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Akito is convinced that his bed is truly his final resting place, under the sunset glow and in excruciating pain.
…Okay, maybe he’s being a bit too dramatic…
For someone whose immune system is something to boast of, the virus that managed to infect Akito surely got him good. Its first signs were so subtle for him not to notice, it took a bit further into practice until he realised the symptoms. Starting with a sore throat (which he assumed from excessive practice), the sudden fever and fatigue kicking in were at first just some mere setbacks for Akito though the rest of his members were quick to show their concerns, especially his own partner.
Last thing he remembered was walking back home in a daze, his own arm slung over Toya’s shoulder (he thinks, his memory had been hazy) and passing out on his bed without showering. He definitely woke up in the middle of the night. Falling back asleep became its own challenge as he fully realised the current condition of his body, and it only got worse when morning came.
Here he was, on a Saturday, stuck in bed with the most annoying symptoms any sick person could’ve gotten. By the time his sickness has passed, Akito will remind himself to be grateful for the days where his unusually strong immunity kept his internal systems going. The urge to practice stood opposite of his body’s need for rest and it’s frustrating.
He coughed rather harshly, his phlegm-filled throat clearing albeit through a rather painful method. The tall water bottle by his bedside has been empty since morning. His lack of energy and the unholy combination of fever and sharp headaches made it much harder for him to move anywhere within the house, hell, even the bathroom. Frustrated, Akito closed his eyes, hoping to just get more sleep.
Muffled footsteps sound from outside of his door. Assuming that the footsteps belonged to his sister, Akito’s face scrunched up in frustration, turning away from the door to ignore and brace himself for an annoyingly loud entrance.
…To his surprise, the reps on the door were gentle and patiently timed. If it was Ena, the door would’ve been forced open either way after a period of 5 seconds or so. When Akito hadn’t answered, the person waited with the same silence.
“...Akito?”
‘Oh hey, they sound an awful lot like Toya…’
“It’s me, Toya. Is it alright if I come in?”
Akito quickly sat up on his bed, wincing as the sudden motion elicited another sharp pain on his head. Out of muscle memory, he would’ve jumped out of bed to open the door for him like the good host he is. Though in this condition…
He awkwardly shuffled back into the covers, resting his head back onto the pillow. Akito mustered the loudest volume he could manage with his voice without straining his throat, “Come in!”
The door creaked open and closed with barely a sound out of the wooden material. Toya’s neatly-brushed hair came into view, his face partially obscured with a medical mask as he peered over Akito’s fragile figure. The latter spots from near the frame of the bed a recyclable bag his partner’s carrying in one hand.
“Hey…” Akito greeted with a hoarse voice.
Silently, Toya brought his other hand over to his partner’s forehead. His fingers gently brushed off his messy bangs that never got the liberty of getting brushed, considering he woke up the exact same way. Akito instantly relaxed to the touch, closing his eyes while Toya remained unmoving.
“...” He eventually removed his hand, frowning. “Your temperature is still high… Do you have any cooling patches?”
“I don’t think so…Dammit, and we’re supposed to have practice today…”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already informed Azusawa and Shiraishi. You looked as if you were about to faint yesterday… so focus on getting better first, alright?”
Akito watched as Toya carefully placed the bundle of items on his bedside table. In an almost affectionate and domestic manner, his fingertips lightly graze over Akito’s bangs again. “Wait here, I’ll go fetch something quickly.”
Not like Akito could move anywhere anyways. The door to his room opened once more as Toya made a quick trip outside for whatever it is he retrieved. This time, the door to his bathroom swung open followed by Toya informing him. “I’m borrowing your bathroom.”
The sound of running water from the tap echoed from the bathroom walls. Shortly enough, Toya re-emerged, a small bucket and cloth in hand, and the chair of his work table dragged with another. He placed the bucket and cloth on the bedside table as he sat himself beside Akito, rolling up the sleeves of his own shirt.
“What are you doing…?”
“Cooling you down,” Toya responded in a simple manner while his hands got to work, submerging the cloth into the bucket before squeezing out the excess water.
“What are you, my nurse?” Akito chuckled as the damp cloth was pressed gently on his forehead. The last time anyone had ever done something like this was his mother, years ago when he was probably the age of a toddler. Experiencing it once more as a teenager is mildly embarrassing, not helped by the fact he’s essentially being taken care of by his partner. “Hah, I’m really not used to this…”
Toya smiled back, “I don’t mind. As long as I can help you recover well.”
His skin in contact with the cloth eased the dizzying heat even if by a small fraction. From his careful and rigid movements, it had been obvious it’s Toya’s first time too. The cloth moved from his head to the next burning spot around his neck, drawing out a relieved sigh from Akito. He could definitely get used to this.
“...Akito, can you sit up?”
“Yeah, kinda…” To demonstrate, he pushed himself up with support from his elbows, cautiously rising until his back was against the headboard. The sharp pain returned to attack his head, causing Akito to wince at the sudden pain. Toya noticed it as well, sadly watching the sick Akito suffering in his sickness.
“Um…where else does it feel hot?”
“Aside from my head and neck, I guess my back-”
Akito jumped as he felt fingers hook at the hem of his shirt, quickly grabbing at Toya’s wrist. He stared back in shock yet Toya merely looked back with a similar expression.
“Th-the hell?!”
Toya blinked. “I’m trying to wash your back. It’s easier if your shirt is off.”
“I know that just-! Dude? I can do it myself?” His voice cracked in the moment. With a swift motion, he brought the shirt over his head and it’s off. “See?”
The realisation hit much earlier that it didn’t matter if the one doing the stripping had been him or Toya. Akito’s face flushed bashfully. It wasn’t as if they’ve never seen each other without their shirts on yet this specific situation is leaving him particularly defenceless in Toya’s eyes. On the bright side, Toya’s oblivious personality may help save Akito what’s left of his pride.
He heard his partner chuckle, rubbing the cloth over his back and making sure it covers all parts. “You don’t seem like someone who gets embarrassed so easily.”
“I’m not…”
“I sort of like this side of you.” Toya mused, retrieving more water from the bucket. “I think it’s cute.”
Cute.
Cute.
“...Akito?”
“You’re gonna be the death of me…”
“Hm? I didn’t pick that up, did you say something?”
“Nothing!”
—
Soon enough, Toya finished up with the arms. Akito slipped back on his shirt while his partner drained the bucket in the bathroom, returning by Akito’s bedside once he was done. This time, he chose to sit at the edge of the bed.
“I forgot to tell you, Ena-san actually went out to get more medicine for you. She called me asking if I’m willing to come over and watch you.” Toya explained as he began rummaging through the undisturbed bag from the moment he arrived.
“So it was her that asked you to play nurse for me today?”
“No. That was my own choice,” he grinned. “Have you eaten yet?”
From inside the bag of wonders Toya pulled out a container, removing the lid to reveal the delicious aroma of warm soup. Akito’s eyes widened while his watch kept training onto the food. As if on cue, he felt a low grumble within his stomach. “Did you make this yourself?”
“Tsukasa-senpai helped. As you know, the last time I used the kitchen by myself led to… disastrous results. He supervised me as I cooked.”
He has heard from Toya himself the time where he tried to bake for the first time, as well as accounts from Miku and Kamishiro. The soup however didn’t seem to smell nor look out of place, even appetising (or it’s the hunger talking). He’d have to give some props to Tsukasa for helping his partner out.
“In that case…thank you for the food!” Akito bowed his head jokingly before reaching out to grab the container from Toya…
Only for him to bring the container away, shaking his head.
“...What?”
“Your body is still weak.”
Akito sighed, “Toya, it’s not that bad. Come on, if I don’t feed myself then who will?”
Instead of a usual response, he watched as his partner’s eyes sparkled and brightened when he finished his sentence. Oh no, he spoke too soon didn’t he?
“Tsukasa-senpai said you’ll recover faster if I did it…”
‘No it won’t, you’ll send me to an earlier grave!’ is what Akito would’ve wanted to say, but with a killer headache and a person willing to indulge him in this admittedly enough, Akito might as well give in…
He sighed, leaning his back against the headboard in reluctant resignation. Toya hummed delightfully as he scooped up some of the soup, bringing it closer to Akito’s mouth. He devoured the soup quickly out of embarrassment, covering his whole face with both palms with each spoonful he was fed, and back and forth it went throughout the whole process.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Anything for my partner’s recovery.” Toya chimed, happily playing out his role.
—
Ena eventually returned, unfortunately walking into the sickeningly domestic scene between them both. Her face briefly scrunched up before returning to normal as she talked to Toya. A bag of medicines, he assumed, had been passed to him, who accepted it with a grateful smile.
“He’s not being a pain in the butt, is he? But he does look a bit better than the morning just now… Everything okay, Toya-kun?”
Screw Ena for assuming it for he is the exact opposite of an annoyance, especially to his partner. Toya shook his head politely, “All is fine. Akito has been nothing but compliant.”
Compliant, at the cost of his slipping pride and image. Though perhaps because it’s Toya, Akito doesn’t exactly mind it. If anyone else had seen him sick, he’d fight hard to keep up his image even if it just ends up killing him after.
“Woah…well, you can go back now Toya-kun. I feel a bit bad for taking up your weekend taking care of a sick person.”
“If it’s alright, may I stay here?”
“Dude, I don’t wanna get you sick too…” Akito’s voice rasped.
“I’ve been careful.” Toya points to his mask as if to prove a point. “We don’t have practice today either, so I don’t mind.”
“Hm… then if you two want to keep talking, then you should at least wear a mask too.” Ena concluded before slipping out of the room briefly.
“Are you sure you’re not busy? I can take care of myself fine, you know.”
“My schedule is free since we can’t practise. And unlike you, I finished all my school work on the day itself. So…” Toya crossed his arms, and shrugged. “Why not?”
Ena eventually returned with a mask, chucked it to Akito, and left the room just like that. “Be careful, Toya-kun!”
“I will!” He called out long after the door was closed. “Ah, your bottle’s empty… should I go refill it?”
“Hm? Oh yeah. Kitchen’s downstairs.”
Toya seemed mildly surprised at the lack of complaint before hiding it with a subtle grin, turning on his heels towards the door. Akito allowed his head to rest on the board properly. The headache still hasn’t gone anywhere until he takes the medicine and he couldn’t stop himself from coughing. It’s at least a bit more bearable with his temperature back to its optimal.
When Toya returned from his quick trip for water, Akito took the bag of meds and scoured through it, curious at the things Ena got from the pharmacy. There were the usual bars of pills, though a rectangular box littered with cautionary texts had his expression turn sour.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nothing, just- ew, cough syrup…” Akito stuck his tongue out. “This makes you drowsy too. I really hated eating it as a kid. So anytime I had to take it, my mom would give me chocolate to get rid of the taste.”
“...So does that mean-”
“Toya, I’m not a kid anymore.” Akito chuckled, popping out the first pill he found himself holding. “Might as well get it done quickly.”
He downed the pills quickly before facing the dreadful syrup with a sigh. It was only a temporary pain, he reminded himself. After swallowing a cup in one go, Akito quickly took a swig of his water. He saved the lozenges for last, sucking on the orange-flavoured tablet as he wore the mask Ena kindfully got for him.
“You don’t wanna leave yet?” Akito asked whilst scratching his head. “I can’t really do much to entertain you.”
Toya nodded with full certainty. “I want to stay here. It’s less so of you entertaining me, more of the other way around. I know you’re itching to practise on days you can’t.”
He read his mind too well. “So, what do you got?”
The boy pulled out his phone, opening up a video app as he climbed into Akito’s bed. “I found this music group that’s composed of vocalists and dancers. You’ve been looking for choreography ideas, right? We can watch some together if you want.”
“I’m down but… isn’t this too close? Won’t you get sick though if we sat near each other?”
But the stubborn boy made himself comfy, legs crossed with his back against the wall. He patted the space beside him to Akito, “Don’t worry too much. It’ll be fine.”
“Better not complain if you get sick next.” Akito chastised Toya despite his body saying otherwise, sitting beside with his legs outstretched. He may have a personal space issue when it concerns Toya with the thought of being separated for so long sending out an odd feeling to his whole body.
This is nice.
The group ended up impressing Akito beyond his expectations. Toya explained that they’re not exactly classified as an idol group as only two members strictly sing while the other three solely dance. All of them showed amazing dance skills nonetheless matching their singing ability. Akito wasn’t sure how much time passed when he slowly began to feel the effects of the medicine.
His eyes fall shut on accident a few times, opening up with a jerk when the song hits a louder tone or when Toya comments on the video. He attempted to reply with a sound comment each time it happened though slowly enough his responses were dulled to a sound from his throat or a nod. He definitely fell asleep for longer than a minute at some point, prompting Toya to shut down his phone.
“Wha…?”
“Akito, you’re falling asleep.” Toya began to shuffle away. “I’ll move so that you can sleep-”
Akito’s arms wrapping on his stopped him from moving any further, clinging onto Toya like a koala. “Don’t. It’s already comfy here…”
“It’ll be more comfortable if you lie down…” Toya gently reminded yet there’s no sign of moving from Akito.
“...Please…”
‘...Ow, my heart.’
With a sigh, he brought his free hand to Akito’s head, bringing it down until it rested properly on Toya’s shoulder. He tried his best to pull up the blankets so it somehow enveloped both boys perfectly. “Is this alright?”
“Mhm,” Akito hummed before muttering under his breath. “Thanks for everything…”
Akito’s bangs were in the way, blocking Toya from seeing his peaceful expression. With only the whirring air conditioner as the only sound within the room, Akito’s body was lax and Toya could hear his breathing getting heavier.
The urge is tempting yet risky, but Toya knew he would take on any risk if it’s concerning his partner.
Lowering the mask just enough, he gave a quick peck to the crown of his head, quickly positioning the mask back over his mouth. His free hand tugged down Akito’s so that he could breathe comfortably. With just the two of them, Toya freely smiled full of fondness and love, directed towards his sleeping partner.
“Rest well, Akito.”