And I'm back with another fic that frustrated the hell out of me for (believe it or not) two months. I honestly can't believe the length of time I spent reworking and revising this fic, and really, I think it could be a little better, but I'm utterly spent on it. If I try working on it more, I'll probably end up scrapping the whole thing, which'll take more time to recreate than I have at my disposal. But I did my best with it and I think it turned out alright. I hope you all like it! Any form of feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome.

Looking back now, it had probably been a bad decision. For her spectacularly keen foresight, Garnet was unfortunately unaware of the consequences, regardless of how obvious they were. She was paying for it now, congested, completely exhausted, and surrounded in puffy, voluminous pillows. Her blanket has long since been abandoned at the other end of the couch, and she was frequently zipping and unzipping her sweater, torn between the cold of the room and the heat of her skin.

Garnet was sick.

She was sick, her throat was sore for whatever reason it had for being sore, and she was stuck blowing her stuffy, red nose into tissues that felt too much like sandpaper. She was too chilly, too sweaty, too stuffy, too everything.

If it hadn't been clear, she was annoyed. Annoyed that she couldn't get comfortable, that the TV was stuck in an endless loop of reality shows that drove her nuts with its overall stupidity, that the entirety of her left leg had gone numb while she sat, that she brushed her teeth several times over to get rid of the 'I'm sick' feeling lingering on her tongue, everything. Especially with her phone, which was constantly going off with text messages and voice-mails.

Every other minute, there'd be the telltale sound of her ringtone or the jittery beeping of the text tone, and even though she'd taken to shoving the offending device as far into the couch cushions as she could, the beeping was still as clear and as broad as the sunlight streaming through the curtains and burning her eyes.

She was absolutely sure the sun was mocking her, intentionally angling itself to flit its rays at her face in a gesture that all but screamed I told you so, even if it had nothing to tell. The sun was being a smug son of a bitch, especially since it had been yesterday's dismal weather that had brought about her surprise flu in the first place.

She and Pearl had spent that morning at the library, looking for a book that Pearl deemed worthy to occupy her time with. After coming up empty, they'd taken an admittedly long walk to the bookstore Peridot worked at part time to try their luck. Pearl did, in fact, find three hefty novels she was hellbent on reading, and Garnet had even found one that peaked her interest. Peridot had warned them, while she was ringing them up, that a storm was approaching and they'd best get home soon. Unfortunately, they didn't take the warning to heart. When the rain began to pour (and pour hard), they were a good five miles from home with dead phones and spare change that amounted to nothing useful, very effectively stranded.

Garnet had somehow managed to convince herself that it would be pointless to make the likely long and tedious trek back. After stowing their books underneath a park bench, she took Pearl by the hand and pulled her into the deluge, to the petite woman's delighted shock. They spent their time dancing, kissing, and giggling like teenagers in an old 90's movie, the thunder and droplets acting as their background music. It was stupid, childish almost, but the thought hardly occurred to her when she was doubled over with laughter and pressing breathy kisses to Pearl's flushed face. Amethyst and Jasper eventually drove out to find them, and came upon the pai sometime before sunset, completely drenched, spinning, and starry eyed.

She didn't regret a moment she spent with Pearl, but the first symptoms of a fever began to show in the following few hours after she'd been driven home, and she's been plagued with discomfort ever since she had unsuccessfully attempted to go to bed that night. After periodically dozing off and waking, the sun rose and her joints and muscles ached something fierce.

Garnet's stomach growled as she moved to change her position on the sofa. No position was remotely enjoyable; it was a simple struggle of finding the position that didn't make her want to punch her TV in. Simple in discussion, but horribly frustrating and difficult in practice. She was, at the very least, saved from the repetitive and annoying ordeal by an appetite she hadn't felt all day, and she pulled herself to her feet to navigate to the kitchen.

She spent the next few minutes rooting through her fridge, crouched low and slowly shifting lower as she delved deeper into it. Aside from condiments, her kitchen seemed entirely devoid of food. Any good food, at least. Garnet would rather starve than eat any of yesterday's leftovers. The thought of doing so made her feel a little green. In fact, pretty much whatever was left in her fridge was unappetizing. Had she gone grocery shopping at all this week? Considering her mind-numbing sick day and yesterday's storm date, it seemed likely that it would slip her mind.

She sniffed harshly, trying for the umpteenth time to unclog her nose, but failing. Should she head to the grocery store now? Or risk food poisoning on the leftovers?

Circumstance only left a few seconds of contemplation before her phone began to ring in the distance, dissonant yet infuriatingly clear. It was without further ado that she had made her decision.

"Fuck it," she proclaimed, rising to her full height and shutting the fridge door. Garnet snatched her shades and wallet off of the counter and trudged to the welcome mat to slip into her sneakers. Even if she had the patience to sit down and shrug her boots on, they were waterlogged and out of commission.

When she was ready, she tugged her hood on, zipped her sweater up, and yanked her keys off of the hook. Her phone was still ringing when she shut the door.

The grocery store was an unwelcome familiarity, too bright, too loud, and too hot. After noisily separating a cart from the one preceding it, she pushed the squeaky metal bin-on-wheels into the nearest aisle, on the lookout for sick day remedies.

Candy was unfortunately off limits, as was any form of sugar. That meant no pastries or ice cream either. Nothing too time-consuming to prepare, as her patience had been reduced by more than half when it came to her obnoxious symptoms. And not only her patience. The fatigue pressed down on her shoulders like weights, and she wiped at her achy, red nose before coughing roughly into the junction of her arm. Her stamina was disappointingly low. The urge to go home and sleep was increasing by the minute, but it was rivaled by frustration at her inability to doze off. Worse still, Garnet's shoulders and lower back were sore and tight, and just like the temperature's hot and cold situation, it was always a constant struggle between extreme discomfort and mild, achy annoyance.

She mumbled a list of food and drinks to herself, pausing briefly when she whispered 'Tea' before shrugging and continuing into the next aisle. She was never much of a tea person, but perhaps the hot liquid would help dispel her infuriating loop of tension. It always helped Pearl when she was stressed, so maybe it could work some magic on her psyche. As she walked by, she wordlessly shoved multiple boxes of the aforementioned beverage into her cart, knocking them off of the shelves without stopping the cart. After a moment of silent debating, she dropped a bag of marshmallows and cake mix into the cart as well.

Upon entering the perishable food aisle, Garnet was met with a surprising drop in temperature that made her grumble. She went about her business quickly, grabbing a bag of pizza pockets, a box of hot pockets, and a gallon of milk. She spent a minute in silent debate about her current bounty before deciding that it really didn't matter what she had; she just wanted to go back home and make another attempt at rest.

It was only after she was making her way back to the checkout did she remember what her moms always gave when she came down with a cold.

Shaking her head, Garnet gave a soft, incredulous laugh as she briefly left her cart to double back into a different aisle. Fortunately for her, there was still one can of chicken noodle soup left on the shelf.

"Garnet?"

Garnet blinked, directing her gaze to the side at the source of the voice. Unexpectedly, and certainly out of nowhere, Pearl stood a few feet away from her, clad in an oversized drawstring hoodie and long pajama pants. She blinked back, eyes wide with surprise. It was very obvious the kind of condition she was in.

"You're sick too," Garnet stated. Pearl nodded.

"You're not fairing well, either, it seems," she said, smiling sympathetically. "Which means this should be okay."

She approached her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around her midsection and burrowing her face into the crook of her neck. Garnet returned the embrace, settling her chin on Pearl's head and letting her eyes slide shut. They stood together for a moment, silent and swaying slightly. The fever tormenting Garnet felt much more bearable, and she exhaled contentedly.

"You doin' well?" she asked when they pulled away from each other. "You look like you're takin' it worse than me."

It wasn't an exaggeration. Pearl's ginger hair was disheveled and untamed, flitting over her eyes and brushing upwards at awkward angles. Her nose was red, undoubtedly sore from being rubbed by tissues all day, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. Even her voice, usually melodious in sound, was quiet and scratchy, like a violin swiping the wrong cord and breaking the string. Clad in a colorless, oversized attire, she appeared startlingly small and weak. Despite this, Pearl gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"I don't feel as bad as I look. If, that is, I'm correct in assuming that I look like death."

Garnet paused a moment.

"You... look like a college student. So a bit worse than death."

"Garnet!" Pearl admonished, giggling with wide eyes. Her companion offered only a small grin in response. "So what's brought you to the market?"

"Groceries. I forgot to get some the other day, an' all the food at my house is..." Garnet trails off, instead choosing to finish her sentence with a wrinkled nose.

"Subpar?" Pearl finished for her, cocking an eyebrow with an upward twitch of her lip.

"That's one way of puttin' it, I guess. I would've gone with 'inedible', but that works too," she replied, shaking her head at the thought of her leftovers.

"It couldn't possibly be that bad."

"Just take my word for it. I was better off buyin' my food." She paused. "Speakin' of, what brought you here? You should be restin'."

Pearl was silent a moment, looking as if she were contemplating her next words very carefully. And she was, if only to pick out a sentence that didn't make her sound like a small child.

"Well... they always said that soup was the best remedy," Pearl admitted, gesturing to the only can left on the shelf. Not many other ways she could put that. "I remember it when I was younger as well. It was always the highlight of being sick, and I was feeling a bit nostalgic, I suppose."

That was about as poised as she could ever get trying to convey, 'I walked all this way for chicken noodle soup.'.

Garnet picked up the can, turning it over in her hand. The wrapping certainly looked different from when she was a kid. The noodles also apparently looked like shells now? Regardless, it didn't matter. What mattered, and what was particularly adorable in her opinion, was that her girlfriend wanted a can of soup with a cartoon figure sailing over a rainbow printed on it.

To be fair, though, she came back for that same can of soup too, so she surmised that they were both being a little silly.

"'m here for that, too, actually. Worked when I was a kid, an' I'm kind of hopin' for a miracle."

"Oh!" Pearl said, bringing a hand to her lips. "Then by all means, it's yours!"

"Actually, if you wanted it-"

"No, it's quite alright, Garnet! I insist," Pearl urged.

Garnet frowned. Saying that Pearl needed the soup more than she did would only start a back-and-forth race, and the last thing either of them needed was to hold each other up at a grocery store of all places. Pearl already looked ready to collapse, and while Garnet was immensely concerned, she knew that she couldn't make her take the soup, especially after what she'd just said.

And then it hit her.

"I've got a bette' idea." And she very well did.

"Oh?"

"Come over t' my apartment. We can share," she suggested. "I think it'll do us both some good."

Pearl blinked, then the smile spread across her face, delighted despite the tired air that seemed to cling to her and everything she did.

"I'd like that."

"Alrigh'," Garnet began with a grin. "Jus' let me pay for my things an' we can get going."

The two made their way down the aisles, Pearl abandoning her empty basket on a nearby stack as they approached Garnet's cart. Pearl furrowed her brow at the items, reaching into the cart and holding up the box of hot pockets. As her girlfriend began to eye the contents of the cart with scrutiny, Garnet began to fully realize how ridiculous the food she'd selected had been, reevaluating what it was she'd picked and grimacing at the thought of consuming it.

"I thought you didn't eat these?" Pearl questioned, eyebrow raised. Garnet shook her head, pushing her shades up to rest in her hair and rubbing her eyes with an almost defeated sigh.

"I don't."

Both were far more exhausted than they'd originally realized. Or at the very least, Pearl was.

Upon arriving at Garnet's doorstep, it was only a matter of removing their shoes and leaving the groceries at the counter before Pearl sought out the couch. She tugged her sweater cowl over her head and pulled the drawstring, tightening the hood until only tufts of her hair stuck out from the miniature opening left that framed her nose. Garnet watched her from the door in amusement as she pulled a blanket over herself, placing two pillows on her lap and practically disappearing. A few moments of silence passed, the only noise coming from the show playing on the TV.

"Pearl?"

There was a barely audible hum in response, and Garnet took a few steps forward.

"You didn't sleep." A statement, not a question.

She made a noise that sounded like 'nope'. Garnet snickered, walking the short distance to her girlfriend's position and seating herself beside her, leaning over and dragging Pearl, covers and all, into her lap. Gently, she eased the blanket off of her shoulders and reopened her hood, kissing the tip of her nose. She hummed contentedly, blinking blearily.

"Books were good," she mumbled.

"You read them all?" Garnet asked, eyes widening slightly. That was impressive.

"Not quite."

"Almost all?"

"... Yes."

"Can't say I'm surprised," she teased affectionately.

"You shouldn't have bought me books," Pearl replied, briefly taking Garnet's face in her hands and shaking her head gently. Garnet chuckled, taking Pearl's hands and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

"Yeah... not really my fault," she dismissed, and Pearl let go of her briefly to playfully swat at her nose. Garnet wrinkled it, and Pearl giggled.

"Your fault entirely. Insistent on a date, walking five miles to Peri's bookstore, three ridiculously large books?"

"Are you implying I should love you less?" Garnet jabbed, grinning as her girlfriend made a face. Pearl shifted in her lap, turning to face her completely and knocking knees against thighs. She straddled her, but with little intent other than to maintain eye contact. Innocent enough an action in Pearl's eyes, but Garnet couldn't prevent those thoughts from invading her mind if she tried.

"I'm implying that you've given me a good reason to lose sleep," Pearl claimed, matter of fact. Garnet smirked.

"I've given you bette' reasons to lose sleep over, an' you usually don't complain," she murmured, leaning close enough to brush her nose against Pearl's. Her face reddened instantaneously, the words she'd prepared to say dissipating on her tongue. Garnet continued to smirk at her, placing her hands on the small of Pearl's back and sneakily inching them down to firmly grope her rear. She squeaked, startled, eyes widening in surprise and cheeks deepening in color. Garnet laughed heartily.

"Does being ill usually make you so concupiscent?" Pearl stuttered, eyes flitting toward and away from Garnet's hidden gaze. Ever so reserved. It was cute.

"That depends. Do you want me to be dirty with you?"

Pearl huffed, swallowing thickly. Garnet was being monumentally unfair and temptingly suggestive.

"As-As much as I would, um, enjoy that, we're both sick," she reasoned, resting her palms on Garnet's shoulders, willing the warmth to leave her cheeks and her own increasingly lewd thoughts to vanish. "I-It's not the smartest decision."

Garnet snorted, pressing her thick lips to Pearl's cheek bone. There'd be another time for such activities. She let up her hold on Pearl's bum and opted instead to hold her close. Pearl gladly settled into the embrace.

"Righ' next to dancin' in the rain, yeah?"

"Which is still entirely your fault," Pearl retorted, lip quirking.

"Darlin', I have no idea what you're talkin' about," Garnet replied, feigning innocence. In retaliation, Pearl leaned up and rubbed her nose against the lense of Garnet's shades, smudging the glass. Garnet made a noise of protest, somewhere between an actual word and a groan, and Pearl smothered her giggles in the fabric of her sweater.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as Pearl shifted back down to lay her head on Garnet's chest, unwinding her arms from around her neck and wrapping them around her midsection. Garnet put her head against the backrest to gaze up at the ceiling. Despite the whining of her lower back muscles, this was the most comfortable she's been the entire day. She wasn't sure if it was because she'd taken a walk, or if her girlfriend's presence simply had that effect on her.

Pearl's breathing had evened out, her idle movements growing minimal in occurence and her grip on Garnet's sweater loosening as the minutes went by.

Garnet herself felt ready to sleep, the exhaustion behind her eyes a prominent indication. Pearl's own drowsiness served as a contagion, second only to the one currently plaguing her. Despite this, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, the pulsing ache at the back of her head serving enough of a reminder, even without the discomfort that accompanied her joints. She just wasn't the correct brand of tired.

Perhaps it was selfish of her to keep Pearl awake when she was obviously somnolent, but she didn't want to stay awake alone. She spent a good amount of time in an internal struggle, often glancing down to look at Pearl in the periphery of her vision before coming to a decision. Quietly, she spoke.

"You did enjoy it, though?"

"Hm?"

Good. She was awake.

"The date. Yesterday," Garnet clarified, lifting her head off of the backrest as Pearl slowly sat back to look at her, eyes droopy.

"It was lovely," she responded, a small smile gracing her tired features.

"The rain didn't dampen anythin', then?" Garnet inquired. She understood Pearl wasn't being sincere in her complaints about yesterday's escapades, but it never hurt to ask.

"It didn't," she said. "I loved it."

Well, that was new.

"You liked gettin' rained on?" Garnet asked, brow furrowing. She herself was biased towards rain, but even from a neutral standpoint, it appeared unpleasant. Cold skin and warm flesh, clinging, dripping, heavy clothes? It sounded repulsive. Pearl always loved watching the rain, but she never expected her to enjoy getting caught in its storm.

Pearl thought the question over with a mildly contemplative face, a miniscule tilt of her head. She sniffled briefly.

"Well... I would certainly have preferred avoiding the sickness," she remarked with a chortle. Garnet mentally congratulated herself for guessing correctly. "But yes, I suppose I do, in some ways."

"Mind tellin' me those 'some ways'?"

"I don't mind telling you anything, Garnet," Pearl pointed out, and Garnet smiled. "But do you really want to hear me discuss my favorite attributes of the weather?"

"Ehh... to be honest, weather's the last thing I want t' discuss," she conceded. "I just want you t' stay awake with me, is all."

Pearl giggled quietly, squeezing her shoulders briefly to convey a nonvocal term of affection.

"Well... it's the sounds. Listening to the raindrops on the cement, on the window;hearing the low rumbling of thunder, it's... well, frankly, it's amazing," she explained. A dreamy look crossed her face. She blinked a few times, stifling a yawn. "The wind howls through tree branches, tossing up stray leaves. There's this loud rustling that you can't really hear unless you listen for it, because the rainfall drowns out the noise. And then the thunder becomes crackling, loud and resonant."

"Poetic," Garnet commented appreciatively.

"I'm known to be," Pearl mumbled, a small smile gracing her lips. The yawn she'd worked to suppress came tumbling back out, and she pressed her palm to her mouth in an attempt to conceal it. Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder, as if she were going to comfort her and simultaneously shake her.

"Please don't fall asleep?" she pleaded as Pearl drew back up. She nodded, rubbing her eyes and flashing a reassuring smile as she wiped away the traces of drowsiness. Garnet gingerly smoothed her orangey locks away from her face. Selfish, she reminded herself. Unreasonably selfish. "What else d'you like abou' the rain, love?"

"The sights," came the reply. "Watching the sky swirl with clouds and grow murky. It's like if blue paint was diluted until its color became softer and fainter. And then the rain begins to fall, and you see water like bullets streak down from the sky in indiscernible droplets. Everything is slightly hazier, foggier, and even with the white noise, it always seems quieter than when there's sunlight. There's a bright flash, everything comes alive, and the sky cracks open. Am I allowed to be poetic?"

Her question was met with a snort.

"Award winning, if y' like," Garnet assured with a grin, and Pearl laughed.

"I'll make an attempt," she crooned. A pause.

"Scents. The musky smell of rain and wet grass. And the touch. Droplets dotting your skin and your clothes. It clings to your body like a hug, and the water dribbles down your cheeks, down your neck and arms like a subtle tickle. Your hair plasters to your neck, or it clouds around your face, and you can feel the thunder rattle you." Pearl sighed softly, and she concentrated on the eyes she could vaguely make out from behind the lenses. "You know how it feels."

"I mostly felt you," Garnet said, and Pearl slid the sunglasses off of her face, tucking them onto a couch pillow. Vibrant eyes stared back at her. "You were cold and shiverin', but your face was warm. Your hands, too."

"Really? I could hardly feel anything. And if memory serves, you were the warm one."

Garnet lightly traced the side of her face with tips of her fingers, softly dragging the pads of her thumb and index over Pearl's cheekbone. In response, her eyes fluttered, and she leaned into the touch with a soft, happy sound. The sun faded, flickering through the blinds softly as if to say, I won't peek, I promise. Garnet felt a smile tug at her lips. Closing the distance between them, she snuck a quick peck at her lips, and Pearl came alive in a small gasp and widened, grey eyes.

"Sorry," Garnet offered, though she smiling too widely to be apologetic. "I just really wanted t' kiss you."

"Oh," Pearl breathed in response, chuckling breathily and shaking her head, "please don't apologize for that."

They both laughed, and the sounds were still dying on their lips as they came together in a soft, sweet little kiss. Pearl giggled, slender fingers grasping at the nape of Garnet's neck as she pressed closer. Her lips were dry and chapped, but the warm balm of her tongue and the faint traces of strawberry she could taste made the details appear minuscule. Complimentary, even. Garnet cupped her cheek, fingers sliding into her unruly ginger locks, and Pearl hummed against her lips, flushed and fervent and warm under her hands.

They slowed, mouths moving languidly as they pulled apart, and Pearl snuck a quick final kiss that Garnet couldn't prevent herself from echoing seconds after.

"Strawberry?" she murmured against Pearl's lips. There was a short chuckle in response.

"I indulged in a shortcake, earlier," she replied, and Garnet quirked an eyebrow.

"Real responsible of you," she drawled.

"I'm allowed these things, Garnet. A cake won't kill me," Pearl pointed out. She punctuated her sentence with a soft cough. Garnet sighed, but did so with a smile.

"I saw that comin'," she jabbed.

"Like how you saw the storm coming?" Pearl retaliated with a grin. A retort was sitting on Garnet's tongue, but before it could leap past her teeth, she became distinctly aware of a soft plinking against her windows. A look of disbelief briefly crossed her face. Pearl's was etched with confusion, but after finally hearing what they'd both missed, she slowly mirrored the expression.

She slid off of Garnet's lap, stumbling onto the polished floor with disoriented legs, but otherwise steadily making making her way to the window. Pulling the blinds back revealed a graying skyline and rain dotted glass. The plinking seemed to get louder, and when Garnet rose from the couch to stand with Pearl, the sky had grown darker.

"Alrigh', I didn't see either," Garnet admitted.

"To be fair, I couldn't have known about this myself," Pearl croaked. Another idea came to Garnet, and she couldn't fight the smile spreading across her face.

"It's a shame. You'd have t' walk home in all that rain," she tsked. "And it looks like it'll last all night. It's gettin' late, too. Maybe you shouldn't've stayed out so long."

"Oh, Garnet, honestly," Pearl exclaimed.

"Is that a yes, then?" she asked, turning to face her companion. A slew of affirmatives flitted through Pearl's mind. Ultimately, the only words that left her mouth were, "Of course!".

"Good," Garnet said. "I want to spend more time with you."

What she had wanted to say was somewhere along the lines of, "I love you, and I love your presence, and you make me feel something, but I can't really name it yet,", but she was never all that good at verbal expression of affection, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to feel that naked yet. Nevertheless, Pearl still blushed, she still smiled, and Garnet had the vague feeling that she didn't have to say anything; that maybe Pearl already knew.

Boldly, Pearl rolled up onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against Garnet's. Partly in thanks, mostly to say the words that were clogged in her throat. Happy, she thought. Garnet, you make me really happy.

When she pulled away, she was smiling.

"Tea and soup?" she offered.

"Best medicine there is."

With a nod, Pearl turned and made her way to the counter, and Garnet watched her. No, perhaps yesterday wasn't a bad decision in the end. After all, she could still taste the sweetness of 'home' on her tongue.