"ACHOO!"

Sun sneezed for the gazillionth time that day. It was a few weeks after the fight in the basement, and he had caught his first cold. How he managed to get sick before Moon was a mystery, but at least the daycare wouldn't have to close today. He lamented having to leave the fate of the check-in counter to Elaine, but he had no choice. Right now, he was lying down on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, and surrounded by used tissues. He had a fever, his nose was running, his throat was sore, and he felt lightheaded. He had just woken up from a nap, which had helped a little, but he was still out-of-sorts.

"Bless you," said Gregory. He had been taking care of Sun about as well as a nine-year-old could. He had given him fresh tissues, orange juice, and a couple of snickerdoodles. Vanessa and Moon had helped earlier, but Vanessa had to sleep and Moon had to go to work.

"Thank you," Sun sniffled.

He and Chloe were supposed to have brunch today. Obviously, that couldn't happen. He had promised to make it up to her, and for some reason, she had promised to do the same. Sun didn't know what she meant until there was a knock at the door. Gregory quietly pulled a chair over and stood up on it to look through the peephole.

"Hey Sun, your girlfriend is here."

"What?" Why would Chloe come here? Was she trying to get sick too?! Gregory moved the chair aside and opened the door. "NO! DON'T LET HER IN!"

"Hi, Gregory! How are you doing today?"

"Better than him." Gregory gestured to Sun, who covered his head with the blanket.

"Hi there, Sunny! I heard you weren't feeling so hot."

He peeked his face out of the blanket. "Actually, I've been feeling very hot. And cold. Usually both at the same ti-hi-haaACHOO!" He sneezed an especially wet sneeze, spraying snot all over his arm. Gross. He grabbed a tissue and wiped it off.

"Aw, poor thing." Chloe stepped through the doorway. She was holding a small red and white pot with a lid.

"No! Please don't come any closer! I don't want to get you sick, too!" Sun cried. "Besides, I'm… indecent."

That wasn't exactly true. He was wearing his pajamas, which Vanessa didn't seem to mind seeing him in, but the statement made Chloe pause for a moment.

"No, he's not," Gregory claimed. "He's wearing his sissy-ahh pjs. They cover everything."

Sun wanted to argue that his pjs were absolutely not sissy, and that anyone could wear fun colors and patterns, especially in the comfort of their own homes, but he didn't have the energy.

"That's good," Chloe sighed. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"No, I just woke up from a nap. I told you, we can't go out today, I'm too sick." He coughed to emphasize his point.

"I know, silly, that's why I'm here."

"So that you can catch my cold?"

"No. So that I can bring you this." She lifted the lid off of the pot, and herb-scented steam billowed out. It brought Sun's appetite back immediately. "It's chicken noodle soup. Carrie helped me make it."

"And it's for me?"

"Uh huh. All of it."

"Thank you! It smells delicious!"

"Are you ready to eat right now?"

"When this is available, how could I not be?" Sun fully uncovered his head and sat up. Chloe rummaged around in her purse.

"I forgot a spoon. Can I use one of yours?"

"Sure," said Gregory, fishing one out of the drawer. He brought over a spoon that was probably clean, and Sun reached for it. To his surprise, Chloe took it instead and dipped it into the soup.

"What are you doing?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

She lowered the spoon. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to eat by yourself? You seemed like you could barely move, so I just assumed you would want some help. I guess I should've asked…"

"No, you're fine! Better than fine, in fact. I just wasn't expecting that, is all. I'm fine with you feeding me soup."

"You sure?"

"Yeah! No one's ever done that for me before. It sounds… nice."

"Ok. Open your mouth, then."

Sun opened his mouth what seemed to be a reasonable amount, and Chloe put the spoon in. The soup was hot, but not unbearably so. It was the first time he had eaten soup, and if it was always like this, he hoped it wouldn't be the last.

"Mmm! Tastes even better than it smells!"

"I'm glad you like it."

They stayed silent for the next few bites, allowing Sun to savor the fresh vegetables, chicken, and noodles, all cooked to perfection in a gently-seasoned broth.

"You're really spoiling me, you know that? You could have taken this time to do anything you wanted, but you risked getting sick to come here and check on me, and bring me homemade soup." He paused to take another bite. "Not only that, but you're spooning it into my mouth, like aCHOO! Like a child."

He was used to being treated like a child in a bad way—people assuming he was clueless or immature, unable to make his own decisions or complete tasks they deemed "too complex"—but he meant this in a good way. This way was more akin to what some people would call "love," or even "basic care," but he still wasn't used to being treated like that. The only one who had truly cared about him for most of his life was Moon, and physical gestures of affection were severely limited when you shared a body. What he did know was that kids would sometimes tell stories about their friends or family members doing things like that for them.

Like Chloe, Greta's mother made her soup when she was sick. Johnathan's brothers smuggled his favorite candy into the hospital after his surgery. Tracy's friends set up a movie night at her house when she couldn't make it to the theater. A million little kindnesses, some overheard, some told to him or Moon directly, sometimes causing excitement, sometimes envy. Similar stories seldom came from the animatronics, or even the employees, making it seem as though these joys were only possible for children to experience. Yet, in spite of everything, here he was.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No, never! I like it. I like it a l-" he paused again for a brief coughing fit. "-a lot. I just want you to know that you really are spoiling me, and I'm still not used to it, and maybe give me some time to disinfect the apartment if you plan on doing this again, but for now, please keep going."

Chloe smiled as she readied the next spoonful. "Glad to hear it. You ready for more?"

Sun nodded a bit too quickly, making himself dizzy. He closed his eyes and held his head still to stop the world from spinning. When he felt more stable, he opened his mouth again, allowing the warm broth to rest in his mouth before flowing down his throat. Each spoonful was better than the last, partly because of who was doing the spooning. Her smile warmed him just as much as the soup, and he returned it whenever he could. Maybe being sick wasn't so bad, after all.

Suddenly, his tummy wasn't feeling so good. He slowly leaned away from Chloe.

"Are you full?" she asked.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. My tum- my stomach feels different than it normally does when I'm full, but I don't feel like eating anymore."

"Different how?"

"I don't know, it just feels… icky. And now my mouth is watering, but I don't feel hungry."

Gregory ran into the kitchen.

"Could you be allergic to something in the soup?" Chloe looked into the pot, worried that she may have poisoned her beloved.

"I don't think they would give us allergies. That would be kind of rude."

Gregory came back with the big popcorn bowl. It was lined with paper towels.

"Take this." He handed the bowl to Sun.

"What's this for?"

"You'll see."

"What do you mean by-" Sun keeled over and vomited. All he could do was watch in horror as the contents of his stomach emptied themselves into the bowl. It felt awful. Even after he was completely empty, he gave a few dry heaves, either due to the rancid smell or some unknown reflex, or possibly both. He stared at the bowl. The "soup" inside of it was far less appetizing than what it had been mere moments ago.

All of the work that went into making the soup, all of the love and care poured into it was for nothing. He had been given a precious gift, not only of a delicious meal, but of the time it took to drive here and feed it to him, and he had ruined everything. He sniffled, and tears began to burn his eyes almost as much as the residual stomach acid burned his throat.

"Told ya." said Gregory, taking the bowl. "Imma dump this."

"Th-th-thank you, Gregory."

Sun blew his nose. He was shivering. The vomiting had somehow made him feel even more weak than he already was.

"Are you ok?" asked Chloe. She placed the soup on the coffee table, making sure the lid was on, then scooted closer to him.

"Y-yeah, I'll b-be f-f-fine." Sun reached for his water glass, hand shaking. Chloe grabbed it for him and kept it steady while he took a couple of small sips. He was hesitant to refill what his body had so violently emptied, but he had to get the taste out of his mouth.

"Are you sure? You don't seem fine."

"He's not," said Gregory matter-of-factly. The bowl had been dumped out in the toilet (hopefully he had removed the paper towels beforehand) and set in the sink to soak. "This is his first time getting a cold, and his first time throwing up. He's kinda the opposite of ok."

"I s-said I'll be f-fine," Sun insisted. "I-I'm sorry I ruined your s-soup."

"No, Sunny, you didn't ruin anything. It's my fault. I sometimes forget… where you came from, and I assume you know things that you couldn't have possibly had the chance to learn. I should have been more careful.

"There's n-nothing you could have done."

"I could have fed you slower. That would have allowed your stomach time to settle, and you might have felt something was off in time to stop."

"That… might have been nice. But there's nothing we can do now."

"True."

They sat together in silence. Relative silence, amidst Sun's coughing and sniffling. He took another sip of water, then motioned for Chloe to return the glass to its coaster. She slipped across the back of the couch until she was leaning on him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He leaned back against her as well. It was horribly unsanitary, but he appreciated it anyway. He didn't talk again until he had stopped shivering.

"Well, there is one good thing."

"What's that?"

Sun cracked a smile. "Now I have room for more soup."

They both laughed. Chloe grabbed the soup, which was almost as warm as when she had brought it in due to the highly-insulated pot, and Sun had his second lunch, much slower this time.