Chapter 5

(A.N: OOC Warning. Alright, so, your questions will be answered in this chapter, don't worry. And I made this one a little fact…Full…Yeah, it's a word, in my head…Shut-up. I also tried to lighten things up with some humour…And of course there's some cuteness as well. 'Cause I love you people. 'These are thoughts.' Dashes are time passing, or scene changes. You know the drill. R&R? Please?)

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"Here," Chi's voice reached his ears as she placed a cup of coffee on the bedside table. He muttered a thanks, but didn't move. After the panic, he had carefully lifted Fai - who, he discovered, was rather light - and placed the male in bed. He had then situated himself in a chair at the males bedside.

He hadn't moved from that spot since.

Chi had brought him a coffee, which took him an hour to get through. He could barely get himself to drink it. She seemed to understand though, so she kept reheating it for him.

There was a soft groan. Kurogane snapped back into reality. The blonde before him still had his eyes closed, but he was moving. He continuously shifted in bed, as if he were uncomfortable. As if he were in pain…

"Fai?" Chi was at his bedside in a rather quick movement. The blonde groaned again. He sounded like he was suffering…

Without thinking, Kurogane reached out. He took one of Fai's slender, cool hands into one of his own slightly bigger, warmer ones.

"Fai?" His voice was light, and gentle. He noticed that the blondes restlessness seemed to fade a bit…

"Fai?" He stroked his thumb over the back of the males hand, absentmindedly,

"You're okay…We're here…" They were words of comfort. Words he wasn't even sure the blonde was hearing. But he felt like saying them might help.

Fai's fingers curled around Kurogane's hand. He sighed in his sleep, sounding relieved. His restless tossing and turning had stopped. He seemed content.

"Wow…" Chi whispered, looking rather surprised. Her eyes went from her brother to the raven - who looked confused.

"What?" His attention turned back to the blonde who was still fast asleep.

"No one has been able to do that for him in a long time," Chi stated, still rather surprised.

"Do what?" Kurogane's eyes stayed on Fai, but his words were directed at the males sister.

"Calm him down when he gets…Well…How he was just a moment ago…"

"…"

"You're the first one since…" She paused, not sure just how much her brother wanted this stranger to know. He was so new to the blondes life…

"Since…?"

"…Since our Mother and brother passed away…" She hadn't had enough time to think it through. She had just decided for herself that he could know about what they'd lost. It was up to Fai to give the raven details when he thought the time was right.

"…" The raven hadn't known anything about that. He'd come to the conclusion that Chi and Fai were related, for they'd spoken of their Mother in the past tense. He'd also understood that they spoke of her that way because she had died. But he didn't know they'd lost their brother too…

"What happened…To them?" He choked on the question a little. He felt kind of nosy…

"Well…Mom got cancer," Chi didn't bother with specifying where the cancer had been,

"She was sick for a long time, before she finally passed away. And our brother…Yuui," she struggled with the name,

"He…He had an illness."

"An illness?"

"Doctors don't really have a name for it…But it weakens the body…Causes it to deteriorate from the inside…There are pills that help to prevent that though…And, by what they've seen, if patients can reach nineteen, then their chances of survival jump dramatically."

"…Why nineteen?"

"They don't know. But all of the cases that they've seen where the patient ended up healed, had happened when the patient hit nineteen. They think it has something to do with the body…The illness takes a solid form at that point I suppose, and they're able to see it…" Chi looked to her brother,

"Fai needs to hit that age, and keep living…"

"…Fai has the same illness?"

Chi nodded sadly. She had hated losing one brother. To lose both…That would kill her.

"I was the first born, though I don't seem it at all sometimes…And then came Yuui, then Fai."

"I don't understand why your parents would have had Fai, if Yuui got sick…"

Chi didn't answer. She just wandered over to her purse, and pulled out a small photo album. Bringing it to Kurogane, she opened it. The first image she showed him, was a man and a woman. The male looked similar to Fai, and the woman looked almost identical to Chi.

'Their parents,' he realized, and she noticed. She flipped the page.

Three blondes. Two males, and one female - which was very clearly the girl standing next to him. But the males…A part of his brain registered that one was Fai. The blonde hair, the startling blue eyes, the fair skin, and lithe, tall form…

"…Twins?"

"Identical," Chi answered, nodding,

"They were always together."

"The one on the right is this one, isn't it?" As he said it, he nodded in Fai's direction. Surprise crossed Chi's face once more,

"…You were able to tell them apart…"

"…"

"When I had both of them around, I always got them mixed up. They never got mad at me for it though. They knew that it was nearly impossible to tell them apart. They would always switch places at school too. What one was bad at, the other excelled in. So, they often swapped for tests…And their teachers still don't know."

The raven found himself smiling a little. Chi went to return her album to her purse. Fai's free hand came to his mouth, covering it, as he began coughing.

"Fai?" His sister was questioning him on her way back to his bedside. He answered by coughing again, a little harder this time. When it finally subsided, his half-lidded eyes found Chi.

"Where are your pills?"

"Bathroom cabinet…Above the sink…" His voice sounded hoarse, even to himself.

"I'll get them, and I'll make you some tea, okay?"

He nodded absentmindedly. She wandered into the kitchen to get the kettle started. It took Fai a minute to understand that one of his hands felt warm. He wasn't sure why it was warm. That was unusual for him. He didn't understand…Until he looked to his hand. With his free hand, he pulled his covers up, over his head.

"…What are you doing?"

"Dying, I hope." The blonde had never felt so shy before.

But Kurogane was holding his hand…

"That isn't funny," the raven growled. There wasn't an answer, so he sighed, releasing the blonde. Chi returned shortly afterwards with tea and two pills. Her brother sat himself up in bed, leaning against the wall. His sister set the tea down on his bedside table and handed him the two pills. Sighing, he picked up his tea, and popped the pills into his mouth. With a drink from his cup, he allowed the pills to roll down his throat.

"When did you last take your pills?" Chi questioned, her brow furrowing slightly.

Her brother avoided the question by taking another drink of his tea.

"You can't hide behind that forever you know," she grumbled.

Still no answer. Just drinking from his cup…

"Fai D. Flourite."

"…" He pulled his covers off carefully, and wandered into his kitchen, to pour himself another cup of hot water for his tea. Chi sighed,

"Stubborn as ever."

"Heard that," Fai's voice answered from the kitchen, stirring his drink.

"Good! I swear, sometimes I feel like I have to get someone over here everyday, just to keep an eye on you. You can be so difficult and reckless when you're all alone."

"…I wouldn't want to force anyone to stay here all the time with me. I care barely stand this place myself."

"Then why not get a new apartment?"

"It isn't the apartment. This just doesn't feel like home to me."

"Well, if it isn't the apartment…What is it?"

"…I'm not sure. It just doesn't feel like home to me."

"Fai, anywhere that requires you to be alone for more than a day, feels strange to you," Chi countered, knowing her brother well.

She was answered by the male drinking his tea once more.

"So maybe if you hurry up and get a boyfriend, you can move in with him, and then you'll feel like you have a place to call home."

Fai managed to swallow his drink, and put the cup back onto the counter, but he still wound up coughing over his sink. Damn his sister and her all too knowing way of looking at things. He liked that she understood him, but did she have understand him that much? It was almost unsettling…

"You alright?" The ravens voice was in the kitchen doorway. The blonde cleared his throat, and erected his body once more, picking up his tea,

"Fine."

Fai was thinking again. He'd remembered putting the kettle onto the stove. He also remembered humming as he waited for it to heat up the water. He'd gotten a migraine. He'd turned himself around, with every intention of returning to his sister and the raven…But as he'd taken the step, his world blurred, and he had felt himself falling. The darkness had hit when he reached the floor.

So how had he gotten to bed?

He had no recollection of walking. Had he woken? Had they half dragged him to his mattress? He didn't know for sure…

"Fai?"

Hearing his name, he turned his head to face Chi.

"See? This is why I don't like you living alone! You get so zoned out sometimes…And you avoid your medication. It's like you have to be around someone in order to stay alive."

"I'm fine, Chi."

She didn't look convinced.

Sighing, she softened her expression,

"Fai…I don't think collapsing is a sign of being fine."

"…You can't stay here though…And I can't come and stay with you. You know that. You and your boyfriend are happy together, and I don't want to intrude on your lives."

"Can't a friend stay with you?"

"Sakura can't. She's living at home, and has her own issues to deal with. Her Dad thinks I'm too young to live alone…"

Chi didn't speak, but her expression said it all.

"And then, I don't really know Watanuki and Doumeki that well…But I'm pretty sure that if one of them stayed, there would be rumors. I don't want to cause problems for them," he ignored the expressions that crossed her face. He drank some more tea while he waited. Chi sighed, thinking. But her thoughts went through at rapid speed, and she grinned. Leaning against the counter, so that she could see her brothers reaction better, she uttered her thoughts,

"Well, what about Kurogane?"

Fai's eyes went big, and he choked on his drink. His cup found the counter, as he continued to cough. His sister had a wicked smile plastered onto her face, and he knew she'd planned that out. In the background, the raven had moved out of the doorway. He was standing, leaning against the wall, outside of the kitchen, where they couldn't see him.

"Stop trying to kill me!" The blonde announced, panting slightly from choking on his drink.

"Well, why not Kurogane?"

"He and I barely know one another!"

"You seem to get along alright though," Chi noted, grinning,

"I mean, you and I discussed this topic already--"

"CHI!"

"But then there's also his side of it. I mean, he's the one who carried you to your bed after you collapsed…"

Fai paused. He hadn't known about that.

"Aha, I hit a mark," his sister teased, heading to the kettle on the stove. She poured herself a cup of hot water, for her own tea.

"…" Her brother was speechless as he stared into the sink. Kurogane had carried him back to his bed? The raven must have been extremely gentle with him, because he hadn't felt a thing. He tried to keep his cheeks from turning pink.

The raven had cared enough to…

He cleared his throat, trying to clear his mind,

"Chi, you need to give it a rest, really."

Kurogane had stepped back into the kitchen doorway, having regained control of his composure.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine." As if to prove his point, Fai turned himself around. He stepped away from the counter, and felt a familiar pounding in his head. Ignoring it, he took another step, trying to keep his stride smooth. However, upon his third step, his world blurred, and once again, the floor seemed to slide from underneath his feet.

But this time, when he hit, he hit something softer. Firm, but softer. He was hoisted into the air, and cradled against a body.

"So much for being fine," the raven muttered, and the blonde blushed as he slowly gained enough consciousness to realize where he was.

"I…I, uh…I'm--"

"Incapable of walking, apparently," Kurogane's voice told him, as he walked back into the main room to set Fai back in bed.

"…Aren't I heavy? At all?" It didn't feel like the raven was putting any effort into carrying him. He could barely feel the male walking as he held him either…

"Che. Yeah right. It's like picking up a backpack, are you sure you're even at a healthy weight?"

The blonde didn't bother with answering, because he was too focused on the words. Like lifting a backpack? That wasn't much of a task…And for someone as powerfully built as Kurogane happened to be, it seemed like it was even less of a challenge. As Fai began to - once again - realize where he was, he couldn't stop the blush from spreading over his cheeks.

Kurogane shifted him to one arm, and with his free hand, he pulled back Fai's covers. It didn't even feel like he was trying…

The raven set him down, gently.

"Th-Thanks."

"Whatever," he mumbled, returning to the seat he'd been in earlier.

--

"Ooi. Ooi, wake up."

"…Don't want to…" The voice was tired, and the owner of said voice was groggy and miserable. He hated mornings. He didn't want to be woken up.

"Ooi. Tomorrow is a P.A. Day. Today is the last day for the week. Get up." He wasn't one for going to school and being there on a daily basis, but he'd been left in charge of the blonde - because of the males sister - so he didn't want to be blamed if the male missed another day.

"I'll drive myself, go away." He wasn't a morning person, at all, and it showed.

"Bullshit, I saw you turn off your alarm."

"Too early to talk. Go away." He snuggled deeper into his covers.

"…Are your tires any good?"

The blonde sighed, frustrated,

"Decent, as long as the weather is good. Rain and snow hate me and my car."

"Then I'll drive you."

"…Why?"

Instead of answering, the raven pulled open the curtains. Fai finally opened his eyes, and peeked from under his blankets. There was a downpour. Rain was splattering itself against the window, and thunder roared in the distance. Sighing, the blonde finally sat up. There was no way in hell his car would make it to the school without causing a collision. He didn't know why his tires sucked as badly as they happened to, he just knew that getting new ones would be time consuming, and so he never bothered.

He reluctantly pulled himself out of his bed, and grabbed some fresh clothes, heading for the washroom.

Twenty minutes later he was ready to go, and Kurogane was standing at the door, holding the blondes bag. Fai pulled on his shoes first, and then took his bag with a soft, 'thanks,' to which the raven simply grunted with a nod of his head. They went down two flights of stairs and out to Kurogane's car.

Fai was sure he would know Kurogane's car anywhere. It was big. It was black.

It was a Hummer SUV.

The blonde shook his head from side to side slowly. He was hoping the raven's ego didn't turn out to be as big as his vehicle happened to be. The lithe male climbed into his seat - choosing the front passenger seat - and pulled on his seatbelt. The taller, tan male beside him set his keys in the ignition, and the monster they were nestled inside of, roared to life - causing Fai to jump.

The ride in general wasn't too bad. The blonde managed to mutter that he was sorry for being angry first thing in the morning, and quickly explained that he'd always been that way - not a morning person. Kurogane had nodded in agreement and told him that he hadn't really cared that Fai had been a little snippy. They didn't talk much at first. But the question was bothering the blonde, so he cleared his throat,

"Uh…Kurogane?" He wasn't even sure if he should be calling him by his first name…But he imagined the male didn't hate him to the point where he'd want him on a last name basis only.

"What?" The raven kept his eyes on the road, stopping at a red light.

"Well…I was wondering about something…"

Kurogane saw the light turning green again, and pressed the gas pedal. He didn't answer, but he was listening.

"And, what I wonder is…Why did you stay last night?"

"…" The raven remembered a little too well why he had stayed at Fai's house. He'd stayed long enough to get the male caught up in his work, and then had claimed he was going home. Chi - Fai's sister - had followed him out the door - grabbing her brothers house key, and announcing she was walking Kurogane down to the main floor, and would need a way back in the main doors downstairs. Which had been, of course, her lie. She had indeed walked with the male…But…

"Kurogane?"

"Your sister," the male answered, snapping out of his trance,

"She held open the main door downstairs so that she wouldn't get locked out, and handed me the key. She told me that someone had to stay with you, and that you…" He trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"That I…?" Fai was nervous. He hoped Chi hadn't said too much…

"That you wouldn't mind, if I was the one who stayed."

There had been a lot of emphasis on the word. The blondes cheeks lit up a little in response. He nestled himself deeper into the car seat,

"Thank you…For staying."

He would almost swear he saw the hint of the ravens smile…

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(A.N: Kind of lead away from the leukemia idea, and went with something else…I know made-up diseases are lame and all, but I don't want to use leukemia. Besides, I need this sickness, in order to make my fanfic work later on in the story. I'm sorry the update was a little slow, I'll try to update again soon. R&R?)