Flowershop

Chapter Eighteen

Kiku had his head resting on Alfred's shoulder, drowsily watching TV. He was feeling a bit under the weather, but for whatever reason, he had yet to find out. Two weeks have passed since Mathieu and Gilbert's visit, and he started feeling a bit sick the day they left. The first hint was that he didn't come down straight away the morning they left, not really waking up right away.

He raised his head up after a second, trying to see the television more. Alfred glanced down at Kiku's face, then looked closer immediately. "Dude, your nose is bleeding!"
Just as Alfred said it, Kiku himself registered it, speed walking over to the sink and washing his nose with water from the sink, tilting his head back carefully. So instead of having a nice, lighthearted parting, they had one filled with a mutual worry.

He walked over and sat back down next to Alfred, a napkin in hand. He looked down as he dabbed at his nose slightly, wanting to take off any excess blood. It took him a moment to notice the strangely forced look on the other's face. "Is something wrong?" Kiku asked, looking up at Alfred. "No, it's just that... you don't take care of yourself properly, and it's worrying," he said, looking straight ahead. Kiku was honestly puzzled by that, with a slight chuckle he said, "What do you me-" but was once again cut off by Alfred. "Oh, don't laugh! You need to start taking care of yourself more, look at you," He said calmly, finally turning to look at Kiku. Kiku pressed his lips into a thin, hard line. "Alfred, I don't want to hear about this nonsense. I'm fine. How am I not?" He said a little heatedly, annoyed at Alfred for scolding him. He was old enough to take care of himself.

He left Japan to get away from stupid stuff like this.

"Well, for starters, you get zero sleep at night, and then you sleep way too much during the day. You aren't even eating well enough? You are unhealthy," He said, his voice quiet, indicating he was being serious. "I am perfectly healthy, and I'm perfectly well off," he said in denial, nose in the air. Alfred turned to him with wide eyes. "I didn't even mention money! That just shows something's wrong! And you just randomly got a nosebleed!" He exclaimed, staring at Kiku as though it were the most obvious thing ever. "People get nosebleeds! Jeez Alfred, why are you making a big deal out of this?!" He said, raising his voice slightly; this was a rather touchy subject for him. "Kiku," Alfred said seriously, seeing the back of Kiku's head, as he had turned away. Alfred was honestly astonished; this was the first time he had ever seen Kiku really act childish.

At least, in Alfred's eyes this was childish of him. He and Kiku both knew it would just be better of Kiku actually listened to him and took it into heart, but him being way too unconcerned and confident in his own health were getting in the way. He was way too prideful to admit he wanted to take a break for a while.

"People just don't normally get nosebleeds... I'm restraining from taking you to the doctor right now," He said, knowing perfectly well how stubborn Kiku could be in certain circumstances. "I don't need the goddamn doctor," Kiku said with finality, trying to ignore the fact that pretty much everyone could see he had black circles around his eyes. "We will find a better job for you, we will start looking tomorrow, but for today you should just take it easy, okay? We can't have you pass out from exhaustion," he said soothingly, starting to rub Kiku's unwilling arm a bit. Alfred was the only person Kiku knew who could deliver such a line in such a way.

"Yeah, whatever," Kiku said, still not facing Alfred. "Aw, cmon. I won't take you to the doctor. I'll take care of you from now on," Alfred said brightly, looking him in the eyes. Kiku stared back with wide eyes, half flustered he said that, half worried about himself, sure Alfred might end up killing him. "Uh, thanks?" He said, failing at seeming thankful. He rubbed his shoulder, grimacing when it ached. Alfred's eyes brightened at that. "Here, let me help you with that," he said with a caring expression, starting to kneed Kiku's shoulders. "Ah, wait, let me get more comfy," He said, taking off his shirt and laying down.