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Kaito kneeled next to the couch and gently touched Gakupo’s hand.
“I’m about to go to the store. Is there anything you need?”
On the couch, Gakupo was lying on his side wrapped up in a fluffy blanket. On the side table were tissues and a glass of juice Kaito got for him earlier. There were bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep and his nose was very sniffly. He was wearing a grey sweater and greyish-purple sweatpants with green polka-dot socks.
Gakupo turned his head from the back of the couch to face Kaito. Gakupo had fallen asleep re-watching his favorite samurai show on low volume. “Can you please hand me the remote . .” He spoke with a quiet, soft tone.
Kaito stood up and reached for the remote and his hand in Gakupo’s was replaced by the remote. Gakupo sat up and turned the volume up, then set the remote down and held Kaito’s hand once more. “I don’t need anything.”
“Are you sure? Nothing to eat, to drink? No medicine to take? How about a movie-”
Gakupo shushed him, then smiled up at him. “I’ll be fine Kaito, you worry too much. A movie sounds nice. How about you pick it out.” Gakupo slid back down to lay on his side again, and Kaito gently lifted his head and put a pillow under it so that he could comfortably watch his show.
Kaito blushed realizing how overly passionate he was being about taking care of Gakupo, but in the two years that they’ve been dating neither one of them had been this sick yet, or at least not Gakupo. The purple-haired samurai had quite a strong immune system unlike Kaito, who often got colds during the winter and usually got sick when something was going around in one of his college classes. Seeing Gakupo act so tired and even grumpy was all new. Sometimes it was adorable, Kaito admitted to himself, but he still felt bad.
After giving Gakupo a kiss on the forehead, Kaito left their apartment and rode his bike to a small grocery store in the city. He grabbed a basket and started shopping.
It was strange shopping alone. Usually when Kaito had to run errands, even at night, Gakupo liked to tag along. It was fun, shopping with his boyfriend. Kaito always enjoyed shopping, even as a kid, but when Gakupo comes to the store it’s always ten times more fun. They usually browse around and look at things they don’t even need to buy. Gakupo likes to drag Kaito to the pet sections of stores to look at the fish swimming in their tanks. One time they saw a purple and a blue fish swimming side by side and Gakupo tried quickly grabbing his phone to take a picture, which made Kaito laugh and smile the rest of the trip.
First, I’ll pick up the ingredients for dinner. Kaito headed towards the produce while reading the shopping list. For veggie soup, he grabbed some carrots, onions, celery, eggplants, and peppers. He skipped the tomatoes this time considering how Gakupo usually eats around them and once he’s done with his soup there’s usually a pile of tomato at the bottom of his bowl.
On his way out of the produce section, Kaito spots his friend Luka out shopping too.
“Hey! Didn’t expect to see you here!” She had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing her reading glasses, and she was wearing a hoodie and comfy pants with sandals. “I’m out shopping with Miku tonight.”
“Aw, sweet!” Kaito smiled brightly. “Well, where is Miku anyway?”
“She’s at the other side of the store buying shampoo and conditioner. I told her that I’d buy the cooking stuff if she bought the bathroom stuff so that I could surprise her with dinner tonight. I’m making soup with leeks! I still can’t believe that’s her favorite food . . .”
Kaito laughed. “I’m making soup tonight too! Gakupo isn’t feeling too well.”
“Aw, well I hope he feels better. Well, I’d better buy this leek fast before Miku comes back!” Luka started walking past Kaito. “Tell Gakupo that me and Miku hope he feels better soon!”
As Kaito walked through the frozen foods section, he glanced at the ice cream selection the store had. While browsing, he saw some colored tags on the shelves. What’s this? BUY ONE GET ONE FREE?!
Kaito was now walking across the store with a basket heavy with vegetables and cartons of ice cream. Towards the back of the store were shelves of DVDs, along with video games, CDs, and more. Looking through the console games was a familiar teal-haired girl wearing a short soft pink dress with long socks and sneakers.
The girl looked over and stood up when she saw him. “Kaito!” She jumped over and gave him a hug, making Kaito stumble back a bit and laugh.
“Miku! What are you looking for tonight?”
“I’m just looking for fun! This magical girl game looks sooo cute! How about you?”
“I’m looking for movies or a show to binge with Gakupo tonight. I know he likes samurai movies and shows and also anime,” he scratched the back of his head, “but I’m not sure what to get! There are so many options, and he told me to choose!”
Miku and Kaito walked towards the DVDs and began looking. Kaito was struggling to pick something out because even though he knew Gakupo told him to pick the movie and he wouldn’t mind what Kaito picked, they had very different tastes in shows. Gakupo really likes live action action and adventure movies like Godzilla, and he also enjoys watching long shounen series. On the other hand, Kaito usually doesn’t watch live action unless it’s some corny rom-com, and he usually watches short twelve-episode shoujo and other slice of life series. Kaito passed by a shelf with animated movies and series and spotted some familiar titles. Maybe this could be an opportunity to watch something romantic with him, Kaito thought to himself.
Kaito tapped on Miku’s shoulder, about to ask a question, but Miku spoke before he could.
“Aww! You must be thinking about Gakupo, Kaito! Your face is flushed so pink!”
“H-Huh?!” Kaito hid his face in his hands and shook his head as Miku giggled with her hands in front of her mouth.
After the giggling and blushing had reduced, Kaito asked, “Can you maybe recommend something cute like a rom-com or romance?”
Miku’s smile got at least three times bigger as she pointed out at least fifteen romance shows and movies, each with her own little review and rating. Kaito listened in and nodded, taking notes in his head of all the information he was absorbing.
Miku picked up another DVD while giggling. “This one is about office co-workers falling in love! I really enjoyed this one!” Kaito took the DVD and read the summary on the back.
“This looks good. Thanks, Miku!”
“Of course! Now . . . have you seen Luka?”
Unsure If Luka was done buying ingredients, Kaito answered. “I don’t think so.”
“I’ve got to go find her! She’s probably waiting for me. I hope you and Gakupo like the show, it’s so silly!”
With everything he needed, Kaito checked out and biked back home. It was a bit later, and the sun had begun to set. When he got back to the apartment, the sun was shining orange light through the living room and kitchen. It felt very warm and cozy. “I’m home!”
Gakupo emerged from the couch and walked over with a blanket on his shoulders, his long hair tangled and slightly greasy. “Welcome back, Blueberry,” he said as he hugged his boyfriend, “I missed you.”
Kaito hugged him back. “I wasn’t gone too long. Look, I bought ice cream!” He held out a large tub of mint chocolate-chip, one of many more flavors inside the plastic bag. Gakupo took the carton from his hands and helped him put groceries away while Kaito started cooking the soup. He looked over at Gakupo who was standing back towards the TV and reading the back of the DVD.
“Miku recommended that to me, she was at the store with her girlfriend Luka tonight. Oh, and that reminds me–Miku and Luka said get well soon!”
“Looks like a cute show.” Gakupo put the object down on the coffee table and walked back into the kitchen. Kaito was at the stove stirring the soup and adding the veggies in. Gakupo stood behind him and wrapped his arms around Kaito’s waist, resting his head on the other man’s shoulder and hugging him as he cooked dinner.
Kaito turned his head to the side and nuzzled his face with his nose. “Do you want to take a bath before dinner?”
“Mmm, I don’t know.”
Kaito smiled. I never knew he would be so lazy while sick. It’s only a cold, too! He’s so cute . . .
“We can get in the bath together, If you would li–”
“Okay.” Gakupo walked past the couch and dropped the blanket on it without even bending down as he walked straight to the bathroom, and Kaito swore he could see a small smile on his face. Only seconds later, he heard the bath water running. Kaito turned the burner temperature down and walked towards the bathroom as well. When he walked in, Gakupo was already sitting in the tub and facing the wall in front of him, his eyes closed and tired. When the water level rose, he opened his eyes to see the blue-haired man now sitting in front of him.
“Here, turn around.” Kaito began to move Gakupo so that he was facing the same direction as him. “I’ll wash your hair.” He began combing his fingers through the long purple hair, adding shampoo and rinsing with warm water while softly humming a song to himself. Even though Gakupo is the one who doesn’t feel well, the bath is really relaxing for both of them.
“Hmm . . .” Gakupo sighs, “this feels so nice . . .” He lowered himself down so his back was against Kaito’s stomach and the top of his head was under his chin, lightly drawing patterns on Kaito’s legs with his fingertips.
After rinsing out all the soap, they each changed into jammies and went into the kitchen to grab a bowl of soup before settling on the couch.
“Wait, I have a better idea.” Gakupo moved the coffee table out of the way, leaving lots of space on the living room floor. He set his soup down and walked towards the bedroom. He looks much more lively after taking a nice warm bath, Kaito thought. When Gakupo came back, he was holding multiple blankets and pillows. He then dropped them all on the floor and formed a comfy nest.
“Now we can lean back and stretch out more.” Gakupo grabbed his bowl and sat in the nest, patting the ground right beside him to invite Kaito to sit. After inserting the DVD and fetching the remote, he joined him and snuggled close to his side.
By the next episode of the show, both boys were done with their soup. Kaito began getting up to put the bowls in the sink, but Gakupo insisted on cleaning up. Instead of sitting in his formal spot once he got back, he sat in between Kaito’s legs and leaned back like he did in the bath. He lowered himself so that his boyfriend could see the television and pulled a soft blanket over them. Kaito loosely wrapped his arms around Gakupo as they continued watching the show, eating ice cream while commenting on the show and talking as they enjoyed the rest of the evening like this together.
By the time it was pitch-black outside and the show was around the seventh episode, Gakupo had practically fallen asleep. The nest was comfortable enough to sleep in, so Kaito leaned all the way back and laid down with Gakupo still on top of him.
“Kaito,” he murmured, “I feel so much better already, with you taking care of me.”
Kaito blushed and hugged him tighter, taking one hand away for a second to pull the blankets up higher.
“I’m happy you feel better.” Kaito’s eyes started falling shut as he drifted into sleep as well.
“Goodnight, Blueberry.”
“Goodnight.”
As they fell asleep together, Kaito combed his hands through Gakupo’s hair again, which was now much softer and smelled like the grape shampoo they used. Only a few minutes later, he could hear Gakupo quietly breathing, peacefully sleeping while laying against his chest which was slowly rising and falling. He moved Gakupo to his side and turned on his side as well, embracing him as he fell asleep shortly after.