Summary: When Rei gets sick, Kai's left playing nursemaid, but do either of them really mind? KaixRei.

Wow. You guys are so great! 44 reviews… I hadn't been online in ages and saw that and it just made me want to write more! Thank you all so much!

Oh, and don't worry, TalaKaiReiLover, Kai and Rei will be getting together. When, though, is up to me! Although I may be persuaded with enough reviews… I'm just slightly competitive.

Start chapter 4:

Rei woke up the next morning feeling distinctly uncomfortable. His head hurt less; he felt a little safer than before about being 2 feet off the ground; and he could sit up relatively easily, but there was something sharp digging into his shoulder.

He attempted to find it, groping around for a moment before realising that the object in question was, in fact, inside his pillowcase. Or Tyson's pillowcase, he reminded himself as he lay on his front, propping himself up on his elbows as he reached into the pillowcase to find whatever was hidden inside of it. He pulled it out, frowning as he realised it was a small book, about A5 size. The cover was plain black, but as Rei opened it to the first page, he realised that it was a comic. A doujinshi in fact, judging by some of the comments on the first page.

He turned another page, and his frown deepened as he recognised what were quite clearly cartoon versions of their team. They looked pretty freaky, and Cartoon-Rei seemed to have developed some rather effeminate characteristics somewhere along the line. Sometimes he really hated his hair…

He turned a page. Cartoon-Tyson, Cartoon-Max and Cartoon-Kenny were going out, but Rei's cartoon self had sad something about not feeling too well and going to bed early. Although, come to think of it, he did look slightly flushed, a pink tinge spreading across his cheeks. Cartoon-Kai was leaning against the wall, arms folded, in the background. For a moment, Rei's gaze lingered on him, wondering vaguely how he managed to be so hot even with an outline. Some guys just had it all…

Rei shook his head violently, trying to quell the resentment that was rising up inside of him again. Kai had problems just like everyone else! In fact, he had more than most, which, really, was even worse since he still managed to rack up more fangirls than the rest of the team put together. The strong and silent image really had its advantages; Kai could be completely rude to fans and they'd squeal in delight; he could spit in someone's face and they'd never wash again…

Blinking a few times to force his mind back to the present, Rei forced his attention back to the comic. Cartoon-Tyson, Cartoon-Max and Cartoon-Kenny has left and Cartoon-Rei was going back into the kitchen. As he passed the impossibly hot Cartoon-Kai, however, Cartoon-Rei was grabbed by the wrist and-

Rei turned another page and literally choked on his own saliva as he inhaled sharply in shock. In this comic that apparently belonged to Tyson; his teammate and friend, Cartoon-Kai had Rei's cartoon self pinned against the wall and was kissing him passionately. Cartoon-Rei, however, was hardly objecting to the attention and was, in fact, wrapping his arms around Cartoon-Kai's neck, pulling him in closer and responding with barely contained enthusiasm as Cartoon-Kai's tongue found it's way into his mouth.

A noise from just outside the room, however, caused Rei to snap out of his stunned stupor, and he hurriedly stuffed the book back inside the pillowcase as Kai returned to the room, holding a mug of what Rei's nose identified as coffee.

"You alright?" Kai asked, frowning, although he was more curious than concerned, as he joined Rei on the bed.

"Yeah! Fine!" Rei insisted, about 10 times too enthusiastic and speaking an octave or so higher than usual.

Kai looked unconvinced, arching an eyebrow as Rei's flushed face and violent denial suggested otherwise. He appeared to let it go, though, placing his mug on the bedside table and leaning over to check Rei's temperature with the palm of his hand. He felt nothing after holding a hot mug for a few minutes, however, and moved his hand to the back of Rei's neck, leaning in to touch their foreheads together. He felt Rei tense, and was forced to use his free hand to steady himself as the other boy involuntarily flinched away, unable to escape the disturbing images running through his mind and the paranoia they had induced. Kai's equable expression revealed nothing about what he was thinking, but Rei could tell he thought it was at least a little weird. Who wouldn't?

"Well, you're not getting any worse. Physically, at least." Kai said, attempting to push himself back up again but pausing as he realised he was leaning on something that was definitely not part of his bed. Something was inside his pillowcase… Tyson's pillowcase.

Rei looked away, caught between annoyed and embarrassed by Kai's implication that his mental state was deteriorating, but as he felt movement underneath his hand, and realised just what Kai was doing, he tensed, making a noise of objection as he attempted to trap Kai's hand under his arm.

"Kai, don't."

He had meant for it to sound commanding, but it turned out more like a plea as he met Kai's eyes with some difficulty. Obviously less than intimidated by this, Kai ignored him, not breaking the eye contact as he refused to let go of the item Rei seemed so intent on hiding.

"I mean it, Kai, I'm serious!" Rei added, determined to defend his friend even if it meant facing off against Kai. Okay, so Tyson might have some weird habits that he didn't particularly appreciate, but nothing could compare to the humiliation he could suffer at Kai's hands if the older boy found out about his… indulgence. Still, though, he was ignored and Rei, desperation clouding his thoughts further even than his fever, made a last-ditch attempt to defend Tyson's honour.

"Kai, please!"

It was humiliating; pleading for Kai to stop since he knew he stood no chance of outmanoeuvring him, but it worked. Kai froze, his concern showing suddenly as Rei's tone stunned him momentarily. He looked at his teammate for a moment, before sighing, hanging his head as he apparently cursed his weakness. Rei relaxed, relieved, but as a result failed to react in time as Kai, obviously a better actor than Rei had initially thought, quickly snatched the comic, for of course that was what he'd found, from Rei's reach. He stood, moving just out of Rei's attack range, but the other boy was not known for giving up easily. Forcing himself up, he reached for the book with surprising speed, but had only managed part of the journey before his illness showed itself once more, and he slumped to the side. Kai, ever conscious of his responsibility as team captain, moved to catch him before he fell from the bed to the floor, and was actually taken by surprise as Rei appeared to make a miraculous recovery, wresting the comic from his grasp, and shifting back to sit on the item with surprising agility considering his state.

Kai rolled his eyes, actually cursing his weakness this time, and Rei allowed himself a small moment of satisfaction as he realised he'd actually made an impact. As Kai turned to him, however, something of a predatory gleam in his eyes, he began to regret his decision just slightly. The Russian boy had always been a little unstable…

Unstable, however, was the last word Rei would have used to describe Kai as the older boy, an almost evil smirk gracing his lips, moved towards him once more, crawling across his bed on all fours to basically straddle him before pinning his wrists to the headboard on either side of his head. Terrifying, dangerous… incredibly sexy; any of those could have applied if Rei had retained enough conscious thought to identify any of the adjectives that came to mind. His instincts allowed him to struggle futilely and briefly against the strong grip on his arms, but even they were suppressed as Kai, eyes smouldering with some hidden emotion, took advantage of Rei's rather prone position to press their lips together in a soft kiss.

End chapter:

Hahahahahahahahaha. Oh, how I love calling the shots. Don't you just hate me?

And yes, I know that wasn't worth the wait. I hope you liked it, though, because I actually enjoyed writing this one! I was going to make it longer, but I just wanted to post this. I've written most of the next chapter if it makes you guys feel any better!

Uhh… no, I don't know why Tyson owns that doujin. Maybe I'll explain next chapter…