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Rolling onto his side in his bed, Reo carefully let the phone drop next to his head on the pillow and took a few seconds to rub his eyes.
When he woke up this morning, feeling sore all over with that scratchy feeling at the bottom of his throat and that annoying headache all around his eyes, all the way up to his forehead, he immediately expected he’d spend the day fighting whatever virus he must have caught while still somehow trying to manage his to-do list as best he could. He’d take some medicine to get rid of the fever for some time, probably, hopefully, then he’d have to put in double the effort to get through his mornings tasks once the world stopped spinning every time he attempted to sit up. He was pretty sure he’d have to cancel his brunch plans with Karasu and the others, too; and maybe Baaya would have the Mikage doctor come check up on him after a light meal, but at the end of the day, he’d still have no choice but to power through that one, crucial 4 pm video meeting with that Mikage Corp. senior project manager. Getting sick today of all days was just his luck, but that was no excuse – otherwise he might never get the chance to put forward one of his own ideas for his father’s company again, or at least not before a long time, and that would be even more of an issue.
So he’d expected gritted teeth and a long, tiring day ahead. Some pain, for sure, and yet business as usual. He’d never expected… He’d just never expected this, not in a million years. The first person to enter his room to be not Baaya but Nagi, of all people, who had apparently made the trip as soon as Baaya had let him know that her young master had come down with the flu; and Reo hadn’t even been able to give him a morning call like he always did to wake him up, which he felt terrible about, but still…
Not only had Nagi not looked annoyed or disappointed in the slightest- If anything, he’d actually seemed almost worried, even though that couldn’t be, because of course, Reo knew his treasure well, he just wasn’t the type to worry about stuff- But he wasn’t any of those things, and on top of that, he had just… Asked Reo how he was feeling. Frowned, and it looked so out of place on his usually so deadpan face, frowned when Reo had told him his plans for the day. Then he’d taken it upon himself to both give Karasu a call from Reo’s phone and go over Reo’s training regimens that he had wanted to put together for next week, all the while making sure Reo didn’t leave the bed for a second because that’s what you do when you’re sick, stay in bed and play games, and…
And now as that 4 pm meeting was nearing Reo had just finished using up the last of the energy in the last of the many free-to-play games on Nagi’s phone, and it seemed Nagi was about done reading the documents Reo had passed on to him too.
Not moving an inch, Reo let his head sink into the soft, soft pillow and gave Nagi another look. Comfortably seated in Reo’s luxury desk chair, on the other side of the room, he was flipping through the last of the pages like it was the most natural thing in the world – looking all serious, yet making the swivel chair spin a bit with his foot as he slouched. Reo couldn’t help but keep watching; although there wasn’t anything to watch, really, but seeing Nagi like this… So focused… Eyes actually open for once… And still definitely Nagi…
Reo felt his face flush and his eyes lose focus for a second. Ugh, he just knew his fever would return once the painkillers wore off…
He’d been a bit worried at first, admittedly. When Nagi had sat down on the mattress next to him and asked- No, demanded that he give him his meeting notes. Despite having complete faith in his treasure, it was so unlike him to… waste time and effort on something, anything that wasn’t soccer or his mobile games, really (and even soccer had him complaining nonstop until very recently). Especially something like this, what he’d usually describe as Reo’s boring business stuff, and yet…
“Reo’s not feeling well, so I’m filling in for him,” Reo heard him explain after a while, signaling the meeting must have started by now. “No, I’m good. I got all the info.”
Then he began talking, in that soft, slow, deep voice of his, and-
Suddenly Reo was left with nothing to do but to keep listening, quietly, in a mixture of disbelief and amazement.
… Seriously, what could this guy not do? As long as he put his mind to it… Even through the haze of fever and fatigue that was slowly starting to cloud his senses again, the headache coming back full force, Reo heard every word he was saying, and kept feeling his heart clench a little each time. The hardest part really was to get him motivated, huh? And yet, despite this not being his field of study, nor even an area of interest to him at all… Here Nagi was, talking with Reo’s adviser on a Zoom meeting as if he was the one born an heir to the Mikage estate. And sure, all of what he was presenting were Reo’s own ideas, but it all just sounded… so good…
The way he spoke, so polite despite the nonchalance. The words he used, carefully chosen, a perfect rendition of Reo’s vision. His even tone, too… Reo didn’t even have to look his way to picture the face he must be making, as impassive as ever, yet so attentive for once… Cute…
Reo didn’t realize he’d let himself get lulled to the point of dozing off until an unexpected sound suddenly stirred him from sleep. He opened his eyes, startled, only to notice it had come from the stack of papers Nagi was diligently tidying up as he – apparently? – wrapped up the meeting.
… Already?
Reo blinked, still trying to chase the drowsiness away from his heavy eyelids, and watched Nagi for a minute. Heard him thank the project manager, still fully focused on the laptop screen in front of him – and noticed he was no longer slouching, but sitting properly now. Was Reo imagining things, or did he look even taller like this? Taller, with broader shoulders; the expensive Mikage Corp. headset giving him the air of a young, yet indisputably competent professional. Well, if you ignored the messy hair on his fluffy head and the shapeless sweater he was wearing… Although even that added to his overall charm, too.
It was at this moment Reo caught himself smiling, his entire chest warm, and immediately paused. What was he thinking?? Of course his Nagi was nothing short of charming, no matter the situation, but- That was just his usual, very normal manly appeal, no reason to- Hell, Reo was definitely running a full-blown fever again, wasn’t he?
“Is Reo still sick? Your face is all red…”
Of course, Nagi just had to notice – luckily, it was easy to dismiss it all with a gesture of his hand. All before Nagi had the time to stand up from the chair and come back sit on the side of his bed, too.
“I-I’m fine,” Reo answered, maybe a bit too quickly, before getting himself together and moving on to the more important topic. “You did so well, my treasure. Where did you learn that?” Running his hand through his own messy hair, Reo finally felt the temperature of his face drop a bit and went on with a chuckle. “Must have been so bothersome, too…”
To his surprise, even though he could have, Nagi didn’t complain. “No, I just watched Reo do it a bunch of times,” he said. “So it’s easy.” Like it was, indeed, an act as simple as breathing, the only necessary thing he’d never whined about needing to do – not a performance that’d left Reo speechless with hot cheeks and a flushed face.
… Sometimes, Reo really couldn’t with this guy. Yet he still couldn’t help the too-tender smile that took over his lips as his heart got heavier in his chest.
“… I’m the one who’s supposed to be the best at copying others, you know?”
“But I’m not copying anyone else. Just Reo.”
Reo’s eyes didn’t have time to widen before Nagi let out a long sigh, suddenly back to his usual self, all slouching and seemingly ready for a well-deserved nap right here on Reo’s king-sized bed-
“Reo’s life is a real hassle, though…”
Hearing this, Reo broke out into laughter.
Such a treasure he had found, really, that would be willing to live a day in his hassle of a life just to help him out – he’d never dream of a better partner. And if his whole body kept buzzing with warm, confusing feelings at that very idea, well… He could just blame it on the flu again.