Take Care

"You did not!"

My mom smiled at me, setting my bowl of soup on the night stand beside my bed. She reached out and patted my head, brushing my hair away from my eyes, but I just scowled. I didn't care how much my mom was trying to suck up to me now; I couldn't believe she had done that! What good did she think would come of it?

"Sorry, Touko. But Cheren and Bel called wondering why they couldn't get a hold of you with the Xtransceiver. Apparently they're in Karakusa Town, and they wanted to meet up with you for a battle. Of course I told them that you're home sick. What did you expect me to tell them?" My mom put her hands on her hips, chuckling to herself as if saying anything else was the most ridiculous idea ever.

"Um, anything other than that? They're my best friends… Bel is just going to come running over here to make sure I'm okay, and I don't really need that." I crossed my arms, relaxing against my pillow and scowling again. "And Cheren… well, he'll come just because he'll want that battle. Sick or not, it's no excuse for him."

My mom continued to smile at me, reaching over and stirring my soup, bringing up some noodles and vegetables. "Cheren may be driven, but I'm sure he'll still want to make sure that you're feeling okay. Because you're right: they are your best friends. Just because you've all gone your separate ways in your journeys doesn't mean that your friendship has just vanished. Wouldn't you go visit Cheren or Bel if they were sick?"

I took the bowl of soup from my mom, stuffing some of it into my mouth. It burned my tongue, but the heat felt nice on my sore throat. "Well, yeah, if their moms or dads had told me that they were sick. But if they didn't tell me, I wouldn't show up. So, thanks a lot, Mom. Really. Cheren is going to be mad at me…"

She just rolled her eyes at me. "You know Cheren better than I do, I suppose." She patted my head again, turning around and walking towards the door. "Shout down if you need anything, okay, Touko? Finish up your soup and take a nap. You'll probably feel better by the time Bel and Cheren get here if you do."

I groaned in response, taking another sip of my soup. It wasn't that I didn't want to see my friends. I always loved seeing them, no matter what the situation, but my mom didn't have to tell them I was sick. They would, of course, come running back to Kanoko Town to see me. And sure, they were only in Karakusa Town, so it wouldn't be as though they were going completely out of the way to come back home. But I hated being sick. And somehow, having friends visit made it seem way worse than it was. It wasn't like I was dying.

And Cheren… I didn't want him to be mad at me. Anything but that…

When I finished my soup, I turned off my television and closed my eyes, hoping that a nap would indeed do some good. But I couldn't fall asleep for the life of me; I tossed and turned, coughed and sneezed, trying to get some rest before my friends showed up. Nothing worked, no position felt comfortable, and I ended up just lying there for however long.

The doorbell rang, and I heard the shuffling of feet downstairs as multiple people entered the house. I sighed, knowing it was Cheren and Bel, but I just turned on my side. I definitely wasn't going to sleep now, and I didn't feel any better. But maybe if they saw me "sleeping", they would leave. I didn't want to waste their time—or get them sick.

The two of them stomped up the stairs, barging into my room without so much as knocking. I winced as the door slammed against my wall, shoving my face into my pillow to keep myself from laughing. It was almost too hard to stop myself as Bel chastised Cheren for being too rough, that I was probably exhausted, but I managed to stifle a laugh.

"Well, look, she's sleeping. The poor girl…" Bel whispered to Cheren, though her whisper was still obnoxiously loud. "You know, I… I thought all of this fresh air would be good for us, going out on an adventure and stuff… but our immune systems just can't handle it all! It's amazing none of us got sick sooner."

Cheren laughed dryly, and my stomach knotted up at the sound. It wasn't as if hearing his voice was a rare thing; in fact, the tone was so familiar to me that I could pick him out of a crowd if I had to. But the thing was, hearing his voice made me tense up, a strange sensation coming over me whenever I heard it. And when I saw him—that sensation exploded like fireworks within me.

Was it wrong for me to be in love with my best friend? Probably. No situation like that ever worked out for either person, and I knew I would have to get over him. The only problem was… the more I saw him, the more I fell for him. His relatively snarky attitude and brains might have been a turn-off for some girls, but for me, I loved it.

So, it was just better if he left now. I didn't want to have to look at him.

"Our immune systems can handle it just fine," Cheren said, not even bothering to whisper—yet, somehow, his voice was still softer than Bel's. "Touko probably sat out in the cold too long. But you can't actually get sick from just sitting out in the cold… The viruses that cause colds and the flu actually just manifest more in the winter because people aren't as active. But if Touko was around someone who had a cold…"

"Oh. Right." Bel sighed, and I could hear her walk around my room. "Well, like I said, she's sleeping. We probably shouldn't bother her. We can come back later and see if she's awake, and I'll just tell her mom to tell Touko that we stopped by. What time do you want to come back? Because I have all day! But I, uh—oh!"

A loud ringing from an Xtransceiver interrupted her, and Bel whipped hers out as fast as she could to answer it. "Hello? Dad, hi… yeah, I'm at Touko's house. She's sick. Yeah, I know, Dad." Bel groaned angrily, and Cheren sighed exasperatedly. "Yeah, I know! Touko's asleep, Dad… I wanted to come back later… Well, I don't know. Whenever she wakes up! Tell Mom to hold off on dinner, then… Yes, Cheren's here, too. No, I told you, she's asleep! What? Oh, fine. I'll be there in a minute, okay?"

There was a beep as Bel hung up her Xtransceiver, and Bel stomped around my room. "My mom and dad want me to go home for dinner. I'll probably come back here later, if you want to come with me. Want me to call you?" Cheren must have nodded or shook his head because there was no audible response. "Are you coming?"

"In a minute…"

Silence followed this, and I closed my eyes, trying to figure out what Cheren meant by that. What would he do in here if Bel wasn't here and I was "sleeping"? But Cheren always seemed to know what he was talking about. He was very one-dimensional, his mind always on a single track, but that track was well-known to him.

"Cheren…" Bel started, dropping her voice down to a legitimate whisper, and there was a long pause as no one said anything. "Cheren, can you be completely honest with me? I think we've been friends long enough that we can trust each other, but… don't lie, okay? Because I'll totally know if you are. Do you love Touko?"

"We both do," Cheren responded quietly.

Bel giggled, her voice getting a tad louder. "I don't mean it like that. Of course we all love each other! You're like my brother, and Touko is like my sister! But you don't see Touko like your sister, do you? You see her as a girl… someone that you have a crush on, maybe? Do you love Touko like that, Cheren?"

It took everything in me to not move then, to kick up the covers and stop Cheren from answering that question. Because as much as I loved him, and as much as I wanted to know his answer, there was something bigger in me that didn't want to hear the word "no". I didn't want to be disappointed, and I didn't want to change anything in the way Cheren and Bel and I got along. I didn't want to be the one to make things awkward.

But I didn't move. I didn't kick up my covers and stop him.

"Bel, I don't want to—"

"Oh, I don't care!" Bel sounded so completely happy that it really sounded like she would be ecstatic if he said yes. "Don't worry about me, Cheren! The heart feels what the heart feels, and if you really do love Touko, then that's okey dokey with me! It doesn't have to mean that things between all of us will change."

Cheren must not have liked this response since he remained silent again. Then, after a moment, he sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I don't know how… I mean… Once we were all just friends, and everything was fine. And then she… oh, I don't even know. I have no idea why, and it's so completely frustrating."

Bel laughed, her giggle turning hysterical very quickly. "Love kind of works that way, Cheren. Or so I've heard, anyway. It doesn't have to make sense. And the more you think about it, the less it usually does." I heard steps, and I couldn't tell if it was Bel or Cheren leaving. The answer was quickly revealed as Bel spoke again. "I have to go. But maybe you should, you know, say something to her when she wakes up. See you, Cheren! Take care of her!"

"Bye…" Cheren muttered in response, sounding completely disappointed.

I wanted to say something. But there was something stopping me from throwing off my covers again, and I remained in my bed in silence, opening my eyes and staring at the wall. If Cheren thought I was awake, he probably wouldn't have said anything. And when I officially woke up, he probably still wouldn't say anything, contrary to Bel's advice.

Not much time passed until Cheren finally began walking towards my door. His steps were soft, like he was tip-toeing, and I frowned. The feeling in my stomach hadn't left since he had been in the room, and knowing that he was leaving made the feeling bubble even more. I couldn't just let him go now… not knowing what he had admitted.

"Cheren, wait!" I called before I could convince myself not to speak. The boy gasped in surprise, and I rolled over, sitting slowly up in my bed. He stopped himself in the doorway, spinning around to face me, and when I looked at him, a tiny blush crawled to his cheeks. Funny. Cheren blushing was an unusual sight.

He tried to play it cool, pretend that I hadn't heard. Deep down, I knew that he knew I had. But he shoved his hands in his pockets anyway, walking back towards me and clearing his throat. "Cool" wasn't usually a word I associated with the poor boy, but his attempt was still cute. That much I could admit.

"Oh, Touko… how are you feeling?"

I smiled, folding my hands together as Cheren walked closer to my bed. "Well, my throat is killing me, I'm losing my voice, and I think I have a fever. But I'm feeling really good," I admitted, and Cheren raised an eyebrow. "You didn't lie to Bel, did you? You wouldn't have said that if you had wanted to lie."

Cheren froze, looking completely horrified now. "How much did you hear?"

"Everything." I looked down at my hands, a little ashamed now. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, Cheren. I really didn't. I was hoping the two of you would leave if you thought I was sleeping—not that I didn't want you guys here! I just… you know… being sick and all…" I stopped, looking back at him. "I'm kind of glad I heard though."

He narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms and looking annoyed. "I'm sure."

"No, I really am!" I said, my voice cracking as I spoke. "Cheren, you're a lot braver than I am. I've been in love with you for so long now, and I was too afraid to tell anyone. I couldn't even tell Bel. I was too afraid to hear that you didn't feel the same. And maybe that was wrong of me… but weren't you scared, too?"

"You…"

"Feel the same, Cheren." I smiled at him, and the look of annoyance changed to one of shock. "Don't act so surprised."

Cheren took another step closer towards me, his legs rubbing up against the side of my bed. "Are you sure you didn't drink too much cold medicine? Your mom probably gave you too much, and you're hallucinating. Be honest: are the drugs going to your head, Touko?" He reached out to me, moving his hand towards my forehead. "Because I wouldn't—"

I grabbed his hand, pulling him down towards me and kissing him briefly on the lips. "I didn't take any cold medicine."

"Oh." The blush returned to Cheren's cheeks, and I felt my own heat up. I knew it wasn't the fever making me feel so warm. "Well, then, the cold itself is making you really crazy, then…" I narrowed my eyes at him, and he sat down on the edge of my bed. "But, I mean, I guess as long as you are crazy, then it's okay…"

And before I even had time to laugh, he kissed me again. I was starting to feel a whole lot better already.

"Hello?" I picked up my Xtransceiver, smiling when I saw Cheren's face pop up on the screen. That feeling in my stomach still wouldn't leave, but for once, I was okay with it staying. "Hey Cheren, what's up? I want you to know, by the way, that I'm feeling a lot better! It must have been a twenty-four hour flu or something."

Cheren didn't appear so impressed by this. "Yeah… I know. You gave it to me."

"What?"

"You gave the flu to me. When we, er, kissed, I'm assuming." He coughed, and I bit my lip to suppress a laugh. "It's not funny, Touko. Do you know how terrible this is? My mom can't make soup for the life of her, and I'm tired of sitting in my bed feeling like crap. I can only read so many books in one sitting, and—"

I rolled my eyes, interrupting him. "I'll be over in a minute. I know some special medicine! It made me feel a whole lot better when you came over yesterday!"

"If you get me any sicker—"

"Bye, Cheren. I'll be there in a bit!"

"Touko, I'm not—"

"Bye!"

I hung up my Xtransceiver before Cheren could get in another word. And without wasting any time, I hurried over to Cheren's house to take care of him. Because I supposed I owed him for getting him sick.

But then again, I supposed that was the price to pay for happiness.

Author's Note: Yay! My first Black and White Pokémon fanfiction! Isn't this exciting, folks? And since we definitely need more Touko/Cheren fanfiction/fanart out there, I thought I would do my OTP a favor. XD

Since I know a few of you are concerned, this doesn't mean the end of Lyra/Silver fanfictions from me (or any other HGSS pairings). Don't worry! I know everyone is really excited about Black and White, so everyone's attention is drawn away from HGSS right now, but I still have PMDD and Speechless going.

Anyway, I believe I'm writing a Touko/Touya one-shot next. ;) Look for that… eventually.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.