A/N: Thank you to everyone who's left reviews! I only just found out about some of them because my notifications from FFnet aren't coming to my e-mail for some reason? More accurately, some of them are, but most of them aren't. So thank you, and I'm sorry for not saying so sooner!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hunter X Hunter, Kurapika, or Leorio. I do, however, own this story! Cross-posting to ChocolatteKitty-Kat on FFnet and Ao3 and maliciousbubbl3s on Tumblr.

.*.*.*.*.*.

Kurapika nearly jumped out of his skin as Leorio's sneeze echoed through the apartment. He set the plate he had been washing in the sink and turned off the water, then headed out of the kitchen. "Leorio?" he called.

"Hey," Leorio sniffed loudly, in the process of kicking off his shoes into the shoe tray by the door. He sniffled again and turned towards Kurapika.

"Oof," Kurapika winced.

"Seriously?" Leorio scowled. "'Oof'? That's all you've got?"

"Pretty much," Kurapika shrugged. "You look awful."

It was true. Leorio's eyes were red and puffy, as was his nose, which was actually beginning to drip. His skin was nearly paper-white, with the exception of his cheeks, which were flushed bright red. He dropped his briefcase on the floor and stumbled towards the couch, peeling off his coat, blazer, and scarf as he went.

"Oh, no you don't," Kurapika hurried over to grab his arms and steer him towards the bedroom. "Straight to bed."

Leorio groaned, but complied, inwardly admitting that he would be better for it in the long run. Kurapika dragged him to the bedroom and made him take off the rest of his suit to change into more comfortable clothes, then settled him in bed. "What do you need?" Kurapika asked, crouching next to Leorio. He reached out to smooth Leorio's hair back from his forehead, hiding a grimace as he touched the other's sweaty skin. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? What do you need me to do?"

"We're out of everything," Leorio mumbled. "I checked before I left this morning. I was going to stop on my way home from class, but… I was just so tired."

"What do you need?" Kurapika repeated, keeping his voice low and soothing.

"I'll write you a list," Leorio sighed, making to sit up.

Kurapika pushed Leorio back down. "Stay there. Just tell me what you want." He pulled out his phone and typed out the things Leorio named. "Okay, got it. Is there anything else? Do you want anything special to eat?"

Leorio shook his head. "I'm not hungry. You pick."

Kurapika nodded and cupped Leorio's cheek with one hand. "Get some sleep while I'm gone. I'll bring you some water before I leave."

Leorio nodded and murmured something that Kurapika didn't make out. He smiled softly and kissed Leorio on the forehead before standing up. He fetched a glass of water from the kitchen and set it by Leorio's bedside, then pulled on his winter coat, scarf, hat, and boots before heading out.

Outside, the sun had long set, leaving the streetlamps to provide illumination for the few pedestrians willing to brave the cold air. Kurapika hurried along, his breath coming in clouds of frost that puffed out in front of him and slapped him in the face as he pushed through them. The corner store Leorio had named was only two blocks away. Leorio said that they should have at least most of what was on his list there, Kurapika mused. Hopefully they'll have it all.

Stepping into the corner store was a relief, the warmth flooding over Kurapika's bare skin and making it tingle. He smiled briefly at the shopkeeper and grabbed a basket, heading straight for the aisle marked COLD REMEDIES. Leorio had given him two names for most of the medicines he wanted, the brand name and the medication's actual name, instructing Kurapika to stick with generic brands as much as possible. Kurapika somehow managed to find all of them with relative ease. In the next aisle over, he also picked up bottles of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. He grabbed a six-pack of electrolyte-enhanced sports drinks, a bag of Leorio's favorite snacks, and a few other groceries on his way to the checkout as well. He stopped at a display labeled NATURAL MEDICINE just before the checkout, staring in shock at one of the products there. His expression faded into a gentle smile, and he added another box to his basket.

.*.*.*.*.*.

"I'm home!" Kurapika shouted, kicking the door closed behind him. "Leorio?"

He heard a wordless grunt from the bedroom in the back, followed by another loud sneeze and some coughing, and hid a smile. "I found everything you wanted at the store, and I stopped to pick up dinner on the way back!" He set the bags from the store on the counter and started peeling off his layers, tossing the winter wraps over the back of the couch. Once he was out of the heavy clothes, he grabbed the bag full of medication and took it back to Leorio. "Are you sure you can take all of this at the same time?" he asked, crawling across the bed to hand the bag to Leorio. "It just seems like a lot."

"Well, I'll kind of stagger it," Leorio sniffed. "These two together, and then these two about two hours later. Or maybe three. I have to check the doses."

Kurapika smiled, watching Leorio squint at the small print on the back of the boxes. "Do you want help with that?"

"Um…" Leorio looked sheepish. "Yeah, do you mind?"

Kurapika laughed and took the boxes from him. "You're getting old, Leorio. We'll have to get you reading glasses soon."

"Yeah, yeah," Leorio grabbed a tissue from the box on his nightstand and blew his nose loudly. "If I were feeling better, I'd come up with some sort of comment about how I'm not old, but I can't even think straight enough for that right now."

Kurapika chuckled. "You were looking for dosage information, right? It looks like they're all 4-6 hours."

"Okay," Leorio nodded. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Kurapika grinned, handing the packages back to him.

"Hey, what did you bring for dinner?" Leorio asked as he tossed some of the pills into his mouth and took a swig of water.

"I just stopped for sandwiches at that place you like," Kurapika shrugged. "I figured that was something that would keep if you weren't hungry right now." He crawled back off the bed, heading for the kitchen. "I'll bring you yours, I just want to make some tea first," he called over his shoulder.

In the kitchen, he filled the kettle with water, plugged it in, and waited for it to boil. Once he had the tea steeping, he took the sandwiches back to the bedroom, then returned and carefully transported the two steaming mugs.

"What kind of tea is this?" Leorio sniffed at the steam rising out of his mug suspiciously.

"Purple coneflower," Kurapika replied. "I saw it in the store and it reminded me… my mother always used to collect the roots and dry them to make tea. Whenever I got a cold, she'd make it for me. It was always the best thing for it. I saw a box of the tea in the store and it reminded me of her, so…"

Leorio smiled and took a careful sip of the hot liquid. "Um… is it supposed to..?"

"Tingle?" Kurapika laughed. "Yes. That's how you know it's the good stuff."

Leorio took another cautious sip and shrugged. "It's not bad. Kind of minty, even besides the tingle."

Kurapika nodded happily. "With honey and a little bit of lemon, it really helps with a sore throat too."

Leorio nodded, setting the cup aside. "I can feel that already."

Kurapika smiled. "I'm glad."

"Also, I'm really glad that you stopped for these sandwiches, because I didn't realize how hungry I was until I saw them."

Kurapika laughed. "I had a feeling."

"I guess you just know me too well," Leorio teased.

"I guess I do," Kurapika. "... Old man."

"Hey, I'm not even thirty yet!" Leorio protested. "Not to mention, you're only two years younger than me!"

"Yeah, but still, if we're not careful, we'll end up one of those old married couples before too long."

"Well, I think you'd have to marry me first," Leorio winked.

Kurapika flushed bright red and stared down at his sandwich. "W-well, if you want me to marry you, you're going to have to ask me first," he stammered finally.

"Oh, really?" Leorio cocked his head playfully to the side. "Well, then… Kurapika…"

Kurapika's head shot up, his face first getting even redder, then going pale.

"Will you… please get me a plate? This thing is way too messy to eat in bed without one."

Before Leorio even knew it was coming, Kurapika's pillow slammed into the side of his head, rattling his brain and making his ear ring.

"I can see you're feeling better, so you can get your own plate," Kurapika said stiffly. "And if you ever pull something like that again, I will break up with you."

Leorio chuckled and reached over, pulling the blond into a tight hug. "Hey. I love you."

"I love you too."