Salutations readers. It took a bit longer to update this time. Sorry about that! It took me abreakfast of cold milk and ½ a burrito to finish this one up, and since my digestive system isn't used to such harsh flavors so early in the morning, my brain must have missed the nutrients from the healthy breakfast it's so used to enjoying. (Yeah right. I eat like that all the time. I have NO qualms with ANY food.)
The conditions under which this chapter was fashioned is surely enough of an excuse for any oddities! Hahah!
Thank-you's:
andromeda90-I'm so happy that you enjoy my work! -beams- I'm so flattered I don't know what to say! Hahahahahahah! Really, you don't understand how happy that made me!
AquilaStrife-Nice to hear from you again! I'm so glad you liked the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing this one, so I hope it's equally good, if not better. As for KHII, September will come sooner than you think..? I don't really think that helps, but don't worry, it's worth the wait!
Wends-Thank you for the review, it's really appreciated! Yes, the medical mystery! It's brought back from the depths of history, as in, it's not just some crap I made up! Hehehe! It's REAL, which makes the whole bit that much more interesting to write about!
Okay, one more thing. I've noticed that I've been getting reviews for ACoV asking when the sequel will be out. Heh, it's been out for a really long time! Sorry, that was my fault!
Alright, now that everything is taken care of, Please read!
I own nothing but my humble plot.
"I'm afraid of the dark."
"I know."
"I hate medicines."
"I know."
"And I hate hospitals."
"An odd enough trait for someone who works in said establishment's gift shop."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"I hate medicine."
"You've said that."
"I hate medicine."
Riku chuckled, patting Sora's hand genially. "Well, you'll be getting plenty."
"Why are you so cruel to me?"
"It's not intentional."
"I'm tempted not to believe you."
Riku smiled. "Am I not here to make you feel better?"
Sora folded his arms. "Yeah...you are."
"Is the dark not so bad now that you have company?"
"I suppose not..."
"Do you still hate hospitals as much?"
Sora eyed Riku at an angle. "Yes."
The two were sitting in Sora's assigned room,—Sora far more reluctant than Riku—the hour undefined. In the darkness, the room was rather unpleasant with it's blank walls and sterile atmosphere. Already disgruntled by the over-night stay and the request—more like enforcement—to wear that ridiculous backless gown, Sora was ready to explode with the addition of his new environment. Riku had thought it best to stay for a while to make sure Sora could get settled in properly.
The process was taking a bit longer than anticipated.
"I'm not even that sick."
"Maybe not."
"Definitely not."
Riku didn't particularly mind staying with Sora. He had no other matters to attend to that evening, and he rather liked the company of the energetic brunet. He was actually a very interesting individual, touched with a sense of honesty that he found intriguing if not adorable. On occasion, Riku fancied just listening to Sora ramble on passionately about some really rather insignifigant detail as though his speeches were worth their length in gold.
"Don't you worry. You'll be out before you realize it."
Not to be slowed down by a fever—in fact Riku would venture far enough to say he was invigorated by it—Sora sat straight up in bed, scowling dangerously at him. "What I realize is that I've been unfairly placed in an institute providing services not of my immediate needs because some people are overly cautious and insist on extravagant measures to ensure the overall pain and suffering of those who want nothing more than to go home, drink a glass of orange juice and go to be—" He was abruptly cut off by a fit of coughs.
Riku sighed, folding his arms. "Do you really think I'd let you go home when you're coughing like that?"
Resettling himself, he retorted, "No, and that's what kills me!"
"Then I don't understand why you're complaining." He ruffled Sora's hair, who sat submerging a glare under his thinning layer of resolve.
"Because Riku, I like to complain."
"I came to that conclusion after about the first hour or so."
"Really?" Intent on changing the subject, Sora looked at the clock that was barely visible in the dark room. "How long have you been here?"
"I dunno."
It was true. Riku had no idea how long the stay had been. He was so engrossed in listening to Sora's amusing complaints to really pay attention to the time. The only indication he had was an occasional yawn or heavy lid, but his attention soon resumed on Sora the moment he started another bout of ranting.
Sora shifted uncomfortably in his bed and pulled at the edge of the thin sheet. "Maybe you should get home and get some sleep..."
Riku grinned. "It's probably a little too late...early for that."
"Yeah," Sora wilted a little more. "But something's better than nothing."
"Do you want me to go?"
"Huh?" Sora waved his arms in the air frantically, nearly swatting Riku in the face. "No! It's not like that! I just thought that maybe you...I mean you're a busy guy and...I guess I figured that... well, we all have better things to do and ...why are you... staring at me?"
Happy that he wouldn't have to explain himself anymore, yet increasingly unsettled by the amused stare coming from the boy sitting on the stool next to his bed, Sora tipped an eyebrow and waited for an explanation.
"For someone so sick, you're awfully animated."
Sora wanted to grab, shake, and forcefully remind Riku that this was his point all along, but he sensed something else buried in his coy amusement.
"What's that got to do with anything?"
Chin resting in palm, and his elbow on Sora's mattress, Riku put his other hand on top of Sora's head and turned it slowly to face him.
Riku's eyebrows ghosted upward just slightly and the smirk never left his face. "It just so happens I have nothing else I'd rather be doing."
"Oh..." Sora blushed furiously as Riku removed his hand, stood and stretched.
"However Sora," Riku began, rotating his shoulder. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't be otherwise occupied. Namely, your little eyes should be closed in slumber."
"What?" Newly energized in his I'm-not-sick-what's-wrong-with-you fury, Sora just about lost it when Riku suggested such a thing. "I'll have you know thatI am not in the least bit sle—"
Sora was abruptly cut off when Riku put his finger over his mouth, and applied just enough pressure to coax Sora to lay down.
"Go to sleep Sora." He removed his finger.
"No!"
"You need your rest."
"I need to—"
"Sleep."
"Stop that!"
Ignoring the protests, Riku slid the sheet and blanket over Sora's body, and more out of amusement than actual benefit, he tucked Sora in so tightly, he could barely move.
"Riku!" He began wriggling around, unable to escape the tightly packed covers.
"Good night."
"I feel like I'm in an envelope!"
"You look like a worm."
"You...when I get out of here..."
"You'll be well again. Now settle down, and go to sleep. If nothing else, do it for me."
Sighing in defeat, Sora realized he couldn't escape the cocoon of blankets, and was forced to give under Riku's command. He watched with narrowed eyes at Riku's satisfied smile and made a movement resembling that of a disgruntled caterpillar.
"Are you going home?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Sora realized how horrible the possibility could be. As much as he despised this over protective mother hen at the current moment, the thought of his company leaving him alone in the dark, cold, unfamiliar hospital room, wrapped up like some mutant sausage didn't set well with him at all.
Sora rather liked Riku's company. Though often excessive in his methods of care, Sora knew he meant well and his desire for his speedy recovery blacked out nearly all notions to dismiss him from his room. Then there was the fact that Sora secretly liked the attention he was receving—he liked the attention, not the fussing, which there was a difference between—because it made him feel important and somewhat chesty, which was scarce in people of his physical make up.
He watched tentatively as Riku pushed the stool back against the wall.
"No." He said simply, curling up in theplastic chair in the corner.
Shocked out of his mind, but fully appreciative, Sora raised his eyebrows. "Really?"
"You hate the dark, and you hate being in the dark alone. I can understand that."
"Yeah, but you don't have to..."
"I don't mind it at all, so long as you get some rest." He punctuated his statement with a yawn.
"...thanks."
"You're welcome. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
"I wish I had my camera." Seifer stated flatly, folding his arms. Pushing the glass door open a little further so that he could position himself against it. Never in all his years of medical school and time spent in the actual work force would he ever have thought to see the sight displayed in front of him at this moment.
There, in all his uncharacteristically lethargic glory, sat, rather lay Leon, head down on his desk, completely engrossed in sleep.
Seifer leaned back, very much so entertained. Was he detecting some light snoring? If this was how the morning was starting, he was eager to get on with the rest of the day.
Suddenly struck with a brilliantly ornery notion, he held the manilla file in his hands high into the air, and brought it down sharply on the back of Leon's head resulting in the immediate revival of his colleague and a very satisfying look of shock.
"Up and at 'em Leonhart. Your lab results are in."
Leon, who was looking around questioningly, trying to get his bearings and figure out where on earth he was, suddenly realized what had happened—and what he had been caught doing—and gave Seifer an annoyed glare.
"If this is what you get to do in here all day, maybe I should stay in my office a little more often." Seifer said offhandedly.
"Give me my report."
Seifer opened the file and thumbed through it himself for a moment. "Patience, patience! I'd like to see what kept poor little Leon up so late last night..."
"Almasy..."
"You're sure not much of a morning person." He read through it a bit more. "What? What is this?"
Leon took this opportunity to snatch the folder away from Seifer and study it himself.
"Traces of Corynebacterium diphtheriae have been found in patient... though a further analysis will have to be done...lab conclusion... I don't believe it..."
Seifer placed his hands on his hips, frowning. "What's he got?"
"Almasy," Leon said standing up suddenly. "Issue a hospital alert. It's diphtheria."
Alright, so does it for Chapter five. Read and Review, I beseech you!