Not tonight

A/N: Set in a roommate AU where Chihiro, Ishimaru and Mondo live in the same apartment. All three are really good friends. Assume that Chihiro goes to Uni to study programming, Mondo does illegal biker activities at night (like he does in canon anyway) and Ishimaru is studying law.

(page break)

The door clicked open as Mondo quietly slid in. He sighed as he pulled off his biker jacket, tossing it over an armchair, yawning. He gave a sniff, realizing he stunk of petrol and sweat. He grunted in annoyance and weighed up his options. Should he go and take a shower, but at the risk of waking up his roommates?

Maybe he'll just go to bed and shower in the morning... though Ishimaru will probably berate him again for 'participating in dangerous activities' in the morning.

Mondo sighed, ready to just haul himself off to bed when he heard a quiet... wheeze? Pausing, he cocked his head, listening.

A breathy in-out, punctuated by tiny coughs and unsteady wheezes.

His heart clenched when he realized what it was. It wasn't the first time this had happened. Hopefully Chihiro would rouse himself enough to use his ventilator... it wasn't worth going in, this had happened just the other night and it turned out fine. Mondo may as well get to bed.

However, it didn't stop. On the contrary, it got worse. By the time Mondo was ready to sleep away the exhaustion; he could no longer ignore the increase in frantic breathing. Tiptoeing to the door, he gently pushed the door open to the smallest male's room but flung it open on seeing what lay before him.

Chihiro was shaking as he tried to get oxygen into his lungs, hands grasping the blue ventalin that was too weak to help him right now. He weakly raised his head, trying to see the tall biker through the dark. "Mon...do?"

"Oh shit!" the biker hissed before he ran to the other room. He nearly knocked the door off its hinges as he burst in and bolted to the bed. He gave a sharp slap to the sleeping man's arm and pulled him out of bed. Ishimaru woke up with a jolt and opened his mouth to yell at Mondo for whatever cracked up reason he decided it was a good idea to wake him up in the middle of night and why did he smell like a gas station- but he stopped when he saw the complete look of panic on the other's face.

"What is it?!" he hissed as Mondo hauled him along to the short distance to Chihiro's room. He took a sharp intake of breath when he saw Chihiro and ran to the other's side, pushing him up into a sitting position. "Call an ambulance!" He snapped, red bull eyes turning wide and stricken.

"It'll take too long!" Mondo growled and scooped up the brunette, ignoring the pained moan.

"You can't run there! It's too far!"

"We'll use my motorbike!"

"Are you crazy?! He can't hang on like this!"

"Then you come with us and make sure he stays on." Mondo hissed, struggling to get to the door while his roommate flitted across his path.

"That's no way legal!"

"People do that shit all the time in Asia! Haven't you seen those pictures with whole families on those tiny bikes?! We can fit on mine."

"It's illegal, Mondo! Do you even have enough helmets?"

Mondo was taking the stairs two at a time, trying his best not to jostle the tiny male in his arms. "It's not that dangerous to the hospital, we'll be fine! Besides," he bared his teeth, glaring with all his might at the law student, "do you seriously think we can make it there otherwise?"

They were almost at the garage now and Mondo's motorbike waited in their apartment's spot. Ishimaru glanced frantically around before his eyes settled on Chihiro who was gently waving a hand, pleading them to stop fighting. Ishimaru, always a stickler to the rules, gave a grave nod and helped Mondo settle Chihiro in between them on the bike.

They took off as soon as Ishimaru nodded and he had to stop himself from yelling as the machine roared to life and surged forward. The streets were fortunately empty at this time of night so their only worry was that they didn't compress the already struggling to breath programmer in between them.

They pulled up outside the hospital and they wasted no time getting Chihiro back into Mondo's arms to rush him into the waiting room. They barrelled in together, both hollering for help (Ishimaru a tad more polite). A scared nurse timidly rushed up, looking terrified of the two extremely masculine men but braving it for the frail looking 'girl' in the tallest one's arms. After asking for Chihiro's name, she beckoned for a doctor and told them to wait while they took care of the wheezing brunette before disappearing after the doctor.

It was sickening the feeling of anti-climax when adrenaline was rushing through both of them was suddenly cut short to be replaced with anxiety. They reluctantly took a seat in the barely comfortable chairs, Mondo shivering with a lack of his usual jacket in the too high air condition and Ishimaru still in his pyjamas. It was silent except for the whirring of lights and machines, with the staff's voices providing white noise.

It was quiet for the longest of moments before Ishimaru broke in. "You smell."

"Thanks." Mondo growled.

Ishimaru's eyes darted at him, penetrating red eyes boring holes. "You know exactly what I mean. You smell the same as whenever you go out with those hooligans and I-"

"Don't call them hooligans!" Mondo snarled, fists clenching. It was always the same argument whenever the tall brunette's night time activities were brought up. It always ended up the same with tense awkward silence for the next few minutes before Chihiro would manage to bridge them together again.

Except Chihiro wasn't with them.

Ishimaru harrumphed and found sudden interest in the posters on the opposite wall. "You can't keep doing this forever. It'll catch up to you sooner or later."

"Oh?" Mondo whispered, "or is it just that you don't want to be associated with the likes of me; Mister Big-shot?"

"The fact that I'm studying law has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh puh-lease. We both know that just being in the same room as me brings your reputation down!"

"I'm worried about you! You could end up in jail - or even dead, at this rate! You've got so much potential yet you're wasting it by hanging out with a group of criminals!"

Mondo leapt to his feet, ready to defend his gang again, when they were interrupted by the nurse again. "You can see your friend now. She's made an easy recovery." The breath rushed out of the both of them, not bothering to correct the nurse, just relieved that Chihiro was fine.

They followed her past the doors and into one of the nearby rooms. Chihiro was leaning against a pile of pillows and blinking sleepily. He turned as the two of them entered and smiled. The moment the nurse left in a promise to return to discharge Chihiro, the doll-like programmer gave a tired smile. "You've been fighting again."

They both cringed and glanced away. Chihiro sighed before closing his eyes. "You've both got to start cooperating. I'm not going to be around forever to help you make up-"

"Don't say that!" Mondo snapped but quickly softened his expression on seeing Chihiro flinch. "You... I just..."

"Chihiro, don't talk as if you're going to die." Ishimaru murmured.

Seeing how they interpreted his words, Chihiro shook his head. "That's not what I meant! I- I meant after we finish studying..." He sighed and gave them a deep sincere look that hit them both hard. "You were fighting before we got here and you two were fighting just before, weren't you? Please... this fighting has got to stop. It's starting to escalate and if it isn't sorted soon..."

Mondo gave Chihiro a gentle pat. "Don't worry, we'll try our best..."

"We both will." Ishimaru added.

Chihiro smiled weakly and nodded.

"Let's go home."