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"Hey Ena...This isn't how things are supposed to go..."
"Shut-" she didn't get to finish her sentence as a coughing fit overtook her for the third time in the past fifteen minutes. Mizuki could hear shuffling from Ena's side of the call as she dropped her phone on her bed, waiting for her coughing to stop, and then more shuffling as she picked it back up, clearing her throat before continuing "Shut up."
As they laid in their bed with a headache that wouldn't go away no matter what they did, Mizuki started to regret their decision of running home through the rain without an umbrella instead of waiting inside the school until the downpour stopped. Thankfully their fever went away, but their head and throat still hurt, and they barely had any energy left in their body. Even getting out of bed and going to the bathroom was a drag.
As bad as they felt during their first day of being sick, at least Ena was by their side, taking care of them and keeping them company the entire day. But instead of coming back the next day, Mizuki woke up to a call from her saying that she caught their cold.
"In Shoujo anime, when the main character catches a cold their love interest is there to take care of them. We're not both supposed to get sick." Mizuki whined as they shifted their head on the cooler side of the pillow, putting the phone next to their head and closing their eyes.
"And idiots aren't supposed to catch colds, yet here you are." that made them laugh, but it was short lived, as they immediately winced, their headache protesting that. They didn't think Ena heard it, but apparently she did. "Sorry..." her voice was raspy and that just made Mizuki curl in on themself, speaking up in a small voice.
"I should be the one saying that."
"What do you mean?" as soon as she finished that sentence another coughing fit overtook her, making Mizuki feel even more guilty.
"I shouldn't have called you over, but I did, and now you're sick too...Sorry..." they hated how small their voice sounded, and they knew Ena understood it wasn't because of the cold.
They could hear her opening a bottle of water on the other side of the phone and taking a sip, before picking her phone back up and clearing her throat again, regaining her usual snarky tone she used whenever she was reprimanding Mizuki for something.
"You really are an idiot. Even if you didn't call me, I would have still came. Plus..." her tone shifted to a softer one as she continued. "I'm glad you did call me over."
That made Mizuki open their eyes, frowning in confusion. "Huh?"
"I'm glad you decided to rely on me without me saying anything for once." even though they couldn't see her, Mizuki could hear the smile in Ena's voice as she said that.
Ah, at times like this they really didn't know what they did to deserve someone like her in their life. Swallowing past the lump in their throat, they chuckled softly, trying their best to bring back their usual teasing voice.
"Aren't you being unusually honest, Ena? I guess it's true what they say, colds really do make people more vulnerable."
"Aaand you ruined the moment. I'm hanging up now, good night."
"Ah wait wait wait, Enanan, I'm sorry, don't hang up, please."
"..."
When they got nothing but silence, they thought she really did hang up, but as they picked up their phone to look at the screen, they could see the call was still up. Almost three hours, have they really been talking for so long?
"Ena?"
Mizuki could hear her sigh before speaking up. "...I'm here."
At that, they let out a breath of relief which they hoped Ena didn't hear. As much as they were joking around, they really didn't want to be left alone with their own thoughts right now.
"So, did you eat anything?" Ah right, the reason Ena called them in the first place was to check if they were taking proper care of themself. Even though she herself was sick, she still worried about Mizuki first. Warmth blossomed in Mizuki's chest as they put their phone back on the bed and closed their eyes again.
"Mhm, I ate some of the leftovers from yesterday. How about you?"
"Akito made me some porridge and tea for my throat." that made Mizuki chuckle, genuinely this time.
"Why do I feel like you didn't thank him properly?"
"Hey! I promised to take him out for cheesecake once I get better...You can come too if you want." she said the last part so quietly that if Mizuki wasn't listening so closely they would have missed it. They let a grin form on their face as they spoke up.
"Enanan~, are you inviting me out on a date?"
"Akito is there too." she deadpanned, but Mizuki knew she must have been blushing by that point.
"That's alright, he can invite Toya-kun and we can make it a double date."
"Yes yes."
They continued like that, bickering back and forth for a while despite the fact that they should have both rested. At some point, while Ena was talking about what ideas she had for Kanade's next song, when she checked in to see if Mizuki was still awake, she received only silence. Once she listened more intently, she could hear their slow and steady breathing on the other side as they fell asleep. Smiling softly, Ena got under the covers of her own bed as she also placed her phone next to her pillow, not hanging up the call.
"Good night, I love you."