Hiya! Thanks for the reviews I've received! I was going to wait for a couple more, but I had this chapter ready to go, so I figured I'd post it now. It's a little shorter than the lat one... oh, well.

Warning: This chapter contains light yaoi themes, though it's still extremely tame. Just some pretty fluff before we get to some of the good stuff.

Atonement

Chapter 2

They made camp in a small clearing not far from the river's shore. Junpei had managed to build a fire and the shivering Tomoki was huddled next to it with Izumi's jacket wrapped around him. Kouji, who was still unconscious, was also laid out next to the fire, his own soaked jacket exchanged for Takuya's.

"How long has he been out?" Junpei asked, slightly annoyed. He had had to gather wood, start the fire, and collect what food they could find by himself, and as everyone knows, Jumpei hated physical labor.

"A few hours. What did you expect after what happened?" Izumi replied.

"Well what about Tomoki? The samething happened to him and he's awake" As much as he liked Izumi, she could really be annoying sometimes.

"Tomoki wasn't bashed in the head with a log!" Izumi was starting to get angry. Junpei was really being an insensitive jerk. "I'd like to see you nearly drown and walk around like nothing happened!"

"Come on you guys! Don't fight!" Tomoki interrupted before the situation could escalate further. He hated to see his friends fight, especially since now was really not the time. "All that matters now is that everyone is alright."

"I'm sorry Tomoki."

Three heads jerked around in surprise. Takuya, who had been silent since they made camp, was leaning against a tree a few feet away.

"I'm sorry I put you in that situation. If I hadn't forced you all to cross that bridge, none of this would have happened."

"It's not your fault Takuya," Izumi interrupted. "You couldn't have known that the bridge was in that bad a shape." She was lying through her teeth, but Takuya seemed to be genuinely sorry and she wanted to at least make him feel a little bit better. "And besides, we're all okay."

"What are you talking about! Does Kouji look okay to you!" Takuya didn't mean to yell, but he was angry at himself and Izumi's trying to make him feel better pushed him over the edge. "Kouji and Tomoki nearly drowned because of me!"

Izuni was a bit taken aback by Takuya's outburst. It was obvious that there would be no comforting the boy at this point. He was on a major guilt trip and that's something he'd have to get over on his own. Realizing that Takuya needed some time alone to think, she excused Tomoki, Junpei, and herself to collect firewood.

Takuya watched them leave, listening to Junpei's complaints and the smack of Izumi's hand on the back of his head fade away. He sighed, not wanting to think about what happened earlier that day, but finding himself unable to do anything else. How could he have been so stupid? The bridge had obviously been falling apart. Kouji had pointed it out several times, but Takuya just had to be right and Kouji almost dies because of it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small moan. Takuya listened to the noises Kouji made in his sleep. He hated to see the other boy like this. Kouji always had such a strong spirit, for him to be like this was just… wrong. Another soft moan from the unconscious boy beckoned Takuya.

He made his way over to where Kouji was sleeping. His breathing was still shallow and he was visibly trembling. Takuya reached out to feel his forehead and nearly yanked his hand back in surprise. Kouji's skin was burning with fever. Without really thinking, Takuya gathered the boy into his arms, trying to sooth him. He settled back against a tree with Kouji in his lap and his jacket draped over both of them. He stroked Kouji's now dry hair comfortingly, just wishing that the day would end. It wasn't long before the fire's heat and the heat radiating from the boy in his lap got to him, and Takuya drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Kouji awoke slowly, realizing that he was awake but not opening his eyes. His entire body was sore and it still hurt slightly to breath. The haze in his mind was beginning to clear as his thoughts turned to the events of the night before. He felt a surge of guilt when he remembered the look on Takuya's face.

"Why did I have to say that?" he thought to himself. Takuya could be a stupid goggle-head sometimes, but he would never intentionally hurt him or any of the others. He was just careless sometimes.

Kouji's thoughts were interrupted by the realization of something warm on his head. He cracked his eyelids just enough to see the very last thing he expected to see at the moment. A sleeping Takuya was above him, bent over as if protecting him from some unseen predator. Takuya's hand was on his forehead and his other arm was wrapped around his waist. He jacket was draped carefully over the both of them.

Kouji's first reaction was to jump out of Takuya's embrace, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The peaceful look on the other boy's face kept him there. It didn't take long before Kouji's exhaustion took him again and he fell onto a dreamless sleep.

To Be Continued…

Isn't that cute? Review please!