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It was quiet in the room Taiga was staying in when Hiiro came in. No annoying Coroner, irritating Intern, or whatever Saiba Nico was considered, for once. Just a sleeping Taiga, looking far younger than he usually did.
…not that it was worth noticing. Hiiro shook off the thought and started checking Taiga's levels, ignoring the fact that this was a nurse's job.
"Heh…the Little Prince is doing something beneath his level?"
Hiiro didn't jump, exactly, instead turning to Taiga with a frown.
"I had all of this training as well," Hiiro reminded him primly, putting a cuff around Taiga's arm to check his blood pressure.
Taiga just smirked at Hiiro, though the dark circles under his eyes made it less effective than usual.
Removing the cuff, Hiiro informed Taiga that his levels were what could be expected under the circumstances, and that sleep would help. Taiga snorted at that.
"What?" Hiiro snapped.
"Like any of us are getting enough sleep. You need some too, Little Prince."
"I'm not the one who got himself injured."
"Doesn't mean you don't need sleep. God, you're stubborn."
Hiiro didn't bother dignifying that with a response, putting the cuff away before turning back to Taiga.
"If you don't need anything, I'll be leaving."
Taiga didn't respond, having fallen back asleep, one hand above the covers.
Hiiro stared at the exposed hand. Since when had his feelings towards Taiga changed from resentment and guilt to…something else?
Still, it wasn't like he could stay there. He had duties to do.
He lasted an hour. There wasn't actually anything for him to do, for once, and he found himself back in Taiga's room, where the man was now snoring softly. It was oddly cute, and Hiiro frowned the moment he realized he was smiling.
There was a chair next to the bed, and drawn by a force he couldn't quite describe, Hiiro hesitantly sat in it. Taiga's hand was still out, curled slightly against the covers. Hiiro swallowed before reaching out, slipping his hand in Taiga's. Taiga's hand jerked a little, but stayed in Hiiro's, nor did he wake up.
All of Hiiro's exhaustion hit him at once, so he settled into the chair, a vague thought of hoping no one would catch them drifting into his head. Too tired to be properly alarmed at that thought, he shifted in the chair and fell asleep.
There was a hand in Taiga's hand, and he was fairly certain it wasn't Nico's. Nico was more likely to put his hair in pigtails and cover him with stickers than to sit by his side while he slept. Since it was never fully dark in a hospital, he squinted next to him and discovered it was Hiiro, deeply asleep, his hand making twitching movements in Taiga's.
Well then. Taiga smirked at the ceiling and fell back asleep, knowing Hiiro's dignity would be destroyed if he woke him out and pointed out what he was doing. They could figure everything out when it was all over, anyway.
Nico slipped into Taiga's room, fully intending to startle him awake, for the lolz, but that surgeon was there, asleep in a chair, and they were holding hands.
"Oh my god," Nico whispered, pulling out her phone. "Get it, you stupid idiot." She snapped a few pictures, then left, humming as she made a plan involving a printer, some cutesy stickers, and one of Taiga's filing drawers.