Chapter Text
Except for the teacher droning on with occasional input from classmates and the sound of writing utensils against paper, the class is otherwise pretty peaceful. …till his damned phone starts going off, which he swore he had muted earlier! The tips of his ears are burning as he grumbles out an apology to everyone gawking at him while he hits the ignore button on his phone. Lord X would have to call Max back later… He goes from being mildly irritated to pretty mad when the same song goes off alerting everyone’s attention back to him. The man excuses himself squeezing past people to make it outside of the classroom. “What the hell do you want Max?? You know I have classes right now!!” Lord X seethes into the phone feeling quite pissed (and embarrassed) by this point!
“[Sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt your class.]”
The shock of hearing the Hatsune Miku voice app Niku uses instead of Max on the other end of the line simmers down his boiling rage. “Niku?? Why is it you’re calling me instead of your Pops?” Maybe he was a little worried now, but the kid didn’t need to know that.
“[Papa isn’t doing well, and you don’t have to leave class right now, but when you’re free later could you come over ‘cause it’s important!]”
Okay, maybe he was even more worried! “Yeah, I can swing by later.” He reassures them. “If anything else happens before that just text me.”
“[Okay! Got it, Mister X! And thank you!!]”
“Not a problem. See you soon.”
He made sure that his damned phone was muted and stayed as such! …now he hoped all eyes weren’t on him as he walked back into the classroom…
~~~
It was mid-afternoon when Lord X finally arrived at Max’s place. Niku is the one to greet him and let him in.
“Where’s Max at?” The older of the two asks. Ears tune themselves towards the kitchen expecting the usual sounds of Max at work in there. There was only silence that greets him. He didn’t like that.
“[This way. He’s in his room.]” Niku tugs on one of his hands pointing in a different direction than where he’s used to going in the house.
Lord X allows their hand to stay in his as he follows after the little hedgehog. They led him through the foyer taking a left instead of the usual right that led to a hallway that brought him to the kitchen. There’s another hallway in this new direction with several doors along the right side with there being only a singular door on the left. Niku hesitantly knocks on the lone door waiting for a few seconds, and when they get no response, they open it anyway.
Upon letting them inside Max’s room Niku immediately turns on the lights. The both of them hear a pitiful groan in response, probably from being blinded out of nowhere. As they approach closer Lord X notices that Max’s usually rosy complexion is sickly and pale. His thin body, which is only dressed in a tank top and shorts, is drenched in sweat and shivering. Grassy green eyes are hazy and he seems as though he’s in a fog. It looks as though he is barely cognizant of his surroundings. Clearly the man was sick.
The eldest man narrows his eyes at the preteen while clicking his tongue in annoyance. “So I was worried over a little sickness?” He huffs out and crosses his burly arms to further showcase his irritation.
The youngest vigorously types away on their phone. Their mouth actually visible with their tongue sticking out and eyebrows furrowing intently as they typed. “[I’ve never seen papa sick before, and I’ve been with him for at least two years!]” They hold up two fingers to emphasize this. “[Papa was just fine and then he wasn’t! He didn’t look or seem sick at all before I found him…]” Dark irises gleam in worry. “[And I think he might have a fever…]”
Eyes widened as Lord X found himself dumbfounded. It made no sense! No signs whatsoever?? That couldn’t be right… In his mind he goes back to the last time he was with the younger man. If his memory serves him correctly, the man was healthy and perky as usual the last time he hung out with him… He hated not knowing or understanding something. This would drive him insane till Max was better to explain! “Why didn’t you reach out to someone else who’s better suited as a caretaker and to understand you, like Majin?”
There’s a pause as Niku rests their chin in between their thumb and index finger and their ears flop in thought. Then they are back to typing. “[I like Majin. He’s nice and fun!]” Ears flatten as the smaller hedgehog sighs. “[But they fret too much and can be smothering, and I don’t want him stressing himself over this…]”
Burly arms cross over his half covered chest with his head leaning to the side with his own ear flicking thoughtfully. There’s a tired frown on his lips and he also sighs. The kid had a point. The last thing he needed was both a sick friend and another friend who was going to make himself sick from worrying too much over said sick friend… “Point taken.”
Those little dull blue ears of Niku’s perk back up as they cock their head to the side and roll their black eyes with their hands resting on their hips in a defiant manner. The hand with the phone in it starts to type away with Niku staring down the man. “[For YOUR information I DID reach out to someone else.~]”
That has Lord X furrowing his eyebrows into a glare with his eyes narrowing harder. That sassy little shit..!
And as if on cue, they hear the doorbell ringing loudly and constantly.