Marnie’s phone buzzed. And buzzed.  It stopped, then started buzzing again.  She groaned, grabbing the phone before it buzzed right off the side of the nightstand.  She looked at the screen with bleary eyes.  Annais was calling.

“Hullo?”

“Marnie!  Have you talked to your brother?”  The voice on the other end of the line sounded panicked.

“Huh?  I’m still ‘sleep,” mumbled Marnie.

“Oh… Sorry to wake you up, but he hasn’t answered me today,” Marnie heard Annais say.  “I’m worried about him.  He sounded off last night.”

Marnie yawned.  “S’probably still ‘sleep too.”

“It’s almost noon, Marn. He doesn’t sleep this late,” Annais said.  “And you know you wouldn’t be either if he was okay.  Even if he had a hangover, he’d answer me.  He’d be mad, but he’d answer me.”

Annais was right. Piers was always an early bird. If things were normal, he would’ve made a light breakfast and tea for Marnie hours ago and made sure she didn’t oversleep.

“I’ll check,” Marnie said as she threw off the covers.

“Thank you.”

The girl pulled herself out of bed and made her way out of her room.  She looked around the kitchen and living area first.  Piers was nowhere in sight, and there was no sign of him having cooked today.  Marnie knocked on his bedroom door, but didn’t get a response.  She twisted his doorknob and let herself in.  He didn’t keep it locked unless he was showering or Annais was over.

“Bro?” Marnie asked, standing beside his bed.  “Y’okay? It’s kinda late an’ y’forgot to make breakfast.”

“Doncha come closer, Marn,” Piers mumbled.  Marnie took a step back.  “You’re not sick, too, are ya?”

Her brother’s throat sounded hoarse.  His nose was stuffy and red.  He could barely open his eyes or lift his head off the pillow.  

“Nuh-uh.  I don’t feel anythin’.”

“Get outta ‘ere, then.” Piers weakly waved his hand, shooing her away.  “I don’ want ya catchin’ what I got.”

“Ann was worried about you,” Marnie said.  “Since she hasn’t heard from you today.”

Piers groaned before devolving into a nasty coughing fit.  Marnie stepped back again.

“‘M fine.  If ya talk to ‘er, tell ‘er I’m fine,” Piers managed to say.  “I don’ want ‘er over ‘ere.  She’s too busy an’ important to get sick.  I don’ want ‘er bein’ miserable, either.  Or worryin’ about me.” He sneezed, groaned again, and reached for the toilet tissue roll he had sitting on the nightstand.  “She worries…”

“I worry?” Annais snapped back on the line.  “That fucker is the worrywart!  If anything, he rubbed off on me!”

Piers was so sick that he couldn’t tell Marnie was holding the phone up to her ear still.  He didn’t hear Annais.

Marnie rolled her eyes. “If you’re sick, she’s likely already been exposed to it, seein’ as you’re always bloody conjoined when you’re around each other.  You probably gave ‘er whatever ya got when y’were coppin’ off on the couch the other night, tongue inside ‘er mouth, just hand-deliverin’ your germs.”

Marnie heard Annais burst into laughter on the other end of the phone, but Piers was too busy sneezing.

“Not in a mood to ‘ave a row, Marn,” Piers sniffed.  “An’ y’know not to talk coarse about me an’ Ann.  Just go.  Grab some money outta my wallet an’ buy yourself somethin’ to eat today.

“Thanks bro,” Marnie said. “D’ya need anythin’?”

“‘M fine,” he assured again. “Don’ come back in ‘ere.  An’ tell Ann not to come by either…”  He sniffled.  “An’ that I love ‘er.  ‘M not tryin’ to ignore ‘er…  I love ‘er.” He sounded like he was crying.  “Think my phone’s in the bathroom, but I can’t get up. I’ll call ‘er back later.”

“Want me to get it?”

“Don’ touch my stuff,” he said.  “You’ll get my germs.”

Marnie shrugged and walked out of the bedroom.

“Y’heard all that, Ann?” Marnie whispered outside his room.  “Sick as a dog.  Also, he loves ya, just in case you didn’t know that.”

“Poor thing,” she said. “He sounds awful…  I’m coming over.”

Marnie sighed.  “He said he doesn’t wancha over here.  He’ll give me an earful.”

“I heard that, but I don’t want him sick for a week because he isn’t taking care of himself.  I’m coming over.  I’ll tell him I didn’t listen to you.  Don’t take any money from his wallet.  I’ll bring you something to eat.  What do you want?”

“‘M fine, Ann,” Marnie said.

“You’re sounding just like him,” said Annais, causing Marnie to laugh.  

“Ah, whatever.  I don’ care.  Just pick up whatever you’re in the mood for.”

“I’m going to make him soup. Will you eat that?”

“That works for me.”

“Good,” Annais said. “See you in a bit, Marnie.  Oh!  Please don’t go back to sleep; I need someone to let me in.”

“Uh-huh,” Marnie said. “Bye, Ann.”

Marnie flopped down on the couch when she ended the call, secretly cursing her brother for not yet giving his girlfriend a key to the flat she spent half of her time in.  Her Morpeko stormed in from where she left her in the bedroom and jumped up beside her.  The dark hue of her fur was proof she was not pleased.

“Cripes,” Marnie shot up. “I gotta getcha somethin’ to eat.”

The girl rushed to the kitchen, hoping to find a snack for the Pokémon to hold her over until Annais came with actual food.  Piers didn’t buy much junk food, so that was out.  The majority of things they had were ingredients for actual dishes.  She rummaged through the cupboards, unable to find something quick to hand over to Morpeko.  She located the loaf of bread, threw two pieces into the toaster, and pulled the jam from the fridge.

“Guess this is why he always wakes me up so early,” Marnie frowned as the Pokémon had a tantrum. “To save me from your wrath, huh?”

The bread popped out of the toaster and Marnie quickly slathered some jam on the top of it, smashed it together, and handed it to Morpeko.  After two bites, she was sated and returned to normal, happily munching the rest of the sandwich.

As Morpeko continued eating, Marnie went to brush her teeth.  She decided on the way to the bathroom that she was going to stay in her pajamas today, because Piers wasn’t up to tell her she shouldn’t and Annais didn’t care like he did.  It was the weekend, after all.  She wasn’t going anywhere.  It didn’t matter.  She smiled to herself upon realizing she wouldn’t have to do chores today, since her brother wouldn’t be able to fuss at her and make her do them before anything else.

After brushing her teeth and settling back down on the couch, Marnie fought the urge to nap.  She stared at the TV with Morpeko on her lap, waiting for Annais to show up.  She didn’t know where Annais was coming from or how long it’d be for her to get there…

 ~

Marnie jumped up at the sound of knocking.  There was no way Annais had made it already; she must have dozed off a little while watching TV.  She dashed to the door and peered through the peephole.  Sure enough, Annais stood at the door wearing a facemask.  Her Golisopod, Incineroar, Obstagoon, and Grimmsnarl stood behind her holding bags.  Marnie unlocked the door and opened it.

“You’re ‘ere a lot quicker than I expected,” Marnie said, standing to the side to let them in.

“Really?  It’s been about an hour and a half…  But yeah, I stayed in Hammerlocke last night after an exhibition match with Raihan,” Annais said.  “Good thing, too.  Their grocers are a lot bigger than Ballonlea or here.”

“Yeah, it looks like you bought the whole store,” joked Marnie as Annais’s Pokémon sat the bags on the counter.

“I just wanted to make sure we were covered for a few days.  Just in case.”  Annais turned to her Pokémon.  “Thank you, babies,” she cooed, holding her arms out.  They all came in for a group hug.  “Alright, time to go up.  I don’t want you big boys wrecking Piers’s home.”

They pouted, but she grabbed their pokéballs and called them back.  With them out of the way, she began pulling everything out of the bags. There were a lot of ingredients for soup, some over the counter pills, fruits, even some whiskey.

“I got you a cupcake!” Annais said, sitting a single fancy looking strawberry cupcake over near Marnie. “I figure you’re hungry and the soup is gonna take a while.  I won’t tell Piers you had sweets for breakfast if you eat it… Even though it’s well into lunchtime now.”

Marnie’s eyes grew wide at the delicious looking desert.  “Thanks, Ann!”

“Of course.  Do y’all have a stockpot?” Annais asked.

“Yeah.  Lemme find it.”

Annais continued setting out her supplies.  Marnie could hear her clearing her throat beneath her mask as she looked for the pot. She eventually located it all the way in the back of the cabinet, and sat it on the stove.  When Annais herself sniffled, Marnie began to believe that mask was not to keep Annais from catching whatever Piers had, but to keep her from catching whatever Annais and Piers did.

“Ann?” Marnie cocked her head as Annais began dumping things into the pot.

“What’s up?”

“You’re already sick, too.  Aren’t ya?”

Annais turned to her, and slowly nodded her head.  “Y-Yeah, but not as bad as your brother…  Woke up with a scratchy throat this morning.”  Defeated, she sighed.  “Like you said, he probably hand-delivered his germs straight to me that night you came home to us making out on the couch.”

A laugh came from Marnie, but then her face went serious.

“An’ you’re takin’ care of ‘im instead of goin’ home to rest?  If you got what he has, it’s gonna be pretty bad soon.”

“I mean, he’d do the same for me if he could,” she said.

Marnie nodded, unable to argue with facts.  “S’ppose hat’s true.”

“He always takes care of us. He deserves to be doted on a little…  Besides, he can’t fight back right now.  He has no choice but to be loved and pampered!”  Marnie laughed as Annais continued.  Judging by her eyebrows, she was probably donning a wicked grin beneath her mask.  “If I can get this soup and stuff started for him, it’ll already be ready if I happen to get worse…  How about you? Are you feeling anything?”

Marnie shook her head.

“You should probably stay away from us then,” Annais said.  She continued filling the pot.  It looked like she opted for already chopped and prepared ingredients to save time and effort.  Marnie watched in shock and awe as she dumped an entire bottle of red sauce into the pot.

“Is that… hot sauce?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Annais said.  “You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find.”

“Are you trying to put ‘im outta his misery?  Y’know he can’t handle spicy food.”

Laughter rose from Annais as she tossed the empty bottle into the trash bin.

“It’ll water down.  If he’s as sick as he sounds, he won’t be able to taste it.  But it will certainly clear him up.  Are you going anywhere today?”

“Wasn’t plannin’ on it,” replied Marnie, sheepishly folding her arms to hide the fact she was still in her bed clothes.

“Cool.  If I go lay down with your brother, do you think you could stir this soup every so often?” she asked.  She had grabbed a knife from the block and started cutting a lemon.  “And turn the heat down after it boils?  Poor baby’s probably freezing.”

“Yeah, of course,” Marnie agreed.  She opened the cupcake Annais had bought while watching the woman continue.   “What’re you makin’ now?  Is that for the soup too?”

“Nah, hot toddies. Like… Adult cough syrup,” she said, picking up the bottle of whiskey and shaking it for emphasis.  She grabbed their kettle from the stove and filled it with water before putting it back on the eye and cutting it on.  “My daddy used to always make them for me when I got sick… Even with the whiskey in them.  He snuck it behind my mom’s back because she’d throw a fit, but it was the only thing that helped.  Don’t tell anyone.”

“Who am I gonna tell?” Marnie giggled as she munched on the cupcake.  She picked off a chunk and handed it to Morpeko.  “Gloria?  Hop?”

Annais pointed in the direction of Piers’s bedroom with the knife.

“He knows you an’ your pop are weirdos, Ann.”

Annais laughed.  “Well, if you do get sick, knock-on-wood, I have these over-the-counter things.  ‘Cause I don’t know if Nez is gonna let me make you one.  If it were up to me, I would, but I don’t want to get on his bad side.”

Marnie poked out her lip, but nodded.

“But I’m hoping you won’t get sick,” Annais said.  “Your immune system probably isn’t crap like ours.  You sleep a lot better than we do.”

“But the two of ya are always sleepin’ when you’re over,” she said.  Annais’s cheeks got red under her mask.

“That’s, uh, like the only time either of us ever get good sleep.”

“Y’should just move in then,” Marnie said, leaning her elbows on the table and her chin on her hands. “I’m sure he’d love that.  He just looks lost when you’re not over.  An’ then y’can help me with the chores.”

“I wish.”  Annais shook her head, letting out a wistful sigh. “If it were that easy, I’d already be living here.”

Marnie didn’t pry any further and let Annais finish making the drink for her brother.  Just before the kettle whistled, Annais poured the hot water into the cup.  Next was whiskey.  She grabbed honey from the fridge and put some in the cup, squeezed a lemon slice, stirred, and pulled her mask down enough to taste the spoon.

“Fuck, that’s good…” she said under her breath.  Upon hearing Marnie giggle, she blushed.  “Oops. You didn’t hear that.”

“Yeah, I did,” Marnie teased.

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yeah, I did,” Marnie repeated, laughing.  “I’m gonna go tell your boyfriend y’got a potty mouth.”

“You wouldn’t,” Annais said with a melodramatic gasp.  “Unless you want me to tell your brother that you’re still in your jammies… and you had a cupcake for breakfast… and you slept ‘til noon and-…”

“Fine, fine!  I get it!” Marnie exclaimed.  “… Tattletale.”

Annais burst into laughter. “I don’t think either of us need to worry him,” she said, placing a lemon slice and cinnamon stick into the mug. “We’ll keep our secrets to ourselves.”

Marnie nodded in agreement.

“Good.”  Annais picked up the mug.  “Well, I’m going to go face him.”

“Good luck,” said Marnie. “I’ll keep an eye on the soup.”

“Thanks!  Might not hurt to stir it right now either,” she said as she left the room.  She walked carefully so not to spill any of the hot beverage.

When Annais approached Piers’s door and cracked it open, she was surprised at how loud Piers was snoring. Usually, he was a quiet sleeper.  His nose must have really been stopped up. She crept up to his bed.  He was curled into the fetal position, trembling slightly in his sleep.  His mouth was wide open, seemingly unable to breathe through his nose.  Annais frowned as she sat beside him on the edge of the mattress.

“Psst, Nez,” Annais said. She placed the mug onto his nightstand and pulled down her mask.  She placed her now free hand on his back.  “Heard you while I was on the phone with Marnie.  You sounded like you needed babying.”

“Huh?  Ann?”  Piers rolled over, then groaned upon seeing Annais.  “Oh, Ann…  I told Marn t’tell ya not to come over.  You’re just gonna get sick an’ y’won’t be able to battle.”

“I know what you said to her.  But it doesn’t matter.  I’m already sick,” she said.

Piers ran a hand down his face.

“Ya don’ sound sick.”

“Trust me, I’m getting there,” she retorted.  “It’s no use for us to be by ourselves when we both got the same thing.  And I know you’re freezing to death without me warming you up.  I just caught you shivering in your sleep.”

“Stubborn,” he muttered, but didn’t argue.

“Pot, meet kettle,” she said.  “You haven’t taken anything for it, have you?”

Piers shook his head. “Don’ think I have anythin’. Didn’t wanna send Marn out to get anythin’ either.”

“Then, here,” she said and picked up the mug.  “I made this for you.”

Piers struggled to sit up and accept it from her.

“What’s this?” he looked at it.  “Hot toddy?”

“Yeah.”

Without lifting it to his lips, Piers hung his head.  Annais heard him sniffling behind his curtain of messy, unbrushed hair.

“Oh, Nez,” she put a hand on his shoulder and tucked his hair behind his ear with the other. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Being sick, Piers was too exhausted to control his emotions like he normally would.  He was openly crying.  This startled Annais, who was used to him remaining composed for her and Marnie’s sake. She went to take the cup from him, but his hands tightened around it.

“Mum and Pop…  Used to make these all th’ time when it got cold. They’d share with me when I was ill,” he said through tears.  “I ‘aven’t ‘ad one in so long.”

“Oh…” she said, relieved it wasn’t something more serious.  She pulled his hair out of his face and tied it up for him, noting how feverish his skin felt.  “I’m glad you like them.  This is my daddy’s recipe.  I hope it isn’t too different.  It uh, has whiskey in it.  I think that’s universal.”

Piers nodded and sniffled, taking a sip.  “Thank you, love.  Sure if I could taste, it’d be great.”

Annais smiled, kissed his forehead, and stood up.  “I’m going to check on something.  Finish drinking that.  I’ll be back.”

“Ann,” Piers spoke up, causing her to turn around.

“Yeah?”

“Marn’s not sick, is she?”

“I don’t think so,” Annais replied.  “She said she isn’t.  She sounds fine.”

He took another sip. “Hope she isn’t.  I can’t help ‘er like this.  ‘M bloody pathetic.”

“Well, she’s fine right now. Worry about getting better fi-…” Annais was interrupted by a sneeze. Rubbing her nose, she continued.  “First.”

“Oh,” Piers frowned. “Y’really do ‘ave the bug.”

Annais nodded. “Yeah.  I’m really starting to feel it too,” she said.  She had to admit, she was beginning to feel a little cold and the bed looked so welcoming.  “When I come back, I’m gonna lay down.”

“I didn’t… I didn’t want you to be miserable, love.”  Piers started whimpering again.  He really was a blubbering mess when he was sick.  Annais had to admit, she found it a bit endearing.

“Finish your drink, baby,” she said, pulling up her mask.  “I’ll be right back.”

Sniveling, he nodded and did as he was told.  She disappeared from the room.

Their home was always cold in the winter.  Piers avoided cutting on the heat to save money, and saved the firewood for when it was snowing.  This usually worked for Annais, who was perpetually hot, but today it was just making things worse.  She looked around the living room for blankets, but didn’t find anything other than light throws.  They had to have something more.  She found Marnie sitting in the kitchen.

“Is he always like… that when he’s sick?” Annais asked first.

Marnie looked up from her phone.  “Like what?”

“A cry baby.”

Marnie shook her head. “No?  Well, I never noticed.  If he’s sick, he holes himself up.  I don’ see ‘im for days.”

“Ah,” Annais said. “So, probably.”

Marnie shrugged.

“Do y’all have like… a stockpile of blankets?” she asked.  “I’m getting cold myself.  Your brother really needs them.”

“Uh, got some quilts in the closet.”  Marnie pointed at the door close to the entryway.

“That’ll work!”

Annais walked to the closet. Upon opening it up and looking inside, she frowned.

“Oh no,” Annais said.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t reach that,” she said, looking at the quilts that were stacked on the fixed shelf above the hanging rack.

“Dunno if I can help. ‘M not much taller’n you, Ann,” said Marnie.

“What the hell?  You’re the same height as me!” Annais exclaimed.

“Yeah, an’ I’m also half your age,” Marnie laughed.  “Y’know, Piers says Mum was tall as he is now.  Pop was even taller.”

“Go ahead and rub it in,” she huffed, folding her arms.  “I’ll just get my Incineroar.”

“He’ll set the blankets ablaze!  Call Piers. He can reach ‘em.”

“… You forgetting that he can barely sit up right now?”

Marnie face-palmed herself. Duh.  That’s the whole reason she was needing the covers.

“Wait,” Annais said. “Bring Morpeko over here.”

Marnie scooped up her Pokémon and met Annais at the closet door.

“Hold her up as high as you can, and have her pull the quilt down,” she instructed.

Marnie followed directions, hoisting Morpeko above her head.  The Pokémon jumped up, grabbed the edge of the quilt, and yanked it down with her… causing an avalanche of all the blankets to tumble down too and fall onto the girls.

“Well,” Annais said, grabbing the quilts and picking them up.  “I guess that worked, technically.  Thanks, Morpeko!” She petted the top of the Pokémon’s head.  “Marnie, I have some berries in my bag if she wants one.”

Marnie nodded and went back to the kitchen to find Annais’s bag.  Annais took the quilts and sat them on the recliner in the living room.  She didn’t need all of them, so she picked out the heaviest one and wandered back to Piers with it.  Quilt in hand, Annais entered the room again.  Piers had laid back down.  The mug was half-empty on the nightstand.  She threw the quilt on top of him then went over to his dresser.

“Ann…  Annais, love…”

“One sec, Nez,” she told him as she grabbed some of the pajamas she kept here.

Piers whined as she walked off into the bathroom to switch into the comfier clothes.  Once she was changed, she crawled onto the small bed beside him.  She always got the space next to the wall.

“We’re gonna sweat to death,” Piers mentioned as she joined him under the pile of covers.  “You’re a bloody furnace already.  Puttin’ y’under all these blankets…  We’re gonna burn.”

“That’s the point,” she replied as her arms found his waist.  “To sweat the fever out.”

“I didn’t want you ‘ere.”

Annais didn’t respond. Piers rested his head on her chest.

“But I’m glad you are… Makin’ me feel a li’l better just by bein’ ‘ere.  Guess I’m lucky you’re so bloody cheeky.  But I should be takin’ care of you, y’know.  Cos I love you.”

“Shut up and get some sleep,” she said.  “… But I love you too.”

Piers nestled in closer to her and got quiet.  Annais was sure he had fallen back asleep, and she was about to doze off herself. But then he began talking again.

“One day, you’re gonna be my wife,” he whispered.  “Dunno if y’know that yet.  We’re gonna be married, me an’ you.  An’ I’ll take care of you every day, even when we’re sick.  Even when we’re old.  Even when you’re mad at me.”  Annais didn’t know if she was getting a fever herself, but her face grew hot as he said this. She also felt her chest getting wet from him crying again.  “My bloody throat hurts, Ann.  I can’t sing tonight.  I sang last night an’ it got worse.”

He appeared to be absolutely delirious and saying anything that came to mind.  

“Shh…”  She scratched his scalp.  “Please quit talking so much and let it heal up.”

Instead of listening to her plea, he cleared his throat and asked her, “Can you sing, Ann?”

“Nez, you know I’m not a singer.”

“Annnnn….” he whined. Actually whined.

“Neeeeez…” she found herself mocking back without realizing.

“‘S the only thing y’ever lie to me about,” he whimpered.  “I know y’can.”

Annais huffed.  Her head was beginning to feel like it had been put in a vice and she didn’t want to argue with him.  They’d had this conversation before.  She always insisted she did not sing, but Piers didn’t like that answer.  He had overheard her in the shower before and always begged to hear more.  She was self-conscious of her voice, and grew embarrassed at the idea of him hearing her, especially since he did it for a living. When she protested, saying she didn’t sound good or couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, he insisted none of that mattered.  He cited his critics have said he sounds like a dying Perrserker in heat.  Whether or not you sound good all depends on the listener’s preference, and he enjoyed hearing her.  Despite his support, she still felt silly singing to him without music drowning out her voice.  Piers pulled his head from her to cover a few wet coughs.

“I’m sick, love,” he said as his head rested on her again, voice wheezy.  “I don’ feel good.”

“I know, baby.”

He sniffled.  “Y’know I’d sing to you if I could…  Cos I love you…  An’ it’d make you happy…”

Annais let out a long exhale.

“You really want me to sing to you?”

Piers feebly nodded.  

“If… y’want to, love… I just think it’d sound pretty…”

She couldn’t believe he wanted to hear her sing when he was already feeling bad.  She imagined it was probably something to do with his childhood. His mother had to have sung to him. So, as insecure as she was about it, she resigned.

“What do you even want me to sing?”

“I don’ care.  Some metal song you like.  Wyndon Bridge.  Anythin’.”

“Wyndon Bridge?” she laughed.

“Anythin’.  I’m already bein’ needy,” he said, exhibiting a bit of self-awareness she thought he was currently incapable of.  “I don’ wanna be picky too.”

“Fine, I’ll do it,” said Annais.  “Cos I love you.”  She took a deep breath.  

“Wyndon Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.  Wyndon Bridge is falling down, my fair baby.”

She looked down at her chest, seeing that the slightest smile had appeared on his face.  Stroking his hair, she continued.

“Build it up with iron bars, iron bars, iron bars.  Build it up with iron bars, my fair baby…”

She continued reciting as much as she remembered until a loud snore interrupted her.  He had fell asleep against her, mouth agape as he breathed heavily against her skin.  She let out a sigh of relief and closed her own stinging eyes.

 ~

“Oi, Ann?  You in there?”

Annais opened her eyes and lifted her head.  Oh, she absolutely felt worse than before.  Her head was swimming.  She looked to the door, where Marnie’s silhouette was visible.

“Y’want me to cut off this soup now?” Marnie asked.

“Oh… Yeah,” she said. “Thanks, Marn.”

“D’ya want any?”

“Nez,” she shook her boyfriend.  “Are you hungry?”

He shook his head.

“Not right now, Marnie. Help yourself though.”

“Do y’two always sleep cramped like that when you’re over, Ann?” Marnie asked, laughing.  “Never realized until seein’ ya.  Figured he gave the bed to ya an’ made ‘imself somethin’ on the floor.  Or used sleepin’ bags like I do when Gloria’s over.  No wonder y’sleep like garbage.”

Piers mumbled something unintelligible as Annais sneezed.

“Believe it or not, this is the only way we ever get sleep,” Annais said as she laid her head back on the pillow and Piers cuddled closer to her.

“Y’two are pitiful.”  Marnie couldn’t help herself; she snapped a picture of her brother and his girlfriend tangled up on the twin sized mattress. She couldn’t wait to show her friend how silly these two looked sharing such a tiny bed.

“Marnie,” her brother coughed out.

She slipped her phone back in her pocket.  “Yeah?”

“You’re not sick, are ya?”

“No,” she said.  “Already told ya I’m okay.”

“Please don’ get sick.” He began coughing again.  “Poor Ann… She’s already sick an’ I can’t take care of ‘er.”

“Go back to sleep, bro,” Marnie sighed.  “You’re keepin’ ‘er up.”

“Ann’s such a good wife… Wish I could look after ‘er.”

“Oh.”  It was hard for Marnie to contain her laughter.  “She’s your wife now?  Y’ two elope in ‘ere on your deathbed?”

“She made me toddies like mum.  ‘M gonna bloody marry ‘er.”

“Mum?” Marnie was amused at her brother’s ramblings.  She half-wished she was recording this.  “Oi, if I get sick, can I ‘ave one?  Since mum let you ‘ave ‘em.  An’ that means y’were younger’n me.  Ann said she’d make me one if she knew you wouldn’t be mad.”

“Don’ get sick, Marnie,” he said.  “I don’ want Ann to ‘ave to get up.  I like ‘er.”

Marnie crossed her arms and leaned in the doorframe.  “That so?”

“Yeah,” Piers muttered. “She’s soft an’ warm.  Makin’ be feel better just by bein’ in ‘ere.  She must like me too.  I got ‘er to sing to me.  She doesn’t do that.”

“I’m sure she does then,” Marnie said.  “She’d ‘ave to like ya to put up with how whiny you are right now.”

“Maybe you’ll find a girl like ‘er too.”  Another coughing fit followed.  “Not now though.  You’re far too young for all that.  Me an’ her’ll take proper care of you ‘til then.”

“Uh, righto.”  Marnie realized she shouldn’t be teasing her brother. As fun as it was, it was a little mean. “I’m gonna cut this soup off then an’ put it up.”

Piers lifted his head. “Is Ann’s soup good?”

“I haven’t had it yet,” she said.  “Smells good. D’ya want some?”

“Yeah.  My throat hurts.”

“Go have some soup, Nez,” Annais mumbled.  “You haven’t eaten today.”

“‘M gonna ‘ave some soup,” he said, weakly prying himself away from Annais.  His cheek had been stuck to the skin of her chest with sweat and a bit of drool from sleeping with his mouth open.  He used his sleeve in an attempt to clean her.  “Y’gonna come?”

She shook her head.

“But…”

“I know, Nez.  Go get some soup,” she said.  “Get better so you can take care of me.”

“I’ll go make you a bowl, bro,” Marnie said.

“Thanks, Marn.”  He managed to sit upright.  “I’m comin’.  Be right there.”

She nodded and left.

The room spun as Piers made it to his feet.  He didn’t know what time it was, or how long he had been in bed.  His body was so sore; he really wanted to just lay back down. But if he didn’t get better, he couldn’t care for Annais.  He needed to get better.  He needed to get something in his system.  Before that, he needed to get something out of his system.  His first stop was the bathroom.

Piers was so weak; he couldn’t even stand long enough to do his business.  As embarrassing as it was, he had to sit down to wee.  While seated, he looked over to the counter and saw his missing phone.  He flipped it open, hardly able to read the screen, but he saw he had a lot of missed calls.  He wanted to cry.  He felt so bad that Annais had worried about him so much.  He didn’t want to make her worry.  He shut his phone and placed it back.

He sat there for a minute after he had finished, trying to work up the momentum to stand up again. When he was finally back on his feet and all cleaned up, he found himself wandering back to the bed.  He looked down at his resting girlfriend.  

“Y’want soup, Ann?” he asked her.

“Nuh-uh.  I already ate.”  Her head didn’t leave the pillow as she answered.  He felt her forehead, curious if it was as hot as his.  “Nez, your cold fingers feel good.”

She absolutely had a fever too.  Piers frowned, but tucked her hair behind her ear.  “I’ll be right back, love.”

He picked up the mug from earlier and made his way out.  The light in the hallway stung his eyes after being in his dim room since the night before. He cut it off when he reached the switch.  Piers walked slow on a normal day.  Today, he moved like a Slowpoke but eventually wound up in the kitchen.  Picking the lemon slice and cinnamon stick out of the cup, he tossed them before dumping the now-cold liquid in the sink and rinsing the mug along with his hands.  A bowl of soup was already waiting for him on the kitchen table.  The steam coming off of it looked promising.

“Oi,” Marnie said, appearing on the other side of the room as Piers reached the table.  “Can Gloria come over?”

Piers looked at Marnie with the flattest expression.  Without uttering a word, he lowered himself onto the chair and began shoveling soup into his mouth.  He still couldn’t taste a thing, but the warm liquid did feel good on his throat.

“She said she was sick last week, so she’s okay.  She won’t get sick if she’s over here.”

“Marnie,” Piers rasped. “What fun is bein’ in a flat with a buncha ill people?  You’ll ‘ave to be quiet.  Me an’ Ann won’t be able to help if the two of ya need anythin’.”  He took another sip of soup.  “No.”

“Can I go over to her house then?”

“What if y’get sick?” he muttered.  “An’ you’re so far away?  Who’ll pick you up?”

“Thought you’d rather me be away from you guys an’ out of this germy flat than staying here an’ gettin’ sick too.”

Piers dropped his head to his hands and started tearing up again.

“I don’ know, Marnie,” he cried.  He didn’t understand why he was so sensitive when he wasn’t feeling well.  “My head hurts.  Everythin’ hurts.  I want Ann.”

Marnie stared at her brother.  Annais was right; he was a huge baby when he was sick.  She didn’t even know what to say.  She didn’t need to say anything, because Piers stood up from his chair.

“Where are ya goin’, bro?” she asked.

“Back t’bed.  I miss Ann.”

“She’s gonna be mad if you don’ finish ‘er soup,” Marnie said as he began to leave.  “I’ll tell ‘er!  I’ll tell ‘er you’re not eatin’ an’ are tryin’ to stay sick!”  He wasn’t paying her any attention, so Marnie added something else.  “She won’t marry you if she’s mad!”

Piers froze, hands coming up to his face again.  “Please, sis… Don’ tell ‘er.  I need t’ marry ‘er.”  His shoulders shook as he began to weep.  Marnie realized her statement was a little extreme, and untrue, but it got her point across.

“Just… finish half of the bowl.  She made it just for you.  Just like a wife would.  She’s a good wife, yeah?  So, you should uh… be a good husband an’ eat it.  Then, you can go lay down with Ann again.  The more y’fool around, the longer she’ll be in there alone.  If y’go in there now, she’ll just be mad at ya.”

Piers ambled back to the chair and sat down.  He grabbed the spoon again and resumed drinking up broth.

Marnie leaned on the counter and watched her brother, making sure he ate.  She wondered if this was how he felt all the time.  Having to make sure she took care of herself and her Pokémon had to get exhausting.  She was tired of being the only functional one already.  Still, she decided she wouldn’t be leaving the house, just in case Piers or Annais needed her.  These two were hopeless right now.

The counter she was leaning against began to buzz.  Marnie looked behind her to see Annais’s phone buzzing across the counter.  She was receiving a call.

“It’s Ann’s phone,” Marnie said as she picked it up.  “Want me to answer it?”

“Huh?” Piers asked, raising his eyes from his soup.  “Whozzit?”

“Leon.”

“Lee?”  Piers stuck out his hand.  “‘And it ‘ere.”

Marnie brought the phone over to him.  He cleared his throat and answered it.

“‘Ello?”

“… Piers?”

“Nah, ‘s the bloody queen,” he replied.

“Piers, mate, you sound like hell,” Leon laughed.  “I hardly recognized you!”

“Feel like hell too,” he said.  He took the phone away from his mouth to let out a cough that he had been trying to suppress.  “Sorry. Ann’s sleepin’ right now, mate.  I can take a message, if you’d like.”

“Ann’s sick too?”

Piers squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry on the line with Leon.  “…Yeah.”

“Least she’s in good hands then if she’s with you,” Leon said.  “I figured something was wrong when she asked me to step in for her the next few days.  I was just calling to let her know I can and to make sure she was okay.  Would you let her know that?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell ‘er when she’s up again.”

“Appreciate it, Piers. I hope she feels better, and you too!” Leon said.  “Sounds like you might have the same bug Hop had last week.  Get plenty of rest.”

“I’ll try.  Thanks, mate.”

“Well, I won’t hold you any longer.  I’m sure you’re tired.  Cheers!”

“Cheers.”

Piers ended the call and sat the phone down on the table.  He stared down at his bowl for a moment.

“Marn, I can’t sit here anymore,” he said.  “I’m freezin’.  Am I done?”

“Sure, I think you ate enough,” she replied.  “Go back to smotherin’ Ann.”

He eased himself to his feet again.  He picked up his bowl and shuffled to the sink.

“I could’ve handled that for you, bro,” Marnie told him.  He shook his head.

“Nah.  I got it,” he insisted, waving her off as he cut on the faucet to rinse out his bowl.  “Y’don’ need to baby me.  Ann’s doin’ enough of that.”

Marnie sighed, leaving the room so he could do his thing.  Piers was still cold and achy, but his throat felt much better. It cleared up his nose a bit, allowing him to breath normally.  After he figured the bowl was clean enough, he wandered back to his bedroom. His bed felt so much better to return to since Annais had been keeping it warm.

“Oi,” Piers said when he settled beside her.  “Your boyfriend called.”

“Piers?” Annais excitedly replied.  After the wheel in her head had a moment to spin, she said, “Wait.”

Piers smiled.  Feeling validated, he curled up closer to her.

“Why’d you call?” she asked. “To ask about soup?  I don’t know where my phone is, Nez.”

“Nah, Lee called,” he said. “Said he’d cover for ya.  An’ he hopes ya feel better.”

“Lee…?”  Her confusion was evident.  She had gotten to the delirious stage herself.  “But you’re my boyfriend.”

“Believe me, love, I know. Just havin’ a laugh, s’all.”

“Oh.”  Seconds of silence passed, then some coughs, before she added, “You must be feeling better then.”

“A li’l, yeah.  That soup of yours, Ann...  My throat doesn’t feel like sandpaper right now.”

She let out a huff of amusement.

“Marn’s in there, actin’ like a mum, y’know,” Piers chuckled.  “Told me I couldn’t go lay down again ‘til I finished ‘alf my bowl.  I don’ need two of ya tellin’ me what to do.”

“She’s just worried about you,” Annais mumbled.  “You’d treat her the same.”

“…Perhaps I would,” he replied.  “She didn’t need to be mean, though.”

“She’s not bein’ mean, Nez. You’re just cranky and sensitive.”

“But she said y’ weren’t gonna marry me.”

“You know that’s bullshit.”  Annais sneezed.  “Let me sleep or I’m gonna be mean.”

“You’ll still marry me though,” he said softly. “… Right?”

A sigh came from Annais. “If you let me sleep.”

“Need help?” he asked. “Think I can sing to ya now.”

“Nez, please.”

 ~

With Piers out of her way, Marnie finally sat down for a bowl of soup.  She could absolutely taste the hot sauce that Annais used, not that it was a bad thing.  Since Annais had been around to expose her to it, Marnie had discovered she enjoyed spicier food.  She couldn’t do the insane stuff like Annais preferred, but she had a much better tolerance than Piers.  That being said, her brother’s taste buds must have been dead if this soup didn’t bother him.

After eating, Marnie walked to the sink with her bowl.  She had intended to just rinse it out and leave it to clean later, but something compelled her to actually wash it.  Marnie then re-washed the dishes that Piers had attempted to clean, not fully convinced he was well enough to do it right.  Out of sheer boredom, she wound up doing the rest of her weekend chores plus the ones that her brother usually did.  The only thing she omitted was vacuuming, figuring that would be too loud.  

“Don’ know what’s wrong with me today, Morpeko,” she said to her Pokémon.  She couldn’t believe she was dusting.  In her opinion, that was the most pointless chore of all.  “Hope I’m not bloody turnin’ into him.  That’d be right scary, yeah?”

Her Morpeko chirped in response.

“You’d like it cos I’d be feedin’ ya.”

This earned happier cheeps from the Pokémon and a laugh from the girl.

~

After cleaning, she took a shower and changed into fresh pajamas.  The sun was starting to set at this point, so pajamas were appropriate again. She figured she would relax now that there was nothing else subconsciously nagging at her.  Marnie grabbed one of the quilts that Annais had left and laid down on the couch.  Morpeko perched on top of her as she reached for the remote and started flipping through channels.  Nothing looked particularly interesting.  When she reached the movie channels, she found a title she recognized.  It was a movie Annais had said before that she liked- horror, of course.  She saw it on the TV once before, and her brother told her she’d be better off not watching it.  The movies Annais enjoyed were obscenely gory, and he wasn’t a fan of them.  But Piers wasn’t awake to talk her out of it this time. Marnie wanted to see what Annais liked so much about it.

The movie was a little raunchy.  Some of the jokes admittedly went above Marnie’s head, but others would have caused her to blush if Piers or Annais were in the room with her.  The soundtrack of the movie was pretty good; Marnie believed that her brother would’ve enjoyed it if he could stomach the rest.  He absolutely would not have enjoyed the people getting carved up by chainsaws.  She thought about changing the channel, but she was unable to look away.

“Marnie.”

The sound of her name startled her.  A hand darted over her chest as she realized it wasn’t a crazed murderer.  “Oh, Ann!”

“What’re you watching?” Annais asked groggily.

“… Nothin’.”

Annais turned her head to the screen and cracked a smile upon immediately recognizing the film.  She folded her arms in front of her.  “Y’know you shouldn’t be watching that.”

“He didn’t say I couldn’t watch it,” Marnie elaborated.  “He just said it might not be a good idea.”

“Uh-huh.  He was right.  You jumped about as high as a Spoink just then.”

“Yeah, cos y’snuck up on me!”

“Marnie, I was coughing the whole way down the hall,” laughed Annais.  She waved her hand.  “Don’t worry. I won’t tell.”

“Won’t tell what?”

Marnie jumped again upon seeing her brother appear behind Annais.

Annais looked at Marnie as Piers snaked his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. It was apparent she wasn’t going to speak up, but Marnie would have to come up with something instead.  

“I-I’m watchin’ one of Ann’s scary movies,” Marnie said, cracking under pressure.  Her brother was looking so pathetic; she just couldn’t lie to him.  “It was the only thing on.”

“You’re too bloody old to sleep with me if y’get scared,” Piers mumbled, not even lifting his head.

“Not that there’s any room,” said Annais.  “Unless you wanna try to squeeze between us.”

“Ann’s not gonna letcha.”

“I won’t get scared,” Marnie insisted.  “What’re you even doin’ up?  Don’ you still have the plague?”

“Nez wanted another Hot Toddy,” Annais said.  “I’m makin’ one for us to share.”

“Make Marnie a tiny one to taste… Before she tries to sneak your whiskey,” Piers joked as the two walked to the kitchen.

Marnie jumped up off the couch with a scoff.  Once she was in the kitchen with them, she proclaimed, “I wouldn’t do that!”

The couple looked at each other, then at Marnie.

“… I did,” Piers confessed. “Had a few of those mini bottles Uncle G kept in his medicine cabinet.  Threw up all over his deck of cards when he was tryin’ to teach me how to cheat at poker.”

“I did too,” said Annais. “Never felt the need to try my daddy’s liquor cos he let me taste it.  But I did finish off my mama’s half-empty glasses of wine after she went to bed since she’d never let me try it.”

“See!” she pointed.  “The two of you aren’t angels either!”

Piers tried to laugh, but ended up in the midst of a coughing fit.

“Never claimed to be,” he managed to say.  “Just tryin’ to keep you from makin’ the mistakes we did.  Some hangovers are just about as bad as dealin’ with this.”

“Ann doesn’t,” Marnie said, folding her arms.  “She encourages me.”

Annais didn’t speak, but smirked to herself as she heated the kettle.

“Ann’s a bad girl.  An’ she’s never had siblings,” Piers said, casting a smile to his girlfriend.  “Don’ worry. It’s all gonna come bite ‘er in the bum when she has a kid.”

Annais scoffed.  “Pfft… Saying that just jinxes yourself too, Nez. Don’t forget, it’s gonna be half yours.”

“Nah.”  Piers shook his head.  “See, I’m tryin’ to be good so it cancels out your bad an’ we ‘ave a normal kid.”

“Poor thing doesn’t ‘ave a chance to be normal with y’two as the mum an’ pop,” cracked Marnie.  Annais snorted a bit.  Piers wasn’t nearly as amused by the joke.

“Aw, Marn,” he said with a frown.  His guardian skills being insulted wounded his ego.  “Y’ don’ think we do a decent job with you?”

“I dunno, Nez,” Annais said. “This place looks cleaner than when I went to lay down.”

“Huh?”  Piers looked around, eyes growing wide.  “Marn… Did you really do the chores?”

“… Don’ make a big deal about it.  I was bored.”

“Really?”  Once again, Piers got weepy.  “Oh, sis.  If I wasn’t contagious, I’d hug you.”

“I’d rather you not.”

“She’s gettin’ so grown,” he cried, cowering against Annais.  “One day she won’t need ‘er big bro anymore.”

As Piers broke down, Annais exchanged a glance with Marnie, who sighed.

“S’not true…” she mumbled as Annais comforted him.  “But me bein’ grown isn’t a bad thing, bro.  I can help out with that not-normal baby you an’ Ann’re gonna be havin’, yeah?”

Annais shut her eyes, knowing that Marnie just made this worse.  He clung to Annais’s shirt as she turned to get the whistling kettle.

“You’re just a baby yourself,” he whimpered.

“Ugh, am I grown or a baby?”

“Marn, quit bullying the baby,” Annais said while stirring a drink.  She tasted the spoon, frowning before sitting it off to the side. “Here.  Taste this.  No clue if the portions are right cos I can’t taste anymore.”

She slid the mug over in Marnie’s direction, who picked it up and looked at it.  At first, she was welcomed by the cinnamon and lemon scent. When she put the mug to her lips, it was a different story.  The honey and other flavors did little to mask the whiskey.  Her face immediately contorted, causing Piers to quit sniveling long enough to laugh and Annais to join him.  

“Ew, no,” Marnie said, shuddering.  “Think I wanna be a baby if this is what adults drink.”  She looked like she was going to give it another go, but shook her head and put the mug back down.  “Blech, y’ snuck around to drink this stuff?”

“Yeah.”  Piers held his hand out.  “I’ll finish it.”

“D’ya like it so much cos you can’t taste right now?”

“It helps,” he said, sipping it.  “An’ it’s an acquired taste.”

“Gimme some,” Annais said. Instead of handing her the mug, he brought it to her lips for her.  Marnie gagged.

“Y’ two are gross. I’m goin’ to bed.”

Piers looked to the clock on the stove, then back to Marnie.

“… At your bedtime? On your own?” he asked with a smirk. Annais giggled a bit.

“Oh, bugger off.”

“Righto… Don’ know if I’m gonna be up in the mornin’ or not, Marn,” Piers said.  “Make sure y’ wake up early enough to feed Morpeko.”

“Duly noted,” Marnie replied.  “Night, bro.”

“Night, sis.”

“Night, Marnie!”

“Night, Ah…”  

Piers and Annais tilted their heads as Marnie stalled, before sneezing into her elbow.

“… Ann.”

“Fuck,” Annais muttered as Piers tensed beside her.  This was going to be a long couple of days.