In Sickness and In Health
5th Down: Solace
Mamori quickened her steps and quickly tried to hail a cab. The taxi cars drove by without noticing her since many cabs were occupied by people used it as shelter from the pouring rain. She had stupidly run out without an umbrella, but tha was the last thing on her mind. She needed to speak to Hiruma – no she needed to see him.
-0-
The phone had rang and she picked up, knowing who it was that would call her in the middle of the night.
"Yes, Hiruma-kun?" She yawned a bit.
"Fucking manager." His voice sounded different as if he was suppressing something as best he could. Being with him as his manager for three years now, she knew how his voice sounded like. She had heard how he sounded angry, irritated, happy, and serious. This one was different.
"Hiruma-kun. What's wrong?" She asked, her motherly instincts took over.
"Nothing. I just wanted to tell you I'm not going to practice tomorrow since I have shit to do." Mamori knew he was lying. Nothing ever surpassed the importance of football. He was the man who changed his Saikyoudai entrance exam to a different date just because it interrupted Deimon's practice. Only God knoew how he managed to pull that off though.
"Hiruma-kun, I'm coming over." She stated.
"Dammit, fucking manager. Stop treating me like I'm one of those brats." She heard the annoyance in his voice, but that didn't mask his attempt at suppressing something.
-0-
Hiruma groaned and checked his forehead which was burning up. He muttered some curses. He should be making some food or eating medicine, but his weak body was telling him to stay still. He had just gotten off the phone and regretted even making the phone call. By now, the fucking manager probably had a hunch that he was sick. He wouldn't expect anything less from her; this was the same woman who memorized the football rules in a day and created a secret sign language that only the two of them knew. He heard the door unlock and he cursed again. He had planned to pull a prank and let her stay outside for a little while, but that failed when he realized that he gave her the spare key. He had wanted her to wait for his new Sony Vaio laptop which was supposed to be delivered during the Wizard's practice time.
"Hiruma-kun!" He could already heard the concern in her voice.
"What?" He didn't even have the energy to finish off the statement with "fucking manager". He looked up to find her in Rocket Bear pajamas which were now soaked and clinging onto her body, showing off her every curve. He never expected her to look this sexy despite being in that kiddy outfit. However another concern destroyed that thought from his mind as quickly as it came. "Did you run here?" He took that silence as a yes.
"I'll go make some porridge for you, I bet you haven't eaten yet!" She didn't even need to ask where everything was since it was usually her who bought all the healthy food for him. If he had it his way, he would be chewing mint gum and eating cup ramen all day. She took out the carrots, seaweed, and rice and took out a pot. "Go back to bed." She said when she saw him making his way over; poor guy could barely stand. She pointed him in the direction of his room.
"You're soaked, fucking manager." He coughed out. "Go change."
Mamori loked down and realized her light pink pajamas were now a darker shade. It did feel uncomfortable so she went into his room, took a pair of boxers and a black t-shirt. She walked into the bathroom and tried to squeeze out as much water from her clothes and undergarments before hanging it in the bathroom to dry. She then changed into the black shirt which was too big for her and into the boxers which barely managed to fit her thanks to the elastic waistband.
She walked out of the bathroom and found Hiruma quietly watching over the pot. He felt a hand wrap around his waist and she helped him back to bed. He chuckled, who would expect the day would come when the ex-disciplinary officer was in his apartment wearing his clothes. It had an after-sex look which he would have teased her about had it not been for the jackhammer going off in his head.
"Hiruma Youichi, you are going to stay in bed and sleep until the food is done, then I'm going to feed it to you. If you got any problems, you can talk to the flamethrower that I'm going to use on you if you don't listen." She threatened. She seemed to have an affinity for fire. Rice-kun can attest to that.
He decided it was better to just listen; he didn't have the energy to pick a fight. The quarterback pulled the covers over him and he found her standing on the side of his bed, tucking him in. All she needed to do was to kiss him goodnight to top it off. He felt something cold on his forehead which felt nice and he drifted off to sleep.
-0-
Mamori stared at his sleeping face a little longer than mere friends should. It was if she was trying to etch all the details of his face into her memory. She hovered a finger a little above his forehead and traced his profile slowly. She smiled, even the devil can look cute sometimes. She checked the time; it was 2:00AM. She needed to get some sleep too, but at the sound of Hiruma's discomfort, she ignored the sleepiness and the fact that she had class the next day. Classes weren't her biggest concern since she was doing well and she could always get the notes from Taka or Yamato. She spent the next two hours changing the towel on Hiruma's head and dabbing his lips with water. Once the porridge was done, she told him to wake up and he just ate a small bowl without putting up a fight. He drifted off to sleep and she washed the dishes.
-0-
Hiruma woke up and looked at the time, it was 6:00AM. He saw some red strands of hair on the side of his bed and found Mamori asleep. She had slept in a sitting position and used the side of his bed as a pillow. He could hear the light snores, but things turned bad when she sniffled.
"Oi, fucking manager." He nudged her; she looked up at him with her face slightly flushed.
"Hiruma-kun." She coughed and her eyes widened. Hiruma started laughing which caused him to cough also.
"Looks like we're both fucking sick."
She groaned. "I'm going to sleep on the couch. Is there anything else you need?"
Hiruma scoffed at how she was still concerned about him when she was sick now. He grabbed her wrist before she could move and scooted over on the bed.
"What?" She asked, confused by his actions.
"I only have one blanket and the living room's fucking cold."
"It's okay, I'll drink some hot tea..." She sniffled.
"Just get in."
"But-"
"You're letting the cold air in." With that said, he pulled her on the bed and covered them both with a blanket. He felt her shift a bit until she settled comfortably on the bed. He could hear her fain snores as she let the sleepiness overcome her. He quickly texted Yamato that practice would be overseen by him because today he and the fucking manager were busy scouting other players. After that was done, he slyly scooted closer to her, allowing himself the freedom of smelling the scent of rain which still clung onto her hair that spread across his black pillow.
He had planned to wait out the sickness by himself in the first place, but having someone there isn't so bad.