Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

A/N: Yes!! Favorite chapter time. I was so excited to do this chapter. Here it is, lucky chapter thirteen!

Hatori was not himself today. When he woke up in the morning, he clumsily rolled off the couch and nearly hit his head on the coffee table. That was the first sign. When he stood up, his head felt heavy, aching dully. On the way to the bathroom, he stubbed his toe on the doorframe. His nose was feeling stuffy. Hatori was a doctor, and he knew this could only mean one thing. Oh yes, he was sick. Now Hatori didn't get sick very often, and when he did, he hated to have to lie around idly in recovery. So he chose to be in denial, and started getting ready for work anyway.

He took his morning coffee as usual and sat across the table from Mayuko, who was eating her cereal and reading the paper as per usual. She did look nice with her hair down, rather than slicked tightly into that ponytail. He briefly wondered what she'd look like with short hair. His fingers traced the edge of his coffee cup absent mindedly, but he really didn't feel like drinking any.

It was then that he noticed Mayuko had looked up from the paper and was squinting at him. ""Hatori, are you okay? You look really worn out. Is your job taking a toll on you?"

"I-I'm fine… I'm sure it's nothing." Hatori looked down. She was the last person he wanted to worry about him. But really, he was really starting to feel dizzy at that time. All he wanted was to go back to sleep.

"No, I'm worried, Hatori." Hatori didn't know when or how, but suddenly, Mayuko's face was millimeters from his. His face instantly flooded with color, his eyes flying wide open. They sat there, foreheads pressed across the table for a long moment. Hatori swallowed hard, and could feel his heart fluttering. He mentally told it to shut the hell up.

She pulled away and stared at him a moment. He took that moment to ask (a little breathlessly), "What was that?"

"You seem warm. And your face is pretty flushed too. Do you have a thermometer lying around anywhere?"

"Yeah, in the mirror above the bathroom sink… But Mayu-chan, I swear I'm fine." Of course. She was just checking his temperature. He sat there for a moment, deciding it was best for her to think the blush that covered his face was due to his sickness. In his daze he hadn't noticed her leave the table, but soon realized that the spot across from him was empty. He hurried after her down the hall.

"Hatori, I don't really trust your 'I'm fine's. They're about as meaningless as Shigure's 'I'm innocent's." He was about to argue when a thermometer was shoved into his mouth. "Look. Even though you spend all this time looking out for other people, I doubt you look after yourself at all. People like you need someone to keep you in check. Mm hmm, you've got a fever all right." He watched her read the thermometer, and couldn't help but turn red all over again from that recent lecture. The "couple aura" that surrounded them burned stronger than ever. Of course, it was probably just him who was feeling this way. Mayuko probably thought of it just as a friend taking care of another friend. The thought made him feel stupid all over again.

The dizziness was coming again. It came in waves. Hatori leaned against the wall, trying to look casual about it. Mayuko wasn't fooled. She gave him a suspicious look before handing him some pills and pushing him towards the bedroom. "You take these and go straight to bed—and by bed I mean your own bed, I'll take the couch until you feel better. No work for you tomorrow, mister. You're staying right here."

"But—" Hatori protested weakly, but didn't have the energy for a fight.

"No buts. Now go get changed while I get you some water."

He was too tired for this. He slunk back into his room and collapsed on the bed. It did feel nice after all those nights on the couch. Mayuko returned a moment later with water, and he popped the pills into his mouth. It was when he swallowed that the burning feeling hit him. He coughed a bit and then sneezed suddenly.

"Oh jeez, you really are sick. Honestly, Hatori, you should really watch yourself. You probably caught this from me last week. I didn't have it as bad though. Sorry…" Mayuko was frowning down at him from her seat next to the bed.

"It's not your fault. These things go around. I feel kind of stupid, being a doctor and getting sick so easily." Hatori shifted uncomfortably. He was in a really embarrassing situation at this moment. He was coughing and sneezing all over a girl who he really liked (possibly loved). He really just wanted her to leave and not see him in such a situation. But then some part of his sick daze really wanted her to stay with him and hold his hand and…

He shook his head. Stupid thoughts. He felt a light slap to his head, and looked up.

"Silly. Everyone gets sick." She smiled warmly down at him, and he felt suddenly at ease, and really tired to boot. She just radiated comfort.

"Yeah… but… still…" Her imaged wavered a bit, and was then replaced by darkness and strange dreams about Mayuko getting married to Shigure and Akito stabbing her in the eye with a hairpin.

He awoke suddenly, half expecting Mayuko to still be wearing a wedding gown, blood spilling from her eye. He sat up, searching the room for her, still slightly panicked. Instead she was walking over with a bowl of something or the other.

Hatori groaned and rolled over. He really, really didn't feel like eating anything.

She pulled his shoulder back. "Hatori if you don't finish the soup, you're not going to feel any better. You have to eat if you want to take medicine and become well again." But Hatori just pushed it away again.

"I… I'm tired… maybe later…" He just wanted to get back to sleep. He probably wouldn't have woken up if it weren't for the strange dreams.

"If you're not going to eat it yourself, I'll just have to make you eat it. Now say 'ah'."

This suggestion was met with a world of protest from Hatori, but the fatigue was too much for him, and eventually he gave in. He felt silly, being spoon-fed by Mayuko. It's not that he had a problem with her fingers so close to his lips, but he felt like such a child. A bowl of soup and some medication later, Hatori was lying down again.

Sleep was so close to him but still not completely in his grasp. His head throbbed and it was hard to coax it into sleep. He just wanted something warm to hold on to. It was so childish, so childish, he couldn't get over it. But…

He heard some soft humming coming from somewhere near him. In his daze he wanted to reach out and run his fingers through that silky hair she brushed so carefully. Then, like a miracle, she walked towards him, leaned towards him to snap the light shut. He reached out and grasped her shirt in his weak fingers.

"Is something wrong? Need anything?"

You. I need you. "Mayu-chan… Please don't… leave. Stay with me. Please…"

"I-I have to go to sleep, Hatori."

But he didn't want her to go. He gripped her shirt tighter. He wanted to tell her a lot of things. That he loved everything she did: the way she moved, her voice, her gentle hands, her laugh… her… just being around her… "Please… Mayu-chan I… I lo…" I love you…

He didn't remember much from then. Just waking up, and feeling something warm next to him, and holding it… holding her… as tightly as he could. It was Mayuko, and he really wanted to just hold her like that. "I love you. I really do." He mumbled into her hair in his half-asleep daze. She muttered something in return, but he didn't hear a word of it, really. He just felt her there next to him, and fell asleep, content.

When Hatori woke up, the first thing he noticed was that his headache was gone. The second thing was that he was sleeping with Mayuko curled up in his arms.

Wait rewind.

He was sleeping with Mayuko curled up in his arms.

What now??

He stiffened. No, his back stiffened, you pervert. He wasn't sure how to get out of this predicament (or whether he even wanted to), so he just lay there awkwardly a moment with her snuggling into his chest.

In the end, he decided no matter how much he wanted to cuddle with her here, it was probably a bad idea. The last thing he wanted was her to wake up and be freaked out by the fact that he was clinging to her. He carefully shifted away from her, making sure not to wake her. He reached into his dresser and pulled out a book, happy to just be sitting there reading by her side.

After a moment, Mayuko stirred on his left, feeling around for the warmth that wasn't around her anymore. Her groping fingers found their way to Hatori's arm and she wormed her way over, grasping it. She stilled, and after a few moments it became clear that she had fallen back into a deep sleep. Hatori decided there was no use trying to escape, and decided he should just thank god for his good luck.

It was about half an hour and forty pages later that Mayuko began moving again, this time snuggling closer to him, while yawning slightly. He looked down to see her slowly blink her eyes open, squinting in the bright light. At first she seemed as happy as him, and then her face turned to confusion. Her eyes traced his arm upwards until her gaze rested on his face. Her expression quickly turned into shock, and then utter mortification. She leapt back so quickly Hatori nearly dropped his book. She looked so flustered, playing with her hair as usual, he nearly laughed.

"M-Morning. Did you sleep well?" She stammered, looking adorably nervous.

"Quite well, actually. I feel a lot better. Thank you for taking care of me. Yesterday would have been quite miserable had I been alone." Hatori set his book aside, deciding he wanted his attention to be Mayuko's alone.

"Glad to have been of service. I'm happy you're feeling better."

Hatori actually chuckled a bit this time. She always said silly things like "glad to have been of service". However, his face became stern as his doctor instincts took over. "Me too, but… it was pretty reckless of you sleeping in this bed with me being sick and all. If you wanted to sleep in the bed, you could have said so, I would've taken the couch."

"Well, first off, I'm the one who gave it to you so it's a slim chance I'd get it again. And besides, that's not why I slept here." She said, stubborn as ever. Then she looked embarrassed and paused for a long time, avoiding eye contact. "You… You're the one who told me to…" Her face turned redder and redder with every word. "'Don't leave… stay with me'… you said things like that, and I couldn't leave."

Hatori could feel his own face flood with heat. He had no recollection of this whatsoever, and he couldn't believe he'd actually done something like that… to Mayuko especially. He felt so silly. "I said that? Well, that's embarrassing… S-sorry…"

Mayuko laughed from next to him. "It's okay. I don't mind. It beat the couch by a landslide. And plus, you were so cute, just like a little child!"

Now Hatori was definitely blushing. He vaguely remembered her saying something to him somewhere in his daze, and quickly diverted the conversation. "Oh yeah, I vaguely remember you saying something to me last night… what was it?"

Mayuko's complexion turned significantly darker. "I-I said something to you, really? I was probably talking in my sleep—sorry I don't remember!" She laughed nervously and waved her hands in a frantic way that made it obvious that she was lying. Hatori burned with curiosity, but before he could push further Mayuko spoke again. "What about you? You kept trying to tell me something… and I think you said it in the end, but I was half asleep and don't really remember what it was…"

Hatori paused… squinted… and then remembered.

"I love you. I really do."

Hatori used his best poker face and lied through his teeth. "Eh, sorry. I don't remember." He followed it with a laugh that he hoped sounded less nervous than he felt.

"Oh well. Anyway, what do you want for breakfast?" Mayuko shrugged, and Hatori was grateful that she didn't interrogate him further.

"Um, nothing too much. Cereal is probably good. I can get it myself." Hatori made a move to get up, but Mayuko stopped him.

"No, you stay right here. I'll go get it." Before Hatori could argue further, Mayuko disappeared.

He fell back against the pillow, sighing. His face was significantly pink, maybe even red, and his heartbeat had raced off the charts. That was so close, so close, he could hardly breathe. He wondered what she would do if she knew he loved her so much he thought he would explode. He wondered how much longer he could just keep going like this, just being friendly.

As if on cue, Mayuko came through the door with two bowls of cereal, one looking as though it had overflowed at some point, Cheerios falling in a trail behind it. He chuckled at her clumsiness.

"Mm, you know…" She said slowly as she hopped onto the bed next to him, and they began crunching away together. "Why don't you sleep with me from now on?"

Hatori choked on his cereal.

"I mean, you have a huge bed, last night wasn't cramped at all…" She looked up to see Hatori staring at her with wide eyes, spoon half raised to his mouth. "I mean! I'm only saying this because I don't want you on that couch—it's hard and cold and you have to lie all scrunched up 'cause you're too tall." She explained quickly.

"Hm. Well, if you're sure you're okay with it…" Hatori's subconscious was telling him to refuse, but he absolutely couldn't.

"Yep! It's not like you're going to turn into some sex predator!" She laughed, nudging him playfully with her shoulder.

Hatori laughed too, but more nervously than genuinely. She had no idea.