It was Monday again. This time, Iori woke up early on purpose. He went in the shower. The boy picked out the best clothes he had and properly fixed his hair. He turned left and right in front of a mirror, making sure he looked perfect.

Iori himself was not sure why he was doing all that. He was only going to visit a person he hardly knew anything about. The boy walked down the steps to the fridge and pulled out a box of pastel-coloured macarons. Iori normally never puts macarons on sale unless it is a special occasion like Christmas since they require quite an effort and practice to make. Yet, he carefully crafted them as a gift for Riku.

Am I... in love?

Iori blushed at the thought. He found it hard to be honest with his feelings. This time, however, he felt like he could not deny it. He thought he might have fallen in love the first time Riku walked into his shop and rescued him from the unending pain of loneliness. The boy sighed. I've never thought this would ever happen to me. And so suddenly too. He shook his head. Finally, he locked the shop's door and walked out.

~~

"Ah! Iori, come on in!" Riku beamed as he opened his house door to find the person he had been waiting for all week. "You look great today." The redhead noticed that Iori looked sharper than the other times he saw him.

To Iori, Riku's house looked warm and cosy, like a proper 'home'. The sweet oil blend aroma that filled the house somehow soothed Iori's mind. It made him feel so relaxed. Iori thought how the house would look even nicer with cute decorations.

Riku invited Iori to sit on a couch in the living area. "Your house is lovely, Nanase-san." Iori complimented and handed a gift in his hands to Riku. "This is... a little gift for you." His face turned pink. He thought Riku would think of him as weird since it was not a special day or anything. Iori was just visiting a friend.

"For me? Really?" Riku happily took the box. He was so excited that he opened it right away. Eight pieces of three different coloured macarons were lined up neatly. "Uwaaaah! Macarons! I LOVE macarons! Thank you so much, Iori." Riku gently set the box down on the table before giving Iori a hug.

"...!" Iori was not expecting a hug. He did not know how to react, but he felt happy. The only other person who ever gave him a loving hug like that was his brother, Mitsuki. Riku, once again, was giving him something he did not know he missed.

"A-ah! Sorry if that made you uncomfortable," Riku pulled away. Iori just felt like a good old friend to him and so Riku treated him the way he treated his Tenn-nii. Okay, perhaps a little differently.

"N-not at all, Nanase-san." Iori blushed harder. He tried to think of a conversation, but nothing came to his mind. However, Riku did not give 'awkward silence' a chance to meddle. "What kind of tea do you like, Iori? I have all sorts of tea leaves!" Riku smiled. He loved tea, especially when he got to drink it with desserts or sweet-flavoured bread. Tea made his chest feel warm and gave him a sensation of ease when he breathed. Iori said he would drink anything, so it was time for Riku to whip up his special tea blend.

The redhead went to the kitchen and prepared some black tea leaves. Then he put some cinnamon and very tiny pieces of salted caramel fudge in. It smelled like autumn while brewing. Iori secretly watched Riku as he made tea. He looks cute with a small smile like that too.

But why does that smile look a little sad?

Riku put a clear glass kettle of tea with two clear matching glass cups on the elegant white and gold tray. He carefully walked back to the living area, set the tray on the table, and sat right beside Iori.

"Thanks for waiting~ Tea is ready!" Riku took a kettle and one of the cups. He was carefully pouring the special tea for Iori. He set the kettle back down, ready to hand the cup to Iori. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on Riku's side. He suddenly felt a sharp pang in his chest and his breathing became so painful that he dropped the cup and spilt the tea all over Iori's trousers. Riku grabbed his chest while enduring the pain from taking breaths in and out.

"Nanase-san, what's wrong!?" Iori forgot about his wet, stained white trousers and grabbed Riku's arms. The pain was too much for Riku to force out even a single word. Iori had no idea what was wrong with Riku. The symptoms did not seem like regular asthma to him. Iori decided to put his head on Riku's back to listen for wheezing sounds. His eyes widened as he realised that Riku's breaths were terribly shallow. Riku was sweating and his face went pale from exhaustion.

"I'll get some help right away!" Iori got up and was about to make a phone call when he felt a tug on his shirt. Riku's shaky hand was pulling Iori's shirt, preventing him from walking away.

"It... will calm... down soon," Riku tried his best to speak when the pain became slightly more manageable. Good thing Iori was almost always calm and collected. He noticed Riku's breathing was not as rough. It was still bad, but he could see that Riku was telling the truth. Iori thought it was best to stay with the boy now. He sat back down, placed his hand on Riku's back, and moved it up and down slowly and mindfully.

"Do you need some medication?" Iori asked to make sure as he did not see any around him. Riku touched his pants pocket to indicate he had something in there. At times, Riku forgot about his inhaler during a sudden attack when he was in distress. "Excuse me then." Iori reached his hand into Riku's pocket and pulled out an inhaler. He opened and shook it for Riku and gave it to him. The older boy seemed weaker from the attack, so Iori helped by pressing the inhaler at the right time.

It took minutes for Riku's attack to finally go away. Riku let out a breath of relief. "Phew, I'm saved... AHHHH!" Riku shouted in surprise when he realised he had turned Iori's trousers into a tea-stained mess. "I'm so sorry, Iori!"

"Baka!" Iori shouted. "You're supposed to worry about your condition first!" This is irritating, but he is actually cute like this. Wait, not now! "Don't get so worked up like that when you've just recovered." Iori took a deep breath before placing his hand on Riku's shoulder. "Nanase-san, are you ill?" Well, Iori was not really expecting 'yes' or 'no' as an answer. He was expecting an explanation.

"Yea, but it's nothing serious really!" Riku smiled weakly.

Iori sighed. "It's clear as day that you are lying." Iori stared into Riku's bright red eyes. "Tell me the truth." The answer might not be what Iori wanted to hear, but if he really cared about his friend, he had to face the reality and help his friend through the hardest times.

Riku went quiet for a while. Finally, it was shown: Riku's sad face. He sighed before starting to explain. "I've had trouble with my breathing since I was born. The doctors did not know exactly what it was because my attacks came in different forms." Riku slowly lay down on the couch. Iori got up to make space and put Riku's legs up there. He then sat down on the floor near Riku's head.

"Sometimes I wheezed, sometimes I just got a bad pain in my chest. Or sometimes I lost control of my breathing rhythm..." Iori started feeling sad upon hearing that. I don't like where this is going at all...

"It has gotten much worse since last year, and the doctors said they can't help much anymore. They let me carry around an inhaler, but only occasionally it helps." Riku turned to face Iori. Tears welled up in his eyes. Riku spoke the last bit about his condition to Iori.

".............!!!!"

I see. Nanase-san, so that's why you asked those hypothetical questions when we met at the river. And now I know your condition prevents you from going to the bakery.

Iori reached his hand to grab Riku's left shoulder. "I am terribly sorry I judged you so badly the first time we met. That must have hurt you so much." Riku gave Iori a gentle smile. Already, he had forgotten the bad feelings from that day now that Iori was here with him.

"And Nanase-san, I will always come to you whenever you need me. I will give you my contact number. I'll visit you more often." Iori gave Riku a firm squeeze to let him know he was by his side. Once again, Riku broke down in tears. "It's okay now, Nanase-san."

He would still be my friend. Iori thought of the answer he said that day.

That isn't just Nii-san's answer anymore.

It's my own answer too.

After Riku managed to calm down, he lightly sang his favourite Re:vale's song, Silver Sky. Iori also knew the song, so he joined in.

Iori, thank you.

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When I say Macaroons I mean the one that is pronounced "Macarons" not the coconut one. (ෆ'꒳'ෆ)
I make Riku cry in almost all chapters omg 😶😱😶😱