kyu: Oh, my poor precious readers. How poorly I treat you! No update in forever! On the plus side. . . I'M A SENIOR!
Kyo: Once again, I think you just like to hear yourself talk.
kyu: -shushes him softly- They already think I'm crazy. Don't give them more reason to stop reading. (OH! Please read the section down lower about the lemon!)
DISCLAIMER:
-Yeah. Still working on that ownership thing. . . this could take a while. Why don't you folks go get some coffee?
-Any songs I or poems I put in here are probably not mine. I'll tell you who they're by when it comes to that though.
WARNINGS:
-This story is yaoi. This means there WILL be guy-on-guy action. No like, no read.
-This story does have swear words in it, because I have the mouth of a sailor and a mind worse than Shigure's.
-I may be moving this to M, but it all depends on where I go from here. If you have any story ideas, let me know. But please send it in an email. Otherwise it confuses the people who read the reviews.
-Adding on to that, I have several readers that want a lemon and several that don't. I need to know the general consensus, so please tell me in a message or PM. I'm leaning towards taking a shot at a lemon(I'VE NEVER WRITTEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT!) and then just sending it to the people that want it, but not putting it in so that the story stays at T.
NOTES/ ME BABBLING:
-I can't believe I have so many reviews. . . the last time I checked, I had 81. OMFG! That's more than I ever even hoped to get! Thank you all. PLUSHIES OF DOOM FOR JOO!
-People's thoughts will be in italics and '. . .' and the voices in their head (aka me) will just be in italics.
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kyu: Ooh, recap time! Yuki and Kyo made it through a morning of Aaya and Gure, but then when school came around, we found out Yuki had a fever. Kyo told Tohru to go tell Hatori and then took Yuki home. How will the others take all of this?!
Normal PoV
Kyo made it home with little trouble; the rat was lighter than he should be- he'd have to make a note to take care of that. He carried Yuki piggy-back so that he could keep track of the other's breathing and how hot Yuki's forehead felt, making sure it didn't spike too high.
Once he got home, it was a different story entirely. Ayame flitted about, talking of how heroic Kyo was for bringing his prince home. And Shigure just followed them around, smirking and occasionally chuckling.
Doing his best to ignore them did nothing, so the cat shut the door and locked it, telling them he wasn't opening it for anyone other than Hatori or Tohru. True to his word, the door stayed locked through begging fits and threats until Hatori pushed them both aside and let Kyo know he was there.
The door opened, and Hatori found himself pulled through it faster than he'd have liked, Kyo locking it once again the second he was clear of it. Seeing they weren't getting in, the two other members of the Mabudachi Trio left to go sulk and comfort each other- Kyo didn't want to think of how.
Hatori took a second to focus himself, then looked around the room. Kyo was moving from the door to stand by the bed, where Yuki, being too hot to begin with, lay on top of the blankets. "So what exactly has been going on?"
Kyo sighed, not meeting Hatori's eyes. "I ran out of the house a few days ago, and Yuki followed me. It was raining, and when he met up with me, he dropped his umbrella. I think it messed him up thanks to his bronchial tubes, but it must not have been too bad, because nothing's happened until this morning. . . that I know of anyway."
Hatori, who had been checking Yuki for fever, rasping, wheezing- the usual- looked up. "And what, pray tell, happened this morning?"
"I came to wake him up and found him on the floor, wrapped up in his blankets. I thought he'd just had a nightmare and fallen out of bed, but I guess he'd been tossing and turning from the fever instead." Kyo looked at the ceiling, remembering the morning's events. "It took him a while to wake up even a little bit, but then he lapsed back into his sleep-walking phase. Then when we got to school, he passed out and fell forward on his desk. Tohru found out he had a fever, and I carried him home."
"Well, he appears to have caught a simple cold." Kyo perked up. "But because of his respiratory problems, it may evolve farther. And if left unattended, it could push his asthma into the next stage. He already has to have regular check-ups, but it could lead to an inhaler and a restriction on his martial arts."
"So that's why he always takes such good care during cold spells." Kyo muttered to himself.
"Yes." Hatori replied. "He's always been careful, because he doesn't want to be hindered by 'something as dumb as not being able to breathe.' He told me he wanted to be as normal as possible."
They had left Yuki in his room and had ended up in the living room. Tohru had just served tea and ran to grab another pair of cups for the two of them.
Hatori sighed. "I'd rather take him with me so I can keep an eye on him."
"Then I'm going with you." Hatori's eye flashed up to Kyo, confused. "I don't want him complaining about his asthma and then blaming me for it."
Hatori hesitated, studying Kyo for a moment. "Fine. But we'll need to move him sometime soon. I need to get back to Akito."
"I'll go pack a bag for each of us then." Kyo turned and bumped into Tohru, who had just returned from the kitchen with two steaming cups of tea.
There was a swift cacophony of a squeak from the girl, a gasp from the elder men, a poof of transformation, and a strangled scream as the cups emptied their contents on the cat and crashed to the ground.
"OHMYGOSH! ARE YOU OKAY?! I'M SOOOOOO SORRRYYYY!!!!!" Tohru jerked her hands back as Kyo whimpered at her touch.
Hatori stepped up and gently lifted the wet cat. "Well, now it appears I have no choice but to take you. These cuts are a bit deep, and those burns could be serious."
Kyo whimpered and nudged his face into Hatori's cool touch. Everyone paused before Shigure turned to Tohru with his usual smile and happy attitude. "Would you please be a dear and go pack the boys' bags?"
"Y-Yes! Of course!" she then hurried out of the room, leaving the four cursed men to their own conversation.
"So, Kyon-Kyon, why do you really want to accompany darling Yuki to Hari's place?" Ayame flounced over, bending down to eye level with the burnt kitty.
"Leave him alone, Ayame. He's too hurt to deal with this right now." Hatori turned and went back up the stairs, stopping in Yuki's room where Tohru was packing his bag quietly. "I wondered if you might accompany us to my house."
Tohru stopped and looked at him, confused. He decided to elaborate. "If Kyo changes back, I have to put his clothes on him. But I don't want to do that until I've checked him over. I also think it would be easier to bring Yuki if he was in rat form. It may be a little risky, but I think he'll be fine. Would you mind coming and holding them so they don't change back before I'm ready?"
Tohru shook her head and smiled. "Of course. I'll do whatever I can to help. Just let me finish up in here."
"Thank you." Hatori left the girl to her packing and went to pack Kyo's bag.
Four or five minutes later, they were all standing at the door, Hatori with the bags, Tohru with the boys.
"I'll bring her back once I'm done with the boys' injuries." Hatori's voice never betrayed the worry he had for the two, but they all knew it was there.
The ride was silent, both conscious occupants keeping track of the two animals' breathing. When they arrived, they went straight to Hatori's house and settled the two into a room. Tohru flitted and helped here and there, and when he was finished, Hatori took her to a different room to relax for a moment before heading back. Tohru had even ended up making tea, and they were breathing in the rich scent as they sat and looked out the window.
"Miss Honda," Hatori began, breaking the silence. "I wondered if you might answer a question for me."
Tohru nodded, happy to have something to take her mind off the day's events. "Sure. I'll do my best."
"How have the boys been acting lately?" Hatori looked over his tea cup out into the yard where the rock garden lay.
"How so?" Tohru asked. "I'm not sure I know what you mean."
Hatori blew on his tea, making the steam twirl and dance, his level making it look like it was twisting around the rocks. "Have they seemed different? More calm? Or perhaps more thoughtful, as if they've finally realized something?"
"Actually, yes." Tohru sid, lowering her cup to her lap. "But I can't seem to figure out why."
"I see." Hatori took one last sip of the beautifully brewed tea, then set his cup down. "I suppose I should take you back."
"Oh no!" Tohru bolted out of her chair, sloshing a bit of tea. "I can walk home! I wouldn't want to be a burden!"
"Nonsense." Hatori stood and surprisingly smiled a bit. "I enjoy my talks with you. they're much more intelligible than those my cousins try to carry on."
Tohru blushed a bit. "If you're sure it's not too much trouble."
"I'm positive." Hatori shepherded the girl toward the door. "It's no trouble at all."
Unbeknownst to them, two bodies, now transformed back to their proper forms, curled closer to each other on the futons by each other on the floor. As arms wrapped around each other, tension left one face, as pain left the other. Relief spread through the room until it was palpable, calming the two boys until their dreams left them.
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kyu: Wow. It took me forever to write this! I've been so busy with school and home life that I wasn't able to just take time and write something for myself.
Kyo: Baby. I don't wanna hear you complain about your home life.
kyu: Hush. I don't want sympathy. I just want someone to understand what the hell someone like me goes through.
Kyo: Oh please. By all means.
kyu: Well, for starters, my dad called me worthless and threatened to send me to Africa with the Peace Corps.
Kyo: My dad blamed me for causing my mom's suicide.
kyu: Then my mom and I had a huge fight, ending in me crying for two and a half hours straight.
Kyo: That just means you're a baby.
kyu: -starts tearing up, but tried to hide it- She told me that when I turn eighteen, I stop being a benefit and become a liability, and that she wants me out of the house. She also bitched me out, because I 'have no plans for my life and am going to end up on the streets.'
Kyo: What the hell? What about that cooking school you wanna go to?
kyu: Sullivan? Yeah I still wanna go there, but I have no money, and my mom literally said that I wasn't getting a penny out my parents. So I either give up on my culinary dreams or go in debt up to my eyeballs.
Kyo: Wow. Okay, you win this round. That's bad enough without the usual stress over romance and school.
kyu: Thanks, now I feel a whole lot better. –clings to Kyo- Read and- oh who cares. . .
