In Sickness

Delirium

When I opened the door, I found Kai hadn't stayed where I had left him. In fact, I almost smacked him in the face with said door.

But since I'm not that lucky, he just stumbled back and pawed to the wall to keep his balance.

"Kai Hiwatari!" It took all my self control not to throw the mug at him. "Why do you have to be so stubborn? Just lay down, for Pete's—EEP!"

His sweaty face fell onto my shoulder. It might have been sweet if it wasn't for the fact he had chosen to use me as a crutch as well.

A drop of his sweat crawled down my shirt.

I fought to stay upright, throwing my free hand out to the wall and fighting to keep his mug up high.

"Ty—Tyson!" I croaked. I could feel my knees giving out.

A hot hand slid up my hip and side, then circle about to weakly hook around my lower back.

"Hill..." came Kai's sickly croak. "You're...you're cold."

Oh crud, now Kai's knees were going out. "Tyson!" Where was that boy?

"I'm coming! I'm coming! Hold your—" Tyson's heavy foot falls stopped behind me. "Uh—"

"He's crushing me—I'm going to spill-!"

"Yeah! Right!" Tyson came round and, after a split second of indecision, took hold of the Kai arm that wasn't wrapped about my waist. He tried to get his shoulder under the taller boy, but Kai seemed intent on taking me with him. Boiling hot broth splashed onto my hand.

Kai tried to shrug Tyson off. As he turned to give the other boy a half-lidded glare, whatever had been keeping him from collapsing—besides me—gave out and Tyson caught him under his armpits. I managed to slip out of Kai's now failing grip.

"Go away," said Kai.

"I'll be glad to if you start molesting me too," Tyson grunted, dragging Kai towards the bed.

I hurriedly put the mug down to help him, but Kai's irritation reached breaking level and he shoved Tyson as hard as his feverish arms would let him. Tyson stumbled back into the night stand, knocking the mug of broth free and onto the floor.

And, of course, Kai still couldn't stand, so he just wilted besides the bed like a rag doll. Somehow he was still coherent enough to lean over towards me, where he proceeded to wrap an arm about my leg and rest his sweaty face against my thigh. There he gave a relieved, happy little sigh.

Tyson looked from the spilled broth to Kai's half-Kola position on my leg, gapping.

"I need a camera," he shoved off from the bed and towards his desk. "No one's going to believe this. Oh gall, this is great. The things I'll make him do!"

I, on the other hand, was not so gleeful. A full on body blush had taken me whole.

"So much for my carefully constructed soup," I muttered.

Kai scooted a little closer with another sigh, smearing sweat along the bit of my thigh not covered by my shorts. The top of his borrowed shirt had already become soaked with sweat, and his touch burned with the strength of his fever.

Cautiously, still blushing, I reached down to brush my fingers across his brow and into his hairline.

"He feels really hot..." I said, stomach clenching.

"Don't move!" Tyson bunny hopped back in front of us, a thin digital camera in hand.

"Tyson—" The camera's flash cut me off, momentarily blinding me. "Hey! Don't you think it's just a little unfair to be taking a picture of your friend while he's down like this?"