Hokuto doesn’t even know why everything seems to always spiral down if he gets engaged in it.
It’s still January and the six of them, weirdly, get the precious overlap of three consecutive day-offs. A rare phenomenon, indeed. That’s why Shintaro proposed an idea for them to go on a trip to Hakone on LINE, which the other five agreed on later since it is not too far from Tokyo. The youngest from the group was obviously giddy after that; Hokuto swore he could imagine the wagging tail because excited Shintaro inevitably equals the happiest shiba inu ever exists. The LINE stickers he always uses proved so.
They arranged to meet at 10 a.m. on Friday before departing to the inn they booked together. Hokuto had been eager to join them, even asking Shintaro to pick him up. So rare for him to do that but Shintaro happily said yes.
But then right the day before the trip, Hokuto had to go to shoot in an outdoor location, and bam, the rain decided to wash everything that is walking on the earth and the temperature dropped. He and the staff were lucky to find a place to stay while thinking about strategies to shoot more footage, but Hokuto clearly tried to fight the mucus that was building inside his nose once his body registered the sudden changes in the weather. Someone noticed the differences in his voice, but classic Hokuto—he brushed it off and told them he was okay. Which was fair, he didn’t feel that bad until the next day.
On the day of the trip.
Hokuto could guarantee there is no such thing as hard as opening his eyes that morning. His whole body felt like it could break in any second if he moved, and he never actually expected his head could feel like it would explode and crumple at the same time. The fever is going to kill him this way, he supposed. He heard his phone buzzing and immediately tried to reach for it on the nightstand. Without knowing who was calling, he answered it and realized it was a bad idea to talk because his throat started going into a coughing fit.
“Eh? Hokuto? Are you okay?”
Oh, Hokuto recognized this voice. Shintaro.
“Shin, I’m so sorry I think I’m not gonna make it for the trip …”
“What happened? Please tell me you’re not dying and you’re gonna inherit me something,” the boy still managed to throw some jokes even though Hokuto could hear the hints of worry there. “So … should I pick you up?”
“No, you don’t have to. Please say my sorry to everyone. I’ll go to the doctor once I feel better.”
“Okay, then. Keep me updated,”
Hokuto was tempted to throw a retort but nah, his cough didn’t let him to. Shintaro started asking questions again and Hokuto thought he had had enough so he just ended the call. Later, Shintaro. He needed more sleep and ignored the burning throat for now.
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Hokuto woke up six hours later, feeling a little better. However, he didn’t remember calling his Mom when he heard a commotion from the living room. Who is that? And why did he have a fever patch sticking perfectly on his forehead?
Still groggy, Hokuto opened his bedroom door only to be greeted by a casually-digging-Hokuto-DVD-rack Shintaro that happened to mess up the contents when the owner caught him.
“Oh, Hokuto! Are you feeling better?”
“The DVD on the floor is making my eyes burn, to be honest. What are you doing here? Who gave you my passcode?”
“Manager-san told me,” Shintaro just smiled and continued to pick up the DVD he dropped. “My little sister was taken to the hospital. Mama said someone tried to run over her with a motorbike. I panicked and rushed back,” after the boy finished sorting the DVD, he turned to face Hokuto. “She’s fine already, just needs to do some checkups tomorrow before being released. And then I remembered you’re also sick so I decided to come here. Have you gone to the doctor?”
Hokuto shook his head, seeming to be a little dazed with the information Shintaro just told him.
“Figured so. Your head was burning hot when I checked it. Glad I bought some fever patches on my medical kit,”
“Shintaro, what are you doing here, really?” Hokuto still sounded hoarse but the change in his tone couldn’t be hidden. “You could go back straight to Hakone, you know.”
“What are these mood swings?” The younger plopped down on the couch so freely, completely dismissing Hokuto's obvious conflict regarding his existence in his apartment. “This is classic you, Hokuto. I’m so sorry, I know you didn’t ask for help but I just wanted to be here for you. So … just … accept it, okay? I promise to go back to Hakone tomorrow. We still have a whole day.”
“Why?”
“Huh?” Shintaro chuckled. “Do I need 'why' to come here and take care of you?”
“You should be enjoying yourself, it’s a day off,”
“I’m not currently torturing myself, though? Oh, I cooked us dinner, oden soup. Matsu-nii's recipe.”
The dots in Hokuto’s head hadn’t connected the information yet so he just stood there, looking lost, unable to process what Shintaro just said. The younger one couldn't help but sighed and pulled Hokuto’s wrist down so he could snuggle Hokuto on the couch.
“Don’t let that burning head overthink too much. Do you want more sleep? Or eat? I’ll go heat the soup if you want,” Hokuto swore he could feel Shintaro’s breath on his neck when he asked that. This close proximity is surely making him puzzled, but it is warm to be in Shintaro’s hold.
Well, it’s Shintaro, in the end. He could use some warm snuggles and putting aside medicine for later, he guessed.