*waves* ^^; This is yet another lame attempt to pair Kharl and Garfakcy. Shut-up, anyone who laughs dies. ^^ So enjoy the fic!
"Kharl-sama!" The sound of rather small, rather wet feet echoed through the stone halls of the castle. "Kharl-sama, I caught a couple more faeries!"
Looking up from his work, Kharl smiled to see Garfakcy waltz through the door, a cage containing a couple frightened faeries in hand.
"Glad to see you back, Garfakcy! But…" The Renkin wizard stopped and glanced over the small human. "What happened to you?"
Garfakcy was soaking through and through, water dripping from his clothes, from his hair, off of his face. The faeries giggled, their fear forgotten for a moment as they cast their tiny eyes up at the soggy human.
"I just chased one of them into the water, that's all," he replied nonchalantly, setting the cage on the floor and wringing his hair out. The faerie responsible collapsed into a fit of self-satisfied giggles, unaware that they were to be boiled into faerie soup in a matter of minutes.
Kharl bent over to examine the faeries, who, upon seeing him, immediately started swearing and making obscene gestures. The youkai sighed and turned back to Garfakcy.
"You should get out of those wet clothes, you know," he said, picking up the cage and turning towards his lab.
"Wh-what?" Emerald eyes widened in sudden surprise, and the boy soon found himself trying to hide the sudden flush of red that had washed over his face.
Kharl remained oblivious. As usual.
"You should change out of those clothes. You don't want to get sick, you know." Another ridiculous grin crossed the silver-haired youkai's face and he patted Garfakcy on the head lightly. "I don't know what I'd do if you got sick. This entire place probably would come crashing down around us." At this comment, the alchemist stopped and chuckled to himself.
Garfakcy sighed. Inwardly of course. As usual, it was just his imagination getting the better of him. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Kharl looked straight at him again, ignoring the faerie's terrified squeals as he dangled them over the boiling water.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he replied, grabbing a hold of his apron and heading down the corridor. "I'll go clean up around here, then." There was no reply, but he could hear the yelps of terrified faeries as they boiled to their deaths and couldn't help but smile a little.
Either that, or it could have been that strange thumping inside of his chest.
"Kharl-sama…"
"Garfakcy? Garfakcy? Garfakcy, where have you gotten off to?" Kharl sighed and shook his head. He hadn't seen or heard the boy all day. The usual small footsteps and metallic clangings that sounded from the kitchen and the broom closet and down the halls were all gone that day.
"Garfakcy?" he tried again. Turning the corner, his long white cape flowing out behind him, he peered into the boy's room.
There, curled in a small ball, fast asleep, was Garfakcy. Kharl almost smiled. Usually it was the human who got on his case for sleeping in. Almost smiled, that is, was it not for the sudden, sickly fit of coughing that wracked the boy's body. He shivered as his frame convulsed with sickness, though he was hot to the touch when the alchemist placed a pale hand to his forehead.
"You're so stubborn, sometimes," Kharl muttered, taking two steps back before turning and once again pacing out into the hallway.
Humans were such frail creatures. That very fact frustrated him so, and seeing his human, his Garfakcy in such pain because of it only frustrated him further. Yet no matter how much he wanted to help, no matter how much he wanted to help rid the boy of his pain, he knew the only thing that would help was rest. And plenty of fluids.
Didn't everyone say that?
Yes…yes they did. Somehow, the youkai knew that wouldn't be enough. No, it would be far from enough for this human.
The door closed gently and Kharl once more resumed his place at the human's side. A damp cloth rested over his head, the only way he knew of to bring down the frighteningly high fever that held Garfakcy in a pained delirium.
No longer was he curled in a small, protected ball beneath his blankets. He had tossed in his sleep, at times crying out in frightened, desperate tones that even Kharl had never heard escape his lips.
It alarmed him so, only made him wish he could somehow pull the boy from the nightmares that haunted him.
But he couldn't.
Never before had he felt so powerless. He, who could create an entire legion of youkai drones to do his very bidding, he who held such power over life and death couldn't even help this tiny human.
All he could do, all he found himself doing was sitting at Garfakcy's side, the human's soft hand clasped in his own, whispering unheard words of reassurance to him.
"It's okay…it'll be okay," he found himself saying. "I'm here. Nothing's going to happen to you."
It was all pointless, of course. He knew Garfakcy couldn't hear a word he said, but somehow it comforted him.
Strange how he found himself so weak at times like this.
"Kharl-sama…"
The alchemist stopped and looked up for a moment, feeling Garfakcy's muscles tense underneath his fingertips.
"No…don't leave me…"
"Garfakcy?" Kharl leaned a little closer to the boy, placing a hand on his forehead once more.
The fever had gotten worse, as did the boy's delirium.
Worry written clearly across his face, the youkai took the cloth and soaked it in the bowl of water that sat on a table beside him, placing it on Garfakcy's head once more.
"NO, DON'T LEAVE ME!!! DON'T GO!!!"
His voice was wrought with terror as he grasped the thing nearest to him – Kharl's sleeve.
"DON'T LEAVE!"
"Garfakcy…Garfakcy, I'm right here," Kharl replied, unable to think of anything better to say or do.
"Don't go…Kharl-sama…"
Garfakcy's hands clung onto the youkai's sleeve in desperation.
"I love you…"
{to be continued...}
