Heated Red

Riku Nanase sniffled lightly and cuddled under his duvet. His body felt heavy. His nose was stuffy, and his throat hurt every time he coughed. He knew he had a cold, but he was determined to ignore it, even though his physical discomfort had already begun to make him grumpy. He had a lot of things to do today, so he couldn't stay in his room. He knew that Tenn-ni wouldn't disappoint his fans because he had a cold, so Riku wouldn't either. Sitting up in his bed, he shivered slightly at the cold air.

He wrapped a thick blanket around himself and stood up. Changing into some warm clothes, he grabbed his bag and threw his inhaler and some tissues into it. He brushed his hair and left his room, making it to the common area of the Idolish7 dorms. The common area was buzzing with activity as he stepped into it; after all, he wasn't the only member that had things to do today. Grabbing the water bottle, he quickly left the dorms and made his way to his activities. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself for the day ahead and began walking, his bag slung over his shoulder.

He tightened the coat around his body and sneezed. Making his way to his first destination, which was a photo shoot. Coughing slightly, Riku made his way to the studio, the cold air making the sick redhead shiver. Entering the studio, his face paled at the other person who would be doing the photo shoot with him. Kujo Tenn; his older twin brother. If his partner for today was anybody else, it wouldn't be a problem, but it was Tenn-ni who always took care of him when he would catch a cold when the two boys were younger. So trying to hide a cold from the other boy would be even more difficult than it would be if he were hiding it from anyone else.

Sighing softly, the redhead walked into the main area of the studio, and Tenn noticed Riku and gave the other teen a look. When the photographer realized the two idols had arrived, he had them handed over to costumers, who changed the boys into the clothes they would be wearing for the first couple photos. Riku nervously shifted his gaze away from Tenn and tried to act as if he wasn't feeling the telltale signs of a cold. Back in the main room, the two were quickly thrown into various poses. Tenn saw Riku's nervousness and noticed he seemed to be feeling ill; after all, it's hard to hide being sick from your twin.

So Tenn looked over at his brother every now and then to make sure his condition wasn't getting worse. About two hours into the shoot, Riku's condition became obvious as his sneezing and coughing became more frequent. Tenn immediately called for a break, but Rikus insisted on finishing the shoot because he knew how important it was that they finish this for their fans. Tenn gave Riku a worried look, but the redhead just shrugged it off.

Another hour into the shoot, the coughing became wheezing, and his fever was starting to become evident on his face. A red flush was on the redhead's face, and every time he was moved around too quickly, his world spun. He was starting to look more and more unwell, and it was clear that he needed to take a break soon. Even the photographers were starting to show their concerns as well. After a lot of talking, the photographers called a five-minute break for the two idols. It was obvious that Riku was becoming uncomfortable with the constant flashes and camera clicks, and the photographers agreed that the break was necessary to allow the obviously sick redhead few minutes of rest.

Riku tried to protest the break, but the photographers wouldn't hear his protest and said they needed to recalibrate the cameras anyway. With that, the two idols were left to have their break, and Riku made sure to avoid eye contact with his twin. Sneezing softly, the redhead held back another wheezing cough. Tenn gave him a look, and Riku knew he was going to get a talking to once the photo shoot was over.

There was only about one more hour left, so the sick boy didn't have to hold out much longer. Tenn had noticed Riku's lack of enthusiasm throughout the entire shoot and was disappointed in his behavior. However, he knew that he needed to pick his battles and decided to wait until they were finished before addressing it. Alternatively, Riku took a deep breath and tried to pull himself together for the remainder of the shoot, knowing that his illness was no excuse for not giving his best effort for his fans.