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“Mondo Oowada,” Jin Kirigiri’s voice rang through the PA system, “Please report to the headmaster’s office.”
Mondo ignored Leon’s childish ooh-ing, getting up and begrudgingly making his way to the office. While he was not at all surprised to see Kiyotaka there, he was completely caught off guard by the hall monitor’s condition. He looked horrible, to say the least. Something one would’ve expected Mondo to know, but the two had (much to their displeasure) not been able to spend much time together with how obscenely busy Taka had been. The hall monitor’s cheeks were thinned (albeit, his malnutrition led to this when he went too long without eating), he had heavy bags under his eyes, and he looked paler than usual.
“As I’m sure you can see, Oowada, Ishimaru is in no condition for an upcoming festival the school will be hosting. He’s an imperative part of it, so his absence would be… less than welcome. He’s to be hosting minor events at the festival, and his schedule’s left him unable to find proper time to rest. According to him, he last slept the night before exams.”
Mondo bit his tongue, having to stop himself from pointing out it was Jin who dropped all of those responsibilities on Kiyotaka, never giving him a chance to have downtime when more important events came up.
“That was more than a week ago… He’s barely able t’ stand,” Mondo frowned, quickly supporting Taka’s weight with an arm around his waist.
“Precisely. I’ve sorted things out with the student council to handle what duties he has for the day. However, I’m aware of how much his fellow students rely on him. That being said, I’m asking that you make sure Ishimaru gets some rest with what time is left in the day.”
School day’s already fuckin’ over… yer just askin’ me to make sure has time to himself he already fucking should, Mondo grimaced as the thought to himself. When Kiyotaka slumped against his shoulder, Mondo sighed. As much as he just wanted to mouth off to the headmaster, he couldn’t bare seeing his boyfriend in such awful condition.
“…yeah, alright.”
-
“Okay, doll, you’re in somethin’ comfy, all your busybody shit’s taken care of—let’s get you to bed, yeah?”
Kiyotaka was sat on his bed, having borrowed a shirt from Mondo (apparently his clothes weren’t ’ideal for good sleep’… Taka never thought anything of his pajamas, but Mondo’s were more comfortable…), a bit unsure where to go from there.
“I’m not that tired, Mondo… I mean, I still have homework to do, and I need to go over my schedules.”
“You can do what I do and do your homework in the morning.”
“You just copy mine.”
“Go to bed.”
Kiyotaka huffed, not caring to be spoken to like a child. He got under his covers, only laying there for a few minutes before he sat up.
“Taka-“
“Can you lay with me?”
Well. Okay. That was something Mondo couldn’t deny. He was pretty sure Taka knew that. With a soft sigh, he sat next to Taka… who promptly snuggled up to his chest.
“Hm, your chest is so warm, Mondo…,” Kiyotaka smiled, hugging Mondo.
“…thanks,” normally Mondo would have found himself a bit red at the unusual compliment from Taka, but chocked it up to the hall monitor’s delirious state. His concern outweighed the flattery. It didn’t take long for Kiyotaka to drift off to sleep, this only made to be more prominent as Mondo continued to comb his fingers through Kiyotaka’s hair.
As Kiyotaka slept, Mondo stayed wide awake, plagued by thoughts of… well, anger. Anger for Taka. It enraged him how much the headmaster took advantage of Kiyotaka’s inability to refuse him. Mondo’s hold on Taka tightened, the biker grumbling in frustration. Really thinking about it, it was hard to think of an event Kiyotaka hadn’t organized! He held all detentions, did the busy work of teachers for them, helped every student who asked, tutored… sure, some of those things were because Taka offered to. Which Mondo didn’t mind, it was when the hall monitor would bite off more than he could chew because, according to him, denying a reasonable request from an authority figure went against his role as the Ultimate Moral Compass. Unfortunately, things that were done for the school counted as reasonable. (Thankfully—and to the surprise of many, somehow—Taka was quick to refuse most personal requests from teachers, being very quick to report any suspicious requests that came with those.)
On one hand, Mondo couldn’t help but admire Kiyotaka’s willingness and enthusiasm to help others. It was sweet, how they were so happy just to help those they considered comrades. And in some cases, it led to Taka growing closer with other students, which made them happy. On the other hand, however, Mondo was nothing but pissed at the teachers and headmaster dumping their responsibilities onto Taka. With a grimace, Mondo lay back on the bed, a brief smile crossed his face when Kiyotaka mumbled in his sleep and nuzzled into the biker further.
Some time later, Kiyotaka stirred in their sleep. They sat up, rubbing their eye. Mondo looked at them, curious if something had woken them up.
“You have a bad dream, sug?” Mondo asked, brushing Taka’s bangs out of his face.
”Something like that,” Kiyotaka sighed, examining his surroundings. He proceeded to lay back down, an arm draped over Mondo’s chest. He let out a weak breath, disheartened as he spoke. His voice echoed what he said, “I’m so… tired, Mondo… I’m exhausted to a point of barely being able to sleep. Even when I do, it’s not for long. You know what’s saddest?”
Mondo hummed in worry, sitting up a little so as to accentuate his worry.
“I wish I could die… for just one day. One day of uninterrupted rest, one day where I won’t be bothered or buried in tasks. I wish I was being melodramatic, but honestly, with all that I do, I cannot say that’s the case.”
Mondo’s hold around Taka became more snug, his hand holding the hall monitor’s head close to his chest. What was once a great anger turned to an immense sadness, worry for Taka far outweighing Mondo’s desire for vengeance.
“I’m sorry, Taka… you deserve a break. A bigger one than this.”
“It’s…,” Kiyotaka trailed off, looking up at Mondo, “It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it, and I do take pride in all that I do. I’m happy to help those around me! It’s just… a break once in a while would be nice, you know? I can’t exactly work if I’m too exhausted to do so!”
He forced a laugh, to which Mondo frowned, “Taka, you don’t gotta force it. C’mere.”
Mondo gently kissed Taka’s forehead, as his hug tightened. Taka’s eyelids fell heavy once more, the warmth Mondo gave off and that of the blankets quickly lulling him into slumber. It wasn’t exactly the rest Mondo wanted him to have, but he planned to speak with Jin about giving Kiyotaka a proper break later. For now, he just held Taka close as he let him rest.