name: a sick ryou with a fever
pairing: Tokyo Mew Mew (Ryou/Ichigo)
prompt: Fever
summary: Sometimes, it just takes a fever to change the situation between a redhead and a blonde.

a sick ryou with a fever
Tokyo Mew Mew (Ryou/Ichigo)

"SHIROGANE!"

The blonde covered his ears as his redhead employee yelled out his last name with anger. He let out a sigh as he waits for the headache that is about to come.

"What do you want now, Strawberry?"

"What do you mean what do I want? What I want is a raise! I am the only one that works around here and I don't get paid enough for it!" Ichigo yelled, her ears and tail popping out, twitching to emphasis her anger.

"How is working hard breaking almost every dish in this café? Instead of giving you a raise, I should be deducting it from the paycheck." Ryou answered back in an unusually calm voice.

He turned around to walk back to his room hoping to try to get some rest for sleepless nights.

"SHIROGANE, I'M NOT DONE YET!" Ichigo yelled, running after him to his room.

When she opened the door, her mouth opened to let out more complaints, but her disbelief shut her vocals. She saw Ryou lie on his bed and close his eyes from the blinding light that was shining through his window. She slowly walked to his bed to have a closer look when she noticed that he was sweating a little on the forehead when the ceiling fan was blowing softly, creating a cool breeze.

She quietly put her hand on his forehead only to find out that he was burning hot. She let a gasp before running out the door to find the thermometer and a cold towel. This was one of the few times when she would forget about her raise and help someone, who thought she hated, in need. Once she found the things that she needed, she ran back to Ryou's room.

She dabbed his forehead with the cold towel to try to slow down the burning when she heard him muttering something quietly.

"Shirogane? What's wrong?"

"Strawberry…" He muttered before passing out again.

"Shirogane, open up. I need to check your temperature." Ichigo tried to whisper to not shake him up his sleep. He opened his mouth enough for her to put the thermometer to check his temperature. She pulled it out to see his temperature was 102.5 degrees. It was not as bad, but it still could be dangerous to keep it that high.

Ichigo put the cold towel over his forehead before running to find Keiichiro.

"Akasaka-san!" Ichigo yelled, running to the kitchen as she knew that he were there during work and break hours.

"Momomiya-san (1), what are you doing here?"

"Akasaka-san, do you have any cold medicine for a fever?"

"Why do you ask? Is one of your family or friends sick?" He asked, concerned. He walked towards the refrigerator to take out the cold medicine (2).

"It's Ryou! He has a fever! Thank you, Akasaka-san!" Ichigo grabbed the cold medicine before running back to Ryou's room.

"Ryou? That's a first." Keiichiro whispered to himself before going back to work.

Ichigo ran back to Ryou's room with the cold medicine in hand and water in another. She grabbed the now warm towel that landed next to him when he moved his head to the side. She put her hand on his forehead again to feel that his fever is still high.

"Ryou…" Ichigo slowly shook his body to wake him up. "Ryou, you need to take your medicine."

He fluttered his eyes before opening his eyes to see a red blur. "Strawberry?"

She helped him sit up enough to drink the medicine she had in the measuring cup and the water. He laid back down on the bed, falling a peaceful sleep, something that he hasn't had in months.

Ichigo grabbed the medicine and stood back to leave, but a hand on her wrist stopped her. She turned to see Ryou looking at her with a look she could not decipher.

"Stay… Please." He muttered before passing out again.

"I'm going to go put this back in the refrigerator and I'll be right back." She told him, giving him a reassurance that she will be back.

He unconsciously let go of her wrist.

She went back to the kitchen to put the medicine back where it belongs. She took out her cellphone to dial her house number.

"Mom? Yeah, I'm doing okay. I was just calling to tell you that I'm staying at the café for the night to watch over a friend who is sick. Yes, everything is fine." Ichigo let out a sigh, hearing her dad yell hysterically over the phone. "Tell dad that I'm going to be fine. I will be back tomorrow morning to get ready for school. Thank you mom and I love you." She hanged up her phone and went back to Ryou's room.

When she opened the door, she decided between if she should sleep on the chair next to him or on the bed with him. The second thought brought a blush to her cheeks, making her ears and tail pop out. This was one of the moments when she is happy that he was too unconscious to make a remark.

She walked slowly to the bed, deciding to choose the chair as the safest way. She was about to sit when Ryou's hand reached out to grab her wrist again.

"Can I… lay on your lap?" He whispered, mostly oblivious to what he is asking.

Her cheeks grew red while she was thinking of turning down his request. While her head told her not to give in, her heart prevail. She lifted up his head enough for her to sit comfortably enough to sleep if she passed out. She put his head on her lap, blushing when he unconsciously nuzzled into her lap.

"Thank you… Strawberry."

The next morning, the sun is shining through the open window, making Ichigo fluttered her eyes to get rid of the irritation of the sunlight and the sleep out.

When she fully got her vision back, she realized that she was not in her room, but Ryou's. She sat up from her position of the bed, looking at the clock on the bed stand (3).

'7:00. Thank goodness I am not late for school yet.'

She felt a movement and looked down to see an arm wrapped around her waist. She grabbed his arm from her waist, trying not to disturb him from his sleep, but her movement failed as he fluttered his eyes, signaling that he was awake.

"Strawberry?" He sat up a little bit, confused to see her in his bed. "What are you doing here and in my bed?"

She blushed red, her cat ears and tail popping out. As a reflex, she quickly reached up to hide her ears and her twitching tail. "Do you not remember what happened yesterday? You had a fever and I gave you medicine to get rid of it." She let out the part out where he wanted to lay his head on her lap while he was sleeping.

"You took care for me?" Ryou asked, confused.

"I-it was nothing. Everyone was b-busy and I wanted my raise!" Ichigo stuttered, trying to find an excuse.

Ryou let out a smirk as he figured out the hidden words that she didn't want to say out loud.

"What are you smirking about now, you jerk?" She said, looking away in case her blush came back.

He continued to smirk and responded, "Nothing, baka Strawberry… nothing at all."

Ryou leaned his head closer to Ichigo, keeping the smirk on his face. "NYAH?!"

Suddenly, before the redhead could push him away, he pressed his lips against hers. Ichigo stood still, her shock still intact before kissing him back. She felt his tongue on her lips, asking for permission to be let in. She gave out a blush before opening her mouth to let him in. Before they could go further, he pulled away.

"Thank you, Strawberry." He let out a genuine smile before letting her go. "Now, go before you'll be late for school."

Ichigo realized what he said and walked out the door in a daze. She brought her fingers up to her lips, still feeling the tingling sensation from the kiss. She remembers that she had school and ran out the café, hoping that she wasn't late.

Who knew a sick Ryou with a fever could change a situation around so quickly?

Author Notes Throughout the Story

1. It's been long since I have watched or read Tokyo Mew Mew, so I forgot what Keiichiro calls Ichigo. I will just assume that he calls her that.

2. I don't know for sure if they really keep cold medicine in the refrigerator, but usually people, like myself, keep them there.

3. Like I said in number one, I haven't watch Tokyo Mew Mew in a long time, so I don't remember if he has a bed stand in his room. Let's just assume, in this case, that he has one.

Story Notes

1. Most of the story is written on June 7 and the ending was written on June 8.

2. This is a one-shot that I wrote inspired by a prompt table from Livejournal (100_situations). The prompt that inspired this one-shot is from their 100 Situations (1-5) Prompt Table One, #57 (Fever).

3. Please excuse all the grammar mistakes I have in this one-shot. This one-shot is not beta tested and was written in two days.

4. If you have a request for me, please send me a message either on here or on my website (you can click on the link in my profile).