Please Let Me Live a Lazy Life!

Chapter 13: I Don't Want to be Sick (1)

Tanaka felt as if he was drowning. Not the kind of drowning where water filled up his lungs, but the type where the air was heavy and gravity was trying to sink him into the ground. He couldn't breathe but at the same time, he felt as if he was choking from the very air, creating a lump in his chest to block off his airways.

It was unbearably hot as well, but it was not the burning type of hot that made his skin feel like ember and ashes. It was as if someone had stuffed him in a sauna with a suffocating humidity that stuffed his lungs with cotton. He wanted to escape from it, but he didn't know how. The urge to peel off anything on him that made him feel uncomfortable was strong, but he didn't even have the energy to lift a finger.

It was a cruel cycle of suffocation, heat, and paralyzation, and for a long time, he was tormented. The rising temperature made his head throb and his throat dry, he squirmed in desperation to find something to alleviate this fever.

Then, as he was squirming, he suddenly fell, but the descent only lasted for a few seconds. On impact with whatever hard surface he landed on, his head throbbed harder, but he was shocked with the cool feeling that seeped through his clothes. He clung harder to that surface and when it started warming up, he rolled around to find a cooler spot.

He didn't remember how many times he rolled around in an attempt to chase away the overpowering heat and maybe some time had passed by -he wasn't sure- until his nose caught a whiff of a familiar scent. It smelled like cumin and nutmeg and paprika and turmeric and some citrus, and it mixed so well with his natural musk that Tanaka couldn't help but try to call out to his dear friend.

Basim-san, Basim-san.

But nothing came out from his mouth. Or maybe it was because his ears were as muddled as his mind, making everything murky as if he was underwater. Therefore, he was not able to hear his own desperate pleas but regardless, that spice-filled scent came closer quickly. He heard something rather confusing to his jumbled head:

--omas. Young Master Thomas.

Who?

In the end, he really didn't care what they were saying-- what Basim-san was saying. He just wanted him to be close.

Like a small child, hurt and scared by the terrible sensations on his body, he clung to the body that held him up despite the shared, sweltering heat. It was like he was reverted back when he was ten-years-old and had a lung infection so out of control, he had to be hospitalized for weeks. There was always someone by his bedside, his mother and father taking turns despite their jobs, and sometimes he would see Nanami and Daichi there as well, holding his hand and helping him through the worst of the drugs he was put under. When he turned sixteen, circumstances had him hospitalized in the same hospital once again but this time, Basim had never left him alone. Just like his parents, the Arabian man was a steady pillar and made sure that every time he opened his eyes, the dark-skinned man's stubbled face would be the first thing he saw.

He wanted his family, but Basim-san was the next best thing-- or even better.

Tanaka wanted to see him (it felt as if he hadn't seen him for a long time) but his eyelids were too heavy, so he laid in the safety of friend's embrace, not flinching or even stirring when Basim loosen his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. Then there was a cool palm on his chest and he couldn't help but sigh in relief at the touch. It felt really nice and very gentle. He had really missed Basim-san.

After a while, he then noticed that Basim-san was somehow sucking that debilitating heat into the palm of his hand and the air stopped suffocating his lungs. Tanaka wasn't sure if it was because he knew he was safe or due to being near Basim, but breathing suddenly became easier and the throb of his headache was a distant call. Gravity was still demanding and harsh on his body but when his friend held him closely and securely in his arms, there was nothing to fear.