Chapter Text
Sick.
Saiki Kusuo did not get sick. Not like a normal person, at least. Once every few years, his powers would stop functioning the way he wanted them to. Sometimes they’d go entirely, sometimes he just wouldn’t be able to control them. Either way, this would cause him to become susceptible to illness, which even further weakened his powers. He’d come to expect it, but it didn’t make it any less inconvenient. He’d just have to wait it out. Annoying but not life-ending. Stay home for a bit, then eventually come back to school, blow it off as a regular cold. Assimilate back into the sea of normal teens. Continue living as if nothing had happened, never give away your secrets.
“Aww, Ku-chan, Papa and I were gonna go on a vacation weekend. Do you want us to cancel it? I don’t want you to be lonely…”
He shook his head no, not able to use his telepathy to communicate. His mom worried about him too much. He was a 16 year old with unmatched powers. Well, unmatched on any regular day. Either way, he was fine to take care of himself, just like he always had. It was weird, how his mom never seemed to be able to process that he wasn’t normal. It was nice to be doted on, but he felt like a child all too often. Whether his parents were at home or in Hawai’i wouldn’t change anything.
He waved his parents out the door while his mom rambled on about staying safe and calling if anything happened and remembering to blow his nose and stay hydrated. It was out of love, he knew, but it was tiresome sometimes. After the car took off he checked the clock. 7:42pm. If this was anything like usual, his powers would be out of commission for another 48 hours or so. Luckily, he could spend a good amount of that time sleeping. He was desperate to allow the tiredness overcome him if it meant he could sleep through this awful throbbing sinus headache.
He went to his room, preparing to sleep until tomorrow came. He always welcomed the sleep that came with his powers being gone. Maybe the most pleasant part of the experience was being able to have a dark and dreamless night. Silent and peaceful and best of all restful. Just thinking about it was making him crave sleep. He curled up under his blanket and closed his eyes. Lost in thought and so close to unconsciousness, he was rudely interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Great, a visitor. Just what I needed.
Kusuo had no intention of getting up until the doorbell rang a second time. Either it was important or it was Nendou, who wouldn’t go away if he wasn’t explicitly told to. As he got out of bed and headed down the stairs, it rang again. Leave the button alone, I heard the first two times. He attempted to replace his slightly annoyed expression with a more neutral one, no reason to be aggressive if it’s actually an emergency. He hoped it was just Nendou and Kaidou inviting him out for ramen, it was a bit late but it wasn’t like those two had any appreciation for normal social conventions anyway. He just prayed it wasn’t someone who expected a lot from him, like Teruhashi. He just wanted to get this interaction over with and go back to bed.
He opened the door and then immediately tried to close it again. A boot wedged itself between the door and the frame to keep it from shutting.
Not this guy.
The man behind the door opened it back up and looked back at him. Taller than Kusuo, with blonde hair covering his face, he beamed downward.
“I heard you aren’t feeling too hot today, little brother.”
Letting himself in despite his brother's obvious dismay, Kūsuke threw a blanket over Kusuo’s shoulders and pet his head as if Kusuo was a dog. Kusuo glared daggers at him as best he could, and it seemed to about get the message across.
Kūsuke just smiled and put his hands up in a surrendering pose. “C’mon, we don’t want your cold to get worse, do we? Really, Ku-chan, but you have no clue how to take care of yourself without your powers to back you up. I’m here to help you, you should be grateful I came all the way out here just for my cute little brother.”
Kusuo rolled his eyes but allowed that guy to enter. He was annoying as sin, definitely had ulterior motives, but it wasn’t like there was any way to get rid of him. He was probably too weak to kick out his brother in this state and even if he weren’t, the man would find another way in. He really didn’t want Kūsuke complaining to their parents that he was being shut out.
He loved his parents, but despised their absolute naivety when it came to their own children. Not only did they seem to not notice that Kusuo wasn’t normal, but that their older son's obsession with him wasn’t exactly regular sibling rivalry. Kusuo remembers being a kid and having Kūsuke try to poison him or ruin his social life at school. Their parents always looked on as if there was nothing wrong with it. He supposed he didn’t have any place to speak, though. It was normal. It was just how brothers act and everything else he saw on television or through his classmates seemed like a fictional simulacrum more than it did a genuine relationship.
Kūsuke had immediately gone toward the kitchen and was now saying something that Kusuo wasn’t really interested in listening to. He stood warily next to the couch for a bit before sitting down and watching the man in the kitchen. He wondered how Kūsuke even figured out the predicament he was in so soon. Probably hidden cameras. He made a mental note that after all of this was done he had to sweep the house for more of those again. Even this visit, he’d probably plant more just like he always did-
“-Kusuo? Chicken noodle soup alright with you?”
He nodded, though didn’t exactly trust food made by Kūsuke. Still though, he was hungry and the sound of soup was enticing right now. He rested his head on the armrest of the couch while the sounds of Kūsuke chopping vegetables became static in the background. He spent a bit dozing off and as his eyelids grew heavier, he felt the couch next to him sink in, followed by a hand softly touching his face and shoulder. He scrunched his nose and sniffled in annoyance, but felt too tired to bother fighting it.