Most of Erina's mornings were pretty slow and very relaxing, given that she had the day off or had nothing pressing on her schedule. These times also gave her a chance to fully enjoy sleeping in with her usually boisterous husband. More often than not, she was the first to wake in bed. After rubbing the remainders of a hazy dream from her eyes, she liked to take a long look at her favorite redhead's sleeping form. His oddly comforting snoring was all too familiar for her at this point. Since there weren't any appointments, meetings or other urgent matters at hand, she would allow herself to lay back and observe the rare sight of a very calm, very peaceful Yukihira Souma.

This, however, was unlike most of those mornings. Haggard, unstable breaths replaced the easy rhythm the blonde chef was used to waking up to. When she took a good look at Souma, she noticed that his face was tinged pink- and not in the "Just received a sincere 'I love you'" way; this was more of a feverish, sickly looking glow. His skin also took on a much paler tone.

She sat up and gently tried shaking him awake. "Souma, it's morning already." Her voice was quiet, but full of worry nonetheless. When nothing happened, she shook him again. Some relief washed over her when he grumbled unintelligibly in his sleep. One more bout of shaking finally did the trick, rousing him from his slumber. His bleary golden eyes opened, squinting at the morning light that poured in through the curtains.

"I feel like I got hit by a truck." He whined, trying to pull the covers over his head. "A truck being driven by the damn sun. Why is it so bright in here?"

"The curtains aren't even pulled open all the way." Erina said as she lifted a hand to stroke his hair. "I'm willing to bet that you have a fever right now. It would explain why the bed feels really warm." Her eyes trailed to the digital clock on the nightstand. It was only seven-thirty, usually they would get up around nine. It was no wonder Souma sounded so grumpy upon waking up.

Although he was trying to ignore the massive headache coming on, he was grateful for the soothing touch. He leaned into her welcoming hand, reminding her of a tame lap dog. However this was Souma she was talking about, and if anything, he was something closer to a big mutt.

Softly planting a kiss on his temple, she shuffled out of bed and put on a robe before grabbing her cellphone and exiting the room. Souma sighed heavily, loathing the thought of having to report to work later. Maybe it was a bad idea staying up all night with the guys for another crazy party. All these years later, and he still couldn't keep away from hanging out with the Tootsuki gang.

'I knew I shouldn't have tried so much of Ryouko's new sake mix.' He lamented before sinking back into a fitful sleep.

Erina got off her last call and immediately headed to the kitchen. Planning ahead, she called in to excuse Souma and herself from work. Afterwards, Hisako had lent her the recipe for a porridge that had medicinal properties, provided she used the right herbs in the correct amounts. Because of her status in the culinary world, their kitchen was never lacking in ingredients or food. Although she hadn't tried the dish before, Erina knew she could get it right on the first try. After all, her graduation from Tootsuki wasn't just for show.

While the pot of ingredients simmered, she grabbed some pills from one of the cabinets and set it nearby for later. She couldn't doubt Hisako's skills with medicinal spices, but as she fiddled with the golden band on her finger, her worries only made her act more carefully. Seeing her upbeat husband act so helpless and downtrodden brought out her mother hen side, though her pride would admit otherwise.

Once everything was done, she placed a bowl of porridge next to the pills and a glass of water on a breakfast tray and walked back into the bedroom. Upon pushing the door open, she could see that Souma had all but thrown the comforters away, leaving his body exposed. Besides that, his breathing seemed more labored. Erina sighed worriedly and placed the tray on the nightstand before straightening out the sheets as much as she could. He mumbled incoherent words every so often, making her wonder what kind of fever dream he was having now.

Somewhere in the fuzzy remnants of Souma's dream, he could picture himself drudging through a scorching hot desert. His clothes felt heavy and suffocating on his sticky, sweaty skin. He looked around the endless sandy dunes, shielding his eyes from the sun. It was useless, though. He was stranded, and he didn't even know which way would lead him to refuge. He really needed to drink some water, otherwise he'd end up baking face first into the sand.

It could have been seconds, minutes, hours, but eventually he caught sight of a ramshackle town that surrounded an oasis. He nearly cried at the wonderful sight, running towards the wooden structures. Next thing he knew, he found himself leaping into the cool waters, splashing his face over and over. He was practically a kid splashing around in water, but that didn't matter; he was safe and away from the sun's harsh rays.

He laid back and let himself float in the body of water. It felt like heaven, and he didn't want to leave. Suddenly, a cool hand began feeling his face. He opened his eyes to a very pleasant sight: Erina dressed down in a light, flowing skirt and a top that failed to cover her midriff. A veil covered her head, but he was sure it was her. She smiled coyly, but said nothing and continued to gently stroke his face with cool hands. To say he was in complete bliss was a total understatement for what he was feeling at that moment.

He kept eye contact with her as she leaned in until their breaths mingled, soft lips barely meeting his own. He was willing to see if they were as cool as her hands. Then she whispered, "Souma, wake up~"

His eyes shot open to see Erina's eyes peer into his own. His view was obstructed by the cool towel she was pressing onto his forehead.

She paused and looked at him curiously, "Are you feeling okay? You sure were moving around a lot."

He waved her off and rubbed at his eyes. "Just a dream. Don't worry." Looking at her again, his mind formed images of what she would look like dressed up like she was in his dream. It was enticing, and certainly something he would remember, but he couldn't let his imagination run off. He mentally shook his head. She would probably smack him over the head for thinking such things, but given his situation, he couldn't help but imagine her in a nurse's outfit as well...

As Erina helped his heavy body recline against the headboard, he mumbled, "Smells good..." She then placed the tray over his lap, making sure nothing would spill on the bed. She waited for him to grab the spoon and start eating, but he wouldn't budge. In fact, he looked like he was falling back asleep.

"Geez. Do I have to feed you?" She moaned.

"Well, I'm the sick patient here." He replied with a smirk, eyes still shut. It was soon replaced by a grimace as his head pulsed due to his headache. He gave Erina the look of a hurt puppy until she gave in to his wishes.

"Fine, fine. I expect you to eat all of this and the medicine." She said, raising the spoonful to his mouth.

After swallowing, he tentatively asked, "Is it bitter?" Another spoonful was put into his mouth.

"Yes, Souma. It's not children's medicine. You're a capable adult, so you have to take the adult medicine." She scoffed as he protested during chews. This banter kept up until the dish was empty. It took some "gentle persuasion" from Erina for Souma to actually gulp down the pills, but soon after that he was feeling just a bit better. Before she could leave the bed, the redhead took her hand a placed a kiss on her palm.

He grinned boyishly, "Thank you for being my nurse today." She returned this with a small smile of her own and continued with cleaning up the tray.

"You're very welcome, you helpless man-child." She answered condescendingly, laughing at the face he made. "To think; the great Yukihira Souma can handle many consecutive Shokugekis without a sweat, but a fever is enough to bring him down from his pedestal."

"If anyone's on a pedestal, it's you." He accused tiredly, but she was already out the door. Souma loved his wife, but besides having her God's Tongue, she could easily pick him apart with some venomous words. Luckily, she usually didn't resort to the latter to get him to comply to her orders.

He heard her footsteps against the wooden floors and sure enough, when he opened his eyes again, she was leaning against the doorway.

"I was thinking of helping you with a bath as well, but seeing as you're too tired..."

"That's fine! I'm awake!" He insisted, stumbling out of bed and making his way to the bathroom. Erina rolled her eyes at his antics as she began changing the bed sheets and preparing a fresh set of clothes for him.

If anyone knew how to take care of Souma the best, it was definitely Erina.

END

A/N: Surprised by the quick update? So am I.

Addressing some reviews I got for the previous chapter:

1) This one was partly set up as an apology to guest ErinaXSouma, who seemed disappointed that these two aren't married in all of these oneshots. Sorry, but their relationship will depend on what prompts I choose to write!

2) I guess I should remind you all that these oneshots aren't necessarily following a plot, or even some sort of chronological order. I even wrote out "mostly unrelated Souma/Erina oneshots" in the summary! When I'm ready with some plot ideas I'm satisfied with, I'll let you all know. For now, I hope you can all bear with jumping in between different settings.

This one came as a spur of the moment story, so I don't have anything at hand for the next oneshot. If any of you would like to suggest some ideas, I will gladly consider them! Feel free to leave questions and constructive criticism. See you all again in the next one!