Haruka ate his dinner in Ikuya's room, watching as Kirishima-san argued with the sick child about letting her feed him. She won easily, but it was a relief for Haruka to see Ikuya looking so spirited. Considering how fragile and ill he was when Haruka got there, he had to admit, his presence did seem to be helping. He wondered if by morning Ikuya would even still be sick at all.
Ikuya was still being fed his dinner when the front door opened and his father announced his return home. His mother rose in a fluster and quickly asked Haruka to take over, closing the door behind her as she left to greet her husband and tell him the news. Ikuya snatched the bowl away from Haruka and finished the broth on his own, while Haruka sat quietly and listened. He could hear voices but he wasn't sure what was being said. Natsuya's voice was there, too, and the voices were growing louder.
As footsteps approached the door, Haruka gulped. They were too heavy to be coming from Natsuya or his mother. The doorknob turned slowly and the door was pushed open, and it was indeed Ikuya's father standing there. Haruka was watching him, and he could feel Ikuya shrinking under the covers.
"Otou-san…" Ikuya whimpered.
"It's true, then," Kirishima-san grunted. "My family went behind my back and brought that boy here."
Haruka didn't like the way he spoke about him as though he wasn't in the room. He maintained his position on the edge of Ikuya's bed, his eyes following the man as he entered the room properly and started to approach them. His mouth began to feel dry; it was one thing to be indignant towards someone in your own home, but an entirely different matter when it was their home.
"Otou-san, please don't get mad at Haru," Ikuya plead, his voice cracking. "The doctor said-"
"I know what the doctor said!" His father snapped. "And I can see that it's working. When I left this morning, you could barely even speak. And now look, you're sitting up in bed eating and talking."
Behind Ikuya's father, Haruka could see Ikuya's mother standing in the doorway with Natsuya just behind her. Her concerned expression made him uncomfortable; hadn't she been the one who said to leave this man to her?
"As long as you two are bound by this thing," Kirishima-san said, grabbing Ikuya's arm and turning it so that Haruka's name was visible. "I can't stop you from seeing each other, or I risk my dear son's life like this." He turned his attention to Haruka, saying with a hiss, "And since I can't reason with you," before returning his gaze to Ikuya, "I'll allow you to return to school once you're better. By no means does this mean I approve of this relationship!"
After a deadly glance in Haruka's direction, Kirishima-san walked out, flanked by his wife. Haruka couldn't hear what she was saying, but it sounded like there was going to be another battle fought in private between them. When he turned his attention back to Ikuya, he had to pull the soup bowl from his shaking hand.
"At least he didn't kick me out," Haruka said, though he knew this issue ran deeper than what transpired tonight. Setting the bowl on the floor, Haruka took hold of Ikuya's arm, gently turning it so he could read his name. He ran his fingers over each tattoo-like character. "I still don't understand how this works," he admitted.
Pulling his arm away, Ikuya sunk back into the covers and turned on his side. "Will you keep reading to me?" He asked.
Haruka took up his position on the floor and opened the book, picking up from where he had left off before. He pretended not to notice when Ikuya started to sniffle, and he certainly didn't let on that he could hear him whimpering. After a while, Ikuya grew quiet, and Haruka felt sure that he was asleep.
Natsuya came in with a futon for Haruka, as well as some pajamas he could borrow and a few things like a toothbrush and drinking glass. "Sorry about my dad," he apologized. "I know he didn't show it, but he's really glad that Ikuya is doing better, and he knows it's because you're here with him."
"There's nothing to be done about it," Haruka shrugged.
"I suppose," Natsuya sighed. "Anyway, the bath is open if you want to use it. I'll come wake you up for school in the morning, so don't stay up too late."
At some point during the night, the light from the door being opened woke Haruka. He watched Ikuya fumble his way out of the room and wondered if he should go with him, but he considered the likelihood that he was going to the bathroom and decided it would be best to let him go by himself. Even if it was well-intentioned, he could imagine the chewing-out he'd get if he tried to go in with him. And that was just from Ikuya.
After a couple of minutes, Ikuya returned, and Haruka pretended to still be asleep. He listened as Ikuya shuffled his way around the futon, then jumped as the covers were pulled back and Ikuya started to get in with him. "Oi!" He whispered harshly.
"Shh," Ikuya hushed him. He squeezed himself in and pulled the covers back up, nestling close to Haruka.
Haruka could feel Ikuya's hot breath on the back of his neck. Before he knew it, Ikuya had draped an arm over his waist and was snuggling in even closer. "Ikuya," he whispered, "if your dad sees us like this he'll kill me!"
"He won't," Ikuya mumbled, though it was unclear whether he was certain his dad wouldn't see them, or that he wouldn't kill Haruka if he did.
With an exasperated sigh, Haruka closed his eyes. Truth be told, if felt kind of nice that Ikuya wanted to be so close to him. He just wished he didn't have to be, well, so close. Even if it was still January and cold, Ikuya's fever made him feel like a hot iron pressed against Haruka's back. After he was sure Ikuya was asleep, Haruka rolled over, putting some space between them. He took Ikuya's hand in his and kissed his fingers before whispering "Good night," and finally falling back to sleep.
"I should have warned you," Natsuya grinned, standing over the futon. "He's a cuddler."
Haruka blinked his eyes open and immediately realized that things were not as they were when he was last conscious. Somehow, he had rolled onto his back, and somehow, Ikuya had sprawled out on top of him. With one arm curled under him on Haruka's chest, his legs splayed, and his face nestled against Haruka's neck, Ikuya was still soundly sleeping.
"How did-?" Haruka began to ask, but he realized it would do no good to question it. Looking up to Natsuya for help, he grimaced when the older boy just laughed. "How do I get him off of me without waking him up?"
"Mmmnn," Ikuya mumbled. His arms came up around Haruka's neck and he started to nuzzle him.
"You're already awake, aren't you?" Haruka grumbled.
"Sadly, no," Natsuya sighed. "He has no idea he's doing this. Although, later, when he's awake, if you try and tell him he was like this he'll vehemently deny it."
"Either way," Haruka started to gently shove the smaller boy off of him, "I need to get up."
"Just give him a good shove," Natsuya shrugged. "Even if he wakes up it's his own fault."
Haruka considered the idea, though he decided it would be better to let him sleep and continued to slowly work his way free of Ikuya's grasp.
Though he was expecting an onslaught of questions from Makoto, it was Asahi who ended up striking a nerve with his curiosity that day. Since morning he kept looking at Haruka, opening his mouth as if to ask something, then closing it and looking away. At lunch, while Kisumi was being distracted by a group of girls, Asahi finally worked up his nerve.
"Hey, Haru," he said, his voice uncharacteristically low-volume. "You know what's going on with Ikuya, don't you?"
"What makes you think that?" Haruka asked, hoping to avoid giving a straight answer. As far as Asahi knew, Haruka had just as little information on Ikuya as anyone else. At least, that's what he thought.
Asahi shuffled his feet before leaning close and whispering, "Y'know, there's a rumor going around about you and Ikuya."
Haruka, who had managed so far to eat two bites of lunch, set his chopsticks down. "Oh?"
"Yeah," Asahi nodded. "Some people in our class, and in his class too, have been talking about it. They've seen you guys sneaking off together and no one is quite sure what for. So I figured you might know why he hasn't been around."
Haruka sighed. He was relieved that Asahi didn't seem to suspect the truth behind their meetings, but it did irritate him to learn that rumors were starting to spread. "Isn't he just sick or something?"
"That's what Natsuya says," Asahi grumbled. "But it seems to me there's more to it than that. I mean, he's been out for a long time. As the leader of the first year swim club members, I'm worried about him." As he said that, he found himself unable to look at Haruka. "I'm still mad at you, you know. I couldn't believe Ikuya would forgive you so quickly, either. So I thought something else had to be going on. That's why I thought you might know."
Picking up his chopsticks again, Haruka refused to respond. Asahi had said his part and that was that. He wasn't going to rejoin the swim club. Though, he did believe this showed how much of a bond had formed between Ikuya and Asahi. Even though it often seemed like they couldn't stand each other, Asahi was concerned enough to speak to Haruka, whom he probably resented.
After school, Haruka returned to his home, though he didn't remain for more than a couple of hours. He arranged it with his mother to stay another night at Ikuya's side, just as a precaution, and arranged it with Makoto to look after Makkou again. This time, he was able to pack his own things, including fresh clothes for the next day at school.
Natsuya came to pick Haruka up after training with the swim club. It had been decided before they left for school in the morning that this was how it would happen. Even though Haruka was fairly certain he could make it to Ikuya's house by himself, he needed someone to let him in, and someone had to be there to chaperone, apparently.
"I'm back!" Natsuya called as he opened the door. He waited for a moment. "I brought Haru with me!"
From somewhere in the house, Haruka could hear clambering footsteps rushing towards them. A few seconds later, Ikuya appeared, his eyes bright at the sight of Haruka. Breathlessly, he smiled and said, "Welcome home."
"I see how it is," Natsuya grumbled. "You don't care about me anymore."
"Th-that's, huff, not true!" Ikuya breathed. "Natsu-nii."
"You seem to be feeling better," Haruka said, showing a soft smile before turning away with a shrug. "I guess I'm not really needed here, after all."
When Ikuya had caught his breath, Haruka could see that he actually was still a little sick, despite the energy he was exerting. He was dressed and his eyes were bright, but his shoulders slouched and he still seemed to be breathing a little heavier than he normally would.
"Is Haru allowed to sleep in my room again?" He asked, walking with Natsuya and Haruka into the living room.
"I don't know," Natsuya replied teasingly, "if anyone other than me walked in while you two were spooning, it'd be pretty bad."
"Spooning?!" Ikuya repeated, his voice going unusually high and his cheeks tinting pink.
"I'm not sure you can call it spooning when he was laying on top of me," Haruka argued. He smirked as Ikuya's face got redder.
"True," Natsuya conceded. "I suppose it was more like cuddling."
"C-cuddle..?" Ikuya stuttered. He couldn't look at either of them.
"I might even go so far as to say he was snuggling you, Haru," Natsuya nodded.
Haruka held his chin thoughtfully and nodded along. "I can only imagine how it went while I was still asleep," he added.
"Sh-shut up!" Ikuya cried. His head was hanging towards the ground, making the reddened tips of his ears visible through his hair. "I remember getting under the covers with Haru, but I… I don't remember that!"
Natsuya looked at Haruka and chuckled. "Well, you sure didn't want to let go when it was time for Haru to get up for school," he teased.
"You were holding me like this," Haruka said, walking up to Ikuya and putting his arms around his neck. He pressed their bodies together and rested his head on the smaller boy's shoulder. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but he had to prove his point. "And then you started doing this," he mumbled, nuzzling his face into Ikuya's neck.
Hands came up and pushed Haruka away. "Stop it!" Ikuya shouted. His face was bright red and his eyes began to well up with tears. "Why are you making fun of me?"
"Ikuya," Natsuya said gently, all mischief gone from his countenance.
"Sorry," Haruka muttered. It wasn't like he was telling lies, but he did press it farther than he needed to. He thought, since Ikuya liked him enough to kiss him and be his boyfriend, he might be able to find what he did in his sleep cute.
"I can't control what I do in my sleep, you know," Ikuya snapped.
Haruka stepped closer to Ikuya again, one arm going around the smaller boy's waist, the other raising to wipe the tears from his eyes. "I know," he said gently. He braced himself to be pushed away again, but instead Ikuya's arms slipped behind him and he drew close, holding Haruka loosely while resting his head on Haruka's shoulder. Haruka held him while he calmed down, leaning his head against Ikuya's. He was tempted to nibble on Ikuya's ear, which was teasingly close to his lips, but he refrained, deciding that it was not the time or the place. As he stood there holding him, he began to wonder, just when did he start to fall so hard for him that a thought like that would even cross his mind?