AN: I'm back :)

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F is for Fever:

38.9°C

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"Isshiki, I'm fine," Nene assured, gathering her strength to get up from the kitchen stool.

"Mhm," he shrugged her obvious lie off. Entering the kitchen, he rested a hand on the thin straps of her tank top, easing her back into the chair. Bending slightly, he lowered himself to her eye level where she tried her best to offer her signature scowl. However, Nene knew she had no chance of hiding her flushed cheeks and tired eyes from his scrutiny. Isshiki lifted his hand to her forehead, pushing up her bangs while Nene's eyes closed at the contact. She was confident he could feel the gross stickiness of her sweaty skin as well as the overwhelming heat from her feverish body.

By the time she noticed his hand had left her skin, he was already uncapping the thermometer. "Nene, ahh~," Isshiki sang, mimicking the action with his mouth.

"I'm not a child," Nene deadpanned, rolling her eyes. But, submitting to the fact that he wasn't going to let her escape this, she snatched the thermometer from his grasp and did it herself.

At the beeping of the meter, Satoshi gently took hold of it, squinting to see the tiny set of numbers on the digital display.

"Woah, you definitely have a fever!"

Nene held out her hand for a look at the numbers. "I'm on shift this morning."

A laugh escaped his lips, amused by how she could still be thinking about work in a state like this. "You can't work at the restaurant when you're sick!"

38.9 degrees Celsius. She frowned at the numbers before setting the thermometer back on the kitchen counter. "Then I'll finish the paperwork in the back."

"No, you're not. You're going back to bed."

Pushing herself off the chair (bad decision on her part; her body ached like hell), she bothered to challengingly glare up at him while crossing her arms across her chest. "Excuse me?" she tried to threaten, but it came out so weak that she wanted to die of embarrassment.

"Would you like to walk there or would you like me to carry you instead?" Isshiki smiled, not in the slightest affected by her irritation.

The two stayed like that in silence, waiting for the other to give in. But knowing her case against Isshiki's paled in comparison, Nene ultimately decided this was a battle she didn't want to fight.

"You're such an idiot," she sighed, before dropping her arms to turn out of the kitchen and mope back to the bedroom.

"I'll call your father to let him know you're not coming!"

"Whatever!" she yelled from down the hall.

Nene awoke to the soft vibrations of her phone on the nightstand. Blinking a few times, she wondered what time it was. The streaming light from the sheer curtains gave her a pretty good indication that a few hours had passed already.

As nice as it was to get a few more hours of sleep for once, she felt terrible. Other than the fact that her head was currently pulsing with fervent heat and a splitting ache while her body shivered from the cold sweats, every muscle offered a dull and heavy pain at each of her movements.

She noticed a cooling pad on her forehead and began to wonder when he had put it on, and where he even got one from. The last she could remember, they didn't own any, so the only possible conclusion was that he had gone out to get them. I hope it didn't make him late for work.

Another buzz reverbed from her phone which prompted the green-haired woman to reach over to grab the said item, wincing at the movement. Unlocking her phone, she noticed three messages from her mother.

Mother: Satoshi-kun told us you have a really high fever!

Mother: I told you not to work yourself too hard, dear.

Mother: Please rest, we can handle things just fine.

She sighed at the messages. Although she appreciated everyone's concern, a break was really the last thing she needs at the moment. As she gets older, the reality of adulthood has been setting in; the reality of being a Kinokuni. It wasn't as if the responsibilities of the kitchen, restaurant, forms, bills, meetings etc. were a surprise to her; everything in her life had been to prepare her for her impending inheritance of the soba restaurant and Kinokuni name. But it was a lot to manage at once.

"Oh good, you're awake." Isshiki cheered quietly, closing the door behind him with one hand while the other carried a tray.

She set the phone back down on the stand, sitting up quickly in surprise, "What are you still doing here?" she exclaimed.

Ignoring her, he made his way to her bedside and took a seat on the edge. "Here, I made some okayu. Eat up."

She eyed the small bowl of rice porridge. "I don't feel like eating," she complained.

"I know, but you need something in your system so you can take the medicine, Come on, try some." He urged a spoonful of the warm porridge towards her mouth, holding a hand underneath in case of spillage. But Nene didn't budge.

"Answer my question first."

He sighed, lowering the spoon slightly. "I called off work today."

"Eh! Why?"

"A deal is a deal." Satoshi nudged the spoon closer. Nene grudgingly opened her mouth for Satoshi to feed her.

"I really didn't need to go in today, I can do all my work from here if I wanted to," he continued, "Besides, we only serve the dinner service today, my staff can handle themselves."

After swallowing, she sighed in response. "Everyone is making such a fuss over nothing."

"Well, it isn't every day the Kinokuni Nene gets sick," he teased before adding, "you've been working too hard lately."

"Hardly," she scoffed. "There's still so much that needs to get done."

"Mm." Satoshi nodded in silent acknowledgment, full well knowing the responsibilities of an heir. Placing the tray on the bed, he peeled the cooling pad off her forehead to read her temperature again.

"It doesn't seem like the fever went down." Shifting off the bed, he placed the tray of okayu in her lap. "Let me get you another ice pack. Finish that!" he pointed towards the bowl.

Before he fully managed to exit the room, she called him, making him shift the door open slightly again.

"Thanks."

"Nene, what are you doing?" Satoshi turned his attention from the screen of the television to the walking bundle of blankets that was his girlfriend.

"It's cold," she said tartly.

"Ah, no. I meant what are you doing out of bed?"

She settled in at the opposite end of the sofa he was sitting on before replying, "The bed is all sweaty and gross."

"Great, where are we going to sleep tonight?" he teased.

"You're welcome to sleep on the couch if you would like," Nene retorted, smirking a little.

"Okay, okay."

The two quietly watched the random variety show, neither very much interested in the nonsense on the screen.

"You can sit closer, you know."

As if she expected him to say that, she answered back quickly. "I'm sick."

"I'm aware."

Annoyed, she clarified, "I don't want to get you sick."

"Aw, are you worried about my health?" he cheekily said, scooting closer to settle behind Nene's figure. He rested an arm around her stomach, nuzzling closer into her hair.

"No," she gasped in surprise from his movement. Red tinged her cheeks and for once, it wasn't from the fever. "Th— The longer this cold st— stays in this house, the more damage it will cause for all of us!" she stuttered.

"But you know, the fastest way to get over a cold is to give it to someone." he smiled, securing his hold around her.

Today is just a day full of submission for me, isn't it? She thought. Although she didn't mind taking the defeat on this one; he was warm and comfortable.

"Whatever. Don't say I didn't warn you."

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AN: You know what really sucks… being busy but also being sick! I was in bed with a cold recently so this is what inspired me to write this! It's a short one this time, but anyways, I hope you enjoyed it :)