While I was working on Breaking Point, one of my reviewers mentioned needing to read some fluff after one of my chapters, so it kind of inspired me to attempt it. I have no clue if I succeeded, but hey, I tried, haha.

I will warn you right now, this is a fluff story coming from an angst/dark genre author so it's probably full of fail and sappiness… but hey, KaiAo is one of my favorites in the canon pairings, so it deserved some love~

"Thanks Aoko-chan," Chikage said with a mischievous smile as she finished collecting her things. Apparently there had been some kind of family emergency and she'd needed to leave for a while, which was why Aoko was here now. Though, why she was over here when Chikage knew Kaito could take care of himself was still a mystery to the girl. "You're a real life-saver, you know?" The older woman added, much to Aoko's embarrassment. Really, she wasn't doing all that much…

"It's nothing Oba-chan," the girl replied, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment. It was just keeping an eye on Kaito, right? Nothing big or unusual. Nothing she didn't already do in her spare time. So what exactly was going on here?

Chikage quickly checked over her supplies, slipped them into her purse, and said, "I left you a note on the counter, and if you need anything, feel free to call me. Thanks again, Aoko-chan!" With that, the older woman glanced at her watch and left.

She left a note? Aoko wondered. Why would I need instructions on taking care of Kaito? It's not like he's a little kid… even if he still acts like one… She watched Chikage's car vanish down the street before turning and heading for the kitchen to investigate the note. On her way there, she noticed Kaito passed out on the couch with what looked like a box of tissues and a trashcan on the coffee table next to him. Though the elevated angle he was asleep in probably wasn't comfortable by anyone's standard… Geez, when doesn't he get sick on Valentines' Day?

Shaking her head in fond annoyance, Aoko made her way into the kitchen, quickly finding the note Chikage had left for her (which was actually a two-page list of neatly typed instructions) on the counter. Sheesh! Maybe that baka really is sicker than he looked like…

As she read through the papers, she soon learned why Kaito had been absent this time. Apparently he'd had to have a couple of wisdom teeth removed and was a bit too out-of-it to be left alone. With a slightly irked sigh, she noted that he'd neglected to say anything about this to anyone, let alone his childhood friend. Honestly! Could he stop leaving me in the dark about things? He's lucky I love him. That last thought brought a bit of heat to her cheeks before she shook her head and finished looking through her instructions.

"Um, soft foods seem like the best idea right now…" Checking through the fridge and cabinets, she was pleased to see that Kaito's mother had stocked up on appropriate foods, which was a load off of Aoko's mind. At least she wouldn't have to find a babysitter in order to buy things for her friend. Kaito would probably appreciate his mother's thoughtfulness as well, given the alternative being having Hakuba keep watch.

There were also handwritten notes in the margins of the second paper, stating that Kaito was likely going to sleep a lot more than anything else. That was a bit of a relief. Though waking him up for food and medicine was bound to be a pain. Uh, hopefully he'd be awake enough to change his own gauze. She really didn't want his blood and drool on her if she could avoid it. Gross.

Back in the living room, she saw Kaito finally coming-to, stretching and slightly yawning as he opened his tired eyes. He was oblivious to her presence, it seemed, as he sluggishly found the remote and flipped on the television. Well, better to let him know she was there or he'd find some accusation later. "How's it going?"

Kaito started, moving his gaze to her. "A-o? Wha're 'ou 'oing 'ere?" he questioned twice, as his first attempt came out as something unintelligible. At least he could still sort of speak and was aware of things. Things were looking better and better.

"Your mom asked if I would take care of you. I guess something happened with family or something… She didn't really say…" Slightly smiling at his attempt at a scowl, she walked over to him and poked his chest, "You're stuck with me 'til then." She giggled when he tried to frown and instead made himself look like a chipmunk. Okay, this was going to be more fun than she'd thought. "Just take it easy, okay? I don't want BaKaito to hurt himself while he's sick."

Looking away, he grumbled an "okay" and tried to resume his elevated position on the couch.

"Is that comfortable?"

"No," the irritated chipmunk replied, "'ut 'om 'aid I had 'o 'leep li' 'is. 'Eeps 'lood 'om 'om'in or other."

"O-oh." Okay, topic-switch time. "Do you want anything to eat?"

If he was a dog, his ears probably would've perked up. "'eah." Whatever irritation had been there melted away and he returned to his normal cheer.

"Do you want something hot or cold?" She soon regretted phrasing her question this way, as Kaito's answer was indecipherable. "Er, warm or cool?" With a second difficult answer, she asked, "Could you try that again?"

His irritated chipmunk look returned before he spat out his gauze pads—ew—and enunciated: "Waaaaarm." Taking a moment to notice his friend's wince, he tossed the bloodied pads into the trash and pulled out new ones from the box, carefully stuffing them into his mouth.

"Baka! That's so gross!"

"'Ell 'oorry!"

Returning to the living room with some warm soup, Aoko found her friend watching some cartoon or other. The news must've ended or he'd just gotten bored of it. Though, he looked ready to fall asleep again. Better get some food and medicine in him so she could let him sleep.

Placing the soup on the coffee table near him, she said, "I made you some soup. That's okay, right?"

He answered with a tired nod and slowly rotated himself to eat. Once more, he removed his gauze and tiredly reached for his bowl. Upon seeing his almost drunkenly tired attempts to get his food, Aoko made the executive decision and snatched it from him. There was no way she was going to let him try and fail to feed himself. He glared and she met his with her own. "Baka. At this rate you're just going to spill everything." Then she added, a bit softer, "Let me help you."

"I can feed myself," he grumbled, trying to steal his food back unsuccessfully. A faint bit of color was noticeable on his face, though. Honestly, it was funny to see the oh-so-crafty magician fail so miserably to do such an easy task. It only got funnier the more adamantly he tried to convince her that he was fine.

It took a while, but Aoko finally convinced him to stop fussing. I wish I could take a picture right now, she thought on seeing his embarrassed and expectant face as he waited. All things aside, Kaito was adorable under the right circumstances… Not that she'd ever tell him that, of course!

"Am I going to eat or are you just going to stare?" Kaito asked, amused smirk taking over his features. Aoko knew her face went pink at that.

"I'm not staring!" In retrospect, maybe shouting that only solidified his thought. Pink transitioning to a bit of red, she looked away and murmured, "Oh, shut up."

Kaito chuckled and waited for her to offer him food. Though he'd probably swear up and down he wasn't, she noticed the faintest bit of pink coloring his features as she fed him. When she stalled a bit longer than she should've, his eyes met hers and he asked, "You okay?"

"O-of course! Why?" Some days, Aoko really wished she had Kaito's talent with a poker face. Today was certainly one of those days, as her burning cheeks could attest.

"Your face is all red," he answered, smiling in amusement.

"Nope! I'm fine! Aoko doesn't know what you're talking about!" She quickly turned back to his mostly-eaten soup and said, "You're still hungry, right?" With a yawn, Kaito shook his head and snatched some new gauze, but before he could place it in his mouth, Aoko held a pill out to him. "You have to take it before I let you sleep."

Groaning, he took his pill and downed it with some water. "Anything else I need to do?"

"Have you swished any saltwater today?" When the look on his face clearly said "no," she left and returned with a glass of warm saltwater and an empty glass. "Take care of that."

Surprisingly, he did so without further complaint. When he was on his last mouthful, however, his head fell onto Aoko's shoulder, eyes closed. However cute the moment was, though, it was kind of ruined by the used saltwater leaking out of his mouth and onto her arm.

Sighing, though keeping a fond smile, she carefully nudged him and gave him his gauze. He'd nodded and placed it back in his mouth before lying back down. Her friend was out in seconds, freeing Aoko to clean up. Chikage hadn't been kidding when she'd said he'd be asleep more than awake.

After cleaning as much as she could and seeing Kaito was unlikely to wake up for a while, Aoko murmured, "Goodnight Kaito." Quietly taking the remote, she sat down in a nearby chair and flipped through channels and finally settled on a romance movie that happened to be playing.

Halfway through, she got up to make something for herself to eat and returned just as the two characters had gotten together, sharing an umbrella in the rain. As the man turned to her and said, "Thank you for everything… I love you," Aoko could've sworn she heard Kaito's voice as well. Glancing over at the couch, she saw his mouth slightly open, but he looked like he was still sleeping.

"Love you too, Baka," Aoko quietly replied. Really, it was ridiculous to think Kaito had actually been awake to say that but… but even so, she felt she needed to say it… just in case.

Well, the least I can say is "I tried," haha. I hope you enjoyed at least a little bit? Er... let me know if you want me to attempt other fluff (both for KaiAo or others).

Translations of Kaito's speech: (well, the poor guy did have to suffer through having all that gauze in his mouth and people might need translations, haha.)

"Aoko, what're you doing here?"

"No, but Mom said I had to sleep like this. Keeps blood from something or other."

"Yeah."

"Well soorry!"