Soup by scheherezhad
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Don't own, no money being made, please don't sue.
Summary: Kurama gets sick, and Yusuke takes care of him. Then Kurama takes care of Yusuke.
Author's notes: Fluff for Rach, who gave me a great line for it and helped with the initial "plot." Also for April, who tried to help me come up with ideas even though she says she sucks at it. The effort is much appreciated. Sorry it took me so long to write it, dears.
Feedback: Please? It makes me ever so happy. scheherezhad@yahoo.com

"Yusuke, I'b dot sick."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'b fine. Really."

"I can barely understand you. You're not fine, and you're going to stay on this couch until you're better," Yusuke said firmly, pushing his lover back to the cushions and draping a quilt over him. "I'll get you some decongestant and a cup of tea. You stay here."

Kurama sank into the couch in defeat. He really didn't feel that bad, honestly; Yusuke was making too much of a fuss over a little runny nose and a slight cough. He was searching for a fresh tissue when Yusuke came back with a mug of steaming tea and a little cup of thick green liquid.

"What's that?" he asked, eyeing the green goo suspiciously.

"It's cold medicine. It'll knock you out for a while, but it'll make you feel a lot better."

Having been sick very few times in his life, Kurama had little experience with medication, and he was distrustful of anything that would "knock him out." Still... If Yusuke said it would make him feel better, he was probably right. It probably couldn't be any worse than feeling like his brain was dripping down his throat. Decision made, he took the small cup from his lover and tasted the contents.

"Gyah! Whad is dis?"

Yusuke smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I forgot to warn you about the taste. It is pretty strong." He waited until Kurama had grudgingly swallowed the rest of the medicine, then he traded the plastic cup for the tea mug. "I made peppermint. I figured you wouldn't be able to taste most of the other kinds we have."

Sparing Yusuke a grateful look, he took the mug and let the strong flavor of the tea wash away the lingering taste of the medicine. "Thank you," he said quietly when the last of the taste was gone. "Sorry you're habbing to put up wid me like dis."

"Hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't take care of you while you're sick?" Yusuke smiled softly. "You finish your tea. I'll be in the kitchen, so call if you need me."

"Ogay."

Kurama sighed raspily and wrapped his cool hands around the mug. He really did appreciate what his lover was doing for him; he knew he probably made a terrible patient. By the time he'd finished his tea, his sinuses were starting to feel a bit clearer, and he was getting sleepy. He set the mug down and snuggled down under the quilt Yusuke had left for him, and he was asleep in seconds.

When he woke again, Yusuke was hovering above him with a hand on his forehead as he spoke quietly to someone on the phone.

"No, his fever's going down. He's breathing better, too. I think he'll be okay in a day or two."

Kurama leaned into Yusuke's touch. "I'm thirsty," he mumbled.

"Hey, you're awake." He smiled and absently pushed Kurama's hair off of his face. "Yeah, he's awake," he said into the phone. "I'm gonna go so I can make our lunch. Okay. Bye." He hung up the phone and continued gently stroking Kurama's head.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Kuwabara. He was gonna see if we wanted to catch a movie with him."

The redhead stretched tiredly, and his stomach growled. "Didn't I hear something about lunch?" he asked.

"I was about to make some soup, but I'll get you some water before I start it. You need anything else while I'm up?"

"No, just water's fine."

While Yusuke was getting him a glass of water, Kurama pushed himself upright and scooted back to lean into the corner of the couch. His head was feeling much less stuffy, and his cough was nearly gone; the disgusting green medicine actually did work, then.

A moment later, he tossed off the quilt, feeling a bit warm. He had taken off his thick socks and was working on his sweatshirt when Yusuke came back with the water.

"Kurama? You okay?"

"I'm hot," he said, yanking the sweatshirt over his head.

Yusuke reached out and felt his forehead again. "You are feeling kind of warm again. I'll get some--" His sentence broke off when his lover began sniffing along his forearm. "Kurama?"

He felt even hotter now that Yusuke was touching him. Touching him and smelling like nutmeg and cinnamon and musk. Edible. Fuckable.

But his scent wasn't strong enough here for Kurama's stuffed-up nose. He grasped Yusuke's wrist firmly, tugging the startled young man half onto his lap so he could follow that delicious scent. Yes, it was stronger in the soft curve of his neck. Kurama bit down, marking his lover's throat and drawing out a startled moan.

"Kurama..."

He growled softly at the sound of his name and tried to get at more of that wonderful skin, but Yusuke's shirt got in his way. With a noise of frustration, he wrenched the cloth away, flinging it aside and diving for the flesh he had revealed. Oh, this was even better. Feeling that warm, willing, wanting body against him was driving him mad.

The fabric of his own pants started to irritate his own skin, so he threw his mate down on the couch and removed the last pieces of their clothing. Yusuke's scent grew stronger, and Kurama sought its source immediately, reveling in the musk and heat between the other's thighs.

Yusuke, for his part, was wonderfully compliant. His weakening struggles had ceased entirely when Kurama had licked his entrance and then pushed his tongue inside. Kurama loved exploiting this particular weakness of Yusuke's, loved having the other man fall so easily into submission beneath him. The noises of pleasure that drifted down to him were getting louder, and Yusuke was starting to move with his rhythm.

Yusuke began to thrash beneath him, chanting his name...no, he was trying to get away. Kurama growled in warning and sucked hard at the soft flesh beneath his lips, making Yusuke go pleasingly limp, but only for a moment. He was pulled away from the sweetness of his mate's body and displaced to the other end of the sofa.

"Kurama, Hiei's here. We have to stop."

Stop? Hiei had made them stop. He growled again, bristling as he searched for the one who had interrupted them. The scent finally hit him, coming from the window across the room, and he saw Hiei reclining on the sill.

"Don't let me stop you," he said with a hint of amusement.

Kurama moved to stand between Yusuke and Hiei, intent on keeping the interloper away from his mate. He growled again, louder, and Hiei raised an eyebrow.

"Um, Hiei, I think you should go," Yusuke said, blushing brightly and trying to step around Kurama to hold him back. The redhead blocked his progress easily.

"What's happened to him?"

"I don't know. He's sick, and when he woke up from his nap earlier, he just...jumped me."

Hiei left the window, and Yusuke wrapped his arms around Kurama to keep him from hurting their friend.

"He's sick? Have you given him any kind of medicine?"

"Just some of that." Yusuke gestured to the bottle of green cold medicine.

Meanwhile, Kurama seemed to have determined that Hiei wasn't a threat, and he resumed his attentions to Yusuke's body. He turned in Yusuke's arms and started running his hands over him as he nuzzled lazily at the sensitive spot behind his ear.

A moment later, Hiei started laughing.

"What the hell is so funny?" Yusuke asked, sounding much less harsh than he meant to, what with Kurama biting that place on his neck.

"You really gave him this?"

"Yeah, so?"

Hiei held up one green-smudged finger. "It tastes like licorice. Licorice is a strong aphrodisiac for youko, and if you gave him a full dose of this...you're going to be busy for quite a while."

Yusuke would've smacked himself in the forehead if Kurama hadn't been in the way. At least that whole Easter jellybean incident made sense now.

"I'll leave you to it," Hiei said, flitting to the window and outside.

As soon as he left, Kurama slipped two suddenly wet fingers into Yusuke. It startled a gasp out of Yusuke, and he bucked against his lover as his own erection returned. After only a cursory bit of preparation, he found himself back on the couch underneath Kurama, and it was with an odd detachment as he was entered that he noticed that Kurama had, at some point, acquired his fox ears and tail.

The whole thing went rather fast, Kurama thrusting hard and making peculiar whining noises that ended with a deep growl as Yusuke came. His orgasm seemed to trigger Kurama's, and he bit down hard on Yusuke's throat when he came.

Four hours and six pouncings later, Yusuke was rummaging through the refrigerator, exhausted. He'd never gotten to eat lunch, and he was starving. Kurama watched him from the living room, momentarily satiated and sprawled lazily on the sofa bed that Yusuke had miraculously managed to pull out somewhere between the fifth and sixth rounds of sex. Damned if he was going to take it on that narrow couch all day.

A quick glance into the living room showed his lover propped up so that only his pointed ears and his bright eyes showed above the sofa back as his fluffy tail twitched and flicked playfully at the air behind him. It would've been cute if that look didn't say, "I'm going to jump you any second now."

Yusuke sighed and turned back to the refrigerator. He pulled out a container of leftover Chinese takeout from the week before, hoping it was still good. A quick sniff and tentative taste confirmed that it was edible, so he bolted it down. When he turned back around and looked in the living room, Kurama was gone, and he glanced around nervously, praying he'd be able to make it to the bedroom before he got jumped and fucked on the floor. He spared a thought to be thankful that he'd at least managed to sneak in a couple of bathroom breaks earlier.

When he passed by the living room to get to their bedroom, he noticed that something seemed wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He made it to the bed without being pounced again, and he sighed in relief. Having a proper mattress under him felt divine. He spent a few minutes reveling in the feeling of their soft mattress and softer sheets, happily burrowing in under a heavy quilt.

Yusuke had nearly fallen asleep in his warm cocoon when he realized what had looked wrong in the living room--the cold medicine was missing from the end table where Hiei had left it.

He bolted upright and nearly fell off the bed in his haste to track down Kurama. The fox wouldn't be in the front of the apartment, and he hadn't left, so there weren't many places to search. He wasn't in the bathroom or laundry room, which meant the only possible hiding place left was...the bedroom. But Yusuke hadn't seen him in there earlier.

Cautiously, he went back into the bedroom and looked around. The closet was open, so he wasn't in there... Then his gaze fastened on the bed. The four-poster bed that had a three-foot clearance from the floor and a blanket draped over the footboard that hid the floor from view.

Yusuke slowly crept over to the bed and knelt where he could peer around the edge of the blanket. There, he saw Kurama scrunched up cozily against the back wall under his side of the bed. It seemed like he had made himself a little den, but not recently. The small blanket and selection of items near him spoke of an established arrangement, a tiny sanctuary where Kurama could get away and be alone. No wonder he always insisted on doing the bedroom chores on his own.

The cold medicine was in his hands, but he hadn't managed to get the bottle open yet. It seemed his drugged, part fox self didn't share all the knowledge of his human self and hadn't figured out the trick to the lid. Just as Yusuke thought this, however, Kurama opened it.

He made a desperate dive under the bed and grabbed for the bottle as Kurama raised it to his mouth for a taste. He wrenched it away from the redhead, miraculously managing to cap it without spilling any. Unfortunately, his frantic lunge hadn't prevented Kurama from getting that taste; there was a green smear on the side of his mouth that made Yusuke pray he hadn't gotten much down.

Kurama blinked innocently and stretched out on his side, tail twitching. His head rested on his outstretched arm as he watched Yusuke chuck the cold medicine toward the closet.

"Why don't you come out of there, fox?" Yusuke suggested, slowly squirming back out from under the bed. He kept his eyes locked with Kurama's until he got to his hands and knees and followed. "That's it. Come on, fox. Come out here with me," he coaxed.

With a lazy, sensual pace, Kurama came out of his den and followed Yusuke onto the bed. He still had his own ideas, as he proved by pushing Yusuke to his stomach and lying half on top of him, idly biting the back of his neck; but he didn't try anything else yet.

It actually felt kind of nice, Yusuke thought, warm and comfortable under Kurama's weight. It kept feeling good as the bites trailed down his back, ending when that wicked tongue pushed back into him. He spread his legs wider and moaned into the pillow at the slow tongue-fucking. No question about it, his lover was incredibly talented at this.

The leisurely exploration went on for what seemed like hours--very pleasurable hours--and Yusuke felt like he could come just from the sensation if it went on much longer. After a while, Kurama nudged him up onto his hands and knees, which gave him room to stroke Yusuke's aching cock as his tongue worked. It wasn't long until the added stimulation pushed Yusuke over the edge with a low moan of pleasure.

"God, that was fantastic," he mumbled, scooting out of the wet spot and collapsing back to the mattress.

"So am I forgiven?"

Yusuke nearly jumped out of his skin. That was the first time in hours that Kurama had spoken. "You gonna cook me dinner, too?"

"If you like."

"You're forgiven, then."

Kurama stretched out beside him so they could see each other. "I'm sorry I was so rough earlier. I'd have told you about the licorice, but I couldn't smell it or determine the taste before I'd taken the whole dosage of the medicine."

"It's okay," Yusuke told him, reaching out to twine their fingers together. "I should've asked if you had any medicine allergies anyway."

"Thank you for taking care of me today."

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't?"

They both smiled, and Yusuke settled into his lover's arms, safe and content as he drifted to sleep. That is, until there was a knock at their window. He was jarred awake, and he shot a withering glare in the direction of the sound. It worsened when he saw who it was.

"Kurama, dear, you're all flushed!" Botan exclaimed, having pried the window open and flown in on her oar. "Are you certain your fever is going down?"

"I'm fine," Kurama said, unsure whether to be amused or angry. "What do you want, Botan?"

"I heard that you were ill, so I thought I'd drop in and make sure you were doing all right."

"Really, everything's all right. Yusuke took care of me, and I'm feeling much better."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah, it's friggin' fantastic," Yusuke said. "Could you get outta here now?"

Botan giggled. "Oh, don't be such a grumpy-puss. I'll be on my way, and I'll make sure everyone knows Kurama's all right so they won't stop by and bother you two. Have a good night, boys," she called, zipping back out the window with a cheery wave.

Yusuke groaned. "Have I mentioned lately that I hate our friends?"

Kurama just laughed, dropped a kiss on his temple, and got up to make dinner.