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A few days after Sanemi had gotten over his cold, Genya ended up coming down with a cold of his own, and Sanemi couldn’t help but blame himself.
Even with Giyuu looking after Genya, the two were still around each other enough for Genya to get sick.
And even though the cold wasn’t that bad for Sanemi it had really hit his little brother hard.
Genya was lethargic, relying on Sanemi to get him around the apartment. He also had less of an appetite than usual. Normally Genya was good with at least taking a bottle but since he came down with his cold even that was a struggle.
But the worst part was the wheezing.
Genya had been diagnosed with asthma when he was a little kid, but as he grew older it became less of an issue, to the point where he only needed his inhaler for emergencies.
However, this cold just seemed to sit heavy in Genya’s lungs. When Genya was sitting up it wasn’t as bad but laying down he noticed his brother seemed to be fighting to breathe.
Sanemi tried his best to keep his brother upright, but Genya hardly had the energy to do that, and if Sanemi kept him sitting too long he would get fussy. Plus Genya was spending most of the day sleeping.
Sanemi would never admit it, but he was scared. The soft wheezing sounds made his blood run cold and anytime Genya had a coughing fit Sanemi was preparing himself to give his brother his inhaler.
It was hell.
It had been three days since Genya had become sick, and he was showing no signs of getting better, in fact he only seemed to get worse.
Since Genya woke up he was fussy. Despite his brother’s fever he was shivering, he was still refusing to take his bottle, or even drink any water at all, and he clung to Sanemi as if his life depended on it. But if you ask Sanemi the worst part is that since his brother woke up he had been crying.
It was silent crying, tears constantly streaming down his flushed face, even poor Bingo was damp from his brother's tears.
Sanemi did his best to calm Genya down, but nothing seemed to work. The closest was putting on Bluey, of course Genya was still crying but he at least seemed more content.
Genya sniffled softly as he watched the cartoon, Bingo’s ear in his mouth. Sanemi knew he should replace it with the pacifier, but that would just upset his brother more.
But just as Genya finally started to settle down, his body tensed as he went into another coughing fit.
Sanemi panicked, and moved his brother so he was sitting more upright and rubbed Genya’s back.
“It’s okay bud,” Sanemi told him in a hushed tone, “just gotta breathe okay?”
Sanemi wasn’t sure if his brother actually heard and comprehended what was being said, because the coughing didn’t stop for a few more seconds, and when they finally did Genya was no longer crying silently. He was sobbing and the only thing Sanemi could think to do was to hold Genya tight.
Sanemi figured the next thing he should do was give his brother some more cough medicine, since it was time for his next dose.
Getting Genya to take the medication this morning was hellish, but Sanemi could understand why. The medicine tasted awful and his brother wasn’t mentally in the space to understand that the yucky medicine was actually good for him.
Sanemi brought Genya to the bathroom.
He didn’t put Genya down, and with one hand opened the medicine cabinet taking the cough medicine out. With some effort he managed to get the top off the bottle, then he grabbed the same syringe he had used in the morning to give Genya the medicine. It was much easier for Genya to use that than to give it to his brother on a spoon or cup.
Sanemi, still with one hand, put the plastic syringe into the medicine bottle and drew up some of the liquid.
It was at this point that Genya seemed to realize what was happening as he began trying to pull away from Sanemi.
“I know, I know,” Sanemi coos, “it’s very yucky but it’ll make you feel better.”
Despite Genya’s best efforts he wasn’t able to pull away from Sanemi.
Sanemi was able to push the syringe past his brother’s lips, then he pressed down the pump until he couldn’t anymore and waited a few seconds before removing it.
Genya whined and pressed his face into the crook of Sanemi’s neck.
“I’m sorry bud,” Sanemi mumbled, rubbing Genya’s back.
Still carrying Genya, Sanemi made his way to the kitchen and grabbed one of Genya’s clean bottles then filled it with water. He hoped that his brother would at least drink a bit of it.
And luckily when Sanemi brought the bottle to his brother's lips he took it and lazily suckled.
Sanemi sighed in relief. Even if his brother didn’t drink much of the water it was better than nothing.
Sanemi still brought the bottle with him when he took Genya back to the living room, where he put Bluey back on as he sat on the couch with his brother.
Sanemi ran his fingers through his brother 's hair which was slick with sweat, and made a mental note to give his brother a bath sometime today.
For now though, Bluey was playing again, and Genya was quietly watching the cartoon, and Sanemi tried his best to ignore the soft wheezing sound that came each time his brother breathed in.
After a few episodes Genya had begun to doze off in Sanemi’s arms, and just as Sanemi was preparing to take Genya to his room for a nap, another coughing fit wracked his brother's body.
Just like before Sanemi rubbed his brother's back but the coughing fit didn’t seem to be letting up. After sometime the coughing turned into a few gags, followed by watery bile spilling all over Genya.
“Fuck,” Sanemi hissed.
Genya broke down into more sobs.
Sanemi scooped his brother up holding him tight, “it’s okay Gen,” he cooed trying to calm his brother down, “how about a bath to get you all cleaned up, okay?”
Sanemi carried the still crying Genya to the bathroom.
Sanemi sat Genya down on the closed toilet, which only made Genya more upset.
“It’s okay bud,” Sanemi said in an attempt to sooth Genya, “I’m just getting a bath ready for you.”
Sanemi turned on the tub faucet and once he was happy with the water temperature he put the plug in. As the tub was filling up with water, Sanemi started to remove Genya’s soiled clothes, tossing them aside to be put in the wash later.
Once the tub was full enough, Sanemi turned the tap off and helped his brother into the bath.
Normally bathtime with Genya when he was little was lively, lots of bubbles, splashing and games with his toys, but right now it was rather quiet. Genya sniffled and sobbed, not moving that much as Sanemi began washing his body.
As Sanemi was cleaning his brother, he couldn’t help but notice the wheezing was getting worse.
Once Sanemi had finished rinsing the shampoo from Genya’s hair he pulled the plug from the tub. He went and grabbed Genya’s Bluey towel. It was meant for small children but it worked well enough for drying Genya off, and right now Sanemi wanted to comfort his brother as much as possible.
Sanemi carried Genya to his bedroom to get changed into clean clothes. He grabbed the most comfortable clothes he could find for Genya then helped him into them.
Before he carried Genya back to the living room to continue watching Bluey, Sanemi made sure to grab Genya’s inhaler.
The coughing fits his brother had been having alongside the worsening wheezing was making him uneasy and the last thing he wanted was his brother to have an asthma attack and he wasn’t prepared for it.
Back in the living room, Bluey was turned on again. Genya rested his head against Sanemi’s chest and was holding Bingo close.
Sanemi kept his eyes locked on his little brother, becoming more uneasy. It looked like Genya was finding it harder to breathe. Genya had begun breathing through his mouth, and the wheezing only continued.
“Gen,” Sanemi whispered as he ran his fingers through his brother's hair, “you okay? You look like you’re not breathing that great bud.”
Genya whined, and Sanemi wasn’t sure what to make of it, but just in case he helped Genya get into a more upright position, which Genya was not happy with.
“I know,” Sanemi soothed again, running his finger through his brother's hair.
Genya pressed his face into Sanemi’s shoulder, still wheezing as he breathed.
Sanemi rubbed his brother’s back, totally unsure of what he should do.
Soon, Sanemi noticed that Genya was beginning to doze off again. This time there was no coughing fit that woke him up.
Sanemi stood up, making sure to grab Bingo as he did so, and carried Genya to his room. He hoped that maybe a nap would help his brother feel better.
He put Genya down on his bed, tucked Bingo into his arms, then tucked Genya into bed.
Sanemi sat at Genya’s bedside watching as his brother began to drift off to sleep. He brushed his brother’s bangs out of his face, and smiled softly. This was the most content and comfortable he had seen Genya since they woke up that morning.
But the peace was short lived, as Genya began struggling to breathe once again. Panic set in and suddenly Genya was awake, eyes wide, his mouth a gap as he tried to breathe. Each time Genya did manage to pull some air into his lungs the sound was sickening to Sanemi.
Sanemi looked around the room trying to find Genya’s rescue inhaler, but he’d left it in the living room. Cursing, Sanemi ran to the living room and grabbed the inhaler from the coffee table then ran back to Genya’s room.
Genya seemed to only get worse as he was now sat up in bed, gasping for breath.
“Gen, I got your inhaler,” Sanemi told his brother, “you remember how to take it?”
Luckily Genya nodded.
“Good,” Sanemi shook the inhaler then put the plastic mouth piece into his brother's mouth, “deep breath in,” Sanemi instructed and as Genya breathed in, he pressed down on the inhaler releasing the medicine into his brother's mouth, then repeated it a second time.
Genya’s breathing went back to normal; there was still the slight wheeze from his cold but past that his baby brother was breathing.
Sanemi pulled Genya into a tight hug.
Sanemi couldn’t remember the last time he had been that scared. He thought he was about to lose his baby brother forever.
Then Sanemi began to cry. He was relieved, the whole day had been so stressful, he had been on edge the whole time waiting for the worst thing to happen. He knew the two weren’t out of the woods yet and he knew it was likely that Genya could have another asthma attack, but for now he just wanted to focus on the fact his brother was still breathing.
Sanemi didn’t want to let go of Genya, but once his brother began trying to wiggle out of the embrace he knew it was time to end the hug.
“Nemi,” Genya mumbled, reaching one of his hands out and brushing some of Sanemi’s tears away.
“You don’t have to worry about Nemi,” Sanemi told Genya, grabbing his brother’s hand, “I'm just happy you’re okay.”
Genya tilted his head to the side then nodded.
Sanemi still wanted Genya to take a nap, but he didn’t want to leave his brother alone now. So instead he scooped his brother up again, making sure Bingo was brought along, and went back to the living room.
He sat on the couch and cradled Genya.
Genya nuzzled into Sanemi’s shoulder, as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
“Get some rest Gen,” Sanemi cooed, “Nemi will be here protecting you.”
Soon Genya drifted off to sleep in Sanemi’s arms. The wheezing was still there but now it was softer and less pronounced.
Tears again began to stream down Sanemi’s face as he held his little brother close.
Sometime later, there was a soft knock at the door, followed by the familiar sound of it unlocking, noting that Giyuu had come over.
“Are you okay?” Giyuu asks once he sees Sanemi.
Sanemi nods, “he had an asthma attack earlier,” he explains.
“Is Genya okay?”
“Yeah, the inhaler worked, he’s just sleeping now.”
Giyuu sat down next to Sanemi on the couch.
“I don’t wanna put him down,” Sanemi told Giyuu, “scared he’ll have another.”
Giyuu leaned over and kissed Sanemi softly on the cheek, “he’ll be fine, he has you to look after him.”
Sanemi smiled softly, “thanks Giyuu.”
“For what?”
Sanemi chuckles softly, careful to not jostle Genya too much, “doesn’t matter.”
Giyuu blinked in confusion, “alright.”
Soon Genya began to stir in Sanemi’s arms. He wasn’t sure how long his brother had slept for, but he knew his brother would likely fall asleep again soon. When Genya finally awoke from his nap Sanemi would try to get him to drink some more water, and Bluey would likely be put on again. A simple cycle that had repeated since Genya got sick.