Konnichiwa Minna-san! I'm back with a compilation on probably unrelated one-shots. And I know what you're thinking. But Ex-Shark-Virtue-005, you hate one-shots so why the change of heart? Well, I need to work on a few aspects of my writing so why not use fanfiction to work on them. The two aspects I will be working on are narratives and first person point of view. I struggle with each so why not use a drabble fic to improve them. There's really no set time frame for this story or character. It's basically what happens when you let a bored, nerdy college student get her hands on a pen and some paper. I don't have much else to say about this so you can get started, enjoy!

In this chapter: Main characters Tieria and Mileina. Point of View: Mileina. Summary: About two years after the ELS outbreak the Ptolemaios crew takes a mid-Autumn vacation to a small New England town. Their plan is to go apple picking then to an apple festival but what happens when there is a small hitch in the plan?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam 00 or the characters but as long as I don't do any Gundamjacking or kidnapping I can borrow them for a while.

Happy Reading!


Chapter One: Autumn Cold and Apples

It was a typical early October weekend in a small Southern New England town. It was the perfect weekend for an apple festival. There wasn't a single person on the Ptolemaios crew that didn't like apples and after everything we've been through, we deserved to do some fun things. That Friday we arrived in a small Southern New England town. The Saturday we were going to go apple picking and the Sunday we were going to go to a local apple festival.

We rented a few small cottage-like houses and I was spending the weekend with Tieria Erde. And I was quite happy about it. Before the last confrontation with the ELS I confessed my love for him and once he was able to transfer his consciousness to a physical form we started dating. I was surprised that my father allowed it, but I honestly think my mother talked him into allowing it.

We didn't do much on Friday because we arrived at our destination rather late. Sumeragi asked everyone if they wanted to do dinner and a movie. Almost everyone said yes but the only person who declined was Tieria. I wanted to go however Tieria mentioned that he was rather tired and he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to stay awake through the movie. He told me that I could go with everyone while he stayed at the house but I politely reminded him that he couldn't exactly cook. So we stayed home and I cooked us something light to eat.


Saturday was fun. We had a great time picking and eating apples but Tieria still seemed a little tired. He assured me that it was just from traveling the day before and he needed another good night's sleep before his energy could fully return. We each picked about two bags of apples of our choosing. Tieria seemed rather content with the small farm. He mentioned that it was rare for a small farm to supply more than two or three types of apples and the farm we were visiting had eight different varieties. I can't believe how many types of apples there are and while I can't tell the difference between a Fuji Apple and a Macintosh Tieria's heightened senses can. He told me that he prefers a tart apple while I like a sweet one.

That night Tieria and I joined the others for supper. It was a fun little night but once again, Tieria's fatigue got in the way. After just an hour at the restaurant Tieria asked my mother if she could drive him back to the house. I told him that I would go with him but he told me to stay and have fun. He also assured me that he just had a headache and that he would be fine alone for a few hours. Reluctantly, I stayed at the restaurant.

When I got back to the house Tieria had already fallen asleep. That's when I started to worry as well. It was only a little after nine and Tieria was already in bed for the night. But I didn't raise the alarm just yet. We had spent almost the day before traveling here and Tieria had only returned to a physical form just a few months earlier. It had taken him nearly two years to return to a body so I'm pretty sure he's still getting used to it again.


The day we were supposed to go to the apple festival Tieria's behavior really started to worry me. I had been up until almost one in the morning watching television so I woke up around ten and Tieria wasn't awake yet. He had been rather tired the night before but Tieria rarely got more than eight hours of sleep a night and I was pretty sure he had been asleep for over twelve hours.

I was going to check on him after I got dressed but just as I left my room he left his. I asked him if he was alright and he told me that he had come down with a bit of a cough. I asked him if he still wanted to go to the apple festival and he told me that, despite feeling a little under the weather, he was still looking forward to it. He assured me that he wasn't feverish but I really wasn't sure if I believed him or not. He just wasn't acting right at all.

That entire day Tieria seemed really tired and listless not to mention the terrible coughing fits he would succumb to every so often. I can't remember how many times I asked Tieria if he was feeling alright and each time he told me that he just had a bit of a cough and that he was fine. But he didn't look or sound fine to me. He was pale, his normal vivid garnet eyes were dull and bloodshot and he had dark circles under his eyes. Whenever he talked his voice was quiet and hoarse and he would grimace almost as if it was painful.

During that day I would find Tieria either lying on the couch or his bed. At one point I found him lying on the couch wearing a sweater on top of the sweater he was already wearing. It was a chilly overcast day. There was a good amount of cloud coverage but there was almost no chance of rain. As for the temperature, it was about fifteen degree Celsius. So in other words, it was cool enough for one sweater but too warm for two. Once again I asked him if he was okay and once again he told me he was fine. I sighed a bit. Tieria's a really great guy and all but he's so stubborn it isn't funny. It was then that I came to the conclusion that Tieria was the type of person who would say that he was fine even if he was deathly ill. And did I mention that it's really frustrating?

Then finally, about half an hour before Sumeragi and the others were going to stop by to pick us up, Tieria came up to me and mumbled something about not feeling very well. I wanted to tell him that I told him so but he probably wouldn't like that too much and I kept it to myself. The last thing I needed to do was aggravate Tieria while he wasn't feeling well. I placed my hand on his forehead and found that his skin was warm and clammy. I told him that he definitely had a fever and he muttered a quiet apology about not being able to go to the festival.

I gave him a soft smile and told him it was alright. He told me that if I still wanted to go to the festival that he would be alright alone but I told him that I would stay to take care of him. He muttered another quiet apology then headed back to his room to change into something more comfortable than the oxford shirt, khakis and v-neck sweaters he had been wearing.

By the time Sumeragi and the others showed up Tieria had already fallen asleep on the couch. I explained to them that we wouldn't be attending due to Tieria's illness. Sumeragi asked me if there was anything that they could bring something back for us and I told her that she didn't have to do that. She then told me to take care of Tieria and that they would stop by later that day depending on how Tieria was feeling.

I felt bad that Tieria had been unable to attend the apple festival. He had really been looking forward to it and I tried to figure out just how I could make it up to him. Obviously I couldn't bring him anywhere since he was sick but maybe I could do something here. I looked around the small but full kitchen and it hit me. Since I Tieria couldn't go to the festival, I could bring the festival to Tieria. I entered the kitchen and quickly and quietly got to work.

I'm sure it was safe to say that Tieria woke up to a pleasant surprise. While he slept I used some of the apples he had gotten the day before to make several apple-related dishes. I made apple-stuffed chicken for supper and my family's recipe for apple crisp for dessert. I also warmed up some of the apple cider we had and added some honey, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel then mixed it with a plain black tea. I told him that since he couldn't go to the festival that I had decided to bring the festival to him. Typical of Tieria, he told me that I didn't have to do that but I explained to him that I wanted to do something for him since he couldn't go to the festival.

I could tell that Tieria really appreciated the meal because he ate quite a bit despite being sick. Once we were finished with the meal we cuddled on the couch and drank the tea that I had made for us. Once Tieria finished his tea he rested up against me and shut his eyes. I sighed as I felt Tieria shivering against me. I asked him if he was cold and he muttered that no matter what he did he was still freezing. He muttered something about suffering from severe chills when he was feverish.

I kind of laughed a bit and told him that I would have never expected an Innovade to come down with a cold. He then mentioned that Innovades were created to be almost exactly like humans and that they could indeed get sick. He went on to say that they were meant to blend in with humans and that if they never fell ill it would seem a little odd. He said that he had been sick a few times before and that each time he had recovered rather quickly.

We sat in silence for a little while as Tieria continued to shudder besides me. I mentioned that he should probably go to bed and that since he was sick he needed to get more sleep than usual. And he agreed. I helped him to his bed and he thanked me. I asked him if he wanted any kind of medication and he declined. He told me that medication would only make things worse for him once it wore off. He got into bed and said that if he slept well tonight he would probably feel better in the morning. I nodded and told him that if he needed anything during the night to call me and I would come right away. He nodded then slipped into a restless sleep.

Before I headed off to bed myself I checked on Tieria. He was sleeping restlessly but at least he was asleep. I quietly walked up to his bed, placed a cool cloth on his forehead and gently kissed him on the cheek. It was kind of disappointing when he barely stirred at the gesture but I reminded myself that he was sick and needed all the sleep he could get. I carefully shut his door then headed to my room so I could get some sleep.


The next morning when Tieria woke up he was still a little pale and listless but he seemed to be feeling a little better. He was still a tiny bit feverish but it had definitely come down from the day before. He explained that his fever had probably broken the night before and what he had today was just the remnants of the cold. I was just about to ask Tieria if he wanted something to eat when someone knocked on our door. I opened the door and found Sumeragi, my parent, Allelujah, Lyle and Feldt on our doorstep. Sumeragi asked if Tieria was feeling well enough to have guests and he quietly invited them in.

I asked how the festival was and Sumeragi immediately said that we didn't miss much. She went on to say that it was basically a giant farmers market that contained almost no apples or anything else apple related. She asked me what Tieria and I had done and I explained what we had eaten for supper the previous night. Allelujah said that we probably had it better than they did and Lyle, of course, asked if we had any leftovers. I quickly checked what I still had left and found that I probably had enough for everyone. I already knew that Tieria wasn't going to eat much and if everyone had one piece of chicken there would definitely be enough for everyone.

After warming up the chicken I gave everyone one piece of chicken and a little bit of the apple crisp I had made. To my surprise it was a hit. Just as I had expected Tieria didn't eat much and he slipped off to sleep almost as soon as he finished. Lyle asked me if he could finish off what Tieria had left and I said it was alright but I warned him that Tieria's cold was probably contagious. Lyle said that he didn't mind taking the risk for such great cooking. He also gave me the typical I'm an idiot therefore I can't catch colds thing.

Once everyone was finished eating Sumeragi decided to leave Tieria and I alone for the rest of the day. We were to return to space the next day and since Tieria was sick it was probably best to let him rest in a peaceful environment for the day. I bid everyone goodbye and they left the two of us alone. I gently covered Tieria with a blanket and then I started to get things cleaned up so we wouldn't have to rush around the next day.

Later that evening while Tieria and I enjoyed some nice warm spiced apple cider, we talked about the weekend. I mentioned that it was a shame that Tieria had come down with a cold but he said that his illness hadn't ruined the weekend for him. When I asked him why he said that he would have never had the chance to try the meal I made for him the night before if he had been at full health the day before. He took another sip of his cider and said that if we did this again next year he would try not to get sick again. Despite what Sumeragi had said about the apple festival he was still interested in going. There might have been a little bump in the road for us but Tieria and I could both agree that it had been a great weekend none the less.


Yay! The first little drabble is done! I thought it was kinda cute but still difficult for me to do without the use of dialogue not to mention it's a little shorter than what I normally write. I love writing Tieria and Mileina together, I approve one hundred percent with that shipping in case you couldn't tell. Mileina did such a good job caring for an under the weather Tieria as well. I've never tried mixing a spiced apple cider with black tea, I wonder if it would be any good. The apple festival was kinda based off of an experience that I had a few years back. We went to an apple festival and there was a serious lack of apples. There was a baby alligator but no apples. The next chapter will probably be the apple weekend from poor Tieria's point of view and I'll have that one up in few days. Let me know what you thought and where I can make improvements so that maybe someday, I'll write a novel! Until next time minna-san! Ja ne!

Ex-Shark-V-005