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So this is it, Kokichi thought to himself grimly. This is how I die.
With cold beads of sweat sticking to his flushed face, the only sounds that the supreme leader could hear were his own labored, dry panting and the faint whispers of wind gently flowing into his dorm room from the open window. His nose twitched, and he found himself sniffling once again as a result of the seemingly endless snot that found itself blocking his nostrils. Perhaps he would reach for another tissue, to eventually add to the vast quantity of crumpled used tissues piling around him on his bed and spilling onto the floor, but he simply could not muster up the energy to raise his arm.
In fact, it seemed he could not muster up the energy to use any of his limbs at all, as any feeling he once had in his muscles was replaced by a heavy soreness, as if someone had placed metal weights directly onto his arms and legs for an extended period of time. If that wasn't enough to make him feel trapped, he was wrapped in five or six thick blankets, resembling a caterpillar in a cocoon, effectively ensuring there was no possible way for him to move at all.
And to top it all off, his throat was so unbelievably sore that it hurt to speak- no, not just speak, but to groan, to sigh, to whine, to make any sort of sound using his mouth. Hell, even simply existing without saying a word made his throat throb. By far, this sore throat was what upset Kokichi the most, since lying was rather frustrating when every word that came out of your mouth sounded like a frog croaking.
Surely, Kokichi was dying. There was no other possible explanation for this hellish agony he was forced to endure.
Perhaps someone had poisoned him? He was a supreme leader of evil, after all, so it made sense why someone would attempt to assassinate him via poison. Perhaps while he wasn't looking, someone slipped some sort of drug into his Panta to make him suffer like this? Or perhaps one of his loyal followers was pulling another silly, albeit cruel, prank on him.
Well, it's not like it matters anyway, Kokichi thought to himself with a pained smile on his face. Because I'm on my deathbed right now. That's right, I'm dying a slow and painful death right now, and there's nothing that anyone can do to-
"Kokichi? Gonta come back with soup!"
...Ah, of course. How could he have forgotten?
Kokichi makes some sort of attempt to sit up and look at Gonta from where he's standing in the doorway, but only succeeds in lifting his neck slightly. He manages to make eye contact with Gonta, who's carrying a nice, warm bowl of chicken noodle soup in one hand and a tall glass of water in the other. The behemoth of a teen currently had his sleeves rolled back up to his elbows and his long mop of hair tied back into a messy ponytail. But his most notable attribute, at least to Kokichi, was the wide, friendly, and genuine smile the entomologist wore, radiating an aura of kindness and generosity.
That smile made Kokichi's stomach churn more than the illness, but of course Kokichi would never admit that.
The sick teen let out a huff, flopping his head back onto his pillow as Gonta approached the bed, placing the soup and water on the bedside table. "Geez, finally you're here. Didn't think you'd take your sweet time on your way back, considering I'm in the middle of dying. Geez, Gonta, I thought you cared about me." His words came out quieter and raspier than he liked, but they still possessed a teasing tone, which was good enough for Kokichi.
Gonta gasps at his statement, stuttering to reassure Kokichi that he did, indeed, care. "Th-that's not it at all! Gonta swears he--" Gonta cuts himself off, eyes widening as he processed what Kokichi just said. "D… dying? But Gonta thought Kokichi just caught common cold?"
Kokichi chuckles, turning his head to smirk at Gonta groggily. "Nishishi, that was a lie, of course. It's obvious that this is the result of an assassination attempt. Maki shot a poison dart riiiight into my arm, and boy did it hurt! But I suppose that's to be expected when you're a supreme leader of--" Kokichi's words were cut off by a harsh coughing fit. "...evil."
Gonta stared at him for a moment. At this point, they had been friends for quite a while now. Of course, when their friendship first started Gonta had quite a lot of trouble distinguishing Kokichi's truths from his lies. But now, Gonta could tell that Kokichi's wild exaggerations were almost always lies. Gonta never considered himself very smart, but after being lied to countless times, it was obvious he'd eventually figure it out.
"Kokichi… lying right now, right? Maki no poison him?" He says as he pulls up a chair next to the bed, sitting down and blowing on a spoonful of soup in order to cool it down.
Kokichi groaned, staring up at the ceiling. "Well, she might as well have," he grumbles. "In fact, I wish she'd burst in here right now and stab me over and over again. At least that would put me out of my misery."
Gonta purses his lips into a thin line, turning to Kokichi. "Gonta no like when Kokichi talk like that," he states flatly. "Sit up, please? Soup good for sickness."
Kokichi lets out a grunt of acknowledgment, slowly sitting up and leaning back onto the headboard. He turns his head once again to look at Gonta, seeing the spoonful of soup in his hand, and opening his mouth wide open expectedly without a word. Gonta gives him a warm smile and leans over, raising the spoon to Kokichi's lips. "Careful," he gently warned. "Soup hot. Don't burn tongue."
Kokichi seems to disregard the warning completely, closing his mouth around the spoon and savoring the soup. Of course it was hot, but it's bearable enough. Besides, the soup was more than good enough to make up for it.
"Wow, Gonts," Kokichi says, and there likely would have been sparkles in his eyes if they weren't so sunken. "This soup tastes like pure heaven! Kirumi must've made this, huh?"
"Ah-" Gonta stammers a bit. "Yes, Kirumi do lots of work making soup for Kokichi, but Gonta help too." That technically wasn't a lie, though Gonta's 'help' mostly consisted of handing the maid various ingredients and watching her cook. Still, at the time he insisted he contribute in at least some way, eager to help Kokichi recover from his sickness.
Kokichi hums in response as Gonta feeds him another bite of the soup. And another. And another. And another. They hardly exchanged any words at all while Gonta fed him, only the occasional sly comment from Kokichi every once in a while.
Once the bowl of soup was finished, Kokichi plopped right back onto his pillow, shutting his eyes with a groan. "Geez, Gonts, I feel like hell right now," he complained. Gonta put down the empty bowl back onto the table and scooted his chair forward, responding to Kokichi's words by placing his hand onto the teen's forehead.
Kokichi's face is already bright red, so of course Gonta didn't notice the way it flushed even brighter once he put his hand on Kokichi's forehead. Just like the rest of his body, Gonta's hand was so comically large that it intimidated poor, tiny Kokichi. For fucks sake, Gonta's hand was almost the size of Kokichi's entire face . The sick teen's stomach began doing flips, but he chalked that up to the illness, and certainly not how much he was thinking about Gonta's large, calloused, yet also gentle hands. Definitely not.
"...Kokichi still burning up," Gonta murmurs, not taking his hand off of Kokichi's forehead as he turned to reach for the glass of water on the table. Thankfully there was a straw in it, so all Gonta had to do was hold the glass close to Kokichi's face so he could take a sip. "It good to stay hydrated," the entomologist reminded him.
The water itself was quite cool and refreshing, so Kokichi gladly wrapped his lips around the straw. Though it didn't help much with his sore throat, the sick teen still eagerly drank about half the glass. Kokichi hardly ever drank water, preferring sugary soda such as Panta, but in this instance drinking water felt awfully nice, so he didn't complain.
Eventually, Kokichi finished drinking and Gonta put the glass back on the table, but it hadn't gone unnoticed that Gonta's hand was still resting on Kokichi's forehead. Kokichi didn't know if Gonta had any idea how fevers actually worked. A part of him wanted to inform Gonta that it was perfectly fine to take his hand off of him now. But… for some reason, it felt awfully nice, having Gonta's hand planted protectively on his forehead like this.
For some reason, it made him feel… secure.
Though he'd rather get crushed by a hydraulic press than admit that out loud.
They stayed like that for a bit, both basking in the quiet, and neither moving or saying or a word. Until, of course, Gonta decided to slowly move his hand upwards towards the top of Kokichi's head. Kokichi opened his mouth to make some sort of comment, but whatever he was about to say would ultimately never leave his lips, as he was stunned into silence once Gonta began lightly scratching Kokichi's scalp as if he were petting a cat.
Holy shit, that feels good.
Kokichi's eyes rolled back slightly at the sensation, a quiet noise of contentment escaping him. Gonta continued petting him, a small smile making itself on his face as he watched Kokichi lean into his touch. Gonta's fingers were thick and bulky, but they were somehow perfect for carding through Kokichi's soft purple locks. Of course Gonta was good at this, why wouldn't he be? He was raised by wolves, wasn't he? He's probably been petting animals his entire life, so of course he's experienced.
Of course, Kokichi was still suffering. His muscles were still sore, he was still sweating like a pig, and his damn nose was still stuffed. But perhaps Gonta's presence alone was a good enough distraction for all of that. Perhaps Gonta's mere touch was slowing down his inevitable death, and perhaps getting sick wasn't too bad if Gonta was here to take care of him.
...Fucking hell, when did he get so sappy?
Gonta was the first to break the silence. "If Kokichi need anything else, like more food or water, please let Gonta know," he mumbled under his breath, so quiet that had it not been for the lack of noise in the room, Kokichi likely would not have heard him. "Gonta… want to do best he can for Kokichi. Gonta not know much about cold, but Gonta try his hardest to make Kokichi comfortable." Christ, Gonta really was a gentle giant, wasn't he?
Kokichi chuckled weakly. "Damn right you don't know much," he teased lightly, though his tone made the words sound more malicious than intended. "I'm practically writhing in agony and you're barely doing anything to help. Y'know, if Kirumi were the one taking care of me, I'd probably feel good as new right about now. In fact, I think I'd prefer it if Kirumi was here taking care of li'l old me instead of you."
Gonta's eyes widened in panic as he began to stand up, slowly removing his hand from Kokichi's head. He hated the thought that he wasn't helping Kokichi at all, but of course it made sense for him to leave and go get someone more competent than him to nurse Kokichi back to health. "S-sorry! Gonta really sorry! He go get Kirumi right n--"
He was cut off by Kokichi grabbing his wrist, pulling him down back into the chair (with surprising force for a skinny, sick teenager), and placing his hand back onto Kokichi's head where it belonged.
"That was a lie, dummy."
"O… oh. Sorry." Gonta looked down, cheeks reddening slightly at the embarrassment of taking Kokichi's lie so literally. "So… Gonta good enough? Gonta no need to get Kirumi? Kokichi no need anything?"
Kokichi didn't give him a verbal response, instead letting go of Gonta's wrist and leaning into the palm of his hand, encouraging Gonta to pet him again. Gonta smiled and gladly continued running his thick fingers through Kokichi's hair. It was quite calming for both of them.
If Gonta was being perfectly honest, he hadn't expected this level of compliance from Kokichi. When he had first volunteered to take care of the small teen, he had expected Kokichi to whine and complain as loud as possible, kicking off his sheets and adamantly refusing to eat any sort of food. But perhaps he was too drained of energy to make a fuss. Either way, Gonta didn't mind taking care of the self-proclaimed supreme leader of evil.
In fact, a part of him somewhat enjoyed taking care of Kokichi. The gentle giant didn't mind Kokichi's dramatic outbursts, but he also certainly wouldn't complain about looking after Kokichi while he was subdued like this, silently requesting affection from Gonta. Either way, Gonta found him adorable.
Eventually, Kokichi was lulled to sleep from Gonta's soothing touch. Gonta smiled softly to himself as he watched the slow rise and fall of Kokichi's chest. It was rare to see him so calm, so quiet. Perhaps when he recovered, the small teen would adamantly deny enjoying Gonta take care of him. But that didn't really matter to Gonta, at least not at the moment.
He continued to stay right by Kokichi's side, still petting him even as he was fast asleep. Gonta couldn't explain it, but something about this…
...something about this just felt so right.