Drabbles!

[Quite Contrary]

Thank you guys for your awesome, awesome comments! And yay, SneezyLove, that's exactly how I feel about her! Okay, so I should be ashamed to put this under a drabble thread because there's no way this even comes close to drabble length But! This is inspired by Scion's comments about James standing up for himself. I hope this one makes you happier with him, Scion And I hope it isn't too similar to the last drabble. It's more of a continuation, probably set at Kai's next bad cold.

80 – Grudge

James sighed and pulled out his cell phone, speed dialing Hope. “Hey,” he said when Trish’s voice answered on the other end, “I have to drop my parents off at the airport.”

“What am I supposed to tell Kai?”

“I’ll be there by four,” he promised, and hung up.

***

James struggled against the urge to bash his head against the steering wheel and scream. It was so tempting. Dropping off his parents had taken longer than he’d expected and he’d rushed back from the airport only to run into a huge accident not ten minutes from Hope. He had been inching through all the traffic cones and cop cars for what seemed like ages. With all these cops around, there was no way he could pull out his cell and call Kai. The last thing he needed was a ticket. James groaned; he was so, so late.

***

Kai sniffled quietly, sitting on his bed, an empty overnight bag in front of him. He was unusually pale except for a slight pink tinge around his nose. He muffled a congested coughing fit into his elbow, looking up at Trish when he finished. “Whad tibe did he say he was cobing?” he asked softly, his voice thick with congestion.

“Four,” Trish said, sympathy in her voice.

Kai rubbed at his nose, his breath hitching, “Hih’ih…iptk’shh! Snff…heh’iggsh!”

“Bless you.”

Kai glanced hopefully at the door, as though James would suddenly appear behind the blonde. “Baybe…Snff…baybe he’s just ruddig late.”

Trish glanced at the clock on Kai’s bedside table, sensing Kai following her gaze. James was forty-five minutes late and counting. Trish shrugged, unwilling to get Kai’s hopes up. She picked up Kai’s bag, brushing a kiss to Kai’s forehead as she did, and set it on the desk. Kai’s face fell, his nose wrinkling, “Hh…Ipshew! Heh…h’igshnue! Snf. Snfff!”

His expression blank, Kai curled up on his side on top of the bed, his back to Trish. The blonde left the room silently, closing the door behind her.

***

The congested traffic seemed to be clearing up when James saw the dreaded orange sign: DETOUR. “Fuck!” James exploded, and followed the line of cars around the accident, trying to remember the other way to Hope.

***

James slammed the car door, racing up the steps of Hope and ringing the doorbell, stuffing his hands in his pocket to avoid ringing it repeatedly until the door opened. There were several clicks and Alex opened the door, surprise coloring his hazel eyes, identical to his sister’s. James didn’t have time for hellos, sprinting up the stairs to Kai’s shared room. Apologies bubbled up inside him, bursting out the moment he was through the door. “Kai, I’m so sorry, my parents, and there was an accident; I couldn’t call, cops everywhere, and I had to drive all the way around; You’re so sick and I just wanted to get here so bad…” James finally trailed off, catching his breath.

Kai had sat up, twisting around to look at James. He shivered, sniffling quietly. James glanced around the room, eying the empty bag on the desk. He frowned in confusion, glancing at Kai, “You’re not packed.”

Kai pulled his knees up towards his chest, rubbing his sleeve against his nose. “Did’t thigk you were cobing,” he said quietly.

James tried to keep the hurt from his face, out of his voice. He stepped closer to the bed, “I told you I would come get you. I know I’m late, but….”

The brunet saw the clock on Kai’s nightstand; he was an hour and a half late. He swallowed hard and looked at Kai. Kai’s chin dipped towards his chest and James worried for a moment that his boyfriend was about to cry, until Kai pressed a fist to his nose and James realized he was about to sneeze. “Heh’ mbtshk! Snf…hiih…hb’tshiu!”

“Bless you,” James offered quietly, unsure of what to say.

Kai looked miserable and James had a sinking feeling in his stomach that all this somehow had to do with Trish. James took Kai’s hand and squeezed it gently before leaving the room.

***

A chilled anger had settled in his chest by the time he found the blonde in the kitchen. Sensing the tension in the room, she set the child that had been resting on her hip down, letting it scurry off into another room. “So you showed,” she said calmly.

“You know,” James said, his voice low, “I get that you have some kind of grudge against the world for all the shit that Kai has been through. And I get that you think you need to protect him from being hurt again.”

He raised his eyes to meet hers, anger and sincerity burning in their depths. “I am not going to hurt him and I am doing my damndest to make him happy! I know, I know that I’m only human and sometimes I fuck up okay? But you ‘protecting’ him from me? Is only hurting us, and therefore hurting him. I am here for Kai whether you like it or not, so get used to it and quit trying to convince him that I’m going to disappear because I’m not going anywhere! So lay. Off.”

His speech finished and his anger melted away, James turned on his heel and headed back upstairs, leaving a shocked Trish behind him.

***

When James returned, Kai was in the middle of a coughing fit, his cheeks flushed, a moist, deep, rattling sound ripping from his chest as though his lungs were full of gravel. Immediately worried, James ducked into the nearest bathroom, fetching a paper cup of water, and helped Kai take slow sips, rubbing his back until the fit abated. Kai shivered, coiling in on himself with a tired sniffle. Reluctantly, James removed his hand, his fingers trailing down Kai’s spine. His chest seemed to ache; he wanted so badly to do this right. He swallowed hard, forcing back more apologies, “Are you mad at me?”

Kai shook his head, not meeting James’ eyes. “Dot you, be,” he whispered, pointing to himself.

Somehow, that didn’t make the pain go away. James frowned, “Why?”

Kai paused, his shoulders quivering as his breath hitched. He turned his head away, “Hehh…ish! Snff…hih! Huhh’ih…Igschuh! Snfff….”

“Bless you,” James said tenderly.

Kai looked straight at James, his voice sad but firm, “I should have trusted you, add I did’t. I…I’b tryig but it’s hard sobetibes. I dod’t really doe whad I’b doig…add I let Trish sway be. Snff! But I probise I trust you, ogkay? I probise.”

James nodded, quickly wiping away the lone tear that had managed to escape him. He pulled Kai into a tight hug, pressing kisses into his dark hair as Kai clung to him. James cleared his throat as he pulled away. Kai ducked his head, sneezing out a damp double, “Heh’ihpschh!! Snff…huhh…h’ibschuh!”

Kai blushed, sniffling softly, “Cad you help be pack?”

James smiled, “Yeah.”

Hope you enjoyed! Also, I dug up everyone's old suggestions and they are getting DONE this time. I'm working on them and they should be up soon

[obsessed]

awww!! <3

I wonder what happened to the days when I liked Trish...

[SneezeyLove]

Awww, I love this one! Kai is so fricking adorable, I just want to hug him and never let go! And James was great too, finally standing up for himself! I thought, 'good boy, you're learning'. LOL. Don't apologize for the length - it was perfectly awesome. And for the record, I was a lot angrier at Trish in this one than the last one. I might hate her. Just a little bit. Definitely a strong dislike. Can't wait to see what you give us next!

[Scion]

Awww, I love this one! Kai is so fricking adorable, I just want to hug him and never let go! And James was great too, finally standing up for himself! I thought, 'good boy, you're learning'. LOL. Don't apologize for the length - it was perfectly awesome. And for the record, I was a lot angrier at Trish in this one than the last one. I might hate her. Just a little bit. Definitely a strong dislike. Can't wait to see what you give us next!

Meh, I think Kai is the one who's learning (to trust James), hehehe. It seems like James knew about Trish but just didn't want to fight with her cuz he knows what it's like to care about Kai. This is how it came off to me, anyway. But YAY I'm so happy! I was tired of Trish being let off the hook for keeping these boys apart. And James is clearly perfect for Kai, not to mention him being the best boyfriend EVER. And besides, would Trish rather Kai lived his whole life alone? You have to take chances! And YAY again, because Kai is starting to trust James, AND he realizes he had been letting Trish sway him OMG YAYAYAYAYAYAY.

[SneezeyLove]

Very true, Scion. I see what you mean. So... I guess both boys learned a lesson here? And Trish... got told. In the end, I think that's all that matters!

[Quite Contrary]

Thank you all so much for your awesome, awesome comments! You guys are the best This is in response to an old request, just silliness and a very mischievous Kai. Hope you enjoy!

72 – Remedy

James strolled down the hallway towards the art room, sniffling. It was the end of their last day of school; they were graduating. James was excited to be done, but he was less excited that his English teacher had sent the class down to help clean up the library for his last period. The place was covered in dust and, to his embarrassment, James had spent most of the period sneezing. Quite frankly, he was sick of it and did not intend to do it anymore, despite the fact that it felt like a clan of dust bunnies was having a party inside his sinuses.

He knocked on the open door to the art room and Kai turned, grinning impishly at him from the center of the still-life pile that he was sorting through. Kai was beyond excited to be graduating and had been in a lively, playful mood all day, to James’ general amusement. James wrinkled his nose subtly, annoyed by its constant tickling. “Hey,” Kai said, eying him, “You look…like you have to sneeze.”

James shook his head, giving his nose a quick rub. “Well, I don’t,” he said, denying it even as the itch flared.

Kai grabbed a vase and wrapped it carefully in tissue paper, settling it into a cardboard box. James chose an art stool and sat down, sniffling hesitantly. “Looks like they’ve got all the seniors cleaning,” he remarked, “We had library duty.”

Kai nodded thoughtfully and glanced at James again, taking in his irritated blue eyes and twitchy nose. “So…you do have to sneeze,” he said, biting back a smile at James’ evident denial.

“N-no…ehh…” James bit his lip, the itch intensifying.

Kai couldn’t hold back the smile entirely, one side of his mouth quirking up in a lopsided grin. “Right, of course not,” he said nonchalantly, peeking at James out of the corner of his eye as he continued to clean up.

James was determined to win this battle. He wrinkled his nose, his eyes squinting, but that only made it worse. “Hhhih…snf! Ehh’hih…hih!” James rammed the backs of his fingers against the underside of his nose, pressing hard.

He remained that way for a minute until the tickle seemed to fade, and then relaxed, sniffling softly. He stared out the window, watching students say their goodbyes to the school and to each other. “You sure you don’t need to sneeze?” Kai asked innocently.

James missed the mischievous smile that had crept over his boyfriend’s face, as well as the feather Kai had plucked from the remainder of the still-life mess. “Positive,” he said absently, a quick sniff punctuating his words.

“I think I can fix that,” Kai snuck up behind James and reached his arm around, brushing against James’ ticklish nose with the dusty plume

Blue eyes widened in shock before squinting as James’ breath hitched. “Hehhh…hih’ih! Hih!” James pinched his nose quickly, surprised by how quickly the itch had reappeared full force.

Kai twirled the feather, a mischievous glint to his green eyes, a quirky grin on his face. James sniffled experimentally and the tickle flared dangerously. “Heh’uhh…nhh…snf! T-tickles ehhh…hh! I d-don’t…hhwant to sn-hih!” James rubbed his nose quickly, “S-sneeze anymore.”

“Think how much better you’d feel, though,” Kai said lightly and trailed the feather down the tip of James’ nose, swishing it quickly beneath his flaring nostrils.

“O-oh,” was all James managed before his breath began to dip up and down quickly, the itch building, “Nhh…heh’ih! Hiih-hih-hh-h’ISHuh! Hah’eshiu! Snf…Huh’ih! Eptshew!”

“Bless you,” Kai said brightly, setting the feather aside and seeking out tissues as James geared up for another fit.

“Hhehhh…H’isch-isht! Snff. Uh…hh’uh…H’ishchuh!” James blinked rapidly, “W-wow, ihh…h’itches. Snf! Hih’ishew! Itschh! Snff…hih! Hhh’ih…Idschiuh!”

Tissues were pressed into his empty hands and James gratefully blew his nose several times before finally opening his eyes. He sniffed; the tickle was gone. “Better?” Kai said, a hint of a laugh in his voice.

James blinked, surprised, and smiled at Kai, “Yeah, actually.”

Kai leaned in, his lips ghosting over James’, and pulled back, a hint of a blush coming over his cheekbones. “Good.”

Comments and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated!

[SneezeyLove]

Wow. Okay, that was..... very sexy. I loved it!

[queenie]

Um, wow. I thought I liked the vulnerable ill boy trope best, but that allergic fit of James's just positively shattered my composure.

[SneezeyLove]

I know you're working on old requests, but if you get stuck... I would love to see one of the boys desperately trying (and failing, of course!) to stifle to keep quiet so as not to wake the other. No hurry though! If you get around to it, you do, and if you don't, it's okay! Sorry! I'm gonna go hide now! >///<

[Makkaya92]

Your Kai reminds me of a certain blue head. Just makes it better. xP

Ahem. Let me just say... I absolutely adore this piece of work. I have been lurking around for a while and this is the first time I ever thought screw the sneezes, like, not that they don't fit in not at all, it's just the story kinda overshadows. :i

Unlike another story that I'm not gonna name (I don't want to piss off the world with my very first post) your story tells itself, like, it's not forced, there is not some voice behind it, the characters just seems to have their own life with their own strengths and weaknesses. It's awesome! I feel so heavy around the heart with the bad parts and so “awww” when it turns cute. Btw, Man, it must be some achievement for Kai to be graduating when he get's sick so often. Dawww...

And umm about Trish... I'm not a fan (nor do I love her) but in defence of her, given the circumstances her behaviour is pretty normal. If she was one of the few people Kai could rely on then those feelings probably just don't go away that easily. I mean, he got so broken after waiting an hour and a half. That's pretty damn fragile... And if she has been there the whole time then I kinda understands why she doesn't want to get Kai's hopes up as it might hurt her equally. You know, letting her sympathy override her judgment. I dunno. *shrug* Just my two cents.

Anyways, you are awesome! Will you write about how they met? :3

[pinknose]

AHHHH! How did I not discover this sooner?! Endless cuteness!! <3

Hmm. Suddenly I'm in a very drabbley mood.

[Umeko]

oh my gosh! <3!!!!! I love this, you need to write more about these two!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

It took me a little over... A day & a half to read all this & I accomplished it !:3 beautiful drabbles. Can say for sure that Kai is my favorite c:

[Quite Contrary]

Haha wow, DeathNoteOwner, that is dedication! Well, I hate to ruin your feeling of success but I just realized I had written another drabble (since I didn't actually finish the drabble challenge) that I never posted! So here it is.

77 - Secret

“Hh…hih! H’gkt! Snf…Hihh…snf,” James pinched his nose mercilessly, curled up tight, trying not to move, breathe, sneeze…anything that would make noise.

Beside him in bed, Kai was curled up, asleep. James was doing his best to keep him that way. “Hh…H’igkt!” James’ breath wavered, the tickle increasing rather than fading, becoming harder to control, “Huh…hih’ih! Ngsht! Hehh…ihh! Igstsh!”

The covers rustled and James froze, the tickle momentarily leaving him. Kai blinked sleepily at him in the dark, “Bless you.”

James rubbed his nose as the tickle returned too quickly. “Ip’kshiuhh! Snf. Sorry. Snff,” he said softly.

A small, pale hand reached out from under the covers to feel his forehead. James ducked, avoiding it, but couldn’t help the few quiet coughs that escaped him. There was no judgment in Kai’s voice as he spoke, “Why didn’t you tell me you were sick?”

James blushed, thankful that it was dark. He cleared his throat, sniffled quietly, “I…I invited you over, and I wasn’t feeling that badly. Then I started feeling worse, but I couldn’t ask you to go….”

James could hear Kai’s confusion, “You could’ve. If you wanted to. It’s your house.”

James shook his head, frowning, “No! Snf, I don’t-”

“Then why are you all the way over there where I can’t reach you?” Kai asked softly, the covers rustling again as he moved closer.

James coughed quietly, “I didn’t want you to know. Snfsnf. Or catch it.”

A hand came up to rest on his shoulder. There was a smile in Kai’s voice, “Your secret’s out; lay down.”

James complied and Kai’s smaller body wrapped around him, warm and comforting. James smiled at the image they must make, “You know, we’re doing this the wrong way around….”

Kai brushed a kiss to the back of James’ neck, his hold tightening gently. “Shh,” he whispered, “Sleeping.”

James smiled, sniffling. “Huh…heptshew! Snff!”

“Bless you.”

James found Kai’s hand against his chest, intertwining their fingers in the dark as he drifted off to sleep.

So there you have it. An extra drabble. I should really finish this thread someday.

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Well it's fine. Because that was an amazing Drabble can't even find words to describe how good it is. Magnificent, beautiful. Well written. Ect . Do write more if you have time.

[Arty]

This...is.....perferct!! Where is a james when u need him...like where are they hiding?! I want a james too!! ;_; his so awesome!! And kai, adorable boy... adorable i say! these were the best two days ever of me reading ur amazingly super special awesomeness drabble.

[All Time No]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I can't even! These boys are just.... I love them! James is definitely my favorite of the two! Can I has a James? You're a lovely writer and these drabbles are fantastic.

[Toober]

I read this and it took about 7 straight hours on my phone, but I absolutely loved it! You are an excellent writer and you conveyed the stories so vividly. I was surprised at how well I was able to connect with this story (I'm an artist, too, so I know how Kai feels when he says he can't draw. Also I have a friend whose name happens to be Kai, and he just happens to have a cruddy immune system {which is paradise to me because sneezes are ungodly adorable}) also I feel the need to tell you that I always imagine Kai in a red hoodie, no matter what. The only exception to this is the story where James says they're going swimming but comes down with a summer cold. Then I pictured Kai in like a wife beater and cargo shorts. I absolutely loved it!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Much too tired to read all of it but yeh I read most of them again !

[AdrianMarx]

I've spent most of my day reading these when I should have been prepping for my interview. Oh my gosh. I just love these boys so much. They make my little heart sing.

I can't even decide who I love more. James is so sweet and caring and I wish I had a boyfriend like him. He's such a cutie and he looks out for Kai like it's his full time job. It's so adorable. But then there's Kai who is just so sickly and cute and I just want to hold him forever and never let him go. I really, really love the whole caretaking thing and I sort of simultaneously want a James and a Kai. I just want to stick them in a bubble and watch them exist.

I think my favourite one might have been where Kai was trying to draw the lilies. I don't even like allergies all that much but it was just so sweet how he was so determined and James was so worried about him and oh gosh. But the ones where they were both ill and trying to look after each other - I think I melted.

Just a point, I actually really like Trish. I can't say I'm too keen on how she handles everything but she tries so, so hard for Kai and it's so clear how much she feels for him. All she wants is to look after him and she doesn't think anybody will ever be able to do it right but her and I suppose she is wrong in the respect because James is utterly perfect for Kai but I can see where she's coming from. Kai's had such a rough life and she just wants to make sure the rest of it doesn't get fucked up.

Thank you so much for writing these. They're utterly adorable and you are an extremely talented writer!

[Quite Contrary]

First of all, thank you everyone who ever at any point read this silly thread. I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and everyone's comments have been lovely and fun and inspired me to keep writing as long as I did.

Recently, I've had so much fun reading AdrianMarx's drabbles that I was inspired to return to my boys. And I know I still have a half-finished story waiting from like...months ago (if anyone still remembers ) and I will get to that, but since I'm feeling rusty I figured drabbles were more my speed. No promises to finish this drabble challenge, but here's two more to help me get back into the swing of things.

Wow... that was a lot of self-important sounding nonsense. Enough babbling! On with the drabbles!

76 – Lullaby

The gentle, dripping patter of rain on slick leaves and damp earth had become white noise to James after two hours, along with the occasional faint ripple of air through the curtains the curtains. He traced patternless designs on the back of Kai’s hand, still feeling heat there. James had opened the window to try to chase that heat away with cool breezes and damp air; it seemed to be working, albeit slowly. Kai lay on top of the sheets, chest bare, his scars silvery in the dim natural light. His eyes were closed, hair tousled with uneasy rest and sweat, breathing slow, unsteady, a bit thick with congestion. His breath wavered and the pattern changed. One green eye cracked open. “James?”

Humming ceased. “Yes?”

“Are you trying to sing me a lullaby?”

A tingling at the back of his throat reminded James that he had been unconsciously humming a soft tune. “Not on purpose,” he clarified.

Both eyes were closed again with a soft sigh. His hand turned palm up to catch James’ and squeeze. “Would you mind?”

James took in a surprised breath, and began to sing. “Come away with me in the night….”

96 – Internet

Kai was annoyed. James had woke him up to take his temperature and then had immediately disappeared to his desk. Kai wasn’t exactly sure why that annoyed him, but it did. Especially now that James was asking him odd questions, like what his social security number was.

“Ode thirty-three, tweehhndty…snf! Twedty-seveehhnd H’igshiu! Heh’ih! Igssht! Snff, snf. Eighty-eight forty-two.”

Kai blinked hard. It was hard to clear the fog in his head when his nose was still tickling. He sniffled, wiping his nose quickly with his sleeve.

“Do you have chills?”

Kai stared at the back of the brunet’s head. He shivered underneath the wrinkled hoodie he had borrowed from James. “I guess so,” he mumbled, “Why are you askig be?”

“How does your chest feel?”

Kai wrinkled his nose, breath hitching once again, “Hih’ih…iptk’shh!”

“Bless y-”

“Heh’igktsh! Snff.”

“Bless you. Chest? Does it hurt?”

Kai shook his head, choking out a ‘no’ before coughing in his sleeve.

James waited until Kai stopped coughing before firing the next question: “You’ve had both pneumonia and bronchitis more than once, right?”

Kai rested his head in his hands, annoyed,“Yeah, both. Why?”

James could hear the increasing alertness in Kai’s voice, but pushed for one last question, “Are you nauseous at all?”

“Snf. Dno. Jabes, why do you keeb askig be this stuff?”

He hit submit and joined Kai on the bed, brushing his dark hair from his eyes. “Because I just made you an urgent care appointment online.”

It hurt to see the betrayal in Kai’s expression, even if he didn’t truly mean it. “I didn’t know that’s why you were asking,” Kai protested feebly, as though that would somehow invalidate the appointment.

“It’s just around the corner, the one with the nice doctor,” James coaxed, feeling a little guilty and a lot relieved about having made the appointment.

“And the mbeadn dnurse.”

“Nice doctor,” James kissed Kai’s forehead, silently begging him to give in.

Kai coughed and sighed, dropping his forehead on James’ shoulder, “Fide.”

James hugged the smaller boy close, and smiled at the appointment time written on the back of his hand.

So that was fun. If anyone reads this, I hope they enjoyed. Apologies for no sneezing in the first one, but it just happened that way. Also, the song James sings is Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me," which is just what popped into my head while I was writing it. And...yeah. That's all I got. Clap along Comment if you feel like that's what you wanna do...

[Tassielli]

Oh my god. James and Kai. They're back.

I am speechless. I love these two soooooo much. This was great. Sneezy Kai is my favorite. I'm so glad you wrote one more drabble

[Tassielli]

Oh my god. James and Kai. They're back.

I am speechless. I love these two soooooo much. This was great. Sneezy Kai is my favorite. I'm so glad you wrote one more drabble

[AdrianMarx]

Awh, gosh, they're just so cute. I love them so much. And I'm glad my silly little drabbles got you to write some more! (and yes I remember. But y'know don't push yourself if you don't want do. I just think you're fantastic <3)

I actually squealed when I saw you'd posted more of these eek.

[SneezeyLove]

YES! I've missed these two so much! They're adorable!