One-Shot Collection (Karma Akabane x OC)

Sick

So... I pretty much got this idea because I was sick myself. Enjoy.
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The dark bedroom was completely silent, save for the sound of Hayoung's breathing. For the past hour, she'd been twitching as headaches and a high body temperature tormented her. After a few rounds of sprinkling water onto her burning skin, she'd finally cooled down enough to get a good night's rest. Karma was also exhausted, but he remained to make sure she had what she needed, should her temperature begin rising again. In her current condition, she was too weak to do much. Her headache also kept her from thinking straight.

Karma was almost tempted to crawl into the bed with her, but his body temperature would probably suffocate her with its heat. So he just sat by her bed, teetering between sleep and consciousness. His gaze roved over to the digital alarm clock by her bed. 11:11. Time flies when you're dealing with a sick girl, he mused. At least she's not suffering anymore. While Hayoung was perfectly peaceful lying in bed, she looked a mess. Her hair was strewn all over the pillows, her face and chest. Her clothes were wrinkled from all the tossing and turning she did before. Karma laid a hand on her forehead. She was still burning, but not as much as she was about an hour ago.

He honestly wanted to go home, but he had to inform Hayoung. And it was also a wonderful opportunity to flick her forehead while she was weakened by her fever. His fingers hit her forehead with an alarming and painful jolt. Hayoung's eyes flew open and almost immediately, glared at him.

"Ow! What?"

"I'm leaving."

"Oh. Be safe."

"Yeah. Sleep well."

Hayoung nodded weakly, her eyelids falling over her dull eyes. Karma brushed away several strands of hair from her face and began gathering his things.

"I'll come see you again tomorrow, okay?"

No response. Karma poked her gently in the shoulder before realising that she was fast asleep. Shaking his head in amusement, he headed downstairs into her living room. Karma, who enjoyed the finer things in life himself, had to approve of Hayoung's choice of decor. However, it was too dark to make out little more than vague silhouettes. He went to open the door, before realising that he couldn't let himself out, since Hayoung had the keys. Cursing himself at his stupidity, he went back to her room to request them. This time, he decided to spare Hayoung the forehead flick and shook her awake gently instead.

"I thought you were leaving?" It was hard to tell whether she was annoyed or not through her poker face.

"Yeah... But I need the keys."

Hayoung turned over, her back facing him. "Coat hanger behind the door. And use the fourth key."

Karma nodded, and left Hayoung to her slumber. With the keys in his grasp, he quickly let himself out. Despite it nearing midnight, the streets were still busy, and the lights glaringly bright, which was torture on Karma's tired eyes. Realising he still had Hayoung's keys in his hands, he decided to toss them back into her apartment. She'd have to lock her apartment herself, but it couldn't be helped. Karma stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and descended down the hallway towards the elevator.

He'd reached his own apartment by 12:30, with no thanks to the traffic. It felt as if he needed every ounce of strength left in his being to lock his door, go into his own bedroom, brush his teeth, undress and finally go to bed. He began drifting off as soon as his head hit the pillows. Usually he'd be doing something else at this time, but the strain of taking care of Hayoung had drained him almost completely of energy. But that was probably his fault, since he'd completely disregarded his inner protests and stayed until eleven, even when Hayoung had been asleep and didn't need to be bothered.

Damn you, Hayoung. Really.

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When Karma stepped into the living room of Hayoung's apartment, he saw her curled up in a blanket on her couch, a mug of tea in her hands.

"So you're feeling better now?"

Hayoung nodded. Karma noticed that she drew her blanket closer to her when he settled himself next to her. What was she doing with a blanket in the middle of summer? Karma could already feel himself sweating through his already thin T-shirt, and yet here she was, huddled up in a blanket. And how unfortunate for her he was in the mood to tease today.

"You're not naked underneath that, are you?"

Hayoung raised an eyebrow. "No, you dirty-minded freak."

Even after seeing her curse and insult him with a straight face so many times, he still had to stifle a laugh.

"But seriously, why do you have a blanket?"

"I get cold."

It was Karma's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You have a fever."

"Yeah. Must be some sort of side effect."

"Weird."

Hayoung didn't respond, but simply sipped her tea. At that moment on, Karma was left to contemplate a few things; one of them being the relationship between him and Hayoung. They weren't exactly boyfriend and girlfriend, but it was undeniable that they were way past friendship. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Hayoung setting her mug on the coffee table. He looked at her, unsure of what to do.

"You want me to wash that for you?"

Hayoung frowned at him. "Is there something wrong with you today? You would've noticed that I didn't finish it."

Karma felt like smacking himself. Whatever the hell was with Hayoung, she always made him look and feel more stupid than usual. And the infuriating part was, she probably didn't know about it. Or maybe she did, but her poker face wasn't giving any of her sick enjoyment away. Oh, who was he kidding? It was definitely the latter.