Work Text:
“Achoo—!”
It was an early Saturday morning. An unusual time for Rui to be awake, but he couldn’t help it. He could find no sleep with the immense headache that plagued him and the constant sneezing. And, to top it all off, he wasn’t even able to enjoy cuddling with his beloved husband because Tsukasa quickly woke up after a few more sneezes.
“Rui…? Are you… sick…?” Tsukasa asked still half-asleep while rubbing his eyes open. Rui only nuzzled his head into the star’s back.
“No… My nose was just itching…" Rui hugged Tsukasa tighter when the latter attempted to turn around. Despite his effort, however, the blonde eventually wriggled himself out of his husband's hold and got out of bed.
“Don’t lie… I can see through your lies, Tenma Rui. I told you not to work so late with an open window…” Tsukasa frowned and rested his hands on his hips as he scolded Rui. “I’ll go and make you some tea and measure your temperature after.”
Just when Tsukasa was about to go and do as he said, Rui quickly got a hold of the blonde’s sweater and ushered some words out, “There’s no need! I’m fine, I swear! Can we just keep cuddling, please?” The director showed some of his best puppy eyes, unfortunately, with no effect.
“If we kept cuddling, not only would you stay sick, but I’d also get sick, Rui, so that’s a clear no,” Tsukasa sighed and pulled Rui’s hand off his sweater. However, the taller was quick to grab the other by his wrist right when he took a few more steps toward the door. “Rui…”
“Please…?”
“No.”
Tsukasa pushed Rui off and instantly left the room, leaving the latter behind. Rui whined as he rolled around the bed, waiting for his star’s return while sneezing a few more times. After a few minutes had passed, Tsukasa finally returned with everything he needed to check on the sick Rui.
“Can we cuddle now?” Rui immediately asked and stretched his arms out, awaiting a hug, when Tsukasa sat down beside the bed. But the only thing the director received was another frown from his beloved.
“No, you dummy, I told you we won’t cuddle when you’re sick. Now let me check on you and then you can drink the tea, got it?” The blonde didn’t give his husband the chance to reply as he already began measuring Rui’s temperature. “Only a light fever… Thankfully…”
With a grumble, Rui took the tea that Tsukasa held out to him now and took a tiny sip before grimacing. “So hot…” he mumbled and stuck his tongue out. Then, Rui stared at Tsukasa with a pleading look on his face that clearly meant he still wished the star would finally give in and fall into the director’s arms.
Tsukasa only stared back at Rui with a deeper frown before speaking in an almost threatening tone, “Drink. The. Tea.”
“But Tsukasa, darling, the tea is so hot and I’d much rather feel your warmth that you could share with me if only you would get back into bed and hug me~!” Rui dramatically posed by placing his hand over his forehead and looking away with closed eyes as if he was a young maiden in distress.
Groaning into his palms, Tsukasa lowered his head and sighed, “Why did I get married to you again?” The next thing he heard was Rui’s oh-so-infamous chuckle and when he looked up again, Tsukasa saw the also very infamous cat-like grin on his partner’s face before it turned into an expression of mock shock.
“Oh, woe is me! And there I believed I have met my soulmate! And there I believed you truly loved me! But I was mistaken once more and my heart is left in shatters… How could you, my dearest star?!” Rui clutched his t-shirt right above his heart as he cried fake tears.
Unmoved by his speech, Tsukasa sat there with a blank stare. “Well, you’ve got all the things you need right here on the bedside table. I’ll do some work in the living room now, so if you could excuse me…” The blonde got up and was about to go again, but for the third time that morning, the taller grabbed Tsukasa to hold him back from leaving.
This time, however, Rui’s expression was different. There was genuine sadness lying behind those yellow eyes and Tsukasa couldn’t help but take a step back and look at Rui with a small, gentle smile. “Tsukasa, do you really not want to cuddle…?” Rui’s voice was quieter than before and much softer, too.
Eventually, Tsukasa sighed and gave in. He just couldn’t say no when Rui was asking him with so much sincerity. “Fine, you convinced me… But I won’t cuddle for long, because I really want to get started soon on the design sketches I have in mind.”
Rui’s expression brightened up instantly. His eyes shone brightly and an innocent smile was plastered on his face. If Rui had a tail, it would certainly be wagging like crazy now.
Not a second passed before the sickly Rui pulled his dear star down and trapped him in a tight hug. Tsukasa yelped at the sudden move but soon found himself relaxing under the touch of his husband. The director nuzzled his face deeply into the blonde hair of his partner, when suddenly—
“Achoo—!”
“Rui…! Couldn’t you have sneezed before pulling me down…?” Tsukasa exclaimed and shuffled back to build some distance between him and Rui. Just when the blonde was about to scold the purple-haired again, he was met with apologetic puppy eyes, so he just sighed. “Geez, just put on a mask, will you?” Tsukasa said as he pulled out a mask from the drawer of the bedside table.
“Sorry, darling…” Rui sneaks a kiss on Tsukasa’s cheek.
“Don’t kiss me when you’re sick, you dummy!”
“But you’re just so kissable, my sweetheart…”
Rui continued to plant a few more kisses on Tsukasa’s face all the while the star tried to avoid them as best as he could, and eventually, the director stopped his attacks much to his husband's relief. Then, Rui finally took the mask Tsukasa got out for him and put it on before snuggling more with the blonde.
“If I get sick because of you, you’d better do whatever I tell you to do, got it?” Tsukasa pouted as he buried his face in Rui’s chest. As a reply, Rui merely giggled and hugged Tsukasa tightly.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, honey…” The director let out a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes. He may still have a headache and had to sneeze and cough a few times, but it was bearable with his caring husband in his arms, even though he kept complaining.
The next day, the inevitable happened.
Tsukasa caught a cold.
Just like Rui the day before, Tsukasa woke up with a headache and wouldn’t stop sneezing, which was in a way even worse as the star’s sneezes were about 100 times louder than the director’s. When Tsukasa wasn’t caught in a streak of sneezes anymore, he turned to his side to glare at Rui, or rather Rui’s back, as it seemed like the director already knew what was awaiting him if he dared to turn around.
“Rui…”
“…”
“Rui.”
“…”
“Rui! Turn around before I make you.”
After that, the director finally turned to face the star with a nervous smile, knowing too well that Tsukasa was about to scold him once more. However, Rui got surprised when he wasn’t being lectured but only received a heavy sigh from his partner before being pulled into a hug.
“Make us some tea later, okay? But for now, let’s just stay like this,” Tsukasa nuzzled his head into Rui’s chest as he murmured those words.
“Anything you want, my star.” Rui gently smiled and returned the embrace.
Peacefully, the sick couple cuddled all day long and spent most of their time in bed together so as to rest properly. With both of them sick now, however, they would just have to ask Nene to go over to the pharmacy in their stead.