Lord Cynic: "I'm pouring with ideas! I've actually got another one in my head, but I don't know whether or not it should join this collection of one-shots. It doesn't really suit the subject matter, unless I decided to change it (the subject) altogether. I think I'll keep it separate… or not. It could work.

Anyway, this is sorta… less violent than the first two. More fluff too, I suppose. But the cunning is definitely there. You'll just have to see for yourself."

Lord Cynic: "I don't own Chrono Crusade. I've never faked a sickie though… not since I started high school, at least. Meh."

Faking sickies

It wasn't unusual for Rosette to sleep in, any day of the week.

However, it was unusual for her to miss breakfast, since she was always the first to snag a tray (and trample any bodies along the way).

This baffled Chrono, who took it upon himself (to the relief of everyone else) to deliver food to her room. It was well into late morning, so it stunned the child-like demon that his contractor was still in bed. It also worried him, being the oh-so-concerned person he was (which was a flaw at times). Why would Rosette miss her favourite meal of the day? At times, he had to stop her causing injury to those ignorant enough to get in her way, so this didn't make sense. Something was definitely wrong.

When Chrono reached Rosette's room, he found the door slightly ajar. This confounded him further, but he decided to knock just in case. He still sported a limp arm from the last time he barged into her room unannounced (no idea how he was holding the tray), so he took extra caution from thereafter. He knocked again and waited, but all he heard was faint rustling, and... was it... coughing?

Finally, a weak voice travelled to his pointy ears. It sounded hoarse, and his heart beat slightly faster out of worry.

"C-Come in."

Chrono edged the door open with his head, but nearly dropped the tray when he discovered what (or who) was behind it.

"Rosette, you look horrible!"

Indeed she did. Her blonde hair was matted to her forehead, due to sweat that poured profusely down her face. Her normally bright, energetic blue eyes were almost as red as Chrono's, and they were drooping dangerously. The majority of her face was pale, but her cheeks were prominently flushed. However, her mouth showed the faintest sign of her regular, upbeat self by forming an exhausted (and slightly exasperated) smile.

"Thanks for the compliment," she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "Did you some here to make fun of my illness?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant," Chrono objected hurriedly. "You always look pretty... pretty energetic during the day," he corrected himself hastily. Phew, that was close. But what's with that smile she's giving me?

"You oughta be careful," Rosette warned him with a trace of amusement in her voice. "If you blush any harder, you'll look like me. Then you'd have to join me."

"H-Huh?" Chrono did indeed blush harder, much harder, and Rosette giggled at the flustered expression on the demon boy's face. The tray in his hand nearly tipped over in his embarrassment, and that's when he finally remembered his original reason for checking up on her. "Oh, um, I brought you some breakfast. I thought you'd be hungry."

Such obvious statements ought to be punished by wrath of Rosette. Nonetheless...

"Oh, did you?" the blonde exorcist's heavy eyes gazed fondly at the food on the tray. "That's so sweet."

"Y-You're welcome," Chrono stammered, setting the tray down on a table beside Rosette's bed. "Will you be okay to eat this? Will you need help?"

"I'm not a child, you know," Rosette said good-naturedly, sitting up in her bed. She didn't notice a fleeting downcast expression in Chrono's eyes, but caught the doubtful look he gave her, and laughed hoarsely. "Come on, don't look so tense. If you're so unconvinced... do you mind getting me another blanket? I'm a little cold."

"Of course!" Chrono complied immediately, and he pelted out the door as fast as his legs would carry him.

Rosette watched the last of Chrono's (unruly) violet hair disappear from sight. As soon as she was convinced that he was gone, her formerly tired smile broke into an evil grin. The grin was also directed at her food, which she attacked with ravenous abandon.

Chrono's fourth journey to the 'ailing' Rosette was starting to make him exhausted. After she'd requested a blanket, she had pined for hot chocolate, then some rolls. Now he carried a pile of fresh clothes after accepting to do her laundry (very reluctantly). Poor, naive Chrono had no idea that Rosette was playing him for a sentimental sucker. However, sisters Anna, Mary and Claire knew off the bat about the blonde's deception skills. Strange how they'd known her for less time than Chrono, but seemed to know more her cunning than he did.

That said, they enjoyed Chrono wearing out his legs to go back and forth, if only to see how much longer Rosette could perform a convincing act. Not to say they were the only ones to know, of course. That was one thing that sucked about being in a place populated mainly by women - being one of the only males, Chrono had no idea what everyone else knew. It was like he was being exempt from a secret club. If only he knew what went on behind the scenes of those psychotic girls...

His pace faltered slightly as he shuddered, and a habit fell from his pile. However, he hadn't noticed, and began to ascend the stairs again - until he tripped over the stray item of clothing.

"Whoa - oof!"

His foot snagged on the habit, and his head made less-than-pleasant contact with a stone step. The result was an out cold demon and a scattered pile of clothes. Nuns started to gather around him, sighing sympathetically but not doing anything to help him. Such irony is laughable, especially when -

"Oh, Chrono! Where are you? I'm getting cold again!"

The singsong voice of a certain blonde sister sent the others fleeing in totally the opposite direction. The voice was soon followed by soft footsteps as Rosette descended towards the scene of the accident. Her formerly merry smile turned into an irritable scowl as she came to a halt before the fallen Chrono.

"Chrono, what are you doing? I've been freezing in this thing for more than an hour, and you're sleeping on the job!" was her inconsiderate response to the scene she beheld.

An offended and confused muffle was her reply.

"Rosette? What are you doing up? I thought you were sick."

Rosette blanched; she didn't actually think Chrono could regain consciousness so quickly. She laughed nervously and picked up the clothes from the ground as her partner picked himself up painfully.

"Who says I'm not?" the blonde girl asked, coughing slightly to emphasise her little white lie. "I can't possibly go out in this state. I'm just so weak right now."

"Are you sure about that?" Chrono grumbled, but he was caught by Rosette's puppy dog expression.

"Oh, Chrono," she cooed, making the demon sweatdrop, "don't you believe me? Are you calling sweet little me a liar?"

"N-No! Not really," the boy answered hastily, getting to his feet and waving his hands in defence. "I just want to make sure."

"Well," Rosette said slowly, sniffling, "if you want to make sure, I do have something I want from you."

"W... What is it?" Chrono asked apprehensively, dreading the worst.

"I need something to keep me warm," Rosette replied, smiling as weakly as she could. However, it widened a little at Chrono's baffled expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked, astounded. "I got another blanket for you, and you've got your habit rig -"

He stopped abruptly, earning himself an agitated look from the other party.

"Do not finish that sentence," Rosette warned, then her expression softened playfully. "Thank you for those, but there's something else I want. Something soft to hold and keep me warm."

"Um..." Chrono blanched slightly. "You need toys to keep you warm?"

"No, you baka," Rosette said, tapping Chrono on the head. "I guess I should rephrase it: Someone soft to hold and keep me warm."

Chrono blanched again, but this time a bright red hue in his cheeks joined his stunned-stupid expression. He gawked wordlessly at Rosette, who smiled flippantly while fitting herself into her habit. He couldn't even utter a response before she grabbed his wrist and dragged him to her room.

If only people knew what we were up to, he thought with a plummeting stomach.

Unfortunately for him, a trio of sisters - a brunette, a redhead and a blonde - were watching from behind a corner. They waited until the demon-contractor pair disappeared up the stairs, then grinned evilly. This would be the easiest money they ever earned from the other sisters. Even if it was through unsavoury and totally unholy methods...

THE END

Lord Cynic: "Eh, I couldn't resist. I guess my friend's right, I am corrupted... not that it's a bad thing... at least in my mind. Er... comments?"