Archive of Our Own

"Tomoya, it's three in the morning." Haru whines from the couch. There's something else laced into his voice, Tomoya can tell, but he can't tell what; it is three in the morning, in his defense, and all he hears is a complaint.

"Go home then." Tomoya snaps back. It's harsher than he wants it to come out, petty, almost like a child. He sees Haru worriedly glance at Geon in the mirror. He should apologize. But he can't.

It's Seita who ends up talking sense into him. He walks over to Tomoya and tugs at his sleeve, a slight pout on his face—he gets sulky, after all—, before he steps fully in front of Tomoya to stop him from monitoring his movements in the mirror.

"Tomoya, it's too late. There's no point in continuing practice if none of us can keep up still, and if you're– too exhausted. Too exhausted to keep your moves the level they're usually at."

⋆

Not that anyone asked, but if Tomoya had to pick his worst attribute, it's that he gets too honest when he's exhausted. His annoyance shows, in his microexpressions, his voice, his lack of patience.

It's fully his fault that he snaps at Geon during practice. The clock shows 4 am; they're all exhausted, not to mention overworked, though that's normal by now, and Geon especially has been struggling with this dance. Tomoya snapping at him for not being able to do the dance correctly is wrong and he recognizes it.

But his second worst attribute is his pride.

He stares at Geon in the mirror as his eyes widen and he stops, watches everyone slow as his words settle in. Geon takes a step back. Seita reaches out, but Geon just shakes his head, walks over to the couch, grabs his bag and phone, and leaves.

"That was mean, Tomoya," Yu says, and his voice is bitter. Perhaps because Geon is his boyfriend, he's especially mad about it. Yu, mad, that's rare. Yu controlling his anger because he doesn't want to snap is worse. Tomoya's hands tremble and the corners of his vision blur. He watches Yu grab his stuff and run after Geon, watches Haru also follow.

Tomoya finally turns around. He feels slow. Like Geon, Yu and Haru just ran away from him, leaving his reach like diamonds sinking in an ocean—clearly visible to him, but he can do nothing to stop it. The next breath he takes is shaky.

"Yu was too nice." A hand at his shoulder. "That was an asshole move. You're a real ass for saying that, To– Tomoya?" Hyui.

Hyui squeezes his shoulder. In slow motion, Tomoya looks at him. In a very Hyui way, he looks mad and worried at the same time.

"Did you sleep last night?" Seita walks up beside them, Yuki not far from him, bringing some water over.

Tomoya shakes his head. "Yes– No– I had to edit Nexcation."

"You could've asked us to help if you needed it done so desperately," Yuki mumbles and hands Tomoya the bottle of water. "Why do you act like your day has more hours than ours does?"

"I'm the leader." Tomoya takes the bottle and gulps down half of it instantly, everyone's watchful eyes on him.

"Yeah, our leader. Our member," Seita hisses. "Allow us to help."

"I do," Tomoya replies and pushes past them. "Let's head to the dorm and sleep. We have a schedule all day tomorrow."

"Are you going to apologize to Geon?" Hyui stares at Tomoya in the mirror. Tomoya glances at him, then looks away. His vision blurs for other reasons this time.

"I will."

⋆

Running on one hour of sleep and barely any food has become the norm for Tomoya. It's comeback time, but they've also been selected as ambassadors for a huge fashion campaign, and their latest comeback barely ended, the next one on the horizon. And there's Nexcation he still has to edit. And he's in a creative slump, yet needs to come up with his signature content for the comeback soon. And there's some Music Show he has to MC for a week soon; he doesn't even remember which. And–

He snaps out of his thoughts when his makeup noona nudges him.

For how long has he been staring at this shot of all seven of them from the Nexcation vlog now? He misses it. Just them seven. His six.

God, he still needs to apologize to Geon. How much time has even passed? He doesn't remember. His body has been running on autopilot, and it is right now too, as he smiles at the noona and gets up and moves over to his seat and nods and listens without committing any word said to memory.

Yu passes behind him, already done with makeup. He pats Tomoya's head (yay, he's not mad anymore?) and flops onto the couch where Yuki is sitting, waiting for makeup. His head nuzzles the younger's stomach. Huh.

Tomoya's head gets tilted this way, then that way.

"Tomoya-ssi, I mean no disrespect, but you have to sleep more. Makeup can only cover up so many sleepless nights."

He ignores Yu and Yuki casting worried glances at one another. "I am sleeping."

"Not enough for your body to register it." She replies and lifts his head to apply makeup to his jaw. "And eat more. I know you don't want to appear puffy, but eat something before the stage, okay?"

Tomoya nods and then forgets what he's been told to do. He watches his face change in the mirror, and wonders when he started looking so awful. Tomoya supposes he should be really grateful for makeup today.

The stage goes well enough. Nex2ys cheer, and they don't realize his tripping during Beat-Boxer is from exhaustion. The others do, though. Tomoya doesn't do affected-by-exhaustion.

Perhaps it's unfair of him to chide them for making it obvious on stage (obvious in his eyes anyway) during a costume change.

It's not until manager hyung tells him he simply shouldn't have stumbled that his jaw snaps shut.

"Moya," Haru holds him back a minute before they have to be on stage again, "Did you eat?"

"What?"

"The noona told you to."

"She did?"

"Since when can't you listen?" Haru shakes his head and shoves a half-eaten protein bar into his hands. He crosses his arms and watches Tomoya eat it; only then does he seem satisfied. "You're not turning into Yuki, right? With your ear problems recently?"

Tomoya doesn't do affected-by-exhaustion. He doesn't. Haru's comment must've affected him for other reasons. "I'm fine, I told you!" Yet, his tone is mean. Again.

Haru flinches back in surprise, but then they're called on stage and he can't rebut. Tomoya also can't apologize.

Their energy somehow isn't off on stage. His and Geon's is, though. So Tomoya lowers his mic and pulls him closer during the encore.

"Geon!" He shouts over the noise. The other is smart enough to lower his mic too, luckily. Tomoya babbles out an apology — he would've liked it to be more clear, too, but his mind is a mess and it's loud and messy and...he doesn't want to cry. He does sob a little when Geon just pulls him into a half hug.

"You're all good, Moya! I was so appalled because it was late! I get it." Then he tilts his head. "But why did you say all that in a mix of Korean and Japanese? It's not like the mics pick this up!"

"I did?" Tomoya shouts back. Geon blinks, then shakes his head.

"Nevermind." Never mind then. Tomoya doesn't have the energy to care for more than what he has to care for right now. They grab each other's hands and run across the stage instead.

And if Geon shoots him a look for his energy immediately seeping out of him while running, then Tomoya is good at ignoring things.

⋆

Apparently, Tomoya is also good at not realizing things.

Their second concert at that venue is today, and before they leave the dorm, Yu, Seita, and he being the last to leave, Yu turns to Seita and presses a kiss to his cheek, then to Tomoya's.

Tomoya, who had been tying his shoes, barely registers it. He forgot to eat last night, but he did breakfast something today. His mind is on his original content right now, so he only belatedly realizes that Yu just kissed both him and Seita. He stumbles as he steps out of the door.

"Moya?" Seita offers his hand. Tomoya takes it, but he can't focus on that; Did Yu just cheat on Geon? Did those two break up? Should he...mention it?

Seita gives him a weird look, but leaves it.

⋆

The first sign was Tomoya stumbling during Beat-Boxer yesterday. The second sign should've been the fever that he clearly caught a week ago and never noticed, despite all his members noticing, and then sneezing all the time during practice today and just...never realizing. The third sign was him almost forgetting his part during Ride The Vibe today and then almost speaking Japanese during his ment at a Korean venue.

Haru could name more signs that this was coming, but those should've been the final straw. They should've put Tomoya to bed yesterday and made him rest. He's been running on a net negative for what? Days? Weeks? Maybe the whole month.

Haru feels bad. He wishes he would've done something.

He was closest when it happened. The stage lights turned off behind them after the successful encore, and Tomoya swayed, took a step, and managed to walk down the stairs. Stumbled but somehow still managed the walk to the changing room. Haru was so close. He should've seen the color literally leaving his face.

But when they entered the changing room, and Tomoya simply dropped to the ground, he froze.

⋆

The first sign was Tomoya shouting at Geon. Then his lethargic actions today, like his brain had been slowed down. Tomoya, slow. That's not normal. The third sign was him not registering when Yu kissed him this morning.

Tomoya hadn't been present during their talk; Yu knew it. He was the one who pointed out how out of it he looked to his new boyfriends after the talk. Geon had assured him that Tomoya would be the last one to miss out on a talk like that, wrapped around his right side, before Yuki had chimed in from his left side that he wasn't gonna stay in their bed with them if they decided to be loud, even if they were boyfriends now.

That had shut Yu up — he should've risked a grumpy Yuki and continued talking.

Haru walked in front of him when it happened. Yu had noticed Tomoya stumble, but he hadn't thought anything of it. It's dark, it was a long concert, they're all exhausted — who doesn't stumble sometimes?

He's busy wrapping around Seita beside him when they enter the changing room, and together, they bump into Haru.

"Moya!" Seita's out of Yu's arms immediately, but Yu doesn't take long to follow. Fuck. He should've noticed. It's his responsibility, as the oldest.

⋆

One thing about being the youngest member is that sometimes, his hyungs underestimate just how much he notices. Yuki thinks the first sign should've been when they all had a fever except for Tomoya two weeks ago. Tomoya hiding a sickness for the sake of the comeback? Likely story. The second warning sign was Tomoya snapping at Geon. The last one should've been that he kept messing up Japanese and Korean today.

Maybe he should've listened to Yu back then. No, Tomoya hasn't been mentally present for any talks lately, has he?

Yuki was trying to squeeze into the changing room beside Yu and Seita and hit Haru's shoulder instead, because the guy decided to freeze in the middle of the door frame.

Now maybe screaming was an overreaction — but Tomoya was standing a second ago, and then he was on the ground.

Yuki had been smarter than everyone else, though, because he turned around and ran to get manager hyung.

⋆

There was no first or last sign for Geon. Tomoya snapping at him is something that doesn't happen, period, and even if he had been offended that day, he knew something was off.

And then when Tomoya apologized to him in a very odd mix of Japanese and Korean, he knew something was really off. Tomoya had been fighting off a fever for a week or two for sure, and he hadn't slept in enough days for staff to notice.

He was not okay.

Geon was goofing off with Hyui when it happened. He should've told somebody what happened on stage, but he was so happy to be in front of Nex2y again that he forgot. And he couldn't wait to get to the changing room to pepper kisses all across his boyfriends' faces and just be themselves for until the cars came to pick them up.

When he heard a thud, his heart dropped and he realized what happened before he saw what happened.

And fuck, suddenly every word Tomoya had thrown at him didn't matter anymore.

⋆

Hyui had known something was bound to happen when Tomoya was up all night to battle his fever for a whole week and then forgot what he was awake for the day after. Hyui knew he was going to run out of energy soon.

He should've been able to tell it was today. He shouldn't have let Tomoya on stage for the encore, not after what happened during Ride the Vibe and during his ment.

But when they walked off and he saw Tomoya's form sway, he thought it meant nothing. Just a little stumble, it happens. Hyui knew Tomoya would not let himself show weakness, because thats un-idol like to him.

But then Yuki screamed, and Geon stopped his goofing off and — Yeah. Shit hit the fan. Hyui pushed past the others until he was beside Tomoya and leaned over him.

Fuck.

⋆

Seita had noticed the signs. All of them, all the ones his members later tell him. And more.

But he had trusted Tomoya. As much as he knew what he saw, he trusted his leader. He wanted Tomoya to trust them too, sure, but...

He noticed what happened with Tomoya's fever two weeks prior, and also that he most definitely got infected when the first of them, Yu, got sick. He noticed his scattered mind, his stumbles — everything. But he felt he wasn't in the position to mention it.

Tomoya was a better idol than him, no?

Maybe it's his fucking fault that they had to hear that thud. Yuki's scream, Hyui's worry lined face, Haru freezing. His fault.

⋆

Haru only unfreezes once everyone pushed past him. That's when he drops beside Tomoya and helps lift his legs up. Yuki brings manager hyung, Hyui holds his head.

God, he feels awful. But Tomoya looks awful. Cold sweat has washed his makeup off, and it seems like a serious fever has hit him. Twice.

Yu helps carry Tomoya to the cars, Geon carries the leader's bag. Haru makes sure to grab his phone from the charger and helps Seita look up sick foods on the way home.

Manager hyung tells him he'll cancel as many schedules as he can.

"Thank you, hyung." Haru had breathed, before squeezing into the back of a car not meant for seven people, one of whom was unconscious. Manager hyung had squeezed his shoulder.

"Take care of him," he had replied, then closed the door for Haru.

Now Tomoya's legs were up on his lap, Seita leaning over them to help Haru look for recipes. Yu's trying to prepare a cool wrap to bring his fever down with some makeshift gear from the car. Hyui has Tomoya's head on his lap and whispers sweet nothings to him. Yuki and Geon, on each of Tomoya's sides, kept checking his temperature and his pulse.

They arrive at the dorm and someone tells them a doctor will arrive tomorrow. Tomorrow is too late in Haru's opinion, but they'll be there for Tomoya for the time being.

The second they're in the dorm, the mood shifts. Yu gently puts Tomoya down on his mattress, and everyone helps gather more mattresses and pillows. They're not leaving his side tonight, no matter his fever, so be it that they all get sick.

⋆

Hyui helps Yu cook soup, a recipe Seita and Haru found, and he thinks neither of them has ever been this serious about some fuckass soup. But Tomoya is knocked out on his mattress, and no one knows what else to do, so soup it is.

"Temperature?" Hyui calls over. He trusts that one of his boyfriends will answer.

"39.9C°!" Geon calls back.

Fuck, that's basically 40. Hyui swallows his tears, but Yu kisses his cheek anyway. "He'll be okay. He just needs some rest."

"I know, just–" Hyui sighs and wraps his arms around Yu. "What we all said in the car. We could... we should have stopped him from running on.

"He's an unstoppable force." Haru chimed in from the doorframe, where he suddenly appeared, an empty cup in hand. He presses a kiss to the corner of Hyui's, then Yu's lips. "I was thinking of making tea for when he wakes up."

"Don't waste the heat just yet," Yu says, stirring the soup that's slowly cooking, "We don't know when he'll wake."

Hyui nods in agreement, then returns to the vegetables he was cutting again.

⋆

"No to tea for now," Haru shouts from the kitchen. Geon startles from where he's sitting, helping Yuki change Tomoya into a lighter T-shirt. Seita brings a cool towel over and puts it on Tomoya's forehead.

"Think he'll be fine?" Yuki whispers.

"Yes." Both Seita and Geon reply. "He'll wake up soon, I'm sure." Seita even adds. Geon nods.

He will, Geon just knows he will. He's Tomoya, who'd walk through fire if it meant he got to stand on stage. There is nothing that can stop him from doing what he loves most, apparently not even sickness.

Geon pulls Yuki closer and presses a kiss to the shell of his ear.

⋆

The light is too bright and somehow he's hot. Burning up inside, actually.

Tomoya whimpers when he wakes up and is greeted with shouting surely meant to rip his ears.

"Moya!" Six voice greet him. His heart squeezes, because he really loves his members so much, and also, because immediately, there are hands on him, caressing his cheek and patting his head and then there are lips on his cheek and a cool towel gets put on his head and–

"Guys, what...?" His voice is rough, yikes. He can't sing like that.

Tomoya tries to blink his eyes open, but the light is genuinely searing his sensitive vision right now. He whines and covers them with his hands, and someone beside him shoots to their feet. Judging by the sound of his steps, Haru.

"Tomoya, are you feeling better?" Seita reaches for Tomoya's hands and lifts them off of his face. Someone —Haru?— must've dimmed the lights.

Confusion strikes Tomoya; he barely remembers what happened today. Or yesterday? What day is it even? He doesn't remember anything but bits and pieces from the past week or so.

"I'm fine." He replies, though the rasp in his throat and the coughs that follow those words don't make him seem very believable. "What happened?"

"You fainted after the concert." Yu answers tugging Tomoya's blanket up. Tomoya responds to that by trying to push it off—he's too hot for a blanket, yet shivering. He tries to sit up. A mistake, seemingly, as a dozen hands or so suddenly grab at every inch of him they can reach and push him back against the pillows.

"What concert, what?" Tomoya grumbles. With the lights dimmed, he at least has the chance to look at the others, all huddled up around him. They exchange worried glances and Tomoya suddenly feels left out. What did he miss? What kind of sick inside joke is this?

"The concert we were at a few hours ago…?" Hyui answers, and reaches for Tomoya's other hand. "Y'know, at the venue with the big stage lights? The one we sold out?"

"I remember the venue." Tomoya rasps back. "But the concert isn't until— …Tomorrow? Two days? I–"

"You're out of it." Haru states firmly, then reaches for Yu's thigh and pats it, "Maybe soup can help now?"

Yu and Hyui exchange a look and nod, then Yu gets up.

"Guys, what?" Tomoya stares at his members, from Hyui to Seita to Haru to Yuki to Geon, to the spot Yu just left because his brain hasn't quite cataloged that he's left yet.

"You're sick, Moya. Like, seriously sick, you're coming down with a fever and who knows what exhaustion has done to you," Seita kindly fills him in, "Rest, we got you."

Everyone nods feverently to confirm Seita's words.

Tomoya does feel a little ill. If a little means limbs as heavy as lead, a twisted stomach, a buzzing head and sweating while being cold at the same time.

But…

"But I have to edit–"

"Nope." Yuki shoots to his feet, walks over to the coffee table where Tomoya's laptop still lied from his last all-nighter editing session, and grabs it. "I'm hiding this from you until you're well again."

"And our schedules? You can't–"

"Manager-hyung is taking care of that, he told me." Haru fills him in, leaning forward to turn the cool towel on Tomoya's forehead around.

"And what about you guys, what if I–"

"Infect us?" Yu asks as he returns with a bowl of steaming hot soup. "Don't care. What matters is that you, mister, have been hiding how awful you felt for weeks. We're gonna take care of you."

"But–"

"No buts." Geon whines and drops his torso onto Tomoya's legs. "You have to rest, so trust us."

Tomoya trusts his members. A lot. Nonetheless, he's the leader and it's his responsibility that they healthy and happy, and if he fails, then what does that prove? If he's sick and unable to help, then what does that mean for them? Can he–

"Moya." Yu holds out a spoon for Tomoya. "Stop thinking so much and eat."

⋆

Tomoya spends the next few days in a blur of feeling extremely unwell and feeling extremely safe between his members.

They kept their promise of not caring for whether they'll be sick and stayed close the whole time.

Yu, Haru and Hyui cooked something fresh every day, Geon was his personal heater whenever he got cold, Seita and Yuki helped him with medicine.

The first two days were the worst. Tomoya doesn't remember much beside writhing in pain and coughing every time he so much as wanted to say three words. Oh how he hates being sick.

Hyui lifted him off his mattress at some point so Haru could change his sheets while Yuki checked his temperature. Tomoya curled up in Hyui's lap while the thermometer poked at his cheek, and someone's hands found his hair; Seita's, who was supposed to head out and buy food.

Tomoya had leaned into the touch then, only later wondering about how strange it would've looked to outsiders.

Evening of the second day was even weirder. The others cuddled up close with him on the first night too, all of them on mattresses that they had carried to the living room, but this time, Geon straight up climbed under Tomoya's blanket and hugged him close, an arm around his waist. For a second, Tomoya had wondered whether Yu was okay with that, but then Yu had dropped on his other side and Yuki's torso had splayed over his legs and suddenly, all his members were physically close, creating heat between them.

Tomoya had lied awake for a while, trying to work through the daze in his mind to understand why they were acting like that, but unfortunately his mind was too foggy to come up with any sensible reason. And he wasn't going to complain about the absolute comfort he felt, cuddled up between his members.

"Yu?" Tomoya asks, one very early morning when he wakes up. He finally feels a little more clear in the head, like his fever is leaving, and he needs his temperature checked immediately. He's slept more in the past days than he has for the first half of the year, probably, so his body feels even more groggy when he sits up.

Yu, for some reason, is the only one around right now. The older blinks awake. "Morning, Moya."

A hand finds Tomoya's and Yu intertwines their fingers before pulling their hands closer.

"I think I'm finally doing a little bit better."

"You do?" Yu tilts his head and places his other hand on Tomoya's forehead. "I don't know, Moya…"

"I am!" Tomoya protests, only to be hit with a coughing fit a second later. Yu gets up and crawls over to the coffee table, grabbing a steaming cup.

"Here, Haru made you tea earlier."

"Where is Haru? Where are the others?" Tomoya feels like a needy pet, but somehow, waking up without the others felt awful today.

Timely, a certain ravenette peeks into the living room from the front door — Haru, fully dressed with a shopping bag in hand.

"Hey, you two." Tomoya watches him slip out of his sneakers and walk over, running a hand through Yu's and then through Tomoya's hair.

Tomoya watches, in slow motion, as Haru bends down to press a kiss to the corner of Yu's lips, before winking at Tomoya, "No kisses until I can be sure I'm not infecting myself."

Huh?

Yu rolls his eyes and punches Haru's leg softly, before asking about where the others are. Haru tells him that Seita and Geon are at the pharmacy while Hyui and Yuki are getting breakfast.

Tomoya can't focus on that, his mind just spinning from what he just saw and heard.

Dead serious, he turns to Yu, and grabs his shoulders, interrupting whatever he was telling Haru.

"Yu, why did you break up with Geon?"

⋆

For the record, Yuki told them so.

When Yu mentioned how absent Tomoya had seemed mentally for the past few days, including their relationship talk, he had told them, two days ago, that a sick Tomoya might not remember that they're dating and that they shouldn't overwhelm him.

Hyui and he had fun picking breakfast. They rarely get this many days off, but manager-hyung really knows how to talk to JYP to vouch for them, and so they got a whole one and a half weeks off!

So any opportunity needs to be used in the best way possible — the breakfast they pick isn't exactly healthy, but it's all the sweet cravings Tomoya likes so much. They pay and leave the bakery, holding hands.

Yuki is glad that it's cold outside, because this way, no one had looked at them weirdly with their scarves and masks and everything.

He had just put the bakery bag down when Tomoya's voice echoed into the hallway.

"Yu, why did you break up with Geon?"

"What?!" Yu's voice echoes back, even louder and high-pitched.

Hyui and Yuki glance at each other, then snort and break into laughter. Perhaps what Tomoya needs right now isn't a lenient breakfast, but an update about his own relationship status. And Yu's and Geon's.

⋆

Geon checks the medicine in the bag one last time before leaving the pharmacy, worried. Seita squeezes his hand and smiles before he pulls his mask up.

"We've got everything we need, I promise."

"And I trust you," Geon replies, staring down at the bag in his hand, "But I don't trust myself. What if I got something wrong?"

"You didn't." Seita shakes his head. He points at the bag and gives him a thumbs up, then they get into the car to take them back to their dorm. "I was there and would've noticed. And besides, Tomoya is already doing better. He'll be very much fine soon."

Geon sighs, "I know. Just…I still feel guilty, y'know? Like we should've noticed."

Seita slings an arm around Geon's shoulders and pulls him closer. "I know. I get that. I really wish it would've never gotten this far, but alas."

Geon sighs again and sinks against Seita's side.

Coming home to hearing that his boyfriend apparently broke up with him is…it's something alright.

Geon blinks from Tomoya, aghast, pale, still a little sickly looking, to Yu, amused, to Haru, also amused, to their two youngest, both fighting off a laugh right now, to Seita, who's rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Tomoya, we're all dating…?"

"Huh?"

Geon and Tomoya stare at each other, and Geon tilts his head. Is that what Yuki meant? "Yeah? We talked about it like, I don't know, two weeks or so ago? After we all got out of our fevers and shit."

There's almost smoke coming out of Tomoya's head from how hard he's clearly trying to remember that. Geon worries his lip, unsure if this is a good or bad sign, and glances at Haru, who just shrugs.

"It's fine if Haru kissed Yu, or joked about kissing you, but thanks for worrying." Geon carefully tries, finally causing Hyui and Yuki to laugh out loud.

⋆

Hyui can't help his laughter; Something in the mix of both Geon's earnest confusion and Tomoya's shock is making him cackle, and with Yuki dropping back on the mattress from laughing, there's no point in hiding it.

Seita beside them sighs, then reaches for the bag Geon and he brought. "Before we talk about that, we got some cough syrup today, that should help with your throat, Moya."

Tomoya mindlessly holds out his hand for Seita to give him the syrup, but Seita shakes his head. "I'm doing it."

Yu gets up in the meantime, still suppressing his own amused smile.

"Hyung?" Hyui asks, inbetween breaths.

"I'm preparing breakfast. You better prepare an explanation for Tomoya."

Hyui giggles even more at that, but a glance at Tomoya tells him that the older must genuinely be upset about this. Hyui would be too, even if his feelings for his boyfriends weren't different he'd be upset to have missed the actual talk.

He taps Yuki's thigh, who stops to look at him. Hyui points at Tomoya, who's currently being held by Seita to be fed his medicine. Yuki slowly sits up, then nods, understanding Hyui's silent plea.

⋆

Yu returns to a far more civilized situation, plates stacked on his hands. He's got experience with that now, being the unofficial cook of his group.

He's glad his food has helped the past few days, though. Hyui and Haru kindly helped where they could, and the others constantly say that his food is the reason Tomoya got better in no time.

Tomoya has settled between Seita and Haru, curled up to soak up their warmth. Hyui and Geon sit shoulder to shoulder, Yuki's legs over their laps. Yu crouches, and fortunately everyone is quick to grab a plate.

Yu smiles at the sight of everyone sitting so close, then settles beside Haru, happy to just watch the cuddle pile for a long moment.

"So…" Tomoya begins, breaking into another cough. It sounds better, though. "We're all together?"

⋆

The retelling of the hour-long talk that they apparently had barely rings a bell in Tomoya's head. He does remember sitting at a table for hours and sometimes saying something, but the content of what he said or what was told is wholly lost on him.

Somehow, warmth still blooms in him, not from the fever this time. He may still be a little sick, but the fog from his mind has mostly cleared, and by now, he can actually think again.

Tomoya briefly wonders if he's still included in the equation, even if he wasn't mentally present — he may not remember his exact words, but if whatever he said made him end up in the relationship, he must've said some correct things.

He hopes he is. Thinks he is, or else Haru wouldn't have joked about kissing him, nor would the others have cuddled with him every day. The love and care and warmth of the past few days still stick to him like honey.

Tomoya's heart feels full by the end of the conversation and his smile must be just as sweet as he feels, because Haru nudges him from the side and smiles at him just as brightly as Tomoya feels.

Tomoya drops his head on his shoulder and closes his eyes.

The story is…nice, he supposes. It's soft like a goodnight story even and Tomoya could listen to everyone laugh about it forever, just…

"Can I still get that?" He asks, interrupting Geon's giggled about how Yuki pretended to be disgusted by the idea at first only to end up super clingy.

"Get what?" Yu tilts his head, and the others also lean a little closer.

"That…thrill. Since I don't really– Since I don't remember it." Tomoya replies, suddenly shy.

The others get really quiet and Tomoya just knows without looking that they're glancing at each other right now.

"Tomoya?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want to be our boyfriend?"