Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Summary: Botan hated being alone, especially when she was stuck with a fever... but maybe Kurama could help?

Feverish

Botan rolled around in her bed, body shivering and sweating a lot under her covers. To the left, to the right. No matter how much she rolled to try to get into a better position, she couldn't seem to get comfortable. She panted; her head was spinning, her body was warm all over, and her muscles ached in a way that made the whole situation more unpleasant.

She hated fevers.

Wrapping the sheets around herself, the ferry girl shut her eyes tight in an attempt to get some sleep. Maybe the pain would disappear when she wakes up. But to no avail, she couldn't even keep her eyes closed for too long, the pounding in her head and the feeling of bile traveling up her throat making it difficult to rest.

What's worse was that no one was there to take care of her. Her friends visited her, but none of them had the time to stick around for too long. She wished they could have. The thought that they took some time to see her despite their busy schedules was more than appreciated though.

Botan bit her lip, holding back a few tears that threatened to burst out. She hated being alone more than ever though, especially when she was stuck with a frustrating fever. Why was there no one there to take care of her? She didn't know how to do it herself. She could hardly move a muscle. She had some medicines, of course, but they were in a room across. Would she be able to grab them in this kind of condition? She had to try.

Just as she was about to prop herself on her elbows, the door to her room suddenly opened, making a loud creaking sound that always came whenever it opened or closed. She should really get that thing fixed. But that was hardly the first thing she was curious about.

Rolling around as best as she could, Botan fixated her gaze on the door, her eyes widening at what greeted her sight. She quickly sat up, the sore aching of her muscles momentarily forgotten, surprise and joy filling her at the prospect that she was not alone.

"Kurama!"

The redhead placed a plastic bag beside the bag, a startled look taking over his features at the sound of her voice. He looked up, a warm smile curling at the corners of his lips.

"Hey, Botan," he greeted back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sneak in. I thought you were asleep."

The ferry girl shook her head, she couldn't help the wide grin that spread on her face. "No, it's fine. I'm just glad you're here!" she dismissed him with a wave, a laugh erupting from her throat.

Kurama's smile broadened momentarily, only to falter slightly as he realized the state she was in. He sat down on an unoccupied space on the bed, placing a hand over her forehead. He was faintly aware of the pink tint colouring her cheeks at the contact of his skin against hers.

He hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm, I think your fever's gone down a bit," he said, pulling his hand away, much to Botan's disappointment. He blinked at the dark crimson blush around her cheeks, but then assumed that it was because of the fever.

Another smile found its way to his lips. "Have you taken any medicine?" he asked her, and without waiting for her to answer, fetched around in the plastic bag, as if trying to retrieve something.

Botan shook her head, only to pause when a revelation hit her that he wasn't looking at her so he didn't see her respond. "Um... no..." she mumbled, fiddling with her thumbs. "There are some in the room across this one... but I was unable to move... so I couldn't get them..."

The fox turned to peer at her with an arched eyebrow. "You didn't ask Yusuke or the others to grab them for you? I mean, they did come and visit you, right?"

Another blush spread on her face at his questioning gaze. "No..." she answered in a low voice, slightly embarrassed with herself. "I forgot..."

Kurama grinned as the girl stared down at her hands, trying to avoid his gaze. He couldn't help but think she was cute. "It's alright, Botan," he reassured her, upon hearing the shameful tone in her voice. "Since I'm here now."

All of a sudden, he reached a hand out to pat her on the head, causing the red shade tinting her cheeks to darken a bit, but there was a smile attached to her lips. "Right... And thank you."

"Thank me when you get better," he told her, the grin on his features widening. Then, he found whatever it was he was looking for: a small bag of medicine. He placed it on the bed beside her. "Would you like to take these or are you more comfortable with taking the ones in the other room?" he inquired.

"Anything's fine." Botan laughed. "As long as it makes me feel better."

"Right." He opened the bag, retrieving the medicine in it, only to lift his head and pin a bewildered yet worried expression on the ferry girl's form. He studied her, brows furrowing at the way she cupped a hand to her mouth, and the colour drained from her face. "Are you okay?"

She managed to pull a weak smile. "Y-yeah, I think so..." Except for the fact she wanted to vomit.

Kurama raised an eyebrow her way, a disbelieving look crossing his face. "Really? You don't look very fine to me," he stated, more than asked, leaving her no room for disagreement.

Botan blushed beet red, embarrassed by the notion that he managed to read right through her. "S-sorry... I just feel like... puking..." her voice trailed off as she could feel the taste of bile at the back of her throat. She tried to hold it back, cupping a hand over her mouth once again.

Suddenly, she found a brown plastic bag held out towards her. She blinked at it a few times, before focusing her eyes on Kurama. He was smiling. "I thought you might say that," he said all too knowingly, "so I brought that alone just in case."

She couldn't help but smile.

Thank god, Kurama was there for her.

"How are you feeling?" Kurama asked, as he watched Botan swallow her medicine. The ferry girl drank some water he had fetched for her earlier, before answering,

"Better now, thanks to you."

Her response caused another smile to appear on the redhead's face. Although, she didn't notice the slight pink blush spreading on his cheeks. He felt pleased that he was able to be useful to her.

"That's good to hear," he said, his smile broadening a little.

The edge of Botan's lips pulled upwards into a wide, ear to ear grin. "I mean it, Kurama. I'm glad you here." He rotated his head to the left to look at her. "I was actually feeling pretty lonely before you got here."

Emerald orbs blinked in confusion. "And why is that?"

Her grin faltered slightly, but it was instantly replaced by a timid smile. "I hate being alone when I'm sick. You see, the truth is, I was about to cry before you came. I know, sounds kind of childish. But I get easily irritated and sensitive whenever I'm under the weather," she elaborated in a low and almost inaudible voice. Why was she saying all this? It was embarrassing. She felt as if she sounded like a little child and she didn't want that in front of him, of all people. She had a crush on him for a long time now, after all.

Not that she would ever admit it to him.

Contrary to her beliefs, Kurama found it adorable that she was being all shy about it. If it were someone else, he would've told them that they were actually being a little childish. After all, honesty was one of his best traits. But this was Botan, and he could only smile and stare at her.

One of his hands found the top of her head, patting lightly and rubbing gently. The ferry girl looked up at him at the contact, blushing hotly at the attention she was receiving from him. Truth be told, she rather enjoyed it.

"It's okay," he reassured her, "I don't mind. I don't think you sound childish." He tilted his head at her. "I think you sound cute."

Botan's blush deepened at his words, her jaws dropped and her eyes widened. "W-what?" she sputtered.

Kurama didn't respond, and instead, gave her a heart stopping smile that tinted his eyes with warmth and... an emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on. But it made her heart leap and race in a way that she had never imagined nonetheless. Caught off guard by his unusual stare and his surprising words, the girl darted her eyes downwards, cheeks flushed a cute shade of red.

Comfortable silence hung in the air for some moments, until the fox demon broke it off. "Have you taken a bath?" he questioned.

Botan cleared her throat, in a vain attempt to cover up her embarrassment. "Um... no, I haven't."

He quirked an eyebrow at her quizzically. "Is that so? Well, you should," he told her, voice gentle yet firm and expression serious. A smile then formed on his lips. "Here, let me help you."

She blinked at him in bewilderment, wondering what he meant by 'help'. She didn't manage to ask him though, as his hands suddenly found her pajamas, fingers slowly removing the buttons. She broadened her eyes and another blush appeared on her cheeks, as she placed both hands on top of Kurama's, tugging them away from her body with a speed of a lightning bolt. She finally understoood what he meant. Kurama blinked.

"No! Y-you can't!" she stammered, trying desperately to cover her cleavage. Thankfully, he only managed to unbutton the top ones, but it still revealed a perfect amount of the valley between her breasts. "I-I can do it myself!"

A crease formed on his forehead. "I understand you're embarrassed, Botan, but you can't even move. And it's not good for you to stay in the same clothes either, so..." He went to touch her, but she quickly slapped his hand away.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" she apologized, cupping a hand to her mouth to stifle back a gasp. She didn't mean to do that.

Kurama merely smiled a reassuring smile. "It's alright, I promise I won't look."

Botan shook her head frantically, the red shade colouring her cheeks turning darker, but she didn't say anything. Still, she knew he was right, and therefore, she had to relent sooner or later. He seemed persistent in... assisting her anyway. Heaving a defeated sigh, the ferry girl finally complied, removing her hands from her chest.

"F-fine..." she muttered. Good lord, her face felt so warm... She wasn't sure if it was because of the fever or the feeling of embarrassment that caused it. "B-but I can take off my clothes myself... So... you promise you won't look?" she asked in a small voice, earning another reassuring smile and a nod in return. "O-okay. Then... go to the corner of this room and turn around. You can't look until I say you can," she ordered, sounding firmer this time. "Got it?"

"Yes," he responded, his smile widening slightly. He stood up from the bed, walked towards the corner of the room where she had pointed at, and whipped around. He could sense her hesitation even as he wasn't facing her, but then, he heard some shuffling, and could only take that as the sound of articles of clothing falling to the floor.

"Y-you can look now," Botan's voice stuttered from behind him. A small smile reached his lips, only to fall as quickly as it came as he turned around, and caught sight of her.

She had her back facing him, and she was crossing her arms, as if trying to hide her bare chest. Her skin was porcelain, and looked as smooth as he had imagined a lot of times before, if not, more. Her beautiful strands of blue hair cascaded down her shoulders and back like waterfall, most of it still covered the front of her body. Even so, she looked... ravishing.

And he was just staring at her back. He hadn't even seen the other delicious parts of her body, yet he was already... The fox inside him whispered to him dirty thoughts about the ferry girl, encouraging him to touch her, to feel her, to taste her, but he refused, ignoring Youko even as the demon part of him growled at him to take her and claim her as their mate right then and there.

Shaking his head, Kurama sauntered slowly towards the bed, taking a seat behind her. Everything was dead silent for a while. He could see her trembling, shivering. Was it because of the cold air or was it because of his stare? He didn't know, and he didn't want to think about it. Lest he'd find himself losing his cool.

"A-are you there?" Botan inquired in a soft voice. The fox demon was being so quiet, that she was starting to worry he had left her. He would never do that though.

"Yeah." His voice sounded slightly deeper... huskier. Kurama cleared his throat, cheeks turning warm and red as he tried to sound as casual as possible, "I'm here."

He never would've thought that he would elicit such a violent reaction upon seeing her bare flesh. He had seen a lot of naked women in his past life after all. And yet still, he found himself growing nervous in her presence. Perhaps it was due to his budding feelings for her, feelings he didn't think he could develop.

Kurama grabbed a bowl of water, inside it was a white towel, soaked and drenched. He retrieved it, squeezing as to dry it a little. Then, taking a few deep, calming breaths, he touched it to her skin, swallowing down a lump in his throat as the ferry girl jumped slightly at the contact.

Botan was startled at the feel of something cold rubbing against her back, but she stayed still and silent. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and her face, as red as a tomato, a few pants leaving her as she let Kurama do his thing.

"Botan," he spoke, voice slightly hoarse, "Lift up your arms."

The girl couldn't help the delicious shiver that traveled down her spine at the sound of his voice. She gulped, before doing as she was told, raising her arms. Kurama's arm came to wrap around her waist, his hand that held the towel trailing from her lower back to her belly. He rubbed the spot for a while, making goosebumps appear on her skin, and a giggle erupt from her throat, the action slightly tickling her. She felt him smile against her bare shoulder, causing her fit of giggles to fade into thin air. Her eyes widened, her body turning into a rigid line. She hadn't notice he was lying his head on her shoulder.

"Kurama..." she started, but he cut her off.

"How am I supposed to control myself when you're here in my arms, naked?" He took a deep breath, dropping the towel, and wrapping his other arm around her, pulling her closer to him until she could feel the hard contours of his body. "How can I not touch you the way I've always wanted to?"

Botan's face reddened, taken by surprise by his words. "What... do you mean?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

His hold around her loosened, as he pulled away. She turned, not forgetting to wrap her sheets around her to cover herself. He stared at her with an unreadable expression, studying her and looking straight into her eyes. "I love you..." he confessed, a smile reaching its way to his face, tinting his emerald orbs with a loving and yearning look. "I've always had." He sighed softly, lying his forehead against hers. "And I want you so much it hurts."

"Kurama..." She cupped his cheek in her hand, smiling to herself as the fox demon purred, and nuzzled it against her palm. "I... I love you too... Ever since I met you..." she whispered, inching her face closer to his, their lips merely inches from each other, almost brushing. "More than anyone ever could."

A wide smile stretched on his lips, his heart filling with overwhelming joy at her reply. "Good, cause I wasn't planning to let you go so easily." And with that, he crushed his lips with hers in a breathtaking kiss.

"I never would've predicted this would happen," Kurama said, voice slightly amused, and eyes dancing with mirth. He wrapped a strand of blue hair around his finger, twirling it, before bringing it to his lips. Botan pouted from beside him, watching him as he played with her hair.

"Well, you were the one who made the first move," she countered, gesturing to his half naked form. He chuckled at her words.

"Yes, well, I hardly had any control of myself when you stripped."

"Because you told me to!"

He smirked. "Touche."

She fake glared at him, but then, a giggle began to build in her chest, before escaping her throat. "Don't blame me if you get a fever because of me!" she playfully said.

"If it's from you," Kurama placed a soft, featherlike kiss on the crook of her neck, smirking at the small giggle he earned in return, "then I wouldn't mind getting a fever."

Botan laughed. Her heart filled with joy at the revelation that this was a start of a new relationship, and that for the first time it was with someone who she genuinely and unconditionally fell in love with.

"My peony," Her lover purred against her ear, before tackling her to the bed, soft, girlish giggles filling the air.