Warnings: Shounen ai, language, possible spoilers, TWT
Author's Notes: Well, that huge biochemistry midterm I was stressing over has finally passed, so now I can work on this again. At least for a few days, until I have to start prepping for the next one. That's the quarter system for you...
By Rapunzel
Story 2: Aversion
Things in the Koneko no Sumu Ie had come to a complete standstill. No one was tending to the displays or manning the cash register or arranging the flowers. It was as if time had slowed for the dreadful standoff. Even the yammering fangirls were quiet as they observed the silent but deadly battle of wills. Violet and green eyes were locked in a dangerous contest, each glaring daggers at the other, until finally the match was broken by a single word from the redheaded competitor.
"No."
"C'mon, Aya," Youji said, sounding exasperated. "Just go already."
"Absolutely not."
"Look," Youji said, running a hand through his hair, "you lost the coin toss."
"You rigged it," Aya answered in a flat voice.
"I did not!" Youji shot back indignantly. "You lost fair and square, so just suck it up and take it like a man! Omi's already done it once today and it's not fair to make him go through that again. It has to be one of us, and you lost, so it's your turn."
"Please, Aya-kun?" Omi interjected hesitantly from the sidelines. "We're all taking turns, so you'd have to do it eventually anyway."
"Fine!" Aya spat, hating to cave in but not really seeing any way around it. "I'll go."
"Ano..." One of the fangirls stepped forward and joined the conversation. "If you really don't want to go, I could do it! I wouldn't mind taking Ken-san his lunch and medicine, really!"
She actually seemed fairly eager at the prospect until Aya shot her down with a look that could have frozen over an entire lake in mid-July. The girl wilted visibly and retreated back into the mass of her fellows, most of whom were silently thanking what good sense they possessed that they had not put forth that suggestion. Once Aya was sure that she had backed down, he spun on his heel and marched angrily towards the back of the shop, moving on to the kitchen.
Youji trailed after him. "That wasn't very nice, you know."
Aya snorted. "It was nicer than the alternative."
"Oh? And what's the alternative?"
"Actually letting her do what she wanted and take a tray up to Ken," Aya answered.
Youji considered this for a moment. "You're probably right," he mused.
Aya, who had busied himself with getting out a tray and warming up some soup, didn't answer.
"I can't imagine what's got our Kenken in such a bad mood," Youji went on.
Aya just grunted as he started setting items on the tray.
"I mean, granted, no one likes getting sick," Youji continued, not at all perturbed by the lack of response, "but this is ridiculous."
Setting a bowl of now warm soup on the tray, Aya reached for the last item, only to find it in Youji's hands. Obligingly, Youji held it out to him, and he took the bottle of cough medicine from the playboy and carefully placed it on the tray before hefting the whole thing up and setting off towards the stairs.
"Good luck," Youji called after him. "You'll probably need it."
/
As he neared Ken's room, Aya tried to mentally prepare himself for what was to come. He was not looking forward to it. Ken could be remarkably stubborn and generally unpleasant if he wanted to be, and for some reason, he seemed to want to be at this time.
It had all started about a week ago, when Ken had begun showing minor cold symptoms. At first it had seemed benign enough. Just as a precautionary measure, Aya had ordered him to take it easy, and after some rather half-hearted grumbling, Ken had complied with the order as best he could. But then had come the mission. Ken had opted to participate, insisting that it was "just a cold," and he would be fine. Knowing what he did now, Aya wished he had not taken Ken at his word and had instead insisted that he stay home. It might have been all the standing out in the cold night air, or the stress, or possibly something Ken had inhaled while having to crawl through the ventilation system to reach the target, but whatever the cause, what had been a simple cold quickly turned into bronchitis.
In retrospect, those first few days after Ken had come down with bronchitis hadn't been so bad, though Aya hadn't seen things that way at the time. Ken almost never got sick, and to hear the normally healthy soccer player practically hacking his lungs up had worried Aya more than he cared to admit. Despite their general reluctance to involve doctors in their affairs, it hadn't taken Aya long to cave in and let Omi call one in to look at Ken. The doctor had looked Ken over, ordered him to stay in bed and drink lots of fluids, given him some prescription strength cough medicine, and left.
That was when the trouble had begun in earnest. Instead of taking his medicine and getting better like he was supposed to, Ken had taken one dose of the stuff and then flatly refused to touch it again. Nothing Aya or anyone else could say would convince him otherwise. Never mind that it was supposed to make him feel better. Never mind that since the doctor's visit his condition had only gotten worse, so that now he often had trouble breathing. Whenever anyone tried to talk him into taking the cough medicine, he grew angry and agitated and every attempt inevitably ended in a fight, which was why Aya was not looking forward to trying to bring the subject up with him again.
Reaching Ken's door, Aya knocked once and then entered, carefully balancing the tray on one arm. Ken was curled up under the covers, but he pushed them back and sat up when he saw Aya. His brown hair was tousled and sticking up in odd directions, his face was flushed from the mild fever he was running, and he looked rather groggy, but he managed a small smile.
"Hey," he said, his voice sounding rather scratchy.
Aya nodded briefly in acknowledgement and moved to set the tray down on a small table that had been set next to the bed for convenience sake.
Ken seemed vaguely disappointed by the greeting, but brushed it aside in favor of examining his lunch. "What'd you bring me?"
"The same thing you had for breakfast," Aya answered, pulling a chair over to the bed and settling himself in it. "Do you feel like eating?"
Ken considered that. "Kinda," he answered, reaching over and pulling the tray into his lap. "But even if I wasn't hungry, you'd probably just make me eat anyway," he added sourly.
"How do you ever expect to get better if you don't do what you're supposed to?" Aya shot back, disappointed but not surprised that they'd gotten into this argument so quickly. He'd been hoping for at least a few minutes of Ken being pleased to see him, but hadn't really expected that to happen.
Ken's face quickly set itself into the stubborn scowl that Aya had become all too familiar with during the past few days. "And why don't I get a say in what it is I'm supposed to do?"
"Because you keep making the wrong decisions!" Aya snapped back.
Ken glared at him and opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off as a series of rather violent coughs shook his body. He clamped one hand over his mouth to try and muffle the noise, but Aya still winced when he heard the sounds coming from his lover's throat. It sounded painful, and it couldn't be a good sign that Ken was still coughing like that.
"Damn it, Ken," he muttered when the fit had passed, "why do you have to be so stubborn about everything? You weren't nearly this irritable before."
"I'm allowed to be irritable," Ken muttered sullenly, reaching for the glass of water on the tray and taking a few sips.
"Oh? And why is that?"
Ken gave him a dirty look. "What, should I start a list for you? Reasons why I'm irritable. Number one: I'm sick. Number two: people keep trying to make me do things and don't listen to me when I say I don't want to. Number three: my boyfriend's acting like I've got the plague."
"I'm not acting like you've got the plague," Aya said defensively.
"Yes you are!" Ken cried. "It's like there's some rule that says that you can't come any closer to me than three feet now! You won't hug me, you won't sleep next to me, and you haven't kissed me in five days!"
"Ken, that's just common sense. I'm trying not to get sick."
"How do you even know I'm still contagious?" Ken demanded.
"Fine," Aya said. "If I kiss you, will you take your cough medicine?"
Ken actually hesitated for a moment, but then muttered, "No."
"So," Aya said, mildly offended by the answer given, "you want to kiss me, but not that much?"
"Damn it, Aya! I don't want to take that stuff! You know that already, so why do you keep pestering me about it?"
"Because the doctor prescribed it to you for a reason," Aya returned.
"Yeah, well fuck the doctor!"
Aya was about to reply, but paused to survey Ken rather critically. He was clearly getting agitated again; his face was even more flushed than it had been and his breathing was coming faster. There was also a slight hitch in each breath that told Aya that if he persisted, he would almost inevitably set off another coughing fit. Noting that, he came to a decision.
"I'm not going to argue with you any more," he said firmly. "Finish your lunch, I'll be back up to take the tray later." And with that, he stalked out of Ken's room, shutting the door forcefully behind him. Muttering obscenities under his breath, he headed back into the kitchen, only to find Youji still there, leaning against the counter and looking thoughtful.
"Aren't you supposed to be working?" Aya asked pointedly.
Youji simply ignored the question. "I take it things didn't go so well?"
Aya gave him a tired glare that clearly said, "What do you think?"
"Well," Youji said, "I'm starting to think that desperate times may call for desperate measures."
Aya snorted. "And just what kind of desperate measures did you have in mind? Pinch his nose until he opens his mouth and then pour the stuff down his throat? Good luck. Even sick, he's not going to let you get away with that one easily."
Youji shook his head. "You know what your problem is, Aya? You're too direct. You don't seem to realize that some things are handled better with a little finesse."
"And I suppose finesse is going to make Ken get better?" Aya said disbelievingly.
Youji just smiled. "Watch and learn, Aya."
/
The quiet of the evening was abruptly shattered by the crashing sound of something breaking. The noise was quickly followed by raised voices, at least one of which Aya recognized clearly. The words were indistinguishable, but the tone was unmistakable; it was Ken's voice raised in anger.
Dropping the book he'd been reading, Aya sprinted as fast as he could towards Ken's room, only to collide with Omi, who had also heard the commotion and come running. Omi recovered first and jerked the door to Ken's room open, only to pause, a look of alarm crossing his face, and then duck suddenly as a glass went sailing over his head to crash against the wall behind him.
"Now look what you did!" Youji's voice came from inside the room, sounding scolding and frightened at the same time. "You almost killed Omi!"
"I was aiming for you!" Ken yelled back, his voice hoarse but undeniably angry.
Aya quickly strode past Omi, who was still half crouching in the hallway, and into Ken's room, barely pausing to survey the scene. It was chaos. Youji was standing in a defensive position near the door, his eyes firmly and almost fearfully trained on Ken, who was sitting up in bed, panting from his rage and exertion. There was soup splattered all over one of the walls, and the broken remnants of a bowl lay on the floor at the bottom. As he watched, Ken grabbed the tray, the only item left that he hadn't thrown, apparently, and prepared to hurl that at Youji as well. Hurrying forward, Aya caught it and jerked it out of his hand.
"What the hell is going on here!" he demanded as authoritatively as he could.
"He tried to poison me!" Ken cried, pointing an accusing finger at Youji.
"I didn't try to poison you!" Youji protested. "It was for your own good!"
"He tried to poison me!" Ken repeated insistently.
Aya turned a scowl on Youji, having guessed what had happened. "You put the cough syrup in his food without telling him?" he asked flatly.
"Well of course I didn't tell him!" Youji snapped. "If I'd told him, he wouldn't have touched the stuff!"
Aya closed his eyes as if silently asking for patience and resisted the urge to demand, rather sarcastically, how telling Ken could have made the situation worse than it was. Sometimes, for such a smart man, Youji did some incredibly stupid things.
"Youji-kun," Omi said from the doorway, his voice laced with disapproval, "that wasn't very nice."
"Well, if you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it," Youji snapped. "Goodness knows he won't take the stuff willingly!"
"That doesn't mean that you can slip it into my food when I'm not looking!" Ken shot back, his chest heaving both from fury and from the effort he had put into hurling everything he could get his hands on at Youji. "Did you think I was stupid, that I wouldn't taste it? How could you think-" His words were cut off by a sudden series of coughs. Putting a hand up to his mouth, he tried to get them under control, but they only seemed to increase their intensity.
"Ken-kun," Omi sounded worried as he took a hesitant step into the room, "are you okay?"
Ken tried to nod and wave him away, but the coughing persisted and he doubled over, his whole body shaking.
"This is why you should have just taken the cough syrup," Youji said, sounding less defensive and more worried than he had before.
Ken managed to glare at him over the hand that was clamped over his mouth, but was unable to reply. He seemed barely able to breathe.
"Youji-kun, don't," Omi scolded. "You're just making him more upset."
Aya quickly turned to Omi and Youji. "You two, out," he demanded. "I'll handle this."
Both seemed reluctant to tear their eyes away from Ken and leave the room, but after a moment and a stern glare from Aya they did. Aya closed the door behind them and moved over to sit on the bed next to Ken, who was still half curled in on himself. Sighing, Aya reached over and began to rub his back soothingly until the attack passed and Ken was able to draw a shaky but uninterrupted breath.
"Would you like me to get you another glass of water?" Aya asked softly.
Ken opened his mouth to answer, ended up coughing again, and settled for simply nodding.
Aya stood and reluctantly pulled his hand away. "I'll get you some more food while I'm at it," he said and quietly left the room to go to the kitchen.
The first thing he saw when he walked into the kitchen was the bottle of cough syrup sitting innocently on the counter. Apparently, Youji hadn't taken it in this time, which was probably just as well, Aya reflected, because if he had, Ken would have thrown that too and most likely broken it. As he started warming yet another bowl of soup (Ken was probably getting awfully tired of that stuff, but Aya didn't know what else to feed him), Aya contemplated the bottle and Youji's words to him earlier that day. While finesse was hardly the word to describe Youji's actions, Aya had to admit that he could see where the other was coming from. He remembered Ken doubled over in bed, desperately trying to breathe without coughing and failing, and his face twisted into a scowl. Something had to be done.
He contemplated various courses of action as he put together another tray to take to Ken. Putting the stuff in his food obviously hadn't worked, and would probably do more harm than good. If Ken suspected that they would make a habit of it, he was stubborn enough to simply stop eating altogether, and that would be disastrous. Cajoling wouldn't work; even Omi's big, blue eyes, which had been know to break even Aya's resolve, had proven unsuccessful. Forcing it down his throat was not a viable option; even sick, Ken could still inflict a fair amount of damage and the fight such action would inevitably cause would simply agitate him and probably make things worse. That left one other option that he could think of, but Ken wasn't going to like it...
After grabbing a bucket of water and a towel, Aya carefully hefted the tray up with one hand and headed slowly back to Ken's room. He set the tray back in front of the rather disgruntled brunet and commanded, "Eat." Ken scowled at him, but complied. Once Aya was sure that he was eating and no more dishes were likely to go flying across the room, he knelt and set to work cleaning up the wall and the remnants of the broken bowl and the glass. When he had finished, he looked up to find that Ken was done eating and was watching him quietly.
Standing up, Aya coolly regarded him back. "I see you're still being difficult," he said unsympathetically, gesturing to the one item on the tray that had gone untouched, the bottle of medication.
Ken scowled at him. "I see you still can't take no as an answer," he answered back peevishly. "I don't want to take it. You're my boyfriend; aren't you supposed to be a little more sympathetic when I'm sick?"
"I'd be more sympathetic if it wasn't at least partly your own fault," Aya shot back.
"So it's my own fault I'm sick?" Ken demanded.
"Well you certainly don't seem to want to get better," Aya snapped. "And you get irrational when someone else tries to make you. You should be ashamed of yourself, attacking a teammate like that."
"Did you miss the part where he tried to poison me?" Ken demanded.
"Cough syrup is not poison!" Aya said, getting exasperated. "Why the hell won't you take the stuff!"
For the first time since he had entered the room, Ken refused to meet his eyes. "You wouldn't understand," he muttered, turning his head away.
"Of course not, since you won't tell me anything," Aya said derisively.
Ken didn't answer, but kept his face averted, his scowl fading to be replaced by a look of sorrow mingled with mild guilt.
Aya sighed heavily and felt his temper ebbing away. It was hard to stay angry at Ken when he sat there and looked forlorn like that. It was much easier when he got angry and defensive. Still, he wouldn't let himself give in. This was for Ken's sake, he couldn't afford to give in.
As if to emphasize his point, Ken started coughing again. It started out lightly enough, but quickly progressed until it sounded as if the brunet were hacking his lungs up. Aya's lips pressed into a thin line, and feeling his resolve strengthen, he quickly whisked the bottle of medication off the tray in front of Ken and turned his back on his unfortunate lover. He reminded himself that desperate times called for desperate measures as he hastily measured out the allotted dosage and poured it into his mouth.
The minute the liquid hit his tongue, Aya began to see why Ken was so reluctant to take the stuff. It tasted absolutely vile. Still, it had the power to ease Ken's suffering, and that was what mattered. With that thought in mind, he turned back to Ken, who was beginning to recover, sat down next to him on the bed, grabbed him by the shoulders, and kissed him.
Although surprised, Ken responded favorably to the kiss at first. Then he realized what Aya was doing, and his startled acquiescence gave way to struggles. But by then it was too late. The instant Ken's lips parted, Aya took advantage of the opening, transferring his mouthful of medicine to the other. It was a somewhat messy process, but in the end most of the medication ended up in Ken's mouth, leaving Ken in something of a bind. Aya wouldn't let him pull away to spit it out, and that left him with no choice but to swallow the cough syrup or choke on it.
Aya waited until he was sure Ken had swallowed before releasing him. "There," he said firmly. "That wasn't so bad."
Ken was staring at him, eyes wide with shock and betrayal. "Aya, you sneaky bastard," he whispered. Then, as if reiterating his point, he repeated, "Sneaky bastard."
"But you'll feel better now," Aya told him.
"Bastard," Ken repeated, and Aya was alarmed to hear his voice shaking slightly. He was even more alarmed to see the moisture gathering at the corners of those brown eyes. This couldn't be happening. Ken never cried. It was just one of those facts of life that he had come to accept and depend on. "I told you I didn't want it, didn't I?"
"Ken," Aya said, his voice sounding uncertain even to his own ears, "what's the matter with you? It's just cough syrup, it won't hurt you."
"Yes it will!" Ken cried vehemently, his hands balling into fists. "It'll fuck with my head!"
"What do you mean, it'll fuck with your head?" Aya asked, confused.
"Just what I said!" Ken snapped. "It'll screw up my reflexes and my reaction time and make me drowsy!"
"Ken," Aya said, still not understanding, "you're supposed to be resting. You're not going on any missions, you're not even working in the shop. What does it matter if it slows your reaction time and makes you drowsy?"
"It matters to me!" Ken said, his voice nearly breaking. "And it'll give me nightmares! It reminds me too much of that time."
Aya's brows furrowed together as he frowned. "What time?" he asked sharply.
"That time they kicked me out of J-League," Ken said, sniffling slightly. Although he seemed determined not to let any tears escape from his eyes, he had to pause to wipe his nose on his sleeve. "Kase drugged my drink, only I didn't know it was him. But then when I tried to play..." he trailed off, wiping his nose again. "It was horrible," he finished quietly.
Aya's frown deepened. "But it can't be the same stuff he gave you then."
"What does it matter?" Ken demanded. "The result's the same. It makes me feel weird, like I don't have good control over my own movements, and I hate it. So I stopped taking it, but you guys kept getting on my case about it, and then Youji went and slipped it in my food." Ken's face darkened dangerously. "Just like Kase and the water."
Aya nodded in understanding. Of course, that made sense. Being betrayed and unwittingly drugged by a person he considered a friend for the second time wouldn't go over well with Ken. When seen in that light, his violent reaction towards Youji seemed less extreme.
"And then you," Ken said softly, turning his face away, "you were just as bad."
Aya winced at that. It hadn't even occurred to him that something as simple as medicine could dredge up such unpleasant memories for his lover. He'd simply assumed that Ken was being stubborn, as usual. He felt mildly guilty for that, but more than that, he hated the implication that he was in any way like Kase. Although he had never been introduced to the man, Aya had come to loath him for his actions towards Ken, and the accusation that he, Aya, had betrayed Ken's trust just as badly didn't sit well with him.
Tentatively, he reached out and slid an arm around Ken's shoulders, slowly drawing the brunet in against him. At first, Ken resisted the pull, but gradually stopped fighting and allowed himself to be settled against Aya's chest, his head on Aya's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Aya said softly. "I didn't know."
"You're a bastard," Ken muttered, but he closed his eyes and pressed his face against Aya's neck.
"I know. I'm sorry," Aya repeated softly, bringing his free hand up to run it through Ken's hair.
Ken sighed heavily. "It's too late now," he said without lifting his head. "I already took it, and I don't think there's any way to stop it from affecting me now. Unless I try barfing it up," he added, almost as an afterthought.
"No," Aya said, "don't do that. This is my fault, and I'll deal with it."
"How?" Ken asked bleakly. "I'm the one who's gonna be feeling it."
"Go to sleep," Aya commanded gently. "You said it makes you drowsy, so go to sleep, and I'll sit with you and wake you up if you have nightmares."
Ken lifted his head at that to peer into Aya's face. "You'll sit with me?" he asked. "All night?"
"All night," Aya confirmed. "Just let me put things away and go get my book."
"Okay."
Aya released the other and rose, gathering up the tray and cleaning supplies he had brought with him to return them to the kitchen. Once he had done that, he stopped by his own room briefly to retrieve the book he'd been reading, then headed back to Ken's room. He found the young man just as he'd left him, sitting up in bed and watching him quietly.
"Lie down," he ordered. Then when Ken complied, he set aside his book so that he could draw the covers up and tuck them gently around Ken's shoulders. "Go to sleep," he said quietly.
Ken frowned up at him. "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"
Aya raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer or move to fulfill his request.
"Oh, right, I forgot," Ken said sourly. "I've still got the plague."
"Not the plague," Aya said patiently. "Just bronchitis, which is bad enough."
"Hmph," Ken grumbled and rolled over so that his back was to his boyfriend.
Aya watched the display for a moment before finally caving. Reaching out, he caught Ken by the shoulder and rolled him back over so that he could lean down and carefully deliver the requested goodnight kiss. After all, he told himself, he didn't want Ken to get the idea that the only reason he would kiss him was to make him take his medicine.
"Will you go to sleep now?" he demanded when he'd finished, eyeing Ken sternly.
Ken gave him a small smile. "Sure," he said. "Good night, Aya."
A few minutes later, Ken was out like a light, sprawled on his back and breathing loudly but evenly. Aya, on the other hand, sat awake in his chair, staring blankly at the pages of his book for the rest of the night.
/
"Ken-kun!" Omi called. "Wake up! The doctor's here!"
Even from down the hallway, Aya could hear Ken's intelligent response of "Huh?" He smiled slightly to himself.
"The doctor's here," Omi repeated.
"Oh. What's he doing here again?" Ken asked groggily.
It was a valid question since Aya had neglected to mention that he'd called the doctor that morning after Omi had brought up the tray with Ken's breakfast. If the boy had been surprised to find Aya sitting rather wearily in a chair next to Ken's bed looking like he had been there all night (which he had), he was polite enough not to mention it. He also hadn't remarked on Aya's sudden decision to call the doctor who had visited Ken before, but then Omi was generally tactful like that.
Aya had decided on his plan of action over the course of the long, sleepless night he had spent sitting in Ken's room. After all, something had to be done. He wasn't sure how much of the effects Ken had described were due to the medication itself versus how many of them Ken had imagined, but it didn't really matter. Once he knew Ken's reasons for refusing the medication he could hardly blame him, but that didn't mean that he was willing to let Ken get by trying to deal with the illness all on his own. If the cough syrup was not an option, then a suitable alternative would have to be found.
"So, young man," Aya heard the doctor say as he went into Ken's room, "I understand that the drug I prescribed you had some rather unfortunate side effects."
"Side effects?" Ken repeated sounding confused and not completely awake.
"That was what I was given to understand by your housemate."
"Oh! Oh yeah, side effects. From that stuff you gave me. Yeah, I stopped taking it." Ken seemed to have caught on, for which Aya was glad. He only hoped Ken wouldn't be asked for details on what exactly the side effects were.
"Well, that won't do at all," the doctor said in his best sympathetic voice. "Young man, if you could just step outside for a moment, we'll see what we can do here..."
Evidently at least part of the doctor's remark had been directed at Omi, for the boy obediently stepped out of Ken's room and shut the door quietly behind him. Looking up, he caught sight of Aya and frowned.
"Ken-kun could have just told us the medicine was making him sick," Omi said, sounding bewildered and a little betrayed. "I wouldn't have tried to make him take it if I'd known."
Aya shrugged indifferently. "It's Ken," he said simply. /Nothing is ever that simple with him/ he added mentally.
An hour later, Aya was working in the shop when he saw Omi escort the doctor out. Quietly excusing himself and leaving Youji alone to tend to the customers, Aya slipped off to Ken's room. Knocking softly, he entered. Ken looked up, surprised to see him there, but smiled when he realized who it was.
"Well," Aya asked, "what did he say?"
"He gave me this," Ken said, holding up an object that, upon closer inspection, proved to be an inhaler. "He said it's supposed to help me breathe easier."
"And have you tried it?"
Ken nodded.
"And it works?"
Another nod.
"No side effects or unpleasant associations?"
Ken shook his head.
"Good," Aya said. "In that case, I'm going back to work." He turned and made to leave when Ken's voice stopped him.
"Aya."
Aya turned back and raised an eyebrow to show he was listening.
"Thanks," Ken said.
Aya nodded briefly and left, closing the door quietly behind him.
/
A week later, the tension in the Koneko was at a peak again. This time, however, although the debate was the same, the contestants were slightly different.
"I'm not doing it," Youji declared firmly. "All the beautiful women in the world couldn't drag me in there right now."
"But Youji-kun," Omi protested, "we decided that we should take turns."
"I'll do it."
The other two both turned to the speaker, one in mild surprise, the other in relief. "Are you sure, Ken-kun?" Omi asked.
Ken shrugged. "Yeah, sure, why not? I've done it before, it's not so bad."
"Thanks, Kenken," Youji said brightly. "I owe you one."
"You owe me more than that," Ken muttered, but dutifully left the shop and headed into the kitchen. As he left, he thought he heard Youji mutter, "Rather him than me," but decided to ignore it.
Setting out the now-familiar tray, Ken moved around the kitchen gathering up the items he needed. He hadn't been lying to Omi, he really didn't mind doing this. He was simply glad that he wasn't the one receiving the tray anymore. His illness had passed, thankfully, and the only reminder of it that he had left was a slight, lingering cough. Well, that and one other thing.
Deciding that the preparations were complete, Ken picked up the tray and went to visit that last reminder. He knocked on the door once before entering, calling out as he did, "Aya, I brought you lunch."
From somewhere under the covers on the bed there came an irritated grunt. A moment later, the lump in the middle of the bed moved, pushing back the covers to reveal Aya. He looked disheveled and more disgruntled than Ken had ever seen him, which was saying something. His normally pale skin was slightly flushed from fever and his eyes were a little too bright, but he managed an impressive glare nonetheless.
"You're still feeling grouchy, are you?" Ken observed, not really sounding surprised. He set the tray down and moved over to lay a hand against Aya's forehead, checking to see how high the fever was.
"This is your fault," Aya groused.
"Really?" Ken said, not at all perturbed by the accusation. "I sort of see it as karma. You probably caught it when you gave me the cough syrup, so I think it's only fair."
"I thought you'd forgiven me for that," Aya grumbled half-heartedly.
"I did," Ken said, grinning. "Just like you'll forgive me for getting you sick once you feel better. But in the mean time, I suppose I'll just have to put up with you, since you've managed to make even Omi reluctant to come and visit you."
"Hn," was all Aya had to say to that.
"And you know what the best part is?" Ken went on. "You can't get me sick, since I already had it!"
"So no treating me like I've got the plague?" Aya asked wryly.
"Nope," Ken said.
Aya considered for a moment. "So if I asked you to kiss me right now, you wouldn't refuse?"
In answer, Ken leaned in and demonstrated.
Owari
Author's Notes: While bronchitis itself is usually not contagious, whatever virus helped cause it initially would be, so it is possible for Ken to get Aya sick.
On another note, thank you to everyone who reviewed the first story in this little series! It was very helpful in inspiring the second one. These are the first fics that I've written for Weiss Kreuz, and I was very happy that the first one got such a nice reception.
Hellcat81: I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you enjoy this one as well.
lily: Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I hope you find this one enjoyable too. Actually, I have been to Blade and Claw already, but thanks for the suggestion.
Seph Lorraine:blushes: Wow, I'm honored that you liked it so much. I've been finding you story Somewhat Damaged very enjoyable as well. I'm glad you like my version of Ran; I've been trying to keep him in character (or at least what I see as in character for him). I hope you like this story as much.
kyria valkyrie: I'm glad you liked it! I agree, AyaxKen is certainly one of my favorite pairings for the series.
Lk: Thanks for reading and commenting! I'm flattered that you thought it was well-written, and I hope you enjoy this one as much.
HeatherR: Thanks for commenting and I'm glad you liked it! I'm trying for a series, but I think I'll need at least one more story for it. Two short stories do not a series make, at least in my opinion. I'll try to cajole my muse into cooperating. I whish I knew of more Ran/Ken archives as well. I think part of my problem is that I'm still fairly new to the fandom, and the last fandom I wrote for was considerably larger, so I haven't quite adjusted to the shift yet.
Ayaren: Thanks for commenting! I'm glad you liked it, and I'll try and work on turning this into a small series.
The Invisible Fan: I'm glad you thought it was cute. I intend to write more short stories, hopefully at least one more to fit into this little series, but we shall see.