Well, You've been waiting a while for this, and I finally have free time in order to do this. You all have been very patient, and I thank you for so.
Enjoy.
"I can't believe it…"
The sun was high as the afternoon passed over the snow on the ground, as we see inside Joe's home.
What we see is five beds lined up together, each with a girl in it.
There was Cupa, Andr, Lily, Nia, and Snowy each bundled in a bed. They all had red cheeks, and were sweating, all having wet towels on their foreheads.
"Never knew colds could be that contagious..." Said Joe, who was wringing a towel of water.
Due to the girls' actions with Joe the previous day, they had all miraculously caught Joe's cold. Everyone had a fever and chills, so the girls were bundled in blankets, with towels on their heads to regulate their temperature.
Joe sat on a chair beside Cupa's bed, as he was wringing out and soaking her towel with some water. He stepped over, and gently placed the towel on her burning forehead, as she turned her head to Joe.
"W-We're sorry you have to do this…" Cupa said, weak from the fever.
Joe chuckled. "Don't worry, I've got your backs." He said back, smiling.
Cupa then smiled, as she closed her eyes, trying to return to sleep.
"J-Joe-kun…" came a small, weak voice.
He looked over at Andr, and rushed to her side, kneeling next to her while she laid in bed.
"Need anything?" Joe asked.
Andr was a bit quiet. "C-Could...I get...something to drink?" she asked.
Joe smiled. "Of course, I'll get you something." He said, as he turned around, and walked over near his crafting bench.
Next to his bench, was what looked like a wooden box, filled with ice and snow. It had bottles of milk, water, and tea scattered along the ice.
"Not bad for a makeshift icebox." Joe said, taking out a bottle of milk.
He felt the bottle, to check its temperature.
Ice cold.
He then brought the milk over to Andr, who he helped sit up to drink the liquid.
"T-Thank you…" Andr said, as she made small gulps of milk.
Joe couldn't help but smile, as he patted Andr's head, causing her to smile, with a dash of pink in her cheeks.
"Joe...Could you bundle me more?" came Lily's voice.
He immediately went over to Lily, as he tucked her more, enveloping her in warmth.
"Anything else?" Joe asked.
"No, I'm good…" Lily replied, as she snuggled her head into the pillow, attempting to sleep.
He looked over at Nia, who was shivering in her bed. He walked over to her, and he properly tucked her in, and caressed her head, causing her fall straight asleep.
He couldn't help but chuckle, as he stood up. He then felt a tug on his shirt, as he looked over to Snowy, who had his shirt between her fingers.
"Could...I get some warm tea?" She asked, partially covering her mouth in shyness.
Joe smiled, as he crouched to Snowy's level and patted her head. "Not a problem." He said, as he stood up, and walked over to his icebox.
He picked up a tea bottle, and placed it in the furnace to heat it up. He then poured it inside his mug for Snowy, as he carefully stepped over, not to spill the tea.
The aroma of the tea caressed his nose as he walked over, in which Snowy could smell the tea.
"Here you go." Joe said with a smile, handing the tea to Snowy.
She sat up, and took the mug. "Thank you…" She said, as she sipped her tea.
Joe smiled, as he walked over to his crafting bench, and started going to work on something. The time passed, as everyone was sound asleep.
As he worked, Joe started thinking to himself.
His mind flashed to the moment when he, Cupa, and Andr were having that picnic. He remembered the actions that Cupa did, and went a little pink.
What...Was Cupa trying to do that day?
He could remember how her touch felt, and he could remember Cupa's scent when she had her face close to his.
He remembered how close her face was, and how their lips were almost about to meet…
He shook his head, clearing his mind.
J-Just don't think about it…. He thought, as he went back to work.
He made the finishing touches, as he looked at his creation.
An orange wayfinder, in the color of Snowy's pumpkin.
"Hope she likes it." He said, as he stood up. He carefully tip-toed through the area of the beds, when he reached Snowy's.
He then took the wayfinder, and hung it on the post of the bed, making sure that she will see it when she wakes up.
He couldn't help but just see how cute all the girls looked like when they were sleeping.
He shuddered.
What am I, some kind of creeper?...Ba dum tss.
After he was done chuckling at his stupid joke, he walked in the direction of the stairs. He felt a small tug on his shirt again, as he looked over, and saw Cupa holding onto his shirt.
"Cupa? You alright?" He asked.
Cupa seemed to be a bit hesitant with words, as she covered her mouth with her blanket.
"I-I'm...a bit hot…" She weakly said.
"What, you need another towel? Need some air?" Joe asked.
She looked a bit hesitant with her words again, as she seemed to be moving in her bed in an embarrassed fashion.
"N-No..." She said, looking down.
"Well, what could you need?" Joe asked, looking into Cupa's eyes.
She was silent at first, but she raised her head and looked into Joe's eyes.
"Could...Could you help wipe the sweat off me?"
Joe froze. He watched enough anime and such to know about this kind of situation. He went red at the thought.
"Er...well...I..." He said, looking around, his hand on his head.
"E-Everyone else is asleep...and I can trust you…" Cupa said, red as a beet.
This tugged on Joe's heartstrings. She trusted him? THAT much?
"W-Well...If theres no other choice…" Joe said, looking down, scratching his head.
Cupa hid herself under her blanket in embarrassment, as Joe stood up.
"M-Maybe...We should do this upstairs, just in case the others wake up…" He said, looking towards the stairs.
"R-Right…" Cupa said, as she practically limped out of bed.
Joe sighed, as he went over to her, and picked her up, carrying her bridal style.
"J-J-Joe-kun!?" Cupa practically yelled, almost waking the others.
Joe immediately brought a finger to his lips, signaling silence. "You can't go up there by yourself. The fever will make you drowsy. Just let me handle it." He whispered.
Cupa then nervously nodded, as Joe carried her towards the stairs.
Along the way up, Cupa couldn't help but nuzzle herself in Joe's chest as he walked up. She felt she could fall asleep right there.
They reached the upstairs area, as Joe sat Cupa on his bed.
"I-I'll be right back...I'll go get a towel and water…" He whispered, pointing downstairs.
Cupa nodded, as she sat patiently, as Joe walked downstairs.
He reached the downstairs area, and he grabbed the bucket of water, along with the towel. He sighed to himself.
"The hell am I supposed to do now...I might have a nervous breakdown by the time she's clean…" Joe whispered to himself.
He tried to clear his mind, by taking a scooping some water with his hand, and splashing his face. The coolness of the water cooled him a bit, but it didn't help by that much.
"A little better…" He said to himself as he shook his head, water dripping off of his bangs.
He then took some deep breaths as he walked upstairs.
He looked over to the bed, and found that Cupa practically didn't move an inch.
"D-Did you wait long?" He said.
She giggled. "Its only been like, thirty seconds." She said.
"Oh...right." Joe chuckled.
He then walked over to his bed, and sat next to Cupa.
"C-Could you just get my back? I can handle my front…" She said, as she turned away from Joe.
"R-Right…" Joe said, as he wet the towel, and handed it to Cupa.
He then faced the opposite direction of Cupa as well, looking at the wall.
It's only the back, no need to feel stressed…
Zip.
Okay, now's the time to panic…
Joe listened to what Cupa was doing behind him, making him more nervous than before. He heard her zipping down her sweater, listening to the towel and water slosh against her skin. The images running through his mind were driving him crazy, as he felt Cupa toss an article of clothing onto his bed.
He looked over, and saw it was her green sweater, and he turned as red as a cherry at this.
He never really knew what was under that sweater, so for all he knew, she could be topless right now.
I'm sure she has a bra on, so just don't panic, just calm down…
He then heard an article of clothing hit his bed again, as he looked over towards the sweater, and saw what looked like a dark green tank-top.
Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic…
In that moment, he heard another clothing article added to the pile.
A small, black sports-bra.
SHIT…
"J-Joe-kun…"
He jumped at this voice, as he raised his head.
"Y-Y-Yeah?" He asked, shaking in embarrassment.
"C-Could...You get my back now?"
The color disappeared from Joe's face, as he weakly responded.
"S-S-S-Sure…"
He then turned around, and the sight made him almost fall off the bed.
He saw Cupa's bare back, glistening with sweat on it. She faced away from Joe, so he couldn't see her front, but he was about to breakdown just looking at her bare back. He could also see the back of her sunset orange hair, which he didn't see often.
"G-Go ahead…" Cupa beckoned, in which Joe nervously took the towel. His hands shook, as he soaked the towel and wringed it.
"A-Alright...Be ready…" Joe said, preparing himself, towel in hand.
He saw Cupa nod, as she seemed to brace herself. He brought the towel close to her, just inches away.
"A-Ah~!" Cupa moaned slightly, as the towel touched her back.
"D-D-Don't make noises like that!" Joe whispered in surprise.
"S-Sorry...It just took me by surprise is all…" Cupa said, looking down.
Joe sighed, as he started wiping the towel around her back.
The sensation of the cold towel on her back gave Cupa a slight sense of pleasure, almost as if caressing her. She made a few slight moans, and flinched a few times as Joe wiped her back.
After a few moments, Joe took the towel off her back, and dropped it in the bucket.
"T-There...B-Better?" He weakly said.
Cupa nodded again, as she reached for her clothes, in which Joe immediately turned around, facing the wall opposite of Cupa.
He looked at his hand he used the towel with, thinking of the sensation.
Good lord, this is embarrassing…
He then heard Cupa fitting her clothes back on, finishing with a large zipper sound made.
"A-All done?" Joe asked.
"Y-Yes…" Cupa said.
Joe then turned around, and much to his relief, she was fully clothed, but she still had a red face from her fever.
"Here, lets get you back downstairs." Joe said as he stood up.
"Y-Yeah…" Cupa replied, as she braced herself for Joe to carry her again.
Joe then did so, and felt Cupa nuzzle her head in Joe's neck again. "F-Feel better?" He asked, still a bit red.
He felt Cupa nod, as he walked downstairs, Cupa in his arms.
He walked down, and continued over to her bed, in which he laid her on, and tucked her in bed, making sure to wrap her cozily.
"W-Well, you get some sleep now. Colds don't cure themselves." Joe said, smiling a bit.
Cupa then smiled back. "Thank you...You always help us, even when it hurts you…"
Joe made a thumbs up, as he looked at Cupa.
"I'd give my own life for a friend. After all…" He said, as he looked up at the ceiling. "...I owe my friends my life…"
Cupa tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
He simply rubbed Cupa's head, as he looked at her. "I mean that I value my friends more than myself. They are the world to me. You guys are no exception."
Cupa went a bit pink, but couldn't help but feel happy, as she smiled happily. She looked at Joe. "Hey, I need to tell you something." She said.
"Yeah?" Joe asked in return.
Cupa waved her hand in a way to have Joe move his head closer, as if to tell a secret. He moved his head so he was inches away from her face.
"What?" Joe whispered.
In that moment, Cupa gave him a quick peck on the cheek, throwing him off guard.
He felt the cheek Cupa kissed, as he looked at her smiling face, as she wrapped herself in her blanket.
"Goodnight, Joe-kun…" Cupa said, before eventually drifting off to sleep.
Joe was still a little taken back at her kiss, feeling his cheek. He went a bit red in embarrassment, as he scratched his chin.
"N-Night...Cupa…" He said, before turning around.
He couldn't quite know what he was feeling. Happiness? Embarrassment? He didn't quite know.
All he knew is that he was tired, as he walked upstairs.
His mind just couldn't let go off the kiss, as he reached his bed. He took off his shoes and sweater, as he sat on his bed.
"Man…" He said, to himself, as he laid down, and brought the blanket over himself.
He sighed, as he closed his eyes. When he did, all he could see was Cupa kissing his cheek.
It slightly put him at ease, as he drifted off to sleep.
The house was soon then quiet, as everyone was off into sleep, as the night moon illuminatedall with light.
And I have no idea how It took me this long, I've just been a bit busy...I'm sorry for any waiting, you all have my sincerest apologies.
Thank you, and I'll see you in the next chapter.