A/N: Since I'm more than a little nitpicky, I decided to tweak around some details in the last chapter, which you might notice if you reread it.

Loving all your reviews (believe me, I practically feed on them, especially yours, kyoujyu :)). Thanks to hiyokocchi (do you ship Minimum, I wonder), Miera (my faithful dearie, here's your dose), SuzukiChiyeko (you're giving me ideas :D), Alana-kittychan (glad you liked it, and thanks for the follow and favorite on FLN!), Guest (I might, I might!) and CreepyCrows (lol, that is what I was aiming for! And I'm planning to, soon- you might want to read First Love Nostalgia- The Making too. Thanks for the follow too!) for the reviews; and to angeleyes2500 for the favorite and ToAsTlOvInGnInJa for the follow! And WHY are there barely any reviews on chapter 7? *cries*

Back to Minimum! Angst, unrequited(?) crushes, fluff. Btw, Akihiko calls his diary his Nikki-nee :D

10.

Akihiko lies silently in his bedroom, a victim of his meds, which make him groggy and disoriented if he steps a foot out of bed. He's aware that the entire house is going a little crazy about his appetite problem, but he refuses to touch the food. Everything tastes like sawdust and the flu has turned him into a living skeleton. He avoids looking at the mirror, because the English vampire story he'd last read had said some really scary stuff about how pale people had dormant vampire blood and he kept thinking that if he didn't see his reflection in the mirror he'd probably end up going insane and killing everyone in the house in his bloodlust. Not exactly what he wanted- the maids and Tanaka were nice enough. Haruhiko though- now he wouldn't mind accidentally ripping him into shreds. Hiroki would approve...

Hiroki.

He hasn't been in to see him at all this week.

It's been three days since he's been laid up in bed. Even before that, Hiroki had been distant. He'd been distracted at their secret base on Saturday- and he hadn't turned up at all the next two days.

Did he find out? Akihiko wonders wildly.

There was no way that could happen. No one knew- he's only told his Nikki-nee about it and she...

My diary!

Akihiko sits bolt upright. He hasn't given away his Nikki nee-chan to Hiroki by accident, has he?!

"No, no, no, no," he murmurs, running a hand through silver-blond hair. He tries to get off the bed but his legs are numb. He can barely move now- he hasn't been sleeping well, and coupled with the delirium of the fever and meds and loss of appetite, he is in no fit condition to get up. Akihiko lies back on the bed, feeling himself slip back into semi-consciousness. No, no, no- if Hiroki finds out and hates me? What then? I can't be without my best friend! He's the only one who really loves me!

What will I do then?

"Akihiko?" a voice issues from the door.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear, as the saying goes.

However, the blond boy lifts his head to see a rather angelic Kamijou Hiroki standing in the doorway, sniffing.

"Hiroki," he wheezes. His voice cracks.

The boy flies to his bedside. "Akihiko! Are you- don't die on me! Don't you dare!"

Akihiko wonders if this is heaven- he's certainly feeling floaty enough and Hiroki is very pretty when he's screaming- but then his angel starts crying big fat baby tears and he refutes his opinion.

"Don't cry." he manages to say. "Not about- to die."

For some reason this makes everything even worse. His friend starts bawling his eyes out and muffling them in one of Akihiko's pillows.

"Why haven't you been eating?"

"Tastes-horrible." He coughs and that makes the other boy stop. "This flu- how long have you had it?"

"A week- why?"

His best friend hisses in anger. Angry Hiroki is terrifyingly pretty. "That bastard Haruhiko- he told me you went on a trip with your dad! I wouldn't even have known about it if Tanaka hadn't told Mom!"

Typical Haruhiko. At least his diary was safe, though. "Did he hit on you this time?"

Hiroki flushes terribly. "Wha- how?!"

"He's always trying to steal things that are mine." Akihiko's voice is much more subdued than usual because of the coughing bout, but it has the spark of anger in it.

The pink flush in Hiroki's cheeks deepen. "Baka! Don't get too ahead of yourself!"

Akihiko takes it for the reassurement it is- nothing will drive his best friend away from him. Not Haruhiko, not Hiroki's shyness and least of all Akihiko's feelings.

Because they are too precious for me to ever tell you.

Akihiko wonders if he is wrong to think this-even as Hiroki calms down and force-feeds him his dinner (Tanaka, he thinks begrudgingly, is a wily man) he still can't get rid of the strange thought in his mind.

Hiroki's beautiful.

Why do I notice this every time he cries?

Later, when Akihiko's out of the drug-induced daze, Hiroki will deny having done anything as embarrassing as cry at his supposed deathbed. For now, however, his best friend tucks him in and watches him drift off to sleep.

End drabble ten.

A/N: Ah, the foreboding feeling from this chapter :( Review? *runs off to read On Another Path before she starts bawling*