Title: Bouleversement

Author(s): Stormy1x2 and Mayoki

Pairings: Kirihara Akaya / Kamio Akira

Words: Just over 25,000.

Status: Complete!

Rating: PG-13 for language

Notes: Takes place in the LGO world about six or so months after Kamio and Akaya become a couple. Mildly spoilerish for LGO, but if you haven't read that, this really won't make much sense. Sachiko and Michiko are my creation, as is Kamio Yukio, unfortunately. Makamoto-san and Minigawa-san are also mine. The doctor, Hiawatari-san, is Mayoki's creation. Everything you recognize from PoT belongs to Konomi-sensei.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

He'd thought that lying in bed had been painful, but sitting in a car meant wearing a seatbelt. A seatbelt that secured him across the chest and by association, his damaged ribs. He was hyper-sensitive of every slight bump, and almost sighed in relief as Makamoto pulled into the driveway. He battles with his seatbelt catch for a few seconds, and then again with the door handle. Nothing seemed to want to open for him, and though he hadn't actually done much (Kirihara had pushed him all the way to the car after all), every part of him was tired. Doing anything seemed like a huge effort. Finally the door sprang open, and he began working out the best way to approach getting out of the car.

"Like the nurse told you," Makamoto said sternly. "Slow and easy."

"It's like jumping into a pool," said Akaya cheerfully. "Take a deep breath and get it over with."

"Thank you, Doctor Kirihara," Kamio muttered, but did as the other said, inhaling deeply. Kirihara pulled as he pushed himself up in one smooth motion, and he was gratified that it didn't hurt much. Well... much more.

"Do you boys need my help getting settled?" Makamoto asked, as Akaya helped Akira hobble over to the front door.

"I got it." Akaya scrounged around in his pockets for the key. "But thanks."

"Yeah," Kamio said softly, looking at the older woman pointedly. "Thank you." He didn't say anything, but he knew that sometime in the future, there was going to be a discussion about debts and repayments. Makamoto looked like she was thinking the same thing, because she shook her head.

"Don't start, Akira," she said, wagging her finger at him. "Your first priority is to get well for those girls of yours. Anything else can wait."

Kamio nodded, but didn't smile. He was already trying to work out how best to approach getting the money from his mother without telling her what it was for. She wouldn't be pleased to know he'd been in hospital. Leaning heavily on his boyfriend, he waved goodbye to Makamoto and thanked her again, Kirihara doing the same. Kirihara kicked the door shut. "Don't worry about your shoes, we'll sort it out once we're settled. If I try to get them off now, we'll both fall over."

"Mmn." Kamio said softly, noting a pair of boots lying haphazardly by the wall. It looked like his mother was home.

Kirihara followed his gaze - and a black look fell across his face. "Have I told you how much I dislike your mother?"

"Numerous times," Kamio replied as they made their way towards the stairs. "What did she do this time?"

"Well, for one thing, she didn't believe me when I told her you were in the hospital." Akaya helped him navigate the stairs gingerly.

"I'm not surprised," Kamio said, gritting his teeth as pain ratcheted through him at each step. Maybe he should have laid claim to the couch instead. "She didn't believe me when I said I might have to take Michi to the hospital a few months back."

"Why not?"

"Hospitals are last resorts," Kamio explained. "They ask too many questions, and want you to fill out papers, and Kami help you if you come in without a guardian. I think Child Services lies in wait at hospitals, waiting to swoop down on kids and carry them off."

Kirihara didn't say anything for a long moment. "Sometimes hospitals are necessary, though. You may be 'super' big brother, but right now you should be 'lying in a hospital bed' big brother."

"Aka-"

"And you can't be expected to look after the girls like that either. If Michi really had needed hospital treatment, you'd have taken her. I'm here now, remember? I'll help you avoid the questions. And you've got granny-Makamoto; you should have seen her with the receptionist last night!"

Kamio grinned. "I can imagine. It's a role she's played before."

"I'll bet. And don't think you're getting away with not telling me more later."

Eventually, amid lots of cursing and adjusting, they managed to get Kamio settled in his bed, a mountain of pillows letting him recline half-vertically, instead of being flat-out horizontal. Getting his shoes off was easy once he was off his feet, but his jeans would have been a bitch to handle. Kirihara never thought he'd be thankful for hospital-issued pajamas, but they were soft and would do for now, until Akira got some rest and felt up to changing. Kirihara let him handle his blankets - real men didn't need 'tucking in' - and then turned to go back down stairs. "I need a drink, and I bet you do too. And you're supposed to take a painkiller about now."

Kamio nodded. "Can you bring up the portable phone? I want to call Sakurai. He's still got a spare period for about fifteen minutes."

Kirihara made a face at Sakurai's name, but he nodded anyway. "Yeah, I've already given him the basics, but he'll probably be happier to hear it from you. That, and he stills thinks you're in hospital." Kirihara finished pointedly, as he left.

Kamio sighed and relaxed into his pillows as he waited. The painkillers sounded really good, as did a nap, but he knew Kirihara wasn't going to let him sleep anytime soon with his head injury. He also knew that he should be looking out for symptoms, and prayed he wouldn't have any. It was debatable whether he'd report them to Kirihara even if he did. As he waited he tried to think up ways to talk to Sakurai, and to approach his mother. He was also preparing himself for his sisters return from school. At some point his eyes felt heavy, and he presumed it couldn't hurt to close his eyes while he thought.

"Wakey, wakey!" Came an irritatingly loud sing-song voice. Kamio opened his to see Kirihara about an inch from his face, glaring at him. "Not allowed to sleep yet, doofus."

"I wasn't sleeping," Kamio protested mildly.

Akaya snorted, shoving a tablet and a bottle of water at him. "Sure you weren't. Take that, and you get the phone."

"Your bedside manner needs work," Kamio mumbled as he sat himself upright a bit more and weakly gripped the bottle. He swallowed the tablet dry, and then chased it with some water. He wasn't about to admit how much he missed the constant stream of IV painkillers; they were never allowed time to wear off like the tablet forms. "Phone." He commanded. "Please."

Akaya tossed him the phone. "I'll let you talk to Sucker-ai alone," he said. "I'm gonna make a call of my own on my cell. Yell if you need me."

Rolling his eyes at the lame insult to his vice-captain, Kamio nodded, and dialed. He waited on the line for a few seconds, before the call connected and Sakurai's voice came on the line. "Hello?" The other boy asked, and Kamio could hear the hustle of the Fudoumine corridors in the background, until there was the sound of a door sliding shut, and then everything went silent.

"Hey, Sakurai? Guess I owe you an apology for ditching practice." Kamio began.

There was a pause, and then a hiss of indrawn breath. "Kamio?"

"The one and only."

"How are you? Kirihara said you'd been hit by a car! Me and the team are coming over after practice tonight," Sakurai babbled.

Kamio listened, smiling, before cutting Sakurai off. "I'm fine, Masaya. I hurt, but I live. And cancel the field trip to the hospital - I just got home."

"You what? You're at home?" Sakurai asked in disbelief. "I thought Kirihara said you had a head injury? You must be doing really well if they've released you already." The relief was clear in his voice.

"Uh…yeah." Kamio agreed, suddenly finding the weaving pattern of his blanket fascinating.

Sakurai was quiet for a minute, before a low chuckle escaped him. "You bullied the doctor into letting you go, didn't you?"

Kamio grinned wryly, even though he knew his friend couldn't see it. "Would you expect any different of me?"

"Not in this lifetime, my friend. Hey, look - class is about to begin. I'm guessing you might not want a crowd showing up later, but I have a feeling very little will keep Shinji or An-chan from making an appearance. They're dead set on the hospital trip and once I tell them you're not there--

"--They'll come here instead," Kamio finished. "I know. Tell 'em it's okay. They can bring you an official report on my state of well-being."

"Cool. Seriously, take care of yourself, yeah? You're going to owe me big time for all these practices I'm running, and I intend to make good on it."

"Yeah, yeah. Get to class, you slacker."

There was a laugh on the other end of the line before Sakurai said his goodbyes and hung up. Feeling a little better for talking to his friend, Kamio set the phone on his bedside table and leaned back to wait for Kirihara to return. If he was going to be so insistent on keeping him awake, it should be his job to entertain him after all."

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

Akaya waited until he heard Kamio start speaking before wandering back downstairs. He wasn't lying about needing to make his own phone call - he had barely even thought of his home ever since he'd first gotten the call the night before that Akira had been in the hospital. He'd never gone home the night before, he'd missed classes today, and the way things were going, he was probably going to miss them again tomorrow. At the very least, he needed to call home and see if anyone needed his reassurances that he was still alive.

Pulling out his cell phone, he hit the number for his home and waited.

And waited.

And continued to wait. Nothing.

Sighing, he disconnected and tried his mothers office. He got through before the second ring, and a monotonous voice answered and gave the law firms name before asking how she could help.

"I'd like to speak to my mother. It's Akaya." There was a slight pause, in which Kirihara rolled his eyes. Obviously his mother didn't socialize with the staff. "Kirihara Akaya." He supplied.

"One moment, I'll check to see if Kirihara-san is busy."

"Tell her I-" He was talking to Vivaldi. The 'calming' music lasted a few minutes, in which Kirihara angrily shot glares at anything and everything in his line of vision. He shot a glance up the stairs, and was thinking about having a quick check to make sure Kamio was alright when the music stopped.

"Kirihara-san is preparing for a meeting with clients, but she will speak to you. She requests that you keep it brief." The bored voice disconnected, and there were a few rings on the other line before it was picked up.

"Akaya? What is it?" His mother's voice was brisk, clipped; professional. He could hear the rustle of papers as she went through them. "Is there a problem? Are you sick?"

"What? No mom, I'm fine. I just called about last night--"

"Akaya, I am sorry I didn't make it back last night, but I did tell you this case is a big one. It's certainly not the first time I've left you alone for an all-nighter, and you've never complained before."

"No, mom, that's not what I meant--"

"I promise I'll try to be home for dinner toni--no, I can't. The client wants to have a dinner meeting at-- Akaya? Hold on."

Akaya listened in mute frustration as his mother shouted at one of her assistants to get on the other line and make reservations at an exclusive restaurant in downtown Tokyo before coming back. "Mom?"

"I'm sorry dear, I really can't talk right now. You know what to do if you can't reach me--"

"If it's an emergency, call Chizuru," Kirihara echoed automatically, referring to his mother's other assistant. "I know."

"Wonderful, darling. I love you, gotta run!"

"Bye..." The line went dead before he could even get out the entire syllable. He glared at the phone. Some things just never changed. He set the phone down on the table and shook his head, making his way back up the stairs. He hadn't expected much, really, but he had at least hoped to be able to explain what had happened to his boyfriend and perhaps get a few words of encouragement, or reassurance.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he shot a sideways glance at the closed door of Kamio's mothers bedroom. Shaking his head he ignored the anger and instead headed for Kamio's room.

Kamio grinned at him when he came in. "See? Not sleeping, as promised."

Akaya rolled his eyes. "Congratulations," he drawled. "Now keep it up for about eight or nine more hours."

Kamio's face fell slightly, and Kirihara smirked, pleased at having won that little round. "By the way..."

"Yeah?"

Kirihara jerked his thumb in the direction of the hallway, and the path that led to Kamio-sans room. "Your mom's home. Want me to bring her in here?"

Akira shook his head. "Don't bother," he said, a trace of disgust flavoring his words. "By now she's in a whiskey coma. It'd take a bomb going off next to her head to get her up now."

"Mmn." Kirihara agreed, letting his hand fall to his side. He hadn't wanted the woman in here anyway, and much less wanted to go into her room to wake her up and risk getting groped. But it seemed odd for a son to have been injured badly enough to require hospital treatment, and not want to see his mother.

"What the hell am I going to do for eight hours? I've got so much I need to get done, but none of it is exactly concussion and broken rib-friendly" Kamio sighed, staring up at his ceiling, eyes already threatening to close on him despite his efforts.

"Like what?" Akaya perched himself on the edge of Kamio's bed. "The Gruesome Twosome won't be home for another coupla' hours, and your buddies will be probably be over later - most likely, with homework. Have fun with that, by the way."

Kamio glared at him. "Please, some sympathy for the invalid."

Kirihara suddenly reached out and caught Akira's hand, lowering his head. He squeezed it hard, unable to look the other boy in the face.

"Akaya.." Kamio's voice was soft. Despite the bruising grip, he didn't pull away. "Akaya, what is it?"

Kirihara shook his head, and then finally muttered, "'M glad you're all right," before clearing his throat awkwardly. If Kamio couldn't read between the lines, that was too damn bad.

Slowly a smile tugged at Kamio's lips as realization dawned on him. He squeezed his boyfriends hand back the best he could for reassurance. "You really think a car could stop me? Though I might pass out from pain if you keep squeezing my hand that tightly-"

Kirihara loosened his grip immediately, with a mumbled 'sorry'.

"I don't go down easily, 'Kaya." He assured the other boy, with a shaky smile. "You should know that by now."

"I know," Akaya growled. "It's just... that phone call.. and you looked so hurt, 'Kira." It was weird how the sight of people hurting once filled him with glee, but the thought of that person being Akira made him feel sick to hiss stomach. Raising his eyes, he leveled a flat glare at the other. "You do that to me again, and I'll kill you myself."

"Got you." Kamio told him, wanting to snap a salute but not having the energy to raise his arm. "Though wouldn't killing me defeat the point? I thought you wanted me not hurt."

"Oh, shut up." Kirihara growled, shaking his head.

"Got you." Kamio told him, wanting to snap a salute but not having the energy to raise his arm. "Though wouldn't killing me defeat the point? I thought you wanted me not hurt."

"Better to have me talking than falling asleep." Kamio pointed out, a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

"I said, shut up." Akaya grabbed one of the pillows that had fallen to the floor - probably the last time Kamio had been in there - and quashed it down on Kamio's face firmly, before standing up and moving away. "You're doped and babbling, and I won't forget to take notes for blackmail purposes."

Kamio pulled the pillow off his face, grinning stupidly. "You like me," he sing-songed. "You wanna take care of me."

Kirihara:had been heading for the door again. He stopped abruptly at Kamio's words, looking back and arching a brow with a rare, real smile. "Yeah, I do," he said, and then moved out the door, whistling cheerfully at having gotten the last word. After a day - and a night - without an appetite, suddenly he was starving. His day was looking up.

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

One minute he was talking with Kamio about random things, just to keep the boy responding; the next both their eyes flew open as the front door slammed open, quite possibly taking a chunk of wall with it.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about you falling asleep anymore; no way you'll be able to with the noise." Kirihara said, getting up, ready to intercept the twin tornadoes. Kamio shot him a weary smile and nodded. "Stay awake while I'm gone!"

Kirihara started down the stairs to find the girls strangely calm, and talking to…Sakurai and An. Kirihara frowned; he hadn't expected the two of them so early. He reached the bottom of the stairs, and the girls spun around, smiles on their faces.

"Is it true? 'Kira-nii's home?" Sachi asked, bounding up to him, closely followed by her sister.

"Yeah, he's home," Akaya confirmed, watching them light up. "Go on upstairs and say hi, but take it easy on him, okay? His ribs are hurt - that means no jumping, Michi." He looked sternly at the little girl, who nodded quickly. "Sachi, I'm counting on you." He made a mental note to call Miniawa-san later to give her the latest update.

Sachiko snapped a salute. "Yessir!" Then they were gone, vanished up the stairs in seconds.

"Wow," Sakurai said after a minute. "For a second, I almost expected one of them to come out with a 'Yes Dad'."

Akaya rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Saki."

"Sakurai," the other corrected him.

"S'what I said." Kirihara waved them in the general direction of the kitchen. "Give the girls a minute with their brother. Have a drink or something."

Sakurai nodded, but didn't move to make himself comfortable. He made sure to keep his eyes fixed on Kirihara, as if to say that he still completely didn't trust the other. Sensing the tension An stepped forward, nudging Sakurai gently with her shoulder as she did so, and then stepping on his foot to reinforce the point. "So, how is he?" She asked politely. "Sakurai here," a look was shot his way from the girl, "wasn't very forthcoming with information. Almost as if he didn't trust what he was hearing from you. Odd that." Another pointed look to Sakurai.

"I told you exactly what he said." Sakurai mumbled. "And what Kamio told me himself."

"Kamio would insist he were fine if he'd just had his leg amputated!" An said, rolling her eyes. "So, Kirihara, how is he doing?" She asked again, stepping once again on Sakurai's foot to shut him up as the boy made to speak again.

Akaya graciously decided not to laugh at Sakurai's misfortunes. It had nothing to do with the fact that he knew full well how much she could make that heel of hers strike in just the right position to make him positive his foot was broken, and everything to do with the fact that he was just a nice guy that way. "He told the truth, more or less. Battered, bruised. Those ribs of his are gonna be a bitch to heal, but overall, the doctors are sure he'll be back to what passes for normal at Fudomine in a few weeks."

"What about his concussion?" Sakurai asked. The Vice- Captain of Fudomine moved easily through the Kamio kitchen, pulling out glasses for everyone and handing them one by one to An, who filled them with water from the tap.

"He's not allowed to sleep until tonight. Other than that, there shouldn't be any complications."

An handed a glass out to Kirihara, and sipped at her own drink. "You've still haven't heard anything more on who did it?" She asked, her voice low as she spoke.

Kirihara shook his head, his eyes meeting hers briefly. He was almost taken aback by how dark they were. He unfortunately recognized the look all too well, from when he had encountered her wrath at Senbatsu. When An was angry, she didn't even try to hide it from you. "Nope. Apparently the cops interviewed him at the hospital before I got there but it's a basic hit and run. No witnesses, and Kamio can only remember that it was a red car. No make, no model, nothing." Kirihara's fingers tightened on the glass. "The odds of them catching the person who did this are about a million to one."

An's face twisted like she was going to cry, but her tone was pure malice. "If I ever find out who did this--"

"You'll get in line," Kirihara finished. The two of them exchanged understanding looks.

Sakurai just looked pained. "Can you two stop with the threats?" he asked plaintively. "An-chan, you're starting to channel your brother."

An shot a mild glare to Sakurai, but sighed and relaxed her grip on her glass before it shattered in her hand. "I'm sure that you wouldn't mind a swing at them, either." She muttered darkly, sipping at her water.

"Yeah, well, it's probably better this way, anyway. The last thing we need is Kamio remembering everything, and having flashbacks or whatever. I saw it on a TV show once." Sakurai mused, frowning as he tried to think of a title. "It can be worse to remember."

"Don't bug him about it," Kirihara warned them. "I mean it. He's doing fine. If he remembers, he remembers, but until then, leave it alone." They nodded. Kirihara set his glass down. "C'mon. I need to make sure the little maggots aren't breaking the rest of his ribs."

With that, he led the way back out of the kitchen, laughing silently as a wide-eyed Sakurai mouthed 'maggots?" at a laughing An-chan. They followed him up the stairs, and the sound of giggling could be heard from behind Kamio's half-closed door. Kirihara nudged it the rest of the way with his foot and folded his arms. "Is this letting him rest?"

Two guilty smiles turned to him; both girls had crawled onto Kamio's bed and found comfortable spots for themselves where they wouldn't cause their brother pain, but could still be close to him.

Kamio sighed, a look of mild amusement on his face. "They're unimpressed with my lack of casts."

"I wanted to sign something." Michi explained, her voice actually dipping slightly.

"We can make a card, and sign that for him." Sachi pointed out. "And it'll make him feel better, ne?"

"Can I use the glitter glue's?" Michi asked, her face lighting up. "'Kira-nii likes glitter!" She insisted, nodding her head in agreement with her statement.

"Hell no," Akaya growled. That stuff was a pain to get rid of. "You stay away from that stuff. I thought there was a house-wide ban on glitter glue." He shot a pointed look at Kamio.

"I... may have retracted the ban in a moment of weakness," Kamio confessed sheepishly.

"Tough." Akaya glared at the girls. "Since your dear 'Kira-nii' is confined to bed for the next few days, that means I'm stuck cleaning up the mess."

"We won't make a mess," Sachiko protested.

Akaya snorted. "It's glitter glue. Of course you'll make a mess."

Sakurai had a confused look on his face. "What's going on here?"

Akaya threw him a bored look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Language," Kamio chided.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Kirihara corrected, stressing the correction and offering a fake bright smile to his boyfriend.

"All good get-well cards need glitter-glue." An said, nodding wisely and smiling at the two girls.

Before Kirihara could nullify her words, giggling from the bed drew his attention away from the two Fudomine students. "No glitter-glue." He reiterated, but since his threat seemed to be failing he realized with a sinking feeling Kamio was going to be receiving a very glittery card. And, likely, two very glittery sisters. Possibly a very glittery boyfriend, too.

"You. This." Sakurai gestured to Kamio, the girls and then to Kirihara himself. "You sound like you're part of a married couple, like you're their dad or something."

Akaya's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the way that sounded, with the little hint of outraged disbelief he was picking up from Sakurai's tone. "Got a problem with that?"

Sakurai looked like he wanted to say something, but then he closed his mouth and shook his head. "No." His eyes begged to differ, however, and Kirihara felt a snarl growing in the back of his throat.

"Come on, girls," An said suddenly, clapping her hands together. "Let's go see to that card downstairs." She began herding the two girls out, but paused as she moved between Kirihara and Sakurai ."Work it out," she said quietly. "Nicely. Or I'll come back in here, and I won't be nice about it. Understand?"

The two of them nodded quickly, and she flashed them a sweet smile before following the girls downstairs.

"She's…tough." Sakurai coughed, avoiding Kirihara or Kamio's gaze.

"Masaya…" Kamio began, sighing and lifting a hand to rub at his temples, fighting the pounding in his head that he'd been hiding for the girls. "This is how we do things. Akaya has been fantastic, I seriously don't know what I'd have done without him…and yeah, we kind of act like 'a married couple' but…"

"I don't mean it like that." Sakurai began, looking torn between saying something nice for his friend, and obviously wanting to have a snipe at Kirihara. He probably trusted that An would somehow find out, though, so Akaya was glad to see him opt to keep the insults to himself. That didn't mean he had to though.

"Then what do you mean," Akira asked quietly, before Akaya could say something.

"I just.. it's weird," Sakurai said. He looked at Kirihara searchingly, as though studying him for something only he could see. "I mean... You and I will probably never be best friends, Kirihara."

"And such a loss that will be."

"'Kaya!"

Sakurai rubbed his temple wearily. "This is seriously weird. You guys aren't even fifteen yet, and you look and sound like you're committed to each other or something." He shook his head. "It's just weird."

Akaya raised his eyebrows. "Do you always repeat yourself like this?"

"Only when I'm stressed out!" Sakurai snapped, ignoring the pleading look from Kamio.

"You're stressed out?" Kirihara snorted and folded his arms. "My apologies then. I didn't realize that you were so bogged down with responsibility and hardship. You have no fucking idea."

"Language." Kamio muttered wearily, out of habit, though no one paid him any attention. The two boys locked in a glaring battle, daring the other to say something next.

"Well, tell me what the heck you get out of this!" Sakurai shot at him furiously. "How is this a healthy thing here? I mean, swearing, yelling, calling the girls 'maggots', for Kami's sake! And after what you did to Tachibana last year--"

"SAKURAI!" Kamio's voice cracked like a whip, stunning the two boys into silence. "What happened back then is over and done with. I've told you this. An-chan's told you this. You've seen Kirihara play numerous times since then. I'm only going to say this one last time - let. It. GO."

Both Kirihara and Sakurai eyed him as he were a bomb, both rather nervous to be the first to speak.

"I-" Sakurai began hesitantly, but got no further.

"This better be you letting it go." Kamio warned.

"You're serious, aren't you? Seeing him play tennis is one thing - I'll agree," grudgingly, by the look he shot Kirihara, "that he seems to have cleaned his act up on the court. But he's not a good role model to have around the girls."

Kirihara bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. Kamio shot him a quick look though, silently begging to let him handle this. Akaya released his breath slowly, and nodded. Kamio turned back to Sakurai. "What gives you the right to judge that?" He asked softly. "Sakurai, you're my very good friend, and the best vice-captain I could hope for. But you only learned about my situation a few months ago, and even then, I didn't tell you everything. Akaya has been here, knowing the truth - the whole truth - and helping me almost more than anyone else ever has." He sent Kirihara a small smile. "He's practically moved in, for all the time he spends here, and he'd never do a thing to hurt Sachi or Michi." He looked back at his friend steadily. "Are you saying you don't trust my decisions? That you don't trust me?"

"Akira…" Sakurai begged, a pained look on his face as his friend asked him that. Staring at him with those damn blue eyes, bandaged head, and battered body…Sakurai suddenly felt like the villain in this. His eyes flickered to Kirihara and he sighed. "Of course I trust you." He conceded.

Kamio smiled softly, sparing a quick glance to Kirihara.

"What, I finally get to talk?" Akaya groused.

Kamio rolled his eyes. "'Kaya..."

"Fine." Kirihara turned to Sakurai. "Look, you don't like me, and I ain't exactly your biggest fan either. But the fact of the matter is, I'd never let anyone or anything hurt Akira, Sachiko or Michiko. I'm not telling you my life story, but let's just say I like being here and helping him with the girls. It makes me feel wanted. Accepted. And I don't plan on doing anything to ruin that." He crossed his arms, cocking his head to the side. "Are you gonna drop this? Or are we gonna have to settle this at dawn in the backyard with racquets at twenty paces?"

Sakurai blinked rapidly. Then, suddenly, reluctantly, an amused smile slowly spread across his face. "Nah…it's cool." He shrugged, and took a deep breath. "Its just that I'm protective of them too, you know. And I just thought it was a bit quick for the two of you to be this close."

"What? So I need your approval before 'marrying' into the Kamio family?"

"No, but whatever Akira or An-chan says, I won't easily forget your match with Tachibana. Sure, you play clean at the moment, but you were fine before you turned during that match." Sakurai shot back.

"Masaya, how many times are we going to go through this before you believe me?" Kamio asked, resisting the urge to throttle his friend with a pillow, or the bedside table. "Just drop it."

"Probably at least a dozen more," Sakurai said wth a shrug. "I worry."

"It's okay, Akira," Kirihara spoke up suddenly. "He worries about you. I get that."

"But I don't like that people keep harping on what you did last year when you've changed--"

"Have I?" He shrugged. "Look, I don't care what others think of me. I already know the opinions that matter." He glanced over at Sakurai. "No offense, but yours ain't one of them."

"None taken," Sakurai replied easily.

"But I can't fault him for worrying about you." Akaya suddenly scowled. "And if this is a plot to make me say mushy things, well, I'm on to you and we're ending it here. Bottom line, he's entitled to his own opinion as long as he shuts up about it in my presence. Deal?"

"...Deal," Sakurai agreed warily.

"Wonderful," Kamio said, tiredly. " We're all a bunch of happy campers. Now what's this about maggots?"

"I've got a feeling the little 'maggots' getting glitter all over your kitchen floor as we speak." Kirihara said, a pointed glare in his boyfriends direction. "Hence the previous ban on the devil-endorsed stuff."

"They like it…" Kamio defended weakly, shrugging a shoulder.

"Yeah, well I don't like cleaning it up." Kirihara grunted, wincing as a rather loud 'oops' floated up the stairs from the kitchen.

Kamio offered a sheepish smile. "…Just leave it. I'll clean it up tomorrow after I wake up."

"Yeah, like hell you will," Kirihara muttered. "Bed rest, remember? You can't be that dense. An wanted to play with them, she can do the clean-up. Sounds fair to me."

A slightly mumbled 'that's what you think' preceded Kamio's answer. "She probably will anyway, she's not going to let them trash the place. Probably best to check on them, though, that 'oops' didn't sound good…" He admitted worriedly. Suddenly his brow furrowed, and he looked at Sakurai curiously. "I just thought of something. Why aren't you at practice?"

Caught out by the question, Sakurai looked between the two boys – Kamio was eying him questioningly. "Uh…I had to come and see, you know…"

"You didn't trust me." Kirihara translated with a smirk.

"We've already moved past this, haven't we?" Kamio pleaded, begging the two not to start another argument in his room. "Who's in charge of practice?"

"…Shinji." Sakurai coughed, knowing what Kamio's reaction would be.

Kamio groaned in anguish and shook his head. "When you're done here, go back to Fudomine and rescue everyone." He commanded. "I'm sure he'll still be there, and the younger years won't know how to get away without disrespecting him."

"I will. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Sakurai looked upset. Akaya didn't begrudge him that one bit. "We were really worried, Akira."

Kamio smiled. "I know. I'm sorry. And I'm going to be fine. But the first years might mutiny if you don't get back there."

Sakurai chuckled. "True. All right, all right, I'm going. Take care of yourself, Buchou. We need you."

"I know." Kamio sighed, in mock modesty. "Seriously, thanks for coming. An-chan too."

Kirihara said nothing, but nodded to the other boy.

"Yeah, we'll probably come again at some point if you're stuck at home for too long. But don't worry about a thing; I've got practices under control."

"Fine job you're doing right now." Kirihara pointed out, receiving a double glare from both Buchou and Fukou-Buchou.

"See ya, Kamio!" Sakurai called, as he left his friends bedroom and started down the stairs.

An ran back upstairs to say goodbye. "I see there's no bloodshed," she remarked, crossing the room to Kamio's bed. She bent over and lay her arm across his chest, giving him a half-hug, and following up with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Get well soon, Akira. The boys need you around, you know."

"That's what they say," Kamio sad. "I may start believing them."

She grinned, turned and suddenly flung herself at Kirihara, hugging him tightly. "That's for taking good care of one of my boys," she whispered in his ear. "Keep it up."

"I will," he responded, just as quietly. Out loud, he groaned and pushed her away. "Look, I know I'm irresistible, but I'm taken. Hands off the merchandise."

"That's my present for when I'm able to brush against my ribs without screaming in agony." Kamio grinned proudly.

An shook her head. "Of course, not my type anyway." She said, winking at Kamio before slipping off down the stairs with a bit more grace than Sakurai had managed.

Kamio turned to his boyfriend, a slightly worried look in his eyes. "She had glitter in her hair." He muttered, in a defeated voice. "Any chance you can go and check on the girls?...And the kitchen?"

Kirihara sighed, straighted his back, squared his shoulders, and took a deep breath. "If I don't come back in twenty minutes, avenge my death at the hands of the makers of Crayola," he said, before storming downstairs.

"I'll be starting a strongly worded letter of complaint." Kamio answered solemnly. "Might even get a compensatory coupon for money off."

Kirihara snorted as he left, and cautiously approached the kitchen. The girls were sitting up the kitchen table, pieces of cut out paper and other assorted craft materials surrounding them. They were both working on a separate card, and as Kamio had feared glitter was everywhere.

"'An will clean it up'", Kirihara parroted wryly. "Sure she will." He glared at Sachiko and MIchiko. "I hope you're enjoying this, because you'll never see those damn things again."

Michiko held up her card. A dog and a cat sat under a rainbow with little hearts. "I made this for 'Kira-nii!"

Akaya took one look at it and had to fight to keep a straight face. "Straight as pretzels, this entire family," Akaya snorted. "Go on, go show your brother. Sachi, after you show him yours, you get to help me clean this mess up. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sachiko acknowledged. She grabbed her card and dragged Michiko upstairs.

Kirihara groaned and started picking up the discarded scraps of card and coloured paper, all the time thinking of ways to get his boyfriend back for this. From upstairs he could hear the girls bouncing into Kamio's room, both excitedly trying to be the first to give their brother their card. He supposed it was sweet, in a gooey, smarmy sort of way. His eyes fell on the discarded - and much hated - glitter glue pens. He grinned - with them upstairs cooing over their brother, he was free to dispose of the evil things, and no one could stop him! With a cheerful whistle, he scooped them up, dumped them in a plastic bag taken from behind the door, tied it off, and shoved it to the bottom of the garbage can. As an added precaution, he dumped the scrap paper on top, and then took it one step further by going to the sink and emptying the catch-all. Then he bundled up the entire trash bag and dragged it out the back door. Perfect. Overkill? Maybe. Who the hell cared? He went back inside.

Sachiko was waiting patiently for him, a smear of blue glitter on the tip of her nose, and a bright smile on her lips. "'Kira-nii liked my card best, I think." She said proudly, moving to put all the fresh sheets of unused card back in the packet.

"I'm pretty sure he likes both of them," Akaya told her. "You. Paper towels. Windex. Now."

By the time everything was cleaned up, he was starving. He sent Sachiko back upstairs to make sure Akira was still in bed and Michiko wasn't plotting to take over the world (she was under oath her next attempt would be made under his supervision). Soup and crackers was a cop-out, but they sounded good to him and they were easy enough to make and carry upstairs. Setting a load of pre-made soup on to heat up, he turned his attention to rummaging through the cupboards for crackers and bowls. Setting everything on a tray, he leaned against the kitchen table and waited for the microwave to finish heating the soup, half-listening to the conversation from Kamio's bedroom.

"It was scary when you didn't come home last night," Sachiko was saying. "I think Akaya-nii didn't want to tell me you were in the hospital. He only did because I heard him on the phone."

"I think he didn't want to scare you before he had more information," Kamio said gently. "He would have told you eventually."

"Why'd someone hit you with a car?" Michiko asked innocently.

"It was an accident, Michi." Kamio replied, the strain evident in his voice. "I'm sure they didn't mean to, but I got in the way of their car, and they didn't have time to stop."

"Are you going to tell them off?" Sachi asked. "'Kaya-nii could tell them off for you if you don't feel well." Kirihara could almost see Michi nodding enthusiastically to that.

"Er…the police would do that." Kamio assured them. "'Kaya-nii would get into a lot of trouble if he told them off."

"Like that'd bother me," Akaya said, coming into the room. "Too bad we don't know who it was. Anyway, food."

Food was handed out, consumed, and the empty bowls and spoons left on the floor to be dealt with later. It was getting late enough at night that Akaya didn't need to worry so much about Kamio falling asleep, and judging from the yawns he was trying to stifle, it wouldn't be long.

"Wake up!" Michi chanted, reaching over and tapping her brother lightly on the nose. By the way the two girls giggled it was obvious they'd turned this into some kind of game, that every time their brother started to drift off one of them had to wake him.

Kirihara caught her by the wrist, lightly. "How 'bout we let Kamio get some sleep now?" he suggested. "I see two girls who need to get pajamas on, and brush their teeth and stuff like that."

Clearly upset that their game was coming to an end, the girls nodded and both took turns giving Kamio an awkward hug. "Come on Michi, we can say goodnight after we're ready for bed." Sachiko promised her sister, taking her hand and guiding her out of the room. "Leave her to me!" She called as they disappeared into the hallway.

"They're good kids," Akaya commented. "I guess I can't sell 'em on the black market." Kamio smiled, but it was forced. He looked a little down. Akaya peered at him. "Now, what?"

"I was just thinking about what Sakurai said earlier," Akira admitted slowly. "I see you with the girls, and how you're still here even after missing classes and not going home, all because of me... I'm just wondering if you're really happy like this. I know it's stressful. I don't want you to be here out of guilt or sheer obligation."

Slightly taken aback, Kirihara blinked and frowned. "What the hell are you running on about? If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't." He shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You say that now, because you've been stuck with us for so long. We don't exactly have it easy, and it's only going to get harder for you." Kamio was adamantly avoiding his gaze, staring down at his hands that were twisting the hem of the blankets.

"First of all, I never run away from a challenge. Don't insult me." Kirihara reached out and pulled Kamio's hands off the blanket. "And look, I've told you a million times - I like being here. I like Sachiko and Michiko treating me like another brother. I like helping you out. I don't get to do this at home. Fuck, there's never anyone AT my home. It's lonely as hell, especially with my old teammates all at High School, and having a team full of brats underneath me. I'm here 'cause I wanna be." He glared at Kamio, daring him to argue. "Do you finally understand? Or do I have to beat it into you? Keeping in mind what state you're in,. A beating would not be a good thing. You're better off caving in somewhat gracefully."

"An would kill you if you laid a finger on me while I'm, like this." Kamio said softly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I just didn't want to make you feel like you had to be here. I want you to be here, but I want you to want to be here…oh god, now I sound like some sappy love song." He groaned and rubbed at his temple, before finally raising his gaze to meet Kirihara's. "You don't need to beat me up. I get it."

"'Bout fricking time," Kirihara said.

Kamio laughed softly, cutting himself off with a yawn. "Wake up!" The girls chorused with a giggle, catching him in the action. They both hurried over and more hugs were exchanged, along with good night wishes. Finally Sachiko led her sister out, both of them waving as they left.

"Now to put the final Kamio sibling to bed." Kirihara said, with an exaggerated sigh. He closed the bedroom door and turned to Kamio, noticing the half-closed lids. "You're the easy one, tonight."

"Mmn. Not gonna last much longer." He mumbled.

"I can see that." Kirihara teased the covers back, and slipped in beside him. Being very careful not to brush against Kamio's ribs, he drew the boy close and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Soon Kamio was leaning against his chest, eyes fully closed. "Goodnight, Akira."

"'Night. And thank you…for everything…" Kamio whispered weakly, nuzzling Kirihara's chest.

"Nothing to thank me for." Kirihara answered easily, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Kamio's head. The soft even breathing that followed sent a flicker of a smile across Kirihara's face, and an arm snaked protectively around Kamio's waist. "Nothing at all."

o0o o0o o0o o0o o0o

The End

...for now.

Mayoki and Stormy would dearly love to know what you thought!