Hatori sighed heavily as the warm water washed over his body soothingly. He had noticed Akito's affection towards male members of the zodiac before, but never had those affections been turned on him. That alone had set the young doctor on edge, but what had unnerved him more was the fact that he didn't mind.
He almost wanted it to happen again.
Almost.
He stepped out of the shower and dried off; he dressed quickly, pausing as he started to tie his tie, remembering the feel of Akito's fingers on it as he undressed his older cousin. Hatori shook his head to clear his thoughts, banishing the memory to a dark corner of his mind where it curled up and waited patiently for him to recall it.
And he did.
He lay stretched out under the cover in his king-size bed, the room illuminated by the eerie red glow of the alarm clock beside his bed. His thoughts swirled around his head, not allowing him to sleep but, no matter where his thoughts led him, they always returned to his encounter with Akito, reliving the experience fragment by fragment, sending the occasional shiver up the dragon's spine at a phantom touch of Akito's hands.
When sleep finally claimed him, he slept fitfully, plagued by dreams of Kana Sohma. They'd been happy once. Akito changed things
Kana's voice rang clear through his dreams, snippets of their happiness reliving themselves in Hatori's state of sleeping defenselessness. Then the memories Hatori had locked away so carefully came to full wakefulness, and Hatori was forced to relive the darkest moments of his life.
"Kana and I wish to be married." Hatori watched himself kneel infront of Akito, Kana kneeling behind him.
"NO! I WON'T ALLOW IT!" In his blind rage, Akito hurled a vase at Hatori and the blood from his left eye spattering onto the wooden floor.
Hatori sat bolt upright in bed, his hand clapped over his left eye, breathing harshly. He hadn't dreamed of Kana in months now. He took a deep shaky breath to calm his nerves then stood and turned on the light. The faintest hints of sunrise seeped through the cracks in his curtains as he began dressing. There was no point in going back to bed, he was too shaken up to fall asleep again now so he slipped on his shoes and stepped outside. He walked down the path between his house and the main house, his shoes crunching in the autumn leaves. His feet carried them at their own will, Hatori was too deep in thought to notice or care where he went.
"Hatori-san." Akito's voice penetrated Hatori's thoughts and brought him to a standstill a few feet from the Head of house.
"Akito-sama... I didn't see you there." Hatori said, startled.
"That, Hatori, is obvious." Akito looked his cousin up and down.
"Why are you out here so early?" Hatori asked.
"I was just going to ask you the same." Akito stepped towards his cousin.
"I couldn't sleep, Akito-sama, so I thought I'd take a walk." Hatori watched his cousin approach, taking in his too-thin frame and wild black hair, backing up a step when Akito was almost pressed against him.
"Are you afraid of me, Hatori-san?" Akito asked, his slate gray eyes piercing into Hatori's soul. Hatori blinked, surprised by the question and took another step back, finding his back pressed against the trunk of a tree. Akito stepped up to him so they were only a breath away.
"No, Akito-sama." Hatori replied, meeting Akito's eyes with his own. Akito placed a hand on Hatori's chest and stretched up, he brushed Hatori's bangs back and pressed his lips to Hatori's, his gentleness surprising the dragon.
"You should be." Akito turned and walked away, leaving his bewildered cousin standing in the path.
A loud banging on his front door woke Hatori, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, the clock beside his bed read 2:14 AM. Hatori sighed and got up, pulling on his bathrobe as he walked to the door.
"Ha'ri-san! Akito-sama needs you! He's sick!" A breathless Momiji stood panting at Hatori's door. Hatori's eyes widened.
"What!?" He grabbed his coat and medical bag from beside the door and rushed after the rabbit to the main house. It had been three weeks since his first encounter with Akito and several more encounters of the same nature had instilled a deep fondness for the cold-hearted Head of house within Hatori. Hatori entered Akito's dimly lit room behind Momiji and went immediately to his bedside.
"Akito-sama!" he placed a hand on his cousin's forehead, shocked to find it burning, a red flush in his cheeks. At the sound of Hatori's voice Akito opened his fever glazed eyes and turned his head to look at him. He gripped the dragon's arm tightly and worked his mouth wordlessly, wanting to speak but not having the energy to do so. Hatori stroked Akito's hair reassuringly then turned to dig through his bag for a bottle of medicine. He poured the thick sticky-sweet bronze medicine into a spoon and held it to Akito's lips, coaxing the young Sohma to swallow it. Akito whispered something, so quietly that Hatori didn't hear it, the dragon bent his head low so Akito's lips brushed it as he whispered hoarsely.
"Ha'ri-chan." Was all he could manage before dropping into a medicine induced sleep, leaving Hatori shocked speechless.
"What did he say Ha'ri-san?" Momiji piped up from the corner he'd been standing in, watching his cousin curiously. Hatori just smiled and shook his head.
"Never mind Momiji-kun."
Hatori stayed by Akito's bedside for the next week, nursing the Head of house carefully. Momiji brought him his meals and watched over Akito when Hatori needed a break. Hatori was sitting by the window when Akito woke.
"Ha'ri-chan, come here." Akito's voice was soft and his fever slightly lower. He had taken to using the pet name for Hatori whenever there was no one else nearby. Hatori got up and walked over to Akito.
"Yes Akito-sama?"
"Sit down." Akito struggled to sit up as Hatori sat on the bed. He wrapped his arm around his lover's waist and pulled him close gently, supporting him. Akito leaned against Hatori and looked up at his cousin. Hatori returned the gaze, stroking his cousin's raven hair fondly. Akito took Hatori's chin in shaking fingers and pulled his head down, brushing his dry, chapped lips over Hatori's. Hatori pulled his cousin into his lap, bringing his feet up onto the bed, slanting his mouth over Akito's. Akito arched into his cousin, wrapping his legs around his waist, returning the kiss hotly. Hatori placed a hand on Akito's lower back to support him as he brushed his tongue over his cousin's lips. Akito slid his tongue into Hatori's mouth longingly pressing against his cousin.
"Hatori-san! Can I come in?" Momiji's high-pitched voice rang out from the hallway. Hatori broke the kiss reluctantly and lifted his head.
"Just a moment Momiji-kun!" He called to the younger jyuunishi . He lowered Akito back onto the bed, and his cousin reluctantly unwrapped his legs from Hatori's waist. Hatori kissed his cousin's forehead gently.
"Ha'ri-chan... will I die this time?" Akito's harsh whisper sent an icy chill deep into Hatori.
"I don't know Akito-chan." He admitted, standing and pulling the blanket up to his cousin's chin as Momiji opened the door and walked in. A cold, ark dread filled Hatori as he watched his sleeping cousin's chest rise and fall unevenly and shallowly, and he couldn't help but think. Maybe he will die this time.