Don't Forget To Remember Me

Laughter Is Medicine

Kisara was pleased to hear Mokuba and Seto laughing together as she prepared dinner. Laughter was the best medicine, and she had the feeling that Seto hadn't laughed nearly enough in the course of his life so far. She was getting sandwiches prepped for making grilled cheese when she heard Mokuba cry out from the other room. She dropped what she was doing and wiped her hands on a towel as she rushed to Seto's room, calling, "Is everything alright?" She walked in to find that Seto had tried to walk and collapsed, only to have Mokuba try and catch him. Kisara rushed forward and put her arms under Seto's, bringing him back to a standing position. "You need to stop trying to stand, Seto. You're still very sick," she chastised as she began to guide him back to bed.

"Nonsense, I feel fine," he protested, even as he leaned against her for support. Kisara couldn't help but laugh, and hearing her laugh made Seto smile. Their eyes met, and for a moment, it felt like no time had passed at all since they'd last been like this. Mokuba may only be a child, but he saw that moment and recognized it as something profound and rare.

If Seto was honest with himself, there was a part of him that had known he wouldn't be able to walk all the way to the kitchen, although if he'd managed to do so, it would have impressed her. The other option was that he collapsed and she had to help him to bed, which was the way things went, and it was still a victory for Seto. He didn't mind being close to her like this, although he was bothered about being too weak and sick to do anything about it.

"You are going to wait here while I make dinner. Mokuba, don't let your brother do anything stupid." Kisara said it all with a warm smile, but still raised an eyebrow at Seto, showing that she was serious.

"I won't!" Mokuba chimed, eager to be given responsibility over his brother.

"Good, I'm counting on you," Kisara said encouragingly, then went back to the kitchen to finish cooking. Mokuba turned around and grinned at his brother, who was still smiling stupidly as he gazed at the spot Kisara had disappeared from.

"You like her a lot," Mokuba observed with growing excitement. He'd never seen his brother so gaga over anybody, and he was enjoying seeing him act so... silly, so juvenile, so much like the teenager he never really got to be.

"Go help Dr. Kisara make dinner, Mokuba," Seto said, trying to hide the fact that he was so flustered.

"But she told me to make sure you're not stupid," Mokuba responded cheekily.

"That's not what she said, and you know it," Seto said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you finish doing all of your homework today?"

Mokuba toed the carpet as he looked at the floor, and Seto sighed. "She said that it was my job to keep you happy today," Mokuba defended.

"But you didn't finish your homework," Seto observed. "Go on and finish it up so that you're done before dinner," he ordered, and Mokuba nodded. He couldn't stand to disappoint Seto, especially when he knew that Seto himself had had a much harder schooling than what Mokuba was getting. He knew now just how fortunate he was that Gozaburo was no longer around. He went up to Seto and lay his hand on his brother's shoulder, kissing his forehead.

"If you need anything, call us," he said before trotting out of the room. Seto let out a sigh and rolled over, pulling a pillow over his throbbing head. His head had begun to ache since his first attempt at standing. It had readily grown until it was getting hard for him to keep smiling. His smiles and laughs hadn't been fake, but they had hidden pain.

"Mokuba, didn't I tell you to keep an eye on your brother?" Kisara asked as she flipped one of the grilled cheese sandwiches.

"He told me to do my homework," he answered as he settled his textbook and papers at the counter. Kisara remained silent for the time being, but when the grilled cheese was done, she put it on a plate and turned the stove off and handed the plate to the child before going to visit Seto. She entered quietly and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to rub his shoulder reassuringly.

"How are you feeling, Seto?" she asked quietly.

"Headache," came his muffled voice from underneath the pillow.

"Is it bad?" she asked gently. He simply grunted assent, which was good enough for her. This somewhat confused her. "The medicines we have you taking should help with a headache as well." That got no reaction from him. She picked up the clipboard from the nightstand and looked over it. "You have been taking the medications, haven't you?" No response for several moments, then one of his hands slipped under the pillow on the bed beside him and came back out with a number of pills cupped under it. She scooped them up into her hand and counted them.

"Seto Kaiba, you have no right to halve your dose on your own authority." She was disappointed, but at the same time, she knew that he could have done something much worse. "No wonder your fever is still going up. You do know that if a fever gets as high as 107 degrees or higher it can cause permanent brain damage. I expect that you won't continue doing this now that you know that."

Seto shivered, and she suddenly regretted chastising him so harshly. She put the pills away where they belonged, then contemplated what she ought to say next. Instead of trying to rouse him, she lay herself down on her stomach beside him, turning her head to face him and carefully lifting up the pillow that covered his head.

"This reminds me of the time when you hurt your ankle playing in the river and insisted on walking on it all the way home. Do you remember that?"

She caught a glimpse of sapphire eyes and a sly smile underneath the pillow's shadow. "Yeah, I do," he whispered. "Do you remember the time you tried to pretend that a rock was a baby, and your mother wouldn't let you keep it in the house, so you gave it to me to hold onto?"

Kisara giggled. "I can't believe you remember that!"

"Of course I do. All the memories have come back." There was a moment of silence for Kisara to blush, then he said quietly, "You really wanted to have kids, didn't you?"

Kisara nodded as a tender smile formed across her lips. "Yeah, I really did. I still do." His hand slid across the sheet and held hers tentatively. She turned her hand over and intertwined their fingers. They didn't need any words in that moment. It was one of those times when souls spoke directly to each other, when something spiritual and metaphysical happened that defied logic. "No more skimping on your meds, Seto. You have people here who need you to get better."