Title: Incandescence

Author: Aerith Queen of Cetra

Chapters: 1/1

Summary: "Are you cold, Ritsuka? Let me warm you up..." Entertaining Soubi was definitely the last thing on Ritsuka's mind when he woke up sick that morning.

Genre: Romance / Humour

Beta'd: Nu-uh!

Warnings: Shonen ai, fluff, sickness, allusions to child abuse, annoyed Kio... XD

Disclaimer: I reserve no rights to this show, only the theory that the body that was burned in Ritsuka's seat instead of Seimei was actually the other Loveless... it's what ima thinking!

Author's Comments: WHY WON'T VOLUME 9 COME OUT OVER HERE ALREADY?!?! Grrr! Ahh well! I guess I just have to wait a while longer for Nisei and Soubi's fight ;.;

I wrote this AGES ago when I was sick so enjoy the fluffiness as Soubi plays nurse to Ritsuka XD

Incandescence

Hold tenderly that which you cherish, for it is precious and a tight grip may crush it. Do not let fear of dropping it cause you to hold it too tightly: the chances are, it's holding you, too.

- Bob Alberti -

Ritsuka groaned gently to himself, rolling onto his side and pulling the covers over his head.

Colds were the worst. Hateful and annoying. But at least he could stay under the covers of his bed for a while. Only a while, before the full force of a sauna overwhelmed his need to stay warm.

Finally, the unbearably hot, moist air underneath the quilt was too much for him and he flung it off with an exasperated breath.

"Well... that didn't work..." He muttered gently to himself as he was thrown into the coldness of his room once again.

For a moment he wished he could venture downstairs to turn the heating up but the thought of running into his mother was a big turn-off. He would rather stay cold.

Another coughing fit hit him and he curled into a ball, placing an iron hard grip across his shuddering mouth.

Moaning in pain, he rolled onto his back and sighed.

"That sounds bad Ritsuka, are you sure you're not a smoker?"

The pleasantly mocking voice disrupted his thoughts and Ritsuka sighed, placing a weak hand, covered in bandages, over his eyes.

"What are you doing here? Ugh... why do I even ask anymore..."

Soubi chuckled as he moved from the window and sat on the edge of the bed, staring up at 'his' Sacrifice with kind eyes.

"Yuiko was worried about you, she asked me to come over to check on you."

"Don't you have classes this morning?" Ritsuka asked, his ears padding down as he sat up.

"Not this morning." He replied with a very placid smile.

"Of course you don't..." Lowering his head, in what should be considered as giving up, he suddenly found himself lurching forward in another coughing fit.

Soubi frowned, leaning forward as the chesty noise ceased and placed a hand upon Ritsuka's forehead.

"You don't feel too warm... are you sure you're not a smoker? You sound even worse than me."

He opened his eyes to meer slits and pushed the hand away, "You don't have a smoker's cough... yet."

"Exactly!" Soubi replied with glee.

A sudden thought hit him and Ritsuka stared at the door. "You should go. Mom will blow her lid if she finds you here."

Soubi blinked and shook his head, resting his chin in his hands. "I already checked, she's gone out shopping."

Ristuka scoffed, mumbling to himself, "Stupid stalker... if that's the case, you can go downstairs and turn up the heating."

There was a smile from the adult; cold, calculating and expectant. "Is that an order, Ritsuka?"

Underneath the sheets, his tail flicked in irritation. Normalcy would have prompted him to say it was just a request but his dizzy head and aching chest refused to agree with normalcy.

Lying back on the bed and rolling away from Soubi, he mumbled a 'whatever' and closed his eyes.

Footsteps suddenly hit his carpeted floor, dull thuds fleeing from his location and returning a few moments later.

"Done."

The younger boy rolled back over and muttered his thanks but after a few moments, his shivering returned.

The blond tilted his head and ran his fingers through Ritsuka's thick mane, "It's an old heating system, it could take a while to heat up. Is there anything you want me to do for you until then?"

But he was tired, too tired to respond, to think coherently. All he could do was whisper the word 'cold' over and over again under his breath.

A small smile hit Soubi as he turned to stare at the watch on his wrist. There was plenty of time to kill.

He undid the laces on his boots and slipped them off gently, all the while staring at the shivering form of Loveless before he cautiously slipped in underneath the sheets behind Ritsuka, wrapping his arms around the young boy.

"How's this Ritsuka?"

The bland voice, slightly tainted by amusement, woke him up enough for him to, not physically resist, but to ask for an explanation.

Soubi removed his glasses, reaching over and placing them beside Ritsuka's mobile on the bedside cabinet, before falling back to stare at the catlike boy with a small smile.

"I'm keeping you warm until the heating comes on..."

"But... you'll... get sick too..." Ritsuka mumbled yet he still tried to fall deeper into the heat of Soubi's chest, eyes threatening to fall closed.

Soubi chuckled slightly, leaning down and kissing Ristuka gently on his forehead. "You worry about me even in your state? You are one of a kind Ritsuka..."

'So unlike Seimei...' His mind added in an almost snide afterthought but it served as a potent emphasis on the fact that he needed to protect this boy, protect him from all of the Fighters and Sacrifices out there and even from, if need be, Seimei.

He shook his head at the rebellious thought. He could never betray Seimei. Ever.

But... Beloved wanted Loveless to be protected so... Soubi was going to protect Ritsuka. Those were his orders.

His eyes returned from their unfocused stare back down to Ritsuka's sleeping face, at the heavy breathing and the light blush that stained his cheeks. "You're so cute, Ritsuka."

Again, he moved down and kissed Ritsuka's lips but he didn't stop there. Two light kisses onto both eyelids. One on the tip of the cute, but sharp nose. One on each cheek, smooth and soft cheeks... and finally, a long and powerful kiss to those slightly open lips.

In the sleep ridden state, Ritsuka's leaned into the warmth of those lips, unknowingly massaging them much to Soubi's joy.

Falling back, he let his head fall onto the pillow, tucking the black head underneath his firm chin and allowing himself a few brief moments to rest in the safe embrace of Aoyagi Ristuka.

"You need to give up those cigarettes, Soubi. Look at how bad your cough is."

"It's a cold Kio. Not a smoker's cough."

Pulling the lollipop from his mouth, Kio frowned and pointed the sweet at the man in bed accusingly.

"Well, it's selfish! Of all the times to be sick Soubi! We have a group project due at the end of the week and you choose now of all times to be ill? Selfish selfish!"

He reprimanded him with a shake of his finger at the man who laughed heartily before erupting in a fit of coughs.

Kio sighed in worry. "I wish I could stay longer but, unlike you, I need lots of time to work on my art. I don't do well under pressure. So... I arranged for a babysitter!"

He smiled sinisterly and Soubi arched an eyebrow at the sudden knock to the door. He refused to look up, preferring to bury his face in his pillow instead as the door opened and closed, leaving him alone with the new arrival.

"I told you that you'd get sick."

The bleary green eyes rose from the safety of the pillow to meet the dangerous frown of Loveless.

"Ritsuka, what are you doing here?"

The boy shook his head, dropping a huge, plastic bag onto the table with a glassy thunk as he approached the bed.

Placing one hand on Soubi's forehead, he mumbled, "I skipped school. It's alright, they still think I'm the one sick with this cold. Thanks for stealing it from me."

Soubi smiled weakly and shivered. "No problem, Ritsuka."

"Are you cold?" The boy asked, tilting his head curiously.

The grown up's mind immediately went back to his own plan of action for warming Ritsuka up when the young boy was sick and, assuming that Ritsuka was going to do the same thing for him, he nodded.

But he was sadly mistaken as Ristuka produced a large blanket from his plastic bag and flung it over the long, lithe body of the Fighter.

It was heavy but warm. Soubi sighed. It wasn't the kind of warmth he was going for.

Almost immediately, Ritsuka returned to his side. A bottle of cough syrup in one hand and a spoon in the other.

"Open up. That's an order."

He immediately did, allowing the horribly tangy liquid to sear past his taste buds and down his throat.

He grimaced lightly and Ritsuka couldn't contain his smile. "It's only children's stuff but I gave you double the amount so it should work just as well..."

'Or so Seimei said...' The younger one's mind added lightly, a wave of nostalgia hitting him as he remembered playing nurse for his older brother one afternoon, years ago.

Immediately, warm arms wrapped around his shoulders and Soubi mumbled a small but meaningful 'thank you'.

A dusty blush came across his cheeks as he replied quietly, "It's alright... now get some rest."

Soubi wrapped a hand around the small wrist and brought it to his lips, his breath ghosting over it. "Stay with me."

Looking away from that pleading face he nodded and moved so that he sat at the top of the bed with Soubi's head resting gently upon his lap.

Soon after the elder man fell into sleep, Ritsuka stared out the window at the dull, grey day which shimmered with promises of rain.

He patted Soubi's head gently and smiled, leaning back into the headboard and resting peacefully.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the randomness that is this sickie fic! Come back soon! :D