Linky's Fics

How to Help Your Sick Boyfriend

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Minato had been preparing for a big lesson coming up for the class, working hard day in and day out. Putting his all into making sure that everyone would get what would be a quality and engaging alchemy lesson. He had gathered new books, different alloys for demonstrations, and acquired new equipment. It had been a week of nonstop work to prepare.

And as the days continued to pass, Spanner had noticed that Minato had begun acting rather… off.

There was a growing weakness to each of his movements that wasn’t there prior. Not to mention he started to gradually look pale and sapped of energy. Which also got worse with each passing day. Every time Spanner would ask about it, Minato wouldn’t budge and insist he was fine. Even when Spanner would inquire further and interrogate him.

Despite Minato’s insistence Spanner knew that was complete bullshit.

He knew him too well by this point, and had begun to suspect that Minato was overworking himself to the point of exhaustion. He was always some level of tired throughout the day, but this was at an abnormal level. There had to be a way to make him take a much needed break.

The difficult part was: how?

Minato was a man who lacked a sense of self-preservation. He always took a massive burden on his shoulders and it would always be to his own detriment. Even after Glion had been defeated for good, he was still like this. But it wasn’t a trait someone could easily outgrow either.

Despite that, Spanner knew he had to find a way to make Minato stop doing this. This surely was horrible for his health. He couldn’t keep working himself to the bone like this. And didn’t have to work on preparing for this lesson all by himself.

Just as Spanner tried to think of a way to get Minato to stop, and was just about to confront him yet again about his concerns— that was when the facade broke. Or more rather the attempt at one.

Minato collapsed in the Academy’s classroom as he brought papers in.

“Sensei!” Hotaro yelled as he dropped the book he was attempting to study. “Minato-sensei, what happened??” He gripped Minato’s shoulders, his eyes wide in shock.

There was an immediate air of urgency as each of the other students rushed towards Minato, and Spanner was not far behind them as he quickly took care of the papers.

Once that was done Hotaro helped drag Minato off the ground with Spanner, and working together they dragged him to the infirmary down the hall. Rinne, Renge, and Sabimaru rushed to the room before the others to help prepare it for Minato so it would be ready once they got there. They set up the bed, as well as brought out what they had for first-aid.

Minato didn’t sound good. The two could hear how his breathing became labored as they carried him over to the infirmary.

Once they arrived Spanner helped lead Minato onto the bed, who fell onto it with a thump as it creaked underneath his limp body.

Renge went over and put a cold towel on his forehead, before putting a thermometer into his mouth. The coolness of the towel made Minato sigh and Renge’s eyes widened once she got the temperature.

“…He’s steaming up. What do ya think happened to him?”

“I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I’m looking into it right now.” Sabimaru muttered while scrolling through his tablet, reading over various descriptions of common illnesses to see whatever matched Minato’s current symptoms.

While Sabimaru continued to read up on his tablet, Isaac then spoke on its own. As it always did. “Whatever it is, it’s not good. Not to mention he’s been acting strange all week.”

Rinne closed the box of the first-aid kit, “So you’ve noticed it too… I tried asking him about it earlier, but he shrugged it off. Even when I persisted.”

Spanner felt a sense of relief inside that it wasn’t just him who took note of Minato’s condition, as well as tried to get him to talk about it. Though it didn’t surprise Spanner that he brushed it off when Rinne asked too. If Minato wasn’t going to confide with him about it, he especially wouldn’t bring it up to any of his students.

“Aw man… I just hope Minato-sensei will be okay.” Hotaro sighed and slumped onto a chair as he looked towards the bed.

As Sabimaru continued to look into things, it was dead silent except for Minato’s breathing and occasional groans of discomfort. Everyone was worried and on edge. It could be easily felt in the air.

Isaac broke the silence,“I’ve found it!” Everyone rushed towards Sabimaru, completely surrounding him to read over what was on his tablet. “It looks like he’s contracted a pretty nasty fever. All the intense work he’s been doing over the week for the lesson hasn’t done him any favors either.”

“That’ll do it.” Renge sighed. “He always works himself to the bone and never seems to let himself take a break.”

Rinne spoke up, “And it doesn’t help that he teaches Ichinose and I back in Furasu High School. That must have only further agitated his condition.”

How Minato approached his work had always bothered Spanner, but this was the breaking point. Why did he always have to insist on working himself to such intense levels, along with having two jobs? Minato didn’t have to do any of this alone. He knew that by now.

Spanner knew it was time for a conversation that Minato had been pushing off for far too long.

“The rest of you need to leave.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!” Hotaro crossed his arms in a huff. “We want to help too!”

“I need to speak with him alone. This is a matter between adults, Ichinose.”

“But—”

Spanner didn’t allow him a chance to finish. “Besides, someone needs to inform Kyoka-san about this. She needs to know too.”

Hotaro was silent because he couldn’t argue with that, as much as he’d like to. It irritated him that he and the others were being shooed away. Minato was important to them too! But he agreed that Kyoka should also know about what just happened.

“Okay everyone, let’s get to Kyoka’s lab.” Hotaro shifted gears and the students mobilized to inform Kyoka and promptly left the infirmary.

As the door shut Spanner turned back to Minato. The tension was so thick one could cut it with a knife. Spanner felt so many things swell up inside him: Frustration, sadness, concern, but he composed himself before he spoke.

“I knew it, senpai. You’ve overworked yourself.”

His condition had only looked to have gotten even worse since Spanner and the others brought him here. Spanner could hear how Minato’s breathing became even more labored. As well as see how his face was flushed while he began to break out into a horrible sweat, which all only added to that tension.

“Hmm…?” Minato slowly opened his eyes, though they were drooping. He clearly struggled to keep them open but he did his best.

Spanner grabbed Minato’s hand. Minato could sense all of the various emotions that were swirling inside him right now. And he could tell that he was about to be in for a very stern talking to.

“Why do you do this to yourself?” Concern was what could be heard in Spanner’s voice the most out of everything he currently felt inside.

Minato was silent for a good few minutes. He already knew what his answer was, and that Spanner wouldn’t like it. His hand trembled in Spanner’s throughout the entire time, and he gently stroked it with his thumb as he waited for a response. Then he spoke up, though weakly. “Because I have to.”

“Bullshit. You know damn well by this point that’s not true.” Spanner’s grip tightened, “You have me, you have us. Stop putting so much on your shoulders.”

Minato was quiet again.

“You know you could have asked me to help you prepare for this lesson.”

More silence. That feeling of frustration deep within Spanner continued to bubble more and more towards the surface.

“Minato. You know you can rely on me!” He looked him dead in the eyes, and Minato couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Spanner look so serious about something that wasn’t related to the hunt for chemies, or dealing with Glion. “You need to stop doing everything on your own. So, let me help you in the future.”

Minato then let out a sigh, Spanner was right. He really needed to get better at not doing this to himself. Though some bad habits of his had gotten a little bit better since Glion was defeated, this was not one of them.

His eyes softened as the realization truly began to sink in: that he was indeed not alone in this. He didn’t need to keep forcing himself to do everything alone. It was going to be a lot of work to remind himself of this and break the habit, but it would be worth it in the long term.

For now it would be best to just focus on getting better. That was the most important thing at the moment.

Minato reached out to Spanner’s other hand and took hold of it, “I’m sorry Spanner. I’ve inconvenienced you all—”

“That’s enough. No apologies.” Spanner had a stern expression that he had seen countless times over the years. But the gentle way Spanner held both of his hands in return told Minato all that he needed to know. “You’re also coming home with me.”

“…What?” Minato had a look of genuine surprise. He’d been over to Spanner’s home countless times, so that wasn’t what surprised him. He was taken aback just how insistent Spanner was that he’d go back home with him.

“Someone needs to ensure you have a smooth recovery.”

…He had a point.

Not to mention, he was pretty sure there wasn’t anything in his fridge back at the apartment that would be ideal for a sick person to eat. Spanner must have known that too. Minato knew better than anyone that there was no way he was going to be able to convince Spanner otherwise, since he now had his mind set on doing this.

But Minato didn’t mind the idea one bit.

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Through teleportation alchemy Spanner was able to get Minato back to his home without him needing to exert himself too much. Once they were there, Minato was rushed to a spare bed and ordered to stay put. At least there were books within reach, and a television for when he didn’t have the energy to do anything else.

In the meantime Spanner was working away in the kitchen. And Minato could smell whatever Spanner was cooking over in the next room. It smelled great, and it was also reassuring that the fever he caught didn’t look to affect his sense of smell.

As the day passed Minato decided to watch the TV for a bit. The channel was set to one that continuously played various documentaries. He was too exhausted to look for something specific to watch, so he settled on what was right in front of him for the time being.

It was a documentary about various bugs across Japan, particularly beetles. While the section on beetle collecting and fights played, it took him back to when he collected them as a young child during the hot summer days. Playing with his friends and seeing how the bugs would wrestle each other with their horns. Enjoying the nature that was all around them. It was a comforting memory— the feelings it invoked were welcome during a rough moment like this.

When it ended he turned off the TV and slowly drifted off to sleep. Something he knew he was going to need a lot of. But it felt nice to be able to finally get a good amount of rest after countless sleepless nights, even if it was not due to the most ideal of scenarios.

A while after that, Spanner came into the room with a tray in hand. The delicious scent of what he cooked wafted throughout the room and woke Minato right up.

It was soup. Which looked delightful as well as very purple. Though this didn’t surprise or deter Minato. He was more than familiar with Spanner’s cooking by this point. Which was always delicious, despite his commitment to making everything that color for reasons that eluded him. On top of the soup there was also a little garnish: some purple sweet potato slices alongside some greens.

The meal Spanner had lovingly taken his time to prepare for him looked delicious, and it made Minato gain a bit of an appetite. Which was also reassuring, since before right now he wasn’t really sure if he had it in him to eat anything.

Spanner placed the tray over Minato’s lap. “Eat, Senpai.”

The first taste was even better than he could have imagined. It was so flavorful, comforting, and an utter delight to the senses. He really needed something like this right now. And he wouldn’t expect any less when it came to Spanner’s cooking. He always had a knack for it, for as long as Minato could remember since Spanner picked it up years ago.

Before he knew it Minato found himself scarfing down the entire bowl.

Spanner was thrilled to see him eating, though he told him to take it easy. He picked up the dishes once Minato was done. “I have more if you want some.”

“Yes please.”

Spanner looked delightfully surprised and also reassured to see that Minato had an appetite in him. Hopefully this was a sign of what would be a smooth recovery.

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A few days had passed since Minato was brought over. He was on the mend, but things were still rather unpleasant for him at the moment. He still had some chills here and there, or would break out into a sweat on the opposite end of things. Not to mention the multiple aches he felt throughout the day.

Spanner had sat by Minato’s bedside with a book in his hands and didn’t move an inch, sometimes for multiple hours. He’d make sure Minato would get plenty of rest and fluids, gave him pain medication for his aches at one point, and would talk with him whenever he felt up for some conversation.

It was comforting to have his company while dealing with this fever instead of being all alone at his apartment dealing with this by himself.

Though as Spanner made evident throughout all this, that wasn’t going to be an option.

But he didn’t want to hold Spanner up from other things he could be, or had to be doing either. Surely Spanner was busy given his rank. Who knew what the union wanted from him right now? And they could request for him at any time. If there were responsibilities he had to attend to, Minato didn’t want to be in the way of that.

“Spanner… You know you can go do other things, right? I’ll be fine.”

Spanner looked up from his book. “I want to stay by your side.” His tone was blunt as could be while he didn’t break eye contact. “I’m not moving.”

Minato knew that look and tone of voice. Once Spanner was this serious about something it was nigh impossible to change his mind. So Minato resigned to the reality of the situation, though he didn’t really mind. Having Spanner’s company was something he always welcomed.

Especially now. It made dealing with this damn fever so much more bearable.

He looked over to the book Spanner continued to quietly read beside him. From the look of it, it was a nonfiction book about the history of alchemy. Which surprised him.

“I thought you were already well versed in alchemy history?”

Spanner closed the book, “No harm in a refresher. Plus there’s always new things to learn.”

The teacher inside of Minato was very pleased with that answer from him. Learning was indeed never-ending. Though this wasn’t a surprise either since Spanner was someone who was very serious about the art of alchemy.

“I also tend to gravitate towards nonfiction in general.” He went to put the book back on its place on the shelf. And with a look towards the bookshelf that was very evident. Minato could see it was filled with nonfiction books on a variety of topics. From history, biographies, nature, and much more.

It was nice to get to know Spanner’s taste in books. They had been dating for some time, and known each other for even longer than that. But there were still new things the pair would learn about each other from time to time.

Spanner looked back towards Minato, “I’ve neglected to ask. What do you like to read, senpai?”

He was still and silent for a moment. Minato wasn’t embarrassed by his taste in books… but he didn’t quite know how to explain it to Spanner either.

“This might come as a surprise, but I like to read romance stories.”

And Spanner did look a little surprised by that answer. But Minato knew that he wasn’t being judgmental about it.

Spanner was deep in thought for a moment. “I know there’s a lot of different kinds of romance books. Could you perhaps show me what it is you like sometime?”

To hear that surprised Minato in turn. It was very considerate of Spanner to want to see the romance books he’d enjoyed. Even though a small part of him was worried how Spanner would react to his… tastes. Even though he knew Spanner wouldn’t judge him in the end.

(Hopefully Spanner liked, or at least tolerated werewolves however. Because there were a lot of those in his stories.)

“Sure.” He smiled softly. “Next time we’re at my house, I’ll show you.” Then he felt his eyes suddenly begin to get heavy, which Spanner took note of as Minato visibly struggled to keep them open.

“Rest, senpai.” Spanner got back to the side of the bed and gently led Minato’s head down onto the pillow, and tucked him in. “You need all the sleep you can get right now.”

“Thank you.”

Within moments Minato closed his eyes and began to drift off into sleep. Spanner then got himself a different book, and sat back in the chair as he started to read.

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Spanner had gone to get Minato some water for whenever he’d wake up. But when he came back to Minato tossing and turning in the bed. He was flushed, sweat shone on his face and drenched his hair as he made noises of distress.

“Senpai!” He placed a hand to Minato’s forehead and his skin was hot to the touch. Minato continued to murmur in his sleep and Spanner couldn’t make out what he was saying. He was desperate to wake Minato up, his heart racing. “Wake up. Wake up, senpai!”

Minato stopped, before he slowly opened his eyes. “Spanner…?”

Spanner felt a wave of relief wash over him just then.

“What happened?”

He looked up to Spanner while some drops of sweat began to roll down his face. His face was now incredibly pale. “I had a horrible dream.” Minato began to recount while Spanner went to get a wet towel in the next room. “It was different compared to the other nightmares I’ve had before…”

Spanner placed the towel on his forehead, wiping off the sweat with a separate washcloth. “It’s okay. I’m here now.” His voice was quite gentle. The gentlest Minato had heard in some time. “Do you feel comfortable telling me what happened?”

Minato nodded weakly.

“I can’t remember all of the details after waking up. But what I do remember is malgams had gotten into the academy. The situation was dire.” He froze for a moment before continuing, “And they got nearly everyone. Including you.”

Spanner could see the tears that began to well up in Minato’s eyes. He grabbed a tissue and began to gently wipe them away before Minato took the tissue for himself from Spanner’s hands.

“Thankfully it was just a dream. You don’t have to worry.” He softly stroked the side of Minato’s face, being as gentle as he could be. Minato leaned into the touch, grateful that he was here for him. “Like hell would I let something like that happen.”

Minato smiled and nuzzled more into Spanner’s hand. Luckily that was just a fever induced nightmare, and nothing more. Plus he didn’t have to deal with the aftermath of such a horrible dream on his own. Another reason to be happy that Spanner took him back here.

He truly felt safe with Spanner. He was a man who was more often than not aloof, a bit cold, and preferred to be alone to do as he pleased. But with Minato, Spanner had always shown a side that was quite gentle, considerate, and affectionate. It was a side of him that was only shown to very few people in his life. An amount you could only count on one hand with.

Spanner respected him, and saw him as his equal. And as his actions over these past few days had shown—he truly did love Minato.

And Minato loved him back.

“Thank you, Spanner.”

Spanner smiled as he pulled up the blankets. Then handed Minato the glass of water, “Here. You’ll definitely need more fluids, as well as some rest.” He got up and began to walk towards the kitchen, tying on his purple apron. “I’ll begin to prepare you more soup. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.”

Seeing that apron on Spanner excited him, because he knew delicious food was to come. Something that would be enjoyed greatly after dealing with what just happened.

---

It had been about a week since Minato had that fever dream.

Spanner still sat by Minato’s side throughout the days. Continued to make him food, watch the television with him, and make sure he got plenty of water and rest. Minato savored every moment of the attention and love he received. He couldn’t remember the last time he dealt with a fever like this over the years, but the fact he wasn’t alone made things so much better.

Gradually Spanner saw Minato begin to recover. His appetite only improved over time, and the color was back in his face. No mentions of any body aches or chills either over the past few days as well. And Spanner hadn’t seen him look flushed or break out into a sweat since that nightmare. It looked like the worst of it was over now.

Hopefully with a few more days he’d be ready to go back to teaching. Spanner could only begin to imagine how painful it must have been to not be able to be there with his students, in both schools no less. He truly loved his work and it was something Spanner had always admired about him.

The others from the Academy visited here and there, popping in to give their sensei well wishes and check in on his condition.

Minato really appreciated seeing his students stop by to ask about him, and tell him how things were going in his absence. It seemed things were doing alright back at Furasu and The Academy. Hotaro looked to be continuing to get the hang of alchemy more too, which was such a relief to see.

Meanwhile Spanner was rather annoyed that they kept coming into the house uninvited, but he swallowed his frustration since Minato was happy to see them. If it was for Minato’s sake, Spanner could push through many things that displeased him. He knew this gesture meant the world and more to him, so he wouldn’t get in the way of that.

While preparing some tea, Spanner rushed back to the bed one afternoon as Minato began to get up from bed unannounced.

His hands moved to Minato’s shoulders, bracing him. “Senpai.”

Minato could see clear as day how concerned he was. Once again he was deeply touched by Spanner’s consideration for his well-being throughout all of this. “I’m okay. I have more than enough energy now to stand up.” He had a small smile, “I wanted to have tea with you in the kitchen, if that’s alright.”

Spanner was completely silent for a moment, observing Minato from top to bottom to make sure he was able to do this. Minato could see how his brow furrowed as he looked him over. And he couldn’t help but be a little charmed by how much Spanner fretted over him.

He had seen the softer side of him before, but he didn’t know just how worried Spanner got over seeing him be sick like this. It was evident how much Spanner cared about him.

Spanner tentatively and slowly lifted his hands off of Minato, “Fine then. Just don’t push yourself.”

“Alright.”

He had made a pot of green tea. Minato took a moment to take in the aroma before drinking it. And it hit the spot.

“Do you want more?” Spanner brought the pot over to his side of the table.

Minato smiled as he held out his cup, “Yes, thank you.”

Spanner’s heart was warmed by how gentle his smile was. That was exactly what he needed to see. Seeing Minato do so well now compared to before had put him in a very good mood.

The pair had moved from the kitchen table to the couch. Minato slowly rested his head on Spanner’s shoulder and snuggled into it. Spanner was a little surprised by the sudden display of affection.

“Senpai?”

Minato quietly laughed. “I’m well enough at this point to do this with you, if you’re worried about me being contagious.” Instead of saying anything in response, Spanner just sighed before he gently kissed Minato’s forehead.

Their fingers intertwined as Minato snuggled into his neck again, softly kissing the skin. Spanner had a very pleasant warmth to him and Minato wanted more. He wished he could take this feeling and just envelop himself in it like a blanket, and stay inside of it forever. Spanner then began to gently stroke Minato’s head, and he felt like he was going to melt under such a loving and comforting touch as his fingers ran through his hair.

Even though he didn’t have much of a choice to be under Spanner’s watch as he recovered in the first place, he was glad that it happened. He truly was lucky, and grateful to have him in his life. Whenever he was with Spanner he always felt safe.

After some comfortable silence, “Thank you for watching over me.”

“Of course.” Spanner’s grip on Minato’s hand tightened as he softly kissed his cheek.

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End Notes: This one has been in the works for a few months! It's really nice to see it finished and out there, I'm really happy with how this one turned out. And it's my longest fic to date too! Which I didn't expect since at first I was struggling to hit the 1000 word mark, but then it just kept growing...

Thank you to Neck for the idea of Minato being into werewolf romance stories. The concept still delights me even after the conversation where it spawned!

And an extra thank you to the Get Your Words Out DW community and the folks within for giving me extra ideas on what to do for writing a sickfic since this was my first time writing this type of fic before and needed some help with the story's direction.

Trying to also use the proper spelling of Glion in my fics now and god it feels so weird. I know it's confirmed that's how it's actually spelt, especially given the origin of his name and I need to adapt... but I've also used the Geryon spelling for so long. XD I will get used to it eventually.

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