Chapter Text
Ever since you started hanging out with the guys at the Wonder Stage, you felt like you found your place.
Even if acting wasn’t your greatest skill, the four of them liked having you around as their friend and assistant they can count on. You gladly took care of everything you could, including ordering and managing stage props and costumes, or helping them clean up after a performance. You were also there at rehearsals, giving your personal opinion when needed and suggesting ways to make the show even better. Technically you were there so they can focus on what they do best, but that wasn’t all there was to it. What really mattered was that they were happy to have you there and you were happy to be there with them. The five of you always had a great time together brainstorming and joking around, or joining forces to find a solution to the problem at hand.
You arrived at Phoenix Wonderland a little before everyone else and changed into your costume. Your stage performances were short and rare, depending on how much a fifth actor was necessary for the play in question. Delivering your lines and moves well took a lot of work, but it was all worth it when you saw the audience and the director happy with how the story got portrayed. Not to mention that you even got paid for this thanks to Emu. The job came with a costume you had to put on when you were at the amusement park, but you didn’t mind at all. Especially after Rui said that it looks nice on you.
It would have been hard to admit to anyone, but the biggest reason you took this job was the eccentric director of the Wonder Stage. You weren’t sure when exactly, but you started having feelings for him and you were constantly looking for a chance to be by his side.
Yes, he was a little weird. Rui had a sense of humor that really struck with you, and you always felt like there’s a connection between the two of you. He was also a very kind person and smarter than anyone you’ve ever met. Building his own robots and writing their code was impressive, and you took the opportunity to go to his house and see for yourself every time he offered.
You looked forward to seeing him today as well. But instead of Rui himself, there was just a disappointing message from him in the group chat the five of you use.
„I’m sorry but I won’t be able to make it today, I have a fever. Practice without me”
Everyone else arrived on time, but it didn’t feel like the rehearsal could go very well like this. You couldn’t put your worry aside and you knew you’re not the only one.
Tsukasa waved at you when he spotted you at the stage.
„Oh good, you’re here already! Did you see the chat?” he shouted as he came closer, followed by Emu and Nene.
„Yeah, I did. You guys have to practice without Rui for a while, probably.”
You weren’t cast a role this time, so you technically didn’t even have to show up at rehearsals. But you took your job seriously. And your friends were here.
„Damn, we’re going to run out of time if he doesn’t recover very soon...”
Tsukasa seemed to be worried as well, and rightfully so. There wasn’t that much time until the premiere.
„Poor Rui-kun, he has a fever...” Emu said compassionately. „The last time I was sick with a fever, grandpa was there with me and made me feel better!”
She always talked about her late grandfather with a lot of love. He must have been really important to her.
„Rui has no one to look after him until his parents get home from work...” Nene said.
„He’s alone?” Emu asked with a sad face.
„I’m pretty sure he is. I didn’t see their car in the driveway when I walked past.”
„Is he going to be okay? Should we go check on him or something?” Tsukasa wondered, looking at Nene.
„I don’t know. We really need to use all the time we have left to practice. And it’s not like he’s a little kid anyway...” she said, making a very good point. „But he’s probably lonely and miserable.”
That felt like enough of a reason for someone to go check on him. Nene wasn’t wrong though. Rui was old enough to handle a cold by himself, but wasn’t this why you were there? To help your friends in need? Besides, who else could go if not you, considering the situation at hand?
„I can go!” you spoke up. „I don’t play a role this time anyway, so I could go to his house and see if there’s anything I can do to help.”
They all looked a little relieved when you said that. Maybe they were thinking the same thing you were.
„That’s so nice of you!” Emu smiled.
„Yeah, that way we can concentrate on our roles without having to worry about Rui! Don’t forget to text us though!”
You reassured Tsukasa that you’ll let everyone know what’s going on, and reached for your phone to ask Rui if it’s okay to drop by. Then you noticed Nene looking at you hesitantly.
„Um... I’m not supposed to tell you this, but... there’s a spare key in the ceramic vase by the entrance.”
Tsukasa didn’t seem to be on board with the idea.
„Nene! Are you telling them to break into Rui’s house?!”
„I-It’s not a break-in if it’s an emergency! And I’m sure Rui would prefer them going in quietly instead of having to get out of bed to open the door!” Nene said, defending herself. She did have a point, again.
„Hmm... I guess you’re right.” he said after thinking it through. „I’m not sure how much of an emergency this is from a legal standpoint, but if Rui doesn’t mind then it doesn’t matter!”
Tsukasa made it sound serious, but visiting a friend is not a crime... or so you hoped.
„Thanks, Nene! I’m texting him first though so he knows about it and it won’t be weird. Bye guys!” you said, going backstage to change back into your normal clothes. You left the theme park with a weird, nervous feeling.
Getting to Rui’s house was one thing, but you started having doubts about this when you were actually there. Your text was marked unread even when you were standing in front of the house. He was probably asleep with his phone on mute. If that’s so, then ringing the doorbell would be a bad move. Is it really okay to just go in uninvited though?
You weren’t sure, but you also weren’t going to turn back now. The ends justify the means... probably.
After getting the key out of the small ceramic vase by the door, you let yourself in. The house was quiet. You’ve been here a few times already so you knew your way to Rui’s room. Technically he had two rooms, one being the garage where he works on his gadgets. He spends most of his time there, but you guessed that if he’s sick then he’ll be in his actual bedroom upstairs.
You walked up to his door and gently knocked. There was no answer, so you very slowly opened it and peeked in. It took a few seconds for your eyes to get used to the darkness inside, but there he was. A big lump under the covers, breathing evenly. The room was messy, but that was to be expected even when Rui was feeling well. You walked closer, finally able to make out his face in the dim light coming in through the curtains. It was a little red and there were tissues, a thermometer, a box of pills and a cup of water on the nightstand. From the looks of it, he has done everything he could so waking him up would be stupid. Not knowing what to do now, you looked around the room. There was a chair, so you lifted it and very quietly placed it next to the bed. You’ll just have to wait until he wakes up naturally.
It felt wrong, but you couldn’t stop yourself from watching him. He was sweaty and his hair was a mess, but it didn’t matter. You wished you could take his discomfort away and make him feel well again in a second. Yes, because he needed to get back to the Wonder Stage. But mostly because you didn’t want to see him suffer.
Suddenly he furrowed his brow and started mumbling something unintelligible in his sleep. He seemed uncomfortable, but you didn’t want to startle him. It was Rui’s personal battle with whatever his subconscious made him face in the dream world. Nothing to do with you.
You closed your eyes and tried to relax, but then he let out a little whimper that burned into your memory permanently. Taking a deep breath, you looked away. Maybe you should leave, there’s nothing you can do except invade his privacy anyway.
As you considered at least going back to the living room for a while, you heard him shift in bed. Rui slowly opened his eyes, and you could see them slightly widening in surprise as he saw you sitting by his bed. He was about to say something, but you were faster.
„I... did I startle you? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just...”
Rui smiled. Yeah okay, you probably looked somewhat flustered. But at least he didn’t seem to particularly mind your presence.
„A little. I didn’t expect you to be the first thing I see when I wake up.”
Why was he putting it like that?
„How did you get in?” he asked, slowly sitting up. Then he started coughing. You hoped you wouldn’t catch anything but even if you were to, it was worth it.
„Nene told me about the spare key. Look, I’m really sorry that I just came in and if you want me to leave then I will. But if there’s anything I can do to make you feel better, then please let me. Everyone’s worried about you. And I’m your assistant who wants to see you back on stage as soon as possible, so... let me assist you!” you said with an encouraging smile, hoping that he’s not going to tell you to get out of his house at his point.
„You could start by answering a question.”
„Okay.”
„Were you watching me sleep?”
So he knew... or at least suspected.
You felt guilty and didn’t really want to lie, but that was the safest option you could think of.
„No, I just came in. And then I saw that you’re sleeping so I thought I should leave you to it for a while, but then you woke up.”
It was technically true. Rui didn’t seem very convinced though.
„Really? Cause you brought my chair here and everything...” he followed with a questioning look.
„It was a long walk, okay? I’m tired.” you said, looking away.
Laughing it off and hoping that he would leave it at that actually worked. He just hummed in response, but didn’t seem upset at all. He might have looked a little embarrassed, but it was hard to tell with the state he was in. He turned his head away and coughed into his elbow before leaning back against the pillows.
Rui cleared his throat.
„I appreciate that you came all the way to check on me, but I’m fine. You should go before you catch my cold.”
„You don’t seem fine to me. And I won’t catch it.” you said, basing the latter on nothing but sheer hope. „But even if I do, you guys can still put on a great show at the amusement park and make people happy as always.”
„I still don’t want you to get sick though.” he answered very thoughtfully.
„At least I won’t have to go to school.”
You didn’t actually want to miss school as long as Rui was there too. Even that was fun with him around.
„Oh, so that’s the real reason you’re here? And here I was, thinking you cared about me...” he said with a pitiful look on his face, obviously messing with you. Very funny. He had no idea how much you actually cared.
„I’m here because I didn’t want you to suffer on your own. We’re a team, remember?” you smiled reassuringly. „Is there anything I can do for you? I bet you haven’t even eaten anything today.”
„I don’t have much of an appetite right now.”
„I know, but you still have to eat at least a little. I have some biscuits in my bag and I could make you tea.”
You didn’t come here to just lift his spirits. You wanted to do something for him, no matter how small. And this might just help.
„That would be nice, thank you. Tea and honey are in the kitchen cupboard on the left side.”
„Okay, got it.”
You walked downstairs to the kitchen and put the kettle on. Tea and honey were where Rui said they would be, but then you got a text requesting lemon juice as well, so you also had to dig around in the fridge. It felt a little weird doing this in someone else’s house, but you were doing a favor after all. You figured it would be fine to help yourself to some as well, so you put the two mugs and the biscuits on a tray you found and brought it upstairs. Rui took the tea, and then also nibbled on some biscuits obediently so you’d stop staring at him with an expectant look. These weren’t really the pinnacle of nutrition, but still better than nothing.
„I really hope you’ll make it in time for the premiere. Otherwise I’d have to play your role instead and the audience would boo me off the stage” you joked.
Actually, the play would probably just be put on hold without Rui. He cannot be replaced.
He seemed to feel good enough to play along.
„They wouldn’t boo you off the stage! I’m sure you’d be great.”
„No, they would throw tomatoes at my head and ask for the tall purple man!” you insisted.
Rui raised an eyebrow.
„A tall purple man? Is that all I am to people?”
He looked at you like he was expecting you to expand on the subject, so you improvised.
„Well... that’s the essence of your physical form, so to say. It leaves an impression in your audience.”
„What about my face then?”
It didn’t feel like this question came from a place of insecurity, more like he was just pulling your leg. He was smiling.
„They... they like your face too.”
„Collectively?”
You strategically took a sip of tea because these trick questions were getting harder. It felt like playing with fire.
„I... don’t have all the information to answer that.”
Rui chuckled.
„Sounds like you’re just making things up to make me feel better.”
„Is it working?”
„Not physically.”
So it was working psychologically then? If keeping him company contributed just a little to his wellbeing, then you felt like your trip here was worth it.
Rui thanked you for the tea and excused himself to the bathroom. He was still coughing heavily and generally looked weak, but he’ll probably be fine in a few days and everything will be back to normal.
However, you couldn’t ignore the fact that you were left alone in his bedroom. For a second you considered taking the tray with the empty mugs back to the kitchen to wash them, but that could wait actually. There was a choice to make here while Rui was gone, and you didn’t hesitate much.
His sweater was hanging on the back of the chair you were sitting on. You took it from behind you and breathed in. It smelled like Rui. You wished he was your boyfriend and let you wear his favorite sweater sometimes. You wished you could be close to him, both in a physical and emotional way. It would be so nice, kissing him and feeling his warmth as you hold him tight...
You sighed and quickly put the sweater back the way it was before your imagination would run wild. Rui could be back any minute and you couldn’t see yourself getting away with this one if he saw. Instead you reached for your phone and started scrolling social media. Honestly you couldn’t care less about memes right now, but any more mistakes and Rui will find out about your true feelings.
You quickly texted Nene, Emu, and Tsukasa so they wouldn’t worry, but there wasn’t an immediate reply. They were probably busy practicing. You really hoped that Rui will be able to make it, and with enough time to focus on his own role. But you knew better than to underestimate the genius director of the play in question. He probably memorised everything already and he’ll do fine. And even if he won’t make it in time, that’s still not the end of the world.
Rui was back soon. You noticed how his hair looked nicer than before, but obviously that didn’t mean anything. Anyone would like to look socially acceptable when they had someone over and you weren’t going to comment on it. He got back into bed, but you could see that he was slightly shaking. He pulled the covers up to his neck and shut his eyes.
„I feel so cold...”
That didn’t look good. The thermometer was there, but you reached out and gently put your hand on his forehead without thinking. It felt warm.
„You’re too close to me.” Rui said, but it didn’t sound like a warning at all.
I can never be too close to you, idiot.
You pulled your hand back and took a better look at the pills on his nightstand. The box wasn’t opened.
„Did you take anything before I got here?”
„My temperature wasn’t that high so no.”
You knew it’s generally better to let a low-grade fever be and help the body fight the infection, but Rui seemed very uncomfortable right now so it was probably time to take action. You opened the box and took out a pill.
„Here, you should take this. Don’t suffer unnecessarily.”
He sat up and took it without a word. He drank the glass of water prepared on the nightstand and lied back. You tucked him in.
„You should go back to sleep if you can.”
„I’ll try.”
„Do you want me to stay here with you?”
Rui hesitated for a second.
„My mom will come home soon so I’ll be fine. Thank you for your help.” he said, turning on his side and facing the wall.
It looked like there was nothing more you could do. He just needed to rest.
You stood up and took the tray.
„Get well soon, Rui.” you said on your way out and closed the door behind you.
You washed your hands and the dishes you used before leaving and putting the key back where it belonged. When you checked your phone, you saw that your friends were asking if you’re coming back to the amusement park. Of course you were. You wanted to do everything you can to help them succeed, and if that meant running occasional errands or reading out Rui’s lines while he couldn’t be there, then so be it.