Kaede's Homework | Saimota Fanfic

Part 9 | It Hurts

The doorbell to Shuichi's house rang through the first floor. Groggily, the detective sat up with puffy red eyes and tear-stained face. Shuichi placed three of his fingers into the glass of water on his bedside table, dotting each of his cheeks with water droplets. As the detective headed down the stairs, he carefully wiped his face with the hem of his shirt.

Knowing full well Kaito was the one at the door, he wanted to make it look as though he wasn't crying. Luckily his still stuffy nose and pounding headache was enough to pass off Shuichi as sick.

The astronaut patiently waited at the door, knowing it would take a few minutes for the sick Shuichi to get out of bed. The door clicked open, revealing a semi smiling detective.

In response, Kaito gave Shuichi a huge smile to balance out his melancholic aura. "Here's the soup I promised you! Nana just made it so it's still warm."

The detective stepped aside, letting the astronaut into his home. "Thanks, Kaito. Your Nana's soup really is something special."

Shuichi never had many home cooked meals growing up. His uncle was always busy with the job that he just brought take-out from semi fancy restaurants. The detective barely even remembers his parents, let alone any dinners they shared.

Kaito gave Shuichi a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Head up to your room. I'll be there in a sec. Gotta get a bowl for this soup, yeah?"

The detective nodded, his smile remaining but showing sadness. It was not something the astronaut wanted to see.

Kaito was confused. Why did Shuichi look upset? Maybe he felt bad that Nana made him soup. Nah, he already accepted that hours beforehand. He'd find out later. First he needed Shuichi to be physically fine, then he could work on whatever was bothering the detective.

Once the soup was in the ceramic bowl, the astronaut headed upstairs with a spoon in hand. The door to Shuichi's room was already open from before, meaning Kaito didn't have to knock on it. But the astronaut is too much of a dork not to.

While still holding the spoon, Kaito tapped his knuckles twice against the wood door. "Knock, knock."

Shuichi smirked, thinking of continuing the joke. "Who's there?"

"Soup for."

"Soup for who?"

"Soup for you!"

The detective chuckled while the astronaut burst out laughing. "If Maki was here, she would be smashing her head into the wall."

The astronauts roaring laughter slowly died down. "You're probably right. Anyway, I have your soup so sit up."

Shuichi followed Kaito's order, resting his back against the headboard. "Alright, hand me the soup."

The astronaut shook his head. "Nope! I wanna feed it to you."

The detective avoided his gaze with Kaito, blushing in embarrassment. "O-Ok."

The astronaut asked for the detective to open his mouth, which he complied. Carefully, Kaito placed the warm metal spoon into Shuichi's mouth. The detective lips closed around the spoon, taking in the salty flavor of the soup.

The astronaut beamed. "How is it?"

Shuichi reached his hands out to grab the bowl Kaito was holding. "Delicious. I think I can eat the rest by myself, though."

The astronaut nodded, letting the detective take the spoon as well. "Fair enough. I'll just stay here till you finish."

The bowl was half full when Shuichi put it on the nightstand. He didn't feel particularly hungry. As good as the soup smelled and tasted, each bite almost made him throw up. "I'm done."