Eric made a simple box for the kittens and put it in the guest room that no one stayed in. When they took a shower together before going to bed, John forced him to use much body wash and then let him go.

He was put down on the soft bed. John lay on top of him, sniffing him like a big dog.

"Have you smelled anything weird?" Eric's neck was a sensitive area, and John's breath with the heat made him itchy.

John bit the skin on his bulging collarbone, "you smell like cats."

Giggling, he held John's face and kissed his arched brows gently. "How about you go cuddle with the cats instead of me?"

"Someone is being naughty." John left his kisses all the way from Eric's face to his soft belly.

Eric started to pant with pleasure at the pace of John's movement. His voice was clean and soft. When he tried to hold it back, it sounded more seducing.

"Don't leave marks on me..." He would be so embarrassed after taking off his coat in the hospital tomorrow.

John slowly went into his body. The pain and joy made him gasp as his watery eyes looked into John's. "... ugh... S-Slower... Ah..."

"I'm doing it slowly enough." John gently caressed his hair while he's still moving in and out, "did you get a new haircut?"

Shattered words sneaked out from his closed lips, "yeah... I... uh... I did..."

John sped up his movement, wrapped his arms around Eric's neck, and their face stuck together. Eric started to kiss his chin and Adam's apple, begging him while panting.

Eric had rarely been proactive when they made love. Seeing his submissive but alluring face, John's heart rate was spiking.

He couldn't hold it anymore, moving in and out at a crazy speed and thrusting into the deepest area of Eric every time. In the end, Eric was pressed hard on the bed with his legs folded, begging in a crying voice, "John... John, slower... Please, I beg you..."

It's been a while since John felt so good while having sex. Eric was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately, lying on John's chest. John wrapped his arms around his lover and caressed his back up and down along the spine. After a while, he murmured to himself, "...how come you suddenly lose so much weight?"

The next day, after Eric woke up, he reached out his hand to touch the person beside him but only felt the cold sheet and pillow. So he sat up quietly, let his sour waist rest for a while, and then got off the bed. He's going to have the chemo today in the hospital.

Surprisingly, he found that John had already helped him feed the kittens. In addition, a note and breakfast were left on the table. All he needed to do was to put the meal in the microwave.

Eric shook his head with a smile on his face. He threw the note and went cuddle with the fluffy kittens one by one. After he ate the medicine and changed his clothes, he left for the hospital.

Before leaving the door, he remembered his lesson last time, so he checked himself carefully in the mirror. Fortunately, John listened to him and didn't leave any marks in places that clothes couldn't cover. But Eric knew it was a mess under.

He felt pretty calm when he left home, but his heart started to pound as the hospital became closer. Before, Michael told him to stay in the hospital while having chemo, and he was wearing a serious look when he said it. However, Eric refused it without any hesitation. He didn't even want to hear about those side effects that sounded painful because he knew that fear was a person's biggest enemy while trying to survive.

But Eric didn't expect it to be so painful. The headache and nausea together made him keep vomiting, and the tingling pain all over his body felt like endless insects were crawling in his veins. This was hell, he thought. Maybe death feels even better than this. He always had a low tolerance for pain, but he had to deal with it this time, letting himself drown in these unstoppable waves of suffering. Cold sweat gushed down from his forehead, and the blood on his lips made his face look even paler.

Michael asked another doctor to help with his shift and came to accompany Eric. Seeing the man's pretty face twist with pain, Michael felt bad for him.

Michael held him in his arms, not knowing it was cold sweat or tears on Eric's face. All the redness on his lips faded away, and he almost lost his consciousness. "Dr. Idle... Y-You didn't tell me it would be so painful..."

Michael put his hand on Eric's soft face. "It's okay... Everything will be fine... You will be fine after this. I'm here with you."

Surprisingly, a smile showed up on Eric's face, and the dimple on his left cheek made him look younger than his actual age. But his eyes were full of sorrow, "it hurts... It hurts so much. What if I can't take it anymore?"