Minato groans when he feels icicles prod at his overly warm face. He squirms away from them and blinks open bleary eyes to find not icicles hovering just centimeters away but the little fingers of his student. "Ka—" he croaks only to start coughing.
The boy, unmasked, and frowning, presses his frigid hand against his papery lips. "Don't speak, Sensei," the boy advises. "You're not well."
He wipes at the tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "Mh," he grunts. Minato then lays a hand flat on the floor beside his futon and tries to push himself up.
Kakashi immediately tries to drag him back down by latching small arms around his neck. "No," he argues. "Stay down. You need rest."
Minato is undeterred. Sneakily, he wraps himself around the boy and pulls him down with him. The boy gripes at this but also doesn't try to knee him in the gut. Likely because he doesn't think it's a fair fight with him being healthy and Minato sick. That's too bad for Kakashi because he's not above playing dirty.
Using his larger size and weight to his advantage, Minato flips them and effectively pins his student beneath him. The boy realizes this too because he whines, "Minato-Sensei!" Minato smirks and, quick as lightning, he gets to his feet.
"Sensei!"
He ignores the boy's shouting in favor of lumber to his bedroom door. Opening it, he practically bursts into the next room. Stumbling to the kitchen, Minato can't say he's surprised when he sees Kushina at home in it. She stands at the stove, turned towards the doorway, lips pursed and a hand on her hip.
"Minato," she greets. "How are you feeling?"
He grunts and goes to get a drink from the sink. As he does so, Kushina chides, "I thought I told you to keep him in bed." Minato looks over his shoulder to see Kakashi standing where he was just moments ago.
The boy glowers at his girlfriend. "He tricked me," Kakashi complains.
Kushina scoffs. "I thought you were a genius," she flings at the boy.
Minato makes a sound of protest around the gulp of water he's downing. Kushina and Kakashi both look at him. He pulls the glass from his lips and clears his throat. "That's enough," he creaks. Feeling more himself than a few minutes ago, Minato migrates to the table. Pulling out a chair, he plops down in it with a sigh. "'Kashi was a good nursemaid," he tells Kushina. "Very gentle," he expounds, lips lifting in a teasing way.
Kakashi huffs and stares at his toes as Kushina giggles. Minato uses his foot to push out the chair across from him. "Kakashi," he calls. "Come sit."
Grumpily, the boy does so. When he's sitting there on the other side of the table, Minato asks, "Did you send for Kushina?" He gestures at himself. "This is just a bad cold."
Kakashi won't meet his gaze. Kushina, however, has no problem explaining on his behalf. "He needed somebody to get medicine. You don't have any, apparently," she says. She frowns. "What's with that?"
Minato blinks. "Ah," he replies. "I guess it just slipped from my mind. It's not as if I'm sick very often."
Kushina huffs and turns back to the stove to stir a soup Minato cannot smell through his stuffed-up nose. "Sometimes, you're such a dummy," she mutters. "A responsible person always makes sure they have some on hand."
He rolls his eyes. Minato could point out responsible people don't let their sinks be cluttered with days-old dishes but he doesn't. He knows Kushina is only worried. To soothe her fretting, he promises, "I won't make the mistake again, Kushina."
She sighs loudly. "Good," she declares. She then orders Kakashi, "Get the bowls out and glasses too. The soup's done."
Usually, Kakashi would demand to know why Kushina couldn't do it herself. However, today, he scrambles to comply. Minato watches with wonder. Did he scare Kakashi badly? He starts to feel bad. He must have. It's unlike his student to reach out for help. Minato wonders if he hadn't woken to his students calling and poking before. Or if he'd seen his flushed face and become frightened at his searing skin.
As he swallows phlegm along with his guilt, Kakashi puts down bowls for Kushina on the counter beside the stove. "Thank you," Minato's girlfriend replies curtly.
She ladles out the soup between the bowls, and with Kakashi's help, brings it and glasses of water to the table. Minato looks down as one of the bowls is pushed his way. He isn't feeling particularly hungry. He picks up his spoon anyway. He knows he'll need to at least attempt to eat some.
Kushina and Kakashi will only fret more if he rejects it outright. Still, he attempts to put it off a moment. "Did you go looking for Kushina yourself, Kakashi?" he asks.
The boy shakes his head. "Clone," he replies.
"Clever," replies Minato. He turns to Kushina. "Thank you for making soup, I appreciate it."
His girlfriend raises her brows. "If you appreciated it, you'd be eating it, you know."
"I–" he stutters only to groan and sink into his seat. "I want to," he mumbles. "I'm just not feeling very hungry."
His girlfriend clucks her tongue. "Oh no," murmurs Kushina. "You don't feel queasy, do you?"
He shakes his head. "No, no," promises Minato. "I'm not that sick." Dunking his spoon into his soup, he swallows down a mouthful. "I can eat a little," promises Minato. "Just not all of it."
Kushina and Kakashi share dubious glances. Minato glowers and starts on another spoonful. The two begin to eat their own bowls — though they watch him the entire time. After Minato's eaten about a third of his soup, he puts his spoon down. He's comfortably full right now. If he were to try and eat more, he definitely would spew.
"Thanks again, Kushina," he says.
Kakashi eyes his bowl. "You weren't joking," he remarks.
Minato rolls his eyes. "No, I wasn't," he returns. Minato pushes himself to his feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go lie on the couch—"
"—We'll join you!" chirps Kushina.
Kakashi startles. "We will?"
His girlfriend glares at his student. "Yes," she hisses. Kushina then produces a clone. "Clean up the kitchen, will ya?" she orders.
The clone nods and gets to work. Kushina then grabs Kakashi around the elbow. "Come on," she urges the boy.
"Hey!" grumbles Kakashi as he yanks back his arm. "I live here," he grumbles. "I know how to get to the couch."
"Please," Minato begs, "I'm fine. I'm sure you'd rather do something else—"
"—Nope!" Kushina cuts in brightly. "Nothing is more important than making you feel better right now." She smiles at Kakashi. "Isn't that right, 'Kashi?"
"Yeah," agrees Minato's traitorous student. "And it's Kakashi," the boy corrects in a sulky mumble.
Kushina ignores him entirely. Instead, she flounces over to the couch and plops herself down at one end. "C'mon, Minato," she urges as she pats her lap. "Lay that pretty head of yours right here."
He huffs a laugh that turns into a cough he needs to quickly smother with a hand. A little hand pats his back. "Sensei?" calls Kakashi, tentative.
"I'm fine," he promises, smiling down at the boy. "Hey," he starts. "Why don't you find the book we were reading the other day? You can read it to us while we relax."
The boy nods and darts to the other side of the room to retrieve it. As he does, he settles in on the couch — head in Kushina's soft lap. She splays a cool hand on his forehead. "You're not too bad," she comments. "Just a little warm."
"Hm," he agrees. "Sorry, you had to bring us medicine."
She huffs. "I woulda whether you had it or not," she replies. "'S just what a girlfriend does."
"You're amazing," he mumbles as her fingers begin to comb through his hair. "So kind."
"Stop," giggles Kushina.
Minato snags her hand and kisses her palm.
"Ew, Sensei," decries Kakashi. "Don't give her your germs."
He freezes and so does Kushina. They look forward and remember that Kakashi is also present. Minato flushes. "Sorry, kiddo," he says. "Why don't you squeeze in on the other end and read to us?"
Kakashi eyes his feet dubiously. "Only 'cause you're sick," he says. "Otherwise I wouldn't sit anywhere near your stinky feet."
"Stinky—!"
Kushina laughs hard enough to make her full body shake. "You are a riot, 'Kashi!" she says. "Never change."
His student stares at her. "I have no plans to," he replies stiffly. "And it's Kakashi, Kushina."
She waves a dismissive hand at the boy. "Sure, whatever you say," she agrees. "Now, get to it, kid. Minato's dying to know how your story ends."
Kakashi purses his lips, clearly annoyed. However, to Minato's relief, he doesn't argue with his girlfriend. He opens the book to where they left off and starts to read in that even, steady voice Minato's grown to know as his student's storytelling voice. Minato closes his eyes and smiles. It sucks to be sick but it is nice to have both Kakashi and Kushina with him. Maybe they'll have to try doing something like this again when he's feeling better.
Thank you very much for reading and please let me know your thoughts!