Disclaimer:Suikoden 3 and all the Vexen Knights aren't mine. I just merely borrowed them for some entertainment XD
English is not my first language, so you might find a lot of grammar mistakes in my writings x.x but hopefully it's still readable ::head desks:: Thanks to you all who reviewed this ficcu ::hearts:: I'll work harder to write faster and longer chapters XD
Anyway, enjoy the chapter X3
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Chapter 4 - Nursing the Sick
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It was hot. His body felt so uncomfortable as he was sweating under the thick blankets. Percival knew he need to stay under the blankets to get himself better, but the heat bugged him as he became restless in his sleep. The sick man tossed slightly and sighed in content as he felt the cool air touched his feverish body.
Before he got a time to enjoy the cool sensation, he felt the blankets stubbornly returned to cover his body. He groaned and kicked the intruding layers of sheet. Yet to have it returned to cover his body again, roughly this time.
Percival frowned and forced his sluggish eyes to open. His sight were still drowsy from the sleep he had for the whole day. Gladly the room was dimly lit that his eyes weren't hurt from the lighting. After a while, the brunette noticed there was someone in the room with him. He blinked and focused on the blonde man that stood beside his bed.
"Seriously, for God's sake Percival. Stops tossing the blankets away! Do you want to get anymore sicker than this?!" Borus forcefully covers his comrade's body and tucked him so he couldn't kick the blankets off anymore.
Percival stared at his comrade air-headedly and kept on staring. He never thought that Borus would actually care for the sick. He opened his mouth to speak though he could only cough. His throat was too sore to speak anyway.
Borus sighed and took a glass of water from the bedside drawer and showed it to Percival. "Can you sit up?" The blonde asked nonchalantly.
He could only chuckled helplessly at the blonde's question. "W-*coughs* well, I might need a little help here." Percival added with a weak grin. The glare that pestered on the other man's face said it all. The blonde didn't like the idea of staying in the same room with him.
Borus frowned at the fact that he need to stay in the same room with the brunette and took care of him like a nurse. Remember. Do it for beloved Lady Chris… This is for Lady Chris. Borus kept repeating those words like a mantra inside his head as he put the glass on the bedside drawer and moved to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Come on." Borus helped his comrade to sit up slowly and supported Percival's head with his shoulder. Carefully, he reached for the glass of water again and brought it closer to Percival's lips. The blonde could feel the other's shirt was damp from the sweat. Maybe I need to change his clothes too…
After the brunette replenish the liquid in his body, Borus helped him to lean on the bed again and covered his feverish body with the thick blankets. He glared quickly as he noticed how Percival tried to kick the blankets off himself again. "Do that again and I swear I'll nail those blankets down on your mattress so you can't take it off."
Percival could see how annoyed Borus was when he tried to toss the blankets off. And he knew, the threat was real when it came out from an angry blonde Vexen Knight. Borus smirked in triumph as he watched the brunette followed the order to stay under the blankets like a good boy. "There. Not a hard thing to do, right?" He added with a playful tone at the sick comrade. Which Percival replied with a snort and grumble.
Borus walked toward the brunette's wardrobe and pulled out a fresh change of shirt for the brunette. "You might need to change your shirt--" The blonde stopped mid-sentence as he pushed the wardrobe close. Wait… He's sick and he sweat a lot. Changing him into a new fresh clothing will be useless. I need to clean his body first, with a wet and warm cloth, that means I need to take off his… Without warning, both of Borus' hands slapped his own cheeks with a loud smacking sound, surprising both himself and Percival.
Percival sat up on the bed and watched the blonde boy held his red cheeks while murmuring something in front of the wardrobe. "Uh, Borus. Are you alright?" He asked softly, unsure what just happened with his friend.
"Oh, uh, nothing!" Borus replied quickly as he put the shirt tidily on the chair nearby. He walked toward the door and opened it. He turned to face the sick man right when Percival tried to get off of the bed. "Stay. I won't be long." The blonde said as he closed the door behind him.
The guards who were on their patrol noticed the blonde had exited the room and saluted the knight. "Sir Borus, Sir!" They said in unison.
Borus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose then sighed as the guards acknowledge him. He hoped that no one noticed his cheeks were burning, not because of the slap. But because of the thought he had about the brunette.
"I need some assistance. Could one of you fetch me a basin of warm water, a clean towel and a maid to help me with a clean up duty?" Borus opened one of his eyes to see the guards were gawking at him (and its indeed sounded weird, he himself thought of it as a weird request). Especially when he wasn't exactly coming out from his own room but Percival's.
"Well? Are you men deaf or do I have to repeat my self!?" Borus exclaimed in defense, at least it managed to stop those guards from staring at him. "N-no sir! Yes, right away!" Said one of the guards as he scurried quickly down the stairs to get what the Vexen Knight asked for.
"Good." He said softly as he watched the guard proven himself to be useful. Though he still felt some eyes were still fixed on him. Borus cleared his throat a bit, "When the maid is here, tell her to bring the basin in and she shall entered the room alone." He warned as he opened the door carefully and retreated back into the room.
The blonde exhaled loudly as he leaned against the door frame. He questioned his own decision, whether it was the right thing to do or not. Now he was very sure tomorrow there would be rumors about him and Percival flew around the castle. "I'm so dead." He said while thumping the back of his head against the door.
The lack of reply from inside the room caught Borus' attention. He stayed quiet and listened in for any sign of his comrade. "… Percival, when I enter this room, you better be still in your bed. Or I'll--" The threat died in his throat as he found the brunette knocked out on the bed, snoring softly. He raised an eyebrow at the sleeping knight. Wow, must be a strong medicine that one, he thought to himself.
Quietly, he stepped closer and stood there next to the bedside. He couldn't help but to stare at his sleeping comrade's face. The brunette looked a lot younger when all the stress lines weren't visible. Borus continued to ponder at that face for the longest time he'd ever imagined to stare at Percival's face.
As if he was drawn to the sleeping man, Borus uncertainly raised his hand and stroked the dark bangs gently off Percival's face. It was the same face that always made him feel irritated, but attracted too at the same time. Slowly his hand moved lower and traced Percival's face with his curious fingers.
Percival was like a perfect sculpture that the god had made. No flaws at all. He's smart, intelligence, strong, loyal. Everything that a man would wished or dreamed for. Borus carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at his comrade some more. He was sleeping so peacefully. And he was so glad that Percival actually sleep so deeply that he couldn't notice that he was actually being this close to the brunette.
A knock by the door brought Borus back to reality as he jerked away from the sleeping man and quickly pushed himself off the bed. "Come in." He called out for whoever it was outside to enter the room.
The door was pushed open and a maid walked in carefully with a basin of warm water in her hands. "I was told that you need this, Lord Borus?" The maid asked him with a soft voice.
Borus nodded and moved away from the bed to give the maid some space to do her work. The blonde beckoned her to go closer to the bed and pointed at Percival. "I bet you know what to do right? Clean him up because he need to change his clothes soon."
The maid noticed who it was on the bed and her cheeks flushed slightly. "Oh, uh alright…" She said nervously. A slight pang of pain flashed inside Borus' chest when he saw her reaction. What was that… He stayed quiet as he stared when the maid put the basin on the bedside drawer and dipped the towel into the warm water.
She pulled the blankets off Percival and slowly unbuttoning the sleeping man's shirt. Something gnawed on the blonde's heart as he continued to watch how the maid started wiping his comrade's chest with the warm towel. Stop. Stop it. Stop it, don't touch him. STOP.
"STOP!" Because he knew what he was doing, he had spoken what in his mind out loud. The maid stopped what she's doing and turned to stare at Borus with confusion look on her face. The blonde gaped slightly as he realized what he had done. Quickly, he grabbed the maid's wrist and dragged her away from the bed toward the door.
"I'm sorry, but I just remembered we have some errand to do." He said with a nervous chuckle, opened the door and shove the maid out. Borus closed the door behind her and started smacking his forehead against the thick door. "Why the fuck I told her to stop."
Now he had to do it himself and he didn't like it at all. Not one bit.
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(to be continued)
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A/N: LOL feeling jealous are we, Borus XD ::dodges flying chair:: so far this is the longest chapter I've ever wrote after chp1 lol and I guess the next chapter will be slightly longer than this one (because, Percival will be awake and Borus need to wipe his body with the towel ROFLMAO)
Don't forget to review XD!