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"Tsukasa, are you feeling alright?"
"TSUKASA!!! ARE YOU FEELING WONDERHOY TODAY?!?!"
"My star, are you sure you're fine?"
He had been asked that all day, and despite his constant reassurance of "I'm fine," no one believed him. Which was understandable considering how... out of it he was that day. He messed up his lines consistently, he coughed constantly, he ran out of breath, he messed up the things he had to do, everything. On top of that; his skin was paler than normal; milky and flushed in the face. His eyes had a certain shine to them.
Tsukasa Tenma was, without a doubt, sick.
And yet he was still at practice, trying his hardest.
He made sure to keep a distance from the others, to ensure they didn't get sick..
They took a break from practice for a few minutes, and in that time frame, Tsukasa had drank 3, almost 4 full water bottles. Rui repeatedly asked him if he was alright, and still, Tsukasa reassured him that he was fine.
The sun burned, the noises from the nearby park gave him a headache, his body hurt all over, and the itchy show outfit didn't help whatsoever. Tsukasa felt like crying over it but he was trying so hard not to; it would be silly to cry because of those things! He can handle it.
Finally, practice ended. Tsukasa practically bolted backstage to change into his comfier clothing, rubbing circles onto his temples as he sat down on the floor, breathing heavily. He was so exhausted, he wanted to cry, he wanted to sleep,... it was all just so much at once.
He took a deep breath in, and then let it out. He sat there, looking at the ceiling blankly as he zoned out, only snapping out of it from knocking on the door.
"Tsukasa?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Is everything alright? You've been in here for a while."
He sniffled, "Yes, y-yes I'm.. I'm sorr-"
He hadn't even noticed that Rui was standing in the doorway; had he forgotten to lock the door? How clueless of him..
He felt Rui's freezing cold hand against his burning hot forehead, a stark contrast in the two that made Tsukasa shiver under Rui's touch.
"My star, you're burning up! My star," Rui lifted Tsukasa's chin very gently so they were looking at each other, "My star we need to get you home."
Tsukasa shook his head 'no'; he wanted to go home, he really did, but he couldn't risk getting Saki sick. If he did that, he'd be a horrible brother...
"No.. no, I can't..."
"You can't what, my dear?"
"I can't g,.. I can't get Saki sick.."
Rui looked at Tsukasa, a bit surprised. Even though he was the sick one, he was still worried about Saki's health... it was commendable how much he cared, but god, Rui wished he cared about his own health every once in a while.
"Alright, you can stay at my place."
Tsukasa looked at Rui, shocked.
"No, no.. I can't... I can't do that... You'll get sick,"
"Well you need to stay somewhere, hm? You don't want to get Saki, so at least stay at my place. Please?"
Rui looked at Tsukasa with eyes pleading him to stay. He cupped Tsukasa's face in his hands, causing the smaller boy to shiver.
"Mm.. a-alright.. let me... let me message Saki about me staying with you..... so she doesn't worry.." Tsukasa pulled out his phone.
Rui nodded, "Alright."
After a minute, Tsukasa put his phone in his pocket and carefully stood up, taking a deep breath in as he stood.
Rui wrapped an arm around Tsukasa to act as some sort of support, though Tsukasa pushed him off; "I don't.. I don't wamna get you sick... by you being too close to me.." He said shyly, clearly not intending anything rude.
Rui merely nodded, outstretching a hand. "Will you at least hold my hand?"
Tsukasa sheepishly nodded, entangling their fingers together. Rui grabbed both of their bags, followed with Tsukasa quickly protesting that he could carry his own. Rui would not let him.
After a bit of time, they found themselves at Rui's house. Tsukasa's hands felt clammy; it was at this moment that he realized he's never been to Rui's home. Or, atleast he's never been inside of it.
Rui walked Tsukasa inside of the house, bringing him to the guest room that had previously been Rui's. The room was incredibly bland; creme colored walls, carpeted flooring, and a twin sized bed im the corner of the room, topped with four white, perfectly placed pillows and a matching white lacy comforter... but, even with its blandness, Tsukasa Tenma still appreciated it greatly. Anything Rui did for him, he appreciated it.
He turned towards Rui, hesitant to step completely into the room; "Are... are you sure your parents fine with this? I.. I wouldn't want to intrude."
Rui nodded, "I'm quite sure of it, Tsukasa." He hadn't even asked his parents about it.
Tsukasa nodded once more, mumbling a quick "thank you" before a sudden sneeze made him turn away, covering his face with his arm. "Guh... I'm sorry that you... that you have to see me like this. It's really quite embarrassing.."
Rui chuckled, placing a hand on Tsukasa's shoulder comfortingly. "Don't apologize, my star. You can't control the fact that you're sick. I assure you it's alright."
It's like hearing thise words broke some sort of wall inside of him; some sort of wall that told him 'you have to be strong, you can't show any sort of weakness.' He couldn't stop the hot tears that poured down his flushed, yet smiling face.
Rui quickly rushed to wipe the sick boys tears, but Tsukasa moved his hand away from his face, already wiping his own tears while mumbling quick thank you's over and over again. Rui was confused, but said nothing. He only wrapped his arms around Tsukasa (he tried to push him away; he didn't want to get Rui sick) and held him comfortingly, stroking his hair and rubbing circles into his back. Rui's hands were still freezing cold; Tsukasa shivered again.
Tsukasa nuzzled his face into Rui's shirt, his cries increasing in intensity from the comforting nature of Rui. Tsukasa wasn't used to this kind of... thing. When he cried before, there was no one there to comfort him, only some stuffed animals that simply sat around until he 'brought them to life' with shows he put on.
Rui gently picked Tsukasa up, holding him close to his body in a comforting manner. He carefully walked over to the perfectly made bed, placing Tsukasa in it gently. But to Rui's surprise, Tsukasa didn't let go of him. He didn't want to let go of him. This was the first time Tsukasa experienced this kind of kindness, this kind of gentleness.. he didn't want it to go so quickly.
"I'm sorry- I'm, I'm sorry. Please don't go- Not.. not yet." Tsukasa manged to beg in between his cries. Rui nodded and removed his and Tsukasa's shoes, getting himself in the bed and pulling Tsukasa close to him comfortingly.
Eventually, Tsukasa calmed down, and with that, he slept.