L Is For Limit

Ryo rolled over in the bed, his hand falling right through where Seto's shoulder should have been. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing Seto standing by the window in his robe, talking on his phone. His face was very serious, and his voice sounded rather tensed. He let out a sigh, then spoke more clearly over the phone, as if to explain things more easily. The glossy light from the ivory drapes on the window's frame made his complexion seem paler than it usually was, or maybe that's just because once he hung up the phone, he let out a sudden sneeze, curling and covering his nose. The sneeze made Ryo tense, sinking under the blanket a bit, then sitting up and looking at Seto. "Seto, is everything alright?"

Seto glanced over, not moving one inch. "What? Oh, yes. Just a worried customer. He wasn't sure about the stability of my company, so I politely reassured him."

"Yes, that sounded rather… polite." Ryo smiled a bit, sliding out of bed and walking over to wrap his arms around Seto's waist, holding him from behind. "You look awful stressed."

Seto let out a soft sigh through his nose, running his fingers through his messy hair. "It's nothing really. It's just work." He said simply, looking out the window. Ryo tilted his head a bit, walking around to stand in front of Seto, rather than behind him. He smiled slightly, his lip curling just a bit. Seto blinked unsure of what was going on in Ryo's head. "What? What is it?"

Ryo giggled, "You're bed head. It's so cute." He grinned.

Seto just blinked confusedly for a moment, then gained a small smile of his own, "Ryo…" Ryo suddenly reached up and placed his hand on Seto's forehead, which surprised Seto enough to let out a small chuff.

Ryo gained an uneasy look, "You have a fever."

"Fever..? It's probably nothing. Maybe your hand is too cold." He gently took Ryo's hand, lowering it off of his skin.

Ryo, meanwhile, gave and overall unimpressed look, crossing his arms. "I highly doubt it. Look at you! Your cheeks are flushed and the rest of your skin is white as a sheet. Sit down before you faint."

"I'm not going to faint."

"That's what you say now, but if you go to work like this, I guarantee you will, now sit down." Ryo barked in a rather authoritative voice. Seto was fazed by it, slowly nodding and obeying his commands. Ryo gained his sweet demeanor back, smiling cutely and walking over to the bed. "Good. Now, I want you to call work and tell them you won't go in today."

Seto frowned, "But I have—"

"I don't care what you have. You have a fever, your skin is pale, and you're about to be lying in bed, drinking some tea and recuperating. When was the last time you took a break from work? And I mean more than just half a day to fool around with me." Ryo questioned, his hands reaching to rest on his hips.

Seto sunk as he tried to think to something to say back, but then just flipped out his phone and dialed the office instead. "…. Hello, Fujiko. I won't be coming in today. Cancel my appointments and phone calls…" He hit the end call button on his phone, then tossed it on the other side of the bed, much like a child submitting to the will of their parent. Ryo walked towards the side of the room, into the bathroom, and then returned with a thermometer. He held it expectantly, and Seto obliged by opening his mouth and having the tip stuck under his tongue.

There was a pregnant pause before the thermometer beeped, signaling that the scale of the fever had been found. Ryo quietly pulled it out of his mouth and looked at the reading, "Good lord, Seto, it's over one-hundred-and-three!" he said with a shocked expression, reaching and brushing Seto's hair from his face with his hand. "Lie down and take those robes off, you're roasting. I'm going to go get you some medicine."

Seto tried to speak, but before he could get a single word out, Ryo was out the door. He sighed as he fell against his pillow. He couldn't remember the last time he took a sick day. He couldn't even remember the last time he had a chance to sleep in. He had always worked the hardest his body would let him, ever since he came to this place. It was as if it had been burned into his mind to work hard enough to exhaust himself… and then keep working.

Mokuba heard a knock on his door, pulling off his earphones and leaning back in his chair. "Yes?"

The door opened, revealing Ryo, who had gotten dressed for the most part, other than his house slippers. "Mokuba, Seto has a fever, and we're out of medicine. I'm going to the store, but I want you to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't exert himself, okay?"

Mokuba blinked blankly, then nodded. "Okay. Um.. while you're out, pick me up some gum and a comic, okay?" he asked politely, standing up to walk towards the door.

Ryo smiled, nodding back. "Alright, you got it."

Yugi roughly plopped the bag of fresh spring onions into his shopping basket, taking another look at the list. "… Eggs… Tofu… More sweet bean paste? Grampa's going to kill our budget with how much he eats…" he said aloud, furrowing his brow and stuffing the piece of paper in his pocket.

"Partner… Is sweet bean paste expensive?" The Sennen Spirit asked, his soft voice only heard by Yugi.

"Well, yes. It's a bit on the pricy side. I wouldn't mind getting I if my grandfather didn't eat so much of it." Yugi thought back, rolling the cart down the isle.

"Oh, they never have any parsnips here, do they?" He heard a familiar voice mumble. He looked up, spotting Ryo in front of the produce in the corner, frowning at the lack of imported vegetables.

"Oh, Ryo." He smiled as he walked over, saying in a light voice, "The parsnips? They're right here." He reached behind a high pile of carrots, which had been concealing the parsnips, "They never sock enough in my opinion." He smiled as he offered a bunch to Ryo.

Ryo grinned as he took them, bowing his head a back, "Oh, thank you, Yugi." He said respectfully as he placed them in his basket.

"What are you planning to cook? If you don't mind me asking, that is." Yugi said sweetly.

"Oh, it's an English stew. I can't find any lamb, though, so I'll have to use beef. Seto's sick and I'd like to make him something." Ryo said while looking in his basket to see what else he needed.

"Oh, really?" Yugi said with a hint of worry, "I hope he gets better."

"Kaiba is sick? I didn't think that was possible. The man is such a tank when it comes to work. You'd never imagine he'd admit it." The spirit said light-heartedly, which made Yugi smile a bit.

"Hmm? What is it?" Ryo blinked.

"Oh! Oh, it's nothing. I was just think about how rare it would be for Seto to admit he was sick." Yugi joked.

Ryo smirked, "Well, actually, he didn't. I made him stay home from work and rest. He's so stubborn sometimes."

Yugi let out a laugh, "That's what I was thinking. Well, anyway, I'd better let you get back to shopping so you can get back there and make sure he rests. Bye, Ryo." He waved as he turned his cart.

"Thanks for the parsnip help, and bye." Ryo smiled and waved back.

"Seto, stay in bed and give me the phone."

"Just one call. I have to make sure I-Co. is still in the deal."

"Didn't Ryo get through telling you about how sick people need rest before he left?" Mokuba frowned as he walked around the bed, nabbing Seto's phone from his hand.

Seto crossed his arms and looked away. "I'm going crazy just sitting here. Give me something to do, at least. Tetris, even."

"Watch tv. You have a huge-screen in here for a reason." Mokuba rolled his eyes, but then heard the front door open and close, "Well, I'm going to go help Ryo with the groceries. If either of us catch you with phone in your hand, I swear, it won't be pretty." Seto rolled his eyes to look in the opposite direction as Mokuba walked out.

Ryo was busy setting everything up to cook down stairs as Mokuba walked in. Ryo briefly looked over his shoulder, spotting Mokuba and giving a small smile. "How is he?"

"A stubborn idiot, as usual. I checked his fever, it's gone down a bit since he's been resting." Mokuba said straightly as he searched through the bags of groceries, plucking out the box of medicine, "I'll go give him his medicine. I guess you're going to be making a stew?" He stated, having noticed all of the vegetables.

Ryo smiled, quirking his head as he stashed the veggies in a pile on the counter. "You guess correctly. Now, hurry. Let's get some medicine in him quick." He heard the footsteps as Mokuba exited the room, and found himself listening to the footsteps made as he went up the stairs. He tried to think about it, and he realized that Seto had never been sick since their relationship began, at least not enough to note. There was maybe an allergy attack once in a while, but it wasn't enough to keep him from working. This was the first time Ryo was taking care of him.

Ryo walked up the stairs, a tray with sliced bread, a glass of water, and a bowl of stew in hand. He made sure to keep his balance steady, so he wouldn't drop it. He quietly staked past Mokuba's room, peeking through the crack in the door to see the young boy listening to music and banging his head. He gained a faint smirk as he continued down the hallway, making it to the door and nudging it open with his foot.

Seto lay on the bed, an open copy of the book 'The Odyssey' laying across his chest, which his hands rested over. He was fast asleep, and the tv was on, but at a very low volume. Ryo paused, then walked over, placing the tray of food on the night stand. He picked up the box of medicine, turning it around to look at its back. It read, "May cause drowsiness." Ryo sighed and smiled, then sat down in the chair in the corner of the room.

"I guess the stew will just have to wait, then." He said quietly, crossing his legs.