It was a little before dinner when it all started. Luna stood up quickly and nearly collapsed under the fatigue. Menori was too busy with cleaning her hands to notice, but Adam not too far away tilted his head in confusion.
Luna had been acting a little off for a while, and right now, for example, she looked about to pass out. The red head caught his eye, and forced a smile, waving at him. Adam smiled and waved back, but he wasn't stupid. He had seen that look before, when Menori had gotten what Chako had called the 'flu'.
Later, when they sat at dinner, nobody else seemed to notice the way Luna seemed paler than usual, or the way her hands shook slightly whenever she took a spoonful of soup. She hadn't touched her food except for the few spoons of soup that she had eaten.
"Adam? Are you not hungry?" Asked Kaoru, and the boy turned to face the dark haired one.
Howard stopped mid conversation with Sharla. "Well, if you're not hungry…" He started, but Kaoru stopped him with one look.
Adam gave him an apologetic smile. "I was thinking, sorry." He answered, digging in his soup much to Howard's chagrin. When they had all finished eating, Adam couldn't help but notice that Luna's bowl was still half full.
He resolved to do something about it the next day.
By the time Chako woke him up the next day, Luna had taken off with Howard to look for food. He went first to Menori. "Menori?" He called, as the girl cleaned the rest of the house with a broom.
The girl looked up at him distracted. "Adam. Why don't you go play with Pague?" She asked, but Adam persisted.
"Menori, I need to speak to you!" He continued, and the girl gave a sigh. She stopped. Adam continued before she could say anything. "I think Luna's sick." he announced, and Menori frowned.
"Why? Did she say something?" Adam bit his lower lip.
"No, but she looks off lately. And she didn't eat the soup yesterday." He explained, suddenly feeling like his points were invalid by the way Menori gave him a fond look.
"I know you are worried about her, but Luna is fine. She has a lot on her mind, and you know that lizard meat soup is her least favourite." She explained easily, and started cleaning again, clearly declaring their conversation finished.
Adam knew he wasn't wrong. There was something going on with Luna. He turned on his heels and ran out. "I'll be right back!" He shouted at Charla when she asked him where he was off to and he continued running until he reached his destination.
The dark haired boy stopped mid step with a fish in his hands and looked at him questiongly. Adam took a deep breath. "Luna is paler than usual, and she seems off, and yesterday she barely ate! I think she's sick like Menori was." He announced.
Kaoru didn't ask him anything else and put his fish in the basket. "Okay." He said simply and started walking towards the woods. Adam gaped at him and Kaoru arched an eyebrow. "Let's go." He goaded him, and finally Adam gave him a grateful look. Kaoru was the best.
They made their way towards where they usually searched for food, and it wasn't too long before they found Luna. She was sitting in the shadow of one of the trees with a few fruits scattered next to her. Howard was nowhere to be seen. She sat up when she saw them and blinked a few times before she could focus on them. Kaoru gave her a long assessing look, but Luna just smiled. "Kaoru! Adam! What are you doing here?" She asked, and Kaoru looked at her in the eye.
"Adam says you are sick." He said evenly and Luna looked at Adam guiltily for a second.
She gave an innocent shrug. "Probably just a cold, I'm fine. I can still work." She said quickly. Kaoru didn't answer, and she looked at Adam. "Sorry, Adam." She said in the end.
Adam looked up at Kaoru. Surely he didn't believe her? Kaoru walked towards her and put a hand on her forehead. Before she could even protest, he took it off. "You don't go overheating like this just for a cold, Luna." He said easily, but the redhead was equally stubborn.
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Kaoru, drop it! I'm fine." She said, trying to stand up.
Kaoru shook his head again. "Don't be reckless. You need to lay down for a bit."
Luna held the tree for support, which was ironic for someone who claimed to be perfectly fine. "You can't force me to bed, Kaoru! I'm fine, and you are not a doctor."
The dark haired boy seemed amused by this, and turned to face Adam. "Can you carry the fruit?" He asked him, and Adam nodded, glad to help. Kaoru simply put down the fish and walked towards Luna. The girl looked at him puzzled, but understanding the moment she felt her knees giving out. Kaoru tripped her and then slung her over his shoulder.
"Kaoru! Put me down!" She ordered blushing, and the other didn't bother refusing as he held the fish with one hand.
"Let's go." He ordered Adam who picked up the scarce fruits and gave Luna a smile.
"It's for your own good." He said, sagely parroting what Luna had told Menori when she had handed her medicine.
Luna gave a long suffering sigh. "I'm fine, honestly." She complained.
Kaoru rolled his eyes. "Let Chako asses that." He advised, and Luna stopped struggling. Adam counted it as a small win.
"Luna! Why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Asked Chako, after checking her temperature.
Luna glared at the table. "I'm fine." she mumbled, stubborn, ready to take off again.
"You clearly aren't." Said Charla, looking at her worriedly. She sounded afflicted. "I can't believe we didn't notice!" She said in the end, and the table shifted nervously.
"I did notice." Pointed out Kaoru, and everyone looked at him in surprise. "But I wasn't sure it wasn't my imagination until Adam came to tell me." He explained, and Menori regarded him guiltily.
"Sorry for not believing you, Adam." she apologized, and Adam grinned at her, proud of having noticed. "It's okay, Menori." He waved her off.
"If you try to run for it, I will catch you." Said Kaoru, not raising his head from his plate, but Luna paused and glared at him.
"Kaoru! You can't stop me!" She half shouted, and Kaoru gave her an amused look.
He turned to Chako, who grinned and nodded at him. Then he stood up and threw Luna over his shoulder again. "You ought to have learned not to try to tell me what to do and not do." He said, once they were inside the house. He deposited her on her bed, and Luna turned on the other side, while Kaoru slung down on the floor. "You should be fine in a day or two, but Chako thinks you have Ambrosy Fever." Luna gasped, and Kaoru kept talking. "The one where you go almost in delirium because you overheat so much. If Adam and I hadn't acted, you might have passed out completely or went in a coma." He said, as if he was reading the weather.
Luna stayed silent for a second. "Thank you." She said in the end, and Kaoru didn't bother answering. "I just didn't want everyone to worry." She explained, and Kaoru sighed.
"Then you should start by actually telling people when you don't feel well. There shouldn't be secrets between us." He said, and this time Luna stayed silent. Sharla came in a few moments later with some fresh water and a handkerchief for Luna.
Kaoru made to leave, but Luna grabbed him by the hem of his shirt. The boy glanced at her, but her expression was hidden by the pillow. "Stay." She said, simply.
Kaoru sat back down, and Sharla gave him a small smile. "I think she feels guilty. You do it?" She asked, and Kaoru nodded, although surprised. He had assumed that Sharla would rather remain. With a small smile curling at the corner of his mouth he bathed the handkerchief in the water, and set to work.
Luna woke up suddenly, gasping for air as the nightmare faded from her eyes. She felt hot, hotter than usual, and a part of her recognized that this was just the fever. She couldn't exactly remember what was happening in the nightmare but she could remember who it was about. "Kaoru…" she whispered, hiding her flushed face in the pillow.
"Luna?" answered a voice in the dark, and the red head squinted her eyes. She could see both Sharla, Menori and Chako peacefully asleep on their beds, and Adam laying in Sharla's bed. It wasn't them who spoke.
Only then she noticed that her hand was firmly clasped in someone else's. Kaoru's. She stared at him baffled. "Why are you on the floor, Kaoru?" she asked, and the boy arched an eyebrow at her.
"You asked me to stay." He reminded her, and Luna marvelled the idea. She had asked him to stay, and he had. That was so cute that it made her giggle.
Kaoru glanced at her with concern, but she just laughed a him. She then pushed the covers off herself. "Kaoru, I'm hot." She complained, and for some reason, the boy blushed and looked away.
The red head looked down at herself in confusion. She was wearing her long sleeved shirt and her shorts. What was there to get embarrassed about? The boy cleared his throat, and gently pushed her back towards the pillow. "You should go back to sleep. You are still quite high on whatever Chako gave you." He explained, and Luna fought against him.
She gave him a dazzling smile. "You know that Luna means moon in about 10 different languages? I want to see the moon, Kaoru."
If she had asked Sharla, she would have probably drawn the moon to her. Chako would have laughed, and forced her back to bed. Menori would have opened the window and pointed the moon to her. Kaoru looked at her, scrutinizing. "Can you stand?" he asked her, easily, and Luna stared at him in surprise.
Luna tried to stand, but nearly collapsed again. Her current state found the situation extremely amusing, and she started giggling. Kaoru just sighed. "Come on, I'll carry you." He said instead, and Luna smiled broadly.
"You are my knight in shining armour." She said, wrapping her arms around Kaoru's neck. The boy gave her a half smile as he pushed her legs around his waist, effectively carrying her in piggyback.
"But you are not usually a damsel in distress." He countered, and Luna didn't answer, content with putting her head on his shoulder and saying nothing more. Silently, they made their way down the stairs and finally they were outside. The night was calm, with the moon high in the sky shining. Luna gave a long sigh. "I might not be a damsel in distress, but I'm so tired." She told him, and it took Kaoru a second to retrace the conversation.
He awkwardly patted her socked foot, hoping it came off as understanding and sympathetic. "It's okay. We're all tired."
"Do you think we'll ever go back to the Colony?" this time, the question took him by surprise. Her fever was probably still very high if she let go of all her defences and managed to sound so unsure all of a sudden.
She had always been the one people went on for reassurance. People demanded her attention, begging her to tell them it was going to be all right, and she always did. And for her to come to him, to ask him for reassurance was both frightening and source of pride. "I think we will try our hardest." He said simply, and Luna gave a small smile.
"Can we go closer to the lake? I want to feel the water." She asked, and the boy didn't hesitate to move forward.
Kaoru helped her down plastering himself on her back and securely wrapping his arms around her waist so that she wouldn't topple over. The red head sighed contently, her skin hot against his. Kaoru wasn't entirely sure it was just the fever, or rather, hoped it wasn't be just that. Luna started speaking, so quietly he wasn't sure she was speaking to him at all. "I have a dream, you know. An imagination I like entertaining sometimes. It's me, and you, and Adam, and everyone. But me and you are older, we have grey hair. We are happy. You smile. Howard is sitting not too far, old and complaining, but not lonely. Sharla is telling a story to some kids, and Adam is helping her. Adam is older too but not too much. He's holding a girl in his arms, and she's calling him onii-chan. The girl has blue eyes and brown hair. Menori is listening to another small baby playing her violin, and she's content. Shingo is sitting in a strange machine built by one of the kids and Bell is happily cuddling another baby. We are in the colony, but it's a new colony that looks like Adam's planet. It's... Everything is perfect." She sighed again. "I wish the dream was real."
Kaoru couldn't help but squeeze her tighter. The picture she had conjured seemed so appealing. In that moment, he promised himself he would do anything in his power to make the dream a reality. He brushed his lips against the back of her hair. "It's not a dream. It's the future." He promised, but Luna was already fast asleep. When Luna finally woke up the sun was high in the sky and everyone was laying next to her on the bed. She blinked slowly and Howard huffed at her. "Finally you decide to wake up, you lazy girl!" He complained.
Chako shushed him. "Listen to who's preaching." She scoffed, and the blond boy flared up. "Excuse me?!"
Menori smiled down at her, fixing Luna's fringe with a finger. "How are you feeling?" She asked, as Sharla clapped her hands in joy.
"Chako said that you'll be perfectly fine in a few hours." She explained.
Bell grinned. "Don't worry, I already covered your turn today."
Shingo nodded. "And I helped him."
Adam shushed him, pointing at someone who seemed to be still fast asleep. Only then Luna noticed that her hand was still clasped to Kaoru's, who was asleep on the floor of her bed. She found herself smiling dopily at the boy who probably hadn't let go of her hand since the day before. Try as hard as she could she couldn't remember if they had spoken at all the day before of if he had just stayed with her, holding hands for the entire day. Adam was smiling knowingly, a mischievous glint in his eyes that made Luna think that he knew more than he let on.
"Thank you, guys. But I think we should let Kaoru rest." She said instead, looking at the dark haired boy with fondness. Kaoru spoke then, without opening his eyes.
"Hard, since they make more noise than a pack of Pagues." He said, sending Howard in another bitching match about respect and Kaoru you are so rude. Luna caught his eye and found him giving her a soft smile that she couldn't help but answer. It reminded her of the look that he often gave her in the dream she had, locked deep in her heart. A dream of her, of Kaoru, of Adam and of everyone.