For James, who puts up with more of my crap than he probably should.
Warning: Author on painkillers
What Munakata Reisi hated the most about pretending to be a man wasn't having to stuff extra insoles into her boots. It wasn't having to consciously speak in a low tone of voice nor was it having to wind bandages around her chest. To put it simply, it was Mother Nature's monthly visit.
And here she was in her office, clutching her abdomen and trying to stop herself from doubling over in pain. It was taking nearly all her will power to keep her other arm on the desk, trying not to wince. All she wanted at this point was to curl up in bed under her blankets (and pretend that the heat from her hot water bottle was a certain redhead's body heat). She's normally lucky enough to take the really bad hits on weekends when she's free to be a moaning ball of misery.
She can't take it anymore and she rests her head on the desk, gritting her teeth and berating herself for letting her mask slip. She hears a knock at her door and looks up as it opens, praying it's just Awashima (she's the only one who knows).
"Captain, here are…" Fushimi drawls as he walks to the desk with a few reports in his hand. He stops short and his eyes widen slightly when he catches sight of Reisi's pained expression. He drops the reports on the desk and stalks out of the room.
At least he didn't make one of his usual snarky comments. Reisi lowered her head once more. This time, she closes her eyes and just lets herself relax. At this point, the pain was far too much for her to care anymore.
A few minutes pass before her door opens without warning. Before she can even open her eyes, Fushimi is next to her. He puts a hand on her shoulder.
"Can you walk? It's going to look strange if I'm carrying you around."
Slightly stunned, Reisi raises her head to look at her vanguard. His usual disinterested look has been replaced by one of concern. She nods and takes his proffered hand, using it as leverage to get out of her chair. He steadies her as she gets up shakily, wrapping an arm around her waist to support her.
Thankfully, they don't meet anyone on the way to the small private lounge. Reisi notices a few things that weren't here before as Fushimi locks the door behind them. There's a fleece blanket on the couch and a steaming mug of tea and a hot water bottle on the coffee table.
Fushimi takes off his coat and hangs it on one of the hooks before holding his hand out for Reisi's as well.
"You'll feel a lot better if you don't wear something constraining. Take your boots off as well."
He's right and Reisi vaguely wonders how he knows these things as she shrugs her coat off. She takes off her boots. She's completely unprepared for Fushimi to pick her up and she barely contains a surprised squeal as he carries her to the couch.
He drapes the blanket over her shoulders as she reaches out for the hot tea. It smells faintly of ginger and it warms her up from the inside. She closes her eyes and allows the warmth to soothe her pain. She opens her eyes as she feels additional warmth being pressed against her abdomen and realises that Fushimi has his arms around her and is holding the hot water bottle there.
She doesn't think she's ever had anyone do that for her before and she just relaxes into the comforting warmth around her.
"Well, I guess this explains the attraction to the Red King." Fushimi breaks the silence.
Reisi makes an irritated noise as she swats at him with one hand, careful not to spill her tea. She mutters indistinguishably as Fushimi chuckles. They fall silent again as steam from the tea fogs up Reisi's glasses.
"How do you know how to do all this?" Reisi finally voices out her question.
A slightly nostalgic look enters Fushimi's eyes. "I used to do this for Misaki too. She'd come screaming every month until she got her hot water bottle and tea."
"Wait. You're telling me that noisy skateboarder is actually a girl?"
"Don't you think Misaki is a pretty feminine name?"
Well, that definitely explained why the Red Clan's vanguard was that short. Reisi herself was considered to be a freakishly tall girl. She was only slightly shorter than Fushimi without the extra height from her insoles.
"How did you…"
"Figure out you were pretending to be a guy? The look on your face when I came in to give you the reports. I've seen that look on Misaki before. She usually isn't so docile though."
Reisi puts her now empty mug on the coffee table. Drowsiness is setting in and she wishes she could just curl up and sleep. The pain isn't bothering her that much anymore. Fushimi catches her stifling a yawn and he plucks her glasses off her face and puts them on the coffee table, out of her reach. He restrains her as she attempts to get them back.
"You need to sleep."
Reisi couldn't agree more as she yawns and stops trying to break free of Fushimi's hold. She curls up on the couch beside her vanguard and makes a small noise of surprise as her head is lifted onto his lap. She can vaguely hear him telling her that her posture will suffer if her neck isn't properly supported while she sleeps. Anyhow, she welcomes the extra warmth.
A few hours pass before a key is turned in the lock and Awashima bursts in looking for Reisi. She stops and blinks a few times, taking in the pair on the couch. Fushimi's fallen asleep, glasses askew, one arm acting as the support between his chin and the armrest. On Reisi's part, she's since snuggled up to Fushimi's thigh and there is a faint smile on her face. What really catches Awashima's attention is the arm Fushimi has draped over Reisi's shoulders.
She smiles to herself as she backs out of the room, re-locking the door. Maybe those two can finally get over their unrequited loves. She can probably start accidentally locking them in rooms and losing the key next month.
A/N: I am starting to think that this was probably a bad idea. This was sparked off by multiple conversations with TILAgal and this post on tumblr ( ask-scepter-4-trio .tumblr image/37831036556). Just remove the spaces and you'll see what I'm talking about.
On another note, you can drop me prompts in reviews or PMs and I'll see what I can do to fill them.