Colour Two

Shinomiya sneezed for the umpteenth time that morning.

It's not the fever that bothered him that much.

It's not the headache that irritated him.

It was the fact that everyone seemed to be bothered by him.

He sighed, the sigh turns to a wheeze, which quickly followed a sneeze.

"Are you going to take my handkerchief now or later?" Mitusumi asks softly, holding the handkerchief at the ready.

"I already said: No," Shinomiya snaps, darkly blushing as he turns his head away, "I'm fine, thank you."

"You're certainly not fine," Mitsumi says and sighs as he tucks his handkerchief into his pocket all the same, "I'll keep it until you change your mind."

"I won't change my mind," Shinomiya snaps and sneezes again, angrily brushing his sleeve against his nose.

Mitsumi shrugs lightly and packed up his books, readying to head to history club.

"You're leaving...?" the shock on Shinomiya's face was clear.

"I'm heading off to the History club," the older teen answers before tilting his head, "Do you want to join me?"

"... ah... n-no... " Shinomiya says and looks away awkwardly.

"Alright, I'll see you later then?" Mitsumi says before pausing in thought. He turns to the younger man and leans a bit closer to him, "Shinomiya... if you're not feeling well-"

"I'm not feeling well!"

"I know."

"Damnit that's not what I meant..."

"I think you meant it."

"Shut up..." there's resignation in his voice though. He didn't meet Asuma's eyes that time.

"... If I leave right now I'll be worried about you the whole time," Mitsumi muses loudly and smiles fondly at the younger teen, "It'll really make me feel better if you'd at least go to the nurses office and lie down for a bit..."

The groan from Shinomiya was certainly for show, because relief was radiating from the poor guy in waves. A mix of conflicted signals, but one thing was for sure, the idea of lying down was appealing right now.

"Only until History Club finishes, alright?" Shinomiya snaps defiantly, wriggling his nose a bit to stop himself from sniffing.

"Of course, that's all I ask," Mitsumi says and tucks the handkerchief into Shinomiya's hand, "Please take it with you, then I'm done."

"Fine." the young man snaps and huffs as he stands up from his chair, stumbling a bit when a wave of dizziness catches him off guard.

Of course, Mitsumi doesn't comment or even try to help. He even pretends to be absorbed by packing away his books, just to spare Shinomiya's pride when the boy looks over.

"I'll … see you later," a whispered greet comes from the young man as he slowly trudges off towards the nurse's office.

Mitsumi doesn't quietly accompany Shinomiya to the nurse's office. He doesn't wait at his bedside for an hour after club ends and it's time to go home. He doesn't make sure Shinomiya takes his medicine before he's even lucid enough to realizes that Mitsumi's currently caring for him. No, of course not. That never happened.

The only thing that keeps reminding Shinomiya that it did happen was the handkerchief in the palm of his hand, the full glass of water on his night-stand, the jacket he's wearing that's certainly four sizes much too large for him. He snuggles into it a bit more, breathing deeply, feeling immeasurably calmed by the scent.

The one detail that stands out more than any other is how, right before Mitsumi left, he whispered "Colour two..." to Shinomiya's ear after a soft hug and that, at that moment, Shinomiya, in his certainly fever-induced fantasy had instead heard the words: "I love you"