Detour

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Tuesday came fast enough. Izuku woke up to a much better state than the prior days (has it been a week already?). Sure, he was granted with a headache as usual, but it was a mild and gentle headache. A yawn before the coughs of waking up. That's progress for you!
It was still very early in the morning, the alarm clock showed 3 AM, and he felt rested and somewhat refreshed. He decided a shower could do some good as well.

On his way to the washroom Izuku walked slowly, listening to the sleeping building. The floor creaked softly under his feet, a distant fan was heard, and some gentle snores who were probably not so gentle if he could hear them from the hallway.
The washroom had its own silent noises, the ones you won't notice unless you keep very quiet and listen carefully. A drop of water splashing from a leaking tap or a shower, the wind outside of the closed little window on the end of the hall.
Izuku enjoyed the silence until his own coughs interrupted it.

The shower felt great, warm water on his sensitive skin (the fever does that to him), the feeling of getting cleaned from all the sweat and sickness. He changed to clean clothes, leaving his towel to dry on a hanger, and went back to his room.
He was still very awake, so he decided to change his sheets as well, so he could sleep in a clean environment. But changing the bed sheet was rather hard for his still-not-well body, and the coughs he experienced after were a cruel punishment, rattling his chest. Each cough was very painful, making his lungs sting.
Nevertheless, Izuku managed to complete his sheet changing task, panting forcefully. His skin felt sensitive against his soft hoodie, but he was so cold he didn't want to take it off, so he crawled in bed again and rested under his clean blanket.

Appearently he fell asleep. Izuku heard a knock on his door that startled him awake. "Come in" he croaked, rubbing at his eyes. The morning light was bright through his window, lighting the room and making his head spin.
A head of red and white entered the room, soft foot steps approaching Izuku's bed, and a calming voice. "Good morning Midoriya, you look better than yesterday. How do you feel?" Todoroki seemed to him like a blur in the swirling room, but he could swear the cool teen was smiling by his voice alone.

Shouto glanced at the unfocused gaze Midoriya had. His cheeks were not as flushed as they were yesterday, but the kid himself didn't seem all too well, fighting to keep his head over his shoulder instead of dropping it down.
"Good morning Todoroki kun. What time is it?" Midoriya's voice was weak, sleepiness evident in it.
"It's almost time for me to go to class, but I wanted to make sure you drink something and take your medicine before I leave" he tried to hide the concerned tone that sneaked in his speech. His friend seemed confused, like his mind isn't exactly present. It was also certain that Midoriya couldn't see him clearly, moving his hands on the bed to stabilize himself.

Izuku felt himself swaying, nausea creeping up his throat, the world is still a swirling blur around him. Todoroki seemed like a stain of red and white in front of him, getting bigger as the teen was probably leaning closer to Izuku.
The soft hand pressed to his cheek was the only thing that grounded the boy, helping him gain a sense of stability through the clouds in his vision.
"You're dizzy, aren't you? Do you want me to help you lay back down?" Todoroki whispered next to his ear. "Mhm" he hummed, afraid to open his mouth and infuriate the nausea even more. But then a thought sparked, reminding him that he will probably lose to the nausea sooner or later, and he should prepare for the action of throwing up.

"Nausea..." Shouto heard the boy whisper, his eyes shutting closed. Midoriya's hand trembled, grasping at his blanket where his abdomen was beneath it.
"Do you need the trash can?" Shouto asked hurriedly, already searching for it with his eyes. "Mhm" the sick teen hummed, his entire body shivering.
It all happened very quickly, one moment shouto was on his way to grab the trash can, and the next moment Midoriya's face was already inside it, horrible puking sounds echoing.
When Midoriya was done he took his head out of the can, slumping back to his pillow, panting heavily. Tears streamed down his cheeks and onto the pillow case, all color absent from his face except of the red sploches on his sunken cheeks. He lost a lot of weight since falling ill, hasn't he?

Izuku felt spent, drained of all the energy he had when he first woke up today. His throat burned with acidic leftovers as he struggled to stay awake.
"Todo...roki kun..." he tried speaking but it hurt so much, throwing him into a coughing fit he couldn't overcome. It was like he was being consumed by his fever again, making him unable of speech and movement.
"I'll get you cleaned right away, Midoriya. Please stay awake for a while longer. You need to drink some water and take your medicine as soon as possible, and then you can go back to sleep". Something wet, a paper towel maybe, was brushed against his skin. A soothing hand stroke his forehead.
Something held him and brought him to a sitting position as a glass of water was pressed against his lips.

Shouto helped Midoriya drink and take the pills he needed before laying him back and placing a wet cloth on his forehead. The greenette's skin was too warm again, signaling that the fever had returned. He heard his friend wheezing, battling to breathe air into his inflamed lungs.
"Midoriya, you can fall asleep again. I will report to Recovery girl so she could keep an eye on you today, okay? I will be going now". "S-stay..." Midoriya whispered, and it broke Shouto's heart. His best friend looked so weak and suffering, and he could do nothing about it. Well, nothing except for leaving some frost over the wet cloth and calling for help.
"I'm sorry" he mumbled and fled. He had to run to school now to make it on time, and he also had to take a detour through the infirmary. He will get Midoriya the help he needed!

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