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"Liar liar, pants on fire! You said you would! You said you'd come back early to celebrate my birthday!"
"I'm sorry Akira... I tried my best, but I couldn't manage to leave work..."
"You're always like that! Don't make promises you can't keep!! Go away and leave me alone, Dad!"
...
"Poor Akira-kun, he's still so young.."
"They said he was killed in the line of duty.."
"I heard he was caught in a gas explosion..."
His eyes pried themselves open, sweat slipping relentlessly down his face.
It wasn't a surprise to Gunji anymore to be having these reoccurring nightmares. He was used to it by now. Or so he thought, as everytime he dreamt vividly of that same event, he'd wake up drenched in sweat. The hurt on his dad's face when he said those words added guilt on top of his many other mixed emotions.
If he had been more understanding, getting out of bed on that day and greeting his dad off to work, would he feel less guilt? Would there be no regrets? He sighed to himself: there was no point thinking about 'what ifs'. The past was the past, it was irreversible.
The warm sunlight slipped through the curtains and the silence of the room caused his thoughts to pause before a sudden pain at his temple developed, overtaking his jumbled thoughts and pounding against his head.
"Fuck,” Gunji mumbled to himself.
At that moment, his body felt incredibly hot, yet at the same time, felt extremely cold despite being drenched with hot sweat from his dream and having a blanket draped on top of him.
He stumbled out of his bed, instantly missing the warmth and comfort before dragging himself to the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, he saw that his face was pale and blood had been drained out of his face, like someone who had been starved and sleep deprived for months. 'Maybe I'll ask my aunt...' he thought to himself as he used the last bit of energy he surprisingly had to go down the stairs.
The kitchen was brilliantly lit with the warm radiance of sunlight of the early hours, as an aromatic, sweet aroma enveloped the kitchen and continued out to the living room.
"Ah Akira-kun, good morning! I've made your bento and your breakfast... Akira-kun?"
As she turned to look at him, the youthful tone of her voice changed instantly to one that was filled with concern. She came up to him, breakfast and bento long forgotten by now, as she lifted her hands and placed it against his forehead.
"You're burning up! Now now, go back to bed. I'll bring some water and medicine. You'll have breakfast later, ok?"
Gunji turned to walk back up the stairs, and halfway up, he felt his legs almost give up beneath him. With one last push, he made it back on his bed, covers on top of him, as he sighed contently at the warmth. Not too long after, his aunt brought a cup of warm water with medicine next to it.
"Make sure to get some rest. I'll check up on you in about a few hours from now." She then left his room and the sound of her footsteps got quieter; as told, he swallowed the medicine and drank the water before going back to sleep.
Once his head hit the softness of his pillow and warmth enveloped him once again, fatigue took over and he fell into a deep slumber.
…
Gunji stirred in his sleep as he felt something warm being placed against his forehead. He opened his eyes at the contact to see what it was.
His body was sore but the morning headache had subsided. Opening his eyes was more of a task than he thought; they were reluctant to open, but he forcefully pried them open. There, he met- Tenkuubashi-kun!? He tried to sit up but the pain was unbearable.
"Tenkuubashi-kun! What are you doing here?" he cries, seeing him sat at his side.
"I saw that you were not at school, and you haven't answered any of my messages," he replied back. "Your aunt told me about your conditions and took me to your room."
“...”
Silence filled the room, awkwardness hung around them.
As if he had sensed the awkwardness in the room, Tenkuubashi excused himself to leave; as he was about to open the door, a sense of panic flooded Gunji and he got up, despite his body protesting against it, and stumbled towards him. Steadying himself, he tugged on the hem of Tenkuubashi's school blazer.
"Gunji-san?"
"Please!" He exclaimed loudly, before lowly mumbling, “Please don’t leave me yet.” In an instant, his face turned red and hot, heating up in embarrassment. What did I just say…
"Ah, sorry. Please forget everything I had just said! I don't know why those words just blurted out of my mouth! If you need to go somewhere, please, don't hold back because of me and just-" Gunji stopped his rambling as two pairs of warm hands cupped his face.
"You're rambling Gunji-san. Please calm down," he said calmly, as If he was not affected at all by Gunji's words. Tenkuubashi took his hands off Gunji's cheeks before holding onto one of his hands, squeezing lightly as he said, "I won't go anywhere if you don't want me to."
He dragged Gunji back to his bed.
"I will stay here for as long as you want me to."
He gently squeezed his hands, once more, as a way to prove his statement and smiled softly at him as a form of reassurance.
A knock was heard from the door before it opened, revealing Gunji's aunt. She was holding a tray with a mixture of snacks, two cups of water and some more medicine.
"Oh Akira-kun, you're finally awake. Sorry if you waking up and seeing your friend here frightened you. I was going to wake you up, but your sleeping face was too cute that I couldn't bring myself to," she said, as she placed the tray of goods on his desk. "I brought some snacks for you and your friend. Make sure to take your medicine first! I’ll leave you two alone now.”
…
The warmth of the room had evaporated, and the sunlight had died out into a void of dark blue, just about being interrupted by the moon's glow. Gunji checked his clock’s display: 4:27. Huh, he wondered if Tenkuubashi had left to go home, only to find out the answer when he felt someone beside him. He turned over to see the sleeping figure, his chest repeatedly rising up and down. This was the second time he was this close to his face, and must he say, Tenkuubashi has some long eyelashes. His eyebrows were knitted together as his lashes sweeped over his closed eyes. He was certainly God’s favourite: being gifted with looks, smarts and athletics.
Quiet breaths could be heard; the wind rushed by his window with faint sounds of leaves fluttering around outside, and the thump of his heartbeat beats loudly against his chest.
"Thank you, Tenkuubashi-kun.”