#shunagi

Today was nothing special, but familiar is what Shun was happy to live in if it meant the Victory Kitchen remained standing amongst the test of time and such a smothering in their reviews due to that lying bastard... Many times Shun had expressed regret for splashing the man with water for bad-mouthing the same kitchen he had grown up in, the same that had wrapped him up in comfort when he was hungry; never could he forget such a thing.

He was forever thankful for everything that he was given in his younger years; and even now it gave him more hope for the future and a job he could do... He loved cooking even if it ended up making most meals (even ones he didn't cook himself); as a logical puzzle to fix or perfect, it was something he prided himself in; the heart and soul of the Victory Kitchen wouldn't be the same without the heart that was put into it by all who taught him.

So, as any other day, now that the looming threat of the Victory Kitchen being bought out and made into a mindless chain without even a grain of humanity to it was no longer a heavy burden on him; he was doing work he enjoyed.. Or, tolerated to set up what he enjoyed of the job, cooking. And handling the supplies to set up the ingredients for meals for those who come to visit the Victory Kitchen; they would be offered only the best of what they had; made with time and effort.

The wind was nothing new in this place, the gentle breeze was captured by a comfortable warmth that flowed through the area and by the back-alleys, as Shun sifted through the crates and boxes, producing a heavy bag of rice, slung over his shoulder with a grunt of difficulty; all that training in the Metaverse and going through that palace, it made him stronger.

The flutter of wings did not feel like a familiar noise in the alley behind the Victory Kitchen; that was new, of course there were always a few birds here and there that would scout out tiny bits of food that were left out; crumbs from customers or food taken out to eat; sometimes the spare bits of grain that made its way out of the bag now left on the ground.

The single thing that really set these heavy flaps of wings that were paired with the thud of what could only be a landing; was the voice that connected with it soon after, Shun's head whipping around to look over at the box of ingredients; which had an open top, which left the poor bird flailing.

"Uah! Plastic; why must everything be wrapped so securely?" A familiar voice complained amongst the plastic that kept the items inside safe and secure, feathers flapping against the small forced entrance the owl had made. "The need to keep things secure and safe would normally be seen as a simple desire, but currently it feels the opposite!"

"Huh? Lufel?" It took Shun a moment to take the sight in, the normally composed bird now stuck between glass bottles and plastic wrap; struggling to get out, before sticking his head out of the end after Shun flipped the box back over, surprised by his appearance; especially without a prior notice- nor without Nagisa in toe- or feather more accurately.

Lufel struggled, before finally emerging from the hole, with a small bit of trouble as the plastic remained as a prison for the poor owl, before his talons dug into the outside and squeezed him back, feathers puffed with surprise and disorientation; a couple of pecks and gentle preening before Lufel shook off his less than optimal landing.

"Ah, yes, Shun." Lufel finally spoke, poking his beak at the small bits of feathers that hadn't fully straightened back out yet, blue eyes blinking up at the boy before him. "I would have arrived more cordially; but I suppose such pleasantries will have to wait, for I am in need of your assistance."

"Assistance?" Shun questioned, it was odd for the bird to go out of his way outside of the metaverse or anything to ask something of the other members of the Phantom Thieves, normally Nagisa would tend to the bird; both with food and housing... An oddity of even having a conversation that wasn't cut short in some way, Nagisa was- for lack of better wording, Lufel's partner in crime above all. "Is there something going on in the Metaverse? Can't you sense that stuff?" Shun questioned, kneeling down as he set down the rice bag, flopping down unceremoniously besides the plastic wrapped ingredients the poor bird had taken a nose-dive into.

"You would be correct in my abilities to sense change-" The thud of heavy grain opted for Lufel to give a quick hop out of the way; just to ensure his own safety as he flapped and planted himself somewhere more amicable to his talons. "Though, currently I do not sense anything odd or out of place with the metaverse; nor do I feel it presently having an effect on in this world either.. No, my question and my ask for assistance comes in the form of something I cannot do on my own." Lufel explained, tilting his head around. "Motoha was busy; I was unable to grab her attention without risking my own exposure to her friend. I count myself lucky enough to have reached you; the fly over here has weakened my wings with fatigue." He cooed uncomfortably, picking at a few more feathers, out of soothing nature instead of cleanliness.

"Well, don't start beating around the bush; don't see why you'd not just tell me what's going on." Shun gave a look to the left, before looking to the right; it was true the bird needed to be kept hidden and safe- not only was possessing an owl already an odd sight to behold, but given the sight that had been left when Kiuchi's calling card had dropped from above from said bird, Lufel strained the importance of hiding their identities. "Right." Shun said quietly, leaning down; he was lucky enough to have any sort of pocket; he was wearing the apron he normally wore when working in the Victory Kitchen; he opened the pocket in the front before motioning to it.

Lufel; if a bird could look confused, pulled off the expression with ease.

"Are you expecting me to tuck myself in there? There is not a comfortable amount of space." Lufel said, eying the pocket with question; granted he knew he was small, he could normally fit in Nagisa's carry-on bag.

"You said it was important; plus you don't want to put our real identities at risk, so, just, climb in." Shun motioned, crouched and prepared for the bird to practically treat his apron like a kangaroo; though he hoped the bird wouldn't leave much of a trace- would the smell of owl even wash out of his apron?

"Hnn..." Lufel was not looking forward to it. "To be avoided being seen, I suppose this is the optimal choice, though, I still believe I will stick out like a sore thumb; if that is how the saying is used." Though he was not happy about it, he climbed in, there was a very obvious bump in the apron that made it look like he was carrying that of a small melon; maybe a tiny pumpkin- or an ostrich egg if he really had to bluff, it looked suspicious, but Shun looked left and right; it was best to get out of the eye of the public. Masa would surely have questions for why Shun was not helping carry things in; but he'd have a moment or two to be able to swipe Lufel in and figure out what was happening.

A few choice steps and some practiced movements he slid into the bathroom of the Victory Kitchen; for a moment he could breathe as the ruffled Lufel crawled out from the apron, none too pleased at the choice of hidden transportation, his claws ticking against the porcelain with controlled pressure, adjusting before finally flapping and settling his wings on the sides of his chest.

"So..." Shun kept his voice low. "What's going on Lufel? If it's not something with the metaverse, then what is it?"

"Truly, it is not as pressing as that of a palace; or a menace as they have been deemed; someone with twisted desires- though as his friend I was sure you would understand the importance of one's health." Lufel started. "Kamisiro has fallen ill, though it will most likely pass, his health has become concerning to me; I feel it is my duty to get help when he is bedridden.. He has medicine but today he was unable to remove himself from his sheets without feeling nauseous." Lufel flicked a few feathers side to side, straightening them out.

"So; he's sick?" Shun huffed, before thinking back, sure Nagisa had a small sneeze or a sniffle here or there- but it was true, over the weekend he hadn't seen his red haired teammate even once, nor was he getting many responses on his phone; granted it was only one, it would be a lie to say Shun was a large texter or a lively one at that.

"Correct; I believe it has gotten much worse than a simple over the counter medication can help, he has taken the medicine he can, but meals have become sparse and he refuses to get up for water, to say he is able to do things himself would be lacking, I will admit it is hard to endure even as an onlooker." Lufel prattled on. "Though I have helped where I am able, this body is lacking certain abilities, thumbs to be exact."

"So you need me to go check in on him?" Shun questioned. "Why did he not say anything before if he was getting sick; he was even acting weird when we were in Momentos." Shun thought, tapping his temple in thought, he hated having to leave the kitchen to be restocked by Masa and Masa alone. Though, thinking back to his first time interacting with Motoha and Nagisa, Masa was quite pleased with the fact Shun had begun to form a friend group- still, it didn't feel fair to leave Masa to do work he was meant to help with.

"Hoom.. I am unsure of why he was not speaking to any of us on his health; perhaps concern, or in a more simple desire he simply didn't wish for it to render us unable to progress in our mission as Phantom Thieves." Lufel rolled the thought around his feathery skull. "Though, as business partners, I should have been paying more attention to him and his health; even as designated leader, I could have seen this coming if I paid more attention; but as of now all I am able to do is ask for your help."

Shun watched the bird; he couldn't leave the kitchen right now with all those ingredients outside; but perhaps there was a sort of situation he could make; staying for a reasonable time then dispersing after restocking the kitchen; as Lufel said, it wasn't a deadly sickness; but this did not mean Shun was not worried for his friend; who wouldn't be?

"Masa made a kind of soup when I had gotten sick; especially when I was younger." Shun recalled, pricking through those memories and unwinding them like messy yarn that had wrapped around his brain like a constrictor boa. "I believe we have the recipe stored away; he keeps a good collection of old cook-books, though they're for more use outside of the kitchen..."

"Hoo! That would be a grand gesture! And would help plenty; considering he has not eaten much in the past few days, I would be grateful for your help, and I am sure he too would be thankful for your help in taking care of him." Lufel then added on soon after. "Of course, asking you to shirk your duties is irresponsible of me to ask, but I have done what I can, as much as I hoped I could do more." Lufel deflated.

"It sounds pretty important." Shun said quietly, shaking his head. "And it will give me a chance to put my own spin on it, my own broth..." Shun reasoned, before thinking it over.

"If it would be less of a concern; I will happily wait outside. If I perch myself high enough, it will be less likely to raise suspicion." Lufel offered a few flaps of his wings to emphasize his point.

"Well.. You can't stay here." Shun said awkwardly, it truly was in a bad space for him to stay; having a random owl be in the bathroom, it would most likely startle anyone who entered the bathroom unknowingly running into an owl- not only that, rumors could still spread on there being wild animals inside of the Victory Kitchen.

"Hoom; if you hide me in your apron pouch, as much as I do not enjoy repeating such a traversal, it seemingly is the best option, though, after this, I would highly implore a better device to carry me with you; I believe if I remember correctly, each student has a bag of their own; perhaps you can bring that instead? It would make transportation much easier." Lufel suggested.

"Yeah, I'd rather not have feathers in my apron." Shun grumbled.

"Uah! I do not lose feathers that commonly, I am not diseased." Lufel puffed.

Shun didn't have to do much convincing to Masa to let him go visit his friend; especially considering he was feeling sick.. Granted Shun didn't like bluffing to Masa, but such a white little lie was better in the long stretch of things, Nagisa hadn't said a word to not only Shun.. But neither Motoha, nor Lufel. Shun was both glad that Masa was letting him take one of the transportable bowls with him, without asking too many questions while the other felt as if he was breaking his trust, above all, he was hiding a much larger secret amongst the white lies.

The turning of the wheels of an abandoned bike, the bike as a whole was old, being used when Masa had first tried to conform to a new thing; delivery- it wasn't odd for most places to do a take-out-style food, some that weren't able to keep up with table-ready dinners, it had its own unique usages; it was efficient even; he was not one to ignore its qualities as much as it's cons.

The hiccups against the road where a pebble would come along as he rode along caused little trouble to him; everything was set to be portable even if it was mildly uncomfortable due to its wear... Not to comment on the small sounds from Lufel whenever they would be met with a bump or a dip, it was as if the bird had never experienced it in his life- how did Nagisa ever put up with Lufel in his bag; in Shun's it was like a rollercoaster in disguise.

Peddling along he takes a right turn, avoiding any of the pedestrians despite the bike squealing with discontent; the house in Yogenjaya one he only saw a few times; rarely had Nagisa invited his friends to his home, not unheard of but Shun always had chalked it up to being a place of comfort, just as Shun did not show his room to Nagisa, Nagisa in turn didn't share his; it was normal.

Though, it made finding the house only mildly troubling when his house was just one of many lined up in a neat row.

"Uahh! I feel almost like I am flying, but having my wings hidden in a bag; I would not say this is the safest route we could have taken!" Lufel had said; Nagisa normally carried him with a sort of grace that was unlike Shun, who was barreling down the street- to Shun this was average pace, to the poor bird in his bag, it was like riding an unstable train car.

"Ah." Shun slowed himself and eased his peddling before coming to a halt, as the fluffy and puffy owl poked his head out of the zipper spot that was left open just enough for Lufel to poke his tiny head out and get a good look at the things around him.

"Hoo! I would prefer this not happen again." Lufel finally said, shaking his feathers back into place to ease his discomfort.

"It wasn't that bad; I wasn't peddling that fast." Shun muttered, looking from one to another building, before finally sighing. "So... Which one is his house? I don't think I've actually ever been here."

Lufel took a moment, looking left and then right, taking in the area around them; lucky enough the area was quiet for now, less number of people meant Lufel could easily wiggling himself out of the zipper and landing with a small thud, before fluttering his wings. "It's this one, in front of us; the window is open and I will open the door from the inside." Lufel explained his plan, looking at the building, before he flapped off.

Shun wasn't exactly excited for this, but he could wait a few minutes; he could only imagine what it would look like for a bird with that round beak to try and fight the lock on the door, god-forbid there was more than one lock. He moved the bag and tucked it under his arm, taking a quick look at the bowl he brought. It was in good condition and it was still at an ample temperature, perfect for being eaten warm.

"Oh, well look who's new on the block!" A voice came, a woman with rather styled pants and a jacket slung over both shoulders; wandered closer, bag in hand.

Shun turned, looking at the woman after a moment; before realizing that she was talking to him directly, he kicked the stand of the bike down, allowing it to remain propped up on its own so he'd have his hands free, he raised an eyebrow. "Oh uh, no, I don't live here."

"Oh I know." Tomiyama smiled, her lips had a dried set of red lipstick upon them, her tired eyes gave a sign of her age, but they remained kind and spry even in their aging skin. "Don't be so tense, I'm not here to interrogate you; unless." She smiled.

"Unless?" Shun questioned, finger fiddling with the strap of the transportable box on the back of the bike.

"See; Nagisa never talks about his friends; well, at least not a lot; but then again I sit him down and talk with him plenty; so maybe he just is putting me first; what a charmer." She joked, laughing into her palm as she covered her mouth with politeness. "You go to the same school, right? You share the same uniform; oh, don't tell me, you're in his class too?" She smiled.

Shun wasn't sure what to think about that; but before he really could question, she continued.

"I have a new set of clothing for him; someone needs to check on him; living all alone like that could be very tiring- imagining having to stay at home without my husband, it makes me sad to think about; but I would find less peanut-butter spoons in the sink." She chuckled good-naturedly at her own inside joke. "But I wouldn't want to bother him; and I need to pick up groceries; so would you be kind enough to drop it off? I'd hate to get in the way of him finally spending some time with some friends; such a quiet one he is."

"Alright, lady, um, I can drop these off.." Shun awkwardly was handed the bag, it felt only mildly heavy on his forearm, it felt a bit lady-like to hold it in such a way; but like he was one to question, it was comfortable and it's what worked best. "Lady; oh, not even going to ask my name?" Tomiyama said, enjoying the young man's sputtering and trying to explain himself for such a rude way of talking, only for her to gently wave her hand.

"Just check in on him; that's all I could ask; hopefully next time we meet, Nagisa can finally introduce me to all of his new friends; it's good to see he has them." She smiled, before starting to walk past Shun, who had finally calmed down from the sputtering; he'd have to ask Nagisa to explain who that woman even was; maybe some aunt? I mean the woman got him clothing, so that might make sense, though, he supposed he befriended all kinds of people, considering he befriended a literal bird-thing from a whole other universe.

Speaking of which, Shun left his bike next to the wall and focused on the front door when he heard it start to shift; a sound of scratching and bumping, a familiar muffled voice of a troubled owl on the inside; clearly struggling with the door. Shun grabbed the container of soup and pushed the gate in the front with his foot, it creaked quietly; as he took steps up to the door, it felt odd standing at his doorstep like this.

Finally, the awkward click of the deadbolt freed itself and the flapping protested as Lufel managed to open the front door all by himself, he would be proud if it weren't such a hassle to begin with, becoming exhausting to try and manage such mechanisms with such talons and no thumbs.

"Hah! There; I have opened the door; please, open it, pushing it open myself seems.. Implausible." Lufel's beak poked through the little gap between the door and the doorframe, it was almost comical, Shun snuck his fingers into the spot between and opened the door; a nice rush of cool air hitting him; it felt nice, though it made sense considering the Victory Kitchen normally would have things cooking and fire burning.

Lufel hops along after and flaps to the stairs, landing on the handrail, watching Shun take a look around the house; he doesn't want to intrude or be weird about being in his friend's house, but the photos on the walls and the opening that leads into the kitchen catches his eye; at least he knew where to warm up the soup if it had gotten too cold, or he wasn't able to drink all of it alone- saving some for later would make sense.

On the table was a bit of medicine too; bottles that were for sickness, but the fact they were left out didn't seem usual to Shun; perhaps he'd have to put those away later for Nagisa, if he truly left it out- he might need to bring it up later; if the medicine was even working to begin with. He walked down the hall as he caught the tail end of Lufel flapping his wings, making himself lift up the stairs and took a turn to Nagisa's room as Shun's shoes tapped against the wooden floorboards.

Nagisa looked; for lack of better words, awful.

Despite there being a towel; a washcloth that was tiny enough and folded on his forehead, it wasn't doing much to stop the labored breathing that sounded like it was a fight to even use his lungs, red hair a bit tousled and messed against his pillow, laying half under his sheets and half out. Nagisa sat in a daze, eyes shut as he stared at the ceiling even as he heard the flapping of Lufel enter the room, it took a couple of flutters of his eyelids before he managed to open his eyes and rotate his head to look at the blur of grey and blue that sat on the desk at the foot of his bed.

Shun has seen him in bad shape; but this took the cake, maybe it was because he was entirely ruined by whatever sickness was riddling him, or that he wasn't Wonder here; here he was Nagisa; sick and unwell Nagisa. No glasses to keep his eyes blended in with their dark red coloring, no grey coloring and no tails that dragged attention like a fluttering kite, just Nagisa, sick, flushed, uncomfortable, and alone, Nagisa.

Shun walked in; the door was left open, Lufel flapped his wings a few times, watching the two interact from the desk, a half finished lock-pick lay incomplete besides their feathery friend.

"You look like crap." Is the first thing that came out of Shun's mouth; never one to truly mince his words, ham-fisted as always he said what he thought.

Nagisa's hazy eyes traveled through the air and landed on his blue haired friend, watching him for a long second without a response, before sniffling, the sickness rested deep in his chest; weighing him down like he was shackled underwater.

"Brought you soup; should still be warm." Shun explained, placing the bowl down and popping the lid off of it, to free the steaming warmth of the liquid.

"How did you get in here?" Nagisa's voice finally croaked out; and he sounded horrible, he would cringe at his own voice if he wasn't so tired to do so. Opening his eyes at all felt like the light above him was assaulting him; like he should draw his curtains and remain in darkness.

"I collected him from his work; and implored him to come check on you, you are in terrible shape and as your business partner, I could not leave you to be in worsening health, especially as leader." Lufel explained, preening his wings on his left side, straightening them out with ease.

"Not sure why you didn't say anything sooner; a good bowl of soup should make you feel a bit better." Shun said, holding the bowl with his hands, he'd need to grab a spoon since he hadn't thought that far ahead; nor did he think Nagisa would be in this bad of shape. But he supposed Nagisa wasn't hoping for any company to come by; why? Shun wasn't sure, he hoped he hadn't bombarded him with so much time and asks of him that he didn't trust his teammate; come to think of it Nagisa was known for getting around and getting to know people; Shun had seen him all around places; always moving and always making time for everyone.

Nagisa didn't respond, he stared at Shun with half lidded eyes, exhaustion made him feel like he was heavier than life itself; he wasn't going to answer, and Shun took his lack of response as him being sickly; perhaps that was why his words caught and clung to his throat like tar; Shun waved a hand in front of his friend's eyes, raising an eyebrow. "Are you really that sick?" Shun questioned, as Nagisa struggled to get up, leaning up in bed like a weak and frail mummy arising from its tomb, wrapped in lethargy.

"Perhaps a hospital would be best?" Lufel suggested.

"No, I'm fine." Nagisa protested, the first thing he said in a while with even a bit of energy, which ended up in him coughing like a dying man, as he cleared his throat of mucus.

"That's a complete lie." Ham-fisted as always was Shun's response; all three of them knew it was true, he wasn't fine but he wasn't deathly ill he hoped; he wasn't a doctor. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" Shun asked, questioning as he paused, before pointing at him. "Hold on; answer that when I get back." Shun made his way out of the room only to stop and go back up the flight of stairs he had just descended.

"... Uh, where do you keep your silverware?" He asked awkwardly, as Lufel let out a huff shaking his head side to side.

Eventually Shun returned with a spoon in his hand and a few napkins; he was surprised they weren't waiting on the table, but his parents weren't here so there would not be a reason considering he never expected visitors, and oddly enough that added to the loneliness of the home.

"Right, got some napkins; and a spoon, shouldn't need much more- oh." He sifted around in his arms, a bottle of medicine under his armpit. "Medicine too; uh, it was the one with the sick cow on it right- usually I don't buy the stuff." Shun said honestly.

"Yeah." Nagisa croaked uncomfortably, shifting around in the sheets of his bed; he hadn't even managed to get out of his lounge wear to greet his company, granted this was his friend; he shouldn't feel the need to put up the whole act with any of them, and now he was falling apart like an unglued birdhouse.

Shun sat the things down on the side, thank goodness there was some free space, Lufel taking a look at the medicine and reading it over; confirming it was correct with a small nod which only bolstered the blue haired male.

"Can you sit up?" Shun asked, raising an eyebrow at his classmate, walking over with the medicine first; he was glad there was already a small plastic cup prepared for measuring the amount he was pouring; the blue liquid pouring from the end and a thick liquid poured into it as he stood beside Nagisa's bed.

Nagisa pushed himself finally from his sheets and sat up, his lower back felt like it weighed two tons more than it should have, his legs felt like anchors, but he managed even with his hoodie on; he felt extremely cold, but he could feel the sweat trickle down his neck. He disliked having Shun look down at him with pity; Nagisa was a leader, he shouldn't be moping around over the sickness that wiggled into his systems.

Shun placed the bowl in his lap, leaning down to place it on the section it'd be most stable, before his hand raised and came to rest on the red haired boy, his forehead burned with a passion and as if fire was trying to break away from his skull and peel itself into the open air. A grimace overcame his features with a sigh as those red eyes stared up at the wrist of the boy checking on him.

"Well you've got a fever, pretty obvious already." Shun muttered more to himself than to his now patient. His hand was so cooling against his hot skin, it felt nice to finally have some comfort amongst his agony of wiggling around in bed for so long.

"Eat." Shun sat down on the foot of his bed, taking the washcloth to the side and setting it down in his lap; it had lost any sense of hydration to it; it must have been placed on his forehead for hours without being soaked. "It'll do you some good, help if your throat's hurting; it's a bit spicy so it might clear up your nose... But it might also burn your mouth." Shun explained, he thought it made sense at the time, yes the soup didn't call for it originally but spice had always let Shun feel like he could breathe after it; most likely because he could feel the burning through his nostrils even an hour after eating said meal.

Nagisa stared at the liquid in his lap, the swirling of the spoon he mindlessly moved around was enough to captivate his mind for a period of time; despite all of that he got lost in the swirling of the liquid into a whirl. He finally raised the spoon, Shun's cooking no matter what form it came in never was disappointing, it smelled lovely and even now he could feel the spice tickle his nose before taking a sip, the warm liquid with little chunks that were easy to swallow. This was heaven, it had been a while since he had been treated like this, to be taken care of so gently, Nagisa didn't want to think about it too hard.

It was difficult with the boy sitting on the end of his bed watching over him like a guardian angel.

"Thank you." The words tumbled out of his lips before he could really think, it was as if each cog in his skull grinded to a halt and was held together; crushed together by pieces of metal and chipped at the corners.

"Don't mention it." Shun said, a small smile coming across his lips; his friend needed him it wasn't as if he was just going to leave Nagisa on his own when he was this sick; especially if he was in trouble, he sometimes didn't show up to school to begin with, this was just another day of Shun being busy. The gentle flapping of wings was preferred over the sound of other students not knowing when to keep their mouth shut, sometimes they'd just talk about things they never understood, going too far from the mere first step into a conversation.

Lufel worked on cleaning up some loose scraps of paper, some tissue paper that followed the boy up the stairs like a trail of sickness, he disliked having to pick them up cleanliness would help with recovery, and if it meant he could help the boy keeping him in his home while Lufel didn't truly have a home; it was the least he could do. Collection of white soft tissues crumbled into balls that couldn't stay in the trash piles they were left in, the owl would scoff it he weren't so worried for him, collection sheets in his talons only to drop them into the cans that were around, if there wasn't one he collected them into a pile for later discarding.

Nagisa ached when Shun left the room; he could hear the upstairs sink running so he knew the boy wasn't far, but he drank the soup generously like a thirsty camel, even so, the lack of having the boy near him; fretting over his health was something he missed, Shun cared; all of the Phantom Thieves did but sometimes it felt hard to realize when everyone should be relying on him.

It was pathetic, he could admit that to himself, begging without using his voice for Shun to just stay, was that really so much to ask of him?

"Should do a lot better when it's not luke-warm." Shun said, the gentle pressure of him sitting at the end of the bed was enough to shake Nagisa from his whirlwind of thought, breaking him away from his swarm in his skull that felt like bugs crawling behind his eyes, pupils flicking up to see him holding the washcloth, now damp once more, Nagisa didn't even notice the dent in the soup he had made, substantial.

Shun's hand rested on Nagisa's chest for a moment, a gentle push with one hand, as the cloth sat on his thigh; taking the bowl from the sickly lap to ensure that no spillage would come of any movement. It felt like his heart leaped into his throat, and such came a cough as he laid down, his head touching the soft pillow to cushion him from any fall and comfort his weary mind.

His hand was taken away once Nagisa had finally laid down comfortably enough, the coughing eased as he closed his eyes for a moment, before the bowl was set aside, Shun leaning over him just enough to place the soft washcloth against his warm skin, folded perfectly to fit a nice stripe against his skull, he let out a sigh as he relaxed into his bed.

"It's not too cold is it?" Shun asked quietly, adjusting it just a bit more, fingers gently brushing the red hair out of being tucked below the washcloth. He did what he could to supply comfort to his friend, nails gently scraping against his forehead, condensation sticking to his fingers, the cold water felt nice.

Nagisa managed a grunt, not a clean indication of something good nor bad, almost like acceptance rather than truly thinking about the question that reached his ears, with how much pressure was in his skull. Maybe he was going deaf and he just couldn't think clear enough to respond. The way Shun watched with such care and gentleness was making him feel odd; maybe he could just blame it on the sickness, but as he watched the boy's red eyes, Nagisa felt seen even for a short moment.

Shun cleared his throat, finally leaning back into a sitting position, maybe Shun was just feeling sick too; a light flush or a trick of the light against his cheeks that stood out more against his dark blue hair. Nagisa watched him move back to his sitting position with lidded eyes; his friend went out of his way to take care of him, brought and made him soup, Nagisa was burning with this fever, but underneath that; there was a nice warmth that felt like a soft plush that he cuddled as a toddler.

"So." Shun started after a few minutes, the silence had stretched much too long for his liking, it turned for the awkward instead of the comfortable, he still had questions to ask of him, so Nagisa would just have to swim through whatever Shun had thrown at him, being both the water and the buoy.

"There was a lady; not really sure what she was doing wandering out there..." Shun started, his eyes wandering to the ceiling as he recalled. "Do you have an aunt visiting nearby or something like that?" The question stumped Nagisa, as he blinked slowly wondering if he didn't understand the question; maybe he was really that sick.

"No, not that I know of..." Nagisa responded, confused as Shun only gave a shrug of uncertainty, before he let his hands rest on his knees, one leg hopping idly.

"There was this lady, said she bought some clothes? She didn't really look like she was delivering anything, she looked like she was ready to stroll around and get groceries." Shun hummed, trying to puzzle it out; understand who she was. "I left them downstairs; but I'm not sure if you really wanted them or not."

"Ah." Nagisa finally had it click in his mind, he cleared his throat as politely as he could. "One of my mom's friends, she checks in on me..." He swallowed just a bit more soup, it was starting to lose its warmth, but he didn't believe he could stomach much more anyhow.

"Oh, that makes more sense." Shun said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and tilting his head back down between his legs and at the floor.

"What did you think she was up to?" Nagisa asked quietly, tilting his head; cheek pressing against the cold pillow.

"I mean, I don't know, I was kind of overthinking it." Shun shrugged, with a tiny awkward chuckle.

Nagisa kept his eyes on the side-profile of his friend, etching it to memory. "What did she say?" He asked after a long moment.

"She said some weird stuff; I mean, nothing creepy, so I guess it's fine." Shun started, leaning back a bit as he kept his eyes on Nagisa instead. "Said you don't really talk about your friends; and that she was glad I was checking on you." Shun said, and Nagisa's mouth turned downwards, it was a small motion that couldn't be placed without time spent with the boy to recognize it.

"She's kind of embarrassing." Nagisa quietly muttered, sinking deeper into his sheets, his index and thumb playing around with the creases of the bedsheets.

"She seems like a lot." Shun said, chuckling. "Uh, no offense." He added on.

And Nagisa smiled, Shun blundered sometimes, but it added to the charm of him.

"Thank you for... Checking up on me." Nagisa uttered, barely above a whisper.

"Hey, it's no problem." Shun brushed the praise off like always, but it made him feel content, glad he was able to check in on his friend. He hated seeing his friend and leader so sick; maybe he would come around, when Nagisa wasn't sick, but for now, he'd stay if Nagisa let him.

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