Disclaimers: I don't own Megami Kouhosei; I'm just using the characters for my muse and my entertainment.
Pairings: Zero/Erts

Sick Day by Yaoi Girl

The five candidates stood in a line in their makeshift classroom, waiting for the instructor's orders.

"And so you will choose your partners after lunch this afternoon. Number 88!"

Zero's eyes grew, as he wasn't paying attention, and focused on Azuma.

"Number 88, Erts has requested that you pair up with him again. Dismissed!"

Of course, Yamagi and Hiead were the ones to complain as they walked out of the class and to lunch.

"What's so special about you that Erts would want to be your partner again?" Yamagi whined.

Zero smiled. "Maybe it's because I'm such a good pilot."

"Hn. I'm a much better pilot than you'll ever be, Zero Enna," Hiead chimed in.

"Oh, yeah?!" Zero stopped and turned to the red-eyed boy.

Hiead only smirked and continued down the hall, brushing slightly against Zero in an effort to move him over, with Yamagi, Roose and Clay passing Zero to catch up with the others.

They're just jealous, Zero thought, his thoughts then wandering to the blonde candidate.

Suddenly he didn't feel hungry anymore and decided to go back to his room, and maybe even take a nap before he had to return to class.

"Zero. Wake up! Zero…"

Mumbling something unintelligibly, the boy moved the arm that was covering his eyes to lie beside him, blinking blurry, unfocused eyes at the source of the voice urging him to wake up.

"It's about time. You've missed class."

At this, Zero bolted upright, only to collapse back to his pillows, clutching the left side of his head. "Then what are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you."

"How long have you been in here?"

"Three hours."

The brunette blinked up at Erts, who smiled sweetly at him. "You mean you've been trying to get me up for three hours?"

A nod.

"Why didn't you just shake me or something?" he asked, rubbing his throbbing temple, wincing slightly from the pain.

"You know why…"

"Yeah, sorry…" Zero tried to sit up again, but the pain was just too immense as he slumped back down, sighing.

"What's wrong?" the blonde asked as he sat on the edge of Zero's bed.

"My head…it hurts," he replied, again rubbing the side of his head, closing his eyes and grimacing at the pain that seemed to be growing.

Without a word, Erts stood and headed for the boy's bathroom, returning to the brunette with a cold washcloth. "Here, see if this help any," he said, batting Zero's hand away and laying the damp cloth across his forehead, sitting back down on the bed.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Thanks for being sick."

"What?" Zero asked with a puzzled expression.

Erts looked away with a blank face. "I'm tired of fighting all the time. It hurts, to know that I can be killed if I make one careless mistake…"

The blue-eyed boy reached a hand over and clasped Erts'. "I won't let you be killed. You're too good of a pilot anyway to let yourself get killed. You know you're an asset to everyone here, so everyone else will do his or her best to protect you, too. And I'm kinda glad I've got this headache too, just because I don't have to listen to Azuma gripe anymore today," he smiled.

Looking hesitantly at Zero, then at their intertwined fingers, the blonde asked, "Do you have a fever?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"It's just…this…it's not like you to show this much emotion of caring towards someone…" Erts replied, blushing as he stared at their fingers.

"Can you tell if I have a fever?" the brunette asked, not bothering to remove his hand from the blonde's.

"Yeah, but I don't think you want me to use my method. You might want to go see Dr, Rill," he said quietly, his blush deepening.

"What's your method?"

"My brother told me that if you kiss someone's cheeks and they're warmer than normal, then they have a fever."

"Does it work?"

"I guess so; he's used it on Gareas before and he was right." 'I shouldn't have told him about Gareas! Oh, why did I have to open my big mouth to begin with?!"

"Can you kiss my cheeks and see?" Zero asked, no signs of a joke on his features. "I wanna know why I'm acting like this."

"I…I…" Erts stammered, his fingers tightening with Zero's. "You probably do have a fever…I don't see why else you would be acting this way, but then again, your mind is just as full and messy as usual, so I can't tell if there's something else…" the blonde rambled quickly.

"C'mon, Erts. It's not like I'm going to tell anyone that you kissed me," Zero said.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Slowly, Erts leaned down to Zero's flushed face, closing his eyes as he kissed the boy's left cheek, then his right one. As he started to sit back up, Zero's free hand laced itself it the blonde's soft hair, holding the boy only inches away from the brunette's lips, staring into the midnight blue orbs.

"Erts, I promise I won't tell anybody if you kiss me," Zero whispered, not once blinking as he stared into Erts' aqua eyes.

"Promise?"

Zero nodded slowly, his and the blonde's eyes sliding shut as their lips met, eventually opening for the other.

Eventually, they separated for air, their eyes opening simultaneously, their faces blank and in denial that that had just happened.

"Did Ernest kiss Gareas like that, too?"

Erts flushed more than he already was, nodding. "Zero…?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you…anou…kiss me?"

"Anytime," he said with a smile, brining the blonde's face back to his own, the space between their lips disappearing as they meld into one.

When they separated again, Zero quietly said, "Ai shiteru."

Erts' eyes widened considerably, then shrank back to normal as he threw himself onto Zero's chest, hugging the boy tightly. "Ai shiteru mo."

The brunette wrapped his arms around the blonde's slim frame, smiling softly. "I guess it really was worth being sick today."

The boys fell asleep there on Zero's bed, unaware of the wide-eyed and mouth agape response they received from the other candidates upon completion of their training that night.

"Very interesting," Clay mumbled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"At least we know why Erts wanted to be his partner again," Hiead smirked, actually happy for the brunette and the blonde.

~Owari~

"Ai shiteru mo" means, "I love you, too", just incase you couldn't figure it out. ^_^;

Yes, no, maybe? My first MK fic in about 2-3 months, so how was it? R&R please!!!

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