Ch. 3- Potato Soup

Pony clutched her blanket up to her chin, her eyes squinting at the sunlight emitting from her window. It was especially cold this morning, the coldest its been since she came to the valley almost a year before. The young farmer reluctantly crawled out of her small, warm bed, and she kept the blanket around her shoulders. It was when her feet hit the floor that the headache began. Pony groaned, her throat on fire when she did. "I can't be ill," she whispered to herself. Coughing a fit, she made her way to the small kitchen, opening a drawer and finding her thermometer. She popped it under her tongue and sat back down on her unmade bed, feeling wobbly on her feet. After a few minutes the stick beeped and she was able to take the device out. "102.. Not good.. What am I gonna do? I can't go outside in this weather.. Maybe I could, just to alert Takakura.. I really need to stop talking, my throat is-" she coughed and struggled to catch her breath. "-killing me.."

There was a knock on her door. Pony couldn't vocalize that they could come in, but the visitor opened it anyway. "Pony? Are you in here?" Rock, her best friend. "Hey.. Oh, man, you look miserable," he said bluntly. Pony nodded, and she scooted back onto her bed. "Are you okay?"

"No.."

"You sound horrible!" he exclaimed, laughing. "But seriously, I wanna know.. How'd it go with Nami last night?"

Pony sank lower into her sheets. "..Fine.." A blush crept across her face, but it probably wasn't noticeable due to fever.

"I guess we can talk about this later.. Hey. I'll take care of your farm today! That way you can rest up!" Rock didn't let Pony answer, he just ran out of the house. She fell asleep soon after he slammed the door shut.

Plagued by nightmares, Pony tossed and turned until awoken by a sensation on her shoulder. She sat straight up, yelping. When Pony looked for the source of what awoke her, she was (pleasantly) surprised to find Nami with both her hands up, holding something in one of them. "Nami?"

The red-head blushed. "Sorry.. I saw Rock watering your plants and.. I got.. Concerned." Nami looked away. "I brought you your favorite soup."

"Potatoe?" Pony whispered.

Nami gave a small nod, walking to the counter and pouring some of the soup into a bowl she found in a cupboard below Pony's sink. "It's hot," she murmured. Nami ended up having to spoon-feed the sickly farmer, as she couldn't even sit herself up. "If you're still like this tomorrow I'll call Dr. Hardy." Nami set the bowl down as it was empty. Pony scooted over in the bed and patted the small space beside her. "..Uh.. Can I even do that?" Pony nodded. "Okay. But you owe me if I get sick," Nami said, jokingly. Nami wrapped her arms around Pony's feverish body, which prompted her to fall back asleep. The traveller didn't make any attempt to sleep, as she was content with watching her... "friend" sleep. "What even are you to me, Pony?.. Last night was eye-opening, but.. We didn't make anything official. And it feels wrong to call you just a friend."

Nami had decided to stay that night, with permission from Pony. "Just to make sure you're okay," she insisted. But there was a hidden meaning; both girls knew that. They knew what they meant to each other but neither spoke of it. Last night was the first time anything was brought up, and it seemed to be the last the way things were going.

"Not if I can help it," Pony mumbled to herself.

"Help what?"

Pony sat up in bed, with little struggle. "I gotta know, Nami. Do you.. Do you like me back? You kissed me, and.. I'm really confused."

Nami looked at her hands. "I don't know. I feel close to you.. And I think I like you. But I was.. I was planning on leaving."

"The valley?" All Nami could do was nod. "..Were you ever going to tell me?"

Nami looked Pony in the eyes. "Not before last night."

Pony looked away. "I can't stop you from going.. I can't force you to stay here if you don't want to."

"..I'm gonna go. But I'll be back in the morning." Pony didn't question Nami's change of heart about staying the night. She needed to be alone right now anyway. Before leaving, Nami pecked Pony's forehead, mumbling something like, "get better". That spot almost burned as Pony tossed and turned into the morning.