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If Nitori could breathe properly right now, he would be laughing hysterically. As it is, he still manages to choke out a congested laugh at Rin’s look of repulsion.
“It’s just a cold”, Nitori laughs until he starts coughing, and Rin takes a few steps back from the snotty mess Nitori’s become.
“You could be contagious! I can’t get sick! I have swimming”, Rin says, continuing to back up with his look of disgust still plastered on face. He grabs his jacket and moves for the door.
“You’ll be fine”, Nitori insists, catching his breath. He looks around for tissue, “just getting me orange juice and flu medicine.” He picks up an empty tissue box. “And tissues.”
Nitori looks up to see Rin disappearing out the door and sighs. Despite his earlier theatrics, he really does feel ill. He leans back into the pillow and debates using his blanket to wipe his nose. He decides against it, because that would be gross, and instead snuggles deeper under them, wondering if Rin will actually return, and, even less likely, with orange juice. Considering how he’d jumped a figurative mile at Nitori’s first cough, it’s pretty doubtful.
***
Rin hovers outside the door, trying to work up the nerve to go in. One part of him (the loud part) insists that he’s being a wimp, and that he had a duty to help his sick roommate. The other part of him (the louder part) whines that if he gets sick, he won’t be able to practice, and if he can’t practice, how will he beat Haru? The thought of Haru’s (smug) emotionless face looking down on him in victory is enough to make the door a lot more formidable than the slab of wood it actually is. Eventually, though his arm gets tired of holding the groceries he’s been clutching while arguing with himself, and he sucks it up and goes in.
Nitori is asleep on his bunk, his arm and most of his covers dangling over the edge. Rin moves cautiously towards him, more out of fear of Nitori’s loud, phlegm-induced snoring than concern for his junior. Peering into Nitori’s sleeping face, Rin cleverly deduces that he is out cold.
Rin decides to poke him.
Rin gingerly pushes his finger into Nitori’s cheek, startling when the other boy lets out a grunt. After a few moments of watching Nitori snore some more, Rin gives him another poke. And another. And then another, until Nitori sleepily blinks his eyes open and generously bestows upon him a groggy ‘wha’?’.
“Wha’?” wheezes Nitori, groggily.
Rin holds up the plastic bag. “I got you the stuff you asked for.”
Nitori sits up and takes the bag from Rin. “Oh, wow…” he snuffles, taking out a box of tissues. “I didn’t think you were even going to come back.”
“The sooner you get better, the sooner I can disinfect this room”, Rin grumbles, wincing as Nitori blows into three tissues in rapid succession, hard.
“Did you say something?” Nitori asks.
“I said-“
“Is this store brand?” Nitori frowns and squints at the medicine bottle in his hand, his tone judgmental.
Rin shrugs and leans up a bit closer to inspect the bottle. “I don’t know. I got whatever was cheapest.”
Nitori opens his mouth to probably ask if Rin truly just told him that, but is instead hit with a violent coughing fit. A small amount of spittle flies from his mouth and lands on Rin’s sleeve.
Rin shrieks.
Matsuoka Rin shrugs off his jacket and clutches his arm as if mortally wounded, and then proceeds to screech “ew, EW” in varying tones as he hops about the room. Nitori watches with extreme concern. He wonders if those are actual tears he sees in Rin’s eyes.
“Are you okay, senpai? I’m really sorry! It was an accident!”
Nitori’s attempts to apologize are drowned out by Rin’s distressed hollering and evidently prove futile, as Rin dances out of the room and down the corridor of Samezuka’s dorms.
Nitori listens as Rin’s sobs fade down the hall, then flops back onto his bed.
“At least I have OJ,” he thinks, and wipes his nose.
***
Nitori’s full recovery allows him to make an appearance at the next swim practice, where he keeps an eye out for Rin. They haven’t spoken since the incident, not even that night when Rin showed up with a camping tent to sleep in. Rin is incredibly good at avoiding eye (and all other) contact, but Nitori finally manages to corner him in the locker room.
“Rin,” Nitori says, still marveling at how wonderful it is to speak without mucus in his airways, “I’m very sorry! I really didn’t mean to cough on you, honest.”
Rin lets out a breath and rubs his nose.”It’s alright, Nitori. I’m sorry too. I may have overreacted a little bit.”
“You bought a sleeping tent.”
“Borrowed,” Rin corrects, though his voice sounds a little funny. Nitori studies his face.
“Are you alright, senpai? Your nose looks a little red…”
Rin’s eyes widen as he picks up what Nitori is putting down. “I’m fine,” he snaps.
Nitori decides to let it go. “Well, I never got to thank you for bringing me that stuff I asked for. I think it really helped, even though that medici-“
Rin coughs, loudly, followed immediately by snot pouring out of his nose. Nitori is certain that this time, he can really see tears.
He hands Rin a tissue.