Axel waited in the kitchen a moment, then sighed heavily and followed Riku down the hall. Standing in the hall across from the doorway, he watched as Riku fumbled with the kit, then fumbled with the thermometer, and then sagged against the door. He clicked his tongue and dropped to a crouch beside him.

"If you wanted a thermometer you should'a just said so, dummy," Axel said, reaching out and planting one bare palm against Riku's brow. One didn't work with fire as much as he did and not learn how to tell exactly how hot something was. He frowned a bit and then pulled his hand back. "Thirty-seven and change," he said (flames were easier to handle in Celsius, he'd found), "which means you're running at about a hundred, kiddo, congratulations."

Getting back to his feet and leaning against the opposite wall again, he cocked his head to one side.

"Is this a semiannual thing with you?" he asked, though it was curiosity, not derision, that colored his tone. "Weren't you sick at Christmas, too?"

The thermometer beeped then, and Axel waved a hand as if encouraging Riku to check his assessment for accuracy.