Reki leans against a tree and closes his eyes briefly. He sighs as he blocks out the game screen from view. He'd spent the past several hours fretting about what should have been Balmung's work. His brain is fried. He is just beginning to feel his thoughts drift away from The World when he hears simulated footsteps padding up behind his avatar.
"Reki," a voice says lazily. Reki opens his eyes and turns around. Sure enough, there is Balmung towering over him. Wordlessly, the winged administrator nudges him with his foot. Reki takes this to mean 'scoot over', so he shifts slightly to the right. Balmung uses this opportunity to plop himself informally beside Reki. He brings his knees close to his chest, folds his arms over them, and drops his head. Reki feels a pang of guilt for all the frustration he'd felt towards his boss, but this guilt proves to be short-lived.
"I have the worst hangover," Balmung announces, groaning. Reki furrows his eyebrows, feeling cross.
"I've been up all goddamn night doing your work, and why? Because apparently you were too busy drinking. I swear, sir, I don't-" he pauses, mentally grasping for the right word to express his distaste. "I don't know anyone but you could be this painfully oblivious."
Balmung raises his head from his arms and stares Reki directly in the eyes. Even in the game he looks out of sorts.
"My sister is sick," Balmung states. "Really sick," he adds as an afterthought. Once again Reki finds his anger melting away.
"Oh…" he trails off somberly. "Is that why you didn't come in today?" he asks, though he already knows the answer. Balmung nods. He slumps over and rests his head on Reki's shoulder. After a few moments (during which Reki's heart was pounding in his ears, much to his chagrin), Reki prods him in the shoulder. There is no response.
"Sir?" Reki implores. He doesn't even hear the sound of Balmung's breathing, and assumes he has wandered away from the computer and to the toilet to empty his stomach of what Reki assumes to be a vast amount of booze.
"Sorry," Balmung says after a few minutes. He lifts his head off of Reki's shoulder stares into the distance.
"Do you, uhm, need anything?" Reki offers.
"Soup," Balmung declares. Reki rubs his temples.
"I meant anything that I can actually get you," he says in response. Balmung pauses, thinking.
"Soup," he repeats earnestly. Reki hears him typing something, then a PM appears in the corner of the screen. Reki opens it to find Balmung's address. He blushes.
After poking through his cabinets for a can of soup and a twenty minute bike ride, Reki finds himself outside of his boss' apartment building for the first time. He squares his shoulders and presses a button that corresponds to Balmung's apartment.
"Yes?" Balmung's voice emits from the speaker.
"It's me, sir," Reki says a little too loudly, speaking directly into what he assumes is the microphone.
"It's open," Balmung explains. Reki opens the door to the building and ascends two flights of stairs to reach Balmung's apartment. The door is, indeed, ajar, and Reki pushes it open with his shoulder.
The apartment is a disaster. Clothes are scattered across every imaginable surface. Dishes overflow from the sink. Papers litter the floor, some of them important documents; Reki makes a mental note to chastise Balmung for that at a later date. He grimaces; his boss definitely lives too much in his own head and not enough in the real world.
"I brought canned soup. Sorry, it's all I had. Would you like me to heat it up for you?" he calls into the apartment. A mound of blankets shifts on the couch and Balmung's head pokes out.
"Please. There should be a pot in the sink…somewhere…" he mutters, then pulls the blankets back over his head. Reki can't help but roll his eyes as he takes the can of soup from the plastic bag he is carrying and busies himself trying to find and clean a pot.
Reki prepares the soup in silence. At some point, he hears Balmung's soft snores emitting from the mountain of covers and he smiles slightly to himself. After cleaning a bowl and spoon, Reki pours the soup out and carefully carries it over to his sleeping boss.
"The soup is ready, sir," he announces. He seats himself on the floor next to Balmung's head. He has to repeat himself once before Balmung stirs.
"Thank you Re-, er, Fujio," Balmung fumbles as he sits up, smiling weakly. Reki rubs the back of his head nervously. He's never seen Balmung in such a fragile, vulnerable state.
"You can call me Satoshi," he says hesitantly. He hands Balmung the soup, which the older man accepts gratefully.
"Satoshi…" Balmung nearly whispers. He lifts a spoonful of soup to his mouth, blows on it gently, then consumes it. He lets out a long sigh.
The two sit quietly as Balmung eats. Reki's mind is racing. He wonders why he just gave Balmung permission to use his first name. He wonders why he even took the time to bring him soup in the first place when he has plenty of other things he could be doing that would be vastly more productive. He also wonders what could have driven Balmung into such a miserable state.
"We're not sure if she'll live," Balmung says quietly, as if reading Reki's mind. "We don't even know what she has," he continues before Reki can ask. He sets the spoon aside and drinks the rest of the soup straight from the bowl. He then collapses back, eyes closed. It isn't long before he drifts back into sleep.
Reki feels slightly uncomfortable as he watches Balmung doze. He isn't sure if he should leave or stay to make sure Balmung is okay, well, as okay as he can be. Nervously, he lifts one hand and uses it to brush Balmung's dark hair out of his face. He can't help but be struck by the stark contrast between his boss' black hair and his white-haired avatar. He lets his hand linger slightly too long, and notices Balmung shift. Reki swallows hard. But instead of admonishing him, Balmung brings his hand up to meet Reki's and intertwines their fingers.
"S-sir?" Reki stutters, but Balmung shushes him and gently rubs the back of his hand with his thumb.