Wolf: Okay, so I need to say a big thank you to AnimePinkGirl, E. R. Burke, IcyFireGypsy, Thiendrah, dark-Yuuki-sama, Aion Laven Walker, SharinganJ and NaruHinaforever for all the reviews and support ^_^
Allen: An especially big thanks to stoneygeek who pointed out the spelling mistakes in chapters 5 and 6. She will be correcting them asap =)
Wolf: *whacks head* %ing spellings! I totally suck at them. TT_TT
Lavi: Seriously guys, don't hesitate to point out a spelling or grammar mistakes you might find in any of the chapters. Spellings aren't the authoress' strong point =S
Wolf: Pfft…I blame my teachers as a child. And don't even get me started on current English teacher. I can speak better English than her any day of the week.
Allen: Well she is French.
Wolf: And your point being…? è_é Anyways let get on with the new chapter shall we? ^_^
Lavi: *sighs* You forgot the disclaimer AGAIN!
Wolf: Okay, okay…Sheesh, don't get your knickers in a twist _ So I don't own D. Gray-Man or any of it's characters…but give me time, I'm working on it =P
Allen and Lavi: O.o!! Wha??!!
"Shit! Allen! What happened?! Say something!" Lavi yelled, sprinting to the younger exorcist and rolling him onto his back. "Allen!"
"Uggh…too loud…" came a tiny voice, just barely audible.
The redhead felt like he could have cried with relief at the sounds of that voice, no matter how wheezy it sounded right now. He manoeuvred the two of them into a sitting position, with Allen's head resting on his shoulder, the redhead's arms wrapped securely around the younger's waist.
"…'vi…"
"Shhh…It's okay Allen, I'm here now. I'm gonna take care of you okay?"
Lavi's only response was a server coughing fit, where every rattling intake of breath seemed to cause the other pain. Suddenly, the coughing stopped, and the older male watched the other lean away from him to hack up a rusted coloured mucus onto the floor. The redhead flinched at the sight. Coughing up a mixture of phlegm and blood was not a good sign.
The effort of the whole dilemma had once again taken it's toll on Allen, who let his head flop onto the older exorcist's shoulder, his skin covered in sweat, making him shiver. The redhead placed his hand on the younger boy's forehead and grimaced at the heat beneath his palm.
The fever had gotten worse.
Judging from touch alone, Lavi guessed that Allen's temperature had probably reached about 104°F. That was about 6°F more than the body's average temperature, and 2°F away from possible brain damage.
Not good.
With this information in mind, the older male lifted the surprisingly light body into his arms, and began making his way through the corridor, doing his best not to jolt the other too much as he moved.
"…'vi…where…?"
"To the infirmary," Said the older exorcist, easily guessing what the younger wanted to say. "They can treat you properly there and make sure you don't get any worse."
Allen, however, was having none of that.
He made a noise of displeasure and began wriggling in Lavi's arms, doing his best to escape the elder's hold, even if his movements were making the walls around him spin.
"Allen, stop that! You're going to make me drop you if you're not careful."
The white haired exorcist didn't care. He was not going to the infirmary unless he really was at death's door, and even then someone would probably have to drag him there.
The redhead stopped walking for fear that he really would drop the younger boy if he wasn't careful. After all, he hadn't thought that the other would start trying to get away from him.
A sudden thought hit Lavi.
What if Allen was still mad at him for that kiss? What if he couldn't stand the redhead touching him anymore?
The thought made Lavi's heart clench. Sure, he knew he'd screwed up, but surely Allen would forgive him, right?
"Err…listen, Allen. I know you're probably still pissed at me for… before, but if you can just put up with me until I get you to the infirmary, I'll…I'll leave you alone, okay?"
It hurt to say that, but if that was what Allen wanted, Lavi would respect his wishes.
"D'nt…w'nna g't t'e…infirm…mary…" the smaller male managed to rasp out. His shortness in breath was making it nearly impossible to form normal sentences. The vertigo wasn't helping much either.
"Eh?"
The older of the two knelt down on one knee, allowing the younger to lean up against his other bent leg, which gave Allen more space to breath and talk.
Somehow, despite the flushed face, the shivering and the fevered gaze, the white haired exorcist still managed to give the redhead a glare, before taking a deep breath and saying quite clearly:
"Infirmary…no way."
It probably took the elder about five seconds for the other's statement to sink in. When it finally did register, Lavi couldn't stop the relieved smile from making it's way to his face.
Allen wasn't trying to get away from him because of what had happened, he was trying to get away because he was being his usual stubborn-ass self and refusing to go see the nurse. The redhead nearly laughed at his own stupidity, but was brought back to reality by the smaller exorcist's wheezy breaths.
Okay, so the older teen had two choices: He could ignore the headstrong exorcist and take him to the infirmary, where he would be sure that the other would be treated properly and be back on his feet within no time. Unfortunately, that would also mean that Allen would be well enough to kick the redhead's ass for taking him to the medicine smelling, unnaturally white prison, where abnormally strong and scary nurses roamed free (okay so no one liked going there, including Lavi). Then of course there would be the silent treatment that the older exorcist would receive for about a week afterwards.
The red head bit his lip as he thought about his second choice.
He was pretty sure that Allen had pneumonia, an inflammation of the tissues in one or both of the lungs and was usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Of course, there was a higher risk of catching the infection when the immune system was lowered due to a recent illness, like the flu for example. Lavi was quite sure that he could treat the white haired exorcist on his own, but there was a chance that the other male could develop bronchopneumonia (bronchitis as well as pneumonia) or pleurisy, which was when the two thin linings between the lungs and the ribcage become inflamed.
If Allen came down with either of these two illnesses, the older exorcist would have no choice but to take him to the infirmary, no matter how bad the smaller male kicked his ass afterwards, at least he would be well enough to do so.
The red head was brought from his thoughts when he felt the younger exorcist burry his face into the crook of the other's neck, obviously trying to get more comfortable. Almost automatically, Lavi's hand came up and began massaging the other's scalp near his temple. He smiled when he heard Allen sigh in content at his action.
"Alright Moyashi. I'll protect you from the demon nurse for now. But if I can't get your fever down soon, I'm gonna drag you there whether you like it or not. Got it?"
His reply was a small nod, a weak punch to his chest and a rasped out "'tis All'n…".
Lavi: Oh great! You've given him bloody pneumonia now? What's next? Tuberculosis?
Allen: Don't go giving her ideas Lavi!
Lavi: O.o…Opps.
Wolf: Chill will ya? I was only going to give him bronchitis at first, then I noticed that the symptoms I'd written corresponded better with pneumonia.
Lavi: So why didn't you just change the symptoms?
Wolf: Because I couldn't be assed to rewrite the damn chapter ^_^
Wolf: Give me a shout if I've totally screwed up on the medical definitions I've used here. The next chapter should involve the bath scene I mentioned before.
Lavi: Dose that mean Allen and I get to-
Allen and Wolf: *KO Lavi* NO!! Perverted baka usagi!! _
Lavi: …
