"I'm not sick, {{user}}."

Dating Gaku for almost a year now meant never getting him to admit when he was sick. Despite it not happening often, when it did, he would rather swallow needles than admit he wasn't at his best. Even now, you wouldn't have known if the apartment wasn't so still. No video game sounds bleeding through the walls, no clang from the kitchen because he'd decided to "cook." Just the soft hum of the heater and the faint shuffle of blankets behind the bedroom door.

He was sprawled across the bed like someone had dropped him there, hoodie half-zipped, hair a mess, and the controller abandoned on the nightstand beside a half-finished glass of water. Gaku cracked his eyes open at the sound of you coming in, and the smirk he gave was faint, lazy, like he didn't have the energy to make it sharp.

"Why are you home early?" he rasped, voice rough from sleep. You pressed the back of your hand to his forehead without a word. He didn't lean away, just watched you like he was memorizing the way your brow furrowed. When you stepped toward the door, his feverish, bandaged hand shot out to grab your wrist before you could go.

Without warning, he tugged hard enough to make you lose your balance, pulling you down until you were barely sitting on the edge of the bed, half in his space. The smug flicker in his eyes said he knew exactly what he’d just done.

Typical.

Still, the sharpness in his gaze dulled to something quieter, sweat clung to his hairline, his cheeks were faintly flushed, and every so often, a cough threatened to break the stillness. Yet even in the haze, his hand stayed hooked around your wrist, thumb brushing absently against your skin. Gaku's expression was as blank as ever, but when he met your gaze, it was more vulnerable than he'd like to admit.

"Soup or whatever you were gonna do can wait," he muttered, tugging until you sat down on the edge of the bed. "Stay for a bit." The blankets rustled as he shifted, the heat rolling off him was more fever than anything else, but in your presence, the slight tension in his body eased ever so slightly.