Welcome everyone! :D

As the title says, this one-shot's all about what an epidemic can do to a person. :3
So I wrote this story 'cause I'm kinda, well, sick myself -'
My head hurts and my ears are ringing, but I wrote a fanfic, so yey! ^^

Enjoy!
I don't own the PPG or RRB.

The city of Townsville…

has fallen victim to a flu epidemic.
Everywhere in the town you found sneezing men and coughing women. The usual traffic jams were nowhere to be seen and people stayed inside, warming themselves with blankets and hot chicken soup. Children who had been contaminated stayed in bed, suffering from runny noses, high fevers and chattering teeth while their mothers replaced the ice bags on their heads.

One of these 'children' who should stay in bed, was Princess Morbucks. Yet she hovered in the air above Townsville, holding a bag of money in her trembling hands while sneezing repeatedly. But her series of coughs stopped when she saw three streaks of light come towards her. She gritted her teeth to prevent them from chattering and put her hands on her hips, ignoring the pounding of her head.
"Not so fast!", the famous trio of heroines shouted when they floated in the air before our young delinquent.
Princess managed to crack a smile and spat, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the Powerpoop Girls!"

The one on the right, Buttercup, known for her short temper and extreme strength, immediately dashed forward. However, the hand of her red-haired sister, Blossom Utonium, prevented her from giving the curly-haired teen a memorable beating.
"What do you want, Princess?", the leader asked with a kind of annoyed tone.
"What I have always wanted", Princess grinned in response, "To become a Powerpuff Girl!" Buttercup snorted, while rolling her lemon green eyes, "Yeah, right! Like that'll ever happen."
"Are you sure you're okay, Princess?", a high-pitched voice full of compassion suddenly asked.
It was Bubbles, the blue Powerpuff Girl. Her concerned look stayed focused on Princess while the dressed in yellow teen put a hand to her head and muttered, "I'm fine. Quit bugging me!"
"Hey, don't you snap at Bubbles!", Buttercup shouted, getting in one of her famous fighting positions.
"Look, Princess", Blossom started, "We don't want to fight-"
She was cut off by the money bag that missed her head by a hair. Blossom's neutral expression melted away and formed a dark scowl.
"Come and get some", Princess smirked, motioning for Blossom to advance on her.
The leader of the Powerpuff Girls dashed forward, Buttercup directly in her trail, Bubbles following a little less assured. Blossom started throwing punches at her opponent, but noticed how weak Princess' dodges were. Then suddenly, when she was planning to give it another shot, Princess threw her head back and went for a big "Aaa-aaaa-"
Blossom's eyes widened, only a little too late. Princess sneezed right in her face, making several drops of saliva hit the pink-eyed girl's horrified features.

"Eeeew!", Blossom squeaked, flying a few meters away from Princess and wiping her face off. Then she glared at the still sneezing teen while her sisters joined her by her sides.
"Princess, there really is something wrong with you!"
"Yeah, you're sick!", Buttercup said before her leader, "Just like the rest of Townsville."
Princess wiped her nose and looked disgusted at the green slime on her hand, before she muttered in a rather sick-sounding voice, "I ab not sigk!"
"Yes you are!", Blossom shouted, "Just go home and get in bed!"
"And stay there!", Buttercup added.

Princess wanted to object, but instead lost herself into a series of uncontrollable coughs and sneezes. When she was done, she looked up at the now disgusted looking puffs.
"Okay", she snorted, "Maybe I ab sigk. Bud I wand to be a Powerpu-aaaa-aaaa-ATSJOEM!"

Seeing their forcefully trembling enemy sneezing and trying to stay afloat, the girls exchanged a look and eventually Blossom sighed and approached the sick girl.
"Okay, let's get you back home", she muttered while supporting the weak princess.
Together with her sisters, Blossom flew Princess back to the Morbucks residence.

+.+

After they had tucked Princess in and made sure that she was asleep, the girls flew out through the window and headed for their home as well. On their way, Buttercup kept making fun of Blossom for the fact that she got covered with Princess' saliva. Of course, Blossom felt embarrassed, angry, but most of all infected. The fear of becoming sick was presently there, in the pit of her stomach. Bubbles, noting her sister's unease, placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled encouragingly at her, "Don't worry about it, Blossom. You won't get sick."
Blossom gave her a smile back, but couldn't shake off the light-headed feeling she was experiencing. It's just in my head, she thought to herself, trying to tune out Buttercup's mocking voice in the process.

Soon they returned home, into the warmth and comfort of their nice house with their nice dad who was nice enough to make them tacos for dinner, much to Buttercup's joy. The hours flew by at a breakneck pace and the three girls soon found themselves stuffed away into their very own bedrooms, all falling soundly asleep. Yet Blossom, just before she went to bed, felt the pain of an upcoming fever course through her bones. Shrugging it off, and after she had taken a reinforcing tablet full of vitamins, she too went off to bed. But the feeling stayed and while night's slumber passed by, she started sweating and trembling more and more.

When morning finally came, the Powerpuff's home was engulfed with complete, serene silence.
When Buttercup opened her eyes, she was met with the red numbers of her alarm clock, informing her that it was 10:30 am. With a tired huff, she rolled over and stayed in bed for a few more minutes, before dragging herself out of her bed and towards the sealed window. When the blinds were opened, the morning sun stung mercilessly in her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, stretched her arms (accompanied by a loud yawn) and flew into the bathroom at the end of the aisle. It was Sunday and it was a damn good one, 'cause for once, Blossom had let her sleep in. This thought reoccurred to her while she was taking a shower and when she got out, a sudden thought struck her mind with unease. Blossom NEVER lets me sleep in.

In a flash of green, she was dressed, her hair was dried (mostly from the speed of her flying down the stairs) and she was entering the kitchen.
"Good morning!", an ever-cheery Bubbles chirped while putting down a big jug of freshly squeezed orange juice, "Nice weather, huh? Still cold though."
Ignoring her sister's rambling about the excellent jogging-weather, she looked around and when she found no one but her blue-eyed sister and the professor, who smiled at her as a greeting, she asked, "Where's Blossom?"
Bubbles stopped the spoon full of cereals she had been moving to her mouth and stared at her.
"I thought she was upstairs, studying?", the blonde asked, lowering the small utensil, "Why? Didn't you see her? I thought she'd woken you up?"
"At half past ten in the morning?", Buttercup asked with a sarcastic, cocked eyebrow, "Only in my dreams."
"Then something must be wrong!", Bubbles' face got extremely serious.

Blossom was always very strict in these kinds of things. Never, really NEVER would she allow Buttercup to 'waste' her Sunday like that. Ever.
The two sisters exchanged a tensed look, and when the professor opened his mouth to tell them he'd better go check on her, a wind of blue and green dashed up the stairs, leaving parts of his newspaper to float around the room.
"Well, so much for having a peaceful breakfast", he muttered to himself while slurping some of his coffee.

+.+

"Blossom!", Buttercup shouted when she slammed the door open, "Are you alright?"
She was faced with pitch-black darkness and a hoarse moan from somewhere inside the room.
"Blossom?", Bubbles' surprised face peered from behind Buttercup towards her eldest sister's features in the big bed, "Are you still in bed? It's half past ten in the morning! On a Sunday!"
With big steps, she suddenly walked into the room and pulled the blinds open. She put up a cheery smile when she turned around, but it instantly faded when she saw Blossom, pushing herself up with one trembling arm and one hand placed on her warm forehead. Bubbles squeaked and Buttercup backed off a few inches when the redhead faced her sisters with tearing eyes and a runny nose.

"Girls", she said with a cracking voice, "I don't feel too well."
"No kiddin'", Buttercup instantly replied, "I'd say you got the flu."
"N-no", Blossom moaned, trying to get out of bed but failing miserably, "That can't be possible. What about school? What about the math contest? I need to practice with the team. And what about crime?"
"Don't worry about that now", Bubbles said while she gently pushed her sister back in the pile of pillows, "You're the smartest girl in school. The team can practice on their own if just for a couple of days. And I doubt there'll be much crime, 'cause most of the criminals are lying sick in bed, so Buttercup and I can take care of that. Right now, you need to rest."
"But I'm fine", Blossom tried weakly, until she suddenly shivered violently and pulled her sheet back to cover her shaking body.
Buttercup walked over to the bed and put her hand on the redhead's forehead, but quickly pulled it back when she felt an unusual heat, "You're burning up. I'll go get the professor."

With that said Blossom burst into a series of loud and dry coughs, making her infection-fearing sisters run back towards the door and disappear behind it. But before closing the door, while Blossom was still trying to control the couching attack, Bubbles stuck her head inside once more and smiled, "Don't move. We'll be right back with some medicine and the professor."
Shaking from the effort and her running fever, Blossom fell back into the pillow. She rubbed her hot temples and with a big sigh said her plans for the next days goodbye.

After a whole day of taking care of their sister, Buttercup and Bubbles felt almost as miserable as Blossom. When the professor walked into the living room that same afternoon, he found Buttercup lying on the couch, rubbing her temples with the most painful face. Bubbles walked in with a cup of damping tea and her eyes were looking awfully red, as did her nose by the way. The professor couldn't help his grimace when his youngest daughter launched herself into a row of rough-sounding coughs, a tear streaming down from her eye due to the fact of being sick.
"Bubbles, please go upstairs and go to bed", he said, putting his hands on her trembling shoulders, "I'll bring you some medicine."
Bubbles tried to return his kind smile, but only managed to nod and then slowly shuffled up the stairs. When the professor turned to look at his other daughter, he made a frown when he saw her sitting there on the couch, clenching her fists in an attempt to stop her body from shaking.
"You too, Buttercup", he said, motioning towards the stairs.
"I'm not sick!", she said stubbornly, "I can't be sick. I have a big game tomorrow and the coach's going to kill me if-"
A sudden sneeze, followed by a shudder, cut off her sentence. While still shuddering, the professor cautiously pulled her up from the couch and led her towards the bottom of the staircase.
"Now, now, Buttercup", he said, petting the scowling girl's back, "You won't be making any points when you're like this. Why don't you go up, take some rest and see in the morning how you're doing, okay?"
"I'm doomed", she muttered after another sneeze and while gritting her teeth, she stormed up the stairs, tiring her heavy legs needlessly. But she didn't care, because it was all about making her point clear. So when the professor after some time heard her bedroom door slam shut and her mattress creak under her weight, he released a sigh and went off in search for painkillers, cough syrup, a few boxes of tissues and a whole lot of hot chicken soup.

Rumor had it that on Monday morning, all three of the Powerpuff Girls were taken down by the flu. Of course this would be an excellent opportunity for all the crime committers the city knew to get loose, were it not that they all were huddling in their homes, suffering the same fate as that of our young heroines.

Of course it didn't go by unnoticed that same morning at the local Townsville High School.
"Hey, did you hear that the Powerpuffs aren't coming today? I heard they got sick."
"Yeah. It must be a really bad flu, if even superheroes like them have to stay in bed."
"I heard Princess isn't coming either. She's got the flu."
"She too? If this goes on, no one in Townsville will be healthy anymore."

Of course, for some individuals, the fact that both the Powerpuff Girls and Princess Morbucks would be stuck home for the coming days was a real bliss. Individuals like the Rowdyruff Boys.
Healthy as always, they strode through the aisles, picking up on the fresh rumors that were being spread mercilessly. Butch took on a wide grin while he walked alongside his brothers. He simply loved the fear and awe he got from the numerous students in the aisle, who stopped their conversations just for the honor of seeing him pass by.

"Hey, did you hear the Puffs got sick?", he said with a giant smirking, fixing his attention on his two brothers.
Boomer peered at him from behind Brick and nodded, while his redheaded brother only grinned, his eyes still fixated on the crowd before him. It was mostly the fact that he wouldn't be stuck with Princess' annoying attention that made him feel pleased, but of course not having Red around opened many doors for him. No stupid arrogance and non-stop flirting, nor suspicious remarks and glaring would he have to endure today. What a beautiful day.

+.+

At least, that was what he thought, until classes started. While Brick was seated (more like lying actually) on a chair in the far corner of the classroom, overseeing the many empty seats, the door opened and the teacher came in. The old math teacher slowly shuffled over to her desk and sat down while supporting on the wooden surface, a little shakily actually. Then she adjusted her big glasses and grabbed the attendance list. With a tired sigh, she went over the list of names.
"Sally?"
"Sick, ma'am."
"Billy?"
"Present!"
"Katy?"
"Sick."
"Drew?"
"Here!"
"Brick?"
"Yup."
"Blossom?"
Silence.
The elder woman looked up from the list surprised, expecting to hear a cheerful "Present", but when none came, she asked, "Does anyone know where Blossom is?"
"She's sick, Ma'am", a brave student said.
In the back, Brick grinned widely.
"That's a bother", the teacher mumbled, "She's supposed to lead the math team in the contest this Friday. If she doesn't attend classes, she won't be prepared."
Brick raised an eyebrow, then rolled his eyes, seeing through that the only thing the school wanted was the trophy, so that they could have the prize money and a lot of free publicity. But of course, little miss Blossom claimed this to be a foul lie. That was what had caused the latest fight between the two hotheaded leaders. Eventually, it had cost the school a new school board, seventeen desks, plus their respective chairs.
With a sigh, the old teacher glanced around the room and said, "I'll need one of you to keep notes for Blossom and go to her house to help her with math. She needs to study for Friday, and seeing she's sick, I think she could use a little help." Her eyes quickly darted around the room and when she noticed she was missing a great amount of her most reliable and smartest students, her look suddenly landed on Brick.
"Mister Jojo", her voice sounded like a loud thunder, "I'll assign you to do this."
Brick, looking like someone just hit him with an entire building on his head, dropped his mouth and instantly shot out of his chair.
"With all due respect, Ma'am", he said while crumpling the sides of his table a bit, "but I suggest that you pick someone else to do that."
"And why is that?"
Brick's scowl darkened, while he thought, Does she NEED to ask that?, but he did his best to look politely. "Well, Blossom and I had a few…discussions in the past and I think it would not be wise for me to be her tutor. Not to forget, she's the smartest girl in our school. I'm sure there are others-"
"No, Brick, there aren't", the old woman sighed, interrupting the thunderstruck teenager, "All my other qualified students are at home. And don't tell me she's the smartest, because your grades are equal. All I want you to do is go to her home and help her study the curriculum of today. You're smart enough, you'll figure something out."
Brick was about to object, but she cut him off by raising her hand and saying, "End of the matter. Now class, if you all take your books on page 42, then we can start with…"

Brick lowered himself again, cursing under his breath and glaring daggers at the woman in the front. So much for his beautiful day.

+.+

How he'd end up with his brothers going along with him, he honestly didn't really know. When Butch had seen him in the aisle later that day, while he was crushing a water fountain with his iron grip, he'd known immediately that something was wrong. When Boomer too had come up to them, he had had no choice but to tell them. Butch, of course, had laughed at him while Boomer had said he would come along. Something about the teacher giving him some paperwork that he had to bring to Bubbles. Butch only went along because "he wouldn't go around and commit crime on his own", "he had nothing better to do" and "wouldn't miss the chance to see Buttercup when she was all weak and most likely in her PJ's".

And now they were standing in front of the Powerpuff's house, a big and fancy looking white building which made all three boys stare in awe for a moment. Brick had his math book under his arm, a grim expression on his features, while Boomer nervously plucked at the somewhat ruffled papers in his hands. Butch only seemed to enjoy the fact that he was planning on destroying the entire thing, from the inside out.

Brick, being the leader, was about to ring the doorbell, when suddenly a loud scream surprised them all. From inside, they could hear two voices yelling.
"Let go of me, Bubbles! I need to get to the game!"
"Buttercup, please don't! You're sick! You need to rest!"
"I don't care if I'm sick, I'm going, so let the hell g-"
The door opened and Buttercup's voiced died down, "-oooo?" The three boys looked a bit…struck by her appearance: her hair messed up and sticking out in all directions, her eyes red and teary, her nose even redder and her skin rather pail. Also, the fact that she was half-dressed (she had her soccer shorts on, and her socks, but her shirt was reversed and she was trying to put on her shoes). A pair of arms was wrapped around her waist and two innocent, also red, eyes looked up at the boys in surprise. Bubbles' hair was loose and also messed up, but other than her sister, she was wearing her pajamas.

"What are you staring at?", Buttercup sniffled, opening the door fully.
Butch grinned widely, Boomer shifted uncomfortably and Brick remained grim.
"Came to pay you a little visit", Butch winked.
Buttercup rolled her eyes, but flinched when her headache returned and muttered, "Go away."
"No way, babe", Butch smirked, "This is a once in a life chance, and I'm not gonna let it pass by that easily."
"Ugh, I don't have time to fight with you", Buttercup grunted, beginning to close the door again, "Come back once you found yourself brains, and then we'll talk."

She was about to fully close the door, when Bubbles squeaked, "Are those my English and Spanish essays?"
Boomer nodded shyly while Bubbles opened the door again and giggled, "Come on in!"
Buttercup stared horrified at her sister, but the blonde shrugged, "I need those."

So that's how the boys ended up sitting in the living room, on the couch and watching TV. Bubbles came in with a plate of cookies and damping tea cups.
"Here you go", she smiled, "Hope you like hot chocolate."
Boomer gratefully took the cup and drank from it while Bubbles handed Brick his cup.
After a cup of refreshing hot chocolate, Bubbles asked, "Why did you guys come? Only to give me my essays?"
Butch, gulping down the last bit of his cookie, smirked, "Nope! Brick wanted to see his girlfriend."
Brick glared darkly at him and then said to the confused Bubbles, "The teacher asked me to help Blossom with her math."
"Oh", Bubbles said, "Well, she's up in her room. I don't know what she's doing actually, but maybe you should go take a look at her."
After a moment of reconsider, Brick stood up, deciding that it would be best to get this over with, and made his way up the stairs. He could only hear Bubbles' question towards Boomer to come up to her room to help her with her English and Buttercup saying that she would keep an eye on Butch, and then he disappeared into the long aisle.

He knocked on the pink door, which, by the way, he thought was really predictable. When he heard a soft "Come in", he took a deep breath, clutched the book harder and opened the door. A warm air that smelled like medicines hit him in the face while he peered inside the room.
"What are you doing here?", he heard her cracking voice ask in surprise.
Brick looked to the right and his eyes widened when he caught sight of his arch-nemesis.
Her hair was a mess, its usual ponytail undone, her eyes were narrowed and she seemed to be in a lot of pain while her pale hand shivery reached up to her forehead. But it were the outspreaded books and papers on her bed that caught his eye.

All the mocking tone and venom in his voice gone, he asked, "You're not really studying, are you?"
She glared at him through narrowed eyes, but soon gave up and sighed, surprising him with her huge lack of energy.
"I don't have a choice", she said quietly, "I've got a competition to attend next Friday and if I don't study, I'll never get it right and then everyone will be disappointed in me and I don't want th-"
A loud series of coughs cut off her sentence and she covered her mouth with her hands while her entire body shook. A tear of pain slid down her cheek while she kept coughing.
Brick, suddenly feeling a strange craving in the pit of his stomach, found he had no desire to tease the girl as he saw her gasping for air for dear life. Before he even realized what he was doing, he walked over to the girl on the bed and put a hand on her forehead. The coughing instantly stopped and a shudder went down Blossom's spine when she felt his soothingly cold hand on her pounding forehead. Brick frowned deeply and muttered, "Red, you're burning up."

Blossom wanted to snap at him, but didn't find the strength to do so and instead, lied back down and with a trembling hand, pulled her math book towards her again.
"Well, if all that you're here for was telling me that, then you're free to leave. I have some studying to do."
Even now, her voice was wavering.

Brick couldn't take it anymore. With a furious look he snatched the book from the perplexed girl's grasp.
While putting the book in the air, he glared, "You're not going to do anything but rest! You're no fun at all when you're as weak as this. You don't even have the energy to yell at me. So you're going to get better, or I'll handle you right here and now."
A small smug graced his face when he saw Blossom's stunned expression. But to his discomfort, she swung her legs out of the bed and aimed for the book.
"Give that back", she yelled at the glaring Brick, but suddenly, while her hand was lifted up into the air to grasp the book, she froze. Her eyes widened and she fell to the ground. It all happened before Brick's eyes and while his eyes grew wide as well, he threw the book away and bent down quickly. He carefully picked the shivering girl up and carried her back to her bed. Pulling the sheets back on her, he sat down on his knees and watched her closed eyes and purple, trembling lips. Her cheeks were extremely red. The teenage boy suddenly felt a wave of worry wash over him and not really knowing what to do, he hesitantly took her hand in his. When she felt his presence, Blossom started squeezing his hand, trying to lessen the pounding headache and aching throat. Brick watched her with growing concern and muttered, "Bloss, just…hang in there, okay?" She nodded almost unnoticeably and suddenly fell silent. No more trembling, no more stocked breathing, only a loud and painful moan.

Brick suddenly shot up, muttering a "Shit!" He flew back to the door, yelled a "Hold on, just gonna get you something!", and disappeared down the aisle with a flash of crimson red.
He didn't even see his surroundings clearly, but he shot through the living room, scaring a gaming Butch and Buttercup to death. Butch yelled a surprised "Brick?" after him and he answered with, "Be right back!"
And indeed he was. No longer than five minutes later, he flew back into the house, confusing the greens to no end, and headed for the pink-framed door once more.

He opened and shut Blossom's door quickly, made his way over to her before she could even make as much as a peep and stood rather close by her. In his arms, he carried various bottles, a first-aid kit, a large bottle of orange juice and a small pillow. The first thing he did was placing a cold strip on her forehead. Blossom, looking utterly confused, tensed up when the bandage hit her skin. She expected it to hiss from the heat, but of course, nothing happened. Before she could ask for any further explanation, Brick removed the sheets and placed the little pillow under her bare feet. Then he screwed off the lid from one of the bottles and made a mixture of orange juice and medicine and handed it to her. "Here", he said, presenting her the dark-red colored liquid in the glass. She blinked at the strange sight and gave Brick a questioning frown.
He rolled his eyes, "It's not a poison or something. It's just… something for your headache." Blossom still looked suspiciously at him.
"Oh, come on Red", Brick growled restlessly, "If you want to get better, just drink the damn stuff!" Still a little uneasy, Blossom gave in to the stinging pounding of her head and drank the glass empty in one big gulp.
"That's a good girl", Brick smirked and he started rumbling through the first-aid kit. He took the cold strip from her forehead, much to her inwardly dismay because it was really soothing, and gave her a small tablet which she had to take in. It would lower her fever, he had said, and she was thankful he had given it to her. Her head started clearing and when Brick plumped down on a chair with a sigh, Blossom asked, "Where'd you learn all that?"
He raised an eyebrow at her and then shrugged, "It's not like we never get sick. I'm always the one to take care of Butch when he's hurt or Boomer when he's struck with a virus. Guess it learned me a lot about how to take care of sick people."

Blossom felt surprised that her tough enemy actually had a softer side.
"Why are you doing this for me?", she asked, trying to stop her voice from wavering.
Brick looked up at her and something in his expression made her stomach flutter. It was a feeling she didn't know.
"I don't know, really", he said, "It's just that I can't stand the sight of you being so weak when I'm not the one who conflicted it on you. And besides, you look way better when you're not all feverish."

Blossom flushed, and this time, it was not from the fever.
"Brick, I-I don't know what to say."
"Thank you would be nice." There was his smirk again, but Blossom was way too happy that her headache was gone.
"Thank you", she smiled.

After a few silent seconds, she got up and picked up her math book from off the ground.
"What do you think you're doing?", Brick asked, walking up to her, "You're gonna rest."
"Now that my headache's gone, I'm finally gonna start studying", she muttered, "Or you could help me, or you can leave."

Brick grabbed her wrist and scowled, "You're not going anywhere. You just nearly fainted from your fever and it might be down now, but it won't last. So you are going back to your bed and stay put!"
She scowled back at him, trying to tug her arm free but lacking the energy, "I'm not a dog! I need to study, so let go!"
"No! If I let go, you'll just do what you want. You've got to think of your health, Blossom!"
While slightly surprised that he hadn't called her 'Red', she blurted out, "Why do you care?"
"You don't get it, do you?", the anger in his voice made her shrink back a bit, "I was worried about you!"
His voice wavered and he let go of her arm while stuffing his hands inside his pockets and glaring at the pink carpet. Blossom stood there, staring at him with a shocked expression.
"Brick…"
Her stomach fluttered and she felt her face heating up again. Her head began to pound once more, but this time, it wasn't a bad pounding. Maybe it were the medicines, maybe it was the fever, but something made her feel very fuzzy and Blossom felt a warmth bubbling up from inside her chest and fill her entire body. She didn't know why she did it, but she suddenly leant forward and pecked his cheek with a small smile on her lips. Brick, startled from the sweet gesture, stared at her agape and with a quickly reddening face.

"Thank you", she smiled, "For worrying."
And maybe it was the heat of the room or the sudden mutual feeling of affection, but it was enough to make Brick grab her hand when she wanted to turn around to get back in bed. Blossom went wide-eyed when he placed his lips on hers. She felt hot again and she relaxed, placing her hands around his neck. Neither one had seen it coming, but here they were, both kissing on a pink, ruffled carpet with the sun shining down on them through the closed window. What a beautiful day.

They pulled away at the same time and their foreheads touched. Blossom smiled while staring at him and Brick only smirked. He felt the heat of her skin on his and grinned, "I think your fever's rising again."
Blossom chuckled and then shivered slightly.
Brick noticed and lead her back to her bed. He put the sheets back while Blossom sighed happily.
"Thanks Brick", she smiled, "For everything."
"Yeah", he replied, but then warned, "If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you!"
Blossom laughed, "Goes for you too! Let's keep this between us, okay?"
She saw him smile in relief and closed her eyes, feeling rather comfortable with Brick's presence. I could get used to this.

While drifting off to sleep, she suddenly felt a light peck on her forehead and Brick muttering, "Sweet dreams, Red."
She smiled, when she heard the door close.
Yup, I could get used to this.

The next day…

"Drew?"
"Here!"
"Brick?"
Silence.
The elder woman looked up from the list surprised and asked, "Where's Brick?"
"I heard he's sick, Ma'am", one boy answered, "Together with his brothers. They've got the flu."
"Really?", the woman said while tapping her chin, "I wonder how he got sick? He seemed perfectly healthy yesterday."

On the front row, a redhead felt herself flush, but eventually, she smiled dreamily.

"Oh well. Blossom?"
"Present!"