Chapter 14: Sick M(i)e
I groan loudly and Miki comes rushing in through the bedroom door.
"You look awful!" He exclaims before bursting out in a fit of laughter.
"It's not my fault you got me sick!" I barely get the sentence out fast enough before I sneeze.
"Alright, I'm sorry" Miki eventually stops laughing. He picks me up and carries me over to the bed, where he lingers for a second.
"It's no wonder Akihiko didn't wanna put you down. You give off a 'have to protect' kinda aura" he looks at me fondly, and I have no idea how to react.
"Why? Is that bad?" I'm a little too worried over what's probably nothing.
"Nah" he shakes his head, "it's cute".
When I am safely tucked into my rightful sleeping environment, Miki runs off to get the cold & flu tablets. He quickly returns and I shove the small capsules in my mouth before washing them down my throat with water. There's a knock at the door (which never happens) and Miki goes to answer it. I run over all the possible visitors in my head, but none of them were this particular outcome.
"Honey, you got a little something everywhere" he criticises mercilessly.
"Don't I feel horrible enough?!" I whine.
"Probably" he chuckles.
"It's time to go to school, you comin'?" Miki addresses the other boy.
"Do you mind if I stay?" Akihiko isn't smiling now either.
"Take care of 'er" he tosses the only key and Akihiko catches it.
"Can do"
Miki leaves and Akihiko invites himself to sit on the bed. Maybe I do give off a 'have to protect' aura. Akihiko's not usually this decent... ever. But here he is, genuinely here to look after me while I'm sick. There's an awkward silence as I sleepily stare at him with both eyes. He brushes my fringe out of my face and softly strokes my hair.
"You should open both eyes more often" he says smiling.
"You think so?"
"Mhmmm" he nods, "they're beautiful".
The gentle action of him stroking my hair is calming, and I eventually fall asleep.
I wake up to find only myself in my bedroom. Maybe Akihiko was never here at all, and it was just a dream. I wander out into the kitchen and lounge area to find Akihiko lounging on the couch watching TV. I'm just glad he didn't watch me sleep like some sort of stalker. He turns his head to look at me and his relaxed face turns into a concerned one.
"What part of 'rest in bed all day' isn't clear to you?" He turns off the TV and begins walking over to me.
"I got hungry" I complain.
"Now who's the Stupidhead?" He picks me up and I am in no condition to protest.
He plops me down on the bed and tucks me in so there is no escape.
"I'll get you some food, alright?"
He returns with a bowl of blood soup which Yoshimura must've put in the bag for Miki yesterday. He tries to feed it to me, but I'm a big girl and insist on feeding myself. When I finish, I put the bowl on the bedside table and snuggle back under the covers to sleep again.
"Well, call out if you need anything" he makes his way towards door.
"Akihiko..."
"Hmmm?" He stops in his tracks and turns around.
"Can't sleep" I pout.
He walks back to the bed where he collapses next to me and props his head up on his arm. I roll onto my side to face him and I can feel a fuzzy warm feeling inside.
"You know, they say it's dangerous to invite a ghoul into your bed" he flashes black eyes at me before they fade back to white.
"You won't do anything" I mumble.
"You're right" he wraps his arms around me and I position my head on his chest.
"Won't you get sick too?" I look up at him to find that he's closed his eyes.
"I would go through anything just to hold you like this" he whispers.
I'm comfortable now, and I half wish that we could lie here like this for a very long time. Maybe one day, when I'm less sick... And more open to my feelings. I fall asleep for what only seems like a minute and awaken to find a delightful taste in my mouth.
"Why are you eating my hair?" Akihiko groans. I try to say "it'll grow back" but it comes out as "erer grawr brack". I finally manage to chew off the hair in my mouth from its roots and open my eyes to find him looking at me with an unamused face.
"You really only care about food, don't you" he strokes my hair again as I continue to nibble on his. I finish my mouthful, but it doesn't look like I'm getting anymore.
We lie there for a while and I'm feeling a lot better after some sleep. Our little conversation is about nothing of interest, but I could talk about nothing of interest with Akihiko like this for days.
"Akihiko-" My sentence is interrupted by his finger on my lips.
"Why'd you start calling me that now? What happened to 'Stupidhead'?" He asks. A question I am unprepared for, and don't have an answer for either.
"I guess I finally got to see your caring side" I shrug.
"I've always cared about you MiNeko" he places a gentle kiss on my forehead, "I love you".
"Please don't"
Asuna: So cute!
Akihiko: I'm adorable right?
Mie: She meant me!
Asuna: I meant you guys together…
Miki: They are cute right?
Katsu: Oh my god! Just shut up and get married already. This lovey dovey-ness is killing me!
Touka: Tell them about next chapter, Asuna.
Asuna: Right! Mie's last words linger in the air. Surprisingly, Akihiko DOES have feelings though and those feelings get hurt.
Katsu: Lies.
Asuna: Look forward to Chapter 15! (This is Chapter 14, right?)
Miki: Yes.