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It was getting dark. Atsushi wondered how long he could stay here, if he could really bear it without going home. He’d been ridden with a nasty headache all day, and despite downing glass after glass of water and trying to take it easy, it wouldn’t go away. Worse was after he’d forced himself to eat his lunch.
A wave of nausea had come over him and he’d been pretty much incapacitated for hours, laying his head on his desk and willing it to pass. He never got sick. It was almost like living at the orphanage had trained his immune system, being able to survive long bouts with his body treated harshly and denied nourishment.
Fuck, he felt like throwing up. He wrapped his arms around himself, groaning and bracing his forehead against his desk. He really should go home. But the thought of getting up made his entire body cringe unwillingly.
He hadn’t noticed any footsteps. But suddenly, the light in the hallway was on, and the door creaked open an inch. “Atsushi?” Murmured softly, seeming to come from far away.
Then the footsteps were audible, and before Atsushi could raise his head, a steady hand was on his back. “Hey, Atsushi. Aren’t you going home?”
He could have cried in relief, hearing Tanizaki’s soft, curious voice and the feel of his light touch. They somehow distracted from the agony a little.
Atsushi blinked. The room was starting to blur. Tanizaki’s face was watery above his, eyebrows knitted in concern. “You’re not feeling well, Atsushi? Should I take you home?”
Tanizaki’s hand was still on his back, moving to Atsushi’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get you up. You’re so pale, did you eat anything?”
At the mention of food, Atsushi clapped his hands over his mouth, another wave of nausea hitting him. Tanizaki watched him sympathetically. “Maybe it’s food poisoning. Or maybe you’ve just been working too hard. Come on.”
He helped Atsushi up, leading him to the door. “I forgot my wallet, so I came back. Been getting more forgetful lately … heh. But good thing I came back, right?” Tanizaki chuckled to himself, and put his arm around Atsushi as they trudged to the exit.
The walk to Atsushi’s dorm seemed endless. He would have passed out in the gutter for sure, if he had tried to go alone. Something about the Yokohama night air cleared his head, but it was still throbbing, the pain spreading from his temples to what seemed like his entire head.
Thankfully it was nighttime, but even the tiniest glare of traffic light sent a fresh tinge of pain spiking through him, and the city sounds made it worse.
When they made it to his dorm, he wanted to collapse in the doorway, curl up, and die. But Tanizaki’s arm was still around him. The other man glanced around the dark room wordlessly.
Atsushi had never brought anyone back to his room before, and it seemed strange yet somehow fitting that Tanizaki would be the first. He wasn’t too sure if they could be called close friends, but they were certainly teammates, with a whole lot of trust and camaraderie cementing their every interaction.
There was something about Tanizaki all the same, something Atsushi had sensed from the day they’d met on his entrance exam. He’d been surprised by Tanizaki’s easygoing demeanor, his lighthearted humor - but most of all, how genuine it was. Those kinds of people were rare.
And Atsushi had found himself admiring Tanizaki more often than not, in an entirely different way than he thought of his other colleagues.
There it was again. The food he’d eaten at lunch, swirling around his stomach and threatening to come up. He couldn’t keep it down this time.
Running to the bathroom, he barged through the door, not even stopping to turn the light on, and slumped in front of the toilet.
It was a wonder he’d been able to wait this long, because it was like a force of nature expelled from his body, the contents of his stomach emptied out so violently all he could do was hang his head over the toilet like a limp doll.
The bathroom flooded with light as Tanizaki switched it on. Atsushi groaned - please don’t come in please don’t come in please don’t come in - but there Tanizaki was, kneeling next to him and placing that same reassuring hand on his back.
He was past the point of embarrassment by now. Tanizaki was watching him vomit his guts up, and it didn’t seem to bother him, not even the awful retching sounds. Fuck, would it ever stop?
But he’d only gotten a pre-packaged somen dish from the convenience store down the road, and he’d never had problems before.
His body was so weakened from the vomiting that he couldn’t even keep his head up properly any longer. Tanizaki noticed and held the back of his neck gently, rubbing soothing circles on his back.
Breathing hard, Atsushi managed to get a few words out. “I think I’m done.”
“You sure?”
He nodded. He wasn’t really done, but nothing was coming out anymore, and he didn’t have the strength to force it. His head burned. The white fluorescent light of the bathroom was torture.
“You’re shivering,” Tanizaki muttered. Atsushi hadn’t noticed.
Tanizaki reached over to flush the toilet, then placed one of Atsushi’s arms around his shoulder to hoist him up. He ran the faucet, finding a washcloth to wipe the sweat off Atsushi’s forehead, and at least that felt good, the cool water on his burning skin.
Burning. Oh fuck.
He didn’t have a fever, too? What the fuck was wrong with him? How could he be sick? No one else at the agency had gotten sick.
He let Tanizaki help him over to his futon. The familiar bed was a welcome respite, and he sank his face into his pillow, shuddering. The room wasn’t cold at all, and yet his teeth were beginning to chatter.
“Maybe you should go to Dr.Yosano …” Tanizaki suggested, looking worried.
“What? No. I can’t make her use her ability for this one small thing.”
Tanizaki smiled. “I doubt she would. She’d most likely just prescribe you something and tell you to rest.”
“I am resting…”
“You sure? I could give her a call.”
“No no no,” Atsushi shook his head stubbornly.
Tanizaki was quiet for a moment, drawing the covers over him. “Then I’ll just pop round to the pharmacy, ok? There’s one not too far from here that’s still open. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Ok…” Atsushi was too tired to reply. He pulled the covers around himself, but they did little to ward off the chills. The shaking was getting worse, and his teeth chattered hard. Still, he managed to slip into a half-conscious state.
He felt slightly more rested when Tanizaki woke him up, although his head still flared every time he moved it. He could hear a plastic bag being rifled through.
“I got you some cold drinks,” Tanizaki said, retrieving a few bottles of tea and sports drinks. “I’ll put them in the fridge so you can have them whenever.” He’d bought what seemed like the whole pharmacy, packs of pain relievers, nausea medication, fever strips, and Vaporub.
“I got dinner too … though maybe you won’t want to eat yet. But it’ll be good to have some food in you after all the vomiting.”
The idea of food made his stomach cramp badly. He was hungry, but his throbbing head diminished any desire to eat. Tanizaki gave him some painkillers and one of the sports drinks from the bag. “Hope it’ll help.” Tanizaki reached over and rubbed his shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
“Cold. Tired,” Atsushi replied, rubbing his eyes.
“Cold? You want another blanket?”
“Don’t have one.” He’d never needed any extra covers.
Tanizaki made him down some more of the sports drink, to replace all the fluids he’d lost. Then the other man nudged him. “Well, scoot over then. I’m coming in.”
Atsushi moved aside, surprised and strangely relieved. He’d thought Tanizaki was going home, back to his own place. He’d already done so much.
“Are you sure you want to stay?” Atsushi asked.
“Do you want me to stay?” Tanizaki was warm next to him, his body emanating heat and comfort. Up close, Atsushi could smell the faint scent of laundry detergent from his clothes, and something like shampoo.
“…Yes,” he whispered.
Tentatively, he moved his head closer to Tanizaki’s shoulder, and the other man responded in kind, wrapping his arms around him, enveloping him in that haze of clean-smelling comfort, until he was sinking, his eyes falling shut and his face buried in Tanizaki’s chest.
“Try to sleep,” Tanizaki whispered, and even his voice was like a soft stroke against Atsushi’s ear, drawing him further into slumber. His hands stroked Atsushi’s hair and rubbed warmth into his arms.
Slowly, the stressors of the day melted away from him. All the pain and discomfort, numbing and drifting off as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.