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The third straight victory banner flashed across his side of the split screen Nagisa knew something was wrong. He may have improved at first person shooters, but he was certainly not skilled enough to win three straight rounds against the one who taught him everything he knew.
He set the controller down on the table in front of him, “is it past your bedtime, old man?” Nagisa teased as he twisted around to look at Kira who was sitting behind him on the sofa.
It was like someone let all the tension out of Kira. His posture was slumped, his hands barely holding onto the controller. There was a bright pink tint to his nose and cheeks, and glassy eyes were hidden behind heavy eyelids.
The cheerfulness drained from Nagisa quickly, “are you OK?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Kira mumbled as he rolled his shoulders in an attempt to sit up straighter. He didn’t shift on the cushion at all.
“I don’t like your definition of fine,” Nagisa shot back as he stood up from the floor. He took the controller from Kira, receiving a half-hearted protest as he held down the home button to put the console into sleep mode.
Kira let his head fall back as he stared up at the ceiling, “that’s too bad because like I said I’m—”
Nagisa cut off the argument as he placed the back of his hand across Kira’s forehead, the heat radiating back telling him all he needed to know.
“Feverish,” Nagisa offered as he took his hand back.
“I doubt it’s even 38,” Kira huffed as he put all his effort into sitting up properly, “either way, I should get going.”
Nagisa shook his head, stopping Kira before he could fully stand up. There was a sharp anxiety blooming inside his chest.
“I’m not letting you get on the train like this.”
“Then I’ll call a cab.”
A sharp “no!” bit out of Nagisa, startling both of them into silence. Kira’s gaze settled, as he slumped back down into the sofa.
“If I knew I was coming down with something, I wouldn’t have come over.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Nagisa assured him as he finally sat down next to Kira. His own worry was now filling every crevice inside him. His heart tightened in his chest as he reached out to move a stray strand of hair behind Kira’s ear. Kira shifted under his touch, turning his head to face him.
“You really don’t want me here,” Kira said, pushing forward despite the anxiety that had to be plain on Nagisa’s face, “I am a terrible patient.”
“I just said don’t worry,” Nagisa argued, but was starting to understand what Kira meant. A doctor wasn’t going to be easy to take care of — Nagisa wasn’t even sure what exactly to do. He could only mimic his parents taking care of him when he was ill as a kid.
But he had to try.
“Let’s get you more comfortable,” Nagisa said as he stood back up again to survey his room. The throw pillows and blanket on the far end of the sofa should suffice for the night.
“That’s not—”
“—Let me do this, Kira!” Nagisa shouted over the protest. He swallowed against the erratic beats of his heart as it leapt in his chest.
“I—” Kira sighed, reaching out to take Nagisa’s shaking fist into his hand. He worked the fingers free, holding them gently in his hand.
Nagisa blinked, the anxiety flushing from him as he stared down at their joined hands. Dextrous fingers absently stroked the back of his hand. When Kira finally let go, his hand fell away with a soft thud next to him on the cushion. There was no more energy to argue from either of them.
Kira shrugged, his head tipping back once more, “Sorry I don’t have my labcoat with me today so you can play doctor.”
Nagisa felt the corner of his lips twist into a smile as the joke settled warm inside him, “will you try to be a more agreeable patient for me then?”
Kira nodded, “I can try.”
“Thank you.”
*
After a bath, and more arguing, Nagisa returned to his room, first aid kit and hair dryer in his hands. He found Kira sitting on the sofa dressed in a borrowed sleepshirt, the matching pants still folded next to him.
“They don’t fit,” Kira said as if he could read Nagisa’s mind. Nagisa set his things down on the table, before he grabbed the throw blanket to lay over his friend’s lap.
“I’m not surprised, you’re ninety percent leg,” Nagisa joked, but Kira didn’t respond. If he wasn’t in the mood for jokes, he had to be sicker than he was letting on.
Nagisa brushed his fingers through the soaked white-blond strands clinging to Kira’s neck. He reached for the towel, gently rubbing Kira’s hair to absorb the excess water. “Do you have the energy to let me dry this?”
Kira hummed as he slid from the cushion to sit on the floor. He pulled his long legs toward his chest in order to rest his head against his knees. Nagisa frowned at the feeble position. He settled on the sofa, his legs bracketing either side of Kira’s slim torso.
“This would be faster if you sit up,” Nagisa tried to coax Kira into a proper sitting position. He snaked his arm around Kira, his hand pushing firmly against his chest as he guided him upright.
Nagisa flipped the switch on the cordless dryer, following the path of the brush with the nozzle. A calm stillness settled into the room despite the static whirr of the dryer. The white-blond ends at Kira’s nape were nearly dry so Nagisa switched to longer strokes with the comb through the thick of his hair on his crown. The usual unkempt curls gave way to the shiny sheen as the hair dryer straightened them out.
“Nagisa, I—” Kira muttered, his words slurred and incomprehensible.
Nagisa switched off the dryer to ask Kira to repeat himself as his body swayed and pitched forward. Nagisa’s heart punched into overdrive as he scrambled forward, catching Kira before his face smashed into the corner of the low table.
“Kira!” Nagisa called out as his knees hit the floor next to Kira. Still unresponsive and limp, Nagisa moved to lay him on his back, while repeating his name, a panicked begging for his friend to open his eyes.
“Kira…” Nagisa hovered over his friend, watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Copper eyes fluttered open a moment later; and Nagisa finally let the air out of his own lungs.
Kira’s brow knitted together in confusion as he took in his change in position.
“I think you fainted,” Nagisa said as his higher brain functions finally beat out the panic in his heart. He reached out and fixed Kira’s still damp bangs, returning them to their normal centered part. His finger tips brushed against Kira’s forehead, the skin still burning up.
“Was it the fever?”
“It’s possible,” Kira said. He made no move to change positions. Nagisa wondered if his world was still wobbly. “Fever, electrolyte imbalance, even hair brushing can all cause vasovagal syncope.”
“Vay-so-vay-what?”
“Vay-gal,” Kira finished repeating the end of the word. With one hand he reached out, his fingers trailing from the base of Nagisa’s skull down his spine, “your vagus nerves — my blood pressure must have dropped too fast.”
“Oh,” Nagisa felt the anxiety prick up his spine from where Kira’s fingers traced. He felt his own head swim in a brief lightheadedness. Was that the same nerve? He should really have paid closer attention in Anatomy…
“Can I do anything to help?”
Kira shook his head as he shifted his arms underneath himself to prop himself up on his elbows, “it’s a benign autonomic response, I’m fine.”
The answer did not sit well with Nagisa, a sour taste bubbling in his gut. “You fainted, Kira. That’s not normal.”
Kira rolled his eyes as he pointed to himself, “actual doctor. I’m fine.”
Nagisa shifted on the floor again, helping Kira back into a sitting position, “no, you’re my patient tonight, remember?”
A soft chuckle broke past Kira’s lips. “I’m sorry, what do you suggest then, doctor Kamishiro?”
Nagisa’s eyes widened, caught as Kira watched him intently. He had to be joking…Nagisa wasn’t going to be able to help him. There wasn’t—
“Electrolyte imbalance,” Nagisa suddenly blurted out, “you said that could have caused it. I have some sports drink in the fridge downstairs.”
A gentle smile tugged at the corners of Kira’s tired face. Nagisa wasn’t sure why he was putting so much effort into humoring him. The punchline had to land soon… but the usual “I’m joking!” never came.
“You know, one of my favorite energy drinks has electrolytes in it—”
“Absolutely not! You’re sick, Kira! No caffeine.”
“Relax, I’m joking.”
Heat rushed to Nagisa’s face as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. So much for that…
Nagisa scrubbed at his red cheeks, willing them to cool off. He let out a sigh before he slowly helped Kira off the floor. “Com’n, lay down and I’ll go get the correct drink.”
“Alright, doc,” Kira agreed with a nod.
*
When Nagisa returned to the room Kira was sitting on his bed, sifting through the first aid kit. “I’m thankful to whoever told you to keep this stocked,” he said as if he wasn’t the one with Nagisa when they visited the drugstore to do that very thing.
“Yeah, they’re a really thoughtful friend,” Nagisa agreed as he handed the drink bottle to Kira.
Kira pulled out the bottle of fever reducer, shaking the correct number of pills out into his palm.
“They must worry about you living alone,” Kira said as he tossed the pills into his mouth, and washed them down with the sports drink.
The blush was crawling across Nagisa’s face once more as he looked away from Kira’s widening grin.
“Shut up and go to sleep.”
Kira closed the med kit, handing it off to Nagisa before he settled down into the bed, “you need to work on your bedside manner, doc.”
Nagisa grabbed an extra pillow leaning against the wall before pushing it into Kira’s face. Long limbs flailed wildly for a moment before a roar of laughter was muffled by the pillow.
“One more word out of you, and you're dead,” Nagisa warned as he pulled the pillow away, tossing it back at the wall.
The smile stayed cemented to Kira’s face as the laughter faded away, but heeding the very real threat kept his thoughts to himself. He pulled the duvet up close to his chest and rolled away from Nagisa.
Nagisa rolled his eyes and shut off the lights. “Goodnight, Kira. Feel better.” He said before retreating to sleep in his parents room for the night, prayers for Kira’s health to return filled his thoughts.