#pseudo-noiz

               Noiz was lying on the couch, one of his arms thrown over his face. It was Christmas Eve and he was supposed to be at Aoba’s Christmas party; that is if his body would actually let him get up.  He had tried several times only to get struck by waves of nausea that sends him to the bathroom to rid himself of the contents of his stomach. He had heard his coil go off several times but didn’t have the strength to get up to grab it off the table. He knew it would be the gang asking if he was coming, but they’ll stop trying soon enough.

               Noiz swallowed what bile was starting to rise up in his throat again as he closed his eyes, hoping to get at least some rest in. He hadn’t been sick since he had gotten feeling back in his body, and at the moment he wished he didn’t have feeling so he could be productive. His glass of water was still sitting, untouched, on the table next to the bag of bread. He had read that having water and bread can make you feel better but at the same time his stomach rejected anything and everything that he tried to put into it.

               He was half asleep when he heard knocking. His first thought was that it was part of some weird hallucination but as the knocking insisted he began to realize that someone was actually knocking on his door. He opened his eyes and waited for the ceiling to come into focus before turning his attention to the door. He swallowed “It’s unlocked,” he called out, not sure if the person on the other side could hear him or not but he didn’t have the strength to get up off the couch.

               The knocking paused after he had spoken before the door slowly opened “Noiz-san?” a soft, and slightly hesitant voice said as Clear poked his head around the door before he stepped into the apartment completely “Aoba-san and the others were getting worried when you didn’t show up, is everything ok?”

               Noiz closed his eyes as he relaxed on the couch again “I’m not going to make it,” he said softly, normally he would be worried to get someone else sick but he knew, since Clear was a robot, he wouldn’t be able to get whatever was ailing him.

               “Your temperature is higher than normal,” Clear said walking over to the blond on the couch, he knelt down next to him and place his hand on Noiz’ forehead “It feels to be about a hundred and three point two.”

               Noiz frowned slightly “Tell me something I don’t know,” he muttered, he was fully aware at how warm his body was. Even though he didn’t know the exact temperature, but by how he was unable to cool off gave him a pretty good idea. He squeezed his eyes shut as another wave of nausea rolled over him; the strong urge to purge his stomach of acid nearly had him gagging on air.

               “Ah! Noiz-san!” Clear cried as he noticed the sudden change in Noiz’ body, he couldn’t tell exactly what was wrong only that he must be sick. He had seen Aoba be sick several times, but it was pretty easy to take care of people. “I’ll call Master and let him know that you aren’t well!”

               Noiz barely registered the hurried footsteps walking away as he put all his focus on not throwing up. He hated being sick, he mentally cursed every second as he lay on the bed feeling like shit. He must have either fallen asleep or passed out because when he opened his eyes next Clear was kneeling next to him wiping at his face with a damp cloth. “Clear?” He whispered, making the android jump “What are you doing?”

               “Ah! I saw in a movie that people do this for the sick!” Clear said as he dipped the cloth into the cool water and continued wiping Noiz’ face down “I hear it’s supposed to help lower body temperature, and since yours kept rising, I figured it needed to be done.”

               Noiz shook his head “Clear, it’s just a cold,” he said pushing the androids hand away; it would pass like it always did.

               “Aoba-san said that you wouldn’t get better unless you took care of yourself!” Clear said placing the cloth into the bowel “and you can’t do much in your condition, so just let me take care of you!”

               Noiz frowned as he looked up at Clear, he knew he could take care of himself but he also knew that the android wouldn’t leave until he was healthy again.  “What about the Christmas party?”

               “Noiz-san is more important,” Clear said softly as he wrung out the cloth again “besides, it wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t there.”

               Noiz huffed as he looked away from the Clear, trying to hide the light blush that spread across his cheeks. When he had first started coming down with this cold he hadn’t expected anyone would care that he didn’t attend the Christmas party, much less come to take care of him.

               Clear smiled and got to his feet “I made some soup if you’re ready for it,” he said as he started towards the kitchen. Best to start Noiz off with some broth considering he seemed to be sick to his stomach, at least it’ll be easy on his stomach. He grabbed the bowl of soup out of the microwave and carried it to the living room. He was happy to see that Noiz had managed to get into a sitting position on his own, but he still looked pretty pale. He walked over to the blond and handed it to him “Can you drink it on your own?”

               Noiz looked up at him as he took the bowl “Ja, I should be,” he said as he turned his gaze to the soup, it seemed smooth but at the same time he couldn’t tell what it was. He grabbed the spoon and took a small mouthful of it. He rolled the soup around his mouth for a bit, testing his stomach before swallowing it. It seemed to be accepted so he continued eating, making sure he didn’t eat too fast.

               Clear smiled as he watched Noiz eat, this was a great sign that he was already getting better.  “Maybe it was just a stomach bug!” he said happily as he sat down on the couch next to Noiz. He wasn’t sure how long the stomach flu lasted, but hopefully Noiz was back to his usual self quickly. He hated seeing his friends sick! It made him wish he could get sick so he could understand how to take care of them better.

               “What’s that face for?”

               Clear blinked and looked at Noiz in confusion “what do you mean?” he asked

               “You’ve been staring at me for the past five minutes,” Noiz said setting his now empty bowl down on the table.

               Clear tilted his head slightly before looking down at his lap “I was just wishing I could make you better already,” he admitted, he knew it was a selfish thing to wish for but at the same time this way Noiz could be happy again.

               Noiz rolled his eyes “You already have,” he said as he leaned back against the couch “You’ve made sure that I had food, water and my body temperature didn’t sky rocket. That’s more than anyone’s ever done for me.”

               Clear paused “No one’s taken care of you before?” he said softly, sure he knew that Noiz lived by himself but what about his parents when he was a child? Did he not get the flu when he was younger? Did his parents not care?

               Noiz shifted “It’s always just been me,” he said as he looked up at the ceiling, he didn’t want to get too far into the past since he tried so hard to forget his parents.

               Clear looked over at Noiz “It doesn’t have to be like that anymore!” he said with a smile “You have me! And Aoba-san, and everyone else! We’re here for you if you get sick again!”

               Noiz paused and looked back over at Clear. He waited for a sign that the android was joking, but there was nothing but genuine care. He shifted before lowering his gaze; it wasn’t often that he was left speechless like this.

               Clear smiled before wrapping his arms around Noiz, holding the blond in silence for nearly a half hour. “Hey, Noiz,” he said looking down at the half asleep blond.

               “hmm…?”