Title: Insisting

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: The O.C. (set right before /during beginning of the Christmukkah episode)

Spoilers: nothing important past the idea of the show, but if you really want to watch it unspoiled and haven't watched this far into the series, I guess don't read this

Rating: G

Pairing: Ryan/Marissa-implied

Warning: None, really, but the story is heavily dialogue-driven because it's the part of the show I most admire

Disclaimer: Yeah, the boys aren't mine. I get no money from this. Big surprise.

Summary: Seth gets sick, Ryan tries to convince him not to attend school

Note: Begun for my 8^th Friday Fic but not finished for a few weeks, due to circumstances not under my control

Insisting

     Ryan walked in the door from the pool house and set his light jacket and school bag on a chair at the breakfast table. It was starting to get slightly chilly out in the mornings. A nice, cool fifty-one degrees as befitting mid-December in California. Half a year he'd lived with the Cohens and this was the coldest it had ever been. It felt sort of nice. Soon it would be quite warm again and he'd have been there a whole year. No one, especially not he, would have guessed in the beginning that he'd fit in so well as to be there a year, or even half. But now it was starting to feel like home. Not his old home. There wasn't enough yelling for that. But a real home, where people who cared about each other didn't run away. The angst was maybe a little more than he cared for, but at least there was enough good along with the bad.

     Seth was already up and in the kitchen, as he was most mornings. "Hey, Man," Ryan said casually, grabbing a piece of toast as it conveniently popped out of the toaster. "You, ah, trying out a new fashion statement there? Casual Tuesday?"

     He took a bite of the toast and chewed as he looked Seth over. His hair was uncombed, his face pale, and from what Ryan could see behind the island which stood in front of the young man, Seth still wore his pajamas beneath his flannel bathrobe. "Very, very casual Tuesday?" Ryan asked, raising eyebrows.

     Seth nodded once, twice, thrice, his head bobbing up and down as though once the nod began it could not stop. In actuality it evolved, bringing with it quick breaths, a raised hand, and a tense face. "uhhShoo!" And a sneeze. Behind his hand, Seth sniffled. "Sneezing and casual Tuesday, more like," he replied.

     "Oh." Ryan's face held a look of sympathy. "So I take it it's not just allergies, then?"

     Seth had spent the better part of the night before insisting that his sniffles and very occasional sneezes were due to seasonal allergies that had just stayed late, perpetuated by winds from the low pressure system blowing up from the gulf. And though they all thought he was protesting too much, none of them said anything to him about it.

     "Probably not just allergies," Seth confirmed, walking around the island and grabbing a napkin from the holder on the far counter. He blew his nose, and Ryan took a step back, warily at the terrible sound.

     "Whoa."

     "Yeah, I know," Seth said, nodding again, though this time his head was able to stop on its own. He turned and dropped the balled up napkin in the trash beneath the sink and turned to find Ryan offering over a glass of orange juice. "You know, recent studies have shown that it might do more harm than good to drink lots of fluids while sick," Seth informed him. "I'd hate to drink this and get worse, cause that would just make you guilty, and then we'd both be miserable." His usual quick speech and light lisp were accompanied by congestion and he sniffed a few times pointedly afterwards.

     Ryan sighed. He wasn't exactly used to making kind gestures, and it had taken all he had to think it up and execute it. "Just drink the juice," he said, rolling his eyes and forcing it on Seth.

     Seth took a few sips as he walked back over to the island and leaned forward, up against it for support. Crossing his arms on the island countertop, he envisioned having a nice bowl of hot water and a towel he could use to hold the steam in as he breathed it. But, as it was, there was nothing on the countertop now except for the orange juice and his arms, which were quickly followed by his head as he laid against his arms.

     "Why don't you just go back to bed?" Ryan asked, a bit perplexed as to why Seth would have bothered getting up and out of it so early anyway.

     Seth sniffled into his sleeve and jerked forward with another sneeze. "uhhhIHShoo! HShoo!" He groaned and lifted his head, rubbing a finger against his nose. "Marissa's coming to pick us up this morning, right?"

"Yes, she... why?" Ryan polished off the piece of toast, looking a bit confused.

     "Then I have an extra five minutes to feel miserable before I have to go get dressed and..." his voice died away and his eyes closed. "huh... uhhShoo! huShhhhh!" He grimaced as he sneezed the second one into his hand. Then he crossed the kitchen again for another napkin.

"Oh, yeah. Well that makes sense," Ryan agreed. "Except that you're *sick*!" Seth coughed, then nodded, running his hand through his dark brown hair. "Why aren't you staying home?"

     "Cad't," he replied, making a face at how he sounded. He sniffed hard. Then he started rambling quickly again. "If I miss school, they're going to know... you know, because I won't be there. And then they'll stop by and see me all sick in bed and I really don't want that. Not just because they'd see me all sick but because they'd be together to see me all sick."

     Ryan blinked. After half a year living with Seth, it seemed he was still getting the hang of him. "And by 'they' you mean Anna and Summer?"

     Seth nodded woefully. "Have you seen how girls are when a guy's sick? They're all smothery and motherly and all those other things I'd probably be able to remember words for if I wasn't feeling so sick." He held up a hand at Ryan's doubtful look. "And not that it's all bad... just not so much... and not both at the same time... I could maybe handle one girl plumping my pillow and holding orange juice for me to sip through a straw but two fighting over who's going to take my temperature next? No, Man. I can't handle that."

     Ryan rolled his eyes. "You've got to chose eventually, Seth--" Seth held up a finger and Ryan shook his head, knowing what Seth was going to try to said to stop him. "Ah-ah. No. Chistmukkah or no Christmukkah. You're going to have to choose between them sooner or later."

     "It's not going to be sooner," Seth said. The pounding in his head was getting worse by the second, and he rubbed his hand against the back of his neck to try and ease it away. It did not work. "And it's definitely not going to be this afternoon," he groaned.

     This, Ryan could not argue with. But neither did he think Seth should go to school in such a condition. "Look, I'll cover for you. I'll make sure they don't come over. I'm sure they've got shopping to do or something. Don't... don't girls always have shopping to do?" Seth nodded. "Well, you can stay home then."

     Seth seemed a bit hesitant to agree, but his answer was postponed by another sneeze coming on. He waved his hand in front of his face, signaling its arrival dramatically and frowning as he tried to lure the sneeze out past just the tickle it was giving his nose. "uhh... huh..." Finally it struck, and he pitched forward. "huhSHOO!" He paused a moment, eyes closed, frozen in the position of catching the sneeze in his hand. Then came a second. "uhhhShehhh!" He sniffed hard and groaned again.

     "Hold on," Ryan said, heading out through the breakfast room area to the bathroom. When he returned, box of Kleenex in hand, Seth shook his head, sniffling. "Oh, come on. Just take the box and blow your nose." Ryan rolled his eyes and pitched it over.

     Seth fumbled the pass, but caught it before it hit the floor. Reluctantly he pulled out a few tissues and set the box on the counter. He leaned again against the island, both elbows on it, bent over, sort of curling in on himself to hide himself from view as he blew his nose. The sound was less than pleasant. "Ugh... sorry..." He sighed, wiping his nose dry with another tissue and balling up all three in a fist.

     "Yeah, and you're planning on going to classes today and have Anna and Summer *not* notice that you're sneezing like this?"

     Seth shrugged. "Well, I thought it was worth a... try..." He swayed a moment, leaning further into the island. "hehUhshhhh! huhShooo! uhhShhooo!"

     "Just sit down," Ryan told him, watching as Seth tried to manage to keep his dizziness under control.

     Seth headed over, with the orange juice and tissue box, to the table and sat down in one chair, slouching and sniffling. He knew perfectly well that he wasn't going to be able to make it through classes, let alone while trying to pretend he wasn't sick. He just hadn't figured it all out yet. He needed more time. And he needed his cold to clear up right now. Maybe if he gave it a moment, it just might. He was always talking about Christmukkah miracles. And this time he really needed a miracle.

     He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, as though releasing his cold. But then, suddenly, he snapped forward. "uhhhKshoo!" He opened his eyes back up and rubbed at his nose. No such luck, it seemed.

     "Stay home today," Ryan said, rubbing his hand over the top of Seth's head, ruffling his already untidy hair. "You really look sick."

     Seth shook his head. "Appearances can be deceiving. I can manage it. I look worse than I feel." But even he looked doubtful about it. He didn't need the expression mirrored in Ryan's face. But Ryan looked concerned as well, and Seth had to wonder if he somehow looked worse than he had just a couple minutes before when he woke up and checked himself in the mirror.

"Morning!" Sandy called, gliding into the kitchen. "Kristen left early for a meeting already, so if you boys need a ride to school, you'd better ask me now," he said on his way in, going straight for the toaster. His brow furrowed as he paused and stared at it in all its empty glory. "All right. Will the toast pilferer please step forward?"

     Ryan raised his hand guiltily but poured the man a glass of orange juice quickly to make up for it. As Sandy nodded a thank you and took a drink, he narrowed his eyes at his son. "Don't tell me. Pajama spirit day at the prep school?" he guessed. "Or are you just feeling as sick as you obviously look?"

     Ryan threw his arms up in the air. "You see? That's what I said."

     Seth glared at him. And Sandy pointed silently towards the toaster as a subtle sign to stay out of the discussion. Ryan automatically went to the breadbox and pulled out two pieces to make the man some replacement toast.

     "So what's with this?" Sandy asked his son suspiciously.

     Seth shook his head. "Late start." He shrugged. He could tell from his face that his father was not buying that for a moment.

     Pushing the lever down on the toaster, Ryan coughed something that sounded remarkably like "Sick."

     Seth gave him another look, feeling that Ryan owed him a little allegiance in his time of need. They'd been through so much in the last few months that they were as close as brothers. The least he could have done was back Seth up a little. Seth rubbed at his nose. "Just a little something. Maybe. Possibly. It's nothing, really."

     "Well it's either something or it's nothing," Sandy laughed. "So which is it?"

     Ryan stuck his head out from behind the fridge door, having retrieved a jar of preserves for the toast. "Something," he mouthed to Sandy.

     "It's nothing," Seth insisted. But a beat later, the cold betrayed him. His breath caught and his body tensed. "huhIHHShhh! uhhShhh!" He tried to restrain the sneezes, but even that he wasn't able to do.

     "Your nothing here sounds remarkably like something," Sandy said, walking over to Seth. "Come here, let me feel your forehead." He pressed his hand to Seth's forehead, frowning. After a few moments of pause, he said casually, with a firm shake of his head, "Yeah, you're not going to school today."

     "But Dad, you don't understand. I don't need it right now from Anna and Summer. I don't want to give them an excuse to come over and see me sick. I don't want them talking with each other about why I wasn't there."

Sandy raised an eyebrow, then turned to Ryan. "Did he try this line of reasoning with you?"

     "Mmm," Ryan answered with a nod, licking peach preserves off the knife before putting it in the dishwater. "I didn't go for it either. Told him he should go back to bed."

     "He should!" Sandy agreed, nodding adamantly.

     "If I intended to stay the day in bed," Seth argued, "I wouldn't have got up and out in the first place." He rose from the chair and walked across the kitchen. "Now I'm going to go back to my room, get changed in the two minutes I have before Marissa comes with a ride, and go off to the higher halls of learning as I'm supposed to. Where, I might add, I'll do my best to look and sound like it's nothing even if it is, indeed, a little something." His breath caught at the end of his short speech, and he grabbed the edge of the nearby counter. "heh... huhChhhh! uhhShooo! uhhhSheew!" He still had a few tissues in hand, and he rubbed them at his nose. His dark eyes remained closed as he felt one last sneeze coming on. "uhhh... uhhHIHShhhh!" He fell forward with the force and overbalanced. Ryan bolted over and grabbed him, holding him steady. When Seth nodded and took over, standing under his own volition once again, he sniffed and rubbed more at his nose. "See?" he said. "I'll be all right. It's nothing."

     "You nearly lost it right there, Man," Ryan pointed out.

     "And you're burning up," Sandy said.

     "It's just a few sneezes. I'll be fine to go to school."

     "No, you're sick," said Ryan.

     "And you need to be in bed," said Sandy.

     Seth shook his head again. The orange juice and tissues he'd accepted. He'd even taken a seat under Ryan's request. But he wasn't going to budge on this subject. He knew it would be best for all parties if he went to school. And for the sake of Anna and Summer, he could suffer a day or two of misery in classes. No, nothing was going to make him give in. "I can... go to... huhh... to... uhhhHIHShooo! huhShooo! uhShhhh! Kshhhh!" He swayed again, finding Ryan's strong arms around him, supporting him. "Can go to school," he breathed weakly, wishing there was something he could take to clear his head completely from the congestion and fever he felt starting to take a hold of him.

     "Go to bed, Buddy," Sandy told him, already reaching for the kitchen phone. "I'll call you in sick."

     Seth shook his head, or attempted to. It took energy, and it felt as though it were just tilting from one side to another on his neck.

     "Just go to bed," Ryan said firmly, insistence flaring in his eyes.

     Seth sighed, out of energy to reason any more, for a change. When moments ago he'd been dead set on school, he suddenly felt the need to crawl back beneath his covers and sleep for the morning. Then when he woke up, he'd have some hot soup and then curl up in bed reading comics for the rest of the day until he started feeling better. "Okay," he whispered weakly.

     "Okay?" Ryan repeated. "Just like that?"

     Seth nodded. "You'll think up something to tell Anna and Summer to keep them from coming over?" Seth rubbed at his nose some more as Ryan walked him back to his room.

     "Yeah, sure, Man."

     Seth sighed again with great relief. They didn't speak again as Ryan helped Seth to his bedroom and into bed. He took the shed bathrobe and hung it up on the back of the door. "Got enough blankets and stuff?" he asked, looking Seth over.

     Seth presently seemed most concerned with the tissue supply, but nodded. "I'll be all right. Thanks."

     Ryan flipped the light switch off as he left, passing Sandy, who was eating the toast as he walked down the hallway to see Seth before leaving for work. They nodded to each other. And Ryan smiled. This was what it was like to have a family, to care about people, to have people care what he did and said. This, this he could handle.