"Oh, so you're the one to blame for the second monsoon season going on outside? You know, I had plans this weekend! Plans based on the promise of clear skies and 21-degree weather."

"Oh please, Minako. Your 'plans' were to stock up on snacks and binge-watch your latest K-drama obsession."

"And does it look like I'm able to do that now, Rei? Mako, can't you do anything about— this! " Minako pulled back thick curtains with excessive dramatization, revealing a dark grey sky and heavy rainfall splattering against the glass of the window. Makoto looked over to Minako after hearing her name, setting a canvas bag down on the counter.

"Mina," she sighed, "I'm a Senshi . Not a weather god."

"Ugh," Minako looked through the window, distaste apparent on her face, "This weather is making me feel sick just by looking at it. Seriously, what's the point of having healing abilities if you still get knocked down by a cold of all— ow! " Minako flinched as a throw pillow hit the side of her head. She fumbled to grab it and glowered at her assailant's direction.

"You're being too loud. You're giving my headache a headache ."

"I'm not even being that loud. Big baby," Minako grumbled under her breath, squeezing the pillow in her arms and making her way next to Makoto by the kitchen counter.

"Why did you let her come?" Mamoru whined, returning his attention to Usagi who sat next to him as Ami took his temperature. Usagi squeezed his hand with a sympathetic smile. Mamoru's nose and cheeks were flushed rosy pink, eyes slightly red and watery, and hair almost as rumpled as his black joggers and oversized sweatshirt he had on. With mismatched socks on his feet, a fluffy blanket around his shoulders, and a thermometer in his mouth...it was a pretty pathetic sight if Usagi was being honest. Like a baby bird with an injured wing or a newborn fawn struggling to stand, Mamoru was pretty much helpless when he was sick. It was probably a good thing he rarely was sick.

"39.5, hmm." Ami frowned, removing the thermometer after it let out a series of beeps . "As long as it doesn't get any higher I don't think it's anything to worry too much about." Despite the uncomfortable heat of his skin, Mamoru was still shivering.

"Can we turn the heat down?" Minako asked, shrugging off her raincoat and tossing it across the dining table chair. "It feels like 39 degrees in here too."

"You're free to leave , you know?" Mamoru grumbled.

Minako ignored him, wandering around the living area. "Wow, you even have this expensive-ass humidifier. Ooh, and these fancy weighted blankets. Huh, being sick when you're rich sounds like it might actually be fun." Usagi put a hand on Mamoru's shoulder before he could continue to uselessly argue with Minako.

"Don't mind her. She's just really worried," Usagi stage-whispered conspiratorially.

"Really?" Mamoru asked glancing back over to Minako, half-disbelieving and half-amused.

"Well, obviously I was worried! Look outside!" Minako gestured to the raging rainstorm, standing upright from where she was poking through Mamoru's scented candles.

"You," She glared gesticulating in Mamoru's direction, "Take better care of your health. Just look at this mess you're causing," Minako shook her head and clicked her tongue before returning to pilfering through Mamoru's things.

"Stop touching those," Mamoru called out half-heartedly, voice low and weak from his sore throat. Minako began to hum loudly and rather off-tune, ignoring Mamoru's protests.

"Here, drink this," Rei instructed, suddenly appearing in front of Mamoru. She offered a mug of brown, steaming liquid on a wooden tray. Mamoru mumbled a thank you before taking a sip, still looking in Minako's direction with trepidation as she pulled random books off of the shelf. Usagi watched mildly concerned as his eyes suddenly widened and a coughing fit began after he swallowed. She hastily took to cup form his hand, setting it on the coffee table, before rubbing his back.

"What the hell was that?" Mamoru croaked out, looking up at an unimpressed Rei.

"Kombucha tea."

"It tastes disgusting ."

Rei scowled, putting her hands on her hips. "It's good for your immune system. Everyone knows that if medicine tastes bad that means it's working!" Ami winced and silently took the mug back to the kitchen, along with the thermometer, as Rei continued to scold Mamoru during his coughing fit.

"Rei, what the hell ?" Makoto said, face twisted up in disgust after trying some of the tea from a newly opened bottled. She set it down on the counter as Minako skipped over intrigued by the commotion.

The blonde took a swig of the liquid, trying some out for herself.

"Ew, it tastes like vinegar and cinnamon! Oh shit . It burns ." Minako choked out, trying not to gag as she hurried to get some tap water. Makoto pushed the bottles aside and grabbed a kettle

"I'll make you some ginger tea, Mamoru," she said, starting up the stove.

"Ah can't feel ma tongah," Minako whined through a mouthful of ice cream she grabbed from Mamoru's freezer.

"Quit making a mess, idiot!" Rei scowled slapping the back of Minako's head. "And quit acting like you live here, don't you have any manners?"

"It's not like he's gonna eat ice cream when he's sick ."

"Mina. At least don't eat it straight out of the container," Ami chided.

"Oh my god, I'll buy some more later."

"Hey, out of the kitchen. I'm trying to make tea here!" Makoto paused her ginger grating, shoving the three of them away.

"But I'm hungry! What else you got to eat, Mamoru?"

"We ate before we came here, idiot."

"And?"

"Ugh, even Usagi is showing better manners than you."

"Wow, what crawled up your ass today, Hino?"

"Can you two please stop fighting?"

Mamoru screwed his eyes shut, trying to block out the bickering; the four Senshis talked over one another, voices growing louder and louder.

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought them all," Usagi laughed sheepishly. Probably would have been a good call just to invite Ami and Makoto.

"You think?" Mamoru scoffed, rubbing his chest that was sore from all the coughing.

"It's not my fault! You're the one called me saying you were 'dying'. Between that and the freak weather change, I thought you were being literal!"

Mamoru blinked at her. "I called you?"

"Why do you think we showed up here, genius?" Minako rolled her eyes, making her way into the living area again after Makoto threatened her with a cheese grater.

Mamoru stared blankly ahead, "When did you get here?"

"Like 20 minutes ago. You don't remember getting up and answering the door?" Rei raised an eyebrow. Mamoru just shook his head, confused expression forming on his face. The Senshis looked between each and then back at Mamoru and then over to Ami.

"Short-term memory storage impairment induced by his fever and cold," Ami explained as the other four let out a sigh of relief. "Also, I'm pretty sure he took like six different types of medicine before we got here, so…" Ami gestured vaguely around her head, indicated that yes , Mamoru was pretty much out of it.

Rei and Minako let out exhausted groans, both of them flopping onto the adjacent loveseat. His Highness was quite the patient to deal with when he was sick.

"Hey, Mamoru. What day of the week is it?"

"...Tuesday?" It was Saturday.

"Oh god, he'd probably be dead in the bathtub if we didn't show up when we did."

"Oh, Mamo-chan," Usagi smiled sympathetically once more, patting his hand. "Let's hope you don't get sick again for a long time."

Sometime later Mamoru was nursing a cup of ginger tea with milk and honey, throat and taste buds quite thankful. Usagi ate some orange slices, sitting cross-legged next to him, although not as close as she would normally because as bad as sick Mamoru was, a sick Usagi was ten times worse. She had accumulated a rather large pile of orange peels on the coffee table next to a packet of half-eaten strawberry Pocky and some milk bread. Off to the side, Rei and Minako experimenting with the humidifier and essential oils (against Mamoru's wishes), arguing about what smelled better. Makoto had finished tidying up the kitchen (and dumped Rei's kombucha down the sink) and Ami had diligently restocked and organized Mamoru's medicine cabinet so they both sat down and began to watch some baking competition show with Usagi. Mamoru tried focusing on the screen, but his eyes would begin to sting and water every few minutes; he accumulated more and more tissues into an empty tissue box and wrapped his blanket around his body tightly, trying his best to keep his tired eyes open.

The rainfall was finally beginning to ease up as Mamoru dozed off, long legs hanging off the end of the sofa and head pressed against a pillow on Usagi's lap.

A/N

Written for AyaFaulkner! I hope you enjoy it!

I maybe-possibly-might-just continue this series with more short seasonal episodes 👀

(title is an illusion to bts' song but romance instead of poem because i haven't written a poem since 9th grade)

i feel like mamoru doesn't get sick very often but when he does he's absolutely terrible at taking care of himself so it's like an all hands on deck situation. also headcanoning the weather changes when he does get sick because the earth literally almost collapsed when he almost died that one time (and also it happened for mako so shhh)