"albedo's sick." hu tao huffed, "he will not be able to go to school today."
y/n halted, slowly putting her notebook down. he really did get sick. she fiddled through her phone, wanting to text albedo but just realize she didn't have his number. her glance fell to hu tao who's waiting for her reaction, her friend nodded — like she was trying to confirm something.
"you're not telling me something, y/n."
her forehead creased, "what?"
"y'know.." hu tao leaned forward on her table, intrigued. "whenever i mention albedo's name, you will have this kind of 'disgusted expression' as if hearing his name is the bane of your existence — but! — but when i mentioned that he's sick, you look rather...worried."
y/n's heart thumped against her chest — was she really that obvious?
"is..." hu tao whispered through y/n's ears, "is there something going on between the two of you —"
"no!" she exclaimed loudly, "there's nothing between me and him!" her denial was followed by a nervous laugh. "i—i hate him! i still do! nothing changes...nothing."
"oh yeah?"
y/n avoided hu tao's stare, "shut it!"
"y/n...you're being in denial —"
"no, hu! stop being assuming!"
"you're even blushing!"
"hu tao! please, please can you keep quiet?" she pleaded, eyes widened. her friend's voice was loud that everyone turned their heads on them — she slapped her own forehead upon seeing their other friends walk towards them. "hu...please don't tell them."
"what's up?" tartaglia, energetic as usual, greeted. venti and lumine were on his side, venti glanced at them with questioning eyes while lumine gave y/n the 'you need to tell me this later' look.
"oh, it's nothing." hu tao frowned. "where's my fries?"
"can't you buy your own?" tartaglia raised his brow and took the seat beside y/n, offering his very own fries. "you want some, bestie?"
"no, thanks..."
"something's up?" venti questioned, looking at hu tao who only shook her head. "or you're not telling us about it?"
"only us girls can talk about it.." hu tao responsed.
"that's unfair!"
lumine chuckled at tartaglia's childish rant. they spent the remaining break telling stories and random stuff — about their plans in college, marriage, and thoughts on having children. dismissal came and y/n vanished from their sights instantly, soon she found herself in front of albedo's house.
she gasped at her own decision, "what the fuck am i even doing here.."
she contemplated about leaving or staying — but then again — it's her fault that he got sick. with her shaking hands, she knocked on the door. there was a part of her hoping that no one would answer but there was a larger portion of her that wants to know about his condition.
the door swung open, revealing klee, still in her school uniform. the little child looked tired and worried, like she was about to cry and faint at the same time. "y/n!"
y/n immediately kneeled in front of klee, "klee, are you okay?"
"y/n..." klee sobbed in between their hugs. "mother...mother left some food for brother — i wanted to give it to him but i accidentally spilled it on the floor — he doesn't have any f-food left!"
she gently caressed klee's back, assuring the little girl with comfort. she plastered a smile before wiping klee's tears. "it's okay klee...i will cook for your brother."
klee's expression lightened up. "really?!"
"mhm," y/n nodded. "y/n will help you so don't cry."
klee smiled widely, she held y/n's hand and led her inside the house. it was quiet inside, y/n speculated that albedo's in his room. she decided not to disturb him, walking to the kitchen along with klee who showed her the available ingredients.
"does your brother likes porridge?"
"a porridge will be fine..." klee answered but unsure.
y/n bit her lips. it's funny how she doesn't have his number, how she doesn't know his favorite food but he's always there for her.
"do you want to watch cartoon in the living room?"
"w-would that be okay?"
"of course." y/n smiled, "you're not hungry?"
"no..."
"ah, klee.." she called, walking towards the girl. "let's change your clothes first then after that you can watch your favorite cartoon. do you want some milk after?"
klee could only nod. y/n helped her change her into cozy clothes, she then placed klee onto the couch before opening the television. she gave her a glass of milk, y/n massaged klee's cheek. "you can rest here, klee. i'll take care of your brother."
"thank you, y/n...you're the best."
she had the bit her inner cheek, suddenly finding herself tearing up after hearing that. she never heard her brother say that to her — and hearing it from other people really did create an impact on her. placing a kiss on klee's forehead, she went to the kitchen where she cooked porridge in silence.
seconds turned to minutes; the porridge was finally ready. she was careful the whole time — sure, she can cook — but what if albedo didn't like it? but then again, he had no choice but to eat in order to gain strength.
"klee? where is your brother's room?"
"second floor, uhm, the third room.."
"alright, thank you klee."
obeying klee's instructions, she stood in front of a closed door. she knocked — twice — thrice but received nothing. he's probably too weak to even stand up. y/n opened the door carefully, not wanting to make a sound.
the cold from the air-conditioner immediately hit her as soon as she stepped inside, the curtains were closed and the room was dark that she had to find the switch which is thankfully just beside the door. upon opening the lights, the first thing she noticed was the cleanliness of overall — the color of the wall was cream, the floor was marbled and cold, his table just near the window and the papers on it were neatly arranged — there were some pictures of him and klee on the walls while the remaining were his school achievements.
then, her eyes landed on albedo. he's covered in sheet, and with the look of it, he must be feeling so cold right now. she huffed, placing the tray on the table.
y/n opened the curtains, allowing the afternoon rays to enter the room — making the atmosphere more light. then, she turned off the air-conditioner before walking back to albedo to wake him up.
"hey.." she called, not sure how to properly wake up someone. "wake up."
he didn't even move an inch.
she pursed her lips, "hey, albedo. can you wake up?"
still nothing.
finally, she tried to tap him on his cheek — as soon as she placed her hand on his cheek, he opened his eyes — catching her off-guard. before she could even remove her hand, his warm hand held her wrist. "h-hey!" y/n flinched, trying to get away from his grip. "let go!"
"you're here..."
that stopped her — his eyes were bloodshot just by looking at him she could feel how weak and dizzy he is. he...looked like someone who really needs help right now.
y/n licked her lower lips, nodding with nervousness. "yeah...they told me you were sick."
"childe?"
"hu tao." she corrected. "well uhm...you didn't text me."
"i don't have your number..."
"yeah, right." y/n chuckled, a little bitter. she removed albedo's hand from her wrist and succeed. "can you sit? you need to eat."
"well.." albedo sat up but he was weak and slightly shivering. "i definitely can but i don't think..i can eat —"
"you don't like porridge?"
"no — uh — i like them! what i meant was —"
"oh, you cannot finish them?" y/n raised her brow, "don't worry. i'll help you, i cooked this and in order to show your appreciation, you must finish this," she gave him an up-tight smile.
albedo stared at her with amusement.
"what?"
he shook his head, "nothing."
y/n somehow found herself holding the spoon and holding it in front of his mouth — it was too late for her to even drop it because he weakly accepted it. she had no choice but to go on — oh god, how could she even blush in this situation? everything here was her fault!
"you're the only one who ended up being sick..." y/n mentioned, causing albedo to chuckle lightly.
"ridiculous, isn't it? i feel like a fool."
"you're always a fool." she chuckled.
he looked at her eyes intently, "yeah. maybe i am.."
y/n cleared her throat, feeling the butterflies waking up from her stomach. she rolled her eyes in an attempt to shake the feelings away but miserably failed after hearing albedo's light laugh.
"you should stop, literally," she argued. "i will not help you."
"you told me that you'd help me."
"well yeah, that was earlier." y/n mumbled, "you're being annoying right now."
"how am i being annoying?" there was amusement in his voice.
she wanted to argue more but the feeling of guilt immediately ate her up — she felt the need to apologize. "hey."
"hm?"
she took a spoonful of the porridge soup, "i'm sorry."
"huh? sorry for what?"
"well, no matter where you'd look at it — this is entirely my fault," she sighed, putting the spoon in front of his mouth. she thought of an idea. "accepting this," y/n said, referring to the porridge. "means you're forgiving me."
they stared at each other's eyes — her smile glistened with hope and sincerity and she looked so cute in that state. albedo chuckled, accepting the porridge before the both of them bursted laughing with y/n's ridiculous idea.
ah, if only they could be this 'ridiculous but happy' forever.
&& ILL COMEBACK IN FEBRUARY :))