Ugh

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Please don't get me!

--: Story Break

Extra Strength

Ugh.

I feel awful. I hate being sick. I despise it with a passion, actually.

When you're sick, you're vulnerable, weak, and dependant; the traits that sickness brought out was the total opposite of my character.

Because you know, it's really hard to be arrogant and playful with Naminé when a hacking cough interrupts your every other sentence – one more reason to loathe ailment. But wait – it gets better, I know. Naminé, being the girl she is, has to help me get better; she has to see me in this state. Uuuugh.

"Here, Riku, open wide," Naminé orders, preparing to insert a thermometer in my mouth. I throw her an exasperated look and smile my most reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, Naminé. Just a little cough."

Yeah, no prob. Except for that when I cough, it makes me wonder if my lungs are going to come out the next time. And all over Naminé… wow, that wouldn't be too smooth.

"You're hot, Riku," Naminé states, successfully putting the thermometer in my mouth and feeling my forehead, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Yeah, but that's only because of my devilishly good looks," I reply with an innocent smile and a raised eyebrow. Naminé doesn't smile back.

"Stop it. You're feeling horrible, and I know it. Now," – Naminé gets up – "I'm going downstairs and getting the soup I made for you; it should make you feel better. Don't get up – just stay here and rest. And maybe close your eyes for a little bit, Riku." Almost as an after thought, she adds sternly, "Please."

She makes her way to the door and is soon out of the room. I let out a sigh of relief and slump – like a sick person should – into my bed and under the covers. I close my eyes, just as Naminé instructed, and I have to admit; it makes the throbbing pain in my eyes lessen a little.

I still have a really bad cough though. My throat's feeling so bad that it hurt to speak; my head has a constantly pounding hammer on it; and my body is lead.

"I need medicine…" I moan to myself, rolling out of bed sloppily. Ow – who decided to make beds so high, anyways?

I drag myself to the bathroom, blanket wrapped tightly around me, and I scour the medicine cabinet for a good potion.

"Hmm… this looks promising," I mutter to myself, picking up a blue vial. I read the label.

Potion EXTRA STRENGTH

Relieves all pain quickly.

WARNING: Only take suggested dose. Overdosing this potion may lead to side effects such as dizziness, deliria, memory loss, etc.

Well, I do need the extra strength. And the pain really needs to go away. I decide that this potion is exactly what I need, and check the suggested dose: one teaspoon. I scoff.

One teaspoon! Like that's going to relieve me of all my pain fast enough. I take a swig of the potion, nearly finishing off the whole vial. There; that should do, right? And it's not like those side effects will be anything serious. Like green ears and growing a tail. I laugh heartily at the thought.

Huh. My throat didn't hurt when I laughed. Good sign. I smile in the bathroom mirror; I'm feeling better already.

I walk back to my room, almost gaining my usual saunter back. I found myself smiling and suddenly feeling very, very light. It almost felt like I was floating. But I just continue to smile and head back to my room. Suddenly though, the room beings to spin, and before I know it, I'm feeling the wrinkled cloth of the bed under of face.

Honestly, Riku is in dire need of learning how to be serious. He's practically dying, and he still uses the little strength he has to make me blush. A boy shouldn't have that kind of power over a girl. I pout to myself as I stir the soup.

I just hope my soup isn't a total failure – and that it helps to get him feeling a little bit better. I hate seeing Riku like this: vulnerable, weak, dependent. There's no way I'm used to this; yes, I have the upper hand in this situation, but it's not fun. This was not what I have in mind. Besides, the thought of feeding Riku is making me blush furiously. Goodness! Even when he's not trying, Riku still has the same effect on me. I sigh as I climb the stairs up to Riku's room.

"Okay, I'm back. I'm setting down the soup. It's a little hot, so I'll let it cool a little before I feed you," I call out, concentrating on setting the soup down on the bedside table. When I'm able to put it down without any spills, I realize that Riku hasn't replied. I look towards the bed.

"Riku?" I ask while I creep towards his bed, wondering if he was asleep.

"Naminé!" I hear someone shout as I'm tackled onto the bed. What the – ? Dumbstruck, I shut my eyes tightly – I'm completely terrified, and wondering if I have enough strength to fight this psycho off.

"Awww, don't be scared, Naminé," the voice pleas. I open my eyes, suddenly recognizing the voice. Riku greets me with a crooked smile.

"Riku! What are you doing?" I ask, flabbergasted. He laughs at my question, eyes twinkling.

"Why, I'm on top of you. Duh," Riku says happily, still smiling his thousand-watt smile.

Oh, right. We're on the bed. And Riku's on top of me.

Did I mention he was shirtless so he could cool down?

My face burns up, and I push him off along with all the other thoughts I can't keep out of my head. I'm ashamed of myself.

"N-no, I mean, what are you doing tackling me and shouting? You're sick," I remind him – and myself, for that matter. Riku scoffs in reply.

"I'm fine now! I'm not sick anymore! Look! I can jump and shout and have fun all I want, and I'm not even in pain!" Riku informs me indignantly, while doing somersaults.

"Riku! Stop! You're going to hurt yourself!" I warn with as much authority as I can conjure up. I have the feeling that I was talking to a five-year-old. Riku sighs and stopped.

"Naminé," he whines, "I'm really fine. Here; feel my forehead."

I reach for his forehead. It's still warm, but not as hot as earlier. I take his temperature. Okay, so his fever went down a little. That does not mean he's completely fine.

"You're still a little sick. Now, get into bed. I have your soup, and it'll make you feel better," I tell him, picking up the bowl of soup.

"But the medicine made me better already," Riku says, obediently tucking himself in bed. I throw him a puzzled look. I strictly remember that I hadn't given him any medicine.

"Medicine?"

"Yeah, the potion in the blue bottle in the bathroom."

I head towards the bathroom, still confused, and open the medicine cabinet. Picking up the blue vial, I bring it back to his room.

"This one?" I ask, pointing to the tiny bottle in my hand. He nods his head in response.

"Hmm, okay, let's see…" I say to myself, reading the label. The warning causes a realization.

"Riku, did you take one teaspoon," I ask with hesitancy, already knowing the answer.

"Tch, one teaspoon won't make me feel better. Nope. I drank half the bottle!"

Of course he did. He's Riku; Riku has pride! He can't follow the instructions of a label, especially if the label requested him to take one, wimpy teaspoon! I sigh and run my hand over my face. Maybe Riku regularly acts like a five-year-old, and I just never realized it.

"I'm sorry, Naminé," Riku pouts, noting my actions and looking up at me with sad eyes. He crawls towards me, and I can't help but look away.

"Oh. Uhm. Er," I stutter, unable to function correctly as he nestles his head in the crook of my neck. Calm down, Naminé, calm down. You can handle this. Reprimand him, go on.

"I promise, Naminé, that I won't drink the medicine again if it makes you sad. I'll follow all your directions. Don't be angry, Naminé. Don't be sad," Riku whispers like a child. By this time, he's stopped leaning on me and is doing that puppy eyes thing. I cringe, not quite meeting the aquamarine eyes. How can I get angry at him? Really, how could I?

I sigh.

"Here, your soup," I direct him, picking up the bowl. Riku smiles—something that lights up his whole face.

"Aaaah," he croons as I put the spoon in his mouth. I truly have no backbone.

I find, however, that taking care of Riku is kinda… pleasant. I imagine that he really is a child; I smile at the thought of a young Riku. I'm sure that Riku would never be so calculating and mischievous with a girl. Taking care of Riku is a lot of fun, actually. I like being the one in control, finally. I smile to myself as I continue to feed him.

"I'm kinda tired," Riku states with a yawn, breaking through my thoughts. I set the bowl down and check his temperature again.

"Your temperature is lowering; maybe all you need now is rest," I reply, beginning to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Riku asks, sitting up, a look of mischief on his face.

"I'm going to let you sleep," I respond, confused, walking back to where I was.

"You can't go. You have to stay."

"What do you mean?"

"Here. You can stay with me."

"But you're going to go to sleep."

"Exactly."

At first, I have no idea what Riku was talking about. Maybe nonsensical babble is one of the side effects the potion has. But when Riku moves over to one side of his bed; looks at me with a smile; pats the empty part of his bed; I realize what he wants me to do.

"No! No way! I'm not going to sleep with you," I exclaim, already nervous. Somehow, I just know he's going to talk me into it.

"You make it sound so dirty when it isn't. Please, Naminé, I don't want to be alone," Riku pleads, almost convincingly. Did he really overdose on the potion? Or is this just another game?

Riku looks up at me sadly. Just when I'm about to cave in, I look away. Darn his eyes.

"Please, Namine," Riku softly pleads once more, his voice like honey. Double darn that voice of his. I need to get out of this room fast or I'll end up--

Riku suddenly nestles his head back into the crook of my neck and sighs pitifully. I shut my eyes tightly, still trying to resist his guiles. I'm not so sure how long I could take this. Darn, darn, darn his persuasion skills!

I push him away gently, not wanting to meet his gaze. Unfortunately, I still manage to and in the instant our eyes met, I know I've already lost the battle. If there's anything worth cursing right now, it'd be my hopeless crush on him.

I sigh loudly, mourning my defeat, as I crawl onto his bed, making sure that he stays in the sheets while I stay out. I just hope this is the potion talking because if this is just another game, I'll actually have to get violent for the first time in my life.

My attempts to keep us separated with the sheets fail miserably as Riku pulls the sheets from under me and tuck me in with him. I stiffen, and squeeze my eyes shut.

"Naminé, you're funny," Riku chuckles as he wrapped his arms me. Ohmygoodness. This was not good. Not, not, not good. Thankfully, Riku can't see the bright red blush covering my face. And thankfully, Riku's heavily medicated. But he still has no shirt on – and I'm right there, my face in front of his chest.

Eep.

"Uhm…" I mumble, half-wanting Riku to let me go; half-wanting him to never let me go.

"Y'know, Naminé," Riku interrupts. I look up at him, taking my eyes away from his chest, knowing that if I look at it anymore I won't be able to stop.

"I like you, Naminé. I like you a lot," Riku confesses with a smile, kissing my forehead. I blush even more—if that was even possible.

"But sometimes you make me nervous, Naminé. I like to tease you and play with you, but you don't do anything but pout and laugh. That makes me nervous," Riku states, slightly releasing his hold on me. My ears perk up immediately.

"Why?" I'm able to ask, surprisingly.

"Because," Riku starts, a little embarrassed, "Because what if that's all you think it is? Games, you know? Because most of the time, they aren't games; the things I say to you when I'm joking around aren't jokes. When I…I don't know, but you don't do anything. And I don't know what to do."

I feel myself relaxing in Riku's embrace as he confesses this to me. And I also find I'm smiling with relief. He's just as confused about this whole thing as I am. And he wasn't playing games with me, never was. He just disguised it well.

And he likes me. Riku likes me.

"Riku," I whispered, hoping he could hear me and hoping that I was doing this right.

"Yeah?" he replies, looking down at me.

I smile, reach up, and kiss him. Pulling away, I know my face is flushed and I'm sure I'm not breathing steadily, but I manage to tell him,

"I'm nervous, too." I rest my head against his chest, and he tugs me a bit closer.

I wonder if, somehow, the potion had given me extra strength too.

"G'morning, Naminé," I call as I burst through the doors in her room. The potion I took worked wonders. I don't really remember anything after I collapsed on my bed, but I guess I just slept or something. Because when I woke up, I felt great.

"That sure was a quick recovery," Naminé replies, smiling up at me. I took a seat next to her.

"Yep. I didn't want to be gone from you for too long," I tell her, a devilish smile on my face, half-expecting to be hit with her pillow or watch her blush wildly.

Surprisingly, she just smiles at me without a hint of crimson, catching me off guard.

"You're too sweet, Riku," Naminé says mysteriously as she walks out of the room, pecking me on the cheek before she left.

This time, I – much as I hated to admit – have been left crimson.

A/N: Yay! A new story just for you! I like this one. It's sorta like Under the Influence. I guess I have a thing for unshielded confessions (:And I want to give a big, huge hug to my BETA-er A Shining Armour! Much thanks for getting all my errors in this thing! Read&Review, please! Thank you!