I let another cough escape my lips, trying my hardest to hide it. I didn't want him to worry, but I knew that he would catch it anyway. I saw him glance my way from across the room, concern in his eyes. I smiled sweetly to him but was interrupted by another cough. He comes over and says that maybe he should take me to Hatori. I blow him off, patting his black and white head gently. I tell him that it's fine, no big deal. He leans forward, both hands on my desk, saying my name sternly. Yuki, you can't let it go on like this. I glare to him slightly and tell him to let it go. He leans in and is mere inches away from me.

He says that he'll always protect me, so he can't let it go. I blink a few times, flustered for a moment. My purple eyes scan his as I try to read him somehow. Then, they scan the empty classroom behind us, watching for any sign of people. Without any thought, as if by instinct, I lean in and close the distance between us.

At first, I just gently press our lips together. Then, he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer and deeper into the kiss. It becomes a mash of tongue and a battle for dominance as I wrap my arms around his neck and knot my hands in his hair. He pulls away and whispers in my ear that now he has no other choice but to protect me. I smile and reply that I'll never let him go.

Tohru was a bundle of nerves as she had just found out that Prom was coming up and I didn't have a date. She knew about the prom, oh, of course she knew about the prom. She and that stupid Cat were going together. But, she had failed to think that the "prince" himself did not have a date. I told her not to worry, that I was just planning on going with friends anyway. Shigure picked then to chime in about spying on Kyo, the naughty kitty, and keeping an eye on his precious flower. Both Kyo and I smacked him on the back of the head for that remark.

I pulled Tohru into the other room, telling her to not worry about anything but her and Kyo. As much as I hated the fact that they were now a couple, I still wanted her to stop worrying about me and be happy. Plus, I told her I was going to go anyway, but just with friends. She stared at me with curiosity in her eyes, and for a second, I swore she knew I was lying. But then, she dropped the dirty dishes in the sink and flitted back out to Kyo and Shigure with a giant smile on her face.

I sighed and leaned against the counter, my thoughts now revolving around Haru. I didn't know how this was going to work, or how we would even get any time alone at the Prom. All I did know was that if the stupid fangirls decided to show up, I would have to sick Black Haru on them. All I really wanted was a chance to make this work and not have every pair of eyes staring at us. I just wanted to be alone with him, savor another moment like our first kiss.

Our first kiss. I placed my fingers lightly on my lips, remembering that moment oh-so-clearly. I wanted to see him, to make him mine once again. But that would just have to wait. We never got to see each other anyway, so why should it be different now?

Half-aware that I had moved to my room, I threw myself down onto my bed without thinking. A startled cry of pain had me lurching up to look to my bed with confusion. There, lying sprawled out in the sun, was Haru. He was now holding his middle as his face contorted in pain. I started to ramble how sorry I was as I moved to his side and rubbed his sore middle. He laughed and said it was no big deal, then shoving me against the wall. I gasped as his lips were suddenly attacking mine, too shocked for a moment to do anything. Then, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

I knew that Shigure, Kyo and Tohru were all downstairs, but I didn't care. I didn't care, I didn't care, I didn't care. All my world was right now was Haru. There was nothing else but his scent, his body, his warmth. There was nothing but him to intoxicate me.

I suddenly pulled away from the steamy kiss to bury my head in his shoulder as I coughed. I clutched his back, digging my nails into his flesh. His arms wrapped around me as he just held me and waited for it to pass. He whispered in my ear that I really should go see Hatori. I shook my head weakly, managing past some coughs that I was fine and it was nothing. I stopped when my body was wracked with another fit. Haru pulled me closer, telling me that it was no longer an option.

He scooped me up in his arms, much to my protest, and walked downstairs. The initial shock of why was Haru here died in their mouths when they saw me in his arms. Tohru asked what was wrong but got her answer when I started coughing again. Weakly, I laid my head n Haru's shoulder and buried my face in his neck. I felt like crap.

Shigure went to the phone, calling Hatori. Kyo got the car and helped Haru get me in. Haru sat beside me, laying me down so my head was in his lap. If it wasn't so obvious that I was in pain, I would have cherished the small romantic gesture. But then, the coughing started again and I barely remembered how to breathe.

We got to Hatori's, Haru helping me out. I had an arm around his neck as he half-walked me to the door. I leaned in on Haru, causing his grip around my waist to tighten. He whispered to me that he couldn't let me go. I whispered back that he wouldn't have to.

Maybe it was a dream, I couldn't tell. But the eagerness behind his movements and kisses suggested that it was real. It suggested that I was fine but the fear had buried too deep in his heart to stop this. I replied with just as much eagerness and need.

He knotted his hands in my hair as he kissed and sucked n my neck. I moaned in response, digging my nails into his back. I pulled his face to mine and kissed him, exploring his every cavern and tasting his every taste. I felt him smile against the kiss, and then the battle for dominance ensued. He won.

He pushed me against a nearby wall (I still had no idea where we were) and began to kiss down my chest. AS he went he unbuttoned and discarded my shirt, stopping when he reached my hips. I moved him then, pushing him so he was against a wall. I did the same, but when I got to his hips, I didn't stop. I pulled his pants off and kissed his inner thigh lightly. He moaned and knotted his hands in my hair.

He started to moan out incomprehensible words, but my name was in there sometimes. Those small noises made me lose control. The next thing I knew, I was on my back on the bed and both of us were completely naked. WE were both a mass of panting, wriggling and contorted limbs. With each thrust inside of me, I felt myself die with happiness and pleasure.

I clawed at his back and arched to get closer. He was panting and pulling me closer, matching my desperation.

We both exploded in a haze of stars and lust. The last thing I saw was his beautiful face.

You should have gotten him here earlier, Hatori scolds me the next morning. I didn't care. I didn't want to hear it. I was lost to the world and anything except Yuki. He was still on the bed, still barely breathing. He was hooked up to monitors and cords, beeping replacing his normally gorgeous breathing.

And you should have left him alone last night, Hatori scolds again. I retort that it was what Yuki wanted, and that we both knew there was no stopping him when he had a goal. Hatori sighs, patting me on the shoulder. I sigh, moving to get closer to Yuki.

I look down at his soft, violet features and nearly burst. He's so fragile and weak, so vulnerable. He looked absolutely heart breaking. I lean in and whisper his name, taking his pale hand in my own. Idly I remember the scratches that now decorate my back. I lean in a kiss his forehead, lingering there as my breath covers his face.

I can't let you go, Yuki.

Days had passed, days, and there was still no sign that he was getting any better. Hatori would check on him a few times a day, when he wasn't conscious. Even if he was, he couldn't tell one face from the other. Hatori said that this was something he didn't know how to fix, and that he would have to look into it. So, he resided to his library and bedroom, studying almost all day and all night. I silently thanked him for being so studious, but I knew that this was going to get worse before it got better. There was no way that any normal breathing problem could have caused something this great.

Today, I sat by his side, stroking his hair out of his face absently. His eyes were half open, revealing the fact that he was semi-conscious. I smiled and leaned in, gently kissing his forehead. I started to talk, just simply rambling about all the times we'd shared together. I was talking mostly about Black Haru and how he always seemed to snap me out of it. Then, I went on to start rambling about the night we shared together, how amazing it was for me. I didn't know if he could hear me, but somehow I wished he could. I wished he could know just how amazing he had made me feel, even if it wasn't as good for him. I wished he could know exactly how I felt about him.

Somehow I knew that this was going to get worse before it got better. If it got better. I hated thinking about it like that, but with the way that even Hatori had to reside to the books had me concerned. As for me, I was probably just something useless in the way of Hatori's perfect recovery for Yuki. I was probably in the way, but a larger part of me didn't care then the part that did.

So what was going to happen? What was going to become of the poor rat?

My eyes fluttered open almost snail-like. I stared at the white canvas that was the ceiling for a long while, listening to the sounds that surrounded me. There was a beeping, then a ragged rasping. There was also the distinct sound of something flipping in the background, someone else's breathing to match the ragged sound. My eyes drifted closed for a second, blackness replacing the all-too-sudden white. I heard the rasping come to a shallow stop, felt my heart tug in my chest. I quickly opened my eyes, straining to focus on the ceiling again.

Someone whispers my name, and then his face fills my vision. I whisper his name back, but this time my voice barely has a chance to escape before the coughs start again. I lurch in the bed, my pale arms clenching up to attempt and cover the horrible sound. I choke as I feel something wet land on my hand. I pull back and see a startling red covering my pale hand.

He moves beside me, calling for someone else. I can't tell the difference between the whirling fantasy in my head or reality. It's all blurred into one and the same thing and I can't tell the startling red from the white any longer.

I stare at the boy - man - next to me and weakly call out. I tell him just how much he means to me and just how gorgeous he really his. I weakly lift my hand to cup the back of his head, pulling him in with the little strength I have left. I whisper that I can't let him go, that this should have just been the beginning. I whisper that he shouldn't have had to see me like this, that I was really too stubborn for my own good.

Then, the world spins and I can no longer hold my arm up. I cough up, blood splattering onto my chest. Hatori pushes Haru away, his hands busily examining me and the machines. He is desperately trying to slow my erratic heartbeat and keep what precious blood I have in my system.

The last words I hear were both of them shouting my name.

The room is empty and red. There is nothing here for me to watch any longer. There is just… nothing. I can't look at him, not ever again. I can't look at his gorgeous face without thinking of the blood smeared over his chest. I can't look at him without thinking of the horrible wretches that lead to all of this. I can't look at him without breaking down in tears.

And I most certainly cannot let him go.