There's A Sign Above The Line That Says "Express", that Means "Ten Items Or Less"

[shutupandduelme]

Who: Kaiba Seto, Atem Mutou
What: Christmas Eve is for lovers in Japan. Too bad one is sick and the other is kind of a grinch. We'll do the best we can.
When: December 24th, overnight
Where: Atem's apartment, mainly his bedroom
Warnings: Wine is out, look out for some heavy petting and probably some lip contact at some point or another. Germs what

Comments

[note_atem]

Time had really been blurred for him lately. If he wasn't sleeping he was being forced to take medicine or eat something. And after that was put back to sleep again. It was a terrible time waster, being sick, but what more could he do about it? Arguing with Kaiba really didn't get him anywhere and he didn't have much strength for it besides

[shutupandduelme]

Movement. Risk. Someone else was there.

To some extent, Kaiba was aware of Atem moving around. It was likely that he would never be able to completely lower his guard during vulnerable moments of sleep. Gozaburo and his tutors (and even Kia, in a way) had taught him the consequences of that too well. But it was only the sound of the shower that fully jolted him back into the waking world.

Kaiba shifted and cracked his eyes open, still using his hair to shield them while he got a sense of his surroundings. Atem was out of bed. That was enough to fill him in. The brunet hissed softly and ran a hand through his bangs to push them back. It must have been his rival in the shower, then.

[note_atem]

As usual, the hot water was turned to near blistering levels. The steam was no doubt trying to filter out of the room at the amount it was being created. He did cough one or two times; though if that was from the steam, getting water down the wrong pipe, or just general sickness even he started not to care.

He didn't take too long in there, just enough to appreciate the feeling of hot water and actually bathe. Once the faucets were turned off he stepped out of the shower, wiped the mirror so he could see and begun drying off.

When he stepped out of the bathroom there was just a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair in a lightly damp, fluffy mess as it tried to decide whether or not to form back up or if it was wet enough to still slope downwards.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba didn't bother to smother the smirk as the duelist in question reappeared. He took his time with it, mulling the situation over as he closed his laptop and returned it to the desk.

"And the answer to one eternal question is found," he commented wryly, his lips twisting into a smirk.

[note_atem]

He went over to the dresser, pulling out one drawer. He did look up, however, glancing over at Kaiba. He was a little disappointed in himself for waking the other man up, but it was inevitable really.

"What? About my hair?" Everyone was always so fascinated with it. He didn't really understand why. Though he started rifling through his clothes before waiting for an answer.

[shutupandduelme]

"Hn," Kaiba grunted in affirmation as he rose from the chair. It was going to take a few minutes to stretch himself out. Falling asleep in a chair had been a stupid idea.

As he cracked his shoulder, Kaiba glanced over at the shorter man. "You seem to be feeling a little better," he said.

[note_atem]

Atem turned away once he found something decent enough to wear. Leather was still probably a bad idea, but his wardrobe mostly consisted of the stuff so anything else was rare. He wouldn't admit it, but he was a little self conscious of the splotch of scar across his chest.

A pair of black skinny jeans and a dark red sweater were pulled on. He further made use of the towel by continuing to dry his hair.

"Much better than I was." And he was happy about that. "The cough still seems to linger, though." Hopefully it would go away soon.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba was keeping an eye on the process the whole time. Leather wouldn't help, confining as it was. He would have to be ready to step in if it came out. Thankfully, the trouble seems to have been avoided, considering Atem's choice of clothing.

The brunet relaxed just slightly.

"Coughing tends to linger," he said with far too much experience backing him up. "But it will fade soon. Hot drinks will assist with breaking up congestion, I have heard." At least that was what the doctor had told him with Mokuba. It made logical sense, more than that chicken soup nonsense anyway.

[note_atem]

As if to prove a point, he coughed a few times before padding back into the bathroom the brush his hair. It was unavoidable; if he left it like it was it was sure to knot and no one wanted that. He'd had enough hassle over the past few days.

"Are you sure you don't want to sleep for another hour or two?" He asked, thinking about going out into the kitchen when he was finished and looking for some hot chocolate. Hot drink. So it would be good, right?

[shutupandduelme]

Thin lips twitched down into a frown, but there was little that could be done for it. Coughing was much easier to deal with than a fever or stomach illness, at least. Besides, Kaiba couldn't afford to stay for too much longer. It was cutting into his work hours and increased the risk that even the stupid residents on the island might figure out what they were doing.

Kaiba paused and shook his head strongly at Atem's question. "I've gotten too much sleep as it is," he insisted. "What you woke me up from was unplanned. I suppose I should thank you for doing so."

[note_atem]

His hair was still very lightly damp, but at least it was all back in place, for the most part. He moved back out of the bathroom, just leaning in the doorway, looking over Kaiba.

There was no way to tell how long he'd been asleep while Kaiba had. "With you I don't think," He tilted his head down and away, bringing his hand up to cough again. His throat hurt a little, something scratchy in the back of it that was making him need to cough.

Once he was finished though he looked back up and carried on like none of it happened. "I don't think there's a thing as 'too much sleep'."

[shutupandduelme]

"Any sleep is time wasted. I could have gotten more coding done," the brunet pointed out, though he paused to scowl at the further coughing.

"You think you can function on your own now?" he asked, looking over his rival critically. "You are still coughing quite a bit.."

[note_atem]

He was almost certain that his pride was damaged beyond repair at this point. As nice as it was to have someone to rely on and have take care of him, it was an absolute pain- especially because it was Kaiba. He was pretty sure his rival had seen him at his worst over the past few days and it smarted.

"You said there's nothing that can be done about it." And yet another cough showed up. It was annoying. "And I'm fine." Completely, right? Just like the first time he'd said it. As long as he wasn't in danger of dying, what difference did it really make?

As if trying to make sure there was no room for argument, he left the bedroom, going to the kitchen in search of hot chocolate.

[shutupandduelme]

There was another eye roll as the brunet followed Atem into the kitchen. "You said that you were fine before," he had to point out, "and yet I found myself spending several days watching you be delirious."

He titled his head. "That is fine to you?"

[note_atem]

One cabinet was opened, Atem leaning up on his tiptoes to try and inspect the contents inside. "I would have taken care of myself."

No, nothing in there. Perhaps the next one... "And if I hadn't been able to, it would have been my burden to carry." Nothing in that one. But he was definitely feeling something from the next cabinet.

However just for the moment, he turned to aim a weak smile (the best he could do right then) in Seto's direction. "Or are you uncomfortable with your own words?"

[shutupandduelme]

Wait, didn't he stick the wine into one of those cabinets? Kaiba couldn't remember which. He had expected his rival to have found it by now. Even so, he couldn't quite stop the twinge of apprehension from creeping down his spine as the other man started digging through things.

Thankfully Atem was so good at offering distractions. The CEO snorted. "It wasn't your burden the moment you stepped outside and started the duel. I will not see it go unfinished, whether due to sickness or the Island or anything else," he said firmly. He didn't particularly want to see Atem ill in general, either...though the other man didn't need to know that.

He shifted to lean against the door frame. "Do you need some help with that?" he couldn't help but taunt.