Work Text:
It had been a long day at work. The new tech system that the news channel had been using was complicated, to say the least, and most of the seniors had already passed it off to the juniors to figure it out.
Segasaki didn’t mind, truly, but it meant staying late most days and helping troubleshoot every minor detail that came across his desk. However, most of the coworkers were nice enough about it and it really was an a complex system, allowing for many new possibilities with their future reporting.
However, for this particular night, he was glad to be heading home, and bid farewell to his seniors and the new reporter, who were eating together, before heading down the elevator. He hadn’t necessarily meant to be so upfront about having a partner with her, but Segasaki knew that most of his coworkers were already aware of Yoh, so it was best to keep everyone on the same page.
It was cool outside, the air providing a refreshing breeze after being inside for so long. It was a bit ironic, honestly, how one who reported on the weather got to experience it so infrequently. After days of rain, though, the clear skies were more than welcome.
He made his way up the stairs to the apartment, quietly unlocking the door. Segasaki was expecting the typical display, lights on throughout the home and Yoh either in the kitchen or in his room, working. Usually, he could smell cooking from the stairs, but today there didn’t seem to be anything. It wasn’t unusual, however, for Yoh to get caught up in his work and forget to make something, but he thought it was adorable how focused Yoh would get on his work, so he never minded too much.
However, entering the apartment, it was clear that something was off. All the lights were on, even the one in the entryway. Usually, as it got dark, they would naturally just get turned on as one wandered around the apartment. Placing his coat and bag aside, he switched on the lights and ventured further into the apartment.
Segasaki noticed the emptiness in the kitchen. No evidence of any lunch or dinner were there, not even an instant ramen cup in the trash can. He switched on the lights here too, then went to go check in Yoh’s room. However, aside from Yoh’s regular drawing equipment scattered across the desk, there was no sign of Yoh in the room.
Eyeing the empty laundry bag, Segasaki decided to go check in their small laundry area.
And there was Yoh, slumped in front of their washing machine as though he had just collapsed there. Segasaki felt his heart jump out of his chest for a moment, before trying to calm himself down. Perhaps Yoh just fell asleep there, he had looked more tired than usual recently.
Before checking on Yoh, he pushed open the lid of the washing machine. From the smell alone, it was clear that the clothes in there had been sitting for quite some time, which just added to his concern. He let the washer close fully before crouching down to be on Yoh’s level.
He gently shook Yoh’s shoulder. “Hey, Yoh,” he said, watching as Yoh barely turned his head.
Yoh had a drawn look on his face. It looked off, though Segasaki wasn’t entirely sure why. “Sorry… I didn’t make dinner,” Yoh said, as though having to force the words out.
Segasaki didn’t say anything, only stood up and then reached down to help Yoh get up on his unsteady legs. Yoh wobbled for a moment, but let Segasaki lead him to their living room. He tried to get Yoh to sit down on the couch, but Yoh just ended up slumping to the floor, head down.
He tried to figure out what could be bothering Yoh, seeing him act completely different than normal. He grabbed some water from the kitchen before heading back, sitting on the sofa so that Yoh’s head was resting on the area between his legs.
The glass of water was barely even half full, but Yoh didn’t even open his mouth fully to drink any of it, instead letting it dribble out of his mouth. “Ah, Yoh,” Segasaki said, lifting the glass away.
Then, in a quick move, he put the glass down on the table in front of him and lifted his hand to feel Yoh’s forehead. He moved his bangs out of the way so his head rested firmly there for a moment, then nearly jumped as he felt the hot skin underneath his fingers.
“You’re sick,” Segasaki realized out loud. No wonder he was acting so odd. He had been fine earlier though, it was odd to get so sick so quickly for no discernible reason.
Yoh seemed so lethargic now, but if he had a fever, then it all made sense. Segasaki kept a cool head, as he always did, and decided the first step would be to get Yoh to eat some food. Then they could see about everything else.
“Why don’t you rest for now?” he mumbled, knowing that Yoh would not respond to him either way.
Segasaki grabbed Yoh’s arm once more, gently pulling him to sit on the couch. He grabbed one of their throw pillows and placed it against one of the arm’s, before gently pushing Yoh to lay down on it. Then, he went back into Yoh’s room and grabbed the blanket from there, coming back to gently cover Yoh with it.
Yoh didn’t make any motion to readjust the blanket himself, so Segasaki carefully tugged it to make sure it covered him fully before standing back up. Even if Yoh didn’t sleep, perhaps some rest would help him come back to himself as Segasaki made dinner.
He decided to make a simple dish, something that he knew Yoh would like and that would be easy on his stomach. Segasaki thought back to when Yoh had made that curry for him, way back when he had been sick in college. He had always appreciated the effort Yoh had went through back then to cook something comforting for him. The least he could now would be to cook something for Yoh in his time of need.
Making short work of it, Segasaki dished out two servings, but just took one back to the living room with him. He had a feeling that Yoh wouldn’t be up to moving much or sitting at the table in his current condition.
He sat cross-legged in front of the couch, looking at Yoh, whose eyes were half-lidded but who was clearly not asleep.
“Why don’t we eat something, hm?” Segasaki placed the bowl down for a moment to help Yoh sit up on the couch, propped by the nearby cushion. The blanket fell away but without a pause, Segasaki lifted it back up to wrap around Yoh’s shoulders, tucking on edge in between Yoh and the cushion so that it wouldn’t fall down easily.
He then took a spoonful of food, gently lifting it to Yoh’s mouth. For a long moment, Yoh just stared at it, making Segasaki contemplate whether he should be taking Yoh to a hospital for an IV, but then, he opened his mouth slightly and let Segasaki feed him. It was a slow process, to be sure, but he was able to get Yoh to eat almost a third of the food, which wasn’t amazing but more than he had expected.
However, just as he was about to get another spoon of food, Yoh lifted his hand from under the blanket and pushed the spoon away. The food didn’t spill, thanks to the small amount on it, but Yoh’s hand shook as he pulled it back towards himself.
“Come on Yoh, just a little bit more,” Segasaki tried to convince him, but Yoh would no longer open his mouth so he sighed. He’d put the food away for later then.
He pushed himself off the ground, sighing slightly as his legs ached from sitting there for so long. He hadn’t realized it, but almost an hour had passed in trying to feed Yoh his dinner. It was much later than Segasaki had realized.
Having returned to the kitchen, he put Yoh’s food away and decided to heat his up later on, as he’d rather get Yoh taken care of first.
Deciding that the best course of action would be a shower and then bed, he helped Yoh get off the couch. He felt a bit concerned that he could now feel the heat of Yoh’s skin through his shirt, but he hoped that shower would help with that.
Still, he helped Yoh sit down in the bathroom before searching in the cabinet for his thermometer. He placed it gently against Yoh’s forehead, giving it a moment to register. It blared red at him, and he winced slightly at the temperature. If this was any indication of how poorly Yoh felt, no wonder he was unable to communicate with Segasaki at the moment.
He turned on the water, letting it come to a slightly more lukewarm temperature as he helped Yoh get undressed. Segasaki noted that these were fairly nice clothes that Yoh had been wearing, the kind he would wear when going out. Perhaps something had happening this morning then, something that had affected Yoh to such a degree. For now, he pushed those thoughts aside as he helped Yoh stand up and get in the shower.
It took a little maneuvering, and Segasaki most definitely should have removed his before this, but he was able to help Yoh stand under the spray of the water the best he could. He could feel Yoh shiver in his arms, and he felt sorry for a moment that he had to make Yoh do this, but he knew that it would be for the best at the end of it. He carefully helped Yoh wash his hair, using his own shampoo because he knew that Yoh secretly liked how it smelled, even though he never said anything to him.
After some time, he helped Yoh out of the shower, and grabbed the towel to dry him off. He left Yoh for a moment to grab some of his night clothes, then came back to the bathroom and carefully helped Yoh step into them. Then he grabbed the hair dryer and set about drying Yoh’s hair.
It was during this that he heard a little hum from Yoh. The first real sign that Yoh was coming back to him.
“Hey Yoh,” Segasaki said, brushing his fingers through Yoh’s hair as he the dryer through the fine strands.
Yoh gave out another small hum. His eyes were closed, and he was leaning almost entirely on Segasaki, but Segasaki didn’t mind. It wasn’t often that Yoh let him dote on him like this, often choosing to shy away, and it felt nice to be the caretaker.
“What happened today Yoh?” Segasaki asked, his voice just above a whisper, barely loud enough to be heard over the hair dryer.
But Yoh didn’t reply, so Segasaki figured that he still needed some time. He finished drying Yoh’s hair, brushing it through afterward.
Then he grabbed a new glass of water and the nighttime fever medication from the cabinet before sitting in front of Yoh. He pushed the capsule into Yoh’s mouth, then gently tilted his head and helped him drink the water.
This time, thankfully, Yoh actually swallowed it, and Segasaki watched for a moment. Yoh drank a few more sips of water, which was a big relief to Segasaki, before he finally turned away from the glass.
“Time for bed, hmm,” Segasaki said, and he led Yoh to Segasaki’s own bedroom. Segasaki opened the door, then let Yoh follow him into his room as Segasaki grabbed his own set of pajamas.
Changing quickly, Segasaki set his clothes into the laundry basket before gently leading Yoh to the bed. He pulled out a corner of the blanket, and Yoh climbed in only after a moment’s hesitation.
“Do you want the humidifier?” Segasaki asked? Yoh hadn’t been sniffling much at all, another sign that there was some other cause to this sudden illness, but he knew the warm air could feel nice. With a slight nod from Yoh, Segasaki set about getting it set up on the night table, and after a few minutes, it was plugged in. Segasaki could see rather than hear Yoh’s comforted sigh as he let him fall further into the blankets.
Segasaki carefully got into the bed, making sure not to bother Yoh as he got himself settled in. He wrapped his arm around Yoh’s waist, bringing him in closer.
After a few minutes of lying like this, Yoh taking comfort in Segasaki’s warm embrace, Segasaki heard Yoh’s quiet voice for the first time that night.
“I failed. In drawing manga.”
That was a bit of a surprise. Segasaki hadn’t expected Yoh to say that. He knew that Yoh and his publisher often talked about changing his work, making it more appealing to the target demographic.
(Segasaki also knew about the many sketches of himself that littered Yoh’s sketchbooks, but he wasn’t going to mention that).
He had wanted Yoh to be happy in what he was doing, but it was clear to see that something had deeply changed within Yoh. For him to be so downtrodden, it wasn’t just about the manga. It was about giving up everything to do what he loved, and then not being able to do it.
There was a part of Segasaki that said he should say something inspirational, something about the winds of change, and how it was just manga. But another part of Segasaki felt that he wanted to say something different.
“You’ve never failed in my eyes,” is what he ends up going with.
It’s a little bit of a ridiculous statement, one that’s more of a platitude than any real advice.
But it’s enough for Yoh, who ends up slowly turning around, burying his face into Segasaki’s chest. He can hear the quiet sobs as Yoh does his best to hide them. Segasaki runs his hand through Yoh’s hair, letting him take the time he needs.
Real advice could wait until tomorrow.