Disclaimer: Gravitation © Maki Murakami and not me. :(

AN: Again, I pet my artistic license lovingly with the ...er...treatment used by Shuichi in this chapter. You'll see what I mean.

Eek. I don't even want to delve into why it's taken me a year to get out a chapter I've had in this exact form for the past… year. More at the bottom; for now, read on.

The Sure-Fire Cure

Chapter 2: Playing Doctor.

"I love you forever, forever and always..."

As he slowly roused himself into half-consciousness, he exhaled at the familiar voice crooning a lullaby. He wondered if he could feign sleep for a few moments longer, just to listen to that voice...

...and to delay the inevitable fussing. Sometimes he wished that Shuichi was a music box that he could turn on and off as he pleased.

"As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be." He felt a hand brush over his forehead to check his temperature then heard Shuichi sigh, his breath tickling Eiri's lips. The blond-haired man could almost taste his opportunity; sick as he was, he never let anything get in the way of his... well, Shuichi fetish. Trying to hide his tell-tale smirk, he decided to stop 'sleeping' as he leaned up to meet his lover's mouth with his, playfully licking Shuichi's lower lip. Nothing tastier than a hyperactive rock star, he thought, thoroughly satisfied. Shuichi breathed out harshly, his body immediately collapsing next to Eiri's like clockwork. The impromptu session continued for a few minutes until Eiri's hands roamed gleefully to Shuichi's legs, masterfully grabbing at...

His golden-hazel eyes snapped open with dismay as Shuichi blushed. "What the—"

"Ehehehe," was all that Shuichi could say, his face now as pink as his hair. Eiri roughly shoved the boy away from him and his expression grew even more disgusted as he got a better look at what Shuichi was wearing.

"What—the—hell?" he seethed, breath ragged with the sheer exertion of getting Shuichi off of him. His lover managed to land on his white pumps, the heels skidding slightly against the floor.

"I thought you'd think it was cute," he pouted, hands over the extremely short white miniskirt he wore. "I mean, sometimes, when we're...ah...doing it—"He clenched his hands in embarrassment as the words passed through his lips, "—y-you—you talk about role-playing..."

Now it was Eiri's turn to flush, his already burning skin getting warmer at the mention of his pillow talk. "T-That's different," he managed to stutter out, trying to retain some dignity. "I never said anything about you dressing up like a girl. I'm almost starting to think that you like role-playing as a girl..."

"Yukiiiiii," Shuichi whined, toddling nervously back to his original spot next to their bed. Well, what was usually their bed unless Eiri was super cranky. Eiri decided that he was on a roll and decided to goad the boy further.

"Just because you're on bottom doesn't mean you have to dress like it," he smirked. Before Shuichi could retort angrily, he put a finger to Shuichi's lips. "It's a joke, brat, and I honestly couldn't help myself. Now—before I get even more of a headache—tell me what on God's name made you think that dressing up like a nurse would be a good idea."

"I want to take good care of you," was the sullen reply. Eiri blinked, his expression deadpan.

How is you dressing up in drag going to make me feel any better? Idiot.

"I figured that if I was going to do it right, I was going to go all out!" He flashed a triumphant little smile, his spirit starting to return to him bit by bit. The older man looked him up and down one more time blankly, fully taking in the little white headband with a red cross adorned on his pink head, the barely-there white frock, the sheer white stockings...

How did Shuichi manage to look so irresistible in anything he wore?

Eiri figured it was because he liked to undress Shuichi in whatever he was wearing, so clothes didn't really make much of a difference in the end. He closed his eyes; the energy put into the last few minutes of what would usually be a regular occurrence was quickly tiring him out. "Whatever. As long as I can have some aspirin, a glass of water and a cigarette, Nurse, I'll be fine."

"Maybe the aspirin and the water...but not the cigarette, Yuki." Shuichi clasped his hands to his mouth coyly. "We nurses only give our patients things that will help them get better!"

"You're kidding me." The devoted nurse shook his head vigorously, wagging a finger in Eiri's face (which was quickly contorting with anger).

"Nope! Maybe you'll realize what a nasty habit smoking is now that you're bedridden, Yu—"

The room suddenly grew dark; a cold, harsh wind tugged at Shuichi's skirt as he shrank away from Eiri in fright. He had always been threatened with it, warned about it, but this...

This was truly Yuki Eiri's Glare of DEATH (©). Shuichi felt faint; staring into those eerily glowing eyes made him feel like a bit of his soul was being sucked right out. But he had faced this nicotine-addicted monster before in lesser forms—he would not step down now. Gritting his teeth, he tried to smile...except a smile is never effective nor believable if your teeth are chattering in horror.

"Cigarette." The icy steel in his voice made the pink-haired boy wince. He managed to shake his head vehemently.

"No no NO Yuki, they're bad for you! You know, there's a reason they're called cancer sticks!" Eiri was quickly running out of resolve due to his sickness; of course, how could anyone be horribly imposing with a high temperature and strength to rival a five year-old? The room temperature started to warm up again, much to Shuichi's relief, as Eiri gave up in exhaustion.

"You're like a cancer, you stupid brat," he wheezed finally, his voice losing its vindictiveness. "You're like a tumor that refuses to be removed." He sank back onto the bed, his head spinning and his ego sorely wounded. Shuichi bit his lip, trembling at the harsh words and trying not to cry.

"That's not a nice way to thank your faithful, devoted nurse," he said quietly, his head hanging a little lower than usual. "I just...I... No matter what, Yuki, I want you to be better, and I'm... I'm trying my hardest, really..."

Part of him reasoned that things would be infinitely worse if he let his lover take care of him—actually, all of him was pretty aware of this, to be honest. It meant so much to Shuichi, though...

I'm turning into such a soft-hearted prick, he griped inwardly, and it's all Shuichi's fault. He's going to kill me for sure. Times like this made him wish that he hadn't fallen for the singer as hard as the singer had fallen for him. Eiri gathered his strength and, while swallowing back his pride, took Shuichi's hand.

"If you weren't dressed — badly, if I may add — like a female nurse, I'd think you were cute right now." But in spite of his biting words, Eiri let his mouth quirk upward slightly and all, in Shuichi's eyes, was forgiven. Shuichi flashed an impossibly bright smile and kissed him fully on the lips, lingering... the kid was like a freaking rubber ball when it came to his emotions...

"Thank you for giving me a chance," he beamed. Eiri played it off with a snort, slightly thankful that he was sick and the flush that came to his cheeks was unnoticed. "And now... I'm gonna fix you up so good you won't remember ever being sick!"

Shuichi stood up and tilted his chin up nobly, his hands on either side of his waist with a triumphant grin on his face.

"Let the healing begin!"

Five minutes later...

"NO!"

"Yuki, it won't hurt, I promise! Just...give me your hand..."

Silence, then a whimper. Then a grunt, because Eiri decided that whimpering was entirely Shuichi's form of expression and not his. "Shuichi, I'm pretty sure I'm looking out for my own health when I say that you have no idea what the hell you're doing!" The pink-haired boy shrugged off the insult thoughtlessly, his brow crinkled in frustration.

"You're disturbing your life energy right now, Yuki—try to calm down—"

"You want me to calm down when you're going to stick it to me like some live pincushion?" Eiri tried to scoot away to the other side of the bed to no avail, clearly perturbed at the sight of the acupuncture needles grasped tightly in Shuichi's hand. Shuichi clicked his tongue, his face totally solemn.

"Alternative medicine is quickly becoming a very prominent field in today's society... or so this instant acupuncture kit said on the other side of the box..." He put his spare hand to his own face, cupping it slightly in thought. "Now lie still so I can feel for your chakra!"

"Screw chakra," Eiri muttered under his breath, putting up as much resistance as he could muster. "Screw it, and screw—"

Suddenly, he felt Shuichi's breath on his ear and he shuddered to a stop.

"Yuki," he whispered coyly, his tongue tracing the outer lobe. The smaller man had his knees around Eiri's waist in a half-straddling position, and he took full advantage of this as he grabbed his lover's limp hand and placed it on his upper thigh. Eiri's fingers found themselves under the makeshift skirt. Shuichi moaned slightly. "Yuki, touch me..."

Eiri, in his sickness, thought a little slower than usual—and thanks to Shuichi he was temporarily stupefied with lust. His hand gained strength as it wandered farther up Shuichi's skirt, his mind fully occupied with cupping some finely-shaped ass... he missed the devilish gleam in Shuichi's eyes...

"Ah-HAH!" He triumphantly stuck the needle into Eiri's arm, driving it in like a stake. "See, Yuki, it wasn't so ba—"

Blood started gushing out of Eiri's arm like a geyser as Shuichi's jaw dropped in horror, the acupuncture needles scattering to the floor.

"Well, brat, I don't think this counts as 'fixing me up so good I won't remember ever being sick'," Eiri mocked faintly, the blood draining from his face at an alarmingly quick rate. "I always knew you would be the death of me..."

"But...it not lethal...is it?"

"Oh no, brat, of course not," he shot back. "Hitting a major artery only kills people in a matter of minutes. I'll be fine."

"Y-Y-Yuki..." Shuichi laughed nervously. "You're kidding, right?"

The silence that greeted him made him realize that Eiri had passed out from the blood loss a few seconds ago. So, Shuichi did the only plausible thing he could think of at that moment.

He screamed.

To be continued…

Preview: Mummies, demonic pentagon circles, and… is anyone wondering why Eiri hasn't called the police yet? Chapter 3: Playing Doctor, Part Deux.

The Author's Defense:

So, a lot of things have happened in the past year. I'm now a junior in college, focusing on my pre-med major, have a job as a nurse aide, a boyfriend, a new apartment, and a reformatted computer. Each of these things has required a ridiculous amount of time (with the exception of the computer, of course) that I have had to spend away from everyone online—my domain is horribly old, and so are my stories here on Additionally, I had wanted to make this chapter MUCH longer (I have had this story planned out since I started writing it). However, I felt that it was better for me to get this chapter out since I've been getting poked about it from various people. I really like this chapter… I hope you did too. And if you didn't, critiques are so very welcome. As I haven't written anything in almost a year, I'm sure I'm rusty. :)

Thanks to those of you that have been persistent about hearing more about The Sure-Fire Cure, or those that have written kind reviews… I hope I haven't let you down. :)

Limey