All I can say is... prepare your feels.

Chapter 8- Of Hysteria and Sicknesses
She was prowling the house, ears flicking back, forth, and around. Akiha could hear the water running and she knew what it meant. She found her target in the kitchen: the quiet tall fish-smell creature was at the sink- water, yes, water!- and a few seconds later the kitten was scrabbling for purchase on the cabinets, determined to make it to the water. She tried to pull herself up and even offered up a few miserable meows, but the black-haired boy ignored her.
Akiha fell to the floor, wriggled about on her back, and finally found her paws.
There was only one way up left that she could see. Gathering strength in her muscles she wiggled her rear and crouched.

Haruka yelped aloud as twenty needle-sharp hooks sunk into his thigh. The plate in his hands clattered noisily back into the sink and he made a frenzied grab for the kitten hanging onto him with grim determination.

"Akiha!" He squawked but for the life of him he couldn't pry her claws out of his leg. "Let go!"

Aquamarine eyes were trained on the sink and she yanked one paw free only to reach up for another purchase. The black-haired boy managed to prize her off once she did though and he sighed, plopping her next to the tap.

Content, the kitten began to swipe excitedly at the running water.

"Haru?"

Blue eyes flickered back and met anxious green.

"What happened?" Makoto asked.

"Akiha likes water," Haru deadpanned, gesturing at the little beast where she sat on the rim of the sink. "And she climbs to get to it. People included."

"Niiiice," Rin snorted as he sauntered into the kitchen. "D'you want help with those then?"

"I was almost done. She's distracted now anyway."

Too distracted, the threesome realized a second later when their kitten attempted to tackle the tap water and tumbled into the basin. Water splashed all down Haru's front (he could've looked much more upset than he did) and Rin burst into laughter, doubling over wheezing when their baby's tiny head broke the surface covered in suds. Makoto rushed forward and turned the faucet to cooler temperatures and washed her off, but she didn't seem offended at all. In fact she mewed musically, squirming, and with a defeated sigh Makoto dumped her into the sink and let her go wild in the stream from the faucet.

"Oh my god I think she's worse than Haru!" Rin giggled.

"You've been saying that for weeks!" Makoto shot back.

"I've never seen him dive-bomb a faucet!"

"...I have to agree, I think we finally found someone who can out-water Haru."

Haru looked affronted.

Makoto and Haru and Akiha share the bath that night as Rin heads straight to bed, having just come out of the shower when Akiha leapt into the sink. The redhead was drifting among dreams when his lovers and their blow-dried kitten joined him.

He knew by breathing, by the depth of the dip in the mattress, by fingertips roaming his skin which lover is which and he doesn't bother to open his eyes and confirm.

As expected Makoto kissed the back of his neck and wrapped an arm around him. Haru curled up close, one arm carefully bridging his lovers. A small fuzzy space heater had also crawled into bed with them, Rin thought muzzily, and he cracked an eye open to see Akiha all balled up in the crook of Haru's other arm, cradled between the redhead and the black-haired boy. Sighing contently he twined his own arm around the kitten and let himself fall again.

Rin only woke up when he realized something was wrong. He groaned and grabbed the nearest pillow and jammed it down over his head.

"What is that chime." He snarled.

"Makoto's phone."

"Turn it off."

Slowly, comprehension dawned on him- it was Haru's pillow he had grabbed which meant Haru was no longer in the bed. And with no comforting warmth braced along his spine... Makoto was gone too.

"What's going on?" Rin slurred.

"My aunt is having her baby today, I guess. A week early. Mom wants us to go and support her because Aunt Suzuka's husband is in Tokyo on a business trip and won't be back for a few hours." The brunette mumbled from somewhere in the room and grudgingly Rin took away the pillow (wincing at the stab of sunlight into his retinas) and searched out his lovers.

Makoto was struggling with a shirt to Rin's amusement- "Haru, that's mine." and "I know. I like it when he smells like you or me." and a whine of "Haruuu! Mom and Dad are waiting, I need one of my own shirts!"- while Haru thrust out a hoodie and waited for Makoto to untangle himself. Rin watched his lovers with bleary eyes until Makoto (properly dressed) came to the side of the bed, grabbed Rin's shoulder, rolled the redhead onto his back, and kissed him a thorough good morning and goodbye.

He did the same to Haru (who tamped down a quiet moan) and hurried out the door.

Rin sighed, resigned to being awake, and sat up. Haru was still staring at the door with a wistful expression.

"Where's Akiha?" He mumbled.

Haru finally looked away, blinking at the redhead. "Still in the tub. Makoto drained all but an inch out so she's splashing around in it."

"Oh," the younger teen said. He ran a hand through his hair and stretched. "Any idea when he'll come home?"

"How long does it take to have a baby?" Haru shot back with an edge of snark.

"Depends." Rin replied without heeding his boyfriend's shallow mood. "I only took four hours of labor; Gou took almost eighteen."

That made Haruka look at him in pure despair. "We might not see him for-"

"Calm down," Rin hummed as he slid out of bed. "He can probably come home once his uncle comes back, so a few hours, no more."

Haru caught his wrist as he walked past and Rin came to a stop, fingers slotting together, and Haru dropped his head onto the redhead's shoulder.

"But that's how long you'll be gone at school."

Rin turned and wrapped his free arm around his lover. "You'll be okay for a few hours, Haru- you'll spend half of it in the tub with the cat anyway. It's just an exam and practice; we'll both be home before you know it."

A frown twisted at Haru's lips and Rin laughed softly, tilting the older boy's head up and kissing him.
"I don't like being alone anymore," the black-haired boy whispered, fisting his free hand in Rin's undershirt. "I hate it."

"It's not a good feeling," Rin agreed, a dark flash in his eyes making it clear he was thinking of Australia, "but you're not stuck with being alone. We'll come back home, you know."

Haru nodded and released his lover. "Go shower, I'll make you something to eat really quick. Not mackerel."

The redhead had to admit he found the pout adorable. "Mackerel is fine too, you know."

Despite that, Rin came down the stairs to the pleasant aroma of a thick miso soup, topped with two large cuts of beef, that made his mouth water.

"You spoil me," he purred and kissed the black-haired boy again. Haru pushed him away, flushed slightly, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Eat before it's cold," he stated simply.

Haru sat at Rin's side with his own bowl and they talked and fed each other with quiet laughs and shared kisses until Rin's phone beeped.

That kiss was the last before Rin walked out the door.

Haru sprawled out on the couch, bored nearly senseless, and waited for his lovers. Akiha had stopped wanting to play an hour ago and hadn't moved since. The black-haired boy sighed and rolled over, inhaling the scent of the couch.

It was Rin's. The redhead had brought it over from his room at his house once he'd gotten truly irritated by Haru's lack of a sofa and since he was never at home anymore, moving it made more sense. Rin loved to laze about on it so it always smelled of his boyfriend.
It was comfortable, Haru had to admit, and quite soft and squishy and-

What was that noise?

An odd wet hacking noise, repeated over and over.

The black-haired boy sat up, rubbed his eyes, and looked around.

Akiha was convulsing, throat spasming and body heaving, and finally she threw up.

Alarm shot through the swimmer and he dove off the sofa, hands hovering nervously over the kitten, unsure of what to do.

"Akiha?" He touched her and she backed away across the rug and started hacking again.

"Akiha?" He yelped, very concerned now. "What's wrong? Did you eat something bad?"

She spat up another trail of cat food and this time when he put his hands on her she just went limp.

Terror shot through Haru.

Makoto, Makoto will know.

He laid her on the couch and shot up the stairs, frantically searching for his phone. Once he found it, noticing the tremor in his hands, he rang the first number on his speed dial and rushed back down the stairs.

Akiha was in the corner of the room with another pile of vomit.

Four rings, why the hell hasn't Makoto picked up?

His voicemail did, and with no other options Haru left a shaky message.

He started to call Rin only to notice the time- Rin was doubtless already in practice, his phone in his locker, unanswerable.

He typed out a text to his boyfriends and searched out the kitten.

She was lying lifeless on the floor and Haruka's stomach plummeted to his feet.

"Akiha?" He called, heart in his throat. "Akiha, are you all right?" He fell to his knees at her side. He picked her up- she wilted in his hands like a rag doll- and his eyes welled up with tears. Terror and panic gripped him.

"Please please, don't do this..!" He whispered, cradling the limp kitten close. "Please no!"

Haru stumbled to his feet and looked around wildly. Shivering, she was shivering, she was cold, he needed something to keep her warm-
His eyes landed finally on his Iwatobi jacket and he lunged for it, wrapping the sick kitten in the coat. He checked his phone again, anxiously, and it was only when he realized he couldn't read the characters of the message he'd written to Makoto that he realized he was shaking too and the tears were blurring his eyesight.

For the first time he truly understood Makoto's childhood terror. Understood how Makoto must've felt as the brunette tried to wake him up and failed.

"Oh god don't die!" He whispered into the small kitten's fur. "Please don't die... Please..."

Vet, he needed a vet. There was one ten minutes away by train, they'd just made arrangements to get her checked out fully in three days-

He ran out of the house clutching the tiny trembling body to his chest.

He couldn't stop shaking the whole train ride, hugging Akiha to his chest, unsure how he could stop her shivering if he couldn't stop his own. The few people in his car had quickly migrated upon seeing him. With his hair in disarray, clutching a bundled up jacket, tears streaming down his face and gasping for breath, he couldn't blame them: he probably did look crazed.

Haru didn't care if he was rude when he shouldered past the other riders on his way out of the station and left a dozen complaints in his wake.

"Don't die don't die please don't die," he panted as he ran.

She'd stopped shaking but he was too terrified to check and see if she was still alive.

The panicked teen took the winding stone staircase two, sometimes three steps at a time, glad he had started to train himself by jogging with Rin some time ago.

A pale flickering hope ignited in his chest when he saw the vet's building. He threw himself into the door, slamming it into the wall, and barely managed to stop himself from careening into the counter.

The whole staff regarded him with utter shock but he ignored their incredulous looks and carefully set his burden on the counter.

"Please!" He gasped. "Please help her!" He bent double, chest heaving, and finished "Please..!"

The nurse recovered and unwrapped his school jacket, a soft inhale escaping her at the sight of the kitten.

Haru forced himself to look up and his knees almost gave out when he spotted the weak rise and fall of Akiha's chest.

"Please," he sobbed. "Please do something!"

"Oh dear. Yuka, here, take her back and check her vitals."

Akiha changed hands and Haru watched her go with a heart breaking to pieces in his chest. He wiped his nose, tears welling up again, and turned his gaze back to the receptionist. "Is she going to be okay?"

"We'll see, sweetie, now come with me and let's get some information about your kitten..."

He followed her into the back and she led him to a small office. From the room he could see an exam room where people were listening to the Bobtail's heart and breathing. One of them pulled out the thermometer and turned to another nurse, who nodded and scurried off.

"Sir? Can I get her name?" Haru jolted and focused on the kindly technician, who smiled gently at him, fingers on the keyboard.

"A-Aki- Akiha." He croaked.

God, he had to hold himself together. For her sake if not his own.

"W-we have an appointment for Tuesday." He choked. "Five o'clock."

The tech beamed at him. "Oh! Well I can just look you up in the system then."

"I-it might be under the name Tachibana Makoto." He admitted, eyes straying again to the tiny unmoving kitten just down the hall. A woman in a white coat was leaning over Akiha now, fingers kneading her abdomen and saying something to the technicians.

"Or maybe Matsuoka Rin," he added, heart in his throat.

"Ah, I have a Nanase Haruka listed under her name for an appointment Tuesday at five."

Haru's head whipped back around, eyes wide. Under my name?

"I-I'm Nanase Haruka."

She smiled at him. "Well all right then! Nanase-san, please head out to the waiting room and someone will be with you about Akiha-chan shortly!"

"Can I... Can I not..?" He made a half-hearted gesture at the exam room containing his kitten.

"No, sweetie, it's best not to disturb their work."

How, Haru thought weakly. How could someone act so happy when a piece of my world is crumbling to dust right before my eyes?

She left him with a chipper farewell and a promise to update him on Akiha's condition soon.

Haru knew, with one-hundred percent certainty, that he was about to break down into tears again, and he couldn't bear to do that in a waiting room full of people.

He slipped out the door and his back hit the wall hard. He slid down the brick, arms wrapped around his knees, and cried.

After a few minutes of harsh sobbing he forced himself to calm down. Breathing hard, raggedly, he tried to think.
His thoughts, however, kept circling around two things; his boyfriends and the deathly still form of his kitten on the cold metal table.
On autopilot his hand slipped into his pants pockets and found his phone. He pulled it free and opened it, fighting down the lump at his throat at the lack of calls. He needed his lovers, he did, he needed them in the worst way. He couldn't deal with this alone. Fingers trembling he dialed Makoto's number again.

This time it went straight to voicemail and Haru had never felt so betrayed and abandoned as he did in that second. Makoto had heard that last message and shut off his phone?

It didn't matter after a moment. His heart hurt and he needed to talk, needed to let it out.

His speech was stilted, broken and interrupted by pain and miniature sobs.

"Makoto, please. Please pick up. I need you to come home, something has- something's happened to Akiha, she's bad, she's- I need you, Makoto, I-"

His phone beeped- the message's allotted length had been reached- and he ended the call, dialing Rin next regardless of whether it would be picked up.

He couldn't do this alone.

He left a similar message on Rin's cell, and then texted them both again, just in case.

And he waited, spent five minutes outside that building with his heart a torn mess, and made a decision.

'Nagisa, can you come to the veterinarian office? It's maybe fifteen minutes from where you live. Something's happened to Akiha.'

He admired how well the text sounded. It didn't make him seem like the screen had blurred through his tears, like he was choking back sobs, like his breathing was choppy.

The reply was near instantaneous. 'Haru-chan r u ok?! Rei n I will b there in 10!'

Haruka didn't reply to it, judging that conversation done.

He sat and wrapped his arms around himself and tried to hold it together and not shake apart.

"I'm not okay." He whimpered.

(I'm so sorry for the cliffhanger don't kill me)