A/N: The pic is Usa-chan's cousin! 

Eri

Thankfully, by the time the hosts made it the hospital, Kitaru had already left. From the look on his face as he'd shuffled out of the room, something about my somewhat-sincere words had struck with him. He'd almost smiled-- a feat considering the current situation. It wasn't but somewhere around ten minutes later that Emi and the rest filed into the hospital room. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of each of their hands holding a different object.

Tamaki had a bouquet similar to the one he'd given me when we first met. Honey, a rather large purple bunny in one hand, Usa-chan in the other. Mori held a rather large bakery box, which explained why Honey had a stuffed animal, not cake. Hikaru had what looked like a case for a handheld game system, no doubt meant to help pass the hours. Haruhi had a manilla envelope in one hand, a small gift bag in the other. Kyoya had ahold of a big bag that looked to be weighed down by something.

Kaoru... held Emi's hand.

My eyes went wide at the sight, and when she caught me staring Emi blushed and pointedly dropped her hand. No one seemed quite sure what to say at first, and I was about to open my mouth and thank them for coming, before Tamaki finally shuffled forward and offered the bouquet with a sweet smile.

"For the sick princess?"

I couldn't help but laugh as I took it, sticking my nose in the flowers much like I'd done the last time he'd spoken those words. He grinned, most likely having been aiming for such a response. Instantly, Honey appeared next to him, Usa-chan having been deposited somewhere while I was distracted. Both his hands were stuck beneath the purple bunny's arms as he held it up for my inspection.

"This is Usa-chan's cousin!" he announced. "Bani-chan. Do you like him, Eri-chan? If you do you can have him!"

"Of course I like him!"

I took the bunny in hand with a soft giggle, a little unsure of the reasoning behind his choice on the "relationship" for my new bunny. 'Bani-chan' turned out to have extremely soft fur, resulting in me placing the bouquet to the side and snuggling the bunny to my chest. Tamaki seemed to pout for a second, then recovered as he loudly announced how "cute" I was being. I felt heat flood my cheeks, but pointedly turned my attention to where Honey was holding out his hands to Mori, to take the box. Honey returned within seconds. He made room on the tray next to my bed so he could take the lid off and proudly show the cake inside.

"Kyoya said it was okay, so we brought cake, too! Let's eat it!"

"I said it was okay in moderation," Kyoya corrected.

Honey seemed to muse that over, putting a finger to his lips as he tilted his head back. Then, he brightened.

"I usually eat a whole cake, so that means we can go halfsies!"

I started laughing, hugging the bunny to my chest as I did. It hurt, but the warmth flooding me due to their thoughtful gifts was so much sweeter than the pain.

"I'm not sure that's moderation, Honey," I pointed out. "How about we all get a piece?"

"That'll make the pieces small..." he considered, frowning.

"Mitsukuni," Mori said.

"Okay!" Honey declared. "That's... eightsies!"

As Honey eagerly pushed Mori to cut the cake, Haruhi approached the other side of my bed. I reached for the bed control-- moving the mattress so I could sit up completely and settle the bunny between my legs. This accomplished, I could take the small gift bag as she handed it over.

"I wasn't certain what to get," she explained, shifting uncomfortably where she stood. "But... Okaasan complained about how cold the hospital room was when she got sick... so I thought..."

I glanced inside the bag and found a pair of rather fuzzy green socks.

"Emi-chan said that was your favorite color," Haruhi added. "I brought copies of my notes, too... I left them on that table. I know you hate missing class..."

I gave her an encouraging smile and pulled out the socks, sitting them between my leg and the bouquet. I'd put them on when I got the chance.

"Thanks," I told her.

Mission accomplished, she retreated as the twins took her place. I secretly studied her, keeping my face turned towards them. She didn't seem to be frowning anymore than usual... but this couldn't have been easy for her. A bit of guilt pricking me at the thought, I focused on the twins as they offered me the game case.

"We weren't sure what type of games you liked," Hikaru explained.

"So, we brought this," Kaoru continued.

"If you want different ones, we can bring them later," they finished together.

"I'm sure it's perfect," I reassured them, unzipping the case. I was surprised to discover it held more games then I could have imagined, given that each of the little places for games inside the case was full, and with two flaps in place that meant there had to have been at least twenty-four games inside. The portable system was tucked into one side, the charger into the other. I had to wonder much gaming these two did to think I'd be able to play through every cartridge.

"Thank-you," I added, looking back up to the twins. I was met with surprisingly warm smiles in place of what would have usually been mischievous expressions. I looked from them, to the others. "And to you guys, too. Thank-you so much."

Much to my shame, my eyes began to fill with tears. I couldn't help it. My hospital room had never been this full-- not with people who weren't doctors.

The first time, our parents would occasionally drop in and out, but they never stayed for long, and the gifts they picked always seemed to be something grabbed by an assistant. There was never any... emotion behind them. Each present held by the hosts seemed to match their personalities perfectly.

When the cancer'd returned, it'd just been Emi, Kitaru, and Hiroshi, mainly Emi. Hiroshi and Kitaru had come by when they'd gotten the chance, but they'd been third-years, and the pressure to get into university had been heavy. Plus, the cancer had never gotten horribly serious-- everyone had thought I could beat it. The longest stays in the hospital had been overnight stays for transfusions. It wasn't like the first time when it'd gone as far as Emi being asked to be a bone-marrow donor.

Never had my room been filled with enough people that I had to wonder how they'd snuck past the nurses. Kyoya'd probably done that.

I raised my hands and rubbed at my eyes. It was awkward given the face mask, but necessary if I didn't want my vision blurred with tears. Tamaki, of course, seemed to tear up in an awkward show of shared emotion. Kyoya sighed, shoving a box of tissues rather hard into the blonde's chest. Still, none of them teased him over it. I imagine the atmosphere in the room had gotten too heavy for that.

So, of course, I chose the perfect topic to break it. Rather than ask them about what Kyoya'd told them, I turned a teasing grin towards where Emi stood at the foot of the bed.

"So, hand-holding?"

"Oh, it's gone further than that," Hikaru assured me.

"I'm going to kill you," Emi promised.

He, of course, just snickered. His brother, on the other hand, looked like he was somewhere between embarrassment and amusement himself. Honey spun back to my bed, cake on a plate that'd come from heaven knows where and a grin nearly as bright as the red in Emi's cheeks.

"Emi-chan and Kao-chan kissed!" he explained, handing over the cake.

For some reason, the announcement seemed to lift a weight of of my chest. If the worst happened... as long as Emi didn't push him away... She won't be alone.

I kept my thoughts to myself as I took the cake, shooting that teasing grin at Emi once again.

"A kiss, huh? I distinctly remember you calling the twins many names, none of them quite lining up with that..."

If anything, her embarrassment grew. So, in a very Emi manner, she began muttering darkly under her breath, most likely promises of violence to the club. The conversation after that turned to the cake, then to other light things. Kyoya, for the most part, seemed to hang to the other side of the room. He'd settled his bag on the table on that end, and seemed content to only chime in when he deemed it necessary. Curiosity surged through me, but I kept it at bay for now, wondering if he perhaps wanted to wait for the others to leave before handing it over.

Everyone seemed to be avoiding the most blaring topic, and I was content with that for the most part. It wasn't until after the cake that I fell into another coughing fit. Unfortunately, it was worse than any to date, and left me struggling to breathe even as air tore through my lungs. Black spots dotted my vision, and I faintly heard someone calling for the nurse as I doubled over, tearing the mask off after crimson blood began to dot the inside of the plastic. There were orders for the group to get out, unknown hands bringing something for me to cough into, someone dropping the bed down numerous soothing voices.

At some point I lost track of what was going on. I just knew that eventually, the coughing had stopped, and the nurses must have done something to my meds because the pain cleared rather quickly. As I laid there, mask back in place, attempting to catch my breath, they began whispering to each other. They must have called the doctor, because he suddenly appeared as well, talking with them just as quietly before turning his attention to me and announcing that they would be doing a few tests later.

"Your friends can come in again for a few minutes, to see that you're alright, but then we're going to have to ask them to leave," he explained.

I nodded wearily.

'What could possibly come of more testing?' I wanted to ask, but held my tongue. 'You already know what the answers will be.'

Following that, the doctor and nurses cleared out after returning Bani-chan to me. The bouquet had been placed next to Kyoya's bag of books-- both had been in the way when they were attempting to help me breathe. I wasn't sure where the socks had gone. The club returned a few minutes after, all of them rather pale and wearing much more serious expressions than when we'd been talking before the fit.

"Sorry," I murmured, voice scratchy.

"You don't need to apologize," Haruhi said.

"Haruhi's right," Tamaki added. "You did nothing wrong."

Emi was hanging to the back of the room. Her expression was even, but that part of me that was her twin knew that she was as far from okay as possible. Kaoru was standing next to her, Hikaru on her other side. A surge of gratefulness surged over my other emotions at the protectiveness that seemed to lay behind their stations. Kyoya was lingering near the door, his expression indecipherable. Haruhi was only a few feet closer and nearly as pale as Emi. Only Tamaki, Honey, and Mori had come close to the bed once again. Mori stood behind Honey, most likely the reason he'd drawn close, and Tamaki... well, he was Tamaki.

"So," I said, carefully putting a wry smile on my lips. "I guess this is the time to ask... what did Kyoya tell you guys?"

Hesitance seemed to flick across the faces of those who easily showed their emotions, then, as I'd expected, Tamaki was the first to speak.

"He said that you'd been hospitalized, that this wasn't the first time..." Tamaki trailed off.

"I also told them the truth of your condition," Kyoya finished. "They know your chances."

I offered him a grateful smile. "Thank-you. That couldn't have been easy."

Rather than respond, he simply inclined his head. In turn, I looked to all of them. None of them really looked comfortable where they were, but none of them looked eager to leave, either. Giving them the same smile I'd given Kyoya, I decided to give them an out.

"They want to run more tests," I pointed out.

Kyoya seemed to stiffen at that, as if remembering something, and nodded his agreement with the words.

"They told us we wouldn't have long," he said, glancing at the others.

His words were followed by rather subdued goodbyes, none of them really seeming like they actually wanted to leave the room. Emi and Kyoya lingered longer than the rest. Emi, to promise she'd be back after dropping by the house for a shower, then Kyoya even after her, to say that he'd be dropping by later that evening. I might have pointed out that it seemed he was planning to come after visiting hours, be decided to leave it be. His family did own the hospital after all.

"I'll see you, then," I promised in turn.

He simply inclined his head. I wondered if he wanted to add more, he looked as if he might, but dismissed the thought as he left as well, his bag in hand. I guess he didn't want me to look inside without him there.

Only minutes later, the nurses and doctor returned. I lost track of everything that went on, but by the evening it had been determined if a fit like the earlier one happened again, I'd be replacing my oxygen mask with mechanical ventilation. I wasn't looking forward to that. There'd be no talking with a tube down my throat.

I'd also become aware that my thoughts were coming slower and slower to me. It was much like how I'd had trouble thinking before I'd collapsed in my bathroom. I felt as if someone had shoved balls of cotton in my head. Exhaustion had fallen over me like a blanket, so I hoped that it was causing the slow thinking, and not the progression of symptoms.

The doctor said I had ARDs.

I couldn't quite recall what that meant, but I knew it was bad.

Emi returned at one point, showing off her sketches, before falling asleep in her chair once again. A nurse showed up and shooed her away to the family room, threatening to forbid her from visiting for a day if she didn't sleep on an actual bed for once. She left, swearing under her breath as she did.

At some point, most likely several points, I fell asleep. The sound of my door falling shut startled me awake. I fiddled with my bed, making it sit up, and discovered Kyoya standing just inside the doorway. Shadows had fallen over the room, telling me it was probably rather late in the evening. He had the bag in hand once again, and his emotions seemed hidden behind an iron wall for all I could make out of his expression. I gave him a sleepy smile.

"You came back."

"I said I would," he replied.

For a moment, he lingered by the door, looking as if he might step back out. Then, he seemed to come to some decision in his mind and he crossed over to the bed, lowering the bag into my lap.

"I picked these up earlier," he said, voice rather quiet.

Curious, I lifted my hand to dig through the bag. My arm felt heavier than usual, and if it hadn't been for what I found in the bag, my thoughts might have gotten completely sidetracked. I'd been having trouble keeping my mind focused. Inside laid what appeared to be a copy of every book by Ayatsuji Yukito and Ono Fuyumi. A glance inside the first cover revealed what I'd expected-- they were signed.

"You went to the book signing," I said, glancing up at him.

He nodded, lips pursed. "You'd mentioned wanting to attend..."

'He remembered...'

A warm smile formed on my lips as I laid my head back against the bed, too tired to keep it up. Honestly... Kyoya was too much. For someone was was doing his best to look detached, he'd taken the time to wait in what had probably been a rather long line to get every book signed.

"Thank-you."

He shrugged and picked up the bag to move it to the bedside table that was just out of my reach. At the frown I wore in response, he simply pursed his lips once again.

"You need to rest. You can read in the morning."

"Yes, Okaasan."

Kyoya just offered a heavy sigh and a slight roll of his eyes. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that."

I pursed my lips in turn. It took much longer than it should have, but I debated a response in my head. Seeming to realize I was coming to terms with something, Kyoya simply watched me with those steely eyes of his.

"Then what should I call you?"

He blinked. "I'm sorry?"

I chewed on my lip, almost chickening out. The way the action shifted the oxygen mask on my lips seemed to give me courage, however. It wasn't like I had forever to think. If I was going to do something... there was no time. At the same time... the words weren't kind. In actuality, it was probably a very cruel thing of me to do.

"If I shouldn't call you Okaasan... what should I call you? Kyoya-senpai? Kyoya-kun?" I murmured slowly, watching as Kyoya grew tense. It seemed his mind had caught up to mind. "...Kyoya?"

For several heartbeats, silence encased the room. Our eyes never wavered from each other. This time, it was Kyoya's turn to debate what to do. My words, however cruel, had still left him with a choice. He could back down. He could save himself at least some of the heartache if, and most likely when, things continued down the direction they were heading. Then, he let out a breath that seemed to have the weight of the world behind it.

"Kyoya."

I bit my lip again, the unspoken question behind our exchange hanging between us. Once again, I debated my next move within my annoyingly hazy mind. Was this really the best choice to make? I couldn't take back being selfish at this moment. It'd be impossible. My next words might create two very different types of wounds.

Again, my shaky, newfound courage won out.

"Then, can I ask for a favor?"

"Anything," Kyoya answered without hesitation.

The unspoken emotion behind that word gave me pause. The chilly room suddenly seemed far too warm, the distance between us too far, yet to little all at once.

"Kyoya..."

I shouldn't.

"Could you..."

It was cruel.

"Could you kiss me?"