the conversation. Do you even continue a conversation after this? Is there anything to talk about that would be appropriate in this situation?
"...So, uh... How are ya feelin' now?"
"Slightly better."
"Good."
"..."
"..."
It would have seemed like the conversation had ended.
Normally, silence between the two was comfortable. They would usually either be studying, watching a film, or just hanging out somewhere, no words needed. But right now? Words would not only be appreciated, but they are needed very badly.
"...Mondo, I-"
"...Taka, I-"
"Yo, Mondo! Taka! How's the patient?" Hina swung the door open and called out to the pair of them, completely oblivious to the awkward tension permeating the room. While she didn't have Taka's books with her, she did have bags of snacks, drinks, and hand-held game consoles that one could assume were donated by the Ultimate Gamer from the class above. She had the sense to wear a mask, but you could still see her beaming as she stood there, the light from the hallway filtering in behind her, giving her this almost heroic entrance.
"Ah, hello, Hina. I'm doing a little bit better. Thank you for asking. So may I please have my books ba-"
"I was asking Mondo."
"He's still sick. Hearin' loud noises still hurts him, and I still don't think he can make 'em."
Hina points dramatically. "No books for you, hall monitor man!"
"Damn it."
Hina walks in and places the bags onto Taka's desk before clasping her hands together.
"So, anything interesting happen while the rest of us were trapped in the prison know as a classroom?"
"Er... No. Nothin' interestin'. Nothin' to talk about. He slept. I kept an eye. Uneventful." Mondo babbled on, desperately trying to hammer home the point of 'nothing happened' to the point where Hina may have begun to suspect something might have happened. If she did suspect anything though, she kept it to herself and just kept smiling.
"...Alrighty then! I'm about to head off to training with Sakura and Chihiro. You need anything before I go?"
"No thank you, Hina."
"Nah, nothin' for me."
"Okee-doke! Laters!" Hina waved as she skipped out the room, closing the door behind her, once again leaving Taka and Mondo to their silence.
"...So, uh... Taka, I-"
"Thank you for today, Mondo."
"Huh?" Mondo stared, unsure of what to say.
"You didn't need to stay with me today... But you did. And I am grateful. So... Thank you."
"It's no problem bro. The number of times you've bailed my ass out of shit, kinda figured I owed ya this much at least. Besides, ya do realise you're my friend, right? I know ya would do the same for me in a heartbeat."
"Yes, that much is true... Still, that doesn't mean I can't be grateful and say 'thank you', does it?"
"Heh... Guess not." Mondo grins, relaxing himself. "You're fuckin' welcome, bro!"
"We have got to work on that awful swearing habit of yours..."
"There's the Taka I love!" Mondo's laughter boomed around the room, though Taka didn't seem to mind. He just stared at Mondo, eyes wide. Mondo's laughter died down as he stared back, slightly confused. "What's wrong?"
"O-Oh! Sorry, it's just... Isn't the phrase 'you know and love'?"
"That's what I said, ain't it?"
"No, you just said the last bit. The, uh... 'love' bit, that is."
"...I did?" Mondo took a moment to comprehend what just happened, forcing him to remember his words.
"Mondo?"
"Oh shit I did-"
"...Mondo, are you-"
"I JUST REMEMBERED I GOT SHIT TO DO."
Taka winced. "Please, keep it down a little-"
"GOTTA GO BRO SORRY BYE." Mondo yelled as he stood up and sped-walked out of the room, leaving Taka alone and taking his head-splitting noise with him.
Taka could only stare at the closed door when Mondo left, until he smiled, and chucked to himself.
"I love you too, Mondo. I only hope it's in the same way you do."