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Daisuke entered the office without anything weighing down on his mind. There wasn’t much he needed to do today, if he remembered correctly. He could do some paperwork he supposed, having arrived earlier than usual. He looked around the area, taking note of who was and was not present.
Yukihiro was there at the front of the room, working on a ship model as he often did when he wasn’t given any work.
Chosuke was sitting at the pair of couches with Saeki, calmly sipping tea and conversing over the sweets the young lady had brought in to share with the group.
Kamei was, for once, working on a file with Teppei that the two were assigned around a week ago. Although, Daisuke knew that they should have been done with that assignment a few days prior.
He narrowed his eyes, puzzled at the absence of a certain inspector. He looked to the clock in board, noticing how Haru’s section had been filled in with the words ‘Fallen ill, will return when able.’
“Ah, Daisuke-chan.” Yukihiro called, having finally noticed him standing. “Looking for Haru-chan?”
Daisuke nodded. “He’s sick?”
Yukihiro’s face fell. “Afraid so. He called in an hour ago, said he can barely move without feeling faint.” He placed a model sail down on the desk, eyes lowered worriedly. “He had an awful coughing fit when he was talking on the phone too…”
Daisuke shifted uncomfortably. The work he could do was easier if Haru was around. He was more than capable of doing it himself, but it was almost reassuring if he was there too. His partner had probably just given himself a cold, which would be fine if not for the fact Daisuke was aware of his living conditions.
It was small, cramped, kind of smelly (probably due to the laundry not being done), and all-in-all the worst place a sick person could be at. If what their boss had told him was true, then Haru wouldn’t even be able to prepare his own meals.
“May I take the day off?” Daisuke requested.
Yukihiro paused, looking up to him. “Did something come up?” He waited a moment, before he smiled, talking again before waiting for an answer. “Never mind. I understand, Daisuke-chan. Go ahead.”
Daisuke ignored his odd behavior, preferring to immediately turn around to head out. He pressed two fingers to his earpiece.
“HEUSC, procure someone to pick up Katou Haru from his home. Take him to the guest room.”
Apparently getting Haru out of his home wasn’t that easy, Daisuke found. He glared at the current predicament.
He was standing in front of his partner’s apartment complex, noticing how his men were standing in front of the door, trying to get in.
He would have thought his men could easily break into a shamble of an apartment, but perhaps he had overestimated their capabilities.
Daisuke walked up the stairs, gaining his men’s attention when he approached them.
“Lord Daisuke,” One of the few men greeted. “Our apologies, but he refuses to open the door.”
“You can’t break the- “Daisuke was cut off by the sound of a force slamming into the door on the other side before letting out a raging coughing fit. Daisuke moved himself closer to the door. “Katou?”
“You bastard.” Haru coughed, his voice worn out. “These guys are with you?”
“They are.” Daisuke confirmed. “They were going to help you.”
“By breaking my damn door down?”
“No.” Daisuke rolled his eyes. “They were going to take you to my home. You will recover more smoothly if you’re in my care.”
“Fuck off.” Haru snapped, breaking out into another coughing fit. He gasped for air before he continued. “I’ll be fine by myself.”
“You sound like death.”
“You sound like an asshole.” Daisuke heard Haru slump fully against the door, sliding to (most likely) rest on the floor. “Leave me alone.”
Daisuke sighed, thinking of what he could do. If Haru wasn’t going to leave, then that negated everything he could do from home, but he felt uneasy leaving him like this. Now that he had heard how bad Haru was, this further proved that the man wouldn’t be able to feed himself.
“If you won’t come to my home,” Daisuke started. “Will you at least let me help you here?”
He waited, the atmosphere tense as the seconds passed by. Haru wouldn’t have fallen asleep, would he? He was ill, so that was probably an option. Daisuke wasn’t too sure though, he didn’t get sick that often and neither did his sister. Breaking down the door was probably still the best-
“Fine.” Haru said. “But just you, got it?”
Daisuke let out a sigh of relief, turning his attention to his men. He nodded, indicating they could leave. He waited until they left before knocking once on the door.
“It’s just me now.” Daisuke told him. “Let me in.”
The sound of a lock unhitching came from the door, slowly opening to show his partner in a gray long sleeved shirt and dark pair of sweatpants. Daisuke took note of the flushed face and sweat pouring off him.
“Come in then- “His words trailed off, his body tipping forward. Daisuke rushed closer, catching the man before he hit the ground. Haru groaned, slumping against him.
“Why did you get out of bed?” Daisuke asked, grunting as he maneuvered Haru’s arm around his shoulders so he could carry him. It was difficult due to him being smaller than Haru, but he would make do.
“There were guys banging on my door.” Haru huffed. “What was I supposed to do, ignore them?” Daisuke opened his mouth. “If I hadn’t answered the door, they would have apparently kidnapped me.” Daisuke shut his mouth.
Daisuke moved them to Haru’s bedroom, having remembered where it was since the last time he was here. He gently moved him to the bed.
“I can do it myself…” Haru grumbled, despite allowing his partner to then place the blanket back over his body. “H-Hey.” He flinched when Daisuke knelt and placed a hand onto his forehead.
Daisuke’s eyebrows furrowed, he was warm. Hot even. He looked around and was displeased to find that the man hadn’t even gotten himself some water or a cold washcloth. “I’ll get water for you.” He stood up. “Do you also have a washcloth and wash bucket I can use?”
“Bathroom…” Haru grumbled.
Daisuke nodded, moving around the house to grab the items. He was pleased to find water bottles inside the fridge, that’s better than faucet water at least. He held the bottle under his arm as he brought the bucket of cold water and washcloth over.
He knelt by Haru’s bed, noticing how the man looked to be in pain as he placed the bucket down. His eyes were scrunched up, and he was breathing heavily.
“Katou,” Daisuke said gently, uncapping the water bottle. Haru looked to him expectantly. “sit up for a moment. Here.” He waited for Haru to sit up a little, giving him the water bottle.
He drank greedily, only allowing Daisuke to pull the bottle away once it was half empty. “Thanks…” He breathed out, laying his head back down. He turned to face Daisuke as the man began to wet the washcloth. “Aren’t you on duty today?”
Daisuke wrung out the washcloth. “No.” He lied, folding the cloth once over before placing it onto Haru’s forehead.
“Then how’d you know I was sick?”
“I was called. Have you eaten?”
Haru scrunched his nose, clearly not believing his words. “No.” He answered. “I’m not hungry.”
“I’ll make you food anyway.” Daisuke stood up. “Porridge is good for when a person is ill, I’ll make some.”
Haru laughed weakly. “You can barely cut potatoes.”
Daisuke felt embarrassment on his cheeks. “Quiet. You’re sick. It’ll be ready soon.” He didn’t know how to make much, but he could do this. He was able to make the recipe he got from Haru a while ago. So surely, he could do this too.
He walked into the kitchen, before stopping midway. He had forgotten to ask Haru if he had the ingredients for porridge and where they were if he did.
Haru would have said something if he didn’t have the ingredients though, right? Daisuke hardly doubted he was in the right state of mind to try to joke around.
Porridge you needed oats, water, milk, sugar, and honey. At least, that’s what he thought was in it. Did it matter if it was sweet actually? Would Haru like a sweet porridge or a savory porridge? Was there even different types of porridge or…
Daisuke stopped his train of thoughts, if he kept standing there, he wasn’t going to make anything at all. He began to look through the small kitchen, finding a small tin of oats, sugar, and honey in one of the cupboards. He placed it on the counter, wondering if he should check the expiration date. Haru seemed to check the dates at the store, so this was probably fine.
He went to the fridge to grab the milk and a bottle of water. He felt uneasy about using faucet water for the porridge, he didn’t want to make Haru worse just because his apartment’s pipes might not be clean.
Daisuke rummaged around for a pot, looking at the different sizes. He didn’t need the biggest one, so a small one would do, right? He chose a moderately sized pan, pausing for a moment before he grabbed another bottle of water from the fridge. He’d probably need two.
Daisuke took off his jacket, walking back to the entrance to place it on a hook. He turned back around and rolled up his sleeves. This shouldn’t be too hard.
“It’s sweet, but kind of watered down.” Haru spoke weakly, scooping up another spoonful to blow onto it. He took another bite. “But it isn’t bad.” He looked to his partner, who was staring intensely at him.
“It’s edible?” Daisuke asked.
“Yeah, it is.” Haru smiled softly. “Thanks.” He avoided telling him how it was undercooked, overly sweet, and had two different types of texture. It was edible, like he said, but a little weird to eat. Daisuke breathed out, relaxing at his words.
He looked at the time on a nearby alarm clock. Almost two in the afternoon. His partner had already spent a few hours with him.
“You going to go home soon?” Haru questioned, willing his body to stay upright He was already feeling a little better, but he was still exhausted.
Daisuke shifted uncomfortably. “I’d rather not leave you in a state like this, however I will leave if you want me to.”
“You need to eat too.”
“I’m fine.”
Haru sighed heavily, placing the bowl of porridge down on the table stand next to his bed. “Look, you can make yourself something to eat or- “
Daisuke hurriedly pressed a couple fingers to his earpiece. “HEUSC, instruct our chefs to prepare a lunch set and send it to Katou Haru’s apartment.”
Haru’s eyes narrowed. “You could have done that this whole time?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you just order me food then instead of make it?”
Daisuke looked away. “I am aware that you are not a fan of me using my butler. If I had done so, you would have complained.”
Haru began to laugh, sending himself into another coughing fit. He felt Daisuke place a hand on his back, letting him sit up before a water bottle was pressed against his lips.
He drank slowly, thanking his partner as he began to catch his breath.
“You can barely take care of yourself right now.” Daisuke stated. “So, I’m staying.”
No matter what he said, Daisuke always did what he wanted, didn’t he? Haru could hardly believe he had acquired such a stubborn, rich ass bastard of a partner. His eyes trailed to the half-eaten bowl of porridge he had.
He scoffed. “Your funeral, Kambe.”