Forever and Always

7

Ivan could feel him shifting. It was early, but he had woken up because a leopard decided to step on his stomach. He looked down, seeing two glowing eyes staring at him.

"Good morning," he muttered, practically going back to sleep.

"Hmmm..." Dyami made some sort of noise/speech pattern, but he didn't understand it. His face was smashed into Ivan's chest, and he didn't look like he was going to move anytime soon.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking down lazily, looking over to the clock. It was early, much too early.

"Want something," Alfred said, pushing himself up and sitting on his heels. His eyes were still glowing against the darkness, the only light source besides the glowing red letters of the clock.

"What?" Ivan asked, stretching his arms before pushing himself up, petting his stomach. He counted six weeks. Fourteen left. It seemed to be happening so fast he didn't know what to do.

"Mhmmm... red pepper."

"Huh?"

"Red bell pepper," Alfred said, tilting his head, "I want a red bell pepper."

"You... get cravings?"

"Pepper."

"Okay, okay, I'll get you a pepper," Ivan said, standing up and walking out the door, taking the elevator down to the kitchen. Nobody was awake, and even if they were, they would most likely be in their rooms.

Fate loved to prove him wrong, didn't it?

"Masahiro," Ivan said, looking at the kitsune. He growled, his ears pressing against his head. He was drinking something, it dropped to the floor.

"Masahiro, what's wrong with you?" Ivan asked, holding his ground. The kitsune's white and gold ears went forward, and he saw the slightest glisten of silver teeth. Three tails raised in an aggressive manner.

Ivan took a deep breath.

"What is wrong?"

No response.

The kitsune slipped into the shadows.

"Lights on," he stated, the kitchen lighting up. The kitsune jumped back out, snarling. His skin was burning. Ivan smiled.

"Had enough?" Ivan asked, taking a few steps forward, "Back off. Now."

Masahiro opened his eyes, and yowled. He jumped and grabbed his head and banged it down on the floor and wiggled all of his body before forcing himself back up. His mouth opened. Then closed.

He flopped over, then shuttered and went spastic.

He was having a seizure.

Ivan walked over to him slowly, leaning down next to him. He sat on his heels and watched as the kitsune clawed at his own head, his eyes rolled back into his head. He bit his tongue and kicked his leg.

It took him a few minutes to recover.

He was shaking when he was able to talk.

"There's... something in the medication..."

"C'mon," Ivan said, picking him up. Now that he wasn't seizing, it was safe to touch him. He glanced over to the bottle. It was his epilepsy medication.

"Someone tapped your pills? With what?"

"Umm... it was... Roosters Beet," Masahiro muttered, before his eyes closed. Ivan patted his face a few times. He was still breathing, he was just tired. The burns on his body looked bad, and his brain was not agreeing with his existence at the moment.