[Log] Tachibana and Niou

[chickens]

Who: Tachibana and niou
When: October 7
Where: Medbay
What: Tachibana comes to visit Niou in medbay, and is a helpful fellow who helps his smelly boyfriend shower



The minute he got clearance, Tachibana was gathering Niou’s things and heading to the medbay. He hadn't realized how anxious he had been until he had been told Niou could leave iso. He waited for Niou, holding the bag of things tight in his hands.

It was apparently more work than expected to leave isolation and be moved into the main ward, something Niou tolerated by reminding himself that fussing would probably end up with him being sedated for another 24 hour. He relaxed as the last nurse moved away from him, propped up against the pillow and perked up as he spotted Tachibana waiting. And raised a hand at him, feeling some more of the tiredness falling off.

Tachibana headed over, taking Niou’s hand with a relieved smile. "How are you feeling?" He probably knew the answer, but he didn't want to assume.

Niou gripped back Tachibana’s hand with much the same relief. “Not as shit,” he said, frowning at the gravelly, roughness of his voice. He turned to the side to cough, truly to clear his throat. “Getting better.”

Tachibana set the bag to the side and sat next to Niou, soothing a hand over his hair. "You're starting to get color in your cheeks again. That's good."

… His hair was probably greasy, and Niou appreciated Tachibana not mentioning that. “With everything they’ve been putting in me, I’d hope so.” He moved his other hand to show the IV (all wrapped up and ready for the shower) before dropping it tiredly back onto the bed.

"You worked your body to the breaking point." Tachibana pointed out. "You probably would have been fine if not for that…. But I don't think it's your fault, since it took Sanada out, too."

Hardly his and Sanada’s fault they had to work so hard. “Well, now we’re on forced rest, so.” Niou looked extremely grumpy at that. He squeezed Tachibana’s hand again and glanced around. “I hate it here.”

"I know, but once your levels are good, they'll let you rest in your loft." Tachibana promised, kissing Niou’s forehead. "At least you aren't in iso."

“Which is in my office, which means I’ll want to work,” Niou pointed out. Because apparently both him and Sanada were workaholics. “But yeah, I can get visits now. Although I probably wouldn’t have been good to visit before anyway, I think I woke up a couple of times? But…”

"You were out for most of it…" Tachibana laughed. "Do you want to sleep in my room? Or yours?" He agreed that Niou working was counter-productive right now.

Niou laughed and had to turn away to cough again. “Let’s focus on getting me out of medbay first before worrying about that.” He squeezed Tachibana’s hand again. “I want a hug. And a shower.”

Tachibana smiled and scooted closer, pulling Niou into a nice, tight hug. "Yeah, I love you dearly, but you reek." He laughed. "I brought your shampoo and everything."

He elbowed Tachibana off him. “You didn’t need to hug me, then,” Niou grumbled. “Well, you’re in charge of getting me clean. Because apparently if I fall over and break a bone, the nurses will all come flocking in and see me naked on the wet floor.”

Tachibana grinned and hugged him again. "I'll hug you no matter how bad you smell " He laughed and then stood up. "No worries, I'll catch you if you fall."

“How… sweet? I think?” Niou tilted his head slightly in confusion. And okay, he was going to take that as a cue to move as well. He shifted to the edge of the bed and slowly lowered his legs to the floor, belatedly realising that yes, his socks were still on. “Arm please, Kippei.”

Tachibana held out his arm like the gentleman that he was. "You don't want to be carried again?" He chuckled softly.

Oh god that was a blurry memory of illness that he flushed over. Niou gripped Tachibana’s arm and used it to haul himself up, feeling a bit shaky but OK. “No. I want to be a shuffling old man.” And to prove his point, Niou took a few stubborn steps.

Tachibana laughed. "My stubborn, shuffling old man." He kept walking, heading to the shower.

At least he made it to the showers without falling over and Niou sighed in relief as the door shut. “If I’d needed to be carried, I probably would’ve been stuck in medbay even longer.” He did take the chance to properly hug Tachibana though, leaning against him.

Tachibana rubbed Niou’s back. "Yeah. I'm glad you're at least conscious now." Without really thinking, he started helping Niou disrobe while telling the shower to start running at a warm temperature. "Do you want to sit or just lean on me?"

“Conscious and able to pester you with questions again,” Niou laughed. He did become aware of how gross he felt though as the clothes came off. “... You’re going to get really wet if I just lean on you. But I don’t want to sit, I’ll fall asleep again.”

Tachibana blinked. "Oh, I was just going to shower with you." He said. "It's nothing you haven't seen before." He started pulling off his own shirt, which was a little awkward given their positions.

“Medbay showers aren’t meant to be for doing sinful things in,” Niou said, mock teasing. He did pull away a bit to stand on his own and take off his pants, underwear and socks, frowning at the lightheadedness as he straightened back up again. “I want to lean on you. And then sit down, maybe. Depending.”

"Cleanliness. So sinful." Tachibana laughed, taking off the rest of his clothes and putting them to the side. "We can do that. It's too bad we don't have a tub to soak in afterward. That would feel good."

“Having your partner-thing thoroughly clean you, maybe.” Niou rubbed at his eyes with his hand to chase away the last of the sleep. “The baths are on our to do list. But I guess they’re even more delayed after this.”

"You need more people in Engineering…or maybe a head that doesn't die after a week." Tachibana sighed. "And I can behave myself. I just want to make sure you're comfortable." He tested the water. "It's comfortable to me, want to test it?"

Niou ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it up against the greasiness. Gross. “I guess I’m back to being co-head, then.” He carefully made his way to the shower water (if he slipped, nurses and nudity, he reminded himself), nodding as he adjusted the temperature slightly warmer. “Good now. Come here, Kippei, before I fall over.”

Tachibana climbed into the shower, pulling Niou close to help him balance. "Let's get your hair clean, first." He smiled.

Maybe he should have sat down. But also, leaning against Tachibana and loosely draping his arms around his waist in a hug was kind of nice too. Niou nodded and closed his eyes. “I’m in your care, Kippei.”

Tachibana grabbed Niou’s shampoo and started massaging some into Niou's scalp. "I'll do my best." He said, hoping Niou was able to keep himself standing while Tachibana washed his hair.

The hands in his hair were relaxing and Niou leaned more heavily against Tachibana as he started to drift off again, only vaguely aware of what was happening beyond it being soothing and warm. Until his legs buckled and he jerked awake suddenly, grabbing onto Tachibana to steady himself.

Instinctively, one of Tachibana's arms secured itself around Niou’s waist. "I've got you." He said, and then carried on like it was nothing.

“Sorry,” Niou shook his head to try and clear it. “Got sedated too much.” He let himself relax again, but at least the arm around him was making him feel a bit more secure. “Wake me up when you want to wash my front,” he mumbled, back to letting himself drift off again.

"Don't be sorry." Tachibana said, easily able to finish Niou’s hair one-handed. "Will do." He washed Niou’s neck and back carefully, taking his time before speaking back up. "Alright, Love, time to turn around."

Oh no, the washing of his back was even more relaxing and Niou weirdly drifted between awareness and some very faint dreams that incorporated it. He did wake up though when Tachibana spoke and reluctantly moved, leaning back heavily. “‘M dreaming,” he explained. “Your hands are turning into cat paws. It’s weird.”

Tachibana laughed softly. "Meow." He grinned, starting to wash Niou’s front. "I don't think a cat washing your front would feel very nice."

… did Tachibana just meow at him, or was that part of the dream too? “At least not with their tongue,” Niou said, laughing at that thought and choking on a cough that bubbled up. “Your hands are nice. No counting ribs allowed.”

"Careful now." Tachibana said. He thought about counting ribs, but he decided against it. "They’re harder to see, now."

Niou just waved away the concern, coughing again before leaning back against Tachibana again. The coughing woke him up a little at least. "You can still feel them though. I can feel you feeling them."

"I have to feel them to wash them." Tachibana pointed out. "I still think you don't want me to count them because you don't have the right number of them." He accused.

Niou closed his eyes again and it was a bit harder to relax and drift off when like this. A bit less secure feeling too. "Or I have the right amount but one is fake," he said, patting Tachibana's hand with his own.

"A fake one." Tachibana raised an eyebrow. "Interesting." He finished washing Niou’s front and wrapped an arm securely around him again. "Do you feel better?"

Niou turned around to cling to Tachibana again, pressing his face into his shoulder. "Still tired. But feeling clean and tired at least."

"Let's get you dried off and dressed, then." Tachibana gave the shower a voice command to stop and then grabbed a towel, drying Niou’s hair first. "A shower after being sick is one of the best feelings ever…at least, it always was for me."

He was definitely not going to move at all until he had to. "Being washed down by your partner-thing after being sick is pretty nice," Niou said. "You should try it one day. It might make post-sickness showers even better."

"Is that an offer to take care of me if I get sick?" Tachibana asked, going to dry the rest of Niou once his hair wasn't dripping. "I would rather not get sick if I can avoid it."

"Yes? You probably would've if I hadn't ended up in iso." Niou moved his head just enough to press a kiss to Tachibana's shoulder before burying his face again. "Although I'd probably get sick if you got sick. My immune system is so shit right now."

Tachibana just held Niou close for a moment. "I was actually very worried for that reason, especially after I heard the guy died."

Niou winced. Right, dead head of department. "Well… good thing I have a nutrition doctor looking after me. Making sure I get back to being healthy. So I don't have to get pumped full of nutrients in medbay again. Or sedated for hours …"

Tachibana nodded. "I don't even want to think about what would have happened if this had occurred a few months ago." He finished drying Niou off and grabbed a robe, dressing Niou in it while he finished drying himself off.

… Ah. "Yeah… a few months ago might have gone terribly." Niou frowned at the robe and watched Tachibana get dressed. "I hope there's underwear and pyjamas for me," he said. "I would like to wear pants here."

"Yeah, that's just until I'm dry." Tachibana said. "I don't want to get your clothes wet." He finished up and smiled before grabbing the bag with Niou’s clothes in it. "Need help?"

"Oh okay." That made sense. Niou shook his head to try and wake up, pushing himself off the wall that he'd somehow started leaning on, drifting off again. "I can get dressed. Just. Pass me the underwear first." And he'd take off the robe himself.

Tachibana handed Niou his underwear, keeping an eye on him just in case. "I brought your comfiest looking pyjamas.

God, bending over to try and pull them on was actually hard and he felt pathetic as he pulled up his underwear and had to push himself up with hands on his thighs. "There's not that many options," Niou laughed. "... You might have to help me."

Tachibana nodded and went to grab Niou’s pyjama pants. "I can help. Did you want to hold on to my shoulders and step in while I hold them?"

"I hate this," Niou complained suddenly, though he did as he was told and stepped into the offered pants. "I just want to get discharged and get out and not be tired all the time. This is shit."

"I believe the saying is 'This is fuck'." Tachibana said with a grin. "You'll be surprised how much better you'll feel after your next sleep." He promised.

"Haha. This is definitely fuck. So much fuck." Niou did have to tighten and tie off the cord to help out the elastic, and then held out a hand for the shirt. "I'm pretty sure you told me that before, to just sleep. And I woke up sicker."

Tachibana handed over the shirt. "This is different, I promise. If I'm wrong, you can punish me."

The shirt at least was easy to pull on and Niou pulled his damp hair out from under the collar. “I don’t think being bitten is much of a punishment anymore,” he said. “You’ve been so deprived lately of it.”

Tachibana couldn't help but laugh at that. "You may need to come up with a different punishment." He did actually like the biting. He grabbed his clothes and threw them back on. "Let's get you back to bed."

“Deprivation from hugs and kisses seems too mean.” Niou would have to think about it when he wasn’t exhausted and having trouble thinking. He swayed a little as he stood waiting, jerking back to wakefulness as Tachibana spoke. “... You may need to carry me.”

Tachibana nodded and carefully scooped Niou into his arms. "Please don't do that. That is really mean, and you would hate it, too." He carried Niou to bed and tucked him in. "Good?"

If he closed his eyes and tucked his face into Tachibana’s shoulder, Niou could ignore wanting to die inside as he was carried back. And he was still a bit flushed as he got back to bed. “A bit better.” He coughed again, and the warm air from the shower had definitely helped that too. “Arms OK?”

"Oh, no. I need to ice them and lie down now." Tachibana said, dramatically draping himself over Niou’s lap. "You're way too heavy."

Niou laughed and automatically rested his hand in Tachibana’s hair, mindlessly petting it as he rested back. “Thought so. You definitely shouldn’t do that again.”

"I'm such a fool." Tachibana laughed, closing his eyes. "I missed you, Haru."

“Doing reckless things when I’m not properly able to supervise you.” Niou tutted at Tachibana, running his fingers through Tachibana’s hair and down the back of his neck. “... I’d say I missed you too… but I don’t remember anything.”

Tachibana let out a soft, happy sigh. "I understand. That's probably for the best." Being sick was bad enough. Remembering it was worse. "I could fall asleep right here…"

“I think I woke up a couple of times?” Niou frowned as he tried to remember but it was hard to distinguish what had been a bad dream and what was actually him in isolation. “Vaguely remember arguing with you…” He couldn’t think though. It didn’t matter too much though, and Niou closed his eyes, still petting Tachibana’s hair. “I probably will fall asleep in a bit.”

"I wouldn't really call it an argument…" Tachibana yawned. "Go ahead and sleep. I'll leave when someone kicks me out." For now, he wanted to stay as close as possible.

“... How much have you not been sleeping since I got in here?” Niou asked suddenly, opening an eye to look disapprovingly down at Tachibana.

Tachibana’s eyes were closed so he didn't have to see that disappointed look. "I tried to sleep and I kept thinking about you sick and alone…"

Niou just shook his head and closed his eyes again to relax. “I’m fine, Kippei.” Or at least, now he was getting towards being fine again. “And I’m going to behave so I can get out of medbay faster, and then be disgustingly demanding of you for at least three weeks.”

Tachibana nodded. "Promises, promises." He chuckled, his voice getting heavy.

“I’m definitely getting out of medbay as fast as possible,” Niou argued back. He coughed one more time before sighing and relaxing. Even with the sounds of other people around him, he definitely felt OK with Tachibana right there. “You have to help me shower tomorrow too, okay?”

"Of course." Tachibana said, getting comfy in his chair, his torso still draped on the bed. "Anytime you want."

“And I’m going to talk to you. As much as possible, to try and stay awake. And I’m going to demand meals from you.” Once he got cleared for eating solid food. Niou let his hand fall still and he was definitely easily drifting off again. “You’ll be so sick of me by the end.”

"No, I won’t." Tachibana pouted sleepily. "I want to spoil the hell out of you." And he would. He would like to see anyone try and stop him.

Niou felt vaguely like he should be encouraging Tachibana to go out and make friends and spoil other people too, but also… not right now. “Yeah okay. Just until I’m better though.”

"Okay." Tachibana said. He was also vaguely aware that he was a bit ridiculous when it came to Niou. "Love you." He said, wanting to get it out before he drifted too far off.

Niou nodded sleepily, mumbling some sort of slurring agreement. And it took him a little bit, frowning at the sound of people walking close by, but he eventually drifted off as well.