Prompt #5: "Mind"

5 - Mind

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna die."

Sally, bundled up to her nose in the thickest blanket Rosie could find, glared blearily over at her whiny temporary bunkmate, and rolled her aching eyes. This was all his fault. He'd been the one to play with a sick toddler despite warnings from Rosie and Juniper. He'd been the one who had come straight from a play session without washing his hands. He'd been the one to poke at everyone and blow raspberries and joke about everyone's irrational fear of "fox sniffles."

And of course, the only one who had gotten sick besides him was Sally.

Rosie had promptly quarantined them both in her room for the health of the other children in the village, and dosed them both up on thick syrups for their throats and steeped teas for the sniffles and aches. Now Sally was stuck on the big bed with the plague-carrier himself, glaring daggers at him as though she could will him into a puddle of inert goo if she just thought hard enough about it.

Sonic either didn't notice or, more likely, didn't care.

Instead, he'd flopped himself across a full half of the bed, spread-eagle and staring listlessly up at the ceiling fan, periodically attempting to clear his nose with loud, honking snorts that rattled Sally out of whatever fitful doze she managed. Or complaining about his impending doom, as though he had more than just a very bad cold.

A very bad cold, Sally was constantly reminded, he'd shared with her.

So she threw a pillow at him.

It bounced off his face and fell over the side of the bed. He didn't even flinch. Just muttered, "Rude."

"Serves you right for getting me sick too."

"Nuh-uh," he retorted, glaring at her. "You got sick first. Must've got your girl germs all over me."

Indignation flared hot enough to warm her despite the chills from the illness. " What?" Her voice came out shrill enough that Sonic's ears flattened back against his head. "You're the one who was being gross, and you're blaming me?"

"How else d'you explain you gettin' sick first?" Sonic stuck out his tongue.

"Just because I showed symptoms first doesn't mean I got sick first!" She threw another pillow. He feebly tried to swat it out of the air, and took it full in the face. "You've got the strongest immune system in the village!"

"What's that even got to do with it?"

"Everything! I swear, sometimes you don't think at all. Your mind is so empty it doesn't even have cobwebs!"

He pushed the pillow aside and rubbed at his ears. "Oh, stop your shoutin', Sal. You'll get more girl germs on me and then I'll really die."

She pushed one foot free of the blanket and kicked at him. "Sonic Hedgehog, you are the worst!"

He curled up into a spiny pincushion to keep her from landing a kick. "As long as you keep your girl germs offa' me, I don't care," he mumbled from somewhere in the mass of disheveled quills.

She shrieked and threw a third pillow, which got stuck on his spines until he shrugged it loose in a cloud of down feathers. Sally tried not to think about how much trouble she'd be in for the damage. Really, Sonic deserved to be the one in trouble, but punishments didn't stick to Sonic nearly as well as pillows did, much to Sally's—and most of the adults'—frustrations.

Empty mind indeed. Even with all of this, he'd probably go back to being his gross, germy self within a day of recovery. No, an hour. Tops.

Sally crossed her arms under the blanket and pouted, and wondered how much trouble she'd get in with Rosie if she smothered Sonic the Hedgehog with a pillow right then and there.

—

"Don't let them give any sappy speeches at my funeral."

Sonic chuckled at the muffled complaint from the couch as he carried a pair of steaming mugs over from the cabin's small kitchen. "Too late," he said with a grin, setting the mugs down carefully on the low table before dropping to the cushions next to a suspiciously chipmunk-shaped bundle of blankets. "Ant's already prepped this whole eulogy for you."

The blankets shifted slightly, reaching out to pull one of the mugs into their depths. Sonic heard Sally sip daintily at the hot tea. "He wouldn't."

Sonic cocked one eyebrow.

The top of the blanket pile tilted a little. Hands set the mug back down. "Blast it, he would."

"Better not die, then." Sonic slid his arms around the blankets. "C'mere."

He felt her resist, hands beneath the blankets pressing against his chest. "Nooooo, I don't want to get you sick too."

"What happened to 'strongest immune system in the village'?"

"What happened to getting 'girl germs' all over you?"

Sonic laughed, and when Sally joined in, he pulled her into his lap. Rested his chin against the top of the pile, and felt her slide blankets around until her face just barely peeked out and she could tuck herself just into the crook of his neck and the curve of his shoulder. Felt her slightly too-hot breath against his fur. He rubbed one hand along her back in soothing circles.

She hummed in contentment, and relaxed.

"I guess I've changed my mind on 'girl germs.'"

"Even when they get you sick?"

"Hey, you and I both know I probably gave this one to you too." He flinched slightly at the thought. "Sorry 'bout that, by the way."

"You've got to stop doing that." One of her hands poked at his side, causing him to twitch involuntarily, and it was only the fact that she was suffering from a cold that kept him from tickling her back.

Instead, he grabbed his mug and sipped at his tea, and carefully rearranged his body to create an impromptu nest for his sick girlfriend. She nuzzled in deeper, blankets slipping free from her head and shoulders. She shivered. He took another sip and then pulled the blanket back up, around the both of them.

They cuddled like that long enough for Sonic to slip into a doze, dimly aware of Sally's lethargic movements between bouts of light dreaming of chili dogs and summer breezes. The shadows drifted across the walls as afternoon drifted into evening. The sounds of the village outside the hut seemed faint and far away, as the villagers let their princess rest.

What ultimately jolted Sonic awake was not some sudden noise from outside, or Sally leaving his side. It was the sensation of something pinching his nose, arresting a snort half-formed in his muzzle. He swatted at it. Felt her hand pull away.

"You started snoring," she murmured sleepily into his chest.

"Rude," he muttered. But he kissed the top of her head regardless.

"Yep."

He huffed at her actually agreeing with him. "Wish I'd recorded that."

She laughed a little too, faintly wheezy, and pushed herself to sit up. "I...should find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

"What?" He sat up with her, trying to catch one of her wrists as she fumbled with the blankets.

"So you don't get sick. I mean it." She tried to pull away again.

He gave up on her wrist and caught her face with both hands. "Sal, listen. I don't mind. Really." He coaxed her to look up at him. "I'm not kicking you out of our hut just to avoid some germs."

She opened her mouth to protest.

"And I'm not bailing on our hut either," he continued, rubbing his thumbs against her cheeks. "Someone's gotta stay here to make sure you get better."

She tried to argue again.

"I'm not bailing on you, okay?"

Hesitation.

"Okay?" he pressed.

He could see the fight in her eyes, but the tiredness got the better of her. She sagged a little. "Okay," she said softly.

"Good." He kissed her on the forehead, then pulled her back down into the curve of his body, wrapping her up once more in the blankets. "Get some rest."

She snuggled into him, and he felt her sigh in contentment, relief at his stubborn insistence to stay, even if she wouldn't admit it. That was fine. He could settle for quiet victories now and then.

With Sally, sometimes those were the best kind.