After a while, Seiji's raspy breathing lulled him into a semi-doze, as the fading light of the room turned into a hazy grey. His eyes felt so heavy and gritty, like the stress of the day was catching up to him in the form of an allergy attack. He snuggled deeper onto the blanket.

A moment later he snapped back awake as a lazy hand slowly traveled up his leg, caressing gently.

"Um, Seiji. . ." The hand crept even more insistently up his thigh. "Um. . . I don't think it would be wise-" He broke off with a gasp as sweat slick fingers stroked the sensitive flesh of his inner thigh. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "M-Much as I appreciate it, honey, I don't think Shin would-" He gave up completely as the hand began to lightly tease his shaft. Moaning softly, he cupped Seiji's scalding cheeks with his chilled hands and delved deep into the swordsman's mouth.

Breaking for air, Seiji rasped, "You talk too much, love." One hand still teasing Touma's very erect penis, the other hand began to strip him with some help. "Don't worry, I'll fix that."

And he did. Quite thoroughly. Apparently, even when seriously ill, Seiji had amazing stamina.

Afterwards, Touma laid tangled in his sweaty limbs, head pillowed on his muscular chest listening to Korin's labored breath. Once his heart stopped trying to leap out of his body, he helped Seiji into a pair of flannel boxers and tucked him back under the covers. He carefully settled back on the bed after a quick shower, noting the bedside clock read eight fifteen. Shin had left almost an hour ago. He sighed and settled down to wait.

Seiji had slipped into a light doze again, twitching from time to time and moaning. Touma supposed he was dreaming. When he started to half form words, the archer tried to shake him awake. Glazed violet eyes blinked unseeing at him.

"Ryo. . .?" He mumbled, squinting. Touma faltered, finding strength only to shake his head no. Seiji continued on apparently unheeding. "M. . .Love. . ."

Touma drew back a little in hurt confusion. Could he have heard right? Did Seiji think he was Ryo, and in believing so, just told him he loved him? Hadn't he read somewhere that the subconscious was in control during dreams and delirium? Hundreds of questions and doubts flitted through his skull until he sat back and rubbed his temples.

This confusion was ridiculous. Just a reemergence of old insecurities over Seiji's relationship with Ryo. It was silly- he had no reason to suspect anything, but the fear haunted him. He tried to push the fear away- to doubt meant he had less than perfect faith in Seiji, which was just ridiculous. They had pledged themselves to each other, dedicated to love and trust each other. Probably it was just the thought of losing Seiji in any way possible that frightened him so. He sighed and laid back down. Too much self-introspection in one day was exhausting.

"Well, that definitely killed my post-coital buzz. . ." He whispered and drifted off into a restless sleep.

******************************

The sound of the door banging open awakened him almost an hour later. Weakly, he searched for the clock in the dark and tried to focus on the glaring red numbers. Nine-fifty.

With a growl, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and paused to adjust his night vision. He checked on Seiji, who was still slumbering fitfully, plagued by fever dreams, then headed downstairs. He heard Shin and Shuu before he actually saw them.

"-wish you would get rid of that old thing! It's dangerous! What would have happened tonight if you couldn't get to a phone-"

"I am not getting rid of Old Reliable, Shin! She's been lovingly maintenanced for two generations of my family. It's a matter of principle!"

Touma found them arguing in the kitchen, Shuu digging in the fridge while Shin unloaded what looked like an entire pharmacy into one of the cabinets. Hn. They must have gone back for more supplies.

"Hey guys. . ." He interrupted quietly. They both paused, gave him a look, then went back to their argument, which had been beaten to death a hundred times over. Wandering behind Shin, he looked over his shoulder at all the different labels. NyQuil in liquid and gel caps and the same with the DayQuil, then Sudafed, Tylenol Sinus and Flu and Allergy and PM, Tavist D, Dristan Sinus, Benadryl, then some weird stuff like Lactaid and Immodium AD. As well as some ace bandages, gauze, bandaids, splints, medical tape, and chemical ice packs. There was some other stuff still in the bag, but he had seen enough.

"Jeezus, Shin- Restocking for World War III?" Well, at least Shuu thought the comment was funny.

Sporting a blossoming bruise on the back of his head and a fresh cup of tea to wash down the NyQuil (Capital N, little y, BIG FUCKIN' Q!), he made his way back upstairs. Seiji had propped himself up against the headboard, and smiled wanly when he entered. The smile was marred by his flushed skin and sickly pallor, but Touma managed to smile in return.

"Gotcha some stuff that should make ya feel better?" He gave a questioning grin with hesitant optimism.

"Great-" He was cut off by another hacking cough. Touma handed him the little cup of the green death flavored stuff, then quickly supplied the mint tea to help with the aftertaste. Easing Seiji under the covers, he lightly kissed the flushed forehead and turned off the nightstand lamp the swordsman had turned on earlier.

"Just sleep now, baby." Gathering the tray, he gently shut the door and reported back to Shin.

Suiko was frowning furiously as he added all sorts of odds and ends to a giant pot bubbling on the stove, so Touma just kinda set the tray on the counter nearest the door and stealthily backed out of the room. Shuu was hiding out in front of the television, but Touma wasn't in the mood for sports, so he made his way to the darkened screened-in porch.

Wriggling into his combat boots without bothering to tie them, he stepped outside in just his jeans and t-shirt. At first he shivered uncontrollably after the inferno of the house, but then the chill seemed to dissipate as his body adjusted. He couldn't see the stars right from behind the storm windows and their screens, so he pushed his way out the screen door and stood a few feet from the house, staring at the sky.

The lights of the house sometimes made it difficult to see the stars, but he could sense them out there, burning so full of energy- a thousand angry explosions in the silence of space, burning themselves up until they were finally gone in a giant supernova.

The inky darkness called to him, wanted to cradle him in its cold dead arms. That temptation was always there, waiting above his head, ever since he first put Tenku on. From that eternal nothing, that empty space, he drew strength. There was energy in it, perhaps not a living vibrant one like the earth elements of the others, but it was pure enough. Korin's power was the only one that came close to his, to realizing strength in the intangible. They couldn't touch their elements, like Shuu or Shin or Ryo- they could only feel them and trust that they are there. Yet Seiji's was still more tangible than his. Light itself is pure energy you can see; it warms the skin and creates life. Space, strata- its cold, freezing. Silencing.

The door to the house creaked open behind him. He turned to see Shuu wrapped in his giant fleece winter jacket, looking out at all the snow as his breath fogged in front of his face. After a moment, Kongo turned to survey Touma through the screens. He moved to the screen door and had to wedge it even more open than Touma had, but he made his way outside. Touma waited until he was near to call out a subdued greeting.

"Hey." Shuu returned, a little awkwardly, which made Touma wonder why he had followed him out. "Just heard on TV that they're calling for more snow. . ."

"That's gonna be a bitch to get to town if we have to. . ." Touma's eyes were once more drawn to the skies. He tried to sense the wind and ice up there, the clouds waiting to release their load. "Probably won't come till mid tomorrow."

"Heh. They said tomorrow night." Shuu's tone gave his opinion of weather forcasters, while Touma shrugged indifferently. After a while of breathing heavy and rubbing his hands together, Shuu finally spoke up.

"You always were drawn to the stars. Even before you got Tenku."

"Just like you loved to play in the mud." His tone was half-sarcastic, half-teasing. It reassured Shuu. Dry, wry, and sarcastic meant he was feeling okay. False cheer, anger, or defensiveness meant bad things.

Touma gave him a sidelong glance. If Shuu was out in the cold at night without a snowball fight to start or Ryo to torture, it probably meant he wanted to talk. Unfortunately with Shuu, that could mean a while before actually getting to the point. So Touma decided to be direct.

"What do you want, Shuu?"

Kongo paused, searching for the right words. "Just to see if things were cool, man. Maybe catch up on what I've been missin'."

"Things're cool on this end. Works fine, Seiji's more than fine, except for the whole near-corpse thing he has going on now. . ." Touma stared without seeing the sky.

"Can I ask what happened? We never really, y'know, talked about it. . ." Treading cautiously, Shuu's gaze kept flickering to his best friend's face to gauge his reaction. For his part, Touma found himself wanting to talk to him.

"When he first went to his grandfather's, I found myself missing him, like, everyday. And, one time I was visiting, things led to other things and next thing I knew there was an 'us,' y'know. I mean, I've loved him for years, just from a distance. A safe distance." He drew in a deep breath, and slowly let it out, watching it dispel into the night air. "Maybe it was too much, too fast. Either way, it had him running scared. You know Seiji and commitment." Shuu snorted his opinion on that. "Well, he broke things off- I thought for good. And it was just too much, thinkin' I had fucked up the best thing in my life."

"So you went clubbing." Shuu could fill in the blanks.

"Yeah. I 'stepped out' for a while." Touma laughed derisively.

"And when he came back, he realized this. . .?"Fishing for details, Shuu wasn't happy with Seiji the more he heard.

"I guess we both had some soul-searching to do. He was afraid his family wouldn't approve- they probably won't, but he says he doesn't care. He was also afraid of me. I mean- he was raised really conservatively and just very reserved. The whole open emotion thing is pretty new for him." Touma looked over at Shuu and shrugged. "But hey, I love 'im."

"He has seemed more relaxed lately. Guess you pulled that stick out of his ass, eh?" Shuu managed to make it sound very naughty, and Touma blushed in the darkness. A moment of silence followed as they both watched the moon come out from behind encroaching clouds.

"Just so's you know," Touma started after gathering his courage. "I told him about my father. Everything." Shuu tensed. He always had a protective streak when it came to his friends, but knowing after the fact because Touma had hidden it from him, stirred a lot of frustration and helplessness.

"He seems to have taken it okay, if anyone can take that sort of information well."

"It. . .upset him. But he was really supportive and understanding."

"Good. I'd hate to have to kick his ass." Both laughed, and Shuu slung an arm around his boney shoulders to pull him into a bear hug. "I'm glad yer happy, bro. Nuthin' more in the world I want than for us all to stay happy."

"You seem pretty happy yourself. . ." Touma grinned as he wrestled out of the infamous grip of Shuu.

"Well, except for that whole van thing tonight, I am. Deliriously so, I should say."

As if on cue, Shin opened the kitchen window and yelled out at them. "It's almost midnight! If you catch a cold, I'm not going to be nice to you! You hear that, Shuu?!"

They shared a grin. "Guess we should go back in, eh?"

"That would probably be smart. . ."