Chapter Text
"I'm so sorry we're late!" Sogo's frantic voice echoed throughout the studio as he and Tamaki essentially stumbled in together, having been delayed by traffic. For once, it wasn't Tamaki's lack of time management that put them behind for their photo shoot.
"Yeah, sorry," Tamaki apologized as well, and the two of them gave a bow together.
One of the directors approached them in reassurance, "That's alright, I hear traffic is really backed-up this evening. Lucky for you, we're not running on too tight of a schedule."
In the next moment, the two idols went to change and make other preparations for the photo shoot. Sogo was the first to finish so they promptly began his individual pictures first, leaving Tamaki alone in the green room with the makeup artists. Here, they realized there was a slight issue.
"His complexion is a bit off today," one of the makeup artists remarked to another as she added extra foundation to his face. "I’m almost concerned with how flushed his cheeks are."
The other agreed, "Not to mention those bags under his eyes."
Tamaki closed his eyes in the midst of their discussion, taking no offense to what they said about him. If anything, he was practically falling asleep in the chair from the mere sound of their voices.
"He feels rather warm, maybe we should contact the medical staff," the hair stylist added. “Yotsuba, please keep your head up.”
"Is he ready? Osaka-san is almost done with his individual shoot," one of the directors entered. All thoughts of the medical staff had been put on hold as Tamaki startled out of his half-asleep daze and they all left the room together.
Sogo noticed a pattern with every picture taken, how Tamaki would flinch at each flash of light. Abnormally so, as if something about it was hurting him and causing him an uncharacteristic hypersensitivity to it. His reactions messed up several of the shots to the point where they had to be retaken, and his distress only became progressively more apparent the longer this continued.
"Here, let's take a short break," one of the directors interrupted. "All these extra flashes can't be good for those young eyes."
It was a relief, actually. Tamaki sat down beside Sogo and gave him a vulnerable look, one that read pain and slight sadness. Sogo asked him, "Why are you struggling with the cameras so much? Do you feel okay?"
"I'm sorry, So-chan," Tamaki mumbled and looked away. "I think I'm sick or something."
"Sick? What are your symptoms?"
"My head is killing me and my throat hurts, too. And… I just don’t feel good.”
"I have some pain medicine in my bag," Sogo offered it to him and he took it gratefully. "You know, you also sound pretty congested. Maybe you should-"
"Is he okay now? Can we get back to business?" one of the directors approached them again. "I know we said we aren't in a dire rush but we also don't have all the time in the world."
"Tamaki-kun, just tell them you need a bit longer," Sogo gave him a look of concern.
"But I wanna finish so it's done faster."
So they tried again with Tamaki's individual photos and finally got through it after several more takes. All those lights must have made his headache worse, Sogo concluded after watching him scrunch up his face in yet another wince.
Then it was time for the dual pictures with both of them together. Their first pose was back-to-back with Sogo looking up and Tamaki looking down, an easy shot they were able to do in one take. There were several good ones after that as well, but Sogo could see how the younger boy's patience continued to deplete. More tired, more frustrated, several times they had to retake the picture because Tamaki sneezed or flinched or broke from the pose too early or something.
One of the poses had them stand in such a way where Sogo became aware of the warmth radiating off of Tamaki's skin, an indicator that he was sicker than what he let on. "Hey, I think you might have a-"
"Shh!" Tamaki interrupted. "You're gonna mess up the picture."
It was time for another break after several more successful photos. Tamaki immediately sat down at a distance from everyone else without a single word, clearly too exhausted to continue. It was strange to see him so quiet.
"Go easy on yourself. You're doing very well so far," Sogo sat down beside him. He only rested his head in his hands without a reply, to which Sogo placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
"Would you like for our medics to look over your condition?" one of the directors came over to them. "How long have you been feeling this way?"
"Today, I think," Tamaki looked up at him.
The medics came to inspect him and concluded he was in no state to continue with more photos. Likewise, the directors decided that they already had enough to get the job done and sent the two idols on their way.
It was when they were on the street together that Tamaki let go of his professional facade and whined, "So-chan, that was terrible! It's like I still see spots from those stupid lights."
"Let's get you back to the dorms. We were so busy today, I'm proud that you got through it."
These words took Tamaki a moment to process, and then he began to tear up. It wasn't too often that he heard, "proud of you" directly from Sogo, not to mention his exhaustion was making him all the more emotional.
"The others might want you to wear a mask since you're sick, though," Sogo offered him one and he agreed to wear it, one, to prevent the group from getting sick and two, so that fans didn't see him in such a weakened condition.
"Can we stop? -cough cough- I’m tired of walking."
"We're almost there. You'll be okay," Sogo reassured. Tamaki ended up leaning on him as they continued walking and at first Sogo was surprised by this, especially with their awkward height difference, but then he glanced at Tamaki's tired eyes and accepted it.
They entered the dorm like that, Tamaki with his weight on him, and this immediately caught the attention of the other members. Sogo brought Tamaki to his room and the younger boy immediately slumped down on his bed, no effort to change into more comfortable clothes or even curl up beneath the covers.
"You shouldn't sleep in those clothes," Sogo advised him. "Why don't you change while I get the thermometer and a fever patch?"
He left the room to do just that, considering it a fair agreement, but he returned with the materials and found that Tamaki was asleep. Perhaps there had been some type of effort to put on pajamas since he had evidently changed into a pair of sweatpants, but even then they were on backwards and he wasn't even wearing a shirt.
Maybe it was for the better, Sogo thought as he pushed back Tamaki’s hair and placed the fever patch on his forehead. It was okay to skip the thermometer just once if Tamaki was in such dire need for sleep, which he was. Sogo gave one final glance at him before he left again to join the rest of the group for dinner, applying hand sanitizer to take the extra precautions.
"Is he okay?" Yamato asked once Sogo was seated and situated with them.
Sogo explained, "He's not feeling too well. Let's just leave him to sleep."
"I'll prepare a plate of food for him and he can have it whenever he wants," Mitsuki offered and stood to do exactly that. He had already finished eating anyway.
"Yes. We should get him some medicine, too," Nagi added.
"Hopefully he feels better in the morning," Riku gazed toward the door and everyone else nodded in agreement.