those who we protect [IDOLiSH7]

XI

"Hmnn... Tenn-nii...?" he asked as he slowly opened his eyes. The room was dark with only the moonlight filtering in through the thick curtains. Riku yawned, turned to his side and stretched. He extended his arm to reach for his phone which was on the table and noticed that there was a small piece of paper placed underneath it. He took both, first turning on his phone; its light burning his eyes at first. Riku squinted his eyes. "00:41 huh" he said. The tired center faced the phone's light towards the note, and started to read what it said:

Hey Riku, sorry I had to go, I was being called to head back home and it was also starting to get late. Thank you for the moment we were able to share in this room, I won't forget it. By the way, considering how cold it gets at night during this time of year, in the back of his note is a small recipe for a drink I used to make for you when we were younger. I think you'll find it quite nostalgic once you taste it. Well, I'm off, have a good night Riku.

Sincerely,

Kujou Tenn

Riku smiled, but then remembered that this has happened before... in his fever dream earlier. Riku quickly got a piece of paper and started trying to remember the recipe that he saw in his dream, writing everything he could down. "this seems about it..." he commented to himself. He wrapped himself in a blanket and forced himself to get out of bed despite being exhausted. When he stepped out of the bedroom door, Riku was exposed to the cold air. He took out his phone and made his way towards the kitchen, the flashlight from his phone leading the way.

"cough... cough it's so cold out here" he said as he made his way over. More coughs were able to escape his mouth, at one point point, a loud one came out. Riku quickly covered his mouth and turned his head to the others' bedroom doors. I hope no one heard that.

Riku placed down his version of the recipe near the light and started to gather the ingredients; going through the fridge and the cabinets. Placing everything down on the table, he started mixing ingredients and at the end stirred his drink until it got to a orange/yellow color. "It looks done" Riku said quietly to himself. He suddenly felt a presence behind him "What are you doing out here so late?" Riku quickly around and backed off.

"AHH! Eh- Iori-san! Don't scare me like that" Riku whined. "Sorry, I didn't mean to" Iori replied, taking a glance at the mess Riku made on the table. "What are you doing out here so late? The cold isn't good for you" Iori added. "Well, when I woke up, I saw that Tenn-nii left a recipe for a drink that he used to make me when we were kids, and I also remembered that in a recent dream, the same thing happened, so I wrote down what I remembered and now I'm making both drinks and later compare them". Iori looked at the table and saw that a drink was already made; he held the cup and started to look inside with the small light source from Riku's phone. "so this one is...."

"It's the one from my dream!" Riku happily said with a smile.

"Hmm, mind if I try some?"

"Not at all, go ahead!". Iori took a spoon from the drawers and took a sip. "Well~ how is it?" Riku asked happily. Expecting a delicious sweet taste, his taste buds recieved nothing but bitterness. He made a face. "What's wrong? If you're gonna critique what I make, at least go a little easy on me~!" Riku said grabbing his cup back and went to taste it himself. Iori took a look of Riku's recipe. Sugar? But I didn't taste any sugar in there! "Nanase-san, are you sure you placed sugar in there?" Iori asked. "Yes" he replied, taking a sip. Riku quickly curcled in his lips and made a face. "Eyuck, it's so bitter! Why?!". Iori looked around. "What container did you get the sugar from?" he asked. Riku pointed to a clear container nearby with a black lid. When Iori saw it's label, he made a poker face. "Nanase-san, this is salt" he said. "What?! No way!" Riku said loudly and quickly made his way to see for himself. Iori placed the label under the light and heard Riku sighed after seeing that it was indeed salt and not sugar. "Shoot, and here I thought that everything was going sloothly... cough cough". Iori was now concerned. "Nanase-san are you okay?" He asked. Riku cleared his throat. "yeah, cough cough I'm alright, just a little cold... that's all" Riku tried to explain without showing too much, however, Iori noticed thag Riku's voice was now more hoarse than it already was.

Iori's worried face didn't budge. "Sit over here Nanase-san" Iori said as he guided the older one to one of the nearby chairs around the table. Iori took the blanket Riku left nearby and wrapped it around him. Iori lifted his long sleeves a bit and took a look at Tenn's recipe. "It seems like you really need Kujou-san's drink right now, so you can sit there while I make it for you" Iori said. Riku's eyes brightened. "Iori.."

"Since I pay more attention than you, this time I'm sure it'll turn out how it's supposed to be, unlike the one you made" Iori said with a smirk. "Hey, it was a small mistake ANYONE can make, it's not that big of a deal cough". Iori started cutting up slices of lemon and ginger and placed it to the side. "Sure, sure, whatever you say" he commented afterwards. Riku pouted his face, and soon afterward a yawn came out. Iori was simmering some water and when it reached the right temperature, he placed the lemon and ginger slices inside and stirred. The clear water started to take color and after a while, Iori turned off the stove. Riku watched with his sleepy face as Iori poured the drink into a mug. He read the last of Tenn's note. Honey... Iori looked around in the cupboards and soon took out a jar of pure honey, scooped out a small amount and stirred it inside the hot beverage until all of it was removed from the spoon. "Here you go Nanase-san" Iori said, placing a coaster in front of Riku and placing the cup on top of it. Riku smiled. "Thank you" he replied and proceeded to take a sip. "It tastes so good~! Tastes exactly how Tenn-nii used to make it for me" Riku said, slightly blushing as he smiled. Iori took a seat next to Riku. Well, it is his recipe... he thought. 

"Iori, you should make these for me, I think if I make them, I feel like they won't taste as great as yours". Iori's face slightly blushed from Riku's comment. He bit his lower lip and smiled. ".... I'll... I'll consider it" he said. Riku's eyes sparkled from joy. "Yay~! Thanks Iori" he replied.

Iori looked as Riku continued to enjoy every sip of his drink. A smile started to appear as he watched. So cute...