Trust in Progress [Snippet]

[hypermoyashi]

[ Oh man, this is very, very old, one of the first fics I wrote for HTR, actually ^^" But I still like it, so I wanted to go ahead and archive it here. Happy reading! ]

Fandom: Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
Relationship(s): Lin Xianming & Banba Zenji
Warnings: minor violence
Summary: Lin catches the flu. This proves to be more problematic than Banba initially expected

-/-/-

Banba first noticed something was off when he got back from a private investigating job and Lin was already asleep on the sofa.

Lin wasn’t exactly a busybody, but still--he liked to do things, whether it was cleaning, complaining about cleaning, wandering town, target practice, or just watching TV. It wasn’t like him to just lay around and nap.

What’s more, Lin hated going to bed early, especially when Banba wasn’t home yet. He was a light sleeper who found it irritating to be roused by his roommate returning home.

So when Banba arrived home at around five in the evening to find Lin dead to the world, not so much as twitching despite the noise of Banba entering and starting dinner, he found himself a little worried. Abandoning the kettle of water to the stovetop, he made his way to the sofa and knelt near it.

“Lin?”

No response.

Frowning, Banba watched Lin for moment, relief flooding through him at the rise and fall of the younger man’s chest. Definitely not dead, then. Banba reached forward to place a singular hand on Lin’s forehead.

At the touch, he finally reacted, his hand snapping forward to grab Banba’s wrist and pull his hand away. Banba, being relatively familiar with Lin’s strength by now, noticed his grip was weak.

Lin blinked, then released his hold on Banba and sat up. “What are you doing?”

“Checking your temperature,” he answered, taking a seat across from Lin. “You have a fever, I think. You weren’t waking up, either.”

[ Read it on Ao3 ]