In Sickness and in Health

A Haikyuu! oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The Haikyuu! characters belong to Furudate Haruichi-sensei, not to me. Never written a sick!fic before, but this seemed too amusing to pass up. ;] Read, review, and enjoy!

- ^-^3

Hanamaki Takahiro awoke in a daze. It was the kind of daze that accompanies a long nap and refuses to let go until maybe ten minutes pass.

But twenty minutes passed, and Hanamaki couldn't find it in him even to roll out of bed.

"Taka-chan…," his mother called from outside his bedroom door. "Are you all right? You didn't come down for breakfast. If you don't get up, you'll be late for school."

"I…am not going to school," he managed. Ugh. Speaking that much had taken nearly all his energy. When had he last been sick? He couldn't remember…though that easily could've been a side-effect of his grogginess.

His mother knocked and then cracked open the door. "Oh, dear…," she said upon seeing him, her brow crinkling with worry. "You must've caught a cold…" She entered and felt her son's forehead with a sigh. "You're definitely burning up. I'll go get you some medicine. Stay right here."

As if he needed to be told.

His mother returned with the medicine and helped him sit up and take it. Then she arranged some cool towels behind his head and neck and placed another across his forehead. "Oh, Taka-chan… I wish I could stay…"

"Go to work," Hanamaki mumbled. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"Are you sure? I could get someone to stay with you. Your dad already left for the day, but maybe Masuno-san from next door…?"

Oh, good grief. Even out of his mind, Hanamaki knew he didn't need their nosy old neighbor looking after him. "No…I'll be fine… I took medicine, Mom, just go…"

She frowned at him. "…all right. I'll let her know you're here, though, and I'll leave the door unlocked for her just in case. Don't be afraid to give a shout, okay, Taka-chan?"

"Go to work," he repeated.

His mother sighed and kissed his forehead through the wet cloth, and then she did as her son asked. It wasn't long before the house was quiet, so it was easy for Hanamaki to let sleep take him again, as uncomfortable as he was.

- ^-^3

By the time he woke for the second time that day, well in the afternoon, Hanamaki had the vague recollection that he'd dreamt while he slept, but things came to him in bits and pieces, a strange collage of odd ideas.

And then he heard some noise downstairs.

Hell, he thought. Masuno-san must've decided to check up on him. He just hoped that he was in his right mind enough to be pleasant to her—she was just the type to complain to his parents if she thought he misbehaved or was rude.

But making it downstairs was easier said than done. Hanamaki struggled even to sit up in bed, and his stomach warred with him about whether moving so much was a good idea.

"Gotta keep Masuno out of this…," he muttered to himself. He got one leg down off the bed, which was a tremendous victory. But he had two legs, and the other didn't want to comply with his wishes.

Then the noise downstairs came up the stairs. It wasn't really noise, per se, but the sound of someone's footsteps and rustling plastic bags.

The footfall wasn't heavy enough to be Masuno-san's, so Hanamaki concluded that one of his parents might've left work early to come check on him or take care of him. A part of him, the child in him, wished for that to be the case, while his seventeen-year-old self wished they wouldn't've left work for such a silly reason.

The person knocked on his door.

"Ah, Mom, Dad, go back to work…," Hanamaki called out. Though his voice didn't feel or sound very strong. Maybe it was more appropriate to think he was mewling? Ugh…

"Hanamaki-san?"

Hanamaki blinked. He really was delirious. He thought he'd heard…

But the door opened. "Pardon for the intrusion…" Yahaba peeked in and then stuck his head fully in once he saw Hanamaki was decent. "You were absent today."

The spiker gaped at him. "You—but—" And then Hanamaki toppled over.

- ^-^3

He woke again, and his head felt a lot better. His mind was still foggy, but he felt confident he could almost string a sentence together now.

"Why are you here?" was the first thing out of his mouth.

He really hadn't been delirious. Yahaba Shigeru was sitting in his desk chair, pulled up to the side of his bed. Yahaba put his book away. "You were absent," he said, as if that explained everything.

"Yeah, but…" Hanamaki coughed, and his head pounded. Bleargh. "You didn't have to come. Why aren't you at practice?"

"There isn't really practice to be at," the setter informed him, changing the towel on his forehead. "There's a cold going around. Oikawa-san has it, so naturally Iwaizumi-san caught it. Matsukawa-san was sent home after second period, apparently. Even Mizoguchi-san stayed home. Coach Irihata is strong as ever like an ox, but too many people were sick, so no club activities."

"But why are you here?" Hanamaki insisted.

"Since I live relatively close, I thought I'd check in on you."

Damn. So smooth. Hanamaki liked to think that he was a cool senpai, but sometimes Yahaba easily one-upped him, despite being a year younger. Hanamaki managed a smile while his head pounded harder. "It's funny…"

"What is?"

"I think my thoughts summoned you…"

"Hanamaki-san, just get some rest, otherwise your neighbor, Masuno-san, said she'd visit if she had the chance."

"Ugh, please, no…" Still, he gave Yahaba puppy eyes.

Yahaba sighed. "What is it?"

Hanamaki grinned. "I dreamed about you earlier."

"Oh, for crying out… Hanamaki-san, save your ideas for when you're feeling better," the second year rebuked, though his smirk told Hanamaki he was intrigued.

"I was thinking…you and me…six and three… Three times two is six…then I tried imagined me having two Yahabas…"

"Stop smiling like a kid in a candy shop. You're feverish." But Yahaba still chuckled.

"But the math doesn't work for Matsuuu…and Watari… Not for Oikawa and Iwa-Zu either…"

"Hanamaki-san, stop. You're giving our friends weird nicknames now. When was the last time you had some medicine?" Yahaba frowned at him and left for a moment to find the medicine.

Meanwhile, Hanamaki called out for him. "Ya…Yababa… Baba Yaba…"

Yahaba came trotting back and helped him take a second dose. "Are you trying to call me 'Baba Yaga'?" the setter asked, wary of just how lucid his senpai wasn't.

Hanamaki shrugged and beckoned Yahaba closer with his hand. "Yaha…"

Yahaba sighed and leaned forward. "What? I don't want to catch your cold, Hanamaki-san."

But Hanamaki waved his hand again. "Yaha…"

The second year was close enough now. "Yes?"

Hanamaki smooched him as thanks for everything. "Yahoo," he said triumphantly before laughing himself back down.

(Only the next day would Hanamaki regret making Yahaba angry with him for having passed along his cold. …still, it gave Hanamaki the chance to play nurse.)

- ^-^3

Idek…so don't ask. I just had those stupid jokes going through my head and figured Hanamaki would only be this silly when he's sick. But I like them together. It's kind of implied that they're already close at this point, but I didn't exactly want to say they were established in the summary, so apologies for any confusion. Ahh…don't you hate being sick? Just writing about it gives me a headache, and I haven't been sick for a while… *knocks on wood* Ah, well. Also, Matsuwata because hell yeah, and Oiwa/Iwaoi for obvious reasons. Lastly, if it wasn't clear—Hanamaki was doing jersey number math! Him (3)x2=Yahaba (6). But how he came to the conclusion that he might have two Yahabas is just bad math, *lol*.

Thanks for reading, and please review! Check out my other fics, too, if you enjoyed this!

-mew-tsubaki XD