Yume Week Day late for Day 1: First Fever
Azul leaned his elbow over his desk in the VIP lounge, his forehead pressed against his gloved palm. His eyes strained as he glided his ink pen over the document before him. Normally, his movements would be precise and articulate, but today his words looked messy and disorderly.
With a deep sigh, he set down his pen on the desk. It rolled a few times across the document before clanking against a nearby teacup. The man shrugged off his jacket to let fall on the seat behind him. He loosened his dark purple bowtie and collar. He pulled at each digit of his glove and slipped each one off to reveal sweaty palms.
Azul slouched against his chair and tilted his head back. He placed his finger and thumb around the middle part of his glasses between the lenses and slipped them off to place lazily over his desk. His head felt cloudy. The room felt warm. He debated about leaning against the cold metal of his safe for some sort of cool relief.
He knew not how much time had passed when he heard the door open. At first, he remained in his position, presuming one of the twins had entered. Small thumps could be heard as the person walked across the carpet and approached his desk. He heard a small tray clank onto his desk. Azul presumed it was Jade bringing him a cup of tea.
“Azul-senpai?” a timid voice fluttered.
His eyes popped open at the realization of who it was. Azul craned his neck from the back of his chair and straightened his back. Before him was Octavinelle’s one female student, rather, all of Night Raven College’s single female student. Her eyes showed strong suggestion of concern as she leaned over the desk to peer at his unusually pale complexion.
Azul moved a bare fist to his mouth and quickly cleared his throat. “Mairéad. I see you brought me tea. Thank you. You’re fine to go back now.”
Mairéad pushed her white hair behind her ear. She stared at him wordlessly for a few moments, causing Azul to nervously tap his fingers against his wooden desk.
“Did you not hear me?” Azul pressed.
Mairéad stepped around the desk. Azul turned his chair toward her and opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly pressed her palm against his forehead. He sat petrified at the sudden touch; his eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t wish to admit, but her hand also felt cool against his skin. After a few moments, Mairéad sighed.
“You should return to your room,” she murmured.
“I can understand your concern, but I have work that needs completed.”
Mairéad crossed her arms and tapped her foot as she stared at him. Her mouth scrunched in thought. She then quickly made her way to the door and left the room. The door shut quietly behind her.
The man heaved a sigh before sitting back against his chair, causing it to creak a bit in protest. He couldn’t believe he’d accidentally showed her such a vulnerable state. His clothes were disheveled and his glasses were just tossed to the desk. Mairéad was a very quiet girl however, and not one to try and cause harm. Choosing to just let it be, Azul gripped his fingers around the small teapot she’d left and gently poured himself a cup. Sat nearby on the tray were a few packets of calorie-free sweeteners. The teapot clanked quietly against the tray as he returned it, his eyes fixated on the packets. Steam rose from his cup as he picked up one of the packets. It crinkled slightly in his fingers, and he could hear the contents shift slightly. Mairéad somehow found out about his struggle to eat healthy with as few calories as needed for the day but tried to incorporate sweets into his diet just to make his day that much easier.
With a small tear, he opened one packet and poured it over his cup. The liquid in his cup swirled as he stirred a small teaspoon, dissolving the liquid. Maybe he should ask for honey next time…?
Opting to have the liquid cool down before his first sip, Azul took a hold of his pen and turned his attention back to the document before him. However, he’d only written a few symbols before the door creaked open again. When he glanced up, he saw Jade and Floyd standing there with toothy smiles.
“Floyd? Jade?” Azul looked at them, surprised to see them.
As they approached his desk, his eyes darted to see Mairéad standing in the doorway. She stood there fidgety, avoiding eye contact from him.
“My my, I hear our poor Azul has become ill,” Jade cooed, standing at Azul’s right. The twin stood straight with his hands clasped in front of him.
“Jade, he looks pretty pale to me, doncha think?” Floyd bellowed. “And his clothes are all sloppy~” The other twin had his hands deep in his pockets. He bent his hips down to Azul’s eye range.
“W-What are you two doing?!”
Both men grabbed a hold of Azul’s arms and lifted him from the seat.
“Azul, you’re always workin’ too haaaard,” Floyd whined.
“Mairéad called to us to strongly encourage you to take you to rest in your room,” Jade explained.
Azul rampaged and fought against their grip, but they held him up with his feet dangling in the air and walked him through the doorway. Eventually, he found himself out of breath, and finally yielded to the two. Azul slouched in their arms with a pout but feeling thankful they’d take a route to keep him from being seen in this state. As the twins carried him through the hallway, Azul could hear faint footsteps frantically walking behind the three. The eels’ strides were long, and Mairéad had to power walk to keep up.
They soon approached his room and placed Azul to the edge of the bed. Mairéad stood at the doorway of his room, too timid to follow all the way inside.
“Ne, Jade,” Floyd asked, looking toward his brother.
“Yes, Floyd?”
A grin fell on Floyd’s lips. “Azul shouldn’t be sleeping in his uniform, right?”
Jade smiled. “He indeed shouldn’t, Floyd,” his smile turned toothy.
“W-Wait!” Azul protested.
Mairéad covered her eyes and turned away from the room. She heard the ruffled noises of clothes and Azul voicing his protests. “I can dress myself!”, “Don’t touch me there!”, “You don’t need to remove my underwear!!”
She felt her face grow hot.
“Really you two…”
Mairéad turned around, her fingers separating to let a single eye peer inside. Azul looked exhausted as he sat on his bed, wearing a plain white shirt and plaid fleece bottoms. When Azul and Mairéad’s eyes met for a moment, they both averted their eyes.
“Mairéad!” Floyd called out. “We’ll leave the rest to you!”
The twins approached her at the doorway. Each of their gloved hands patted her shoulder to give an encouraging(?) smile before making their way into the hallway. When she glanced back inside, Azul was laying on his bed, facing away from her and under his blankets.
She was hesitant at first, but Mairéad eventually stepped inside, quietly shutting the door behind her. As she stepped closer to his bed, Azul’s ear twitched when he heard the sound of a package being pulled from Mairéad’s pocket.
Mairéad stood at his bedside, and gently pulled at his shoulder to turn him onto his back.
“Azul-senpai…?” she murmured. “Can I put this on your forehead?”
Reluctantly, and figuring he lost any opportunity and looked composed after being dragged down the hallway like a small child, Azul turned to his back. His eyes darted toward a pair of glasses hanging over her breast pocket.
“Oh,” Mairéad looked down, realizing where he looked, “I brought back your glasses.”
She pulled them from her clothing and set them down, folded onto his bedside table. Azul said nothing, averting his gaze.
“Well? You said you had something?” Azul pressed.
Mairéad tore open a small, flat wrapper. Mairéad gently traced the tip of her finger over his forehead to push aside his silver bangs. She pulled out a white towel-like item and softly placed it on his forehead. It felt unbelievably soothing against his skin, and he felt a bit of the cloudiness in his head subside. He shut his eyes and for a few moments, he indulged in the sweet coolness on his forehead, forgetting he wasn’t alone.
“Does it feel okay?”
Azul jumped, his eyes shooting open. His eyes darted toward Mairéad and quickly turned away. His face felt hot. He tried to internally tell himself it was from the fever.
“It’s…nice,” Azul spoke, his voice growing quieter. “…Thank you.”
For a short while, it was silent. Mairéad did not say anything else. Azul grew curious and turned back to look toward her. He was surprised to see her smiling warmly at him. He noticed a part of her white hair slip over her shoulder, and dangle from her head. Mairéad’s emerald eyes staring at him made his chest tighten slightly. It must be the fever.
“Azul-senpai?” Mairéad finally spoke.
“Hm?”
“Do you have any potions for fevers?”
“…There might be a few vials in my table.”
