English is not my first language. For any grammar errors and typos I apologize in advance.

C is for Care

always there when you need me

-0-

*Knock, knock*

The sound of fingers knocking against wooden surface of the front door echoed in the, what seemed like, empty apartment.

Sōma stood in the entrance hall for a couple more minutes before taking out the keys from his bag and opening the doors himself. He was surprised to not find Erina in her apartment, she was usually home during morning hours, getting ready to go to work.

Why he had keys to Nakiri's apartment you would ask? Well, after noticing he's been coming here every day, and spending every night here as well, Erina assumed it was better to just give him his own pair of keys instead of getting three 'You're home?' messages a day, or just to avoid the trouble of handing him her keys every time she needed him to bring her something from her house to her work.

Sōma took of his snow-covered coat and went inside the big apartment they now, kind of, shared. He walked around searching for his girlfriend, finally checking the bedroom. The sight that welcomed him was unexpected – Erina lying flat in her queen-sized bed, covered with two puffed duvets pulled up to her chin. 'Did she oversleep?' was his initial thought.

"Erina?" He walked closer and called her again but got no response.

When he started making his way towards the bed he heard her voice coming from under the cover, "Don't come here!" followed by a loud cough. She sounded weak, he noticed.

"What's up? Did ya get sick?" of course Sōma ignored her warning and sat on the edge of the mattress. Before he could look at her she pulled the cover even higher, completely hiding her face from his view, "Don't look at me! I'm not in… my best form."

Yukihira just laughed at her absurdity and tried to pull out the duvet from her tight grip, "What's this, what's this? Is perfect and flawless Nakiri Erina seriously sick? Can't be!"

"Shut up and leave me alone!" she yelled with clear annoyance in voice.

"I'm joking. Come on silly, lemme see ya."

"No." she mumbled, "I have no makeup on."

"I've seen you without makeup countless times already."

Erina knew that she won't be able to convince him to stop insisting, so she might as well give up. The blonde pulled down the covers and looked at him embarrassed.

Her cheeks were flushed red, but it wasn't the healthy blush she usually had on her face – it looked more like she had a fever. Her eyes were puffed and she had a runny nose. Her bangs were pinned with a hair clip and she seemed to be very tired.

She didn't look the best but Sōma, being the guy that he is, instantly tried to cheer her up, "Aw, you poor cutie. You don't seem well, have you eaten anything?" to which she replied with a negative nod. His hand moved to her forehead and his face abruptly showed a worried grimace – she was burning hot. "Not good. First, I will make you something to eat, then we will think what to do next, 'kay?"

"W-What? I don't need your help! It's probably just a cold, it will go in a-" a sudden cough, that she couldn't hold in, interrupted her to which Sōma raised a brow. Her actions as usual didn't match her words.

"Hm, really? Your forehead is burning hot though, seems like you have a fever. You sure you're fine?"

"Y-Yes."

"You're shivering as well. And your nose is running… But if you're saying you're fine then I'm not needed here, right?" Sōma began standing up from the mattress, straightening up his pants.

"R-Right! O-Of course." Erina replied not so confidently as she was before.

"Then I'm going. Ya know, I really wanted to make you a delicious rice donburi, it would warm you up in a second. And I'd keep you company… But you say you're so fine by yourself! I guess I won't bother you anymore." he kept glancing at her with a playful smirk on his face, seeing her pouting in annoyance. Her little fists cutely gripped the covers and she seemed like she really wanted to say something, "Any last words?" he stopped midway and throw her a glance.

She let out a cute, frustrated whine and looked away embarrassed, "Ugh, fine. P-please stay."

Sōma just smiled at her and went to the apartment's kitchen. On his way he heard Nakiri yelling something about hurrying up and being hungry. 'She literally wanted me to leave a minute ago' he laughed to himself – he will never fully understand the mind of this girl.

While heating the water to cook rice Sōma made a quick call to Erina's best friend and assistant Hisako – the expert in medical kitchen. She was his best bet at the moment. Luckily she answered after one ring.

-0-

"Okay, I think I got everything…" Sōma murmured under his breath and placed a hot bowl of donburi and a cup of green tea on the tray. He quickly made his way back to the bedroom spotting Erina, drown under the covers he put on her.

Their eyes met when he sat down on the edge of the mattress, noticing a clear grimace on the girl's face.

"What took you so long?" she complained and Sōma just rolled his eyes at her impatience.

"Here, I made you a delicious rice donburi. With help from Hishoko I made sure I put all medical herbs and ingredients to get you back on your feet."

"Hisako?" she replied surprised at the name of her best friend.

"There's thyme herb and elderberry flower that both have bactericidal effect and will help you with your blocked nose." he explained while taking the chopsticks and bowl in his hand, "And also black lilac for fever..."

Sōma continued on listing all the ingredients Arato told him to put in (he was surprised Nakiri even had these in her kitchen but honestly he should have expected that) while Erina just waited until he hands her the bowl. But it seemed like he wasn't planning on doing so.

"Okay, whatever, can I eat now?" she interrupted him while shivering from cold. Even though only her arms were out from under the covers, she could already feel her body negatively reacting to the room's temperature due to her fever.

That of course didn't go unnoticed by Sōma, "I told you to stay covered. You're a naughty patient, aren't ya?"

"Then how am I supposed to eat?!" she yelped but complied nonetheless, hiding under the blankets again.

"Here," Sōma took the chopsticks into his right hand and dipped them into the rice. After blowing on it for a few times he moved it close to Erina's mouth, "Say 'Ah'!"

The dull look on Erina's face soon turned into a frown, her cheeks getting even redder than before, "Are you kidding me?! Get that out of my face!" she protested feeling embarrassed, "I'm not three! This is just ridiculous, give me that freaking bowl."

Erina moved her arms to snatch the dish from Sōma's hand when the cold shiver run through her body, making her suck in a breath. Yukihira just observed her going back under the blanket with her teeth clenched and hateful look on her face directed towards the redhead.

"Are you done?" he asked with a cheeky smile which made her infuriate even more. He moved the chopsticks near to her lips again, and this time she parted them without any objections. Even though the embarrassment that was overflowing her was hard to bear.

She soon felt the rice and various vegetables resting on her tongue and she began chewing them together. It tasted really good.

"Be a good girl, okay? It's not like it's the first time I put things in your mouth." he smirked and Erina almost choked on her food. She looked at him shocked with a blush covering her whole entire face. If it wasn't for the fact she couldn't move from under the duvet she would smack him.

"I really wish to choke you right now." Erina sent him a dead stare after her heart calmed down.

"Oh? Last night it was the other way around-"

"Say one more word and you will never set a foot in this apartment again." she said with mouth full of food Sōma fed to her seconds ago, her eyes showing nothing but a hatred and embarrassment.

Sōma just laughed amused with her reactions and continued on feeding his patient. She seemed to calm down by the time they finished the bowl.

With her cheeks flushed from the hot dish, Erina yawned tiredly. Her stomach was full, she felt warm, and as if the life was coming back to her body after losing the fight with the sickness.

She still felt pretty terrible, the fever didn't completely died down and her nose was still blocked. But she definitely could take a nap and rest a little, especially after the sleepless night she had. Yukihira's rice donburi really helped her feel more alive.

Speaking of devil, just when she thought she'd get some rest the redhead plumped himself on the bed next to her and looked at her deep in the eyes.

She suddenly remembered she most likely looks tragic right now. And here he was, inspecting her with these attentive stare when she was at her worst. It was one of rare times she felt self-conscious around the red-haired chef.

"Don't come near me, I'm sweaty and disgusting." she said.

As if he didn't hear her, Sōma moved his face close to hers, barely a centimeter of distance between them. His amber eyes looked into her amethyst ones and then jumped to her lips.

Erina barely have any time to notice his sudden closure, but when she did, she quickly hid her lips under the blanket to prevent him from doing what she suspected him to do, "You really want to get sick, don't you?"

He just smiled and sighed. His back straightened as he sit back, a little pout forming on his lips.

"I guess we have to hold on all the good stuff until you recover."

Erina unwillingly blushed at his comment but also rolled her eyes, Men.

"I'll let you rest princess." he moved blonde strands of hair out of her face and smiled lovingly. She then saw him leave the room and come back with a wet cloth that was soon placed on her forehead. It was so pleasantly cold, Erina just sighed with relief, "Here, should make you feel better. I also put a fresh set of pajamas on the chair right there. On the nightstand you will find water and painkillers if you wake up with a headache…"

Erina eyed everything he was mentioning to her, a warm feeling creeping into her heart. The truth is that the blonde had been sick barely a few times in her entire life.

But every time that happened she either just carried on her schedule, ignoring her bad state of being, or just Hisako prepared for her a set of medicines when she was able to do so.

No one ever took care of her the way Sōma did today. She was actually surprised how good and oriented he was at this – at taking care of people, at taking care of her.

But then she realized he's always been like this, he was always looking after his friends, family, her, ever since she remember.

So to see this side of him, fully and aware, she couldn't help but smile warmly at Sōma being the person she always seek to have by her side. Someone who would make her feel safe, valid, healthy and loved.

"Thank you for taking care of me." she said truthfully and shyly took his hand in hers, hiding her blush under the blanket.

Oh, how much he fought the blush from coming to his cheeks as well. Why was she so cute all of the sudden! He wasn't prepared for it – he was usually the one initiating any physical contact between them but here she was, surprising and opening even more to him once again.

He smiled at her lovingly, his heart feeling like it could burst any second.

"Of course."

-0-

3 days later Erina finally left her bed, feeling like her body was alive and well again. She felt the energy running back to her system, the fever was gone and she finally could walk without the constant dizziness.

The blonde stepped out of the bedroom and went into the kitchen, noticing Sōma in the middle of it, standing in front of the oven.

He has been sleeping on the sofa the whole time she was recovering – he refused to come back to his apartment and leave the girl even for a few hours. But after complying fully to his (and Hisako's) instructions Erina quickly got back on her feet. And she was really thankful to them for that.

"Good morning." he said when he caught the blonde princess standing in the doorway, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," she replied and stepped next to the kitchen counter, "I might actually go back to work today. I'm behind on my paperwork."

"Hm, good. I'm glad you're feeling better," he replied and took a glance at her. Suddenly a dangerous smirk made its way on his face as if he just remembered something, "Sooo, now..."

Yukihira's tall posture stood in front of her and before she could perceive what he was planning to do, his hands were already on her waist moving her figure closer to his, "I guess the ban is over?" he murmured next to her ear, gracing his lips over the skin of her right flushed cheek.

"T-The ban for what?"

Sōma decided to answer her with a longing kiss on her lips, "How about we go back to the bedroom so I can remind you."

He picked her up and while sharing some playful giggles, Sōma made his way towards the queen-sized bed and throw his girl onto the white covers, soon hovering over her.

Well, let's say, he reminded her very well.

-0-

The ending sucks but I'm too tired to think of anything better lol. Hope you still enjoy this series, leave a review and see you next time!