Banana Ice Cream CH 2

"K-Kaito?…" Len asked after the blue haired boy had left for the kitchen. "Where… where are…"
"It's fine." Gakupo reassured. "He'll be back in a few minutes."
Len stiffened, finally cracking open an eye, albeit one clouded and unfocused. "You… promise?…"
Gakupo couldn't help but chuckle at how clingy and restless Len had become during his illness. "Yes, I promise."
"G-good." Len managed to spout through another bout of coughs.
"Water?" Gakupo offered, holding out the bottle he'd brought with him.
Len opened his other eye and struggled to focus on the bottle, but to no avail. "Y-yes please." He said after a few moments.
Gakupo handed him the bottle with another small chuckle. "No need to be so formal."
"Sorry…" Len murmured, struggling with the bottle for several moments before laying it down next to him on the bed to cough some more.
Gakupo lifted the bottle. "Here. Let me." He said, opening it and holding it to Len's lips. When the boy had taken a few small sips he took the bottle away, screwing the plastic top back on before placing it on the side table next to Kaito's chair.
"Thanks." Len muttered, managing a small grin, and even though his eyes were pointed towards Gakupo, it seemed as though he was seeing through him and staring at something entirely different. Gakupo doubted the boy was actually registering any images.
"You're welcome, Len." Gakupo murmured, ruffling the boy's hair a bit.
Len smile widened a bit before his eyes closed and he was unconscious again.

Kaito walked into the room several moments later, holding the hot bowl of ramen in a dish rag so he wouldn't burn himself. He glanced up at Len and saw that he was asleep again, so he sighed, placing the bowl on the side table and sitting in his chair. "When'd he pass out again?" Kaito muttered to Gakupo.
Gakupo shrugged. "Just a few moments. Just missed him."
All Kaito could do was sigh. When would this end? When would Len stay awake for more than just a few minutes?
The blonde in question started shivering violently in his sleep, his brow creased in discomfort as he struggled to clutch at his blanket. Kaito could see Len's eyes flickering back and forth beneath his eye lids and knew that he would wake up screaming any second now.
And then he did; right on queue.
And on this rare occasion, the boy's screams weren't for his sister of friends. No. This time, he was simply screaming. Vicious shrieks of pain and sorrow sliced the silence like a blade as Len opened two fully aware eyes and struggled to sit up, using one arm to clutch his stomach and the other to balance.
"L-Len…" Kaito muttered in shock. "Are… are you…"
Len winced, closing one eye in pain and managing to turn towards his friends. "K… Kaito-ku… Kaito… and… and you too… Ga… Gakupo?…" He said each word slowly, taking a few short gasps of air between each phrase.
Gakupo nodded slowly. "Mmh Hmm. We've been taking care of you. You've been sick."
Len used his balancing hand to grip his temple as a painful migraine struck him, which, in turn, caused him to fall backwards and lean his back against the wall. He groaned in pain before speaking again. "How long… H-how long have I been…" he trailed off in a round of coughs.
Kaito shifted his gaze to the carpeted floor of the living room. "A few weeks…"
"W-weeks?!" Len muttered in shock. "Th-then… why don't I… remember?"
"This… this is the first time you've been fully conscious for… a long time…" Kaito looked up to meet Len's eyes, which had grown wide as porcelain tears started to form around the corners.
"I-I… Nghnn…" Len lifted another hand to his temple and fell to his side.
"Len you should really get some rest…" Kaito murmured.
"N-No… I can't…" Len practically sobbed, trying to sit up again but failing miserably.
"And why's that?" Asked Gakupo.
"B-Because I… what if… what if I never wake up again? What will… I…" he trailed off, wiping away his tears with a shaky hand as the violent shivering returned.
"Len." Kaito said sternly, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You won't die. You'll be okay. I promise, alright?"
"A-alright…" Len muttered, allowing himself to drift back into an uneasy sleep.
Kaito took his hand away with a sight. "I… All this time I've been waiting for him to truly wake up and when he does, he's…"
"I know…" Gakupo murmured. "I just wish he's get better."
Kaito nodded. Seeing him like this every single day, I… I'm not really sure how much longer I can take it…"
"I'm sorry…"
Kaito shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Why do you keep saying that?"
Gakupo rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the shrill ring of a phone and Len muttering "Kaito-kun… phone…" in his sleep.
Kaito stood, ruffling Len's hair and saying, "I know…" before trudging back to the kitchen and grabbing the phone.
"Hello?" he said into the speaker.
"Kaito? It's Rin. Just checking up on Len. How… How is he?" replied the shaky voice of Len's twin sister.
"He's… umm… better than usual, but…"
"But still pretty bad, right?" Rin sighed.
"Y-yeah… sorry…"
"I-It's fine…" Rin sniffed. "Can… is he awake? Can I talk to him?"
"I'll check." Kaito walked back into the living room and tapped the boy lightly on the shoulder. "Len."
Len turned a few times, opening cloudy, distant eyes after a moment or two. "Hmm?" he murmured.
"It's your sister." Kaito said, handing him the phone.
"R-Rin?" Len murmured, weakly pressing the phone to his ear.
"Y-yes, I-it's me. Len… H-How are you?"
"O…kay…" Len yawned. "Kaito-kun and Gakupo are taking care of me."
"Kaito-kun?" Rin asked quizzically. If Len was using that honorific… It was obvious that her brother was not fully conscious.
Len nodded. "Yeah."
"I mean… never mind…"
"Rin?" Len asked after a slight pause in the conversation.
"Yes?"
"When are you coming home?" Len whined.
"S-soon…" Rin voice was quiet and heart-broken as she spoke.
"Oh…"
"Uhh… Len? Can I talk to Kaito again?"
"Sure." Len replied, holding the phone out and calling. "Kaito-kun! Phone!"
Kaito took the phone from him. "Yeah?"
"How is that better, Kaito?!" Rin accused in a mournful voice. "He's barely conscious!"
Kaito sighed. "I know… but he's been staying awake a lot longer, and…"
"And?" Rin pressured.
"Earlier today, he… he woke up fully conscious, if only for a few minutes…"
"And? Did he… say anything?"
"Not much…" Kaito answered truthfully, sighing mournfully as he remembered Len's awakening. "He… he was having problems breathing and… he said he was scared that if he fell asleep again, he might never wake up again…"
"O-oh… I… I'm sorry…" Rin murmured.
Kaito scowled. "You too?"
"Hmm?"
"Gakupo, he… he keeps apologizing to me for Len's illness…"
"Well you know why, don't you?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Rin sighed. "I need to talk to you about something, Kaito…"
"W-what is it?" Kaito stammered, having a pretty good idea about what was coming.
"Len… for a while now, he…" Rin trailed off, not really knowing how to word it. "Len really likes you Kaito. And don't even pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."