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It wasn’t that big a deal truly. So he hadn’t been to the doctor’s in a year or two, he was still breathing and was eating right (or…. well he was eating right NOW. No more apple lunches, Akira had seen to that) there was nothing to worry about.
Sumire and Akira didn’t seem to agree with him however.
“Wait, you haven’t been to the doctor in years??” Sumire asked, astonished. Between her shocked face and Akira’s coughing from choking on his coffee, it was clear Akechi had made a mistake in mentioning it.
“It’s not a huge concern of mine, I’ll go to the hospital if I’m bleeding or something, if there’s an issue.”
“G-Goro, you gotta- *ahem* you gotta check in with a doctor.” Akira eventually choked out.
“He’s right,” Sumire added, “a lot can change in that time, you have to check up with someone!”
This always happened, they cared too much, you’d think he’d learn to keep his mouth shut by now. Sighing, Akechi turned his attention back to his coffee. He already knew how this would play out; the two of them would outvote him and think of something for the sake of his well being. It annoyed him to no end but… at the same time he couldn’t blame them for it. He didn’t exactly have the best track record when making decisions, especially ones for his own well being.
“Don’t you know a doctor Akira?” Sumire’s question recaptured his attention. “Wouldn’t you be able to get an appointment with her?”
Akira thought about it, but then furrowed his brow. “I don’t know… Takemi could use the business but… well… she’s just got this um… strange sense of humor.” he explained awkwardly.
“Look, as long as she can do it soon, I don’t care.” Akechi said. He just wanted to get this out of the way so they’d shut up about it.
“Well… if you’re sure…” Akira pulled out his phone, supposedly to call said doctor.
It was fine.
This was fine.
____
Alright maybe it wasn’t fine exactly. It wasn’t as if he was afraid of the doctor, that’s childish, but the thought of being alone with a stranger asking you personal questions and maybe jabbing a needle in your arm? That was a perfectly acceptable thing to get anxiety about. Sensing his hesitance, both Akira and Sumire decided to go in with him, for moral support. He wasn’t sure if their company was a blessing or a curse.
He couldn’t lie, despite this being ENTIRELY their fault… their presence was comforting.
The doctor, Takemi, took him into her office as soon as they arrived, where she instructed him to take a seat on the bed. Sumire decided to sit next to him, while Akira stood close by. Their protectiveness was equal parts sweet and aggravating to him.
“Alright, since you haven’t been to the doctor in a ridiculously long time, we have to do a lot of the standard stuff,” Takemi started off, her eyes not leaving her clipboard, “taking your weight and height, reflexes, medical history questions, stuff like that.”
Annoying, but not terrible. Akechi simply did what he was asked of him, the whole thing was relatively painless. He was starting to feel stupid for getting himself so worked up over this.
“Ok, everything seems normal,” Takemi said after a while. Thank goodness, it seems they were wrapping up. “Now all I need is a little blood and you’ll be on your way.”
“Wait what??” Akechi, much to his embarrassment, practically jumped out of his seat.
Takemi raised an eyebrow, holding up a small empty glass vial “I need a tiny bit of blood to check your cholesterol and stuff like that. Is that a problem?”
“U-um…”
God he hated to admit it, but needles were one of the things Akechi hated. He despised his irrational fear of them, it was part of the reason he put this off for so long.
Sumire put her hand in his. “It’ll be ok, it’ll be over before you know it!”
“Yeah,” Akira piped up. “Look how small it is, you’ve lost more blood then that!”
“First of all, your sense of humor is terrible.” Akechi said, glaring at him, “And second, there’s a difference between something TAKING my blood by force and me allowing it to be taken.”
“If this is an issue, you could come back another time…” Takemi cut in awkwardly.
Akechi thought about this. It was very tempting, but he knew he should probably do it now and get it over with. With any luck it would mean not doing it again for a while. But at the same time…
“It’ll be ok,” Sumire repeated. “We’ll be right here with you.”
He almost hated how comforting she was at times.
Sighing again, Akechi began rolling up his sleeve. “Let’s just get this over with…”
“No need for that,” Takemi pointed to his sleeve. “There’s a nice vein on the back of your hand I like the look of.”
“Don’t say it like that” Akechi hissed.
“Takemi…” Akira said in a pleading tone.
The hack doctor had the fucking nerve to giggle. “Sorry, but I am serious, it looks big enough to get what I need quickly.”
“Great…” Akechi said, now with a sick feeling in his stomach.
He moved to a chair closer to the desk, while Takemi got out some tubes and a small paper mat to place his hand on. He took a shuttered breath, trying to steady himself.
“You don’t gotta watch you know…” Akira gave him a worried look.
“Yeah, you can just put your head down, we’ll tell you when you can look back up!” Sumire added.
“I’m fine alright?? I don’t need you two to console me every-” Akechi’s voice left him when Takemi took out the needles. After a moment of looking between it and his sweethearts, he slowly put his head down on the table, trying to stay calm.
He hated that he flinched when Takemi touched his hand again, even if it was just to clean it with a little alcohol.
“God I hate the two of you for bringing me here with every fiber of my being.” Akechi groaned. He hated this. He hated them.
He felt the needle in his hand and went rigid. Almost immediately, Sumire took his free hand into her own, giving it a squeeze and whispering soft reassuring words in his ear, while he felt Akira rubbed comforting circles on his back. It was more than enough to distract from what was happening… he was incredibly grateful.
“And… done. You can look now.” Takemi’s voice brought him back to reality.
Slowly, Akechi picked up his head, seeing the doctor putting everything away and his hand with a little bandaid on top. He finally relaxed a little.
“I’ll call you if I find anything unusual, but aside from that, you’re free to go.” Takemi said, motioning to the door. Akechi didn’t need to be told twice.
On the short walk back to Lablanc, Sumire and Akira sandwiched him as they went, each taking a hand in their own. He wanted to call them out on it, to tell them he didn’t need to be babied like this… but... it felt nice. Being cared for like this. It wasn’t something he was used to, this genuine feeling of love they seemed to throw at him like it was nothing. Like it was so easy. He didn’t get how they could do it so effortlessly… especially for someone like him. He really was grateful, honestly. Even small acts like this meant more than he could ever admit.
But he could try.
“Hey… um…” he started. “I just… thanks…”
“Of course! I’m glad it went well!” Sumire gave him a sunny smile.
“Yeah, it’s no big deal.” Akira added.
No big deal… well it was to him. These two tenderhearted fools were too kind to him. He’d need to return the favor someday. But for now, he just allowed himself to be led back to Lablanc, to relax with them the rest of the night.