#this fic is a bit of a nothing burger but oh welel

[flydotnet]

Mundane

WHUMPTOBER 2023, DAY 20: “People don’t change people, time does.” Blanket | Found Family | “You will regret touching them.”

I originally had a whole other idea planned. In fact, I had it planned from almost day 1 of Whumptober... and then I didn't want to write it because it was for a fandom I'm not into at the moment and forcing myself to write it was too much. Combine that with semi-writer's block and you get me, panicking at 10PM I don't have an idea yet again.

This is very short as a result because, as I said, I really didn't want to write today, but I also didn't want to break such a long streak, especially on a round day count, so I bruteforced myself lol

This is, I suppose, the sweet version of "Répondez, s'il-vous-plaît" from like last week, except you also get Just Hidalgo! As a free add-on to your fancy vague-ass post-canon setting package.

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Mundane Sanctuary

Summary: It's a calm afternoon in a flat with four friends - nothing more, nothing less.

Fandom: Some post-canon Captain Tsubasa shlock, you know how it is around here

Word Count: 1K words

AO3 version available here.

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Being sick sucks ass, it’s always sucked ass, and it’ll never stop sucking ass. That’s a rule accepted by pretty much everyone, isn’t it? Whomever doesn’t get grumpy whenever it happens can try and justify their opinion, and he’ll try respecting it – it doesn’t mean it’s right.

Despite this, one of his friends has been adamant on that whole shebang not sucking ass, and honestly, JB can’t wrap his head around it.

Yet when he looks at his friend, trying to see if finally anger crosses his face, all he gets greeted with is a polite smile and slow, hoarse words.

“It’s really no big deal,” Yuzo tells him again, so it’s back to square one again.

“It should be, though, right? You can complain, you know!” JB turns his attention to the two other persons in the room. “Right, guys? I can’t be the only one to think that being sick sucks!”

“Maybe some people like whining about it less than you do, JB!” Max strikes back with a chuckle.

“That’s a little mean-spirited to say, Maxine,” Just adds.

“It’s just part of life,” Yuzo finishes as he balls up inside the blankets.

A shiver almost visibly courses through him as he does.

“You’re cold?” JB asks, all thought process about the righteous art of complaining about achy joints and stuffed noses ceasing on the spot.

“Y-yeah,” his friend stutters.

“I’m gonna fetch you another blanket then.”

He’s up as soon as he can even finish the sentence, barely seeing Max in the corner of his eyes picking up a thermometer before he’s into his bedroom and going through whatever may be in his closet. He almost never opens that thing for anything but his civilian clothes, and now, it’s biting him back in the ass: he needs to find a blanket that’s warm and sheets to put it inside on top of it.

He does manage to find it, however, and actually still in its original plastic bag – it may be unused, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and at least it means it’s clean for Yuzo. That’s a very good thing if you ask him.

When he comes back, Max has her hand on Yuzo’s forehead and a frowny look on her own face.

“I’m back with a second blanket,” JB announces anyway.

“Ah, good!” She replies without looking at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“I think I’m a little warmer than before,” Yuzo chuckles, and even now, the congestion in his voice is so obvious it’s itchy to hear. “Not by much, though…”

“It’s still a rise in temperature and I don’t like that.”

JB gives his friends the second blanket, which Max proceeds to install on top of the first, mindful of the width of his trusty couch.

“I think Yuzo would know better than you if he felt off.”

She deadpans back at him.

“You’re both absolute catastrophes at admitting you don’t feel well. Remind me how we ended up in this situation, boys?”

“Ha…”

Yuzo coughs into his elbow in lieu of an answer.

“That’s what I thought,” she adds.

JB watches Maxine go back to her seat on the armchair right next to the couch – she’s the nearest to Yuzo for obvious reasons and neither JB nor Just was dumb enough to rob them of the proximity. God knows that can’t be that easy for them, with how tense in-laws can be. In a way, maybe they’re both their friends’ sanctuary (that sounds oddly deep for no real reason).

Silence ensues for a bit. It’s weird but far from uncomfortable. It feels right, in a way JB can’t quite put into words (not that he’s ever been very eloquent) – and there he is again with the thought of this being a sort of sanctuary. It doesn’t have to be an artsy-fartsy thing, after all, so why shy away from the idea?

“I’m going to brew us some tea,” Just says as he gets up from his seat, breaking the quiet. “Does anyone have specific requests?”

“I want honey in mine please!” Max immediately replies.

“Same here!”

“So honey for the four of us. I’ll see you in around ten minutes.”

He disappears from the living room and into the kitchen.

Before silence can settle once more, Max breaks it, smiling as she looks around.

“How many times have I been here… I lost count a while back.”

“Same, damn. I think at some point you were over here every single day.”

“It was handier for me to come here after class, rather than my parents’ place.”

Yuzo is silently following along, his eyes sliding from him to her and back to him while, like them, he sips on his tea.

“You still have your room back there, you know that?”

“Yeah, I do,” she laughs.

“Maxine has a room for her here?”

“Yeah, I do. Haven’t slept there for a hot minute, but it’s filled with all sorts of me things, I’m sure.”

“Can confirm, I haven’t moved a damn thing in there!”

“Does Just have one too?”

“He does, yeah, but you can’t really tell, he’s not been here as often as Max has. It almost looks more like any guest room than a friend’s, but oh well…” He shrugs. “It is what it is.”

Just’s back with tea soon enough, all neatly placed on a tray – there truly is nothing this guy can’t do without being at least a little artistic about it. He gives everyone a steaming cup, reminds them to mind the heat of the water before they start drinking, then leaves the tray on the coffee table near the couch.

“You know, this feels like having a family,” Yuzo states out of the blue.

The three others stare at each other for a brief silence.

“What makes you bring that up now?” Max asks

“I don’t know, it’s… Just a thought I had.”

“This is very humbling to hear,” Just replies, his face the softest JB has seen in quite a while.

“It’s difficult to explain,” Yuzo continues. “I’ve never had a very close relationship to my family, but when we’re together, I… think I know how people feel like when they talk about their own relatives. It’s warm.”

“That sounds about right.”

Both Max and Just agree in silence; meanwhile, JB decides sicknesses suck, but they don’t have to be that bad.

#whumptober 2023 #no.20 #blankets #found family #captain tsubasa #fic #this fic is a bit of a nothing burger but oh welel