AN: I know these always have typos and stuff because I'm not good at proofreading. But I've been having computer problems and wrote this using my phone so it might have more errors than usual.
Chapter 7: Sick Day Part 2: Fuutarou's side
Fuutarou had never really been in this situation before. Sure, Yotsuba and the other girls had gotten sick, but he was not really around for that. Anytime he or Raiha would be sick they would just stay home and take care of each other. He felt uncomfortable leaving Yotsuba alone. Maybe he should have asked Nino to take her to the hospital. Though, that probably wouldn't help matters.
He was working a lot slower. Occasionally he would check the time and his progress and see that he was not reaching his usual quota. He would rush through things to try making up for loss time but every time he would think back on Yotsuba. Was she okay? What could have made her sick? How long would it last? Was she really okay with him going to work? What if it got worse?
"Everything alright Uesugi-San?" Sado-San walked by on his way to lunch.
"What clued you in?" Fuutarou asked.
"You're not diligently typing at your keyboard." The older man noted. Fuutarou looked down. He silently cursed himself. He had stopped typing again.
"It's my wife." Fuutarou admitted.
"Ooh, did Yotsuba-San keep you up all night?" Takoyami interrupted.
"Does he look tired?" Sado asked.
"I've seen him sleep with his eyes open. I can never tell." Takoyami responded.
"Well, seems to me that you two had a fight." Sado inferred. "And a pretty nasty one judging by your expression."
"It wasn't a fight. She's sick."
"How bad is it?" Takoyami asked.
"I don't know. She was just running a fever and vomiting this morning. Her sister Nino is taking care of her but still ...this is the first time she's been sick since we got married."
"Ha." Sado started to bellow.
"Wait, but you've only been married a month now." Takoyami scratched his head.
"Here for a second you had me think she was in the hospital." Sado continued to muse. "Being worried about fevers is something parents do for their kids."
"She is such a child sometimes." Fuutarou defended. He didn't like being teased by his older co-workers. It just put him in a competitive mood.
"She's still an adult. And you said so yourself, that her sister is with her. Those Nakano Quints are a tight nit nigh impenetrable group from what you told me. She'll be fine."
"You said Nino is with her, right?" Takoyami asked.
"Yeah." Fuutarou said.
"Is she the one that's single?"
"Sort of?" Fuutarou shrugged. "Either way I'm not hooking you up with any of my in-laws."
"Aww but Uesugi-San, then we'd really be like brothers. Can I at least go home with you after work to meet her?"
"Takoyami-Kun, don't pester him over such frivolous things." Sado said. "Are you coming to lunch?"
"No, I've fallen behind on my usual quota. I'm going to work through my usual break." Fuutarou said as he started typing again.
"Don't work yourself too hard. Wouldn't want you passing out or getting sick." Takoyami said.
They were right. He should eat something. But the thought of food made him think about Yotsuba. She hadn't eaten breakfast and likely had no appetite on account of her sickness. On top of that she hadn't eaten much of anything for dinner the previous night either. Was that why she was sick? Or was that a symptom? How had he not noticed? Why didn't he see it coming? Was he that tired the night before? That's what bothered him the most.
Within the next hour his stomach was growling. Every rupture of his stomach made him feel bad about Yotsuba more than himself. He smacked himself in the face to focus on his work. Food was the least of their worries. Yotsuba wouldn't complain. She was too much of a sweetheart to make him feel bad about something she'd likely blame herself for. It's one thing they absolutely did have in common. They both had an emptiness that made them blame themselves anytime things didn't go their way. But they were married now. They were supposed to fill each other up.
The day was long and arduous. Far and away this was the worst day Fuutarou ever had at his job. Part of him wanted to work overtime to make up for lost time. But he knew he couldn't. He wanted to see his wife's beaming face. He longed for her infectious joy. He wanted to be the one who brought that back from her miserable illness.
When he finally got off work he checked his phone. He had messages telling him Yotsuba was alright. But he also had one from Itsuki asking if they could talk. He responded to it before driving home. If it was important, he was going to call her when he got home. Then she messaged him that she'd rather talk about it in person. He went ahead and gave her permission to swing by.
He arrived home and rushed inside. Nino was in the living room on her laptop. Yotsuba was sleeping soundly in bed. Nino has placed a wet washcloth on her head as she slept. The room was also relatively clean. Nino must have straightened up to pass the time.
"How was work?" Nino asked.
"It was alright." Fuutarou sighed. He bent over and kissed Yotsuba on the cheek. "Thank you for coming by on such short notice."
"It's no problem." Nino said. "I kinda miss taking care of everybody."
"You all did a good job taking care of each other."
"But Yotsuba always pushes herself the hardest." Nino sat down by Yotsuba and started gently rubbing her face. "You know she works herself to death just for you right?"
"What do you mean?" Fuutarou asked. "I know she works hard at everything she does but, part time at a florist and some community volunteer stuff. How is that for me."
"She loves you. Like nobody I know. She knows that you want to be the one working and paying bills. She doesn't want any more out of you than that. She told me herself that she's been doing a lot of odd jobs for people so she can get what she wants without burdening you."
"We're supposed to be fair. I work so she doesn't have to. She takes care of the house, chips in where she can and then occupies her time so she can just stay active." Fuutarou explained.
"She wants more than just to support you. We all want to support you. We're all family. She wants so much more than that and she feels like she has to earn it for herself."
"Like the pool table she's been clamoring about?"
"That's one example." Nino said. "But maybe you should stop dwelling on what she wants, and start thinking about why she wants it."
"That's easy. It's because she loves me. Because of everything I've done for her."
"There's something in between those two notions. You're going to have to figure this out on your own though. I doubt you'll ever get a straight answer out of her. I only figured it out after having lived with her for over twenty years. Let's see if the man she chose to live more than anyone in the world can figure it out even sooner."
"Is that a challenge?" Fuutarou grinned. The conversation was interrupted by someone opening the door.
"Uesugi-Kun?" Itsuki whispered as she stepped in. "Nino?"
"I guess I should get dinner started." Nino said.
"Yes please." Itsuki nodded.
"You don't have to." Fuutarou said.
"It'll probably take both of us now that this meat bun monster is here." Nino teased as she walked into the kitchen.
"Hey." Itsuki pouted.
"So, What is it you want?" Fuutarou asked.
"A drink to start off with would be nice."
"Is that it?" Fuutarou groaned. "Just came here to drink?"
"You could be nicer about it you know." Itsuki huffed. Fuutarou's nostrils flared and Itsuki's face softened. "Let's go out back for a minute." She said. On their way out she got a mug and poured herself some coffee Nino had prepared.
The sun had already gone down by this point. It was a half moon night. The autumn breeze gave a sharp chill to the air. Itsuki's hair had grown back to full length since the wedding. She adjusted her glasses and looked out into the stars. Fuutarou was already trying to decipher what she could possibly want.
"How are things at home?" Fuutarou broke the silence.
"Going good I guess. I'm hardly there between school and work and…." She trailed off.
"You know, when Ichika was in town, we went to the mall."
"Really?" She started to show her nervousness.
"Tell me….is this about Takeda?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"It's been obvious since before the wedding." Fuutarou said.
"That's the thing...I don't know." Itsuki admitted as she hung her head down. "Is this love or is it just another familial relationship like ours? Does Takeda really feel that way or is this how he treats everyone close to him?"
"I could easily tell you that he does. But you'd have no reason to believe I wasn't just making you feel better. I guess rather than scrupulously thinking everything over, there are things that are better learned by doing." He used her own words against her. It certainly lightened the mood.
"I'm beginning to understand how everyone else felt about you." Itsuki laughed.
"Weren't you in the same boat?"
"With you?" She shook her head. "Maybe I thought so a little back then. But I had nothing to compare it to. It was just a school girl crush. It was never as deep as the others. That would explain why I got over it so quickly."
"Yet here you are asking me if you and Takeda would work out."
"I don't want to deal with a broken heart. I don't want to cry like Miku and Nino did when you picked Yotsuba. I don't want to shelter myself the way Ichika did."
"Well maybe that sort of thing will make you stronger. Yotsuba and I….we got lucky. Simple as that. If you and Takeda don't work out, you could always date one of your students after they graduate."
"Ew no, I know I want to be like Mom but I'm not going to follow her that far." She blushed.
"I'm saying the four of you have options. Only thing holding Ichika back is work. Only thing holding Miku and Nino back is themselves. And right now the only thing holding you back is that fact that you're a socially awkward hot mess of a woman."
"Why you…" She growled.
"You also happen to be my best friend." Fuutarou said. "If I were to make a list of the people I trust most you'd be in third place behind Yotsuba and Raiha. Takeda would be fourth. So know this, that no matter happens, no matter how bad you two screw up, even if you break each other's hearts, Yotsuba and I will be there. You won't lose what you have right now. So why not try to gain something with that effort instead of being content and confused."
"You're right." Itsuki nodded. "Thanks for everything."
Nino and Itsuki has dinner with Fuutarou. Yotsuba woke up and tried to join them but didn't have the appetite to eat much. That much was oddly okay with Itsuki, who proceeded to eat her serving. Yotsuba also didn't talk much.
After dinner Nino and Itsuki went their separate ways. Yotsuba laid down but was wide awake after sleeping all day. Fuutarou pulled up a chair and sat in the bedroom with her while she watched a shark special on TV. Yotsuba tried saying she was feeling better and kept a smile on her face. But Fuutarou saw through it. She was still miserably sick. But he couldn't help but suspect there was something else to it. Why not just play the part of a sick girl and let Fuutarou baby her?
"Are you sure everything is alright?" Fuutarou asked.
"For the four-hundredth time yes." Yotsuba said.
"I'll ask you twenty-eight more times just to make sure."
"Cute."
"Itsuki and Takeda are going to finally be a thing."
"She tell you that?"
"She asked for advice and I gave her the same advice she gave me before we started dating."
"What an interesting role reversal" Yotsuba sighed.
"Is there anything special you want when you feel better?"
"I can think of a few things." She answered. "Like that pool table. Or ...well, fun stuff."
"Fun stuff." He repeated. If he could figure out the whats and maybe hear her explanation, he could figure out what Nino was talking about no problem.
He got an integral piece of the puzzle when he went to the bathroom. There was a box and something else in the bin. He looked down and then picked it up to examine it. It was a pregnancy test. And inside it was a used test. He looked at it and looked at the result. It was negative. They must have suspected that the abrupt vomiting was a sign of morning sickness and tested her.
What does she want and why? The questions continued to echo in his mind as he held the box close to his face. Was this just a test to be sure? Or ...was this what Yotsuba wanted? What was her reaction to the result? What would he have done had it been positive?
Fuutarou didn't like dwelling on that last question. It would have depended on Yotsuba's reaction. They probably made enough to support a kid but would Yotsuba be content with being a mother and raising a kid this early on? Why does she support him? Why does she do volunteer work? Why did she seem upset at more than just being sick? Why did she rush to get a pregnancy test? These questions did not allow for Fuutarou to sleep as soundly as he had previous nights.