It was a good thing Iruka knew his way around Kakashi's house so well, having been there a number of times. He had barely gotten Kakashi in the door of Kakashi's family complex before he pulled away from him, falling to the ground with one hand over his mouth and the other clutching his stomach. Either something was funny, or Kakashi was about to blow chunks, and Iruka was going to place his bets on the latter. Without waiting to find out, he pulled Kakashi up, steering him towards the bathroom. Thankfully, he got him there in time, and the silver-haired man dropped in front of the toilet just as the heaves started. Iruka, no stranger to comforting the sick, rubbed Kakashi's back soothingly and pulled his hair back out of the way.
Kakashi, in the meantime, was wondering just how many times he could puke in a day before the next heave sent his stomach up with it.
Thankfully, the retching stopped before that happened though (as interesting as it would have been) and Iruka left his side, only to return a moment later with a wet washcloth for the back of his neck, and a cup of water to rinse his mouth out with.
"Thank you," Kakashi muttered through clenched teeth. He had to say it, even though each time his vocal chords so much as twitched, it made his stomach do another flip in his gut.
"Don't talk yet, Kakashi-kun, okay?" he gave Kakashi the cup of water. "Small sips." Kakashi didn't bother replying, in favor of rinsing the disgusting taste out of his mouth. The water did very little to help that, but at least it got the acrid muck out of his mouth.
Kakashi pushed himself back, leaning against the wall of his tub as Iruka flushed the toilet, and turned back to Kakashi. "Kakashi-kun, do you think you can make it to bed now?"
Oh the possibilities, Kakashi mused. Or the impossibilities, because he was missing out on all of them. It was, after all, rather disappointing that he had the sensei in his house asking him getting bed, of all things, and the only thing Kakashi could manage to do was nod. At least this time it didn't almost make him pass out.
As carefully as he could, Iruka helped Kakashi up, pulling his arm over his shoulder and wrapping his arm around the silver-haired teacher's slim waist. He was surprisingly light, for someone so tall. It was a good thing, too, because even though Iruka wouldn't consider himself weak, he certainly would have had trouble moving him otherwise.
Iruka managed to get Kakashi into bed so that he was sitting and then sat back. "Do you need help getting changed or…" he began awkwardly. Not that he would mind helping Kakashi change into some nightclothes. Not at all. But that didn't mean that the question wasn't awkward. Kakashi might think it strange to have someone else undress him.
Kakashi saw the blush on Iruka's cheeks. Iruka wasn't comfortable with the idea, so as much as it was going to suck, he sucked it up. "I got it," he mumbled. Iruka nodded quickly…really quickly. Was he that eager to avoid that little situation?
Iruka nodded quickly, and turned away, hoping to get out of the room before Kakashi saw his disappointment. He felt silly for being disappointed at something like that, given the situation, but really, why wouldn't he want a chance to see Kakashi with a little less clothing? Not naked or anything, but with his wardrobe that never varied from pants and at the very least a single layer of t-shirt (even at swim parties, damn it!), his physique was as much a mystery as the eye he kept hidden under his bandana. So Iruka was curious!
No, bad Iruka. You were asked to take care of Kakashi, not molest him with your mind, Iruka chided himself as he headed into Kakashi's kitchen. It, like everything else, save for, oddly, Kakashi's room, was a mess, and Iruka decided that while he was there taking care of Kakashi, he would clean all of that up. Kakashi's bedroom was actually impressively immaculate.
It wasn't, however, like he could get started on any of that while Kakashi was changing. He doubted it would take him that long, and he figured he'd spend some time with Kakashi once he got him situated in case he needed anything. Maybe he could get him some sleep.
He remembered though that Kiiro had said something about orange juice. Granted, he figured that the whole "until his eyeballs float" thing was probably a little bit of an exaggeration, he didn't think that the entire thing was just a joke. If it was a problem with his immune system, then it stood to reason that a little good old fashioned vitamin C would probably help him.
Opening Kakashi's refrigerator, he realized that there would be no shortage of the aforementioned beverage. There were three cartons of it just in this refrigerator, and he was willing to bet there were more in the cupboard.
"He must really like the stuff," Iruka muttered to himself. He wasn't so sure how it would go over on a sick stomach though…He remembered that when he was sick, carbonation usually helped with the nausea. His usually just chugged a Sprite. Looking around the fridge, he didn't see any Sprite, but there was some off brand something that looked kind of like it, so he took that and the orange juice, checked the expiration date on both of them (because let's face it, at this point, Iruka could safely reach the conclusion that for the most part, Kakashi was a slob) and then fixed him a drink. About half and half of both, some ice, and a straw.
Once he'd put everything back, he decided that Kakashi had probably had enough time to get changed, so he headed back that way, taking a little time to marvel at the sheer size of Kakashi's home. It wasn't a mansion, by any stretch of the imagination, but he had an entire complex all to himself. It had to get sort of lonely…
He dropped that thought when he reached the door and heard quiet curses coming from behind it. He knocked, but didn't wait for an answer, pushing the door open. Kakashi was inside, sitting on his bed doubled over with his arms wrapped around himself. Iruka quickly sat the glass down on the bedside table and hurried to him, gently unfurling him. "Kakashi! Kakashi, what's wrong?!" Iruka asked, barely managing to keep his voice down through his frantic worry. Kakashi's pallor, which had been improving since his bout of nausea, was now almost grey, and his face was twisted into a grimace.
"Happens," Kakashi choked out. "Oxycodone," he gasped, hand pointing over to his dresser. Iruka nodded and started looking through his dresser, finally coming up with an orange prescription bottle. He read the dosage instructions quickly, and shook out one of the pills. Kakashi took it from his hand as soon as he reached it and dry swallowed it. By now the vein in his head was throbbing visibly, and Iruka could see his muscles tensing and shaking beneath his sickly pale skin. Iruka was trying really hard not to panic. Kiiro had said this was normal, right? Said that he didn't need to go to the hospital.
But this didn't look normal. Kakashi was all but screaming now, and the Iruka was having to work to keep him from toppling forward to the floor. Iruka forced himself to keep a straight head though.
"Shh, it'll be okay," he told Kakashi, pulling him to his chest and rocking him as Kakashi gripped his sheets in a white knuckled grip.
Kakashi, at the time, was too utterly miserable to be able to enjoy the sensation of being held in Iruka's arms. The pain flared like this, sometimes, and usually it was this bad. Only this time, there was someone around to hear him scream, and he happened to be the one person Kakashi especially didn't want to hear him do just that.
It hurt Iruka to see Kakashi in so much pain. He didn't see Kakashi as the type to make a big fuss over nothing, so to have him so clearly hurting like this…it was unimaginable the pain Kakashi had to be in.
Slowly, Kakashi started to relax in Iruka's arms. He was no longer writhing, just laying still, his breathing quick and shallow. "Shh," Iruka continued, running his fingers through Kakashi's hair.
The pain was starting to recede. It was there, damn it was there, but it wasn't as bad. It wasn't the kind of pain that drove him to madness, just the kind of pain that made him want to curl into a ball and disappear for a while. He was tired now…so tired…
Iruka could see Kakashi's grip on the sheets loosen, and felt him go slack in his arms. Thinking he was asleep, Iruka laid Kakashi back on the bed, pulling the cover up over his form. Now that he was finally resting, Iruka decided he should leave him in peace.
Only…when he turned to leave, a hand gripped his wrist. He turned, and hazel met steel as his gaze was immediately drawn into a single, half open eye. He wondered how it was possible for someone so obviously close to unconsciousness to have such an intense look.
"Don't go," Kakashi whispered. Two words. Two very simple words.
And they were all it took. With a gentle smile on his face, Iruka sat back down on the bed, leaning his torso against the headboard of the bed. Kakashi released his hand only once he was back with him, turning on his side and lifting his head from the pillow and into Iruka's lap.
Iruka was shocked for a moment, but decided that it was only because Kakashi was half asleep that he cuddled so close to him. It didn't matter though, because as Iruka threaded his fingers gently through soft silver locks, he realized:
It just felt right.