As they stared at him, Corpse felt like he should be at least a little bit offended.
He should, but he feels like he deserves it.
A little bit.
"You... You adopted a cat...?"
Corpse sighed heavily "Yes Jack, I adopted a cat."
That got him another round of stares. "You adopted a cat because... Sykkuno wanted you to...?"
"For the last time Ludwig, I adopted a cat because I... uh, want a cat."
5up snickered behind his hand, Corpse shot him a slight glare "I'm sorry but that's not how you told us that story the first time."
Corpse rolled his eyes "Shouldn't you be in the debate club or something?" Corpse asked instead
5up just laughed at him "Hey man, I am just glad I am not missing out on this. This shit? This shit is gold."
Corpse just sighed once again for probably the 6th time that hour, he should have just really kept his mouth shut. "Fine, I adopted a cat... with Sykkuno. Is that better?"
For some reason that made Dream laughed so hard that he started sounding like a hot whistling kittle pot. Corpse would have been concerned but he knows that Dream was laughing at him so he wishes that the other man would choke on his own spit.
"Okay calm down everybody, Corpse could you tell us what happened for the last time?" Even though that was his statement, there is a clear amusement evident in Greaseball's tone.
"Okay fine. Basically, me and Sykkuno went around the campus yesterday to take pictures for the photography club. Then he told me he was taking care of a cat... and that he is worried about the cat. So being the good that I am, I volunteered to adopt the cat."
As they all laugh, Corpse is now starting to regret ever changing university, or better yet meeting all of them. "Fuck you all, I hate you all." Corpse said in a deadpanned voice.
"You tell us that story like that man but all we can understand is that you didn't want Sykkuno to be sad so you took the cat." Felix said, not even bothering hiding his chuckle every once in a while.
At least this time, Corpse felt like that is probably why they are laughing at him. "Well... I don't have to explain what I did, to you people." Corpse said instead.
"Oh come on guys!" Jack said gathering their whole attention "That is actually really really sweet of Corpsie to do! Imagine he already scored a date with Sykkunie!"
Corpse was just thankful that he wasn't eating anything or else he would have choked on it "It wasn't a date!" Corpse said already feeling a headache coming up even though it's just lunch time.
Alarmingly, 5up cleared his throat. "Allow me to list evidences of why it is indeed a date Corpse."
"You don't have to-!"
Corpse was cut off as 5up just waved him off "First you two went around the campus, alone. Just the two of you. That's a date. Second. Sykkuno showed you the greenhouse. That's a date, and a really cute one too! Lastly, and I cannot stress this enough, you adopted a cat FOR SYKKUNO because you didn't want him to be sad." 5up then looked at him dead in the eyes "It's a date Corpse."
Dream was laughing all throughout "You cannot argue with a debate master Corpse! It was, in fact, a date." Dream looked at all of them "Can you believe it? Corpse just arrived in the university and yet he was able to score a date with the most liked person in the university! I don't know if you need this but, good luck Corpse a loooot of people would kill to have a date with Sykkuno."
"It's so cool though, two of them have like the greatest voice of all time and we find out that they are dating already." Felix dully noted
Corpse buried his face into the palm of his hand, unable to pinpoint how did their conversation turned out like this "Sykkuno and I aren't dating." He mumbled out, loud enough to be heard. But like he expected, he was ignored.
Greaseball then suddenly smirked at his direction "An actual question if you will..." he said making everybody look at him "Do you like Sykkuno?"
That caught Corpse off guard, "I... uh... what is that question even...?" he asked "I mean, sure? After all he is a nice, sweet, and very genuine guy and it wouldn't be hard to like him. You know there is something about him that attracts people... he has this gentle aura, warm and inviting." Corpse bumbled out, not noticing that the more he talks the more his friends grin at him. This made Corpse stop, before looking at them "I fucking hate you all."
"Hey Greaseball just asked if you like him man, I don't know why all that." Ludwig said with a grin on his face "You could have just said yes, and yet you told us all of that."
This got him a course of chuckles, and Corpse is really starting to wonder if he could transfer to another university. As they all finally settled down, 5up suddenly turned his attention to the entrance of the cafeteria "Oh shit..." 5up mumbled underneath his breath.
This made all of them look at the entrance as they all looked at Toast who is looking all over the cafeteria as if he was looking for someone. "Please hide me..." 5up mumbled as he got closer to Greaseball as if trying to hide himself.
Apparently, Jack either didn't heard 5up or he simply didn't care, because the next thing Corpse knew is that Jack was calling for Toast's attention as the other man looked over their table his eyes narrowing before finally walking towards them. Corpse couldn't help but chuckle as 5up kicked Jack under the table.
"5up."
That was a simple statement coming from Toast but 5up jumped a little in where he was sitting. 5up chuckled nervously "H-hey Toast... uhh... nice weather we got huh? Little bit cold now since it's December..."
Apparently, Toast wasn't amused because he crossed his arms as he stared down at 5up, almost as if the other man should know what he was thinking already. And this is the case since 5up sighed heavily "Oh come on Toast! You can't really expect me to be always in the debate room with Hafu! I already know everything so I just wanted to take a break!"
Toast still looked bored as 5up talks, "Uh huh..." Toast said "Well if you are that confident 5up then I guess I'll just tell Hafu that you are not in the mood to practice for today."
5up groan "Oh come on Toast don't do that to me!" he said "I know what you are trying to do! And that trick won't work on me!"
Toast just nodded "Uh huh okay 5up. Don't worry, I trust your abilities. And I know that both you and Hafu are the best debate pair right? So I am really sure that you don't need anymore practice even though the competition is next week."
5up and Toast looked at each other directly in the eye, as if they are having an internal debate that none of them knows. Finally after a minute has passed, 5up sighed heavily as he stood up "Fine! Fine! I'll go to the lunch practice! Fine!" 5up said all the while walking away up until he reached the cafeteria exit. It amuses them that the other man could grumble so loudly.
With 5up finally gone, Toast just sighed "I don't even know why I bother looking for him, whether or not he attends, it won't affect me." Toast mumbled out
"What's up big brother Toast!?"
Toast looked at Ludwig "I told you don't call me that, Lud." Toast easily said making Ludwig laugh.
"Oh come on! Sykkuno's big brother is also my brother!"
"Yeah, no." Toast said as his attention turned towards Dream making the other man look at him in question "Dream I have a favor to ask."
"Ohhhh this is going to be good!" Jack piqued up
Dream on the other hand just looked at Toast, "Yeah what's up?"
"Sykkuno is currently sick. And I know it would take him days before he would be able to recover." Toast said "I have already asked Rae to take notes for Sykkuno but she isn't taking Mathematics and Statistic class so I'll have to ask you to do it instead."
They all looked surprise, Corpse even more so because Sykkuno looks so well just yesterday. So, he find it really concerning to know that Sykkuno is sick right now. "What happened to him?" Felix asked
Toast sigh "You know how he is with cold weather. Basically the heater in his room broke down in the middle of the night, I woke him up this morning to feel his room freezing and him burning up already." Now that they see it, Toast really looks like he is looking a little more stress than usual "I fucking told him to always double check his heater especially since it is getting colder now during nights." He mumbled out. Toast shakes his head as he turned towards them once again "As I was saying, it will take him days to fight off his cold so in the meantime could you take notes for him? He is really worried about missing that class and he didn't want to bother anyone so he actually insisted on coming to class for today. I'm just lucky that even Mom thinks that is a shit idea for Sykkuno to do."
Dream nodded "Don't worry Toast, I'll take it for him. You actually didn't need to tell me, if I have not seen Sykkuno in class later on I would have still take notes for him."
Toast gave out a relief smile "Thank you Dream, I really appreciate this."
Suddenly, Toast looked at Corpse. Making Corpse sit a little bit straighter than he would have normally would. "Corpse... right?" Toast finally asked after a minute has passed of him just staring at Corpse
Corpse nodded, making Toast hummed "I... heard so much about you from my brother." Corpse didn't miss the way Toast's eye narrow, as if the other man was calculating something "Too much actually. Heard too much than what I would have preferred."
Corpse looked back directly at Toast "Sykkuno is a good friend of mine." He confidently said not missing the way Toast's eyes twitch ever so slightly.
Toast just hummed in respond as he and Corpse stared at each other making everyone around them kinda nervous at the vibe the two are emitting. Corpse thinks that the staring competition would have last for forever if not for the sudden ring in Toast's phone. Toast looked at him hard one last time before getting his phone out, easily answering the call. "Hafu." Toast answered coldly "I'm on my way back again." Was all he said before hanging up.
Toast once again looked at Corpse "I'll see you around, Corpse." Was all Toast said before finally walking away from the group
They all waited until Toast was out of sight. Jack let out a huge sigh of relief "MAN! That was intense as fuck!"
Corpse couldn't lie but he got affected by how Toast is intimidating him subtly. Now he knows why some people are scared of Toast even from a far, his eyes are cold, calculating and most importantly smart. A total opposite of Sykkuno.
"Let us all gather around the table and say our prayers to our big pal Corpse." Ludwig said "Corpse, you will be missed and will not be forgotten."
"Jesus, I can't believe that whenever Sykkuno talks about Toast, he speaks about him like his brother is a pure saint! Not scary at all!" Dream said "Though maybe Toast is only soft like that to Sykkuno." He added
"Of course he is, after all it's no secret just how much Toast is a different guy whenever Sykkuno is around." Greaseball muttered, he then looked at Corpse "Well to be fair we did warn you about Toast."
Corpse sighed "I don't think that was even necessary, I mean Sykkuno is just a friend."
Felix chuckled "Man you think that but you didn't know what Sykkuno told his brother. I mean when you told us what happened yesterday, we legit thought you two had a date, what more would Toast think? You remember right? Toast is crazy protective of his brother. Just imagine Sykkuno happily telling Toast what you two did while Toast just sits there already wondering how the hell you got close to his brother right under his nose."
"To be fair, Toast has been really busy this month because of the debate." Dream said "It's pure luck that Corpse managed to befriend Sykkuno during this time."
"He even got his phone number!" Ludwig interjected
Corpse rolled his eyes "Sykkuno and I are just friends okay?" he said making all of them look at him "And if... it turns out more than that then... I'll handle Toast myself."
That got him a collective reaction of jaw dropping, apparently they aren't expecting Corpse to give a statement like that.
For some reason, Corpse find it surprising that he also said that. After all, he knew that he could really be good friends with Sykkuno, he just can't rule out that maybe... he was slightly attracted to the younger man.
With that lingering thought in his mind, he wonders how Sykkuno was currently doing. After all his brother did just say he is sick.
And like the good friend that he is, he is going to check on him. Purely to know if his friend is doing okay despite having a cold.
Because that's what good friends do.
~o~oOo~o~
As it turns out, after that encounter in the lunch cafeteria, Corpse's day was more or less boring. He finally finished his last class for that day, and it was no surprise that everybody was surprise of Sykkuno's absence in their Mathematics and Statistic class. It's a good thing that Dream was the one who explained the situation.
And now for some reason, Corpse is now in a possession of a dark green notebook. Dream told him that he should hold on to it for the meanwhile, because before Sykkuno comes back to school, they would need to give it to him at some point for the younger man to be able to catch up to what he missed.
Corpse politely pointed out that it should be Dream to give the notebook to Sykkuno. However, Dream also politely pointed out that, since he was the one who wrote the notes, Corpse would have his fair share of labor when it comes to the both of them being a good friends to Sykkuno. And well, when Corpse was about to argue more, Dream politely left him in the hallways.
Corpse hated Dream.
Well maybe not since it would be a good excuse to see Sykkuno even though the younger man was sick. So with one final glance at the notebook, Corpse sigh before going to the other person who he knows could greatly help him.
-.-.-
"You need Sykkuno's address?"
Corpse nodded as Rae hummed. "Well, I mean I could give it to you but I don't think Toast would like that, you should know how he is when it comes to his brother."
Corpse sighed, already knowing that this would happen. Suddenly Rae smirked "Although technically... I wouldn't have to give out their address IF I go with you right?"
Now Corpse just looked confused "If... if you are suggesting that, it would be the best idea for you to just personally hand this notebook to Sykkuno himself, right?"
Rae laughed out loud making Corpse jump a little at how loud it is "Corpse! Work with me okay!? I am helping you, like helping!" Rae said as she crossed her arms "And besides Dream told you to hand it over personally right? So why would you want to pass that responsibility to me huh Corpse?"
Corpse just shrugged "I just thought that it would make perfect sense for you to be the one to hand it over to Sykkuno, and not both of us."
Rae grinned at him "You know what Corpse? Toast told me that I shouldn't give out their address, but... he never specifically told me not to guide someone there right?"
Corpse looked at her with a deadpanned expression "I think those two are the same thing." He said
"Nope! That's where you are wrong Corpse. Dead wrong!" Rae said smirking up to him "You see if I give out the address, Toast would burn me alive HOWEVER! If... let's just say I were to go with you in their house, THEN I'll have an emergency... uhh an emergency something, then you'll have to be the only one to meet Sykkuno right?! Genius!" After that statement, Rae looks oddly proud of herself "Very big brain like Toast!"
"Uh huh..."
Rae huffed at him "Hey! Just trust me on this one! No need to look so skeptical!" Rae rolled her eyes at him "So anyway! When do you need it give it to him?"
"Oh we still have Mathematics and statistics class tomorrow but after that, for the rest of the week we are vacant. So most probably tomorrow after my last class?"
For some reason, that made Rae grin "You are so sooo lucky Corpse!" Rae said making Corpse look at her in confusion, making Rae giggle "You see, tomorrow, Toast and the others will be out until night because they will be practicing in the real debate hall that they will use in the competition for this month! Meaning big brother Toast will not be home to take care of Sykkuno for the whole afternoon! You can take care of him instead!"
That made Corpse paused a little "Wait what?"
Rae laughed "You heard me right! You will give that notebook to Sykkuno tomorrow and! You will keep him company!" Rae looked at him "You are a good friend to Sykkuno right? You wouldn't want Sykkuno to be lonely, well I mean he has Bimbus but I think Sykkuno would really be happy when you show up!"
Corpse narrowed his eyes at Rae who continued looking at him as if she knows something that he personally didn't know "I uh... I mean if Sykkuno would want company then... I guess I can stay with him..."
Rae pumped her fist in the air in excitement "Yes that's what I am taking about Corpse!" she said then she looked at Corpse "I mean... you did adopt a cat for Sykkuno, this is nothing compared to that."
Corpse felt his jaw drop a little "Hey how did you know that?" Corpse asked, because as far as he knows, he hadn't told anyone besides his friends
Rae grinned at him "I already told you Corpse, I know everything that is going on in this university even when I am not there!" she then looked at Corpse straight in the eyes "I might even know something that even you don't know about yourself."
Even before Corpse could clarify what she just said, the door opened making the two of them look at whoever opened it. Apparently, they talked so long that they didn't realize that it was time for their photography club activities.
Well, Corpse would have to find another time to ask her about that.
~o~oOo~o~
"38.6C... are you sure you don't want me to skip tomorrow's event Sykkuno?"
As of the moment, both brothers are in Toast bedroom. Wherein Sykkuno was resting on his brother's bed while Toast is sitting beside him as he checks his brother's temperature.
Toast sighed heavily as Sykkuno just slowly shakes his head, "I... I'll be fine..." he mumbled out
"If your fever reached 39C tomorrow morning before I leave, I won't hesitate to stay at home you hear me? And I'll have to tell Mom because she is already worried for you." Toast said "Also the heater in your room would be replaced sometime soon... so you'll have to stay in my room for the meantime okay?"
"I'm... sorry... didn't mean to..." Sykkuno trailed off "I know you don't like the... spare bedroom..."
Toast just gave him a small reassuring smile "Hey... no need for that okay? It's not your fault that you always get sick during this time of the month. I'm just glad that you didn't hide it like what you always do." Toast said "And the spare bedroom is actually fine for me, I mean I never really get cold that much during the night anyway."
That made Sykkuno chuckle a little bit but soon stopped because even with the simple action, it makes his throat burn up and itch "Don't skip for me okay...? I'll just... stay at bed tomorrow. You need to be there..."
Toast soften his look the more he stares at his bedridden brother "I'm sure Hafu and the other will understand if I miss out..."
Sykkuno finally had the strength to open his eyes albeit a little bit only due to the headache he was feeling "If you miss out tomorrow... I'll make Bimbus bark at you and... and I'll make him chew your shoes Toast..."
Toast chuckled at that "Are you seriously threatening me Sykkuno?" he asked with an amused tone in his voice
Sykkuno looked at him one last time before closing his eyes once again, Sykkuno hummed softly "I am... and I know you can't do anything about it..." Sykkuno smiled a little "I'm sick Toast, you can't bully me..."
Toast let out a small laugh "I'll never bully you Sykkuno..." he said "You know that, right?" he mumbled.
He never got a reply because Toast could already tell that Sykkuno fell asleep. Toast stayed a little longer until he was so sure that Sykkuno is at least sleeping a little bit better despite the high fever, headaches, and sore throat. As Toast fixed his brother's blanket to ensure that Sykkuno is fully covered, Toast didn't miss the small pinged that came from his brother's phone that is placed on top of his bed side table.
With a quick peeked he saw that Sykkuno has a new message from no other than Corpse himself. Toast stared hard at the device before sighing heavily, as he picked it up before turning it to silent mode. He knew that Sykkuno never put passwords into any device he owns but Toast trust his brother, so he didn't bother checking it. He just placed it on silent mode to ensure that his brother's rest would not get interrupted.
After one final check into everything, the heater, the medicines, and the temperature of the room, Toast slowly and carefully exited the room making sure not to make any sudden loud noise. As he closed the door behind him, he saw Bimbus looking up to him. Toast smiled at their dog, before petting him in the head "Come on Bimbus, you are sleeping with me tonight... you won't be able to sleep with Sykkuno because he is sick."
Thankfully, Bimbus didn't bark or anything as he and Toast finally entered the spare bedroom that their apartment has. Toast sighed heavily as he sat down on the bed while Bimbus climb on top of the chair, already dozing off.
Toast picked up his phone, before typing out a message
Hafu, I won't be able to come to the debate hall tomorrow. I have to take care of Sykkuno.
Toast stared at his message, "Fuck..." he mumbled out before fully deleting the message he just typed. Toast just stared blankly at the screen, "I... need to be there tomorrow..." he mumbled out before tossing his phone behind him "But... Sykkuno..." he pressed the heel of his palms to his eyes groaning out loud as he did.
"Toast you'll have to take care of your brother promise me that. And... you should always be careful of what you wish for... because you might regret it if that time comes."
Toast let out a shaky breath that he didn't even know he was holding in "I'm... I'm sure Dad would..." he muttered "It's just one day Toast, Sykkuno would be fine..." he whispered to himself. "Shit... I am the fucking worst."
~o~oOo~o~
A/N: It's almost near the part I am most excited about to write lool! Also I started dropping hints now on what it is, if you can find it good for you!
And it is now 3am in my country and I just decided to write instead of sleeping. Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!