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On the way back from a mission with the Northern wizards in North Country, Akira rides behind Mithra, holding him around his waist, flying high above the clouds.
"Master Sage, you are quite quiet today. Normally you gush about how 'cool' and 'strong' I am after we complete a mission." Mithra feels Akira's head drop heavily onto his back and Mithra turns his head slightly to try and peek at the young man.
Akira hums weakly. "Mm….mmhm. You were so cool today… the way you destroyed that boulder that was in our way… bam… so cool…"
Mithra scoffs. "What a weak compliment, that doesn't make me feel great at all. You have been acting odd all morning, as well."
The sage weakly rubs his head against Mithra's back. "Mm… the weather feels so nice…"
The tall wizard squints. "’It feels nice’? You normally complain about the North weather, wha--"
Mithra suddenly feels Akira's hold loosen and the sage's body sways before he falls off the broom.
The wizard reacts too slow. "Akira!" Akira's body falls quickly and Mithra speeds off to catch up. "Tch! Why are you falling so quickly?!" The other wizards notice Mithra speeding downwards and see Akira quickly falling and they too begin to move to catch their fallen sage.
"Yo, Mithra! What'd you do? Did he piss you off or som’thin’?!"
"Fufu. I see you finally had enough of the little sage, hm?"
"Mithy-poo, summon a door to catch him above you!"
"Tch! Arism!"
Mithra reaches a hand towards Akira's direction to summon a door and then hovers in one spot, arms out in front of his body to catch the sage from above him.
Akira lands in his arms, unconscious. Mithra, out of breath and slightly shaken, gently moves Akira's tousled bangs out of his face. His cheeks are flushed a deep red and his breath is shaky as well.
The other wizards surround the pair as Mithra places a hand on Akira's forehead. "He's hot." He continues touching other parts of his body. His neck, his cheeks, his chest. "He's burning up everywhere."
Snow and White each press a small hand on one side of Akira's cheek and Mithra holds Akira close to his body, protective.
"Worry not, Mithy-poo. 'Tis just a cold."
Mithra scoffs. "Just a cold? He's shivering and hot!"
"Then we must quickly take him to the manor for Figaro to cure him."
Hearing Figaro's name, Mithra clicks his tongue. "I am not letting that wizard touch him. I will nurse him back to health."
Mithra reaches his arm out and recites his spell, summoning a door leading straight to Akira's room. "I should have done this sooner…" he turns to the other wizards, a warning look in his emerald eyes. "Do not disturb us, as I will be nursing the sage back to health and he will need absolute quiet."
He slowly flies through the door as to not disturb Akira, leaving the rest of the wizards hovering in the cold.
---
Mithra gently places Akira on the bed and stares at the still unconscious sage.
He continues staring.
And he continues staring.
“Ah. I should change him out of his clothes.”
He rummages through Akira’s clothing, taking out what looks like sleepwear and changes his clothes with magic. He looks at Akira’s heaving chest and sweaty forehead and decides to unbutton a few of the top buttons from Akira’s pajama shirt. Mithra purses his lips and throws blankets on top of his sleeping partner and sits on the bed, looking down at him.
“...Tiletta once fed me dried lizards and herbs when I was not feeling well once… But since you’re human, maybe putting them in a stew would be better for you. Hm.. Yes, that sounds like a plan.”
He talks to himself out loud, more for organizing his thoughts than to have an actual conversation, while occasionally summoning a door to gather items from his own room to prepare a stew.
“Healing a human from a cold should not be a problem. If that Figaro can do it, I can do it as well.” He throws in a considerable amount of herbs and dried lizards into the pot he had summoned as he stirs when he hears a shuffling noise come from behind him.
“H…h..”
Mithra stops stirring and sits on the bed next to Akira, placing a hand on his forehead.
“Master Sage, are you awake?”
“T..hirsty.”
“Ah. Yes, that slipped my mind.”
He summons a glass of water and gently sits Akira up to help him drink it. Akira takes slow sips, pausing every other sip to savor the cool liquid.
“You know, Master Sage. This is my first time taking care of someone who is sick.” He clenches his free hand into a fist and opens it, his sugar now sitting in his palm. “I think this might help you. Protective and healing properties and such. Here, open your mouth.”
Akira weakly opens his mouth, sticking out his tongue as far as he is able. Mithra, with as much care he could muster, gently places the smallest piece of sparkling sugar onto Akira’s tongue. Akira weakly pulls his tongue back into his mouth while Mithra's finger still lingers on his tongue, causing him to weakly suck on it along with the sugar.
"Master Sage, do open your mouth and let my finger go."
Akira, too focused on sucking on the sugar, lolls his tongue around Mithra's finger, and the wizard growls, a small sensation piling in his lower regions.
"Now is not the time to be attempting to seduce me, Master Sage!"
Akira keeps sucking until the sugar is gone, and with glassy eyes looks up at Mithra, licking his lips.
"Can I have… more…?"
Mithra growls, pushing Akira down on the bed. "I'm unsure if you are doing that on purpose, but if you do not stop being so seductive, I'm going to ravish you whether you are sick or not."
Akira's breaths come out evenly and his cheeks aren't as red as before, a sign the sugar is working so Mithra leans down and opens his mouth, but when he is about to bite Akira's tender neck, a knock is heard on the door.
"Tch."
He opens the door, annoyed. "I said for no one to come to this room--"
Nero looks at him, surprised and with a container in hand.
"Uhh- Mithra. Um. The… twins told me that Mr. Sage was sick? I brought something for him."
Mithra looks down at his hand but the contents are covered by the lid. "What is it? I am making him lizard stew made of the ones that reside in the North, which I'm sure is much more delicious than whatever you have."
"Li-lizard stew?! That's way too heavy on a human's stomach, especially when they're sick!" Nero, flabbergasted, almost drops the container to the floor.
The tall wizard rolls his eyes, "I gave him some of my sugar, so he should eat it just fine."
Nero purses his lips. "I wanna see the Sage."
"N--"
"Yo, Nero, you forgot the medicine the Curseworker gave yo–” Bradley stops in the middle of the hallway and looks between Nero and Mithra, sensing something sinister coming off the overprotective wizard.
“Bradley, do tell the chef here that I warned for no one to come into this room.”
“Uh–”
“He’s going to feed him lizards from the North , Brad! Do you think I’m going to take this laying down? Those lizards are poisonous if eaten in large quantities!
“Wh–”
“It’s made into a stew, he should be able to eat it easily.”
“Brad!”
“Woah, woah, don’t bring me into this?! First of all, Mithra, you need’ta chill. Nero here is just as worried about the little sage as much as you are. Second, don’t feed those kind of lizards to humans, they can’t digest ‘em like we do–”
“And how would you know that?” Mithra asks, crossing his arms in annoyance.
“My brothers were all humans, so I’ve seen my fair share of human illnesses, ya dumbass. Lizards from the North make ‘em sicker.”
Mithra looks between Nero and Bradley and at the container in Nero’s hand.
“What is inside that container?”
Nero releases a deep sigh, sensing that Mithra is slowly calming down.
“It’s lemons soaked in honey. Mr. Sage once told me that he loved to eat those when he was sick back in his world. I also infused some of the honey with wizard's sugar so it'll help speed up his recovery."
“... Come inside.”
Bradley and Nero walk inside the room while the smell of lizard stew makes their way up their nostrils.
"Open up the window to let the room air out, the room stinks." Nero says as he places the container on the nightstand next to Akira.
"Yeah, pretty sure this ain't somethin' pleasant to be around for a sick guy." Bradley picks up the soup ladle and sniffs it, grimacing. "You were really gonna feed the poor guy this shit?"
Mithra sends Bradley a deadly glare and Bradley shrugs, ignoring it. "You shoulda just asked Figaro to heal 'im instead of tryin' to feed 'im this mess."
"I refuse. I can do just as well in healing someone."
Bradley raises an eyebrow. "But have ya ever nursed a human back to health?"
Mithra remains quiet, only playing with the funny strands of hair on the top of Akira's head.
"Thought so. Anyway, if ya don't wanna ask Figaro, get me or the Southern Shortstuff; we both have enough experience in healin' humans."
Mithra sighs. "I suppose."
"Tch. Ungrateful bastard. All right then, I'm headin' out. Nero, ya know what to do, too."
Nero nods, reaching to touch Akira's forehead to check his temperature, but Mithra releases a small growl.
"Do ya want him to get better or not?"
"...."
Mithra moves to sit next to Akira on the bed, gently sitting him up to where Akira's back is on Mithra's chest. The Sage's head lands on Mithra's shoulder and Mithra tightens his hold on the sick man.
"I fed him a piece of sugar but I did not get to finish giving the rest, so there is not much of a difference in his state," he says as Nero check’s Akira’s temperature.
Nero nods and conjures up a bowl of water and towels. "'Kay, just keep feedin' him some sugar every hour until his fever is completely gone. Place a wet towel on his forehead and change it every so often. Make sure he drinks plenty of water and that he eats some of the honey lemons. I'll send Mitile later to check up on 'im."
Mithra returns a slight nod.
Nero purses his lips in thought and scratches his neck in nervousness. "Uh. D'ya want me to bring you up some charcoal? Just be sure to leave the window open so Mr. Sage doesn't get a strong whiff of it."
Mithra looks at him, eyes wide at the sudden suggestion and looks down while placing a hand on his stomach, as if suddenly realizing his stomach is empty.
"I suppose I can accept that offer. I will have it alongside my lizard stew."
The chef grimaces at the words lizard stew. "Yeah… just don't put that near Mr. Sage's mouth. I'll be back soon."
Nero begins to walk to the door when a small voice stops him.
"Mm… Nero?.."
"Yeah, Mr. Sage?"
Akira weakly lifts his head off the shoulder and gives Nero a smile, one full of gratitude and a touch of sadness, or nostalgia, Nero can’t tell. "Thank you for remembering I loved honey lemons… I only brought it up once… so thank you."
Bashfully, Nero laughs. "You're our precious sage, I won't forget something like that."
Akira closes his eyes and returns to sleep, his head returning back to Mithra’s shoulder.
Nero leaves and Mithra sighs as he places his cheek on the top of Akira's head, but only after gently placing a towel on his forehead. He tightens his hold around Akira’s waist and nuzzles his cheek into the soft tufts of hair. “I suppose Tiletta’s healing methods won’t work on a human, hm."
Akira seems to have heard him because Mithra hears a small chuckle escape his lips. “You silly kitty…”
“Kitty?!--”
“You’re not supposed to climb on the shelf, haha.”
Mithra huffs out an annoyed breath. “So now you are sleep-talking. Well, we should might as well try to feed you.”
He magically moves pillows to cushion the corner of the bed that is closest to the wall and sits Akira up on the pillows. “Master Sage, wake up. I have honey coated lemons for you.”
Akira’s eyes scrunch up, but they don’t open. Mithra looks at the sleeping man and decides to test something out. He conjures more sugar and places it on his own tongue and leans in, pressing his lips on the half asleep man. He presses and presses until Akira becomes responsive and once his lips open slightly, Mithra slides his tongue in and leaves the piece of sugar in the sage’s mouth.
“A-ah…Mmm..” The red haired wizard kisses him one more time before pulling away and Akira closes his mouth, savoring the sugar, but once he swallows it, his eyes snap open.
“M-Mithra! Did you just kiss me?! I’m sick!”
Mithra laughs, “haha, it seems the sugar is now fully taking effect, if you are scolding me. My sugar is strong so you should recover from your cold in half the time Nero said.” He leans in to kiss the sage again and Akira quickly presses a warm palm on Mithra’s lips. “N-no! You’ll get sick, too!”
Looming closely into Akira’s face, Mithra gives Akira an unimpressed look as he takes a hold of his hand. “Do you think I, Mithra, strongest wizard of the North would get sick from a human cold? You mock me, Master Sage.” He leans further in and presses several kisses onto Akira’s still warm neck.
“O-okay! I get it! But can we save… this , for until after I recover? Please? I’m hungry…” Mithra manages to bite Akira’s neck once before he pulls away in a huff. “Fine. I will feed you, so get comfortable. I do not treat others as kindly as I do you.”
Akira blushes as he moves to sit up on the bed. “Thank you, Mithra.”
Nero and Mitlie walk in a little while later, Nero with some charcoal and Mitile with chicken stew in their hands. They catch Akira with Mithra’s long fingers in his mouth, eating the lemon with a blissful look on his face, and when Akira notices the two guests, he hurriedly pulls away, licking his lips, and a blush blooms all over his face.
“U-uhm. Nero! The lemons are amazing! Thank you for them!” he looks everywhere but at the two and coughs to clear his throat.
Mitile, face bloomed red as well, looks down as he walks towards the two sitting on the bed. “Um.. Here’s some stew! I hope you like it! G-get better soon, Master Sage!” After setting the tray in Mithra’s lap, he covers his face as he quickly walks out of the room.
Akira groans and covers his face. “Was… Did it really look like that?”
Nero awkwardly clears his throat. “You looked like you were comin’ down from a… pleasureable activity, Mr. Sage.”
Akira groans again. “I’m going to apologize to him later…”
One handed, Nero rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. “But uh–, if you don’t mind me askin’, Mr. Sage. Are they really that good?”
The sage looks up and gives Nero a serious look. “They are the best honey lemons I’ve ever had in my life, and I have eaten them a lot. I’d eat them every day if I could.”
Nero laughs, “well I see why you had that look on your face, then.” Remembering he had the charcoal, he places the plate on the tray alongside the chicken stew.
“Well, good t’ see you’re feelin’ better. Mithra, keep an eye on him, a’ight?”
Mithra pouts. “Do not tell me what to do.”
Nero purses his lips and Akira steps in. “Mithra, if it weren’t for Nero, I wouldn’t be recovering as quickly as I have!”
“... I suppose.”
Nero sighs, knowing Mithra didn’t mean to be rude, (probably), and shakes his head. “Anyway, I’ll check up on ya again later, Sage.”
“Thank you, Nero.”
He leaves and the two enjoy their meal in peace, the cool wind coming in through the open window feeling comfortable against Akira’s skin.
Full and warm, Akira nestles into his bed, Mithra laying on his side facing him. He pulls up the covers to Akira’s chin and lays his hand out. Akira shyly takes it and brings it to his face. “You feel nice and cool.”
“Hm. I suppose that is to your liking?”
Akira nods, drowsy. “Mmmhm. Are you sure you won’t get sick? Sleeping with me?”
Mithra rolls his eyes. “Who am I?”
The sage chuckles. “Mimi.”
The wizard moves closer, nose to nose and repeats, “Who am I, Master Sage?”
Akira looks into the emerald eyes and presses a kiss on the tip of Mithra’s nose. “You’re the strong Mithra of the North.”
“That is right,” he says as he moves Akira’s bangs away to press a kiss of his own upon his forehead.
Akira lets out a chuckle and Mithra raises an eyebrow.
“That’s so corny, haha.”
“‘Corny?’ What does that mean?”
But before Akira could answer him, the sage sleeps peacefully, hand in hand with the wizard. Mithra looks at him and presses one last kiss on the sage’s forehead.
“Well, if I do become ill, I suppose you will just nurse me back to health, isn’t that right, Akira?”
Akira’s sleeping lips turning up into a smile is all the answer Mithra needed before he, too, falls into a deep sleep.