When Hearts Grow Fonder
Author: Doom Master 1990
Chapter 1: Grateful
It was a bright morning. Scootaloo was awake and getting ready for school. It was unusual for her to be up before Harmonic. She went to nudge him awake before she left.
"Harmonic."
"Oh. Good morning Scootaloo. You about to leave for school," he asked in a groggy voice.
"Yeah. Are you okay?"
"I feel a little sick. I'm gonna' stay in bed today."
"Drink a lot, okay?"
A smile crossed Harmonic's face.
"I will. You have a good day, alright?"
A smile formed on Scootaloo's face as well.
"Mhm," she responded before leaving.
"She's such a sweetheart," Harmonic thought to himself before returning to the arms of sleep.
A few hours later, Scootaloo came home. Harmonic now had a wet rag on his head to help him cool off.
"Harmonic, are you awake?"
"Yeah, I've been up for a couple hours."
"How are you feeling?"
"I've got a bit of a fever, but it should be gone soon."
"Do you need anything?"
"Nah. I'm okay for now."
"Alright. I'm about to do my homework."
"You need any help?"
"No. It's easy stuff."
"Okay. Let me know if you need anything too."
"I will."
Scootaloo put her homework on a clipboard and got out a pencil. She was about to start writing, but Harmonic wanted to say something first.
"Scootaloo."
Scootaloo turned her head to face Harmonic.
"What's up?"
"I really appreciate you taking care of me like this. You have a heart that goes beyond gold. Never let anyone take that away from you."
Scootaloo went quiet.
"Thank you," Harmonic said.
Without even thinking about it, Scootaloo walked over to him, took the rag off his head for a brief moment, and kissed him on the forehead.
"Thanks for saying that. It really means a lot."
"Any time. Go ahead and do your homework so you can get it out of the way, okay?"
Scootaloo nodded.
"You looking forward to going out to eat this weekend," Harmonic asked.
"Yeah. It's nice to get out every once in a while."
"Even I have to agree. Being cooped up all the time doesn't really do me as much good as I thought it would."
"Why did you think it would help?"
"It's a long story."
Scootaloo knew what he meant. He didn't want to talk about it right now.
"Alright. I'm about to do my homework."
"Okay. Take a rest when you're done. I know you're probably tired."
"Yeah."
Scootaloo began writing, and all was peacefully quiet.