Chapter 1

Yesterday's high has all but left me. The initial euphoria of being with Sakuma-san, alone in his hideaway, has already been replaced by anxiousness. Yes, anxiousness. Now that I have the time to think clearly about the situation I'm in, I'm suddenly struck with an alien feeling of fear. I had suddenly developed doubts about this harebrained idea of mine.

Of course, when the opportunity first came to me, I immediately thought that it was a good idea. I mean, it's not everyday that Sakuma-san will come at your house saying that he will take care of you because you have this terminal illness. Since my beloved had left me to my devices last night – he sweetly claimed that I need to get a full 8 hours sleep – I was suddenly forced to analyze the situation that I have with him.

I, Uesugi Tatsuha, am terminally ill and supposedly bed ridden – as perceived by Sakuma-san of course. He wouldn't even let me stand up on my own! But that's why he's so lovable. Ehem. Anyway. I'm a patient and he's like a nurse of sorts. So how am I going to win him over and pretend to be dying within the month or so?

Think about it. If I acted like I am dying then all I can do is to stay in bed with Kumagorou as my bed buddy, eat out of Ryuichi's hand, play sick then at the end of the day, sleep. Then replay all of that again each and every day. That way I am not arousing any suspicion about my true state of well being. Well, isn't this frustrating for me.

I've been thinking of a thousand ways to get romantic and cozy with Sakuma-san but everything that seems to pop in to my head requires lots of effort exertion. And I cannot afford to do so since I'm sick and all, thank you. I sigh as I look beside my bed to look at the clock. It read 4:09 am.

Great. Now I've just lost hours of sleep because of my inability to plan. I give out a big, depressing sigh as I think about how lucky my brother Eiri is to have me. I mean, I've helped him a lot with his romance and here I am, lonely, miserable and cannot even depend on him to help me out. I doubt if he can even give me a half decent advice.

I frown as I think about my big brother. Before he met Shuichi, he was lazy as hell with the ladies. And yet, he still had them clamoring at his feet. Maybe he has a trade secret about reeling in the women without doing anything. Hmmm…

Well, I am desperate enough. Maybe I should give my brother a call and fish for an advice. I drum my fingers on the bed side table as I think and then with a shrug decided that I would give it a try.

I rise from the bed, slip my feet on a pair of Kumagorou slippers and sneaked my way towards the door. I peek out, and studied the hallway. There is not a shred of light under Sakuma-san's door and the bathroom's so I deem it safe to proceed with the call.

Closing the door firmly behind me, I snatch my cellphone from the back pocket of my pants and plopped down on the bed, my fingers flying over the numbers. If my calculations are correct, my brother is still up and wide awake because of the last task I've given him for his mission to get Shuichi.

I listen to the phone ring once, twice, thrice until I loose count. Then, when I thought he wouldn't answer, my brother picked up the phone. I instantly recognize his smug voice.

"Tatsuha. Whatever happened to 'don't call me'?"

"Whatever. I called you. That's different."

"Hn."

"I have a big problem." I blurt out after a five second pause. I could never handle the silence. Not like Eiri.

"So?" He asks disinterestedly.

"So! I need help here man!"

"Hn. I thought you said you were the love guru. You can handle this." I frown. That's the longest sentence I've heard from him and I'm not ecstatic. Where's the monosyllabic grunts he was so fond of?

"Eiri! I don't need this now. I need your help badly!" My selfish brother just pauses and I swear I could just see him devilishly grinning from ear to ear. He just loves to see me suffer. Hmmm… That must run in the family.

"Eiri! Please! I'm begging you. I'll do anything you want for a month!" I bargained shamelessly. He sounded so smug about the whole thing, so I'm pretty darn sure that he knew a way to go about this situation I have. He's not a novelist for nothing you know.

"Half a year." He says after considering my offer. I'm flabbergasted. I didnt ask anything in return for my help! Okay... maybe I did ask to stay with him... and Heaven knows how he likes me around.

"What! That's too long."

"8 months."

"Okay, okay… Fine! 5 months."

"Deal."

"Deal." I echo him. I wait for his reply but I hear nothing but taps from a keyboard.

"So?" I prompt him into speaking some more.

"So?" He asks innocently as I hear more taps from his end of the line.

"What do I do?" I ask, restraining my legendary temper.

"Hn. Just sit tight there for a while then I'll call you back later tonight. Good night, little brother." And with that big brother just hung up on me.

I stare, mouth agape and my cellphone. It suddenly dawns on me that Eiri might still have that grudge on me. Well you know, with me leaving him hanging with all the planning with Shuichi? Could it be that he just tricked me! Ashen and shaking with frustration, I slowly, replace my cellphone on my back pocket and stared in space.

I think I just made a terrible bargain.

"ARRRGGHHHH!"

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Just seconds after I made that stupid mistake about letting out my pretty big frustration by shouting, Sakuma-san, my beloved, came barreling through my door.

"What happened na no da?" He asks, a bit breathless and his eyes shining with worry.

"Uhhh…" My eyes start to dart from side to side, finding a way to get out of this mess. Why the hell do I even bother with Eiri! I always seem to forget that half the time I'm in a mess; he's the one that caused it.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sakuma-san prompts again as he sits on the edge of my bed.

"Uhhh…" Beads of sweat are now forming on my forehead from apprehension.

"You look shaken up, na no da. Did you have a bad dream?" Bad dream? I hear the words in slow motion. Then in slow motion as well, gears starts to click in my brain.

"Yeah…" I say breathlessly as I put a hand to cover my eyes.

"Yeah. A bad dream." I murmur as I slowly sink back on my bed. I hear the bed rustling and the next thing I know, Ryuichi had laid beside me.

"Don't worry, Tat-chan. I'll be here right beside you so that the bad dream goes away, na no da." And with that he wraps his arms around me and I instantly feel a smile spread across my face and the feeling of warmth surround me.

Then just before falling asleep, I thought to myself, 'maybe, just maybe, 5 months of being Eiri's slave would be worth it.'.

TBC

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A/N: I'm alive! I'm so sorry I took forever to update! Been swamped with school work and stuff so I hadn't found the time. And when I did, I was plagued by writer's block! But since I finally finished school, and been bored this couple days, I started to write again.

Anyway, enough of me. I hope you are still reading this story, and if you still do please review! I swear they help me write faster! Hihihi... but don't worry, got the next chap half finished already! Tell me what you think! Thanks!