When A Flu Spreads
It was a morning after the day it snowed. Hikaru knew that it was his fault; he had dragged his brother out to the garden with him the previous day to view the first few snowflakes that fell. The feeling of watching the hundreds of tiny snowflakes of different shapes and sizes drifting down from the sky with the person he cared for most was almost overwhelming. The two brothers had enjoyed lying on the damp grass and staring up into the thick blue sky while the snowflakes landed with a gentle icy sting on their arms and faces. Before long though, the temperature had dropped too much, forcing both twins back into the house.
The next thing Hikaru knew, Kaoru had come down with the flu. Guilt gnawing at him, Hikaru watched as Kaoru lay in their bed sleeping, cheeks pink with fever. Hikaru himself sat on a chair by the bed, making sure Kaoru's fever did not escalate. Since both their parents were overseas at that moment, Hikaru took on the responsibility of tending to his ill brother.
Despite Kaoru being ill, Hikaru could not fully shove away the thought that his younger brother was extremely cute when he slept like that; curled up like a ball while hugging a pillow that blocked half his face from Hikaru's view. It was moments like this that made Hikaru feel like embracing him. Hikaru shook his head, banishing the thought. How could he think of such things when Kaoru was not well?
Kaoru stirred slightly from his sleep, shifting his position so that the pillow he was hugging did not obscure his face. "Hikaru…" Kaoru called out in his sleep. Kaoru then hugged the pillow tighter, burying his face in the soft cushion, and smiled. Looking at his little bother, Hikaru blushed. He was grateful that no one was around as Hikaru sprinted into the bathroom, nearly knocking over a lamp on their bedside table.
In the bathroom, Hikaru stood in front of the mirror looking at the pink blush that had spread across his cheeks. For a while, Hikaru stood there rinsing, drying and re-rinsing his face, waiting the desire out. When he was certain the blush had been eliminated, he went back into their bedroom. Kaoru was sitting upright, looking around the room sleepily.
"When did you get up?" Hikaru asked as he strolled over to the chair he was sitting on for the past 2 hours.
"A few minutes ago. Hikaru, where were you? Aren't you supposed to be taking care of me?" Kaoru pouted.
"What? I can't even go to the bathroom?" Hikaru answered with a smile. "Anyway, are you hungry?"
"Not really. I don't really have an appetite now." Kaoru frowned and laid back down on the bed.
Sighing, Hikaru took a piece of pastry with jam from the table and shoved it in Kaoru's face. "You missed lunch; I had to eat all alone. So, as punishment, you have to eat this." Hikaru flashed his mischievous grin.
Playing along, Kaoru took a nibble out of the pastry and said with mock reluctance, "Well, if it's punishment…" Taking small bites, Kaoru slowly ate his food.
Hikaru watched silently while sitting on the chair. The room was warm; it was still snowing outside so the maids turned up the heaters. The warmth enveloped Hikaru and the low hum from the heaters lured him towards sleep. His eyelids felt heavy. Hikaru laid his head on their bed and closed his eyes. The last thing he felt before sleep came was a hand gently patting his head.
When Hikaru finally awoke, he found that he was still in the odd position he fell asleep in; half sitting on the chair with his head on the bed. Sitting up, he turned his head from left to right, relieving the ache in his neck. He noticed that Kaoru was asleep. Hikaru glanced over at their alarm clock. It was about an hour since after he fell asleep.
Although Hikaru had just taken a nap, he still felt tired. He got up to get some water. It was about time for Kaoru to take his medicine. When Hikaru returned from the kitchen, two glasses of water in his hands, the surrounding temperature felt like it dropped. Slightly confused as to way the temperature had plunged down, Hikaru turned up the heaters after setting the cups down.
"Kaoru," Hikaru whispered as he gently shook his twin's shoulders, "Kaoru, its time to take your medicine."
Kaoru's eyes slowly fluttered open. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Hikaru smile; Kaoru was acting cute again.
"Onii-san, your face is a little flushed, are you alright?" Kaoru asked.
"Wha-what? Really?" Hikaru asked, surprised. Kaoru grabbed Hikaru's thermometer from the bedside drawer and handed it to Hikaru. "Kaoru, I'm fine."
"Only one way to find out."
Reluctantly, Hikaru took his temperature. Before he could see the screen of the thermometer, Kaoru reached out and plucked it out of Hikaru's hands.
"Hikaru, looks like you caught a bit of my fever," Kaoru announced
That explained the tiredness and the chills, Hikaru concluded. Without warning, Hikaru hopped onto the bed. Under the covers, Hikaru wrapped his arms around his brother.
"Wha-what are you doing, Hikaru?" Kaoru stuttered. The boy's cheeks burned a bright red and Hikaru knew it was not just from the fever.
Pouting a little, Hikaru said, "Whose fault do you think it was that I got a fever? So take responsibility and keep me company while I rest."
"But you might catch more of my flu!" Kaoru protested.
"Its okay, I won't mind." Hikaru said matter-of-factly.
"But Hikaru-" Kaoru was cut of when his older brother kissed him on the lips.
It wasn't the long, hungry kiss Hikaru wanted to plant on Kaoru's lips; if he did, he wasn't sure he could stop himself from doing other… things to his cute younger brother. No, this was just a peck. Something that Hikaru could not stop himself from doing at that moment to save his life. Kaoru blushed hard, his ears going bright pink, silenced by the unexpected kiss.
"It's okay if I catch your flu cause even if I do, you'll keep me company right, Kaoru. And if you get better before me, that's fine too because my cute onii-san would take care of me. Now, let's sleep. We need to rest." Hikaru said in a soothing voice. He snuggled into the pillow, fully aware that it was the pillow Kaoru had been hugging before.
Still a little bit shocked, Kaoru agreed and laid back down and closed his eyes. He was still blushing. A while later, when Hikaru saw Kaoru's sleeping face, he could not resist anymore. He scooted nearer to Kaoru and gingerly placed another feather-light peck on the sleeping twin. Satisfied, Hikaru pulled the covers up so that it covered their entire bodies, up to their noses. What Hikaru didn't was that Kaoru was still awake and under the covers, both twins were smiling.