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Kaoru was lying in his bed, covered in multiple blankets. He had fallen sick for some odd reason and was too weak to get up to work. He had missed a beef with Reki but promised they would do it some other time.
His head was spinning and he could barely cough without having a sharp pain in the back of his head. Despite the sweat on his neck, Kaoru was freezing and buried himself deeper into his blankets. Kaoru wasn’t able to get proper sleep that night, only making him feel more tired and sore.
Kaoru had missed many calls, most of which were answered by Carla. Around two in the morning, Kaoru managed to tell Carla to clear his schedule and send emails to clients he was supposed to meet in the next few days. Kaoru kept getting calls from someone but told Carla to automatically send anyone who calls him to voicemail.
Kaoru’s stomach growled. The last time he had eaten was yesterday for brunch, but now the sun was slowly rising in the sky. His migraine started to dull down a little in pain and he started to fall asleep. He went in and out of sleep like earlier, but with more success in getting some sort of rest. At one point he heard someone ringing his doorbell, but he fell asleep before he could ask Carla who it was.
Outside Kaoru’s house was Kojiro, ringing the doorbell every few seconds. After ten minutes of no response, Kojiro started knocking on the door. He was wearing a hoodie and some sweatpants due to the weather being colder recently.
“Kaoru, it’s me!” Kojiro shouted. “Are you okay? You haven’t been picking up my calls.”
No answer.
“Carla! I know you can hear me. Let me in!”
“Master is not in the best condition and has no planned visitors today.”
Kojiro wanted to punch that stupid robot if he could. At least he knows Kaoru is at home. Kaoru might be sick, seeing how he’s not coming to the door. Worried, Kojiro knocked on the door again.
“Kaoru, let me in! Or at least tell Carla to let me in.”
“Unauthorized visitors must make an appointment to meet with Master Kaoru Sakurayashiki.”
“I’m not some random stranger, you stupid voice. Kaoru, it’s me, Kojiro!”
A sudden click could be heard from the door. The tightly locked door was now open for Kojiro to walk right into the house. Kojiro was surprised, seeing how Carla wouldn’t let him in at any cost.
“Welcome, idiotic gorilla.”
Kojiro could only flip the bird in the general direction he heard Carla’s voice. Even with Carla Kaoru insults him. Kojiro looked around the house, seeing it empty. He walked to the bedroom, expecting Kaoru to be laying there.
When Kojiro entered the bedroom, he saw a pile of blankets on the bed. Just barely peeking out from under the pile was a head of pink hair.
“Kaoru,” Kojiro half-whispered. “Are you awake?”
Kaoru made no noise.
Kojiro went over to Kaoru’s side to see how he was doing. Kaoru’s hair was sticking to his face from the sweat, his eyebrows scrunched together from his migraine. He was half-asleep, half trying not to let the pain get the best of him.
“Kaoru, you’re covered in sweat.”
Kaoru responded with a small groan. He didn’t want to talk, let alone move around. Everything felt sore and awful.
“Come on, you should take a hot bath.”
Kojiro pulled off the mountain of blankets and carefully lifted Kaoru up. The movement started up the sharp pain in Kaoru’s head, making him whine in complaint.
“My head hurts, Koji,” Kaoru brought his hands up to his head, trying to use pressure to reduce the pain.
“Sorry, I’ll try to be careful.”
Kojiro took off Kaoru’s sweat-covered clothes and put them in the laundry basket nearby. He took off his own clothes, not wanting them to get wet in the bathroom. Slowly putting his arms under Kaoru, Kojiro carried him to the bathroom to wash off the sweat and reduce whatever headache Kaoru was dealing with.
“Carla, turn on the hot water.”
“Yes, gorilla.”
Kojiro will find a way to hack into Carla and change that nickname.
After washing Kaoru with hot water and soap, Kojiro let him soak in the bathtub for a bit. Going back to the bedroom, Kojiro removed any blankets that were covered in sweat, as well as the blanket covering the bed. Putting down new sheets, Kojiro returned back to the bathroom to finish Kaoru’s bath.
Kojiro carried Kaoru back to the bedroom. Kaoru’s hair was wet since using the towel to dry it off only made his headache worse. After sitting Kaoru down on his bed, he wrapped Kaoru in one of the blankets that was at the top of the pile. Kojiro returned to the bathroom to get a hairdryer to completely dry Kaoru’s hair.
Seven minutes went by and Kojiro was still drying Kaoru’s hair. It was taking a lot longer than Kojiro expected, but he didn’t mind. Though Kaoru hates that he’s relying on Kojiro for a small task, It was nice being taken care of like this when he was feeling sick.
Kojiro’s fingers were gently massaging his scalp, the touch and heat of the hairdryer slightly relieving his headache. A few more minutes went by before Kojiro deemed Kaoru’s hair dry enough.
Setting the hairdryer aside, Kojiro took the blanket off of Kaoru to get him dressed. Grabbing the first thing he felt, Kojiro carefully put the clothing on before realizing it was his own shirt and hoodie.
“Hold on, Kaoru. I accidentally put my shirt on you.” Kojiro tried to take his clothes back, but Kaoru smacked his hand away. He pulled up the hood of the hoodie and turned away from Kojiro. The hoodie and shirt had been bunched together, maintaining the body warmth that was on it.
Kaoru laid back down, still facing away from Kojiro. Sighing, Kojiro decided to leave Kaoru alone, and just put his pants on. He walked over to Kaoru’s closet to see if there was any shirt big enough for him. Rummaging through one of the drawers, Kojiro found a blue T-shirt he thought he had lost. Underneath the shirt was one of his white and orange striped button-ups.
“You little pink rat. Are you the reason why my shirts have gone missing?”
Kaoru said nothing, not wanting to admit he liked the way Kojiro smelled. He brought the neckline of the shirt he wore to his nose to smell Kojiro’s scent. It smelled strongly of meat and Kojiro’s own musk. Kojiro must have been cooking some steak earlier.
“I’m taking one of your shirts as a fair trade then.”
Kojiro picked out the biggest shirt Kaoru owned and put it on. It was a little tight, but he decided to wear it for at least the entire day. He wasn’t the biggest fan of tight-fit clothing, but just to spite Kaoru and stretch out the shirt, Kojiro thinks he’ll make do.
“I’ll go make some soup for you.”
Kaoru turned back around, frowning at Kojiro. Head fogged with pain and fatigue, Kaoru waved his hands, telling Kojiro to come next to him.
Kojiro complied and sat down on the bed. Kaoru gave him a quick glare before patting the pillow next to him.
“Lay down, idiot. I’ll eat later.”
“I doubt you’ve eaten today, piggy.”
“Later. Just lay down.”
Kojiro laid down, not expecting much. Kaoru practically dragged him closer with what strength he had in him, burying his head in the crook of Kojiro’s neck. Kaoru took another deep breath, enjoying Kojiro’s smell and warmth.
Kojiro couldn’t help but snort at the scene but wrapped his arms around Kaoru regardless. It was amusing to see Kaoru demanding attention this openly, but for the sake of Kaoru’s wants, Kojiro decided a few minutes of cuddling would be alright before leaving to make a meal.