𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘜𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘫𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳)

CH 27

Warning: Tooth rotting fluff and Toshi getting babied

Who said big, bulky athletes don't get sick? Coughing and sniffles echoed the room as there lay your boyfriend who fell into a fever. Ushijima rarely falls ill due to how much he takes care of his body with a strict workout routine and diet crafted by professionals. He had a great and strong immune system but that did not mean he would not fall into the hands of sicknesses forever. However, it was horrible once he gets sick.

Ushijima has been laying in bed, finding it uncomfortable to even fall asleep. Even if he does, he would wake up from the body ache and throbbing headache at most two hours later. His body felt hot even though he has discarded his top and placed ice packs on his skin but nothing seemed to be working. The medicine he took was as if not doing its job too. He felt terrible.

Noises were heard outside followed by hurried footsteps. You have reached his place (though you were staying at his as per your uncle's instructions) after a group meeting at campus. The first thing you did was to speed to the nearest convenience store before taking a taxi to his place. You wanted to be there for Ushijima as quickly as possible. "Baby, I'm home!" You made your presence known after washing your hands and feet before entering the shared room. There you saw your boyfriend laying in bed with an arm across his face, covering his eyes. "Welcome home, my love." He greeted after slightly lifting his arm to peek at you.

Seeing him in this manner made your heart sore. You generally hated seeing anyone you love falling sick because you could not share the burden with them though you wanted to. "Has your fever gone down, Toshi?" You sat beside him. Without a word, Ushijima lifted himself slightly to shift closer to you and rested his head on your lap. You placed the back of your hand on his forehead to find it still heated as if there was no difference as when you left for campus. His body fell unevenly from his breathing, some shallow while some deep as his brows inched slightly with closed eyes.

"My poor baby..." You kissed the frown on his face as his tired olive eyes looked up to you. "I wish I could just cure you with cuddles and kisses but life doesn't work that way." You chuckled and stroked his hair. "I'm tired but I can't sleep..." Your big baby of a boyfriend pouted. It was when you looked around the room to think of what you could do to make him feel a tad bit better when your eyes lit up. You took the plastic bag from the convenience store and took out a packet of jelly cups. "It's not cold enough. I'll go put them in the refrigerator." You kissed his cheek before leaving.

When you returned, a fever patch was seen in your hands as you climbed onto bed and pasted the cool patch across Ushijima's forehead. He coughed and you patted his back gently. "Should we see what's on television?" You turned on the tv and flipped through the channels offered. Ushijima pressed his cheek against the side of your waist from behind, bored eyes on the screen until the sports channel was broadcasting a volleyball match. "I want to watch that." He pointed to the tv with eyes lit up with excitement. "Sure, baby." You gave into him and turned the volume up.

"Watch how fast the ball spins when he serves." Ushijima pointed out. You were now sitting on the bed, back against the headboard with Ushijima snuggled next to you. Bringing his head to the side of your chest, you hummed and rubbed his warm cheek with your knuckles. You stroked his muscular arm wrapped just below your chest and smooched the top of his head. "You hungry? Want some snacks?" You asked, angling yourself to face him. "But we shouldn't have snacks when we're sick." Ushijima blinked up at you. Scoffing, you pinched his cheek and pulled them lightly between your thumb and pointer finger. "Well, I think it's time for you to experience your girlfriend's way of battling sicknesses." You booped his nose.

"Are you sure this is alright?" "Yes, baby. I've done this for years and I get better faster." In front of both of you was an array of snacks from sweets to biscuits and the jelly cups you bought that were now semi-frozen. Taking a grape flavoured one, you tore it open and squeezed it a little for the product to seep out. "Ah~" Your lips widened while saying that and placing it before Ushijima's lips. There was hesitation in his olive eyes, "C'mon, baby. Cold food might help lower that fever of yours." You kissed his temple. He took a bite of the grape jelly as his tired eyes brightened from the sweetness. "You can have them all, baby. I'll grab more for you if you want, hm?" You caressed his cheek and watched him reach for a candy this time.

As the volleyball match progressed, there was a short clip of some players featuring their top moments. "Baby, it's you!" You tapped his arm while pointing at the screen. It was that one match where he gained the attention of volleyball fans whereby he scored four aces in a row and the spikes he scored in clean yet powerful shots during the Volleyball Nations League (VNL). "Wow! You're amazing, baby." You complimented with proud sparkling eyes and rubbed his bare back affectionately. Certain nicknames for Ushijima were brought up like 'Super Ace' and 'Southpaw'. "That's a cute nickname." You commented while opening another jelly cup, a peach flavoured one this time, for him. "You think so, love?" He chewed onto the frozen treat as you nodded.

"I feel like 'paw' in a cute way to describe hands. Look at yours, Toshi. It's big just like a bear's paw. I always see you like a cuddly teddy bear, baby. Plus, you're adorable. You know?" You explained your thinking. Ushijima tilted his side to a side and blinked at you with confusion written all over his face. Your lips curled and let out a soft sigh before holding onto his face and pecking his lips. "It's okay, baby. I love you." You whispered and took his left hand to kiss his fingers. There may be some things Ushijima does not understand but that was alright so long as both of you loved each other.

The match ended after an hour and it seemed to be the right time for Ushijima to get some rest. You took the thermometer from the nightstand to measure his temperature and glanced at the screen after a beep was heard. "See, baby? I told you my method works!" You flipped the thermometer for him to see that his temperature has dropped. "I guess I should adopt your method to cure illnesses, huh?" He let out a closed eyes smile as you hummed with a few nods. Climbing into bed, your arms stretched towards him as a sign for Ushijima to be embraced in your hold. He plopped above on top of you causing a groan to slip your lips from how heavy he was but that did not matter at this point.

Ushijima was feeling drowsy which was a sign that the medicine's effects were taking place. As he was now more opened and comfortable to displaying affection, your teddy bear of a boyfriend buried his face in the valley of your chest. It was never an awkward thing for you that Ushijima would seek comfort and affection from such an intimate area of your body. No one else had the permission to do so except for your boyfriend with you knowing that he was a gentle giant and he would never hurt you. In fact, you enjoyed the endearing feeling whenever he sought to lay on your chest. It was always a warm and loving feeling bubbling within you.

"We'll order in dinner when you're awake. Do you have anything in mind?" You pulled the blanket over the two of you. Ushijima pondered for a while and place his chin on your sternum. "Hayashi rice." "Baby, didn't we have that a few days ago?" You chuckled and scrolled through the food delivery app. Silence fell as you looked down to see a sulky pouty baby and mentally slapped yourself. He was the sick one here and giving into his wants and needs would not cost your life. "Aw... I'm sorry, baby. Sure, we can have hayashi rice for dinner. Anything for you, hm?" You apologized while thumbing his cheek. Nodding, Ushijima nuzzled against your chest making you smile at the sight and stroked his back. Leaning in, you gave him a few kisses before adjusting the blanket just aligned at the base of his neck. "Sleep well, baby. Get well soon, hm?" You whispered and felt him drifting off to sleep. Finally, he was able to get proper rest for you were with him.