When Akihiko woke up, he automatically turned around to cuddle against Haruki but found the bed empty instead. Disappointed, he flopped onto his back, blinked at the ceiling, and yawned. Then he remembered that Haruki hadn't been feeling well and instantly sat up to slide out of bed, the need to check on him urgent.
Since Haruki was neither in the living room, nor the adjoining kitchen, there weren't that many options left. As Akihiko approached the bathroom door, the sound of running water and a soft voice humming a cheerful melody confirmed his suspicions.
From the sound of it, Haruki was chipper and fit enough to be back on his feet. Akihiko really wanted to walk in and see for himself but decided against it, letting his boyfriend keep his privacy.
He traipsed back to the kitchen and made some coffee. Haruki had taught him how to handle the fancy machine, always denying it was one of the high-end ones, and maybe it wasn't but it already had way too many functions for Akihiko to remember and ever want or need to use.
He poured himself a generous cup, once the coffee had been brewed, and lounged on the couch in his underwear waiting for Haruki to finish his shower.
When Haruki finally re-emerged from the streamy bath, he was wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe. His hair was loose and wet, and he was pressing the water out of long strands with a towel as he walked up to Akihiko, skin flushed a patchy red from the hot shower and vigorous scrubbing, he smiled when he saw his boyfriend was awake.
"Good morning!"
"Mornin'," Akihiko sat up and beckoned Haruki over with a big smile in return. He pulled him into his lap, a quick peck to the cheek to spare Haruki his morning breath, and took the towel out of his hand to take over the task of drying those golden strands.
"You look good, how are you feeling?" He wrapped a lock into the fabric and carefully dabbed the upper layer against it to soak up the residue wetness, then continued with the next strand of hair.
"After that shower? Like a newborn!"
"And the shower aside?"
"Still a little sore," Haruki admitted sheepishly, "but way better than yesterday."
"Mhm," Akihiko hummed in acknowledgement, hanging the towel over Haruki's shoulders, and turning him around to face him.
"The fever is completely gone?"
Haruki nodded, waiting for the scolding, but it never came. Akihiko just looked at him, then sighed.
"I made coffee, it's still fresh," he nodded over to the kitchen counter and Haruki's gaze followed the hint.
"Aww, I just brushed my teeth, though." The disappointment was genuine, he was craving a good cup, but minty coffee was a horrible taste on the tongue.
Demonstratively, Akihiko reached behind Haruki to take his mug from the table and emptied the rest of the coffee in one go right in front of his eyes. He finished with a satisfied sigh.
"Aah, that was so delicious~," he drawled, cheeky grin holding up for only three seconds until he burst into laughter at Haruki's cute little moue, pouting at the offensive action. He placed the empty cup back onto the table and used the forward lean to fully embrace Haruki, tilting them both to the side so they toppled over and landed sideways on the couch instead.
Akihiko was bent over Haruki, taking in the sight of that damp, golden hair spread out on the seating, amber eyes looking up at him glinting with mirth. The fluffy bathrobe had slightly slipped off a shoulder, granting him a peek at pale skin.
Haruki lay there wrapped like a gift and made it incredibly hard for Akihiko to withstand the sweet temptation. He wanted to devour him.
With an ironclad will Akihiko drew back and glared half-heartedly down at Haruki.
"Now that the bath is free, I'll take my turn. But if you still look like that when I come back, I can't guarantee anything," he warned with a finger-wag.
It took Haruki a moment to understand the threat (or was it a promise?), but when he did, a sweet pink dusted his cheeks and he chuckled.
"I'd love to but I'm not sure I'm already up for it, so you'd better take a really cold shower." Haruki smiled apologetically but it turned a bit impish when he started chewing on his bottom lip and his eyes wandered down Akihiko's naked torso to check the current state of his clothed crotch, before letting his eyes flicker up to his face again as if he'd done nothing at all, all faux innocence.
Akihiko loved it when Haruki was cheeky like that. It showed that he was comfortable in their relationship.
"Though, I should really pay you back for yesterday…" Haruki added after a moment. He looked like he still felt guilty about everything. His warm fingers ghosted over Akihiko's ribs in a light caress, almost apologetically.
It wasn't as if Akihiko didn't like the prospect of making out with his boyfriend, but the way Haruki had phrased it irked him, touching upon old bruises.
"No silly, you don't owe me anything. And never use that as payment." There was an edge to Akihiko's voice, even if he wasn't outright angry, and Haruki instantly nodded and apologized.
They had never completely talked about Akihiko's sexual past and the things he had done to have a place to sleep for the night whenever he couldn't return home. But Haruki had picked up a couple of things over the years anyway - despite Akihiko's efforts to hide that part of himself from him - and he was smart enough to realize he had stepped on a personal mine there.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just really missed you. We didn't have much time for each other recently and now, because of my stupidity, I forced you to spend time here when you have other things to do and we can't even make use of it…"
Haruki was back to looking tired and worn. If he was constantly overthinking and worrying about these things on top of everything else, he wouldn't be able to relax and recover properly.
"Listen, you didn't force me to do anything, ok? I care about you and what happened made me really worried. Of course, I would help you, I love you!"
That managed to put a small smile onto Haruki's face.
"I'm glad you are doing a lot better already. We don't have to do anything if you are not feeling well, just being able to spend time with you is nice. I want to make sure you're not jumping right back into work." There was a short pause to send a warning glare at him, before his gaze softened into concern.
"Haru, seeing you collapse like that was really scary."
Akihiko sat back, pulling Haruki up towards him. He didn't want to blame Haruki for what had happened but also needed to know how it had gotten so bad in the first place.
"Why didn't you say anything during rehearsal?" And there was the reproach.
Haruki looked down at Akihiko's collarbone and chewed his lips.
"I just didn't think it would get this bad. I thought I was just developing a cold and then, when I was heating up, I just wanted to cool down…Nothing helped and I was so dizzy, so I was just going to get some fresh air. I was scared, too, when I lost all strength."
Akihiko nodded. He kind of understood and yet he did not know how to avoid that problem in the future. If he told Haruki to let him know when he was even feeling the tiniest bit off, it wouldn't work. He wasn't the type to complain if things got rough and he was usually so busy anyway that a certain stress level was always there.
"Mhm, you know what? I am angry," Akihiko announced and Haruki instantly looked up at him, opening his mouth to defend himself. But Akihiko quickly put a finger on those lips to shut him up and shook his head.
"I am angry at myself." And now Haruki looked surprised. "I didn't notice how much water you were drinking. It was Mafuyu who pointed it out towards me and Uenoyama had noticed it, too. I feel like I should have paid more attention to you, realized earlier that something was up and… I don't know." He shrugged, helpless, frustrated with himself.
Haruki did not know what to say to that. Akihiko had been there for him, when he had needed him, and was still there now.
"Ok, we're not playing the blame game here. None of this was your fault. I met Take-chan at the end of my shift and I told him I wasn't feeling too fit and decided to ignore his advice. It was my decision and now I have to live with the consequences."
Haruki leaned forward to press a soft kiss against Akihiko's lips.
"I am glad you found me and grateful for everything you've done for me, truly. I do feel a lot better now thanks to you." He slung his arms around Akihiko's neck and put their foreheads together, closing his eyes.
"I don't want this to happen again, Haruki," Akihiko whispered. Just thinking about it made him feel sick. What if he wasn't around next time? What if Haruki got himself injured? They'd been quite lucky this time, all things considered.
"I'll try and take better care of myself." Haruki opened his eyes again to look straight into green ones. He'd noticed how affected Akihiko had been by this, even though he tried to be strong for him.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
They stayed snuggled up to each other for a while before Haruki broke the quiet.
"Didn't you want to go to the bathroom?" He giggled.
"Mhm, someone is keeping me from doing so, sitting on my lap." Akihiko's hands fell onto Haruki's hips, actively holding him in place. No effort whatsoever to the contrary.
"Oh, such a conundrum, what to do about that, mh?" Haruki squeezed his legs bracing Akihiko's, teasing his apparent entrapment.
Akihiko's fingers twitched and an evil grin spread across his face. Haruki grew instantly wary.
"Wait. What are you thinking about? Whatever you're planning, don't!"
But it was too late. Akihiko's long, dexterous fingers started a perfidious tickle attack, dancing over Haruki's sides and even the fabric of the bathrobe was no real, helpful barrier.
"NO!" Haruki squealed and erupted into laughter, tears shooting into his eyes. It was his ultimate weakness. Akihiko had never met anyone as ticklish as Haruki and he loved to exploit that chink in his armor to his full advantage.
"S-stop!" he gasped, barely able to get some much needed oxygen into his lungs, and pleaded a breathy "please~."
When Haruki was weak enough to be thrown back onto the couch, Akihiko let off of him, giving him some time and space to catch his breath.
Haruki instantly curled in on himself, protectively wrapping his arms around a couch pillow and hugging it close to his chest as a shield, throwing a wet and distrustful gaze upon Akihiko.
"I win!" Akihiko declared proudly, showing no remorse.
Squinting his eyes at him, Haruki grumbled, "that was foul play and you know it!"
To which Akihiko only shrugged nonchalantly. He received a soft kick to his thigh being actively banished from the couch and jumped up, now free to finally leave for the bathroom.
"Don't wait for me," Akihiko teased and a pillow came flying after him as he ran towards the bath. He smiled to himself, happy that Haruki was way fitter and more active again after last night.
"Take your sweet time!" Came the yelled reply and Haruki mumbled something to himself that was lost on Akihiko from a distance.
Yepp, definitely as good as back to his old self.