A/N: Somebody had made a comment once that Kurama was a cheesy kind of boyfriend, and honestly, I'm sorry but I stan that 100%. This man is full of sweet words, assurances, and the utmost cheese. Like, he's the living embodiment of France, Italy, and Switzerland's cheese production. Also, you can tell I wrote this ages ago because only Asaki's canon friends show up to make sure she's okay. You know her cousins and her Meiou friends would have been there driving Kurama nuts.

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone has a good day!

My whole world is pain, and it has been for so long. Everything in me is saying to just give up, to let go. Who would miss me? I've served my purpose. Time to let go.

The next thing I know is a warm humming. It sounds familiar, but I can't think through all this hurting. Another humming, cold this time, but still familiar. Back and forth, back and forth the humming, and I find myself following it, trying to guess when it will switch again.

When the cold stops, all I can hear is the warm, and it soothes me, eases the pain. The cadence is familiar, the song one I can almost hum along to. I want it. I want very badly to join that warmth, to be a part of it. It makes me so sad and happy all at once.

I have to come back so that warmth is never sad again.

I feel a sneeze coming on, and I sit upright as quickly as I can. "Achoo!" The fire leaves my mouth, and suddenly my body is warm in a way it hasn't been in a long time. Everything still hurts, but the fire in me feels like it's finally going to begin to heal. Falling back on the bed, I try to take slow, deep breaths. That's when I feel something touch my forehead.

Wearily, I open my eyes, wincing at the bright light, to find Kurama standing over me, his hand warm against my skin. "Ku…." A sharp pain in my chest cuts me off, and I close my eyes, trying to focus on breathing again.

"Asaki." His voice sounds like an angel sighing, and I start to cry, the tears streaming down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," I gasp, my voice sounding hoarse. "I'm so so-"

"Asaki, please." His hand moves from my forehead to my lips, silencing me. I open my eyes, looking up into his wonderful face to find his own eyes bright with unshed tears. "You don't need to apologize now. Just...don't strain yourself."

Kurama. Kurama, I'm so sorry. I almost left you. "I heard you," I whisper, swallowing hard. "Through everything, I could hear your voice." Slowly, so slowly, gritting my teeth from the struggle, I reach up, touching his hand with my own. He holds my fingers, kneeling down and kissing each one, bringing fresh tears to my eyes. "You brought me back."

He nods, lost for words, unable to speak. He holds my hand in both of his, resting his forehead against my knuckles. He's trembling.

It takes me only a second, in my sick-addled brain, to figure out just what to say. "I love you."

He inhales sharply, his cheeks damp from his tears. Wiping them away, he says, "I love you too, Asaki."

I relax onto the bed, smiling as I close my eyes and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep for the first time in a long time.

…

When I wake again, I feel worse than before, my breath shallow. My healing energy is trying to fight off the sickness, but it's weak in comparison to my fire. That's when I notice something weird in my arm. Opening my eyes, I see an IV bag, the needle buried in my skin. The skin is trying to heal over the needle. Oops.

I pluck it out, only to hear the sound of a chair sliding against the floor.

"Asaki…." Looking around, I see Kurama, who is regarding me with a patient expression on his face. "Why, may I ask?"

"My skin was healing around the needle," I reply, my voice feeling stronger than before.

"Unless you think you can eat, you need that."

I grumble, pulling the blanket that's on me over my head. The darkness is nice, but it makes me wonder…. "What time is it?"

"Three in the afternoon," he replies.

"How long have I been like this?"

"Two weeks."

I yank the blanket from my face, eyes wide. "You're serious?" He nods, and I sigh. "I'm-"

"If you apologize again, I'm putting the needle back in." The expression on his face is so stern that I believe him. Slowly, he starts to smile, touching my face once again. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by a truck, burned alive, and then dropped on a bed of nails." He sighs, and I quickly say, "Better. Better than before, I promise."

"I'm glad."

There's a knock at the door before it's slowly pushed open to reveal Shiori. I push myself so I'm sitting upright, and Kurama props the pillows behind my back. I give him a grateful smile before turning back to his mother who is staring at me like I've come back from the dead. Maybe I have.

She walks over to me, pulling me into her arms in a single movement, and I have to bite my tongue to keep from screaming in pain, but it's so nice to be held by someone that I don't even care. She's crying now, and so am I, wrapping my arms around her and sobbing.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I mumble into her shoulder.

"I'm the one who should be saying that. You saved me." She kisses the top of my head before releasing me. "I don't know how I can repay you, my dear girl."

"Please," I say, shaking my head and making my vision spin for a moment. "You've done so much for me."

She gives me a weary smile, touching my cheek. "The way you make Shuichi smile is worth more to me than anything, Asaki. Please, rest and continue to get better, all right? We can't imagine life without you."

"I will," I say, smiling. Her words make me feel stronger already, my fire racing through my veins, burning off my sickness just a tiny bit. Which is when I realize that I'm in demon form. Shit.

"Mother, I don't suppose you could get something for Asaki to eat?" Kurama asks. "Probably something soft and cold."

"Of course. I'll be right back!" Shiori leaves, and it's just the two of us again.

"I did something stupid," I mumble. "How does she know it's me?"

"Apparently, you smiled at her before the sickness fully hit, and she knew your eyes and that expression on your face."

"Damn." I run a hand over my hair, grimacing. I must be so gross, which is entirely justifiable but doesn't make me feel any better.

"She said she wouldn't pry, so that leaves things entirely in your hands."

"I don't know if that makes this any better." Sighing, I pull my hair over my shoulder, sliding my hair tie off. My fingers feel numb, but I try to undo the braid with little success.

After a few moments, Kurama sits down beside me on the bed, facing me and reaching for my hair. "Here."

"No," I say, jerking away from him. "It's really greasy. Don't."

He gives me a withering look that makes me swallow hard before he reaches for me, his hand sliding around to the back of my head. Leaning in, he kisses me so very gently on the lips, and I sigh, relaxing at his touch as every inch of me grows warm.

When he releases my head, he reaches for my hair, and I just watch, too tired to really fight him. He moves slowly, his fingers deftly separating each segment. A minute or so passes before I lean forward, resting my head on his shoulder. He tilts his face toward me, pressing a kiss against my temple before continuing to unbraid until my hair is loose and wavy around me.

There's a knock, and we pull apart as Shiori comes back in, a tray of food in her hands. It's got grapes, strawberries, and ice cream on it, and I find myself smiling. "I didn't know what you'd be able to eat," she says in defense of herself.

"It looks really good," I tell her, smiling. "Thank you."

"I'll leave you two. I've got to get home, but I'll tell Kazuya and Kokoda how you're doing."

I nod, feeling a wave of exhaustion roll over me. Sinking back into the propped up pillows, I close my eyes, focusing on breathing. It's a few minutes before I can open my eyes again to find Shiori gone.

"Would you like to try to eat?" Kurama asks, still sitting beside me.

"I probably should," I mumble. He grabs the grapes, passing me the bowl that I almost drop. There's no strength in my hands, and the cold of the bowl hurts.

"Here." Kurama takes the bowl from me, picking up a grape and holding it up to my mouth. Blushing hugely, I eat it, his fingers brushing my lips. I wouldn't have thought I could feel embarrassed, stupid, in pain, and aroused all at once.

We make it through the grapes, my stomach not protesting too hard, but I don't know that I should risk more solid food. As though reading my mind, Kurama takes the ice cream next, feeding it to me. When it's gone, I sigh.

"Thank you, Kurama."

"Of course. Is there anything else you want?"

"Like I could ask for anything more from you," I mumble.

"Asaki, I would move the stars for you." The expression on his face is so serious that I believe him, and it brings tears to my eyes and a blush to my face.

I reach up, touching his cheek. "I…." I'd been about to apologize again, not even sure what for this time, but I stop myself. "Is my bag around here somewhere?"

"It is." Kurama reaches under the bed, lifting up my bag. He must have brought it for me because I know it wasn't on me two weeks ago. "What did you need?"

"There's a book in there." He opens it, pulling out the book in question. "I don't know that you remember, but it's-"

"The first book I ever read to you?" He smiles at the surprise on my face. "It might interest you to know that most of those moments you treasure, I do the same." I feel warm all over, and I have to squeeze my hands tightly into fists to keep from crying again. "Would you like me to read to you?"

"Please?"

His smile is so warm it could melt steel, and when he begins to read, his voice settles into that cadence I know so well. I close my eyes, blocking out everything but the sound of him reading aloud, letting it surround me, all but numbing the pain.

It must have been an hour or so later when the doctor came in. "How are you, Miss Anno?" he asks as Kurama gets off the bed, standing at my side.

"I'm alive," is my reply.

"Which is miraculous," he says. "Both you and Mrs. Hatanaka recovering from what we'd thought was an incurable disease. You two are something else."

"Stubborn and exasperating," Kurama says, and I shoot him a glare I don't really mean.

"That's one way to put it. Now, I'm going to run a few tests on you, make sure everything checks out. I'm also going to need to put that IV back in you."

"Please, don't," I say. "I really hate needles." Which is a lie, but I don't want to have to explain why my skin is trying to grow over the damn thing.

The doctor looks at the leftover strawberries and the empty bowls before saying, "We'll keep monitoring you, but if you start getting worse again, it's going back in, all right?"

"Deal."

...

It's a long, slow road to recovery, but Kurama's by my side most of the time. To my surprise, after the first few days, he actually leaves for work, something he didn't do when his mother was sick. Botan stops by to tell me apparently Yusuke got to him. Something about how I would be mad at him if he just hung around the whole time instead of living his life. Sounds about right.

Yusuke and Kuwabara come to visit, but they get so rowdy that the doctor throws them out. We'll laugh about that when I'm out, I'm sure. Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru swing by with flowers and chocolates, which makes them automatically the best visitors, of course. And even Hiei stops by one afternoon before Kurama gets here from work.

"Stop risking your neck for other people," he growls at me, and after about five minutes' worth of lecture, he leaves and I just have to laugh. He's prickly, but he cares.

The most surprising visitor of all is one who doesn't even come into my hospital room. It's late. Very late. I wake up, feeling kind of cold. Kurama's asleep in the chair beside my bed, and I can't help but sigh. He's going to have a crick in his neck in the morning.

I rest my hand against the railing on my bed, wondering what woke me and flinching at the ice that covers it. What…? That's when I notice a little trail of ice on the floor of my room, leading to the door. Someone wants me to follow that. While it seems highly unlikely, I think I might know who.

It takes a massive effort to get to my feet, and even once I have, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it very far. Still, I'm going to try. Careful not to wake Kurama, I manage to slide out of the room, following the trail of ice to the elevator. Once I step inside, I find the button for the top floor is covered in frost.

"Going up," I mumble, pressing the button and thawing it in the process. I've been running really hot lately, so it doesn't take any effort. It does make for some interesting conversations with the doctor. No, no, my temperature is normally this high, I swear.

When I reach the top, I follow the ice to the service entrance to the roof, not surprised to find the door open. There aren't a lot of stairs, but they're enough to almost thwart me. Once I finally make it out onto the roof, I could kill the man standing before me if I wasn't so surprised to find I'd been right. It really is my father, arms crossed, looking at me with an inscrutable expression on his face.

"Father?"

"Child," he replies, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Didn't know you had a sense of humor."

"I don't."

I smile wryly, leaning against the wall behind me. "What are you doing here? And why can't you visit me like a normal parent?"

"I'm not a normal parent," he says. "Besides, I don't think your boyfriend is keen on seeing me. He blames me in part for what you did."

"I don't," I say.

He nods, uncrossing his arms. "Did you achieve everything you wanted?"

"I did."

"And somehow you came out relatively unscathed. I suppose I've that fox to thank for that."

"You...came and visited me, didn't you?"

He looks surprised and a bit uncomfortable at my words. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I raise an eyebrow, crossing my own arms this time. "I know my own father. I would recognize your ice anywhere. While I was suffering, I could feel you there."

Sighing, he runs a hand through his hair, which is a gesture I don't think I've ever seen him make. "You were supposed to be unconscious."

"I was," I reply, shrugging. "And you weren't supposed to condone your stupid daughter's actions."

"I don't," he says. "However, she's still my stupid daughter."

I groan, putting my hands on my hips. "Either pretend you don't care or pretend you do. I can't keep up."

"Neither can I," he says. "However, a certain fox demon has requested that I make an effort to make amends."

"Amends for what?"

"Everything. I've caused you untold amounts of grief and destroyed our relationship beyond repair."

Of all the things my father could have said, I can't believe the words he's now saying. "No such thing," I mutter, utterly floored.

"As?"

"No such thing as our relationship. We never had one, so there was nothing to destroy." He looks shell-shocked, so I continue. "That means we can start from scratch without you worrying about things beyond repair, right?"

"From scratch?"

"Mm-hm. It's only 300 years late, but we've still got time."

"I suppose you're right. You usually are. Your mother was the same way. I could never win an argument with her."

"The wife is always right," I reply, and he actually smiles.

"Your fox would do well to keep that in mind."

"I am well aware," a voice from behind me says, and I turn my head to see Kurama emerge from the stairwell. "Asaki, you should come back to bed. You look like you can barely stand."

"I know," I reply, pushing off from the wall. "I will. I just needed to talk to my father."

"Mending broken bonds?" he asks, not taking his eyes from my father.

"There were never any to break," Father says, and now it's my turn to smile. It's like a really messed up inside joke now.

Kurama frowns as he looks between the two of us. "All right, Annos. I won't ask."

"You don't want to know," I say, taking a step toward him and nearly pitching right over onto my face. He catches me, sighing heavily.

"Nothing but trouble. The whole family."

"I should be offended," Father says, shaking his head. "Take care of my daughter, Kurama."

"I will," he replies. "Have a good night, Taro."

"Bye, Father," I say, giving him a weak wave as Kurama lifts me into his arms.

"Goodbye, Asaki."

We part ways, Kurama carrying me carefully back down the stairs and to the elevator. "If you insist on vacating your bed while you're this unwell, you could at least leave a note," he says on our way down.

"My dearest Kurama: I'm following some ice. Catch you later."

"My dearest Asaki: Do it again and I will restrain you."

We lock eyes, serious expressions on our faces until I break out into a grin that he matches with a wry smile. "You're so grumpy," I mumble, nuzzling into his chest.

"You would be too if you woke at three in the morning to find your invalid partner missing."

"Yes, but you're always like this."

"Try, me, Asaki. I'm definitely the stronger one tonight. I have no qualms with strapping you to that bed until the doctor lets you leave."

"What if I have to pee?" I ask.

"That's not my problem."

"You're the worst," I grumble as the elevator doors open.

"I am aware."

"I love you."

"As I love you." He carries me back to my room, tucking me into bed and kissing my forehead. "Now, sleep. Or I will make good on those threats."

"Kinky," I mumble, and he pinches my cheek, making me swat at him.

"Don't start again," he says. "You have questionable kinks."

"Like you don't," I say, pulling the covers up to my chin. "Good night, Kurama."

"Good night, my love."

…

A couple of days later, I step into my apartment, one fox demon in tow, ecstatic to be home. "It's been way too long," I groan, walking over to my kitchen counter and sliding my hands across the top. "Duuuusty."

"Pardon me for not coming by to clean," Kurama deadpans.

"No one asked you to," I reply, turning to face him. "You're exceptionally sassy today."

"I've had a lot on my mind," he says, coming to stand in front of me. "There's something we need to talk about. I've been waiting until you got out of the hospital because I didn't want to trouble you while you were recovering."

"Kurama, don't sit on important things for so long," I tell him as he comes even closer. I back into the counter, a little concerned by the serious look in his eyes. "Kurama?"

He puts his hands on either side of me, pinning me. "I know. That's why I'm telling you now. I should have made this clear a long time ago, but I'm...I'm not good at this." He sighs, resting his forehead against mine for a long moment. I reach up, stroking his cheek, and he catches my hand in his, placing a kiss into the palm before he pulls back a little, his green eyes locked with mine.

"Your father told me you said my happiness was more important than your life," he starts.

"He wasn't supposed to tell you that," I grumble.

"I'm glad he did," Kurama continues, "because I now know it seems you've misunderstood something very important."

"Kurama-"

"Asaki, my happiness is your life." I stare at him, dumbfounded. "My mother means the world to me, but I also know that she's going to pass on well before I do. That's something I have to come to terms with. You, however, I intend to spend a very long time with. Please, don't ever do something like this again. I can't lose you."

I can't lose you. I press a hand to my mouth, swallowing hard. "Kurama, I'm sorry," I whisper, tears in my eyes once more. He was right. I had misunderstood. I've been thinking he cared more for his mother than me, but it isn't a competition. There are different kinds of loves, and I'm the only person he cares about in this way. "I just wanted to help-"

"Asaki, you don't need to apologize." Kurama moves his hands from beside me to cradle my face, shaking his head. "I love you, and I love how much you care for me. All I need from you are two things right now."

I wipe my eyes, nodding as he releases my face. "Anything."

"First, a promise that you won't do this again. You can't save everyone, especially at the cost of your own life."

"Right," I mumble. "Um, how about, I promise I won't do something like this again without talking to you first?"

He sighs. "I'll accept that."

"Second?" I ask, relieved. I don't want to make promises to him that I'm not sure I can keep.

"Second, you'll let me spoil you for a little while."

"Spoil me?" I say, frowning. "Why?"

He laughs, taking a step back from me. "You would ask that."

"Haha? What's so funny?"

"You." He smiles softly, taking my hands in his. "I want to show you exactly how much you mean to me, Asaki. Ask anything of me, and it will be done."

"Kurama, I don't want anything from you. Just...just your love." My face goes red as I say this, but I maintain eye contact. "You don't have to prove anything to me."

"You're very stubborn."

"Get used to it," I reply, smiling.

"All right. Then let me take you somewhere. Anywhere you want to go."

"Kurama," I groan, resting my head on his shoulder. "I just want to go to bed."

He chuckles. "Come now. When you're feeling yourself again, where would you like me to take you?"

"Amusement park," I mumble.

"An amusement park?"

"I've never been to one," I reply, "and Keiko was talking about it a month ago."

"All right," he says, pulling me into his arms. "Let's go when you're feeling better."

"Um, a-and...will you cook for me? Just tonight."

"Suddenly so demanding," he says, and I pull away, my face red.

"Y-you said-"

"I'm teasing," he replies, the smile on his face so charged it sends a jolt straight through my core. "Anything you ask of me, as long as you need it," he says, kissing the tip of my nose. "Forever, I am yours."