Lights of the toilet

Aki looks down at the lecturer with a bored expression. It has been more than a week since he spent the night with Hiroto, and a few days since he last saw Kanae or really any of his partners. This wasn't like Aki, he didn't normally go that many days without even just going out for a drink. But recently he'd started feeling sick the moment he got too close to someone. It was as if his body was repelling him from getting intimate with other people.

"Are you okay?" Someone whispers to him. Aki turns to his right to see one of his classmates looking over at him with concern. "You look pale, are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," he lies through a smile. His stomach was aching, his head stung as hell and his body felt like it was on fire. "I'll just be right back."

Aki packs his stuff and quickly hurries over to the exit door, holding a hand to his mouth. Just what was wrong with him? It couldn't be his heat, that happened a few weeks ago and wasn't due for another month, and it didn't feel like a fever. A few people gave him worried looks as he ran past them straight for the toilets. Upon entering, Aki locks himself into one of the stalls and holds himself over the toilet seat, keeping his mouth open as he slowly feels the urge to vomit go away.

"What the hell," he mumbles, closing the seat to sit down and hold his stomach. "I feel so sick."

A few moments pass as Aki stays in that stall, trying to understand just what was going on. His heart beat fastening as he thought about where this pain could have resulted from. Should he call Haruki? But if he did then Haruki would blame Aki for not attending his weekly check up with his doctor and Aki wouldn't be able to say he's wrong. There was a strange feeling coming from the back of his neck. Aki raises his hand to lightly touch it and feels it spark up at the contact. He hisses and retracts his hand, pain filling his body as he slouches further in his seat.

There's a few people outside the stall, passing by normally. He can hear them saying things to each other, laughing and joking around whilst he sits there in pain. Then the door to the toilet swings open and he hears everyone in the room go silent. Aki doesn't care too much about that and keeps clutching onto his stomach, his eyes shut tightly.

And then there's a knock on the stall door. At first Aki ignores it, thinking it was someone trying to find an empty stall. But then the knocking continued, getting louder as it went on.

"It's occupied," Aki mumbles, his teeth gritting against one another and his lips pursing.

"I know," a familiar voice answers, then sighs. "Open up."

Aki freezes in his spot. The sweet scent that he remembers from a few nights ago surrounds him once again. "Hiroto?" He asks quietly, almost as if he was scared to be correct.

"That's my name," he replies, knocking on the door again. "Come on now, open the door."

Aki looks up in shock before reaching out for the lock, barely managing to pinch the handle between his fingers and unlocking it. The door opens immediately and Aki finds himself getting looked down upon by Hiroto.

"How—" Aki pauses as a sudden spark runs through him, all the way from his neck down to his toes. Hiroto crouches down so that he could look up at Aki and rests his hand on his cheek, slowly caressing it. Strangely enough, Aki's body didn't react negatively to that. Instead he leans into his touch and hums as the pain aching through him lessens. Just what was Hiroto doing to Aki?

"Are you in heat?" Hiroto asks, brushing Aki's hair out of the way and checking his temperature. "You're burning up and letting out pheromones like crazy."

"I am?" Aki responds, surprised. Maybe that's why everyone was looking at him. But even then, during heat Aki didn't secrete many pheromones."I'm not in heat. I know that for sure."

"How are you feeling then?" Hiroto hoists Aki up and takes a seat on the closed toilet seat, helping Aki sit on his lap. He caresses Aki's back and slowly runs the other hand through his hair. "Why don't you go home for now?"

"I have a seminar to attend," Aki tilts his head onto Hiroto's shoulder and clutches onto his arm. His touch is comforting and Aki feels as though he's recharging. "And I feel better now. Now that you're here."

Hiroto doesn't say anything for a while, simply helping him relax. "You shouldn't say that to people you barely know."

Aki chuckles and squeezes his arm. "Do I barely know you? Pretty sure we spent a long night together, exploring each other and—"

"Alright, alright, is that all you think about?" Hiroto shakes his head, but the small smile that blooms on his face contrasts his tone. Hiroto sighs once again before sliding his arms under Aki's legs and picking him up. "Okay, let's go to my place."

"Huh?" Aki perks up and shakes his head. "Wait! At least put me— no wait please let me walk, I don't want people to see— Hiroto, are you listening!"

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Hiroto places Aki down on the bed a lot gentler than Aki had imagined him to do. Then again it would've been fairly dramatic and unnecessary if he threw him. The pain Aki felt had long disappeared and the fever was barely there. The sun was still high up in the sky and when they had been making their way out (unfortunately, Hiroto hadn't let Aki stand on his own feet) Aki had seen that there were quite a few people still bustling around.

"I'll be right back," Hiroto says, patting Aki's arm before leaving the room.

The second Hiroto leaves Aki's line of sight, the pain appears again in his stomach, jolting down to his leg and up to his chest. Aki clutches onto his shirt and tries to hold his breath to reduce the pain. Hiroto had only disappeared a second ago and the pain was back? Why was it linked to him?

"Hiroto," Aki whispers, his hands coming to his side in an attempt to push him off the bed. His voice was quiet and raspy as he gasps when the pain rises in his body. "Hiroto!"

The door was closed and Aki sits there in agony, tears forming at the edge of his eyes. Maybe he should've called Haruki when he had the chance to do so. Sitting there in a position where he can only silently cry wasn't all the best.

"Woah! Are you okay?" Hiroto rushes over to him the moment he catches sight of his tears. "Why are you crying? Is it hurting again?"

"Hiroto," Aki cries again, his hands coming up to wrap around his neck. "Please call my brother."