Hello! Smacks self in face I've completely ignored my better judgement and posted this chapter in all it's corny horrible-ness. Yes, I'm fully aware of it, but decided not to fix it, as that would cause me to...have to fix it. Just so you're aware, I was completely coherent when I typed this, so I'm not blindly thinking this is a "masterpiece" only to get screamed at later. You've had adequate warning.

Flames are expected.

Thank-you's

Childhood Aspirations-Loveyour name! Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you read it even though you're not into Yaoi. I tried to make this story more of a "what do you thin the relationship means?" kind of thing, but it does have some distinctly shonen-Ai themes. I'd love to see the picture that your sister drew! It sounds awesome. PM me, okay? I drew a picture of Riku in braided pigtails once. That was slightly unrelated... anyway, thanks so much! I'm ELATED!

Wends- Thank you so much for the review! I really appreciate it! Hey, don't worry about the ages. I could be wrong for all I know. That's just what I got from my source (which I don't remember...where was that again?) Anywhoo, I'm glad you liked the story. I'd love to smack Cloud too, but you know, I don't think I could do it without hugging him. Vincent! I need you to come here for a minute! Bring Leon! Heheh!

Alright, that's it. I don't own, don't sue!

The body against him was hot; unnaturally so. His head rested at an awkward angle in the crook of Cloud's arm and his body—which Cloud instinctively threw his arms around for support lest they both fall over—was sagged so completely against him, he felt similar to a wall.

"Hey...what are you doing?"

The reply was simple. There was none.

"Um...Hey..."

Still no response.

"Hey!"

When there was no response for the third time, Cloud tilted his head backward and let out a long, baleful groan. He didn't even want to deliver the coffee, much less become some odd support beam. He was getting agitated, his legs were getting tired and slowly the realization was sinking in that doctors—especially this one—weren't nearly as light as they looked.

Cloud's eyebrows curved downward sharply. "Oh no you don't. You're going to wake up right this second and explain to me what you think you're doing! Then you're going to apologize to me profusely until I've decided that you've made a proper idiot of yourself, and then you're going to haul your carcass down to that fantastic little gift shop, put on an apron and deliver coffee to me in my office and it had better be done pleasantly!" Roughly, he gripped Leon's shoulders, bending him backwards a little, and shook him with enough force to shake a gum wad off the top branch of a redwood.

Honestly, this was far too much trauma for one bloody cup of coffee.

Leon's head bobbed forward and backward in tandem with Cloud's furious movement, but as for stirring, there wasn't much action. After Cloud had paused to check his progress, Leon's head sank forward against Cloud's shoulder.

"Argh, I don't believe this! Why me?" He shifted his weight. "Why did it have to be me!" Cloud gripped Leon's shoulders again and pushed him backwards just enough so that he stood almost upright, and held him there. He thought this a proper position for him to yell without having to twist up his neck.

"Listen you, there's no reason anyone should be this hard a sleeper unless they're me, or dead. If I find out you're really awake and are just doing this to stress me out..."

Cloud sighed. Talking to the unconscious was getting him nowhere. The thought occurred to him to leave him there and let someone else deal with it. He actually looked around for a clear space on the floor.

He groaned. No matter how much he really wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to just leave him there. The floor was cold, and even though Leon was beastly, rude, arrogant, etc. and had absolutely no need for empathy, Cloud knew he wouldn't want someone to leave him stranded so he wouldn't do it for Leon.

He narrowed his eyes. Of all people...it had to be Leon. He shifted so that he was leaning against him again, but situated himself so that it wasn't such a mad tangle of limbs. Now that he was comfortable—somewhat—he took immediate notice of how warm Leon was, unnaturally warm...

...alarmingly warm.

Staring at him quizzically, Cloud didn't gather much because most of his face was obscured behind a fall of brown hair, and most importantly because Cloud most certainly was not a doctor.

He didn't shrug it off, but decided to leave it to someone that actually knew what they were doing. Gingerly, he eased toward the door, more or less dragging Leon for the short distance. The five and a half foot trip wasn't exactly a journey, but with the doctor hanging limply under his arm, and the overall difficulty he was having, Cloud wished he had packed a water bottle and some trail mix.

What had prompted this all of a sudden? Cloud wondered as he dragged on another few inches. He hadn't really paid much attention to Leon's condition during the day—mainly because he was scarcely seen, but Cloud would have told anyone that it was because he just didn't care.

When he did have contact, Cloud did recall seeing him a little worn, but he couldn't be sure because a second later he was flattened by that battalion of little kids...

So, other than Leon glaring at him, Cloud having a feeling he wanted to douse with gasoline and burn...there wasn't really anything he could think of that would warrant such a melt down...unless...

Cloud stopped. Vaguely he recalled that odd blonde doctor waving around a needle and Leon shrugging it off before running down another hallway. Maybe Leon should have gotten that injection after all...maybe...

Leon was sick.

Cloud allowed the irony to sink in for a moment. He really didn't think doctors could get sick, but apparently, there were acceptions to every rule. Life really did change in times of crisis. He would have to give himself a pat on the back later on for coming to a conclusion surely no one else was brilliant enough to think of due to the sheer improbability of it all!

Riku paced all around the interior behind the counter. He had given up caring why it was taking Cloud so long to get back, after all it was just a simple cup of coffee. There were far too may reasons for his laggard return and undoubtedly Cloud would find the most complicated one. Riku expected the story to be entertaining at the least.

For now though, his thoughts were tangled around Sora and how he was doing. He hadn't gotten a chance to visit for almost a day and he was worried about how he was fairing.

He glanced at the tempestuous crowd, collecting against the front desk. He didn't know what they thought they were doing. Seifer had left ages ago and he had taken the box with him, so there really wasn't much over there. Perhaps they had found a dropped needle and were arguing over who would receive the first contaminated shot.

The thought occurred to him that he could sneak by and possibly visit Sora for a short moment and then quietly sneak back. Leon was nowhere in sight and since he doubted the also absent Dr. Almasy would care what he did, he could probably do it without getting caught.

Of course, with his level of stealth, he would probably walk in Sora's room just as Leon was finishing up an examination and get himself in trouble...but not particularly caring at this point, he made up his mind. He was going to go visit Sora. He really hoped that Cloud wasn't rubbing off on him.

Slipping off his apron and hoisting himself up on top of the counter then jumping over it, he ducked down low so as not to be seen. He waited until the only nurse there scurried off in a flurry of white to assist someone that had fallen over, and advanced forward.

Riku smiled to himself. The whole venture was almost fun. Were he with Sora and not going to find him, he knew he would turn it into a game. They would be spies, infiltrating an underground secret base, scouring the labs section by section for the radioactive chemical that turned lead into gold. Or maybe they would be escaped lab experiments, spliced with genes from the legendary red panther, gifted with stealth and strength and trying to avoid the wicked scientist that wanted to once again cage them in a miserable underground cell.

Sora was like that, always far to immature for his age but somehow perfectly balancing his immaturity with complete rationality. Riku couldn't remember how many times they had been sitting apathetically in the gift shop on slow days and Sora would invent some wild and bizarre game that would keep them rolling on the floor until customers were impatiently lined up in front of the register.

He quickly darted down the hall, and waited. He wondered if Cloud had this much difficulty getting around. Then he remembered Cloud had the cover of commotion, so he didn't have much to worry about as far as being caught, not to mention everone in the hospital seemed to have a sort of addiction to coffee. Perhaps they were just hoping the valuable drink was being delivered to them.

Either way, Riku briskly made his way to Sora's room, turning corners, passing through corridors. The whole venture was really rather confusing. Had he not memorized the location from the night before, he more than likely would not have reached the point for quite a long while after.

Turning a corner and narrowly avoiding a sharp clip from a nurse with a medicine cart, he scurried toward the only door in that long hallway that mattered to him.

Standing outside, he felt a little odd. He knew he wasn't supposed to be back there in the first place, so it wasn't his voice of reason whispering. It was something different. There was something he was apprehensive about, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Riku shrugged it off. He was here to see Sora, and would figure the rest of it out later. Carefully, he pushed the door open. "Sora?"

After changing his method three or four times, Cloud had finally managed to all but carry Leon to the door and kick said door open with one foot—a challenging task. For such a small space and such a short distance, the whole venture was really rather ridiculous.

"Alright," he said with a huff, leaning against the door frame and holding Leon up by the waist. "Is anyone out there?"

There was no response save for the dull echo of the shouting lobby occupants. Perhaps all the staff had gone to assist the screaming fury of rioters and no one was left in the back rooms. This was something Cloud thought improper, as the majority of the help was needed with the actual patients. After a fleeting thought that he ought to be the one running the hospital because he could obviously do it better, he continued to his task of finding somebody—anybody—to aid the fallen Leon.

A few seconds passed, and nothing had changed. The halls were still stark white and empty, and the only thing that had happened occurred about twenty five paces down the right side of the hall where a fluorescent light began to blink. Cloud looked down at Leon.

He looked rather rag doll like as he hung feverish and limp in Cloud's arm. His face had a pale pallor, like talc, but his eyes had darkish rings around them, sunken and tired. As Cloud noted before, his body was very warm with sickness. Experimentally, he put a hand to Leon's forehead, and sure enough, it was smoldering. The rest of his body hung like syrup dripping off a spoon, but still had the frailty of fenton glass. It was then Cloud noticed it was shaking just a little. It was nothing extreme, not a violent twitch or a tremor, but a light shaking motion almost like a sporadic vibration. This was a sign he assumed, was not good.

Cloud held Leon tighter to him, getting a sinking feeling as Leon's head bobbed so loosely with his movements. Cloud didn't particularly favor him—everyone knew it, and if they didn't by then, there were some communication issues on a global scale—but he didn't get any satisfaction from seeing him in such a vulnerable condition. He felt genuinely bad. That cocky and irritating doctor with poise and pristine he had grown to despise was now hanging quietly under his arm, inadvertently depending on his own least liked person to get him help.

As a doctor, Leon was inclined to help those he disfavored, even people like Cloud, after all that was part of the requisite. Cloud however, in his line of work should have been but was not necessarily required to feel the same—and he certainly didn't—about aiding those he disliked, especially doctors, but yet here he was, carting Leon around an all but deserted hallway to find him some medical attention.

It was as if they were trapped in some moralistic fable...

Cloud snorted. He hated fables...

...especially moral ones.

Unable to keep himself from giving Leon another tight squeeze, he did so, then with a new found reassurance, made his way down the hall.

He had passed maybe three or four rooms down the hall with the blinking light before taking a break. Each one was occupied with patients equally as terrible looking as Leon, and some even worse, as they sent Cloud angry glares when he kicked their doors open. There seemed to be no vacancies; no place to temporarily store the brunet until he could find someone to help him.

Cloud's origional plan was to bring Leon to someone, but quickly deciding that he couldn't possibly continue on that way for much longer, he chose this plan.

However, there seemed to be no place to put him. If each of the rooms were full, then Cloud would be forced to prop him up against a wall in the hallway...

He didn't like that idea at all. Readjusting his position, he continued forward, leaving kicked doors and unhappy patients in his wake until he was positive he was going to collapse.

Then suddenly, Cloud reaching his limit, and his legs wearing out, he came upon it. Shining in all it's darkness, and speaking volumes with all it's silence was a perfectly unoccupied room.

Relieved, Cloud flicked on the light. It was perfect. There was a bed, a small table, and even a chair where Cloud could sit to rest himself for a while. His joy was uncontainable.

Carefully, he made his way over to the metal framed bed and gently placed Leon on it. He examined the position he had laid him in, making sure he at least looked comfortable. His shoes were still on, but he didn't bother himself with the details. Soon, he'd have someone else to fuss over the doctor and Cloud could take a much deserved break. All that was left to do was find another doctor, something the hospital was sure to be full of.

Exiting, he bounded down the hallway, happy at how light he felt, he scanned the area for familiar white lab coats. There weren't as many as Cloud had expected.

Actually, there were none...

But not to be discouraged, Cloud continued on, memorizing which room he had stored Leon in, and hoping that he could find someone. He traveled down hallway after hallway, searching, yet never finding.

It became apparent after a few halls.

This hospital was void of anyone that could help.

Ready to pound the wall at his failure, Cloud heard a small noise from around the corner. It was a sort of quiet muttering, with sporadic yelps and growls mixed in. Curious...

Cloud silently peeked around the corner. There was a body, crouched down on the floor, rocking back and forth on its heels and talking to itself. He raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head to get a better look. This was that blonde doctor from earlier, Dr. Almasy.

Cloud stood out in the open, arms akimbo, waiting rather impatiently for him to turn around, but instead, Seifer just went on muttering and rocking as though he were the only one there.

Under normal conditions, he would have just stood there, waiting to see how long it would take for Seifer to notice that he wasn't alone, but Leon needed attention, and he didn't have time to enjoy the moment properly.

"Hey."

Seifer jumped up, flipping himself around and nearly crashing into the wall. His eyes were wide with shock and he immediately pulled his coat around himself for protection.

"Get away from me! I don't want any of your bacteria! I'm too young to die! Can't you see I'm young? I want to see the world!"

Cloud frowned, folding his arms. The scene was nothing short of embarrassing. He could understand the shock of it all, but behaving this way was a little extreme; so extreme he was getting annoyed.

"I'm not sick! Now get up so you can help me!" His shout went on unheard as Seifer wailed something about wanting to sample borscht while scaling Mount Kholodilnik in Russia.

Already having been pushed over the edge and back again, and the image of Leon laying limply on a bed with no one to look after him, Cloud's impatience was soaring. He didn't have time to deal with this.

"Look," he said, gripping Seifer by the collar who had just turned a fascinating shade of green, "I need you to come help someone, you're a doctor so make an effort to live up to your title!"

"Look, you have no idea what it's like! People are screaming for attention, when all I want is to be left alone!"

"If you don't get up and help me, I'll personally carry you back to the lobby and shout as loud as humanly possible that your blood is the cure to the disease."

Seifer seemed to consider the proposition for a moment. "Sounds fair," he said simply.

"Good."

"Shall we? You lead."

Cloud rolled his eyes, and together, the two of them made their way down the hall towards Leon's room.

"So, where is this person that so urgently needs my attention? Why isn't Leon dealing with it? Whoever it is had better not have this Diphtheria thing, or I'll be outta here faster than you can say 'Oh, hey, that guy sure was in a hurry!'"

Cloud snorted, and lead him down the final corridor. He opened the door with a quick wrench of his hand, and just as left was Leon, still and silent on the hosptital bed.

Seifer's first reaction was silence. His eyes enlarged a bit and his lips curved into an undefined expression that Cloud guessed was a mixture of quizzical interest and curious disbelief. He stood that way for a few seconds, just staring wide eyed, until slowly but surely, hysteria had set in. Just then he realized that he was the one Cloud had elected to care for this individual—the head doctor, his superior and quite possibly the most unlucky person in the whole hospital—that if he made even one mistake on...

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

"What have you done to him!" Seifer's eyes rolled back as he pulled on his face. "Is he dead? He's dead isn't he? Oh he's dead, dead, dead as can be!"

Cloud didn't hesitate to deliver a instantly silencing slap across Seifer's face. "He's not dead."

"Oh." He readjusted his jaw. "Well...um...let me think..."

Okay! So ends Chapter nine. The story will be over in the next few chapters (I haven't decided where yet) and I'll post Diphtheria info at the end of the last chapter. I don't know why, maybe because I feel as though it wasn't explained properly through out the story. If you have any questions or whatever, send 'em in and I'll answer them in the last chapter. Don't feel rushed, you've got a while.

Review please!