The tickle in her throat started last night, but Hikari tried to brush it off. Today of all days, she could not let up today. She had a full morning of teaching and was assigned to present for her level at the last faculty meeting of the semester in the afternoon. Besides, she and Takeru were finally going out tonight to celebrate the release of his latest anthology next week, and her last day of classes today

Though they lived together, they hadn't seen much of each other lately, with Hikari leaving for work before Takeru wakes up, and him only arriving home after she had already fallen asleep. (She always tried her best to wait up for him, but he got home so deep into the night that she never seemed to stay up late enough, though not for lack of trying.)

They checked each other's schedules and realized they would both still be swamped in the coming weeks, him with the release and her with exam season, so this was their only chance to finally catch up with each other, and she wouldn't miss it for the world.

As each of her classes progressed though, so did the pounding in her head, and the tickle in her seemed to sink deeper as it settled into a wet cough. But she couldn't slack off now. After all, she was the teacher, and she wouldn't let her students suffer for her own comfort.

So she soldiered on, even as each cough seemed to ring only deeper into her chest and scratch her already raw throat. By the end of her classes, she had coughed so much that her voice was left little more than a whisper, and more than a few of her students wished her a speedy recovery and more rest now that the school year was over.

She returned each well wisher with the most sincere smile she could manage, though little could they realize that the work was just beginning. She had stacks of their exams and other school work to check, with piles of grades and other end year documents to accomplish besides. She would be lucky if she could get one even half-good night's sleep this week, with all the tight deadlines she'd need to meet by the end of it.

The day wasn't over though, and she had to sit through one last faculty meeting. She dreaded presenting her level's status report, afraid she wouldn't have enough of a voice to be heard across the large auditorium, but the thought of finally seeing Takeru later that night gave her the strength to pull through. She just needed to get through this one meeting, push through this final presentation, then she could finally enjoy the little reprieve they had both waited for weeks to reach.

She finished her presentation just as her voice began to fail her, and the whisper of a voice she had pushed to reach the four corners of the meeting succumbed to another fit of coughing. The principal congratulated her on a job well done, despite the evident effort it took, and bid her to have a good well-deserved rest (at least before returning tomorrow to complete her end-year requirements.)

She felt both sweltering and shivering, though she hoped this was just the nerve wracking experience of having just presented to the entire school. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. Finally, she was home free and could melt into the comfort of Takeru's warm embrace.

They would catch up over dinner and she would finally tell him all of the cute things her kids said, the latest updates in the faculty room, each stressful day leading up to the end of the semester, weeks worth of updates she had been saving for tonight.

Then she would sit and listen to him talk to her about anything, and everything: his book, his commute, or anything else under the sun. She simply longed to hear his voice, instead of just his slumbered breath before she left for work each morning.

They texted frequently throughout the day, but she yearned for so much more than those voiceless messages.

So when she got his latest text as she was in a dizzy rush to the train station, her heart dropped.

"Love, there were some issues with the release schedule. I was asked to stay for an emergency meeting, could we reschedule tonight? :("

Suddenly all the excitement she had been running on today seemed to die out, and she felt the full weight of her exhaustion. She was so tired she wanted to cry, to curl up into a ball and just sleep right there.

Her phone pinged once again. "I'm so sorry, love. I know we looked forward to this for a while. I'm so sorry :( "

She knew this wasn't his fault though. And that he felt terrible, but now wasn't the time for him to get distracted, not when his goal was so close. She knew just as well how hard he had worked throughout the publishing process, and wasn't going to let a little thing like a date get in the way now in the final stretch.

Working against a fresh wave of dizziness, she quickly typed, "Of course, I understand, love. Please do your best! Don't forget to eat! I love you, see you at home " to which he instantly replied "I love you, please eat well too! I'll make it up to you :("

A faint smile spread across her lips, before being thrust once more into another coughing fit. Maybe this rain check was a good idea. At least now she could take a nap. Maybe then she would even feel better by the time he got home, and they could still have a moment together over a midnight cup of tea.

Luckily, their apartment wasn't too far from her school. She was caught in an early evening shower just as she was crossing the last street from the station to their apartment, but was just too tired by then she couldn't even be bothered to pull out her umbrella. She was soaked but would be home soon anyway and could immediately change when she got there. All she wanted was to get out of the freezing evening air and sink into bed.

But the chill didn't stop when she got to the apartment. She struggled to turn up the heat with her shivering fingers, but she kept hitting the wrong buttons on the remote and no matter what she hit she couldn't seem to get warm.

After a while she gave up and sank into the sofa. Just five minutes. Maybe then the room would be warm enough, and her fingers would stop shaking. Maybe then her head would stop spinning and the irritation in her chest would let up long enough to leave her enough energy to get changed.

Just five minutes…

Her phone rang when she was half sunken into slumber. She fumbled to pull it out of her pocket and up to her ear, not even looking at the screen that now felt blindingly bright.

"Hmm?" she hummed with some strain.

"Hey, love. Just taking a sanity break from the meeting. It's a mess," echoed Takeru's familiar voice on the phone's speaker. "How about you? Did you get home alright?"

"Mm-hmm"

"You didn't get caught in the rain did you?"

"Mm-mm," she moaned in denial.

There was silence on the other end for a while, until Takeru said, "I'm sorry. Are you mad?"

That was the last thing Hikari hoped Takeru would think, not now when they were at such a critical point for his new publication. So with much effort, Hikari cleared her throat (covering the receiver when this triggered a few coughs) and said, "No, of course not. A little tired is all," she managed before needing to cover up another set of coughs, and hoping Takeru didn't hear them. He had enough to worry about as it was.

"Hey, hey, are you okay?" She heard the worry rising in Takeru's voice.

"Mm-hmm. Just—" she cleared her throat to stifle another cough. "—taking a nap."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Mm-hmm. Just sleepy." she said though her head was heavy and she struggled to control another cough that threatened to erupt from her chest.

"Okay…What do you want for dinner?"

"I could heat some leftovers. You?"

"I'll pick something up on the way home…" The line was silent for so long that Hikari almost dozed off. "...Love?"

"Mm-hmm?" Hikari strained once again.

"Rest well okay?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I'll see you soon?"

"Mmm-mm." she hummed, as a smile spread across her lips. She didn't remember ending the call as she finally drifted into a deep sleep, the thought of Takeru meeting her pleasantly in her dreams.

Hikari awoke in fresh pair of pajamas, as a cool hand on her neck triggered a coughing fit. Just in time, someone catches the cold stick that had been laying under her tongue. When she finally opens her eyes as she catches her breath, she sees it is Takeru, reading the thermometer to the phone held up to his ear.

"That's pretty high, isn't it? Do we need to go to the hospital?" he asks the person on the other end of the line, who seems to be explaining some instructions. Takeru replies to each of these with an 'Okay,' until he finally says. "Got it, thanks Jyou. I will," and puts the phone down.

Noticing she is awake, Takeru leans over to kiss Hikari's forehead and asks, "Hey, love, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she says before another cough.

"Okay then, " he says with an incredulous chuckle. "Since when have you been "fine"?"

Hikari doesn't answer. She can't remember herself right now.

"This morning?" Takeru asks. "I dreamt I heard you coughing before you left for work this morning. I guess it wasn't a dream," he sighs. (Hikaru looks away sheepishly, she had in fact strained to silence those so she wouldn't wake him up.)

"Sorry I didn't realize earlier. I should have checked on you then."

She wants to say there's no need to be sorry, but her head is fuzzy and words fail her. All she could manage is a shake of the head.

"I got some soup, would you like some? Then you could take some medicine too," he says, pulling a steaming cup of convenience store soup from the coffee table.

"Where'd you get those?"

"On my way home," he replies, before blowing a steaming spoonful to cool and bringing it to her lips. She couldn't even be bothered to protest, and lets the warm soup soothe her raw throat.

"When did you get home?"

"Just now. I'm glad you woke up soon enough. You were out cold when I got here. I was starting to worry," he says, blowing on another spoonful to serve.

"Sorry i worried you," she says. She peeks at the wall clock behind him to check the time. Just a little over an hour after their call, which was precisely how long it would have taken Takeru to get home.

"Didn't you have that emergency meeting?"

"I had another emergency to attend to," he says with a smile.

"I'm sorry," Hikari says before succumbing to another series of coughs. "What about your release?"

"I asked them to update me on the new schedule after the meeting."

"Wouldn't that be difficult if you can't have a say in it?"

"I say some things are more important than that little inconvenience, love" he says, feeding her the last spoonful of soup. "That's my good girl," he says with genuine satisfaction.

"Now, how about some medicine? Jyou said if we can't get your fever down soon we have to go to the hospital" he says, Turning to the table to open the box of cold medicine, "I got some syrup cause you sounded hoarse and a pill might have been hard to swallow."

Before he could open the bottle, she reaches from her place on the couch to wrap her arms around him. She attempts to stand for a proper hug but feels so tired she only manages to reach around his abdomen. She buries her heavy head into the soft cotton of his shirt.

"Sorry you had to miss your meeting for this," she says, struggling to hold off the coughs until the end of the apology.

"Sorry I had to cancel our date tonight," he replies, his hands gently combing his fingers through her hair. When his hands fall to her neck, he tries to caress the sweat off her warm skin.

She shakes her head, still nestled onto him. "You're here now," she says, and they hold each other tighter in an embrace. "I've missed you."

"I had to see you," he says in almost a whisper. "I was really worried."

"Sorry for worrying you, love. I'm alright, now that you're here."

Takeru nods.

"Get better soon?" he asks, in a voice almost pleading.

This time, Hikari nods, nuzzling her head once again into Takeru's shirt.

They hold each other for a few moments longer, until Hikari suddenly pulls away to avoid coughing on Takeru's starched shirt.

"So I guess it's time for that medicine," he says with a chuckle that barely covers up the worry in his voice, and once again picks up the bottle of medicine from the living room table, fully committed to tending to his beloved no matter what it takes.