A long-ago promised Sydrian oneshot that I started months ago then forgot about. Posted as a birthday gift for YueShadow. Happy birthday V :D

"Ugh!" I lifted the shopping bags onto the counter with super-human effort, sighing in relief as the weight was taken off my arms.
In my foggy mind, I briefly contemplated unpacking the shopping, but decided against it. I wouldn't be doing anything with it anyway on the near future. Looking back over my shoulder regretfully, I shuffled through the open-plan kitchen/living room and dropped down on the sofa. It showed how ill I was feeling that I hadn't put everything away.
This morning I'd woken up feeling lightheaded with a slightly sore throat. I'd ignored it; usually when I felt the warning signs of a cold they never came to anything, the Moroi blood in my tattoo fighting off the illness.
But as the day wore on, it became harder and harder to breathe, the pressure in my head increased and it felt like there was a knife in my throat. I'd gone from lightheaded from feeling like my body was made of lead, and I did not like it at all.
Part of the perks of being an Alchemist was that we rarely got ill. However, just as some Moroi could get diseases, and some Dhampirs got others, our tattoos did not provide perfect resistance.
There were certain types of virus that could not be fought off by the dilute vampire blood, and these were often those that were terrible whilst they lasted, but would be over in 24 hours. So the best thing I could do was wait this out.

After about half an hour of staring at the patterns on the ceiling, I heard the front door slam loudly, making me wince.
"Adrian is in the building; life can resume-" Adrian stopped short. "Sydney? Are you even here?"

"Yeah." My voice sounded hoarse and it scratched my throat.

"Well, this is a rare sight. You've left chilled food out on the counter; think of all the bacteria on there!" Adrian continued wittering on about my lack of organisational skill today. Sometimes I really wished that Adrian came with a mute button, or at least a set of earplugs for me to use. Finally, he shut up. "You're being very quiet, Sage. What's up with you?" He asked, coming round the side of the sofa. His eyes widened as he saw me sprawled out on it. "Seriously, what's wrong, Syd?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned now.

I sniffed before answering. "I godda cold."

"Is that even possible?"

I gave him a look instead of answer. Despite trying to look angry, the expression he returned made me wonder if I'd come off as more endearing. "Do you want me to heal you? I know you're probably going to say no, but please say yes."

"No. You need time to recover from healing Rose the other day. I didn't even know that you could fix broken bones."

"That makes two of us." He grinned, before turning serious again. "Are you sure though?"

"Yes. Me feeling better now isn't worth what it will do to you in the long run." I reached out and placed my hand over his. He withdrew it sharply and I felt a brief stab of hurt course through me. "Germs, germs, Sydney germs!"

The hurt shifted into annoyance again, and seeing this, Adrian laced his fingers with mine. "Just kidding Sage. Your germs are my germs, what with all the kissing and everything." As he spoke, he leaned forward. I turned my head away at the last minute and his lips brushed my forehead. When he sat back again, I saw he was pouting.

"I know you won't get ill, but I'm still not up for swapping spit just now. I'm gross."

Adrian still looked disappointed, but resigned to his fate with a sigh. "Shall I get Rose over here to keep you company then, since you're so opposed to romantic contact?"

"No, she's not the person to be around when you're ill. You just stay here and try not to be annoying."

"You wound me Sage." Despite his words, Adrian lifted my shoulder up off the couch before sitting down, allowing my head to rest against his thigh. "What would make you feel better?"

"Being warm," I replied.

He grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over me, wrapping an arm under me so his hand rested against my hip. "Then close your eyes and pretend you're somewhere warm. Italy- we're in Rome, visiting the Colosseum. As we walk the ancient streets..."

I drifted off the sound of Adrian's voice and his fingers drawing patterns against my skin, only to be woken about an hour later when the door slammed. "I heard you weren't feeling well, and figuring that Adrian wouldn't be able to cook you anything decent and you would starve, I made you some soup. Well, Dimitri made it, but I brought it."

I groaned inwardly and pressed my face closer to Adrian's leg as Rose came closer. But I had to be polite, so sat up with my best attempt at a smile a moment later.

Just as I did so, I got the nose-prickling, eye-watering signs that an immense sneeze was imminent. I reached out to grab a tissue from the coffee table, bringing it to my face just in time to catch the gargantuan sneeze.

Adrian and Rose looked shocked at the sound, and I realised that with all their immunity, coughs and sneezes weren't something they witnessed very often. Scrunching up the tissue and dropping it into the bin beside the sofa, I met their gaze.

With a look that both would be proud of, I raised an eyebrow. "What, never seen snot before?"

I started writing this in the midst of one cold, finished during another. I blame that for this randomness. If I write more chapters in this series (honestly, who knows?) then they'll be more Romitri centric, hence the Rose character tag.