Astro wasn't used to feeling… weak.

Not physically anyway.

His body had always been strong, and even in his weakest moments he always found a way to keep fighting. Pain and exhaustion went to the backburner when he was in battle mode, and he didn't let anything stop him until he found a way to win. When he did finally settle down to rest, he usually just slept through it. By the time he was up he was at least able to move again.

Right now however, he was experiencing something entirely new. His body felt completely drained. Despite all his efforts, he barely had the energy to move, let alone fight. Pushing himself made him go dizzy, and he felt like he would pass out. Nia had insisted that he take the day to just rest.

After all, everybody got sick.

When he had heard the words leave her mouth, he had been taken aback. Astro had never been sick. Not once. His titan physiology had made him immuned to pretty much any type of sickness. His immune system was just too strong. Or at least he thought it was anyway. When he told his sister as much and tried to go on about his day.

But then she pushed him over and dragged him to bed…

Astro loved his sister, and he never would have been bitter about losing to her in a fight. But he'd be lying if he said being manhandled by her so easily didn't hurt his pride just a bit. "Okay, Typhon said this isn't anything serious. You should be fine with a little bit of rest. So just lay there and relax," Nia said, pulling his blanket over him.

He grunted as he stared up at the ceiling. Damn it all. He hadn't bought a bed to lay about in it all day. He bought it for when Maria visited…

"I'll feel better quicker if I can just-"

Nia placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back down. "Astro, the fact that I could drag you up here and can pin you down like this should be a pretty clear sign that you don't need to be pushing yourself. I know you're not used to feeling like this, but the sooner you get to resting, the sooner you'll be over this."

"Titans aren't supposed to get sick…" Astro muttered angrily. Why in the world would his father not have told him about this? Even if there had been just a small chance of it happening, he still should have been made aware of it.

"Well neither are gods. But I got sick all the time," Nia pointed out. To be fair, ever since her divine genes had kicked in she hadn't felt anything close to being sick. But that didn't mean it couldn't happen in the future. She was still half mortal, just like Astro. There was no telling what affected them and what couldn't.

The prince grunted and looked like he was about to try and get up again, but suddenly something pounced on top of him. He grunted and then narrowed his eyes at Sear. "Oh c'mon! You too?" he asked, annoyed. The dragon snorted and then continued to lay on top of him. His brother needed his rest, and he would make sure he did.

"Good job Sear," Nia said, patting him on the head.

The dragon bellowed back in response as Astro sighed and finally decided to dive up. It looked like he was just going to be bed ridden for today. "I hate this…"

"I know. But maybe some soup will help you hate it a little less. I'll be right back," she said, turning to walk out. Astro and her mother always looked after her when she was sick, and she was going to do the same for him. "Get some rest!"

It was weird for Astro to be so tired. He didn't usually need much rest. Three or four hours of sleep was more than enough for him to function for a day. If he got eight hours he could easily push himself for a week. So the fact that he was drifting off right now was strange, and weird. He felt vulnerable.

He blinked a few times, struggling to keep conscious, and then jumped when he suddenly found Amber standing in front of him. How had he not noticed her? "Sorry for scaring you," she apologized.

"I wasn't scared…" Astro muttered. Got, his senses really were off.

She laughed and then reached into her bag. "Right. Well sorry anyway. I just heard you were sick and thought I should stop by and give you a little something to help you feel better," she said before pulling out a plastic case. "Sometimes when I would get sick my mother would whip me up some of-"

"No thank you."

Amber looked at him surprised. "Excuse me?"

"Amber, I very much appreciate the thought and consideration, but in a moment of weakness I don't think eating something from your mother is the best idea."

The redhead sighed. "She didn't make them Astro. I did. She doesn't even know that you're sick," she explained. "I know you have your problems with my mother, but do you really think she would go out of her way to try something like that?"

"Yes…" Astro answered honestly. There wasn't much he would put above anyone in the commission after the little centuries of kidnapping and child murder.

"Well I made these myself, so you don't have to worry about that. Here," she said, pulling out what looked like a pepper. "These will help raise your body temperature and burn out the fever. They're a little spicy, but you should be able to handle it."

Astro grunted and turned his head away. "I'm fine. I don't need anything. Nia and Sear are just overreacting. I should be up and- Mmph!" His eyes went wide when Amber stuffed the pepper in his mouth. "Bah! Did you just-?!"

"Nia said you were going to be stubborn. She also said that you haven't eaten anything yet," Amber said before picking another pepper. "And you're going to need to do both if you want to get better. So c'mon. Eat up."

"You can't just make me-! Mm!"

She stuffed another in his mouth. "Actually I can. It's surprisingly easy when you're like this," she said, patting him on the head.

"You can't just do that! I'm not some child who needs to be force fed!" he said, trying to sit up. Sear leaned over, pinning him down. "Really Sear? Seriously?"

Amber patted the dragon on the head. "Good boy. Now you open up," Amber said, picking another pepper. Astro grunted. He hated this. Even worse than feeling weak was being treated like he was weak.

He hoped his sister didn't tell anyone else about this.

"Hey Astro!" Vera said smiling.

The young titan groaned as soon as she heard Vera's voice. He thought that after Amber had left it would be the end of his visitors, but he should have known he wouldn't have been so lucky. The princess, her mother, and younger brother were all entering his room. "Hey there Asterossa. Heard you were a little under the weather," Margo said.

Astro once again tried to sit up, only to have Sear lean on him again. He narrowed his eyes at the dragon and then looked back over towards the royal underworld family. "I'm fine. Nia was just exaggerating," he assured.

"You don't look it," Vera said. He looked so tired. "But don't worry. We brought you something to make you feel better. Go on Isaac."

She set the toddler down, who smiled and ran over towards the bed. "Drawing!" he said, holding up a piece of paper towards the prince. It had a rather crude drawing that Astro guessed was supposed to be him.

"Ugh… thank you."

Isaac set the paper on the bed and jumped up and down excitedly as Margo made her way over to join him. "We brought you something else too."

"Please don't tell me it's peppers."

"What? No. It's medicine," Margo said, pulling out a spoon and jar. "It's pretty potent stuff. Made for full blooded demons. But someone with a body as tough as yours should be able to handle it I think."

The moment she opened the Jar, Astro's eyes went wide. His sense of smell was a little dulled right now, but he could still pick up the rather rancid scent coming off of it. So could Vera and Isaac apparently, seeing as they both covered their noses. Even Sear's face was twisted in disgust.

"I'm not taking that…"

"It'll make you feel better."

Astro shook his head. "Nuh-uh. No way."

"Astro…"

"Nope. No way."

Margo narrowed her eyes at him, giving him the look. That dangerous look that always made it clear to whoever she was staring at was going to fall in line. Astro stared back at her, and then his face twisted up in concentration. Vera and Margo looked confused as he grunted, his horns glowing slightly. "Are you trying to make a portal?" Vera asked.

The prince stopped and looked towards her. "No…"

Margo sighed. "Take the medicine Astro…"

"Hey, what's up man?"

Astro groaned and then looked towards the door to see both Micah and Junji. Sear looked excited to see the two, and was about to jump up and greet them. But then he remembered his job and laid back down on Astro. The prince grunted. "I'm not eating anything, and I'm not taking any medicine. Nia was overreacting," he said.

Micah held his hands up. "Whoa, relax man. We didn't come to force feed you anything," he said chuckling. "Just wanted to check up and see how you're doing."

Junji smiled and nodded. "Yeah. We thought you could use a visit to cheer up and make you feel better. We know how much it sucks to be sick."

"I'm not sick!"

"Sure you're not man," Micah said before pulling something from his pocket. "I finished earning all the achievements in Breath of the Wild, and I know you've been wanting to check it out. This should keep you busy until you get better."

He placed it in the Switch at Astro's beside and then Junji stepped forward and set a plate alongside it. "I heard that Queen Margo and Amber brought you some food and medicine, so I decided to bring you some cake since I figured you might want something sweet for the aftertaste," Junji said.

Astro looked towards the game and cake, and then back towards his friends. Both of them smirked, and he couldn't help but grow a small smile as well. For the first time today he actually got something that was worth being stuck here. He should have figured he could count on his brothers. "Thanks guys."

"No problem," Junji said, giving him a thumbs up.

"If you can get online later we'll get a few hours of Final Fantasy in. We still have to grind for those relic weapons," Micah said.

"I'll find the strength… if Sear finally decides to get off me that is."

The dragon bellowed once more.

"Hello bastard…"

"Why the fuck are you here?!"

Astro grit his teeth as he looked up at the heir to the Waterfolk kingdom. When he saw Maria enter the room, he had mixed feelings. He was always happy to see his beloved of course. But he could only assume she'd come here for the same reason the others had. He didn't want her thinking something was really wrong with him and fretting over it.

When her brother followed in after her however, he had been more than a little irked. He was having a bad enough day as it was. Looking at Hody's face only made it worse.

The elder prince smirked while his sister rolled her eyes. "Would you two stop it? Nia contacted me and told me you weren't feeling well. And we came to check on you and see how you were doing," she said.

"No, that's why YOU came here," Astro said, still glaring at Hody. "Why is HE here?"

Hody crossed his arms. "Well, my mother overheard expressing my hopes that this little sickness would claim your life, reprimanded me, and ordered me to come and express well wishes. Needless to say I was dreading another visit to this dimension, and to see you of all people, but this was honestly worth it," he said amused.

Oh how everyone else would react if they could see the savior of mewni right now. He looked so weak and vulnerable. He doubted he could lift a sword right now. Maria bumped him and cleared her throat. "We made you some stew," she said. "It's a secret recipe from our mother. She said it should help you feel better."

Astro hummed. Well, if Queen Camie made it then it was bound to be a hundred times better than that medicine Margo brought. "Thank you."

Maria walked over and set it on his nightstand before leaning down and touching his forehead. "Oh, I feel so bad. I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better," she said sweetly.

"If your wretched brother wasn't here I'd throw out a few suggestions," he said, causing Maria to blush and Hody to grit his teeth.

"None of that you little deviant!"

Astro smirked and Maria leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Later, when you're feeling better," she whispered, patting the side of his face.

"I heard that!"

Astro smiled back at her and then looked over towards Hody. "Hody, I need to tell you something before you go. Come over here," he said. Hody raised an eyebrow, looking at him skeptically. Maria gave him a look, and he sighed before reluctantly making his way over towards him.

When he got to his bedside, Astro reached out weakly towards him. Hody looked confused, but then Astro grabbed onto his portable mirror and crushed it in his hand. "What the hell?!" Hody snapped angrily.

Astro glared at him. "I saw you snap that picture you ass. I'm under the weather, not blind," he spat angrily.

"Why you little-!"

Sear sat up and then growled towards him, and Hody quickly stepped back and held his hands up. Astro made sure to crumble the remains of the mirror and drop them on the floor. "Okay you two, I didn't hear what just happened and I don't want to. I'll assume you're both being petty and move on. Let's go Hody."

Hody grunted as his sister began shoving him out of the door. "I'll see you later, Asterossa. Feel better soon," she said, blowing a kiss at him.

"Thank you…"

"Corona, you didn't have to come all the way here…"

"I actually wasn't but…"

Corona looked over towards Sting, who stood with her arms crossed. "Nonsense. It's better to be safe than sorry. I would have had her bring more members of the fourth division here with her, but they were too busy apparently," she said.

Astro sighed and shook his head. "Sting, you're overreacting…"

"I am not!" Sting said sternly. "For all we know this could devolve into something far worse! We need to get you better as soon as possible! Who knows what your enemies might be planning with you in such a weakened state?! I'd be willing to bet the commission is scheming something at this very moment."

Astro frowned. "Sting, that's ridiculous. Corona, go back. I'm sure you have plenty of actual work to do. Sorry she dragged you here," he said.

Corona waved her hand. "No, it's fine. It's always a pleasure to see family. Though I wish it was under better circumstances. And since I'm here I might as well give you a quick check up," she said.

"Corona, that's nice of you but you don't need to-"

Sting's tail shot forward and pushed Astro back down. "Yes, I think that would be most appropriate. I've noticed even before this he seems rather sluggish sometimes. In some of the notes Rosetta kept she theorized that might have something to do with…"

Astro groaned as Sting went on about his conditions. Corona just nodded along as she began waving her hands over his body, checking for any major issues. "I hate this…"

"Man, this is really good."

Astro glared as he looked at AJ and Jia, who were helping themselves to the cake that Junji had brought earlier. "Yeah. Hard to believe this is store bought. It tastes homemade," Jia said smiling as she ate another forkful.

"How long have you two been over here?" Astro asked, annoyed. He didn't like the idea of either one of these two being downstairs and alone with his sister while he was stuck in bed. But are both of them together? It was nothing but trouble.

"Pretty much since Nia tucked you in this morning," AJ said smirking.

Astro grunted. "You two better not be up to any trouble…"

"Relax, Nia is too worried about you to get up to any trouble. She's making some more of the medicine Queen Margo brought," Jia explained.

He shuddered at the very thought of having to take more of the vile medicine, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to say no to her. Especially since he felt bad that she was making such a fuss over him. "So why are you up here then?"

"I came because I wanted to mess with you while you couldn't do anything about it," AJ said, smirking deviously at him. He usually always had to keep his guard up around Astro, but with him like this there was nothing to sweat over.

"I came because I heard Junji brought you cake," Jia said, taking another bite. "You don't mind if I go ahead and finish this off do you? I mean I've already eaten so much of it already."

"Eventually I will get better, you know…"

Jia laughed and then set the rest of the cake down. "Yeah, I know. I'm only teasing you," she said before Sol flew over and landed on Astro's head. The bird gave him a peck, and Astro looked confused. "He said that should help speed up your recovery… I think. He's never used it on a titan before."

AJ crossed his arms. "Well, I'm not teasing. I'm gonna enjoy you being down and out for a while. I wonder if we can get Nia to head to the movies or something?"

Astro looked towards Sear. "Get the boy…"

Sear got up and began making his way towards AJ, who quickly turned and began scrambling towards the door. Jia looked towards them and hummed as Astro tried to roll out of bed. Without even looking she reached down and pushed him back into bed.

"Oh come on!"

"I've snuck out of bed when I've been sick plenty of times. I know the game."

Astro had gotten quite a few visitors today. But some he had expected, some he hadn't. But the last one he had thought to see was his mother. "You seriously didn't have to come all this way. You're already so busy, I don't want to pull you away from-"

"Oh hush you," Star said, smiling as she patted him on the head. "I might be a Queen, but I'm a mother first. If one of my babies is sick I have to come and make sure they're okay. You've been taking your medicine, right?"

"Please don't make me take any more of that vile concoction…"

Star laughed and then fuffed his pillow. "Relax, I think the others have that covered… you probably should be eating cake though. Your grandmother would throw a fit over it," she said gesturing towards the desert on his nightstand. The teen chuckled nervously, but she pinched his cheek. "But I won't tell if you won't."

"I hate this. This is… this is terrible. How do people deal with being sick? I feel so weak. So helpless," Astro said, looking at his hand. "What if something happens? What if there's an attack and I'm stuck here in bed?"

Star sighed and sat down next to him. "Astro, there were attacks before you started dealing with them. There were attacks after. We can handle them. If I'm being honest it'll a little nice knowing you won't be the first one jumping headfirst into the fight for once. I wish it didn't take you being sick, but…"

"I still don't like being so immobile…"

"I know sweetie," she said. "This isn't the first time you were like this though. Remember when you were little. When your horns would act up?"

Astro winced at the memory. He had always been pretty pain tolerant, but his horns growing in had always been unbearable. "Yeah, there was that."

"And you remember what I used to do?" Star said gently rubbing his head. She started to hum as she gently scratched his head, and the prince frowned.

"Mother, you haven't hummed me to sleep since I was little. I'm not a child anymore," he said. Star just shrugged and kept humming, and despite his best efforts Astro found himself starting to grow tired. He let out a yawn. "That… that was because I was exhausted. Not because of the humming."

"I know," Star said before going right back to humming.

Astro found his eyelids getting heavier by the second. He couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. His mother and grandmother soothing him like this was the only comfort he had during bouts of pain from his horn.

And there had always been something about the tune she hummed that was familiar to him. It was the same one every time. Eventually he started to drift off to sleep, and Star smiled to herself. "Works every time."

Her little prince could be so stubborn at times. When he was little he almost never wanted to go to bed. But that tune always sent him right off to sleep. She supposed she had Rosetta to thank for coming up with it. She was always humming it whenever she was bored or deep into her work.

It wasn't hard to believe that it doubled as a lullaby.

A/N: Astro feeling a little under the weather. Luckily he's got a whole list of friends and family willing to come by and check on him.